Ten Best: DeLaSalle vs Cretin-Derham Hall
In front of a packed crowd that jammed onto the Island two hours before tip-off, DeLaSalle outlasted Cretin-Derham Hall 60-59 keeping the Christian Brothers Golden Ball trophy. MVP: Daniel Oturu. It’s not very often we go with a player on…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingIn front of a packed crowd that jammed onto the Island two hours before tip-off, DeLaSalle outlasted Cretin-Derham Hall 60-59 keeping the Christian Brothers Golden Ball trophy.
MVP: Daniel Oturu. It’s not very often we go with a player on the losing team as the game MVP but when it comes to player by player Oturu did more than anybody on the court. Oturu made 11 of 15 shots including three mid-range jumpers (one late in the game) and three dunks. Daniel also blocked eight shots and grabbed a dozen boards.
Top Offensive Standout: Dominic Bledsoe. I go with Bledsoe because of his clutch offensive plays for his ten points. He made two threes including a late game trey that sealed the victory. He also knocked in late game fouls shots that put the game away. Bledsoe didn’t take many shots but he was highly efficient as a decision maker.
Top Defensive Standout: Bledsoe, Etc. It wasn’t just Bledsoe but it was often Bledsoe and guys like Sage Booker, Tyrell Terry, Will Irvin, etc who simply would not allow the Raiders to get their halfcourt offense started in a comfortable manner. CDH point guard Ryan Larson was forced into turnovers a number of time and even when that wasn’t there the Raiders had a tough time simply with wing entries and ball reversals.
Top Underclassmen. Tyrell Terry/Jaeden King. King made his impact with three three-pointers and five jumpers over all out of seven shot attempts. King was CDH’s second biggest offensive weapon in this game when they could get him clear for shot attempts.
Terry played another steady/mature game beyond his years. Played most of the game scored points on three shot attempts, grabbed five boards, assists on four scores, had a couple brilliant steals, and quite simply played another game beyond his years.
Top 6th Man. Sage Booker. Sage scored twice off the bench, grabbed three or four boards, and defended at a high level. ***Not sure if Sage or CJ Dickson was the starter so I added a note on Dickson at the bottom.
Top Under the Radar Performance. Goanar Mar/Gabe Kalscheur. Most that walked out of the game likely thought about Goanar and Gabe having a tough shooting night numbers wise which they did. Mar scored his 15 on 5 of 17 shooting while Kalscheur got his 14 on 5 of 13 shooting. Mar missed his first five attempts and Gabe went on a stretch of missing six straight. The numbers are what they are but in the second half Mar had key scores including a breakaway dunk, a couple baseline makes including a three, and scored late to help put the game away. Gabe made is final three shots of the game including top of the key three. Both made second half impacts despite having off days overall and that’s what top players do, make game winning plays even on tough days.
Top Prospect. Oturu. There are many important players here. Tyrell Terry is a top five sophomore prospect ranked in the national top 100-200. Kalscheur is a top 200 guy. Mar is a top 200 guy nationally as well. Oturu is the highest ranked of all of them though as he continues to grow in all ways (improved skill, seems to get taller every day, more consistent all the time). Oturu is ranked nationally anywhere from top 50 top 65.
Best Aspect of the Environment. The attendance was a who is who of basketball in the metro. High school coaches from all over the place came to the game as did all the local media. To surely get a seat fans needed to be in the building by the start of the girl’s game nearly two hours before. A packed house in one of the state’s best gyms with talented teams playing for a special trophy all to their own.
Best Story Going Forward. Islanders making a run for title six, CDH juniors want to advance now.
DeLaSalle is 17-2 with some interesting games left on their schedule. Columbia Heights, Fridley, and Brooklyn Center have talent and will challenge but the Champlin Park game is what will pack the Rebel building on the 23rd. They also have EP before sections. How are sections lining up? Round one vs Blake, Round two versus Henry or BSM, section final against Orono or Delano.
CDH is 14-6 with four SEC games they should win plus Woodbury and Iowa City West on the schedule. The Woodbury game is biggest because it looks like it will be for the Suburban East league title. As for sections, Woodbury and CDH are the 2-3 seeds with East Ridge actually one, and Tartan four. If they do go with QRF (not sure if they do) the SEC teams are very close so CDH or Woodbury could still get the one seed.
Other. Ryan Larson have CDH a dozen points (5-8 shooting) with four boards and five assists. CJ Dickson scored three times with four boards.