D1 Spring Showcase preview
Saturday is the D1 Minnesota Spring Classic, a one day event in the west metro putting a solid number of prospects on the court for three games each. Here is our preview of tomorrow’s event.
17U. D1 Minnesota hits the halfway point of a five week run of games of which so far they are 10-1. That’s a loss in the Real Deal on the Hill to the second ranked team in the nation and a Comets Shootout championship. The team is led in scoring, rebounding, and blocks by five star sophomore Matthew Hurt (Rochester JM) who even with a banged up hand earned an MVP last weekend with 18 points and nine boards in the title game.
The D1 second leading scorer? That would be the surging Both Gach (Austin) who has exploded onto the radar of all schools that recruit this area. Scoring 11-12 a game with corner treys and slashing plays Both is now performing strongly in front of all. Last weekend Anders Nelson (Edina) had a great weekend (he was their leading scorer last week) so he is playing well, Calvin Wishart (Delano) leads the group in assists, and of course Race Thompson (Armstrong) and Shae Mitchell (Lakeville South) are explosive forwards that are balancing out the scoring in this line-up.
Top opponent this weekend? 43 Hoops! Very excited to learn about this team this week. I believe this is their first event of the year and they have a very nice roster in place. That roster includes Class AAA all state player Wendell Matthews from Columbia Heights, pace pushing Deaundra Robinson (also from CH), agile wing Chris Kelly (another Highlander), shooter Ryan Mazurek from Holy Angels, forward Cater Uphus from BSM, and yet another Highlander Quinton Hardict who we are excited to learn more about after his great junior year.
Also in the event is D1 Minnesota Rise who had a slow start last weekend in pool play but then made a Sunday run to the Gold title game. Isaac Fink (Springfield) is their leading scorer and rebounder so far showing that the sophomore all-stater is so far up to the challenge of proving he is one of the state’s best prospects. Alex Raichle (Owatonna) was another top valued piece for them defensively and running the team at point. Proved a lot last weekend and is one to know going forward. Also, Michael Coble, Bjorn Knutson (both from Byron), and Damani Hayes (Mankato East) all scored between eight and 9.5 a game last weekend.
Also getting 2-3 games in Saturday will be D1 Minnesota Prospects who was 2-2 in St. Cloud, and teams we don’t know much about yet in EOTO, Minnesota Nice, and Real Athletics will also be getting some games in.
16U. With so many guys playing up, and so many different teams with varying rosters, who knows what the future holds here. What I do know is that Tyrell Terry, Jamison Battle, Kakari Broadway, and Tyler Wahl are four of the top eight prospects in the 2019 class in Minnesota and they are on the D1 Minnesota 16U squad. Last weekend they were 3-2 in a Wisconsin event losing in the semi-finals to the champs. This weekend they play two games (vs EOTO and against School Boys who we saw last weekend and they are solid).
Also in the 16U event are D1 Minnesota Prospects, Minnesota Nice, and D1 Minnesota Rise.
15U. What we have here is maybe the most dominant AAU team in Minnesota this year that we cover, and that is D1 Minnesota 15s. What they did in Colorado last weekend to shoe brand 15U clubs was insane winning games by around 30 and 40 points. Ben Carlson (East Ridge) and Dawson Garcia (Prior Lake) are being raved about for the way they played last weekend.
When you run through the top seven or eight 2020 prospects in Minnesota five of them are on this team. With Carlson, Garcia, Drake Dobbs of Eden Prairie, Kerwin Walton of Breck, and Austin Andrews of Eden Prairie that is quite a collection. When you add in a top 2021 in Riley Mahlman from Lakeville South, some top Wisconsin kids, and another top 2020 in Connor Christensen, this is a hell of a team.
The 15U has nine teams in it which included Minneapolis Fab which I would guess includes all the excellent younger players from the Fab 17s team plus some others.