Battle at the Lakes: First Look
The Battle at the Lakes is around the corner and teams from across the nation will be in the Twin Cities this weekend to compete in one of the fastest growing events in the nation. We kick off the week of previews with First Look.
17U. The list of top teams is what everyone is interested in and that’s where we start. The local squad D1 Minnesota is of course in the event led by four star talent Race Thompson as well as recently D1 offered Calvin Wishart. Five star Matthew Hurt is on the team but has a broken bone in his hand and hasn’t played in a month. D1 Minnesota is of course an Adidas Uprising program as is Team Rush out of KC. They will be led in the Twin Cities by 6-foot-10 Yor Anei as well as Ronnie Bell, Jalen Lewis, and Christian Bishop who was just offered by Wichita State a few days ago.
Greenwood Elite is back and this is the program of LaMarr Woodley. They are led by talented point guard Tre Vallar. Adidas programs Caron Butler Elite and Team Rose will be in the Battle at the Lakes with Team Rose star Kendall Moore being a headliner for them and Caron Butler’s son JC Butler being a standout for his team along with Messiah Jones. Tyree and Treavon Martin pair with Moore making Team Rose one of the more dangerous in the event.
1 Nation from Michigan is back (Under Armour circuit program) as is the Chicago Demons who are a long time regular in the Twin Cities for events. Powerhouse Minnesota is having a strong year so far led by Jarius Cook and Michael Schaefer who have D1 programs calling.
Young & Reckless is at the Battle at the Lakes led by RJ McGee (many locals played them in the NY2LA last year) as is The Pentagon National team out of South Dakota led by NDSU offered Cole Bergan. Full Package out of the Chicago area is a traditionally strong program that returns as does the North Dakota Phenom. Another quality program making their return is Fundamental U and let’s not forget the Wisconsin Blizzard with DePaul committed John Diener. Team Nebraska, Wisconsin Academy, the Illinois T-Wolves, and about half of Minnesota’s top 25 17U teams are in the event as well. Center George Conditt of Team RWA is one to watch as well as he has a pair of D1 offers.
There will be some 17U games all over Friday night but on Saturday and Sunday the 17U level will be at Wayzata.
16U. The 16U division has three of the top 25 teams in the nation in #10 ranked D1 Minnesota, #14 ranked Iowa Barnstormers, and the #25 ranked Greenwood Elite team. Not to mention the #8 ranked 15U team in the nation D1 Minnesota is playing up in this event and Adidas Circuit teams Team Rose and Team Rush as well as UAA circuit 1Nation are competing in the Battle at the Lakes. About half of the top 25 in the state of Minnesota 16U rankings are in the event plus Young & Reckless, Wisconsin Blizzard, Wisconsin Academy, Chicago Demons, St. Louis Majestics, Team Nebraska, Fundamental U, Made Men, and several others.
The D1 Minnesota team at the 16U level has point guard Tyrell Terry who Iowa recently offered as well Tyler Wahl, Jamison Battle, and Khari Broadway giving them four of the top eight 2019 talents in Minnesota. The D1 Minnesota 15U squad is led by Ben Carlson who is already getting high major interest out of East Ridge, Drake Dobbs, Dawson Garcia, and others.
The Iowa Barnstormers have one of the nation’s best 2019s in Patrick McCaffery as well as Logan Wolf, Trey Hutchenson, and others. Greenwood Elite 16U is led by Michael Fletcher, a top ten sophomore in Michigan, Chris Robinson, and others.
Watch out for Keenan Jones Jr and Sentwali Nalls from Young & Reckless, Marquise Walker of Team Rose is an excellent talent, and Lucas Kroft of 1Nation is an up and coming talent to watch for this weekend. Division one schools are calling on Kroft.
The 16U level will be at Burnsville this weekend after starting in a few spots on Friday night.
15U. The majority of the 15U action will be at Chanhassen High School this weekend. The locals have come out to play in the event as nearly half of the 15U top 20 in Minnesota is in the Battle at the Lakes, shoe circuit teams Team Rose, 1 Nation, Iowa Barnstormers, and Team Rush are competing, plus other quality teams are the Wisconsin Shooters, Made Men, Young& Reckless, Illinois T-Wolves, Fundamental U, and others.