The Dakota Showcase Preview
For the 17th time Mister Basketball is coming to Sioux Falls and Augustana University for the Dakota Showcase. Who will be there? PHD lets you know.
Platinum Division. The division is small with two pools of four teams and the winner of this event could honestly go to just about anybody. Half of the teams are from the hosting state of South Dakota. Black Hills Gold is playing in their second event this year and is becoming a team we are starting to see more and more.
The Dakota Niners will have both of their squads in the event (Elite and Select). This will be the second event for Select while Elite is playing in their third event of the year. Elite is led by Lucas Trooien (Sioux Valley), Ethan Gilbert (Lennox), Carter Mehling (W-W), and others. Select includes Nathan Hulscher (Florence-Henry), Dylan Jurgens (Wilmot), and Corbin Chilson (Watertown).
BBA Force Stoebner is the second BBA team and they have won six of the nine games they have played so far. Young Jamin Arend (a 2019 from B-E) has joined Jordan Lee (Canistota), Cade Falor (Tri-Valley), Chris Morales (Tea), and others to form a solid team. They will be one of the favorites.
From Iowa will be the Iowa Battlers and Tryon Gym. Little is know about the Battlers but Tryon Gym has a couple players that will make them another favorite in this event. The Tryon guards Parker Badding and Sam Auen are a pair of quality shooters from Kuemper Catholic High School. Another Tryon guard that opponents must be aware of is Cooper Ross. The 5-foot-9 skilled Ross is a sharpshooter with a tight handle.
Out of Wisconsin the Showcase has Team 1848 and the Great Lakes Ballers. We don’t know much about 1848, save Wisconsin becoming the 30th state that year and Zach Taylor being named president, but we do know that the Ballers could have the best player in the event in Carson Moe of Oconto High. Moe is a 2018 wing that can score in several ways.
Gold Division. The gold is twelve teams divided into four pools and made up of teams at the 16u and 15u level. There are teams from six different states making up the Gold Division. South Dakota has the Lokota Jazz, BBA Force UA 16s, and BBA Force Stoebner 15s. The Jazz are playing in their second event, Force UA (3-5) is in their third, and Force 15u is in their fourth event and they have a strong record of 8-5.
The North Dakota teams are more of a mystery. Minot Academy and Arete are names we haven’t seen before this season. Mister Basketball is a Nebraska based outfit so it’s no surprise that they’ve brought a couple teams north with them (Nebraska Pride one and two). Also in Sioux Falls will be the Wisconsin Crusaders, Sioux City Bombers (IA), Team 1848 (WI), D Up Elite (IL), and the Hull Comets also out of Iowa.