High School Border Battle: Saturday’s Standouts
The second annual High School Invitational Border Battle in Stoughton, WI tipped off on Saturday, with 36 teams from Wisconsin and Iowa taking the floor. Below are eight standouts from Saturday’s action.
6-4 PG Tyrese Haliburton (Oshkosh North, WI)
Haliburton holds offers from Northern Iowa, UW-Green Bay, Milwaukee and about half of the MAC, and he was the best player I saw throughout the day. He’s an extremely slender lead guard, but he doesn’t let that deter him from attacking the rim and finishing about it both in the halfcourt and in transition. He sees the floor extremely well and is a highly gifted passer. He’s capable of knocking down 3s off the catch or the dribble, and despite having a bit of an unorthodox release, it works for him and he consistently was draining his open looks. He competes on the glass and has the length to cause major issues on the defensive end as well.
6-5 GF Keshawn Justice (Madison East, WI)
An extremely talented wing scorer with offers from Northern Iowa, Milwaukee and Loyola Chicago, among others, Justice poured in 25 points to go with six rebounds and five blocks in East’s win over Roncalli. A long, athletic hybrid wing, he’s a skilled enough ball handler to play more on the perimeter, but is also willing and able to post up smaller defenders and score on the block or in the mid-range. He was exceptional from behind the arc in this game, knocking down five 3s, and doing so in a number of different ways. He knocked down jumpers off the dribble and also showed a quick release off the catch coming hard off a screen.
6-3 G Tyson Tully (Reedsburg, WI)
A tough, physical combo guard, Tully stuffs the stat sheet for Reedsburg. He took over down the stretch in their win over Madison West, scoring 19 points and finishing back-to-back key possessions late in the game with and-ones. He doesn’t shy away from contact, sees the floor extremely well, makes the right play, and competes on the glass. He’s a gifted player who competes on both ends, and is a player who should be getting scholarship looks from Division II and NAIA programs.
6-4 F Matt Bandy (Dubuque Wahlert, IA)
Bandy had a great game against Elkhorn, scoring in a variety of ways. He finishes well around the rim, has good touch with either hand and is relentless on the glass. He displayed some impressive athleticism with a powerful dunk in transition, and he can put the ball on the floor in the halfcourt and get to the rim for buckets. He’s a well built combo forward who does a majority of his damage around the rim, but can also step out and hit a mid-range jumper.
6-7 PF Derek Krogmann (West Delaware, IA)
The junior-to-be is always consistent with his ability to score around the rim, especially with his left. He’s worked to put together some counter moves, and they are coming along nicely, scoring with the right consistently now as well. He stepped out to the arc and knocked down a 3 in their game against Roncalli, which I believe is the first jumper I’ve ever seen him take, and it looked good. As he continues to expand his range, he’ll become an even more dangerous offensive threat. He’s great on the glass on both ends of the floor, beats his defender down the floor and establishes great position. He has heard from a slew of mid-major programs of late, and will be a very effective player no matter where he’s at.
6-10 C Owen Coburn (Spirit Lake, IA)
Currently the No. 3 player in our 2019 rankings, Coburn may be making a push to get up to that No. 2 spot (although taking over Tyreke Locure will be tough). He keeps growing, and his game is improving as well. He scored 18 points in their win over Mount Horeb, showing improved strength by finishing four and-ones during the course of the game. He has really good touch around the rim with the ability to score with either hand. He’s become a much more fluid athlete and he runs the floor extremely well. He showed great touch from the free throw line, making all four of his attempts from the stripe. He doesn’t need to take jumpers very often, and the one he took in this game was a miss, but with the way his shot from the line looks, he should be able to knock down jumpers with more repetition. He’s a definite Division I player, and if he keeps improving at this rate, he could follow the Ryan Kriener path, where he rapidly goes from low-to-mid-major offers to high-major offers.
6-1 SG Max Fernholz (Stoughton, WI)
Fernholz wears the same number as Klay Thompson, and his performance against Center Point-Urbana was similar. He rarely put the ball on the floor, and displayed a quick, consistent and smooth release off the catch, with extended range. He knocked down five 3s in the win, and from the sound of it, he was knocking down 3 after 3 all day.
6-5 F Grant Dirks (Center Point-Urbana, IA)
Dirks is a player who gets better each time I see him, and this was no exception. He’s worked on expanding his range, and can now comfortably step out to the arc and knock down a 3. He’s still at his best on the block, where he has the quickness, footwork and touch to score at will. He’s really good with his left hand, and consistently scored after catching on the right block, making a quick move into the middle of the paint and getting to the other side of the rim and scoring with the left. He hasn’t grown much since early in his high school career, so he’ll likely be forced to move further away from the bucket at the next level, and the work he has put in has been extremely evident.