Adidas Finale: Wishart & Mitchell Prove a Point
D1 Minnesota 17u played through the quarterfinals of the Adidas Finale in Spartanburg this week and a couple of their players have cemented their D1 status.
Matthew Hurt is one of the most dominating scorers in all of high school basketball. We know that. It’s why John Calipari, Bill Self, Richard Pitino, Coach K, Archie Miller, Steve Prohm, Rick Pitino, and so many other bigs names have been at his games in the past 24 hours. Matthew has been fantastic this week.
Race Thompson is a top 75-110 player in the 2018 class right now. That’s established and he’s made it clear to many reporters this week that Minnesota, Iowa State, and Indiana are the programs at the top of his list.
Anders Nelson is one of Minnesota’s top point guards and D2 schools are after him. Zach Theisen is one of the best shooters in the state and he had three treys in the D1 Minnesota Sweet 16 victory this morning. Dain Dainja is one of the top 2020s in Minnesota and we know he will be a prospect based on his size, skill, and hands/feet for a young player. How his frame matures will let us know what level of player he is in the coming years.
When Calvin Wishart earns his next D1 offer this is the game I will go back to. 8 assists, 6 rbs, 9 pts. Oblivious to the Atlanta defenders
— Ryan James (@RyanJamesMN) July 14, 2017
The top D1 Minnesota players that we at Prep Hoops have firmly stamped their spot in college basketball at certain levels of division one basketball are Calvin Wishart and Shae Mitchell. Wishart is one of the state’s best point guards and he’s from Delano. Mitchell is a long and agile 6-foot-7 forward from Lakeville South.
D1 Minnesota defeated the Atlanta Celtics Friday morning and Calvin Wishart had one of the best games I’ve ever seen him play. Wishart put up 27/8/8 this year as a junior, we all know that he can put up numbers at the AAA level. This game wasn’t about numbers, it was about his handling of athletic ball pressure from start to finish and the opportunities Calvin created for teammates to make plays in space consistently.
Wishart can hit open shots and he can dribble separate quickly into his pull-up. Those abilities will serve him well at the next level. But to be the division one player at the lead guard spot it takes more than that. It takes the abilities that Wishart showed against Atlanta today.
The Celtics threw ball pressure defenders at Wishart all game long and Calvin was unfazed. He kept his head up, hard dribbled to wing entries or attacks and kicks, and teammates benefited with clean attempts at the arc or on the move all game.
Wishart totaled eight assists, chased down six boards, and made seven foul shots in the second half to put the game away. Wishart has a pair of scholarship offers but also interest from numerous schools at the low major level. Many of them were at the game today and we believe some of those programs will offer soon.
Shae Mitchell had a game high 18 points for D1 Minnesota. The 6-7 2018 forward has opened a lot of eyes. Hit 2 more threes, 4-5ft
— Ryan James (@RyanJamesMN) July 14, 2017
Shae Mitchell is a 6-foot-7 forward that has always had the potential which has brought him scholarship opportunity. So what has established him as a solid MAC, Summit, Horizon, etc level recruit as of late? Confidence.
Mitchell made three three-pointers in game one, another three in game two, and two more in game threes. His teammates have confidence in his shooting touch and Shae is catching and releasing expecting shots to fall. Mitchell is also playing defense with more activity, getting to 5-6 boards like he usually does at this level, and Shae is going at the rim harder off the ball.
At his size Mitchell can be a stretch four at the mid-major level if he continues to play with this type of confidence in himself. The agility and size are certainly there and the consistency has been there for a few months. Offers have come in Illinois State, Ball State, Drake, Drexel, and Northern Iowa over the past year and I would expect more schools will extend this coming week.