Adidas Prospect Series: 17u Top Performers
The Adidas Prospect Series drew an abundance of college coaches to the Twin Cities on Saturday. Who impressed? The names are many and Prep Hoops runs you through them now.
Cole Anderson of Heat Johnson. This feels almost like an introduction as Cole had an incredible Saturday night draining five threes including a late game dagger and several other cutting scores including a late And1. Anderson put 33 points on the board by our count and did it in a way that you have to think he can give something to the Lakeville North backcourt after they graduated so much. Anderson is a 6-foto-2 wing who will be a senior.
Kade Amundson of ECI Prospects. The 6-foot-6 Bismarck forward is shooting the ball with more confidence and finishing against contact better than he was in the spring. At the GPA and here in the Prospect Series Amundson has lifted his level of play including 22 points in the first game Saturday morning. Is shooting with better percentages from distance.
Jayce Archambault of ECI Prospects. When you spend a lot of time watching basketball some players just become favorites to watch and Jayce is one of those guys. When he’s in space he is going to shoot the ball, period. And that’s okay because the percentages of success are usually favorable for his team. We feel Jayce is going to have a massive season in Class B this year and be one of the best players in the state.
Jamison Battle of D1 Minnesota 16s. Battle scored 17 points using his shot at the arc to finish, his one dribble smooth pull-up into a soft extending release to make shots, and his length extended around the basket to make plays. He earned his second D1 offer on Saturday (from UND) and it came because Battle is all of 6-foot-7 as a wing and he has a beautiful scoring touch.
JaVonni Bickham of Grassroots Suggs. Bickham and Markell Aune of the Grassroots UAA team joined up with several from another Grassroots squad to play this weekend and JaVonni nearly carried his team to an overtime win late Saturday night. The Heat kids were simply not able to stop his forceful one dribble attack to the front of the rim so he scored there, and after he was fouled (foul line makes). Bickham finished a game winning lob to send the game into overtime and few bigs have his ability to softly finish after a dribble. Denver had a pair of assistants looking at this game among others.
Andrew Christianson of ECI Prospects. He was moved up from the Select team for the weekend and that moved paid off in a big way Saturday night. Andrew took a close game against Powerhouse White and turned it into an ECI victory by hitting five three-pointers (four in the second half) to turn the game on its head. Andrew is a firecracker so he was excited and his team followed along with the energy. Andrew had 21 points in a big moment for him.
Dain Dainja of D1 Minnesota. He had some foul issues that annoyed him as this was likely one of the first games where he was smacked without a whistle so frustration came but as the game went on two things happened: Dain learned from this physical game and he competed at a high level. Dainja led his team with eight physical rebounds and scored in the post physically for three scores. I really liked the way he responded to the physical battle.
Kemal Hajric of ECI Select. In the last three years we have likely seen Kemal play about nine or ten games with Select. In each and every one of them he was the toughest guy on the floor and nobody out-worked him. Kemal had 16 points and six rebounds in a tough loss yesterday as his motor never stopped running. He’s very competitive and players feed off his energy.
Joseph Hedstrom of Comets Elite Lewis. The Comets went to Hedstrom early and often against a long armed Rise defender as well their powerful 6-foot-6 big. Hedstrom had near perfect results with deep post finishes. His move on the high block backing down his man with a dribble and then turning middle for a short hook was textbook. Hedstrom touched the ball in great position deep to score over each shoulder early and also ran the floor to receive and finish a pair of times. Scored on seven of eight attempts plus made his foul shots for his 18 points in front of Richard Pitino and a host of mids and lows that are hoping Pitino nor any other high major will offer Hedstrom.
Matthew Hurt of D1 Minnesota. With Roy Williams watching and Louisville as well as Indiana looking on Hurt took a physical beating and still made all but two shots on Saturday as WOTN looked to be very rough with him whenever they could. All six of Matt’s makes were finished through contact before he was put on the deck. Tough? I would say so because the hits to the chest and core came and Matt went right through them to finish plays.
Robert Jones of D1 Minnesota 16s. Jones is the top center prospect in the 2019 Minnesota class and he showed some signs of why on Saturday. At 6-foot-8 or 6-foot-9 Jones runs well and that puts him ahead of the curve already. He’s also quick off his feet and become more fluid in the post by the day. Had a dozen points doing a great job with his rim run and I loved how comfortable he was with the spin move. He’s working on that left and when it comes it will take his game to a whole new atmosphere.
Trevor Kaiser of Comets Elite Lewis. You get from him what you expect. Consistency and smart play with some shooting in there of course. One of the best passers on the team both in terms of intelligence of how to move the ball as well as timing of post entries. He’s also a knockdown shooter and a tough kid. U of Mary recently offered and had three schools watching.
Jappanah Kellogg of D1 Minnesota 16s. Yesterday the Ames, Iowa native had a nasty two hand jam off a drop step right through a body. That had all in the gym asking, who is that? It’s Mr. Kellogg coming up from Iowa and this is a 6-foot-6 wing with a super load of athletic potential. We only saw him score twice yesterday but with Kellogg everything is about the potential he has to be a great prospect.
Tyler Lewko of WOTN. Hit double figures against D1 Minnesota’s frontcourt using his length to extend on the move. Most impressive was the way Lewko finished through contact getting his arms through the mass and touching in scores. Hit a jumper, made foul shots, and competed consistently.
Anders Nelson of D1 Minnesota. Nelson hit two huge shots that put away WOTN for good. The WOTN kids got down, and then would battle back. But the throat stepping came from Nelson who moved clear of his defender once with as screen and other time with a left to right crossover to drill the game clinching threes. U of Sioux Falls was one of the key notables watching Nelson.
Cole Nicholson of D1 Minnesota 16s. When I watch Cole I think so many labels can apply. Let’s start with tough and consistent, and you can blend them together if you want to make consistently tough. The skill is there as Cole is good with a dribble versus forwards and he has an extending touch. Has the body of a tight end so he can physically battle as well.
Uhana Ochan of D1 Minnesota Rise. His vertical bounce and punishing finishes are some of the best around. He’s seriously on the highest level of explosive finishes and if some of those video guys were running around when he was playing, he would be all over social media. Yesterday he had three dunks nearly in a minute and all were highlight reels in their early morning win. Ochan is also built like a young college player and his extremely long arms and work ethic makes up for his 6-foot-6 size inside.
Bryce Phillips of WOTN. Bryce earned a lot of respect on Saturday for the way he competed with Anders Nelson and Calvin Wishart. He forced turnovers, scored in double figures, but most importantly competed in a very physical way backing down from nobody. He’s a top 75 level player in this state for sure but he earned more respect with the toughness he showed. Gave scholarship guards a tough day and everybody left the gym respecting his effort.
Joe Pistorius of ECI Prospects. If his feet are set anything inside of the volleyball line has a good chance to go in. Joe has proved that over and over again the last few years. Had three treys in his team’s sweet 16 win last night including a big make just before the half from about 28 feet.
Mitchell Plombon of Comets Elite Lewis. Yesterday was like an athletic display for Mitchell as D1 Rise couldn’t stop the Comets from getting Plombon the ball in scoring positions on sets and Mitchell either threw down powerfully with his quick bounce or he touched in shots around the basket leaving his feet to complete before the defense could react.
Griffin Sage of Powerhouse White. He’s consistent. Playing with the Powerhouse White team has allowed Griffin to showcase his ability as a consistent shooter and scorer. Sage will end up playing at a good college because he consistently shoots the lights out (every time I’ve watched anyway) and he’s pretty good moving off the ball for active scores as well.
Parker Stenseth of ECI Select. Parker made several all tournament teams this year and he’s continuing his excellent all around play this spring and summer in the Twin Cities. What is he doing well? It starts with how hard he is competing. Parker is fighting for rebounds consistently at 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-5 on a smaller team. He is also finishing in several ways using a soft touch on the move, putbacks, and a good feet set mid-range game to make plays. He runs the floor hard and does a lot of good work in transition completing the initial break of following it up to complete. Hard working player.
Matt Todd of Comets Elite Lewis. Yesterday was the most toughness I’ve seen from him and it made an impact. Todd hit the ground hard on a shot attempt when he tried to extend and was knocked off balance when fouled. This just made him angry so he gave examples of the best ball pressure I’ve ever seen from him. He was also locked in offensively scoring on three shots at the arc, a couple pull-ups, transition full speed attacks, and he moved the ball to teammates to complete. One of the best games I’ve seen him play. North Dakota and NDSU were some of the several notables watching Matt.
Marcell Winston of Heat Johnson. We are aware of all the talent that Coon Rapids lost from their best team in years but Winston is a player that the Cards will have that will be good this year. He started the game with an array of perimeter jumpers and then moved to the basket to complete his near 20 point night. Winston is a 6-foot-4 small forward with length.
Calvin Wishart of D1 Minnesota. I have no idea how he can see through that thick mask on his face protecting a broken bone but he still managed to open the game with WOTN hitting three treys and some foul shots. WOTN competed with D1 Minnesota but they were knocked on their heels right away by the early Wishart onslaught. Lots of schools were there watching Wishart as they decided on if they will pull the trigger on an offer. Teams like USD, NDSU, Ohio, Nebraska-Omaha, and others (this was just a sampling of who was there).