The Top Vegas Performers from NHR’s 17U top Ten
Northstar Hoops in Las Vegas as are the top 17U teams in the state of Minnesota. We’ve seen all of our top ten compete in Vegas, so who is standing out so far?
Howard Pulley.
The Standout. Gabe Kalscheur. The recently committed to Minnesota shooter seems to be playing freely and shooting with more comfort. NHR has taken in a couple of his games and he’s hit seven threes and scored 35 points in those games.
Who is Watching… Richard Pitino, Coach K, Steve Alford, and Andy Irsfield have been constants at the games of Tre Jones. Minnesota, Duke, UCLA, USC, are four of his five schools on him. Tre had an impressive down hill attack game getting him to the line for ten foul shot makes and 20 plus points against Houston Hoops.
Extra. The three Gopher commits (Kalscheur, Jarvis Thomas, and Daniel Oturu) combined for 45 tonight in beating Houston Hoops. Courtney Brown is playing better, David Roddy keeps hitting shots, and Sy Chatman is a name many local D1 programs keep mentioning.
D1 Minnesota.
The Standout. Calvin Wishart. Some guys settle in in July, some fall apart, and some step forward. Wishart is one that is without a doubt stepping forward. He’s shooting the ball well from the arc, attacking high major athletes and getting buckets, and handling big pressure and still getting the ball where it needs to be.
Who is Watching… Matthew Hurt is also having a huge Vegas trip and he’s doing this in front of Richard Pitino (Minnesota), Coach K (Duke), Roy Williams (North Carolina), and Mike Brey (Notre Dame) plus we’ve seen assistants from Kansas, Kentucky, and Louisville regularly among other programs. Matt has had double-double like numbers every game.
Extra. Shae Mitchell had a big shooting game tonight scoring 14. He’s played with more confidence and when his game is on Shae is giving this team a key third/fourth scoring option on the floor.
Powerhouse MN.
The Standout. Michael Schaefer. We could pick a lot of guys here but I went with Michael because when I was in the building I saw a forward who is being asked to play center and doing it with all out effort. Michael rebounded extremely hard and gave his team needed possession. Several Powerhouse players did well as they went 3-0 to win their pool.
Who is Watching… Before a senseless injury where Jarius Cook attacked the basket and was clipped to the floor and will miss games, Jarius has had NDSU, Idaho, Northern Iowa, Ohio, UWGB, and others watching.
Extra. Colton Codute is the life force of this squad a lot of the times. Anthony Davis consistently gets his numbers in the frame work. What Both Gach did in the open floor last night was fun to watch. The way moves in front of the pack and then rises to the rim is special.
Minnesota Comets.
The Standout. Nathan Rund. Rund is playing about as well as any combo guard in the state right now. Rund’s jumper is falling off catch and hits as well as one dribble pull-ups after a fake. He’s very selective though with his shots but making a high percentage. Love how he’s passing the ball as well.
Who is Watching…Big Joe Hedstrom has double figure D1 offers and reps from those schools are consistently at his games. Western Michigan, South Dakota, Bucknell, North Dakota State, Loyola, and others have been watching as have high major programs. Wisconsin’s Greg Gard has watched Joe three games, Purdue has watched three games, and Minnesota continues to see a couple games a well. Boise State also had multiple coaches watching Joe including their head coach today. Joe had 20 last night and 16 this afternoon simply scoring everything inside.
Extra. Mitchell Plombon is shooting confidently right now and his offense is on the way up. It’s carried over from last weekend. Love the way Matt Todd put his opponent away tonight with the perfect passes to opens scorers.
Fury Wilde.
The Standout. The Defense. You can pretty much throw the entire team here. I think this team plays better team defense than any 17u team I’ve seen and that is why they have now hit the 40 win mark. Jake Phipps is better on defense than I know, Spencer Rolland is maybe the best big moving on screens in the state, Eric Tiedman always battles, Drew Galinson is well schooled that way, and we could keep going.
Who is Watching…, Northern Iowa’s Ben Jacobson and assistants, Drake Head Coach Niko Medved and assistants, and assistants from Davidson have been the most common. Weber State, UWGB, Lehigh (recently offered), Dartmouth, and others were also there to watch Jones score 19 this morning.
Extra. Jake Phipps, this Anoka big is always tough to score over but he’s also improved in his low post defensive help and in moving his feet defending ball screens. Aidan Doherty is an interesting prospect who moves very well and has length that people don’t realize.
WOTN.
The Standout. WOTN finished 29-12 and ended the season last weekend with a nice win over MN Select.
Who is Watching…NHR was watching them close as they have pushed to sixth in state.
Extra. Bryce Phillips finished the year on a high note and I think it’s going to help the attention he gets from schools.
Select Ohnstad.
The Standout. Luke Martens. This is a guy that just got his Winona State offer and I feel like more could come. Luke is tough, he defends better than just about anybody in the state, his three point percentage is on the way up (hit five this morning), and he’s shown he can be a clutch player.
Who is Watching…This morning St. John’s and Minot State were at the Select game likely seeing Luke as well as several others. Cire Mayfield’s speed is one thing that has people enticed. We have seen St. Cloud State, Minnesota State-Mankato, U of Mary, Minot State, and Augustana in this week so many have likely been by Select games.
Extra. Garett Maag is simply fun to watch finish at the rim. Nick Fulford is going to have a huge year at Waconia, we like how he finishes off the Select bench.
43 Hoops.
The Standout. Deundra Roberson. We’ve heard of some massive scoring games from the Columbia Heights guard and today we witnessed it as Roberson was on a constant fast break run out for dunks or acrobatic And1 completions. His ball pressure completely scared his Colorado opponents.
Who is Watching… We saw some coaches watching this game but they were unfamiliar initials on the shirts. More schools should be watching Robertson and Wendell Matthews, we can say that.
Extra. Wendell Matthews often faces bigs that either are too big to move with him so Wendell’s jump is too quick for them or he moves past them. Against smaller teams they have no chance as Wendell just pogo sticks over them.
Fury Antl.
The Standout. We only saw a small portion of their game this week but we know they’ve won their latest game 78-72 over a team from Tucson. This is a team that came to Vegas having beaten Powerhouse, Select Ohnstad, and Fury Wilde this year.
Who is Watching…Max Bjorklund has NSIC programs very curious. He’s had about four different programs check in on him and a host of MIAC schools hoping he comes to them. St. Cloud State, Minnesota State-Mankato, U of Mary, Minot State, and Augustana are teams around Vegas watching Fury, Comets, Select, Powerhouse, and likely Fury Antl as well.
Extra. Manny Jingco has been a highly respected name this 17u season and now we keep hearing he is moving to Forest Lake which should make them very tough.
Grassroots Sizzle.
The Standout. JaVonni Bickham. Teams in 17U keep playing zone and they continue to fall in a trap of Jalen Suggs drawing the defense forward and then Grassroots finding Bickham who continually destroys other bigs with a one dribble attack from the high post. We’ve seen JaVonni play three times in the last six days and he scored 46 points in those three games with most being attacks to the cup. Bickham is too strong to knock off balance so he consistently finishes.
Who is Watching…Jalen Suggs recovered from ankle issues to come back and score 16 points today leading the Sizzle to a 3-1 record so far in the Fab 48. Coaches from Minnesota, Wake Forest, UCLA, Iowa State, Georgia Tech, UNLV, Memphis, Kentucky, Kansas, and others have been seen watching Suggs.
Extra. Tayler Johnson’s consistent scoring has been talked about a lot. We’ve also seen Damani Hayes defend some excellent players this week and limit them.