Jared’s Grassroots Finale: Stock Risers, What We Learned, and Thank You
The summer hoops season came to a close a couple weeks ago, and I’ve been trying to figure out how to sum up my thoughts into one place. Truth be told, I didn’t drop a lot of content from April to July, but I saw a lot of games and prospects, along with my first real introduction to the media side of basketball. With the increasing national visibility of Minnesota’s talent, more and more high-end teams, coaches and basketball personalities are showing their faces in the Minneapolis area. I traveled north, south, east and west to see the best talent this state has to offer, and I didn’t regret one second of it. Our mission here is to get prospects at all levels an opportunity to keep playing; here are five names that expanded my perceptions of them during the high school season.
-Josiah Strong (G, 6-2, Powerhouse MN/Champlin Park): A sharpshooting two-guard off the bench for the fantastic Rebel teams of the past two seasons, Strong can fill it up from outside quickly. With a changing of the guard as the class of 2017 departs, Strong will be asked to take charge of the Champlin offense. Can he carry that load? The answer is yes. His ballhandling ability is underrated and he is quick enough to get separation for creating shots. His leadership was a big part of Powerhouse’s stellar summer. Militaries and high-level D2s are all over him.
-Calvin Wishart (PG, 6-2, D1 MN/Delano): This guy is determined. He knows he can compete with the best of the best; Division I institutions are taking notice. Calvin is a floor general in every sense of the word and knows exactly when he needs to get to the rim or direct a teammate to it. He’s vocal, physical, and has finishing abilities like no other; I can’t wait to see him fight for a State Tournament berth, because he and his Delano squad deserve that high-end opportunity. Wishart will be a man on a mission this season.
-Eric Tiedman (F, 6-6, Fury Wilde/Jordan): Tiedman is a guy you love to play with and hate to play against. Not because he’s annoying, too loud or crazy; he’s actually none of those things. Eric has sneaky athleticism, scary-good composure, and a knack for being around the ball all the time. He can be called upon to lock down the opponent’s top player, go to work in the post, or beat his man on the perimeter for a layup. The calm, under-control style he plays with definitely attracted eyes, and he’s decided to join the NSIC and Augustana in 2018.
-Sam Vascellaro (SF, 6-4, Fury Antl/St. Thomas Academy): If there’s a word for this strong and fiery wing, it’s “gritty”. Vascellaro blossomed as a secondary scorer and distributor on a tight-knit Fury Antl team, and when I watched, usually led them in rebounding. Sam will give a thousand percent on the floor and can take care of whatever you put on his plate. Fellow NHR writer Matt Bigelow and I really enjoy his effort and the fact that there are very few holes in his game.
-Jordan Belka (SF, 6-6, Comets Servaty/Rogers): A quick synopsis of Belka’s skillset would tell you this: long, rangy stretch four whom you can’t leave open at the arc. Belka caught many off guard this spring when they learned they had to guard him off the dribble as well! His vision expanded as the season went on and he became a great passer with the ability to draw multiple defenders in the lane. Belka recently committed to Northern State, where he’ll join a collection of long Minnesota wings at a reputable NSIC school.
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To preface this reflection, I’ll give a glimpse of what the past eight months have been like on my end. I’m a journalism major at Bethel University, planning to enter the sportswriting field after college. I’ve been able to showcase my writing ability for this network and have reached various audiences. That’s the fun part for me, connecting with others through my medium. Interacting with fans, players, coaches, and anyone who cares to talk high school basketball… that’s the most rewarding part of what I do for Prep Hoops. I invite you to pick my brain on the Minnesota prep basketball scene, because I’ll most likely be able to give you an opinion.
I was covered as a prospect by Northstar Hoops Report in high school, just barely two years ago. I didn’t play AAU until my 17U season. Nobody knew me. This platform allowed me to be seen. To have a shot. High school season was my pride and joy; I LOVED my high school team. And I didn’t want that to be my last basketball experience. NHR helped me find a fit after high school. Little did I know that I’d be a part of the Prep Hoops mission so quickly. I’m forever grateful to the Minnesota basketball community as a former player and now as a writer, doing for prospects of today the exact same thing that was done for me yesterday.
If there’s one thing I learned in my first year as a writer, it’s this: you won’t be perfect right away (or ever, for that matter). You have to take your lumps. That means making mistakes and learning from them. Mentors and advisers have come to the forefront throughout my time here, and those people have given me immense confidence and encouragement to work on the things I need improvement on. It’s a never-ending process, always finding new ways to get better. That goes for anything you choose to do.
To conclude, I gotta say a huge thank you to everyone who made my first full coverage season at Prep Hoops a success. That means all the mentors and other contributors around the network, supportive friends and family, and all the players, coaches and fans around Minnesota who make all this fun possible. I love this job. Let’s have a ton of fun on the next go-round. See you soon!
-Jared