Top 250 Prep Hoops Expo: Underclassmen Standouts Part 3
The Twin Cities Top 250 Expo included many 2020/2021s talents of note. This is part three today of a three part series introducing young Minnesota talent.
Cooper Olson of Champlin Park (6-6, 2020). Olson is a strong young man with core strength and good agility. Was quick off his feet to collect and/or finish around the cup when he was there but also solid skill playing comfortable away from the cup. Matured young player that could find his way into a good spot in the Rebel program that needs a lot of new guys both on varsity and key JV spots.
Brice Peters of White Bear Lake (5’9, 2020). It didn’t take long for the first thought of “this is a tough young man” to be verbalized by a person next to me. Brice is a quick guard that seems ready to compete with anybody. Plays with a matureness in competition that likely will make him a good two or three sport athlete.
Noah Puetz of Marshall (6’5, 2020). Great size for a wing player and a pretty release as well, Puetz will be one of the bigger wings in southern Minnesota this year regardless if he plays varsity, JV, or both for Marshall. The Tigers have a lot of guys that are good low post players in the junior class at Noah’s size but our thought was that Noah would compliment them well with his touch.
Cayden Rickard of Moorhead (5’10, 2020). Love the way the ball comes out of Cayden’s hands and we may even love the way he moves without the basketball to collect and makes shots more. Has a very good dribble separation pair of moves into his stepback jumper that was softly made. A very smooth stroking player that is crafty in his ability to make plays.
Josh Scholoe of Sauk Rapids (6’5, 2020). Josh is more of an agile big with good feet, good hands, and moves better than other frontcourt players beating them to the glass. His natural ability will make him a useful talent immediately and when skill comes Josh will be even better.
Luke Schwartzhoff of La Crescent (6’5, 2020). Luke played varsity as a freshman and had some impressive outings as a young player. He was a name we had been earlier alerted to and we really liked how he used his length defensively and then also used that length to finish with both hands.
Daequan Smith of Mankato East (6-3, 2020). Strong and agile, Daequan played the role of a power forward this past weekend battling other players and using strength to win most battles. Finished at a high percentage often on balance because he was stronger than most he faced.
James Sommer of Cristo Rey (6-2, 2020). A quick pushing lead guard with a nice pull-up stroke off the dribble but equally as good with feet set. James is an agile player so he can finish near the rim as well as beat his man with a dribble separation move into space. Does a great job using ball screens and an equally good job finishing through contact with a soft touch. Should be a strong number playmaker this winter
JT Tinklenberg of Pipestone (6-0, 2020). A guard that had the maturity to play as a freshman, Tinklenberg is laterally very agile as a defender and his straight line run with the basketball produced high rising finishes that were tough for the defense to contest. Defended well, made few offensive mistakes.
Brendan Uhlenkamp of Paynesville (6’4, 2020). The first word though of when we saw Brendan and looked down to see what his name was, was “tough”. A young man that was smaller than some guys that guarded him but knew how to use leverage and his battle to find space and finish a fair share of his attempts.
Darren Watts of Miles Mac Collegiate (6-3, 2021). A wing from Canada that played a very smooth game knocking down shots, moving without the ball to space to catch and make the right choice, and using a smooth dribble to lift into his touch. Good size and length on the wing with range on his touch. Moves well too. A name from Winnipeg to watch, Darren wants to play hoops in the Midwest when he gets older.
Andrew Weisser of St. Cloud Cathedral (5-11, 2020). We saw Andrew a bit last winter but not much because he was a young guard playing up but this past weekend his skills and maturity of game look ready to play a reserve role for a Cathedral team that will be one of the Class AA state contenders.
Matthew Willert of Buffalo (6’2, 2020). Matt was one of the young Buffalo players that got experience on varsity and JV a year ago and grew over the summer. Matthew has grown a bit and the touch on his jumper against contesting hands was dropped in several times. Seems to be a player that could help Buffalo get back to where they want to be.
Tanner Ziegenhagen of Litchfield (5’7, 2020). In a strange way, Tanner had the look of a player that you just knew came from a place that teaches skills, toughness, and team basketball. His aggressive attack combined with the right decision making made Tanner popular with his teammates as did his fight to never allow an opponent to turn on him without a fight.