Breakdown Tip Off: More Main Floor Standouts
The Breakdown Tip Off is a full day of basketball so today at NHR we continue to run Minnesota through players that stood out last Saturday starting with St. Thomas guard Jack Thompson.
Jack Thompson of St. Thomas Academy. I was recently asked what makes Jack different from other guards that are similar to him in size and quickness and my reaction to that question was “his comfort with the ball, feel for the other nine on the floor, and vision of where others are” set him apart plus I think Thompson’s body control and quickness are a higher level than some others that are in his area of size and position. Jack had 19 against Osseo.
Joey Ganley of Breck. Joey has grown to 6-foot-3 and is scoring over 14 a game this year as a junior. At Breck a lot of the offense has ran through David Roddy in the high post area and a talent like David brings defensive attention. Ganley did an outstanding job Saturday of moving off the ball for scores at the rim and touches around the arc to support Roddy and his team, as well as to score his 19 for the game. Nice player to go with Roddy and usually the team has double figure scorers Jefferson Slocum and Josh Roddy to help but both were taking the ACTs during last weekend’s game with Perham.
Beau Bailey of Lakeville South. Let’s put it all on the table with Mr. Bailey. This is a 6-foot-4 wing with some athleticism to him and some skill that was always apparent. But in watching him in the past it was a guy who just doesn’t seem to apply himself much at all or work hard enough possession by possession. So at some point early this summer I wrote him off. Enter this fall at the Top 250 Expo. Beau showed up at the event and aggressively shot the ball in live action, plus in the skill drills his form and percentage of making shots looked really good. Now Beau is out here playing with confidence, hitting shots, and looks like a prospect that schools should be calling on. Had 19 against JM this weekend.
Jamison Battle of DeLaSalle. Battle has a chemistry with Tyrell Terry and that chemistry almost led to a win over Hopkins. Battle moved off the ball to get feet set and hands up to score 75 percent of his 24 points at the arc (Battle made six treys). Hopkins is playing more agile size in Dane Zimmer and Zeke Nnaji up front than Joe Hedstrom but that agile size didn’t help them any in locating Battle who broke from from the Hopkins players for several points at the arc anyway. Jamison’s 6-foot-7 frame and long arms lead to a soft release that few can contest.
Jarvis Omersa and Colton Codute of Orono. I think what we saw from Jarvis this weekend was a guy that was moving well off the basketball, a guy that put in the effort to chase down loose balls and long boards, and a guy that continues to progress. Playing Daniel Oturu and Sy Chatman a lot had to come from Jarvis as he’s the only Orono player with size. Jarvis put up 18 and 14 although the length gave him some issues. But he gave CDH issues with his hustle plays and a doing a few things that people that don’t see him much didn’t expect. Like attack the rim and finish and acrobatic lay-up after a spin move mid-lane. Or going coast to coast to finish.
Colton went head to head with Ryan Larson and I would say he held his own quite strongly. Codute’s ability to playmake this weekend was taken to another level. He had a four point play where he jumped at the arc, was hit by a CDH player, and then released for a four point play. There was also a pair of And1 scores that Colton was hit and acrobatically finished and a couple gorgeous assists on the move to cutters. Colton had 17 points and seven assists.
Trejuan Holloman of Minneapolis North. Trejuan is a grade eight standout that scored a dozen points against Apple Valley. I think what I marvel at the most with Holloman is his confidence, his feel, and his aggressive approach at such a young age. One would think a player in middle school would not have the poise and composure to deal with things at this level (crowd, physically bigger players, varsity coaching, officiating, etc) but Holloman does. What Holloman becomes is still up in the air but so far what we have seen, Trejuan has a chance to be very special .