Five Things to Know: Noah Kannegiesser & The Target Center
Hancock defeated Renville County West 87-62 led by senior guard Noah Kannegiesser and his 45 points. The win was at Target Center and Noah put on a show in front of everyone in attendance Saturday.
One. Noah Dominates. With 45 points, seven assists, seven rebounds, and six steals, Noah Kannegiesser played completely at a different level than RCW who is a traditionally tough squad hovering around .500. RCW has a really nice frontcourt but didn’t have the guards to deal with Noah who stole the show with his open floor dunks, crafty And1 finishes, and numerous soft touching three pointers. The win improved the Owls to 9-1 on the season and pushed Noah closer to the 40 points per game he’s been averaging this season.
Two. Speed and Soft Touch. The two things that Noah showed me he had that I dind’t realize were a gorgeous touch finishing in many ways and the speed to get to spots that I didn’t know he could accelerate to. Starting with the shooting touch, the softness as to which Noah releases a shot with feet set or moving off a screen to catch and hit is something I didn’t expect. Noah is so quick to get off his feet to square and hit that he has time to see the rim after a good bounce and softly touch in shots before the defender could contest his shot. Also, his passing lane jumps into transition attacks as well Noah’s corner turn to the basket, this is something I completely did not expect. Kannegiesser has a speed with the ball I hadn’t seen from him in 17U games with his Comets team.
Three. College Level. There are players that simply have a scoring feel and Noah is one of those guys. The numbers Noah has put up prove that and he is a more explosive athlete/scorer than many believe he is plus he’s a better athlete than people know. So what level could he play at? In my opinion Noah would be an excellent scorer at the MIAC level and a no brainer for NAIA schools to offer. At the D2 level he would be a player I would certainly look at as a partial scholarship guy in some way and U of Mary is ahead of the game on that. This young man has a great playmaking feel and is a better athlete than people know. Noah is listed at 5-foot-11 in the Breakdown book, looks to be about six feet tall.
Four. Other Players. Six foot five Nathan Serbus put up 18 points and 13 rebounds for RCW as he’s a strong frontcourt player that you would look at as a future college offensive lineman with great hands and feet. RCW did a great job getting the ball to Serbus on balance around the rim and easily finishing. Long armed 6-foot-3 junior Justin Schrupp hit five threes for RCW in the loss. Connor Reese also had ten points a game for Hancock.
Five. The Target Center. Getting a chance to play at the Target Center is something I think many teams should look at. Matt Bare and the Wolves do a great job of giving the kids a great experience. The kids play on the Wolves floor, sit on their bench, the Wolves Public Address announcer gives the players a fantastic starting line-up announcement, and they go all out for the kids and their fans. It’s a fun experience to cover these games as well so I surely want to give Matt and his team a nice tip of the cap.