17U Run Through: Minnesota Select
This year’s group of Minnesota Select basketball players are a true Minnesota group with players from all parts of the state, and one from Wisconsin. This bunch will be in the SPTS and NY2LA league.
The Metro. Three of the Select players are from the metro, and they are from all parts of the metro. From the inner city is 6-foot-4 Luke Barnes who was one of the top three scorers for Minneapolis Roosevelt. Barnes scored 8.4 points per game shooting 45 percent from the floor and 60 percent from the foul line. Barnes grabbed six rebounds a game and blocked 2.4 shots a night.
From the north metro Select has 6-foot-5 Brendan Kauls who plays at Mounds View. Kauls scored 8.5 points per game for the Mustangs as their second leading scorer. From the south metro Select has 6-foot-3 Mark Possis of Apple Valley who was the only non-senior to play some rotation minutes this year.
Northern Minnesota. Select’s two players from the north are Trey Hoepner of Alexandria and Karsten Broadley of Fosston. A five-foot-11 guard, Hoepner put up 14.8 points, 2.7 assists, and three rebounds per game for Alexandria. Hoepner is a dependable guard that can score as well and will give Select a ball handler. Then you have Broadley who is an agile, long 6-foot-6 forward who has an offer from Minnesota-Crookston.
Winona. The Winhawks fell below their expectations this winter and now they have something to prove as 17u players. Select doesn’t have quite as many Winona players this year, but they have the two best returning players Jake Reeck and Bradley Winters. At 6-foot-2 Jake Reeck scored 16 points per game earning all conference honors while the 6-foot-6 Winters gave his team a dozen a night.
Southern Minnesota. Malik Willingham of Waseca is the main name on this team and the guy they will look to for consistent big numbers. Malik led Waseca to a 26-4 season and was consistently ranked with the best teams in Class AAA before falling to Mankato East in sections. Willingham scored 20 points per game and led his team to a better year than anybody expected them to have.
If Malik is the the main scoring option, Jacob Weber is the main sleeper to watch. Weber is 6-foot-3 and has a toughness/confidence factor to his game that this team will need. Weber scored 17 points per game with six rebounds a contest for Pine Island.
Wisconsin. You could say that Landon Bilse of Hudson is a metro guy as Hudson is pretty much a Twin Cities suburb, it just has a border separating river that keeps it from officially being a metro school. Bilse gave Hudson 11.4 points per game this winter and is a 5-foot-11 guard.