Lessons from Hazen Summer League Tourney
Flasher won the Hazen Summer League tourney Sunday night, which was an all-day double-elimination tournament. Players had to be strong with the ball and chin rebounds at the tournament. If players had soft hands or went into the lane hoping for a bailout, it never came. Some kids struggled with the physicality and others adjusted quickly. Below are some tournament notes on the teams at the tournament.
Region 5 Teams
Garrison — Garrison was at their best running high-low concepts. They have some size with 6-4 big man Jonah Larson. The Hazen Summer League Tourney showed us Garrison is at their best operating through Larson in the high post.
New Salem-Almont — New Salem-Almont looked like they will be a good team. Senior Evan Henke plays a point-forward role. He can handle the ball, bang inside and has a soft touch outside. Junior Tayden Soupir played his best basketball slashing to the hoop. Soupir is great at side-stepping defenders and Euro-stepping. Overall, New Salem was one of the better inside-outside teams at the tournament.
Washburn — Washburn probably played the truest version of motion offense at the tournament. They created space and took advantage. Sometimes they got sped up and lost flow. Tate Bertolotto was their best offensive weapon. The senior guard got into the lane often and created problems. If they keep improving on understanding their motion concepts they’ll be tough to guard man-to-man.
Region 7 Teams
Glen Ullin/Hebron — They made the tourney finals and seem much improved from last year. Braden Zuroff, senior forward, looked impressive. He was highly effective crashing the boards and driving. He also showed he can knock down the set jumper. Bray Fox is stepping in as head coach, which means he’ll bring the 2-3 zone defense with him that he uses with Glen Ullin-Hebron’s girls. We learned this team is athletic and more polished than last year.
Hazen — Didn’t have a spectacular showing. They showed spurts of potential but their biggest challenge is shot selection and working the ball around. Sometimes they rely too heavily on 1 on 1 play. Isaac Doll, Garrett Ward, and Jayce Zuern showed they will be Hazen’s top scoring options. But big man Austin Richter showed he can be a contributor by running the floor, blocking shots and rebounding. Still a lot of question marks with this team. We learned they have potential but they have to take better percentage shots more consistently.
Beulah — Trey Brandt and Shaye Yeager showed they are ready to step right into Beulah’s starting lineup. Brandt will have to work a little bit more on picking his spots to attack and Yeager has to extend his jump shot range but those two look ready to go. The big question for Beulah wasn’t answered. No one showed they were ready to step up as a role player and provide depth. We know Chad Morsette, Brandt and Yeager will bring it but they’ll need some others to step up to get back to state this year.
Killdeer — They didn’t have a great showing. They were missing Daylon Denks, their best shooter. Kacen Gartner showed a quick first step. Killdeer struggled on offense and it looks like they’ll struggle this year scoring the ball.
Tournament Champs
Flasher — Flasher went unbeaten at the Hazen Summer League and won the tournament. They did the small things right; working the ball around, defending, shooting good shots and executing their out of bounds plays. They’ve got some size and guard play, which will allow them to match up fine against most teams. Watch out for this team, they didn’t have any seniors last year and the biggest thing they showed at summer league was hunger. They are a hungry team who’s not going to stop competing.
Hunter Frederick and Cody Ruscheinsky can score in the post and Brett Gabrielson can knock down the 3-ball. They also had the most depth at the tournament.
https://prephoops.com/2018/07/hazen-summer-league-2018-preview-players-to-watch/