Five Things to Know: 4AAAA Semi-Finals
East Ridge and Cretin-Derham Hall earned their way to the 4AAAA section finals last night with wins over St. Paul Central and Tartan respectively. NHR was in the building taking in all the action. Your Turn, Our Turn. East Ridge…
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Continue ReadingEast Ridge and Cretin-Derham Hall earned their way to the 4AAAA section finals last night with wins over St. Paul Central and Tartan respectively. NHR was in the building taking in all the action.
Your Turn, Our Turn. East Ridge lacked offensive patience in the first half and with every miss, every quick attack not leading to production the Central Minutemen pushed the pace for open floor scores. Coach Tesdahl, not pleased. Then the Raptors turned a one point halftime deficit into a 12 point, 64-52 lead. It wasn’t a poor performance from the Raptors as Central is a very good team that won the Twin Cities Championship. It was just a slow start that eventually basketball IQ infused athletically gifted dominance. When the Raptors controlled the pace high percentage shots came the way of Carlson around the basketball, to Patrick Lynott and Courtney Brown Jr threes (three each), and Kendall Brown attacks. Carlson had a double-double of 22 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks on his way to an 11 of 20 shooting game. Ben was the biggest factor in the game as Central had no player with the size to counter him. And really no player can counter the combination of athleticism, skill, and size of Kendall Brown who scored 13 points on 11 shots with seven boards and five assists. Kendall is very unique and that is why he is a top 10-20 level player nationally in the sophomore class.
Respect the Jumper! “Every time I’m in the gym he hits four threes” the guy next to me said. “Every time I see him he hits at least four” the other guys said. “Same for me most of the time”, I said referring to Courtney Brown Jr. I have no idea what his percentages are from the arc but I can promise you that Brown is a 40 percent three-point shooter for the 20 times that I’ve seen him play in the past 12 months (for Pulley and East Ridge), and the same goes for the people I talk to. Respect the jumper of Courtney Brown Jr people, or you will pay for it.
Antwan Kimmons, Ready on Day 1. Idaho State went 13-18 this year. I firmly believe Antwan Kimmons will push his future college team to a better than that at least three of the four future seasons. Kimmons takes two massive steps forward every time I see him. Last year Kimmons was that top 20 junior that is very good, but at his size I wondered “does he have all the explosion and the skill to make a push higher?” This summer with Howard Pulley Kimmons grabbed my attention the second half of the year when he was dogging EYBL guards with ball pressure and running the Luv halfcourt offense with efficiency creating wide open shots routinely. Last summer I thought “he’s a sure D1 guard” especially after seeing him in the Breakdown events. But my three (and a half) viewings of Tartan viewings of Tartan this year sold me that he is an entire different level of player. Top ten in the state, top ten for the Mr. Basketball race, and a steal for Idaho State. And after watching Kimmons defend, use his first step to explode past all in a CDH uniform, and score 41 points for the Titans in his last game I know believe that Kimmons is going to be a special player for Idaho State. The steal of all steals.
The Touch of Change. Jaeden King is a very talented shooter. The type of guy that can take a one score game, and a minute later it’s a four score game or double figure game. He has that type of confidence and range with the shooting touch. Sure, sometimes have that “oh not that one Jaed.. YES! Good shot” feeling but in the end it’s commonly worked out for CDH. King had 27 against the Titans last night and hit at least three clutch shots including the score that put them up 72-58 with about three minutes to go. Big time shooters can change any game and last night King’s touch stunted several Tartan momentum charges.
Names To Know. I feel like there are several names from last night that deserve some mention so here is the list:
- Tartan senior forward M’Akil Weems is some raw talent, some worker edge, and some explosion to him that has me very curious. Still needs some refining but with some underclassmen seasoning he can help a college program.
- Tartan’s future will still be solid. Langston Binns was knocking down shots last night on his way to 18 points (he will be a senior next year), Dorian Singer scored 11 a game this season as a sophomore, and Joseph Kearney will step into the lead scoring role for the team. A nice trio returning.
- Big fan of Amari Carter going forward. A top CDH defender who knocked down some crucial perimeter jumpers. His shooting touch has taken a big step forward and he could be one of the true sleepers of this 17u season.
- How about Ben Gallaher having his senior moment? The corner jumper he made brought all the Raiders to their feet and left Tartan feeling helpless. Ben played some big minutes last night especially when King’s leg was bothering him.
- I’m a big fan of what this St. Paul Central group has done. A 20+ game winner this year that played a strong non-league schedule, they ended their year beating a good White Bear Lake team and giving the Raptors a run. Davonte Davis and Dion Ford are the cornerstones while Ronnell Porter and Luke McElroy joined through the years and added two more very important pieces. McElroy grabbed nine boards last night, Porter had six assists, and Davonte & Dion combined for 30 points.