Hard Work Live: Sunday
Big Wins. Big Names. Big Performances. It was all apart of a continuing weekend of excitement at the Hard Work Live event in Madison. And Kobe Busch leads off our top performers list along with big men Jacob Jennissen and Andrew Morgan.
Kobe’s Touch = Opportunity
Kobe Busch is a 6-foot-5 wing with a competitive edge that many players don’t have. When the kids from Ohio closed out on Kobe in a panic knocking Busch to the floor did it matter? Nope. It just added a free throw to the South Dakota Attack scoreboard. That make was followed by a Damian Lillard range three that had all the young players watching on the sidelines jumping around.
Why is Kobe shooting from Lillard range? Because he had just made three treys in the previous five minutes of game action. Add in the three triples from the first half and you have seven for the game, and 26 points total.
Busch’s seven three pointers made in a game isn’t big simply because it’s seven threes. It’s big because Busch has been almost just as hot in the previous seven games played in the past nine days. The South Dakota Attack is 9-0 on the year with an impressive list of victories and Busch has hit three more treys in just about every one of those games.
The division two schools in South Dakota have been aware of the Kobe Busch size, his edge, and his potential as a big scoring wing for years. That’s why the schools offered him quickly. The opportunity shouldn’t stop there. Busch is good enough to pick up about four or five more D2 offers and the division one schools will come calling. Nobody cares where edgy shooters come from, they just care that they can make shots and compete. Kobe Busch can make shots and compete in bunches.
Jacob JennissenJacob Jennissen Goes for 25 at the Right Time
Sunday morning basketball in Madison drew Northern Iowa Head Coach Ben Jacobson to the baseline along with George Washington, Drake, UWGB, and others. The main target? Six-foot-11 2020 Jacob Jennissen and the Matrix center from Sauk Centre delivered.
Jennissen not only scored 25 points but he did it on 10 of 13 shooting plus grabbed eight rebounds and blocked five shots. College coaches often hope to see a big that is as big as listed (check), that runs the floor well (check), that has the potential to add good weight (check), has a touch (check), competes, and has good hands. In that victory over Full Package, Jennissen showed that he had all those qualities.
What was most impressive is that Jacob scored on the touches he received on the block turning over a shoulder, maintaining balance, and completing with touch. His point total wasn’t built there though, it was built by Jacob rim running in transition catching and scoring. And it was built with Jacob’s effort to get to the offensive glass to score on second chances.
The game that Jacob Jennissen had Sunday morning at Hard Work Live on the Prep Hoops Circuit is the type of showing that creates college opportunities.
Andrew Morgan, Get Your Tickets Early
Andrew MorganAndrew Morgan looks and plays like a future Big Ten power forward. At 6-foot-8, strong, and agile, he dominated the 16 and Under level of competition in Madison including a 28 point performance against South Dakota Attack. Morgan scored on 11 of 16 field goal attempts and 6 of 7 foul shots. Throw in a dozen rebounds and it was a regular day’s work for one of the hottest recruiting names in the Midwest.
There are plays that Morgan makes that are so natural you catch yourself in wonderment. Like his baseline ball recovery complete with a tip-toe to stay in bounds followed by a finish. Andrew’s first three scores he kept the ball high on passes/putbacks and quickly lifted off his feet to put the ball back in before a defender could even react. Morgan also moves fluidly rolling at the rim to catch and finish and his ability to get early post position is crucial to his massive numbers.
Andrew Morgan has clearly put himself in that top category of Minnesota 2021s joining Kendall Brown, Chet Holmgren, and Treyton Thompson. It’s become clear that his talent is to that level and we expect his recruitment to at some point pick up and reflect it. He will surely be a national top 250 level player when the 2021 rankings come out in the coming weeks.
Games Go With Guards
So many quality guard performances on Sunday. Here is our Bullet Point Feature to get through several of them adequately:
- Josh Arlt stretched the defense for the South Dakota Attack knocking out four threes versus Ohio Celtics and scoring 16 points.
- One man you can not lose is Minnesota Fury Poopen 16s point guard Eddie Beeninga but a solid team from Indiana (Red Storm) somehow did. Quality guards tried pressuring Eddie but it just led to an out place defense while Eddie moved the ball to others for opportunity. And how they lost him on several scoring chances including a late three, we just don’t know.
- Oh yes, Nathan Heise is still the talk of the college coaches. He’s doing everything you want want a point guard to do as the leader of the offense. Maybe more.
- Full Package 6-0 guard Nick Pavlovic scored on six of eight field goals for his 15 points plus dished out five Full Package assists. His team saw the game with the Matrix get away but the Glenbrook North player left a nice impression.
- In a win over Full Package, Will Cordes (of Shakopee) hit four threes, Gavin Vosika hit four shots at the arc as well on his way to a 20 point outing, and Gabe Myren had ten points, six boards, and four assists. All three were strong for the Matrix.
- One of the best defenders in Madison this week was Yusef Abdullah of Jerry Gamble FAB and Minneapolis North. Abdullah was outstanding in ball pressure and a constant pain jumping passing lanes. His jumper looked crisp this weekend scoring 20 in his final game.
Hard Work Live Notes
Matthew Mors had Creighton Head Coach Greg McDermott in the building to watch him Sunday morning. McDermott, Wisconsin Head Coach Greg Gard, and an assistant from Dayton were the key Mors visitors this weekend.
Minnesota Fury 16s talent Spencer Goetz is an encouraging prospect. The 6-foot-3 wing has a great frame and he competes defensively with persistence and intelligence. Scored 15 vs Indiana by hitting short jumpers and completing at the rim within the Fury framework.
Really like Bloomington Jefferson wing Sam Wanzek and Chaska Wing Luke Strazzanti. Both were on the floor late for Fury Poppen because of the way they compete and defense. Sam scored five times and his defensive battle was top notch.
Charlie Katona finished off a fabulous weekend scoring 20 points in beating the frozen North Florida Hurricanes. Katona had five division one schools watching and another five NSIC programs and he played the way he expected to. Katona’s five game scoring run is in the area of 100 points total. Excellent weekend. Serious candidate for All Session 5 team on the Prep Hoops Circuit.
Elijah Jones has a lot of people interested and intrigued. At 6-foot-5/6-foot-6 with length and a defensive determination Elijah could have big things coming his way. Jones and Davis Walker (who made the game winning foul shots) made the biggest play of the day beating the Crusaders when they trapped a team who was trying to make a game winner and that trap led to a game winning turnover. Walker scored 16, Jones scored 14, and both played once again like quality prospects for Team RWA.