Battle at the Lakes: Championship Sunday Standouts
Wayzata HS — Championship Sunday pitted some of the region’s more prestigious programs against each other, gathering cameras and eyeballs from around the Midwest. John Poulakidas, a guy who remains without a high-major division one offer but outplayed nearly everyone receiving one, starred in front of a baseline of college coaches.
John Poulakidas — Y&R – Brim:
I spoke with one of those college coaches after Poulakidas connected on back-to-back, one footed fade-aways. He was staring, eyebrows raised with the rest of them, and I asked whether he was recruiting the guard. His response was, quite wholeheartedly, that Poulakidas would be playing somewhere better than he could offer.
32 points on 13/19 shooting would do that statement justice.
The 6’6 Poulakidas is dubbed a matchup-nightmare, as his height gives him advantages as a paint scorer and a deadly accurate jump shot gives him versatility from the outside. Schools are rather unassertive in recruiting him, only Illinois-Chicago and Southern Illinois have offered, but Butler and Iowa are showing interest.
Brayden Dailey — Wisconsin Playground Club:
Dailey was sidelined for the second half of his sophomore season at Mineral Point, rehabbing from an ongoing Osgood Schlatters injury. He told me that he spent the time working out with a personal trainer every day, and whatever Dailey did, it was apparent in his play that he was more than 100 percent this weekend. Dailey was improved in many aspects of his game, he was stellar defensively both on-ball and in help defense. On offense he scored in a varied manner, routinely hitting the three and connecting on mid-range, ‘teardrop” shots.
Though Wisconsin Playground would be throttled by Team Factory in the 16U championship, Dailey kept things somewhat interesting with his scoring contributions.
Jadin Johnson — Martin Brothers:
Johnson embodies an “up-in-your-grill” defender and any opposing guard’s dreaded matchup. He was a pit bull when guarding Playground Warriors guard Cam Palesse last Sunday, glued to his side for 94-feet while pressuring him in the halfcourt.
His defensive game was dripping with confidence and grit, which he carried over to the offensive side of things. He used his body — and maybe a touch of the extended forearm — to create space in the lane for his mid-range shot, which he reverted back to time and again.
Trace Williams — Big Three Basketball:
Williams’ Sunday morning outing versus QC Ballers showed his all-encompassing skill set on offense. He altered the game with playmaking, drawing in defenders with the drive to set up his teammates for a barrage of threes. Of course, he did his thing scoring the ball too, putting up 19 points and throwing down a fastbreak dunk in the first half.
Jeffery Brazziel — Wisconsin Playground Club:
Brazziel has been a linchpin in instituting Wisconsin’s 2022 class, and setting the tournament ablaze this past Sunday was his coming out party. The forward rattled off 28 points in a chippy matchup with Team Factory, flashing a refined mid-range game while converting at the stripe 12 times.
Dawson Garcia — D1 Minnesota:
Garcia is petitioning to be the top player on the top AAU team in the country. The 6’11 forward appeals to the trends of a modern frontcourt player, as he displayed his fluid stroke and complimented it with guardlike skill when dribbling up the floor. And, whether this goes without saying or not, his post moves and inside prowess is just as noteworthy.