Battle at the Lakes: Mason’s Top Performers
This past weekend I was at the Battle at the Lakes event put on by Prep Hoops. It was one of the most competitive events of the summer and I was able to see a lot of teams that I…
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Continue ReadingThis past weekend I was at the Battle at the Lakes event put on by Prep Hoops. It was one of the most competitive events of the summer and I was able to see a lot of teams that I haven’t seen yet this season. From the event, five guys stood out to me as the best performers when I saw them. You can see my five top performers from who I viewed below.
Dawson Garcia — 2020 6’10 PF — D1 Minnesota / Prior Lake HS (MN)
Garcia was on his game when I saw him on Friday night. He was getting to the rim with ease and throwing down dunks. It is easy to pick him out of a crowd and just know that he is going to dominate. Garcia ended the Friday night game with 22 points and all of it came easy for him. He is such an all-around talent that you can already tell he’s going to be a problem at the high major level.
Payton Sandfort — 2021 6’6 SF — Kingdom Hoops Navy / Waukee HS (IA)
Sandfort started the game I saw against JH1 Elite slowly, but by the end of the game he was firing on all cylinders. He’s a solid wing who is versatile with ability to guard multiple spots on the floor. His stroke from deep stood out as he knocked down four 3-pointers in the game en route to 24 points. He scored 16 of those points in the second half to lead his team back from a big deficit.
Reece Sproul — 2021 6’7 PF — Wisconsin Rap / Stoughton HS (WI)
I didn’t think that much of Sproul early on in the game against RWA but then he turned it on. Sproul was shooting the ball well from deep, shifting through the lane and scoring, and was turning defense into offense. He’s a very mobile forward who will make those slower defenders pay by sliding by them. Sproul scored 20 points in the RWA game and jumped onto my radar quickly.
Hayden Muirhead — 2021 6’6 SG — SD Network / O’Gorman HS (SD)
Muirhead might have been my favorite player to watch this weekend. A bit of an unassuming body type, he has no problem jumping up and slamming it on someone’s head. While he didn’t score a ton, he energized his team when he did score as he would just power dunks down. I thought that this was one of the more athletic kids at the event, and he showed while in his 14-point performance.
Noah Reynolds — 2021 6’1 PG — All In Athletics Gold / Peoria Notre Dame HS (IL)
If you only watched the first half of this Sunday morning game, you wouldn’t have thought much of Reynolds. He’s a slick lefty passer who likes to set up his teammates for scoring opportunities. But, in the second half it was “Reynolds Time”. Reynolds scored 21 of his 22 points in the second half of the loss to the Iowa Barnstormers. He drained three 3s and was getting his shot to fall down at all levels. It was takeover mode for Reynolds in the second half.