Big 12 Classic Notes
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Yesterday the High School Basketball season opened up with the Big 12 Classic. Who played well? Who stood out? We run you through the details now. Before I go any further I have to point out that I wasn’t in…
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Continue ReadingYesterday the High School Basketball season opened up with the Big 12 Classic. Who played well? Who stood out? We run you through the details now.
Before I go any further I have to point out that I wasn’t in attendance. That said, Ive spent the morning looking at some film, talking to Breakdown employees, and gave the box scores a once over. Here is my compilation for the day:
No surprises at all. Good games? Sounds like it. But every team that was ranked higher won their game. Edina beat Osseo by a dozen, DeLaSalle controlled Waseca in a state title game rematch, Park Center had too much for Hopkins, Prior Lake’s edge of experience defeated East Ridge, the depth of EP out-battled CDH, and Eastview bested Champlin Park as expected (Rebels weren’t expected to win at full strength, so making it worse was not having a couple key players because of the state football game a day earlier).
Cade Haskins is Next. I often get asked, who is the next junior about to break through as a prospect on a bigger scale? The answer to that question is Cade Haskins. Cade has grown three inches to be about 6-foot-6 and that beautiful jumper is being made over anything that tries to contest it. Cade knocked out six threes for his 27 points and in looking at the video this morning there were some comparisons in my head that I am going to wait on. But I certainly think Haskins is the next guy we can start talking about as top five prospect in the state and potential high major. Has a UND offer and was at the Gopher game last weekend as a guest.
Stars will be Stars. If you haven’t seen the video put out by Fresh Coast Hoops on Dain Dainja I direct you to do so. Dain’s level of dominance we saw at the Breakdown Summer Showcase events, at the MBCA Camp, and with Pulley was on full display. TC Hoops Czar had him for 28 points and 21 rebounds, that stat check fits the “near 30/20” game that Dean Kesler spoke about. It was just another example of how completely dominant that Dain can be when he plays around the paint and goes head on. It also helps Joshua Brown score 18 from the perimeter.
Speaking of stars, you see the dunk that Kerwin Walton had on Dain with the left hand? It was a small piece of the 32 points Kerwin produced in a 85-70 loss. Walton is still undecided and right now it’s tough to know if he will be at Arizona, Vandy, Minnesota, Creighton or if somebody else comes along, but his talent continues to emerge. He is the very definition of a 50 percent three point shooter.
Then you have Dawson Garcia going up against one of the state’s best bigs once again, and getting the upperhand. Stop me if you have heard this before. This time Garcia scored 30 but his ability to switch defensively, move his feet around ball screens on defense, and handle several roles is what grabbed attention in the Raptors win.
Finally Steven Crowl dominated the late night game as no Rebels player could move with Crowl and when they were in position the size and skill of Crowl completed possessions over the top. Crowl continues to play like a 4-star top 100 player that could work into a better spot.
Mr. Steady. We have several senior Mr Steady players in mind starting with Jalen Travis. The 6-foot-7 future Ivy League football player is a dependable rock around the basket. Gave the Islanders 17 points in the win over Waseca. You could also say the same for the Islander array of defenders that looked up the Waseca backcourt.
Another Mr. Steady was DT Frierson handling the multiple role job handed to from Coach James Ware, and doing it well. Finally the steadiest of all is usually Austin Andrews who had a game high 20 finding ways to produce steadily throughout the game. Another steady talent that had a good opener was Eastview wing Ryan Thissen.
New Names to Know. Hopkins used 6-foot-5 wing Xavier White and 6-foot-6 forward Andrew Chisely often and most people hadn’t heard those names before. Both juniors made a nice first impression. Xavier is the younger brother of Royce White and he plays on the wing while Chisley did more work near the rim. They combined for 20 points.
Tough in a Losing Effort. Andrew Morgan looks a bit stronger but still moves after the glass and finishes at the rim like we remember. The one guy DeLaSalle had trouble with as he scored 24. Ben Carlson secured a double-double of 19 and 12 in the Raptors loss and Tre Holloman scored 17 in his team’s defeat.
Youth Movement. Two of the betters sophomores talked about after the game were Sammy Presthus of Edina and Joseph Ola-Joseph from Osseo. Presthus for putting team control on his shoulders at times (along with senior guard Chandler Reeck) when Jacob Hutson was out (Hutson still had 14 points), and Ola-Joseph for his aggressive attacks to the rim for a game high 17 points. The 6-foot-4 Ola-Joseph is one of the better athletes in his class and while Edina was good defensively, Ola-Joseph was one player that was tough to rotate to.
This was for the most part the first real time that East Ridge sophomore Kendall Blue had a big, steady role in a varsity game and by most accounts his 19 points was a good impression. Same can be said for Prior Lake sophomore big Malcom Jones who Hoops Czar had for 17 points off the bench.