The Hoops Challenge Top Performers
What players stood out the most in the Hoops Challenge at the Mayo Civic Center this past Saturday? Prep Hoops was in the building to give you the top performers. Parker Jones Jake Braaten of Byron (Jr). When it comes…
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Continue ReadingWhat players stood out the most in the Hoops Challenge at the Mayo Civic Center this past Saturday? Prep Hoops was in the building to give you the top performers.
Parker JonesJake Braaten of Byron (Jr). When it comes to toughness Jake ranks with the best in his class. If there was an efficiency rating possession by possession in terms of the right decisions made and the correct positions to be in Jake would be a state leader. He rebounded eight times against a tough team and was the catalyst of his team’s ball movement (had five assists). Throw in the five scores at the rim and the four foul shots made during the key second half run and you have the game MVP when Byron defeated St. Peter.
Alonzo Dodd of South St. Paul (Soph). Dodd has quickly become one of my favorite sophomores. How can a favorite be had by a writer? I ask you how can you not like a guy that competes for his team from start to finish on both ends the entire game? Defensively this young man is one that his coaches know will always have his hands up and always sprint back to position. And if you pick up your dribble vs Dodd it’s like inviting a Wolverine into your kitchen (in other words you are in trouble). Dodd is 6-foot-2 and does most of his work going at the basket. Winona is really long so they were able to bother him into 9 of 21 shooting but Dodd’s personal second half run is what gave his team a chance. He scored 25 points and chased down ten rebounds plus made all seven of his foul shots. Has the ability to blitz to the scoring angle before the defense can react.
Ryan Dufault of Waseca (Jr). Before we talk about the game that Ryan had in a loss to Waseca it needs to be pointed out that Ryan looks to have grown about an inch and a half. He’s listed at six feet right now and while I didn’t measure him he does look taller than he did last summer. Another thing Ryan looks is quicker (which can often come as players grow). Dufault had three blow by basket attacks that led me to ask if Steven Nash was all of a sudden in Waseca blue and gold. But seriously what Dufault did going toe to toe with Noah King down the stretch (in terms of big plays made) was fantastic entertainment. Dufault shot an incredible 13 of 21 from his guard position making five threes and several shots over the Caledonia trees (Sam Privet is now 6-foot-8!). The gutty nature of his clutch play in the second half combined with those quick attacks in a taller frame have me thinking Ryan Dufault is a step higher as a prospect than I initially thought.
Parker Jones of Winona (Sr). Before the game started I looked and saw that in the three games the MN Hub has recorded for Winona, Jones is averaging seven points a game. I looked at his long legs running, his deep stance moving very well laterally on defense, and his effort and I immediately thought “this young man has some potential to work with”. Jones then scored his first four baskets of the game attacking for three scores and made a triple. That was followed by some very good passes moving the ball at the top of the key and flashing to the high post and then sending the ball to a teammate. Jones rebounded with constant effort grabbing a dozen boards and he continued to attack the rim. The final tally was 21 points on 8 of 17 shooting with those dozen boards, four assists, and three steals. If I am a local school I look into him right now.
And as far as Winona goes, they are now 5-5 and those losses are mostly to heavyweights (Mankato East, Mayo, Austin, and Waseca). Winona beat a good South St. Paul team to even out their record and I could see them at 9-5 (if they play like this the next four games) when they host Austin at the end of the month.
Noah KingNoah King of Caledonia (Sr). Noah is now one of the top uncommitted basketball players in the state of Minnesota. In his first game as an open prospect Noah scored 30 points with eight boards and four assists in front of a big crowd as Caledonia knocked off Waseca 81-73. King made 7 of 8 foul shots and 9 of 19 field goal attempts including five shots made at the arc. King is most assuredly one of the toughest minded players that I have covered in my time watching Minnesota high school basketball. He attacked the heart of good Waseca defenders and found ways to make plays. Noah was able to make clutch shots down the stretch including a corner three that was one of the biggest momentum boosts for his team. King also reads a defender about as well as anybody I’ve seen knowing when to put the ball down, when to fake, when to delay, and when to move to space to do work. Division one point guard? Without a doubt.
Agwa Nywesh of Austin (Sr). Nywesh played about half the game against STA (blowout and an injury) but that’s all he need to put up 11 points, six assists, four boards and three steals on 4 of 7 shooting. With Nywesh we basically have the same write-up we always have with Austin and with Heat West. Nywesh is a constant top of the press annoyance. Even when teams get the ball up the floor it’s never clean because Nywesh (and the rest of the Packers) take teams out of their offensive flow in terms of where the first pass should go and where teams want to get to space. Agwa is the perfect player to be that initial disrupter. The Packers commonly force many turnovers and it’s usually Agwa coming downhill at teams for transition scores. What really grabbed my attention today was how well Agwa passed out of the high ball screen looks. With a dribble attack or not Nywesh created about 9-10 easy shots for teammates as his reads off the ball screen were outstanding.
Nolan Stier of Stewartville. Today Nolan was the definition of a stat stuffer plus he led the Tigers through the disruptive nature of the Jordan press successfully. Nolan got the ball up the floor and then often cut through and found himself on the wing/in the deep corner. That’s the spot where Nolan hit a pair of threes and dished out several of his seven assists (a combination of post feeds and quick transition passes made up the total). The 6-foot-2 guard also rebounded well from the guard spot grabbing seven boards and scored 15 points on 6 of 15 shooting.
Will Tschetter of Stewartville. The 6-foot-9 power forward just picked up an offer from Colorado State and I think the next offers will come from the high major level. Play to play Will just brings more. His cuts to the elbow and to the arc sprints and quick turns into a pass and then a darting sprint to the block for the perfect feed to catch and finish. All of his makes are on balance and down with his power going into the man or over the man. He is developing range and making shots facing the basket consistently. Will is doubled every night and still shoots a high percentage, like today versus Jordan he made 17 of 23 shots for a game high 39 points despite all the attention. Jordan pressured so Will sprinted ahead for six open floor buckets. He’s a constant on the glass and I don’t think I’ve seen him shoot below 50 percent for a game and that’s because he works so hard to get high percentage attempts. He’s the second best junior prospect in the state right now I believe.