The DWU Classic – Top Ten Performers
What ten South Dakota talents shined brightest at the DWU Classic this past weekend? PHD breaks it down now!
1- Ryder Kirsch of St. Thomas More (Sr). The best of the best play their best when the games are at their best. And it doesn’t get better than #1 vs #2! With all eyes in the state on Kirsch and the Cavs, Ryder at times carried his team to a 77-70 win with 29 points, eight boards, and four assists. One of the top individual performances of the season in terms of consistent production in a big game. (Pictured above in DWU Athletics Photo)
2- Colin Rentz of Dell Rapids (Jr). “Prep Hoops loves guys that impact the game on every possession” was the statement on Friday and it was what everybody saw from the opening tap as 7th ranked Dell Rapids rolled Rapid City Christian 87-60. Pressuring the ball forcing mistakes? Yep. Creating shots for others? Yep. Producing his own offense? All game. A 22 point, five assist total.
3- Joe Sayler of White River (Fr). In the middle of the contest the Tigers blitzed Corsica-Stickney and the attack off the edge (or hard cut) of every screen seemed to be from the 6-foot-1 freshman. Joe had 24 points and chased down 11 boards for a double-double, and 5th ranked White River increased their record to 15-2.
Caden Hinker (from DWU Athletics)4- Caden Hinker of Mitchell (Soph). Skilled length. It’s a scary combination for teams especially when they know they have to deal with it for the following seasons as well. Hinker has back to the bucket ability but he also showed off his range knocking out multiple threes in the middle of the contest when Mitchell made their run. Hinker blocked a pair of shots and altered others, he timed out seven boards, and scored 24 points led by four triples. One of the elite South Dakota sophomores.
5- Kelby VanDerWerff of Platte-Geddes (Jr). A 6-foot-5 junior forward that helped his team to 14-3 with 23 points and 7 boards going head to head with senior big Noah Dickson of SCW. When Kelby gets his feet set on a kickout from a teammate or quick ball reversal, his touch is golden. Soft right handed release and he does a great job getting on balance with hands up ready to shoot. Also makes a lot of shots in the paint that are well timed over the defense, very good body control.
6- Chase Arend of Bridgewater-Emery (Sr). One of the main items we said in the DWU Classic preview was watch out for Chase Arend who has been shredding the opposition as of late. Despite defensive attention Chase put 25 in the book making half his attempts. One thing I really enjoy about Chase is how often he makes plays despite a defender in his space. It doesn’t feel as if a contesting defender or a help defender bothers him at all when shooting or moving the ball. Chase has a very good right to left crossover into the attack and he’s able to make shots with feet set, pulling up, or even shooting with a one foot take off inside the arc.
7- Noah Price of Hanson (Soph). The 1-2 scoring punch of 6-foot-4 sophomore wing Noah Price and senior guard Reggie Slaba overwhelmed St. Mary in the second quarter. Price had 23 while Slaba scored 22 but Price also had eight boards including impact second chance opportunities. Price looks to be a quality prospect with a lot of lengthy that moves well.
8- Noah Van Donkersgoed of Sioux Falls Christian (Jr). This may have been the coming out party for Noah who missed a double-double on a potential stat guy error (if that tap was controlled and it was Noah, it would be rebound ten). The 6-foot-4 Charger had 18 points against the top team in the state and did it with all eyes of the state on him closely. Love the body control of this tireless player.
9- Noah Dickson of Sanborn Central/Woonsocket (Sr). Dickson had the first double-double of the event pulling down ten boards and recording 25 points in a loss. His team dropped to .500 but Noah has given everything he has. The way he moves through the paint disregarding bodies and getting to spots, boards, and scoring chances is why he gets double-doubles.
10- Jared Pearson of Aberdeen Christian (Sr). In #2 vs #3 match-up the Knights pulled ahead double-digits in the third quarter with 6-foot-4 Jared Pearson doing the grinding on the glass, hustling to move over and/or around screens, and finishing quality attempts for a 16 and 11 double-double. More of a face-up forward with a touch but makes plays on the move too.