Midwest Showdown – 17U Saturday’s Best
What players stood out Saturday night in Appleton, Wisconsin at the Midwest Showdown? Prep Hoops looked in on several 17u games and here are the standouts. Breyton Buysman Breyton Buysman 6'3" | SG Simley | 2021 State MN of Minnesota…
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Continue ReadingWhat players stood out Saturday night in Appleton, Wisconsin at the Midwest Showdown? Prep Hoops looked in on several 17u games and here are the standouts.
Breyton Buysman Breyton Buysman 6'3" | SG Simley | 2021 State MN of Minnesota Crossfire (6’4, SG, 2021, Simley). I really like the psychology Breyton is using as a scoring wing mixing an attack with a quick jumper release and then mixing in a quick fake moving the defender so he can get to space for a nice pull-up jumper. In looking into the end of that Crossfire win over JH1 Elite, Breyton had a massive four point play hitting a three and then the foul shot and this sequence put the game away. Scored 16.
Austin Klug Austin Klug 6'4" | SG Caledonia | 2021 State MN of Minnesota Lightning (6’4, SG, 2021, Caledonia). We have thrown out the warning signs time and time again, but hey we will throw up a bigger sign today and it will read “Beware! Austin Klug Austin Klug 6'4" | SG Caledonia | 2021 State MN is Dangerous”. Klug has a shooting confidence that can lead to explosive totals and yesterday against the Blizzard, Austin ignored all of their chaos and scored 25 in the opener. Caledonia is going to be very dangerous next winter and Austin is a big reason why.
Koor Koul of BBA Force (6’4, SF, 2021, SF Washington). This young man has some gifts that others simply don’t have. His quickness off the floor blows you away and it lead to a beautiful block, a couple finishes that contesting defenders couldn’t match, some rebounds in traffic, and some floor runs that helped his team jumpstart the offense. Solid on defense, and his second bounce also led to scores.
Majok Majouk of South Dakota Attack (6’7, PF, 2021, Sergeant-Bluff, IA). Earlier this week Majok committed to Southwest Minnesota State. And Majok celebrated his commitment by facing a top 100 player in the nation and matching that player blow for blow. I’m talking four threes made at the arc. I’m referring to the blocks against two D1 players at the rim where Majok exploded in the air to use the length. And then you have the rim finishes which I believe led to 19 or 21 points. Majok has big potential and while he is thin, he is also explosive and the skill is developing.
Noah Paulson Noah Paulson 6'8" | C Duluth East | 2021 State MN of Playmakers North (6’9, C, 2021, Duluth East). My thoughts on Noah Paulson Noah Paulson 6'8" | C Duluth East | 2021 State MN jumped to a higher level Saturday night mostly because of what he was able to do defensively with his size and activity. The Iowa Mavericks would pass the first line of defense and then there was Noah with a block. There was Noah moving into position to contest a shot that forced a miss. Paulson owned every defensive board in his region and every time he collected the ball was sent the other way with the right outlet. Offensively we saw Paulson move off the screen and score with touch as well as cut to the rim and be found for lay-ups. That said it was the defensive paint that really caught my eye. Stock up!
Kooper Vaughn Kooper Vaughn 6'0" | PG St. Charles | 2021 State MN of Playmakers North Shaw (6’1, SG, 2021, St. Charles). Kooper’s shooting stroke is a thing of beauty. And he lays his jumper on opponents in a heavy, thick way. This high school season he took 9-10 threes a game so it was in bulk and teams were aware of it, and he still shot 44 percent from the arc for the season (28 plus points a game). Last night Kooper moved off ball screens and when defenders made a mistake it was a bucket. When defenders didn’t get over the screen into position it was a bucket. A top shooter in Minnesota.
Xavier White Xavier White 6'6" | SF Hopkins | 2021 State MN of Minnesota Select (6’7, Forward, 2021, Hopkins). I did not see much of the Select game but I did tune in to watch Xavier White Xavier White 6'6" | SF Hopkins | 2021 State MN dunk over two players as well as score once on the wing. Why was this important? Two reasons. The dunk really shows what White is capable of and second, Xavier is new to this team and his teammates exploded for each score. Watch out for Xavier playing with Select.