Class A Final – Hayfield Earns First State Title
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Hayfield knocked off Hancock 61-60 in today’s Class A state title game. Game MVP? Top Prospect? Top Defender? We give it all to you now at Prep Hoops!
MVP. Ethan Slaathaug Ethan Slaathaug 6'3" | SG Hayfield | 2021 State MN . You know how professional and college broadcasts say “he may have earned himself some money today!” We can relate that to Ethan Slaathaug Ethan Slaathaug 6'3" | SG Hayfield | 2021 State MN and college opportunity because at this year’s Class A State Tournament, Ethan was often an unstoppable offensive weapon. Ethan’s ability to create space for himself in tight situations at 6-foot-3 well stick with college coaches in this area. His comfort in taking contact and extending to space as well as his handle moving around screens is uncommon. The top memory I will have is Ethan’s split of the defense off the balls screen into an attacking score. Ethan finished with 20 points on 9 of 14 shooting in the title game.
Top Prospect to Know. Matt Thompson Matt Thompson 6'7" | C Hancock | 2022 State MN . Thompson’s usage of the pivot at 6-foot-7 is something that will stick with me. He used it to separate into a spin move to score, to step through a double team, and Thompson scored with it using a fake and rotating off of it. Matt, who is a cousin of Treyton Thompson (signed with Minnesota), also had a pretty release on his perimeter jumper. Thompson hit three threes on his way to an 18 point, 12 rebound game. Thompson dished out four assists, most of them out of the post and surely upped his college stock at the state tournament.
Surprise Performer. Sebastian Felix. The 6-foot-1 junior guard stepped off the bench and gave the Owls a huge lift when they were struggling to score. Felix attacked the rim for scores as his Hayfield defender closed out late and couldn’t move his feet with Felix consistently. The attacked opened Felix to hit three threes as the game became longer. Felix scored 13 points in support of Thompson.
Stretching the D. Kobe Foster. Hayfield was able to build points using Slaathaug attacks and the backdoor cuts as the game grew longer. The Vikings started the game with six early triples and the four threes from Kobe Foster (5’9 junior) played a crucial part in opening up the floor. Foster only took five shots all game but those four threes spoke volumes.
Defensive Player of the Game. Easton Fritcher. Thompson went nine minutes in the second half with only four touches (two shots) and the biggest reason for that was the physical, hard working defense of Easton Fritcher. Easton kept Thompson high off the block, he denied some passes, and most importantly when Thompson faced up, Fritcher was physical with him and sat down in stance giving up no ground on attempted dribbles. Fritcher had 13 points, seven boards, played great defense, and iced the game with a free throw late.
Hancock returns…. Two starters and a key bench player next year. Thompson is of course the big name but Hancock also has junior guards Luke Joos and Sebastian Felix returning.
Hayfield returns….. The Vikings lose their top guy but the state champs return their next four best players. Foster and Fritcher will be seniors next year while Isaac Matti Isaac Matti 6'1" | SG Hayfield | 2023 State MN (likely the second best player on the team this year) and Ethan Pack will be juniors.