Battle at the Lakes: Scotty B’s Friday Notebook

Friday kicked off action at Battle at the Lakes in Minnesota. What caught our attention? We dive into that here in Battle at the Lakes: Scotty B's Friday Notebook!   Northstar Titans 17U Squeak Out 53-50 Win over Quad City High School Prep This was a great game to open the event up with. A pair of well coached teams that played as a team sharing the ball and having an array of weapons. Northstar Titans closed it out late with a 53-50 win. Their big man [player_tooltip player_id="850714" first="Brady" last="Nicholson"] is an intriguing prospect. Think poor mans Cameron Krutwig from Loyola. The 6'9” five man has a big body and the lefty is an excellent passer. Made sound decisions with the ball finding shooters. Light on his feet on post moves, hit baseline jumpers, and rebounded in his area. Worth a look at the D2 level. He was surrounded by a ton of solid wings with two in particular standing out. [player_tooltip player_id="958831" first="Colton" last="Thomsen"] is a 6'5” shooting guard with decent athleticism. He made passes on the move and snuck in for put backs. [player_tooltip player_id="958786" first="Nick" last="Bartlett"] is a Forest Lake product who is a rangy shooting guard that can really shoot it from deep. Clean and free release. Cuts well away from the ball too. On the Quad City High School Prep side the Illinois squad had a balance attack. Unsigned Galesburg 2021 point guard Aiden Wagner made several key shots from three, step back, and just seemed to have a nose for the ball. Liked what United Township 2022 6'4” two guard [player_tooltip player_id="1210404" first="Aiden" last="Rock"] brought to the table. Plus size at the two guard spot with a good looking shot and decent straight line takes. Two other guards that mixed in quality passing with an occasional open shot were [player_tooltip player_id="1049597" first="Cameron" last="Lewis"] (Moline) and [player_tooltip player_id="1210391" first="Mahki" last="Johnson"] (United Township). From the Missouri side of the river Monroe City 6'4” wing Deion White flashed with finishes inside, crashing the glass, and a nice euro step.   Judah Nation 16U Makes Statement in Minnesota During the spring most kids are going from the north to Florida for spring break. The players of Judah Nation went the opposite direction as they traveled up to Minnesota for Battle at the Lakes. Their 16U group put on an absolute show in their opener. When we got to their court they were already up 25-0 against a solid team. They went on to get the victory by a count of 71-23. So who stood out? You have to start with the sharp shooting from [player_tooltip player_id="962428" first="Jake" last="Easterling"]. The 6'4” Chiles High School 2023 wing was lights out from deep draining five of them alone when we were watching. It was like a video game! At the point Central Florida Christian 6'0” [player_tooltip player_id="1055796" first="Ta'veon" last="Jones"] was a shifty playmaker who worked well around ball screens, got in the lane, and exploited the defense with his passing. Quick hands on D and is a capable shooter when needed. Sam Domond from Park Vista is a rangy 6'5” combo forward that made an impact defensively with his length and on the offensive end got to the line at a nice clip with his inside/outside game. Maclay School 6'7” face up four [player_tooltip player_id="962387" first="Blaise" last="Wallace"] has quite a bit of upside as the 2023 power forward rebounds well in and out of his area along with having spot up shooting ability. Last one we want to mention is Lake Brantley 6'5” power forward [player_tooltip player_id="1164251" first="Eric" last="Vandendriessche"]. Nice rebounding four man with mobility.   Minnesota Select Survives Illinois Central Elite 15U Comeback It looked like Minnesota Select 15U was going to run away and hide in the last game of the night, but Illinois Central Elite kept making plays to keep it tight. Minnesota Select won 49-46. Their 6'3” small forward Kayden Wells came up huge in this game. Angular wing will continue to grow as he gets older. Consistently won on straight line takes to the hoop and euro steps. Aggressive drive also hit a corner three, rebounded well, and cuts passing lanes on D. The Benilde-St. Margaret's wing is a 2024 to watch going forward in Minnesota! Demarcus Banks also shined as the 6'2” off guard won off the bounce and was a factor in transition. Explosive first step and got to the charity stripe. Xavier Lumpkin is another lengthy wing and this lefty made most of his plays inside. At the point guard spot Matt Drake ran the show with his passing and decision making. Likes the floater game in the lane as well. The star for Illinois Central Elite was Davee Flowers. The Niles West combo guard is smaller, but with his length projects to continue to grow quite a bit in the next three years. Early on he was attacking downhill and then slowly brought it out. Shot fake and crisp mid-range jumper. Several more jumpers he created off the bounce along with a step back three. One to watch moving forward in the Illinois 2024 class. Filip Guzina is a Niles North product that got hot shooting in the second half helping bring ICE back in this game. Super quick release off the catch. Harper Krolak is a 6'1” point guard that caught our attention with baseline takes and runners early in the second half.