Midwest Showdown: Sunday’s Best (Wisconsin)
Sunday morning action was all about the 17 and Under level. What players stepped forward with big performances? Prep Hoops runs down the list of top players.
Andrew Alia Andrew Alia 6'2" | SG Kenosha St. Joseph | 2022 State WI of Wisconsin Playground Basketball Club (6’3 SG, Kenosha St. Joseph, 2022). If you let Alia freely locate to a point where his feet get set and hands are ready to catch you are in trouble. We saw that all weekend as Playground won all four games (three of them handily). The part that grabbed my attention even more was his competitive fight. Alia was the player closing out hard to shooters and he was that guy scrambling for the long boards and loose balls even after the game was long decided. When I researched Andrew before the event I saw a player that is always hitting jumpers in various forms plus making hustle plays that lead to success. But I also thought he moved the basketball well showing an extra pass allowing others to take a shot that was more open, and Alia hit several cutters for chances.
DeShawn Black of Diamonds in the Rough (6’7 Forward, Obama SCTE). One of the more interesting players I saw was DeShawn Black. Black of course goes to one of the schools that didn’t play this year so he’s getting his chance to compete now. Black is an extremely long, wiry player that blocked three shots, contested several others, and grabbed six boards vs the Swarm. He also used his length to cause problems in the press and then went the other way to hit threes a couple different times. Throw in some finishes on the move and it was a strong pair of double figure scoring games on Sunday.
John Gray of Pride ROC (6’3 SG, Waukesha South, 2021). Gray was the toughest player for the Playmakers North team to stop. Longer wing showed off a nice touch moving off the ball screen, or stopping his attack and lifting. Playmakers had only guys that could move with Gray and neither were able to get length on Gray after the Waukesha talent stopping is attack into the lift. Gray scored 16 points and has the look of a player that a small school could take a chance on as there is some potential there.
Cooper Juedes of Next Level Grind (6’3 SG, Oshkosh North, 2022). Juedes played the role of attack minded combo guard consistently getting by the first defender and scoring his 14 at the cup. Juedes stands 6’2/6’3 and he physically attacks help defenders at full speed. A 47 percent finisher as a guard this winter, you can see how Juedes gets high number results at his size because he forces players to take a charge or get scored on. Touched in shots on the move regularly.
Arlandis Major of Diamonds in the Rough (5’9 Guard, Nicolet, WI, 2021). The north metro private school kids from the Twin Cities had few guards, and even fewer players that could move their feet with Arlandis. Major scored a game high 25 points on 10 of 15 shooting racing to the rim as well as stopping and popping for completions and hitting long jumpers with feet set. He was a Major part (yes I did that on purpose) of the ball pressure that completely took the Swarm apart. Diamonds in the Rough went 4-1 this weekend and Arlandis had a number of big outings.
Anthony McCaskill-Johnson of Diamonds in the Rough (5’10 Guard, Milwaukee Lutheran, 2021). It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one guy completely dissect another team in a half like McCaskill-Johnson did without taking many shots. The Diamonds Defensive pressure forced about a dozen or more second half turnovers and it was the energy, effort, and vocal direction of McCaskill-Johnson that led the way. Not only did he accumulate six steals, he also dished out eight assists, and most importantly changed the
Maximus Nelson Maximus Nelson 6'7" | PF Appleton North | 2022 State #236 Nation WI of Playground Basketball Club (6’8 Forward, Appleton North, 2022). Take the 6-foot-8 frame and Nelson is already a player that draws eyes when he steps on the floor. Then add the shooting range that allowed him to make three threes versus Heat Grow and get recruiting looks from the likes of Butler, Toledo, Rutgers, Loyola Chicago, and others, and your impression of Nelson gets stronger. From there you see Nelson is quite agile moving his feet to cut off wings on the ball screen (Heat Grow didn’t have a big) and quickly getting off his feet for boards off the rim and explosive two hands finishes, and you start to see why some high majors are sniffing around. Finally, you watch Nelson play actively without the ball and he becomes a player that a coaches would like to coach. PGC hammered a very good Heat Grow team (about top 10 in Minnesota when they are full strength) and Nelson scored 15 points making 6 of 10 shots playing less than half the game.
Kevon Powell of Playmakers North (5’11 Guard, Ashland, 2021). Powell scored almost 15 a game for his high school team and is now looking for a spot in college basketball. After seeing him work his way to numbers in every game I saw this weekend, I think there are a ton of D3 schools out there that could use a hard working player like Kevon. Powell has to be one of the best rebounding guards you will ever see and he’s constantly moving without the ball. It helped Powell get open for jumpers, he was rewarded with lay-ups when he had hard cuts, and he out-raced guys to score in transition. Handled the ball some too but did most of his work without it. The biggest thing is Kevon’s effort is top notch and so are the consistency of his results.
Gunar Weyer of Next Level Grind (6’1 Guard, Seymour, 2022). Gunar’s hustle, speed, lateral quickness, and outstanding dedication to a defensive stance and fight for position made him easy to cheer for. He’s the guy that met the ball in a defensive stance every time down and made the opposing guard fight every possession for any type of result. Gunar also did a great job sprinting off screens getting to his spots with hands up ready to catch and fire. He scored 16 highlighted by four threes plus moved the ball for four assists. I expect as a senior his role will increase for a really good Seymour team.