GPA 2017: The Sweet (16) Match-Ups to Watch
The GPA 2017 starts tomorrow in St. Cloud and runs through Saturday afternoon. Action really heats up Friday afternoon in the Sweet 16 and that is where we get excited about potential match-ups.
Comets Lewis vs D1 MN Rise. If the D1 Rise team gets to this point they will have beaten the North Dakota Phenom and the top tMBA team which would be quite the accomplishment. Phenom is hard to predict as we aren’t sure who they will have but assuming it’s summer they should have most which could include Jordan Polynice. Rise should have all their guys too which could bring a wing battle of Isaac Fink and Damani Hayes against Trevor Kaiser and Nathan Rund. If Rund and Kaiser, solid defenders, can limit the top Rise playmakers they will move on handily. But if Hayes and Fink are on they can lead a team their team to upset watch. Joseph Hedstrom fighting with Uhana Ochan and Mitch Weber could also be good. One key note here, do Hayes and Ochan play with Rise, or Grassroots Sizzle?
Bismarck Sabers vs SD Attack. This is a tough pick but I believe that Austin Wolf and the Sabers can beat Andover High School in Minnesota and then beat Playmakers Clark before facing the Attack. Jaron Zwagerman is the Attack’s frontcourt player so Jaron at 6-foot-5 against Wolf at 6-foot-4 should be very good. Attack will have better guards (Iowa trio) and should move on.
Wisconsin Shooters vs ECI. To get to this spot ECI has a couple obstacles they must overcome. First they have to win games without Josh Sipes who is out with an injury the rest of the summer and then they have to get revenge on the North Dakota Cougars who twelve months ago beat ECI in this event. Once the games get going Joe Pistorius will have to give his normal contributions and then make up for some of the Sipes scoring. The player to watch is recently Belmont committed 6-foot-8 big Derek Sabin against ECI’s size which will be Kade Amundson and Shane Anderson.
WOTN vs Select Ohnstad. The only Minnesota loss on the Select Ohnstad schedule that doesn’t also include a win against that same team is Wear Out the Net. When you look through the potential sweet sixteen games listed this is the best and there isn’t another that is even close. This is actually an elite eight worthy match-up a round early. Who to watch? Luke Martens vs Nolan Malo stands out with Dalton Kubista vs Beijan Newbern being outstanding too. Like Garrett Maag vs Tyler Lewko as well.
Dakota Schoolers vs Comets Servaty. With Justin Balcome, Jordan Belka, Gavin Bates, and Steele Senske on the Servaty roster they have the talent to make a run. All of those Comets have scholarship offers or are being considered for tenders. Justin Balcome vs Trevor Hanson inside will be skill and length vs power. Jordan Belka is grabbing NSIC offers while Schoolers four man Aaron Fiegen just grabbed two division one offers, that will bring the college crowd for sure. AJ Plitzuweit of the Schoolers just grabbed an NDSU offer so guys like Gavin Bates and Steele Senske, who is looking at walking on at NDSU, will want to take their shot at him.
SW MN Stars vs MN Eagles. Kyle Boerhave recently grabbed an offer from Wayne State of the NSIC and after seeing him at state with the Stars we understand why. Nathan Macho is the Apple Valley Eagle with the best combo of agility and size to move with Boerhave.
Grassroots Sizzle vs D1MN Prospects. Grassroots Sizzle makes their second local appearance of the year (fifth overall) and their first in an event that has other top Minnesota 17u teams. Luke Glenna could be the guy that tries to slow down Jalen Suggs but let’s not forget that Sizzle has Tyler Johnson, Aaron Gill, JaVonni Bickham, and others who can score. They may also have the Kato East kids too as this is the first time Rise and Grassroots are playing in the same event and the East kids play for both teams.
Comets Little vs Powerhouse MN. Comets Little won the Minnesota Showcase event last weekend in Mankato and their win over Rise was huge for their club. Can they pull another upset over Powerhouse? Let’s keep things in check here. Powerhouse is one of the best teams in Minnesota and while Sam Olson, Phil Drumgoole, Nick Bieniek, Noah Kannegaiser, and Kobe Woolhouse are good players, putting a game together to beat offered talent like Michael Schaefer, Jarius Cook, and Josiah Strong is an entirely different deal.
Predicted Elite Eight. Love these elite eight potential games for Saturday morning. I’ll go with Comets Lewis vs SD Attack, I think Select avenges another loss and beats WOTN so they can take on the Wisconsin Shooters, Dakota Schoolers will likely play the Eagles (the Eagles beat the Pentagon National team so it would be fun to see what the Schoolers do against them), and then Grassroots Sizzle and Powerhouse Minnesota in the fourth quarter.
**The ex-factor to this event is who is playing with their AAU team, and who is playing with their high school team. The Northern Iowa team camp is this weekend that has several Minnesota teams, there are a few high school events, and for baseball guys there is a big summer tournament. The teams that have most of their guys will be at the biggest advantage.