D1 Summer Classic: Friday Night
Local talent took the court at Shakopee High School with several coaches watching over the rail. Who performed well in front of those coaching staffs Friday night? Prep Hoops breaks it down now.
Crowl, WOTN 16s Blow Out a Pair
The WOTN 16u squad has worked their way up the state rankings to the 5th spot overall. They maintained that ranking quite well on Friday with a 67-40 win over Comets Liljequist and a 79-33 win over Iowa Prep. The WOTN team of coach Trevor Davis is now 27-8 on the season heading into tonight’s game with an unranked, unknown Minnesota Heat team this evening. Playing with this group, 6-foot-10 2020 Steven Crowl continues to get better and better, plus he has a 20 point, 10 rebound game in the second contest.
“His three-point shooting has really come along,” Davis told Prep Hoops. “I know he hit at least one today. Defensively he’s improving as a rim protector/shot blocker. I thought today was his best showing there. He’s very comfortable with his left hand around the rim. His vision/passing out of the post is tremendous. He’ll always make the extra pass.”
Crowl hasn’t been the only standout for WOTN, not in the least.
“Nate Heise (6-foot-1 guard of Lake City) hit some deep threes. Reid Gastner (6-foot-3 wing of Lake City) was phenomenal in open court transition setting up score after score for teammates. Tate Machacek (6-foot-6 power forward of Eastview) was really solid off the dribble scoring several times around the rim. Ryan Samuelson (6-foot-2 guard of Jordan) quietly scored really well from all three levels today too and did a great job running the lanes in transition.”
Fury Kline is No “Second Team”
When you are the fifth ranked team in the state of Minnesota you really can’t be called a “second team”. Minnesota Fury Zurn has proven to be one of the elite non-shoe sponsored teams in the nation and then Fury Kline is just an extension of the talent in the Fury program. Fury K crushed ECI Selects 80-36 on Friday and then beat a good Heat West club 60-55. That puts Fury K at 30 wins for the season heading into the game they are playing right now versus Comets Petermeier.
“Our first game against ECI Select was a win, 80-36,” Coach Tyler Kline said. “Everyone played well, lots of scores in transition. Second game was against Heat West, they played extremely well but we ended up pulling away with a 60-55 win.
“John Henry (6-foot-5 small forward of Eden Prairie) played great for us knocking down shots and beating their zone down the floor in transition for easy buckets. Lukas Dunford (6-foot-7 center also of Eden Prairie) was good working inside their zone getting layups diving from the high post. He also hit a couple short corner jumpers. Kurt Ohlhues (60foot-1 guard of Eagan) hit free throws and got to the rim down the stretch to continue to push our lead. We got some stops late and that sealed the game.”
Big Numbers for Albrecht
Want an example of what playing against good competition can do for a guy’s confidence? Take a look at North Dakota Attack 6-foot-6/6-foot-7 power forward Dalton Albrecht. The North Dakota Attack – now one win from a 20 win season in their first year as a program – is 19-12 on the year after winning two in Shakopee.
In the loss to the Comets K squad Dalton Albrecht grabbed 22 points with 7 rebounds. These numbers would looker greater but the night before Albrecht thoroughly dominated Twin Cities Finest in the paint by recording 27 points with nine rebounds. Throw in the 16 in game one against a good Iowa Pump N Run team and Dalton has had a fantastic weekend.
We mentioned that Pump N Run win, that’s an Iowa squad that is top ten in their state and likely closer to top five or six. Trey Weist was fantastic in that victory totaling 21 points with eight boards, five assists, and control of the basketball. Weist then had 11 points/5 assists and 11 points/4 assists in the other games. Cody Perkins had 16 in the second game.
Jacob Johnson Takes Another Step
With Jared Rainey sidelined at the moment the Heat Nelson squad have needed a bit of help in making up for his scoring. 2019 Jacob Johnson, a 6-foot-3 wing from Champlin Park. Johnson is usually the third leading scorer on the Heat Nelson squad but this weekend so far he’s been the second or third option consistently.
Johnson continues to show a really good hesitation step and he can go to either his right or left with that attack. Defenders continue to have a really hard time keeping Jacob away from the rim regardless if its beating a defender with the ball or moving off the ball to produce. What’s really separated Jacob this week is his shot. He’s taking quality, high percentage looks and draining them.
Hunter Damon also shot well for the Heat.
Josh & Jack Bounce Comets DLR Back
Speaking of back, a back injury is one of the many that has limited this Comets DLR team. Injuries have led to a short Comets DLR roster that is now without point guard James Flicek, Will Tinjum, Josh Jeziorski, and Jack Rush. But before the 6-foot-4 Jeziorski of Perham and the 6-foot-4 Rush of Lakeville North ran into injuries they helped Comets DLR beat WOTN Christensen.
Jeziorski hit big shots for Comets DLR and played some at point guard, shooting guard, small forward, and power forward on Friday. Josh is a savvy player with the basketball and places with great pace. Every time WOTN felt they were making a run it was a time that Jack hit a big shot.
The growth of Jack Rush is another story. Rush has really taken off as of late using a left handed attack that is assertive. Rush hits from the wing and is high percentage going to the glass and finishing. Even more impressive has been the defense of Rush. Often times both Jack and Josh have to guard smaller players but both have been able to keep those players in front. Rush is also big on the glass too.
Comets K tops 30
After three games the Minnesota Comets K club will head into Sunday with a 3-0 record this weekend, and a 32-10 record overall this season. Comets K has handled opponents cleanly beating TC Finest (78-42), Iowa Pump N Run (56-43), and the North Dakota Attack (61-46).
Jackson Jangula led the Comets over Pump N Run with a big game scoring from the arc. He and Drew Gustafson both hit big shots at the arc and then Gustafson was credited for forcing four turnovers int hat game. Also, around the basket, the agility and toughness of DeVonne Harris was too much for the 6-foot-7/6-foot-8 bigs on the Pump N Run. Harris worked well in the pick and roll moving off the screen for several scores. He also pushed the bigger defenders off balance and limited their good touches.