NY2LA Lone Star Invitational: Saturday Standouts
Dallas and the NY2LA Lone Star Invitational have been good to the teams from Minnesota who have traveled to the lone star state to compete with some of the best in the Midwest. NHR has been there all weekend including…
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Continue ReadingDallas and the NY2LA Lone Star Invitational have been good to the teams from Minnesota who have traveled to the lone star state to compete with some of the best in the Midwest. NHR has been there all weekend including a long Saturday in the gym to bring you these Minnesota standouts.
Jake Binley (Select Ohnstad/Simley, SG). Definitely a stronger and taller player than I recall. Has added good weight and grew a bit. His reputation was that of a scorer but Jake fits in with this team nicely taking the right shots, doing more off the ball and with the dribble than last year. The Take Away: Becoming a more mature, all around 6-foot-2 wing.
Emmanuel Humphrey (MN Phenom/Tartan, PF). The Phenom weren’t able to hold on against their quarterfinal opponent but Emmanuel had a fourth quarter of power to remember scoring four times simply powering over opponents for success. At one point a guy yanked on his left arm but Humphrey grabbed the board and finished the play both with one hand. The Take Away: Humphrey will give Richfield a strong player inside next year.
Bryce Irsfeld (Comets Lewis/Browerville, PG). The way he handled his team as well as got his laterally agile opponents on his hip after a corner turn in the SYF Players game was the biggest thing that caught my eye today. Bryce is so strong compared to other guards and he made a game full of the correct reads to beat an athletic SYF Players group. Bryce is simply tougher than the next guy and his reads for the Comets were outstanding as he had 11 points, five assists, and four boards vs SYF. The Take Away: I think Bryce is tough enough to be a solid D1 point guard. Guys love playing with him, he is poised with each decision made, his vision is outstanding, shots it well enough, and is definitely tough enough. Will it happen? That remains to be seen but I think he is good enough.
Ryan Lindberg (Comets Lewis/Wayzata, SG). With consistent ball movement beating SYF it was Lindberg who found himself in space with feet set and once he caught the reversal Ryan scored five times (one of five Comets in double figures between 10 and 11 points). The Take Away: Ryan shot the ball the way we expect him to, the way he did this winter.
Garrett Maag (Select Ohnstad/St. Croix Lutheran, SF). Loved the way Garrett competed on Saturday when we saw him. A 6-foot-4 wing that was vocal on defense, did a great job moving his feet to cut off opponents, was the top rebounder for his team and scored actively three times. The Take Away: With Maag and Jamaris Johnson next year the Crusaders are going to be okay.
Steffon Mitchell (Grassroots MN/Shakopee, PF). Steffon had a rough Friday night but went back to the paint against a smaller Yanders Law squad and put up 14 points and a dozen rebounds. The Take Away: Steffon has been at his best this weekend battling for boards and getting results using his touch, length, and low post ability facing or backing down.
Jaquan Sanders-Smith (Grassroots MN/Mpls North, G). We all know that JaQuan has a ferocious attack using his strength and body control to get to the rim and finish. He scored that way three times and then changed the game with back to back threes. The Take Away: Made three treys and showed shooting range that will get him more looks.
Brock Schrom (Comets DLR/Grand Rapids, PF). The quick off his feet bounce of Schrom allows him to get to boards quicker and beat opponents off their feet for big plays like the dunk he had to day in a win over Quad City. A lot of potential there to work with. The Take Away: He’s getting better and more comfortable with the Comets every game and we think he is going to have a huge senior year.
Brian Smith (Select Ohnstad/Champlin Park, PG). Smith is one of those guys that if gets his feet set and has too much space he is going to hit more than 50 percent of his treys. Brian made three for Select today and handled well. The Take Away: His transition pull-up jumper was with pace into one of the softer finishes.
Brevyn Spann-Ford (Comets 16s/St. Cloud Tech, Forward). The 6-foot-7 skilled forward put his team on his back today and got them a win. They were up four scores, gave the lead up, and then Brevyn took over. He went coast to coast with a finger, had a coast to coast dunk, ripped two big boards out of the pack, made some foul shots, and then had a late assist. Had it not been for those plays the Kyle Kluge game winner never happens. The Take Away: A tough, timely playmaker with the will to put his team on his back when needed.
Jalen Suggs (Grassroots MN/Minnehaha Academy, PG). Jalen has a flare for the dramatic no doubt. His timing of when to turn things up is incredible. Jalen went down with an ankle injury at one point and he looked out. Then he comes back on the floor, attacks for a score, gets a steal, and hits a three. That was the start of a late game dozen point explosion. The Take Away: When the game needs to be taken over Jalen has the confidence and ability to do it regularly.
Derek Thompson (Comets Lewis/Rocori, PF). I’ve become a fan of the way Thompson is competing, the way he is carrying out what his coach is asking him to, and the way he is playing consistently on both ends. At 6-foot-8 Thompson is agile and fairly quick off his feet. He has started every game this weekend with three first half scoring possessions. The Take Away: Thompson is tougher and more consistent than I thought. An agile guy that is going to be a nice D2 player.
Noah Whalen (Select Ohnstad/Tartan, SG). Noah had one of those games you dream about. Had it not been a blowout with only 27 minutes played he would have exploded for more than the 21 he got. Noah was 5 of 6 from the floor, 7 of 8 from the foul line, and perfect at the arc on four attempts scoring 21. Did a great job drawing contact inside and out plus made some nice defensive plays as well. The Take Away: Definitely looks like a guy that could be a key piece for Tartan if he hits consistently. Good size for a guard at 6-foot-3.
Simon Wright (Comets Lewis/Hopkins, Forward). There is a toughness to Simon that not all kids have. A sense of “I will get this done for us now”. Simon was determined to produce against the lengthy SYF forwards and he went right at them totaling a physical ten points and nine rebounds. The Take Away: Simon will always battle for his team and he can find many different ways to be a key difference maker.