Mid-Summer 16U Top 10

In my last post, I took at look at the top teams at the 17U level this summer. Now let's take a look at the 16U level.
  1. 43 Hoops-Carr. Deep and athletic. Ross Travis has really come on for them this summer. Jordan Smith is one of the best shooters in the class. Freddie Young and Estan Tyler are a pair of quality point guards. Jake White and Thomas Schalk are 2 of the top 2011 prospects. Marquel Curtis is a powerful wing. Due to more impressive head-head wins against same opponents (SYF and Derrick Rose), they get the nod over ...
  2. Minnesota Pump N Run. A very different squad than the 43 Hoops squad, but just as dangerous. Alex Richter is a beast on the wing. Mike Yahnke is the purest back to the basket post player I've seen at this level this spring. What they lack in athleticism is made up for with the size and physical play. Having Eric Robertson at 100% for July will give them another major weapon. A head to head win in Kansas gives them the nod over...
  3. Howard Pulley Black. Marvin Singleton is a beast at the power forward slot and Marcus Alipate gives them a very solid point guard. Myles Barnes is a slippery post player and Nick Latzke is another standout shooter. Add in the grit of Evan Battle (who always seems to have a snarl on his face like somebody just insulted him)
  4. Just like 17U, the Comets Elites come in at #4. Jayme Moten (who thankfully got rid of the cornrows and went back to the world's best hair) at the point is tough and fearless, Seth Hinrichs is a big 2 and with Bryan Reeves and Simon Krych up front, this is a very good and deep team.
  5. MN Heat Elite. Rob Daul replaces Alex Richter on the wing as a bull in a china shop type. Add in the versatile Preiner twins (Luke needs to keep the duct tape on so we all can tell them apart) and bulldog Riley West on the perimeter with Ryan Burns and Jon Christenson inside. Not a fun team to play but not as deep as the top clubs.
  6. Now it gets tough as I could pick any of 4 teams here and be happy with it. 43 Hoops II is my vote here. Big with Travis Rollo and TJ Okafor up front, athletic with Jared Bervin and Marcus Dorsey on the wings and Derek Dahl and Raijon Kelly at the point. Add in Jeremy Borg who fills a nice role for them. They blew through the MN Select tourney at the beginning of the month and if it weren't for giving up a 19 point lead to Glory, they'd be playing for the big prize this weekend.
  7. Wear Out The Net. They have nice size with Spencer Pankonin and Otto Pfefferle inside but Max Watts is the guy who gets it done for them.
  8. MN Wrath gets this spot. They had a nice run in Iowa after their MYAS schedule. Jack Klukas, Ben Kortum and Bronson Scheff give them players with varsity experience. I also like what Connor Nord did for them inside last weekend.
  9. Minnesota Magic Elite for their body of work despite a close loss to the MN Wrath this weekend. They're athletic with guys like Joe Carpenter and Rodney Pierce-Tyler. Daron Garvis and Vaughn Thada give them perimeter quickness and they have size with Connor Quicksell and Robert Ndondo-Lay.
  10. Minnesota Glory. Ben Figini has been clutch for them all season and Joe Zangel is a developing name. Credit has to be given for winning 3 close games this weekend to keep the #1 seed.
Honorable Mention: Team Minnesota Elite who knocked off 43 Hoops last weekend but lost to MN Magic and blew out by MN Wrath in Iowa. Minnesota Fury Gold who won their pool in Iowa and took Wear Out The Net to the wire last weekend in a game they probably should have won.

Let's root for 43 Hoops Carr to meet Pump N Run in Chicago in July to settle all the debate since they won't get a chance to revisit last year's district championship game.

7 comments:

  1. isnt marvin singleton playing up?

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  2. Yeah he is, drat. But they're still loaded.

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  3. Hey, are you going to do a 15u one?

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  4. Czar,

    Here's a 15U list to help ease your workload:

    1. PNR - Very athletic and shoot the ball well.
    2. Mn Magic - Not sure if last weekend was an abberation but I really like what I saw.
    3. Mn Suns - Move the ball well and finish pretty well.
    4. Mn Southside - Good perimeter game.
    5. HP White - Nice players and play a solid brand of bb.
    6. 43 Hoops/Danielson - Strong inside. They'll perform better this weekend.
    7. Mn Static - Athletic. I'm not sure what happened to their season
    8. Mn Heat - Nice pg play and they seem to get after it pretty well.
    9. Mn Comets Blue - Do a lot of things very well. Strong kids.

    That's what I think. Of course, feel free to disagree!

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  5. Thanks much Pimp, 15U is tough as I haven't seen as much of that. My thoughts on your list in no particular order.

    Howard Pulley Black with Isaiah Zierden, Siyani Chambers, Zach Stahl etc would have to be a top 3 team.

    Static is tough to gauge. Dearring is all that, but beyond that. Didn't do well in Apple Valley in mid-April. I'd love to see them play Southside

    Didn't see the Magic and don't know anything about them.

    I like Darian Pittman of the Suns, but they didn't impress me this weekend despite going 3-0 in 3 close wins (include 1 over Heat Elite)

    Heat Elite have lost Trent Pollard which really affects them. Josh Tismer and Eric Gebeke give them a couple of kids that can play.

    43 Hoops Daniels hasn't been healthy all year and their record isn't what they'd like. But if they put it together they can play with anybody on this list.

    Southside can play with anybody when Joey King is in there. When he's not (see the Comets game this weekend), they drop back into the pack. Very sound team.

    PNR 15s are like the 16s. They won't wow you with athletes, but they're sound and play well together. As previously stated, their win over 43 Gameli this weekend was the best I've seen from them. Brady Wohler was a nice addition for them. Cortez Tillman is little engine that can and does make them go.

    Comets aren't big but they can play with anybody here too as shown by the win over Southside last weekend.

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  6. HP Black would be #1 I agree. Haven't seen them all year so I missed them.

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  7. I'd have to say HP Black is #1, PNR is #2, and MN Southside gets the nod at #3 from what I've seen...although they looked more impressive when they had Latrell Love on their frontline. He's playing with HP White now, also heard from a "friendly" source that he's playing with Static as well, which makes the WAY tougher!

    PNR could've made a strong case for #1, but with the recent loss to Southside (even after an earlier season win), that bumped them a little.

    Don't sleep on Magic! Undersized but play well together and well coached.

    Suns execute way better this year with way less than they've had in the past, good for them!

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