Its annual Summer Classic at Bloomington Jefferson. This year a few games at Kennedy but the middle court in the Jefferson Activity Center is the place to be. Pool play Thursday and Friday. Opening rounds of bracket play on Saturday. Semifinals and Championships on Sunday. Here's what I'll be watching.
17s
Most of pool C will make for up and down action. Grassroots (playing as Nations Elite) vs TVA at 9 PM Friday night could decide that pool. MN Phenom will have something to say about that. They open with Grassroots at 3:10 Thursday afternoon and then have TVA at 6:30 Thursday. The 2nd WI Playmakers squad is also in that pool. SW MN Stars and the top WI Starz team will go at it in pool D. That game is also at 9 PM Friday night. WOTN has a tough draw with traditionally solid M33M Elite in their pool at 10:45 on Friday morning. Fury Anderson and Nebraska Select will meet at 6:45 PM on Friday in a game that could decide pool F. D1 Minnesota tops pool A in their only local appearance of the season. Shooting guard JP Macura has had a big spring earning him many high major offers including Minnesota and Purdue in the last week. The MN Warriors are another tourney favorite in pool B. Those 2 pool winners will receive byes in the championship bracket.
High Profile Players to Watch
JP Macura - D1 Minnesota 17s
Henry Ellenson - D1 Minnesota 16s
Amir Coffey - D1 Minnesota 15s
Other names of note in 17U
Delshawn Strickland, Ian Theisen- D1 Minnesota 17s
Carter Kirk, Mitch Pfingsten - SW MN Stars
Jacob Schaefer, Garrett Goetz - MN Warriors
Noble Fahnbulleh, TC Robinson, Charlie Koontz - Fury Anderson
Tyler Weiss - WOTN
Jerry Ngobi, Isaiah Shell. Craig Evans - WI Starz Black
Chike Ukah - Iowa Pump N Run Black
My pool picks are D1 MN, MN Warriors, Grassroots, SW MN Stars, Fury Anderson and M33M Elite. No pick in a wide open pool E.
In 16U, a possible championship between Minnesota Basketball Academy Brown and D1 Minnesota is on the schedule. That would be one of the MN AAU games of the year if it comes to pass. tMBA coming off a championship at the NY2LA event last week. Joey Witthus with a big week in that tourney. A pool game that will be off the radar is Fury Ramey vs John Rumpza and Southern MN Elite. That's 4:30 Friday at Kennedy. Same time at Jefferson also has a sleeper game between Heat Calistro and Nebraska Select. Thursday at 4:15 features Grassroots taking on the Holy Family based Hoopmasters squad. Big Justin Dahl will be on display in that one but that's a tough matchup with a pressing trapping run up and down Grassroots team. A very interesting matchup between MN Phenom West and Team GetShook in pool I also at 4:15 Thursday. Lots of west metro kids familiar with each other in that one. Sean Burns and Jerome Dixon from Armstrong leading the Phenom West squad.
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