Its multiple teams with top players from around the region. It feels like 90+ degrees in a bright sun. I'm on the road in July. A couple MIAC coaches in the gym. Adult beverages at night evaluating life and the day of hoops. Ah yes, it feels like a great Las Vegas trip. Even if Cheadle and many Minnesota refs are working. So is this heaven? No its Iowa. Oh people will come Czar, people will most definitely come. And so I emerged from the cornfields to take in a road session of games in this abbreviated grassroots season. But unlike the movie, I return from left field. I even return with money as the Vegas players card works at Diamond Jo's along the way but no stop there which is always the best move. Remember folks, Grinders Win, Gamblers Lose.
The weekend in Ames at the All Iowa Attack Fieldhouse featured a surprisingly strong field for a regional event. Granted having this not be the July open events period definitely caused some helpful movement of teams. So we'll begin with results from the high school divisions and then comment on some of what I had the chance to watch.
17U Showcase
Crossfire Stone 4-1
D1 Minnesota 3-0
D1 Minnesota Prospects Culp 0-3
Heat Tauer 3-0
Howard Pulley 16s/17s 2-1
MN Rise 3-2
Select Ohnstad 3-1
Select Ohnstad had all 4 of their games decided by 3 points or less. Sunday was especially wild. They were sleepy vs MN Rise and lost by 2. They came back in their next game with Jaelen Treml's layup at the buzzer in OT to beat Team Factory Gold. Speaking of MN Rise, they won their 1st 3 games including that Select game. But then gave up a 15 point lead including a 4 point play with about 15 seconds left to lose by 1 to South Dakota Network. Solid weekend for the outstate club.
Crossfire Stone is now 7-1 on the season. They had a pair of 1 point games that they won. Brad Cimperman with a late FT to win the Lincoln Supreme game. The only loss was a hard fought 6 point loss to Heat Tauer, no shame in that. They also had a good win over South Dakota Attack. Attack played without Wisconsin commit Matthew Mors but did have top 5 Iowa soph Tanner Te Slaa (who we saw last week with SD Venom 16s but this is his normal team). Te Slaa had a late 3 and the game winning free throws to beat Howard Pulley on Saturday night.
Continuing with Howard Pulley they were one of the 3 local teams to pick up good wins over Team Factory UA Rise with Wisconsin commit Chucky Hepburn. Heat Tauer and D1 Minnesota also on that list. Very surprised they came away from the weekend 0-4. Very fun team to watch and talented.
17U Division
MN Lockdown 4-0 Tourney Champs
MN Nice 1-3
MN Select Robinson 3-2 Consolation Champs
A 1 point loss in pool pushed Select Robinson to 2nd in pool. Then the local MN Lockdown squad beat them by 2 in the semis. Lockdown went on win the championship game by 9. Select avenged the 1 point pool loss to All Iowa Attack Black with a 1 point win in the consolation title game.
16U/15U Showcase
D1 Minnesota 15s 3-0
D1 Minnesota 16s 2-1
D1 Prospects 16s-Chase 2-1
D1 Prospects 16s-Tiran 2-1
D1 Prospects 15s-Laymon 0-3
Howard Pulley 15s 3-0
Heat MacDonald 16s 0-3
MN Rise 16s 2-2
MN Suns 16s Richardson 2-2
15U
MN Nice 2-2
MN Grizzlies 1-3
MN Heat Yahn 0-4
D1 Minnesota 15s steamrolled their way to 3 easy wins for coach Al Harris. The 16U crew had a long rough stretch of solo offense against a very good Lincoln Supreme 16s team. That put them down by 19 in the 2nd half before a late rally fell short. Howard Pulley 15s look to be a very fun roster with some of the guys from last year's loaded DTA 14U squad that played 15s locally. Tommy Humphries and CJ O'Hara on the perimeter with the massive Lincoln Palbicki inside. Add in guys like Emmanuel Schmitter and you have a talented crew. They also blew out a talented South Dakota Attack squad. Heat MacDonald had a very good All Iowa Attack crew on the ropes before losing in overtime. Star guard Cole Glasgow from that AIA team is reported to be joining the D1 Minnesota 16s.
Player Thoughts
The Star - Eli King (Caledonia, D1 17s). It was his play in the game vs Team Factory on Saturday night that earned him an immediate offer from the Gophers. Explosive off the floor for dunks, distributing the ball and defending a guy like Chucky Hepburn, he played at a ridiculous level.
Andrew Morgan (Waseca, Heat Tauer) - In their big game vs Team Factory, Will Tschetter had offensive struggles and Morgan more than made up for it with a strong double double of 18 points, 11 rebounds (give or take) and a couple of blocks.
Ryan Dufault (Waseca, Heat Tauer) - His toughness shows thru in making big plays and he did that to be a major factor in why the Heat held off Team Factory.
Kyreese Willingham (Waseca, Heat Tauer) - Just as Team Factory was rallying late, he took 2 plays that Chucky Hepburn caused total chaos on and turned them into a 3 and a 3 point play. Those sealed the game He also was active on the glass approaching double digit boards in that game.
Josh Strong (Champlin Park, Heat Tauer). Now he had some turnover moments. But he did hit some big 3s and have some notable steals. Definitely keeping an eye on him as another PG in the 2021 class.
Caleb Siwek (Rosemount, Howard Pulley 16s) - He hit a late clutch 3 to tie the game vs SD Attack. Then against Team Factory knocked down 4 early 3s and then his 6th triple of that game was the dagger to clinch it. I know shooting runs in the family (brother Luke is at Hamline) but I didn't know he shot it like that. 20 PPG in the South Suburban. After his stats were pointed out to me I knew I missed on him as my breakout player there, but seeing it in person totally cemented that.
Tre Holloman (CDH, Howard Pulley 16s) - He got the better of the battle with Hepburn on Sunday. Had a pair of big triples and then a very smart postup for a hoop when he saw Hepburn's small backup was guarding him. Plus the usual distributing and control of pace that we've all come to expect from him.
Reid Patterson (Lakeville South, Select Ohnstad) - Hit the game winner in the early Saturday opener. Then had big buckets to bring them back in their last game and a good look at a game winner there to before Jaelen Treml won it in overtime.
Kegan Heiderscheidt (Sleepy Eye, MN Rise) - A lanky big with some skill and athleticism. Also loved his fire. He was a key piece in Rise success this weekend.
Other Comments
Minnesota showed well with 7 of the top 12 juniors and 5 of the top 9 sophs playing. 3 others in those groups were on roster for the teams there but unable to play. As previously mentioned, this wasn't just about Minnesota though. North Dakota had its #1 and #3 sophomores represented. South Dakota's top sophomore and #2 junior were there (#1 junior Matthew Mors did not attend). Nebraska had its 2nd and 3rd players from 2021 and 2022 there. Iowa had 3 of its top 5 sophomores there with the interesting factoid that they were playing on teams representing 3 different states. So all of this made for some very fun matchups. #1 soph in ND going head up against the #2 soph in Nebraska. #1 soph in Iowa going head up against the #2 junior in Nebraska. Seeing that level of competition is what makes grassroots ball so fun and why I enjoy my Vegas trip. It also is a great differentiator for college coaches. Trying to do it on dicey video feeds is an even bigger challenge to the always difficult art of recruiting.
If you're a long time reader, you won't be surprised I saw Chucky Hepburn 3 times. I am going to watch a Wisconsin commit after all. While he and his team struggled, I loved his game. 23 points vs Heat. Team collapsed when he was on the bench. He has such quickness with the ball and defensively with his hands. Uses his body well and has a swagger. Wisconsin also showing interest in Lincoln Supreme's Isaac Traudt (2022). He didn't have a big game, but as a big wing who can shoot it, I still liked what I saw. It was the toughness of the other star on that team, Cale Jacobsen, that really carried the day for that team. Also liked what I saw from SD Attack 16s star Caden Hinker. The forward holds offers from Augustana and Sioux Falls. I definitely expect that list to grow. Versatile inside/out game, has strength and a bit of bounce. Joe Hurlburt (D1 16s, Enderlin, ND) has a frame that college coaches love and after seeing him in person you can see why. I think he needs some time to adjust to the bigger stage but definitely want to see his development. You can see PG Tamin Lipsey (Iowa, D1 17s playing up) isn't all the way back from his knee injury, but his vision and feel for the game are there. He will be fun to watch.
2020 Hard Work Kick Off Review
While a couple teams have already gone on the road, the revamped AAU schedule (thank you COVID-19) really kicked into gear over the holiday with the Prep Hoops Hard Work Kickoff in Appleton, WI. Minnesota was represented with a handful of teams in each division. Here are the results and a few highlights from what I watched online.
15U
MN Chill 3-0
Crossfire Brown 0-3
MN Select James 0-3
MN Select Koch 1-2
It was a nice weekend for Chill as they hung on for a 4 point win in their opener on Friday night. They followed that up with a pair of double digit wins on Saturday. Productive weekends from forwards Molley Komara (Park Center) and Khalif Bettis (Burnsville).
Rough weekends for Crossfire Brown and Select James. Crossfire with 3 single digit losses. That included giving up a 6 point lead at the very end of their Friday night loss. Wing Henry Skinner (Rockford) with a big 2nd half in that loss to keep Crossfire in it. John Mueller (Watertown-Mayer) also productive for Crossfire.
Select James had a double digit lead in their opener before scoring only 1 FG in the last 20 minutes. They lost all 3 games by double digits. Center Jeffrey Iwuchuwku (Park Center) is raw but shows upside. The Eastview duo of Rohan Jordan and Hayden Hoffman look to be future pieces for the Lightning. Jordan reminds me of PC grad David Ijamibola while Hoffman's game showed a striking similarity to Eastview grad Tate Machacek.
16U
MN Select Davis 0-3
Crossfire Barker 3-0
Crossfire Terhaar 2-1
SE MN Thunder 2-1
MSP Elite 1-2
The Select Davis record is a bit harsh. They lost big to 2 loaded squads in SD Venom and WI Playground Club's Under Armour squad. No real shame there. They came back to take a 1 point lead later in the 2nd half of their Illinois Hoopstars game before giving up 10 of the last 13 points. Standouts for Select included Daniel Ijadimbola (BSM) and RJ Joiklow (Simley), Nathan Johnson (STA), RJ Spencer (TG) and Brayden Williams (Owatonna) all showing flashes as well.
Solid weekend for the Crossfire teams as they go 5-1. That included a local bragging rights win for the Terhaar squad over MSP Elite. That MSP Elite squad is largely a group of Spring Lake Park players.
17U
MN Select Ohnstad 2-1
MN Select Robinson 2-1
Crossfire Stone 3-0
Crossfire Jorgenson 0-3
Only loss for the Mitch Ohnstad's top Select squad was a hard fought battle against the WI Playground Club Under Armour 17s. Reid Patterson making important shots in their games. Jaelen Treml's defense sticking out as well. That included a respectable effort, particularly in the 1st half, against high major recruit James Graham in the WI PGC game. Graham leading WI PGC with 20 points in the game and was the difference.
Select Robinson started out with a loss in the game I watched. But I think this is a squad that could surprise folks with their solid guard play and lesser known guys on the front line. Shakopee's Mick Wherley is one of those guys. Grayson Stalboerger (Eastview) with 4 triples and 20 points to keep them close in the game they lost.
Crossfire Stone swept their weekend. Forward Connor Chappell (Orono) is a guy who I can see jumping onto the radar with his athleticism. PG Reagan Koch (Jordan) makes me think a bit of NSIC PGs like Ryan Bruggeman and Jameson Bryan. Not a wow guy, but makes open shots, is tough and doesn't turn it over. He has a D2 offer from Colorado School of Mines.
15U
MN Chill 3-0
Crossfire Brown 0-3
MN Select James 0-3
MN Select Koch 1-2
It was a nice weekend for Chill as they hung on for a 4 point win in their opener on Friday night. They followed that up with a pair of double digit wins on Saturday. Productive weekends from forwards Molley Komara (Park Center) and Khalif Bettis (Burnsville).
Rough weekends for Crossfire Brown and Select James. Crossfire with 3 single digit losses. That included giving up a 6 point lead at the very end of their Friday night loss. Wing Henry Skinner (Rockford) with a big 2nd half in that loss to keep Crossfire in it. John Mueller (Watertown-Mayer) also productive for Crossfire.
Select James had a double digit lead in their opener before scoring only 1 FG in the last 20 minutes. They lost all 3 games by double digits. Center Jeffrey Iwuchuwku (Park Center) is raw but shows upside. The Eastview duo of Rohan Jordan and Hayden Hoffman look to be future pieces for the Lightning. Jordan reminds me of PC grad David Ijamibola while Hoffman's game showed a striking similarity to Eastview grad Tate Machacek.
16U
MN Select Davis 0-3
Crossfire Barker 3-0
Crossfire Terhaar 2-1
SE MN Thunder 2-1
MSP Elite 1-2
The Select Davis record is a bit harsh. They lost big to 2 loaded squads in SD Venom and WI Playground Club's Under Armour squad. No real shame there. They came back to take a 1 point lead later in the 2nd half of their Illinois Hoopstars game before giving up 10 of the last 13 points. Standouts for Select included Daniel Ijadimbola (BSM) and RJ Joiklow (Simley), Nathan Johnson (STA), RJ Spencer (TG) and Brayden Williams (Owatonna) all showing flashes as well.
Solid weekend for the Crossfire teams as they go 5-1. That included a local bragging rights win for the Terhaar squad over MSP Elite. That MSP Elite squad is largely a group of Spring Lake Park players.
17U
MN Select Ohnstad 2-1
MN Select Robinson 2-1
Crossfire Stone 3-0
Crossfire Jorgenson 0-3
Only loss for the Mitch Ohnstad's top Select squad was a hard fought battle against the WI Playground Club Under Armour 17s. Reid Patterson making important shots in their games. Jaelen Treml's defense sticking out as well. That included a respectable effort, particularly in the 1st half, against high major recruit James Graham in the WI PGC game. Graham leading WI PGC with 20 points in the game and was the difference.
Select Robinson started out with a loss in the game I watched. But I think this is a squad that could surprise folks with their solid guard play and lesser known guys on the front line. Shakopee's Mick Wherley is one of those guys. Grayson Stalboerger (Eastview) with 4 triples and 20 points to keep them close in the game they lost.
Crossfire Stone swept their weekend. Forward Connor Chappell (Orono) is a guy who I can see jumping onto the radar with his athleticism. PG Reagan Koch (Jordan) makes me think a bit of NSIC PGs like Ryan Bruggeman and Jameson Bryan. Not a wow guy, but makes open shots, is tough and doesn't turn it over. He has a D2 offer from Colorado School of Mines.
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