2022 1st July Open Period Thoughts

Its July and that means its time for our local teams to hit the road.  This year we have a 2nd open period as well but next year we'll revert back to this being the only true July open period.  The 2nd period will once again go back to being those stupid NCAA camps.

Most of our teams were in the southeast, specifically the Atlanta area.  Adidas had its teams in suburban Charlotte, NC.  Many of those kids will stay this week for the Adidas camp as well.  Nike took its teams to Kansas City for the final session of EYBL play.  We also had Minnesota teams sprinkled in Kansas City, Council Bluffs, Sioux Falls and Chicago.

I didn't see a ton this weekend but here are some highlights from the handful of games that I did see and events that I followed.

• Pulley 16s were 4-2 in E116 play in KC.  They finished in a 3 way tie at 2-1 in their pool but fell to 3rd place on tiebreaks.  They then went 2-1 in bracket play losing to Phenom U in the Silver Bracket (3rd place finishers) championship game.  Daniel Freitag had an outstanding week.  That included a 30 point outburst in the opener vs CP3 with 18-18 free throws.  Only 5-17 from 3 during the week but he got to the rim at will.  Big coaches crowd for his games as well with Minnesota and Wisconsin closely following.  Jackson McAndrew with 5 critical 3s in that game as well.  Andy Stefonowicz provided a great stabilizing presence as another ball handler when Freitag wasn't running the show.
• In Atlanta, MN Chill 17s finished 2-2 but their 2 wins stuck out.  Their 2 wins were over OWE and WI Crusaders Premier.  OWE knocked off Fury Antl in this same event.  The Crusaders are coming off a championship at the GPA.  The McNeal twins combined for 39 points in the win over the Crusaders.  Chet Kloss double digit points based almost entirely on moving without the ball to get himself layups.
• Speaking of Fury Antl, I did watch their loss to OWE.  Hayden Tibbits continues his solid play.   While his size may scare off some, he's tough and makes plays.  Matt Bothun also continues to play well.  He had a couple of 3 point plays in the 2nd half to help a Fury comeback.  Turnovers and cold shooting against a more athletic opponent ultimately did them in.
  
• Heat MacDonald took a tough 2 OT loss to Oklahoma Impact on a halfcourt buzzer beater.  Eastview's Henry Eliason heated up to help the Heat to 10 point lead.  Nice moments from Prior Lake forward Josh Ofori as well.  I also liked what I saw from Holy Family C Collin Mulholland.  10 points plus a handful of blocks including a critical one in the 2nd OT.
• A fun 16s matchup between Heat PBJ and the top Iowa Barnstormers was also on my schedule.  The Barnstormers feature 2 of the top 3 2024s in Iowa.  Heat PBJ would ultimately fall in this one.  Heat's Jonathan Mekonnen was the best guy on the floor in my opinion with his 20 points. The lefty forward looks to be another one of the many very skilled forwards to come thru the Eastview program.
  
• D1 Minnesota 17s won their 1st 2 games.  But then they lost Taison Chatman to injury and lost 2 of their last 3.
  
• In the Elite 32 event in Atlanta, Real Phenom Nick ran the table at 6-0 with a revamped roster.  Impressive stuff

Next up for most of our teams is the Prep Hoops region finals locally.  Then the final open period with many teams headed to Chicago (Prep Hoops) or to Sioux Falls (Sanford Pentagon Tournament Series finals)