Granite City Classic: Dinner Edition
The Apollo/Albany game was a different type of contest. It was definitely a slugfest between programs that are familiar with one another being from the same area, and there is definitely some dislike there. Especially from the Albany side: “that’s…
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Continue ReadingThe Apollo/Albany game was a different type of contest. It was definitely a slugfest between programs that are familiar with one another being from the same area, and there is definitely some dislike there. Especially from the Albany side: “that’s only cause he is a St. Cloud kid”, “that coach runs this event, don’t give him calls”, and my favorite “they try to hurt us we just try and foul them”. Those were words to the Twin Cities based officials calling the game.
Yes it was a different brand of entertainment and it never stopped. The stars of the game were Kyle Birr of Albany and Ethan Novacinski of Apollo. Both are top 50-60 level talents in Minnesota and every other score put on the board was by one of these players. Birr was the big shot maker and he got help from Danny Odenthal who was the ex-factor as the third best player in the game. Yes he yelled at the little kids that hollered “airball” at him but he also was the only other player in double figures for the game. His late o-board around Ethan Novacinski put a fourth foul on the Apollo star, forced him to the bench for some time, and he knocked out the foul shots. From that point on Albany was in control winning 60-51 and they were clearly the better squad.
St. Cloud Tech held the early edge on Orono but a series if items seemed to flip the momentum of the game. At the start of the second half Sam Sustacek had a run of three baskets, there was a momentum switching technical on Tech, and Coby Stoe went to work having one of the best games of his career scoring 26 points overall. Orono went from a first half deficit of three scores down to being about four or five scores up the rest of the way. Part of that was likely experience as well considering that Orono is most upperclassmen and Tech played only one senior. Orono grabbed the win over Tech 84-75.
Albany
Kyle Birr. Birr has a knack for sensing key points in games and coming through with huge baskets. In the first half it was his right wing treys, in the second half Kyle scored a pull-up after a defensive split and a late game baseline finish that grabbed his team the momentum. Love his sense of space. Without the ball is always looked in two plays ahead to get in position to make an impact and with the ball his quick separation game had Apollo often off balance. Impressive performance scoring 29 of 60.
Danny Odenthal. Danny brings the toughness for Albany and he does it well. Rebounds strong, stands his ground defensively, takes contact and gives little ground, and overall leads the Huskies stepping into a situation whenever it’s needed. Even if it means telling the little kid in the crowd that his free throws were good when “airball” was yelled at him. Odenthal’s five scores and his toughness on both ends was the ex-factor of the game.
Josh Terres. A well built tight end/defensive end looking big who may not have had the biggest box score numbers but his second half contributions were crucial. The 6-foot-5 senior pivoted for a key basket, he pulled three or four boards out of packs that his team needed to end or extend possessions, and there was a block that led to a an important transition score.
Ethan Hylla. The only underclassmen that played in this game, Ethan knocked out a pair of baseline jumpers in the second half. He’s about a six foot wing with a nice looking shot with his feet set who seems to have a bright future.
Apollo.
Ethan Novacinksi. Learned three things about him from this game when he scored 24 points before being limited late because of foul trouble: 1) a lot tougher than I thought, 2) much better shooting range than I was area of, 3) his face-up one dribble attack was way too fast for anybody from Albany to move with, even most of the guards. Much quicker than I knew.
Orono
Coby Stoe. Gritty guard with a good first step of attack into the defense and he does a nice job getting to the jump stop and getting results. His second half jumper from 13-feet off that jump stop is a great example of how he uses it. Coby also at the arc once as well early and then opened the second half with a triple. Defensively he’s dependable to be in the right position. Also hit a one dribble pull-up jumper off a perimeter face-up that the defense couldn’t defend. Late in the game the Tech guard stood up to make a call and with that the ball bounced higher and Stoe exploded to the steal and scored the other way.
Alex Kill. A 6-foot-1 senior shooter who hit a pair of treys early in the game when Tech left him open but word was out on his touch early and he didn’t get many more opportunities. Tech was within two scores late but Kill knocked out a close to NBA range trey with defenders stepping to him off a screen. Huge make that put him in double figures.
Sam Sustacek. Had a really tough time dealing with the Tech defense as they did a good job cutting off his one dribble when he had the ball and Tech did an outstanding job of locating and putting a body on him once the shot went up. Did more in the second half scoring a quick six points that was the initial mark of when Orono changed the momentum of the game.
Sam Turner. The senior is every bit of 6-foot-7 and I like what he does behind a post on defense. Nearly impossible to score over him because Turner does a good job of forcing the defense off the block and making them go over the top. Have to believe there is a D3 program that will work with him at the college level.
Thomas Lecy. Sophomore guard made a pair of treys in the first half and there is definitely a scoring moxy to the young man as he wants the ball and has no issue with releasing an attempt.
Colton Codute. Speedy guard who is tough minded and strong at his 5-foot-8 size. Type of quick guard that is always in control despite a spin move or crossover at a high rate of speed.
Jack Anderson. Junior guard at about 6-foot-3 who seems most comfortable moving off the ball and getting his feet set to catch and release with range. Showed off more of his range as the game moved on hitting in the deep corner to give Orono a big lead. Seems to love the baseline and corner attempts.
St. Cloud Tech
Jack Mussman. Very big, very strong junior 6-foot-5 post that looks like a football lineman and seems to have the footwork and hands of a football prospect. Immediately contributed scoring twice on the block using his body to get space and then finish. Did an excellent job of making contact and keeping Sustack off the offensive glass. Good talker on defense too.
Brevyn Spann-Ford. Made his initial impact hitting cutters with zipping assists and then scored later in the half from the foul line and twice in transition. At 6-foot-7 Brevyn moves and makes plays like a wing plus has the body control to get up the floor and finish against closing contact. Moves better than you think, extremely skilled for a sophomore.
Max Martig. The junior is an excellent worker. The type of off-ball activity guy that runs the floor to score, cuts off the ball to score, and has to be blocked out on the backside. Good getting up and down sprinting hard. Basically an active slashing three man.
Kail Lindgren. A 6-foot-3 sophomore shooter with decent size as a two and the touch of a three-point shooter that opponents have to game plan for the next three years. Type of guy you can’t help much off of because he’s long and shoots a high percentage. Also did a nice job getting to space with a dribble off a ball screen.
Chris Backes. High motor 5-foot-9 junior guard that loves to pressure the ball and harass with a deep stance. Chris also made a pair of threes and was the first Tech player into double figures.
Trevor Koenig. A 6-foot-9, maybe 6-foot-10 junior big with huge length, good agility, moves laterally well for his size and based on the face-up attempts his shot looks good too. Also had a second half post move where he dribbled twice to the middle and then quickly spun extending for a finger roll while fouled. His shots were short facing up after sitting the first half of play. Covered over to block a shot and then ran the other way to post, quickly spin over right shoulder and score. Too long to defend when he gets leverage on a post. Sat the first half so didn’t get to see what he is fully capable of. Leads Tech with 14 points per game this year.