The Best of the Tip Off Classic
Highlights of the Day The Tre Jones throw down. Completely caught me off guard and it was over the top of another. The other was Ishmael El-Amin, who hit two treys right after that dunk and kicked in a big…
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Continue ReadingHighlights of the Day
- The Tre Jones throw down. Completely caught me off guard and it was over the top of another.
- The other was Ishmael El-Amin, who hit two treys right after that dunk and kicked in a big Hopkins run that built their lead and kept them on top most of the game.
- Late game takeover by McKinley Wright including step-backs, physical attacks, and deep finishes pushing the Rebels over the Islanders.
- Nick Dufault and Bryce Irsfeld going back and forth putting up 36 and 32 respectively
- There was an Amir Coffey assist and And1 late in the game that cemented the Royals win.
- Edina got two foul shot from Walt McGrory to beat Lakeville South
- Massive dunk from Shae Mitchell vs Edina
- The Daniel Oturo throw downs against Minnetonka drew a lot of applause.
- Sam Baker broke the backboard plate under the rim on a dunk
- The constant Minneapolis North open floor highlights
Taking Their Game to a New Level
- Shae Mitchell (Lakeville South). Scored 25 against an Edina team that physically could do little with him except get in the right position and hope for the best.
- Hunter Koep (Northfield). This is a guy that people need to start talking about. Works extremely hard and had 27 vs the Redhawks to push his team to a win.
- Josh McGreal (Centennial). Saw a lot of potential out of him this spring and summer and we are starting to see that in the winter, had 18 versus Chaska
- Booker Coplin (Shakopee). The Sabers are undefeated and now a top five team in state and a big reason for that is the all around play of Coplin. Had 26 points vs JM and did some of everything.
- Matthew Hurt (Rochester JM). Hurt has been putting up solid numbers all year but on the big stage he went for 33 points against a good defense in Shakopee
- Nick Dufault (Waseca). Better lift than I thought, better shooter percentage wise than I though, the way he separated from strong defense really caught my eye.
- Pat Dembley (Mpls North). Love watching him in the open floor. Scored 20 and produced buckets for his team on the break that are enjoyable yet smooth in the making.
- Simon Wright (Hopkins). He’s hitting that trey now, battling on the glass, always defending, always trust worthy. Scored 14 points and had a key late corner trey.
- Gabe Kalschour (DeLaSalle). Exploded for 25 first half points on his way to 30 as for the second straight weekend he put up big numbers at a Breakdown event.
- Theo John (Champlin Park). I put Theo here because he made 13 of 13 treys, hit a three, and had a one dribble face-up attack of beauty And1. Those are new plays showing an expanded game.
- Tywhon Pickford (Maple Grove). Scored 25 and I’ve always felt like when healthy, Tywhon is a consistent player. The difference is he is doing more, and everything he is doing has been game after game.
- Max Cooper (Minnetonka). Had 14 points and 14 rebounds giving the Skippers something around the basket.
- Daniel Oturo (CDH). 23 points, 11 rebounds, a more physical approach to what he is doing and a lot more consistency. Playing in a very mature way in the frontcourt.
Stars that Starred
- JaVonni Bickham (Minnehaha Academy). Bickham put up a game high 31 points in a loss to the Raiders nearly doubling the numbers of Luke Harris.
- Kent Hanson (St. Paul Academy). The Spartans put Mt. Iron-Buhl down 66-28 and Hanson matched his opponents with 28 points of his own. .
- Myles Hanson (Chaska). Averaging 19 a game, Myles scored 21 against Centennial. The young man is always consistently productive.
- Steffon Mitchell (Shakopee). The senior scored 28 with a strong second half pushing his team to a big victory over another top ten undefeated opponent.
- Michael Hurt (Rochester JM). Michael missed another triple-double by an assist but had 24 points against a quality Shakopee defense.
- Bryce Irsfeld (Browerville). Brought his team back from down 21 points to within a basket before losing by three. Scored 32 and answered a lot of Dufault scores.
- Ade Murkey/Trento Krueger (St. Croix Lutheran). Each had massive double-doubles with 20 points/21 rebounds for Krueger and 23 points/16 rebounds for Murkey.
- Minneapolis North. All of the names on that team produced in a route of Fridley.
- Jordan Horn (Minneapolis North). In an extremely physical game, Horn had 25 of his 29 points in the second half and led Tartan over one of the best team’s in Iowa (Linn-Mar).
- Brock Bertram (Apple Valley) had his 21 points and 11 rebounds and broke the Eagle all time rebound record.
- Amir Coffey (Hopkins) totaled 22 points and ten rebounds leading the Royals to the number one spot in state.
- Vin Shahid and Ishmael El-Amin (Hopkins) both had 16 points giving the Royals steady backcourt production.
- Brad Davison (Maple Grove). When the Crimson made that initial burst out of the game Brad scored nine quick and then spent the day distributing.
- Tonka trio (Minnetonka) of Cedric Boone, Amar Miller, and Seth Coatta scored 56 and we had said it would take 55-60 for them to beat CDH and they did just that.
Noteworthy Performances
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- The 27 points and five treys from Will Moreton
- Allen Anderson of Osseo had a key 3pt play to earn Osseo a win plus several assists and 13 points.
- Braxton Raymond (Kasson-Mantorville). Put up 30 points proving to a lot of people what he is capable of doing with his touch and he doesn’t much time to get those results either
- Eli Cave (BSM). Scored 24 points, hit double figures on the glass, controlled the paint
- Ryan Larson (Braham). Like what the sophomore lead guard did running the offense and scoring 18.
- Tyler Johnson (Mpls North). Not sure if he had 19, 20, or 21 points but it doesn’t matter, any way you look at it Tyler had his share of highlights and high level production.
- Jordan Thompson (Mpls North). Loved his defensive work rate and production within the team framework. Scored 12.
Gary Trent Jr
- (Apple Valley) scored a game high 27 in the biggest game of the day.
New Names
- Kameron Bettie (Osseo). Top low post producer in the EP/Osseo game.
- Terry Lockett (Minnehaha Academy). Terry is not really a new name but since he is just in 8th grade I want to point him out again. Scored 13, trapped the Raiders into several miscues, big future.
- Kaleb Nelson (Waseca). Nice junior playmaker who is a good secondary scorer with length to do a lot of other things.
- Jamaris Johnson (St. Croix Lutheran). A long forward for the Crusaders who scored ten and has a good amount of potential.
- Elijah Johnson (Tartan). A 6-foto-4 power forward that defends and works the way Tartan Coach Mark Klingsporn wants him to.