Heritage Classic: St. Thomas More junior pair leads again
The Heritage Classic nightcap was a fifth place in the state tournament rematch from a year ago and like a year ago the St. Thomas More Cavs were able to defeat Clark-Willow Lake by single digits only this game was…
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Continue ReadingThe Heritage Classic nightcap was a fifth place in the state tournament rematch from a year ago and like a year ago the St. Thomas More Cavs were able to defeat Clark-Willow Lake by single digits only this game was closer.
Jake Satter knocked out six treys last March to lead his team to the win and it must of felt like deja vu when Jake Satter, now a 6-foot-5 junior, knocked out five first half treys. Last March Jake hit six in the game giving his team a seven point win. Saturday night he hit five leading the squad to a 62-59 victory in overtime.
Here are ten things we took from this game both player and team wise:
- Jake Satter of St. Thomas More has a rare ability at 6-foot-5 that get him looks at the division one level. When you stand a long 6-foot-5 and consistently you hit several shots at the arc regardless if a player is contesting your shot well or not, you have a wanted commodity: size and range on the jumper. Clark-Willow Lake was able to limit that touch later in the game but just the threat of the Satter jumper moved a defender away giving space to his teammates to complete.
- A teammate that was able to steadily build numbers was Isaac Kortemeyer. Isaac is without a doubt bigger than he was last year, and he also seems a lot more agile and experienced. When you take a guy that is 6-foot-8, agile, strong, and willing to run with the pack you have another rare commodity. Loved the one hand hook Isaac showed over Noah Huber, loved his activity off the ball, and a big thing with him is Isaac is now able to stay on balance better after taking contact. Isaac and Satter each had an earned 17 points and what was impressive about Isaac’s was that he outlasted Huber in production.
- PHD 100 percent loves the work rate of Clark-Willow Lake big Noah Huber. The 6-foot-6 post looks like he’s moving around better and he has always had great hands and footwork. This is a guy that would catch in the post, pivot with leverage, and score and then sprint the other way down to fight for position. He releases hard off screens, Noah is relentless on the glass, he runs in transition with guards, and Noah never gives up on a play. Noah is a post that will move up in our eyes and you have to wonder about him in college basketball. Looks like he would be a heck of an offensive lineman but he’s a really nice post player too.
- Six-foot-5 Rory Forest is a nice compliment to Huber. I found it impressive that Forest was able to defend Satter with reasonable success at times in this game after the Cav sharpshooter went off early. He’s also a nice backside scorer for his team, an active rebounder, and he moves better than you would expect.
- Cavalier point guard PJ Freidel is much improved. The opposing guards had a hard time keeping him in front and overall this season he has blended ball movement and scoring production for his team very well.
- Loved the shooting touch and form of six foot Cyclone guard Jacob Prouty. Has the toughness and knowledge of the game to get on the court early in his career but also the shooting touch is something of a gift.
- St. Thomas More is a deeper team now. Juniors Preston Arity and Tayton Maher definitely look more comfortable now and it seems like their teammates trust them in all areas (hitting shots, defensive rotations, decision making, etc).
- Braxton Hartley is a really nice senior. A crafty senior. Loved his fake into a spin move and finger roll early in the game. Type of plays he makes reading the defense and making the separation play on the move.
- These are definite top ten teams and this game was a state tournament caliber contest. Love that they are willing to schedule this game and can expect More to move up from that tenth spot and the Cyclones to slide down just a bit.
- Will they come out of their Region? St. Thomas More seems like the pick in region eight although Spearfish is athletic and experienced. The Cyclones have Sioux Valley to beat out so making the final eight will be no easy road for either program.