Battle at the Lakes: Saturday Morning Standouts (Concordia-St. Paul)
As part of our continued coverage from the Battle at the Lakes, below is a look at some of the standouts from Saturday’s morning session at Concordia-St. Paul.
6-6 F Peter Timmerman (Iowa Mavericks Purple 16U/Dubuque Wahlert)
Tough combo forward with the ability to stretch the floor or score at the rim. Physical and long, he’s capable of defending two through five with good basketball IQ. Crashes the glass on both ends of the floor, understands offensive spacing and has a good perimeter shot. Solid all-around player.
6-0 PG Thad Ball (Minnesota Bulldogs 16U/Forest Lake)
One of the few bright spots for the Bulldogs in their morning loss to the Mavericks, Ball plays with good pace, is constantly attacking and has the ability to finish at the rim. Displayed a nice floater game to finish over bigger defenders in the paint and attacks the glass on both ends of the floor.
6-3 SG Rhett Darland (Iowa Cornsharks 16U/Clarion-Goldfield-Dows)
Thick off-guard who moves well off the ball and has a quick release on the catch. Shows extended range with good form from the arc, has the ability to shoot off the dribble and is a solid rebounder from his guard spot.
6-3 GF Conner Hale (Minnesota Bulldogs 16U/Forest Lake)
Lengthy wing who does a nice job filling the lane in transition and gets to the rim where he’s a capable finisher. Moves well without the ball on the offensive end, and uses his length to make an impact defensively.
5-10 G Griffen Clark (Iowa Mavericks Purple 16U/Cedar Rapids Prairie)
Fearless combo guard who is in constant attack mode, not afraid to go in amongst the big bodies on the interior. He’s got a nice array of moves around the rim and good body control, contorting his body to allow him to finish around contact. Also a capable perimeter shooter and solid defender both on-and-off the ball.
5-10 G Nick Bockman (Iowa Mavericks Purple 16U/Decorah)
Another talented combo guard for the Mavericks, Bockman showed the ability to stroke it from deep as well as high-level offensive awareness, taking advantage of sleeping defenders on basket cuts.
5-9 PG Sam Urness (Iowa Cornsharks 16U/Clarion-Goldfield-Dows)
Urness is an absolute pest on the defensive end. He’s got great laterall quickness, plays physically without going over the line and is capable of staying in front of anyone. Despite being just 5-9, he can defend either guard spot, as well as smaller threes. On the offensive end, he’s got a top-notch first step that he uses to get to the rim where he’s capable of finishing or distributing.
6-1 PG Drew Olson (Iowa Mavericks Purple 16U/Osage)
Strong, physical and smart lead guard, Olson is always looking ahead in transition and making the right play. He values possessions, rarely turning the ball over and constantly sets up his teammates with good looks. All of his passes are crisp, never floating anything, and always hitting his teammates in spots where they can do something with the ball. He’s a strong rebounding guard who is capable of finishing at the rim or stretching the floor.
6-8 PF Cole Eischeid (Iowa Mavericks Purple 16U/Carroll Kuemper)
Raw young big man who runs the floor very well and was looking to dunk everything early on in their game against MN Bulldogs. He’s a long, athletic kid with good hands and the ability to block shots on the defensive end. Needs to develop a more consistent motor, because he’s capable of dominating games on both ends when he’s playing hard, but doesn’t always do it.