Maple Grove Jamboree Notes
I woke up early and trekked over to the Maple Grove Community Gyms on Saturday, where 15 teams showed up to get some last-minute tune-ups before their seasons start this week. Tons of talent across the board gave me plenty…
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Continue ReadingI woke up early and trekked over to the Maple Grove Community Gyms on Saturday, where 15 teams showed up to get some last-minute tune-ups before their seasons start this week. Tons of talent across the board gave me plenty of notes to share as the 2016-17 campaign gets underway.
Points Aplenty
Wayzata graduated some high-impact seniors from a year ago, and the new guys stepped in to handle the ball very well. Soph Jacob Beeninga and junior Drew Galinson facilitated to usual scoring suspects Ryan Lindberg and Gavin Baumgartner.
I watched Tywhon Pickford at the CDH scrimmage last week, and was impressed with his shooting from the perimeter. He continued that on Saturday for Maple Grove, with the same confidence he had last season before his knee injury. If he can pick up where he left off, the Crimson are in good shape. Also threw down two posters that were simply filthy.
Unfamiliar Faces Impress
Owatonna replaced DeLaSalle (the Islanders played at the Girls Tipoff Classic on Saturday evening) and held their own against tough metro teams. Played Elk River and Wayzata steadily and Jay Sullivan led the balanced attack of experienced guys.
The Osseo Orioles are back from a 30-2 season returning four varsity players. Their fifth starter, 6-8 center Alex Sinnen, will be a key difference maker for them inside. They haven’t had a shot blocker since Ian Theisen three years ago. I still expect Tim Theisen’s athletic group to run and jump other squads into turnovers and poor decisions.
Now a junior who has been an under-the-radar mainstay in the Elk River rotation the past two years, Jack Burger had all the chances he wanted to score. Running off of cross screens for open buckets gave him big games against Owatonna and St. Francis.
Frontcourt Frenzy
Nate Reuvers will have guards all over him whenever he touches the ball inside. He’s definitely bigger and stronger than a season ago, and is longer than almost everybody he faces; still, the Lakeville North Panthers’ supporting cast needs to produce to take pressure off of him.
I saw only snippets of 6-5 freshman Wyatt Schroeder of St. Francis, but he competed hard down low while dealing with the handful of stud that is Armstrong’s Race Thompson.
Joevon Walker of the Tartan Titans is as smooth a post player as you’ll ever see. Great touch around the rim.
Defensive Stoppers Shine
The Austin Packers have length for days, and they used it to their advantage by pressing and trapping whenever possible for easy steals. The Gach brothers again proved how effective they can be with the ball in their hands, from creating fast breaks to knocking down bombs off of screens.
Jordan Horn and Kingston Myles also wreaked havoc defensively while the role players for Tartan filled in comfortably.
Other teams in attendance not mentioned above: Brainerd, Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Marshall, Eden Prairie and Shakopee.