Ten Best: Delano vs. Mankato East
Delano and Mankato East met up for one of the evening games at the Breakdown Tip Off Classic. A back-and-forth matchup for about 30 minutes, the last six belonged to Delano junior point guard Calvin Wishart. The highly-touted guard dominated…
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Continue ReadingDelano and Mankato East met up for one of the evening games at the Breakdown Tip Off Classic. A back-and-forth matchup for about 30 minutes, the last six belonged to Delano junior point guard Calvin Wishart. The highly-touted guard dominated on both ends late in the game, leading the Tigers to a 77-63 win.
Tied at 53 with seven minutes to go, Wishart took over. An 11-2 run over 2 minutes 39 seconds, gave the Tigers an 11 point lead with 4:21 to go in the game. That gave the Tigers a solid cushion and despite the efforts of Damani Hayes and Kong Kong, Delano showed why it is one of the top teams in Class AAA.
MVP: Calvin Wishart (Delano)
This one was obvious. Locked in a competitive game for the first 30 minutes or so, Wishart totally took the game over in the second half. He scored 23 points, getting to the lane, hitting outside shots and running the break in transition. He created for teammates, spoonfeeding buckets to Nick Cayler and Keegan O’Neill and he was terrific on the defensive end. When the game was in the balance, he emerged as far and away the best player on the court.
Best Offensive Performance: Damani Hayes (Mankato East)
Hayes was a solid player for the Cougars as a sophomore and if they are going to be competitive, he’s going to have to take his game to another level. There’s no reason to think he can’t and that was reaffirmed against Delano. Hayes scored 18 points and scored in a variety of ways. He took smaller guys into the post, he knocked down mid-range jumpers and he was excellent driving from the perimeter and finishing in traffic. Hayes has all the tools to average 15-20 points per game. They were all on display at Hopkins.
Best Defensive Performance: Wishart (Delano)
What really made Wishart’s performance so impressive was that he truly took over the game on both ends of the court. His defense in the second half was outstanding both on the ball and off. He took two charges — one of which caused him to miss several minutes early in the second half — and picked up multiple game-changing steals. His pressure at the point was stellar and he converted turnovers into points, helping tip the game into Delano’s favor.
Best Intangibles: Dominick Nussmeier (Mankato East)
At all of 6-foot-1, Nussmeier is the center for the Cougars. That isn’t a crutch for him though as he makes up for the lack of height with impressive strength and a motor that runs hot all the time. Nussmeier only scored four points but he played his screens freed up a lot of East’s perimeter players for good looks. He also allowed Uhano Ochan to run free to the rim for rebounds by handling a lot of blocking out responsibilities. His name won’t show up in the stat sheet much, but he’s a guy the Cougars will love playing with.
Best Shooter: Kong Kong (Mankato East)
Kong gave the Cougars a huge spark off the bench, knocking down five triples on his way to 15 points. Delano jumped out to a lead early in the first half and Kong knocked down three treys to really give the Cougars a second wind. His ability to play off the ball was impressive and he looks like one of those guys who will shoot it out to about 30 feet.
Best Player off the Bench: Edmon Oyet (Mankato East)
Technically, Kong could probably get this one too but a guy who really impressed off the bench for East besides him was Edmon Oyet. Oyet scored eight points and provided much-needed energy when it looked like the Cougars might start fading.
Best Underclassman: Derek Techam (Delano)
Techam is just a sophomore, but he’s one of Delano’s best players already. The 5-foot-11 guard scored 16 points and played a sound two-way game. His energy on the defensive end was very good and his ability to score in multiple ways showed up as he knocked down a couple treys, drove well and made good decisions with the ball.
Best Under-the-Radar Performance: Nick Cayler (Delano)
It’s tough to be under the radar when you are the biggest dude on the floor but Cayler kind of was. He didn’t do anything flashy but he played his role to perfection. He set picks, he rolled hard to the basket, he rebounded and he ran the floor. Cayler scored 12 points and did a great job creating possessions for the Tigers with his ability to control the paint.
Best Prospect: Keegan O’Neill (Delano)
Again, Wishart is the guy that likely takes this one given his status as a recruit. But a guy that is really intriguing from this game is Delano forward Keegan O’Neill. At 6-foot-8, O’Neill has an impressive skillset. He’s got a nice shooting stroke out to the 3-point line, his mobility showed up on both ends of the floor and he flashed the ball skills college teams like from a power forward these days.
Best Play: Wishart takes over
With the game tied at 53-53, Wishart and the Tigers went on an 11-2 run to take control. The big string of plays in the sequence were when on back-to-back possessions Wishart hit a deep 3-pointer, stole the ball on the ensuing possession and drove and kicked to Keegan O’Neill for a short-corner jumper. That gave Delano a 64-53 lead.