Ten Best: Hastings vs BSM
Benilde-St. Margaret’s had some trouble with the well coached Hastings offense but in half two the Red Knights simply had too much talent for the Raiders to contain. Hastings had the Red Knights spinning on the defensive end. With several…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingBenilde-St. Margaret’s had some trouble with the well coached Hastings offense but in half two the Red Knights simply had too much talent for the Raiders to contain.
Hastings had the Red Knights spinning on the defensive end. With several different crafty sets, strong screens, hard cuts to space, and of course rapid ball movement within plays they were able to stay within a basket of the more talented Red Knights in the first half.
Half two was a different story. The Red Knights dominated the glass and multiple scores from Joe Dunn and Will Whitmore each gave BSM a large edge. Sophomore Jamison Battle responded from half one foul trouble to build his point total to 15 points.
BSM had four guys in double figures and Derek Drees kept the team ahead in the first half hitting double figures early. The Red Knights are now 4-1 (after the 79-61 win over Hastings) with wins over Mounds View, Waconia, Holy Angels, and Hastings (and a loss to Rosemount). The Raiders dropped lost their second straight game dropping them to 2-3.
MVP: Derek Drees. The Virginia Tech baseball committed player gave his team a double-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists. Showed a beautiful shooting stroke plus used his skilled size at 6-foot-5 to make plays around the arc.
Best Offensive Performance: Drees. Derek’s play came in waves. The first half saw Derek hit a three, get to the foul line, and score at the rim. Hastings didn’t have a defender physically capable of defending him consistently. As the game moved on Drees moved the ball intelligently building his four assists.
Best Defensive Performance: Will Whitmore. In one word you would call Will tough. He simply doesn’t give up ground. He’s consistent in position, is an excellent rebounding guard, and ended the game as the game’s high scorer with 16 points and six boards.
Best Guy Off the Bench: Carter Uphus/Jacob Brake. Carter came off the bench to score his nine points on only five shots. Carter is a 6-foot-6 agile power forward. Jacob Brake didn’t get many scoring chances but when he did they were usually true. Had nine first half points making all of his field goals and free throws.
Best Under the Radar Performance: Nathaniel Wiese. Wiese earned respect with his consistency of effort. The type of guy who rapidly fights to get under an opponent with his defensive position. The type of guy that is deep in a stance going at the ball. He also scored 11 points with four rebounds and four assists. Wiese is a 5-foot-10 senior guard.
Best Underclassmen: Jamison Battle. Battle’s first half was frustrating for him missing his first three shots and then getting into some foul trouble. Things turned around later though with the 6-foot-5 Battle knocking out three treys on his way to 15 points.
Best Story to watch Moving Forward: BSM development up front. This is a long and agile squad with versatile frontcourt players. Battle is a long three man, Drees can be your three or your four, Joe Dunn is good with his back to the basket or facing as a four, and Uphus and Dylan Drees are long 6-foot-6 talents. You know what you are going to get from Derek Drees and Joe Dunn’s game will be there because he works hard. When Uphus and the sophomores continue to grow this team could be really tough to deal with because they can through four of these guys on the floor at once with Battle playing the two and Drees at the three.
Best Aspect of the Environment: Candy Stripe Pants and Christmas Music! Can’t say that Christmas music makes for the best warm-up energy but it certainly went with the BSM candy cane striped paints!
Best Prospect: Jamison Battle. Jamison has rare gifts that will likely push him into being a top four or five prospect in the 2019 class, at least. He’s so long and skilled that defenders really have a problem keeping him in front. His perimeter touch is pretty and he can get to it with a stepback that few can match. It’s one of the best step-backs I’ve seen and Jamison go there with both a crossover and a ball fake.
Other: Joe Dunn and Collin Kummer. The shooting percentage from Dunn wasn’t where he wanted it to be but the effort is always 100 percent and that is why he ended with a 12 point, 11 rebound double-double. Dunn and Whitmore were the key second half guys and it was all about effort.
Collin Kummer is the definition of a tough, smart, experienced, educated player. Sharp cuts, great decisions, and simply strong in what he does. Scored nine first half points and looked good but was held to 2 of 10 shooting in the second half so he finished with 15 points.