Ten Best: Springfield vs Columbus Catholic
Ninth ranked Springfield ran into one of the elite teams from Wisconsin today at the Border Battle and fell 96-83. Sophomore Tanner Vogel and senior Hunter Schultz both scored 30 to lead the way. MVP: Hunter Schultz. The Columbus Catholic…
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Continue ReadingNinth ranked Springfield ran into one of the elite teams from Wisconsin today at the Border Battle and fell 96-83. Sophomore Tanner Vogel and senior Hunter Schultz both scored 30 to lead the way.
MVP: Hunter Schultz. The Columbus Catholic senior has one of the better dribble separations into a quick pull-up that I’ve seen. Once he gets a player leaning his explosion the other way could not be kept in front. Schultz, headed to Loras in Iowa at the D3 level next year, scored his 30 on 12 of 23 shooting including four triples. Springfield didn’t have a defender that could keep him in front.
Offensive MVP: Isaac Fink. The Springfield sophomore was everything he was advertised to be. The first edge he has is his strength. As a multi-sport athlete Isaac not only has the agility but he’s also able to attack, take contact, stay balanced and complete plays with a nice touch. Today his 9 of 21 shooting for 30 points included five threes that were taken with feet set and hands up, as well as curling and releasing or pulling-up. Fink had six boards and seven assists with his 30 and pretty much solidified all the talk of him being a top 15-20 sophomore.
Defensive MVP: Dons D. The Columbus Catholic defense forced 22 turnovers from Springfield (had only 3 themselves). This is a team defensive award today as the Dons rotations and effort to make every shot contested was the best I’ve seen this year. They were always in the passing lanes which was a big reason for the 22 turnovers forced.
Top Underclassmen. Fink, then the freshmen. Six-foot-1 guard Decker Scheffler and 6-foot-1 forward Mitchell Buerkle play and play a lot for the ninth ranked Tigers. Scheffler is trusted as a regular ball handler while Buerkle comes off the bench and battles. Scheffler made a couple shots but grabbed a game high dozen rebounds including several chase collections on the offensive end.
Top Bench Player. Jared Mendel. The best Dons young player is Mendel who came off the bench to score a dozen points. Everything was efficient. Smart player moving off the ball.
Best Aspect of the Environment. This is the annual Border Battle put on by the Breakdown and the Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook. Media from both states was here early as was a very nice crowd considering it was the first game of the day.
Top Under the Radar Player. Tyler Fuerlinger. Columbus Catholic senior who scored 27 points but the 30s from the other two kind of overshadowed what Tyler did. Made 9 of his 20 looks and was one of the toughest players on the floor. Six boards from his guard spot.
What to Know Going Forward. This is a top team in Wisconsin and they have yet to lose. The small school hoops in Wisconsin has some extraordinary teams so there is no shame from Springfield in losing this game. The Dons turned the ball over three times in 72 possessions. Springfield will be a contender and they are very young. We talked freshman, Fink the sophomore, and Vogel (below) but Andrew Beckman is also solid at 6-foot-6, he had 10 points and 8 rebounds.
Other. Tanner Vogel. After a quiet first half Tanner stepped up in half two to score 19 of his 21. Showed a pretty release after a good lift from his feet set make but also moved without the ball in a high court IQ way using screens to get open for perimeter jumpers, and hard cuts to catch and finish at the rim. A 6-foot-2 guard that should play a nice role on a team making a run to state, and a solid AAU team next year.
Top Numbers to Know. You had the 30 from Fink and Schultz, there was the 27 from Fuerlinger, the 3 turnovers from Columbus Catholic and 22 from Springfield, but the rebounding edge for Springfield was 46-22.