10 Best: Class A State Tournament Quarterfinals
photo courtesy of the New Ulm Journal
The Class A state tournament kicked off Thursday morning at Williams Arena. Here’s the 10 best from the day:
MVP: Isaac Fink (Springfield, So. Guard)
Perhaps the best prospect in the Class A state tournament – excluding some of the unsigned seniors – Fink keyed the comeback win for Springfield with a combination of excellent defense and control of the offense. The 6-foot-3 sophomore displayed terrific court vision and decision-making in the second half, spearheading a 51-point second frame to lead the Tigers over Nevis. Fink finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, doing most of his damage in ball-screen actions.
Best Offensive Performance: Michael Landquist (Nevis, So. Forward)
Landquist kept Nevis in the game seemingly singlehandedly despite struggles from Griffin Chase and Jack Landquist. The sophomore swingman finished with 24 points on 9 of 18 from the field, getting to the rim with ease, knocking down three triples and getting his teammates involved with three assists.
Best Defensive Performance: Minneapolis North
Wow. The Polars are just on another level defensively. They absolutely locked down one of the best offensive teams in the state, holding Red Lake to just 29 percent from the field while forcing 23 turnovers. 10 guys registered steals, four guys registered blocks and nobody who took more than two shots shot better than 50 percent from the floor for the Warriors. The Polars shot almost 75 percent from 2-point range in large part because they got so many layups off their defense.
Best Shooter: Taylor Buck (Goodhue, Sr. Guard)
Goodhue plays a methodical brand of basketball and when the Wildcats get ahead, it’s hard to come back on them. Getting ahead wasn’t too tough Thursday as Taylor Buck was cooking from deep, finishing with 12 points on 4 of 6 from 3-point range.
Best Big: Odell Wilson IV (Minneapolis North, Jr. Forward)
Wilson was a force for the Polars, finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds. He’s got the strength that few teams at any of the small schools can contend with his activity level on the glass means that sometimes the Polars best offense is to simply put a shot up on the backboard and let Wilson fight for it.
Best Finisher: Kale Meendering (Springfield, Sr. Forward)
Meendering was outstanding in the win over Nevis, finishing with 22 points on just 14 shot attempts. Meendering did a great job setting screens and finding soft spots in the defense, making himself available of drop offs or kick outs throughout the game. He doesn’t have great size but he showed the savvy and toughness to finish in traffic against taller players.
Best Clutch Play: Cade Goggleye (North Woods, So. Guard)
If you haven’t seen the shot, it won’t be hard to find. Goggleye took an inbounds pass with less than four seconds to play, took a few dribbles — and about five steps without one — before launching a halfcourt shot that banked in at the buzzer, sending North Woods to the semifinals. Goggleye didn’t have a huge game overall by his standards but still finished with 12 points and seven assists.
Best Passer: JaQuan Sanders-Smith (Minneapolis North, Sr. Guard)
While most of the teams in the Class A field want to slow the game down, Sanders-Smith looks to try speeding the game up as much as possible. His ability to get into gaps and create for his teammates was on full display as he finished with seven assists. The senior point guard added 14 points and seven rebounds as well.
Best Stat Stuffer: Robert McClain (Red Lake, Sr. Forward)
It wasn’t a great day for the Warriors, but even in defeat, Robert McClain stuffed the box score. The 6-foot-4 senior forward finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, five assists and seven steals.
Extras: It’s a cop out given this is a “ten best” but here’s a handful of other standouts from the day
Minneapolis North
Isaac Johnson (Sr. Forward) — Probably the best player in the Class A state tournament, Johnson finished with 20 points, five rebounds and three steals in just 23 minutes. The 6-foot-5 swingman can defend all five positions and is a matchup nightmare for Class A competition.
Tayler Johnson (Jr. Guard) — One of the many terrific athletes the Polars can throw at the opposition. Johnson shined in the win over Red Lake with 18 points on 6 of 11 shooting, seven rebounds and four steals in just 17 minutes.
Goodhue
Jacob McNamara (Sr. Forward) — The top player for the second-seeded Wildcats, McNamara didn’t have as much success scoring in the win over LP-A but his defensive impact was key. The senior big man finished with eight points, five rebounds and four assists and played a big role in containing Jesse Bergh.
Central MN Christian
Matthew Van Eps (Sr. Guard) — Van Eps did a great job controlling the tempo for the Bluejays and picking his spots for when to attack and when to facilitate. The senior guard finished with just two assists but he did a great job getting everything organized and getting his teammates in spots to be successful. He also scored 17 points on just nine shot attempts.
Ethan Brouwer (Sr. Forward) — Brouwer was a hoss inside for the Bluejays, finishing with 16 points and 14 rebounds. A matchup problem for most Class A schools, Brouwer knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, got inside and used his strength to bully people in the paint and controlled the backboards in defeat.
Springfield
Tanner Vogel (Jr. Guard) — Vogel benefitted from Fink’s superb court vision, finishing with 15 points on an economical 5 of 8 shooting. He was excellent on the defensive end as well, helping contain Nevis star guard Griffin Chase.
Nevis
Griffin Chase (Sr. Guard) — Chase didn’t shoot the ball well Thursday, finishing with 14 points on 6 of 18 shots. He did finish with seven assists and four rebounds though, showing that he’s capable of impacting the game despite a poor shooting day.
Lake Park-Audubon
Jesse Bergh (Sr. Center) — The best big in the tournament, Bergh wasn’t able to dominate the Wildcats quite like he dominated a lot of teams throughout the season. He still finished with 17 points and nine rebounds though and was the only guy in double-figures for the Raiders.
North Woods
Brendan Parson (Jr. Guard) — Parson knocked down four triples in the win over Central MN Christian, scoring 14 points. The junior guard did a good job cutting off the ball and finding open space for kickouts.
Tate Olson (Jr. Guard) — Olson hit four 3-pointers and did a great job driving when the defense would close out too hard on him. He got the free throw line for six shots, knocking down four of them.