Ten Best: State Class AA Semi-Finals
MVP. Jalen Suggs. The Redhawks were in a constant transition run and Jalen led the way. He had five steals creating scores for others (one for himself) a plus Suggs received to finish on the open floor. He scored 23 points on 9 of 15 shooting plus his dribble separation moved or froze the Cardinals defense several times opening lanes for his burst into the lift for playmaking. Jalen was also the best defensive player of the game….
Defensive MVP. Jalen Suggs. Jarod Wilken was consistently hurting the Redhawks in the first half with his attack to the rim, attacks to the wing into short jumpers. The Minnehaha bigs weren’t able to defend Wilken so the Redhawks switched Suggs onto the senior forward and the game changed. Suggs made Wilken go over the top for everything and with Jalen on him Wilken only scored one field goal (his other five were against the Minnehaha size).
Offensive MVP. Noah Gindorff. The Crosby-Ironton Ranger center was able to give his team good post position nearly every possession. He was stronger than the Cathedral bigs by about 35 pounds of muscle and the future NDSU football player made good things happen nearly every time he touched the ball. The lefty turned to physically score 19 points on 11 shots, made six foul shots, dished out three post assists, grabbed 13 boards, and blocked four shots. Physically dominant around the basket.
Best Low Post Production. JaVonni Bickham. Annandale tried to zone Minnehaha but that was broke down because Bickham would catch on the second block or in the high post from a Redhawks teammate and then physically get to position for a touched in score. JaVonni had four scores against that Redhawks zone which was a big part of his 7 of 11 shooting for 16 points. Also had nine boards plus a couple soft touched jumpers form 16-17 feet.
Best Under the Radar Production. Lorenzo Smith. The Minnehaha Academy junior guard was a very important third option. In the second half he knocked out a transition three from Suggs that was maybe the biggest momentum building play of the game. Smith scored a dozen and his other four baskets were open floor run scores at the rim.
Best Underclassmen. Suggs/Terry Lockett/Kaden Johnson. The Freshman Trio. We spoke about Suggs but Lockett and Johnson are always very important to the Redhawks who won 76-44 over Annandale. Lockett scored three times and had some outstanding outlets. Johnson also played a nice defensive game helping limit AJ Hinz and Trent Peper to a combined nine points. Johnson scored nine points himself.
Best Storyline Going Forward. The Redhawks Running Game. Minnehaha Academy forced 15 turnovers and scored 21 points off those turnovers. Most of those were in transition plus the Redhawks would quickly outlet Cardinal misses for scores. Annandale not only turned the ball over allowing the Redhawks to run, they never set a screen on Minnehaha Academy! These are young Redhawks players that love to jump passing lanes and leave their guys to double or take chances and they never had to work through a screen so they were always active in help or in the lanes. If you don’t make Minnehaha work on defense they will run you to death which they did to Annandale from start to finish.
Best Historic Day. Trey Jacobs/Michael Schaefer. Both players went over 1,000 points tonight and both did it after steals and on breakaway baskets. Jacobs had a steal for a score on back to back plays, Schaefer got himself a dunk in the Target Center for his 1,000th point.
Jacobs was a constant sprint to the rim all game. Five field goals and six foul shots all from active runs at the rim. He scored his 17 points in an active way that Cathedral’s wings were not able to stay between (ball and him). Schaefer had a team high 15 points and seven rebounds but made only one of six threes and that is where he can really change games.
Best Historic Day 2. David Galovich. Coach Galovich has been at Crosby-Ironton for 39 years and this was win 693. The Rangers will play in their fourth state title game under Galovich tomorrow when they face Minnehaha Academy. The team has been to state 21 times overall and has been in previous title games as well. Galovich is looking for his first state title trophy.
Most Interesting Prospect. Jack Silgren. Jack is a 6-foot-5 senior that plays guard. He didn’t have a great shooting day (3 of 11) but he made his foul shots to get to 13 points plus collected eight boards. He has solid handling skills, shot 40 percent from the three point arc for the season, led the team with nearly 18 points a game and nearly four assists a contest, and grabs between 6-7 rebounds a night. Skilled, has size, consistent production. Somebody should take a look. And somebody else should rank him higher. Impressive.