Comets Shootout: 17U Saturday Standouts from Sauk Rapids – Forwards
The AAU season kicked off in Minnesota last weekend with the Comets Shootout in St. Cloud. I was in Sauk Rapids checking out pool play at the 17U level Saturday. Here are some forwards that caught my eye.
A guy who really impressed me was Fury Antl and St. Thomas Academy forward Sam Vascellaro. Finding chemistry on the AAU circuit can be difficult because in nature, teams are collections of individuals who are the best players on their high school teams. There aren’t a lot of guys who are willing – at least early on – to fit into roles on their AAU teams, thus the basketball is generally poor in quality.
Vascellaro is one of Fury’s best players and could put up a lot more points if he were to hunt his shot more, but he made a big impact in practically every facet of the game throughout the weekend. I haven’t been able to find a hole in his game yet. At 6-foot-5, he’s got excellent ball handling skills and shooting range out beyond the 3-point line. He’s not an incredibly twitchy athlete but he showed off enough bounce with several chasedown blocks and a dunk after a steal in transition. He’s an excellent passer and screener and seems to have a great understanding of the game.
Vascellaro heads into the AAU season decorated enough for his junior year leading St. Thomas Academy to the state tournament. One of his teammates, Andrew Niebuhr was stuck behind a Division II big man last year at Jordan, so the AAU season could be something of a coming out party for him.
Niebuhr is 6-foot-10 and moves well. He showed the mobility to defend more than just the rim and in one situation, he switched off on a ball screen, ran a guard off the 3-point line, cut off a drive to the rim and blocked a step back jump shot attempt. He’s got fluidity that screams upside and while he’ll need to get stronger especially in his lower body — not uncommon for tall lanky bigs — he’s got tools. His activity level around the rim was solid and he’s got nice shooting touch inside. Again his strength and height sometimes prevented him from establishing great low-post position, but he showed a nice turnaround jumper and baby hook from about 10 feet. He’s definitely a guy to watch as the season goes on.
A big with similar length and activity level was tMBA Whittus and Mayer Lutheran big man Garrett Tjernagel. At 6-foot-7, Tjernagel moves well and runs the floor effortlessly. Most of his points in the game I saw — a win over ECI Prospects — came off either offensive rebounds or in transition. He’s got long arms and got his hands on a lot of potential rebounds and even if he didn’t secure the board himself, he keeps a lot of plays alive which led to scoring opportunities for teammates. Like Niebuhr, he’ll need to hit the squat racks and add weight in his lower body because he can be rooted out of post position but he’s got a frame and skillset that college coaches can work with.
Another guy who shined for tMBA Whittus was Chanhassen’s Austin Carter. The 6-foot-3 swingman showed off a deadly 3-point shot, knocking down four triples and scoring on several transition attacks.
Comets Thuok’s Logan Pratt from Detroit Lakes had a strong defensive game against Fury Antl, defending the rim against several quality bigs. He didn’t get a lot of scoring opportunities but flashed a solid motor on the glass and at 6-foot-7, he’s got length inside that was tough to score against.
Comets Little’s Cade Neubert from Sauk Centre showed some serious offensive skill in his team’s win over North Dakota Phenom. Neubert knocked down several mid-range jumpers and used his quickness to take bigger, slower defenders to the perimeter and score on attacks. Neubert excelled as a finisher offensively, oftentimes scoring in the flow of the offense.
The last guy who stood out was WOTN Ewing and Lakeville North forward Tyler Lewko. Lewko spent the winter season as a rotation guy with Lakeville North and looks primed to slide into a bigger role next winter. At 6-foot-6, Lewko looks like an ideal power forward prospect at the Division III level. He’s got good touch and range out to the 3-point line, he can handle the ball and pass in the flow of a halfcourt offense and he attacks the glass on both ends. WOTN had a strong overall tournament and Lewko was one of their best players. He’ll be a guy to watch this summer.