Comets Shootout: 17U Saturday Standouts from Sauk Rapids – Guards
The Comets Shootout took over St. Cloud last weekend and with players coming from all over the state — and neighboring states — and coaches coming from all over the Midwest, the AAU season got kicked off in style.
I was in Sauk Rapids checking out pool play at the 17U level Saturday. Here are some guards that caught my eye.
The first team to really catch my eye was WOTN Ewing and the guy that stood out was point guard Bryce Phillips from North St. Paul. Phillips is a bit of an undersized point guard but he excelled at controlling the tempo for WOTN and using his speed to create easy scoring opportunities in transition or get into gaps against a halfcourt defense and create shots for his teammates. His on-ball defense was outstanding throughout the day and while he can be caught gambling on an occasion, his ability to make plays on the defensive end helped WOTN win both its games.
Another guy to watch from WOTN is Owatonna swingman Dalton Kubista. Kubista’s jump shot was falling Saturday especially in the team’s second game where he hit several 3-pointers. He also did a great job using his length to get to the rim and while he’s not thick, he appears to be wiry strong and his body control was on display throughout the night as he showcased the ability to finish in traffic through contract on numerous occasions.
WOTN mostly overwhelmed both of the teams it faced in pool play but a few guys that stood out against them included the Powerhouse White guard combo of Thomas Lecy and Griffin Sage. Both Orono guards, Lecy and Sage both excel as pure 3-point shooters. Sage did a lot more of the ball handling against WOTN and held his own against a heavy pressure defense and while his game looks best suited for off the ball, developing that on-ball part of his game could lead to a lot more college interest. What makes Lecy impressive is that even with everyone in the gym aware of his shooting ability, Lecy’s got the ability to get his shot off. He’s got a quick release and does a great job using screens or just moving to spots on the floor to present himself as an outlet to a slasher or when a defense breaks down.
Heat Johnson’s Emmette Page Jr. was one of the few guys who had much success against WOTN Saturday night. The first thing that stands out with him is his size. He’s a strongly built lead guard who uses that strength to leverage his way into the paint for scores. He also went into the post on two occasions and bullied his way for a score and an assist. Page isn’t just all size/strength though as he showcased a smooth perimeter jumper in the second half of the game. I get the sense that if he can consistently knock down that outside shot, he’ll be a guy that gets more attention as the summer goes along.
The guy who impressed me the most throughout the day was Fury Antl and Orono combo guard Max Bjorklund. Bjorklund’s got all the skills offensively and he put them on display Saturday. At 6-foot-2, Bjorklund looks more like a point guard than a true wing player if he’s going to maximize his value to college scouts and he handled most of the PG duties over the weekend. When it comes to scoring, there aren’t really any holes in Bjorklund’s game. He’s got a smooth outside shot and doesn’t need much time to get it off. His ability to take contact and finish on drives is impressive especially considering he isn’t particularly big or supremely athletic and his ability to get to his sweet spots on the floor was impressive. Bjorklund can obviously score — he averaged 19 a game for a top 10-15 team in the state last year — but the most impressive part of his ability to score is that it never seemed force. He was efficient throughout the day and it never seemed like he took a shot he didn’t want to take.
Another dead-eye shooter to watch throughout the summer and into next year is Apple Valley guard Ely Hendrickson. Hendrickson played with a team comprised of Apple Valley kids last weekend and without some of their top high school players, they advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Hendrickson is a guy that keyed the effort with an absolute beauty of a shooting stroke.
Powerhouse Black has an outstanding collection of individual talent and I think that as the AAU season goes along, they’ll win a lot of games. It was clear that they didn’t have a lot of chemistry in the first weekend but one guard who really stood out was Park Center’s Jarius Cook . Cook’s got great size and athleticism for a wing player and he showed off that athleticism on several occasions with his ability to finish in traffic around the rim. He’s an impact defender because of his ability to defend seemingly any perimeter player and he knocked down two 3-pointers in the game I saw. He’s not a guy that monopolizes the ball and needs a ton of plays drawn up for him to make plays, rather he’s very good at making things happen within the flow of the game. If that jump shot is consistent, Cook will draw a lot of college interest.
The last two guys that caught my eye were St. Cloud Apollo guards Phillip Dromgoole and Marquise Smith. Dromgoole plays for Comets Little while Smith plays with Comets Thuok.
It took a little while before Smith got going in his game against Fury Antl but once he settled in, he was nearly impossible to keep out of the paint. He’s got an explosive first step and a quick crossover move that left several Fury defenders in his dust. At 6-foot-1 (maybe), he’s got great explosiveness and showed he could finish against length.
Dromgoole was impressive in a win over North Dakota Phenom, keying a great defensive effort. He’s very good on the ball as a primary defender but he was at his best as a help defender where he seemingly gets a hand on every pass in his vicinity. He did a great job fighting through screens and deflecting passes in ball screen situations and created countless scoring opportunities by pushing the tempo.