SPTS: Sunday
The SPTS finished up Sunday with standout performances from some of the best in the upper Midwest. Prep Hoops runs you through some of the most talented in the event.
The Reason! The Wisconsin Playmakers and the Minnesota Comets were playing a very close game as these are two of the best teams in the league (Comets 5-0, Playmakers 4-1). A score game in fact. However, Dassel-Cokato wing Trevor Kaiser changed everything.
One score game? Yes. Then it was a 16 point game not to much later. How? Kaiser went from the difference in the game to the reason the contest was a blowout. He made eight three pointers that came in flurries. He made three in one short stretch, three more in another stretch, and then not to much longer Kaiser made two more. Eight threes in all, 24 game changing points.
The best part of Trevor Kaiser was that he went from giving his team the needed shooting to win against the Playmakers to shooting only once against the Fury but defending Michael Jones with effort and solid results (Jones had ten).
While are talking Comets hoops we also must mention the way Nathan Rund (Fergus Falls) continues to play. The Fergus Falls guard was strong all weekend getting the most out of his six or seven shots a game to produce results. Rund’s three point shooting stroke is on but he’s also one of the best Comet defenders. In the last six or seven games you could make a strong case that he’s been their best player.
Schooling the Opposition. If you were picking a Sunday MVP it would be hard to look past Dakota Schooler/Vermillion guard AJ Plitzuweit. Augustana Head Coach Todd Billeter was at all of the Schooler games as well assistant Tyler Vaughan from USF so that right there says how important of a player he is to those local programs.
The Schoolers dropped a game to the Fury but they were in the contest to the last moments because Plituweit was unstoppable down the stretch hitting foul shots, moving off the ball to catch and hit feet set threes, and he attacked to score off a ball screen. He had 14 points down the stretch in a two point loss.
When describing AJ the easiest way to explain it is that he has been well coached and he’s applied that coaching. Watching him play a couple times it’s instantly obvious that he understands spacing and how to create it, as well as how to use it to his advantage. His cuts are perfectly timed, he moves off the ball around screens as well as anybody, and AJ always has his hands and feet ready on kickouts and ball reversals to catch and hit daggers. A very heady player that is fun to watch.
Tiedman the Defender, and Tiedman the Completer! Schools love the way Eric Tiedman plays as a 6-foot-5/6-foot-6 defender. His motor as well as his lateral agility allow him to guard several spots at a very high level. He’s the type of guy that makes it his goal to shut top players down. So he does that, and now he’s starting to consistently produce double figure scoring numbers for the Fury. Yesterday he knocked down three jumpers against the Comets and was one of the game high scorers and rebounders. Let’s also not forget he had one of the nastiest open floor finishes of the weekend.
Six Guys? Who Cares! The one thing about basketball is that you can always find some story line within a game to keep you entertained. Yesterday I watched the North Dakota Phenom 17s beat the Iowa Mavericks Purple team in a fun little contest.
The Phenom had six guys and most of them were frontcourt players. Not matter, the Phenom staff called sets about nine of the first ten possessions and they led to deep post touches and a 19-6 lead. Despite being outmanned, the Phenom outmanned the Mavericks with a 36-22 edge on the glass. They also had Bartholomew Ogbu (becoming quite the football prospect as of late) and Trae Steckler (offered by Valley City State yesterday) playing some lead guard.
The biggest ingredient to the win was the patience of the Phenom offense led to wide open shots on the perimeter and 6-foot-3 guard John Horgan from Jamestown feasted. He knocked out eight three-pointers for his 24 points to lead the way. Trae Steckler totaled 15 points and nine boards, Ogbu had ten points and seven boards, and Jagger Miller put up seven points and nine boards.
Quick Hitters
- Extremely impressed with Owen King from Caledonia. Led his team to four wins this weekend and always does it with composure that is impossible to break. King has so many ways to beat his initial defender and he’s got the soft touch to score on the move or the pull-up before the second defender can do anything with him. Also had a comeback run against the Comets that included a three, two pull-ups, and two assists in about a 3-4 minute span.
- Jake Phipps is getting more consistent by the day. A complete pain to try and score over and getting better on the block. Six-foot-9 center from Anoka and the Fury.
- Brevyn Spann-Ford. The agile power forward from Tech and the Comets has the football offers from West Virginia, Iowa State, Wyoming, and others but he’s considering hoops to if it’s the right offer. His chase down blocks, help over blocks, and physical finishes are simply above the physical level of most others.
- Brandon Adelman and Karsten Broadley withstood the Fury 16s and won a big game for the Comets Stumpf squad. Adelman knocked down a couple key jumpers and the game winning score. Broadley is a skilled wing, who is long and agile. Consistently productive and he’s a 6-foot-6 prospect from Fosston.
- Cire Mayfield is hitting jumpers every game. If he can do that routinely, transition with the pace he is, and turn his defensive game to another level there are going to be looks coming his way. Nick Fulford also had a couple quality shooting games this weekend.
- Opposing coaches raved about Mason Larson and Aaron Fiegen of the Dakota Schoolers after playing them. Fiegen moves so well in his 6-foot-6/6-foot-7 long frame and Mason is not only agile but skilled and competed physically. There were some teams that did not have the size to compete with the Schoolers because of these two and center Trevor Hanson.