Adidas Prospect Series: Sunday’s Top Performers
D1 Minnesota won the Adidas Prospect Series in Minneapolis this weekend and five star Matthew Hurt was the star of the weekend show.
Matthew Hurt, D1 Minnesota. The five star 2019 is the third ranked player in the nation so strong performances are expected. This weekend though, Hurt took his game to an even higher level. He was purely unguardable, and from there worked in some of the top hustle plays of the weekend.
The most telling play for Matthew was against the Minnesota Comets in the semi-final. There were a four way scramble for a loose ball and Matthew dove ahead of the competition tapping the ball to a teammate. That player caught and took a dribble to shoot. Meanwhile Hurt jumped up, ran to the rim, and threw down a nasty one-handed tip-dunk putback off the attempted miss.
In the title game vs Powerhouse Minnesota, Hurt scored his 30 points on 11 of 19 shooting with 8 of 12 foul shooting. He also collected 16 rebounds and quarter of those boards were on early second half offensive boards when Hurt changed the game momentum with four putbacks.
In the semi-final against the Minnesota Comets, Hurt was defended by an array of different big guys but all of them had the same struggle. Matthew would back-in, make contact, and release from the defender using his frame in some way to shoot over the top of these big defenders who didn’t have the ability to recover after being contacted by Hurt. And when those defenders did react well Matt is too quick to space plus long at 6-foot-9 so they could not contest his shot. He scored 21 points on 8 of 12 shooting and then had an early seat to prepare for the title game. Matthew opened that semi-final contest with the game’s first nine points.
Of the schools recruiting Matthew, Minnesota Head Coach Richard Pitino saw him play Sunday, Gopher assistant Ben Johnson was at a couple games, North Carolina had head coach Roy Williams in town on Saturday, Louisville had an assistant watching on Friday and Saturday, Wisconsin watched Friday, and Indiana had an assistant watching a pair of days.
Justin Balcome, Comets Servaty. Justin finished his weekend going against comparable size from the Minnesota Magic and he had one of his best games of the summer scoring 17 points and limiting those others to little production. Offered program Valley City State watched Justin closely as he was the point man on the full court press and sent several Magic shots in his preferred direction. Offensively Balcome finished through true center sized and faced the basket to hit shots.
Jamison Battle, D1 MN 16s. Some day we will look back at this weekend being the weekend that Battle brought himself to being another level of prospect. Jamison has put himself in that group of players behind Hurt not only with the scholarship offers (Drake, UND) but with his consistency of performance. The three point stroke and pull-up jumper are there but Battle is now doing more to finish around the rim and he’s using his dribble attack going right, and going left. Another key part is that Battle looks to have grown an inch and has surely filled out in the shoulders and core strength looking much stronger.
Jarius Cook, Powerhouse Minnesota. North Dakota State and Idaho have offered scholarships to Cook and those staffs were at the event all weekend long, along with several other programs who are evaluating Cook. What did they see? A Park Center wing who played consistently hitting corner jumpers and playing his role within a deep and athletic team.
Anthony Davis, Powerhouse Minnesota. I must have a different opinion than college coaches on this as I feel Davis should have something by now the way he has played for Powerhouse. Shooting? Davis hits a three or two a game in every contest I’ve seen him play in the last 2.5 months and that’s in three different events (about 9-10 games). His explosive basket attack can’t be much of a problem and defensively this young man is Hopkins educated and has been playing since he was a sophomore because he’s an athletic, trusted defender. Davis led Powerhouse in scoring in both the final and the semi-final with 13 and 15 respectively.
Maleeck Harden, ECI 16s. Harden plays with the North Dakota based program but is a Minnesota player from Moorhead, Minnesota. He’s thin, long, has solid guard skills at 6-foot-5 as a small forward, and he consistently produces quality numbers. A 2019 player to watch for sure as there is quality potential in his game.
Joseph Hedstrom, Minnesota Comets. Hedstrom builds his offer last by the day and has several schools hoping he can be their center of the future. South Dakota, North Dakota State, Denver, and Western Michigan were the offered schools we saw watching Hedstrom plus Minnesota evaluated him Saturday and Sunday while Wisconsin watched on Sunday.
Hedstrom put together a ten point game in the sweet 16 round, scored 16 in the quarterfinals, and then had five in the semi-final loss. Hedstrom continues to be the physical low post fighter that is able to give his guards an easy entry pass coupled with a catch and low post move. He also gives all out effort to sprint the floor for every possession and if opposing posts even get a touch around the basket they usually don’t try to score over Hedstrom’s well positioned length.
Joe Jahner, ECI 16s. ECI was a semi-finalist in a good event and this young man made a statement. From Bismarck High School Joe is an aggressive wing scorer but he was also bringing the ball up the floor starting the offense. He knocked six three-pointers in a quarterfinal victory and scored 27 points that pushed his team to the next round. U of Mary had a full staff watching and Joe’s performance likely made another quality impression. Joe is making a push to be the top guy in the state right now prospect wise.
Jake Kettner, D1 Rise. This past spring a photo was taken of the Rise 2019 shooter down in Iowa. Three months late Kettner is noticeably filling out more and has definitely become bigger. He’s a smart player and a knock down shooter but he caught our eye doing more on Sunday. The crossover dribble is nasty and one that will catch a defender if they over play to a side. Kettner had a pretty reverse lay-up, he used a fake into a one-dribble pull-up, and he’s a better passer than we knew. Maturing right now for a great two year run.
Anders Nelson, D1 Minnesota. The most noteworthy part of Sunday for Anders Nelson was the pair of dagger three-pointers he made late against the Comets. Nelson’s opponents had some late hopes cutting the lead but Anders hit back to back threes and the game was over. Nelson is one of the better shooters in the state of Minnesota.
Uhana Ochan, D1 MN Rise. When it comes to frontcourt players most do not have the Ochan motor, physical build, length, agility, or explosive bounce. Ochan is only 6-foot-6 though but makes up for some of that with his activity and length. His explosive finishes at the rim are matched by few and his effort is matched by even fewer. If his low post skills continue to grow into 17 point games like he had against Powerhouse White somebody will be getting a gem that gives like playing with.
Bryce Phillips, WOTN. Bryce earned so much respect this weekend for the way he competed against the D1 Minnesota and Minnesota Select guards. He was as tough as anybody and just would not allow a guy to turn the corner without physical contact. His ball pressure defense and active hands forced several turnovers out of some of the state’s better lead guards. Bryce played with energy and so many of his teammates followed suit. Jon Martens was a fighter, Tyler Lewko battled and finished, and Owen Blascziek did the same. WOTN was respected for their fight when they left the gym on Sunday starting with Phillips.
Mitchell Plombom, Minnesota Comets. The St. Cloud Cathedral forward had an outstanding weekend highlighted by the constant finishes at the rim against the Rise and then the 20 point performance against D1 Minnesota in the semi-final. Plombon is well built at 6-foot-6 and one of the better athletes in the senior class. Coaches can trust him to board, move his feet with the right lateral quicks, and make explosive finishes around the rim. What about that face-up shooting touch? Mitchel went on his own early game 10-0 run and scored 20 overall and the majority of the those baskets were scores from 12 to 20 feet. The shooting touch is definitely improving.
Terrell Smith, D1 Minnesota Prospects. Smith is a graduated senior from Henry that had a solid double figure scoring year for the Patriots but just this month he’s been grabbing the attention of Prep Hoops writers but in Iowa and here in Minnesota. Smith’s dribble separation and explosive step have given the 17u level a load of problems as he’s been seeing bursting to the basket eight or nine times a game.
Tyrell Terry, D1 MN 16s. The word smooth is used in every description about Terry and that will continue because it’s the perfect identification for him. Tyrell forces nothing and balances the offense with near flawless reads in ball movement. We also noticed that Tyrell has been more aggressive with his offense which is good to see but he still forces no attempts.
Listed at 6-foot-1 Tyrell looks about 6-foot-3 and he drags that crossover deep on the floor into a quick pull-up before a defender can react. Terry has incredible length so the extension on his field goal attempts is hard to contest. He took his young 16u team to the 17u semi-finals after putting the game away with eight free throws in the final 80 seconds (scored 17). Coaches from offered programs Iowa, North Dakota, and Northern Iowa were constants at his games along with others.
Tyler Wahl, D1 Minnesota. Very soon I believe we could be talking about Tyler Wahl and major conference programs being connected. Why? At 6-foot-6 he usually plays power forward out of need but the pieces are there to be a three. Tyler plays for Lakeville North so the defensive teachings are there and Wahl is a defender that can be counted on. As a ball handler he’s as good as any forward in his class not named Hurt. Finishing at the rim? The thunderous finishes coming from the west end were usually Wahl reminding everyone that he can throw down with the best. Then you have the jumper which is what everyone is watching. This weekend that perimeter shot was consistent and it was a weapon. Offered schools Northern Iowa and North Dakota didn’t miss a game.
Malik Willingham, Minnesota Select 16s. Knocked out six more treys and gave Select a chance in the quarterfinal. Malik is one of the elite shooters in his class and what’s more is that he’s been putting up these numbers game after game since he started his sophomore year at Waseca. Smooth ball handler too.
Calvin Wishart, D1 Minnesota. July has been a good month for Wishart. He’s made a strong claim as to what he is and where he stands in the state of Minnesota as far as point guards go. His handling of pressure has greatly improved and the way he is balancing the D1 offense has them playing their best basketball of the season. Wishart opened the WOTN game with 11 quick points including three triples. Against the Comets Wishart went against Matt Todd and had a very strong semi-final performance including big attack finishes late. And in the final he totaled five assists and scored eight points down the stretch. All of this came while playing inside, The Mask.
Ethan Youso, Minnesota Comets. Ethan has one of the quickest spin moves I’ve seen in covering basketball in Minnesota. He leaves defenders frozen and looking lost when he quickly spins and then vaults to the rim to finish. Ethan also has a high percentage shooting touch facing the basket and gives you high effort every game.