GPA 17U Friday Backcourt Standouts
St. Cloud was a hub from some of the best talent in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas last weekend for the Great Plains Invitational. Dozens of Division II and III schools were in town taking in one of the best recruiting weekends of the summer.
Here are some guards who stood out in a big way Friday:
Comets Lewis made a run to the championship Saturday and looked dominant throughout Friday. The driving force in that success was Monticello point guard Matt Todd. Todd’s rare when it comes to balancing playmaking and shot-making and his ability to score in bunches often ignited big runs that put distance between his team and hisopponents. He’s not real thick, but he’s very smooth and does a solid job playing through contact. When he’s got a head of steam, he can make even the best individual defenders look a little lost.
Todd’s teammate Kyler Kluge spent the weekend seemingly running the second unit as Lewis would oftentimes run hockey-sub line changes. Kluge’s ability to get to the hole combined with his feisty defensive style allowed him to make a big impact.
One of my favorite players in the 2018 class is Apple Valley/Select Ohnstad swingman Luke Martens. He’s a football star as well, so basketball schools might be waiting to see what his future plans are but on the hardwood, I see no reason NSIC schools wouldn’t be flocking to him. He’s not only incredibly productive now but he’s got tools and a lot of upside left. He’s a great on and off ball defender because he combines smarts and instincts with athleticism and strength and he can guard point guards or power forwards. He’s got some work to do as a pure shooter but he’s a very good slasher, playmaker and cutter off the ball. It’s hard to sum up his game without spewing cliched superlatives but alas…insert one and it fits with him.
Select Leafblad lost right away Thursday but I had a chance to see them for a game Friday and two guys I left impressed by were Blaine’s Byron Bynum and Waseca’s Adam Schumacher. Bynum is an explosive slasher and scored effectively from the mid-range especially. His feel for the game seemed strong and he routinely got into the lane and either scored or got a teammate an easy shot.
Schumacher is a combo guard who makes up for a lack of great explosiveness with smarts and instincts. He’s a solid 3-point shooter and does a great job facilitating.
I didn’t get a chance to soak up much of Powerhouse White Friday (stay tuned for notes on that team) but I did see Powerhouse Black in a loss against the Dakota Schoolers. As always I came away extremely impressed by Both Gach, who is now playing with Powerhouse rather than D1 Minnesota. Gach stuffed the stat sheet, scoring 20 while grabbing nine rebounds. Gach has always been a strong playmaker and he proved again that he’s capable of shouldering a heavy scoring load when needed.
Griffin Sage undoubtedly benefitted from playing with Gach and got to doing what he does best which is hitting 3-pointers. Sage knocked down six triples in the loss to the Schoolers. He’s improved this summer as a ball handler and secondary shot-creator but his bread-and-butter is still his ability to play off the ball and threaten defenses from deep.
Dylan Hillesheim and Noah Slagter were two standouts for the SW Minnesota Stars. Both guys are scoring machines for their respective high school teams and it shows as both guys seem to score at ease even on the AAU circuit. Hillesheim is a rangy wing who combines lethal long-range shooting with a sly ability off the ball. Slagter is a creative slasher and can score from all levels while providing solid defense.
Minnesota Basketball Academy Tlougan point guard Charlie Bedor was impressive in their loss to MN Rise. He knocked down a couple jump shots, got the paint and created for teammates and competed his tail off defensively. His team was outmanned but I was impressed with what I saw.
One of my favorite teams to watch throughout this spring/summer has been Wear Out the Net Ewing and while they lost the game I saw against Select Ohnstad, I was again extremely impressed. I’ll take Bryce Phillips on my team every time and he was awesome Friday. He’s a bulldog of a defender and I love how he controls the tempo of the game. He’s a terrific facilitator and finishes well in traffic. Cooper Jackson is another guy I’m a big fan of. The Lakeville South guard is a knockdown shooter and does a great job playing without the ball. He also makes up for his lack of great size with great instincts defensively.
D1 Rise beat TMBA Tlougan and lost to Comets Lewis but there were a few guys who looked outstanding. Tate Hebrink continues to shine in my opinion and I will continue to say he’s underrated. He can shoot. He runs the team. He controls the tempo and he makes plays defensively. He’s tough as heck and I think his play over the weekend opened some eyes. He knocked down six triples in the loss to the Comets.
Hebrink wasn’t the only D1 Rise guy who played well. Bjorn Knutson and Alex Raichle are both two-sport stars who might be leaning football but certainly teased college basketball coaches over the weekend. Knutson is the prototypical swingman who can score from all levels on the floor. He was particularly impressive against the Comets where he seemingly ignited the Rise offense, keeping the game close before the better team ultimately took over.
Raichle is a point guard who showed he can not only run the show effectively but also that he had the ability to play well off the ball as a secondary shot-creator. He’s almost certainly going to play college football as he’s a stud defensive back for Owatonna but he looked awfully good as a spark plug guard too.