Recruiting Report: Andrew Rintala (2018)
Groton Area High School combo guard Andrew Rintala stands 6-foot-1 and can score double figures when needed or distribute to his talented teammates.
Andrew played with an ECI Selects squad that is always competitive. They didn’t quite win the amount of games they wanted to but they competed every night and more importantly, the players on the team improved.
“This spring and summer I grew so much as a player,” Andrew told PHD. “I became smarter with the ball and became more of a true point guard. (Playing AAU basketball) really helped my overall game, becoming mentally stronger. I will never forget my last summer of AAU. Coach (Sam) Sussengeth and my teammates made me become a better player.”
Now Rintala’s focus is his senior year. A year ago his Cavalier team in North Dakota was around .500 but since then Andrew has moved to South Dakota where he will play his 2017-18 season (his family moved to Groton, South Dakota where they lived when he was in middle school). Andrew has a plan of areas he wants to improve for this senior year.
“I’ll be looking to improve working off the ball,” Andy said. “That will lead to more easy scoring opportunities, rather than trying to force a tough shot. I will also keep improving on becoming a true point guard and making the right decisions on the court.”
Another way Andrew has prepared for his senior year is playing with the ECI program.
“Playing at the AAU level has taught me how to take care of the ball and handle pressure the whole game. It has also taught me how to score on longer, more athletic defenders that you wouldn’t find playing high school basketball.”
Rintala is also a solid football player. He has to decide if he wants to play in the Northern Sun football wise or hoops at other levels.
“I’m planning on playing college basketball right now,” Andrew said. “There are some options to play basketball at NAIA/D3 schools. There are also some options to play football around the D2 level.”
One reason that Cavalier wasn’t able to win more games last winter was Rintala’s injury. Now healthy Andrew looks to push Groton Area to a strong year.
“Some of my goals as an athlete are to stay healthy throughout football season. Last year with the Cavalier Tornadoes I dislocated my kneecap, which sidelined me for half the season.
“Another goal of mine is to help lead the Groton Tigers to the top seed in our region, and hopefully a state tournament appearance.”