Battle at the Lakes: The 17U Names to Know

The Battle at the Lakes is bringing more talent to the Twin Cities than any other event this spring/summer.  Who are some of those top players at the 17u level?  Prep Hoops runs through the list now. 44 Elite: Guard Jalen Dearring, a six foot plus guard that scored 16 a game in the top Minnesota conference All Iowa Attack: 6-foot-7 power forward Issa Samake is ranked as the 6th best senior in the state prospect wise D1 Minnesota:  D1 Minnesota has six players with high major offers and seven total with D1 offers

• Five Star Matthew Hurt has an offer from every school out there and is a top 2-3 player in the nation
• Iowa committed Pattrick McCaffrey is committed to Iowa and is a top 30-35 player in Iowa
• Zeke Nnaji has made a national top 50 push talent wise with offers coming in rapidly.  Too many of late to remember
• Tyrell Terry is a national top 100-150 player who was recently offered by Iowa State and Indiana giving him nine high major offers
• 6-foot-10 center Robert Jones was just offered by Penn State as he continues to build his list of opportunities
• Versatile Tyler Wahl's last three offers are from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa State
• Jamison Battle has multiple D1 offers including his recent offer from UW-Milwaukee

D1 Minnesota Rise:  Wing Jake Kettner was a Class A All State honored player this year and one of the state's best senior prospects Full Package:  Shooter Robert Hubbard is listed as one of the best at the arc in the state and is a top 100 player in his class in Illinois. Fundamental U:

• Six-foot-9 forward Alex Timmerman is a skilled face-up player that has D1 offers from Lafayette and Bucknell.
• 2019 6-foot-3 G Ryan Verhulstis is receiving division two interest after a month of strong play on the circuit

Iowa Barnstormers: The Barnstormers are 6-3 in Adidas Gauntlet play thus far

• 6-foot-5 Noah Carter is putting up around 20 points per game, recent offers from Air Force, North Dakota, Truman State among others.
• Guard Gage Malensek is the team's second leading scorer and the leader in assists.  Gage is from Brookfield, Wisconsin and is the 6th ranked player in Wisconsin.
• 6-foot-7 Dylan Jones is a top five scorer for the Barnstormers and the second leading rebounder
• 6-foot-3 Noah Hart is a top 12-13 player in Iowa and the third leading scorer

KC Pacers:  Won the Prep Hoops Series in Kansas last weekend

• Eli Dowis is a two spot standout as a 6-foot-3 guard that had a big weekend in the Prep Hoops Series
• Thomas Lipscomb is a 6-foot-8 worker from the 2018 class

KC Spurs: The last time the Spurs were in the Twin Cities they won the Proving Grounds, last weekend they nearly defeated KC Run GMC

• Mikel Henderson had a fantastic showing so far this spring leading his team to a pair of titles as a two way standout
• Dalen Ridgnal is a 6-foot-6 long forward with quick springs and the ability to snag boards in double digit numbers regularly
• As a 6-foot-5 forward Spencer Jones has the skill to play both spots
• Keyon Thomas can play both guard spots and is a six foot guard is a fantastic finisher

Kingdom Hoops Elite:  Kingdom Hoops has two of the top 8-9 players in Iowa

• 6-foot-6 forward James Betz is committed to Northern Iowa
• Trayvon Williams is a slashing 6-foot-3 playmaker with a South Dakota State offer

Minnesota Comets K: The sixth ranked team in Minnesota that includes Cade Goggleye, Jackson Jangula, Nick Schaefer, Michael Ziermann, and Camden Arndt. Minnesota Heat Henderson:  Jeremy Beckler is a rapidly rising 6-foot-8 player that performed well against some of the better Midwest teams in April. Minnesota Heat Nelson: Jared Rainey has Heat Nelson playing above expectations including a Meg Vang Invitational title last weekend Next Generation: Played at the Proving Grounds and last weekend qualified for the AAU national event in Florida.

• Julian Holland scored 34 in a recent 17U AAU qualifying game

Old Gold: Darion Binion of Kankakee has led his team in scoring several times this spring Raw Athletics: Raw Athletics made the Proving Grounds final four two weeks back with strong play from Antoine Palmer, Malcolm Bell, and Ishmael Martin. SE Minnesota Lightning: The Lightning have been one of the top stories in Minnesota this year making the final four in the Proving Grounds

• 6-foot-7 small forward Jarvorius Toney of Mason City, Iowa made a name for himself at the last Prep Hoops event, can the raw but skilled explosive athlete have another big week?
• Dylan Miller is also from Mason City and his performances a few weeks ago led to an all tournament style respect

South Dakota Attack: The top 17u team from the Dakotas has won events in Minnesota before

• Noah Freidel has several D2 offers from the NSIC league and is getting some D1 interest after scoring 26 a game as a junior
• Sawyer Schultz also has several D2 offers at this point as a 6-foot-3 point guard. Schultz is making a push for the top senior in the state, he's certainly in the top two with Freidel.

Team Rose: The team sponsored by Derrick Rose is on the Adidas Gauntlet Gold circuit and is sitting around .500 after two weekends of play.

• Leading scorer DaJuan Gordon has offers from DePaul, New Mexico, Colorado State, Loyola Chicago, East Tennessee State, UW-Milwaukee, UIC, Cleveland State, Chicago State, Montana, and more at the D1 level
• Myles Baker of Whitney Young High is the 8th ranked player in Illinois and he holds offers from Colorado State, St Louis, Eastern Kentucky, UW-Milwaukee, Cleveland State, and many others
• KeJuan Clements is a top 12 player in Illinois and he has offers from UW-Milwaukee, UIC, Western Illinois, and Chicago State.
• Jalen  Johnson out of Indiana is playing with Team Rose and he was recently offered by Illinois-Chicago

Team Rush: Another Adidas program, Team Rush played in last year' title game at this event and last weekend made the Jayhawk Invitational final four.

• Six-foot-8 Zane Meeks just picked up an offer from Furman giving him a small handful of D1 options so far
• Explosive 6-foot-8 Darrius Hughes just picked up an offer from Abilene Christian
• Elijah Williams is 6-foot-3 and a top defender and excellent slahser
• Lamel Robinson is one of the top point guards in Kansas City and plays with an edge
• 6-7 Tyon Foster is another long, athletic player for Team Rush.

Team RWA: Another consistently strong Illinois programs RWA has talent once again.

• 5-foot-8 point guard Treye Tucker is a top 50 level player from Illinois
• Jeremiah Oden stands 6-foot-6 and is also a top 50 level ranked player from Illinois

Texas Impact 4:13: One of the top two or three teams in Texas this year Impact has beaten multiple shoe sponsored squads already this year and was second in the Texas GASO event.

• Joshua Miller is a wing at 6-foot-7 who earned offers from Air Force and UTEP recently
• One of the best rebounders in the event will be Trezarian White who is a double double board monster.
• Six-foot-6 shooter Ty Caswell just picked up an offer from Air Force and he will be a player consistently getting looks over positioned defenders
• Korbin "KJ" Cunningham recently earned an offer from UMass-Lowell and was offered by Louisiana Lafayette as well.
• Johnathan Aku is a 2020 that has a pair of D1 offers and is considered by many to be a top 5-10 player in Texas in his class.

Twin Cities Pirates:  The Pirates have played in two events so far with a 5-4 mark and they are looking to make a mark

• Tommy Chatman Jr is a player that is looking to make a name for himself as a combo guard with the skills to play both spots
• Carter Henry is a 6-foot-8 explosive power forward that finishes above the rim and aggressively rebounds in big numbers.  D1s have shown interest.

Wisconsin Academy:  The Academy is led by 6-foot-4 Conner Meyer who is a top 30 player in the state of Wisconsin as is Donniel Grey, a 5-foot-9 lead guard. Wisconsin Crusaders:  Six-foot-10 Luke Hasl from Oshoksh is the big name from the Crusaders but watch out for Will Mahoney and Nick Otto as well. Wisconsin Playground Warriors: The Warriors are off to a tough start in UAA play but this is a team that has several of the top 50 players in the state of Wisconsin's senior class.

• As a 6-foot-2 guard Larry Canady out of Racine is the 7th ranked player in Wisconsin and he leads the team in UAA play with 13 points per game. Top defender too.
• Reed Miller is 6-foot-5 and a top 15 level player in Wisconsin.
• A top 15 player in Wisconsin Marquise Milton is the second leading scorer for the Warriors.

Young & Reckless: A team that many in Minnesota are familiar with from past Prep Hoops and NY2LA events. They have eight of the top 50 players in the state of Illinois.

• Top ten level Illinois 2019 guard Jeremiah Hernandez has offers from Kent State, UWGB, UW-Milwaukee, Northern Illinois, Cal Poly, and Southern Illinois.
• Six foot guard Chris Roberts is an ultra fast explosive guard that has been offered by Illinois-Chicago and North Dakota
• Guards Artese Stapleton and Jeremiah Washington are both handlers that list in the state's top 30 2019 players.