Prep Hoops Senior Showcase: Broadway & Chatman Impress
Park Center duo Tommy Chatman and Khari Broadway were two of the top performers from Saturday’s Prep Hoops Senior Showcase as both are playing the best basketball of their careers heading into July and their senior years.
Broadway & Chatman Highlight the Showcase
The Pirates head into the 2018-19 season with high expectations a big reason for that is the returning guard play of Tommy Chatman and Khari Broadway. Tommy Chatman has a look to him right now that screams confidence. Possession after possession Chatman is patiently waiting for the floor to open and he’s beating nearly everyone that’s put in front of him. Broadway played a lot of point guard this afternoon which allowed him to be involved with each possession and pushing the other way Broadway was one of the top defenders.
An event like this would be easy for a guy to at times slack off or get selfish. The teammates are all new, the coaches are watching closely at all players to see what they can do, and when you have the ball as much as Broadway did he can take some forced looks. Khari did the exact opposite. He did a wonderful job of running a halfcourt offense directing teammates, moving hard off the ball, and then getting the ball back to playmake. Broadway was vocal on both ends especially defense where he directed new teammates through screens and talked with players about help defense. Khari also did a great job playing with Jon Stimmler, an unselfish 6-foot-7 big from Princeton that loves to set strong screens and roll hard. How Broadway worked with and used Stimler was very fun to watch.
Chatman has five Northern Sun scholarship offers at the moment and more could be on the way (and more would like to but they wouldn’t be able to beat those that already have). Tommy is one of my favorite players to watch when it concerns his skill and his ability to patiently attack. He’s kind of like a Lion on the floor slowly waiting for the right space to attack and once it’s there, the explosion comes as Chatman is quicker and more explosive than people think. Between the beautiful passes and the touched in finishes he’s one of those guys from Minnesota that could land a July D1 option.
Best in Show?
There were a couple college coaches who thought Wisconsin 6-foot-7 power forward Patrick Suemnik was the best prospect in attendance which is saying something when you consider that there are multi-offered players at the event a few of which who could land something at the D1 level. Suemnik visited Hamline immediately after the event and if they were to get that deal done that would be a steal.
What did coaches like? The Denmark High School standout finished above the rim in a physical way that only a couple guys in the event could come close to matching. What makes Suemnik different was his ability to not only flush, but throw the ball down so physically that others didn’t want to contest his attempt. Suemnik is also physically strong and very quick moving off the screen to the basket so help defenders – immediately off the screen and those multiple passes away – were helpless to do much because Suemnik was so quick to the catch and strong to the finish.
The power forward that could match what Suemnik did was Mayer Lutheran’s Baden Noennig. Baden had some great match-ups with Suemnik and Mason Walters from North Dakota as all three guys are agile 6-foot-7/6-foot-6 players. What separates Baden from Noennig is his skill level and agility (Suemnik is the stronger of the three PFs while Walters had the best motor). Noennig is able to play away from the paint facing up to the basket better using a dribble or the short jumper. Baden also had a couple dagger open floor dunks ahead of his frontcourt competition letting them know his team had the better number on the scoreboard.
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Who sets a bigger screen than Jon Stimmler from Princeton. His teammates loved him for three reasons today: 1) because he clears space for his teammates to do damage, 2) his post-up fight clears space for a good pass to get them out of trouble or for them to attack, and 3) he’s highly competitive and high personable.
The other thing Stimmler does is bang into people. Aggressively. When the shoulder comes down from this physical five man he is going to contact you with his shoulder and it’s going to come with all his power because he’s always on balance. Stimmler must of hit ten or twelve guys today with that shoulder which is okay for the bigs but help defenders are smaller and need to watch their molars because Jon was stun you, quickly.
Not only is Stimmler aggressive with a touch, but he has also adapted to the modern day game very well. His footwork moving off of the screen and into the post is excellent and he’s quicker than other centers.
Showcase Notes
What is a certainty? If you leave Sam Nissen open he is hitting a jumper. Tough to roughly run through where he ranks as a shooter in the senior class but a rough estimate has to be top 5-7. The Prior Lake guard quite simply is a better than 50 percent finisher from the perimeter when his feet are set and the defenders are a couple steps off trying to recover. He’s getting better defending and I like how he handled at times in St. Cloud, but his jumpshot is one of the best you will see in this class.
And when the discussion goes to shooters always including Nick Schaefer of St. Cloud Cathedral. At 6-foot-4 and state tournament experienced Nick is going to make a D3 school very happy with his ability to extend the defense.
- What Kameron Givens gives up in strength he continues to make up for in aggressive attack to the basket. The DeLaSalle guard is fearless.
- Parker Jones of St. James has to be one of the harder working players on the court. Not flashy but dependable from St. James.
- A guy that finds his way to high percentage shots in active ways is Jack Rusch from Lakeville North. The way he’s played this 17u year I would think he’s ready to earn Panther minutes.
- Look out for Rockford 6-foot-3 shooting guard Nick Manthana, the guy with the black shaggy hair. In moving to the far wing/corner within the motion Manthana was fantastic on Saturday giving results. I saw him make four of six threes in my views and going at the rim he was two steps to elevate before the second defender could contest. He’s a guy I feel could have a big senior season.