Tip Off Classic 5 Takeaways: Garcia, Lakers earn hard-fought win over East Ridge
Prior Lake is considered one of the elite teams in the state thanks in large part to its two Division I big guys. Those guys showed up in a big way, combining for 38 points in a 70-62 win over…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingPrior Lake is considered one of the elite teams in the state thanks in large part to its two Division I big guys. Those guys showed up in a big way, combining for 38 points in a 70-62 win over East Ridge.
Here are five takeaways from the game:
Dawson Garcia is a force
This one isn’t exactly a revelation as Garcia’s been on the radar locally since before his freshman year where he started on a good Prior Lake team. The hype increased last year when he averaged better than 20 points a game and hit something of a crescendo this summer when he started hauling in high major Division I offers every weekend. The guy isn’t coming out of nowhere. But in a game featuring at least four other guys who will be playing Division I basketball at some point in the next few years, Garcia was far-and-away the most impactful player on the floor. He scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, dominating the paint on both ends of the floor. He was terrific defensively, essentially eliminating East Ridge big man Ben Carlson (more on that soon) from the contest while all but keeping the Lakers in the game in the first half when they seemingly couldn’t stop turning the ball over. Garcia’s perimeter game is coming along and it’s clear he’s comfortable handling the ball. I know there’s a temptation for bigs to want to show off an outside jumper a lot but once Garcia remembered nobody can contend with him inside, the complexion of the game changed.
Ben Carlson was MIA
This one was tough to process Saturday night. Carlson is probably East Ridge’s best player and a legitimate high-major prospect in his own right. He’s up there in a similar recruiting tier as Garcia. But for some combination of reasons, he scored just two points in the game and never made any sort of tangible impact. Some of it was shot-happy guard play, some of it was him not demanding the ball or getting to spots where he could score and some of it of course was Garcia defending him. East Ridge is on that list when it comes to state title contenders and it’s because Carlson is elite. He had a really bad night though.
Robert Jones put his stamp on the game in the second half
It feels like all big men want to have the word “stretch” attached to their position nowadays and there’s an allure to dribble and shoot as much as the much smaller folk on the court. That’s why Robert Jones’ game Saturday night was really refreshing. He’s 6-foot-9 and probably 240 pounds give or take – and he plays like it. Jones scored 13 points – most if not all in the second half – and did it by doing very simple things that very few bigs do well. He ran the floor, beating guys smaller than him to the rim and established deep post position in the halfcourt. When he catches the ball with a foot in the paint, it’s a score. There wasn’t anything cute about what Jones did Saturday, but it was clear that his effort and strength inside wore East Ridge out.
The Brown brothers scored, but needed a lot of shots
Courtney and Kendall Brown are going to put up a lot of points this year for the Raptors and they did so on Saturday night, each scoring 20. Neither one looked particularly good doing it though on this night. Courtney Brown went 6 for 21 from the field while Kendall did most of his work either in transition or at the free throw line. It felt like they were forcing a lot of action throughout the game. Some of that was certainly Prior Lake’s defense but it looked like they got a little tunnel-visioned at times and the efficiency took a dip because of it.
Who’s Number 1?
After a season-opening win over Hopkins, East Ridge went into the Tip Off Classic as the top-ranked team in Class AAAA. Prior Lake was pretty much a consensus top seven or eight team in the state. So this win isn’t an upset by any stretch. But it goes to show that there really might not be a slam-dunk best team in the state this winter. Park Center looks awfully good and has a few good wins already, but the Pirates aren’t head-and-shoulders better than the other top teams. Are these two teams good enough to win a state title? They’ve both got enough talent. It might be one of those years where it’s all dependant on matchups. Either way, this could be a state-tournament rematch if both teams get that far.