Five Takeaways: Lakeville North 96 Wayzata 84
Tyler Wahl put together a triple-double on Saturday as Lakeville North picked up a big win over Wayzata that pushed them into the top six of this week’s Class AAAA rankings. Wahl’s Triple Double. What separates the elite players from…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingTyler Wahl put together a triple-double on Saturday as Lakeville North picked up a big win over Wayzata that pushed them into the top six of this week’s Class AAAA rankings.
Wahl’s Triple Double. What separates the elite players from the best players? Have a look at the way Tyler Wahl played this weekend in the Panther win over Wayzata. Offensively he played point guard for his team but also moved himself into scoring position for 31 points on 11 of 17 field goal shooting with two threes and 7 of 9 from the foul line. Wahl opened the game with attacks to the cup, with dribble pull-ups, he made a pair of threes, and his active defense led to quick offense. Speaking of his defense, when Wahl switched over to defending the talented Jacob Beeninga, Wahl was able to use his well positioned length to force Beeninga into a tough shooting stretch. Wahl pretty much did some of everything in front of future Wisconsin coach Joe Krabbenhoft (an assistant).
The Panthers Defense. You don’t commonly talk about defense when a team gives up 84 points but the way the Panthers mixed up defenses at different times really seemed to throw the Trojans off. For example the Panthers used a couple different zone looks including Wahl at the top of the defense harassing the ball and forcing several turnovers (for fast break scores). And when you are as defensively educated (and as experienced as this super group) you can take advantage of their defensive understanding to play a zone. Throw in Wahl’s partial time defending Beeninga and it was a couple key moments that separated the teams.
Tommy’s J. When watching Wear Out the Net this past 17u season one thing that became glaringly obvious was that Tommy Jensen has greatly improved the consistency and range on his jumper making him a more explosive scorer. Jensen is scoring about a dozen a game this year but against Wayzata Jensen exploded for 25 points including six threes (made 8 of 14 shooting overall). When Jensen extended the Trojan Defense it provided even more issues for one team and pushed the other near the century mark.
The Scoop. No we aren’t talking about Darren Wolfson’s love if presenting information, this reference is to the way that Luke Paulson was able to several times finish attacking possessions. Finger roll (a time or two), one hand finish, extension after the attack, these are all ways to describe how Paulson completed plays around defenders. Paulson is a 16 point per game guy for the Trojans who everybody knows can hit some shots and defend. Against the Panthers Luke scored on 9 of 13 attempts and his basket attack is what really stood out.
Depth of Top Programs. Why are these schools so good? Depth. Sure they are giant schools that have more players to pick from but they are also programs with excellent coaches and talented, hard working players that know how to compete. Here are some other standouts:
- Kody Williams, a physical Wayzata sophomore guard. He was given the task of defending Wahl and of course Tyler had a great game but I was quite impressed with Kody’s defensive positioning, technique, and constant fight to position. Kody also scored 15 points that included a pair of And1 attacks finished in highlight fashion. Williams used a spin move once to finish while fouled and he also made some tough angled shots as well.
- Camden Heide. Without my program near I’m just going to guess that Camden is standing about 6-foot-5 or maybe even 6-foot-6 at this point. The freshman scored most of his 14 in the second half when the game opened up more and Heide’s athleticism found space in the open floor. His alley-oop completion was likely the game’s top “video tape guy” highlight. Heide is definitely one of the state’s elite freshman prospects.
- Jack Rusch and Tate Staloch. The Panthers are a serious state title contender for many reasons and one of them is their senior experience. Rusch is about a 6-foot-5 forward who had a terrible time making shots in the first half but caught fire in half two hitting at the arc and actively around the basket. He had 14 while Staloch scored a dozen. Staloch’s biggest contribution (in addition to being a smart player that makes the right decisions on offense and gets to where he should be on defense) was his rebounding. Staloch dominated the glass in the first half on his way to a double-double (10 boards).