DeLaSalle Grabs 7th title in 8 years
DeLaSalle won six state titles, slipped last year, but has earned gold once again with a Class AAA state final victory over Waseca 63-56. The Response. A year ago Tyrell Terry had a chance to beat Columbia Heights at the…
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Continue ReadingDeLaSalle won six state titles, slipped last year, but has earned gold once again with a Class AAA state final victory over Waseca 63-56.
The Response. A year ago Tyrell Terry had a chance to beat Columbia Heights at the end but turned the ball over ended a DeLaSalle run of six straight state titles. After earning two state titles as an underclassmen it was Tyrell’s goal to go out with the gold medal. Jamison Battle transferred to DeLaSalle after his sophomore year at BSM. This was his second year at DeLaSalle so this was his first title. Jalen Travis, Kameron Givens, so many of these Islander players may have medals but they weren’t in the rotation when they were won. Travis Bledsoe did not earn the title in the title in his first year either. This entire group had something to prove as ghosts of past success hovered. Those ghosts are all gone now as the Islanders picked up a win over a really nice Jays squad in the state title game.
Game Changer, Inside & Out. Jamison Battle came into the year known as a shooter with size but that’s about where people stopped talking. He’s fantastic shooter, a game changing shooter actually. But this year Battle became a better rebounder (9.2 a game), his ability to finish after a dribble has cemented, and with added strength Jamison is scoring after contact on balance at a very high rate. He gave DeLaSalle a game high 26 points on 9 of 14 shooting plus made three treys.
Tyrell Starts & Ends a Champion. Tyrell Terry competes with intelligence, he competes with an edge, and his feel for the game is at a much different level than most lead guards. In the first half the Jays forced Tyrell to shoot over their guard length and it was successful. Tyrell missed all five of his field goals. But Terry does so much more. He had five assists (ten for the game) taking advantage of every Waseca defensive mistake. Tyrell is the type of player that sees a defensive error before everyone on the floor and if a defense doesn’t cover their mistake in a second, they are scored on. In the second half Terry saw lanes to the rim and used his quickness to jet to scores. With 19 points, 10 boards, and 7 assists Terry led his team to the state title earning himself a third gold medal as a rotation player.
The Support Growth. Jalen Travis has grown a couple inches and is an efficient finisher (10 points, 7 rebounds). To score inside you have to get around the D1 offered football big. Kameron Givens gave the Islander a third double figure scorer all year and he could be one of the most improved players in the state. There are other players that haven’t received much time but they will make this team a formidable title defender. Guys like Cade Haskins, Semaj Hart, Keijaun White, Andrew Irvin, Amir Whitlock, and Travis. The Islanders will have to go through Jalen Suggs and company next year (which could very well include Terry Lockett again) so they may not be the favorite but they will be a certain contender.
Andrew Morgan is a Top 5 talent. It’s one thing to put up numbers against Blue Earth, but many people will say “what can he do against so and so”. Today the 6-foot-8 Waseca big went at the best defense around and scored 19 points on 9 of 14 shooting with 8 boards. Morgan’s mid-range touch is good, his frame is strong, he gets up the floor really well and has good bounce, and the finishing in traffic is at a 70 percent level. He’s gone against Minneapolis North, Mankato East, DeLaSalle, Marshall, and others and recoded numbers. At his size and agility this is a top five prospect in the sophomore class.
Waseca Will Stay a Contender. The Jays are going nowhere. When they were playing eight guys earlier in the year six of them were sophomores. Today they went to a six man line-up and four of the players were sophomores. Morgan is back, Kyreese Willingham has the size and agility to be a top ten prospect maybe in a couple sports, Ryan Dufault shares so much in common with brother Nick, and Zach Joen is better than we saw today. At an enrollment of 555 they could be AA, they could be AAA. Who knows. Regardless of where Waseca is they will be a tittle contender.
Class AAA All Tournament Team: Kameron Givens (DeLaSalle) Jamison Battle (De) Tyrell Terry (De) Malik Willingham (Waseca) Andrew Morgan (W) Kyreese Willingham (W) Medi Obang (Austin) Adam Williams (Princeton) Max Gerstner (Holy Angels) JVonne Hadley (Mahtomedi)