Comets Shootout Saturday Standouts: 16U Forwards

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Grassroots season kicked off Saturday in St. Cloud with the Comets Shootout. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While the basketball itself wouldn’t be described as ‘high quality’, there was certainly a lot of high quality talent filling up the courts.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here are some forwards who stood out at the 16U level on Saturday</span></p> <p><strong>Will Tschetter, Heat Tauer</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tschetter is one of the highest rated players in the 2021 class and it’s easy to see why with how he played Saturday. He plays to his size at 6-foot-8 and doled out a beating to opposing interior players. This particular weekend was essentially a ‘no blood, no foul’ world, so Tschetter wasn’t getting much love from officials inside but he was relentless attacking the rim on the offensive glass and on the block. He showed off a solid shooting stroke that makes him an inside-outside matchup nightmare and his length and strength allow him to control the paint on the defensive end. </span></p> <p><strong>Finn Diggins, WC United Select</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Diggins was more of an interior player for Perham this last winter but it looks like he’ll be spending a lot of time playing on the perimeter this summer with WC United. That’s good for his future outlook and he’s got good skills. At 6-foot-3, Diggins has a solid shooting stroke and good burst when he can attack on one or two dribbles. He was prone to some turnovers from either overdribbling or just not seeing help defenders but there’s talent there to work with and he’s a guy worth watching.</span></p> <p><strong>Andrew Morgan, Heat Tauer</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That Heat Tauer team is going to be fun to watch and hard to beat this summer and the twin tower duo of Tschetter and Waseca big man Andrew Morgan is a reason why. Morgan’s not as advanced on the perimeter as Tschetter but his footwork and skillset inside is terrific. He fills the lane inside and has great hands and finishing ability. He’s impactful on the defensive end as well, as his length and strength allow him to bang but he’s got the athleticism and mobility to defend outside the paint too. </span></p> <p><strong>Shannon Henry, Magic Elite</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Eastview has a nice talent pool that doesn’t appear to be slowing down soon as it’s sophomore group looks full of guys that will be players in the not-too-distant future. Henry is one of those guys and at 6-foot-6, he’s a live and active body inside. He showed a hot motor throughout Saturday, consistently hitting the glass on both ends of the floor and finishing in traffic. He plays a low-maintenance game and simply produces without necessarily demanding touches. </span></p> <p><strong>Joshua Streit, WOTN Bertsch</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Streit brothers have been big parts of the success Eden Valley-Watkins has enjoyed in recent years and that success will likely continue for another two years because Joshua looks like he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with. He’s 6-foot-6/6-foot-7, with long arms, a big, strong frame and the mobility of a much smaller guy. He rebounds in and out of his area extremely well and his explosiveness and suddenness is impressive for a guy his height. </span></p> <p><strong>Connor Chappell, Select Robinson</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Talk about activity level; Chappell completely wore out the competition Saturday playing with Select. At 6-foot-5, he’s got a strong frame and he’s relentless attacking the rim and either finishing through contact, drawing fouls or doing both. He was always around the rim, ready for either a putback opportunity or a chance to finish a pass with authority. One of the best bigs I saw Saturday at running the floor. Really impressive kid. </span></p>