Grassroots Preview: 17U MN Rise

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Grassroots season is underway and the talent pool in the state of Minnesota is incredibly spread out, meaning there should be a lot of really good, competitive clubs. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">MN Rise has a really nice looking core of the top players from around the Mankato area. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s a quick look</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Guards:</strong> Dunwa Omot, Isaac Oppegard, Jobe Weimert, Jace Marotz, Rile Hulke, Wyatt Geistfeld</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Omot was a breakout guy this past winter for Minnesota Valley Lutheran and is one of the best shooters in southern Minnesota. At 6-foot-4, he’s got really good size for a swingman and it’ll be interesting to see if he adds to his game as a distributor and shot-creator. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Marotz is a teammate of Omot at MN Valley Lutheran and has been a consistent varsity level player for a few years. He’s a solid defender and brings athleticism to the wing for this team.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Weimert is a dynamic scorer from the point guard spot and should give this team some speed and juice at the point of attack. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hulke averaged 22 points and eight assists for Nicollet last winter while also knocking down 42 percent of his 3-point shots. The increase in competition should be beneficial for him but he’s a really interesting player to keep an eye on with this group. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Oppegard is relatively unproven at the varsity level to this point as Owatonna had a big senior class a year ago and he played a smaller role. But his size should be an asset on the perimeter for Rise. Geistfeld is coming from Martin County West and will likely be asked to fill a role as a shooter on the wing. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Forwards:</strong> Wyatt Olson, Jon Zinniel, Reece Melby, Jordan Merseth</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This a sneaky good group of forwards starting with Olson, who averaged 17 points and 12 rebounds for a good St. Peter team. He played on the 17U Rise team last year and has the strength and skills to dominate down low.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Merseth was a key piece for a very good Mankato East team last year, commanding attention on the interior and his presence should be a boost for this group this summer. His strength and activity level will be important and his ability to carve out space and produce without getting a lot of usage fits this team nicely.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Zinniel is a prototypical faceup four man who combines a terrific shooting touch and scoring ability with the length and mobility to impact the game on the defensive end at the high level. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Melby was a double-figure scorer for New Ulm last year and he’ll have an opportunity to showcase his game after playing for a team that didn’t have a lot of success. </span></p>