Grassroots Preview: Comets Liljequist

<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;">Comets Liljequist is a deep looking team with guys from all over central and northern Minnesota. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s a quick look</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Guards:</strong> Jarell Jacobs, Tanner Ziegenhagen, Brandon Maatz, Connor Campina, Nick Mittelstaedt</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jacobs is one of the best individual scorers in the state out of Cass Lake-Bena. He’s terrific from all three levels but is at his best when he can play in the middle of the floor or in transition. He’s a fiery competitor who will guard hard when pushed as well. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Maatz has been a catalyst for Buffalo in recent seasons and should take on a big role on this team as a primary ball handler and shot creator. This will be a good opportunity for him to stand out given he’s usually the third or fourth guy in the pecking order for his high school team.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mittelstaedt is a solid point guard from Becker who was a double-figure scorer a year ago. He’s a heady defender and while he doesn’t have elite size or quickness, he is smart and skilled .</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Campina and Ziegenhagen are relatively unproven talents from St. Cloud Tech and Litchfield respectively. Neither guy saw extensive varsity minutes last year, so this is a chance to put their names on the map.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Forwards:</strong> Cody Miller, Jake Bebeau, Paul Meyer, Andrew Anderson, Kobe Lee</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kobe Lee is a smooth-shooting swingman from Sauk Rapids-Rice and brings good size (6-foot-4) to the wing. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Anderson was one of Rocori’s key guys a year ago and has a multifaceted game that should blend nicely with this mix of guys. At 6-foot-5, he brings good size and athleticism to the group.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Meyer was one of the better players at Annandale a year ago and while the Cardinals were down after so many years of being up, you generally know you are going to get kids who know how to play and make themselves effective in whatever role they are in out of that program.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bebeau and Miller saw limited minutes at the varsity level last on a loaded Princeton team but both guys have the size and ability to make an impact here. Going against the kind of talent Princeton has had in the pipeline the last few years every day in practice certainly qualifies as on-the-job training so these guys should be prepared. </span></p>