Grassroots Preview: MN Fury Poppen 16U
Matt Bigelow
<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;">Fury Poppen is stuffed with guys coming from winning programs and for a 16U team, they have a great deal of size and skill. Many of these guys were either role players or haven’t gotten much of a chance at the varsity level yet. That isn’t because they aren’t talented though as they should be one of the best 16U teams in the state.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here is a quick look</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Guards:</strong> Eddi Beeninga, Marcus Crawford, Jack Frick, Cole Tiran, Spencer Goetz</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Frick and Goetz were rotation guys for a really solid Chaska team a year ago as sophomores and showed a lot of potential as big time pieces going forward. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Beeninga was in a similar position as a rotation guy behind some really good senior guards at Wayzata. He’s a fearless ball handler and can get his shot off against anybody though. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tiran is an Eden Prairie guard and the only guy on the team under 6-feet tall. He’s tough defensively and looks to push the ball and break down defenses consistently. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Crawford brings good size to the wing at 6-foot-2 and will likely be a key guy next year at Edina for his upperclass years.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Forwards:</strong> Brady Nicholson, Bastian Swinney, Sam Wanzek, Luke Strazzanti</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nicholson and Strazzanti were role guys at Chaska but both will be popular breakout picks next year for the Hawks. Nicholson has great size and skill while Strazzanti is an athletic swingman who can impact the game on both ends of the floor. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Swinney is 6-foot-8 and pretty mobile and skilled for a sophomore. This is a big summer for him to get his name out there as he’s in a position where he’s behind one of the best big men in the state in Jacob Hutson. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wanzek is an athletic swingman who has good length and can knock down shots, make plays and defend up and down a lineup. </span></p>
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