Battle at the Lakes: Scotty B's Friday Notebook

Battle at the Lakes kicked off on Friday night in Minnesota. There were three sets of games at Maple Grove Junior High. Let’s dive into what we saw in Battle at the Lakes: Scotty B’s Friday Notebook!   All-In Athletics 17U Gauntlet Rallies Against MathFab Steelers Early on the Minnesota based team MathFab Steelers showed that they were going to shoot it from three and shoot it A LOT from three! The duo of Brandon White and Blake Paurus carried them to a lead at the half behind their perimeter shooting. Almost all of their points were on three point attempts. As the game got into the second half All-In Athletics got the game to the pace they wanted and started feeding their scorers. Homewood Flossmoor power forward RJ Ogom was a man among boys inside with the way he played. Physical undersized four man just mauls on the offensive glass and scores with physicality. Also had a nice take from the mid-post. Kyndall Davis is a Bogan wing that is primed to break out. Athletic and strong small forward that slashes to the rim with explosion. Got out in transition for some spectacular finishes. Also connected on a three. Dominic Martinelli from Glenbrook South is a crafty 6’5” small forward that is creative finishing in the lane. Got it rolling as the game went along. Point guard Joe Tianen of Sullivan dished the rock and Oak Park wing Jalawn Farrell provided athleticism on the wing. The best pure athlete in this game was Darius Hannah out of Wisconsin. The 6’9” power forward is super long and lanky. Runs the floor well and threw down some huge dunks. Got in passing lanes including a steal that he took coast to coast. All-In won 59-48.   D1 Minnesota Wins in Impressive Fashion on Opening Night The nation’s #1 ranked 17U squad had no problem on the first night at Battle at the Lakes recording a win 78-26. Their key players were hitting on all cylinders especially Dawson Garcia. The skilled face up four man is a silky smooth forward that can beat a defense in so many ways. He was an absolute force attacking off the bounce from the mid-post area for and-1s. Also worked in sweeping runners and hook shots on the block en route to 22 points. Steven Crowl is a 6’9” 2020 that has a ton of upside. Long and lanky five man that runs the floor very well and is active around the hoop. Went for 12 points. Top 100 post Ben Carlson had 10 points dominating inside. Kerwin Walton is one of my favorite wings in the Midwest. He knocked in a pair of threes on his way to 8 points. Kendall Brown threw down some nasty dunks as well!   Illinois T-Wolves Knock Off Grassroots Sizzle – Caldwell in Entertaining Game The closest game on the 17U side we saw on Friday night was a 54-48 win for the Illinois T-Wolves over Grassroots Sizzle – Caldwell. There were a couple of exciting plays out of the Sizzle guards shaking their man and then hitting pull up threes including one by Lyle Jones who proved to be a playmaker with the ball in his hands. Metea Valley 2020 6’5” small forward Marquel Brumfield continues to see his stock go up every time he plays. Physical wing that slashes to the hoop with authority. He racks up points with how well he handles it through traffic. Joliet West 2020 Shawn Ratcliff had a nice outing at the point. He pushed the tempo, got to the rack in transition, and was able to get everyone involved. Daniel Okogun from Joliet West is a player that was an intimidating force inside.   Young & Reckless Dunk Show in Opener The Y&R – Boateng 17U group played above the rim all night in an 80-57 victory over QC Ballers. It all started with Keshawn Williams. The Bloom guard displayed he could play on the ball very effectively with crisp passes and getting the fast break started. Had a couple spectacular alley-oop dishes. Also scored 11 points. His high school teammate Martice Mitchell is the top center in the state for a reason. At his size to be able to do the things he does with the basketball is impressive. He scored on post ups, baseline jumpers, pick and pop threes, and ran the floor with a purpose for 14 points. Speaking of transition the athletic forward tandem of Christian Shumate (Plainfield East) and Kee Hargrow (Hyde Park) had their own personal dunk contest. Both have plus athleticism, length, and slashing ability. Shumate scored 14 points while Hargrow had 10. On the perimeter Josh Holmes of De La Salle had a nice night after he missed last weekend taking the SAT. The usually reliable scorer pitched in 11 points on threes and slick drives. Dante Maddox was also an effective shooter. For QC Ballers we liked what Rock Island small forward Taurean Holtam brought to the table. This 6’5” wing has size and broad shoulders. Hit a three, but was inconsistent from deep overall. He did to a nice job taking it to the cup and was an excellent rebounder for his position. Scored 26 points in the loss. Put himself on the radar with his play.