NHR State Tournament: Saturday Standout 17U Guards

Matt Bigelow

June 4, 2019 @ 10:00 PM

The Northstar Hoops State Tournament took over the metro area this past weekend with practically all the top players from all corners of the state on hand to compete. Here were some of the standout guards at the 17U level from Saturday’s action: Will Cordes, MN Matrix Matrix was missing one of its best guards in Gavin Vosika, so much of the ball handling responsibility fell upon Cordes and he was fabulous. The Shakopee guard looks like the prototype MIAC type guard. He’s not the biggest guy but he’s super smooth, really smart and just seems to know how to play on both ends. He’s a really good shooter especially off the bounce and his ability to orchestrate offense and get the ball to guys in spots where they don’t have to work for points was really impressive. He was one of the best players in the tournament overall and a big reason why Matrix advanced as far as it did. Peter Soumis, Northern Lakers Soumis didn’t have his best game in the Lakers’ loss to SE Lightning but he was very good the rest of the tournament and even in that game, he showed a lot of the skills college coaches desire in a point guard. He’s really smart and has great court awareness, he’s a good perimeter shooter and despite not being really big, finishes well in the paint. The Hermantown guard is long and uses that to his advantage especially on the defensive end, where he’s able to disrupt opposing ball handlers and get his share of deflections. James Sommer, Mentality Sommer is one of the better players in the 2020 class and on a team that doesn’t have a lot by way of half-court shot creators, Sommer is really good in that area of the game. He’s big and strong for a guard and uses that size to bully defenders to get to the spots on the floor where he can do damage. He’s a good shooter out to the 3-point line and seems comfortable handling the ball and making decisions in traffic. Yenika Fondungallah, Mentality Fondungallah is a 2021 guy playing up with Mentality and while his offense is a work in progress, his defense is as good as anybody’s. The St. Thomas Academy guard looks like a strong safety on the court and he uses a combination of quickness and strength to leverage opposing ball handlers all over the court. He’s harassing ball pressure forced countless turnovers for Mentality and while he can get burned off the ball, he’s a risk-reward type guy who forces the issue and turns defense into offense at a high rate. Dunwa Omot, MN Rise Omot was a breakout guy last year at Minnesota Valley Lutheran and he’ll be a featured guy next winter. He’s not sneaking up on anybody anymore and he was impressive over the weekend for Rise. At 6-foot-4, Omot is really disruptive on the defensive end of the floor. He’s got the quickness to stick with smaller guys and he just kind of swallows guys up with his length. On the offensive end, he showed nice signs of being a quality playmaker over the weekend. He’s known for his shooting, but I was impressed with the other stuff he brought to the table. Tyree Ihenacho, MN Select Cave Ihenacho is one of the most athletic guys in the 2020 class and when he can use it, he’s a big-time difference-maker. He excels in transition and defends at a high level due to his size and athletic gifts. His offense is a work in progress if only because he’s not a great outside shooter, but when he can catch and attack quickly, he’s tough to handle. Gabe Myren, MN Matrix Myren was one of the many impressive guys over the weekend for Matrix. The Spring Lake Park guard did a great job attacking gaps and getting to the rim or creating in secondary fashion. He’s decently athletic and his strength allows him to play through contact and beat up defenders. His outside shot looked good especially in the win over Select Cave and at 6-foot-3, Myren can impact the game on the defensive end guarding multiple guys.