Come Hecker or High Water

The Bloomfield Hills Black Hawks made the difficult non league road trip up to Traverse City West and came away with a hard earned a 63-53 victory. Playing four hours away from home on the Friday of Christmas Break is not ideal, but both teams played well and provided an entertaining night of pre holiday basketball. Bloomfield Hills Colin Hecker 6-4 2020 As my lame headline alludes to, this young man had himself quite a night. A 27 point nine rebound kind of night. Did most of his damage from beyond the arc. I had him for seven threes. Good size for a small college forward. Well put together frame, without a ton of length. Good ball handler to go with the obviously potent perimeter shot. Showed good toughness as he got banged up a few times and seemed to only get stronger as the night went on. When defenders began crowding the line showed the ability to drive and finish through contact. If he has a few more nights like this against Oakland county opponents I would expect college coaches to start taking notice. Mason Canfield 5-11 2021 With Heckert having the hot hand Canfield was more of the floor general on this evening. It should be noted that this is a role he fills very well. Just a solid, steady, no frills point guard. Not a blur, and doesn’t appear to have inside the gym range, but knows how to set up teammates up and control the tempo of the game. You know the things they used to teach in Point Guard 101. Also seemed to rise to the occasion when things got a little close at the end. Hit a dagger three in the corner over a larger defender that began to put the game out of reach. It’s not really quantifiable but appeared to really enjoy playing the game which you like to see. Finished with 15 points and six assists. Noah Adamczyk 5-10 2023 Only a freshmen but didn’t play like this was one of his first high school games. A creative and flashy ball handler. Perhaps a lttlie too “creative” for Northern Michigan officiating which led to some early turnovers. However once he got that under control, became a major factor on the night. Ball handling acumen allowed the aforementioned Canfield to move off the ball when the Falcons needed to morph into more a two headed monster, which was key in the victory. Just as aggressive on the defensive end as the offensive side which is good to see in a young player. Definitely a prospect to monitor, especially if he develops physically. Finished with seven points. Traverse City West Parker Neu 6-6 2020 I came away from the summer very impressed in the development in this young man’s game and that continued into this contest. Showed the ability to score at all three levels. Stepped out and drained three 3’s. One of them was timely and late, keeping the Titans in the ballgame. One two separate occasions displayed crafty left handed finishes in the post. Has a good wingspan and showed it off with two big blocked shots. Ran the court well and finished off a lob on the break. Reminds me of Marshall and Albion post Andrew Neidlinger, and that’s going way back. I think Neu could have a similar type of career in the MIAA. Finished with 21 points on the night. Andy Soma 6-1 2020 Coming off of a good season at quarterback for the Titans football team. Leadership is carrying over to the hardwood. A true downhill point guard with good size for the position. In this era of space and pace it is refreshing to see a guard who goes so fearlessly to the hole. Good athlete who explodes to the rim when he sees daylight. Once there finishes well with both hands. Has a serviceable outside shot with deep range that looks a little heavy at times. Soma finished with 13 points while distributing the ball well. Garret Schuler 6-2 2022 I first saw this prospect this summer playing with Northern Exposure. It was readily apparent then as it is was Friday that this sophomore is a shooter. He looks a little bigger and stronger since then. As a young shooter it appeared he had a ways to go as a ball handler. It was surprising and encouraging to see him as the backup point guard Friday evening. He did a good running the offense as Andy Soma took a breather. Didn’t turn the ball over against what was a very quick and small opponent. If he continues to grow physically and develop his overall perimeter game this could be an intriguing 6-4 wing prospect in two years. Bloomfield Hills moved to 4-0 on the young season with two huge games scheduled over Christmas. The Black Hawks will play Detroit Western and Howell over the break. Traverse City West moves to 1-2 and will play two games in the Lake Michigan Cup at Grand Haven High School.