Granite City Classic: St. Johns Top Forwards

Matt Bigelow

December 30, 2019 @ 01:04 PM

The Granite City Classic took over St. Cloud last weekend. With top teams from all class levels, there were excellent games all throughout Friday and Saturday. Here were some of the best forward performances from St. John’s University: JT Gaffney, Minnetonka Gaffney has been a breakout player this winter for the Skippers, as he’s averaging better than 10 points per game and impacting the game in a lot of ways. He’s 6-foot-5 and while he’s not real thick, his activity level is very high. He’s an excellent out-of-area rebounder and very good finisher in the paint. He was good defensively as well, using his length to disrupt the ball while providing steady help defense throughout. Keagen Smith, Delano Smith can do a lot of things for the Tigers. He handles the ball well, can pass, create his own shot in smaller space and is excellent around the rim as a roll man and finisher. Smith was a force in the team’s win over Rogers, scoring 28 points. He knocked down two 3-pointers, he got the free throw line, he posted hard in early secondary offense and bullied defenders all over the floor. Cam Steele, Minnetonka Normally one of the best shooters and scorers in the state, Steele couldn’t throw it in the ocean for much of the first half in his team’s win over Northfield. He missed a handful of easy pick-and-pop 3-pointers, along with several makeable shots in the post. He was still able to make a positive impact on the game because of his defense and rebounding though, using his length to contest and block shots around the rim and clean up on the glass. And when his shot wasn’t falling, rather than continue to settle, Steele got the offensive glass and produced. His shot eventually came around and he knocked down several 3-pointers on the way to a dominating win, but it was the other parts of his game that were more impressive than anything Saturday. Daniel Monaghan, Northfield Northfield had a hard time establishing much against Minnetonka, but Monaghan was a definite bright spot. The senior forward showed great footwork and skill in the low and mid post areas, scoring 13 points using a variety of spins, fakes, pivots and tough finishes. Colton Roderick, Alexandria Roderick is more of a guard but he spends a lot of time defending bigs and playing inside for the Cardinals. Whatever position he plays, he’s good at it. The 6-foot-5 junior wing scored 27 points and hauled in 10 rebounds in Alexandria’s win over Big Lake. A big chunk of that came either in transition or on steals as he was the head man in the 1-2-2 zone press. But he also showed a smoothness creating his own shot. He’s a comfortable ball handler and has the quickness to get by defenders, the strength to go through them and the lift to shoot over the top relatively easily. Jack Iverson, Big Lake Iverson was the victim of poor ball security by Big Lake against Alexandria, but the 6-foot-5 junior forward still finished the game with 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists. He’s got pretty good skills, showing the ability to handle the ball and get to the rim on one or two dribbles and when he doesn’t settle for outside shots, he’s difficult to contend with because of his size and ability to elevate.