Section 2AAAA Semi-Finals – Top Five Performers

<p>This past Saturday at Eden Prairie it was #1 EP vs #9 Prior Lake and #3 Chaska vs #4 Shakopee.  A section Final Four that has three of the top four teams in state.  These are the best of the best player performance wise. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="846111" first="Connor" last="Christensen"]</strong> of Eden Prairie.  The difference in the Eden Prairie vs Prior Lake game was often Dartmouth bound wing [player_tooltip player_id="846111" first="Connor" last="Christensen"].  Every Eagles player seemed to play their part in being physical with [player_tooltip player_id="532352" first="Dawson" last="Garcia"] and of course Connor was a part of it.  The biggest thing Connor did though was knock out six threes scoring 24 points in the win (9-13fg).  He’s a better three point shooter than people credit him for plus Connor is all world defensively and leadership wise.  That’s why he is a Prep Hoops top 500 senior nationally. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="721835" first="John" last="Henry"] </strong>of Eden Prairie<strong>.  </strong>When Eden Prairie got vocal with Garcia and the Lakers it was Henry that stood in front of the line ready to battle.  This was one of the best all around games I’ve seen Henry play scoring his 23 points on 10 of 16 shooting but only three of those makes were at the arc.  It was Henry’s off ball movement and his dribble creations that really grabbed my attention as we hadn’t seen that in bulk like we did Saturday.  Also moved the ball for five assists helping open up Eagle high percentage makes. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="846109" first="Drake" last="Dobbs"] </strong>of Eden Prairie<strong>.  </strong>I was thinking the other day, I don’t think I have ever seen [player_tooltip player_id="846109" first="Drake" last="Dobbs"] have a bad game.  Maybe some bad shots at times but in the last 4-5 years of year round basketball I have rarely seen Drake have a bad game.  In the state of Minnesota we don’t have any lead guards right now that can keep Dobbs in front.  Minnehaha Academy gave him problems for a bit but then Drake speared a big turning point.  Prior Lake had nobody that could stop Drake from his attack meaning he was able to attack space at will or move the ball freely without pressure.  Finished with 27 points and nine assists on 8 of 11 field goal shooting and 11-11 foul shooting.  </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="846112" first="Charlie" last="Katona"] </strong>of Shakopee<strong>.</strong> There are things I love about the Shakopee offense in relation to Charlie getting quality touches and things I am not as big a fan of in relation to Charlie.  The parts I love is that the Sabers five out motion has so much movement that the hard cuts that Katona makes are often rewarded with high percentage scores.  The offense also allows Charlie the quick catch and ability to attack forwards to the rim for physical scores with help often being late.  He’s also one of the best rebounding combo forwards you will find.  Scored 19 points with 14 rebounds and four assists in the win over Chaska.  </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="532600" first="Luke" last="Strazzanti"]</strong> of Chaska.  The development of [player_tooltip player_id="532600" first="Luke" last="Strazzanti"] as a score on a top Minnesota high school basketball team has been one of the more fun items to watch this year.  Luke has a knack for getting to the foul line and that’s because within the Chaska system he strikes rapidly forcing guys to reach, grab, smack, and hit in out of position ways.  His mid-range work is quality, the perimeter jumper improved, and he’s much quicker than people realize with that first step.  Scored 24 points with five boards on 6 of 10 shooting with 9 of 10 foul shooting.    </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>