Scouting Minnesota – Metro Small Schools

<p>Who in Class A section four could use a college look?  Here are five upperclassmen to keep an eye on over the next year or two. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Drake Eckman</strong> of CHOF – Drake will move into the leadership role for CHOF this year after scoring 15 a game as a junior.  CHOF hopes to be playing in the section title game for the third straight season and with five of their top seven returning it could happen.  Drake will need to step into the main scoring role meaning he will have to playmaker off the bounce in addition to his active scores and catch and shoot threes. Eckman is a 6-foot-2 shooting guard. </p> <p><strong>Storm Norcross</strong> of Lakes International – The top returning scorer in the section?  That’s Storm at 24 a game.  Norcross is perfectly named Storm because he is all over the court aggressively collecting offensive rebounds, fighting for turnovers, listing among the metro steal leaders and averaging 24 points and 12 boards a game.  Norcross is a 6-foot-3 forward. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958834" first="Christian" last="Schmidt"]</strong> of West Lutheran – West Lutheran was a good, balanced basketball team last year but two seniors graduated leaving a leadership position available.  After scoring 11-12 a game as a sophomore, Schmidt steps into a key spot as a 5-foot-11 guard.  Schmidt did a lot in the off guard role last year choosing to attack more than to shoot from the arc.  He was a 35 percent shooter at the arc and a highly affective attacking producer as a sophomore. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="774783" first="Jordan" last="Stone"]</strong> of PACT Charter – Jordan had to do a lot for his team which is why the numbers of 17.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, and four assists a contest are there.  Stone is listed at 6-foot-6 which allows him to have some of the best shot blocking timing around and the senior-to-be rebounds well.  That said, he also had to handle, take the biggest shots, and move the ball to get others open meaning he was a do everything player, and will be again next year. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="774772" first="Jake" last="Wald"]</strong> of Legacy Christian – Wald had a big year at Legacy Christian and his return - along with the return of three other starters - has expectations set at very high.  Jake has a chance to be a Class A All State player after his game improved in terms of vision and handling the ball for his team.  Jake scored 18 a game shooting 36 percent at the arc but also dished out six assists a contest. </p>