Brawl for the Ball: Next Northern Michigan Tier

<p>After giving you the Elite 11 plus one earlier in the week I thought I would dive back into the region and give you some more players that performed well at the Brawl for the Ball in Fort Wayne. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="986886" first="Jaden" last="Montague"] 6-1 2023 Cadillac </strong>Playing with a squad that struggled on the weekend, Montague was the clear standout. Struggled at times to find areas to attack in the offensive flow but when he did was successful. Seemed to find the sweet spot in the mid range and showed an effective floater going to both his right and left. Also displayed extended range hitting a few threes. This included a deep and timely one at the buzzer of a Saturday evening contest. Explosive in the open court with a quick and powerful spin move. Finished through contact on more than one instance. The unorthodox release on his shot I have written about previously was less pronounced and barely noticeable. Had a tendency to dribble into trouble and will need to see the court better. But plenty of time to work on this. This is definitely a prospect to catch on the come up. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1220826" first="Caleb" last="Caul"] 6-3 2022 Grayling </strong>Like his teammate <b>Dylan</b> <b>Cragg</b> this was my first time catching Caul. And like Cragg I came away impressed in a similar fashion. Physical and highly competitive. Played aggressive and sound defense. Went hard to the hole and was adept at drawing contact. Not the most refined backcourt skills at this point but that can always be developed. Could also keep growing and become a legitimate forward prospect. Has the type of athleticism and intensity that can’t be coached. As I have written previously the Lake Michigan conference is going to be an extremely tough small school conference. If Caul continues to develop and finds success against that type of competition he will become a known prospect. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="986885" first="Dylan" last="Barnowski"] 5-11 2023 Lake Leelanau St Mary </strong>Unlike his regular season and Northern Exposure teammate [player_tooltip player_id="986572" first="Shawn" last="Bramer"], Barnowski looks like a 2023 prospect. However his controlled and measured floor game doesn’t play like one. His lack of vertical size is off set by a tough wiry frame with long arms. Showed the ability to play the point which be key in his development. Like travel team backcourt teammate [player_tooltip player_id="985667" first="Wyatt" last="Nausadis"], always helps to be left handed. Further honing playmaking sills will be the next step in development. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="864021" first="Quinn" last="Zickert"] 6-2 2022 Benzie Central </strong>Is there such thing as a “stretch 3”? If it exists, it is this prospect. Has a stocky and wide build that keeps him from getting pushed around, but has the perimeter skills to stretch his defender out beyond the arc. Hit a contested corner 3 in Parallel 45 White’s loss on Saturday afternoon. Uses his size to the get to line where I imagine he will get a lot of his points in the regular season. Once there displays a soft touch that belies his frame. The future is bright for the Huskies as Zickert had three other teammates playing with him on the weekend. Included among them is 2024 player to watch [player_tooltip player_id="986582" first="Jaxon" last="Childers"]. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1067866" first="Joel" last="Ewald"] 5-9 2022 Roscommon </strong>Steady no frills point guard who has a chance with increased size and development. He is small and not an overwhelming athlete but really knows how to play the game. Helps that he has “in the gym” range on the perimeter. I witnessed this in a regular season loss to a good Lake City squad. While he didn’t display it this weekend, he did hit a few in a Saturday afternoon loss. Well schooled in the pick and roll but will need to be more aggressive in penetration. Ewald will be tested going up against a steady string of good point guards in the Highland conference. Since I have not written much about this triumvirate I’ll briefly mention them here. This group of experienced seniors <b>Kaleb</b> <b>Moore</b> (Manton), <b>Connor</b> <b>Murphy</b> (McBain) and <b>Hunter</b> <b>Bisballe</b> (Lake City) will make for some good battles. If Ewald finds success against this trio it could set him up for a big senior season. Has an excellent academic profile and has received some interest from Northwood. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>