Summer Classic – Five Best
Top Five Performers from the D1 Summer Classic at Shakopee High School from last weekend. Here is our group of five! Ryan Dufault Ryan Dufault 5'11" | PG Waseca | 2021 State MN of Minnesota Heat (Waseca, 6’0, PG, 2021). …
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Continue ReadingTop Five Performers from the D1 Summer Classic at Shakopee High School from last weekend. Here is our group of five!
Ryan Dufault Ryan Dufault 5'11" | PG Waseca | 2021 State MN of Minnesota Heat (Waseca, 6’0, PG, 2021). When the Heat plays good teams so much comes down to Ryan. He spends games both handling the basketball and giving his team point production. Ryan’s ability to attack into congestion and always get to his left hand finish is nearly a physical marvel. And the two best teams that the Heat played – D1 Minnesota and Minnesota Fury Zurn – those teams were not able to stop Ryan from getting his contributions in. Ryan scored 14 on six shots (and six foul shots) versus the Fury and then had another 14 (6 of 11 shooting) against D1 Minnesota plus had three assists. D1 Minnesota was able to limit key parts of the Heat but Ryan was still his usual productive self.
David Joplin of D1 Minnesota (Brookfield WI, 6’8, 2021). David seems to be the go to scorer for D1 Minnesota more than any other player. David scored 16 points on 6 of 13 shooting and three of those were at the arc in the title game against the Heat. I really like David’s scoring touch as well as his ability to fight to spots to get those shots off. His agility mixed with his aggressive nature, David can attack most wings. He did a nice job doing his part in limiting the Heat wings (a pair of top ten players from Minnesota) and while the team scoring was varied across the board, Joplin continues to emerge as a main option. And at times the main option.
Eli King Eli King 6'2" | PG Caledonia | 2022 State #151 Nation MN of D1 Minnesota (Caledonia, 6’3, Guard, 2022). Eli shot a ridiculous 59 percent from the field for the weekend. This is a guard playing up a grade who took 8-9 shots a game and is well known as a top player, but yet he still was able to make nearly three out of five shots throughout the weekend. Eli of course was in the open floor scoring in explosive fashion but he also had a good weekend scoring from the arc. His game as an explosive scorer has evolved and this is looking more and more like a top 100 player in the nation.
Jackson Loge Jackson Loge 6'7" | C Morris Area | 2022 State MN of Minnesota Fury Wilde (Morris Area, 6’8, PF, 2022). Making his second appearance on five best is Jackson Loge Jackson Loge 6'7" | C Morris Area | 2022 State MN (he was also in this spot after a weekend of playing with a bunch of high school teammates on the Wildcats team). Jackson is about 6-foot-8 and he plays the game of a very skilled game of a center, and as a skilled active four man. I love how he moves off high ball screens or cuts hard to the post after a screen behind the play leading to a sprint to the block to post or to a catch and complete. In the 16u title game yesterday Jackson dominated for the Minnesota Fury scoring 21 on 10 of 12 shooting including a three. He was among the best players on his team all weekend and had the best individual performance of any 16u player this weekend.
Tamin Lipsey of D1 Minnesota (Ames IA, 6’1, PG, 2022). Lipsey is the team playmaker. When the team was bad for a half versus the Comets it was Tamin that changed the momentum. Early in the title game Tamin took charge scoring early three times. His split of Dufault and Andrew Morgan Andrew Morgan 6'9" | C Waseca | 2021 State #178 Nation MN for a basket was something that really caught our attention as Tamin completely blitzed to the rim after he turned the corner on the Thompson screen. He also attacked middle off that ball screen to the elbow and and drug a crossover that nearly sent a player to his back. He scored early and then his basket attack led to creations for others. In fact I would say that Tamin’s basket attack of various varieties was the biggest part of the title game win. He was all around the most consistent player and would likely get event MVP.