Summer Classic – New Names to Know
Who are some new names we picked up – and likely others picked up – from this past weekend at the Summer Classic?
Matthew Bothun Matthew Bothun 6'9" | PF St. Francis | 2023 State MN of D1 Minnesota 15u (6’6, PF, St. Francis, 2023). There are a lot of top young players that had great high school seasons trying to find their niche with other quality players. Matthew is not one of those guys. In our two viewings of D1 Minnesota 15u Bothun went about his business and produced consistent numbers. Nothing forced, just worked to space and when he got his chances, Matthew took advantage. Type of dependable player with size that we think has a chance to be a consistent number producer.
Jordan Boysen Jordan Boysen 6'6" | PF Forest Lake | 2021 State MN of Minnesota Heat Wiley (6’6, PF, Forest Lake, 2021). Boysen was playing against very good Fury forwards but he was out-rebounding them because of strength, and because he didn’t take a play off. When shots went up Boysen made his hits. When shots went up the other way Boysen went by guys who either weren’t paying attention, or were and couldn’t fend him off. I also loved Jordan’s pivot. When he pivoted it was with the purpose of getting away to create an angle, or it was pivoting while powering a guy off of him so he could release.
Brady Haugum Brady Haugum 6'1" | SG Mankato West | 2022 State MN of Fury Wilde (5’11, PG, Mankato West, 2022). There is a spark to this young man that we are excited to see more about. Threw some brilliant passes on the attack and also showed off a nice touch making four of six shots including two with range. Mankato West is showing up more and more in these articles, Brady being one that seems to have a spark to him.
Jaden Norby Jaden Norby 6'5" | SF Ashby | 2021 State MN of West Central United (6’4, Forward, Ashby, 2021). We have talked about Jordan before but feel we need to mention him here once again. The reason for that is Jordan continues to show more range on the jumper than we thought he had and his battle against D1 Minnesota stood out. Hit four threes against D1 Minnesota and chased down eight rebounds. Each time we have seen WC United they were playing a top team. And each time Jordan has faired well against that top team.
Ayo Taki Ayo Taki 6'3" | SF Champlin Park | 2022 State MN of Gilleylen Elite (6’4, SF, Champlin Park, 2022). A wing that continues to show some promise, Ayo is a player that caught our eye so we had to track his name down because we didn’t have a roster for his team. Scored on five attacking possessions playing D1 Minnesota’s 15u team.
Jamari Walker of E1T1 (6’5, Forward, Menomonie, 2022). Walker is moving to Minnesota this summer and he did a great job fitting in with his new team on the first weekend. Walker was timid with his offense trying to fit in but he did score four active baskets in both games we watched. He also used his length and agility to keep everything in front blocking/deflecting shots and he was really aggressive on the glass grabbing 15 boards in the two games we saw. Good screener, hard worker, and a key player on the runner-up at the 16u level.
Ryan Warren Ryan Warren 6'2" | SG Eden Prairie | 2022 State MN of E1T1 (6’2, SG, Eden Prairie, 2022). Eden Prairie is going to need scorers next year and Ryan Warren Ryan Warren 6'2" | SG Eden Prairie | 2022 State MN is certainly a candidate for that based on what I just saw this weekend. Warren seems like a guy that knows how to dissect the possession and give his team the best outcome. The ball fake attacking the other way when he saw a defender leaning, a mid-range jumper in space instead of risking an attack with closing defenders, and the cut to the rim for the lay-up instead of floating to the perimeter and taking that three.