Mitchell 59 Campbell County (WY) 49 – Five Things to Know

<p>Mitchell is ranked 4th in South Dakota while Campbell County is the 3rd ranked team in Wyoming.  Tonight they met at the Corn Palace in an exciting Holiday week match-up.  </p> <p><strong>One.  Inside Beats Outside With the Flex Cut</strong>.   USF commit [player_tooltip player_id="975543" first="Zane" last="Alm"] and number one ranked junior [player_tooltip player_id="812199" first="Caden" last="Hinker"] combined for 43 points on 18 of 28 shooting as the shorter Camels couldn’t contest any deep paint looks.  Not only did the Kernels score in uncontested ways, Mitchell went to the Flex Cut for a high percentage two footer over and over and over and over again.  Campbell County’s defense made zero adjustments and never communicated the screen in a way that they could even try and deny the pass.  It was a constant timing pass into the Flex Cut (a flex cut is screen away from the ball on the baseline and the cutter off the screen catches a timed feed at the rim) and Mitchell used it for a monster second half.  Meanwhile the Camels launched 30 plus three-pointers (I lost count late in the game) and the percentages were low especially in the second half.  Campbell County’s first two point attempt came with under a minute to go in the first quarter, they took a dozen threes before the lay-up try. </p> <p><strong>Two.  An Important Win</strong>.  Mitchell improved to 5-0 on the season and it’s list of victories in reasonably close games against solid programs.  The Kernels have defeated Stevens, Central, Huron, Lincoln, and now a top program out of Wyoming.  That’s a veteran team, an athletic team, a three point launching squad, and two young programs for their undefeated mark. Next up is Thunder Basin (also out of Wyoming) which is another top five program from the neighboring state. </p> <p><strong>Three. Hinker Just Misses a Triple Double</strong>.  <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="812199" first="Caden" last="Hinker"]</strong> scored 20 points with 15 rebounds and eight assists on 8 of 15 shooting.  Three things grabbed my attention the most from Hinker tonight:</p> <ol> <li>Hinker is an exceptional passer.  The junior’s vision led to eight assists.  Some of it was the timed out flex cuts but he also led teammates with passes on the drive, he had a couple nice post entry feeds, and his best looks were against a rotation defense that thought it had him trapped but Caden found shots for his teammates in tough spots. </li> <li>Caden is a lot more agile and athletic than I think people realize.  His feel, agility, and size at forward already brought in offers from Augustana and Sioux Falls.  That said, we think even more options could come because Hinker is quicker off his feet than people realize.  He’s comfortable pushing in transition and he can put the ball on the deck and beat a lot of forwards.  Hinker’s spin move is sudden and his body control into attempts is impressive. </li> <li>Some will come Hinker’s release unorthodox, I call it quick and productive.  Caden turned out of the post hitting a fall-away, he faced up out of the post and hit a balanced jumper, Caden made a three, and scored off the pull-up.  The confidence he plays with really catches your eye and is best displayed with the jumpshot. </li> </ol> <p><strong>Four. Unstoppable Alm</strong>. In the first half <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="975543" first="Zane" last="Alm"]</strong> was just there for a few quality plays.  In the second half he was the difference maker.  Credit Coach Todd Neuendorf for calling the first block to block screen leading to a flex cut bucket the first time, then the second, third, and on and on it went.  Alm cut quickly to the opposite block and used his quickness as well as his 6-foot-10 size to catch and touch in makes eight times in the second half.  Alm blocked three shots, rebounded well in half two (six boards total), and scored a game high 23 points on 10 of 13 attempts (3 of 4 foul shots too).  Alm’s ability to run and quickly cut at his size makes him a high potential prospect.  He covers ground defensively quickly and when he adds core strength he will be even better. </p> <p><strong>Five.  The Ex-Factor</strong>. Campbell County - a state champ three of the last five years with two senior 20 plus point per game scorers - took shots so quickly that the biggest job the Mitchell guards and wings had was getting back on defense and locating their man quickly.  Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="975560" first="Ben" last="Helleloid"]</strong> did that consistently keeping a hand in the face of shooters.  Helleloid also grabbed seven boards, dished out four assists, scored on two threes (including a late game dagger), and handled the ball for Mitchell.  The pace Helleloid set so his team could run the high percentage offense was very important.  Mitchell didn’t want to play the pace that the Camels did and Ben made sure that they used a strong chunk of the shot clock before scoring on high percentage makes. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>