Block’s Week 5 Roundup-Senior Performers (1A-3A)

<p>After a busy week of high school basketball, here are my top senior performers from the week in Classes 1A to 3A:</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="796155" first="Andrew" last="Formanek"], Clear Lake High School (2021)</strong></p> <p>The big bodied, 6'6 post player, should be #1 on the opposing team’s scouting report when playing this Lion’s team. When Formanek has the ball the defense shifts his way. Not to mention, Formanek has potential to post a double-double every time out with his rebounding range and athleticism. He gets his points inside the 3 point line primarily but even if defenders know that he can still be a tough player to stop. Against Waverly-Shell Rock Formanek posted a 15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block for the Lions. </p> <p><strong>Eric Ritter, Clear Lake High School (2021)</strong></p> <p>In talking about the rest of this Clear Lake team, Ritter kind of goes under-the-radar but he’s a perfect player for this team. At 6’6 he brings size inside and does a good job of running the floor in transition to make himself available to pass to. With the playmakers in Formanek and Toebe, Ritter is good at finding open space and when the defense shifts attention Ritter thrives in taking advantage of the defense. Against the Go-Hawks his stat line was 13 points and 7 rebounds for the Lions.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="582225" first="Blake" last="Chance"], Albia High School (2021)</strong></p> <p>Not one of Blake’s best shooting days, but still put in a 15 point performance going 5/13 from the field but more importantly making 4/4 from the free throw line. He started the game with a good looking 3 point basket, but his shooting did slow down after that. The 6’4 CG can be a matchup problem for opposing teams as he’s quick off the dribble and can get to the basket and use his length to finish over the top of the defense. He did a good job of defending Washington’s guards. The best part of his game is that he posted 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks to round out his game on both ends.</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/73-Kayden-Ames.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1066294" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/73-Kayden-Ames-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /></a></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="964830" first="Kayden" last="Ames"], West Fork High School (2021)</strong></p> <p>A player who aggressively looks for his 3 point shot and is good at it, did his normal damage from 3, but also got more shots inside the 3 point line to go as well on Thursday. Got off to a slow start, but as the game went on Ames got his game going. He’s a talented shooter from the outside and doesn’t need a ton of space to get it off. Ames would end the game with 17 points on 7/12 shooting and 3/8 from 3 to go along with 4 rebounds. West Fork would fall to Dike-New Hartford, but Ames and fellow Senior [player_tooltip player_id="964833" first="Jakob" last="Washington"] form a good duo to take this team deep into Class 1A.</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/09/Jakob-Washington.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1049805" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/09/Jakob-Washington-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="964833" first="Jakob" last="Washington"], West Fork High School (2021)</strong></p> <p>Completing the duo with Ames is [player_tooltip player_id="964833" first="Jakob" last="Washington"] who is good at finishing off plays inside around the basket. He did step out and attempt 2 three point shots but to no avail as he’s shooting 19% from 3 throughout the season. Nonetheless, Washington does his best work inside the three point line, and did so again on Thursday scoring 22 points on 9/12 shooting from the field along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. He did well at weaving his way through a congested lane many times and finding space to get off a shot. He was also 4/5 from the free throw line so if he didn’t convert and got fouled he was effectively making the Wolverines pay.</p> [caption id="attachment_1066972" align="alignnone" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Landen-Sullivan.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1066972" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Landen-Sullivan-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Sullivan[/caption] <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="964894" first="Landen" last="Sullivan"], Dike-New Hartford High School (2021)</strong></p> <p>The spin move was on full display from Sullivan on Thursday night against West Fork. That’s the first highlight of Sullivan because he showed really good body control and effectiveness when using it to initiate offense for the Wolverines. Sullivan would end the game with 17 points, but did all of his work at the free throw line going 9/10 from the stripe to help his team hold a tight lead to the end. The 5’10 CG is a player who will quietly put up stats during games and you look down at the end and realize how effective he was.</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Aj-Wegener.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1021776" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Aj-Wegener-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /></a></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="964882" first="AJ" last="Wegener"], Dike-New Hartford High School (2021)</strong></p> <p>The athletic PG has a knack for getting into the lane and making a play for his team. A play in the 2nd half Wegener received the ball on the right wing and drove baseline gaining a step on his defender, launches towards the basket and takes the contact to convert a "and-1" play. These are the type of plays that Wegener is capable of making but doesn’t have to make all the time. He has a good role on this Wolverine team and plays it well. I like the way he uses his athleticism to effect the game defensively as an on-ball defender. He would end the game against West Fork with 10 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. </p> [caption id="attachment_1040525" align="alignnone" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/Alex-Koppes.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1040525" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/Alex-Koppes-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Koppes[/caption] <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="964829" first="Alex" last="Koppes"], Springville High School (2021)</strong></p> <p>A 20.8 point per game man, Koppes didn’t quite get to that total on Friday, but proved his importance to this Springville team. Koppes is a good shot maker and shows a good shooting stroke from the perimeter. He was efficient shooting the basketball on Friday though with 15 points shooting 50% from the 3pt line on 6 attempts. Koppes showed good patience with the intense North Linn pressure to get through it or pass it to an open teammate. The bouncy guard showed he can get up and block a shot as well on a pretty clear pathway layup where he got up and left no doubt.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="796144" first="Luke" last="Rankin"], Dallas Center-Grimes High School (2021)</strong></p> <p>The PG who might end up leading the state in assists per game when it’s all said and done this season, had a good offensive first half for the Mustangs to keep even with the Dutch. What we’ve become accustomed to seeing from Rankin is finding the open man and he did just that on Friday finishing with 12 assists with 0 turnovers to go along with 11 points adding in 2 rebounds and steals for his team. The best part about Rankin’s passing ability is his vision and the way he can accurately get the ball into tight windows. The Dordt commit, will be able to find early playing time if he can continue to take care of the ball and find his teammates the way he does for the Mustangs. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="964840" first="Alex" last="Thomas"], Dallas Center-Grimes High School (2021)</strong></p> <p>The 6’5 big man for the Mustangs was a mismatch for the Dutch on Friday. He would find himself in good positions by the basket and did well to convert those opportunities. Thomas was 5/7 from the field and made 2/2 on free throws to help keep pace. His length was important as well in the rebounding department pulling in 6 rebounds for his team. Thomas also showed the ability to move his feet on defense which can usually be a downfall of bigger players, but I thought he did a good job sticking in front of a quicker player and forcing jumpshots from him. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>