Impressive Players – Griggs/Midkota vs. Oakes

<p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Coming into the game Griggs/Midkota was 1-2 and coming off a heartbreaking loss in overtime to Larimore. Tonight’s game for Oakes was the season opener. However, the first half did not look like this was the first game Oakes. The Tornadoes were firing on all cylinders. Oakes dominated the first quarter and seemed to do as they wished. The Tornadoes flew all over the court on defense and in transition. [player_tooltip player_id="1111170" first="Ashton" last="Biesterfeld"] had a monster first quarter and dominated in the paint scoring 9 points. After the first quarter, the score was 23-13 with Oakes in the lead. If Oakes looked good in the first quarter, they looked great in the second. They again did as they pleased and shared the ball very effectively. Turnover turned into baskets on the other end in a flash. The Tornadoes overwhelmed the Titans and went into halftime with a 17-point lead.</span></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">The second half was more of the same as the first half. Oakes blew the lid off this one and showed how skilled they are on the offensive end. The Mustangs did not give up, the Tornadoes are just too athletic and skilled in all the right areas. The third quarter ended with Oakes in the lead 57-29. The fourth quarter went by very fast and the starters played about half of it. The reserves came in finished the game off and Oakes finished with a 35-point victory.</span></p> <p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Game Takeaways – </span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Oakes has three very talented players in [player_tooltip player_id="750169" first="Garret" last="Meehl"], [player_tooltip player_id="750181" first="Steele" last="Hansen"], and [player_tooltip player_id="1111170" first="Ashton" last="Biesterfeld"]. I was very impressed with Oakes in transition and how little they dribbled to get the ball down the court for easy baskets. Oakes executed well early on when they ran sets. The Tornado pick-and-roll game was impressive. Oakes was good on the O-boards crashing hard and using their athleticism. I give credit to the Titans for not giving up and playing hard all game. Oakes will win many games this year and will have a good chance to make the State tournament the way they looked tonight.</span></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Halftime Score</span></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> Griggs/Midkota – 23 Oakes – 40</span></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Final Score</span></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Griggs/Midkota – 39 Oakes – 74</span></p> <p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Griggs/Midkota</span></strong></p> <p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Hunter Gronneberg (2021) |5-10 G| Griggs/Midkota</span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> –</span><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> </span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Hunter can shoot the 3-pointer and has good feet.</span><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> </span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">He is an aggressive athletic guard.</span></p> <p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Jayden Sherrard (2021) |6-0 G| Griggs/Midkota </span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">– He looks to be a reliable outside shooter. Jayden is a skilled passer who made multiple one-handed flick passes.</span></p> <p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="1111171" first="Logan" last="Topp"] (2022) |6-0 G| Griggs/Midkota</span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> –</span><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> </span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">He has a nice-looking jump-shot. Logan is a solid guard who can do a little of everything. He made a floater on the first possession of the second half and came down on his ankle wrong. He did not come back in the game. I expect logan to be one of the better guards in District 5. He finished the game with 11 points, with 9 of them in the first half.</span></p> <p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Oakes</span></strong></p> <p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="1111170" first="Ashton" last="Biesterfeld"] (2021) |6-4 F| Oakes – </span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">He finished the game with 17 points and 9 of them came in the first quarter. I was overly impressed with this big man. Ashton is aggressive, strong, and powerful. He seals deep in the post and scores with quick moves. He is a beast on the boards who moves people out of the way with his size and snatches the ball with his hops. The nice part is that he never forced anything on the offensive side.</span></p> <p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Dalton Schmit (2021) |6-2 G| Oakes</span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> – He looks to be a good player on the bounce when attacking the basket. Dalton has good body control when finishing in the paint. He can also hit shots from beyond the arc.</span></p> <p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="750169" first="Garret" last="Meehl"] (2021) |6-1 G| Oakes </span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">– He finished with 16 points in the game. I came away most impressed with this high-quality point-guard. Garret can truly do it all. He has great court vision and snaps passes by the defenders or floats a touch pass into tight spaces. Garret is a precision shooter who only shoots if it is in rhythm and in space. I like the tempo he played with, he pushed it hard and fast when needed. When they ran a set, or he was using a ball screen he was patient until he needed to attack. He was great in the pick-n-roll and found the screener rolling to the basket for easy points. Garret also has great leaping ability and finishes around the rim with ease. I think Garret is one of the best point guards in North Dakota.</span></p> <p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Joseph Heim (2023) |6-0 G| Oakes </span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">– He is a “glue guy” who does the little things for his team. I like Joseph’s hustle and grit. He does not force anything on offense as he has plenty of scoring around him.</span></p> <p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="750181" first="Steele" last="Hansen"] (2021) |5-11 G| Oakes </span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">– If you want to watch a strong athlete, you need to watch Steele. He posts people up at 5’11”. Steele is strong enough to move around bigger guards and has the hops to shoot over people or blow by them on the way to the rim. I like his game because he is always in “attack mode”. He can pull up and hit short jumpers or use the floater in the lane. Steele is also a great rebounder with his tenacity and jumping ability. He finished the game with 17 points.  </span></p>