The Minnesota Weekend (wk1) – The Starting Five

<p>What five players from the state of Minnesota had elite weekend performances for their team?  Prep Hoops gives you our five, our Starting Five from this past weekend. </p> [caption id="attachment_1027066" align="alignright" width="150"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/Jack-Behning-2.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1027066 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/Jack-Behning-2-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="958838" first="Jack" last="Behning"][/caption] <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958838" first="Jack" last="Behning"]</strong> of Lester Prairie (6’5, Jr, SF).  Maybe one of the better weekends stories was the play of Jack Behining.  Jack is a long, skilled wing that lives in a town that has one indoor basketball court.  He’s your traditional player who walked outside and shot hoops outside with gloves on in the cold, and against anybody that shows up when it’s warm.  Jack had a strong summer with the Minnesota Crossfire and the face-up attacking wing has scored 51 points in his first two games of his junior year. He had 27 and took an early season in a crushing win over Tri-City followed by 24 in a one point loss to a much bigger school from HLWW.  Jack is coming off an All-Area/All-Conference football season as a wideout. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="850712" first="Malcolm" last="Jones"]</strong> of Prior Lake (6’9, Jr, C).   [player_tooltip player_id="532352" first="Dawson" last="Garcia"] is now at Marquette.  [player_tooltip player_id="721843" first="Tyree" last="Ihenacho"] is at North Dakota.  Brother Robert Jones is at Denver.  The D1 talent has moved on and it’s Malcolm’s turn.  So far the 6’9 junior has played up to the role.  On opening night in a large scale crushing of Burnsville, Jones had 28 points and 11 rebounds making all of his foul shots plus 10 of 18 field goals before taking an early seat.  Against a much better Rosemount team, Prior Lake lost by Jones was outstanding.  Malcolm knocked out four shots at the arc, swatted three shots while collecting 19 boards and scoring 31 points on 12 of 18 shooting.  The Lakers looked to Malcolm to step up and he has in a big way. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958817" first="Sam" last="Knowles"]</strong> of New Ulm Cathedral (6’4, Jr ,PF). We thought the Greyhounds might slip a bit this year.  With so much talent lost they had to right?  Knowles averaged a double-double as a sophomore putting up 11 and 11 on average.  But can he score as the main weapon?  Facing Keegan Heiderscheidt and Sleepy Eye, Knowles dominated with 33 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists.  Sleepy Eye couldn’t keep Knowles off the offensive glass (6 o-boards) and couldn’t get a body in front of him (Sam scored on 13 of 18 shots).  Most importantly the 200 pound forward led Cathedral to a 72-52 win. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="850731" first="Ayden" last="McDonald"]</strong> of Hibbing (6’4, Jr, PG). The 2021 season (oddly enough, we really can’t call it the 2020-21 season) is really just three days old but the top scoring performance so far this year belongs to [player_tooltip player_id="850731" first="Ayden" last="McDonald"].  The playmaking Hibbing guard is known for his Merlin levels of Wizardry as a passer but he opened the season scoring 41 points against Chisago Lakes.  With five three-pointers made and a handful of assists provided McDonald is off to a great start. </p> <p><strong>Murl Smith Jr</strong> of North St. Paul (6’0, Sr, Guard).  The Polars always seem to have a player that explodes on the scene and this year that guy is likely Murl Smith Jr. Smith scored 15 points a game last season at Milwaukee Madison last season and is off to a fantastic start for the Polars this winter.  Smith battled to the foul line for nine foul shots (made eight), made six threes, and scored 38 of his team’s 60 points in a win over Hill-Murray.  Smith is a quick lead guard that can make an opposing ball handler uncomfortable and then go the other way and knock out his mid-range jumper or hit with range. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>