Austin 75 Winona 50 – Five Things to Know

<p>Winona started the game strong but once the Austin press starting forcing a run of turnovers a close game became a 20 point Packer lead.  Find out more in Five Things to Know. </p> <p><strong>One.  The Packer Pressure</strong>.  We’ve seen this happen before.  A team handles the Austin zone pressure/trap fairly well with well timed passes, with sharp cuts, and with a focused effort.  Winona led much of the first half.  And then in about five minutes all of a sudden Winona had guys running away from a pass that was coming, they took chances on longer skips with less heat on the ball, and they threw caution to the wind attacking space that just wasn’t there.  With Austin having five quick and well instructed players moving in unison they were in position to take advantage of every mistake.  Austin’s team doesn’t have a true post - and they almost never do - but they are long and athletic meaning they get to passing lanes quickly.  It’s also hard to point out just one player as well because nearly all of the Packers defended well. </p> <p><strong>Two</strong>.  <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958771" first="Emmanuel" last="Manyuon"]. </strong>The future big number guy - and he will have big numbers this year as well including versus Winona - is Emmanuel who is about a 6-foot-2 guard.  Mayuon made some plays early hitting a three, slashing to the cup to score, and connecting with fellow junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958655" first="Victor" last="Idris"]</strong> in transition on a Manyuon spin move into a feed.  The explosive scoring strike from Emmanuel came in the second half during Winona’s turnover run.  The Packers pushed the ball hard every mistake and Emmanuel’s run of an And1, three threes, and a 17 footer was a huge part in how Austin put Winona away early.  Emmanuel is a transition nightmare with or without the basketball because he can get his feet set and hit a good looking jumper quickly.  He can also playmake as the main ball handler going the other way.  Emmanuel had 25 points on 9 of 16 shooting including five threes.   We also need to throw in that fellow junior [player_tooltip player_id="958655" first="Victor" last="Idris"] ran the floor hard ahead of everybody nearly every possession.  His efforts gave him 14 points and nine boards including a three pointer in there as well.  Five-foot-9 junior Packer guard <strong>Gage Manahan</strong> also impressed.  The hustling guard made the most of his chances making all three threes he took, sinking all four foul shot attempts, and adding a couple transition buckets for his 17 points on six field goal attempts. </p> <p><strong>Three.  Winona’s Scoring Pair</strong>.  We expected Winona 6-foot-5 junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958646" first="Jasper" last="Hedin"]</strong> to be a prospect but he’s blossoming into a D2 scholarship level player.  Hedin also has a nice teammate to lean on in 6-foot-5 senior <strong>Max Maxwell</strong> who has had a nice start to the year scoring regularly in the high teens, lower 20s.  Maxwell gave the Winhawks an early jolt with four quick threes plus two slashing buckets on his way to a 20 point game.  When Austin’s defense found it’s groove Winona had trouble creating shots so the agile Hedin began creating chances for himself regularly. With two or three Packers stepping to him Hedin had some troubles finishing but his effort and ability to find space caught my eye.  Jasper found his way to the foul line (6 of 7 foul shooting), he boarded (grabbed 9), created for others (4 assists), and scored 17 points (5 of 18 shooting).  Jasper is looking every bit like a player D2s and the elite MIAC teams will be battling over.  Maxwell?  Teams can certainly use a 6-foot-5 forward that shoots it well. </p> <p><strong>Four</strong>.  <strong>Packer Leaders</strong>. Austin wings <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="957155" first="Okey" last="Okey"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="774763" first="Teyghan" last="Hovland"]</strong> are the heart and soul of this Austin club right now.  Hovland is the do everything player that will guard a big, push the ball, throw a baseball pass as an in-bounds lead for a strike, and holler out defensive commands.  The type of guy that may not have a triple double, but he will fill four or five stat columns with consistent numbers.  Okey comes into the year as a scorer the Packers will usually lean on.  The 6-foot-2 guard knocked out two threes, a fall away shot on the baseline, and a couple attacks for his dozen points.  Okey and Manyuon will be two of the tougher players to get back and locate because both can attack the rim or quickly spot up and hit.  And then the Packers have guys like Hovland that will get them the ball via his defense, his pass, or his defensive board into an outlet. Hovland had seven points, six boards, four assists, and three steals. </p> <p><strong>Five.  What’s Next</strong>? Austin is a top ten team that was surprised by Northfield but has wins over Mankato West and Winona.  I could see Austin finishing the season with about a 14-3 or 13-4 record heading into section play. Toughest games look to be each of the Mankato schools (one more with West, two with East), Owatonna, and Century who is off to a hot start (that game is tonight).  Winona is 3-2 with losses to West and Austin but a win over Mayo.  I will go ahead and go with Winona entering the sections at 9-8. </p>