Midwest Showdown: Friday’s Best

<p>The Midwest Showdown got moving Friday night in Appleton and the big game performances were immediate.  An Albert Lea headliner leads the way. </p> <p><strong>Camden Carter o</strong>f Minnesota Magic 17s (5’11 PG, 2022).   Carter grabbed my attention a bit this past winter with BSM pressuring the ball and aggressively putting the ball on the deck.  Last night with the Magic Carter did that end then some completely disrupting the Iowa ball handlers with his strength, position, and quick hands.  Carter scored 4-5 times at the rim in the win and was a solid ball handler as well as pressure defender.</p> <p><strong>Dom Fairbanks</strong> of Playmakers North 16s (5’9 PG, 2024).  Fairbanks played lead guard and scoring guard for Cass Lake-Bena this past winter having a great freshman year.  He’s continued the big 2021 basketball calendar by playing up with the Playmaker 16s and doing it with success.  Playmakers hammered Team 1848 67-33 and it was Fairbanks that set the tone.  Dom knocked three early triples using the Playmaker ball movement and his own quick transition push to get to space for the attempts.  He made his first five shots and six of eight for the game scoring 17.  Fairbanks also chased down five boards and did a great job keeping the ball moving for his team. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958777" first="Kyle" last="Johnson"]</strong> of Minnesota Magic 17s (6’1 Guard, 2022).  Really enjoyed seeing [player_tooltip player_id="958777" first="Kyle" last="Johnson"] in a different role last night.  Kyle is usually a strong defender, excellent ball moving, occasional three point shooter for the talented Islanders.  With the Magic Johnson was the point guard running the show and a relied on shot maker, and he played that role very well.  The Magic had to hold on to beat the Iowa Mavericks but they did so on the early Johnson scoring led by his three point shooting. I think the part of Johnson I enjoyed the most though was his comfort running the offense.  He handled with ease ignoring the attempted ball pressure in front of him and often blitzed that defender with a hard zig-zag attack into the first pass.  </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="962229" first="Michael" last="Kastelic"]</strong> of Playmakers North 16s (6’1 Guard, 2023). I really like how Michael set himself up for his 15 points.  Scored his 15 using screens and intelligent space eating dribbles.  Really liked how he came off the ball screen with an extended dribble to space that the defense had trouble shuffling to after moving through congestion and I also liked his hard curls off the ball to set up the shot.  Michael also went hard into the defense drawing several fouls and getting to the foul line.  The Playmakers had a lot of scoring threats Friday night but it was Kastelic that had the best combination of size and skill.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1188850" first="John" last="Mueller"]</strong> of Minnesota Crossfire Brown 16s (6’4 Forward, 2023).  One of the biggest number producers of the 16u season has been [player_tooltip player_id="1188850" first="John" last="Mueller"].  We didn’t get the chance to see him last night but felt that his performances this spring deserved some space.  Here is a sample from just this month:</p> <ul> <li>25 points and 5 boards vs Select James</li> <li>Double-Double of 18 points and 10 rebounds vs the MN Hoopers</li> <li>22 and 7 vs Chippewa Valley Select </li> <li>28 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 blocks vs Go Hard</li> </ul> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="962297" first="Pal" last="Wal"]</strong> of Minnesota Lightning 16s (6’5 Forward, 2023).  The last time we checked in on [player_tooltip player_id="962297" first="Pal" last="Wal"] he had an 11 point, 10 rebound, nine assist near triple double for the Tigers against Rochester Century High School.  Last night he put most of those numbers into one column, buckets.  Pal scored 31 points for the Lightning in a comeback victory over Chapman Academy going at the cup.  The 31 came from the foul line, it was running the floor in transition, it was high post work using the short jumper or a one dribble attack to the cup, and it was deep finishes.  Chapman didn’t have a player that could move in front of Wal AND handle his size.  An emerging 2023 talent. </p>