Pentagon Schoolers 17U Short: AAU Overview

<p>A hard-working team that plays the game the right way. They could be a scary squad by the end of the summer. If you have a chance to watch this group, I recommend not missing it. Many of these Schoolers have bright futures!</p> <p><u>Team Notes from Coach <strong><em>Ben Short</em></strong></u>:</p> <p><em>“This is my first year with this group of young men. Very talented, with a lot of potential going into this summer as a team. We are made up of mostly guards, our athleticism, as well as our sharpshooting, allows us to spread out other teams defensively allowing our slashers to attack and get to the rim. What we give up in size on defense, we make up with team athleticism, protecting the rim and the ability to get the ball and push it to the other end aggressively.”</em></p> <p><em>“This group is a great group to coach, well mannered, hardworking, and great teammates on and off the court. We have played a lot of games where we are shuffling lineups due to school activities, track/prom/etc. I can’t wait until we find our continuity and team chemistry, these guys will be fun to watch.”</em></p> <p><strong><u>Roster:</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Connor Sauvage (2022) |5-11 G| Douglas </strong>– Conner is a great ball handler. Has a point guard mentality, always trying to get his teammates involved on offense. Smooth outside shot when left open.</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/43TristanNielsen.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1077286" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/43TristanNielsen-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="968158" first="Tristan" last="Nielsen"] (2022) |6-0 G| Castlewood</strong> – He is a great communicator of defense. Tristan hustles and has a non-stop motor. He can knock down triples regularly when left open.</p> <p><strong>Devon Lewis (2022) |6-0 G/F| Brookings</strong> – He shoots it with a quick release. Lewis is a spot-up 3-point shooter. Devon is a competitor that is willing to body up with bigger post players when called upon.</p> <p><strong>Zach Moe (2022) |6-1 G| Watertown</strong> – He plays strong and athletic. Those are his two best qualities. Zach has his nose always around the ball on defense. For only being 6’1”, he is always looking to meet defenders at the rim for protection. Moe crashes the O-boards hard, which results in easy put-back opportunities.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1130582" first="Peyton" last="Millis"] (2022) |6-1 G| Spearfish </strong>– He has a very high basketball IQ. Everything runs smoother when Peyton is in the game. He has a great shot from outside. Peyton can attack the defense without drawing fouls. He is long-armed, and Peyton tends to grab a ton of rebounds from his guard position.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="968176" first="Cooper" last="Logan"] (2022) |6-1 G/F| Potter County</strong> – He has a very high motor. Cooper is a very strong and solid player. He can muscle his way through defenders. His strength allows him to defend opponents much larger compared to his height. Logan is a hustler that is always diving for loose balls. He also has the ability to hit key three-pointers.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="812205" first="Grant" last="Luikens"] (2022) |6-3 G/F| Potter County </strong>– He is an all-around great player. Grant can create his own show anywhere on the court. This is his number 1 strength. His ball-handling allows him to get out of any difficult situation. His strength, once he gets going downhill, makes him almost impossible to stop. Grant draws a ton of fouls around the rim. He might be just as tough on defense. His size and athleticism allow him to guard any positions 1-5.</p> <p><strong>Noah Price (2022) |6-5 F| Hanson </strong>– This kid can jump out of the gym! Noah has made incredible plays on defense. He can sky up and swat shots into the bleachers. A bunch of team’s sag on defense, in hopes of keeping him away from the rack. This has not gone well. Price has consistently hit 3-pointers for the Schoolers.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="968160" first="Carter" last="Comes"] (2022) |6-7 F| Waverly – </strong>He is a big and tough center. Carter is extra tough and strong around the rim. He alters shots around the rim. He passes it well for his size and stature. Carter finds the shooter from the post. His size and feel for the game make him a solid player.</p> <p><u>Thoughts on how tournaments have gone so far from Coach <strong><em>Short</em></strong></u>:</p> <p>“Our first tournament of the summer, the Spring Jam, at the Pentagon we went 4-0 as a team. I thought we played well together. We were led by [player_tooltip player_id="812205" first="Grant" last="Luikens"], he had his entire arsenal working. Grant got his rhythm going early attacking the rim while capitalizing on multiple and one opportunities. Fearful of his downhill capabilities it opened up his outside game, leading the team in scoring in every game.”</p> <p>“[player_tooltip player_id="812205" first="Grant" last="Luikens"] has turned into the guy our team looks at when we need a bucket or a big play on defense. Saying that, this past weekend in Council bluffs we were led by Noah Price. In a weekend where we could not necessarily find our rhythm as a team. Noah seemed like the one constant we could rely on game in and game out on offense. He is usually known for his athleticism and slashing to the rim. Noah had two games with 5+ made three-pointers, shooting an extremely high percentage, nothing seemed forced.”</p> <p>“A player that sticks out to me early on is [player_tooltip player_id="1130582" first="Peyton" last="Millis"] out of Spearfish. I mentioned it before, when he is in the game, the overall quality of our game goes up. Something about his calm confidence allows us as a team to execute our offense and to maintain our responsibilities on the defense side of the ball. He has had a game with 18 points.  He seems to do all the little things that don’t show up in the stat sheet in the big moments that put our team in good positions throughout the game.”</p> <p><strong><u>Schedule</u></strong></p> <p>Pentagon Spring Jam (Sioux Falls, SD) April 24-s25</p> <p>SPTS Omaha (Omaha, NE) May 1-2</p> <p>SPTS Minneapolis (Minneapolis, MN) May 15-16</p> <p>Pentagon Hardwood Challenge (Sioux Falls, SD) June 5-6</p> <p>Great Plains Alliance (St. Cloud, MN) June 24-26</p> <p>Pentagon Summer Slam (Sioux Falls, SD) July 9-11</p> <p>Pentagon Summer Classic (Sioux Falls, SD) July 16-18</p> <p>Pentagon Dakota Challenge (Sioux Falls, SD) July 23-25</p>