Tulip Tip Off- Up North Standouts

<p>The Tulip Time Tip put on by the West Michigan Lakers drew most the top club teams in the Grand Rapids area. However for this scout it was a parade of Northern Michigan players that stood out for me. <br /> <br /> <b>Trevin Winkle 6-4 McBain Northern Michigan Christian (pictured at top of article) </b>I’ve been on this young man for a while and I have the digital receipts to prove it. So you can imagine how good it felt to see his potential bust out in a down state tournament setting. Winkle had an excellent weekend showing his versatile and mature game. Always plays with his head up and displays an extreme amount of court awareness. Accordingly this is the rare high school prospect that you can label a point forward. Not the only part of his game that is advanced and “old school”. Does anyone remember the good days when player used to operate in that area of the court known as the mid range? Winkle excels there. This was especially evident in a Saturday evening victory over the Grand Rapids Storm. Plays at his own speed and doesn’t get sped up by defensive pressure. Also shows excellent composure and wants the ball in his hands in crunch time. Uses his body well to draw fouls. Drew a big one on Saturday night with 1:30 left and hit both free throws to take the lead and seal the win. </p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1068123" first="Evan" last="Solomon"] 6-3 Charlevoix </b>I’ve written about this guard a lot over the last two years. There is is a lot to like. If you’re new to the site here is the brief rundown. Has the ball handling ability and court vision to play the point. But excels as a scoring two guard. Excellent elevation on his jump shot allows him to score in the mid range and from behind the arc. However I’ve expressed concerns about his ability to finish at rim. After Saturday evening consider those concerns partially extinguished. While he’s still not going rise up and dunk on you he was very crafty around the rim. That was actually where he did most damage. His array of scoop shots and finishes kept the Storm in the contest while Parallel 45 built an early lead. If he can keep developing this facet of his game he will be a true three level scorer. Like a lot of Northern Michigan guards he plays with the ball in his hands a lot during the regular season. It was nice to see him excel off the ball. He cut hard and showed purposeful weak side movement. </p> <p><b>Braidon Ewing 6-7 Petoskey </b>Winkle isn’t the only player having a breakout spring with Parallel 45. Ewing is really opening eyes with his maturing and developing post game. He first caught my attention in the regular season with a standout game against Cadillac’s big frontline and has kept that momentum going. Is a true post who knows who he is. He’s not going to wander out on the perimeter. He’s going to plant his feet on the block and do some work. Has a nice soft hook shot that he can sink over both shoulders. While he loves contact I don’t want to make him sound like some type of mauler. He is a good athlete that moves very well and is light on his feet. Well schooled in the pick and roll and put up points up in those settings. Also in the pick and roll showed strong hands by by handling some difficult passes. Uses this skill to get the ball up quickly after rebounds. </p> <p><b>Garett Schuler 6-3 Traverse City West </b>This placement comes with an unfortunate asterisk. Playing with the host West Michigan Lakers Purple squad. Schuler was playing with a level of intensity and athleticism that had not seen from him before. Unfortunately it didn’t last long as he went down with an injury that looked serious. Schuler had four early offensive rebounds against MBA NYLA’s squad. Most impressive since Schuler is a guard and the eventual champ MBA featured a long frontline. As the board work showed Schuler has a sturdy frame for a backcourt prospect. He should move into more of a featured for the Titans next season. West is one of the top developmental programs in North. Players like [player_tooltip player_id="789879" first="Andy" last="Soma"] (Lake Superior St) always seem to take big jumps in their senior seasons. Barring injury I would expect Schuler to do the same. </p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/14_Nate-ChildersPrepHoops-2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1061810" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/14_Nate-ChildersPrepHoops-2-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="864009" first="Nate" last="Childers"] 6-1 Benzie Central </b>Much like Solomon I’ve written about this point guard a lot and have pointed out his areas of needed improvement. With Childers I’ve noted he is a physically advanced point guard who needed to improve his scoring instincts and overall quickness. Consider those bars reached and then some. No other way to say it. Looked like a completely different player this weekend. Playing with a level of bounce and wiggle that good point guards need. Showed confidence in hitting multiple shots from behind the arc. Increased explosiveness was on full display with a powerful spin move and finish in transition. With his thick frame finishing through and absorbing contact has never been a problem. Was Ewing’s partner in many of the efficient pick and roll actions that I previously mentioned. Poised for a big senior season for the Huskies. Squad will feature his Parallel 45 teammate [player_tooltip player_id="864021" first="Quinn" last="Zickert"] and his younger brother 2024 [player_tooltip player_id="1112371" first="Jaxon" last="Childers"] who is running with UTS Elite. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>