Up North Challenge-Next Generation West Side

<p>The Up North Challenge was an excellent highly competitive event. I’ve already covered standout prospects from Northern Michigan. The younger age division belonged to the west side of the state. Here are five that stood out. </p> <p><b>Layne Risdon 6-9 Zeeland East </b>One half of a twin tower front court that allowed the West Michigan Lakers to win the 15U bracket. Type of prospect that passes the eye test in a major way. You simply don’t see prospects with this level of length and athleticism at this age very often. Plainly evident during warmups. Then once the ball tips and you see the aggression and defensive awareness that give this prospect a chance to be special. Seems like a lifetime ago. But it was in this same gym that I saw a rising junior from Zeeland East named [player_tooltip player_id="811107" first="Nate" last="Claerbaut"] (Ferris St) blow up at a Bank Hoops invidual camp. A lot of parallels beyond playing at the same school. Like Claerbaut was at the time, Risdon is very skinny. However Risdon is probably further along in his development. That is saying something as Claerbaut was the top ranked center in the 2021 class. It’s a lazy cliche to say a player impacts a game without scoring. That being said when you post a championship game stat line of 16 boards, 7 blocks, 3 steals, and 4 assists to go with zero points—well you kind of force my hand. </p> <p><b>Josiah Long 6-3 Newaygo </b>The one player on this list that made meaningful contributions at the varsity level and it showed. Just played with a different level of aggression and court awareness that comes from playing with players three years older. Took charge of the game in the second half of a come behind victory against Strictly Skills. Wanted the challenge of guarding the other teams best player (see below) Can score effectively both in the post and out on the perimeter. Has a confident and smooth release from deep. Should team with 2023 prospect <b>Bryce</b> <b>Decker</b> to give Lions and dynamic frontcourt duo for the next few years. That being said Long is skilled enough to move to the guard position if his height warrants it. It’s good to have options. </p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1140323" first="Connor" last="Walsh"] 6-1 Mattawan </b>There is a lot of length and potential on this list. This prospect has the closest thing to complete offensive game among the five. Good ball handler with an excellent outside shot. I was also very impressed with his intangibles. With a lot of scorers the ball can tend to stick. Walsh moves very well without the basketball and is good at getting open. Highly competitive player who only played in one game due to missing Saturday’s games because of baseball. I have no problem with multi sport athletes. Especially at this age. Didn’t need time to settle in and made his one game count. Put up 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Along with going a perfect 7-7 at the line. I would say that is the definition of stuffing the stat sheet. Should form a good future backcourt for the Wildcats with fellow 2024’s [player_tooltip player_id="1111926" first="Noah" last="Vanlaningham"] and <b>Jaxon</b> <b>Engels. </b>Vanlaningham was playing up a division while Engels teamed with Walsh on Strictly Skills. </p> <p><b>Arien McDaniel 5-9 East Kentwood </b>Add another player to the ever growing list of talented underclassmen in the Falcon program. Feels like I find a new one every weekend. Not the biggest prospect but penetrated with ease and finished well at the rim despite not having the biggest frame. Often did this with his off hand, showing this is a prospect that works on the finer points of the game. While you can work on fundamentals. One thing you can’t teach is a high motor, and McDaniel plays very hard. Will probably have to wait a bit to be featured in the deep Falcon program but has serious potential as a lead guard. </p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1157486" first="Camden" last="Karel"] 6-6 2025 Bryon Center </b>The other half of Lakers twin tower championship combo. Similar prospect to Risdon. Very tall, very skinny, and more importantly very skilled. However that is not a typo at the beginning. This is 2025 prospect. I don’t normally like to write about prospects who have yet to step foot in a high school. However when you play like this I am left no choice. Length makes him an imposing defensive presence despite slender frame. Offensively he knows what to do with ball in his hands. Keeps it high in the post shows good coordination. Will need to add weight as he grows. But once again this is a very young player with a ton of long term potential. </p>