Granite City Classic: New Names to Know
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The Granite City Classic was a gold mine when it comes to learning about new names of Minnesota high school basketball players. Here are some new talents to learn about. Logan Eisentrager of Rockford (senior). Logan is a 6’4 agile…
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Continue ReadingThe Granite City Classic was a gold mine when it comes to learning about new names of Minnesota high school basketball players. Here are some new talents to learn about.
Logan Eisentrager of Rockford (senior). Logan is a 6’4 agile and strong smaller school big man that moves well and can guard most low post players that his team will see this year. His ability to rebound some and defend other big takes a lot of pressure off of Sam Zilmer Sam Zilmer 6'4" | PF Rockford | 2022 State MN on both ends plus he hit two threes which really gives Zilmer space to work. Perfect smart worker to play next to Zilmer.
Nick Evanson Nick Evanson 6'2" | SG Brainerd | 2023 State MN of Brainerd (junior). Nick really piqued my interest today (or peaked my interest, whatever you prefer). Brainerd seems to use him at three different spots. Evanson rebounded well but I really liked what he did in transition either leading the break or running the break to complete. And just the quick transition but also the quick plays made in secondary break hitting a three as well as using the quick wing outlet and taking it to the cup against a slow transitioning defense. Had 11 points and eight boards.
Alexander Gamber of Champlin Park (senior). Alex is a 6’5 post that gave the Rebels a bit of offense around the basket with four scores plus he grabbed 11 rebounds that were crucial because the Rebels had a ton of trouble rebounding the first half against Brainerd. Gamber had a solid half and we’ll see how things grow from this game.
Bryce Lund of Sauk Rapids-Rice (senior). Bryce is a 6’7 senior and some of the things he did caught my attention. Despite foul trouble Lund scored ten points in a game where everything was quite balanced. Showed a nice touch hitting clutch foul shots, the 15 foot jumper, and some deep paint scores. They used him at the top of a zone a bit too with his length as well as decent lateral agility. A player that could grow into something in the future.
Robert Olson of Annandale (senior). Olson is a fairly athletic 6’6/6’7 forward who provided the Cards with a third source of offense in their win over St. Cloud Tech. He finished four of six attempts, made both his foul shots, and hit a three (11 points) while also grabbing eight boards. With so much attention coming the way of Spaulding and Gagnon, Olson’s scoring on five possessions was crucial to the one score win.
Henry Skinner Henry Skinner 6'2" | PG Rockford | 2023 State MN of Rockford (junior). There are fun moments that you remember in high school basketball and I think one of those moments will be Henry getting a late two hand dunk and his entire team celebrating the play. I don’t really know what to call it but half the team was flexing, some raising their arms, and all were excited for the win and for their teammate. It was the final play of a solid all around game for Skinner who scored a dozen points, dished out four assists, grabbed six boards, and played with constant energy.
Goanar Tap of St Cloud Tech (senior). At 6’9, long, and a player that runs pretty well, Tap caught the eye of many when he stepped on the floor off the bench. When Goanar scored three times in the paint (mostly on second chance attempts) he earned himself more minutes through the second half. Tap is quite raw but at 6’9 and a big player that runs well, could be a guy a local school takes and works with.
Tanner Thomsen of Stillwater (junior). The 6’1 guard had an explosive scoring game knocking out six threes and scoring 30 points. But this wasn’t just a “he catches and he launches and that’s it” type of shooting performance. Thomsen also made key foul shots, he moved the ball actively to get three assists, and Tanner moved off the ball to score at the cup four times as well. An electric shooting performance but Tanner did more than just hit threes.