Granite City Classic: The Underclassmen Report

<p>Yesterday I was at St. Cloud State taking in a full slate of Granite City Classic games from 11am until 9pm.  Here is your Underclassmen Report from Thursday!</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="1284162" first="Jordan" last="Cain"] of Minnetonka (sophomore).  Jordan scored 16 for the Skippers and he did it on a constant run.  He’s such a tough guard with this Tonka team who basically plays five guards/wings.  Bigs can’t run with him nor can they contain his first step so they have to play off of him but that’s if they catch up to Jordan in transition.  There might be wings that can cut steps off of Cain with their quickness but he’s also a strong sophomore that finishes well on the sprint/cut/run to the rim.  One of the state’s better sophomores. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="1284180" first="Luke" last="Graff"] of Champlin Park (sophomore).   Graff has to be one of the better looking shooters I have seen so far this year in his class.  At 6’3 the form and release are what you look for combined with good size, quickness in how he gets the shot off and lift in the jumper.  Luke was a couple short of the game he wanted to have but he scored 18 highlighted by four triples.  He’s the kind of guy that loves the corner because it’s the spot that really stretches the defense and is tough to contest out to. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="1284130" first="Dylan" last="Gross"] of Brainerd (sophomore).  Gross is a strong, 6’2 athlete that plays the four for the Warriors.  At first look Gross seems to be that physical banging football like big but when you watch him move you see Gross is more than that.  This is an agile athlete with some agility that gets off the floor quick and can move laterally well.  Quick to each step but physical enough to grab eight boards at the big school level at 6’2.  </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hudson Hochstedler of STMA (freshman).  The 6’4 STMA guard scored three times and was one of the four players the Knights moved the ball through to create offense.  Good size for a young guard.  </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hudson Omoke of Sauk Rapids-Rice (freshman).   This is a 6’1, skilled player that I can see being a playmaker on the ball in an [player_tooltip player_id="850738" first="Antonio" last="Bluiett"] style way as well as a natural scorer off of it.  It was a small glimpse but from what I saw today this young man reads the floor extremely well and can make a play for teammates out of small windows of opportunity.  The best thing I saw him do today was use a dribble to clear a tight defender and create chances for others with excellent vision.  Scoredon six possessions as well.  </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="1284083" first="Andy" last="Stefonowicz"] of Minnetonka (sophomore).  Andy’s control of the transition pace is A+ level.  His foresight recognizing seconds ahead of time and leading players to those spots is as good as just about anybody I have covered at this age.  If I am a shooter or a transition streaking player, this is a guy I would love to play with because he puts the ball on a hot plate for a comfortable scorer.  Had seven assists versus Spring Lake Park completely controlling the pace of play.  The touch is pretty but that wasn’t what today was about, today was Andy’s firm control over a 20 point win.  </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Others That Played</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Luke Emmerich of Monticello (freshman) </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="1284214" first="Tameron" last="Ferguson"] of St. Cloud Tech (sophomore)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brett Hilde of Stillwater (sophomore)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="1293972" first="Eli" last="Hoelz"] of Brainerd (sophomore)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Joe Hoheisel of Stillwater (sophomore)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Avery MacDonald of Rockford (sophomore)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="1288785" first="Amory" last="Peterson"] of Champlin Park (sophomore)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="1293967" first="Caleb" last="Purcell"] of Annandale (sophomore)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Landon Reibel of STMA (sophomore)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nick Walter of Annandale (sophomore)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Graham Zuehlke of Anndandale (sophomore)</span></li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p>