St Louis Park 65 Holy Family 57: Five Things to Know

<p>St. Louis Park earned an opening game victor over Holy Family 65-57.  How did that happen?  We dive into that today in Five Things to Know.</p> <p><strong>One.  Orioles Prove Em Wrong</strong>.     St. Louis Park was picked to finish dead last in their league and we have them as second to last in our AAAA power rankings.  What did they do on opening night?  Turned the Holy Family Fire guards over several times and defended in a way that forced Holy Family guards to take shots that they didn’t look comfortable taking. [player_tooltip player_id="962212" first="Boden" last="Kapke"] had a great game but he could have scored even more but the Orioles took advantage of what they were allowed to do contact wise on Kapke and physically doubled or tripled him.   Add in a balanced scoring effort and you had a win. </p> <p><strong>Two.  Boden’s Even Better Than I Thought</strong>.   [player_tooltip player_id="962212" first="Boden" last="Kapke"] had 27 points and 15 rebounds making ten field goals (one was a three) and six foul shots.  Why do I think Kapke has top 100, top 150 potential as a high level big?  It’s his comfort and feel for the game mixed with size, skill, and work ethic to get better.  Kapke is a constant working on his skills and he’s reshaped his frame a bit looking even more agile.  The big thing for me is his feel for the game.  He was doubled constantly last night and despite that attention, he was able to feel where the defenders were and use his footwork and leverage to move out of that double and get shots off that were made or he was at the line (sometimes defenders treated his arms like a jungle gym so it was hard for him to finish).  Kapke’s ability to touch shots in after a dribble, on the move, or at an awkward angle extending from a defender really stands out.  When he gets touches in the right spot there is little that can be down to slow him which is why I think he’s a big time prospect. </p> <p><strong>Three. Oriole Senior Forwards</strong>.   [player_tooltip player_id="1288768" first="Evan" last="Donesky"] was the brash, aggressive, constant worker at 6’3 that his team followed in terms of effort.  Evan scored three times in the first half and then hit two late threes giving him most of his 13 points.  He was also active on the glass grabbing seven boards and Evan mixed it up in a way that was sometimes a bit much but the fight was something that his team followed.  At 6’6 Blake Anderson was a quieter competitor but just as productive battling for nine boards and scoring in the paint four times (plus he hit a three). Blake had a couple of post moves that helped put fouls on [player_tooltip player_id="1234301" first="Judah" last="Land"] which had the Fire senior in foul trouble (Land had nine boards). Six-foot-7 Trevor Piehl also had a couple moments on both ends to help this team win.  </p> <p><strong>Four.  Fire Youth</strong>.  Get to know the name Will Kirsch.  The 8th grader from St. Joe’s in Waconia came off the bench and you can instantly see that his teammates trust him as the ball came to Will for a couple makes and a team high four assists that Kirsch dealt out.  Kirsch has a beautiful shooting touch and he’s a name that we will need to know going forward.  In addition, I love the fight from Fire sophomore guard Leo Hertel.  This player is willing to battle plus he’s a comfortable skilled player that had three assists and knocked out a couple threes.  His defensive fight is what stood out to me the most though.  </p> <p><strong>Five.  StLP Guards are Solid</strong>.  The Oriole win was all about balance so this is another rundown of guys who played well.  Senior Deontez Ross is a football standout that brought toughness.  He rebounded seven times and hit foul shots down the stretch that put the game away.  I’d say that the St. Louis Park go to guy was Will Dvorak who totaled 13 points, five boards, and four assists.  Finally senior guard Brady Walsh went to the rim and scored four times. </p>