Rochester Hoops Challenge: Top Performers

The Rochester Hoops Challenge certainly brought the stars out. Who were the top performers at the event? Prep Hoops runs you through those players now!   [player_tooltip player_id="958678" first="Evan" last="Bearth"] of Park of Cottage Grove (2022 forward). Bearth is a hell of a shooter for a guy that is going to be a tough guy football player. His buzzer beating three in regulation pushed Park into overtime where they earned the win. Bearth scored 11 points highlighted by two threes plus he grabbed nine boards and dished out four assists. An excellent team game highlighted by one of the biggest shots of the year. [player_tooltip player_id="958725" first="Ty" last="Creger"] of Owatonna (2022 guard). I will continue to say that Ty seems like he could have a great future as an NAIA scholarship guy or a D3 lead guard. He is a crafty, competitive, tough kid that loves to compete. He’s one of these guys that seems to attack challenges and teammates love to back his success. The fake and step through on [player_tooltip player_id="958715" first="Pharrel" last="Payne"] was incredible but Creger scored 17 at key times, almost knocking off the Wolfpack. [player_tooltip player_id="754315" first="Eli" last="King"] of Caledonia (2022 big). The gym was packed, there were video cameras on both baselines, 3-4 reporters in the gym, and a solid opponent on the other bench. It was as if Eli noticed this and put on a show for everybody involved. King scored his 28 points on 11 of 17 shooting and there were several makes (the one hand finish on the move over two guys, the reverse lay-up extending to the other side, the dunk where Eli just vaulted over guys, and the completions at the cup where defenders looked to be in the right spot but Eli just has another level to him winning the angle) that the defense simply could do nothing with. King’s transition push was NFL wideout fast and his body control for those field goals and creations for others (8 assists) is on a level that I’m not sure even the best players in Minnesota can match. What Eli did on Saturday was at a level few can match and it kept his team undefeated and number one in Class AA. [player_tooltip player_id="958700" first="Jackson" last="Koepke"] of Caledonia (2022 guard). Caledonia has TWO guys that defenses have to gameplan for and will still likely have a hard time stopping. Jackson is a good shooter (hit four threes), he is strong (8 rebounds), active (the 8 boards and the 25 points inside and out), and Jackson can break a player down off the dribble using the skill to get to the corner and the strength to maintain the leverage. The Caledonia offense creates space with its movement and talent and Jackson is the perfect player to step in and take advantage. I feel like he is going to be a really good division three player in college. [player_tooltip player_id="958741" first="Jaxon" last="Marine"] of Byron (2022 forward). Marine is a player that is easy to like because he plays his role, sticks to his role, and helps his team win a lot of games within that role. Marine is active, athletic, and quick off the floor which led to his 18 points on 9 of 10 shooting with eight boards. Marine works post to post well with James Durst and he’s a regular double-double threat. Loved the two hand putback dunk and I expect more highlights from Marine as the season continues to move on. [player_tooltip player_id="962284" first="Isaac" last="Matti"] of Hayfield (2023 guard). There is different level of feel and different level of movement to what Matti does than I was previously aware of. He made a couple stepback jumpers into a really pretty shooting touch that completely fooled the defense. Issac has such great control of the basketball and you can tell he’s worked a lot on his footwork getting in and out of moves. Then you had the rip through that sent a guy to the ground. Isaac recognized where and when the closeout would come so he moved into the rip-through attack long before the opponent got tripped up. Love that recognition and feel for what is happening on the floor. Hayfield blew out St. Clair led by Matti’s 16 points. Isaac has the ability to be lead this team to a state run and he surely has All State First Team ability in Class A. [player_tooltip player_id="1143864" first="Devin" last="Newsome"] of South St Paul (2022 guard). Newsome’s late game surge kept the Packers undefeated. The Austin zone gave the SSP Packers issues and Devin was the zone-buster. He scored 13 points down the stretch including a corner three and an And1 using his superior guard strength to finish. Scored 23 points with 11 rebounds, hitting 10 of 11 foul shots. [player_tooltip player_id="958715" first="Pharrel" last="Payne"] of Park of Cottage Grove (2022 post). Payne played his second game of the season last night and it looked as if he hadn’t missed a contest. Payne scored on 7 of 10 shots for 22 points with a dozen boards and four blocks. I would say the biggest thing Pharrel did was bring an intensity to his team and constantly win the position fight. Pharrel was facing one of the better bigs in the state in [player_tooltip player_id="850718" first="Evan" last="Dushek"] but Pharrel seemed to win the position fight nine times out of ten. His physical turns into touch shots were constantly on balance and Payne does a great job of lifting into his make while controlling his opponent. The long arms limited Dushek to two scores and Payne’s lower body strength controlled even a player the size of Dushek, He ran the floor hard, competed in a physical and almost nasty way, and always produced. Payne also has some of the strongest and biggest hands out there so if he gets his hands on a ball, it is his. Brayden Wiliams of Owatonna (2022 guard). Park had a really tough time retreating and locating Brayden, rotating and getting to Brayden, and helping over to stop Brayden off the bounce. He scored the majority of his 20 using the dribble and getting to the cup or pulling up. Williams is the type of confident scorer that can make shots when he gets straight up or when he is on the move to the cup, leaning, or falling away. I love his potential for the future when he gets stronger and doesn’t have so much defensive attention his way.