#4 Aberdeen Christian vs. Ipswich: Impressive Players

<p><strong>Ipswich, SD - </strong>We had a Lake Region Conference Clash in this one! After the win, the #4 Knights move to 13-2 on the year. The Tigers move to a record of 10-4. Do not let the score deceive you, it was a hard-fought battle. Ipswich was the dominant team in the first quarter and they seemed to out-tough the Knights early on. Ipswich’s patience also seemed to control the tempo early and work in their favor. The Tiger’s aggressive defense also seemed to slow the Knights down out of the gates. In the second quarter, the Tigers went zone for a little while and the Knights made them pay with the 3-ball. In the 3rd quarter, Aberdeen came out smoking hot and drilled three 3-pointers right away to extend their lead. It was a highly entertaining 3rd quarter that was played at a frenetic pace. The 4th quarter was another hard-fought portion of the game but scoring-wise it was controlled by the Knights. Aberdeen Christian is a top-notch team with some super talented players. Ipswich is also a tough team with a good record. They did not back down tonight to the #4 ranked team. I liked the Tiger’s toughness and grit. Good luck to both teams as we near the playoffs!</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>SCORES</strong></span></p> <p>1Q – Aberdeen Central 9 Ipswich 12</p> <p>2Q – Aberdeen Central 26 Ipswich 20</p> <p>3Q – Aberdeen Central 40 Ipswich 31</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">4Q (final) – Aberdeen Central 61 Ipswich 47</span></p> <h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Top Knights</strong></span></h4> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="963765" first="Ethan" last="Russell"] (2023) |6-6 G/F|</strong></p> <p>17 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 triples. This kid is a mismatch nightmare and stud athlete. Ethan scored on a sweet give-and-go basket from Wieker. His step-back fade-away jump shot looks like a next-level move. I liked his cut and score on a BLOB play. Russell moves well without the ball. Ethan has extended shooting range, he showed that with an NBA 3-pointer. He has a great shot with a quick release and excellent elevation. Russell is also an excellent rebounder as he racked up a double-double last night. I was really impressed with Russell's overall game. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1288337" first="Andrew" last="Brennan"] (2023) |5-9 G|</strong></p> <p>11 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 triples. He is another tough player for the Knights. Andrew looked tough coming off the screen-and-roll. Brennan was deadly when attacking from the baseline. He looked good shooting the ball from beyond the arc. When attacking, Brennan is excellent at changing speeds to keep the D off-balance. Brennan is a quick and twitchy player.</p> <p><strong>Kaden Clark (2023) |6-3 F|</strong></p> <p>5 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 triple. He is an unselfish and solid all-around player. Kaden showed a sweet turnaround baby-hook from the block. He also showed good handles when he brought the ball up the court. Clark can shoot it, he knocked down a catch-n-shoot 3-ball. He is also a gifted passer, Clark dropped a dime out of the post to a cutting Isakson.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="963783" first="Malek" last="Wieker"] (2023) |6-0 G|</strong></p> <p>10 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 triples. I have watched him in the past so I knew he was good. It was easy to see again that Wieker is a skilled individual. He has all the ball skills that you could ask for an All-State guard. His jump shot is also flawless. It was tough for Wieker to get going last night as he was being face guarded for the majority of the night. He did a nice job of setting up others and delivering the ball. I love his fake crossover and hesitation move. Malek showed good anticipation skills on defense. His man tried going backdoor and Wieker saw it coming and step in front for a steal. Wieker is an overall great basketball player.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="963760" first="Jackson" last="Isakson"] (2023) |6-3 G|</strong></p> <p>16 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 triple. This kid is a quick and gifted athlete! I was beyond impressed with his slashing and cutting. In today's game, it is rare to see a great cutter. Jackson had multiple impressive off-balance finishes. I like the fact that he uses both hands at the rim. His best cut came in the 4th quarter. Clark had the ball on the block, and Isakson had a clean-cut down the lane for the basket. The best part is that Jackson read the defense, he waited until his man turned his head, at that point Isakson made his cut for the basket. He is not just athletic, Isakson is a smart player. </p> <h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Top Tigers</strong></span></h4> <p><strong>Trevor Beyers (2022) |6-0 G|</strong></p> <p>9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 triples. He showed off his shooting range last night from 3-point land. His first came from college range early in the game. Before halftime, Trevor drilled a super deep 3-pointer from beyond the volleyball line. Beyers hit his next 3-pointer in the second half to match a Russell 3-pointer. Trevor has a nice shooting stroke with the potential to put up big numbers. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="963794" first="Ian" last="Beyers"] (2023) |6-0 G|</strong></p> <p>6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 triples. He was a thorn in the side of Wieker all night. Ian was face guarding and frustrating the all-star guard up and down the court. Beyers effort was outstanding. Ian did his scoring from beyond the arc. He hit his first in the 2nd quarter. Ian hit his next 3-pointer off a dribble handoff from college range. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="968196" first="Ty" last="Kadlec"] (2022) |6-0 G|</strong></p> <p>7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 triple. He worked very hard all game on defense for the Tigers. It was not until late in the game when Kadlec started scoring points. Ty hit a 3-pointer in the 4th, scored on an AND1, and he picked up a steal for a quick 2-point bucket. I like that he never game up no matter the score.</p> <p><strong>Taylor Thorson (2022) |6-3 F|</strong></p> <p>15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 triple. He did most of his damage in the paint and at the rim. Taylor also drilled a 3-ball from the left-wing. Thorson had a tough left-handed finish with a man in his face. I was impressed with Taylor's spin move, he used it multiple times to get to the basket. Taylor excels at finishing with a hand in his face, he showed excellent concentration. Thorson also did work on the boards on both ends. He did some of his scoring damage off O-boards. His team may have lost, but Taylor had a productive night with only 1 rebound away from a double-double. </p> <p><strong>Zach Geditz (2022) |6-5 C|</strong></p> <p>2 rebounds. He gave solid minutes in the first half. Zach has good size and he is a physical player. I like his aggressiveness when going after rebounds. </p> <p><strong>Trevor Heinz (2024) |5-9 G|</strong></p> <p>1 rebound. This youngster has potential. In the first half, he came in and skied for an offensive rebound to give the Tigers an extra possession. Trevor is a quick kid. He had a very nice move late in the game that left his defender in the dust. Heinz has the potential to be a nice player in the future.</p> <p><strong>Carter Geditz (2023) |6-1 F|</strong></p> <p>8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist. He played well off the bench last night. Carter looked good going downhill and attacking the basket. He got to the ft-line by attacking the rim with aggression. Geditz made a tough twisting shot in the 4th quarter that was impressive. He also scored with a timely offensive rebound. Geditz plays very hard.</p>