Max’s Weekend Prospect Standouts

<p>Breaking down some of the top performers I saw in three games on Friday and Saturday! Friday night I saw Andover defeat Coon Rapids, while on Saturday I watched St. Louis Park take down Edina and Hutchinson come from behind to beat Richfield.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="962227" first="Samuel" last="Musungu"] (6’2 2023 G, Andover)- </strong>The Andover junior has proven to be one of the top two way guards in the 2023 class. It was senior night at Andover so Sam came off the bench, and immediately provided a spark with his effort on the defensive end. He drew two charges in the first half, which led to Coon Rapids’ point guard picking up his third foul and having to sit most of the half. Offensively he showed some range beyond the arc, but was at his best using his change of pace to attack the basket and finish with touch. Sam can score with a high arcing floater, or extend to the basket and score against size. Added in a transition dunk on his way to a game high 22 points in the win.</p> <p><strong>Stefano Giovannelli (6’2 2023 G, St. Louis Park)- </strong>This SLP team may not have a big name prospect, but on Saturday they all came to play against a talented Edina team. They have a small starting five but like to play fast, and Stefano’s passing ability fits that play style perfectly. Against Edina he was tossing the ball ahead to sprinting teammates, while also taking his man off the dribble to get into the lane in the half-court. Showcased the vision to slip the ball into tight gaps to his teammates, and did a nice job of drawing in a second defender to open someone else up. Also got to the basket to score on his own, resulting in 18 points.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="850725" first="Samuel" last="Rensch"] (6’6 2022 W, Hutchinson)- </strong>Sam wasn’t forcing much in the first half, but was still scoring the ball efficiently. The second half though he flipped the switch with his team trailing, and just took over the game to help Hutch complete the comeback win. Finishing with 35 points, Sam started knocking down threes, pulling up from mid-range, and threw down a transition dunk that got all of the momentum on Hutch’s side. With his size, mobility, and ability to shoot off the dribble, not many teams have a defender capable of matching up with him, and that proved to be true once again on Saturday afternoon.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="962246" first="Ben" last="Kopetzki"] (6’ 2023 G, Andover)- </strong>Like Sam, Ben came off the bench in this game due to senior night, and still managed to drop 20 points with 9 assists. May not have a ton of size or explosiveness, but has a tight handle and changes his speeds to create separation to get off his shot. Once he has a bit of space Ben was knocking down shots at a high rate from both three and mid-range. He saw a few go in early, and that gave him the confidence continue scoring at a high level throughout the game. Does a great job of passing the ball ahead as well, as he leads his teammates right to the rim when they put in the effort to sprint the floor.</p> <p><strong>Khi-John Cummings-Coleman (5’11 2024 PG, Coon Rapids)- </strong>CR will lose a strong senior class after this season, but they have a nice piece to build around in Khi-John. He’s a shifty sophomore point guard with some shake &amp; bake to his game, as he likes to beat his man off the dribble to get to the rack. Impressive finisher who can convert with either hand in traffic, and he has a nice frame to get his man on his shoulder to get all the way to the rim. He got into some foul trouble in the first half which caused him to miss time, but it didn’t stop him from picking up five steals as he loves to pressure the ball and can read passing lanes to jump them and get out in transition. Scored a team high 16 points with 3 assists for Coon Rapids.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958660" first="Jaden" last="Wollmuth"] (6’6 2022 PF/C, Richfield)- </strong>Wollmuth is one of the more imposing physical presences down low in the 2022 class, as he plays much bigger than 6’6 because of his ability to establish deep post position and power through contact to score. Even when swarmed by two or three defenders on Saturday, Jaden was staying strong with the ball and going up hard to finish in traffic consistently. That type of physicality has been known for a few years now, but he also flashed some improved mobility defensively to slide into position to make plays as a rim protector. Perhaps most impressive was his crossover into a deep mid-range shot that he knocked down with confidence on his way to 29 points.</p> <p><strong>Brady Walsh (6’2 2022 W, St. Louis Park)- </strong>Brady is an explosive athlete and is as tough as nails on both ends of the floor. SLP doesn’t start a true big man, so Brady was often guarding taller players as Edina has plenty of size. He defends with toughness and grit to not give up an inch on the block, and when there was a loose ball Brady was flying up the floor for it. He got to the rim in transition and with some hard cuts, and had some tough finishes contact as he could hang in the air and keep his eyes at the rim while taking a bump. Finished with 14 points in the win for St. Louis Park.</p>