Class 1AA/1A Section Semi-Finals: Contributors to Know

Ryan James March 14, 2022 @ 09:04 AM

Prep Hoops was at the Mayo Civic Auditorium this weekend to see the Class 1AA and Class 1A semi-finals. What contributors should you know about? Here are the names! John Evers of PEM (6’2 Sr). I love what Evers gave his team. Great ball reversal/next pass guy, and a steady ball handler getting the ball up the floor. John grabbed eight boards and timed his push or his slow paced approach perfectly. Made both shot attempts and both foul shots but it was everything else he did that was so valuable to the PEM win. Kyle Frederickson of Lewiston-Altura (6’2 Sr). Kyle was that active scorer that moved off the ball to the paint and found himself in position to score four times. Also an active rebounder that grabbed seven boards including two big putbacks. Carson Gerard of Spring Grove (6’4 Sr). The lone senior at Spring Grove, Gerard is a well built forward that gets off his feet pretty well. Scored five times at the cup and grabbed seven boards. [player_tooltip player_id="1226400" first="Tysen" last="Grinde"] of Spring Grove (6’3 Jr). Scored seven points, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out three assists for his team in a loss to Hayfield. Strong guard that I think will make a big jump into his senior year. [player_tooltip player_id="1225623" first="Ryan" last="Heise"] of Lake City (6’7 Jr). Heise is a long wing that moves fairly well so he can rebound out of his area, move with a bigger post inside and out, and get his length where it needs to be on defense. Rebounded soundly with seven against PEM. [player_tooltip player_id="962288" first="Grady" last="Hengel"] of Rushford-Peterson (5’8 Jr). Grady did a fantastic job slicing through the Goodhue zone off of ball reversals or after a dribble separation move. Scored four times and dished out creations for scores five times. He handled size scoring on the move better than I expected. Nice tough player that will be interesting to track through the summer and into next year. Karver Heydt of Hayfield (6’0 Sr). Heydt came off the bench and did a nice job in some tough spots. Scored once, rebounded, and played solid D. [player_tooltip player_id="1226403" first="Ethan" last="Pack"] of Hayfield (5’11 Jr). Rough shooting day for Pack but he does so much for his team that his impact was often as strong as anybody. Hit four foul shots to put the game away in the clutch and he was another Hayfield excellent passer that led to 18 assists for his team on 20 total makes. Chris Pieper of Caledonia (6’3 Sr). Key Rebounder for the Warriors grabbing five in the win. [player_tooltip player_id="1225627" first="Adam" last="Poncelet"] of Goodhue (6’3 Jr). Goodhue needed another scoring option on the move to take pressure off of [player_tooltip player_id="958721" first="Dayne" last="Wojcik"] and Adam played that role scoring four times including a three. Justin Ruberg of Rushford-Peterson (6’4 Sr). Justin was the defensive rebounder that this team needed to end possessions (had eight) and he was the main scoring weapon for the Trojans taking pressure off shooters. Justin had 13 points making all five of his foul shots and four field goals. Ja’Shon Simpson of Caledonia (6’3 Sr). A player that was able to advance the ball to the second level when the Cards were focused on [player_tooltip player_id="754315" first="Eli" last="King"] and [player_tooltip player_id="958700" first="Jackson" last="Koepke"]. Scored three baskets and his team needed all three.   [player_tooltip player_id="1339196" first="Aeron" last="Stevens"] of PEM (6’7 Jr). The biggest thing that caught my eye today was Aeron’s ability to pass the basketball. With so many others scoring for his team, Stevens had four assists and was the deep post last lane of D forcing scores over the top.