Sacred Hoops 16U Kahler: AAU Tip-Off

Tonight we are previewing a 16U Sacred Hoops squad that is full of skill, shooters, and quick athletes. Greg Kahler is the coach for this intriguing squad. I like the makeup of this group, they will be an intriguing team to check out. Sacred Hoops will get a good test to start the year at the Battle at the Lakes in Minneapolis in early May. I hope this Sacred hoops team will get a chance to play the Schoolers and SD Attack sometime in the AAU season. It would be fun to see how they stack up against each other. Take a look below for Sacred Hoops 16U Kahler’s roster, Q & A with coach, and their schedule for the AAU campaign. <h4>Sacred Hoops 16U - Roster</h4> [player_tooltip player_id="1270361" first="Lane" last="Tietz"] |6-0 G| Groton Lane had a great sophomore year campaign. Averaging 14.5 ppg, 4 apg. 2 spg. He adds to his resume a 1st team All-Conference selection as well as an All-Tournament Team selection at the Class A State Tournament. Lane is most known for his quick trigger and his ability to shoot it from deep. Being able to draw his defender out deeper creates more space for him to attack his spots and find open cutters/shooters. He’s really good when coming off ball-screens, he reads his defender and secondary defenders very well. Tietz plays with a chip on his shoulder, so he’s always picking up 94 feet and being pesky on defense. Lane is an incredible player and will find a new level to his game this summer. [player_tooltip player_id="1371416" first="Jacob" last="Zak"] |6-0 G| Groton Jacob is a tough and gritty defender. All season long he was tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best player. Whether that player was a playmaking guard or a tough and physical post player. Jacob’s length and athleticism cause many problems. If he catches a mismatch offensively he can post up and use his physicality to score at the rim. He is an exceptional cutter. He finds ways to get past his defender towards the rim. [player_tooltip player_id="1415229" first="Tage" last="Ortman"] |6-0 G| Canistota Tage stepped up big in his sophomore season. Canistota graduated 4 senior starters last year, so this was his first true look at varsity action. He proved right away he’s an elite scorer. Averaging 14.3ppg, scoring from all 3 levels. His quick first step allows him to blow by defenders, and his elite jumping ability helps him finish over taller defenders. The best part of Tage’s game is his mid-range game. He elevates over his defender very well and can shoot consistently while being off-balanced. His speed will make him tough to cover when running in transition. [player_tooltip player_id="1270651" first="Trey" last="Maaland"] |6-0 G| Deul Trey is overall a tough and disciplined player. He’s very strong and physical when attacking the rim. He looks to bump his defenders off of him and finish strong at the rim. this also ties into his backside cutting ability. Maaland is smart when waiting to catch his defender sleeping, he slips behind them towards the rim for a good look. Trey is good in catch-and-shoot situations and at finding the open areas along the perimeter. He’s a very hard-working player. [player_tooltip player_id="1266233" first="Blake" last="Rich"] |6-6 F| Aberdeen Christian Blake is built strong with a solid frame and has a physicality to his game that makes him a tough handle on both ends of the floor. His interior presence will work well on the block. Rich will get to the rim and finish with toughness. He can step out to the corner and knock down open threes. His tenacious rebounding ability is what really sets him apart. He played a crucial role in Aberdeen Christians success this year. He played with an edge and some toughness that helped spark them when needed most. [player_tooltip player_id="1351868" first="Andrew" last="Atwood"] |6-2 G| Beresford Andrew is an elite knockdown shooter who will be crucial in Sacred Hoops game plan. Andrew extends the floor with his sweet lefty stroke and he can fill it up fast if left open. He is a player that other guards will look to penetrate and kick to on offense. Altwood is a shooter that defenders can’t lose sight of. His elite shooting ability will open up more driving lanes for the guards. He had a good year for Beresford this year averaging around 11 ppg. Andrew uses his length in the passing lanes to get steals defensively. [player_tooltip player_id="1415234" first="Jake" last="Kuhl"] |6-10 F| Irene-Wakonda Jake grew a lot this year for Irene-Wakonda. He will play a pivotal role for them next season. His long wingspan with his 6’10 frame makes him tough to finish on. He protects the rim very well. Kuhl is actively seeking to block shots and intimidate the offense with his size. With a little improvement to his offensive footwork, Jake will become a well-rounded player for the foreseeable future. Nate Tchida |5-10 G| Sisseton Nate is the ultimate glue guy. This season for Sisseton he had to play a role behind 4 other senior starters. Next season he will step into a larger role as the team’s primary source of offense. Nate is the ultimate hustle player. He plays tough and aggressive defense, is always willing to dive for loose balls or take charges. Nate has a nice jumper from beyond the arc. This will be a big summer for his development. Jason Fisher |6-4 F| Sisseton Jason is a really good athlete with nice length to his slim 6’4 frame. He’s very disruptive in the passing lanes, alters shots with his long wingspan, and actively seeks to block shots at the rim. His athleticism allows him to be an active cutter and finish above the rim. Jason will have to step up into a bigger role next season at Sisseton along with his teammate Nate. <h4>Q & A with coach Kahler</h4> PHD: What style of basketball will your team play? Coach Kahler: "We want to play with pace, we want to play with space, and we want to play with the pass. We will be an up-tempo team by pushing the ball in transition and moving in the half-court with purpose and efficiency. Our primary offense will be a motion-style offense with active cutters and screeners. I believe it is better to teach our players how to make plays (how to pass, cut, screen, and read the defense) and give them the freedom to make plays rather than teaching them a step-by-step style of offense. We will emphasize attacking the rim with dribble penetration, looking for shots at the rim, kick-out threes, and backside cutters. Defensively I want to be a tough, talkative, high-level communication team. We will be tied together defensively to be disruptive and to force teams out of their comfort zone. We will stress the importance of defensive rebounding which will lead into our up-tempo offensive style of play." PHD: What excites you about your roster? Coach Kahler: "I have a team full of blue-collar kids with chips on their shoulders and all have something to prove. I’m really excited to see how this group defends. What excites me the most however is just how competitive all of them are. They’re focused on doing the work necessary to be both a successful team, and successful individual basketball players. I look forward to breaking the game down for them and putting them in situations to succeed. I think we will surprise some teams with our discipline and toughness." PHD: Who will be a couple of your hardest workers? Coach Kahler: "This is the prototypical answer most coaches give, but all of them. They all work so hard and are extremely coachable. Like I said before, they all play with a chip on their shoulder. I think what’s cool about this group is they’ve already begun setting the standard of play. They’re talking to each other right now about how they want to compete and play. When your players set the standard, it makes that level of accountability and standard rise. They all know that in order to beat some of these top teams around this area, we will have to be gritty and play with a certain edge." PHD: Who will be some of your best interior players and why? Coach Kahler: "[player_tooltip player_id="1266233" first="Blake" last="Rich"] brings that level of toughness on the inside. He’s strong and isn’t afraid of bumping and banging with his defenders. [player_tooltip player_id="1415234" first="Jake" last="Kuhl"] with his height will definitely draw some attention on the inside. We will look to create some post ISO situations for both of them. I think what we will look to exploit is guard mismatches as well. Guys like [player_tooltip player_id="1371416" first="Jacob" last="Zak"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1270651" first="Trey" last="Maaland"] have good post skills. Both play tough inside and finish strong. So we will look to take advantage of situations like that." PHD: Who will be a few of your top shooters? Coach Kahler: "When you watch Lane Teitz play, you learn right away he can shoot it from just about anywhere. It doesn’t matter if it’s off the catch or off the bounce. He’s confident shooting in any situation. [player_tooltip player_id="1351868" first="Andrew" last="Atwood"] will be a volume shooter from anywhere in the halfcourt. He’s very good at relocating and finding the open areas for his spot-up shots. [player_tooltip player_id="1415229" first="Tage" last="Ortman"] brings quality looks off the bounce. He’s not afraid to come off ball screens or DHOs and find his shot. Tage is special and talented on the perimeter. When defenders fly out at him, he has a good pump fake which allows him to get into his nice mid-range game." <img class="wp-image-1415190 aligncenter" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/sacredhoops-crop-1170x769-1648430862-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="241" height="158" /> <h2 style="text-align: center;">SCHEDULE</h2> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 147px;"> <tbody> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 33.3333%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">EVENT</td> <td style="width: 33.3333%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">DATES</td> <td style="width: 33.3333%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">LOCATION</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 33.3333%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">Battle at the Lakes</td> <td style="width: 33.3333%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">May 7-8</td> <td style="width: 33.3333%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Minneapolis, MN</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 33.3333%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">Sanford Pentagon Hardwood</td> <td style="width: 33.3333%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">June 4-5</td> <td style="width: 33.3333%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">Sioux Falls, SD</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 33.3333%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">Recruit Looks</td> <td style="width: 33.3333%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">July 8-10</td> <td style="width: 33.3333%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">Omaha, NE</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 33.3333%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">Midwest Championship Series</td> <td style="width: 33.3333%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">July 15-17</td> <td style="width: 33.3333%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">Sioux Falls, SD</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 33.3333%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">Sanford Pentagon SPTS</td> <td style="width: 33.3333%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">July 22-24</td> <td style="width: 33.3333%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">Sioux Falls, SD</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 33.3333%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">Hardwood Classic</td> <td style="width: 33.3333%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">July 29-31</td> <td style="width: 33.3333%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">Wichita, KS</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>