Prep Hoops Live:Fury/Barnstormer Classic, Stevens/Rudovskii, More

Top performers, storylines, and games from Prep Hoops Live on Saturday? We run it back now!

Fury/Barnstormers Classic

Team Basketball. It’s the fabric of what the Minnesota Fury and Iowa Barnstormers are made of. Both programs have 17u top guy rosters full of talented prospects AND competitors that have taken in coaching over the last few years and applied it to their spring/summer seasons. And its the reason the baseline had college coaches ranging from the Northern Sun to division one schools from all over.

The first half was a simple feeling out process. Guys like Hayden Tibbits Hayden Tibbits 5'11" | PG Wayzata | 2023 State MN , Spencer Hall Spencer Hall 6'3" | SF Wayzata | 2023 State MN , Alex Mattes Alex Mattes 6'3" | SG East Ridge | 2023 State MN , Da’Shon Fisher Da’Shon Fisher 6'2" | SG Liberty | 2023 IA , Caden Kirkmen, and Blaise Porter Blaise Porter 6'1" | PG New London | 2023 State #298 Nation IA all had great first halves and most of them had great games. Kirkmen had one of the key physical scores of overtime and Porter’s late And1 was huge for his team. I feel strongly that Blaise Porter Blaise Porter 6'1" | PG New London | 2023 State #298 Nation IA should be looked at by every team in the upper Midwest that needs a point guard. And Fisher is often that third option that just picks the meat off the bone and there is nothing that can be done to stop it.

Spencer Hall Spencer Hall 6'3" | SF Wayzata | 2023 State MN ’s Tyler Wahl like play was crucial for the Fury and Hayden Tibbits Hayden Tibbits 5'11" | PG Wayzata | 2023 State MN continues to be one of the elite inch by inch point guards you will find anyplace. Hall and Tibbits have played big minutes in the last two Class AAAA state title games in Minnesota and both are either going to be elite players in the MIAC or they are going to make a division two roster better if coaches in the NSIC look at production over a few inches. Another most note is that Alex Mattes Alex Mattes 6'3" | SG East Ridge | 2023 State MN was able to score against the Barnstormers and every one of his baskets was important.

But the theme of half two (and ultimately overtime) was about who would separate themselves, and ultimately separate their team. To nobody’s surprise it was Dallas Bear Dallas Bear 6'8" | SF Cedar Falls | 2023 State #276 Nation IA of the Iowa Barnstormers and Max Shikenjanski Max Shikenjanski 6'2" | PG Stillwater | 2023 State #288 Nation MN of the Minnesota Fury.

Dallas stands 6-foot-8. There might be measuring items that give him 6-foot-9! At that size it’s very tough to contest his attempts when he’s on because a player needs similar size and great footwork. Usually players don’t have that combination so Dallas can get clean looks. The question is, does he make them? The answer is usually, yes. And in the second half against the Fury, Dallas made five thees and another couple of shots in the paint scoring 19 points to get his team into overtime. Even more impressive was his game tying three at the buzzer sending the game into overtime. He scored a game high 27 points. Dallas to me is a high major stretch four and the thing that separates him, passion.

Speaking of passion, and competitive fight, etc, this is a good time to talk about Max Shikenjanksi again. The best passer in Minnesota right now. Yes you read that correctly, Best. The Shikenjanski deliveries are sharp, intelligent, and they consistently catch the defense in a "oh crud" position. Max will make a defense that looks to be in decent spots, look like a lost group. And when the game was on the line he went at the cup for the majority of his 22 (had five points at the half).

Schooler Passion

The most excited team I saw on Saturday was the Pentagon Schoolers. When they defeated Hoops 4 Health in overtime Saturday their seats may as well been given to all the people standing on the sidelines because they were too excited to sit down. The Reis Kischenman stare after his And1, the physical deliver of the Gavin Muirhead Gavin Muirhead 6'7" | PF O'gorman | 2023 State SD dunk, and the delivery from Ajieth Akot, all were energy plays that you couldn’t help but watch with a smile. Gavin Muirhead Gavin Muirhead 6'7" | PF O'gorman | 2023 State SD immediately put himself on the radar of scouts and college coaches with his his quick bounce and physical delivery at the rim. Add in that nasty aggressive stare and there will be people that want him on their roster years down the line.

Then you had Matthew Eng’s hot hand. I’m sure he was drinking items through a straw last night because let’s face it, nobody likes a warm beverage. Hoops 4 Health was force fed the Eng shooting hand as they couldn’t close out to him and Matthew made six threes on his way to a 24 point outing. The first few Eng threes were solid shots but after awhile the opponents were scrambling to Eng like Target Center security guards (what, too soon?) but nothing could bother Matthew’s shooting comfort.

Tim Rudovskii, Know the Name

The first team that sat down to watch 6-foot-9/6-foot-10 Tim Rudoovskii of BTI Select? Harvard. There were others but it was Harvard that was there first and you know, usually those guys make smart decisions.

Tim is a stretch four from Sierra Canyon and he has the unique traits that college basketball coaches love in the modern game:

that skill and size combination
great shooting touch in a long frame
moves up and down the floor easily with or without the ball
grabbed 8/9 boards in both games I watched
Tim was pushing the basketball like a modern big wing but he’s a modern stretch four man!
the form of his jumper is what you look for with a quicker release

He’s the type of player that I could see emerging when he adds more weight to his frame because Tim is already a mismatch and when he adds some weight to help with balance, he will be a mismatch against players his size as well. Take a note, this kid has a real chance. And let’s not forget Parker Jones Parker Jones 6'4" | SF Loyola | 2022 State CA-S , a 6’6 sharpshooter who made six threes in one of the games as well!

Max to the Max!

If you walked up to any member of the Oklahoma Impact right now and said "Max", they might just take a step back and look around in a state of worry. Why? Because Max Woods Max Woods 5'11" | PG Chanhassen | 2024 State MN attacked that Oklahoma Impact defense - a team that had won 14 straight games - and put 31 of his team’s 55 points up in a four point, 55-51 win.

We at Prep Hoops believe that Max Woods Max Woods 5'11" | PG Chanhassen | 2024 State MN is one of the pound for pound toughest guards in that 2024 class and I promise you that the Impact agree. Woods took a Chanhassen team and hit fast forward on their year by year progressions and now he has Fury Zurn winning games in top pools of Prep Hoops Circuit events. Max Woods Max Woods 5'11" | PG Chanhassen | 2024 State MN is playing at his max best right now.

Aeron is Rising Up the Charts

What’s a good way to up your stock? Head to an event that has good teams and will have a lot of college coaches, and play well in a lot of ways. Goal accomplished for Aeron Stevens Aeron Stevens 6'7" | PF Plainview-Eligin-Millville | 2023 State MN , a 6-foot-7 power forward from Plainview/Elgin-Millville (see coach, I can get it right!) and the Minnesota Lightning.

If you watched Aeron play this year you are well aware of the fantastic team basketball that PEM played and the impact that Stevens had playing as their five. Stevens did a wonderful job being the PEM five man and it’s set him up for the future as a versatile frontcourt prospect because he is so comfortable being that back to the basket player and rebounder a team relies heavily on.

With the Lightning we are also seeing an Aeron Stevens Aeron Stevens 6'7" | PF Plainview-Eligin-Millville | 2023 State MN that can step away from the cup as well in a stretch four fashion because he has teammates that can also play inside. And Stevens is delivering in a modern way. I’m not sure how many threes Stevens made on Saturday but the rumors have it floating between six in one game and nine in another (or it was six that expanded into nine by the young kids at the scorer’s table in that one game). Either way, Stevens can stroke it and college coaches from the NSIC and Summit League were on the baseline watching him score 30 points.