Summer Jam: Week 1 Players Who Shined

<p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">This week was the first week of Summer Jam at the Sanford Pentagon. Summer Jam is the top high school summer league in South Dakota. In the varsity boys divisions, there are 31 total varsity teams. Here are five players who played well in the first week.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><u><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="1204807" first="Aiden" last="Jensen"] 2023 Madison</span></u></strong></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">It’s always nice to see true post players make a presence in today’s game. Aiden had two great games for the Bulldogs. Against DeSmet, he did a great job competing against [player_tooltip player_id="963766" first="Damon" last="Wilkinson"]. Then against Freeman Academy-Marion, he could score every time he touched it. His best play was a monster dunk that had multiple players from Freeman ducking.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><u><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="963813" first="Damon" last="Opdahl"] 2023 Waubay-Summit</span></u></strong></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">This was my first time watching Damon in person. He was a blast to watch. Damon was scoring at every level on offense while also having a few assists that got his teammates some extremely easy buckets. It appeared that he could score at will. Against Beresford, he was unstoppable and seemed to score or assist on nearly every point for the Mustangs. </span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><u><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="963752" first="Rugby" last="Ryken"] 2023 Yankton</span></u></strong></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">I’ve seen Rugby play basketball for six years now. There’s no doubt that he is one of the most competitive athletes in the state. Against Lennox, he was getting whatever he wanted. Rugby was hitting perimeter shots, causing havoc on defense, and finished multiple times in the lane. He will be a huge piece for an athletic Bucks team. </span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><u><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="1489685" first="Talan" last="Diercks"] 2024 Lennox</span></u></strong></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Talan is becoming an offensive threat that teams will need to prepare for. He has the ability to finish at the rim, hit shots from the perimeter, and find open teammates after penetration. Against Yankton, he scored 13 of the first 15 points for Lennox, including three 3-pointers and two tough finishes at the rim.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><u><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="1489687" first="Zoan" last="Robinson"] 2024 Vermillion</span></u></strong></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Zoan is another player in South Dakota who will step into a bigger role for his team this upcoming season. Zoan had multiple shots he made from the perimeter in both games for the Tanagers. In addition, once defenders started closing out on him, he had the ability to get by defenders and finish at the rim. </span></p>