ECI 16U Prospects Cummings: Team Analysis
It is time to take a look at one of the best 16U teams in the Midwest. This talented ECI team was led by coach Kyle Cummings who is a basketball junky, a players coach, and he truly cares about…
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Continue ReadingIt is time to take a look at one of the best 16U teams in the Midwest. This talented ECI team was led by coach Kyle Cummings who is a basketball junky, a players coach, and he truly cares about helping his players improve. This squad consisted of 7 ND players and 2 MN players. Everyone of these ECI players have the athleticism and skill to play basketball at the next level. They were no strangers to success in AAU ball and they will all be stars in the winter season. The Prospects put together a phenomenal tournament run in June at the GPA in St. Cloud. They won many other games throughout the AAU season and all of the players improved. Read below for player information as well as Q & A with coach Cummings.
ECI 16U Prospects
Player comments from coach Cummings
Lewis Jones Lewis Jones 5'9" | PG Goodridge/Grygla-Gatzke | 2024 State MN |5’9 PG| Grygla-Goodridge
“True Point Guard, he was big for us late in games knowing when it was time to attack defenses, when it was time to pull it out and run clock. Lewis is a pass first point guard that knows when and where to get his teammates touches. When it was his time to score he could do so from all three levels, catch and shoot threes, nice pull-up jump shot game, and really good touch around the rim with his floater.“
Drew Hofstad Drew Hofstad 6'1" | SG Devils Lake | 2024 ND |6’1 G| Devils Lake
“Drew really became a “3&D” guy for us this year. Drew was in a lot at the end of games for his defense. He plays in the secondary in football and it shows on the basketball floor. He has a knack for laying in the weeds and getting steals in the passing lane and on skip passes. He has a nice catch and shoot three point game, and runs the floor well in transition getting himself or his teammates easy layups.“
Matthew Sem Matthew Sem 6'1" | SG Fargo North | 2025 State ND (2025) |6’1 SG| Fargo North
“Matthew had a great summer playing up with the 16U guys. He is a crafty guard that can score from all three levels. Matthew is best in transition and is unpredictable to any defense. Matthew is best when attacking off the dribble. He will pull-up from three, mid-range, or attack all the way to the rim depending on what defenses give him. What improved the most this AAU season was his passing. Matthew ran point for us on a number of sets and had really nice touch on throwing the lob for several of our alley-oop plays.“
Logan Conklin Logan Conklin 6'5" | SF Minot | 2024 ND |6’4 SF| Minot
“Logan’s game is very disciplined. When Logan is on offense he does a great job of playing off of two feet and making the right play. Logan is at his best in catch and play situations where he can catch and shoot, catch and pass, or catch and rip. Logan was also a monster in transition when he gets out and runs,. Conklin puts pressure on the defense leading to transition dunks for himself or making other teammates open for transition threes. On the defensive end, Logan was ALWAYS help-side leading to many weak-side blocks and charges taken.“
Jeremiah Sem Jeremiah Sem 6'3" | SG Fargo North | 2024 State #303 Nation ND |6’3 SG| Fargo North
“Later into the summer Jeremiah had some big games where he showed up late. He was a great “ball-in-hand” guard that was a playmaker for the team. He was often put into ball screen situations and did a good job of looking to attack and knowing when to pass to the open teammate. Jeremiah improved most on his execution of the game. He was put into a number of different roles when running a set whether he was the focus or the decoy while running a misdirection play he did a great job executing plays out of timeouts.“
Lucas Kupfer Lucas Kupfer 6'5" | SF Bismarck Legacy | 2024 State ND |6’5 SF| Bismarck Legacy
“Kup was probably our most efficient player on the team. He has the ability to score in bunches. It helped that he is left handed and often had 6-8 points before the opposing team realized they were pushing him to his strong hand. Kup was also our go-to guy when we needed a quick bucket or found himself creating second chance opportunities by crashing the glass. It was nearly impossible for teams to stay in front of his long, low, and quick first step. He has developed a really nice go-to drive and a counter spin move to get past defenders in traffic.“
Dylan Zimmerman Dylan Zimmerman 6'5" | SF Moorhead | 2024 State MN n |6’5 SG| Moorhead
“Dylan is a long athletic player that gets hot in a hurry from three. Dylan was a knock down shooter for us from three and we ran several sets for him to get a clean look at three. He was impossible to keep off the glass and would crash hard looking for put backs and tip ins. Dylan improved most by adding another layer to his game and adding the ability to knock down a pull-up mid-range jump shot. Dylan knocked down several mid-range pull-ups later in the season.“
Jacob Brandt Jacob Brandt 6'10" | PF Hillsboro/Central Valley | 2024 State ND |6’9 PF| Hillsboro/Central Valley
“Jacob had a HUGE AAU season. In the spring time, he spent most of his time on the floor out on the perimeter shooting from the outside but later in the summer was a dominant force on the inside. Jacob improved immensely on the defensive side of the floor guarding both inside and outside on the perimeter. Jacob looked really good in the ball screen game keeping teams honest with his ability to roll to the rim, pop for a three or even knock down the occasional mid-range jump shot.“
Carter Zeller Carter Zeller 6'6" | PF Fargo North | 2024 State ND |6’6 PF| Fargo North
“Carter has always been a beast inside the paint with his strength, patience, and plethora of ball fakes. What he most improved on this AAU season was his ability to step outside the three point line to knock down the occasional triple, he also took other bigs off the dribble. Zeller also improved his ball handling and he occasionally started the fast break for our team off of defensive rebounds. Carter saw the floor well and threw nice pitch-ahead passes in transition. Carter rarely made mistakes whether it was running plays on offense or on the defensive end he was really hard to take off the floor.“
Q & A with coach Kyle Cummings
PHD: What is your best memory from this AAU season?
Coach Cummings: “Winning the Great Plains Alliance tournament in St. Cloud back to back years. We went 5-0 and played a number of great teams where we came down to the wire and relied on our defensive tenacity and offensive execution. We took down some good teams like a loaded South Dakota Attack team that was lead by JT Rock JT Rock 7'1" | C Sioux Falls Lincoln | 2024 #37 Nation SD and had a huge crowd for the game. We also went 27-10 on the season and had a lot of fun memories along the way.“
PHD: Who were a few of your hardest workers?
Coach Cummings: “ Logan Conklin Logan Conklin 6'5" | SF Minot | 2024 ND and Carter Zeller Carter Zeller 6'6" | PF Fargo North | 2024 State ND always did the dirty work on the defensive end by boxing out, rebounding, getting on the floor for loose balls, and taking charges.“
PHD: Can you talk about a few of your best defenders?
Coach Cummings: “ Drew Hofstad Drew Hofstad 6'1" | SG Devils Lake | 2024 ND and Matthew Sem Matthew Sem 6'1" | SG Fargo North | 2025 State ND were always tasked with guarding the other teams best guards. They were always adding extra ball pressure and never made it easy for those guards to get the ball.“
PHD: Who was your best rebounder and why?
Coach Cummings: “From the inside it was definitely Carter Zeller Carter Zeller 6'6" | PF Fargo North | 2024 State ND . He was reliable on the defensive end and he always crashed the o boards getting himself and his teammates extra possessions. From the outside it was Logan Conklin Logan Conklin 6'5" | SF Minot | 2024 ND . Logan used his height and athleticism to sky in from the outside to grab quite a few impressive rebounds this year.“
PHD: Can you talk about your best shooter?
Coach Cummings: “ Dylan Zimmerman Dylan Zimmerman 6'5" | SF Moorhead | 2024 State MN was a guy we missed in the spring and made a huge difference for us this summer when he came back. He was our knock down shooter and a guy we would run sets for when we needed a three. What makes him so effective is his ability to get hot, and his next shot mentality.“
PHD: Who improved the most over the season?
Coach Cummings: “ Jacob Brandt Jacob Brandt 6'10" | PF Hillsboro/Central Valley | 2024 State ND and Lewis Jones Lewis Jones 5'9" | PG Goodridge/Grygla-Gatzke | 2024 State MN both made huge strides as basketball players this year. Scoring from different levels and stepping it up on the defensive end.“
PHD: When you needed a big bucket, who was your “go-to” player?
Coach Cummings: “Our “go-to” guys on offense were definitely Jeremiah Sem Jeremiah Sem 6'3" | SG Fargo North | 2024 State #303 Nation ND and Lucas Kupfer Lucas Kupfer 6'5" | SF Bismarck Legacy | 2024 State ND . Jeremiah hit several game winners or “go-ahead” buckets for us this year. Kup, was the guy who we would give the ball and get out of the way when we needed to stop the other teams run, or he found himself in the right place at the right time for steals and layups or put backs to win us a couple of games.“