The Big Stage – Early Game Standouts
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Seven prospects who impressed during the first three games of Breakdown’s The Big Stage on Saturday! Sam Massaquoi MN #87 PG #25 HEIGHT 5'11" POS PG CLASS 2023 View Profile Sam Massaquoi Instagram Twitter State: Minnesota School: Robbinsdale Cooper Club:…
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Continue ReadingSeven prospects who impressed during the first three games of Breakdown’s The Big Stage on Saturday!
Even during the 9:30 am time slot, Sam was bringing the energy on both ends of the floor. He was immediately picking up full court and defending the length of the floor, using his quickness and hustle to ball handlers into difficult areas and leading to turnovers. Sam is aggressive attacking the rim, does a great job of elevating off two feet, drawing contact, and then extending to finish. Even when his lay-ups weren’t falling, it seemed like he was drawing contact at such a consistent level that he was getting those points back at the free throw line. Finished with 19 points in the win over Champlin Park.
Highlights
Vincent produced at a high level against a 6’9 defender on Saturday morning, putting up 22 points in the win for Hopkins. He doesn’t care if you’re 7’2, Vincent has the footwork and strong frame to find a way to get his shot off. If he gets to that right handed hook shot he rarely misses as he has excellent touch and does a great job of going up balanced. Hillesheim was setting hard screens to free up his guards, and was excellent with his decision making on whether to roll to the hoop or pop out for a jumper. Mixed in some outside makes with efficient post scoring.
Henry came in off the bench and immediately made an impact for Maple Grove. They started off getting torched by some of Hopkins’ quick guards, and Henry came in, sat deep in a stance, and limited them for most of the first half. Defensively he’s quick laterally and understands where he needs to be at all times. Offensively he was active off the ball, scored with some quick cuts to the rim, and also stretched the floor with his left jumper. Displayed nice floor vision driving into the lane and locating an open teammate. Finished with 21 points and 4 assists against a top-10 AAAA team.
Wise’s explosiveness gave Cooper an extra spark offensively against Champlin Park. He has some length and bounce off two feet that allowed him to crash the glass and keep possessions alive for his team. Martez was relentless grabbing a missed shot and immediately going back up with it to finish through traffic. Also threw down a two hand dunk slashing in from the baseline. His effort on the glass alone makes for consistent production, and on Saturday morning it came in the form of 11 points in a win.
Greyson stepped into the starting five for Minnetonka and delivered on both ends of the floor. He’s grown a bit since a year ago, and this season we’ve seen him spend time guarding the opposing team’s best player in multiple games. Greyson did a nice job of jumping passing lanes to pick up steals while also drawing a charge with his on ball defense. He found ways to get to the basket with his effort to sprint out in transition, and he showed he can finish through contact or also score with a soft floater.
Highlights
Jayden continued the hot start to his freshman season with 21 points in the win over Maple Grove. He started off torching the opposition in the open floor as he turned steals into quick points on the other end as the quickest player on the floor. Moore has great body control at the rim with the touch to scoop lay-ups high off the glass and drop them in. Also flashed is jumper from both mid-range and three point range. Once the opposing defense started locking in on him and preventing him from getting out into space, he went into facilitator mode. He zipped in passes to his bigs out of pick & rolls, and was also driving and dishing it to get wide open threes for his teammates. Showed the ability to take over games both as a scorer and passer.
Highlights
Alex brought an extra level of toughness to the floor for Minnetonka. They play without a true forward, but Alex was playing much bigger than his size with his ability to take charges in the lane to make up for not having a rim protector, while going down on the other end and finishing through contact around the basket. When one of Tonka’s guards would look to drive, Alex put himself into the right spots to take a dump off pass and explode to the basket. Got his team fired up with taking charges and finishing off and-ones that gave his team a ton of momentum. Finished with 13 points in the win over St. Cloud Tech.