New Life Academy 66 Cherry 60: Five Things to Know

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The game of holiday week was obviously Cherry vs New Life Academy. NLA earned the win, and the number one ranking in the state. Here are five things to know.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>One. The New Number One</strong>. After watching NLA beat Cherry, and others as well as they have played an impressive schedule, I am starting to wonder if anybody in Class A has the combination of skill and size to knock NLA off the top. Cherry was number one and they likely have the deepest Class A roster but what they don't have is size. Guards had to defend 6'8 [player_tooltip player_id='1225651' first='Erick' last='Reader'] and 6'7 [player_tooltip player_id='1727584' first='Colton' last='Hendricks'] which was a losing battle. Even more impressive, Hendricks and Reader - in addition to dominating the glass and finishing around the paint without much contesting them - made plays away from the basket too. [player_tooltip player_id='1225656' first='Max' last='Briggs'] gives the team a top guard and wings Austin Woolf and Colter Stone are 6'3/6'4 themselves and are really more like forwards. Their skill and size will be tough to knock from that top perch. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Two. [player_tooltip player_id='1727584' first='Colton' last='Hendricks']</strong>. At 6'7 Colton had 19 points and 10 rebounds. He finished around the basket well moving to spots to finish easy two footers, but Colton also had a solid touch from the perimeter making multiple long jumpers. At his height and the way he is producing, NLA has three guys once again that must be located and defended every trip. His emergence, or shall I say improvements, has been very important. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Three. [player_tooltip player_id='1225651' first='Erick' last='Reader']</strong>. At 16.5 points and 15 rebounds a game for the number one team in Class A, Erick is living up to the pressure that comes with being a Gopher recruit, even as a walk-on. Erick has very good skills for a player at his size. He handles it solid, he passes it really well, and he has a nice touch. With his length and size he is perfect to be defending on the scout team but he can also go the other way and do things that make the other guys work. Reader has a frame that can add good weight and if he can improve his defensive footwork and such while getting stronger, I could see him filling some minutes in need situations at Minnesota as he gets older. A very good walk-on with division two level scholarship ability now that could get worked into an even higher level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Four. [player_tooltip player_id='1288733' first='Isaac' last='Asuma']</strong>. I continue to say that he is a top 150 level player nation wide. He had a rough finish but it was another 20+ point game for Asuma with what I totaled as 6-7 assists. Asuma's control and court IQ are exactly what I think highmajor teams need at lead guard as is his intelligence passing the ball. Asuma's transition passing, his attacks setting up others, and his timing on the pass are outstanding as is his feel for the defense. Isaac also has a really clean looking shot that is improving consistently percentage wise. Asuma defended a low post player most of the game (he is the tallest guy on his team).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Five. Cherry Needs to Rebound</strong>. Losing to Deer River without Isaac the first game of the season was not a big surprise. They are used to playing with Isaac and not having him for a day was a big adjustment. And the size of Minnehaha Academy and NLA have hurt Cherry. That said, they still had a big win over Hayfield, beat an AAA school in Sauk Rapids-Rice and knocked off South Ridge who is huge (but lacks guards). With Nevis, North Woods, Fosston, and Mountain Iron-Buhl still on the schedule for January things don't get easier but Cherry certainly has the talent to win out the rest of the month. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->