Northern Michigan Showcase: Super Six Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In its first year Traverse City St Francis hosted an ambitious five game slate simply known as the Northern Michigan Showcase. Pitting some of the best teams in Northern Michigan against squads from primarily the east side of the state. Following are five standouts each respective game. <br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='985667' first='Wyatt' last='Nausadis'] 6-4 2023 Traverse City St Francis </strong>First a word on the St Francis program. Writing for another publication. I speculated that Nausadis would have to have a big game statistically for the Glads to hang with #1 ranked Detroit Cass Tech. I was dead wrong. That's not to say Nausadis did not play well— he did. But he did it playing within the system and took what Cass' defense gave him. Handled the press well all night. Finding open teammates and not allowing himself to get sped up. Was the the best athlete on the court. Scored easily at the rim. Showed toughness by playing through an injury as well. Finished with 14 points. More importantly if there were any doubts about competition. Showed he could play with anybody in the state. Shouldn't be surprising as he has proven this nationally with the [program_tooltip program_id='2077017' first='Grand' last='Rapids Storm'] on the Under Armour Circuit. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1223506' first='Travon' last='Cooper'] 6-4 2023 Detroit Cass Tech </strong>As stated above St Francis gave the undefeated Technicians everything they could handle. They countered a solid balanced team effort with one of their own. While [player_tooltip player_id='1437537' first='Darius' last='Acuff'] held down primary ball handling duties. Cooper dealt with St Francis' beefy front line. This shows both his skill and competitiveness level. Cooper is a slender athlete who was outweighed significantly. Kept coming all night and found creative ways to get to the rim. Also used a quick second jump to be factor on the glass. Wasn't apparent with Saturday night's tempo. But is extremely explosive in the open court. Able to finish well above the rim. Finished with 14 points to keep Cass Tech undefeated on the season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='985668' first='Luke' last='Hazelton'] 6-7 2023 Glen Lake </strong>I don't like to give out MVP awards for showcase events. There are just too many variables among opponents to pick one particular performance. However if I was forced to. It would easily be the Michigan Tech commitment. Wayne Memorial did not have much size on their frontline. Hazelton exploited that all afternoon. Has a thick but very mobile frame. The mobility allowed him the counter the speed that the Zebras threw at him. Was able to pass out of and simply power through double teams. Despite the lack of elite elevation has always been an effective finisher near the basket. Does this by mixing a soft left handed release that keeps defenders off balance. Combined with well schooled efficient foot work. Finished with 27 points. Should fit in nicely at Tech which has had success over the years with prospects that fit this profile. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1300885' first='Bryce' last='O'Mara'] 6-7 2024 Grand Blanc (pictured) </strong>Playing for a high profile program with consecutive state finals appearances. I have seen O'Mara play a lot. This was easily the best I have seen him play. I thought Cadillac could hang with the Bobcats due to their size advantage on the frontline. O'Mara was having none of that. Was aggressive and assertive offensively. Good to see as he has had a tendency to float around the perimeter in the past. Knew his role and played it well against Cadillac. Nearly posted a double double with 13 points and eight rebounds. Probably would have attained that easily if the margin of the game would have been closer. The Bobcat program is going to look vastly different next year. If O'Mara continues to play like he did Saturday night. Those expecting a drop off might be disappointed. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='986890' first='Cameron' last='Reed'] 6-0 2023 Ferndale </strong>Jet quick point guard was simply too much for Traverse City West's young backcourt. Produced possibly the highlight of the day. A simply nasty crossover step back three combo that sent a defender way off balance. More importantly he stuck the three to complete the highlight. Important because that is really only thing that missing from Reed's game. If he can consistently hit from beyond the arc. Has the athletic explosiveness and creativity to be a real problem off the dribble. Good passer and unselfish player who gets teammates involved. Could have scored a lot more on Saturday but chose to defer to teammates. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='986885' first='Dylan' last='Barnowski'] 6-1 2023 Lake Leelanau St Mary's </strong>Barnowski kicked off the day with a bang. Was ready to go from the jump. Was connecting from three often and from all over the perimeter. This opens up the court considerably for his lethal dribble drive game. Found teammates with bullet like precision passes. Is able to pass off the dribble with one hand. Long lanky build allows him to play much bigger than his listed height. Like Hazelton keeps defenders off balance as a lefty. As a player from a small parochial school. This was a good event to watch him at. Not much drop off from his game to the parade of excellent point guards that followed. Unfortunately an injury kept him off the grassroots scene this summer. If he could produce another deep tournament run and a return to the Breslin Center. He could really force college coaches to take notice. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->