Mayo Civic Sections: The Top Performers

Top players played big in a big game atmosphere on Saturday? Who was the best of the best? Here is our list!

Tysen Grinde Tysen Grinde 6'3" | SG Spring Grove | 2023 State MN of Spring Grove (sr).  I feel like this was somewhat of a senior year breakout game for Tysen Grinde Tysen Grinde 6'3" | SG Spring Grove | 2023 State MN . At least in my monitoring of him and his team.  Tysen’s shooting release brought forth the instant thought of “beautiful”.  He scored four triples, hit three more times on the attack, and was a key figure in making sure the ball was in constant motion for the Lions.  Grinde was also at the top of the zone, meeting the ball and making every Hayfield dribble attack one that had pressure attached to it.  Good athlete at 6’3 with guard skills.  Tysen surely made a fan of this analyst today.

Ryan Heise Ryan Heise 6'8" | SF Lake City | 2023 State MN of Lake City (sr).  Ryan’s impact was everywhere.  He forced a really good Cannon Falls player into a rough shooting day getting his length in front of the ball or his length on the ball for blocks.  Heise also collected the ball off of his blocks and started transition runs.  Heise also hit four threes and I will say again, I have never seen a player work so hard on reshaping his stroke and having such success in such a short time frame.  Scored 18 for the game and his block, block, board, trail three sequence put Lake City ahead with the momentum that Cannon Falls could not recover from. 

Zander Jacobson Zander Jacobson 6'6" | PF Hayfield | 2024 State MN of Hayfield (jr).  Zander is a 15 and 14 guy each night so he moves well past a double-double guy.  Today he was the constant in the Hayfield offense with 22 points and 17 rebounds!  Jacobson’s ability to catch, turn on balance and make shots has surely taken a step forward.  His comfort after a shoulder turn or pivot also looks much improved.  Love how he grabbed boards in traffic against the long Spring Grove forwards and he moved better on defense with the opposition better than I had seen in the past. 

Aiden Johnson Aiden Johnson 6'6" | PF Legacy Christian Academy | 2023 State MN of Cannon Falls (jr).  Johnson stands about 6’5 or 6’6 and plays both the back to the basket role for the Bombers and the stretch four role.  Johnson did an excellent job rebounding grabbing a dozen.  His face-up touch was solid although around the basket he was facing Heise giving up four inches and that did give Aiden some issues.  Respect the fight of this forward and I think he moves up and down the floor as well as laterally off the ball screen in a way that makes me think he could be a top MIAC prospect. 

Buay Koak Buay Koak 6'3" | SG Lyle-Austin Pacelli | 2023 State MN of Lyle/Austin Pacelli (sr).  Buay has to be one of the most recruited D3 prospects I have seen in a long time as so many schools hope to land him for what he does on the floor and who he is off the floor (well, and who he is on the floor too as a leader!). In the loss to Goodhue, Buay had games highs in scoring (23), rebounding (12), blocks (5), and threes made (4).  The two things that caught my eye the most were his relentless work on the glass – such a quick second jump – and the four threes made comfortably.  Koak has great length and his work ethic has me excited for his future.  Scored his 23 on 8 of 16 shooting with three of four foul shooting. 

Hunter Lorenson Hunter Lorenson 6'0" | PG Lake City | 2024 State MN of Lake City (jr). Lake City went from in a battle to comfortable against Canno Falls in a blink.  And it was a Hunter three, a Hunter defensive play, and then a Hunter rim finish that did it.  The quickness of Lorenson off the dribble was something Cannon Falls was not able to move with. He scored on 11 of 17 field goals for his 25 points and it was a mix of rim attacks and pull-ups.  The Lorenson first step is too sudden for defenses and the next move off his attack (pull-up, fake, etc) is usually done in comfortable space.  One of the best lead guards this state has. 

Isaac Matti Isaac Matti 6'1" | SG Hayfield | 2023 State MN of Hayfield (sr).  What a career.  Isaac got a nice send off and he deserved it.  Two state titles and a junior year Class A Player of the Year honor.  Matti is a hard working player who seems to have improved the look and consistency of his jumper as he made four clean looking threes today.  Also helped put the ball in the hands of Jacobson to finish regularly.  Great career and although it was done earlier than he wanted, Matti continues to show that he will be a very steady college player immediately when he gets on campus. 

Will Opsahl Will Opsahl 6'8" | SF Goodhue | 2023 State MN of Goodhue (sr). It was a normal game for Will: run the point, get length on the other team’s best option, lead the team in scoring (22 points) and keep the ball moving at a rapid pace.  The last item was the big one because Goodhue’s ball movement eventually became something that the Lyle Austin Pacelli defense could not keep up with.  And when Goodhue went on an 11-0 run that gave them the lead for good, it was three threes and a lay-up in space that did the trick.  Opsahl’s ball movement as a 6-foot-8 ball handler did what it needed to for the win. 

Adam Poncelet Adam Poncelet 6'3" | SG Goodhue | 2023 State MN of Goodhue (sr).  Every team needs an Adam Poncelet Adam Poncelet 6'3" | SG Goodhue | 2023 State MN . He’s a 6’4 forward that works for his shots, doesn’t require them or need them, he earns them.  Adam is a hard working player that boards (7) and defends plus finishes around the basket.  His attacking score after active Goodhue ball movement gave Goodhue the lead for good.  He had ten points, seven boards, and maybe the biggest score of the game. 

Jaden Shones Jaden Shones 6'1" | SG Lake City | 2024 State MN of Lake City (jr).  Every game there seems to be an item that Jaden does in an elite way outside of doing everything else well.  Tonight the way he passed the ball was crucial to Lake City’s wins.  He had eight assists and many of those passes were rim leads that led to scores.  Add in the 13 points and it was another big game for Jaden. 

Aeron Stevens Aeron Stevens 6'7" | PF Plainview-Elgin-Millville | 2023 State MN of PEM (sr).  To put things simply, Aeron Stevens Aeron Stevens 6'7" | PF Plainview-Elgin-Millville | 2023 State MN dominated the game after Caledonia got out to a 16-2 start.  The Young Warriors simply did not have a player that was physically able to stay with Stevens at 6’7 and agile.  Aeron has one of the better big man touches out there leading to his three threes and a pretty runner in the lane. His low post work was excellent tonight too and he scored on six of eight foul shots.  In all Aeron had 25 of his team’s 58 points on 8 of 13 shooting plus he grabbed seven boards.