Comets Shootout: New Names to Know

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This past weekend we picked up a lot of new names to know for the future of Minnesota high school basketball. Join us know to learn several of those names! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Charlie Birk of Eagan (6'5 forward 2024 of Eagan). Looking for a potential player to emerge this season in the South Suburban? It could be Charlie Birk. Birk has good length, he runs well at his size and I really liked how he moved defensively laterally and with a quick 1-2 step to spots in support. Got his hands on balls for deflections, steals, and contests/swats plus defensive rebounded well. Comes from an athletic family and he played his reserve role well for the Cats. Could really take a big step forward as a senior. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1617776' first='Luke' last='Houghland'] of Northstar Titans (6'4 forward 2024 of Wayzata). Why do the Trojans continue to play in state title games? Because they continue to have reserves pop up from their JV and play in smart, intelligent ways in support as seniors. Luke is one of those guys scoring all dozen of his points in the games I watched in hustle, effort ways. He was the top player on his 17u team which says a lot considering he played JV a year ago. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2398535' first='Carter' last='Olson'] of Southwest Minnesota Stars (6'0 PG 2024 of Mountain Lake). Olson was able to beat some of the best players in his class off the dribble this weekend for scores. Loved the way he took the ball screen and attacked hard middle using a small amount of contact to shield and quickness with touch to score. If this is the [player_tooltip player_id='2398535' first='Carter' last='Olson'] that Mountain Lake always has I am a big fan of what he is going to do for their program, and the Stars the next year. He's already hit 1,000 points for his career and you have to think he has Class A All State potential as a senior. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1574229' first='Devin' last='Pass'] of Minnesota Fury (6'3 Wing 2025 of Shakopee). Pass played JV this past year and was the team's scorer, rebounder and creator. He looked ready for the next level of high school play this weekend being a big part of Fury winning the weekend title. Had a double figure level scoring game in two of the games I saw him play this weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1617772' first='Lauson' last='Schmidt'] of WOTN (5'11 PG 2024 of Lakeville South). Schmidt had a nice junior season for the Cougars scoring six a game and my chance to see him Sunday was a total eye opener. Schmidt caught fire hitting six threes scoring 27 points as his quickness with the ball was something BSM did not have a man to keep up with. South has a ton of quality guards and Schmidt is yet another. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jamis Ulman of Minnesota Rise (5'11 PG 2024 of LCWM). I do not believe LCWM will fall far next year. Why? Because of skilled guards like Jamis Ulman. The first time I saw Jamis about 18 months ago his skill stood out and this past weekend it really stood out as he scored 15 to beat the Titans. Boards, buckets, and playmaking, that's what Ulman did and he did it well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->