Midwest Showdown: Teddy’s Friday Takeaways

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1240335' first='Kai' last='Rogers'] has Dominant Evening</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From the start, it was the [player_tooltip player_id='1240335' first='Kai' last='Rogers'] show for Wisconsin Playground against Wisconsin Playmakers. Posterized two players down low to begin the game and had another fast break slam shortly after. Six of their first 12 points came from his dunks. Defensively, he was an absolute nightmare on both the interior and exterior with at least four blocks in the first half. Tonight, he showed he was more than capable of guarding players at all five positions. On the boards, he won almost everything in his area and had several put-back finishes throughout the game. He showed why he's a nationally ranked prospect in his class, and has offers from Illinois, Iowa, Georgetown, Florida State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Look out for IMG Product</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It wasn't just [player_tooltip player_id='1240335' first='Kai' last='Rogers'] who shined for Wisconsin Playground. IMG product [player_tooltip player_id='1240336' first='Amari' last='Allen'] displayed tremendous athletic abilities in this contest. 6'5 Small Forward began the game with some tough finishes at the rim and some excellent mobility on defense. Later on, I saw him feel more comfortable as a ball-handler and began to take shots outside. His defense was consistent all game and provided several easy scoring opportunities in the second half. Although listed as a small forward, I see him most likely playing the role of a shooting guard in the future.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>All-Wisconsin Outsizes WI Blizzard</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was intrigued by the size options for this 15U All-Wisconsin squad in Minnesota. It was a slow start for All-Wisconsin, but they picked it up midway through the opening half. A lot of it had to do with the performance of [player_tooltip player_id='1561925' first='Andrew' last='Jensen']. The 6'9” Forward's potential of through the roof. Not only does he dominate inside, but he also flexed range with a three from the top of the key early on. You also saw guards [player_tooltip player_id='2092138' first='Sawyer' last='Durkee'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1561876' first='Ben' last='Zdzieblowski'] step up too. All this helped All-Wisconsin have a 12-point halftime advantage. Both these guards have tons of size at 6'4” and 6'6” respectively. A third player, [player_tooltip player_id='1561939' first='Ethan' last='Joling'], also has tremendous size and athleticism for a two guard and had a very strong second half. He found the bucket in transition and with his shooting and made an impact defensively too. All this led to a massive run and it took no-time for All-Wisconsin to be up 30 and dominate this game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fox Valley Kings Trio Scores 25 pts Each</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>6'3” 2025 F [player_tooltip player_id='2492808' first='Luke' last='Jung'] had a terrific start to this game. Playing up a year, he had the Kings first six points and displayed superb footwork and strength in the post. His ability to command the offense and get to the line was also pretty impressive too. When he went to the bench, 6'4” F [player_tooltip player_id='1289077' first='Justin' last='Janssen'] knocked down a pair of threes while 6'1” G [player_tooltip player_id='1258397' first='Charlie' last='Wunderlich'] found some strong transition points. Janssen added a pair of inside finished before knocking down a shot past the volleyball line to get up to 13 points. On the next possession, he hit his fourth triple. After this, he was a highly proficient passer and got [player_tooltip player_id='1258397' first='Charlie' last='Wunderlich'] involved quite a bit more. Wunderlich knocked down a pair of three's to end the first half to give Fox Valley Kings a 46-33 halftime lead. [player_tooltip player_id='1258397' first='Charlie' last='Wunderlich'] also became a better passer later on while staying consistent from deep. [player_tooltip player_id='2492808' first='Luke' last='Jung']'s interior play skyrocketed as he scored 14 inside points in the 2nd half. Fox Valley won 85-68. Janssen and Wunderlich scored 25 while Jung scored 26.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->