Shot Clock Classic: Five Things to Know

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are five things we learned from the Breakdown Shot Clock Classic.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>One. The Shot Clock</strong>. Often times summer basketball with players missing, with new players playing at a higher level, and with players competing in new spots, it can be rough. Throw in a shot clock for the first time for many first time varsity players and we had some messy, messy games in terms of shot selection. It was as if the shot clock gave guys who don't like to pass a gift to think "well, I see single digits, time to put the ball down and launch". This is no reflection on the winter and what the game will be like after teams find chemistry and get coaching, but it was rough in spots. That said, it's often rough at this time of year, just a new rough.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Two. Scoring Explosions</strong>. [player_tooltip player_id='1585944' first='Max' last='Kraay'] of Mound-Westonka and [player_tooltip player_id='1441798' first='Chase' last='Pemberton'] of Andover both had 40+ point games in this event and both had more perimeter shooting games building to those totals. These were career level days for these players and games that will not soon leave our minds as we think about the 2023-24 season, the 17u July season upcoming, and college recruiting of course. Impressive performances we won't forget. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Three. AAA Leaders Beat AAAA teams</strong>. Totino-Grace outlasted Minnetonka in a shootout while Benilde-St. Margaret's defeated Osseo in more of a physical game. These are top AAA teams that have some of the best talent in the state and they showed that earning wins over teams that will be in the Class AAAA top ten this winter. [player_tooltip player_id='1288748' first='Tyler' last='Wagner'], [player_tooltip player_id='1560740' first='Dothan' last='Ijadimbola'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1574227' first='Chace' last='Watley'] played well for the Eagles while [player_tooltip player_id='1572689' first='Jalen' last='Wilson'], [player_tooltip player_id='1549741' first='Ronald' last='Lee'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1574215' first='Abu' last='Keita'] led the way for BSM. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Four. Not So Fast!</strong> Think Buffalo will slip hard after losing Nate Dahl to St. Cloud State? They will look different but without [player_tooltip player_id='1284137' first='Grady' last='Guida'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1284217' first='Torii' last='Johnson'] not available, [player_tooltip player_id='1288787' first='Brody' last='Wishart'], [player_tooltip player_id='1288702' first='Kai' last='Penney'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2104439' first='Ty' last='Torgrimson'] all played big knocking off Chanhassen. And this is a Chan team that I expect to be in the top ten next winter. Then you have Andover. The Huskies lost Kopetzki and Musungu which will hurt, but Pemberton and [player_tooltip player_id='1617679' first='Alex' last='Kopetzki'] look to be ready to carry the load. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Five. They Could Surprise</strong>. I like what I saw from Sauk Rapids-Rice this weekend. They have a big junior three in [player_tooltip player_id='1617798' first='Spencer' last='Swenson'], [player_tooltip player_id='1579918' first='Hudson' last='Omoke'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1579917' first='Keller' last='Hanson'] but there is also some role player pieces around them too. Paris Pollard is a freshman that will help and there are solid role players too. And I really like the [player_tooltip player_id='1639305' first='Ethan' last='Pettis']/[player_tooltip player_id='1288812' first='Alvin' last='Payne'] combo at Blaine that beat Mound-Westonka. The Bengals could have a nice winter as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->