The Last Dance: Friday Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not that anyone cares about the plight of a guy that gets paid to watch basketball. However a hotel snafu left me without a room Friday night. I ended up on the couch an old college friend who lives in the city. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's great to connect with old friends. However not great for efficient writing. So with a little delay. Here is my Friday notebook from the expansive Last Dance live event. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Minnesota Fury 2026 has some serious shooters </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The entire Minnesota Fury 2026 Antl team caught fire from beyond the arc. Allowing them to defeat a good Indiana Game squad. I can't list everyone. So I am going to single out [player_tooltip player_id='1560830' first='Casey' last='Fliehe']. Fliehe led the way with 20 points on the back five three pointers. However it was the way he did that was impressive. Highly efficient and wasn't jacking up a bunch of wild thirty footers. Relocated well and moved with purpose and speed off the ball. Also had a trigger quick release. At 6-3 [player_tooltip player_id='1521424' first='Kayden' last='Oakland'] chipped in a few from beyond the arc. Oakland also shot it well from the midrange. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">A major league point guard duel </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After that contest a big time Great Lakes point guard duel went down on the same court. It involved two very different point guards. Oostsburg's <strong>Cade Dirske</strong> (pictured) is a powerfully built 6-1 prospect. The Wisconsin product used his wide frame to create space on drives to the basket. He did just exactly that on a buzzer beating game winning finish. Finished with 20 clutch points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On the other side Homewood-Flossmoor 6-0 point guard <strong>Myles Ellis </strong>was electric in going to the basket all night. Emptied the bag in a big way to put defenders on skates multiple times. Has a very tight handle and devastating change of direction ability. Scored 37 points without a three point basket. Almost won it with a dramatic drive before Dirske's game winner. Clubhouse leader for performance of the weekend for this scout. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Dirty South shows out in the Windy City </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While it was good to see some good performances from the Great Lakes region. As an original native of Nashville Tennessee. It was nice to see some excellent performances from the Deep South. Two of the better teams I saw on the weekend hailed from Arkansas and Mississippi respectively. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Arkansas Ducks 2025 squad opened with an impressive close victory with a close victory over a good Indiana Game Gold unit. The balanced Ducks were led by <strong>Ta'coreyian Williams </strong>with 10 points. The bouncy 6-5 Searcy product showed the ability to play both inside and out. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coming off an undefeated weekend. Mississippi based Jackson Blue Devils continued their strong run on the Prep Hoops Circuit with a decisive Friday victory. They were led by versatile 6-3 abandon forward <strong>Nate White</strong>. White is stocky positionless player who can both inside and out. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->