ECI 14U West Mattern: Season Review

We are taking a look at another [program_tooltip program_id='2078372' first='ECI' last=''] squad in this Season Review article. This time, we have incoming freshmen from western North Dakota. Treyton Mattern was the head coach for [program_tooltip program_id='2078372' first='ECI' last=''] 14U West and he had a nice group of players on his squad.   See below for player comments and a Q&A session with coach Mattern.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/SeaonReview-.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/SeaonReview-.jpg?w=865" alt="" class="wp-image-1842251" /></a></figure>   Player Comments from Treyton Mattern   *All players are in the 2027 class   [player_tooltip player_id='1972900' first='Genndrick' last='Davis'] |5'10 G/F| Legacy   "Genndrick is an explosive offensive player who plays with a motor. He has the ability to get to the rim at almost any time. He is a physical, strong kid with skills that make him a tough matchup for anyone. His strength and quickness allows him to guard multiple positions as well."   [player_tooltip player_id='1539679' first='Kaden' last='Welstad'] |5'8 G| Century   "Kaden is physical guard who is solid all the way around. He can defend, attack off the dribble, rebound, and shoot. He always plays hard and that gives him an edge over a lot of players."   [player_tooltip player_id='1542346' first='Zakai' last='Harildstad'] |5'8 G| Century   "Zakai has really good length which makes him a very good on-ball defender. He has good quickness that allows him to get to the rim and make plays for his teammates as well."   [player_tooltip player_id='2116302' first='Charlie' last='Eastgate'] |5'5 G| Century   "Charlie did a really good job making plays for our team. He has a knack for getting his teammates open shots and is good in the pick-and-roll. He is a fighter on defense and often had to guard guys bigger than him at his position."   [player_tooltip player_id='1542351' first='Chase' last='Christensen'] |5'9 F| Richardton-Taylor   "Chase was a good player who did a lot of dirty work for our team. He is a guy that you need on your team. He makes plays offensively and makes life tough on the defense."   [player_tooltip player_id='1542350' first='Tayvian' last='Hawk'] |5'8 G| Legacy   "Tayvian has some of the best instincts for the ball that I have seen. He is always around the ball and coming up with steals. He has good skill which allows him to make plays offensively."   [player_tooltip player_id='1542353' first='Brody' last='Shepherd'] |5'11 G/F| Legacy   "Brody is a top-tier shooter. He has in the gym range and makes a lot of them. He has improved his shooting off the dribble making him an important scorer for our team."   [player_tooltip player_id='2116301' first='Garrett' last='Bieber'] |5'10 G| Bismarck   "Garrett is one of the top shooters on our team, he helped us make timely shots and plays when we needed them most. He has good length that he used to get deflections and steals for us defensively."   [player_tooltip player_id='2116300' first='Ahmi' last='Spears'] |6'2 PF| Century   "His season was cut short due to an injury and that ultimately hurt our team greatly, largely on the defensive end because of his shot-blocking ability. Ahmi did a lot of little things for us and was a very good offensive and defensive rebounder."   Q&A with Coach Mattern   PHD: How would you sum up the season for your squad?   "This team got consistently better throughout the summer. At times, we struggled to start games well with the intensity that was needed, but when we did we could play with anyone. This group really shared the ball well and understood each other's strengths and played to those. It was a very fun group to be around and they showed great strides in many different areas through the summer."   PHD: What are some of the highlights from the season?   "We went 5-1 in Minneapolis and won the Consolation Championship after losing to a very good Minnesota Lightning team in the opening round."   PHD: How did you and your team overcome adversity?   "We had a couple of guys get hurt throughout the year and one who missed most of our tournaments causing us to look for guys to help the team constantly and ended up playing with 5-6 guys in our last tournament."   PHD: Who were a couple of your top shooters?   "[player_tooltip player_id='1542353' first='Brody' last='Shepherd'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2116301' first='Garrett' last='Bieber'] are two guys who can shoot the lights out. If they see that first one go in they could rattle off 5+ threes in a game. Their ability to shoot from all over the floor, their confidence, and their catch-ready ability is what makes them two good shooters."   PHD: Who was your most improved player?   "[player_tooltip player_id='1539679' first='Kaden' last='Welstad'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1972900' first='Genndrick' last='Davis'] were two guys who just consistently got better over the summer and it greatly benefited our team. These were two guys who had different strengths from one another but found a way to make themselves and their teammates better."   PHD: Who were some of your hardest workers?   "[player_tooltip player_id='1542351' first='Chase' last='Christensen'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2116302' first='Charlie' last='Eastgate'] were the two guys that brought it every game. Both were a little undersized for their position but worked twice as hard to make up for it. Two smart players who helped contribute to the team's success even if it didn't show up in the box score."   PHD: Who was your best defensive player?   "[player_tooltip player_id='1542346' first='Zakai' last='Harildstad'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1542350' first='Tayvian' last='Hawk'] were two of our primary on-ball defenders who put a lot of stress on the other team to get the ball across half-court. They both have lightning-quick hands and instincts that can't be taught. [player_tooltip player_id='2116300' first='Ahmi' last='Spears'] has elite length that causes issues for players to finish around the rim. He has good feet to be able to stay in front of some quicker guards as well."   PHD: Which tourney was the most fun?   "Battle of the Lakes in Minneapolis. We lost our first game and rattled off 5 straight wins in a row. We were down by double figures in 3 of the 5. We won in OT one of the games and came back from down 0-17 in one of the games as well."   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/PHD.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/PHD.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1272514" /></a></figure>

We are taking a look at another ECI squad in this Season Review article. This time, we have incoming freshmen from western North Dakota. Treyton Mattern was the head coach for ECI 14U West and he had a nice group of players on his squad.