ECI 17U Prospects: Season Review
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We are looking at 2023 talent from ECI Prospects in this article. This squad had ballers from North Dakota and Minnesota. Lucas Moormann is the head man and his squad had a great spring & summer. This group competed on…
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Continue ReadingWe are looking at 2023 talent from ECI Prospects in this article. This squad had ballers from North Dakota and Minnesota. Lucas Moormann is the head man and his squad had a great spring & summer. This group competed on the Prep Hoops Circuit and they were always in the top pools, so they played excellent competition. The 17U Prospects played their best basketball at the end of the summer and they made a deep run at the Hard Work Regions Finals. Expect these players to all have memorable senior seasons and many of them will go on to play a college sport.
Good luck to all ECI 17U Prospects as they near the beginning of their season years. Make it a memorable one!
See below for player comments and a Q&A session with coach Moormann.
Player Comments with Coach Moormann
Jacob Brandt Jacob Brandt 6'10" | PF Hillsboro/Central Valley | 2024 State ND |6’9 PF| Hillsboro/Central Valley
“Jacob improved so much over the season by becoming a dominant presence inside and out. By the end of the year, he was demanding the ball inside and would then go to work. He also was able to stretch the floor to make him a very hard spot to guard. His defensive presence in the paint also made it hard for teams to score inside. This kid has a very bright future and I can’t wait to see what he does at the next level.“
Lewis Jones Lewis Jones 5'9" | PG Goodridge/Grygla-Gatzke | 2024 State MN |5’9 G| Goodridge-Grygla
“Lewis is a very solid and smart point guard. He rarely turns it over and is great at facilitating an offense. He is one of the most coachable kids and is a very unselfish player, at times too good of a teammate. Lewis scored at all 3 levels this season as he has a good floater game, tough pull-up, and can hit the three.“
Dominic Fairbanks Dominic Fairbanks 5'10" | PG Cass Lake-Bena | 2024 State MN |5’11 G| Cass Lake-Bena
“Dominic is your all-around point guard. When he gets cooking watch out! He is a threat from 3 as soon as he crosses half-court. Dom is also really good out of any sort of ball screen action. He has a good pull-up game and finishes well with both hands at the rim. Dom is also very creative in getting the ball to his teammates when attacking the hoop. Wherever Dom ends up in college, he’s going to be an impactful player!”
Lucas Kupfer Lucas Kupfer 6'5" | SF Bismarck Legacy | 2024 State ND |6’5 F| Bismarck Legacy
“Lucas is a tough matchup as he is really clever at attacking the rim and finishing around the hoop. With his long wingspan, he can finish outside his body, making it hard to defend. His length also benefits him on the defensive side of the ball. He alters shots and makes it hard to score around the hoop. I’m excited to see him progress over the next year and into college!“
Isiah St. Romain Isiah St. Romain 6'3" | SG Williston | 2024 ND |6’2 G| Williston
“Isiah is the type of kid all coaches like to have on their team. He is a high-energy kid on the floor and from the bench. He’s always looking to improve his team and teammates. Isiah is a shifty and fast point guard making it hard for any defender to stay in front of him. Isiah really came around at the end of the AAU season, playing at a really high level on both ends of the floor. His athleticism and quickness are something you don’t see very often so it’s hard to take him off the floor.“
Damon Glasser Damon Glasser 6'4" | SG Dickinson | 2024 State ND |6’4 G| Dickinson
“Damon improved a ton from the beginning of the season until the end. I believe most of this came with his confidence growing from tournament to tournament. Damon is a great teammate who will do the little things to help his team win. He rebounds very well and became a better defender throughout the ECI season. Damon is a threat from 3 as that is where he scored most of his points early on in the season, but by the end, he was getting to the rim a lot and scoring there too.“
Carter Zeller Carter Zeller 6'6" | PF Fargo North | 2024 State ND |6’6 PF| Fargo North
“Carter is an absolute workhorse. This kid rarely makes a mistake, making him hard to take off the floor. If he gets the ball around the hoop, he’s scoring. He’s so creative with his shot faking that many times he ended up with an “And 1”. With his physicality and football-type mentality, he is a great defender on the other team’s big guy. He also led our team in rebounding, even though he is not the tallest player on the court. Whether Carter chooses to play football or basketball at the next level, I know he’s going to have a successful career.“
Logan Conklin Logan Conklin 6'5" | SF Minot | 2024 ND |6’5 F| Minot
“Logan is a high-energy player that takes pride in doing the dirty work. All I heard from college coaches and opposing coaches was how tough he was and how hard he plays. This is a credit to his character because that’s exactly what he is. Logan is super athletic as well, usually playing above the rim. He had some big blocks and dunks this year. Logan can guard all positions on defense with his quickness and toughness which makes him very serviceable on both ends of the floor.“
Dylan Zimmerman Dylan Zimmerman 6'5" | SF Moorhead | 2024 State MN |6’5 G/F| Moorhead
“Dylan has a huge ceiling and is going to be a steal wherever he ends up in college. Dylan is a very good 3-point shooter and finisher at the rim. His athleticism is bar none. He had some massive dunks this season as his mentality is to throw it down no matter who is in the way. He also uses his hops on the defensive end of the floor. Dylan has a knack for jumping vertically and blocking shots when his player gets in the lane. I’m really excited to see how Dylan’s senior year goes and then into college!“
Q&A with Lucas Moormann
PHD: How would you sum up the season for your squad?
“I thought this year was a very successful season. Getting to play in one of the top pools of all Prep Hoops tournaments and competing in every game made this season a success. Our team battled in every game and came out with some big victories throughout the year. Getting to play in front of multiple college coaches during many of these games was also a lot of fun. Our kids always rose to the challenge no matter who the team we played was!“
PHD: What are some of the highlights from the season?
“A few highlights of the season would have been winning the ECI Spring Showdown and making it to the Final 4 of the Prep Hoops Hard Work Regions Finals from the 64-team field.“
PHD: How did you and your team overcome adversity?
“I felt that we dealt with some adversity early in the year with kids missing tournaments for track and prom, but we still battled week in and week out with the crew that we had. We finally started to play our best basketball towards the end of the season and that is because we had our full roster. I also felt that anytime we ran into something that was tough, our leader Isiah St. Romain Isiah St. Romain 6'3" | SG Williston | 2024 ND would pull us out of it. He is such a great leader on the floor and from the bench that he brings energy to get the squad going!“
PHD: Who were a couple of your top shooters?
“ Dominic Fairbanks Dominic Fairbanks 5'10" | PG Cass Lake-Bena | 2024 State MN , Dylan Zimmerman Dylan Zimmerman 6'5" | SF Moorhead | 2024 State MN , and Damon Glasser Damon Glasser 6'4" | SG Dickinson | 2024 State ND were 3 of our best and most consistent shooters. Dominic can pull from anywhere on the floor and there is a good chance it’s going in. Dylan was one of our best 3-point shooters and was able to get many of them off even with a hand in his face. Damon was our best 3-point shooter by percentage. He didn’t take a ton of them but shot them at a very high percentage!“
Who was your most improved player?
“I would say the most improved players were Jacob Brandt Jacob Brandt 6'10" | PF Hillsboro/Central Valley | 2024 State ND and Lucas Kupfer Lucas Kupfer 6'5" | SF Bismarck Legacy | 2024 State ND . Jacob’s confidence grew so much throughout the year making him a dominant force inside and out towards the end of the year. He shot it at a very high percentage inside and was demanding the ball on offense. He was also comfortable stretching it out to shoot the 3 when teams started to double-team. The other big improvement came from Lucas Kupfer Lucas Kupfer 6'5" | SF Bismarck Legacy | 2024 State ND . I felt that Lucas wasn’t being very aggressive at the beginning of the year at times and was being too unselfish. Towards the end of the year, he was attacking the rim much more and finishing much better.“
PHD: Who were some of your hardest workers?
“Our hardest workers would have been Logan Conklin Logan Conklin 6'5" | SF Minot | 2024 ND and Carter Zeller Carter Zeller 6'6" | PF Fargo North | 2024 State ND . These two kids don’t take plays off and play at a level most kids never find. They have a toughness and “don’t back down mentality” that makes them solid on both ends of the floor. They were both willing to do all the little things and lay it all on the line. With both being football players, I believe much of this comes from the multi-sport athlete and knowing how to flat-out compete!“
PHD: Who was your best defensive player?
“I would say Dylan Zimmerman Dylan Zimmerman 6'5" | SF Moorhead | 2024 State MN and Lewis Jones Lewis Jones 5'9" | PG Goodridge/Grygla-Gatzke | 2024 State MN were our two best defenders. Dylan just plays super hard on defense and can guard all positions with his quickness and athleticism. He had quite a few steals and blocks this year with just his knack for the ball. Lewis is just solid and seems to always be in the right spot on defense. He is always in a stance and does a really nice job of just staying in front of his guy.“
PHD: Which tourney was the most fun?
“The Prep Hoops Region Finals were the most fun because we were just clicking as a team and having so much fun. We beat our first 3 teams by 20+ and were playing some of our best basketball. We then beat a very good MN Lightning team and then ended our season with a loss to eventual champs MN Fury. I was so proud of our guys and how they ended the season.“