Battle at the Lakes: Welcome College Coaches!
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The talent at the Battle at the Lakes is high level: many of the elite players in the five state area are in the Twin Cities and because of that it was great to see college coaches back in the…
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Continue ReadingThe talent at the Battle at the Lakes is high level: many of the elite players in the five state area are in the Twin Cities and because of that it was great to see college coaches back in the gym!
High School Players, It’s Your Turn!
It’s the second weekend of May and finally, finally college coaches can start to worry about the future of the game, and not just keeping their roster intact. No, the work in finishing out rosters is not done, teams still have to add transfers, but for the first time this spring/summer season the college coaches look to be in the gym in bulk (and next weekend the D1 coaches can join them!).
Last night we saw head coaches from Sioux Falls, U of Mary, Winona State, Minnesota-Crookston and others. We saw assistants from those schools as well as UMD, Minnesota State-Moorhead, SMSU, Northern State, St Cloud State, CSP and more! Finally the 2025 kids can play basketball games in front of the men that can give them future opportunities in education and basketball.
And who do we think they went home talking about?
Isaac Flippin Cordes
We don’t curse here, but there was a coach from Colorado last night who was likely cursing to himself as Isaac Cordes Isaac Cordes 6'0" | PG Shakopee | 2025 State MN picked his team apart like a lion stealing, and devouring a kill.
The kids of the modern game often seem more worried about highlights than they are wins, the awesome thing is that Cordes is a 6’1/6’2 strong guard that can give you both. Last night his dibble separation into a no look pass hitting a cutter, it was the highlight of all highlights. And unlike guys who taunt after they make the move turning off college coaches, Isaac got back on defense and forced a turnover which excites the college coaches.
Cordes is the point guard that coaches love: efficient, team focused, tough, great decision maker, and outstanding at running an offense. His teams win, both in high school (Shakopee) and spring/summer play. Last night the Fury beat 7070 Athletics 79-49 and this is a team from Colorado that was 10-2 in previous PHC events! Cordes made all four of his threes – yes he makes jumpers at a high percentage – plus both of his attacks for a 6 of 6 shooting game and 17 points to go with five boards and five assists.
Looking for a player to run your team in the future and have a scholarship to give that player? Isaac Cordes Isaac Cordes 6'0" | PG Shakopee | 2025 State MN is one you should watch.
D1 Minnesota Scoring Pair
Twenty-one years ago I started writing about high school basketball recruits. At that point in the game size, agility and explosiveness were everything. As the years moved on, size and agility started to be needed together, but the size and explosiveness were still very important. The game has evolved again to a point that experience, skill and game IQ are among the most important items along with that size and explosiveness.
In watching D1 Minnesota ‘s Adidas 16s team beat the Sanford Sports Academy Under Armour 16s team 61-39, we saw Cedric Tomes Cedric Tomes 6'0" | PG East Ridge | 2026 State MN (East Ridge) and Max Iversen Max Iversen 6'2" | PG Delano | 2026 State MN (Delano) pick their opponent apart with skill and understanding of the game. In addition, Tomes seems to be even quicker with the basketball these days and Iversen looks taller and is moving with more explosiveness as well. Great examples of this were the Tomes blitzing attack to the rim to finish after a separation move, and the Iversen race back swat above the rim smashing the ball of the other direction.
But let’s be clear, these two players are special when it comes to creating space with the basketball and releasing a gorgeous jumper that splashes through the net. The high major offered Tomes had 20 points making four threes and 8 of 16 shots overall while Iversen scored 15 points making 6 of 11 attempts. Mason Witt Mason Witt 5'11" | PG Alexandria | 2026 State MN also hit three threes scoring 11 points and the explosive Jaidyn Coon from Iowa had ten.
Chasing Down the Top Spot
It’s been a long time since there was a class of talent in Minnesota that was this wide open when it comes to Mr. Basketball, Minnesota Player of the Year for seniors to be, the top prospect spot, etc etc. Brady Wooley Brady Wooley 6'9" | C Orono | 2025 State #187 Nation MN has gifts of size and agility nobody else has. Nolan Groves Nolan Groves 6'4" | CG Orono | 2025 State #259 Nation MN was the Junior Player of the Year this year. CJ Armstrong CJ Armstrong 6'3" | CG Richfield | 2025 State #302 Nation MN was the top scorer in numbers. But whatever you compare it seems like Chase Thompson Chase Thompson 6'8" | PF Alexandria | 2025 State #216 Nation MN of Alexandria High School/ D1 Minnesota 17s is the player that is on the short list for all conversations.
Last night D1 Minnesota defeated Sanford Sports Academy – the best team in South Dakota and a team that plays in the Under Armour Rise league – somewhat handily. They got their great start by the 6’8/6’9 Chase Thompson Chase Thompson 6'8" | PF Alexandria | 2025 State #216 Nation MN hitting a quick four threes as well as making several foul shots.
Thompson is more than a shooter and he showed that to us this year. With Grasyon Grove out at Alexandria, Chase played the five and he did well. Thompson posted up to score, he rebounded, he low post defended and then when Grayson came back he played that stretch four role as well as some post.
What separates Thompson is his mentality. This is a confident, tough kid that last night got his face bloodied up quite a bit so he fixed that up, gave away his jersey to get cleaned, put whatever medical bandages on he needed, and got back on the floor to battle. And he did it with the respect of his teammates. Chase has the respect of his teammates, opposing players and all the coaches and that goes a long way in the modern game.
Battle at the Lakes Bait
- Jj Sullivan Jj Sullivan 6'2" | SG Eden Prairie | 2025 State MN went on another scoring binge last night for D1 Minnesota . There are a lot of great shooters in Minnesota high school hoops right now: Thompson, Iversen and Tomes of course. Sullivan is right there with them, and some will say he is above them. Dothan Ijadimbola Dothan Ijadimbola 6'6" | SF Totino Grace | 2026 State MN is dealing with an injury and Christian Wiggins Christian Wiggins 6'5" | SG Wayzata | 2026 State MN was out last night so D1 Minnesota was short two of their best guys and they still beat SSA handily.
- Make sure to do the photo shoot stuff with Alex Conover on court one today! He will be there for eight hours getting photos! And make sure to check the Prime booth! If you don’t Logan Paul might give you a body slam!
- Jaidyn Coon out of Iowa is so very explosive. I don’t think I was prepared for how quickly he got off the ground to board, block, contest and finish. That’s a future D1 athlete right there!
- I liked how Mason Witt Mason Witt 5'11" | PG Alexandria | 2026 State MN found his way to contribute with Iversen and Tomes. It’s not easy to be a point guard who moves into a supporting combo guard role of shooting some, creating some, and moving the ball to those players and watching them create, but Witt did it and stayed very productive.
- Cole Cole AK Wilcek of Farmington and Minnesota Fury , I picture him someday as a very strong, very smart player that is winning a ton of games in the MIAC. Or maybe in today’s culture starting at one level and moving to the next. Or maybe his strength, skill and understanding of the game get him an undersized (by an inch or two) spot at the NSIC level when it’s all said and done? I would look at it. He had six assists last night moving the ball around the paint and in the how post. Plus ten points and seven boards, and he does this a lot.