Prairie du Chien Summer League: Wednesday Night Standouts

Wednesday nights at Prairie du Chien High School bring together some of the top talent from southwestern Wisconsin and northeast Iowa for their weekly summer league. I made the trip and took in significant varsity action from nine of the thirteen teams present, focusing on those from Wisconsin. Six athletes from four of those teams stood out to me amongst the crowd.    What Bevyn lacks in stature he makes up for in just about every aspect of his game. He is a quick point guard who can stop on a dime and cross over or pull up for a jumper at any given moment. He is crafty with the ball in his hands and will cross over, spin, hesitate and explode or step back and take the shot. His shot is a bit inconsistent, but as a sophomore that will continue to develop. What is really impressive is his ability to score at all three levels. He can hit the three and will elevate for a jump shot, but it is his creativity on the dribble drive that really stands out. Bevyn also has excellent court vision and made a couple of long baseball passes, to go along with interior dump offs and entry passes.     Another small guard who caught my attention was [player_tooltip player_id='2636236' first='John' last='Dreischmeier']. There are several nice players on the Highland squad, but it seemed like Dreischmeier was always in the action. He brings the energy and plays with a bit of an edge. He uses his quickness to run the court and attack gaps en route to the basket. John also hit several shots from beyond the arc. He is an adept passer and threaded the needle on a precise, sharp bounce pass on one fast break in particular. He's got a high motor on the defensive end of the court as well, which generates broken possessions and turnovers by the opponent.     An incoming sophomore, Edge looks to have the tools to be a significant contributor for Potosi over the next few years. He is a long 6'1" athlete who runs the point well. He did a little bit of everything on both ends of the court, securing steals, grabbing boards, dropping dimes, hitting a few triples and converting on drives. All of this came in the flow of the game and looked natural to Edge. He did look tentative at times, which will likely change as he progresses through his high school years. He's definitely a player I'll keep on my radar.     At 6'4", Hermsen has nice size at the guard position. He regularly brought the ball up for the Flying Arrows and looked very comfortable doing so. He also has very good body control and uses his length well to make tough finishes in traffic look easy. Hermsen, who also plays on the Prep Hoops Circuit for [program_tooltip program_id='2076031' first='Wisconsin' last='Hoops Select'], was effective on the glass and on defense. He blocked a shot and picked up several loose balls to start fast breaks, including one where he went coast-to-coast. He was an easy double-digit scorer in the game I watched, which is on track with the 10.4 ppg average he put up during the 2023-24 high school season.     Uppena is a solid interior player who can also catch and shoot from the elbow or hit a pull-up ten-footer with a soft touch. He starts and finishes his shots high, which allows him to further expand his height advantage to shoot over opponents. While he will pull the trigger from distance on occasion, it appears he is most effective from midrange and in. Aidan uses ball and head fakes effectively to create space on drives and shots under the bucket and runs the floor very well. He flashed a spicy move from just outside the lane featuring a power dribble and smooth lay-in, high off the glass. He does a nice job boxing out and securing rebounds as well.     Like his teammate from Lancaster mentioned above, Williams also plays on the Prep Hoops Circuit for [program_tooltip program_id='2076031' first='Wisconsin' last='Hoops Select']. While he didn't need to do so in the game I watched, Taylor can fill it up from beyond the arc. With the game in hand midway through the first half, Williams did a very nice job facilitating and getting his teammates involved. His ability to hit from the outside means defenders need to stay close, giving Taylor the opportunity to use his strong handle to take his opponent off the dribble and convert at the rim. He is a creative passer, especially on fast breaks and will also frequently get out front as a rim-runner. He illustrated this on the final play of the game, which he finished with a one-hand, break-away dunk.

Wednesday nights at Prairie du Chien High School bring together some of the top talent from southwestern Wisconsin and northeast Iowa for their weekly summer league. I made the trip and took in significant varsity action from nine of the thirteen teams present, focusing on those from Wisconsin. Six athletes from four of those teams stood out to me amongst the crowd.