Upper Peninsula Top 25: 16 - 20

Over the weekend I did a lot of pondering to my list, so I decided to heal my perplexion by watching basketball. I watched some UP players on the [program_tooltip program_id='2075498' first='Great' last='Northern Elite'] teams compete at the Brawl for the Ball in Grand Rapids, and I was glad to see how well they performed against their opponents. A few of those players will start to trickle onto our list as we roll on with our rankings. Today we delve into players 16 - 20.    #20   I usually take a second, third, and maybe fourth look as I begin to rank players when they are freshmen or sophomores. Do they have a lot of varsity experience? Are they a difference-maker for their team? Do they have the "stuff"? With [player_tooltip player_id='2622028' first='Vic' last='Giuliani'], there is no doubt on any of it. An upcoming sophomore, who consistently finishes hard to the hoop with authority. Watch some of his film below and you'll have to look at his graduating year multiple times to realize he's not a senior. Crystal Falls will be a very deep team and I would pen them as a top 3 Division 4 team in the UP. And with a Giuliani one-two punch of [player_tooltip player_id='2622028' first='Vic' last='Giuliani'] and brother Kevin Giuliani, paired with a schedule with Division 2 & 3 teams on it, CFFP will be the team to beat in D4 on the west end come tournament time.    Some nice Vic dunk highlights:   <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2NhGys">http://www.hudl.com/v/2NhGys</a>    #19   [player_tooltip player_id='2492563' first='Eli' last='MacDonald'] (highlight pic above) is one of those players who is always enjoyable to watch. Especially if you're a fan of old-school pick-n-roll style basketball. I have commented in my previous scouting reports that Eli can outhustle the best of them, but I oftentimes notice that he has a soft shot and a high shot percentage from deep. His favorite spot is the left corner, (and that is old-school to me) and if he catches fire, we'd probably see 4-6 threes a night out of Eli. But true to fashion, I still really love this young man's sheer grit when it comes to playing hard-nosed basketball. The Panthers have a new coach this year and are stacked with talented ball handlers and shooters. I would easily put them as a top 3 team in D4 in the UP.     #18   Austin Gordon enters our list at #18. This young man is a scoring machine. He was second in the UP in PPG trailing only behind Mr. UP Basketball, Jonathan Ingalls. That feat earned Austin a 2nd team all-UP nod last year. In the new style of basketball, guards are not afraid to shoot from 20-24 feet out, and Austin's quick release from this range makes him a lethal shooting guard. He also makes some really big plays on the transition side of the ball. The Panthers were knocked out early in the districts last year in the wake of the 2022 runner-up team that graduated SO many seniors, but Coach Besonen has the next men up ready to do some damage in the tournament this year.     #17   Lane Laux we placed in the #17 position on our list. Lane is a combo guard/forward that can cover the entire floor in seemingly three-bounds. His tall frame and athletic build often puts him in a place to create something positive on offense. This tells me he has a high basketball IQ as he often looks to dish to advance the basketball versus just forcing a shot. Lane is also seemingly quick for his tall frame and usually has quite a few steals by the end of the night.       #16   We placed [player_tooltip player_id='2218003' first='Cody' last='Noel'] at #16 on our list. I was able to catch Cody in quite a few match-ups, both during his high school games last year and a few of his [program_tooltip program_id='2075498' first='Great' last='Northern Elite'] 17U games in Appleton. One thing that is very obvious about Cody is his size, but one becomes pleasantly surprised at how agile he is and how good his footwork is. Cody "bigs it out" in the trenches and always has his hand up ready for a dump-in pass. And on a missed shot, he makes easy work of boxing out and getting in position for a put-back. In an era where bigs like to shoot deep shots, Cody makes the basketball forefathers proud and wins his side of the game on the block. Cody is another successful multi-sport athlete and the boys at PrepRedZone are taking notice of his quick feet on the o-line. Whether it be basketball or football, we will definitely be seeing this young man competing at the next level.

Over the weekend I did a lot of pondering to my list, so I decided to heal my perplexion by watching basketball. I watched some UP players on the Great Northern Elite teams compete at the Brawl for the Ball in Grand Rapids, and I was glad to see how well they performed against their opponents. A few of those players will start to trickle onto our list as we roll on with our rankings. Today we delve into players 16 - 20.