Max's Week 7 Prospect Standouts

Seven prospects I saw during the second half of the week who stood out!    This was my first time seeing Bryce play, and I came away impressed with his skillset and versatility at 6'7. As just a sophomore, he's comfortable handling the ball in the open floor, is a threat to score from beyond the arc, and has impressive vision. Had a couple of plays where he took a defensive rebound, dribbled it up on his own, and zipped in a bounce pass leading to an open look at the basket. Not going to impress you with elite athleticism at his size, but plays the game so under control, and is able to use his frame and footwork to get to his spots. Finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks in a close loss to Hiawatha Collegiate.     Facing off against Bryce was another 6'7 sophomore in [player_tooltip player_id='2404942' first='King' last='James']. The Hiawatha Collegiate prospect is an explosive athlete with a strong frame, and his high work-rate allows him to put those tools to use inside. He was running the floor hard leading to a pair of transition dunks, as well as hustling back on transition defense which saw him pick up 4 blocks throughout the game. King is still pretty raw in the half-court, but works hard on the glass, and that effort leads to constant second chance opportunities for him and his team. Finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the close win over Spectrum.     Yet another 2027 frontcourt prospect impressing this week was [player_tooltip player_id='2126108' first='Jack' last='Thelen']. The 7' big man is having a breakout sophomore season for STMA, and he helped lead them to a convincing win over Eden Prairie on Friday night. You don't see a lot of teams that truly utilize bigs these days, but STMA ran a lot of their offense through Jack because of his ability to score with his back to the basket, and because of his passing ability. Jack excelled at catching in the high post, and either zipping the ball to an open shooter or dropping in a high-low pass to a teammate around the rim. He showcased impressive vision, and with his height is able to pass from angles that just about no one else in the state can. Also showcased his soft touch around the basket, finishing nearly every look he got inside. Ended the game with 16 points in a win.     On the receiving end of a handful of [player_tooltip player_id='2126108' first='Jack' last='Thelen']'s passes was [player_tooltip player_id='2103351' first='Jordan' last='Holm']. The 6'6 senior has a smooth shot from beyond the arc, making a handful of jumpers on his way to a game high 18 points against Eden Prairie. Moves pretty well defensively, allowing STMA to go with a big lineup against smaller teams, as Jordan can be trusted to move his feet against smaller players. Had some nice cuts and seals off the ball, leading to some high-low opportunities as well. Jordan has been a key player this season for 10-4 STMA.     With [player_tooltip player_id='1574223' first='CJ' last='Armstrong'] missing a lot of time in foul trouble, Dre stepped up with 21 points to help lead Richfield past Holy Angels. The 6'3 wing was all over the place defensively, blocking a couple of shots, drawing a charge, and picking up a handful of steals to get out in transition. Two of those steals led to easy dunks for Dre, and he also showed he can get up and finish acrobatically against a defender. At 6'3+ he's such a versatile piece on defense as he's not afraid to compete in the paint, and has great instincts to pick up steals out on the wing. Does a nice job of scoring without over dribbling the ball in the half-court.     Tyrece played a key role off the bench in Richfield's win over Holy Angels. The sophomore guard is a sharpshooter from beyond the arc, and has no shortage of confidence in his jumper. If he caught the ball in space, he was looking to shoot, and more often than not his shots seemed to be dropping on Saturday. After a quite first half, he came alive in the 2nd, knocking down a few threes, while also beating his man baseline for a couple finishes inside. The 2027 guard provides a nice scoring spark for this team.     Kenzo is having a nice junior season at Holy Angels. The 2026 point guard did an excellent job of handling the ball under pressure against Richfield, as they were constantly looking to pressure him the length of the floor, and Lee was still able to break the press and get his team into their offense. Does a nice job of using his body to protect the ball, and has the change of speed needed to beat guys off the dribble. Kenzo makes smart decisions with the ball, is an unselfish player, but also knows when to get off his own shot, and is a strong finisher inside. Finished with 15 points in the loss to Richfield.

Seven prospects I saw during the second half of the week who stood out!