District Prep: N. Michigan Games to Watch, Week 12

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yesterday I posted on social media some big games in Northern Michigan for week 12. I'd like to pluck out two of those contests and weigh in on the upcoming district implications of each. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Kingsford (13-3) @ Iron Mountain (16-2) 2/11 7:15 EST </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This rivalry is about as big as it gets in the UP. It literally is a "Tobacco Road" rivalry as the schools are only short trip down M95--like less than 2 miles. Friends by day, foes on the court. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kingsford has been battling a few health issues, but now looks to be healthy and ready to make their push into the postseason. They sit in a solid 2nd place in the Great Northern UP Conference behind Marquette but hold a #1 MPR ranking in non-traditional district 33 (Host: Gladstone). They will need to win these last few big games to stay on top of the MPR and solidify some home-court district games. Same goes for Iron Mountain. They are in a tight MPR race with Munising in District 66 (Host: Bark River-Harris) and have a pretty tough final few games. Here are a few key players for this matchup:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1504837"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67ab6005368f4"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Recent Carroll University commit. This looks like an excellent fit for Morgan as Carroll graduates 7 seniors this year. Likely be groomed to take on more of a guard/wing role. He should do well with this as we have noticed he does a great job in helping Kingsford's guards break a press. Morgan suffered a bit of an injury setback this year, but we've kept an eye on his progress and he seems to be close to 100%. He has the work ethic to bring himself back to better than before. His conditioning and defense in and around the paint will need to be on point tonight, as Iron Mountain's Kangas (UW-Oshkosh Commit) is playing some excellent basketball as of late.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2129505"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67ab600536979"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Wanted to highlight this guy's play as he's been garnering a fair amount of attention lately...and for great reason. He and Grondin represent one of the better guard combos in Northern Michigan. He's quick and shifty with the ball and can slice through a press with ease. Strong on the downhill trip and gets to the line where he shoots at a high percentage from the stripe. His defense will be tested tonight as Iron Mountain has a pretty solid backcourt as well. Jett makes a solid case for a spot on the All-UP list. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":2771869,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Gerald Sampoll-Torres","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77246","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Iron Mountain","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67ab600536a32"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Mentioned him in a few previous scouting reports and worth bringing up again, as I hope this young man gets noticed by some next-level coaches. Might not do a lot of things that make the stats sheets, but does all the right things that point guards need to do. Controls the tempo of the Iron Mountain offense, does a great job keeping his turnovers low, and is a great one-two punch with [player_tooltip player_id='1441371' first='Oskar' last='Kangas']....the quintessential Stockton-to-Malone duo (age yourselves here, folks). Iron Mountain rides an 11-game winning streak and took care of Kingsford in OT on their last meeting...could be a different story with a healthy Sleik, though. Definitely a game to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Crystal Falls-Forest Park (17-1) @ Norway (14-4) 2/11 6:30 EST </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Parents/Senior night for the Norway Knights. An electric crowd. A surging Knights team. A Trojan team that is battle-tested. This is shaping up to be an excellent contest and a contest that I'm sure both coaches look to grow from. Crystal Falls is the host for District 100, so Norway controls its district home-court destiny with this game. Norway squeaked an upset over a tough Kingsford squad a couple of weeks ago and is showing the state that they are ready to contend in the postseason. Crystal Falls is looking to continue its success over UP opponents. Key players in this matchup:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":2771906,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Bryce Adams","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77244","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Norway ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67ab7dd26c198"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Averages 10 PPG and shoots very well from beyond the arc. Love how hard this kid plays and how hard he hustles. Hard worker and as athletic as they come. A three-sport athlete who also excels in football and baseball. Norway has six kids on their team, so discipline is a MUST. All of Coach Gallino's kids play very well together and are a very disciplined team. Bryce and Cole Baij are seemingly the glue that holds a lot of it together.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2759314"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":2771921,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67ab7dd26c216"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">We recently added Aiden to our 2028 watch list (WL), but I will feel very comfortable adding him to the actual rankings when that time comes. Is a freshman that is getting the job done on an excellent varsity squad. Has started on various occasions as well as confidently comes off the bench as the 6th man. Coach Price has tapped Aiden to fill a PG role on many occasions, a role he shares with our next evaluation below. To watch a freshman glide as though he is a seasoned vet is something very fun to watch. This CFFP team will be a very good team for many years to come and has a very excellent coaching tree--NMU alum Jason Price runs the helm on varsity and Terry Smith (a LOT of D2 and D3 coaching experience) handles the JV coaching role.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Dax Huuki","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77244","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Crystal Falls Forest Park","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67ab7dd26c2a7"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">It's a great day when we can add new kids onto the WL/Rankings. Precisely what we're doing with Dax. His coach stated he has been working his tail off in practice and earning solid minutes. Often guards the opposing team's best perimeter player. Really starting to hit his stride in the offensive categories; shooting almost 40% from beyond the arc and a VERY impressive Assist to TO ratio of 1.88. We'll be keeping our eyes on this sophomore as well as the entire Trojan squad as they shore up for districts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Valuable Resources</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below I have included a couple of links from the MHSAA's Website.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>District Pairings: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://my.mhsaa.com/Sports/Boys-Basketball/2025-Districts">https://my.mhsaa.com/Sports/Boys-Basketball/2025-Districts</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Michigan Power Rankings - Boy's Basketball:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://www.mhsaa.com/sports/boys-basketball/mpr">https://www.mhsaa.com/sports/boys-basketball/mpr</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>District Draw Formula &amp; Seeding:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2771982,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/SKM_22725021113190.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/SKM_22725021113190.jpg?w=791" alt="" class="wp-image-2771982" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->