NHR State 17U Saturday: Sonju, McGee, Yusuf, and More

What a great day of basketball NHR State gave us Saturday! So many great stories of success of players taking their games to another level.

There are two visuals from the Minnesota Swish win over Minnesota Select game that will not leave my head:

(1) at the start of the game the Select players were matching up and the Select players didn't take immediate note of Sonju and I thought.... that is going to be a mistake.

(2) Xavier Frelix Xavier Frelix 6'2" | PG Park Center | 2026 State MN was doing his absolute best to chase Ethan Sonju Ethan Sonju 6'0" | PG Glencoe-Silver-Lake | 2026 State MN around screens and I was impressed with the Frelix effort. But Sonju was so red hot that Xavier had one misstep moving around the screen and immediately in his face he knew it was going to cost him, and it did. Ethan caught and hit a college three and Frelix never turned to watch it go in, he just went the other way as he knew Sonju was that Hot.

Ethan Sonju Ethan Sonju 6'0" | PG Glencoe-Silver-Lake | 2026 State MN is likely the points per game leader in 17u Minnesota basketball right now. In fact if there was such a way to keep track I guarantee he is the leader and he would likely be leading by about four or five points a game. He has been that good for the Minnesota Swish.

Ethan is not super tall and he's not breaking any weight room records. But what he is is ultra dangerous with any space on the offense end. He has a lightning quick release, uber confidence, range, and consistency. Everybody talks about fearing Jadean Udean changing games with his perimeter touch and they are right! Ethan is just as dangerous with that jumper only he is from Glencoe-Silver Lake and the Minnesota Swish, not DeLaSalle and D1 Minnesota .

Sonju led the Swish over Select with 33 points on 13 of 22 shooting with five threes plus he had four assists.

And let's not forget the clutch play of the other Ethan, Ethan Martin Ethan Martin 6'5" | SF/SG Belle Plaine | 2026 State MN ! The Belle Plaine Badass comes at you to score from every angle you can imagine in the paint. This lefty will score from as low as five feet as he comes down for the jump, he will wait for you to stop extending and then finish, he will use his power to leverage your before finishing, or he will touch in with arc. Martin had 26 points on 10 of 20 shooting but more importantly he made clutch foul shots to win the games and he sunk three triples for the Swish.

When Stephen McGee Stephen McGee 6'10" | C Greenway | 2026 State MN is playing with the Comets he looks comfortable.

When Stephen McGee Stephen McGee 6'10" | C Greenway | 2026 State MN is playing with the Comets he looks happy.

And when Stephen McGee Stephen McGee 6'10" | C Greenway | 2026 State MN is playing with the Comets he's been highly, highly successful.

This past winter Greenway won 15 games with McGee averaging 20 points and just about a dozen boards a game. It was a good year but McGee has really put himself on the map as a prospect playing with the Comets. The Comets are full of talented, heady guards. The Northern Sun offered pair Kale Misegades Kale Misegades 6'2" | CG Henning | 2026 State MN and Talen Witt (of those Comet guards) along with several others, they move the ball and get good shots for their team. Within that ball movement they have a 6'9/6'10, long armed, explosive, agile guy at the cup in McGee who rim runs and dunks.

They keep it simple over there and the Comets keep winning, and McGee continues to thrive. In two games this weekend already McGee has a dozen dunks. Eight in the first game!

The Comets have asked McGee to get to the paint, contest shots, block shots, rebound, and then get to the rim on offense and they will find him. He is holding up his end, they are holding up their end, the Comets are winning and McGee is getting division one interest because not many 6'9/6'10 kids are as agile and explosive as McGee.

This Comets team: the coaches, players, and likely the parents around the team, have made McGee a comfortable environment to thrive in and we are seeing a success story so far.

Yesterday was my third game watching Hamze Yusuf Hamze Yusuf 6'1" | PG Eden Prairie | 2026 State MN (Eden Prairie) play for Hoop Habits and the conclusion I made.... guards can't stop him from getting to the paint. Transition, halfcourt early in the possession, later in the possession, it doesn't really matter, guards can't stop Hamze from getting where he wants to attack to.

Yusuf was 7 of 11 from the field in the 61-50 win over Minnesota Heat yesterday and the last time I saw him play, it was guards from Park Center and Waseca that couldn't slow him, yesterday it was guards from Breck and St. Paul Johnson. So wherever they are from, Hamze is getting to his spots.

And what are those spots? Yusuf will use that ball screen to clear and hit the mid-range, he will attack and fade or step back and hit, or you can find him getting to the rim. His timing, touch and speed are an impressive combo.

Some of you are likely still wondering.... who is MN Elite? They are a group of kids that wanted to play this weekend but their teams - Minnesota Fury , D1 Minnesota and North Dakota Phenom - were not in the event this weekend. So they formed a team.

That team is Minnesota Elite and that team is very tough.

Then you have the North Dakota kids. These are no throw-ins, they are likely the highest rated prospects at the 17u level in the event. Sage Hanson is 6'9 and I have to believe he is about to blow up this summer as a recruit. He is 6'9, has a good frame, he is agile, and he is skilled. Most guys with that list are being talked about - at least in some way - by every D1 school in the area. No matter the level.

We watched Hanson score 19 points on 12 shots with nine boards. And UND committed Carter Evanson Carter Evanson 6'0" HHS | 2026 MN also took a dozen shots and he also made nine of them scoring 22 points with five boards and seven assists against Starks Elite .

Evanson and Hanson along with the Fury kids make for the most talented team in the event player wise although they are a one weekend group so not the favorites. But they are in the Final Four on Sunday.

Xavier Frelix Xavier Frelix 6'2" | PG Park Center | 2026 State MN had 23 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and he was tasked with chasing Sonju. Frelix was 8 of 13 from the field and had a scorching run of shot makes for Select himself. I expect another couple D2 teams to offer because Xavier isn't just shooting and playing at a high level, he is doing a lot of different things.

Kevin Kemp Kevin Kemp 6'9" | C Eagan | 2026 State MN is a full scholarship guy. The 6'9 finisher has really developed some better footwork, he has a great frame that is getting stronger and most of all, he is an agile 6'9! He can move well! Guys like him are rare. The Eagan/ Minnesota Select prospect might have been his team's third leading scorer last year but he is developing into a top 20 area prospect in his class this spring!

Sometimes you just need four things from your bigs to help you win: finish when the ball is fed to you, set a good screen, rebound your area, and defend the post strong in your area. Dominic Webster Dominic Webster 6'8" | C Elk River | 2026 State MN did that for Hoop Habits totaling 10 points and 6 boards against the Heat.

The 6'9 player with Starks Elite that had 14 rebounds against those talented MN Elite kids wearing Mankato East jerseys, that is Australian Emmanuel Malok. He has potential so keep an eye out for him.

And speaking of keeping an eye on a player.... Ty Nyberg Ty Nyberg 6'0" | PG Duluth East | 2026 State MN hit NINE threes for Starks Elite in that MN Elite loss. NINE. And what's crazy is that he started very slow and then got his team back in the game with his 33 total points and shooting burst. Imagine starting the game out missing six of seven shots and then going on that ridiculous surge!