Zero Stars Showcase: 17U Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Spring and summer basketball in the Yoop is in full swing, and Friday afternoon on the campus of NMU will be the place to catch some solid boy's basketball. Zero Stars Showcase drops this Friday, the 20th, at VanDament Arena from 2:00 - 4:00 PM. ADVANTEDGE Sports Training founder Dustin Brancheau founded Zero Stars Basketball in 2024 as a new way to look at travel basketball. Putting a heavy emphasis on skill development, weight training, speed and agility, and proper recovery. By emphasizing recovery with proper nutrition, hydration, and sleep, he digs into the kinetics and science of athletics. Let's dig into some of the heavy UP talent on these squads, starting with the 17U team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2561786"],"_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-68536c661d85a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2561786' first='Ethan' last='Marta'] (feature image) is a rising star for the Patriots of Ishpeming Westwood. He stacked many accolades during his junior season, including hitting the 1,000 point mark, some 30+ point games, and helping lead the Patriots to a trip to the Breslin. Ethan is one of my top picks for next year's UP Mr. Basketball. Many college coaches will see an excellent display of athleticism with Ethan this Friday.</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":2884315,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Brody Clements","_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":"6'2u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77247","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Marquette","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Zero Stars Basketball","_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-685378bcb74d3"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The Marquette Sentinals would typically be reloading after losing three of the top seniors in the UP, but I just don't think we'll see much of a dip with rising stars like Brody coming onto the varsity scene. He has put a lot of hours in the gym and worked tirelessly on agility, and it shows with multiple dunks every time I watch him play. Brody will definitely be one to keep our eyes on as he gets solid minutes next year for Marquette. </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":"Ford Richardson","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'2u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77247","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Marquette","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Zero Stars Basketball ","_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-685378bcb756c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ford Richardson enters our list as another Sentinel who will make an instant impact next year in the wing position after the monumental loss of Michigan Tech Commit MacPhee. Ford is an excellent three-sport athlete who is also the football team's starting QB. Ford is the second leading scorer for the Zero Stars program behind Marta. Another huge display of athleticism and above-the-rim play will be on display from Ford this Friday. </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":2884310,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Connor Fierstine","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'3u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77245","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Marquette","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Zero Stars Basketball","_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-685378bcb75fd"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Connor was part of one of the best varsity basketball teams Marquette has seen in many years. Marquette was quick, and they were very deep. Coach Ledy often went 9-10 players deep and had a bench that would have all started on any other team in Northern Michigan. Connor is extremely powerful and athletic, and even though I may have stretched him out at 6'3", he more than plays the role well. Zero Stars 17U coach Eric Racine says Connor plays with grit and oftentimes against kids 2 to 3 inches taller than him. Never complains and always shows up ready to work and ready to be coached, which seems to be the common denominator of all of the kids on this Zero team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2520268"],"_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-685378bcb764f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2520268' first='Owen' last='Olkkonen'] enters our list as another kid with Breslin Experience. He helped guide the Flivvers to a trip to East Lansing after a very dominant Northern Michigan post-season run for Kingsford. "Olk" will have a much bigger role next year, as the Flivvers lost a lot of depth in LSSU commit Grondin and Carrroll University commit Sleik. I've heard from his high school coach, Ben Olsen, and Zero Stars coach Racine, that he is grasping this step-up nicely. He is focusing on adding speed, post-play, and toughness to his already nice perimeter game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->