Minnesota Expo Preview – Forwards/Bigs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Expo for upperclassmen is this weekend and the numbers and talent for this event continue to climb. Here are some of the names that we look forward to checking out this Sunday! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Owen Albrecht of Rogers. At 6'9 Owen blocked a lot of shots for the Heat this year and took big steps from playing JV this past winter to his 16u season. A very good walling up big that has taken some steps as a post threat, we look forward to seeing how much further he has come. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1819128' first='Bryce' last='Gaustad'] of Anoka. Gaustad has good size at 6'8 and the skill is there. Bryce averaged 16 points and 12 boards a game last season shooting 55 percent from the floor, 66 percent from the foul line and he made a third of the four threes he took a game. Gaustad is now the big man in the Anoka line-up that they've needed. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2466467' first='Lance' last='Janson'] of Hermantown. Lance has dealt with some injuries during the winter nd then he didn't play locally in 17u so college coaches and scouts didn't get much of a look at him. Because of that this weekend is a great chance to see where the game of this 6'8 forward is right now. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2381221' first='Carter' last='Lowis'] of LCWM. Carter will be the biggest player at the camp as he stands 6'10 and is one of the best shot blockers in the state. Lowis has some skill but he's been playing on teams with tons of good guards that win games and offensively we've only seen him in pieces. This junior has a ton of potential and it will be interesting to see what bigs can score against Carter. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2860672' first='Jameson' last='McCarthy'] of Southwest Christian. McCarthy played mostly JV last season but he had a good 16u season and looks like a player that can help SW Christian this winter. It will be interesting to see how he has grown. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2848032' first='James' last='McGinley'] of Eagan. James is listed at seven feet and when I saw him with Elevate this summer he looked every bit like the biggest player I had seen all year. Need to see him more as he was on JV last year and my views have only been here and there, but a seven footer is rare enough, and one with a touch is even more rare. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1560869' first='Banyaan' last='Omot'] of Austin. Omot runs well, he moves well laterally, has great length and gets off the floor well. He has the potential to really blossom and if that happens this year Austin should have an even bigger season than expected. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2126465' first='Tommy' last='Schabert'] of Farmington. Tommy is a strong frontcourt player that sets a mean screen, that rebounds tough, that fights in the post and can score for his team. He should move right into a starting role next to [player_tooltip player_id='2126447' first='Briggs' last='Sheridan']. The Schabert/Sheridan pair could rank with the best in the state, look forward to seeing how much of the paint Tommy controls on Sunday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2126113' first='AJ' last='Taban'] of Totino-Grace. AJ is a very skilled player that scored 15-16 points a game for Stillwater last year and will really help TG. He can set a screen and roll, set a screen and fade to the arc to catch and work against whatever comes with him, and Taban has all the footwork and great hands to work against anybody in the paint. Taban will work really well with this TG team, especially with the other size of Ijadimbola, Zoa, and Bunge who are all different players. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2052332' first='Trey' last='Theis'] of Prior Lake. Trey had another good season with the Fury as a skilled and smart player at 6'6/6'7. He's versatile and he can be used in a few spots because he can play on the perimeter and because Trey can do things around the paint. The type of player that I think D2 schools will want to get to soon including watching this weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2375788' first='William' last='Thiemann'] of Triton. William has the potential to play college basketball. He runs well at his 6'6/6'7 size and the skills we have seen in the past twelve months are solid. Can he mix that skill in with the size to do things in both the post and facing up? It's something we look forward to seeing this weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1560841' first='Dominic' last='Webster'] of Elk River. Webster scored ten a game last year and he does have potential in a frame that does move well for that size. Good hands, has the type of agility at his size that could lead to good footwork in the post, and could be a player that opens players all over the offense with his size setting screens. We look forward to see how he has improved in a lot of ways. Likely a player college coaches will have eyes on this weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->