Max’s Weekly Minnesota Prospect Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seven prospects who impressed in the games I watched from Wednesday-Friday last week!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2435232"],"_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-698a3144692d7"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Less than a week prior to Thursday night, Jumair had a huge game to lead South to a win over North. But Thursday night he took things to another level with a 39 point outburst in a win on the road at North. The sophomore guard came out firing early on, showcasing range that extends to well beyond the high school three point line, and a quick release off the dribble that allows him to pull-up and shoot at any given moment. Even after landing awkwardly on his wrist in the first half, Jumair continued to go right at the Polar defense. Showcased a quick first step that allowed him to blow by defenders at times, including getting into the lane and dumping it off to a teammate for a dunk that sealed the game late.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2834075"],"_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-698a314469342"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ben played a key role defensively in Blake's upset win over Belle-Plaine last week. The 6'6+ forward owned the paint on Thursday night, blocking a handful of shots throughout the game. He showcased good timing, while doing a nice job of walling up to avoid fouling. Belle-Plaine features a high level slasher who excels at finishing at the rim, but the shot blocking presence of Ben helped hold him to well below his season scoring average.</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":"Laviance Gales","_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":"6'4u0022","_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":"Minneapolis South","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"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-698a3144693e5"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">North simply had no answer for Laviance in the paint on Thursday night. At around 6'4-6'5 Gales is strong, explosive, and plays with a high motor on both ends of the floor. Going up against a small North team, Laviance was securing rebounds in bulk, helping limit any second chance opportunities for North. He attacks the ball right off of the rim and does a nice job of securing possession with two hands. Offensively he competes with physicality on the block. He's not going to pull out any Kevin McHale type footwork, but Laviance has the strength to bully defenders into deep post position before elevating to finish over the top. He finished with 21 points including some key buckets late in the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2374032"],"_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-698a31446942e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Jaquice has really started to emerge for North as the season goes on. His outside shooting presence has been huge for them, and was a big reason why they were in it until the end against South. Jaquice put up 21 points for the Polars, including a couple threes late in the game that gave his team a chance. Through the first 15 games of the season Lucas' highest scoring total was 11 points, but in the five games since he's rattled off games of 27, 21, and 20 points for the Polars.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2118459"],"_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-698a314469473"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Carson showcased his sharpshooting ability for Blake in a win over Belle-Plaine last week. Defenders knew they had to close out hard on him, so Carson used that to his advantage and was able to put the ball on the floor and get into his pull-up jumper as defenders went flying by. He showed good poise on the ball, and didn't over dribble as he was getting into his spots. You can tell he spends hours in the gym as the one dribble pull-up makes looked like something he's done thousands of times before. McMichael finished with 18 points in an impressive win for Blake.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2126108"],"_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-698a3144694b3"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">With Babou Ann missing a lot of the first half with foul trouble, Jack really helped keep Maple Grove in the game against Wayzata. When the Crimson got Jack the ball anywhere near the basket, good things seemed to happen. His first bucket of the game saw him compete with physicality to establish deep post position before providing a big target to get the ball into. Once the entry pass came, Jack flashed his impressive footwork at 7'1 to create an easy finish with his left hand. Jack does a nice job of winning the battle before the ball even gets to him, allowing him to simply turn over his right shoulder for high percentage finishes. Also did a nice job of facing up at the elbow and hitting his shooters with well timed passes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1560739"],"_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-698a3144694f1"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Just like in Maple Grove's first win over Wayzata this season, Max was once again hitting some ridiculous shots on Friday night. Most players in the state would be heading to the bench after some of the shots Max takes, but he consistently makes these deep threes on the move, and when he gets going there's almost nothing defenders can do to stop him. Iversen drained a handful of shots from well beyond the arc throughout the game, and had a clutch drive and finish over a 6'7 defender that put his team ahead with roughly 30 seconds to play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->