Midwest Showdown 16U Friday Night Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Happy Easter! I had the opportunity to watch the Midwest Showdown, at The Champion Center on Friday and Saturday, specifically the 16U division. Here are a handful of players that stood out to me on Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ziggy Heitala</strong>-Northern Lakers (Two Harbors, MN)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Heitala, a 6-3 sophomore out of Two Harbors HS, impressed me on Friday with his overall game specifically his ability to finish virtually everything within 10 feet of the hoop. A menace on the boards, Heitala accounted for probably 10+ rebounds including 3 (that I counted) putbacks on the offensive glass. He was also impressive, defensively, showing active hands accounting for several steals as well as great off-ball defensive awareness clogging up the passing lane on several occasions. The cherry on top was him climbing the ladder to block a 3-point attempt and then finishing off a layup on the other end.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gavin Wegwirth</strong>-Northern Lakers (Grand Rapids, MN)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lakers were one of the best teams, at The Midwest Showdown, with another reason being Heitala's teammate Gavin Wegwirth out of Grand Rapids, MN. He showed a very balanced "mature" game that you do not see out of many sophomores. He was the Lakers primary point guard, at 6-3 causing size mismatches, and always seemed to make the correct read whether that was finding a cutting teammate with perfect ball placement, blowing by his defender and finishing with either hand, or playing through contact where he drew a ton of fouls (most not called).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2694165' first='Alan' last='Reina Castrillon']</strong>-WI Dynasty (Waunakee)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There was nobody that played with a better motor than Castrillon. The 6-3 2028, from Waunakee, plays a very physical style of basketball and is adept at using his solid frame to create space off of the drive finishing off several layups in the game on Friday. His physicality was not just limited to the offensive end. Castrillon was a challenge to keep off of the glass accounting for at least five offensive rebounds and defensively accounting for several steals both showing active hands and great anticipation in the passing lanes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2613973' first='Brayden' last='Smith']</strong>-[program_tooltip program_id='2614144' first='Mammoth' last='Basketball'] (Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>6-1 sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2613973' first='Brayden' last='Smith'] stood out for several reasons. Showing a complete game, Smith was equally comfortable taking the ball around and over contact navigating through the lane, on several occasions, to finish through contact but also knowing when to find a cutting teammate. As impressive as he was, off the dribble, he showed he was equally skilled stepping back knocking down several 3's on Friday and shined on defense showing active hands and great weakside awareness accounting for multiple blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3574962' first='Matthew' last='Rosplochowski']</strong>-[program_tooltip program_id='2078394' first='Team' last='1848'] (Appleton North)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fresh off of a state tournament appearance, Rosplochowski, a 6-2 sophomore out of Appleton North, looks to be ready to take his game to the next level. The athletic lefty showed a nice feel for the game moving well, without the ball, making effective cuts for easy layups. He also made good decisions, with the ball in his hands, knowing when to call his own number, where he was virtually automatic from 3, and when to make the extra pass to a cutting teammate.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->