Ten Best: Sioux Falls Lincoln vs Wayzata
This past weekend SF Lincoln traveled to the west metro of the Twin Cities to play a pair of Minnesota big school opponents. Prep Hoops was in attendance for the Patriots game at Wayzata. MVP: Ryan Lindberg. The St. Thomas…
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Continue ReadingThis past weekend SF Lincoln traveled to the west metro of the Twin Cities to play a pair of Minnesota big school opponents. Prep Hoops was in attendance for the Patriots game at Wayzata.
MVP: Ryan Lindberg. The St. Thomas bound guard found himself catching with feet set several times as Trojan ball movement had Patriots scrambling all game. Ryan knocked three shots at the arc, a couple other jumpers, and scored in transition for his game high 19 points. You simply cannot allow Lindberg to catch with feet set in space and Lincoln did too many times.
Offensive MVP: Carson Coulter. As the game moved on it was clear that Carson was the capable veteran that could play with the Trojans. There were early turnover issues but as the game moved on and Carson was comfortable he was able to read the Trojan defense quicker and attack weakened areas. Carson scored three times attacking and later made a pair of treys. Scored 14 points and had a respectable game against one of the elite teams in Minnesota.
Defensive MVP. Gavin Baumgartner. The Trojans forced 26 turnovers and won the rebounding battle 42-25 so it was clearly another strong team defensive effort for Wayzata. Gavin is the guy we grabbed as the top guy that as it seemed he was the player in position most when Lincoln had a travel, carry, or bad pass. Baumgartner also recorded three steals and two blocks plus had a double-double of 13 points and ten boards.
Top 6th Man. Ben Grosse of Wayzata/Christophe Bwanya. Ben Grosse is an all around competitor that NHR writers have really taken an appreciation for. This is a decent sized guard that will find his man early, move with them laterally or sprint ahead to turn his man outworking everyone. Ben plays in a stance and will battle to the spot/angle every possession. He also made all five of his shots for ten points off the bench.
Bwanya is a transfer from Roosevelt that played 20 minutes and did some good things later in the game playmaking. Hit a three, scored twice on the attack, and created shots for others a couple times that brought him some assists. Also had a dozen points in the last game for his team. Bwanye was solid against Tonka on Saturday scoring four times.
Top Underclassmen. Jacob Beeninga. The 5-foot-11 sophomore knocked out a couple shots at the arc as Jacob continues to show he is a reliable shooter. Scored his eight points but also had five assists, but a few too many turnovers. Defensively he pressured the ball well and was another reason that Lincoln had so many early miscues.
Top Under the Radar Performance. Simon Higgason. The Lincoln senior was the only player that played with veteran confidence early in the game for Lincoln. His initial three-pointer was confidently made against a hotly contesting defender closing out (didn’t bother Simon), shortly after the three Simon saw the same player coming at him to contest so he attacked the given middle and then floated a score over the help. Had a couple nice assists to get others going as well. Scored ten.
Top MN prospect. Baumgartner or Beeninga. I had one D1 coach recently tell me that if Gavin was one of the guys that waited to the spring he would be getting some D1 looks now that options are fewer. Either way Gavin is a top 20 player in this senior class. As far as Jacob goes it’s still tough to know right now. There is much to love about his ability to ball pressure, his decision making as a young PG on a top big school team is rare, Beeninga is an excellent shooter at the arc, and he plays with poise. That said it’s hard to know right now where he would list prospect wise as the D1 market really isn’t high on point guards that are under 6-foot-1 (see this year’s group of 2018s: Wishart, Todd, King, and Larson who have combined for one D1 offer so far). For Jacob it’s too early to tell.
Top SD prospect. Diang Gatlauk or Dillon Barrow. Both are top ten level prospects in South Dakota’s junior class for sure. From there it’s up to how they develop over the next six months. Barrow has an excellent dribble separation game and is very good going at the rim. What he needs is to lead his team to Ws and show schools what his jumper looks like. As far as Diang goes he has a combination of length, agility, and skill at the wing spot that grabs attention. What he needs is more consistent results. Gatlauk had a lot of trouble with the positioned defense of the Trojan wings shooting 2 of 11. On Saturday he looked strong against Minnetonka totaling 11 points and eight rebounds. Barrow had a couple gorgeous attack moves removing good Trojan defenders and attacking created space to blow into the lane to the rim. He finished with nine points and four boards.
The Storyline Going Forward:
Wayzata (17-1): The Sioux Falls schools (Lincoln and Roosevelt) may be exactly what the confidence boost that Wayzata needs for this final eight game stretch. They have huge games with top ten level Lake Conference teams in Hopkins, Edina, and Eden Prairie plus tough games with East Ridge, Minnetonka, and Rogers. Stillwater is the lone bad team on their schedule and then you have Washburn who is playing better lately but shouldn’t be a tough Trojan challenge.
Lincoln (4-9): Last year taught everyone to never count the Patriots out as they won their last several games to reach .500 after winning the state title. Lincoln has some talent but not much size and not enough experienced play. With six games left the best bets are against Roosevelt, Central, and a Nebraska team. O’Gorman and Stevens are also on the schedule.