Capitol City Classic: Top Performers

What players stood the tallest on Wednesday at the Capitol City Classic? Here is our list of Top Performers! [player_tooltip player_id="850713" first="Carter" last="Bjerke"] of Wayzata (6’8 Senior). Carter had one of his better games of the season with a 17 point, 10 rebound double-double. He knocked out three triples and moved actively for another four scores using that touch to sink 7 of 10 shots. Bjerke rebounded well grabbing ten but maybe the most impressive was the way the big man passed the ball out of the high post, after the ball screen, and after the reversal at the top of the key. Never did you get the feeling that Wayzata was in danger as this team oozes confidence and comfort in what they do. Carter is a big part of that. [player_tooltip player_id="958667" first="Lewis" last="Cargeor"] of Osseo (6’5 Senior). One of these hardest working players in the state of Minnesota is [player_tooltip player_id="958667" first="Lewis" last="Cargeor"]. This 6’5 forward will out-race everybody up the floor and never stops moving. He is the perfect defender as the four spot for a ball screen as his fight and lateral movement is high level. His activity led to nine rebounds and his constant effort led to scores around the basket plus he showed a mid-lane touch today that seems to be getting better. The type of battler, fighter, and competitor every coach would love to have on their roster. I also think there are a lot of D2 teams that would love to have him defending in the future. [player_tooltip player_id="1221160" first="Jack" last="Chamberlain"] of St. Thomas Academy (6’0 Junior). Big game for Chamberlain stepping up to score a game high 16 points for his team. Jack’s biggest contribution was his late game contributions hitting a couple clutch shots, making fouls shots late, and handling/moving the ball down the stretch when the Cadets ran out the clock. This was a nice team win for STA and Jack’s all around play was a huge part of it. [player_tooltip player_id="958636" first="Alonzo" last="Dodd"] of South St. Paul (6’2 Senior). I’m running out of things to say about Dodd. Put it this way, he does everything for this team. Had a dozen points on eight shot attempts, grabbed nine boards, dished out seven assists, blocked three shots, and I’m sure his steal numbers were big too. It just comes so naturally for him out there. He has a mental edge on just about everybody he faces to the point where you just wait for him to make the play every time down. Tonight Dodd has two incredible And1 finishes where he powered the ball to the rim completing the play at an impossible angle. Sure some may have been luck but he was the one that got the ball to the paint and up to the rim. Such an impressive player, there is a spot for this young man at the D1 level. [player_tooltip player_id="850718" first="Evan" last="Dushek"] of Owatonna (6’8 Senior). Evan was a game changer today. He dominated the boards against a smaller football player type and a 6’9 big. He cleared the glass in his own area and then out-fought players routinely getting taps and collections in one on one 50-50 situations. That’s how you get 14 boards and your counterpart gets six. Evan scored 21 points in the paint rebounding from a tough stretch to score the first four baskets of the second half. He’s nearly impossible to knock off balance and the touch is quality. [player_tooltip player_id="1144111" first="Jack" last="Eberhart"] of Mound-Westonka (6’3 Senior). The biggest thing Jack did was get hot at the arc and knock out six triples behind the arc. He was the item that stretched the defense to thin allowing the Whitehawks ball movement to dice their opponents. Eberhart didn’t just stand in the corner and hit though, he’s very active resulting in a couple transition scores and off ball movement was the reason he was always shooting comfortably in space. Jack came into the game averaging 15 a game and he’s a shooter I would guess many will gameplan for. Jack finished with 24 points on 8 of 15 shooting. [player_tooltip player_id="958722" first="Jamez" last="Garner"] of Robbinsdale Armstrong (5’10 Senior). After Newbern I thought Jamez was the second game changer for the Falcons. The biggest thing for me was the pressure he put on the opposing ball handler and the passing lanes he jumped particularly on the final basket of the game when he stole a pass and went the other way assisting on a game winner. He’s a quick guard that Owatonna couldn’t keep in front of them leading to four scores and six assists. Outplayed a very good D3 caliber point guard from Owatonna. [player_tooltip player_id="1201757" first="Spencer" last="Hall"] of Wayzata (6’4 Junior). I just love the educated, constant effort game that Hall plays. Best shooter on the team? Maybe not but he can shoot it. Best of the dribb;e? He has some teammates better but Hall can put the ball down. Off the ball activity? Hall does it with the best. So you take that combination of items and put it against the defender not on the PG and not on the top shooter, and you have a terrible match-up for the opposition. Hall scored 15 points and his understanding of the team game is exceptional so he will get you 3-4 assists a game too. Plus he defends at a high level. The perfect player for this offense. Rob Issa of Holy Angels (6’4 Senior). Issa led his team with 18 points and made the most important play of the game when he stole a pass, sent the outlet up, and then putback a miss. He also had the most explosive score of the game running the floor and throwing down a nasty one handed dunk. The most important thing though, after a good game Issa made a mistake and had to go to the bench. When he came back, he came back like a mature talent and made a huge play. A sign of maturity. Issa is an agile wing that will be interesting to watch going forward as he has solid potential. [player_tooltip player_id="958647" first="Peyton" last="Newbern"] of Robbinsdale Armstrong (6’4 Senior). Peyton didn’t score in the first half but yet had a big impact on the glass and making the right decision with the basketball. In half two the Falcons needed more of a scoring punch and Peyton stepped forward. He scored 17 starting with a three (and a three late in the game) plus several transition attacks leading to his seven of nine shooting. Peyton is 6’4, he’s versatile, defends actively in good position, and he can play on or off the ball. As an agile, long athlete I love his potential to be a scholarship player sometime soon. He’s growing rapidly as a player and his versatility separates him from others. [player_tooltip player_id="1143864" first="Devin" last="Newsome"] of South St. Paul (6’2 Senior). Everybody knows Newsome is a shooter and he hit a couple three tonight. Everybody knows he’s a strong guard and we saw him use his strength to score around the cup a few times. What we saw tonight was the passing side of Newsome as this is a smart player that created shots for others within the flow. We also saw what Devin gives this team as a rebounder and I just loved the way he used ball fakes as well as his strength stepping off a player to cut to do things that created space for the offense. Had a dozen points, eight boards, and four assists for the winning team. [player_tooltip player_id="796950" first="Jason" last="Spaeth"] of Mound-Westonka (6’2 Senior). The Whitehawks senior leader is a team guy, a hard working player. That’s always been known. But I think today I learned that he’s an even better passer than I was aware of and this is a talent that will pass up a decent shot for himself for a great shot for his team. He’s also got more craft to that timed attack than I recall. Finished with 11 points and seven assists making five of ten attempts. Physically ready for the division three level right now. [player_tooltip player_id="1167554" first="Hayden" last="Tibbits"] of Wayzata (5’10 Junior). I thought [player_tooltip player_id="1167554" first="Hayden" last="Tibbits"] was tremendous. It starts with the little things: when he made the first pass in the halfcourt offense, his cuts off the ball, his transition decisions, how he made opposing guards uncomfortable with his defense at times. The biggest part was the delivery resulting in comfortable attempts for teammates from many spots on the floor totalling eight assists. Throw in 15 points - about three buckets in transition - and he had a player of the game performance (five boards too).