Granite City Classic: Top Performers

Who were the top players at SCSU last night competing in the Granite City Classic? We run through many quality performances from some of Minnesota’s best players.   [player_tooltip player_id="962205" first="Jalen" last="Cain"] of Minnetonka (junior). [player_tooltip player_id="962205" first="Jalen" last="Cain"] led Minnetonka to a 20 point win over Spring Lake Park in a match-up of top ten Class AAAA teams. Cain scored 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting with seven rebounds. Why was he able to produce quality numbers against a really long team? Jalen was able to get to spots where the opposing length wasn’t an issue. Cain was quicker up the floor, quicker to the rim in the halfcourt set, quicker off the floor to get into attempts, plus he used his strength to leverage. Those physical advantages plus the touch on the move (and with the three in the corner) led to his good day finishing. [player_tooltip player_id="1144098" first="Mitchell" last="Degen"] of Brainerd (senior). There is the old saying that good players always seem to find a way to be around the ball. That goes double for [player_tooltip player_id="1144098" first="Mitchell" last="Degen"]. Degen seems to have that Dusty Rychart like feel for where to be on the floor and where to be when the ball comes off the rim. Loved his defensive position as he always kept his man’s full base in front of him and Mitchell kept two long arms up making shots tough. Rebounding wise I loved the contact he would make and then release into collecting the ball. Offensively he does a great job extending to space off a long pivot to extend into a shot. His face-up corner turn into a dribble attack ten feet and in is outstanding and Mitcell’s ability to draw a whistle and then finish through ranks with the best. [player_tooltip player_id="850720" first="Donald" last="Ferguson"] III of Osseo (senior). The [player_tooltip player_id="850720" first="Donald" last="Ferguson"] touch can hit you from all angles. He’s most deadly with his feet set catching and hitting at the arc and tonight he hit two thees. But Ferguson is also quite deadly at the top of the key using the ball screen and turning tightly into space hitting shots with his man on his hip and the help defense closing but not closing high enough to stop Ferguson’s touch on the move. He’s one of the better shooters in Minnesota and tonight scored 18 points nearly leading Tech to a win over a very good Annandale team. [player_tooltip player_id="958762" first="Carson" last="Gagnon"] of Annadale (senior). Carson had one of the more interesting games you will see a player have. He’s 5’8 but played off the ball more allowing Spaulding to start the offense. But once on the wing Carson did a great job of keeping the ball moving, especially into the post. From the wing he also grabbed a nice share of the 11 rebounds he chased down. Carson also made two threes and after a rough stretch from the field in the second half, he stepped to the foul line and made two crucial foul shots late. [player_tooltip player_id="1139741" first="Logan" last="Kinsey"] of Spring Lake Park (senior). Logan sat the last seven minutes of the first half with three fouls, about five minutes in the second half after getting his fourth foul, and the 6’6/6’7 forward still managed to produce a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds on 8 of 14 shooting. Kinsey’s pull-up jumper is one of the tougher shots to stop in the state because if he gets the ball on the deck and lifts into the shot, players simply can’t get their feet caught up to contest the shot nor are most tall enough to contest the attempt. Logan hit at least four of these jumpers today plus finished inside. The offensive potential is high but I think his college potential as a defender is even higher. Kinsey gets his length on the ball at all times and his agile feet stay with defenders that are smaller than him. Love Logan’s college potential. [player_tooltip player_id="962262" first="Brady" last="Paumen"] of Becker (junior). At 6’5, 6’6 at forward Brady fits well in the modern college basketball game as a versatile, agile, skilled four man. He showed the ability to step out and hit the three, he rebounded okay (eight for the game), and at one point got loose in the open floor and threw down a comfortable, powerful two hander. He was efficient, scoring 19 points on 9 of 11 shooting. When the ball found Paumen the results were positive. Riley Purcell of STMA (senior). Purcell scored 22 points on 7 of 13 shooting showing a go to scoring consistency that really caught my eye. Riley is a big guard and Stillwater is a small team which worked out great for Riley. Purcell not only scored over his man with the perimeter jumper and on the attack, he was able to get past guy one and score through the contact of the second defender. Tonight Purcell looked like a legit future MIAC player that can be a key piece for at least three years. [player_tooltip player_id="1268459" first="Eric" last="Seavert"] of Becker (senior). Eric is a rare player. He’s a 6-foot-6 point guard that has a legit comfort handling the basketball and making decisions for his basketball team. At that size against a smaller team Seavert was defended by a player giving up 3-4 inches and Seavert scored 17 points with 5 assists over the top of his guy. Eric has a nice touch (made two threes and all seven of his foul shots) and has the potential to continue to grow. He would make for a MIAC talent that you could use at four spots. [player_tooltip player_id="962206" first="Max" last="Shikenjanski"] of Stillwater (junior). Usually he would instantly read about Max the scorer and today Max did have 22 points. But the bigger take away from this game was Max’s ability to pass the basketball and the way he set up several scores at the cup. Shikenjanski is an outstanding quarterback so talking about his ability to create for others shouldn’t come as a surprise, but Shikenjanski’s ability to set up a cutter with a feed or put the ball on a perimeter shooter’s hands is even better than I thought. Also, Max set up his own cuts as well as any player you will see. His step into a back cut, his hard cut off the screen, and his sharp movement behind the play is a big part of how he gets open despite so much attention paid to him. [player_tooltip player_id="958689" first="Brady" last="Spaulding"] of Annandale (senior). Brady is a 6’6/6’7 forward that earned a spot at St. Cloud State for the future coming off a nice summer with the Minnesota Comets. This summer I saw the potential and I liked his production, but tonight what he can be in the future was much clearer. First of all, Brady handled the ball for Annandale much of the game taking full court pressure and responding to it much better than expected. He would bring the ball up the floor, move it to the wing, and then duck into the high post. Once in the high post Spaulding went to work for his 19 points (hit two threes as well). Add in 11 rebounds and five assists and you had an all around MVP performance in a 57-54 win over St. Cloud Tech. [player_tooltip player_id="958764" first="Ayo" last="Taki"] of Champlin Park (senior). Taki brought his team back from looking somewhat hapless to having a chance to win the game in the final minutes. He is 6’4, agile, and has a good frame allowing him to be a small forward because the skill and agility are there. Ayo has come a long way as a confident shooter and that was on display when he hit three triples late. The basket attacks catching and putting it down into a rotating defense was also tough to stop because Taki got a dribble into the lane and into his lift before the help could recover and make a play on the ball. I certainly like Ayp’s potential as he’s a legit stock riser. With more consistency and more experience Ayo could really grow into an excellent college prospect. Finished with 20 points and six rebounds. [player_tooltip player_id="958639" first="Johnny" last="Tennyson"] of STMA (senior). Heading into the winter I was a big fan of [player_tooltip player_id="958639" first="Johnny" last="Tennyson"]’s potential. After watching him score 24 points highlighted by a 14 point late half burst, I’m even more convinced that Johnny will be an outstanding player at the college level. His dunk and four threes is what most will remember and rightfully so, but Johnny is so versatile with great size that he helps his team every possession in a different way. Tennyson is an excellent passer and his decision making grade is commonly an A. Throw in the seven boards and it was an excellent all around game for Tennyson. Devin Yeager of St. Cloud Tech (senior). Yeager is a better athlete than I thought. This powerful future college football player isn’t just built well, he is quick off his feet, runs away, and laterally can beat guys to spots all over the court when he battles to it. With his strength and agility he wins all the boards in his area and gets to a lot of 50-50 boards out of his area. Had 13 rebounds this evening plus Devin scored 17 points as he consistently won position in the post, and getting to the second chance opportunities.   [player_tooltip player_id="1288802" first="Samuel" last="Zilmer"] of Rockford (senior). Zilmer had one of the best all around performances I’ve seen all season. He started the game with his team’s first dozen points and finished the game scoring 28 on 11 of 18 shooting. Zilmer is one of the best mid-range players you will find combining a mid-range jumper, a one/two dribble face-up attack, and a knack for deep finishing in traffic. Add in that he works harder than most and has a mental and physical toughness edge on opponents, that’s how you lead a team over a ranked, big school opponent. The best example was Zilmer coming out of a timeout at a clutch time, catching the ball on a play that was drawn up for him, and hitting the clutch three that sealed the victory. Zilmer also grabbed 17 rebounds. Memorable game.