The Showcase Part III: Upperclassmen Standouts

With a slightly smaller field. The third installment of The Showcase produced a solid and competitive day of basketball. The action shifted to Godwin Heights high school after two prior events at Cornerstone University earlier in the year. Highlights of the event were a thrilling overtime victory by Grand Rapids West Catholic over the host squad. Forest Hills Central defending the region against of the top teams in Northern Michigan Traverse City St Francis. While another Northern Michigan squad. Cadillac earned a victory over Hudsonville. Lansing Everett also rolled to a lopsided victory over Forest Hills Northern in the opener. Following are five (plus a few more) who stood out from the four game slate. [player_tooltip player_id="1068145" first="Cole" last="Jenema"] 6-9 2022 Cadillac (pictured at top of article) Not the leading scorer on the day but arguably had the best all around performance. Did it all for the Vikings in the close victory over Hudsonville. Showed eye opening length with corresponding elite rim protection. Had four blocks. One was an impressive two handed volleyball style stuff that he was able to keep in play and maintain possession. Also had pair of impressive dunks. The first came off a steal in transition. The second was off a designed lob to start the second half. Handled and passed the ball well for such a tall prospect. Finished 21 points and 11 rebounds and took home the game MVP. Has been attracting a lot of NAIA recruiting interest and those coaches were out in force on Saturday. If he ends up at that level could be a major steal. [player_tooltip player_id="902884" first="Jakhary" last="Towns"] 6-0 2023 Wyoming Godwin Heights Towns looked right at home playing in familiar surroundings in the final contest. Got off to a red hot start from the field. Scoring 13 first quarter points. Showing why he might be one of best shooters in state regardless of class. More than just shooter though. Primarily ran the point for Godwin and continues to show improving playmaking ability. Still not the biggest prospect in the upper body. But it has not been an issue playing nationally with Team Rose on the Adidas summer circuit. If he gets a little bigger and has a productive summer. Towns could move up recruiting boards. Finished with an event high 30 points. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/Kobe-Kambestad-2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1187601" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/Kobe-Kambestad-2-300x168.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="168" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="983513" first="Kobe" last="Kambestad"] 5-11 2022 Grand Rapids West Catholic Goes about it in a different manner. But matched Towns nearly shot for shot in a high level point guard clash to wrap up the event. Kambestad doesn’t have the end to end speed of Towns. But he is more of a traditional point guard. Handled heavy pressure all night in a methodical and efficient manner. Never got rattled even as the game went down to the wire and into overtime. Effectively sent the game into the extra period with a late four point play after Godwin looked like they had it wrapped up. Seemed to take his game to another level after teammate Michael Morris fouled out early in the fourth with 22 points. Matched Towns with an event high 30 piece and came away with the victory. Aden Zank 6-3 2022 Hudsonville Unranked player I have been throughly impressed with this year. Lengthy wing with natural scoring instincts. Speaking of length did a fair amount of his scoring matched up against Cadillac’s uber lengthy post [player_tooltip player_id="1068145" first="Cole" last="Jenema"] (see above). So he had to earn every point. Showed the ability to be a true three level scorer. Has the size and athleticism to score at the rim. Elevates and has a soft touch in the mid range. Tops it off with range from well beyond the arc. Had four three pointers including a big one late to tighten up the contest. Finished with an impressive and well rounded 28 points. Could be a late rising recruiting steal for a small college coach. [player_tooltip player_id="985667" first="Wyatt" last="Nausadis"] 6-3 2023 Traverse City St Francis Didn’t have his best day Saturday but is in the midst of an absolutely huge junior campaign. Was well scouted and defended (see below) by the Rangers but still showed the tantalizing skill set that should make him a recruiting priority next year. Owns an advanced and physically developed frame that has given him a fair amount of gridiron success as well. On hardwood uses it to punish most smaller guards. Wasn’t able to do that on Saturday so showed off the perimeter ability. Has a smooth and easy release from deep. Difficult shot to block due to it’s elevation and high left handed release point. Good ball handler with excellent court vision. Plays at his own pace and is difficult to speed up. Has a flair to his game and threw a clever behind the back pass in traffic late. Finished with 17 hard earned points. Honorable Mention <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Levi-Mckenzie9.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1175594" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Levi-Mckenzie9-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="1211148" first="Jacob" last="Bonnett"] 5-11 2022 Forest Hills Central and [player_tooltip player_id="1352906" first="Levi" last="McKenzie"] 5-11 2023 Forest Hills Central (pictured) I would remiss if I didn’t highlight the defensive effort of these two players in limiting Nausadis to 17 points. Bonnett began the game with the assignment while McKenzie took it up after coming in off the bench. Didn’t allow Nausadis any space on the perimeter while playing total denial defense. Both players also made positive offensive contributions finishing with 6 points a piece. Bonnett is having a big senior season. The physical and competitive point guard could possibly find a home at the small college level if he chooses that route. McKenzie has another summer to improve his stock. Played with B3 Athletics last summer on the Prep Hoops Circuit. Also played well in the Trevor Huffman Elite camp. A similar summer going into his senior campaign could pay big dividends down the road.