NHR State: Championship Sunday (17U)

<p>When the games were on the line who stepped up in the biggest ways?  Here is the Championship Sunday rundown!</p> <p><strong>Chill Goes 5-0</strong></p> <p>Carrington McNeal and Carmelo McNeal are 2022 graduates but they are a full age younger than their grade making them the same age as 2023s playing under the 17U age distinction.  That said, they definitely played like veterans at NHR State continually being the playmaking tandem that scored/created on one end and then went back the other way and physically defended against guards on the other end. </p> <p>In the semi-final game Carrington McNeal scored 19 on 6 of 10 shooting and then three hours later followed that with 23 points on 9 of 11 shooting against Select in the title game with seven boards and five assists!  That was MVP stuff right there as Carrington was surely my NHR State MVP.  Carmelo wasn’t far behind scoring 13 against Gain Elite in the semis and then following that 14 points supporting his brother with 7 of 13 shooting!  The pair was consistently getting to the foul line, consistently pushing pace in transition spots, and consistently getting mid-lane to finish.  That Carrington one had touch bucket might be the signature play I will remember the most from the weekend.  </p> <p>This was certainly a balanced team effort from the Minnesota Chill.  [player_tooltip player_id="1345984" first="Molley" last="Kamara"] continues to get better and better.  He scored six times in the title game on nine shots helping the team have another scoring threat around the basket.  [player_tooltip player_id="1140498" first="Chet" last="Kloss"] rebounded big in the semi-finals and then scored a dozen in the title game also supporting his guards with scoring production.  Also, [player_tooltip player_id="962223" first="Khalif" last="Bettis"] had 11 points in the semi-finals and then got past a tough championship game to make the game winning three off the glass giving his team the weekend title! </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1189958" first="Isaiah" last="Hagen"], Top Prospect</strong></p> <p>I need to make a prospect statement.  I try and keep these types of statements few and far between but when I feel strongly on them I move forward on them.  And I’m ready to say, if I was an assistant coach in the Summit League, Horizon League, maybe a couple others that recruit Minnesota, I would start to look strongly at [player_tooltip player_id="1189958" first="Isaiah" last="Hagen"].  If I am a D2 coach and I was willing and able to offer a guard out of high school a full scholarship I would look strongly at [player_tooltip player_id="1189958" first="Isaiah" last="Hagen"].   I think Isaiah is that good and even more importantly, I think his production is screaming this news with each game. </p> <p>Isaiah is a 6’3 guard from Minnesota Select and Orono High School.  After completing a high school season where Hagen made Orono a contender finishing higher than most expected, he’s now become the playmaker for a Minnesota Select team that’s won 21 games.  Is he a one?  Is he a two?  I would tell you this 180 pound guard, is both.  He is what you need him to be at that time. Just like the high school season, Isaiah has golden shooters around him and Isaiah makes sure they have chances to shoot comfortably.  And just like the high school season, Isaiah is also needed to score and he does it on all three levels. </p> <p>Chill won the state title game but the best player on the floor was [player_tooltip player_id="1189958" first="Isaiah" last="Hagen"].  He scored 27 points on 11 of 18 shooting with five assists and that was against consistent surrounding pressure (he had 26 to beat WOTN in the semis as well!). I’m a big fan of Hagen’s crossover into his rim attack because not only is the move sharp catching the off balance defender leaning, Hagen is strong enough to hold that corner and then take contact to finish against the help.  His hesitation move is excellent and Isaiah uses his shoulder to separate as well as anybody on the attack.  Finally, the pull-up jumper has become a thing of beauty.  </p> <p>Prospect status is continually shooting up.</p> <p><strong>Gain Elite </strong></p> <p>I thought some of the Gain Elite supporting players had the type of weekends that will stick with me.  For example [player_tooltip player_id="1288764" first="Pj" last="Pounds"] did some things that make me think he should have a really nice senior season for DeLaSalle.  The 6’5 forward rebounded well and finished about 60 percent of his deep paint finishes. Pounds and Isreal Moses (also of DeLaSalle) played well this weekend which is encouraging for the Islanders as they have been playing with [player_tooltip player_id="962218" first="Nasir" last="Whitlock"] all spring.</p> <p>Austin’s pair [player_tooltip player_id="1288822" first="Ater" last="Manyuon"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1221144" first="Cham" last="Okey"] also played in a way that has me thinking the Austin Packers will once again be a Class AAA top ten team, will once again be section 1AAA favorites, and then have a chance to make things happen in the state tournament.  Okey has a great touch in a 6’3 frame while Ater is an open floor slasher starting to get more consistent. </p> <p>I also thought [player_tooltip player_id="962217" first="DeWayne" last="Givens"] had a nice weekend passing the ball, handling, and scoring around five baskets a contest for Gain Elite.  Givens is listed at Hopkins High School.</p> <p><strong>NHR State 17U Notes</strong></p> <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="962259" first="Carter" last="Todd"].  He’s always been that all around player to me.  The guy that is comfortable handling because he’s done it in high school, the guy that is a really good passer, can finish, and works hard.  This past weekend we saw a lot of that including the game winning steal and finish against WOTN in the semis.</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="1220381" first="Anish" last="Ramlall"].  The way the schedule fell I didn’t get to see much of WOTN but what I did see proved to me even more that Anish is a player that I think should be running an NSIC team in the future, if he doesn’t leave the state for another league.  Had 24 points against Select in the semis with four rebounds and five assists. </li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="962204" first="Lincoln" last="Palbicki"].  There are three things that grabbed my attention regularly: 1) he is a very good rebounder who works hard to get two hands on the ball and quickly outlet, 2) sets as good of a screen as anybody and if the guard uses it smartly, he has all the space he needs, 3) Lincoln made it very difficult for any post touch to be successful as he forced everything over the top. </li> <li>Nice weekend for [player_tooltip player_id="1358621" first="Tysen" last="Gerads"] of Albany high school and the Minnesota Comets Gagner squad.  Tysen stands 6’3 and has one of the better dribble separation attacks into a high vertical finishing bounce that I saw over the weekend.  Thought he looked very comfortable with the ball handling in his attack from the wing but also fit right into the team concept of ball and player activity that Comets G plays with.  Solid prospect with a couple NAIA offers. </li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="1139192" first="Dylan" last="Omweno"].  When he’s in the flow of the game making the right decisions, he’s a game changer.  The talent is there for Dylan to be a game changer and his 15 was key allowing Select to get to the finals. </li> </ul>