Las Vegas Classic: Bracket Play Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What Minnesota standouts helped their teams make a run in bracket play out at the Las Vegas Classic? We run through those names, now!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Select Makes the Final Four</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Minnesota Select's top 16u team - The Seth Altenhofen squad (Seth is the new coach at St. Clair by the way) - made the deepest push in the Las Vegas Classic of any Minnesota team. They won five of seven games including victories over two teams from California and one team from Florida in bracket play. Select made a push to try and beat the Oakland Soldiers but lost 63-55. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The player that left Vegas having made the biggest impression was [player_tooltip player_id="1269166" first="Matt" last="Drake"] out of Lakeville North. He had some great performances in the pool play games and then his regulation and over time buzzer beaters against Team Work out of California pushed his weekend to outstanding. When it comes to breakout weekends, they can happen anywhere. And for [player_tooltip player_id="1269166" first="Matt" last="Drake"] his breakout weekend seemed to come in Sin City.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>PBJs Hold Up Well in Vegas Heat</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've spent about a week telling you about [player_tooltip player_id="1287440" first="Jonathan" last="Mekonnen"] and he just kept giving us reasons to talk about him. His tap to [player_tooltip player_id="1288706" first="Jalen" last="Langsy"] for a huge overtime score. The 6'7 Eastivew big also had a tight curl score that Kevin Alsteens aka TC Hoops Czar described. Another big week for a prospect that has improved their stock more than anybody this month. Dominated the paint in several Vegas games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And the guy that put everybody on notice in the 2024 class, that's [player_tooltip player_id="1297887" first="Liam" last="Farniok"]. The 6'3 high academic Minneapolis Southwest wing had a great run this summer with his Vegas performances grabbing the biggest attention. With a minute to go in a tie game with Team Dtmerined it was Farniok attacking to score. And it was Liam who had the ball with the game on the line making the game winning over time shot. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Heat PBJ hit that 40 win mark with their 5-1 record in Las Vegas beating times from New Jersey, Nevada, and California. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Select Krona Brings Home Silver Gold</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Every year there is a success story of a 17U team that may not have had the headliner prospects but when it came to the day to day game play, they earned victories. That was Minnesota Select Krona. They made headlines locally by knocking off Playmakers Showcase North and they made some Vegas headlines by winning their final four games of the event. Those Championship Sunday wins included a one point win over the Dallas Razorbacks and a seven point win over the 805 Mustangs from California. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we move forward into the next winter some names I will keep an eye on are:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1288820" first="Ali" last="Axmed"]: a wing that could offer the Lakeville Panthers even more depth, and this will be one of the state's deepest and most talented teams!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kaden Aaron-Reid: I think Kaden could have a monster senior season at Simley and help them be a solid, competitive team once again. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Luke Rapp: I really like the way that Luke plays. He seems to fit the role of skilled, smart, and tough players that EP has had as role players on good teams. Luke was not in Vegas by the way. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Adam Mertens: Another EP player who caught my eye and fits the mold of worker in that program. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ollie Wilcox: Wilcox is a senior to be at CDH that should mix well with [player_tooltip player_id="1288789" first="Luke" last="Jacobson"], [player_tooltip player_id="1288808" first="Anthony" last="Knight"], [player_tooltip player_id="1220383" first="Adam" last="Tauer"], and [player_tooltip player_id="1149729" first="Sam" last="Koopmeiners"].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->