Max’s Midweek Prospect Standouts
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Section playoffs are in full swing across the state, and these are seven of the prospects who have impressed in the two games I’ve seen this week! Henry Skinner MN #163 PG #44 HEIGHT 6'2" POS PG CLASS 2023 View…
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Continue ReadingSection playoffs are in full swing across the state, and these are seven of the prospects who have impressed in the two games I’ve seen this week!
Skinner missed the first half of the season with an injury, but Rockford has been rolling since he’s been back. The senior guard was making an impact both as a facilitator and score, utilizing his speed with the ball to get into the paint and make plays off two feet. Did a nice job of jump stopping with the ball, catching his balance, and reading the defense to decide which type of play to make. Showed the touch to just score over the top, but could also stop and then hit a cutting teammate with an accurate bounce pass to the rim. Defensively his positional size and quickness was a big part of forcing countless Hiawatha turnovers and really limiting their ability to get shots up.
Highlights
Daniel was held to a relatively quiet first half, scoring 9 points in the opening 18 minutes against Burnsville. But then he flipped a switch in the second half and just started relentlessly attacking the basket. Jefferson put him in the free throw area to help bust the opposing zone, where he was then able to catch/face up and explosively attack the basket. Freitag also rebounded as well as any guard you’ll find in the state. He’s very explosive, has a strong frame, and a really long wingspan at his size that allows him to high point the ball in a crowd and get possession for his team. That led to a handful of putback dunks in the second half. That bounce also allowed him to catch a backdoor alley-oop and throw it down while being fouled. In the first half even though he wasn’t scoring as much, I think his crisp passing and pass-fakes helped open up a lot of open looks for his teammates as he was shifting the defense out of position.
Highlights
Jt Thornton Jt Thornton 6’4″ | SF Burnsville | 2023 State MN got off to a strong start, and his play on both ends had 6 seeded Burnsville in it until the end against Jefferson. Within the first few minutes JT had 7 points and 3 steals, as his combination of length and speed was dangerous within Burnsville’s zone defense. He was very active shifting off the ball and had success jumping passing lanes. High energy player who on one occasion missed a lay-up, and then chased the ball back down from behind to pick up a steal, and immediately got back to the rim for a finish. Jumper wasn’t falling in the first half, but he showed the ability to be a special shot creator as you rarely find 6’4 players as shifty as JT. In the second half he showed that shot making ability with some mid-range makes. Threw down two dunks as well on his way to 19 points.
Blake Johnson
Blake Johnson
With multiple guards sharing the ball at a high level, Blake was often the Rockford player catching and finishing through contact around the basket. The refs were letting them play in this one, so Blake was using his strong frame to power up through some hits and finish at a high level. Moved well at 6’3 allowing him to make some quick cuts off the ball while also sprinting ahead in transition. Made the most of his chances to help lead his team to the win.
Jaheim started off slow but I thought he had some nice moments towards the end of the first and throughout the second half. Started to play a bit more physical and assertive around the rim than I had seen before. That led to production in the paint as Rockford didn’t have anyone with the combination of size and speed to stay in front of him. When they put a bigger body on him Jaheim was able to catch on the perimeter and beat his man off the dribble, but against smaller wings he also was able to power up and finish around the rim. Offers some defensive versatility as he can block shots inside but also move his feet with smaller players.
Marcus provided a spark off the bench for Jefferson, providing 10 points as well as some key assists down the stretch in the win. Had one of the best passes of the year as he came flying down the lane and dished it off behind his back to an open big at the rim. Not only did it get the crowd fired up, but those two points came late in the game in which the result could’ve gone in either way. Horton has some quickness off the dribble, and provided an outside shooting threat to help spread out the opposing zone defense.
Kam’Ron Solomon
Kam’Ron Solomon
Kam’Ron looks to be the future of the Hiawatha program as they’ll be graduating a strong senior class. Solomon’s outside shooting ability was coming up huge and was one of the main reasons they were in the game until the very end. He hit a handful of early shots to put his team out in front, and on an off night for his team he was one of a few players finding success putting the ball in the hoop. Kam’Ron has some nice length as a guard, and his range extends to well beyond the arc.