Great Plains Alliance: Stock Risers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The players that I saw and feel helped themselves as higher level college prospects of the future. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1284180' first='Luke' last='Graff'] of Comets Elite (6'3 SG, 2024). Luke has continually come up big in some of the biggest games I have seen the Comets play this year and he does it as a shooting specialist. The Comets were down 16 points but came back to take a second half lead. Graff's five three pointers made was a big part of the comeback as he once again showed he can be a big shooter in big spots. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1139244' first='Brooks' last='Johnson'] of [program_tooltip program_id='2078859' first='Starks' last='Elite'] (6'5 Wing, 2025). There were the normal things I like about Brooks (handling the ball as the point at 6'5, solid jumper, control with the basketball going to the rim at his size) but a couple things that really grabbed my attention were a couple catches he made on the way to the rim (one finished for a dunk) before finishing with great control, and his ability to finish shots through contact or strong shot contests. There were a lot of And1 finishes that caught the eye on his way to 32 points against South Dakota Identity. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Byron Laue of SSA (6'8 Forward, 2025). My first viewing of Byron in a full game setting was a good one. He's all of 6'8 plus strong, the Comets did not have a guy that could move him, box him out with any type of result, or defend him once he had the ball around the rim. They fouled him though and Byron scored on 7 of 9 foul shots plus he scored on five of the seven attempts he did take. Good strength and skill in a good frame for the next level. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1270335' first='Jacoby' last='Mehrman'] of SSA (6'4 PG, 2024). His quick outlets up the floor should be studied by all other high school point guards so they can understand how crucial they can be to quick, easy shots. Mehrhman can accomplish more for his team in one smart 50 foot pass than so many point guards can when they insist on their 16 dribbles. In a game where [player_tooltip player_id='1288700' first='Porter' last='Ihnen'] was outplaying the Comets, Mehrman continually feed Ihnen the ball in the right spots so Porter could continually take advantage. Jacoby hit big foul shots down the stretch scoring his 11 points (perfect shooting) along with seven rebounds and nine assists in the title game. Love the way Jacoby plays. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1617798' first='Spencer' last='Swenson'] of Minnesota Comets (6'7 Forward, 2025). Another viewing of Spencer, another game coming away thinking he could grow into a really nice prospect. Today against the best players in South Dakota at his age, Spencer scored 16 points hitting three threes and making six of eight attempts. With his length and ability to stretch the defense with a shooting touch, he is that modern player with size colleges like. Moves well up and down as well as laterally and has skill. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1139831' first='Andrew' last='Weber'] of Minnesota Crossfore (6'1 Guard, 2024). Weber has put together a really nice 17u season knocking down threes and creating for others. Against Comets Gold today he had eight points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists close to a triple double but the blowout was so big the game flow slowed. It was another excellent performance by a player likely to hear from more schools soon. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->