Minnesota 17U: Who To See & Where They’ll Be
We are about 48 hours from tipping off the NCAA open period so today we give you Minnesota 17 and Under, the players you need to see and where those players will be this Wednesday through Sunday.
#1 D1 Minnesota
Name to Watch: Robert Jones. Jones recently picked up offers from Penn State and Xavier plus Minnesota, Vanderbilt, and Nebraska are among the schools watching the 6-foot-10 center closely heading into July. Jones has a touch, moves well, and has the size of a Big Ten low post player.
Top Available Prospect: Matthew Hurt. Matt is the second ranked player in the class of 2019 and has an offer from every college coach in the great USA.
Three More: Top 35 prospect Zeke Nnaji, Jamison Battle, Japanah Kellogg
Committed: Tyrell Terry (Stanford), Tyler Wahl (Wisconsin), Patrick McCaffery (Iowa)
Where: New York City at the Adidas Gauntlet Finale
#2 Grassroots Sizzle
Name to Watch: Dain Dainja. A four star center at 6-foot-7/6-foot-8 who is skilled entering his junior season of high school as any Minnesota player since Royce White. Dainja is a 2020 that picked up several high major offers in the spring period.
Top Available Prospect: Jalen Suggs. Jalen’s skill, agility, and size found him a spot on the USA 17u team that won the FIBA championships in Argentina over the weekend.
Three More: 2021 Chet Holmgren, reclassified prep school wing Goodnews Kpeogeol, Eli Campbell
Where: Atlanta at the UAA The Challenge
#3 Minnesota Fury
Name to Watch: Dane Zimmer. There isn’t much size available in Minnesota’s 2019 class right now for the D1 level nor are there many available bigs in the upper Midwest for schools. With Dane being one of the smartest and hardest working players at 6-foot-7 he’s one to watch.
Top Available Prospect: Jack Middleton. The Edina shooting guard is efficient and one of Minnesota’s best defenders.
Three More: Cole Nicholson, Sam Nissen, Isaiah Watts
Committed: Jacob Beeninga (Minnesota State-Moorehead) and Charlie Gorres (Park of Cottage Grove)
Where: Chicago at the Summer Slam
#4 Howard Pulley
Name to Watch: Courtney Brown Jr. Courtney is an explosive forward with length and a motor. His percentages this spring and summer behind the arc have also been excellent as he’s one of the top players in this state that mid-major schools are looking at.
Top Available Prospect: David Roddy. The three sport star (track & field too everyone) put up numbers in the EYBL and he’s on “major conference offer” watch as he’s in fantastic shape outplaying most.
Three More: 2020 Lu’Cye Patterson, 2020 Blaise Beauchamp, Nobal Days
Where: Chicago at the Summer Slam
#5 Wear Out the Net
Name to Watch: Mason Zick. Mason is a skilled Northfield 6-foot-7 forward who is somewhat flying under the radar but college coaches in the MIAC are chasing him down regularly. At his size and skill he’s a player that could have a huge July.
Top Available Prospect:Tyler Kemp. A guard/wing prospect that has a couple D2 offers as a skilled big wing.
Three More: Tommy Jensen, Hunter Nielson, Jameson Shrum
Where: Milwaukee at NY2LA Association 3
#6 Minnesota Comets (Lewis)
Name to Watch: Matt Johnson. Johnson is really proving himself as one of the toughest players in the state. When it comes to reliable guards, and guards that teammates love to compete with, Matt is near the top of the list.
Top Available Prospect: Isaac Fink. Fink is one of a handful of prospects in Minnesota that college coaches are looking closely at as the next local player to get a D1 offer. Fink continues to shoot the ball well and we can’t forget that 32 point/21 rebound performance in the Class A Summer State Tournament game.
Three More: Baden Noenning, Brandon Adelman, Logan Nogarski
Where: Milwaukee at NY2LA Association 3
#7 Minnesota Heat (Nelson)
Name to Watch: Jacob Johnson. Johnson has went from playing only a bit off the Champlin Park bench as a junior over the winter to being the third scoring option on one of the best 17U teams in the state. A 6-foot-4 wing and the brother of Jeremy Johnson who also grabbed all his recruiting interest late before signing with Wisconsin-Milwaukee a few years ago.
Top Available Prospect: Jared Rainey. Nobody knew what to expect from Maple Grove last year and Rainey took them to state. Nobody expected Heat Nelson to have the year they have and Jared has propelled this group.
Three More: Ricky Eason, Tyler Baribeau, Joshua Albers
Where: Indianapolis at the Adidas Invitational.