KC Hardwood Classic: Five Minnesota Standouts
Prep Hoops had a few guys watching the 17u talent in Lawrence, Kansas this week and with the games all wrapped up here are five players that really caught our eye.
Cole Woodford, a 6-foot-1 guard from Southwest Minnesota Stars (Redwood Valley). At least once per tournament this year a college coach or an opposing coach has come to Prep Hoops and said “number 1 is really good, he was outstanding”. Happened every weekend. This weekend in Kansas as the Southwest Minnesota Stars made their push to the sweet 16 of the Hardwood Classic, Cole took his game to another level. Facing the Howard Pulley Panthers the Stars were of course motivated. They are the corner of the state, outstate program and the Panthers have been winning games with some of the best talent in Minnesota since the mid-90s. But, there were also some jitters.
Woodford broke those jitters first with some baskets at the rim and then he knocked out six three-pointers that gave the Stars the lead for a large part of the second half. Cole didn’t just make three after three after three (five of them in the second half) simply shooting, it was his clearance of the top Panther defenders and his knowledge of knowing how to move around screens and getting to open spots precisely when the ball was to be there. Once there Cole lifted and drained over long contesting Panther arms. Woodford scored 24 points in a low scoring game and if he can score 24 on Howard Pulley he can score in good numbers for many of you college basketball programs. The definition of a stock raiser.
Jaeden KingJaeden King, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Howard Pulley Justice (Cretin-Derham Hall). It has been a fantastic summer for Jaeden King. He had that Breakdown Summer State Tournament performance vs JM setting a Breakdown Summer Showcase record for threes in a game and he’s ran with that through the end of June and into July. The forming of the Justice team has allowed King to showcase his shooting stroke and it helped earn his team a Consolation bracket championship. King had a combined 45 points in those final two games of the Hardwood Classic.
David Roddy, a 6-foot-5 forward from Howard Pulley (Breck). If you saw the Panthers this weekend during there 5-1 run in KC you noticed a couple high major coaches (at least) at each of their games. Know what they spent some of their time doing? Deciding if they should offer a 6-foot-5 power forward. Their love for Roddy’s game and ability is pure, but because David is smaller than other frontcourt players in the league it gives them pause. It’s give mid-majors no pause at all and I think soon somebody is going to pull the trigger and they will have made the right decision. Roddy is one of the most agile 240/245 pound humans I’ve ever seen. He’s so quick off his feet for putbacks and nobody can knock him off balance. There will be a lot of college guys that can’t either. Roddy simply does things athletically that are rare. David scored 15 points per game in the event.
Aden Price, a 6-foot-3 wing from UVA Tate (Irondale). UV Tate put together a really nice run in this event making the sweet 16 and winning three of four games. Price is a multi-sport athlete that is being recruited in a strong way in both football and basketball. Aden hit 15 threes in those four games for UVA which has allowed him to become an even more versatile weapon. This is a player who as a junior scored over 17 points a game in the Northwest Suburban Conference and he’s only getting better. Like Woodford above, this is a stock raiser of the summer.
Bennett Otto, a 6-foot-4 wing from Howard Pulley (Champlin Park). More and more every game Bennett was on the floor for the Panthers and it’s because he’s a trusted guy on both ends. Is willing to step in defensively and take charges or move his feet to cut off lanes, Bennett moves the ball the way the team needs him to, and he’s making shots at a solid rate this summer without taking a bad attempt. This year in EYBL games Otto shot over 37 percent from behind the arc scoring just under six points a game off the bench. Otto upped that by three points a game this weekend in the Hardwood Classic.