Border Battle Standout Underclassmen

<p>The standout underclassmen from Minnesota played a big role in several Border Battle wins on Saturday. Known names like Kendall and Chet, the St. Croix Lutheran sophomore crew, and some name names as well. Read on!</p> <p><strong>Kendall Brown</strong> of East Ridge. You watch Kendall Brown and you see that modern day skilled wing with length and size for days. His comfort in handling the basketball is a big part of why he is such a highly ranked prospect nationally but tonight I think the item that caught my attention the most was the quickness of his first step. Kendall covers so much ground with each step (which makes his transition run comparable to what Amir Coffey does in transition with or without the ball) and when it’s that quick there just isn’t much a defender can do to react in time. The versatility of Kendall’s game allows the East Ridge staff to play him at point, at wing, as a stretch four, and at the five if they need it to happen. Made 8 of 17 shot attempts and all of his foul shots for a game high 20 points.</p> <p><strong>Owen Bushaw</strong> of St. Croix Lutheran. Watching Owen play was definitely one of the best parts of the day. Son of a coach – his father Ben Bushaw is the coach at Simley – Owen has a tremendous feel for the game. I would say the best example of that was the patience of his basket attack. Owen’s read into a basket attack was not only quick but he made some impressive plays at the rim. A lefty who went for 17, Bushaw has range on his jumper Owen has really come on the last several weeks. Owen was a key part to the outstanding Crusader ball movement.</p> <p><strong>Andre Crockett Jr</strong> of Rochester Mayo. Andre is starting for Mayo is a 5-foot-9 ball pressuring player with quickness plus he showed a bit of a stroke today as well. Caught the ball for a pair of three point attempts and made both. Andre is the third leading scorer for Mayo putting up 10 plus points a contest.</p> <p><strong>Xavier Garcia</strong> of St. Croix Lutheran.   Garcia played the catch and shoot role for his team much of the game shooting all but two of his shots from the arc making 3 of 9 treys for 14 points. A double figure scorer for the Crusaders and one of the options you have to recognize and close out properly to.</p> <p><strong>Kyreis Harrison</strong> of Minnesota Valley Lutheran, a sophomore. Came off the bench and played 20 solid minutes on the wing and around the basket. Scored his two attempts around the basket, moved the ball well, and did a nice job fighting to position and collecting defensive boards.</p> <p><strong>Chet Holmgren</strong> of Minnehaha Academy. Onalaska shot 6 of 32 in the first half getting down by 20 points. At least half of that was Chet. Four blocks and countless adjustments. It became comical watching the opponents trying to arc/extend shots around Chet to no avail. That 6 of 32 shooting (from one of Wisconsin’s better teams) was a direct result of what Chet does defensively. Offensively Chet’s roll off the basket ranks with the best because the timing and speed of it is nearly perfect plus he offers a great target for 7 of 10 shooting. Chet only took three treys (made one) as why shoot jumpers when you can dunk six times? Such a unique prospect, top 25 in the nation.</p> <p><strong>Zach Longueville</strong> of St. Croix Lutheran. Coming into the game you see the 17 plus points per game as a 6-foot-1 sophomore and there is instant intrigue. Then you watch Longueville play and you can see that a lot of his production comes with a bit of juice. Step back on him, that’s a jumper. Don’t respect his run and you will see Zach going straight at the cup with a determined finish. And efficient? Made 8 of 9 from the field and 8 of 9 from the line with 5 of 6 foul shooting. The Crusaders moved the ball exceptionally well and Zach was a key piece.</p> <p><strong>Justin Wohlers</strong> of Lake City. Justin has moved into a starter’s role at Lake City as a 6-foot-2 guard. Justin did not have a good day at the Border Battle but this is a young player that is on a very good team and you can see how he is trusted as a decision maker and ahead of the curve position defender (for his age).</p> <p><strong>Monty Williams</strong> of Apple Valley. There is some potential here. Monty is smaller at 5-foot-9 and there are times where he is speed of play is ahead of the team pace, but the attack step into the separation led to three quality pull-up jumpers. There is a nice shooting touch there, a quickness to him, and the potential to fit into a nice role as an upperclassmen. Had a team high 13 points.</p>