Grassroots Preview: Mentality MN 17U

Matt Bigelow

April 23, 2019 @ 09:49 AM

Grassroots season is underway and the talent pool in the state of Minnesota is incredibly spread out, meaning there should be a lot of really good, competitive clubs. Mentality is a mix of 2020 and 2021 talent and should be one of the more intriguing teams on the AAU circuit this summer. Here’s a quick look Guards: Curtis Jones, James Sommer, Nick Hendler, Derek Burgess, Erick Burgess, Jake Wald, Yanika Fondungallah Jones and Sommer have been this team’s top two players through the first couple weekends and it’ll likely stay that way as both are among the best players in the 2020 class. Jones, out of Cretin-Derham Hall, is a top-notch perimeter shooter and is improving as a shot-creator and ball handler. He’s big, long and highly skilled, and he can fill up the scoreboard in a hurry with his ability to score from anywhere. Sommer is a beast at 6-foot-3 and he uses that strength to bully smaller guards on a regular basis. He’s a terrific shooter from deep but his size and ball handling ability allow him to wreak all sorts of havoc playing in traffic because he can finish against length and isn’t fazed by bodies being around him. He’s a very good rebounder for a guard as well. Hendler is an athletic combo guard from Holy Family Catholic who provides a lot of value as a defender and long range shooter. Wald, the Burgess boys and Fondungallah are all 2021 guys. Fondungallah, out of St. Thomas Academy, is a tough-minded, defensive guard who excels when pushing the pace. Erick and Derek Burgess from Cristo Rey Jesuit have been productive varsity players for a few years now and will benefit even further from this kind of step up in competition. Wald was a key guy at St. Francis as a sophomore and his strength is his ability to knock down 3-pointers which fits in nicely with this team full of guys who can break defenses down. Forwards: Makai Wilson, Ak Avwunuma, Anthony Rayson Rayson was a productive player for St. Louis Park this past winter, averaging 15 points and nearly eight rebounds plus two blocks. He’s a load on the interior. He’s a 2019 grad, so we’ll see how much he plays with this team. Avwunuma was a double-figure scorer last year for Twin Cities Academy and this will be a big opportunity for him to showcase his game against much higher quality competition. Wilson is a bit of an unknown given he didn’t saw a lot of varsity action a year ago at Anoka as he was behind some talented seniors. This is a good opportunity for him as there will be minutes to go around up front.