Breakdown State Tournament: Class AAA Top Forwards
The Breakdown State Tournament took over Bloomington Sunday, with Henning, Caledonia, Mankato East and Park Center taking home championship honors. With most of the top teams from each respective class in attendance, there was no shortage of high-end talent on…
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Continue ReadingThe Breakdown State Tournament took over Bloomington Sunday, with Henning, Caledonia, Mankato East and Park Center taking home championship honors. With most of the top teams from each respective class in attendance, there was no shortage of high-end talent on display all day long.
Here were some of the standout forwards from the Class AAA tournament:
Wyatt Olson, St. Peter
Olson is one of the best post players in the state regardless of class and he continues to develop what is already a really well-rounded game. The 6-foot-5 senior-to-be has excellent low-post moves, the athleticism and handle to create from the mid and high post areas and solid shooting touch from 18 feet. You can see his basketball IQ is really high when he’s operating in the middle of the floor against zone defenses and he moves well without the ball. He’s a rebounding machine in and out of his area and has the kind of basketball smarts to anchor a defense even if he isn’t an explosive run-and-jump kind of athlete.
Jordan Merseth, Mankato East
Merseth, Olson’s AAU teammate, is a throwback, land-warrior type big man. He’s not going to wow in the layup lines but he’s super efficient and productive on both ends of the court. His low-post scoring ability is really good and the one question I have about how he’d handle a steady diet of double teams is mitigated by the fact that teams can’t send doubles at him because Mankato East is so well-rounded. It makes for a nice cocktail offensively. Merseth is an increasingly rare high school big that sets screens and when he screens you, you stay screened.
Puoch Doboul, St. Cloud Apollo
If you want a big that is nearly the polar opposite to Merseth, Doboul is that guy. He’s 6-foot-7ish, really long, and really active. He’s not going to do much damage as an isolation low post scorer, but he’ll produce 8-12 points per game on effort, maximizing his athleticism and being active around the rim. Defensively, he’s a menace in that he can defend smaller guys on the perimeter but also protect the rim.
Parker Maki, Hibbing
Hibbing is going to win a lot of games next year and the Lumberjacks are really well balanced. Maki is a difference-maker in the paint and he’s surrounded by a handful of capable guards. He’s got good hands, good touch inside and out and the skill to abuse smaller and bigger defenders. He’s not necessarily the go-to guy, but he’ll put up big point totals as a guy who not only has the skill to create his own offense, but the ability to play off guys and be opportunistic and efficient.
Carter Hangsleben, Monticello
Hangsleben is a football player on the basketball court all the way. He’s not the most skilled guy but he maximizes his ability with all-out effort. He’s got good touch and is surprisingly nimble for a guy his size but he’s another one of those throwback bigs who will set hard screens, make first contact on both ends of the court and make life a pain for opposing post players because he works his butt off.
Max Otto, Delano
Otto is one of the few returning pieces for the Tigers and while his offense wasn’t on display a whole lot Sunday – Delano struggled severely on offense in the games I saw – his defense is top-notch. He’s 6-foot-4 or so and has the strength and toughness to defend bigger guys but also the quickness and smarts to chase guards around. He rebounds well out of his area and seems to play responsible both on and off the ball. Delano might struggle offensively next winter, but I feel fairly confident that team will be competitive if only because it’s got a handful of guys who can really defend.