Donte is running with Powerhouse MN this spring, and it’s easy to see the big impact he’s going to have with them. In his first game of the weekend Donte started off on fire, scoring at least 17 points in just the first half. Those consisted of multiple threes, a pair of transition dunks, and a couple more finishes right at the rim. He doesn’t do anything overly flashy, and is extremely efficient with the shots he takes. Donte does a nice job of using his 6’2+ frame to force turnovers defensively, and once out in the open floor he rarely fails to convert.

Donte had another impressive scoring performance for South St. Paul in a win over St. Cloud Tech. Despite missing some time in the first half with two fouls, Branch managed to put up 29 points, and was mostly doing so within the flow of the offense. Rather than over dribbling for tough isolation shots, a lot of Donte’s buckets came from off-ball cuts, catch-and-shoot threes, or transition finishes. Utilized his length defensively to come up with some steals on the ball, as he moves his feet well at 6’3 and picks his moments well to poke the ball free. He’s been putting together a big junior season for a 10-4 SSP team.

Donte was unstoppable down the stretch in a win for South St. Paul. Coming up against a ranked Holy Family squad, defenders just didn’t have an answer for his blend of length and athleticism. He got to the rim for some acrobatic finishes, showing good body control to hang in the air and score against the Holy Family size. Can lull his defender to sleep and then explode by off the dribble to get into the lane. Donte finished the game with 37 points including some clutch buckets late in the overtime win.