Midwest Players Classic

Just a quick run down of the Midwest Players Classic best of my recollection since it's been a few days since the actual games. I do have to say that the Midwest Players Classic might be the best tournament out there for regular season. 

St Croix Lutheran MN 69 Waverly-Shell Rock IA 57

Story of this game was Waverly-Shell Rock tried to pound it into their big man 6’9 junior Austin Phyfe but, St Croix did a good job to combat Phyfe with 6’6 senior Trenton Krueger. Krueger is a very long 6’6 and really did a nice job of Phyfe who got most of his points when Krueger was sitting with foul trouble. Waverly-Shell’s guards were able to hit the outside shots to take the early lead but, St Croix did just enough to stick around early and in the second half their athletes took over. I remember thinking early on that St Croix had the better athletes but, Waverly Shell was the better team. The St Croix team took over with their athletes rebounding and getting out and running led by 6’5 senior Ade Murkey who completely controlled the glass and used his athleticism to get out and run in transition.

Top Scorers

St Croix- Murkey 26 Krueger 11 Venkat Valluri 10

WSR- Camry Moore 16 Christian Mosley 13 Phyfe 12

Caledonia MN 85 DeForest 45

Not much to say here. Caledonia just run and gunned DeForest to death. Caledonia pressed much of the game and DeForest just couldn’t handle it which allowed Caledonia to get out and run and they love to shoot the three ball. Size will always being a problem with this Caledonia team as they really only have one guy over 6’1 in 6’5 senior Gavin Schroeder who does a tremendous job scoring on the inside while 6’0 sophomore Owen King is a killer from the outside knocking down threes.

Top Scorers

Cal- O King 25 Schroeder 14 3 with 9

DF- Bryson Girten 8 Corian Davis 7 Jimmy Klein 6 Andrew Stouffer-Lerch 6

Rushford-Peterson MN 43 La Crosse Aquinas 22

Another game that was over early. The big storyline was 6’8 senior Matt Culhane for Rushford-Peterson. Culhane was 6’8 and is probably pushing 300. Not fat by any means just a real big solid kid. Culhane didn’t move great but, knew his roll and used his size to score with soft hands on the inside. On the defensive end Aquinas had to always go around the big guy and even though he didn’t block shots he took up a lot of room and didn’t allow them to drive right at the hoop. Aquinas shot terrible and turned the ball over against the Rushford 2-3/1-3-1 zone defense.

Top Scorers

RP- Culhane 12 Landon Goree 10 Noah Carlsen 6 Caleb Thompson 6

LA- Conley Malone 7 Chris Ancius 6 Eddie Harwick 4

Maple Grove MN 75 Milwaukee Riverside 61

Maple Grove was a big team that really played solid and disciplined. Riverside tried to throw the full court press and push the tempo of the game but, Maple Grove led by the point guard 6’3 junior Brad Davison really handled it extremely well and didn’t rush things. Early on Maple Grove struggled a bit to hit their shots but, Davison was money all game long and carried his team in the first half. For Riverside outside of 6’6 junior Terrence Lewis no one could really get things going and they really struggled in the halfcourt set as they were unable to turn Maple Grove over. The offensive struggles were very evident late as Riverside was unable to hit the deep shot to help them get back in this game. Late in the game Maple Grove’s big man 6’10 senior Reed Nikko got things going as the bigs of Riverside wore down and Riverside also extended their defense leading to easy buckets on the backside.

Top Scorers

MG- Davison 39 Nikko 17 Jack Hutchinson 12

MR- Lewis 25 George Dixon 11 Alondes Williams 6

Stevens Point 89 Champlin Park MN 73

The headed monster was fully loaded with 6’6 senior Sam Hauser, 6’2 senior Trev Anderon, and 6’7 sophomore Joey Hauser. Early on it was Sam Hauser that was unstoppable from long range hit threes all game long and the majority of the time he really wasn’t open but, just shot over his defenders. Anderson really struggled from the outside which is a rariety but, in the second half he really attacked the rim going hard to his left most of the time. Joey Hauser just had a solid game throughout controlling the inside. Champlin was put in a bit of a hole when their big man 6’9 junior Theo John was strapped with two early fouls and never really got going in this game. Champlin hung around in this game though behind the strong play of 6’1 junior McKinley Wright IV, who was able to get to the rim at will and finish around the bigger defenders. Also big push for Champlin was the play of 5’6 junior Brian Smith off the bench who hit big three after big three to get Champlin close before Point closed it out.

Top Scorers

SP- S Hauser 35 Anderson 24 J Hauser 22

CP- Wright 22 Aaron Kloeppner 14 Smith 13

Kaukauna 80 La Crosse Central 65

Kaukauna’s 6’2 junior Adam Smith pretty much ended this game from the get go knocking down five three pointers before Central could even take a breath. In the first half Kaukauna was up nearly 20 before Central started to climb back in to it but, in reality this game was never in question. Central just didn’t anything from anyone outside of their two junior stars 6’1 Bailey Kale and 6’4 Kobe King who scored 48 of the teams 65 points. Kale used his quickness to just take the ball coast to coast to score in transistion while King used his athleticism to simply just shoot over the defenders and really showed a nice mid range jumper. Well Smith carried Kaukauna early it was 5’11 sophomore Jordan McCabe and 6’3 senior Marcus Moreau late. McCabe did his thing throughout setting up his team mates for open shots and then did a nice job of forcing contact to get to the free throw line where he doesn’t miss. Moreau was just a beast on the inside scoring with his back to the basket and rebounding on the inside.

Top Scorers

Kau- Smith 25 McCabe 20 Moreau 19

LC- King 28 Kale 20 TJ Pangier 6 Isaiah Dahman 6

Top Players

Ade Murkey 6’5 senior St Croix Lutheran- Just a superb athlete that dominate the glass on both ends and was able to get up and down the court running in transition.

Owen King 6’0 sophomore Caledonia- Just a smart heady player that controlled the teams tempo all game long and really knocked down the outside shot.

Terrence Lewis 6’6 junior Milwaukee Riverside- Long rangy guard that was able to drive to the lane and use his length to finish in the lane with floaters or at the rim.

Brad Davison 6’3 junior Maple Grove- Easily most impressive player of the day running the point. Got to the rim at ease and was able to really hit the step back jumper.

Reed Nikko 6’10 senior Maple Grove- Big man that could really score from the high post driving to the hoop and finishing.

Sam Hauser 6’6 senior Stevens Point- Sharp shooter from the outside that just shot over the smaller defenders and was able to drive past the bigger defenders.

Trev Anderson 6’2 senior Stevens Point- Used his quickness and strength to drive to the rim where he finished or got fouled.

Joey Hauser 6’7 sophomore Stevens Point- Just solid over all game knocking down the jumpers and scoring in the paint. Also did a great job rebounding all game long.

McKinley Wright IV 6’1 junior Champlin Park- Like I said earlier really used his quickness to get by the defenders and was able to finish at the rim strong.

Bailey Kale 6’1 junior La Crosse Central- Used his quickness to push the ball up the court and finish at the rim.

Kobe King 6’4 junior La Crosse Central- A superior athlete that used his athleticism to finish over defenders and was able to rise up and finish over the defenders.

Jordan McCabe 5’11 sophomore Kaukauna- A great passer that is a little flashy at times but, I really think he’s a smart player and some times is thinking too far ahead for team mates and makes passes to space rather than team mates.

Marcus Moreau 6’3 senior Kaukauna- Another great athlete that rebounded incredibly well and was able to score with his back to the basket in the post.

Adam Smith 6’2 junior Kaukauna- Sharp shooter from the outside that just couldn’t miss and is hard nosed player that can really score in bunches. 

Great tournament and will be back up to the La Crosse Area in two weeks to watch the Border Battle, with match up of Wisconsin and Minnesota again.