Dakota Showcase Noteables

The Mister Basketball crew put together another solid tournament this past weekend ending with The Wrath defeating the Dakota Schoolers in this year's final. While the Wrath won the team event, it was Tyler Shields from Kearney finishing with the game high scoring mark of 34 as well as the top weekend average of 23.5, Levi Abercrombie scoring an event total high of 109 points, and Blake Maslonkowski topping the field goal percentage charts.

Maslonkowski finished the weekend with a team high 14.5 points per game for the Minnesota Comets Elite squad putting up double figures in every game including a weekend high 19 points versus Minnesota Select II. There wasn't a big that Blake faced in Sioux Falls who could slow down his power going at the rim.

Matthew Borowicz of Stephen-Argyle was struggling with a leg injury but he still showed a strong base on the block complete with a good face-up touch. He scored 13 points against the Glory and Wisconsin Terror. The 6-foot-7 big may be a football prospect but expect him to dominate the northwestern part of the state in the paint. And watch out for his ECI Prospects teammate A.J. Jacobson out of North Dakota as the underclassmen looks to have a bright future.

Seth Hinrichs only played two games with the Minnesota Comets Elite before heading to Tubby Smith's team camp for the weekend but in those two games he scored a combined 31 points as the Comets Elite crushed WCS Ballerz and then beat Select II by 15 points. Hinrichs hit six three-pointers in the two games and it was impressive enough to earn offers from Sioux Falls, Northern State, and Southwest Minnesota State plus Augustana has really shown strong interest. In Seth's absence Derek Steve stepped up to average 11 points a game at the Showcase.

Johnny Woodard played with the Comets Elite 16s this weekend and finished the Dakota Showcase as their leading scorer with 11 points a game. Woodard looks like he's added several pounds of muscle over the course of his sophomore season.

Another consistent Comets scorer was Nate Golden of Minnesota Comets Elite II. Golden showcased his smooth skill both hitting from the perimeter and attacking the cup to make difficult angled baskets while contested using his length and touch. Golden scored 14.5 points a contest and once again put his name on the map amongst colleges. He stepped up his defensive efforts at times and if that continues colleges will be looking closer at C-M-C this winter. Ibrahim Abukar was the second best scorer for the team at 11.5 a contest as Abukar showed that when he turns the point production on he's very difficult to slow down.

When schools weren't raving about Hinrichs last Thursday they were talking about Terez Van Pelt's ability to get to the rim. Van Pelt had defensive heads spinning trying to figure out which way he was going to attack as his quickness and speedy handles led to Terez scoring 17 points in each opening day contest. Van Pelt led Fury Blue to the event semi-finals.

Michael Emge exploded for 22 points against the Magic Elite and 23 points versus the Glory Elite. Watching closely were numerous college coaches and the most impressed must have been Minnesota State-Mankato and Sioux Falls as each have offered scholarships since.

Marquelais Edwards of Fury Gold continues to show that Minnesota Preps was out of their mind when they ranked him 100th in the latest 2011 Minnesota top 150. Yes Edwards should be moved up about 40 spots at least after an impressive spring and summer start. He was the third leading scorer in Sioux Falls averaging 17.8 points per contest and few played with his level of intensity.

Benji Figini of Glory Elite is another power wing from the north metro whose making a big impact. At 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds Figini showed why he was a top level Minnesota scorer last year at 24.8 points as he produced 15.5 a contest attacking the paint game after game. With his combination of skill and power going at the rim opposing wings at the Dakota Showcase had a hard time stopping him.

The Magic Elite only had six guys and a few were new to the team so it wasn't the easiest weekend. On the positive side of things 6-foot-3 small forward Rodney Pierce-Tyler was a go to guy putting up 13.3 points per contest and he could play a big role for Robbinsdale Cooper next year.

Matt St. Anthony continued an impressive off-season with a weekend average of 15.2 points per game. St. Anthony has shooting range and it was on display making 14 triples over the weekend.