TC Summer Classic Preview

This weekend through Tuesday the 43 Hoops Basketball Club hosts the Twin Cities Summer Classic sponsored by Best Buy. This four-day event will take place in the western suburbs of the Twin Cities and feature local stars like Marc Sonnen, Mike Bruesewitz, Trent Lockett, and Sam Dower plus several top athletes from the state of Illinois.

POOL A, Five to Watch

All Iowa Elite

Minnesota Comets Stars

Net Gain Sports

94 Feet of Game

Sam Dower of Net Gain

Dower now holds offers from Marquette, Iowa, Gonzaga, Saint Louis, Colorado State, George Mason and others plus several division ones are interested. The curiosity of Dower's game will be one of the biggest reasons high majors will make it to these games. At 6-foot-9 Sam is a three star forward ranked 130th in the nation overall.

Trent Lockett of Net Gain

Lockett is an Arizona State commit with all the physical attributes one looks for in a big time wing. He has a great build, Trent is strong, and he moves extremely well. At four stars and listed as the 53 ranked player in the nation Lockett plays in the Twin Cities for the first time this AAU season and it will come with expectations from the onlookers.

Cole Stefan of Net Gain

Net Gain no longer has its pair of deadly shooters in Stefan and Raymond Cowels but they still have the sweet stroking 2010 guard from Minnetonka. Stefan has shot well enough this summer to start drawing interest from mid-major schools and he will be the top outside weapon for Net Gain.

Daniel Van Kalsbeek of All Iowa Attack

All Iowa Elite won the Iowa state AAU tournament and being named MVP of the tournament was Van Kalsbeek. Daniel is a 6-foot-5 forward from MOC-Flood Valley. He teams with 6-foot-6 Mike Appel in the All Iowa frontcourt making them a dangerous squad.

Steve Baker of 94 Feet of Game

Baker is a shooting guard and a recent St. Paul Como Park graduate. At about six feet tall Baker is one of the most explosive scorers on the Minnesota circuit and he's scoring with his pull-up release or acrobatically going to the cup.

POOL B, Five to Watch

Illinois Wolves

MN Comets Elite

Triple Threat

Wisconsin Playmakers

Joseph Bertrand of the Illinois Wolves

Last October Illinois received a commitment from the four star Bertrand and he's a 6-foot-4, 170 pound combo guard ranked 81st in the nation. Bertrand is one of these players with vast potential who continues to vertically grow along with his game.

Diamond Taylor of the Illinois Wolves

Taylor is one of two Badgers commits to be playing in the Best Buy TC Summer Classic and Diamond comes to the Twin Cities ranked 23rd in the nation at this position. At 6-foot-3 and 170 pounds Taylor is a four star player who reminds some of former Badger Devin Harris because Diamond can knock down the outside jumper as well as defend strong.

Dyricus Sims-Edwards of the Illinois Wolves

Sims-Edwards has effectively ran the point for the Wolves all summer pushing the basketball when needed but understanding the half-court game enough to keep the offense running on all cylinders. At 6-foot-1 Dyricus holds offers from Illinois State, Southern Illinois, and Wichita State.

Nate Wolters of the Minnesota Comets Elite

Wolters is a player that several mid-majors and low-majors will travel to see this weekend. He has the offers from the majority of the Dakota schools and if he has another solid tournament for the Comets he may get more scholarship attention nationally. This is a big weekend for the clutch shooting and hardworking defender from St. Cloud. Wolters will team with Jordair Jett this weekend to make an outstanding backcourt pair for the Comets.

Jack Taylor of the Wisconsin Playmakers

Taylor is said to be the second quickest guard in the state of Wisconsin and at 5-foot-10 he's received interest from Winona State, Nebraska-Omaha, Drake, and I believe another school was Columbia. Taylor is a heady playmaker for the Playmakers out of Black River Falls. Also on this team is 6-foot-7 Mike Hanson who is a face-up forward out of La Crosse.

POOL C, Five to Watch

43 Hoops

Elite Sports Select

MN Mustangs

Team Missouri

Mike Bruesewitz of 43 Hoops

Bruesewitz is quickly moving up the national rankings because with every tournament he is showing more explosion, more shooting touch, his leadership skills, and dominate rebounding. At 6-foot-8 he's a Badger commit and you know the hoard of Wisconsin fans that live and work in the cities will be out to see Mike play.

Chris Halvorsen of 43 Hoops

Chris is one of the hottest players in the state because he has shown improvement with his ball skills hence the most recent offer from Valpo. At 6-foot-8 Halvorsen can play perimeter defense, he runs the floor as well as anybody, and he's a strong rebounder.

Marc Sonnen of 43 Hoops

At 6-foot-3 Sonnen is a UNI commit and the man trusted to run the 43 Hoops attack. Sonnen is the top recruit out of Minnesota because of his smooth penetration off the bounce, his outstanding court vision, and smooth stroke.

Jayme Donnelly of Team Missouri

Team Missouri travels to Minnesota for the second time this year and hopefully for them this event goes better then the Sabes Invite where they struggled. Donnelly is the top player and he has been hearing from low to mid major schools. Jayme is an excellent combo guard at 6-foot-2 from central Missouri and he started for Team Missouri last year as well.

Damarius Cruz of 43 Hoops

Cruz is starting to get a little interest from division ones including Valpo, UNI, and some schools out west. The 6-foot-1 guard led Armstrong in scoring last year with 16.8 points and he's shown to be a solid shooter this spring. Cruz has no offers so this weekend and the Las Vegas events will be very big for him.

POOL D, Five to Watch

43 Hoops II

Big Game Sports

Mac Irvin Fire

MSB Roadrunners

Crandall Head of Mac Irvin Fire

The 6-foot-5, five star Head is the tournament headliner. He's a five star shooting guard prospect who has already chosen Illinois. Head has a huge upside and he's the younger brother of former Illinois standout Luther Head. Crandall is an elite athlete in the 2010 class and he's shown to be a high percentage shooter from beyond the arc despite the odd follow through.

Mike Shaw of Mac Irvin Fire

Shaw stands 6-foot-8 in the frontcourt and he's one of the more promising players in Illinois's state class of 2011. Shaw also has an impressive floor game as he handles the ball well and is developing into a consistent scorer. Mike is also a hard working player and that shows in his rebounding and defensive efforts.

Mike Muscala of MSB Roadrunners

At 6-foot-8 Muscala is one of Minnesota's most intriguing prospects because he's developing rapidly at the young age of 16. He will be a senior next year but because of his youth and athletic ability division one schools are quickly jumping onboard. Whether he uses that 30 on his ACT to go IVY or Mike heads to one of the mid-majors that are quickly picking up their interest, Muscala's ceiling is rapidly rising. The package of shooting touch and athletic ability is very impressive for a 16-year-old senior to be.

David Berthene of MSB Roadrunners

All the area division two coaches may unite to make a wall this weekend hoping that the division ones fail to see the 6-foot-8 Berthene. For the Roadrunners this is their last tournament and it's the last chance this summer for division ones to see David's extremely hot hand with deep range.

Jayvin Reynolds of 43 Hoops II

At 6-foot-5, 205 pounds Reynolds is a strong rebounder from Osseo playing with the 43 Hoops second team. Jayvin is an interesting player and one of three Osseo Orioles to watch this weekend (Sam Dower of Net Gain, DJ Phillips of 43 Hoops). With Reynolds playing next to Dower in the Osseo frontcourt and with Phillips teaming with Aaron Anderson in the backcourt I can't help but to look to this winter as Osseo is going to be tough once again.