Tonka Fall League Notes

Fall League basketball is essentially a warm-up but when it comes to the best of the warm-ups the Minnetonka Fall League is at the top of the hill. Simply put, the best of the best in the metro play there and yesterday Tyus Jones, Siyani Chambers, and Zach Stahl were at their best.

Siyani Chambers - Why is Hopkins the state's best program? Because year round they know what it takes to win and that is high intensity, team oriented, pass up a shot so a teammate can get a better shot kind of basketball. Yesterday they defeated Osseo and Minnetonka by 20 plus and it was Chambers leading the charge.

Chambers is a multi-talented performer who does a lot of things well but the best thing is his understanding of the game and how to get his team to play at a level that other teams don't even understand. Guys one through twenty on the Hopkins bench stepped onto the floor Sunday and competed at a level that nobody in the gym reached and that all starts with Siyani's team leading attitude that leads both verbally and by example.

Zach Stahl - Yesterday Stahl looked like a player who may enter Mr. Basketball finalist conversations. He just dominated Minnetonka scoring what seemed like 30 plus points and doing it in all fashions. The Lehigh commit scored continually on the break, he faced up and destroyed the Tonka frontcourt, and overall his level of competitiveness and physical play wasn't matched by anyone. He could have a huge winter if he consistently plays like this. Lehigh looks like they grabbed a steal.

Tyus Jones - Tyus is so good one almost feels stupid saying "nice pass" out loud because it's such an obvious statement with him. His feel for the game allows things to come so naturally that he almost doesn't even look to be putting in much effort. But don't confuse things, this is a smooth player whose mind is three steps ahead of everyone's on the floor.

Yesterday he jumped passing lanes to create scores for himself and others plus Tyus showed a new basket attacking explosion. There seems to be more bounce in his legs going at the rim than previously seen. Add in that his jumpshot was hit at over 50 percent plus from 17 feet and out. And what you have is one of the best we've ever seen in Minnesota. Khalid El-Amin good? Yes. Better than Khalid? Let the debate begin.

Andre McDonald - Wearing Vanderbilt logo socks and wearing a Vandy shirt before and after the game, McDonald took a break from his four star football activities to throw down the most explosive jams seen anywhere in the gym. He's a big time athlete. His Hopkins Royal football team starts playoffs tomorrow night against Edina.

Carson Shanks - The seven footer has definitely spent a lot of time working on his low block play. Yesterday his positioning, footwork, and catch and attack combination made life impossible for smaller defenders. If Carson continues to work like this on the low block he's going to get good numbers because his shooting touch is above average for a player his size.

Jack Harrison - Jack has looked real good in his last two outings and the reasons for that are: a) he looks more comfortable and b) he's playing with more aggression. Harrison's face-up dribble attack has brought him baskets more consistently and that length makes him hard to stop. With teams forced to guard Shanks with their biggest players Harrison should have smaller opponents to work against which is a plus for the Lakers.

Andrew Grosz - The Tonka freshman is playing with more maturity each time he takes the court. Grosz was solid shooting, distributing, and defending in Minnetonka's win over Waconia. Andrew's combination of skill and strength as a 9th grader is rare at the high school level.