Weekend Notables

This weekend Minnesota AAU teams spread out to several different events including teams in Texas, Indiana, Iowa, and of course some played locally. Howard Pulley won three games in Houston, 43 Hoops won all but a game in Bloomington, the Wrath made the semi-finals in Iowa, and Minnesota Select II won the Select Classic on a Levi Abercrombie buzzer beater.

With so many teams competing in so many areas Minnesota Preps is using this opportunity to bring all the standouts into one spot with "Weekend Notables".

Levi Abercrombie of Minnesota Select II (Armstrong) - Explosive may not do him justice right now. Abercrombie has shown a big play mentality all spring and he hit the biggest Sunday afternoon with a buzzer beating shot to give the 17s championship to the host club. Abercrombie was also seen Saturday hitting three straight triples, making a three-point play following the consecutive triples, and then following his personal 12-point run with a dynamite assist. Hard to believe that he was only playing junior varsity last year as he's been one of the biggest standouts of the spring.

Zach Addyman of Minnesota Select I (Baldwin-Woodville - WI) - Addyman is playing up with Select and Saturday in Select's contest against Magic Westside, Addyman was one of the most consistent players on the floor despite several competitors being one or two years older. At 6-foot-3 he's a wing to watch in the future.

Joe Beck of WOTN Black (Lake City) - Easily the biggest surprise of the weekend. Beck is a 6-foot-8 senior who joined up with WOTN as they needed to expand their roster to seven players. Beck responded holding his own with posts including Jared Uthoff who was playing with the CR Jayhawks. Beck's highlight play was splitting a double team in the middle and finishing his move with a two-hand slam. Beck was steady throughout the weekend and if you are a D2 in need of another big getting some tape on Beck would likely be worth it.

Brian Blackhawk of Minnesota Heat Red - Blackhawk scored 23 points per game this weekend shooting lights out form behind the arc. He's a major sleeper for next season at Park Center from the wing.

Dion Bradley of MN Pump N Run 15s (St. Paul Highland Park) - Bradley is one half of a dynamic backcourt combo that helped lead the Pumps to a 15s championship at the Select Classic.

Joe Coleman of Howard Pulley (Hopkins) - Because of travel problems from the scheduled opposition the Pulley Panthers only played three games in Houston but saw Joe score 59 points in three games. Coleman had a weekend high of 23 points when the Panthers defeated the Albany City Rocks 67-58.

Marquel Curtis of 43 Hoops (Armstrong) - After a week that included some indecision, Marquel bounced back as a regular scorer for 43 Hoops. In each game he brought consistency proving he can put up points with the best of them.

Marcas Dorsey of Minnesota Fury (DeLaSalle) - Dorsey averaged a double-double for the Fury in Iowa putting up 15 points and ten boards a contest. As a 6-foot-5 four man Dorsey uses his strength to be a presence.

Cale Girten of Minnesota Fury (New Prague) - Girten was once again a standout defensive player plus he hit three-pointers consistently for the Fury.

Kashif Hayes of MN Pump N Run 15s (St. Louis Park) - The 5-foot-9 standout propelled his team to a weekend championship doing just about everything a top guard can do. Hayes is a big reason why so many like the future over at St. Louis Park.

Chad Howard of Minnesota Select II (Minnetonka) - The Tonka senior provided the Skippers with stability during an unstable season this year as he worked his tail off defensively, scored double figures on average, was a leader, and pretty much collected every Jordan shoe out there. Howard did much of the same this weekend as Select brought home the weekend championship.

Adam Heussner of Minnesota Select 15s (Henry Sibley) - Heussner is a three point shooting weapon who played a little bit for Sibley this year knocking down almost 50 percent of his three-point attempts. Adam was a constant threat from the perimeter for Select 15s, which is a group to watch.

Kebu Johnson of Minnesota Select 15s (The Blake School) - Kebu is a beast plain and simple. He was a standout as a freshman in the Tri-Metro and he's the top dog on a talented Select 15s squad using his athletic ability to make plays that others at the 15s level just can't do much about.

Andy Jones of Minnesota Select (Minnetonka) - Jones dropped five three-pointers and put the ball on the deck for the rest of his 22 points against Magic Westside. Jones is a shorter with range as well as a competitive feistiness.

Nick Jorgenson of Minnesota Pump N Run 16s (Hopkins) - Jorgenson hit seven three-pointers in a game and yes he should be yet another weapon that the Royals will have to choose from next year.

Kharie Kirkland of Minnesota Heat 16s (Tartan) - Kirkland is a freshman playing up a level for the Heat. His signature play has become the no-look pass that consistently finds the mark for assists plus Kirkland finished on both sides of the rim all weekend long.

Caleb Lunning of Minnesota Comets Elite 16s II (Zimmerman) - The Comets went 5-1 at the Select Classic and Lunning's play was a big part of their success. The Comets made the final and Lunning is a steady ball handler who always seems to make the right pass.

Reggie Lynch of MN Pump N Run 15s (Bloomington Jefferson) - Lynch played very well for the Pumps leading them on the wing.

Shane McSparron of WOTN Black (Eastview) - McSparron continued his standout spring with another quality weekend going head to head with guards that are considered higher rated than him. Getting it done defensively and putting the ball on the floor McSparron is opening eyes.

Matt Nelson of Fighting Irish 16s (Rosemount) - One of the better spring stories has been how competitive and talented the collection or Rosemount kids has been in several different quality events. This weekend Nelson caught the eye of many in attendance banging in the paint and he should have a standout junior year in the Lake Conference.

Andy Ortmann of Magic Westside (Buffalo) - The Westside did not play very well together taking a lot of wild shots but Ortmann was a competitor on both ends from start to finish. He was able to create a shot for himself whenever against Select and he knocked down a handful of treys.

Ethan Petrill of Minnesota Magic (Shakopee) - Petrill showed his ability to consistently produce points in Iowa including his team leading performance against ECI.

Rodney Pierce-Taylor of Minnesota Magic (Robbinsdale Cooper) - Here is another guy who played more JV as a junior but his AAU spring is showing that Pierce-Taylor could be a regular for Cooper next year. He scored in double figures several times for the Magic in Iowa.

Cullen Russo of 43 Hoops 16s (Bloomington Kennedy) - Russo has really started to develop as of late. He had a monster dunk in transition that was so nasty I guess it has already found its way to You Tube.

Grant Schaeffer of tNBA (Eden Prairie) - tNBA plays extremely well together for an AAU team and Schaeffer is the guy who makes things go. He's a solid point guard who's earning a lot of respect from the AAU community.

Carnell Sheppard of MN Pump N Run 16s (Minneapolis South) - Sheppard is as steady of a point as they come at this age in Minnesota. He does everything in a calculated way and against Select II on Saturday he dropped in four three-pointers.

C.J. Smith of Minnesota Magic (Burnsville) - The 6-foot-1 combo guard is impressing a ton of people with his athletic ability on both ends of the floor plus he's shooting with more consistency behind the arc. This weekend an Iowa State football coach asked about him after seeing his frame and watching him move. Smith had a quality showing in Iowa including 25 points in the opening contest.

Jonah Travis of Minnesota Pump N Run (DeLaSalle) - Jonah filled in for Sanjay Lumpkin of the Pump N Run 16s (who played up a level at the Select Classic) on Saturday and played a few minutes. Jonah wasn't in much but when he played Travis gave the sophomores some breathers and played like a one man wrecking crew. Some big timers who are put in this position may coast but not Jonah who had three jams against Select II including a halfcourt alley-oop flush.

Reed Travis of Minnesota Pump N Run 15s - Reed is a 2014 kid who you may as well learn about. He's the brother of Jonah and Reed is already making a name for himself with an on court determination similar to that of Jonah.

Ross Travis of 43 Hoops (Chaska) - Travis led 43 Hoops on a great bounce back weekend as they won their pool in the AMC. Travis has started to play more aggressive and this weekend he added consistency to the list of descriptions getting things done on both ends of the floor in Bloomington.

Marcus Tyus of 43 Hoops 16s (Anoka) - The 16s played in an MYAS winning a tournament at the 17s level. Plain and simple Tyus dominated the competition all weekend long. If there was such a thing as an MVP of the event Tyus would have walked away with it.

National players Minnesota AAU guys were gushing about

Mitch McGary of SYF Players - McGeary was a monster. He was so impressive people from other states were seeking him out to watch him play. Word of his ability is spreading.

Marcus Paige of Martin Brothers 16s - Page led his team to the championship performing in his usual smooth ways.

Wesley Staten of Kingdom 16s - Several Minnesota coaches said that Staten was unreal slashing to the basket game after game. Staten led his squad to the 16s finals.

Jarrod Uthoff of Cedar Rapids Jayhawks - WOTN coach Mitch Ohnstad, a former Gopher, said that, "Uthoff is the best player I have seen all spring".

Nino Williams of MoKan Spiece - Williams was a beast getting to the hoop regularly throwing down nasty jams as his team finished the weekend as tournament champions.