Sota HS Sports

AAU basketball is now in full effect. Whether people know it or not Minnesota is a basketball powerhouse when it comes to this spring season. Players from all over the midwest will commit to traveling weekly to play for big-name MN AAU programs such as D1 Minnesota, Howard Pulley, Grassroots Sizzle, and many more. Today we'll be focused on Gain elite's unreal performance this past weekend.  NY2LA hosted a competitive tournament in Louisville, Kentucky featuring some of the best athletes around. At the peak of the talent was 5 star and top 25 player in the country, Mikey Williams. Williams recently announced that he's joining 1 of 1 Elite. Lamelo Ball's independent AAU team. 1 of 1 is a squad with a knack for winning. After doing just that their path crossed with Minnesota's Gain Elite 17u. A group that headlines some of the best hoopers in the class of 2023. Like any AAU team, GE is composed of guys from all over including Hopkins to DelaSalle, and even Austin. Many...

What a weekend! This past weekend I had the opportunity to go watch the Midwest Regional in Des Moines, Iowa. This tournament featured tons of talent from all over the country. Minnesota showed out on just about every level. Teams from My 7v7, Hitmen, and Potenza were there to represent. Although no champions were crowned from our state, it's safe to say that we competed with the best around.  In the freshman division, there was lots of success. Potenza picked up an OT win in the first round. They'd join Hitmen and My 7v7 in the quarterfinals now. The 5 seed My 7v7 encountered the 4 seeded Warren academy. They'll play tough but lose by a score. Next would be Hitmen that would smoke a Level Up team to move on to the semis and play the winner of the next game. Then it would be Potenza vs Top Line. A hard-fought game by these freshmen but Top Line would move on. So with Hitmen being the only MN team left they had a target on their backs. Top Line was obviously hot but Hitmen c...

As I stated in my previous article last weekend I was able to go down and watch the Back to Ballin tournament hosted by Iowa 7v7. It was here that I could see a whole lot of talent on display from kids you may have never heard of. That's what I love about spring 7v7. During this time in these boys' lives, every month offers so much time for growth in their craft. When adding 7v7 into their schedule rather than not picking up a football till fall gives these kids such a big advantage. Kids that weren't great the previous fall have now developed into beasts. That's just my two cents. Anyways here are a couple upperclassmen that stood out to me from the tourney. Gameface:  Tanner Albeck  of Maple Grove - This freak athlete put together a very solid tournament performance. Never in my life have I seen a fullback with speed like this. He's a complete swiss army knife that can really play any position you wish. Having a weapon like this in real football is useful but havi...

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend Iowa 7v7's Back to Ballin tournament. It was there where I got to see some real talent from all over the midwest, especially Minnesota. In attendance were multiple Gameface and Potenza teams as well as Minnesota Fit Elite Seven. Here's a little recap of how these teams did: 15U: MFES: MFES had some impressive wins in pool play to put them at a comfortable 2-1 record. The momentum would continue and they would find themselves upsetting a previously unbeaten Warriors Select squad leading them to face off against Linn-Mar's high school team in the freshman gold championship. Ultimately, MFES' streak would end there. Finishing with a final record of 3-2 and 2nd place in the tournament. Congrats! Gameface: Another great performance from a fellow MN team in the freshman tournament here. The freshman Gameface team also went 2-1 in pool play with their only loss coming from Warriors Select. Their semi-finals battle would be with...

This past weekend some MN basketball players shined on the court. I wasn't the only one that noticed this. Here are a couple guys that caught the eyes of college coaches and picked up offers: Alonzo Dodd of South St. Paul - Dodd, a senior, has shown that he's capable of greatness. He led his team to an undefeated regular season and arguably the best SSP team in the school's history. Even after all this, he's struggled to pick up offers. This weekend however he was given an offer from  Texas A&M University-Commerce. A D2 school that has had some victorious history in the past.  Jackson McAndrew  of Wayzata - A lot of people may have never heard of Jackson prior to recent events. He played on the 4A state runner-up Trojans. Because that team was loaded with upperclassmen talent he didn't get a ton of minutes in big games. AAU is giving him his opportunity to shine. Saturday, he received an offer from the University of St Thomas. UST has made a lot of moves on MN k...

Recently I attended The Border Battle between Potenza Sports and Canada's Recruit Ready. As if those squads weren't enough, Minnesota Fit Elite Seven was there as well. Although this was just a scrimmage, the competitiveness was unvarnished. It's crazy to see 7 on 7 across the state grow at the rate it is. I really believe this is the future of recruitment. Here are a couple MN athletes that stood out to me: Potenza's Daylen Cummings (Cenntenial): Cummings is a 2024 quarterback that started on one of the best teams in 6A last fall. I saw glimpses of what he looked like in mid-season form tonight. Making the right plays rather than constantly taking shots is something lots of young quarterbacks struggle with. Daylen has perfected this skill, however. Once he gets his consistency down Daylen will be one of the best QBs in the state and potentially the midwest. Potenza's Tyler Nystrom (Mounds View): If you haven't heard of Tyler Nystrom you should do your research....

It's that time of year. Snow is melting, birds are chirping, and spring sports are underway. By now most people are ready for the warm weather and change of pace around the state. They are also awaiting great spring sports. For 2022 I will be focused majority on HS baseball, 7v7 football, and AAU basketball. Let me know what players and teams I should keep an eye on in the upcoming months.

Well, it's been over a week since the high school basketball season came to a close here in MN and I already miss it. So I'm going to relive last week's tournament and give my selections for all-tournament teams. Not to say anyone else's weren't accurate but here are my choices. 1A: Max Briggs of NLA Ethan Pack of Hayfield Isaac Matti of Hayfield Issac Assuma of Cherry Ashton Dingmann of BBE 6th Man: Kobe Tomkinson of Sacred Heart 2A: Carson Gagnon of Annandale Demeiko Anderson of Minneapolis North Eli King of Caledonia Prince Aligbe of Minnehaha Jackson Loge of Morris Area 6th Man: Mitchel Jaskowiak of GSL 3A: Taison Chatman of Totino-Grace Nasir Whitlock of DeLaSalle BJ Omot of Mankato East Haydn Stay of Princeton Patrick Bath of Totino-Grace 6th Man: Kyle Johnson of DeLaSalle 4A: Tre Holoman of CDH Hayden Tibbits of Wayzata Cody Pennebaker of Park Center Braeden Carrington of Park Center Carter Bjerke of Wayzata 6 Man: Jamal Ambrose of Eastview