Midwest Live - 5 Takeaways from this weekend

Midwest Live concluded this Sunday afternoon, with Team Buddy Buckets (OK) winning the top 17U division, Mid Mo Elite winning the top 16U division, and Kingdom Hoops Navy winning the top 15U division. Here is some of the main headlines from the weekend.

Colorado Hawks run a very nice program

Both the 16U and the 17U team made it to their championship games in the top divisions of both age groups. Neither team could come away with the win, but this programed proved they are one of the elite programs in the midwest. Both teams play an aggressive, in-your-face defense that causes many turnovers which translates to points. 16U player Jaeton Hackley had a solid weekend. He ran point for the Hawks and played with a lot of confidence. His court vision and passing abilities were prominent. For the 17U squad, I was most impressed by Jameel Wright. He showed a lot in his game this weekend, whether it was driving and kicking to the open man, driving and finishing at the rim, knocking down jumpers, or playing good pressure defense. His stock should be rising soon. Overall, every Hawks player for both age groups shared the ball well, played with confidence, and overall just played as a good team.

Kingdom Hoops 17U Navy shouldn't be overlooked

Kingdom Hoops did not have the weekend they were hoping for. They finished 2-3 overall and 3rd place out of 4 teams in the top division. But that doesn't nearly tell the whole story. They competed well in every game and looked like a well-oiled machine for a good part of the weekend. This team has some really talented players on it. Payton Sandfort is a guy I've mentioned a lot this weekend and for good reason. In the 3 games I watched of his, he scored 15, 20, and 27 points. He is an elite shooter with a lightning quick release. His pull-up jumpers are his bread and butter, but he is more than capable of getting to the rim and finishing. Reid Grant was really good for them too. He did almost everything right. He scored in double figures in every game that I watched, and was always making the right pass, getting an offensive rebound, or moving well without the ball. He is a great example of an impact player that does all the little things right the helps win games.

Team Buddy Buckets 17U (OK) is one of the top teams in the Midwest

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably saw me tweeting about this team a lot. This team captured the top 17U division championship while going 5-1 on the weekend, with the lone loss coming in an exhibition game against a stacked OSA 17U Adidas team (more on that later). They play great team basketball wihtout caring who gets the spotlight. Speaking of the spotlight, Ethan Scott was in it a lot this weekend. Playing up one grade, he was lights out for them all weekend. Teams struggled to run him off the 3 point line, as he was 3/3 from deep and 11 points against Iowa Barnstormers, hit 3 from deep with 10 points against Kingdom Hoops, was 5/8 from deep and scored 15 against MOKAN, and was 5/9 from deep while scoring 25 in a championship win against the Colorado Hawks. Sean Pedulla had a nice weekend as well. He dropped 25 points against OSA despite being 4-5 inches shorter than most of OSA's roster. He was great at finishing at the rim or kicking out to his teammates. He's fundamentally sound, and the offers should continue to keep coming for him. Sean Franklin was very fun to watch. He was great at finishing around the rim, including this tomahawk slam against Kingdom Hoops. Dalante Shannon, James Locke, and JV Seat were other names thathad a solid weekend for Buddy Buckets. This team looks like they've been playing together for years, and it makes for some really fun to watch basketball.

OSA 17U Adidas is going to be one of the top teams in the nation

OSA 17U Adidas only had 2 exhibition games this tournament, but they really showed out in both. Hunter Sallis and Tucker DeVries is a scary duo. Sallis is the highest ranked player to ever come out of Nebraska, and he sure played like it this weekend. He had games of 16 and 22 on efficient shooting. His mid range game is deadly, and his length combined with his athleticism is hard to guard. It combined for a couple highlight reel plays, including a 1 handed slam off a full court pass courtesy of Tucker DeVries. Devries was a shooting machine in both games. He had 25 points on 5/6 from deep against Kingdom Hoops, and 12 points on 3/5 from deep against Team Buddy Buckets. The team that OSA had Saturday night combined for 46 Division 1 offers, which, considering they only had 8 players on Saturday, that comes out to nearly 8 D-1 offers per player. This team has talent level and exposure that very few teams from Nebraska has ever had, and it will be fun to see how big they can get.

Coaches should be contacting Isaac Patterson

Patterson had a great weekend for MOKAN Select 17U. He averaged 16 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds including a 25 point performance against Kingdom Hoops and a 17 point outing against Colorado Hawks 17U. His finishing abilities were great and his basketball IQ was very high. He currently only holds one offer from William Jewell College, but if he continues to play the way he did this past weekend, his phone will be buzzing with college coaches on a consistent basis.