#5 Oak Grove vs. #3 Central Cass

[east sider]

Gym was packed, must have been 90 degrees in there. Q1 - Both teams got off to hot start trading baskets early on. Kretchman was hitting consistenly, Adams struggled early on but stayed aggressive and got to the line. Midway thru OG kept hitting shot consistently while CC cooled off. End of 1st OG had around 24, CC around 15. Q2 - Much the same really, didn't look good for CC.

Half
OG 47
CC 30

Q3 - What Class B basketball is all about. OG builds further onto the lead, getting it to around 25. I was expecting CC to pack it in, head home ashamed. Midway through one of those seriously bizarre shifts of momentum occurred. CC hit multiple 3's and some easy layups, on the other end OG was playing extremely sloppy on offense - terrible shots coupled with a few bad TO's. At one point I believe the lead was down to 5 or 6. The crowd for CC during this run was going NUTS! OG crowd pretty much flatlined. End of Q3, OG still up 6-10 but the whole gym is on the edge of their seat. Q4 - Everybody is just waiting for CC to make another huge run like they did in the 3rd. It never happened, and I don't believe they ever got any closer than 5 or 6 in the 4th either. It was still very exciting because the game was never really out of reach until the very end.

FINAL
OG 85
CC 74

OG probably had the two best players on the court in Adams and Kretchman. However, I believe CC has the better 1-5 and overall team. This is a win-win for both teams. OG defended their home court on a night when Kretchman goes over 1000 for his career (Congrats to Carter!), and they honored the State champ team before game. Quite a night for the Grovers. CC goes home with their head high showing incredible resiliency and knowing they can stay with and beat the defending champs on any given night. They have the better team so they should be able to adjust better if they play again in Regionals. Isaac Olson is the wildcard for OG, as they sorely lack depth. If the Sr. steps up and adds a consistent third option to the offense they will be tough to beat. One more thing: these are two very good teams, but there are no college-level players on either team so lose those expectations before you watch them.

Prediction:
To me OG has too many obvious weaknesses. I haven't seen Northern Cass play to rank them, but they beat OG so they must be pretty good. As I already said I believe CC is the better team than OG. If I were a betting man and somebody asked if I would bet on OG vs. R1 field, I would take the field.

On a side note, I almost wore just a t-shirt to the game. Unbelievably gorgeous weather for this time of year!

[EHS1998]

One more thing: these are two very good teams, but there are no college-level players on either team so lose those expectations before you watch them.

Really? Breske, Adams, Kretchman, probably a couple others? None have college potential at any level? I find that extremely hard to believe. I know Kretchman is getting some interest and I am guessing Breske is as well. Football might be Adams' path at the next level but it seems he may get some next level looks on the hard court.

[east sider]

One more thing: these are two very good teams, but there are no college-level players on either team so lose those expectations before you watch them.

Really? Breske, Adams, Kretchman, probably a couple others? None have college potential at any level? I find that extremely hard to believe. I know Kretchman is getting some interest and I am guessing Breske is as well. Football might be Adams' path at the next level but it seems he may get some next level looks on the hard court.

I suppose they would do well at Trinity Bible, but you might be more familiar with that team to say for certain.
In all seriousness, of those 3 mentioned Breske stood out the most as a college prospect. From what I saw he does everything well, pretty much on both ends. Only knock is I don't think he is explosive and/or tall enough for the next level. You already hit the nail on the head with Adams, straight up FB player who excels at BB b/c of athleticism and heart, kind of a poor man's Grant Singer IMO. Kretchman has incredible offensive skills, but size matters more and more every level you go up. I hope he makes it, I just don't see it.

You asked me 5 years ago I would have agreed with you. After watching the past few years and seeing kids like Hagler and Kroeplin go to Jamestown and VC, I just don't see how any of the above mentioned players make it.

[east sider]

Disclaimer: I'm not a college scout, so for better analysis I will defer to radball for those who wish to discuss more.

[Run4Fun2009]

Voss committed to Jamestown for Basketball & Breske committed to MSUM for Football this past week