Self-proclaimed basketball scouts have the opportunity of a lifetime when some of the top high school basketball teams in the state and across the country battle in the 18th annual Timberwolves Shootout.
Minnesota teams to play include defending Class 4A and 3A champions Apple Valley and DeLaSalle, along with Cretin-Derham Hall, Lakeville North and Grand Rapids.
The Shootout will feature top prep players like Apple Valley’s Tyus Jones, who is headed to Duke, Lakeville North’s J.P. Macura, who is headed to Xavier, and juniors Jarvis Johnson of DeLaSalle and Alex Illikainen of Grand Rapids.
Jones gets most of the headlines, but Macura leads the state in scoring at 37.4 points per game, according to MNBasketballHub.com.
ESPN Recruiting Nation says Johnson has received scholarship offers from Iowa State and Creighton. He’s a four-star recruit, and ranked just behind fellow four-star recruit Illikainen, who has received offers from Creighton, Indiana, Iowa State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Oregon, among others.
DeLaSalle’s best player Reid Travis remains sidelined with a foot injury. Travis has made a verbal commitment to attend Stanford University next fall.
Timberwolves.com put together an outstanding feature on Jones and the passing of the torch to his little brother Tre, who is already playing as an eighth grader.
Past players in the event that have gone on to play in the NBA include Kevin Love, DeMarcus Cousins, Jrue Holiday, Kris Humphries, Sam Jacobson, Sebastian Telfair, Steve Blake, Wes Matthews, Drew Gooden and Josh Smith.
WCCO has a full rundown of what the Timberwolves Shootout schedule looks like.
