View from the Corner Desk

Houghton looked good

It's my goal to see all the top boys basketball teams I can when they come to Marquette County, just to form some impressions. There's danger in that. I can see Marquette or Negaunee play more than once and form a more complete opinion. Houghton I may not see play again until they face Marquette at the end of the year. Nonetheless, my thoughts:

-- Houghton is what I'd call an unassuming team. Not many of them, well, look like basketball players. I don't know exactly what that look is, but I know it when I see it. But they don't need to have whatever look that is, they take of things on the court.

-- To me, it's that team aspect that makes them dangerous. I don't know that they're more talented than some of the M-PC or GNC schools, but coach Jason Carter gets the most out of talent. They should remain a Top 5 team from UPSSA throughout the season unless there are any key changes.

-- And Carter coaches them well. They play really nice defense, I thought. They communicate well. They spring the sidelines trap pretty well and play solid half-court defense behind it, making it doubly hard for teams to score on them.

-- I also enjoyed how much of a team they really are. One player scored his first points of the year and elicted loud cheers from his teammates. They supported each other throughout the game.

-- Taylor Brule needs a bit more meat on his bones. He's listed at 6-10 (looks taller to me) but he's a thin 6-10. You expect him to hang around the post, and he can, though I'd expect some bigger defenders to be able to push him. But what makes Brule dangerous -- and I'm sure he's a UPSSA Dream Teamer -- is his nice jump shot. You don't often see the big guys going 15 feet away from the hoop and swishing it through, but Brule had no problems doing that. He says he's being recruited by both Division 1 and Division II schools but has yet to make a decision. It's clear: he'll play somewhere. It just depends where. But like I wrote, I'd like to see him bulk up a bit more I think it would help on both ends of the court. It's pretty much a requirement at Division II and up.