612 Hoops Blog

Top High Schoolers put on a Show at the Sizzle Nation Alumni Game

Dylan Petersen

Casmir Chavis made it look easy at the Sizzle Nation Alumni Game. (Pictures by Nolan Weiner)

Minnesota Sizzle has been one of the top AAU programs in Minnesota for years now. They produced Minnesota phenoms Jalen Suggs and Chet Holmgren. This program is the main reason for Holmgren’s blowup during the spring of 2019. Minnesota Sizzle gave Holmgren his spotlight on the UAA circuit. They have also produced loads of division one talent as well.

Yesterday I went to an event that combined the past and the future of Minnesota Sizzle. This event was called the Sizzle Nation Alumni game. The Sizzle Nation Alumni Game featured current players for the Sizzle program and past players as well.

The current team was stacked with Minnesota’s top high school hoopers. They had players such as Casmir Chavis (Park Center), Jayden Moore (Hopkins), Chiang Ring (Park Center), Greyson Uelmen (Minnetonka), and Temi Omotoyinbo (Osseo). This squad made it look effortless against the alumni. The Park Center duo of Casmir Chavis and Chiang Ring were putting on a dunk show during the alumni games. It was almost as if the two were having a dunk contest against each other. Uelmen and Moore were also knocking down threes left and right, I was very impressed by Uelmen’s consistency.

Chiang Ring drives in for the left handed dunk.

The current Sizzle players took the first game against an older alumni team. They were so old that I could not recognize any of the players so I was not familiar with any of their names. However, they did not back down and they kept the game close for a majority of the game. They loved their trash talk and they wanted to prove the young guys that this was a grown man’s game.

In the second game it was a pretty back and fourth matchup between the young Sizzle team and another older Sizzle team. I did not stay the whole game but this one was pretty much a highlight show. The competitive edge was down compared to the first one and all the players were just going for highlights. Former Gopher, Sean Sutherlin was trying every dunk he had during the second game and Jordan Horn was using his full arsenal of moves to get buckets.

Overall, this event was great for the Grassroots Sizzle program. It brought most of the alumni together and I could tell the players really enjoyed it. The event was also perfect for showcasing some of the top high school players in Minnesota currently. It was a great mix of the past and the future and this alumni game truly showed how special Minnesota hoops are.