Week two of the 2025 Summit Summer League takes place this Wednesday, August 13.
After an opening week where everyone went 1-1 overall, teams will be shook up for week two games. Want to check out games this week? They start at 7:00 pm at PSM with admission set at $10.
Click here to see info, schedule and rosters for week two games.
What are some things to look forward to this week?
INTERIOR OR PERIMETER, WHAT MATTERS MOST?
So we talked last week in the wrap up week one how important the three pointer was in games and moments. But it was a far cry from last August in the SSL where interior player mattered perhaps the most because of the overall size of the players in the league.
And while this year has less traditional size, they guys who have the size made great use of it in the opening week, including Stephen Akase. His battles in both games with Collin McAtee and Uriah Williams (Game One) and Ryan Stuckey (Game Two) were very intriguing work. And as the guy who established himself as the top player in opening week, it lends immediate credit to the post play in the league.
Mason Pearson was right there in tow as well with what he was able to do. And with Pearson, like Akase, it was far from just work at the rim. Instead, Pearson used his length all over the floor but it was still most valuable taking advantage of size mismatches at the rim as well as his rebounding, which was key on the offensive end. He led the league with 12.5 rebounds per game last week, including 17 rebounds in a game one win over Team Vance.
Every game this week boasts a good big man matchup including a 7 p.m. hour that boasts Stephen Akase versus Avery MacFarlane (Vance v Deming) and Mason Pearson versus Uriah Williams (Abram v Prokop). If these battles prove to be high level, then maybe it is another year of the bigs in the SSL?
TEAMMATES, BROTHERS PARTNER UP
Having high school teammates on the same team each week won’t be a surprise in the 2025 Summit Summer League and that is mainly because there are 6 Huntington North and 6 Bishop Luers players in the league each.
But not only do we have high school teammates on the same teams this week, we see a lot of AAU partnerships that can carry over too and even one household getting together on the same team.
Team Deming boasts pairs from each Luers and Huntington North but also two pairs of AAU teammates in sophomores Owen Poulson (Huntington North) and Cam Schimmele (Bishop Luers), who are two of the best pure shooters in this league, as well as seniors Avery MacFarlane (Lakewood Park) and Dom Keferl (Carroll).
Team Abram has just one such pair with sophomores Jayden Moore (Bishop Luers) and Landon Kralis (Warsaw). Kralis, who was part of the SSL last year as well, will be making his 2025 debut after missing week one, bringing a toughness to the interior for Team Abram. Team Vance will have teammates from both Huntington North and Bellmont, but will also feature AAU teammates Titus Schultz (Huntington North) and Carson Waltke (East Noble).
Finally, on Team Prokop, we get the family ties as brothers Nick McBride and Josh McBride (Norwell) will team up to bring a steady presence and high end shooting. Team Prokop also features AAU teammates Malaki Christian (Tippecanoe Valley) and Kellan Spahr (Huntington North).
Needless to say, all signs point to this week’s teams having the chance to have some quality chemistry which could make for better defense, ball movement and more excitement from opening tip.
GAME OF THE WEEK POTENTIAL
When Outside the Huddle takes a look at games each week, it is fun to break down what could very realistically be the game of the week. Sometimes we are right, sometimes we are wrong. But this is the game that we pinpoint as what could be the very best in week 2 after a pretty unpredictable opening week.
For that, we look at the 7 p.m. hour on Court D where coaches David Prokop and Marq Abram square off for the first time in this league as their week one teams were not paired up.
Both teams have a solid balance in size across the board, including a really intriguing meeting of big men inside with Team Prokop’s Uriah Williams (Wayne) and Team Abram’s Mason Pearson (NorthWood). Pearson was one of the best all around performers in Week 1, leading the way with his size, physicality and ability to hunt down mismatches on switches. Williams is a solid big who is only getting better with time as his motor grows. The two of them going at it, both tall but also diverse in their games, could be fun.
Team Prokop also boasts two high end shooters and decision makers in Nick and Josh McBride (Norwell) that could go a long way in the aforementioned chemistry department. Team Prokop also gets dealt to of the breakout performers of week one in sophomores Jaxson Minnick (Bishop Luers) and Brayden Freiburger (Huntington North). The two drew rave reviews in opening week play from their coaches and other important onlookers.
For Team Abram, look for them to counter with Jayden Moore and Landon Kralis when it comes to stretch forwards with some physicality and poise like Minnick and Freiburger showed last week. In true guard positions, Abram will have steady hands that can knock down shots in George Poiry (Bishop Dwenger) and with Taurean Brown (Heritage), who played for Team Abram also in week one, with a great first game in a win and then a big Elam Ending push in game two that almost led to a Team Abram comeback.
Each team has some really diverse pieces that could match up well against one another.
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