2026 January Southside Showcase Preview

One of the top local events on the January schedule is the Southside Showcase.  Its a full day of basketball with 9 total games on the schedule.  Five ranked teams are featured along with a group of teams from the city of Minneapolis.  There are 8 games taking place at Minnehaha Academy along with an additional evening showcase game at Minnesota Transitions.  Here's what to watch for.

10:00 AM Minneapolis Roosevelt vs Simley
Roosevelt is led by the guard duo of Calvin Peterson and Cam Sandeen.  Peterson averages 18.8 PPG and is committed to St. John's.   Sandeen has had a breakout season as the second option.  Simley has won their last 4 games played.  Senior wing Connor Streiff is a top option for the Spartans.  Tre Lovelace, Andre Glass and 8th grade guard Nulf Flores are also players to watch for Simley.

11:30 AM Minneapolis South vs Park Center
South is led by the guard duo of sophomore Jumair Wright (24 PPG) and Ramadan Ibrahim (16.3 PPG).  Park Center has gone with a youth movement due to the loss of head coach James Ware and a number of players transferring out.  Guard Joe Jacobs leads the way.  8th grade guard Paris Kyles is one to watch for the Pirates as well.

1:00 PM Minneapolis Southwest vs #1AAA Richfield
Richfield has record of 11-0 and is now at the top of the class AAA poll after defeating De La Salle last weekend.  Gideon Horne has been on a hot streak for the undefeated Spartans.  Add in another pair of wings in Dre Collins (22.3 PPG) and Tyrece Hagler (15.5 PPG) for a fast high scoring trio.  Southwest will try to slow them down with patience and execution.  Dashiell Erickson leads the Lakers with 14.4 PPG.  The rest of the Southwest lineup is a bunch of interchangeable parts with balanced scoring.

2:30 PM St. Cloud Tech vs St. Thomas Academy
St. Cloud Tech enters the game with recent wins over Anoka and #5AA Holy Family.  Wing Jiech Jiech is having a breakout season averaging 26 points a night.  Nick Brakes adds 15 points a game for the Tigers.  St. Thomas Academy features lefty Lars Osteraas who does a bit of everything for them on and off the ball.  He's joined by an experienced guard group led by Dominic Baez.  A battle of pace here as Tech wants to get up and down and that's not the Cadets style.

4:00 PM Minneapolis North vs Rosemount
Rosemount has won 6 straight games and is off to a better than expected 7-2 start.  Their best wins came over Minneapolis Washburn and Eden Prairie at the East Ridge holiday tournament.  Guard Peyton Gholson has been outstanding for the Irish as their leading scorer.   Sophomore forward Brady Molenaar is also a double figure scorer.  He'll have an advantage inside for Rosemount against a small North lineup.  Guards J'Marion Sanders and Cordae Williams combine for over 40 points per night for North.  The Polars have good momentum coming off an important section 5AA grudge match victory over Breck on Wednesday.  That's after Breck beat them by a point at Augsburg over the holidays.

5:30 PM #10AAAA Hopkins vs #4AAAA Eagan
This game features a high powered Hopkins offense against a strong defensive Eagan squad.  Eagan is giving up under 50 points a night while Hopkins scores over 80 per game.  Can Eagan keep Hopkins from getting out in transition will be a key to watch.  Hopkins point guard Jayden Moore and Eagan guard Mikey McKenzie are guards to monitor.  Then inside you have the matchup of Anthony Byrd of Hopkins going against Kevin Kemp of Eagan.  Moore is a North Dakota commit while Kemp will attend St. Cloud State next season.  Byrd is a sleeper senior starting to blossom.  Hopkins coach Ken Novak reached 1000 career wins in the win over #3AAAA Maple Grove on Tuesday.

5:45 PM Benilde-St. Margaret's vs St. Paul Central (Showcase Game at Minnesota Transitions)
Its an all red clash as a pair of teams familiar to the Southside Showcase series square off at Minnesota Transitions.  Benilde-St. Margaret's features a solid perimeter group led by Milton Nuahn and point guard Connor Watts.  St. Paul Central has a record of 8-1 and is led by guard Eli Moseman.  Central is on a 3 game winning streak with 2 wins over the holidays and a blowout win this week over St. Paul Washington to open play in the St. Paul City Conference. 

7:00 PM Anoka vs #5AAA Mahtomedi
5th ranked Mahtomedi is 7-1 with quality road wins against #10AAA Orono, Byron and South St. Paul.  Their only loss is to #2AAAA Tartan.  Anoka has won 4 of 7 after a slow start to the season.  The Tornadoes still look to be a contender in section 7AAAA.  This game features a matchup of 2 of the top 2027 forwards in the state.  Willie Roelofs leads Mahtomedi with 21.1 PPG while Bryce Gaustad leads Anoka with 18.8 PPG.  Roelofs scored 40 points in the win over South St. Paul this week.  Both are skilled players who can play inside or out.  You also have a noteworthy matchup of senior guards in Dre Ellis (14.8 PPG) and Mahtomedi's Mark Graff (20.9 PPG).  Ellis is a tough cover off the dribble.  Graff is the Zephyrs top shooter while also being their main ball handler.  Soph star Kolden Johnson of Anoka (14.9 PPG) and Noah Carlson of Mahtomedi (9.5 PPG) lead the supporting casts.  This game should be a fun contrast of styles.  Anoka is a drive and kick type of team.  Mahtomedi runs a bunch of sets and relies on execution for their offense.

8:30 PM Minnehaha vs #9A Central Minnesota Christian
Central Minnesota Christian is 9-0 and coming off a very impressive 83-61 win over defending class A champion #6A Dawson-Boyd.  Minnehaha is 4-4 against a tough schedule and a favorite to come out of section 4AA.  They played Richfield tough in an 8 point loss over the holidays.  Another fun matchup of junior forwards in this one with Asher Wieberdink taking on Minnehaha's Kellen Troup.  Troup scored 25 points earlier this week against Providence Academy. Wieberdink had his own terrific night in the win over Dawson-Boyd with 16 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks.  He was an all-conference player as a sophomore last season.  Also keep an keep an eye on Minnehaha's backcourt duo of Ayden Green and 8th grader Carter Cupito.  There are a total of only 4 seniors on these rosters so a bright outlook for both these teams in the future.