Best of January 2026 Week 1

As we approach the mid-point of the 2025-2026 season, I'm fast approaching the completion of seeing all of the teams that I previewed.  I knocked out the Minneapolis City, Skyline, Tri-Metro, MCAA-South, South Suburban and Wright County East this week as I took in 17 games.  In a now rare set of circumstances, the majority of those games were actually in person.  Thanks to COVID, a large percentage of my games are online but the Saturday events keep me going.  Here are my notes from the 17 games I saw this week.

Weekly Food Count
1 hot dog
2 walking tacos
16.9 oz Coke
36 oz Pepsi

Monday
A good stretch for Willmar as they moved into the AAA poll and finished a stretch where they took out 3 of the top teams in the Mississippi 8.  They beat Monticello, Becker and Zimmerman (my game).  Avery Christensen was a bit off the radar but had a very good summer.  He was terrific for the Cardinals in the win with 26 points in the blowout win.  That was right in the middle of a stretch where Zimmerman played 5 games in 7 nights.  The Thunder lost 3 of those including an important league game at home to Becker.

Tuesday
The big MCAA North matchup between Spectrum and Liberty got postponed so I decided to take in the top team in the MCAA South instead.  Mayer Lutheran no problems knocking off CHOF in a 89-54 win.  Ben Lindesmith another nice game with 19 points and 3 triples.  They go to 2nd place United Christian on Tuesday.

Andover had a rough week being blown out by Chaska and Totino-Grace.  Tyler Forrest was outstanding in that game for Chaska with 13 points (all 1st half) and 10 assists.  He showed an extra level of poise and discipline that I haven't seen previously.  Great patience with his shot selection.  The beneficiary of many of those assists was junior guard Eli Herzog.  Herzog knocked down 7 3s on his way to 24 points in the game.  Chaska was up 13 midway thru the first half.  The Hawks then blew the game open with a 62-25 halftime lead on their way to a 92-58 win.  Second time my luck has been bad and I've seen Andover get blown out.  Their 4 losses are by 22, 27, 34 and 26 points.

Big return for Gavin Walter of Champlin Park on Tuesday.  The Rebels went into Osseo and came out with a 76-69 win.  Walter started out on fire and scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half.  Osseo would use a 12-2 run to take a 65-62 lead before Champlin Park closed the game on a 14-4 run.  Owen Counce with 5 triples and 18 points for Osseo.  If we had awards like the NBA's Most Improved Player award, he'd be on the short list.

Wednesday
Speaking of returns, I got to see Highland Park for the first time as they took on Humboldt to open St. Paul City play.  Junior guard Leo Clifford is back for Highland Park this season after not playing last year.  I was a big fan as a freshman and he didn't disappoint in this game.  26 points and 3 triples as the Scots won 74-62.  Romello Horton played well inside with 11 points.  Highland Park used a 10-0 run in the first half to take the lead and never looked back.  Wing Jakar Rice with 16 points to lead Humboldt.

Thursday
Hutchinson and Watertown-Mayer was a game of runs.  Watertown-Mayer was up 9 but Hutch had a chance late to tie.  Nathan Schumann 3 triples and 19 points to lead Huthcinson.  Sam Plahn is a new name for me from Watertown-Mayer.  Good outing for the sophomore win leading the Royals with 21 points and 3 triples.  Micah Schmidt added 18 points and 5 triples.

#5AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall looked like a totally new team in their 82-69 win over East Ridge.  The Bill McKee offense is back, new inbounds plays and an updated rotation.  Ced Tomes got his 27 points with 5 rebounds and 6 assists.  But CDH held him to only 6 free throws and 4 of those were late.  Wing Aidan Galvin with 4 more triples.  Ty Schlagel got off to a quick start and finished with 25 points and 9 rebounds for CDH.  He passed 1000 career points in the game as well.  JoJo Mitchell didn't shoot it well but a well-rounded game with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.  Julian Smith 4 critical 3s and 17 points.

Eastview took out Lakeville North 74-64.  Eastview led by Justice Demarco with 3 triples and 23 points.  JC Green 18 points and 7 rebounds for the Lightning.  Green to Demarco for a 3 with 1:49 left in a 1 possession game was a dagger.  Dane Danielson just 6 points and scoreless in the second half for Lakeville North.  3 road games this week (Burnsville, Shakopee and Bloomington Jefferson) loom this week for Lakeville North as they are the only winless team in South Suburban play.

Friday
Now to the in-person portion of the schedule as I made the trek to Cooper for their Tri-Metro matchup with Brooklyn Center.  If you post a roster, that will be the end of it.  If you don't, I will look for you, I will find you and I will get your roster anyway.  Thankfully that worked out as New Hope Public Works and sidewalks have long been a disaster.  I survived the ice slabs also known as sidewalks.  Guard Desmond Goines with 27 points to lead Cooper.  Lefty forward Davion Hall playing inside and out with a pair of 3s on his way to 19 points for Brooklyn Center.  Cooper opened up a 10 point lead early in the 2nd half.  The Centaurs had it down to 5 late but got no closer.

Trinity took on Nova in a matchup of teams looking for their first win in Skyline Conference play.  Trinity jumped out to a 16-4 lead and was up 15 at the half.  Nova clawed their way back and had the lead down to 3 with 4 minutes left.  Soph guard Jacob Bowden with 14 points off the Trinity bench.  A triple and a bucket kept the lead at 11 with 9:10 left. Then he made both ends of the bonus after a late Nova 3.  That closed out the 52-48 Trinity win.  Soph forward Teagan Nammeh is a project big man for Trinity but definitely a player that has a chance to make strides.  Caleb Taylor with 16 points to lead Nova.

Saturday (Southside Showcase Review)
A full day in the gym means plenty of Pepsi (3 of them on this day) and a pair of walking tacos.  Good crowd on hand for the big games.  Close games for most of the day too. 

Game 1: Simley 63 Roosevelt 57
A tight game all the way through this one.  Roosevelt had a chance to tie but missed a free throw, a shot and a turnover in the final minute.  Calvin Peterson 25 points on a cold shooting day with 7 rebounds to lead Roosevelt.  Cam Sandeen adds 15 points.  Andre Glass 16 points to lead Simley.  Connor Streiff adds 15

Game 2: Minneapolis South 87 Park Center 71
South used a 19-2 run in the first half to take control of the game and go up 16 at the half.  Park Center cut a 20 point margin to 13 midway thru the half but got never threatened after that.  Ramadan Ibrahim 18 points and Jumair Wright 16 points to lead South.  I also liked Jake Dixon's contribution inside.  10 points all in the 2nd half.  The 6'6 junior forward has bounce which he uses to dunk everything (love that attitude) and is a shot blocking threat.  Jerome Gregory 17 points to lead Park Center.  

Game 3: #1AAA Richfield 79 Minneapolis Southwest 56.
Richfield took a 14-0 lead as it took 4:30 for Southwest to get on the scoreboard.  Their 2-3 zone kept the game close and they got as close as 5 in the first half.  It was a 6 point game with 13 minutes left before Richfield pulled away.  Gideon Horne with another quality game of 16 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks.  Dre Collins 15 points to go with 3 others in double figures for the Spartans.  Adnan Mohamed led Southwest with 11 points off the bench.  Richfield conversion to offense is something to see as they really get down the floor in a hurry.

Game 4: St. Cloud Tech 74 St Thomas Academy 64
The first 12 minutes or so of this one was all St. Thomas Academy.  Lars Osteraas hot early as the Cadets opened a 12 point lead.  But Tech would cut that margin to 2 at the half.  They would extend that margin to 60-48 with 6:20 to play as St. Thomas Academy just couldn't find a way to score against a long and athletic Tech lineup.  The Cadets would rally though with an Osteraas steal for a dunk.  That cut the lead to 3 with 3:30 left for an 11-2 run.  St. Thomas Academy would only score twice more after that.  Osteraas with 25 points to lead St. Thomas Academy but he was the only double figure scorer.  Jiech Jiech 20 points to lead Tech.  Nick Brakes adds 18.

Game 5: Rosemount 70 Minneapolis North 56
The first half saw J'Marion Sanders and Peyton Gholson go back and forth.  Sanders with 17 of the 34 North points.  Gholson with 16 of the 36 for Rosemount.  Brady Molenaar with a bucket and a 3 point play early in the 2nd half as the Irish quickly built the lead to 9.  They hang on from there.  Gholson finishes with 24 points.  Brady Molenaar 21 points and 18 boards on my sheet as he was a matchup inside that North couldn't handle.  He also impacted North's ability to attack the rim.  Sanders with 22 points to lead the Polars.  Ronell Willis with 16 points.  Cordae Williams held to 4 points and 1 field goal.

Game 6: #10AAAA Hopkins 9 #4AAAA Eagan 60
The story of this game was the Hopkins defensive pressure.  They were able to force turnovers for easy buckets.  Eagan found it really hard to run much offense against that pressure.  That got the Royals out to a 22-6 lead and they never looked back.  Eagan did rally to cut that lead to 8 in the second half, but Hopkins kept it double digits the rest of the way.  Jayden Moore 20 points, Ahmed Nur with 19 to lead Hopkins.  Alex Schroepfer 15 points, Mikey McKenzie 12 points on 4 3s for Eagan.

Game 7: #5AAA Mahtomedi 74 Anoka 72
Anoka took a 17-9 lead and had the lead for most of the game.  Mahtomedi would hang around to tie the game on a Noah Carlson 3 with 3:30 left.  Willie Roelofs not only scored in this one but was a very productive high post passer against the Anoka zone.  He finds Andrew Russell for a dunk with 1:10 left for a 73-71 Mahtomedi lead.  Anoka trying to tie sees Kolden Johnson grab his own miss and get fouled.  He makes the first and after a Mahtomedi timeout, the second is no good with 5.4 seconds left.  Mahtomedi makes 1 free throw but Anoka's last chance gets tipped away and Mahtomedi wins.  Dre Ellis on fire in this one for Anoka with 35 points and 8 triples.  Mark Graff 22 points and 6 3s of his own to lead Mahtomedi.  Willie Roelofs with 20 points.  Mahtomedi was able to run a UCLA screen for him on multiple occassions for easy post points.  Noah Carlson another productive game with 15 points.

Game 8: Minnehaha 93 #9A Central Minnesota Christian 82
Asher Wieberdink with 26 points for CMC.  Junior guard Carter Taatjes added 23. Losing wing Micah Asake to injury in the 2nd half was a big loss for the Bluejays too.  They fell behind by 12 at the half and 15 in the second half before getting it all the way down to 6 with 6 minutes left behind their 2 stars.  But Ayden Green went into closer mode.  He had 3 buckets off the bounce and an assist for a triple during the stretch run as the lead went back to double digits and the Redhawks were out of danger.  Green finishes with 25 points and 8 assists.  Frosh Mekhi Abner 17 points inside plus 7 rebounds off the bench.  He went to the baseline drop step multiple times from the left block.  Carter Cupito 3 triples and 15 points.

The big story for me from this game was Minnehaha forward Kellen Troup.  What a week he had in a week of 3 good wins.  14 points and 14 boards in the win at Benilde-St. Margaret's on Tuesday.  Then 24 and 13 in a big league home win over Blake on Friday night.  Just for kicks, why not finish the week with a video game line of 28 points, 20 rebounds and 7 steals against CMC.  He had 5 triples in those 28 points  Most of all, he had an edge to him that I haven't seen much of.  These are the types of games that his projection says he's been capable of.  This stat line is right in line with taking that next step.