2021-22 Metro West Conference Preview

This is the 10th preview in my 2021-2022 season preview series.  Its now time for the big schools with the mostly class AAAA leagues are now on the list of previews.  In this preview, a look at the expanded Metro West Conference.  For a list of all the season previews and how they are done, click here.

Benilde St. Margaret's Red Knights (2020-21 season 8-9, 4-7 Conference, 4th)
Coach Damien Johnson has a strong perimeter group.  Bemidji State commit Daniel Ijadimbola (12.7 PPG) and Sam Best return on the wings.  PG Maddox Alipate (11.6 PPG) returns to run the show.  They were the top 3 scorers a season ago.  That group also adds transfer Ryan Warren from Eden Prairie.  On the inside, freshman Jalen Wilson comes over from Breck to be the top interior option.

Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars (2020-21 season 11-9, 7-5 Conference, 3rd)
Jefferson loses most of their thin rotation including 2 of their 3 double figure scorers.  Soph Daniel Freitag (10.2 PPG) leads the offense.  He picked up offers from Minnesota and Wisconsin in the offseason.  Senior Aidan Atkins (8.2 PPG) is the only other returnee of note.  They again rely on slow tempo and execution.

Bloomington Kennedy Eagles (2020-21 season 2-16, 1-11 Conference, 7th)
PG Amarion Hanspard  (13.5 PPG) is a big loss from last season.  They also lose freshman Jaleel Donley (7.1 PPG) to Hopkins.  Senior post Christopher Martin (8.9 PPG) returns to lead the offense.  Juniors Marques Monroe and  Tajon Pearson returns to the lineup.  Seniors Ramone Walker and Dalton Smazal will also see significant minutes.

Chanhassen Storm (2020-21 season 3-10, 3-7 Conference, 5th)
Soph PG Max Woods leads the returning roster with 10.3 PPG last season.  Seniors Will Schleicher, Patrick Brick, Jaxon McDonald and Eli Sweeney return to the rotation.  Juniors wings Grant Muffenbier and Braden Barger also return and should be other main scoring options.  Eden Prairie transfer Christian Batchlor could also see minutes.

Chaska Hawks (2020-21 season 14-4, 11-1 Conference, Tie 1st)
Chaska has to replace the league's top scorer Luke Strazzanti (14.2 PPG) and 2 other double figure scorers.  The Hawks will be strong up front with center Brady Nicholson (9.2 PPG) and forward Jakobe Lyles (7.2 PPG) as the top returning scorers.  Matt Kallman and Cameron Walle figure to see time as the perimeter replacements.  But there is no real experience returning there.

New Prague Trojans (2020-21 season 5-14, 3-11 Wright County East Conference, 8th)
Leading scorer Andrew Nerud (14.1 PPG) graduated taking away the top scorer and main interior option.  Guards Ethan Chromy (11.4 PPG) and Matthew Kudrle man the guard spots.  Soph Carter Wilson backs them up.  Jaxon Short figures to take over Nerud's duties inside.

Orono Spartans (2020-21 season 9-9, 7-6 Wright County East Conference, Tie 3rd)
The Spartans lose their leading scorer Graham Beltrand (12.6 PPG) and a couple of solid interior options in Connor Chappell and Andrew Mandel.  They still have a strong core coming back though.  Senior shooter Sebastian Loder (8.6 PPG) is the top returning scorer.  Senior PG Cohen Kellogg also joins that strong group transferring in from Minnetonka.  Juniors Isaiah Hagen (8.5 PPG), Kyle Kallenbach and Grant Gunderson add to the strong perimeter group.  Seniors Jack Kopesky and Jake Farrell also return to the rotation.  Size is a question mark.

Robbinsdale Cooper Hawks (2020-21 season 15-3, 11-1 Conference, Tie 1st)
Cooper loses 3 important pieces from last year's roster including PG Bo Powell (10.2 PPG).  Davion Evans (13.3 PPG) was the team leader in scoring last season.  He leads a strong group coming back.  Prince Appiah, Joseph Russell and David Connors all also return as athletic forwards.  Point guard play and outside shooting are questions.  But they'll use their pressure defense to generate offense.

St. Louis Park Orioles (2020-21 season 3-13, 3-8 Conference, 6th)
Wing Paris Johnson (14 PPG) is the league's top returning scorer.  Blake Anderson and Will Dvorak also return to the starting lineup.  Evan Donesky and junior Stefano Giovannelli also return to the rotation.  Last year's 2 primary ballhandlers have graduated so keep an eye on point guard play.

Waconia Wildcats (2020-21 season 12-7, 8-5 Wright County East Conference, 2nd)
Former De La Salle assistant Dan Rubischko gets another crack at running a program.  Forward Spencer Swanson (20.1 PPG) and his interior presence will be sorely missed.  Joe Meath looks to be a primary candidate to replace his spot.  The scoring will be picked up by a solid group of perimeter returnees.  Noah Bonick (9.9 PPG), junior Ty Miller (8.2 PPG) and Wally Wisniewski (6.8 PPG) all return to the starting lineup with the ability to knock down shots.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Benilde-St. Margaret's  
   
2. Robbinsdale Cooper  
   
3. Chaska
4. Orono
5. Waconia
6. Bloomington Jefferson
7. Chanhassen  
   
8. St. Louis Park
   
9. New Prague
10. Bloomington Kennedy 

Conference Overview
The largest set of league changes in the metro happens here.  New Prague, Orono and Waconia all join from the Wright County with dominoes falling from there.   I think Benilde St. Margaret's guards plus the addition inside of Jalen Wilson give them the most complete package in the league so I'll take them at the top.  That breaks the streak of Hawks winning the league every year which is only fitting with the new era of the league being ushered in.

Behind them you have a large group of quality teams with Chaska, Cooper, Orono and Waconia.  Chaska on the strength of their bigs.  Cooper on the strength of their athletes.  Orono has experience and can score it.  Waconia has to figure out inside play too but their strong perimeter play keeps them in the top half.  Then a drop off to everybody else.  Jefferson has the system and a star in Daniel Freitag so I'll take them next.  Chanhassen and St. Louis Park will battle them for that spot.  Then New Prague and Kennedy fight to stay out of the cellar.
 
Conference MVP: Maddox Alipate - Benilde-St. Margaret's

Underclassmen to watch:  

• Jalen Wilson, Xavier Lumpkin, Jayden Daisy - Benilde-St. Margaret's
• Daniel Freitag - Bloomington Jefferson
• Max Woods -  Chanhassen 
• Carter Wilson - New Prague
  
• Anthony Jones - Robbinsdale Cooper
  

Conference Games to Watch

• Chaska at Robbinsdale Cooper - Jan 4th
• Chaska at Benilde-St. Margaret's - Jan 11th
• Benilde-St. Margaret's at Robbinsdale Cooper - Jan 27th
• Robbinsdale Cooper at Chaska - Feb 4th
  
• Benilde-St. Margaret's at Chaska - Feb 11th
• Robbinsdale Cooper at Benilde-St. Margaret's - Mar 1st
  

Non-Conference Games to Watch

• Mound-Westonka at Benilde-St. Margaret's - Dec 7th
• De La Salle at Benilde-St. Margaret's - Dec 21st
  
• Benilde-St. Margaret's vs Richfield - Dec 30th (Capitol City Classic)
  

2021-22 Metro East Conference Preview

This is the 9th preview in my 2021-2022 season preview series.  This preview is for the Metro East Conference.  For a list of all the season previews and an explanation of how the previews are generated, click here.

Hastings Raiders (2020-21 season 8-10, 7-8 Conference, 5th)
Another year of heavy losses for the Raiders as 5 of the 6 scorers have graduated.  That includes 4 double figure scorers led by PG Japhe Gudissa (13.8 PPG).  Guard Michael Mitchell is the top returnee at 13.4 PPG.  Nobody else averaged more than 4 PPG last season.  Senior Axel Arnold and junior guard Kelvin Maher are the remaining experience.

Hill-Murray Pioneers (2020-21 season 2-14, 1-11 Conference, 9th)
Sam Yanz (13 PPG) was the main offensive option last season.  He has transferred to Tartan.  Center Eddie Reece (6.1 PPG) and lefty Rashad McKinley (5.9 PPG) will lead the offense.  Fellow senior Max Nicholson provides another scoring option.  Jack Schoenecker and Joseph Koch also return to the rotation.

Mahtomedi Zephyrs (2020-21 season 13-5, 10-4 Conference, 3rd)
Mahtomedi has juniors Will Underwood and Owen Carlson back to anchor the offense.  Underwood led the league in scoring last season at 23.6 PPG from his PG spot.  Carlson chipped in with 12.9 PPG on the wing.  Kole McKeown also returns after seeing major minutes.  The rest of the lineup is inexperienced.

North Polars (2020-21 season 6-10, 6-7 Conference, 6th)
The Polars have to replace 2 significant scorers in Murl Smith (16.6 PPG) and LaRon Thomas (12.6 PPG).  Forward Kendarius Daily will be a top option for the offense this season.  Plenty of interchangeable options for the rest of the roster.  Nino Johnson and D'Marion Suttles are 2 senior options there.  Juniors Javon Jackson and Ishmael Powell also return.

St. Thomas Academy Cadets (2020-21 season 3-11, 2-9 Conference, 7th)
Minnesota hoops legend Khalid El-Amin takes over the program. He has to replace his leading scorer and top big man Ryan Chamberlain (13.1 PPG).  Senior Nathan Johnson (8.8 PPG) should fill that role nicely.  The rest of the lineup is experienced perimeter players.  Juniors Michael Kirchner (10.6 PPG), Michael Thompson (8.2 PPG), Jack Chamberlain (8.2 PPG) aren't the biggest or most athletic guards but they've played 2 years and can shoot it.  Junior wing Anthony Bickford also returns with 2 years of experience.

Simley Spartans (2020-21 season 8-6, 7-5 Conference, 4th)
Guard Breyton Buysman (18.5 PPG) has graduated after being one of the league's top scorers.  Versatile wing RJ Jioklow (12.6 PPG) will be relied on to carry the offense.  Seniors Devin Robinson and Kevin Wormer return to the starting lineup at the SG and PF spots respectively.  Matt Kuefler also returns to the rotation.  Sophs Connor Binley and Tapio Niemioja should be rotation contributors too.

South St. Paul Packers (2020-21 season 19-2, 15-1 Conference, 1st)
The defending league champs are the front runner again.  As one of the top teams in AAA, they'll look to improve on last year's loss in the section final.  Forward Marquise Gleb (12.2 PPG) is the only notable loss from that roster.  PG Alonzo Dodd is a triple double waiting to happen every night and is the super charged engine to the explosive SSP offense.  Wings Devin Newsome (17 PPG) and Shawn West-Zimpel (15 PPG) can fill it up too.  Who mans the interior is the main question.

Tartan Titans (2020-21 season 13-5, 11-4 Conference, 2nd)
Coach Mark Klingsporn has to replace his inside out duo of Dewayne Thompson and Curtis Favors.  They combined for almost 25 PPG last season.  Forward D'Marco Chelley (9.2 PPG) leads the remaining roster.  Seniors Marko Vuckomanovich and AJ Burns provide solid wing options along with Hill-Murray transfer Sam Yanz.  This season will be the biggest question mark at point guard that the Titans have had in a long time.

Two Rivers Warriors (2020-21 season 3-14, 2-12 Conference, 8th)
Two Rivers is the new name for the former Henry Sibley high school.  Leading scorer Ethan Russell (10.4 PPG) graduated.  Soph wing Jaden Morgan (9.4 PPG) leads the returning cast.  Tre Michaels slots in at a guard spot.  Adam Lail and soph Max Mogelson provide interior options.  Eric Lail also returns to the lineup.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. South St. Paul 
   
2. Tartan
   
3. Mahtomedi  
   
4. Simley  
5. North 
   
6. St. Thomas Academy     
7. Two Rivers
   
8. Hastings  
   
9. Hill-Murray 

Conference Overview
South St. Paul stands alone at the top.  Tartan and Mahtomedi will be a good battle for 2nd.  Both will grind you out but Tartan does it on defense while Mahtomedi will do it with offensive execution.  Simley and North should battle behind them for the next 2 spots with their returnees.  The bottom half is going to struggle.  St. Thomas, Hastings and Henry Sibley Two Rivers could finish in any configuration.  Hill-Murray just doesn't have the firepower so I don't see them moving up.

Conference MVP: Alonzo Dodd - South St. Paul

Underclassmen to watch: 

• Aiden Hammond - North St. Paul 
• Luke Dobbs - St. Thomas Academy
  
• Connor Binley, Tapio Niemioja - Simley 
• Gavin Pendergast - South St. Paul
  
• Jaden Morgan, Max Mogelson - Two Rivers

Conference Games to Watch

• Mahtomedi at South St. Paul - Jan 4th
  
• Tartan at South St. Paul - Jan 18th
  
• South St. Paul at Tartan - Feb 18th
• South St. Paul at Mahtomedi - Mar 4th
  

Non-Conference Games to Watch

• Mahtomedi at Mounds View - Dec 3rd
  
• Richfield at Tartan - Dec 7th
  
• South St. Paul vs Mankato East - Dec 11th (Tipoff Classic)
• South St. Paul at Park of Cottage Grove - Dec 21st
  
• Tartan at Hopkins - Dec 21st
  
• South St. Paul vs Richfield - Dec 29th (Capitol City Classic)
• South St. Paul vs Minneapolis South - Dec 30th (Capitol City Classic)
  
• Mound-Westonka at South St. Paul - Jan 15th
  

2021-22 Minneapolis City Conference Preview

This is the 8th preview in my 2021-2022 season preview series.  We stay in city boundaries with the Minneapolis City Conference.  For a list of all the season previews, click here.

Edison Tommies (2020-21 season 9-3, 7-2 Conference, 2nd)
The Tommies have to replace the top 2 scorers in the league in wings Jabari Langley (24.7 PPG) and Johnny Spencer (18.1 PPG).  Liban Tushar (10.5 PPG) and junior forward Micah Young (7.2 PPG) lead the returning roster.  Junior guard Damari Lalley and senior Alie Donzo will also see plenty of time.

North Polars (2020-21 season 15-2, 9-0 Conference, 1st)
Larry McKenzie's program has won 60 straight league games and that doesn't figure to stop this season.  PG Willie Wilson (16.1 PPG) returns after leading the team in scoring last season.  Meiko Anderson (9.5 PPG), Mario Sanders and Jacob Butler all return on the wings.  The interior size of Marcus Owens and league MVP Davon Townley (15.2 PPG) will be greatly missed.  St. Anthony transfer Gani Stevens should step right into that center spot after averaging double figures last year.

Patrick Henry Patriots (2020-21 season 4-8, 4-6 Conference, 5th)
The Patriots return Karon Abdullah and Ajani Mcrae at guard spots.  Tay Hawkins also returns on the wing.  Forward Denzil Walker's scoring punch will be missed.

Roosevelt Teddies (2020-21 season 1-12, 0-11 Conference, 7th)
The Teddies struggles figure to continue this season.  They lose much of the minimal scoring punch that they had last season. Guard Quinton Brown (6.7 PPG) will be one of the primary options.  Soph Avery Wells will also see time.

South Tigers (2020-21 season 7-8, 6-5 Conference, 4th)
Sophs Jerome Williams (16.4 PPG) and De'Mari Larkins (8.1 PPG) return at the guard spots to lead the offense.  Junior DeWayne Givens (7.2 PPG) will join them.  Camren Smith (7.4 PPG) is another wing option.  Forward Chiang Ring (9.1 PPG) is the top front court option and a shot blocker inside.  Soph Christian Henderson will also see time inside.

Southwest Lakers (2020-21 season 9-8, 7-5 Conference, 3rd)
Wing Cam Holter returns after spending a year at Holy Angels.  The Lakers also return 5 of their top 6 scorers from last season.  Hakeem Ford (8.6 PPG) and Gabe Senseman-Cassidy (12.1 PPG) comprise a strong front line.  Preston Engen (10.3 PPG), Andrew Gregerson and Caden Sullivan are the core of experienced guards.

Washburn Millers (2020-21 season 3-9, 3-7 Conference, 6th)
Washburn returns their top 5 scorers from last season so there will be plenty of experience.  Soph post Kyle Jorgensen was the team leader in scoring at 8.1 PPG last season.  Jake Husaby, Rein Maegi, Cass Ramberg and Donovan Smith all averaged between 6 and 7 PPG last season.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. North
2. Southwest   
   
3. South  
   
4. Washburn  
   
5. Henry    
6. Edison
7. Roosevelt

Conference Overview
North is still loaded and the heavy favorite.  Southwest and South should be a good battle for 2nd. They played 2 close games last season.  I'll take seniors over sophomores there.  Washburn also returns a ton so I'll take them as the best of the rest.  Henry and Edison have significant losses in the next tier.  Roosevelt's big league losing streak figures to continue.

Conference MVP: Willie Wilson - North

Underclassmen to watch:  

• Datrell McCrimmon - North
  
• Avery Wells - Roosevelt
• Jerome Williams, Chiang Ring, De'Mari Larkins, Camren Smith, Christian Henderson, Temi Omotoyinbo - South
  
• Kyle Jorgenson - Washburn
  

Conference Games to Watch

• Southwest at South - Jan 27th
  
• North at Southwest - Feb 8th
• North at South - Feb 17th
• South at Southwest - Mar 1st
  

Non-Conference Games to Watch

• South vs De La Salle - Dec 11th (Tipoff Classic) 
• South vs Park of Cottage Grove - Dec 29th (Capitol City Classic)
• South vs South St. Paul - Dec 30th (Capitol City Classic)
  
• De La Salle at North - Jan 8th
• Brookfield East (WI) at North - Jan 22nd (Border Battle) 
• Hopkins at North - Jan 25th
• East Ridge at North - Feb 19th
• Wayzata at North - Feb 28th
  

2021-22 St. Paul City Conference Preview

This is the 7th preview in my 2021-2022 season preview series.  Now that the private schools are mostly covered, its on to public schools.  We start with the city leagues and St. Paul goes first.  For a list of all the season previews and how they are generated, click here.

Central Minutemen (2020-21 season 11-3, 10-2 Conference, Tie 1st)
Central needs to replace 3 double figure scorers.  That includes wings Kaden Doram (13.1 PPG) and Gavin Gothard (10.6 PPG).  Senior PG Gideon Musabyimana (14.7 PPG) returns after leading the team in scoring.  Wing Jaylen Cardenas and Jakobe Baer-Taki are also seniors returning to the rotation.  Freshman Allan Lankford (4.4 PPG) and junior Ka'jon Jordan provide quality depth.

Como Park Cougars (2020-21 season 2-11, 2-10 Conference, 6th)
The Cougars return the league's top scorer in forward Donavan Clinton (21.1 PPG) along with just about everybody else from last year.  Amir Plair (12.9 PPG), Dylan Aarness and soph Mason Aarness provide the size.  The guards are small but quick led by Donnell Gibson and Jountay Kibble.

Harding Knights (2020-21 season 5-8, 5-7 Conference, 5th)
Harding has to replace their entire starting lineup.  That includes wing Salmen Ahmed (13.8 PPG) and power forward Alex Addai (13.4 PPG).  Adnaan Mohamed is the top returning scorer at 5.2 PPG.  Junior guards Veli Benjamin (5.2 PPG) and Robert Htoo also return to the rotation.  Jahaud Brown is the top returning option inside.

Highland Park Scots (2020-21 season 10-3, 10-2 Conference, Tie 1st)
Highland Park has to replace almost everyone from last year's conference champions.  That was a very successful group that won the Twin Cities freshman game and then finished with a league title.  They'll also have a new coach with Jesse McCann moving on to be the AD at Washington.  Junior Dillon Foster and senior Aden Langer are the 2 players returning.

Humboldt Hawks (2020-21 season 7-7, 6-6 Conference, 4th)
It looks to be a rebuilding year for Humboldt.  Guard Xavier Garcia (19.9 PPG) and wing Brian Williams (15.2 PPG) were the 2 big scoring threats.  They've both graduated along with most of the roster.  Unknown what they have returning but it looks like experience will be a major concern.

Johnson Governors (2020-21 season 9-4, 9-3 Conference, 3rd)
The Govs lose their top 2 scorers including guard Julian Hodges (12.9 PPG).  Seniors Ishmael David (10.9 PPG) and Christian Jones (10.5 PPG) are the top returnees.  Guard Rickhi Graham also returns.  Soph forward Daejohn Thomas provides an option inside.  Fellow sophomore Jalani Mays will also see rotation time.

Washington Eagles (2020-21 season 1-13, 0-12 Conference, 7th)
Washington loses 2 of their 3 double figure scorers.  That includes center La'Kendrick Reed (13.8 PPG) and guard Ka'von Trotter (11.8 PPG).  Junior guard Tyquan Allen (12.5 PPG) leads the returning roster.  Hamza Kadir (7.3 PPG) will see time on a wing.  Soph guard Jonathan Santiago will see an expanded role.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Central 
2. Johnson
3. Como Park
   
4. Highland Park 
   
5. Harding  
6. Washington 
   
7. Humboldt
   

Conference Overview:
Central has won or shared the last 3 league titles.  Johnson dominated the league before that.  These 2 are far and away the top 2 in the league.  Then a significant dropoff to the rest of the league.  Como Park has the most talent coming back out of the rest of the teams.  But the only team they've beaten the last 2 season was last year's Washington team that was winless in the regular season.  Then the graduation losses hit everybody else and make the bottom of the league really ugly.  The next group of 3 could go in any order.  I'll pick Humboldt at the bottom as they have the least returning. 

Conference MVP: Gideon Musabyimana - Central

Underclassmen to watch: 

• Allan Lankford - Central
• Mason Aarness - Como Park
  
• Daejohn Thomas, Jalani Mays - Johnson
• Johnathan Santiago - Washington
  

Conference Games to Watch

• Johnson at Central - Jan 7th
  
• Central at Johnson - Feb 1st
  

Non-Conference Games to Watch

• Park at Central - Dec 3rd
• Twin Cities Academy at Johnson - Dec 14th 
• Minneapolis South at Central - Dec 21st
  
• Central vs Mound-Westonka - Dec 29th (Capitol City Classic)
• Twin Cities Academy at Central - Jan 20th
  

 

2021-22 Tri-Metro Conference Preview

This is the 6th preview in my 2021-2022 season preview series.  Week 2 of this season's preview series begins with a look at the Tri-Metro Conference.  For a list of all the season previews and how they are generated, click here.

Academy of Holy Angels Stars (2020-21 season 8-11, 5-9 Conference, 5th)
Senior guard Emmett Johnson averaged 11.7 PPG.  He's the lone returning double-figure scorer.  Terrance Roberts also returns at a guard spot.  Rob Issa and Aiden Smith are returning forward options.  Junior PF Joe Miller should see expanded time as the inside threat.  Cam Holter (8.6 PPG) has returned to Minneapolis Southwest plus Bryce Boyd (12.3 PPG) graduated.  Those were 2 of the top 3 scorers from last season and both played on the wing.

Brooklyn Center Centaurs (2020-21 season 1-16, 0-14 Conference, 8th)
Junior guard Quayvant Douglas had a monster season averaging 28.1 PPG.  But with minimal help around him, the Centaurs only won 1 game.  The only other double figure scorer, Ben Weyhee (16.4 PPG), has graduated  Forward Christopher Taylor is the top option up front.  Terryon Rogers and Michael Albertson are perimeter options .

Columbia Heights Hylanders (2020-21 season 12-3, 10-2 Conference, 1st)
Coach Willie Braziel is primed for another top notch season with his Hylanders.  He returns just about everybody from his rotation.  That includes the dynamic wing duo of Hassan Kamara (17.1 PPG) and Muja Burton (17 PPG).  Inside they return Donnavin Hinsz (14.9 PPG) and hopefully get Spencer Alvarez back from injury.  Terrence Brown (7.3 PPG) returns to run the show. 
 
De La Salle Islanders (2020-21 season 15-6, 10-4 Conference, 4th)
Last season was the worst De La Salle conference season since 2008-2009.  Coach Travis Bledsoe has to replace 2 of his 3 double-figure scorers from last season plus a top wing.  But he still has a strong perimeter group to work with.  Junior Nasir Whitlock (13.9 PPG) provides the most scoring punch and is coming off a strong summer.  Sophomores Casmir Chavis (6.9 PPG) and Randy McClendon (5.3 PPG) will be anchors of the rotation as well.  Seniors Amir Everett (6.1 PPG) and Kyle Johnson will also see plenty of time.  Losing the 16.3 PPG of Dartmouth signee Cade Haskins will hurt as much defensively as he was the only semblance of any size in the lineup last season.

Fridley Tigers (2020-21 season 8-10, 4-9 Conference, 5th)
Fridley loses 4 starters and 2 double figure scorers from last season.  Senior shooting guard Eli Nelsen (13.2 PPG) was the leading scorer last season.  Senior forward Devin Williams (8 PPG) emerged as an inside threat last season.  I expect his numbers to go up noticeably this season.  Limited options behind them.  Guard MJ Newton and forward Daniel Pobupa will also see rotation time.

Richfield Spartans (2020-21 season 16-5, 11-3 Conference, 2nd)
The star perimeter duo of Lamar Grayson (23.2 PPG) and Ryan Miles (13.4 PPG) needs to be replaced from last season's state semifinal team.  Bruising PF Jaden Wollmuth (14 PPG) and PG Mitchell January (11.2 PPG) return to anchor the lineup.  They provide a formidable inside out duo.  Senior Jaedyn Patterson will be a wing option.  Very limited experience after those players.

St. Anthony Huskies (2020-21 season 5-14, 4-10 Conference, 7th)
St. Anthony has to replace its top 3 scorers.  That includes leader Max Kachman (12.4 PPG) who graduated and breakout forward Gani Stevens (11.2 PPG).  Stevens is now at Minneapolis North.  Junior guards Nathan Lucas (7.2 PPG) and Caydin Hauser (6.2 PPG) are the top returning players in the rotation.  Fellow juniors Caden Rodkewich and Joe Randle will see significant rotation minutes as well.  

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Columbia Heights 
2. De La Salle
   
3. Richfield
4. Holy Angels
5. Fridley 
   
6. St. Anthony 
7. Brooklyn Center    

Conference MVP: Muja Burton - Columbia Heights

Conference Overview:
St. Croix Lutheran departs for the Skyline Conference leaving only 7 teams in the Tri-Metro.  Columbia Heights should be near the top of the AAA poll all season and are the clear favorite.  De La Salle and Richfield will be a quality battle for second.  De La Salle with more experience returning so I'll take the Islanders to rebound a bit from last season.  Holy Angels is the clear best of the rest.  Fridley and St. Anthony battle for the next spot.  I'm going to pick the Tigers since I got these 2 flipped last season and St. Anthony is young.  Brooklyn Center continues to rebuild.

Underclassmen to watch: 

• Jency Davis, Quaylin Hardrict - Columbia Heights
• Casmir Chavis, Randy McClendon- De La Salle

Conference Games to Watch

• De La Salle at Columbia Heights - Jan 11th 
• Richfield at Columbia Heights - Jan 18th
  
• Columbia Heights at De La Salle - Feb 4th
• Columbia Heights at Richfield - Feb 10th
  

Non-Conference Games to Watch

• De La Salle at Park Center - Dec 9th 
• Minneapolis South at  De La Salle - Dec 11th (Tipoff Classic)
  
• Maranatha at Columbia Heights - Dec 13th 
• Robbinsdale Cooper at De La Salle - Dec 14th
  
• De La Salle at Totino-Grace - Dec 18th (Big 12 Classic)
• De La Salle at Benilde-St. Margaret's - Dec 21st
  
• Richfield vs South St. Paul - Dec 29th (Capitol City Classic)
• De La Salle at Minneapolis North - Jan 8th 
• Columbia Heights vs Minneapolis South - Jan 22nd (at Burnsville)
  
• Cretin-Derham Hall at De La Salle - Feb 19th
  
• Columbia Heights at Minnehaha - Feb 24th
• Wayzata at De La Salle - Feb 24th
• Hopkins at De La Salle - Mar 1st
  

2021-22 IMAC Preview

This is the 5th preview in my 2021-2022 season preview series.  Week 1 of the 2021-22 Season Preview Series ends with a look at the Independent Metro Athletic Conference (IMAC).  For a list of all the season previews and how they are done, click here.

Blake Bears (2020-21 season 15-3, 6-1 Conference, 2nd)
The 3 amigos for Blake have graduated.  But the Bears should be able to replace much of that 30+ PPG.  The ball-handling duties become the question mark.  Soph Grayson Okoronkwo was the team leader in scoring at 16.2 PPG.  Lefty wing Theo Liu was second at 14.6 PPG.  Soph Dane Borene provides an option on the front line.

Breck Mustangs (2020-21 season 9-9, 3-4 Conference, 4th)
PG Jaren Morton (11.2 PPG) needs to be replaced.  Wing Jimmy Koch averaged 12.8 PPG to lead the team.  Juniors Waziri Lawal (10.5 PPG) and Will Walker (11.6 PPG) also return after averaging double-figures. Losing freshman Jalen Wilson to Benilde-St. Margaret's leaves a hole in the middle.  They'll have experienced depth with seniors Tommy Hofer and Danny Suggs.  Freshmen Teddy Koch and Kris Baker should also see time.

Minnehaha Academy Redhawks (2020-21 season 20-1, 2-0 Conference, 1st)
Minnehaha starts to return to earth with the graduations of Chet Holmgren, Hercy Miller and Isaiah Davis.  Add in the departure of Donovan Smith to prep school and possible early departure of Chase Carter to Michigan St for football.  That leaves the cupboard as bare as its been in a long time for the Redhawks.  But don't feel too bad for them.  High major recruits Mercy Miller at the point and wing Prince Aligbe (11.2 PPG) lead the returnees.  Juniors Leroy Barnes and Rolyns Aligbe are options to fill the rotation.

Mounds Park Academy Panthers (2020-21 season 1-14, 0-6 Conference, 6th)
Mario Reese comes over from an assistant gig at Nova Classical Academy to lead the program.  The top 2 scorers have graduated.  That leaves only 1 player who averaged more than 4.3 PPG last year.  That's sophomore guard Trey Kent-Landrum.  Soph Jay Green (4.1 PPG) will see minutes at the point guard spot.

Providence Academy Lions (2020-21 season 13-8, 5-4 Conference, 3rd)
Shooter Sam Schroeder and his team high 13.9 PPG need to be replaced.  The guard duo of Liam Carney and Jimmy Fafinski will lead the way.  Depth behind them is a question.  Mark McCarthy (8.9 PPG) returns to lead the front line.  He can also step out and shoot the 3.  Dylan Perrill and Alvin Mokua also return up front

St. Paul Academy Spartans (2020-21 season 9-8, 2-3 Conference, 5th)
The Spartans need to replace the league's top scorer in shooter Adam Holod (22.8 PPG) The rest of the starting lineup returns.  Senior guards Brandt Baskerville (11.5 PPG) and Clarke Baskerville (11.1 PPG) will lead the offense.  Charlie Johnson and Greg Forsberg man the front line.  Soph Tyson Hayes may be another offensive option.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Minnehaha
2. Blake
3. Providence   
4. Breck
5. St. Paul Academy 
6. Mounds Park Academy 

Conference Overview
I'll take Minnehaha as they still have 2 stars to take over games in the league.  Blake and Providence should be a good battle for 2nd.  Neither team will be terribly deep but both will execute their offense. Breck could very easily jump into that top group with plenty returning as well.  St. Paul Academy losing the top scorer in the league has to drop.  Mounds Park Academy continues a rebuild.

Conference MVP: Prince Aligbe - Minnehaha

Underclassmen to watch:  

• Grayson Okoronkwo, Dane Borene - Blake
• Teddy Koch, Kris Baker - Breck
• Mercy Miller - Minnehaha
  
• Trey Kent-Landrum, Jay Green - Mounds Park Academy
  
• Tyson Hayes - St. Paul Academy
  

Conference Games to Watch

• Minnehaha at Blake - Feb 3rd
  

 Non-Conference Games to Watch

• Minnehaha vs Minneapolis North - Dec 11th (Tipoff Classic)
• Eastview at Minnehaha - Dec 14th
  
• Minnehaha at Park Center - Dec 18th
  
• Blake vs Morris - Dec 11th (Tipoff Classic) 
• Minnehaha at Wayzata - Jan 11th
  
• Blake at Mound-Westonka - Jan 18th
  
• Minnehaha vs WI Lutheran - Jan 22nd (Border Battle)
• Twin Cities Academy at Blake - Feb 16th
  
• Park at Minnehaha - Feb 19th
• Holy Family at Minnehaha - Feb 22nd
• Columbia Heights at Minnehaha - Feb 24th
• Duluth East at Minnehaha - Mar 4th
  

2021-22 Skyline Conference Preview

This is the fourth preview in my 2021-22 season preview series.  Moving up to largely class AA schools now.  Let's start with a look at the Skyline Conference.  For a list of all the season previews and how they are done, click here.

Concordia Academy Beacons (2020-21 season 4-14, 3-8 Conference, 7th)
The best dressed coach in the league returns his top 3 scorers.  That includes 20.3 PPG from junior lefty AJ Greene who is the top returning scorer in the league.  Soph Luke Olson (8 PPG) and junior Luc Swanson (6.5 PPG) provide a couple of shooters around Greene.  That will provide a solid perimeter trio for the next 2 seasons.

Cristo Rey Jesuit Pumas (2020-21 season 6-11, 4-7 Conference, 6th)
Twins Erick and Derek Burgess have graduated after combining for 28.5 PPG.  BJ Hollowell leads the returnees with 10.7 PPG.  Senior Dashone Campbell (5.2 PPG) and guard Cayden Whitmore (4.7 PPG) also return to the rotation.  They have a group of sophomores looking to step in.  Miles Nelson tops that group averaging 4.9 PPG last season.  The other sophomores Corey Dotson and Patrick Akoussan will have to provide their size.

Maranatha Christian Academy Mustangs (2020-21 season 12-6, 9-2 Conference, 2nd)
The Mustangs return all but 1 player from their rotation last season.  Senior shooter Jeremiah LaVelle averaged 20.2 PPG and is the #2 returning scorer in the league.  The riches on the wing continue with juniors Bailey McDonald (12 PPG), Matthew Bluford (10.3 PPG), Isaiah Bluford (6.1 PPG) and Tori Legesse (5.6 PPG).  Junior Nick Anderson gives them an athletic forward to play the middle.

New Life Academy Eagles (2020-21 season 8-12, 5-7 Conference, Tie 4th)
Robbie Whitney takes over as the 5th head coach in 6 years for New Life.  He has one of the more talented rosters in the league to work with.  Senior sharpshooter Kollin Kaemingk leads the offense after averaging 18.8 PPG last season. He was the only upperclassman on the roster last season.  Juniors Max Briggs (12.4 PPG) and Erick Reader (6 PPG in limited action) return at the PG and big man spots respectively. 

Nova Classical Academy Knights (2020-21 season 1-17, 0-11 Conference, 8th)
The Knights return wing Liam Borrell (8.6 PPG) and soph center Silas Revenaugh (3.6 PPG).  Losing PG Rayan Taha (10.2 PPG) hurts as he was their main offensive option and ball handler.  Coach John Carrier continues to develop the youth movement.

St. Agnes Aggies (2020-21 season 6-13, 5-7 Conference, Tie 4th)
Assistant and St. Agnes alumnus Chris Pierce takes over the program. He has a small lineup but 4 starters returning.  Soph Andrew Weber (10.7 PPG) and senior Caleb Flood (10.6 PPG) are the returning double figure scorers.  Junior Paul Plasch (8.5 PPG) also returns to a perimeter spot.  Not much scoring beyond that.

St. Croix Lutheran Crusaders (2020-21 season 13-6, 10-3 Tri-Metro Conference, 3rd)
St. Croix Lutheran joins the league this season having to replace 6 of its top 7 scorers.  The lefty guard duo of Zach Longueville and Owen Bushaw combined for over 35 PPG last season.  Soph point guard Jaden Niesh (5.6 PPG) leads the returning roster.  Omarion Miller is the only other returnee with significant experience.

St. Croix Prep Lions (2020-21 season 20-2, 12-0 Conference, 1st)
The Lions have to replace all 3 double figure scorers from last season.  That includes the high scoring guard duo of Addison Metcalf and Andrew Howard.  Metcalf led the league in scoring at 22.7 PPG while Howard was 5th at 18.4 PPG.  Senior Peyton Gremmels (6.5 PPG) leads the returning scorers.  The bench was very thin last year.  Juniors Bjorn Benson and Cade Hanson look to step into primary roles.

Trinity Tri-Hawks (2020-21 season 10-10, 8-4 Conference, 3rd)
In a league with plenty of teams that push the pace, Trinity is a defend and execute, first one to 40 type of team.  4 senior starters from last year's surprise 3rd place finish.  That's all the guards from the lineup including Zach Martin, Sam Bormann, Joe Rudquist and Kip Knippel.  They provide almost all of the offense.  They'll miss the size of Ben Erickson. 

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Maranatha   
   
2. New Life    
   
3. Trinity  
   
4. Concordia 
   
5. St. Croix Prep  
   
6. St. Croix Lutheran 
   
7. Cristo Rey
   
8. St. Agnes
9. Nova Classical

Conference Overview
St. Croix Lutheran makes the jump from the Tri-Metro and moves back to class AA.  Very logical move to be with its former east metro Tri-Metro members.  Maranatha returns everybody and finished 2nd last year.  They have to be the pick at the top.  New Life and Trinity will battle for the 2nd spot with both returning a ton.  Trinity has continuity in their favor.  New Life is more talented but can they put it together?  After the former MCAA members, there's a dropoff to the middle of the league.  I'll take Concordia with AJ Greene coming back to be the best of the rest.  Saint Croix is the patron saint for "we need to replace outstanding guard play".  Cristo Rey will need their youth movement to lead the way.  St. Agnes has the experience to give all of them a run.  Nova Classical continues to rebuild.  One scheduling quirk for the league this season is that Nova will only play league opponents 1 time.

Conference MVP: Jeremiah LaVelle - Maranatha

Underclassmen to watch: 

• Luke Olson - Concordia 
• Colter Stone, Parker Moseman - New Life
• Silas Revenaugh - Nova
  
• Andrew Weber - St. Agnes
  
• Jaden Neish - St. Croix Lutheran
  

Conference Games to Watch

• Maranatha at New Life - Jan 4th
  
• New Life at Maranatha- Feb 4th
  

Non-Conference Games to Watch

• Maranatha at Holy Family - Dec 9th
• Maranatha at Columbia Heights - Dec 13th
  
• Twin Cities Academy/Great River at Maranatha - Dec 17th
• CHOF at New Life - Jan 11th
  
• Minneapolis South at Maranatha - Feb 1st
• New Life vs Legacy Christian - Feb 26th (UNWSP)

2021-22 MCAA Preview

This is the third preview in my 2021-22 season preview series.  We continue the conference previews  with a look at the Minnesota Classic Athletic Association (MCAA).  For a list of all the season previews and how they are done, click here.

Eagle Ridge Academy Gryphons (2020-21 season 3-13, 1-9 Conference, 7th)
Kris Babler returns to the sidelines as the new head coach.  His entire lineup returns.  Seniors Cade LaFavor (12.3 PPG), Hunter LaFavor and Soren Habel (9.8 PPG) lead the offense.  Mason Howard returns inside.  Youngsters Aidaen Musoke and Charles Dawson are also options to keep watch on.

Heritage Christian Academy Eagles (2020-21 season 12-7, 9-5 Conference, 3rd)
The Eagles have the task of replacing guards Ethan Virshek and Steph Sawtelle.  They combined for almost 37 PPG.  Heritage does return last year's breakout star Aiden Johnson.  The junior forward averaged 19.5 PPG and 13.3 RPG.  Beyond that no other returning player averaged more than 3.3 PPG.  Junior Drew Pitzner and frosh Jonah Moulton are the top other returnees to the rotation who look to pickup that slack.

Legacy Christian Academy Lions (2020-21 season 20-2, 11-1 Conference, Tie 1st)
Legacy has to replace 7 seniors and their 4 top double figure scorers from last year's state qualifying team.  The cupboard isn't bare though.  Soph Micah Strand averaged 9 PPG and was the team leader in 3 pt attempts and made 2.7 per game.  Forward Charlie Bovee also returns after averaging 8.3 PPG.  Junior guard Jesten Wuollet also returns to the rotation.

North Lakes Academy Huskies (2020-21 season 3-15, 1-13 Conference, 8th)
Junior forward Jonathan Ozment (16.1 PPG) leads the Huskies offense. Junior Caleb Jensen (13.8 PPG) also returns as the other double figure scorer.  Its still a youthful roster as North Lakes used mostly freshman and sophomores last season.

PACT Charter Panthers (2020-21 season 10-10, 6-7 Conference, 5th)
PACT has to replace 7 seniors including 6 of their top 7 scorers.  Wing Jordan Stone (15.2 PPG) is the biggest loss.  Soph wing Victor Nyabuto (6.2 PPG) is the top returnee and poised for a big season.  Soph guard Micah Givand and senior forward Sidney Idowu also return to the rotation.

Spectrum Sting (2020-21 season 10-9, 8-6 Conference, 4th)
Spectrum returns its entire roster.  Senior guard Titus Skistad averaged 17.9 PPG last year.  Carter Femrite (16.9 PPG) and Landon Siegel (12.3 PPG/11.2 RPG) joined him in double figures.  Soph guard Blake Femrite averaged 5.8 PPG off the bench.

United Christian Academy Thunder (2020-21 season 12-5, 6-1 EMAC Conference, 1st)
United Christian loses almost the entire roster from last year.  That includes 3 double figure scorers.  They also have a new head coach, Matt Hendley.  Soph Danny King averaged 5.3 PPG last season.  Junior Abe Hilgenberg averaged 2.2 PPG in end of rotation duty.  They are the only 2 returning players.

West Lutheran Warriors (2020-21 season 8-10, 4-9 Conference, 6th)
Guards Christian Schmidt and sophomore Isaiah Ronning return to lead the offense.  Junior Matthew Koosman also returns to the rotation.  Cole Veach and Wyatt Valleau return as a center pairing.  There's no star scorer on the roster so they'll rely on balance.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Spectrum
   
2. Legacy
3. Heritage
4. West Lutheran 
5. PACT
   
6. United Christian
   
7. Eagle Ridge
8. North Lakes

Conference Overview
In a reminder of its previous days as Bethany Academy, United Christian returns to the MCAA.  They replace Lester Prairie who is off to the Minnesota River Conference.  The league as a whole will be down this year with heavy losses for many teams in the league.  Spectrum returns everybody so I'll take them to overtake Legacy who will still be dangerous.  I can't move Heritage down with Johnson inside.  West Lutheran is the best of the rest.  The bottom half starts figures to struggle.  PACT and United Christian have to replace most of their rosters.  Eagle Ridge and North Lakes struggled last year but with lots returning will try to move up.

Conference MVP: Titus Skistad - Spectrum

Underclassmen to watch: 

• Charles Dawson, Aidaen Musoke - Eagle Ridge 
• Jonah Moulton - Heritage 
• Micah Strand - Legacy
  
• Aidin Zenkic - North Lakes
• Victor Nyabuto - PACT
  
• Blake Femrite - Spectrum
  
• Danny King - United Christian
  
• Isaiah Ronning- West Lutheran

Conference Games to Watch

• Legacy at Spectrum - Jan 7th
  
• Spectrum at Legacy - Feb 4th

Non-Conference Games to Watch

• Trinity at Legacy - Dec 10th
  
• CHOF at Legacy - Dec 21st
• Legacy vs New Life - Feb 26th at UNW-SP
  

2021-22 EMAC Preview

This is the second preview in the 2021-2022 season preview series.  I continue the opening week of previews with small schools.  In this preview, a look at the Eastern Minnesota Athletic Conference.  For a list of all the season previews and how they are done, click here.

Academy for Sciences and Agriculture Eagles (2020-21 season 0-0, 0-0 Conference, 6th)
Did not play in 2020-21 season.

Avail Academy Valor (2020-21 season 11-9, 3-3 Conference, 3rd)
FEAR THE RHINO!  The Rhino needs to be aware of poachers this season.  4 starters have graduated from a very balanced lineup.  Senior wing Josiah Schaap (15.6 PPG) should be poised for a big season.  Senior guard Josiah Loge (16.1 PPG) will also be a major offensive option.  The rest of the roster will be very young and inexperienced.

Community of Peace Academy Tigers (2020-21 season 0-0, 0-0 Conference, 6th)
Did not play in 2020-21 season.

Groves Academy Griffins (2020-21 season 0-0, 0-0 Conference, 6th)
Did not play in 2020-21 season.

Hiawatha Colliegiate Wolves (2020-21 season 10-7, 5-2 Conference, 2nd)
Hiawatha returns their core of 4 juniors plus a senior to the starting lineup.  PG Jessye Lewis (21.2 PPG) runs the show and creates the offense.  Romelle Bell (15.6 PPG) is a versatile forward.  Guard Mohamud Doud (15.2 PPG) gives them a 3 point threat.  Jaheim Houts moving to Minneapolis South costs them a bouncy option on the front line.  Plenty of depth experience returns too.

Hmong Academy Warriors (2020-21 season 0-0, 0-0 Conference, 6th)
Did not play in 2020-21 season.

Liberty Classical Academy Lions (2020-21 season 5-13, 1-7 Conference, 5th)
John Towle moves up the street from an assistant gig at White Bear Lake to take over the program.  Senior guard Cameron Lacy (12.6 PPG) and junior forward Trent Verbeek (15.3 PPG) are the main offensive options.  Juniors Joshua Louis, Sam Buum, John Pedro and Lucian Miles all saw time last season along with seniors Daniel Kneen and Joe Mandell.

Math and Science Academy Dragons (2020-21 season 3-7, 1-3 Conference, 4th)
The Dragons got a late start to last season but still got in 10 games.  Senior guards Brady Sahr and Dylan Goff return to lead the offense.  Soph wing Josh Balami is another threat on that end.  Ayman Elhassan returns as the most experienced interior player.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Hiawatha Academy
2. Avail Academy
3. Math and Science 
4. Liberty Christian Academy
5. Community of Peace 
   
6. Hmong Academy
7. Groves Academy
8. AFSA

Conference Overview
Defending champion United Christian returns to the MCAA.  Twin Cities Academy remains an independent.  That leaves Hiawatha as the overwhelming favorite here.  They would have won the league title last season if not for a home buzzer beater loss to United Christian in a winner take all game.  Is this the year where they take the next step?  Behind them, I see a group of 3 or 4 teams in any order.  Avail, M&S and Liberty all have a couple of players but questions beyond that.  The other 4 teams by default go to the bottom.  Community of Peace had some young players coming up so we'll take them next by default.  The other 3 stay at the bottom until otherwise proven.

Conference MVP: Jessye Lewis - Hiawatha

Underclassmen to watch: 

• Josh Balami - Math & Science
• Zachariah Schaap, Alvin Karngar - Avail
  

Conference Games to Watch

• Hiawatha at Avail - Dec 6th
• Avail at Hiawatha - Jan 20th

Non-Conference Games to Watch

• Kaleidoscope at Avail - Dec 17th
  
• Hope at Avail - Jan 21st

2021-22 Independents Preview

Welcome to the Czar's 15th annual season preview series.  This is the first preview in the 2021-2022 series.  The previews will once again be done starting with small schools and working up to the big schools.  When its all done, a final high-level preview will complete the series.  That means the we'll start with the tiny independent charter schools.  For a list of all the season previews and how they are done, click here.   

Chesterton Academy Knights  (2020-21 season 0-5)
4 starters return from last season.  Michael Hornecker and Dominic Lememis are primary offensive options.

CHOF Lions (2020-21 season 10-6)
CHOF had to play their entire schedule on the road last season.  They'll have to replace 4 top scorers including 3 that averaged double figures.  Guards Skyler Alleman, Jared Harms and Henry Blum will lead the way.  Size is a question mark.

High School for Recording Arts Falcons (2020-21 season 0-0)
Did not play in 2020-21 season.

Hope Academy Lions (2020-21 season 6-12)
Hope loses 1 senior in forward Kaleb Dube.  He was their 1 interior option as the dump off guy in their dribble drive system.  Everybody else returns including the high-scoring guard duo of Elijah Wade (26.7 PPG) and Jordan Brown (18.6 PPG).  Wade is a triple-double threat on any given night.  Once again it will be a small group that will get up and down and shoot a ton of 3s.

Kaleidoscope Comets (2020-21 season 10-8)
The Comets return almost everybody from their rotation.  Junior PG Michael Jude pushes the pace along with his 24 PPG.  Lefty wing AJ Kargel (15.7 PPG) provides a shooting threat.  They are the main 2 offensive threats.  Undersized forward Matt Aasen averaged a double double of 11/11.  Its a group that has played together for a couple of years so tons of experience.  They too are heavily reliant on the 3 point shot.

Lakes International Language Academy Dragons (2020-21 season 3-15)
Lakes International loses most of their roster.  The notable loss is forward Strom Norcross who did everything for them the last 2 seasons.  2 starters returning will lead the offense.  That includes forward Jake Fakler inside.

Lincoln International Eagles (2020-21 season 0-0)
Did not play in 2020-21 season.

Metro Schools College Prep Lions (2020-21 season 4-7)
They will press and play fast.  Very dependent on turnovers to produce offense.

Minnesota Transitions Wolves (2020-21 season 0-0)
Did not play in 2020-21 season.  Unknown if they'll return for this season.

Prairie Seeds Academy Lycans (2020-21 0-0)
Did not play in 2020-21 season.

Twin Cities Academy/Great River Tigers (2020-21 season 11-6)
Senior guards Carrington and Carmello McNeal once again lead the way for the Tigers.  The twin guards averaged 20.9 and 16.6 PPG respectively.  Look for them to be triple double threats this season.  Junior guard Kensen Yang (6.2 PPG) is the only other returnee from last season.  Replacing the 7 seniors is a question mark.

Ubah Medical Academy (2020-21 season 0-0)
Did not play in 2020-21 season.

Venture Academy (2020-21 season 0-0)
Did not play in 2020-21 season.

Independents Overview
Hope and Kaleidoscope will be very similar teams with strong perimeter play, fast pace and undersized front lines.  If they make 3s, they're dangerous. But can they get stops and win a half-court game?  Similar questions for Twin Cities Academy.  CHOF just seems to reload every year and their usual AA schedule preps them for tourney time.

Independents MVP: Carrington McNeal - Twin Cities Academy
 
Underclassmen to watch: 

• Henry Bluhm - CHOF

Games to Watch

• Hope at New Life - Dec 7th
• Twin Cities Academy at St. Paul Johnson - Dec 14th
• Twin Cities Academy at Maranatha - Dec 17th
• CHOF at Legacy - Dec 21st
  
• CHOF at New Life - Jan 11th
• Kaleidoscope at Hope - Jan 13th 
• Hiawatha at Twin Cities Academy - Jan 18th
  
• Twin Cities Academy at St. Paul Central - Jan 20th
• Twin Cities Academy at Blake - Feb 16th
  

2020-21 Four Factors Study

With the 2021-22 season quickly approaching, let's take a few moments to review some data from the abbreviated 2020-2021 season.  Since presenting the Four Factors last season was a major point of Czar emphasis, that seems like a fabulous choice of data.  This will be familiar to some of you as I did a similar study in 2017 of 5 years worth of state tournament games (read that here).  If you need a refresher on the 4 Factors, read this.

This season lets turn the tables and focus on mostly regular season games and see what those results came out to be.  In this dataset I have 133 games from last season that I charted.  Not quite as many as the 172 in the other dataset, but enough to be interesting.  So here we go.

Number of Factors Won By The Winning Team
1: 5.3%, 10.4 MOV
2: 36.1%, 11.5 MOV
3: 48.1%, 13.4 MOV
4: 10.5%, 16.9 MOV

Winning Combinations
EFG% Only: 3%, 11.3 MOV
ORB% Only: 0.8%, 2 MOV
TO% Only: 1.5%, 13 MOV
FTR Only: 0%

EFG% and ORB%: 9%, 13.8 MOV
EFG% and FTR: 9.8%, 8.5 MOV
EFG% and TO%: 7.5%, 22.6 MOV
ORB% and FTR: 1.5%, 2 MOV
ORB% and TO%: 3.8%, 3.4 MOV
FTR and TO%: 4.5%, 4.8 MOV

EFG%, ORB% and FTR: 17.3%, 10 MOV
EFG%, ORB% and TO%: 14.3%, 19.2 MOV
EFG%, FTR and TO%: 8.3%, 17.3 MOV
ORB%, FTR and TO%: 8.3%, 6.6 MOV

All 4 Factors: 10.5%, 16.9 MOV

No surprise to me that Effective Field Goal Percentage won the day.  While the number here is slightly lower than the previous study, if you throw in the few games that I couldn't fully chart but look at the end outcome of a blowout, the number basically evens out.  I called this Czar's Law during the season.  Very simple idea, basket, ball.  Put ball in basket and win 4 times out of 5.  Czar likes his odds on that number in Vegas.  

Teams that won EFG% won by double figures 61.3% of the time with an average margin of victory of 14.8 points.  Only 18.9% of the those games were decided by 5 points or less.  In those close games, the winner lost the turnover battle 75% of the time

Czar's Law was violated 21.3% of the time.  That team ended up winning the turnover battle in 24 of those 27 games (88.9%, 8 out of every 9).  That's consistent with the 90.6% we saw in the state tourney study.  Unlike above, these wins were a struggle.  Average margin of victory in all those games won without EFG% was 5.6 PPG.  Only 3 of the 27 games (11.1%) were decided by double figures.  59.3% of those games (16 of 27) were decided by 5 points or less.  

Teams that won the game and the turnover battle had a margin of victory of 14.9 points.  Winning teams that lost the turnover battle saw their margin of victory drop to 10.1 PPG.  That ties in nicely with the data above.  Interesting to note that ORB% and FTR actually had reverse correlations.  When the winning team lost FTR they won by 16 points a game vs 10.9 points when they won FTR.  For ORB%, it was a MOV of 12.6 when winning it vs 13.6 when losing it.  In general, once again the more factors you win, the bigger you win.  That's no surprise.

Some differences between the 2 studies.  Free Throw Rate took a major dive of almost 15%.  Despite what was said above, turnovers came in last on this list at only 58.6% compared to 65.1%.  Very surprised that it was that low in these number based on the impact shown.  I think the talent difference between state and a random game strongly contributes to these numbers.  More closely matched talent magnifies mistakes. That talent difference also shows up in the number of factors won.  At state a team winning 1 or 2 factors only won 31.4% of the time.  That's compared to 41.4% in these regular season games.

Dean Oliver weighted the 4 Factors in the order of Shooting, Turnovers, Rebounding and FT Rate.  He did that with a mathematical analysis.  My eye test with this data makes me agree with the math.  Always a joy to see the theory match up with what you're seeing.

Welcome to Czar Season 15

Another new school year is almost upon us and that means its time to turn the page to what we hope is a normal 2021-22 season.  I'm excited to start another season in cyberspace.  If you liked the Four Factors stats that I started including last season, I'm looking to expand on that this season.  Some very exciting possibilities there.

The usual list of all fall events is now posted on the Fall Hoops page.  If I missed yours, please pass it along.

I will be once again doing my annual season previews (see page here).  No bonus previews this year so apologies to the Wright County in advance.  I'll do a 3 week series starting in November leading up to the 1st day of practice.  That will include 13 local conferences, the independents and my annual Season In A Nutshell preview for the casual fan.  My section winner predictions for the metro area will be included in that.

We have 13 players from the class of 2022 that have already committed.  That list can be found here.

For now, holiday tournaments are back.  HOORAY!  Here's a list of the ones I know about currently.  Schedules will be added as we get closer to the games themselves.

I've also done all the usual clean up of links.  That includes updating the current recruiting rankings from all the major services.  See that on my Players page.

That cleanup also includes all the links on the left hand side of the main site or for those of you on mobile, check out the Resources page (always 1st in the main menu too).  That includes links to anything and everything you may want to know about Minnesota hoops during the high school or grassroots seasons.  It includes national sites, recruiting calendars, signing dates, records and award winners just to name a few useful things that can be found there.

2021 July Open Period 2 Preview

We have the first open period of 2021 in the books.  Now we have 2 special open periods thanks to the pandemic.  Here are this week's locations.

Sioux Falls
A large chunk of the notable Minnesota teams will be in Sioux Falls for the Sanford Pentagon league finals.  South Dakota Attack jumps into the league to fill some Omaha Crusaders spots.  They'll provide a stiff test for Fury Wilde on Friday and Select Ohnstad on Saturday.  Select Ohnstad beat South Dakota Attack by 20 in a showcase game in St. Cloud last month.  Fury Wilde (undefeated) and Select Ohnstad (tied for 2nd in the league with 2 losses) meet up Friday night in what could be a preview of Sunday's championship game.  Pharrel Payne had another productive weekend last weekend in Birmingham for Select.  Quarterfinals begin Saturday night with the semis and finals on Sunday.

Council Bluffs
The D1 Minnesota squads will be just down I-29 in Council Bluffs, IA for the Adidas Championships.  The 17s open bracket play (32 team bracket) on Friday with a stiff test against Wildcat Select with Virginia commit Isaac McKneely.  The 2nd round could be against the host Omaha Crusaders and local star Josh Dix.  Dix has a Minnesota offer and is a top priority for Iowa.  He was outstanding at the MBCA showcase last month.  Otherwise they'll play a loaded Compton Magic crew with a top 20 star nationally and 2 other high major commits. 

Kansas City
Staying on I-29, we'll find the Grassroots Sizzle 2nd 17s and Real Phenom-Nick squads at the Sunflower Showcase.  Solid weekend for that Real Phenom squad in Atlanta last week.  MN Chill along with a Grassroots Sizzle squad will be representing the 16s as well.

Dallas
Veering south on I-35 all the way to the metroplex there are a couple of DFW events of note.  Grassroots Sizzle will be in week 2 of Under Armour play.  The D1 MN Prospects squad will be in the Prep Hoops event there.  Mpls Flight Squad will be also there in the 16s.

Augusta
Now head east on I-20 and drive forever.  The Howard Pulley 17s will be in the Peach State Select event.  Next door their 15s and 16s are playing 1 game each day thru Monday in EYBL regular season play.  Nike then goes right into the Peach Jam for all levels on Tuesday.

Louisville
Heading back towards home, Team GetShook and Gain Elite continue NY2LA play.  Gain Elite took their lumps at 0-6 against a very tough schedule last weekend but was very competitive.  A rematch with 3D Empire and star Anthony Black (70-60 loss last Sunday) could await them in the 2nd round of their 16 team bracket.

Appleton
A brief detour before making it home sees some Minnesota teams making the shorter Prep Hoops trip to Appleton, WI.  That includes Starks Elite and MN Crossfire Pederson in the 17s. They meet at 3:35 on Sunday.  Crossfire Barger and MN Bounce along with 2 Magic squads and 2 Crossfire squads play in the 16s.

Local
Ah home.  D1 Minnesota has their annual local summer tournament this weekend.  Despite it being an open weekend, still a respectable field with WOTN-Johnson, Heat Grow, MN Lightning Ellerbusch, MSP Elite and 2 MN Magic squads in the 17s.

2021 Great Plains Alliance Review

Back to AAU normalcy with no COVID restrictions in place at the 2021 Great Plains Alliance in St. Cloud.  A large contingent of NSIC and MIAC coaches in attendance for what is one of the vastly underappreciated recruiting events of the summer.  Reason being that this is the event, not those long road trips in July, that will get the vast majority of Minnesota recruits their looks.

16U Division
South Dakota Attack 16s took home the championship with a 79-59 win over WOTN Bertsch.  That was a 1 point game at halftime but Attack came out of halftime on a 19-5 run.  Issac Bruns with 16 of his 24 points in the 2nd half to lead Attack to the win.  The big wing is definitely in the discussion for the top 2023 player in South Dakota.  3 others in double figures in the victory.  JT Thornton (Lakeville North) and Anish Ramlall (Rosemount) combined for 29 first half points but were held scoreless in the 2nd half.  Both players have had nice seasons for WOTN.

Really enjoyed watching the WI Crusaders 16s with their screening and cutting offense.  Especially in today's pace and space nature of the game that leads to nothing more than drive and kick action. 

A nice 3-1 weekend for the MN Rise 16s.  They had a double digit comeback to beat MN Bounce 62-60 in the quarters before bowing out to the champs in the semis.

17U Division
WI Crusaders 17s took home the title with a 65-49 win over upstart Comets Belka.  Tyler Borowski and Carter Thomas leading the Crusaders on championship day.  5 out offense with a bunch of interchangeable parts makes this a dangerous squad.

Comets Belka was the big team story of the weekend at 4-1.  They took out Sacred Hoops in their showcase game and then no problems with WI Crusaders Select in the round of 16.  Then a late Friday night win over Comets DLR before bouncing Select Ohnstad 66-60 in the semis.  Mitchell Degen (Brainerd) and Zach Zrust (Buffalo) bright spots for the Comets.  Zrust is a versatile big man who can step out and shoot it.  Will be interesting to track him in July.

MN Rise was the 4th semifinalist and finished their weekend 3-1.  That included a nice 55-42 win over South Dakota Attack.  That 20 point loss to WI Crusaders in the semis was an 8 point game later in the 2nd half before 1 last run put the game away.  Brayden Williams (Owatonna) leading the way for Rise once again.

We've talked a lot about Pharrell Payne (Park of Cottage Grove) and rightfully so.  He didn't disappoint this weekend.  Benard Omooria (Osseo) really helped himself with solid shooting all weekend.  Kenji Scales is another PG that continues to be solid as well.  Williams, Omooria and Scales part of a group of similar guards that are trying to break out of the pack.

Solid 3-1 weekend for WOTN Johnson.  They beat a couple of depleted squads in Northstar Titans Terhaar (buzzer beater) and Heat MacDonald.  A close loss to Select Ohnstad in the quarters where they held Pharrell Payne to 6-15 shooting and then beat Comets DLR in a consolation game.  Connor Beauchamp (Lakeville South) with a solid weekend on the wing with 22 points in that Select game.  Nick Burke (SW Christian) also with a productive weekend.  They did that without one of their top weapons, Kyle Hrncir (Farmington), as well.

2021 MBCA Camp Thoughts

After a year off, the MBCA camp returned in bigger fashion.  Good to be back in the gym and see the D1 coaches in attendance for the 1st time in almost 2 years.  The 2nd edition of the camp expanded to over 140 players and 16 teams.  That's up from the 100 kids and 12 teams used 2 years ago.  As the saying goes, it takes a village and that we had.  32 coaches jumping in to coach the teams and many others behind the scenes in the operations side to make everything run smoothly.  Like 2 years ago, we had top kids from the Dakotas represented and this year a handful of Iowa stars attended as well.

With 4 games going on at once, it was difficult to catch everyone and with trying to see a bit of everyone, you end up really following no one.  Always difficult to strike that balance.  So with that in mind, I tried to stay on the main court and catch a full game rather than running around.  Most of the teams did have a game there.  Here's what caught my eye.

Player Notes

• Sam Rensch - Hutchinson.  He started out the event with a 26 point outing.  Impressive shooting and a great stroke.  Great size.  Augustana already with an offer and he'd be a great get for them.
• Nolan Winter - Lakeville North.  He had a hot start with 3 triples before quieting down.  But the upside is definitely visible.
• Brandon Melchior - CDH (transferring from Elk River).  The big man showed well in a couple of games.  That included the final game vs Prior Lake's Malcolm Jones.  The size is there and he has some skill.  Playing with Tre Holloman during the high school season now won't hurt him either.
• Logan Kinsey - Spring Lake Park.  The bouncy forward didn't disappoint.  Very active weekend for him.  Already holds an offer from Moorhead.
• JT Rock - Sioux Falls, SD.  One of the 2024 notables at the event.  The 7 footer is thin but he can shoot it, pass it and moves well.  Great that he got a chance to play in an event like this.
• Josh Dix - Council Bluffs, IA.  A late high major addition to the event and he did not disappoint.  He visited Iowa early this month and the Hawks had 3 staff members watch him over the weekend.  A bigger guard than I remember watching on video during the season.  Will be a great asset at either guard spot.
• Caden Hinker - Mitchell, SD.  A versatile forward who Augustana would love to keep at their level.  Didn't get many inside touches but showed plenty of range with his jumper.
• Tre Holloman - CDH.  Passing definitely there and he made shots which is going to be the biggest question with his game.
• Kendall Blue - East Ridge.  Can't hurt playing on home turf.   Very effective scoring.
• Prince Aligbe - Minnehaha.  Took advantage of some favorable matchups and was effective off the bounce.
• Pharrell Payne - Park of Cottage Grove.  Played well enough in front of the Gophers staff to bring home a Minnesota offer during the event.  Young for his grade and a great frame, the upside is big.
• Josh Ola-Joseph - Osseo.  Had arguably the biggest highlight dunk of the camp.  Picked up a Loyola-Chicago offer for his play.  The term freak athlete is overused but definitely applies in his case.  I love the thought of him as a small ball 4 man mismatch at the next level.

Impressions
As expected everything with the camp was well organized.  The opening speeches, hour of 4 on 2 with 2 chasers and hour plus of skills could be cut back.  Granted I did love Mitch Ohnstad's full court drive and kick continuous drill and its variations.  I think giving the coaches more time to work with their team before the games to put some semblance of a system in would be advisable too.  That was really reflected in the poor quality of play.  Unlike 2 years ago, despite what the coaches I'm sure emphasized, the players didn't seem to buy into the idea that this was an event for coaches to evaluate.  Ragged play, bad shot selection, lack of hustle and not feeding the bigs was endemic.  Out of the teams I saw, I think I saw 1 team try to use a 4 out 1 in.  Otherwise it was tons of high ball screen and Do Him offense.  2 years ago, it was understandable to see the 3rd game of the day have lower quality with tired kids.  But this year it was 2 games Friday night and only 2 on Saturday.  No real excuses.  It will be interesting to see what this looks like in St. Cloud this week with the D2s out for a major viewing at the Great Plains Alliance and especially in the 3 open periods in July.

2021 Battle at the Lakes Viewing Summary

Its another weekend of online viewing on Fishbowl TV.  That's Baller TV when its unusable which is far too often.  I took in a list of games from the weekend at Battle at the Lakes.  My focus was largely on local teams that I hadn't seen or noteworthy local vs local matchups.  Here are bullet points of what I saw, in order of viewing.  Then we'll add some quick bonus thoughts on a couple teams that were in the loaded Kansas City Classic this weekend.

Friday

• Gain Elite 16s 75-70 win over Heat Pratt.  Big game of 26 points from DLS guard Nasir Whitlock to lead Gain Elite to the win.  He was also good in the bookend game of my weekend for their 17s vs Fury Narum.  Miles Barnette 4 triples and 16 points in his home gym to keep Heat in it. Icy cold first half did them in.  Both teams finished 3-1 on the weekend.
  
• Northstar Titans Terhaar 17s took out Quad City 53-50 in their opener.  Nice passing from Chaska post Brady Nicholson in this one.  He had a huge size advantage but was more of a distributor in this one.  Nick Bartlett (Forest Lake) 14 points with 3 triples to lead the Titans to the win.  They ran the table 4-0 this weekend.
  
• Playmakers Showcase North 16s def Fury Hayes 50-37.  Impressive outing for South Ridge post Austin Josephson who put up numbers somewhere in the 20/10 range.  No answer for his size inside.  But he also showed some range on a jumper.  Both teams finished the weekend 2-2.
  

Saturday 

• I started my viewing with a shooting gallery display from the Fury Antl 16s.  They knock down 11 triples from 5 different guys in the 1st half alone.  53-19 at the break on Playmakers Showcase Wausau as they roll to an 84-48 win.  Fury also beat them handily in the Comets Shootout championship but I didn't expect this kind of result.  They aren't big, but if they get it moving and clicking, this is what happens.  Fury runs the table 4-0 for the weekend with all double digit wins.
  
• That allowed me to flip over to the MN Chill 16s.  Don't freeze this group out of your thoughts.  They beat the Madison Spartans 63-43.  That's a Spartans squad that features 2 top 20 kids in Wisconsin.  They get after you all game and have athletes.  Only chink in the armor is they are short on shooting.  But this is a team that deserves mention with that 2nd tier group of teams.   They finished the weekend 3-2.
  
• Fury Wilde def Tulsa Hawks 76-56.  Fury blows open a 13 point halftime lead to win by mercy rule.  Jackson Loge (Morris) leading the way with 19 points.  He was terrific all weekend and picked up a Toledo offer in the process.  Great balance on offense with 5 in double figures.  They also did a nice job on Tulsa star shooter Parker Friedrichsen.  14 points and 4 3s for him but only 1 2nd half field goal.
• D1 Prospects 17s lost a heartbreaker to Breakaway.  D1 missed a late free throw to extend the lead to 3.  Breakaway pushed the ball back the other way and hit a 3 at the buzzer to win 69-68. 
• In the showcase game of the weekend, D1 Minnesota def Select Ohnstad 63-58 in 17s.  D1 played without Camden Heide.  D1 had a double digit 2nd half lead that Select was able to trim all the way down in the last minute.  Ultimately D1 got a good defensive stop up 3 at the end and sealed it at the charity stripe.  Good outings for Kenji Scales and Leo Torbor of Select.  D1s athletes making it tough for Select to generate any good offense.  Tamin Lipsey makes such a difference for D1.  0-4 without him in Chicago but D1 has been 7-2 with him back.  Kendall Blue, Josh Ola-Joseph and BJ Omot also with notable games for D1.  D1 Minnesota 3-1 on the weekend.  Select Ohnstad 2-3 on the weekend, 13-4 overall.
  
• WOTN Bertsch blew out Select Emge in the 2nd half on the way to a 63-36 win.  WOTN had a 25-4 run before 3 late Select FTs came before the mercy rule.  I continue to like JT Thornton of Lakeville North for WOTN.  WOTN Bertsch finishes 3-1.  Select Emge was 1-4
  
• I just caught the end of the Fury Zurn 15 game where they lost to WI Playground Club 72-67.  5'8 PG Jaquan Johnson (a top WI frosh) went absolutely nuts with 45 points for PGC.  Fury had no answer for him late or at any other point.  Fury finished 2-2 in the top pool but didn't get a game vs D1 Minnesota sadly.
  
• MN Bounce suffered their first loss of the season vs Team 1848 by a score of 44-39.  Offense hard to come by for both teams in this one.  Bounce held a 35-30 lead before Team 1848 finished the game on a 14-4 run.  Bounce's lack of size saw them get beat up inside and on the offensive glass.  MN Bounce finishes the weekend 2-2 to be 10-2 overall for the season.
  
• Speaking of size, WOTN Johnson used their size to knock off Northstar Titans Barker 62-41.  Titans had this game within 6 early in the 2nd half.  Nick Burke (SW Christian) 16 points to lead WOTN.  Also saw flashes from Miles Hettinger (Stewartville) and Dayne Wojcik (Goodhue).  WOTN finishes the weekend 3-1, now 5-3 overall.  Northstar Titans Barker finishes 2-2.
  

Sunday 

• Fury Wilde def D1 Prospects 58-51.  Prospects had a 45-39 lead but couldn't hold it.  Big plays late from Maddox Alipate (Benilde-St. Margaret's) to put Fury over the top.  Ahjany Lee in and out of the lineup due to injury but still ended up in double figures.  Fury 3-1 on the weekend.  D1 Prospects finish 0-4.
• Fury Narum ran the table 4-0 by finishing the weekend with a 63-55 win over Gain Elite.  Gain Elite's front line of Kabine Kaba and Jamal Ambrose very productive.  Ambrose has to project as next year's Henry Shannon for Eastview.  Kaba was a solid player for Park Center this year and is very active inside.  Cam Holter (AHA) and Quinten Snell (Shakopee) came up with critical bucket and plays for Fury Narum to put them over the top.  Gain Elite finishes the weekend 2-2.

Kansas City Bonus Thoughts
Since I didn't have anything on the Saturday night session, I went back and found the Pulley 16s vs CP3 game from Kansas City.  CP3 with 3 top 100 kids on the 16s, enough said.  But Pulley hung around for a long while before losing 73-66.  Pulley finished 1-3 on the weekend against a stacked pool with 4 other EYBL teams.  3 of those ranked in the top 10 nationally.  Will Underwood (Mahtomedi) and Nolan Winter (Lakeville North) lead that squad and I'm high on both.  Underwood controlled the offense with around 20 points but a quiet day for Winter in the game I saw. Pulley with no real size and CP3 took advantage.  Solid weekend for the 15s as they went 2-2 vs 4 shoe teams.  The 17s ran the table 4-0 but were not in one of the top pools.  Team GetShook actually played more EYBL teams (2) than Pulley did (1).  GetShook was 0-4 losing all 4 games by double figures.

I also managed on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon to take in a little bit of highly touted Mikey Williams.  He joined top 5 ranked Chris Livingston and the We All Can Go squad for the games in the loaded Kansas City event.  A total circus surrounding him.  WACG split the 2 games I watched but the viewing was AAUBingo galore.  In fairness, with all the attention on him and joining a brand new team for a week, very hard to manage all of that.

 

2021 Battle at the Lakes Games to See

A notable event on the May schedule is back as Battle at the Lakes returns.  Lots of Minnesota on Minnesota crime as expected here.  Its a pools only schedule, no brackets.  Here are games that stick out to me in schedule order.  All games are on Baller.TV but good luck getting that to work.

17U
PM North Showcase vs Select Mantey Fri 6:00

MSP Elite vs Select Mantey Sat 9:05
Fury Wilde vs Tulsa Hawks Sat 11:15
D1 vs Select Ohnstad Sat 12:20
MSP Elite vs PM North Showcase Sat 12:20
Northstar Titans Barker vs MN Lightning Ellerbusch Sat 12:20
Comets Belka vs MN Magic Premier Sat 2:30
Heat Grow vs Comets Elite Sat 5:45
WOTN Johnson vs Northstar Titans Barker Sat 5:45

D1 vs WI Playground Sun 9:05
D1 Prospects vs Fury Wilde Sun 10:10
Select Ohnstad vs Tulsa Hawks Sun 10:10
Select Ohnstad vs WI Playground Sun 12:20
WOTN Johnson vs MN Lightning Ellerbusch Sun 12:20
Fury Narum vs Gain Elite Sun 2:30

The highlight here is 11-1 Select Ohnstad taking on D1 Minnesota in the top pool.  D1 Minnesota started their season 0-5 but won their last 4 games in Kansas City 2 weeks ago.  Ahjany Lee and Joe Hurlburt vs Pharrell Payne is the highlight matchup in that one.  Lee and Hurlburt are high major guys, Payne is emerging quickly trying to jump into that same conversation.  (Czar's Correction: Lee plays on the D1 Prospects squad).  WI Playground also in that pool with star Jeffrey Brazziel amongst others.  Fury Wilde is in the 2nd pool with the Tulsa Hawks and the D1 MN Prospects.  2 very good games there.  Select Ohnstad gets a crossover game with the Hawks as well.

I was hoping we'd get Northstar Titans Terhaar rather than Northstar Titans Barker in the WOTN Johnson pool to go with MN Lightning Ellerbusch.  MSP Elite (Spring Lake Park crew including Logan Kinsey who just got a MN-Moorhead offer) gets a couple Minnesota opponents in their pool with Select Mantey and Playmakers North Showcase.  Heat Grow vs Comets Elite and Fury Narum vs Gain Elite stick out to me as games to show where you really stand.

16U
Gain Elite vs Heat Pratt, Fri 6 PM
Playmakers North vs Fury II 8:05 Fri

Fury Antl vs WI Playmakers Wausau 3-1 Sat 10:10
Comets Elite vs Playmakers North 12:20 Sat
WOTN Bertsch vs Select Emge 1:25 Sat
MN Bounce vs Team 1848, 2:30 Sat
Select Emge vs MN Lightning Ellerbusch Sat 7:55
Comets Elite vs Fury II Sat 9 PM

Heat Pratt vs MN Chill, Sun 9:05
Fury Antl vs WI Playground Sun 10:10
WOTN Bertsch vs MN Lightning Ellerbusch 11:15 Sun
Gain Elite vs MN Chill Sun 1:25

In Pool B, Fury Antl gets WI Playmakers Wausau in a rematch of the Comets Shootout championship game that Fury won big.  Fury Antl also gets top WI Playground squad.  Max Shikenjanski off to a hot start for Fury including a 39 point outburst last weekend vs the Pentagon Schoolers.  Good matchup in Pool D as you have 8-0 MN Bounce vs Team 1848.  Team 1848 was 3-1 in St. Cloud losing to Heat Pratt in the 1st round.  MN Bounce ran the table in the 2nd bracket in St. Cloud and won all 4 games in Atlanta last week.  Top WOTN and Select squads get together.  MN Chill has been on the road in Prep Hoops events and has played well.  Now a big weekend for them with quality local opponents in Heat Pratt and Gain Elite all in the same pool.  Fury Hayes, Playmakers North and Comets Elite all together in a pool as well. 

2021 Spring Hit The Road

This weekend was setup to be the 2nd NCAA open period of the spring.  With the NCAA shutting down D1s until June, we don't get that.  But that doesn't mean teams stay home.  This weekend most Minnesota teams hit the road.  There are a couple small local tournaments as well.  As it was to be an open period, I'll focus solely on the 17U teams here.

Kansas City
Prepare for a traffic jam on I-35 going south during the day on Friday and coming home Sunday afternoon.  23 17U teams from Minnesota will make the trip south, not to mention all the other levels. Feels like this year's midwest version of Las Vegas. 

15 of those teams are in the Prep Hoops event.  That includes both teams from D1, Fury, Select and Magic plus 4 Heat teams including their top 2.  MSP Elite, Northstar Titans Terhaar and Real Phenom (not sure which team) make up the rest.  

Games of Note
Fri 8:10 SD Attack vs Heat MacDonald
Sat 1:25 D1 vs Power5 3SSB
Sat 6:50 D1 vs Team Lavine 3SSB
Sun 9:05 D1 vs Dallas Showtyme Elite
Sun 9:05 Fury Wilde vs Iowa Barnstormers Gold
Sun 12:20 D1 vs Team Impact UAA
Sun 1:25 D1 Prospects vs Tulsa Hawks

A couple of fun regional games with Heat Mac taking on South Dakota Attack and Fury Wilde getting the top Iowa Barnstormers squad.  I wish we did more of those (similar to what we saw in Ames last July).  If only my dream of a 16 team regional championship could ever get off the ground.  D1 Minnesota's top team struggled last week going 0-4 in Chicago.  They get more shoe competition and a Dallas Showtyme group that was undefeated last week.  The D1 Prospects can get revenge for the top team against the Tulsa Hawks.  The Hawks were one of the teams to beat D1 last week in a 5 point game.

In the Recruit Look Kansas City session, Grassroots with their top 2 teams and Howard Pulley get their seasons underway.  Hustle Hard, Real Phenom (again not sure which team), MN Lightning Ellerbusch and 2 Minnesota Suns teams round out the local delegation.  

Games of Note
Sat 4:05 Howard Pulley vs KC Run GMC
Sat 5:10 Grassroots-Weston vs Nebraska Supreme
Sat 7:20 Grassroots-Caldwell vs Kingdom Hoops
Sun 1:55 Grassroots-Weston vs Colorado Hawks

Howard Pulley doesn't have to wait until their tournament for their annual meeting with KC Run GMC.  Grassroots-Weston gets fellow Under Armour member Nebraska Supreme and Isaac Traudt.  That Nebraska Supreme team is a merger between the Team Factory and Lincoln Supreme programs that were so good the last couple of years.  In the Sunday game, the Colorado Hawks feature top 5 2023 big man Baye Fall.  

For those with Baller.TV, the games from both tournaments will be live there.

The Rest
NY2LA teams will be in Louisville for a gigantic 3 organization event.  Long time AAU followers will probably recall the old Eddie Ford event that went on there.  That event includes the MN Comets, Team GetShook and Gain Elite.  A few other teams will make the trip to Sioux Falls. West Central Wildcats, Crossfire-Pederson, SW MN Stars, MN Rise, Comets Belka and West Central United are all in the top bracket there.  A little mid Minnesota crime there as WC United gets Comets Belka at 6:30 on Saturday night.

Locally
Minnesota Select and D1 Minnesota both have small tournaments in town this weekend.  E1T1 with 2 teams and Starks Elite in the D1 tourney.  Howard Pulley's other teams are playing up in the Select tourney.  Northstar Titans Barker and Rip City amongst the others in that 17U bracket.

2021 Comets Shootout Review

Great to have the Comets Shootout return after being called off due to COVID last year.  This was my 1st tourney seeing COVID protocols in place in person.  The back to back scheduling is different but there's something to be said for it.  Get in, get out and be done.  While we didn't have the full usual crowd of fans and college coaches, there was enough there to have a reasonable game time feel.  Regardless, great to be back in the gym.  With many metro teams only getting 1 practice in before the tourney due to the quick turnaround and early week curfews, we'll definitely see much different basketball from these teams later in the season.  But that's also the great equalizer of this tournament.  

Show Me (but not in Missouri):  Good runs by WOTN Bertsch and Crossfire Barger to the 16U Blue semifinals.  Liked what I saw from 16u ECI Prospects freshman Isaiah Schafer (more that on later), Isaac Nyakundi (Duluth East) of Starks Elite and JT Thornton (Lakeville North) of WOTN.  Jasper Hedin (Winona), Brandon Melchoir (Elk River), and Hakeem Ford (Mpls SW) caught my eye in the 17s.

Team that Most Surprised Me:  Real Phenom-Nick 17s lost their opener to Heat MacDonald but then ran the table with wins over Comets Belka, WI Swing Bredesen and Heat Grow to finish 3-1 and win the consolation side of the 17U Blue bracket.  Productive weekend for Davion Evans (Robbinsdale Cooper).

Best Finish of the Weekend: 17U Team GetShook vs WI Swing Bredesen.  In the Saturday opener, GetShook was down 3 with the ball with under 30 seconds to go.  Swing had 3 fouls to give and gave 1 of them.  But they couldn't give another.  Donald Ferguson (Osseo) hit a tough 3 to tie and then after Swing went too quick at the end we had a scramble with 5 seconds left.  GetShook picks up and throws it ahead for a Keyon Broussard (Roseville) layup to beat the buzzer and a 42-40 win.

Clap Along (if you feel like like happiness is the truth): One thing that really stuck out in 17s was the lack of size.  Lots of bigger wing types but in terms of real post guys, they're hard to find.  That was a key edge for Select Ohnstad having Pharrell Payne (Park of Cottage Grove) in the middle.  His impact was definitely felt this weekend and as a breakout guy during the regular season, the progression will be fun to watch.  Particularly since he's playing for Mitch Ohnstad who's known for his work with bigs.

Jump Off My Page: I saw only 1 15u game all weekend and that was the 15U blue championship.  North Dakota's top ranked 2024 Jeremiah Sem highlighted that game. H was the most explosive player I saw all weekend, regardless of age level.  Athletically he was at another level than anybody he played.  The game was a defensive struggle but Sem sealed it with a 3 point play and dunk in the last minute to give ECI Prospects the 39-32 championship over Team GetShook.  That ECI roster has 3 of the top 4 ranked freshman in North Dakota and the 4th plays up on their 16s (and played well).  Looking forward to see that group in the coming years with 2 good guards and 2 solid bigs. 

17U Blue Bracket Results
4-0 - Select Ohnstad (1st)
3-1 - Fury Wilde (2nd), Heat MacDonald (3rd), Comets Elite (5th), Real Phenom (9th) 
2-2 - WOTN Johnson (4th), Team GetShook (6th), MN Rise (7th), Heat Grow (10th), WI Swing Bredesen (11th), MN Lightning Ellerbusch (13th)
1-3 - Team 1848 (8th), ECI Prospects (12th), Fury Narum (14th), Comets Belka (15th)
0-4 Magic Premier (16th)

16U Blue Bracket Results
4-0 - Fury Antl (1st)
3-1 - Playmakers Showcase Wausau (2nd), WOTN Bertsch (3rd), WI Swing Bredesen (5th), Team 1848 (9th)
2-2 - Crossfire Barger (4th), Heat Pratt (6th), ECI Prospects (7th), Starks Elite (10th), Hall of Fame (11th), MN Lightning Ellerbusch (13th)
1-3 - MN Rise (8th), Fury Hayes (12th), Magic Premier (14th), Comets Elite (15th)
0-4 - Real Phenom (16th) 

15U Blue Bracket Results
4-0 - ECI Prospects (1st)
3-1 - Team GetShook (2nd), Fury Zurn (3rd), Playmakers Showcase (5th), Heat Bohrer (9th)
2-2 - Team 1848 (4th), MN Rise (6th), Crossfire Ronning (7th), Heat PB&J (10th), WI Swing Bredesen (11th), MN Rush (13th)
1-3 - MN Lightning Lyga (8th), MN Select Altenhofen (12th), WOTN Mitchell (14th), Magic Premier (15th)
0-4 - Comets Elite (16th)

16U White Bracket: MN Bounce 4-0 (1st) for the Maple Grove based group who got to play all 4 of their games at Whitney.  Great balance from that crew in the championship game with 9 of the 10 guys scoring at least 2 buckets and nobody in double figures.  Fun team to watch play.

2021 State Tourney Quick Hits

Some quick observations from the 2021 State Tournament

Class A
It was a wacky class A tourney with the top seeds going out immediately in the quarters.  Junior forward Matt Thompson of Hancock was a big part of that in the north half of the bracket.  A name that definitely caught the attention of coaches.  On the other side of the bracket, Ethan Slaathaug put Hayfield on his back with a monster tournament.  He graduates but Hayfield returns a ton behind him.  Expect the Vikings to make another big run next season..  

Class AA
How about Caledonia playing without their star Eli King and beating #2 Minneapolis North in the semis and giving #1 Waseca all they wanted before Ryan Dufault's game winner with 2.3 seconds left in the championship.  Not to mention getting thru a very tough section 1AA.  Athletics remain as strong as ever for the Warriors.  Don't expect them to drop too far.  

After making the AAA championship game in 2019, Waseca came in #1 this season and lived up to all the billing.  Despite only 13 combined points from Andrew Morgan and Kyreese Willingham and 6-30 total 3 point shooting in the championship game, the Bluejays still found a way to win the game of the day.

Class AAA
No shock here that Minnehaha took home their 4th straight title, 1st in AAA.  Byron gave them a fight in the quarters before the Redhawks cruised thru the semis and championship game.  What a run with 2 of the top players in Minnesota history during that stretch.  While Minnehaha for the 1st time in forever won't be a prohibitive favorite to win a state title next season, the cupboard isn't bare either.  With Mercy Miller, Prince Aligbe, Donovan Smith and Chase Carter all returning, the Redhawks will still be very dangerous.

Class AAAA
Tre Holloman putting a whole new roster on his back and taking them to the title game was a sight to see.  I saw them struggle in game 1 of the year vs Mounds View but the nice adjustments to using Holloman more in the low post and pinch post along with a slower defensive minded style worked like a charm.  That defense really carried them later in the season.  The Raiders will be in a similar spot next season, hard to bet against them.

Wayzata will have just about everybody back from a roster that clicked this season after struggling last year.  They'll be the first pick to win it all again next season.  We often talk about all the guard play and shooting the Trojans seem to have.  That remains true but defensively, they really turned it up.  After a halftime adjustment vs Duluth East in the quarters, Wayzata's defense stonewalled teams and that put them over the top.