Previewing the St. Cloud Cathedral Tournament
The Granite City Classic might be the headline holiday tournament in the state, but the St. Cloud Cathedral Tournament quietly put together an excellent field too. The field is very strong, headlined by a pair of top AA teams in…
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Continue ReadingThe Granite City Classic might be the headline holiday tournament in the state, but the St. Cloud Cathedral Tournament quietly put together an excellent field too.
The field is very strong, headlined by a pair of top AA teams in St. Cloud Cathedral and the last two state champions from Class AA, Braham and Melrose.
Here are somethings to watch for:
Section 6AA
Section 6AA is quite the bear. Cathedral looks like the favorite on the East side of the subsection while Melrose is one of the elite teams in the state, coming from the West subsection.
Cathedral and Melrose are a combined 11-0 on the season and ranked Nos. 3 and 4 in the latest NHR Class 2A rankings. Braham is off to a slow start this year after graduating four of its top five players, but the Bombers win 25 games every year. They’ve got an elite coach and they’ve always got talent.
Guards on one side, bigs on the other
The top of the bracket pits Litchfield and Braham against one another in the first game Tuesday while Mandan and Melrose square off in the second game.
The Dragons are off to a solid start this year and a big reason why has been the play of senior point guard Noah Kreger. Kreger’s averaging 17 points per game and sets the floor as well as any lead guard in this tournament.
Melrose squares off with Mandan in the following game for what could be a sneaky solid contest. The guy leading Melrose is senior point guard Dillon Haider. He’s one of the top players in the state.
On the bottom of the bracket, Watertown-Mayer plays Pierz. While the headline guy for the Royals is Trae Berhow, McKinley Gehlhausen is an integral part to their attack. His ability to control the paint on both ends is a big reason why they are undefeated on the season.
Cathedral is stocked with not one, but two quality big guys. Junior forwards Michael Schaefer and Mitchell Plombon both average more than 20 points per game for a team that puts up 82 points per game.
Potential matchups to watch
A few team matchups that could be really interesting from a local perspective have to be the winner of the Litchfield/Braham game against Melrose (assuming the Dutchmen take care of Mandan). Melrose and Braham are the last two teams to win the Class AA state title, so there’s history there. Melrose at this point looks like the superior team and might be the best team in the field.
An individual matchup that would be enticing from that side of the bracket would be a Noah Kreger and Dillon Haider matchup. Both guys played Comets – though for different teams – and both are off to terrific starts this season.
The game of the tournament could very well be a semifinal matchup between Cathedral and Watertown-Mayer. Both teams are undefeated on the season and have quality wins over other very good teams around the state.
The frontcourt talent in that game would be absurd with Berhow and Gehlhausen leading the Royals against Schaefer and Plombon. That would be the Nos. 4 and 5 teams in Class AA going head to head.
Prospects to watch
The best player in the tournament is Berhow. But he’s signed to play at Pepperdine. However the next crop of players rank against each other, they are all still unsigned. Haider, Birch, Kreger, Gehlhausen, Matt Tautges from Pierz, Keaton LeClaire from Cathedral, Plombon, Schaefer and even guys like Barnabas Preble from Concordia Academy and Owen Boerema from Litchfield are players to watch.
First round game to watch: Melrose vs. Mandan
Mandan isn’t off to a great start in North Dakota but the Braves have talent all over the court with guys like Tree Steckler, Cameron Steckler and Jaden Anderson. Melrose is loaded with talent as well.
Second round game to watch: Cathedral vs. Watertown-Mayer
This could be a potential state tournament semifinal game given the way both teams look. The talent in the frontcourt is exciting. Cathedral is the younger team, but the Crusaders are also deeper.
Picking a tournament winner: Melrose
I think Melrose and St. Cloud Cathedral meet up in the title game — though this field looks hard to predict given the combination of high-end talent and quality history — and while it would be something of a pick’em, I’ll take Melrose. Haider and Birch are excellent. Francisco Cervantes and Justin Middendorf are solid players too.