Ten Best: Robbinsdale Cooper vs. Osseo
A two-mile jog down County Road 30 led me to the Orioles’ nest on Thursday night to observe Osseo against the visiting Cooper Hawks. Very lopsided in the big picture of this one, it was eight minutes of competitive ball…
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Continue ReadingA two-mile jog down County Road 30 led me to the Orioles’ nest on Thursday night to observe Osseo against the visiting Cooper Hawks. Very lopsided in the big picture of this one, it was eight minutes of competitive ball and the rest was hard to watch. A slow start for both squads made for a decent first quarter of the game, with Nathan Hill and Matt Bezdicek dominating early for the visitors and hosts respectively. Then Matt’s brother wanted some action too, and John Bezdicek worked his way around the floor on both ends in a great secondary role. Osseo ran away to grasp a 50-27 edge at half.
After the break it got uglier, save for Zach Theisen running circles around the arc for multiple treys and Cooper sophomore Jalen Justice answering just about every time. Lackadaisical for the last nine minutes and the final score was 95-62 in favor of the Orioles. They move to 5-1 while Cooper is now 1-2.
MVP: Matt Bezdicek (SF, 6-3, Sr., Osseo)
There are two things you know you’re going to get out of Matt and his twin bro John: converted open treys and drawn charges. Matt had the hottest hand on Thursday, finishing with 22 points. He buried three bombs and finished extremely well at the cup. He took a charge in the first half and added four rebounds and two assists.
Best offensive performance: Zach Theisen (SG, 6-1, Jr., Osseo)
Very quiet with zero field goal attempts in the first handful of minutes. But as the first half wore on, he used double stagger and flare screens effectively to give himself an open look. Hit four threes in the game and had a bunch of fast break layups in traffic. Finished with 23 and three assists.
Best defensive performance: Damien Gordon (F, 6-4, Sr., Cooper)
Damien couldn’t get anything easy on the offensive end with 6-8 Alex Sinnen guarding him most of the game. But his effort at the end of the game spoke very loudly about his mentality. Even once the game was out of reach, he stayed aggressive in passing lanes and picked up three steals and drew a charge. That relentless activity will get you noticed even if you don’t score much.
Best shooter: Jalen Justice (G, 6-1, So., Cooper)
Justice is a semi-known talent in the metro, ranked #25 in 2019 by NHR. He also was quiet in the first half and then proceeded to explode for 14 in the second. Finished with a total of 18 on 4 three-pointers. Big night of shooting over the longer Osseo wings. His stroke is a pretty one.
Best intangibles: Mar Mar Hughes (G, 5-11, Sr., Osseo)
Mar Mar is an athletic dude. He was very uptempo in the first five minutes and got drive after drive into the lane with opportunities to finish or dish. He jumped guard-to-guard passes with top-notch anticipation and had three steals. His energy early in the contest set up his team to go on a run and put the game out of reach at halftime.
Best performance off the bench: Keshawn Sutton (G, 6-2, Sr., Osseo)
Sutton came in to relieve Hughes of ballhandling duties and stepped up very impressively; on three straight possessions he handed out an assist. Finished with four total and five points to go with it. A reliable distributor off the bench for Coach Tim Theisen.
Best underclassman: Jalen Miller (G, 6-0, So., Cooper)
Miller only delivered five points in the game but he handled pressure well from the lengthier and more experienced Osseo guard corps. I liked his shooting stroke too. He’ll make a nice pairing with Justice for the next couple years. #59 sophomore in Minnesota.
Best under-the-radar performance: John Bezdicek (SF, 6-3, Sr., Osseo)
John was the hardest worker I saw on Thursday night. He is literally everywhere, willing to do the dirty work all the time. That type of player is always under the radar, but they get noticed because of it, and those guys usually end up being really good college players. (He definitely doesn’t have the same body type, but he reminds me of 2014 Mounds View grad Tim Hanson. Very little spotlight but somehow just finds a way to get it done. Hanson is now a starter for the Royals of Bethel, a very good D3 program.) John had 17 points, 5 boards, two assists, and two steals. Took a charge too.
Best aspect of the environment: Size of crowd
Usually Osseo doesn’t pull down their second sideline bleacher for games (only their matchups against rivals like Champlin Park, Park Center and Maple Grove attract enough people to make it worth it) but Cooper always travels well so the student sections were in full force on that second bleacher. Nice turnout so close to the holidays!
Other: Cooper veterans Beijan Newbern, Trokon Massey, and Nathan Hill all struggled with fouls early and had to sit most of the first half. That absence of experienced guards gave Osseo an advantage that Cooper couldn’t overcome. Newbern had seven points, Massey two, and Hill eight.