Previewing the Minneapolis Henry MLK Classic
Mondays are the worst. But this upcoming Monday ought to be a good one for hoops fans. Minneapolis Patrick Henry is going to be heaven for those interested in good high school basketball. The Minneapolis Henry MLK Classic features five games…
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Continue ReadingMondays are the worst. But this upcoming Monday ought to be a good one for hoops fans.
Minneapolis Patrick Henry is going to be heaven for those interested in good high school basketball. The Minneapolis Henry MLK Classic features five games starting at 12 p.m. and is jam-packed with a combination of some of the best teams and individual players in the state.
Here is the full Monday slate:
12 p.m. — Blake vs. Cristo Rey Jesuit
It’s big versus small to tip things off as Jack Moe and Will Watkins lead Blake into a matchup with Jericho Sims and Cristo Rey Jesuit. Blake’s struggled out of the gate this year while Cristo Rey is hovering around .500 despite playing a tough schedule.
1:45 p.m. — Cloquet vs. Holy Family Catholic
The Fire have enjoyed a solid start to the season thanks in large part to the efforts of junior guards Nathan Hendler and Lincoln Cizek. Hendler averages 22 points per game and Cizek averages 14 per. Cloquet’s struggled early in the year but a player to watch is junior forward Bryce Turnbull.
3:30 p.m. — Minneapolis Henry vs. Hopkins
The Patriots get Hopkins in their own event in what could be an interesting up and down game. Patrick Henry relies on pushing the tempo and playing a harassing style defense. Hopkins has the athletes to play that same style, so it would seem like a matchup the Royals should win. But the Patriots are at home, where they are undefeated on the season. The guard matchup of Ismael El-Amin/Anthony Davis and Jordan Lynn/Savion Scott could be a dandy.
5:15 p.m. — Minnehaha Academy vs. Waconia
The Redhawks have two of the best wins so far this season and they’ve got one of the best players in the state in Jalen Suggs. The Redhawks are loaded with talent beyond Suggs too, as Terry Lockett, Kaden Johnson and Jose Williamson have been productive. Waconia is working through replacing two three-year starters in Joey Kortuem and Josh Rands but the Wildcats are well-coached and always competitive. Nick Fulford and Charlie Grove give the Wildcats a pair of solid juniors on the perimeter and PJ Hayes is an intriguing freshman.
7 p.m. — Edina vs. Orono
The schedule-makers saved the best for last in this one as two of the best teams in the state go head-to-head for the finale. Edina will go as far as its backcourt duo of Walt McGrory and Anders Nelson takes it while the Spartans have the combination of high-end talent with Jarvis Thomas and Max Bjorklund and excellent depth with Colton Codute, Thomas Lecy, Griffen Sage and Jack Anderson.
Here’s a few more things to watch for overall:
High-End Talent
There’s a lot of it. Starting with the seniors, there’s Jericho Sims, who is going to Texas and rated as one of the top 75 players in the country. Simon Wright and Ishmael El-Amin are both going Division I for Hopkins. Walt McGrory is one of the top unsigned players in the 2017 class. Savion Scott just dropped 40 points last week in a tight game with Minneapolis North. Jordan Lynn and Lamar Wood are also both top-50ish seniors in the state.
Anthony Davis and Joe Hedstrom are top juniors for Hopkins while Edina’s Anders Nelson is one of the top guards in the 2018 class. Jarvis Thomas has been a double-double machine for Orono and the guard combination of Max Bjorklund and Colton Codute is as good as it gets in Class AAA. Nathan Hendler averages 22 points per game for a solid Holy Family Catholic team.
Underclassmen
That block of names above represents some of the top upperclassmen to watch for the day. The crop of underclassmen playing Monday is crazy good too.
It starts with Jalen Suggs, who’s emerged as a top-five player in the state regardless of class. He’s been electric all year for the Redhawks. If it weren’t for him though, Terry Lockett would get a lot more attention. The freshman guard averages 13 points per game and is scoring at close to a 17-point-per-game clip in his last three weeks.
While those two seem to ruin the curve for all freshmen everywhere, PJ Hayes is having a great season for Waconia. The freshman guard is averaging close to 10 points per game on the year. And the talent pipeline in Hopkins isn’t drying up anytime soon. Blaise Beauchamp is one of the top freshmen in the state and scoring at a double-figure clip while sophomore forward Zeke Nnaji is one of the top rated players in the 2019 class.
State Contenders abound
It might take some imagination given DeLaSalle’s dominance over Class AAA the last six years, but there could very well be three state title winning teams at Patrick Henry Monday.
Minnehaha Academy isn’t ranked No. 1 in Class AA right now because the Redhawks have taken tough losses due to an incredibly tough early schedule. But they’ve got the most talent of any team in Class AA. At full strength they’ve got to be considered the favorite to win state in AA.
DeLaSalle’s dominated AAA forever now, but if they are getting beat, Orno might be best equipped to do it. The Spartans have dynamic guards in Bjorklund and Codute, they’ve got the big man in Thomas and they’ve got depth. Jack Anderson, Griffen Sage, Noel Mshihiri, and Thomas Lecy all average between seven and nine points per game too.
Hopkins and Edina both have reasonable shots to get to the state tournament in Class AAAA this year. While Champlin Park has to be considered the favorite to win the AAAA title at this point, it would be foolish to count out Hopkins. And Edina has one of the best guard tandems in the state with McGrory and Nelson.