The Northwest Suburban Preview
It’s Fourteen teams competing for the Best of the Northwest. Today we continue with the previews in the Northwest Suburban Conference.
Last Year. Conference one was Champlin Park beating the tar out of all of their opponents while Conference 2 was Maple Grove outfighting Armstrong, Park Center, and Osseo to win that half of the league. Champlin Park won every game but the championship although they will look very different.
Blaine and Elk River were solid plus Coon Rapids had their best year in a long time. Andover went to state but was still 11-20 and it was tough years at Centennial and Anoka (the Cougars were 12-15 but had a pair of college signed players in Josh McGreal and Elliott Lyden so 12 wins was expected at the least).
On the other side Maple Grove and Armstrong were quality but lost most of the talent. Park Center at 21-7 played a bit better than expected, same could be said for Osseo, and then Totino-Grace was about .500 for the year.
Conference Commentary
State Contender: Park Center
When you consider how much talent they have back from last year compared to others you get an even more confident understanding of how good they can be. Lost a point guard to Idaho at the D1 level but with NDSU committed Jarius Cook back along with Khari Broadway on the outside and Dain Dainja along with DJ Purnell working near the rim the ceiling is high. Not to mention there are other guys that are going to step into bigger roles like Tommy Chatman and Emmanuel Tamba to name a few. They are certainly in the top four teams in state.
Potential Top Ten: Osseo, Champlin Park, Totino-Grace
The T-G Eagles will start the season in the Class AAA top ten while Osseo and Champlin Park are likely to be just outside it, but with a real chance to be in it quick. Osseo returns Zach Theisen and Maurice Nelson making for a solid backcourt with young Cornell Richardson ready for a bigger role. They have some others ready for bigger roles too.
The Rebels return Josiah Strong and Bennett Otto but have 6-7 other rotation guys to replace. There is massive size coming up from the JV and younger levels so frontcourt players should not be a problem nor will the athletic ability. The question mark is experience and how quickly those new players can adapt to the level.
Totino-Grace lost a player to NDSU (Rocky Kreuser) but expectations are that the Eagles will be 5-6 games better than last year. Charlie Jacob is a legit D2 level player and there is quality size in Will Schmidt and Tyler Kittelson plus solid returning guards in Nick Flottmeier and Braeden Mischke. The talent is there.
Compete with Most: Blaine, Elk River, Maple Grove, Armstrong, Spring Lake Park
Blaine lost more than half of their line-up but have solid guards leading with Sam Browne and Byron Binham plus forwards that can play as well. Elk River is always tough especially when a piece like Jack Burger is returning. Maple Grove has nobody back from last year’s rotation but Alex Battist is coming off a great summer and there are other solid players as well. Armstrong lost a lost but has Isaian Miller returning and the Spring Lake Park younger kids are pretty good as is returning scorer Kameron Davis.
Rebuilding: Anoka, Andover, Coon Rapids, Centennial, Irondale
Andover lost a lot from an 11-20 team while Coon Rapids was fun last year but also lost most of their guys. Anoka will be very big and if the guards are solid they could have a nice year.
Conference Predictions
Conference 1
- Champlin Park
- Blaine
- Elk River
- Anoka
- Andover
- Coon Rapids
- Centennial
Conference 2
- Park Center
- Osseo
- Totino-Grace
- Maple Grove
- Robbinsdale Armstrong
- Spring Lake Park
- Irondale
Power Rankings
- Park Center
- Osseo
- Champlin Park
- Totino-Grace
- Blaine
- Maple Grove
- Elk River
- Robbinsdale Armstrong
- Spring Lake Park
- Anoka
- Andover
- Irondale
- Coon Rapids
- Centennial
Preseason All Northwest Suburban
First Team
Jarius Cook, Park Center, Sr
Zach Theisen, Osseo, Sr
Josiah Strong, Champlin Park, Sr
Charlie Jacob, Totino-Grace, Sr
Jack Burger, Elk River, Sr
Second Team
Khari Broadway, Park Center, Jr
Dain Dainja, Park Center, Soph
Alex Battist, Maple Grove, Sr
Kameron Davis, Spring Lake Park, Sr
Bennett Otto, Champlin Park, Jr
Third Team
Will Schmidt, Totino-Grace, Sr
Byron Binum, Blaine, Sr
Jake Phipps, Anoka, Sr
Tommy Chartman, Park Center, Jr
Maurice Nelson, Osseo, Sr
DJ Purnell, Park Center, Sr