Ben Carlson & The Raptors have built a great culture
Six-foot-10 East Ridge 4-star junior Ben Carlson is averaging a double-double and his team is ranked number one in the state. So far the 2018-19 season is headed in the direction Ben had hoped. East Ridge has beaten #3 Hopkins,…
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Continue ReadingSix-foot-10 East Ridge 4-star junior Ben Carlson is averaging a double-double and his team is ranked number one in the state. So far the 2018-19 season is headed in the direction Ben had hoped.
East Ridge has beaten #3 Hopkins, #13 Cretin-Derham Hall, and #9 White Bear Lake this season plus defeated the 5th ranked team in Wisconsin’s biggest class, Brookfield Central. The losses occurred very early in the season against talented teams (#4 Prior Lake and #8 Eden Prairie).
“We lost a couple games early but I believe those were off shooting nights,” Carlson said. “We learned that we need to bring it every single and that’s what we’ve been doing in recent weeks.
“This team has improved on both sides of the floor. Our focus has to be bringing our best effort every night no matter who we are playing.”
The Raptors are one of the more balanced teams in Minnesota and as their 80-62 win over Brookfield Central showed, one of the more talented teams in the Midwest. This is a team with three headlining division one players mixed with a pair of outstanding seniors guards.
Five-star 2021 level Kendall Brown leads East Ridge in scoring at 17.8 points per game, Milwaukee signed Courtney Brown Jr scores 15.4 points and a night and senior backcourt Zach Zebrowski and Patrick Lynott produce 10.8 and 8.1 points per game respectively.
Carlson is the rock in the East Ridge middle recording a double-double average of 16 points and 10 boards a contest. Could the Browns or Carlson be in other programs putting up bigger numbers? Sure but at the depth at East Ridge means a sacrifice of individual numbers for the betterment of the team.
“I think we are playing better together this year than we were last year,” Ben explained. “Our chemistry just keeps building. Our goal is to get to the state tournament and win it.
“To do that we know we have to sacrifice. Maybe on one night I won’t have the big game but somebody else will. We know that is how it’s going to be some games so we can get to that ultimate goal.If we just control what we can control we can beat anybody in the state.”
What separates Carlson from the other top junior prospects in Minnesota? The work he has put in the weight room!
“We have a really good strength coach and athletic trainer in Mr. Moon,” Ben explained. “Our strength staff is the best in the state honestly. They do everything for us.
“I know this summer we lifted three days a week at 6:30 or 7 in the morning for an hour and a half. It was just constantly being in the weight room. That helped my so much and my team so much, we are just happy to have them in our program.”
The basketball staff at East Ridge will match many around the state. Assistant Tarek Tomes is a local coaching veteran with a son that played at East Ridge (Sid Tomes) and is now at Air Force competing. Jon Adams is a long time Tartan coach, a former local standout player, and his son Drew is a sophomore at East Ridge.
Assistant Justin Lorang is a former player at the University of Minnesota and a long time part of the Raptor program. And Head Coach Bryce Tesdahl took Crosby-Ironton to the state title game in 2007, was a standout at Bemidji State, and has coached at the coach and high school level locally (stops at UMD and New Prague).
“Ben’s ability starts with his physical stature, his maturation,” Coach Tesdahl said. “When I first got here (in the summer of 2017) Ben had a good body but now he has a great body, and it continues to develop.
“That’s part of our strength staff and Ben putting in extra work in the weight room developing his frame. Once I got here and started talking to the people that were recruiting Ben that is one of the things they wanted to see; added size to his frame and continuing to develop his basketball skills. But a lot of kids do that themselves because that is what they focus on but for Ben, physical maturation has been a big thing.
“He’s also improved his consistency from the three point line and around the perimeter. Improved his ball skills which he still needs to do more. Ben is a threat on both ends of the floor. He protects the rim and can score on all three levels on the offensive end. His best basketball is still in front of him.
“It’s a credit to Ben as he is one of those kids that shows up at 6:30am to shoot bringing the gun out (the shooting machine) and shoots for 45 minutes three or four days a week before school. He’s a gym rat and he gets it. He is one of these kids that wants to improve himself as opposed to having people tell him to do so. “
Carlson’s strength is one of the several reason the skilled junior has earned offers from Colorado, Creighton, Davidson, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Stanford, Wake Forest, Wisconsin, and Xavier.
In terms of visits Ben is one of the most active travelers in the country. He’s been to Kansas State, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Iowa State, Creighton, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Stanford.
“I don’t have any more visits coming up because I’m busy with the season but maybe once things slow down before AAU season starts. We will see,” Ben said.
Ben is a strong frontcourt prospect listed at 6-foot-9 in the summer and now 6-foot-10 on his high school roster. There is an obvious example of strength to his frame allowing for double digit numbers but Carlson is also a comfortable skilled player.
Because of that versatile ability he looks at his game from a couple different views: one inside and one out. So who are some players he likes to model his ability after?
“I like to look at Gordon Hayward and I like to look at Kevin Love,” Carlson explained. “Those kind of players. Probably more Gordon Hayward as he is the same size as me. He’s not as much of an inside player but he drives and shoots the three and that’s how I see myself playing in college. Those are two of the guys I like.”
Ben’s father Father Marc played basketball at Iowa State and his mother Sheri is a Hall of Fame volleyball player at St. Cloud State. Ben’s older sister Brynn Carlson is an outside hitter for Kansas State.
Brynn – who went to Cretin-Derham Hall – is a sophomore and a First Team Big XII All Academic performer. The family has more coming as well! Britt, Brayden, and Bode are the younger siblings of this big, athletic family.
“Brynn is at Kansas State and my younger sister is a freshman here at East Ridge and she’s being recruited by around 15 schools already for volleyball. I also have two other brothers.”
Back to East Ridge High School basketball, the following of this program from the varsity team down to the many younger teams is as good as any in the state. Especially in the metro! Young Raptors are all over the stands during games heavily involved in the program.
“The fans love this team. This wasn’t even a conference game, it was just a team from Wisconsin and the student section was wild. I don’t know, the fans come out in numbers as I believe we are fun to watch.
“We have a program called Little Raptors where we go and help with them once in awhile, so, we have a great community here because we’ve built this culture up.”