Top 250 Expo Preview – Minnesota 2021

<p>This Sunday's Top 250 Twin Cities Expo is big for the junior class.  Why?  So few juniors have truly established themselves at this point, it will be fun to see who stands out. </p> <p><strong>Ten Junior Items to Watch this Sunday</strong></p> <ul> <li>College coaches respect Minnesota to the point now that they just assume there are several players here to recruit.  And one of the questions commonly is, what does Minnesota have for wings, for guards, and for shooters.  At the moment there isn't much that is clear for them to know which is why an event like this can at least help shed some light on things.  And there are certainly some great candidates!</li> <li>Who are those candidates?  There are several at the Expo. <strong> Andre Gray</strong> is the first name that sticks out as the Hopkins guard has 6-foot-4 size, strong athletic ability, and the agility to be a scholarship guard. With the exit of Kendall Brown I would say that Andre is currently the state's top junior guard prospect because of his size and potential.  </li> <li>Right behind him are a few guys in this event: <strong>Clifford Brown III, Kody Williams, Paris Johnson</strong>, and <strong>Erick Burgess</strong>.  Brown played on a North team last year with a lot of guards and wings but now the opportunities are there for him to have the ball in his hands a lot more than the past years when he was playing with older, quality guards.  This weekend we can get a look at wider range of Brown's ability.  Kody Williams is right now the top point guard prospect in the junior class, he could have a dominant day controlling the open runs.  Paris Johnson and Erick Burgess are versatile players that have put up a wide range of numbers.  Now it's time to find out what level prospect each is. </li> <li>2021 is the year of the big.  Chet Holmgren, Treyton Thompson, Andrew Morgan, and Will Tschetter have already earned scholarship offers and there are lot more talented bigs who could follow.  Two of the best making a push are <strong>Francis Nwaokorie</strong> of Champlin Park and <strong>Broden Lien</strong> of NCE-UH, both of which will be at Burnsville tomorrow.  At the minimum both are division two level prospect players and both are capable of big performances. </li> <li>It's not just the known bigs coming to Burnsville to make a name for themselves, there are many up and comers that will be at the event as well.  <strong>Andrew Nerud</strong> of New Prague took some big steps forward with the Magic this summer and he will be the Trojan big this winter.  What progress he's made will be fun to look at.  Six-foot-8 <strong>Sam Shikenjanksi</strong> of Stillwater and six-foot-6 <strong>Cal Greene</strong> of Mahtomedi are two more players we are anxious to see plus Sam Privet out of Caledonia had some big moments this summer so he's also one to watch. </li> <li>There are three Sunday participants that will also being quarterback this evening: <strong>Jordan Doe</strong> of Coon Rapids, <strong>Teyghan Hovland</strong> of Austin, and <strong>Zach Jackson</strong> of Lester Prairie.  Hovland is a three sport standout that helped lead Austin to the state baseball tournament and will be a key Packers hooper.  Jackson is the second leading returning scorer for the Bulldogs while Doe is already a seasoned veteran.  </li> <li>Hibbing is likely to be a top ten Class AAA team this winter and big reason is the 6-foot-5/6-foot-6 pair of <strong>Eli Erickson and Parker Maki</strong>.  Maki is coming off of a 15 point per game season while Erickson was a three bucket a game guy as a sophomore.  It's a pair that could lead Hibbing to a ton of wins.  The same can be said about the Blake trio <strong>Robert Grace IV, Gabe Ganz, and Jasper Liu</strong> who combined to score 45 points as a sophomore group. </li> <li>The athletic gifts are there for <strong>Zach Spann</strong> to be a scholarship player at a fairly high level.  The potential is high.  We are looking forward to seeing where his skills and his consistency are as a player. </li> <li>The Shooters!  There is a great group of shooters including <strong>Bradley Cimperman</strong> of Woodbury, <strong>Jack Frick</strong> of Chaska, <strong>Trey Johnston</strong> of Spring Lake Park, <strong>Elijah Morris</strong> of Perham, and <strong>Colton Roderick</strong> of Alexandria.  Five players that can change games with the touch, plus they are growing in other areas. </li> <li>More:  I really like <strong>Josh Baker</strong> of Marshall this summer, <strong>Corbin Froelich</strong> will be one of the best players in his section, <strong>Colton Landers</strong> has been the top Grand Meadow player for about nine years, <strong>Addison Metcalf</strong> showed an expansive game this summer, and <strong>RJ Jioklow</strong> gets numbers for Simley, will he get numbers tomorrow?</li> </ul>