Big 12 Classic: Prior Lake vs East Ridge
This weekend the season kicks off with the Breakdown Big 12 Classic at Champlin Park. The 4:30 game is Prior Lake vs East Ridge, a rematch from last season. Last Year: Prior Lake defeated East Ridge 70-62 last season, a…
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Continue ReadingThis weekend the season kicks off with the Breakdown Big 12 Classic at Champlin Park. The 4:30 game is Prior Lake vs East Ridge, a rematch from last season.
Last Year: Prior Lake defeated East Ridge 70-62 last season, a massive performance from Dawson Garcia scoring 25 points on 12 of 16 shooting with 17 rebounds. Next to Dawson, Robert Jones (now at Denver) scored 13 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. The pair also head East Ridge to a combined nine points spread out across three guys and that includes Ben Carlson. Outside of Ben and Dawson, the only other returning players in this year’s game will be Tyree Ihenacho from Prior Lake, and Brody Kriesel of East Ridge. The rest of the line-ups will be brand new.
G1: Tyree Ihenacho (Prior Lake) vs Kendall Blue (East Ridge). I think Kendall Blue has a strong chance at handling for the Raptors but the sophomore is 6-foot-5 and agile so I matched him up with North Dakota committed Tyree Ihenacho. Tyree pushed the ball often for Select this 17u season so maybe he and Dawson will be handling some, or often.
G2: ? (Prior Lake) vs ? (East Ridge). The other guard starter for both teams is a real mystery. Prior Lake could go with Kyle McCullough as a bigger wing playing the two, or maybe Nathan Bach, DJ Doysen or Tommy Mestnik will grab a ball handling position. It’s a little clearer at East Ridge. Rob Jeter Jr had a good summer so he may start, or it could be Logan Larson or Nolan Goetz.
SF: Dawson Garcia (Prior Lake) vs Drew Adams (East Ridge). I’m sure there will be some Dawson versus Carlson but considering the massive numbers these teams will need from each, and the size that each team has, Dawson and Ben will likely face some other guys as well. Drew Adams is a quality face-up skilled forward and the same could be said for Zac Thomas. Each has good size and decent agility meaning one or the other could start versus Garcia. Last season Adams played more.
PF: Tyler Flaata (Prior Lake) vs Brody Kreisel (East Ridge). Flaata is a senior that played a bit while Kreisel was the sixth man a year ago. Both are in that 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 range and will likely be workers for these teams. Kreisel is the second most experienced returning Raptor so quality play from Brody is crucial.
C: Malcolm Jones (Prior Lake) vs Ben Carlson (East Ridge). Malcolm is the brother of Robert Jones and has good size entering his sophomore year. Jones has really good potential and plays aggressively. In facing Carlson, Jones doesn’t have to match him, he just needs to defend hard and make things tougher for Carlson. Ben, like Dawson, will likely have to average big numbers for his team to win big games and Carlson is certainly capable.
Bench: East Ridge has more talent coming off the bench but neither team has experience. Assuming Adams and Jeter start, the Raptors can bring Thomas, Larson, and Goetz off the bench giving them the edge. Prior Lake has a guy we like in Austin Sommerville who can give strong minutes plus the guards we mentioned earlier.
The Pick. I think East Ridge has a deeper team, but Prior Lake has two D1 players that are experienced in the heavy roles they will have. In looking at the coaches, both teams have a new head coach offering no clear advantage. Prior Lake’s Jon Miller has been coaching longer and has been with Prior Lake longer, but hasn’t been a head coach until now. Josh Peltier had success at Eagan improving their team but he’s brand new to East Ridge. Both coaches have huge expectations on their shoulders that are likely unfair (only one team can win the Class AAAA state title). I give the Lakers the edge because as they have the edge of one more returning starter, plus they won the game last year.