Minnesota HS Basketball – The Teams of the Decade

Best teams of the decade in Minnesota?  Today I give you my group of a dozen, the best teams over a decade from the 2010-11 season to the 2019-20 season.  

In doing this I discovered that if I was to list the best ten teams that may end up being the same few high schools over and over again.  Remember, this is an era that saw Minnehaha Academy win three straight state championships and they were favorited to be on their way again.  You also have a DeLaSalle program that won six straight championships, and seven gold trophies in eight years.  Therefore I maxed it out to three year runs for each team so we could include more teams and we could include more players.  Here is my dozen, feel free to share with me/us your favorites!

Apple Valley (2012-15). The Eagles won three titles over the decade and they occurred in odd years (2013, 2015, and 2017).  Tyus Jones led the team to the first title (2013) before moving on to Duke, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Memphis Grizzlies.  That team had young players contributing that would eventually play a big part in the next two years that built to a 2015 title.  Those players included Gray Trent Jr (now with the Portland Trailblazers), Brock Bertram (Buffalo), Tre Jones (Duke), Cameron Kirksey (Minnesota State-Mankato) and more. 

Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (2011-14). BBE went 89-3 in this time frame winning state titles in 2012 and 2014.  The Jags were perfect in 2012 winning all 33 games led by the Goodwin brothers (Connor and Brian) as well as Billy Borgerding, and Kirby Montbriand.  The 2012 team was way too big, talented, and supreme in execution to defeat.  However, Brian Goodwin was a one man show at times for the 2014 championship squad earning a spot on the Mr. Basketball Final Five list for an incredible senior year (Borgerding was with him every step of the way) 

Cretin-Derham Hall (2016-18). The Raiders set up an amazing state championship game in 2018 first by making the state tournament in 2017.  They then knocked off Apple Valley with a Daniel Oturu dunk at the buzzer in one of the greatest games in Minnesota high school basketball history.  We talked about the Jones brothers before but did you know that CDH knocked off Tyus (in the section title game of 2014) and Tre (in the 2018 state title game) both in their senior years.  Oturu had a great sophomore year at Minnesota and is now looking at the NBA Draft.  Also on the team was Ryan Larson (Wofford), Sy Chatman (just transferred to Illinois State), and Jaeden King (Western Illinois). 

DeLaSalle (2014-17). This was the second half of the Islanders three-peat and a time period that the Islanders went 77-11 against a schedule slated to test the teams against the best locally and outside of the state.  The Islanders knocked off St. Paul Johnson, Fergus Falls, and Austin in title games led by Gabe Kalscheur, Goanar Mar, and a young Tyrell Terry (who also won a title in 2019).  These teams were coached by Davie Thorson before Thorson moved back to the college level coaching at Drake and Colorado State.  Gabe is now at Minnesota, Mar at Northern Iowa, and Terry is looking into the NBA Draft after a great year at Stanford.

DeLaSalle (2011-14).  The first set of Islander three-peats was the foundation for the modern day Islander program.  Yes I am aware the Islanders won a couple in the 80s, a couple in the 90s ,and one in 2006, but that is why I used "modern day" as things change quickly in high school hoops. Reid Travis was the big name for De earning McDonald’s All American status in 2014 before heading off to Stanford (and later Kentucky).  Sacar Anim (Marquette), Jarvis Johnson (Minnesota), Luke Scott (U of Mary), and Geno Crandall (Gonzaga) also were key figures for these teams. 

Eden Prairie (2019-20).  The Eagles won all 28 games they played this year including victories over a team on this list (Minnehaha Academy) who double as the defending AA champs, the Eagles beat the defending AAA champs DeLaSalle, and they knocked off the defending AAAA champs (Hopkins twice).  The Eagles went to state four of the last five seasons meaning point guard [player_tooltip player_id="846109" first="Drake" last="Dobbs"] led his team to four state trips.  This season the Eagles were perfect led by Dobbs (Liberty), [player_tooltip player_id="721835" first="John" last="Henry"] (Sioux Falls), [player_tooltip player_id="846114" first="Austin" last="Andrews"] (UMD), and [player_tooltip player_id="846111" first="Connor" last="Christensen"] (Dartmouth).  

Henning (2018-20).  Some of the best team basketball I’ve seen played in Minnesota was from this Henning team.  They won a 2019 title at 31-1 and they were the favorites to win another title this season with their 29-1 record.  The Fishers (Sam and Isaac), [player_tooltip player_id="846251" first="Parker" last="Fraki"], and [player_tooltip player_id="846170" first="Blake" last="Wallevand"] were the key figures along with Randy Misegades coaching a team up for Class A success.  

Hopkins (2010-11). The Royals were the first great team of the decade ending their three-peat in 2011.  That squad had Mr Basketball Joe Coleman (Minnesota), Marvin Singleton (Northern Iowa), Mr Basketball Siyani Chambers (Harvard), and Zach Stahl (Northeastern).  Hopkins won 31 of 32 basketball games during this season continuing the success they had in the previous decade. 

Hopkins (2015-16).  Why didn’t Apple Valley win in 2016?  A team of five Hopkins players that landed at D1 schools.  Current LA Clipper Amir Coffey shut down Gary Trent Jr in the semis in a trademark moment that helped him win Mr Basketball.  Vinnie Shahid ran the show and eventually led NDSU to a couple league crowns.  Simon Wright (Elon), Xavier Johnson (Chicago State(), and Ishmael El-Amin (Ball State) were also on this team.   Also, this is a perfect spot to throw in that Hopkins also won a title in 2018 (group led by Zeke Nnaji and [player_tooltip player_id="532358" first="Kerwin" last="Walton"]). 

Minnehaha Academy (2018-20).   The Redhawks were a massive favorite to win the state title this year what would of given the team four titles in a row.  The second pair of titles had 5-star [player_tooltip player_id="532350" first="Jalen" last="Suggs"] leading the way along with fellow five star talent [player_tooltip player_id="532574" first="Chet" last="Holmgren"] blocking shots, [player_tooltip player_id="850724" first="Donovan" last="Smith"] hitting jumpers, and [player_tooltip player_id="850702" first="Prince" last="Aligbe"] moving into the role of double figure scorer.  The Hawks also put Minnesota basketball on the national map with an ESPN win over Sierra Canyon in the Target Center.  Also, the [player_tooltip player_id="532350" first="Jalen" last="Suggs"] junior year campaign start (Breakdown Tip Off) to finish (State title game) was one of the best seasons I’ve seen a Minnesota player have.  

Minnehaha Academy (2016-18).  The first Redhawks team was also led by [player_tooltip player_id="532350" first="Jalen" last="Suggs"] who as a freshman scored 22 a game and was already unstoppable at the Class AA level of basketball.  The Redhawks had future Wisconsin football player [player_tooltip player_id="721838" first="Kaden" last="Johnson"] defending at a high level and scoring ten points a game, JaVonni Bickham (Denver big now) was on the block showing off skills, and Lorenzo Smith (just signed with Waldorf this spring) scored 14 points a contest. 

Minneapolis North (2015-17).  The Polars two year title run is documentary worthy.  A group of coaches and athletes that helped bring a school that was close to being closed, and brought the community together for a run of championships (basketball and football actually).  At the center of this was Head Coach Larry McKenzie and two-sport star Tyler Johnson.  Nobody will ever forget Tyler jumping over a guy at state and then leading the Gophers on the football field.  This team also had a long list of college hoopers including Isaac Johnson (Western Illinois), Jamil Jackson Jr (IUPUI), Patrick Dembley (Boise State), ODell Wilson IV (NDSU), Tayler Johnson (Western Nebraska), and Jaquan Sanders-Smith.