Class AAA Title Contender Series: Columbia Heights

Columbia Heights went 13-12 a season ago laid the foundation for upcoming seasons. With one of the strongest junior classes in the state of Minnesota, the Hylanders will be one of the best teams in Class AAA basketball. Key Wins in 19-20 (13-12): Hibbing, St Croix Lutheran, Mahtomedi, Richfield Oops: Minnehaha Academy, Mankato East, Holy Angles, DeLaSalle Moving On: One of the most explosive players in the state of Minnesota last year was Hylander guard [player_tooltip player_id="721909" first="Jordan" last="Jones"]. The quick step and rapid point production led to a 23 point per game senior season. Replacing the playmaking of Jones will be tough. Columbia Heights also lost hard working All Conference player Jhonta Gonnigan to graduation. Gonnigan did a lot of things that you won’t find in a box score but was dependable. Reserves Montae Warren and Mario Rolack also graduated. Each of these players were guards for Heights. Returning Starters: Guard depth and a team MVP must be replaced, that’s the bad news. But the good news is that four starters return for the Hylanders (plus they added two starting caliber players which we will get into later), and the good news outweighs the bad news. The four returning starters are 6-foot-6 junior big [player_tooltip player_id="850719" first="Spencer" last="Alvarez"], 6-foot-4 junior [player_tooltip player_id="850729" first="Muja" last="Burton"], 6-foot-1 senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="957232" first="Elijah" last="Williams"], and 5-foot-9 [player_tooltip player_id="958722" first="Jamez" last="Garner"]. When it comes to hard working four-men, Alvarez fits the mold. He’s 240 pounds of activity that is willing to work. Burton put up 17 a game last year and should take that next step as a scorer producing inside and out. Williams was the third option for Heights last year putting up 9-10 a game and now he’s he senior leader. The speedy Garner scored three times a contest as the 4th leading scorer a season ago. Reserves Playing a Bigger Role: We talked about guard depth needing to be replaced which is true, but the talent is there. Williams and Garner are returning starters plus junior [player_tooltip player_id="958742" first="Terrence" last="Brown"] continues to grow into his role. Brown is a smooth, skilled 5-foot-11 combo guard that they can trust in both spots. Another key player returning is back-up senior big Chris Hady who stands 6-foot-5. Hady came off the bench to back up Alvarez last year and did a solid job. He is likely to do the same thing as a senior. Transferring In: The Hylanders had two starting caliber junior players move into their district (we learned this after the Breakdown book went to print by the way) and that’s 6-foot-6 power forward [player_tooltip player_id="958666" first="Donnavin" last="Hinsz"] from Moorhead, and 6-foot-3 guard [player_tooltip player_id="958648" first="Hassan" last="Kamara"] from Osseo. Hinsz averaged eight points and five rebounds as a sophomore and has grown 2-3 inches since the end of last season. He will immediately help the Hylanders likely as a starting frontcourt double-double threat. Kamara averaged double digits at Fridley as a freshman and then two buckets a game as a sophomore at Osseo. This summer his defense changed games for Howard Pulley as he was often the 2nd/3rd most productive player on the team. Kamara has a chance to bring that energy to the Hylanders line-up as a starter or 6th man. Potentials from the JV: We’ve talked about four returning starters, two starting caliber transfers, and two returning bench players from last season. That’s eight quality players right there so there won’t be much room in the rotation for last year’s JV talent but there are a couple spots. So who could be up for it? One player to look at is freshman guard Jency Davis. Davis played JV as a frosh and that could be his role again this year only with more opportunity. Or maybe Davis splits time between both. It’s also possible at some point he helps the varsity. Sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id="962307" first="Leavale" last="Hicks"] is in a much similar spot as Davis in terms of playing on the JV as a young talent last year, and likely looking at more JV time, and maybe some varsity time. Six-foot-5 junior Andrew Scroggins could add depth to the frontcourt plus seniors Tula Tula and Isaiah Grissom will be working for a varsity role. Final Thoughts: Before we knew that Hinsz and Kamara were coming to Columbia Heights we had this team as a top 10/12 area squad. But adding to more juniors to an excellent class immediately puts the Hylanders in that conversation for a top five-six level team in Class AAA. The Hylanders are in the same section as Totino-Grace and Minnehaha Academy so the fight is on to see which team can avoid that 2/3 game.