The Season Opener is Thursday!

<p>Minnesota High School Basketball is back in action this Thursday and we couldn’t be more excited.  Here are some opening night games to keep an eye on! </p> <p>***This is assuming these schedules are right.  I’ve checked in two places to see if the games match and it looks like they do but of course re-schedules and/or cancellations will be a part of this season so nothing is a certainty. </p> <p><strong><em>#5AAAA Maple Grove at #2AAA Totino-Grace</em></strong>.  The game of the night is a Northwest Suburban Conference showdown matching a sizable Crimson team with excellent wings and forwards against an Eagles squad that could be the deepest team in the state of Minnesota.  There will be true center match-ups, athletic battles on the wing, and experienced players giving both teams strong depth.  </p> <p><em><strong>#4A Nicollet at #8A St. Clair</strong></em>. A top ten Class A match-up right off the bat pits a pair of Section 2A squads looking to get a section edge on the first night.  Nicollet won both games last season - one close, one not so close - but the Cyclones have more of their top talent returning. [player_tooltip player_id="774858" first="Shane" last="Stevenson"] is a Class A All State level player though giving Nicollet the biggest mismatch.  </p> <p><em><strong>Cristo Rey Jesuit at #7AA Blake</strong></em>. Here we have a metro private school match-up of two veteran teams.  Blake’s senior trio of [player_tooltip player_id="774777" first="Gabe" last="Ganz"], [player_tooltip player_id="774756" first="Robert" last="Grace IV"], and Jasper Lui are playing their fourth year of varsity basketball together and there is depth around them.  The Bears experience will be tough to match for most but not the Pumas who return the Burgess Brothers Derek and Erick, each of which has been providing Stanley Clay with production across the stat line for several seasons.  </p> <p><em><strong>Benson at #9A BOLD</strong></em>. If you are going to get BOLD play them now and that’s the fortunate part for Benson.  BOLD has to replace most of their line-up outside of [player_tooltip player_id="567070" first="Drew" last="Sagedahl"], one of the two favorites for Class A Player of the Year.  But stopping Sagedahl is going to be one of the toughest tasks in Minnesota this season.  Good thing for Benson they have three returning all league players led by senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="774829" first="Cole" last="Hedman"]. </p> <p><em><strong>#8AAA Mankato East at Owatonna</strong></em>.  The Big Nine always brings it and on opening night they are giving us a top of the league match-up.  East beat Owatonna last year by double figures in both games, but East losses just about everything from last year’s rotation because of graduation and health/injury.  [player_tooltip player_id="850715" first="BJ" last="Omot"] will be the best player on the floor but Owatonna has all key pieces back from a 17-win team. </p> <p><em><strong>Apple Valley at #3AAAA Lakeville South</strong></em>. This is a very interesting game to me.  The Eagles have more talent than many people realize although they have to learn to win together.  South is the favorite of course but they are playing without [player_tooltip player_id="774732" first="Riley" last="Mahlman"] who will enroll early at Wisconsin.  Without their man in the middle the Cougars have to adjust.  This could be a good early season battle. </p> <p><em><strong>Rosemount at Prior Lake</strong></em>.  Can the Irish defend [player_tooltip player_id="850712" first="Malcolm" last="Jones"] in the middle?  Can the new Prior Lake backcourt impact the Rosemount ability to score the basketball?  [player_tooltip player_id="850712" first="Malcolm" last="Jones"] and [player_tooltip player_id="796947" first="Caleb" last="Siwek"] could both have huge nights but Rosemount has the more experienced returning team.  Should be a good game. </p>