Class AAAA Title Contender: Eden Prairie

Ryan James October 22, 2021 @ 02:40 PM

In 2019-20 the Eden Prairie Eagles were the best team in the state. Graduation hit them hard but the Eagles still went 12-7 with a young team. The Eagles are back in the contending area once again.   Key Wins in 20-21 (12-7): BSM, Minnetonka, Edina, Buffalo, Chaska, Prior Lake Oops: Chaska, STMA, Wayzata, Hopkins, Buffalo Moving On: The Eagles lost both of their veteran all league players - [player_tooltip player_id="774912" first="Will" last="Foster"] and [player_tooltip player_id="774873" first="Cole" last="Tiran"] - to graduation. Foster scored a dozen points a game last year while [player_tooltip player_id="774873" first="Cole" last="Tiran"] scored 4/5 buckets a contest and was an all around outstanding player. Both played tough team basketball the way that EP has been known for. EP also lost reserve guard [player_tooltip player_id="796949" first="Ryan" last="Warren"] who has the potential to be a double figure scorer as a senior. Warren transferred to BSM. Returning Starters (3): The Eagles have their top returning number producer back and that’s [player_tooltip player_id="1220360" first="Chiddi" last="Obiazor"], one of the top five producers and maybe prospects in the state’s junior class. Obiazor scored 16 a game as a sophomore and rebounded in near double-double ways consistently. His agility and explosiveness at 6-foot-6 is rare and Chiddi is the type of player that could have an amazing junior season. Maybe even an all state level season. The Eagles also have shooters consistently and the returning shooter from last year is [player_tooltip player_id="1144095" first="Miles" last="Smith"]. Smith scored 10-11 a game and had a really good summer. He’s a 6-foot-2 two guard that will be an excellent number two/three coming into the year. The third returning starter is wing [player_tooltip player_id="1220363" first="Jermell" last="Taylor"]. Jermell is a 6-foot-3 wing that scored three buckets a contest last year and should step into a much bigger role. Reserves Playing a Bigger Role: The Eagles have some reserves that look to have the potential to maybe start for the Eagles as seniors. Those three seniors are 6’0 guard Matt Kelley, 6’8 center [player_tooltip player_id="1288799" first="Dalal" last="Gaarhaye"], and 6’1 shooter [player_tooltip player_id="1268460" first="Bradley" last="Frisch"]. Kelley came off the bench last year and was solid. I saw Gaarhaye a few times in the past four months and was impressed with his soft hands that made some shots and passed the ball very well. He also went at some well known posts in Minnesota aggressively and competed at a fairly high level against them. The question will be if he can put that into the winter. Then you have Frisch. Bradley shot the ball at a high percentage this summer for Minnesota Select and he could do that for the Eagles as a senior. Potentials from the JV: Coach Flom has three senior guards/wings that may give the varsity more depth this winter. That’s six foot Brady Tiran, 6’3 [player_tooltip player_id="1237909" first="Ethan" last="Weisshaar"], and 6’2 [player_tooltip player_id="1288777" first="Greg" last="Hopkins"]. In addition, the Eagles had a number of sophomores on the JV last year who are now juniors. Guys like 6’3 wing Cory Stewart, 5’9 guard Joey Flom, 6’3 wing Quincy Oriwa, and 5’10 guards Luke Rapp and Carter Arneson. Final Thoughts: Eden Prairie was a big surprise to me last year and it was a testament to what the program is and what they could be this year. The Eagles had one of the best teams we’ve seen in the last ten years in 2019-20 but with so much gone things were totally different in 2020-21. The Eagles were of course going to be competitive but I didn’t see third place in the league coming. And this year, with three starters back, a couple shooters ready to stretch the defense, a star in Chiddi to lead the way, and more experience returning EP is a state title contender.