The Lake Conference has long been considered one of the best leagues, if not the best league in the state of Minnesota. It’s very tough once again. Conference Commentary Top Ten: Hopkins, Wayzata, Eden Prairie Wayzata is the defending…
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Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log inThe Lake Conference has long been considered one of the best leagues, if not the best league in the state of Minnesota. It’s very tough once again.
Conference Commentary
Top Ten: Hopkins, Wayzata, Eden Prairie
Wayzata is the defending state champs. They have two starters returning, the first three guys off their bench are back, some young studs coming up, and a group of talent from JV/B/9 that lost a combined two games last season. They are ready to defend the title.
I think people might be over looking the Hopkins Royals a tad. They have one of the state’s best bigs in
Elvis Nnaji
Elvis
Nnaji
6'8" | C
Hopkins | 2022
State
#215
Nation
MN
plus 6th Man Max Wilson returns. They have a couple very good transfers including
CJ O’Hara
CJ
O’Hara
6'4" | SF
Park Center | 2023
State
#285
Nation
MN
, some of the state’s best young talent overall, and a nice group of seniors that played well on JV last season.
Then you have Eden Prairie. The Eagles earned third in the Lake last year after replacing a legendary senior class. Several of their key players also return.
Top Ten Potential: Edina, Minnetonka, Buffalo
There will be some parents, several players, and maybe a coach or two who get offended by being ranked 4-6 in the Lake this year but it’s no insult, all of these teams have the talent to potentially be top ten squads. All three of these teams could make the state tournament. Right now I think these three teams are three of the best 17 or 18 squads in Class AAAA.
Compete with Most: STMA
There are some leagues north of the metro that STMA could win, or be very competitive in. They will be competitive in the Lake. That said, I think they will come up a bit short talent wise compared to the other six teams.
21-22 Conference Predictions
- Wayzata
- Hopkins
- Eden Prairie
- Edina
- Minnetonka
- Buffalo
- STMA
Preseason All Lake Conference
First Team
CJ O’Hara
CJ
O’Hara
6'4" | SF
Park Center | 2023
State
#285
Nation
MN
of Hopkins (jr)
Carter Bjerke
Carter
Bjerke
6'9" | C
Wayzata | 2022
State
MN
of Wayzata (sr)
Elvis Nnaji
Elvis
Nnaji
6'8" | C
Hopkins | 2022
State
#215
Nation
MN
of Hopkins (sr)
Chiddi Obiazor
Chiddi
Obiazor
6'5" | PF
Eden Prairie | 2023
State
MN
of Eden Prairie (jr)
Brady Helgren
Brady
Helgren
6'9" | C
Edina | 2022
State
MN
of Edina (sr)
Antonio Bluiett
Antonio
Bluiett
6'2" | PG
Buffalo | 2022
State
MN
of Buffalo (sr)
Second Team
Jalen Cain
Jalen
Cain
6'3" | SF
Minnetonka | 2023
State
MN
of Minnetonka (jr)
Johnny Tennyson
Johnny
Tennyson
6'3" | SG
STMA | 2022
State
MN
of STMA (sr)
Zach Zrust
Zach
Zrust
6'8" | PF
Buffalo | 2022
State
MN
of Buffalo (sr)
Gabe Jobe
Gabe
Jobe
5'10" | SG
Edina | 2022
State
MN
of Edina (sr)
Ibrahim El-Amin
Ibrahim
El-Amin
5'10" | PG
Minnetonka | 2023
State
MN
of Minnetonka (jr)
Drew Berkland Drew Berkland 5'11" | PG Wayzata | 2022 State MN of Wayzata (sr)
Third Team
Sammy Presthus Sammy Presthus 6'2" | PG Edina | 2022 State MN of Edina (sr)
Spencer Hall
Spencer
Hall
6'3" | SF
Wayzata | 2023
State
MN
of Wayzata (jr)
Hayden Tibbits
Hayden
Tibbits
5'11" | PG
Wayzata | 2023
State
MN
of Wayzata (jr)
Miles Smith
Miles
Smith
6'2" | SG
Eden Prairie | 2022
State
MN
of Eden Prairie (sr)
Max Wilson of Hopkins (jr)
Fourth Team
Andy Stefanovic of Minnetonka (so)
Vlad Ciubotaru Vlad Ciubotaru 6'0" | SG Minnetonka | 2022 State MN of Minnetonka (sr)
Ryan Harvey
Ryan
Harvey
6'3" | SG
Wayzata | 2022
State
MN
of Wayzata (sr)
Jermell Taylor Jermell Taylor 6'3" | SG Eden Prairie | 2023 State MN of Eden Prairie (jr)
Will Pool Will Pool 6'4" | SF Buffalo | 2022 State MN of Buffalo (sr)
