The Race for Mr. Basketball

<p>I’d say that [player_tooltip player_id="754315" first="Eli" last="King"] is firmly in the race and running with the lead dogs in the group.  Here is our weekly Race for Mr. Basketball update as we anticipate the list of names on the Mr. Basketball Watch List that will be released in the next week. </p> <p><strong>Leader. [player_tooltip player_id="850710" first="Braeden" last="Carrington"] </strong>of Park Center<strong>.</strong>   Last night the Pirates played only their second game since holiday tournament week and Carrington led a balanced effort (five Pirates in double figures) with a team high 19 points.  PC beat Elk River by 18 and tonight they face Armstrong.  </p> <p><strong>Final Five</strong>. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="850710" first="Braeden" last="Carrington"]</strong> of Park Center. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="850708" first="Kendall" last="Blue"]</strong> of East Ridge.  The Raptors defeated Forest Lake handily last Friday and then knocked off Stillwater two nights ago.  Blue had 24 in the blowout of the Rangers and then scored 20 as five players were in double digits in the win over the Ponies.  East Ridge has Mounds View, Park of Cottage Grove, and Woodbury coming up so lots of big games ahead. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="754315" first="Eli" last="King"]</strong> of Caledonia.  In front of a packed house of fans, media, and a few college coaches last weekend [player_tooltip player_id="754315" first="Eli" last="King"] put on a show dismantling a good Byron team.  King had 28 points on 11 of 17 shooting with eight assists and he was as unstoppable going at the rim as a player can be.  King and his undefeated number one ranked team are in the Midwest Players Classic in La Crosse this weekend for two big games with Wisconsin teams (they were to play Minnehaha Academy who is no longer in the event and the Redhawks are now playing St. Paul Johnson this weekend instead). </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="850701" first="Tre" last="Holloman"]</strong> of Cretin-Derham Hall.  After losing five of six games the Raiders are on a two game winning streak thanks to the play of their leader [player_tooltip player_id="850701" first="Tre" last="Holloman"].  Tre had 29 points, 12 boards, and nine assists against NSP over the weekend and 17 points, 13 assists defeating Forest Lake this week.  CDH has White Bear Lake and Totino-Grace this Saturday at Hamline. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958636" first="Alonzo" last="Dodd"]</strong> of South St. Paul.  His team is 11-0 and top three in state.  Dodd has 19/6/4 in the win over a good Mahtomedi team and then 12/7/4/4 against Austin in a big win over the weekend.  SSP has a weekend pair against Hastings and Mound-Westonka (this game is also at Hamline over the weekend).  </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958638" first="Demarion" last="Watson"]</strong> of Totino-Grace.  Demarion had a 23 point explosion against one of Chicago’s best top teams over the weekend (Whitney Young) including seven threes.  He did the same thing in South Dakota and at the end of the DeLaSalle game. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Next Up</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="850706" first="Jackson" last="Loge"]</strong> of Morris Area. His team is undefeated, the numbers are huge, I think Jackson just needs a big game moment to go with his performance against Blake. This weekend against Colorado signed Joseph Hurlburt (game is at Morris by the way) might be it. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958715" first="Pharrel" last="Payne"]</strong> of Park of Cottage Grove.  Pharrel has already played like a monster.  Had 22 and 12 dominating [player_tooltip player_id="850718" first="Evan" last="Dushek"] and then had a 36 point double-double plus six blocks vs Irondale.  He is going to be in that top group quickly.  </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="850713" first="Carter" last="Bjerke"]</strong> of Wayzata. The leader of the defending champs is having a great season inside and out.  Really nice game against Lakeville North beating the Panthers last week. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1139741" first="Logan" last="Kinsey"]</strong> of Spring Lake Park.  Logan was so close as he has been incredible all year.  Nearly led Spring Lake Park over Totino-Grace last Friday but since then his team has lost a couple more which hurts. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="850729" first="Muja" last="Burton"]</strong> of Columbia Heights. Leading scorer of an undefeated Columbia Heights team that just earned a big win over DeLaSalle. </p>