Class AAAA Title Contender Series: East Ridge

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Raptors won 22 games last season and were a top ten team most of last season. This is a very good program, with a lot of good players, that is looking to get past a hurdle. They are the SEC and Section 4AAAA favorite once again. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Wins in 22-23 (22-7)</strong>: Osseo, Cretin-Derham Hall (x3), White Bear Lake (x2), Stillwater, Mounds View (x2), Minneapolis North, Eden Prairie</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Oops</strong>: White Bear Lake, Stillwater, Wayzata, Lakeville South, Lakeville North, Edina, Eastview</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Moving On</strong>:  Leading scorer Alex Mattes (17.2 a game) is now at the University of Mary ready to knock down shots for the Marauders. [player_tooltip player_id='1284091' first='Brayden' last='Carlson'] - who was injured last year and played in only eight games - has transferred to Holy Family. [player_tooltip player_id='1284114' first='Daejohn' last='Thomas'] has transferred back to St. Paul Johnson. Both Carlson and Thomas were frontcourt players that scored three times a game. Ball handler Peter Koland has also graduated and he is a player that started a number of games for the Raptors over the previous two years. Shooter Jackson Simmons also graduated. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Returning Starters (4)</strong>.  [player_tooltip player_id='1560882' first='Cedric' last='Tomes'] was the starting point guard as a freshman. He was the second leading scorer at 12.4 points per game while also leading the team in assists. Tomes has multiple high major offers now and is one of the best three sophomores in the state. [player_tooltip player_id='1284104' first='Charlie' last='Bern'] was the four man worker that was one of the team's best rebounders and defenders plus he scored eight points a game. He will start up front again. [player_tooltip player_id='1284091' first='Brayden' last='Carlson'] started the first eight games and then I think [player_tooltip player_id='1284105' first='Charlie' last='Theis'] stepped into his spot when Carlson got hurt. Theis was the team's third leading scorer at 11 a game and one of the top rebounders on the club. Finally, the shooter on the wing in the line-up was [player_tooltip player_id='1284203' first='Parker' last='Wellmann']. Parker scored six points a game a season ago and returns at that spot this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Reserves Playing a Bigger Role</strong>. The rotation reserve guard that's returning is [player_tooltip player_id='1547645' first='Grant' last='Miley'], a 6'1 senior. Miley has to be either the guy likely to step into the Mattes role or he will be the 6th man. Either way, Miley scored three points a game last season and will have a bigger role. Six-foot-5 210 pound sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2104513' first='Kyle' last='Frendt'] was used around the basket after Carlson went out and he will be a key figure up front this year as well. Frendt is a standout football prospect as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Potentials from the JV</strong>. The Raptors will need two, maybe three guys from the junior varsity. The first name I would look at here is sophomore scoring wing [player_tooltip player_id='1950404' first='Bennett' last='Skinner']. Skinner is one of the better sophomore wings in his class and he will either step into a big starting role fast or be in that 6th/7th man area. There were several now juniors who were on JV last year and those names include 6'3 Charlie Green and 5-foot-11 guards Anthony and [player_tooltip player_id='1428992' first='James' last='Martin']. Senior forward Ryan Otoo could also help as could Jaylin Reese although Jaylin is an Air Force football commit so tough to know if he will focus on football this winter or hoop. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Final Thoughts</strong>. No transfer to chat on so we jump right into final thoughts. The Raptors are once again a top ten caliber team with the talent to compete for conference, section and maybe even state trophies. They have one thing they need to get by and that's this section final curse of losing one score games and/or on buzzer beaters. It's happened several times and its why the Raptors have only the 2019 state tournament appearance. They have a great chance to break that curse this year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->