Class AAAA Title Contender Series: Eden Prairie

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a rough 2022-23 season at EP but we are thinking future here and the talent at Eden Prairie is very very strong. And the future looks bright. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Wins in 22-23 (11-14)</strong>: St. Cloud Tech, Eastview, Waconia, Chanhassen, Brainerd, Wayzata</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Oops</strong>: Farmington, Hopkins (x2), Lakeville North (x2), STMA, Wayzata, Edina (x2), Minnetonka (x2), Buffalo (x2), East Ridge, Prior Lake</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Moving On</strong>:  Chiddi Obiazor played six games but then moved on to his college football career and rightfully so. Chiddi is at Kansas State and was enrolled their last January. Luke Rapp was the team leading scorer last year and he has graduated after his 15 point per game season. I don't know for sure but I thought Rapp may have went to St. Olaf but St. Olaf does not have their roster up so I am not sure. Quincy Oriwa was a regular around the rim and he's graduated as did Joey Flom and Adam Mertens. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Returning Starters (3)</strong>. The Eagles had three very talented younger players starting last year and that was [player_tooltip player_id='1288770' first='Jj' last='Sullivan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1574221' first='Max' last='Lorenson'] who are now juniors, and [player_tooltip player_id='1560851' first='Hamze' last='Yusuf'] who is now a sophomore. All three are in the area of being a 6'1 or 6'2 talented guard. Sullivan is the dynamite shooter that can also handle and attack, Lorenson is the attacking bucket getter that can also shoot, and Yusuf is the young explosive guard with a big ceiling. All three of these guys are in that top ten in state area for their grade. Lorenson scored 14.4 points a game last year, Sullivan averaged 10.6 points a game and Yusuf averaged five points a contest. Also, EP used a number of starters, these three were just the starters in the games I could find information on. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Reserves Playing a Bigger Role</strong>. The big name here is [player_tooltip player_id='1560778' first='Nolen' last='Anderson'] who I also believe started games as well. He is a 6-foot-6 forward who scored 11 points a game last season as a freshman. Anderson should take a big jump this year and make EP's starting five and all around rotation one of the best in the state. A couple other names that were on the varsity floor at different times were [player_tooltip player_id='2126094' first='Ty' last='Schlagel'], the top ranked freshman in the state, and [player_tooltip player_id='1574217' first='Cam' last='Riggins']-Brown, a standout football player that is also a solid basketball player. Schlagel is expected to have a big impact this year playing up front with Anderson while Riggins-Brown will be a junior that could provide toughness to the rotation. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Potentials from the JV</strong>. We have mentioned six names for this year's roster but none of them are seniors. What about the senior class? There were nine players on the JV last year that were juniors that will now be seniors. The first name that jumps out is 6'6 [player_tooltip player_id='2359935' first='Parker' last='Fahning'] who had a really good 17u season and should join with Anderson and Schlagel to give EP another long, agile and skilled forward. Another guy to keep an eye on is 6'2 Connor Meadows. Connor was in the rotation the last five or six weeks of last year and should help now as a senior. There is also Gopher football big man Mo Saine who would surely help around the basket if he is looking at hoops as a senior. That said, it's becoming more rare than big time football commits stay with hoops through their final season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Transfers into the Program</strong>. As if EP didn't have enough long 6'6/6'7 guys that can get up and down and have quality potential, EP added 6'7 [player_tooltip player_id='1575344' first='Colin' last='Kirk'], a junior that transferred over from BSM. Kirk has good potential and should make this team even longer and more versatile. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Final Thoughts</strong>. No team has a wider gap between their ceiling and floor than EP. On paper, Eden Prairie has as much talent as just about anybody in the state. That said, they have a new coach, they have a ton of skilled and talented guards but do they have a pure point guard to make sure this team gets all the talent the right touches as well as make sure the team is ran in a balanced way? And they have frontcourt length all over but do they have a low post guy that can rebound touch and battle in the post? It's a very interesting group that could put everything together and make a run at the title. But it's also a team that needs to have the right chemistry. A very, very interesting team with a load of good players. I could see them going nine deep to find the right mix. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->