The Independents Preview
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There are various teams in Minnesota that do not have a conference. We have put them together in the Independents preview. And keep in mind, these are independent teams that we know are going to play this year. Independents Commentary…
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Continue ReadingThere are various teams in Minnesota that do not have a conference. We have put them together in the Independents preview. And keep in mind, these are independent teams that we know are going to play this year.
Independents Commentary
Top Ten in State Potential: Moorhead
The Moorhead Spuds have been a consistent program and this year I feel like they have a solid shot to make a run at the section 8AAAA title. The combination of Smith at lead guard and Zimmerman as the scoring wing should allow the Spuds to push for another 20 wins.
Compete with Most: Hiawatha Collegiate, CHOF, Higher Ground Academy
Hiawatha Collegiate lost four players to graduation but they have their next star in Kam’Ron Solomon plus a few others ready to make an impact. CHOF has a big group of senior guards this year that scored in double figures a season ago. They should push way past that 13-win area and maybe make a Section 4a run. Higher Ground Academy won 17 games with a mix of sophomores and 8th graders. Not sure if the 8th graders are returning but if they do this should be a deep team at their level.
Rebuilding: Duluth East, Bemidji, Hope Academy, Kaledioscope Charter
Duluth East lost seven or eight seniors from the rotation of a 20-win team. They have a couple nice young players to move towards with the future of this program which is a good thing, but there will be several new faces on the floor. I do like the potential of the Nyberg and Meyer combo.
Bemidji is in a very similar spot to Duluth East in that they have two young guards moving forward that look to be the future of the program, but they also lost six of their top eight to graduation from a 15-win team. Hope Academy won eight games last year and they relied heavily on two players to get those eight wins. One of those players graduated but Brian Moss returns. Kaledioscope Charter lost their best five players to graduation from a five win team.
23-24 Independents Power Rankings
Moorhead
Duluth East
Bemidji
Hiawatha Collegiate
CHOF
Higher Ground Academy
Kaledioscope Charter
Hope Academy
Preseason Independents
First Team
Dylan Zimmerman Dylan Zimmerman 6'5" | SF Moorhead | 2024 State MN of Moorhead (sr)
Kam’Ron Solomon of Hiawatha Collegiate (jr)
Jaxon Boschee Jaxon Boschee 6'1" | PG Bemidji | 2026 State MN of Bemidji (soph)
DJ Smith DJ Smith 6'3" | SG Moorhead | 2024 State MN of Moorhad (sr)
Ty Nyberg Ty Nyberg 5'11" | PG Duluth East | 2026 State MN of Duluth East (soph)
Second Team
Brennan Meyer Brennan Meyer 5'9" | PG Duluth East | 2025 State MN of Duluth East (jr)
Erro Harms of CHOF (sr)
Henry Bluhm of CHOF (sr)
Braden Luksik Braden Luksik 6'5" | PF Bemidji | 2024 State MN of Bemidji (sr)
Brian Zarazua Jr of Moorhead (jr)
Third Team
Domonick Watkins of Hiawatha Collegiate (sr)
Brian Moss of Hope Academy (sr)
Abdilahi Abdirashid of Higher Ground (jr)
Landon Strandlund of CHOF (sr)
Abdiaziz Abdi of Higher Ground (soph)
Ian Schwab of Kaledioscope Charter (jr)