CSP Tournament Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Six teams are playing in the Concordia St. Paul Holiday Classic, 3A state tournament making favorites Mankato East, </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alexandria, and DeLaSalle. 4A defending champs Minnetonka, Park Center and Maple Grove.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Best Game: Mankato East vs Alexandria</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mankato East beat Alexandria 65-62 last year at State. In 2022-23 Alexandria bested Mankato East 62-57. This match-up has added value since many players played on both of those teams as Sophomores and Juniors and are now seniors.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alexandria has [player_tooltip player_id='1572690' first='Chase' last='Thompson'], Clemson committed forward, best 2025 player in Minnesota. After Thompson it is a bunch of Juniors led by cousins [player_tooltip player_id='2118449' first='Mason' last='Witt'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2118495' first='Talan' last='Witt'] at guard. [player_tooltip player_id='2115657' first='Gavin' last='Roderick'] is a good contributor and [player_tooltip player_id='2115658' first='Myles' last='Gray'] rounds them out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mankato East is led by a pair of Seniors, [player_tooltip player_id='1437303' first='Brogan' last='Madson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2103251' first='Ganden' last='Gosch']. After those two it is three 2026 Juniors, Lusca Gustafson, Braden Petzel, and stock rising wing [player_tooltip player_id='1886972' first='Amari' last='Nobles'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It'll be an interesting match-up of who gets Thompson right away, and who can limit him the most.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fun Match-Up: DeLaSalle vs Minnetonka</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Minnetonka has a bunch of guards who can shoot, pass, and dribble. [player_tooltip player_id='2436860' first='Jacob' last='Hudson'] has started strong and shown he can make an impact, [player_tooltip player_id='1567964' first='Isa' last='El-Amin'] missed a couple with an ankle injury but he's a high-level facilitator. [player_tooltip player_id='1574218' first='Duke' last='Richardson'] helps spread the floor with outside shooting, and he's a good athlete. Caleb Francois the outstanding QB gives the Skippers shooting and toughness while [player_tooltip player_id='2760056' first='Malachi' last='Boadi'] helps them the most inside.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Islanders are 5-1 coming off a 75-73 loss to ranked BSM. DeLaSalle has a few seniors like [player_tooltip player_id='2103258' first='De'von' last='Irvin'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2103394' first='Dorian' last='Pruitt'] leading but the sniper shooting 2027 guard [player_tooltip player_id='2126102' first='Jaeden' last='Udean'] is always someone you need to guard close. 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='1560744' first='Evan' last='Miller'] and 2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2126474' first='Kamar' last='Thomas'] are players to keep close. 2028 wing [player_tooltip player_id='2557528' first='Ichima' last='Idoko'] is an interesting prospect to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Freshman playing Up: [player_tooltip player_id='2559428' first='Taaj' last='Whitlock'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2560540' first='Willie' last='Wright Jr'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Others Games: Maple Grove vs Alexandria, Park Center vs Mankato East, Minnetonka vs Park Center, Maple Grove vs DeLaSalle</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prospects to Watch:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Minnesota Gophers offered 2027 wing from Maple Grove [player_tooltip player_id='2126467' first='Baboucarr' last='Ann']. 2025 players [player_tooltip player_id='1617766' first='Keegan' last='Harney'] of Maple Grove is averaging 18.7 points per game, and a pair from Park Center [player_tooltip player_id='1574215' first='Abu' last='Keita'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1574214' first='Temi' last='Omotoyinbo'] to keep an eye on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2026 guards [player_tooltip player_id='1560839' first='Xavier' last='Frelix'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1617786' first='Nigel' last='Caldwell'] from Park Center and Maple Grove wing [player_tooltip player_id='1960892' first='Henry' last='Knutson']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->