Teams Off to Fast Starts Early and Prospects Shining

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Park of Cottage Grove is 4-0</h2>   Brandon BIhm - The 2026 six-foot-one-inch Bihm got Park going game 1 versus Brooklyn Center with three 3-pointers on his way to scoring 17 points and handing out 6 assists while blocking 2 shots. Then against Como Park he scored 17 again while grabbing 8 boards and handing out 4 assists. Versus Stillwater he showed his defensive side again blocking 3 shots while not scoring as much.   Park is getting contributions from a variety of players after Bihm including [player_tooltip player_id='2430632' first='Carter' last='Coombs'], [player_tooltip player_id='2423150' first='Aaron' last='Sandin'], Manny Vargas, [player_tooltip player_id='2835696' first='Caleb' last='Sweet'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2423147' first='Peyton' last='Faber'].    Prospect to watch at Park is 2029 freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2917657' first='Ethan' last='Payne']   Becker 4-0   We've spotlighted the Bulldogs players already a few times and through 4 games they are 4-0 after Friday night victory over St. Francis. 2027 guard [player_tooltip player_id='2417091' first='Isiah' last='Boyer'] is leading in scoring at 23.5 points per with 2026 forward [player_tooltip player_id='2399176' first='Bryce' last='Paumen'] slightly behind at 19.5 after his 28 point night Friday versus St. Francis. Fellow 2026 senior [player_tooltip player_id='1506327' first='Nathan' last='Weiss'] is scoring 17.8 with [player_tooltip player_id='2399155' first='Troy' last='Nuest'] adding 11 nightly.   Boyer after a year playing for the [program_tooltip program_id='2888391' first='Minnesota' last='Comets'] Dahl has come on strong for his junior year being aggressive attacking the basket and shooting the ball very well from the perimeter. The five-foot-ten-inch guard is showing he can play with or without the ball, and his effort and grit on the defensive side of the ball keeps him on the floor.   The six-foot-four-inch Paumen has been solid inside grabbing double doubles for the Bulldogs. Paumen is a four-man willing to do the dirty work to keep possessions alive and plays defense. Versus St. Francis while scoring 28 points to lead the team with multiple 3-pointers he blocked 3 shots and collected 2 steals.   Buffalo 3-0   The Bison have two 2028 players that have shown the past two years they're ready for varsity basketball and probably higher, [player_tooltip player_id='2400077' first='Eli' last='Hegle'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2397563' first='Thomas' last='Jordan']. The first glimpse I got of the two 2028 players was playing in a Prep Hoops Next game, both just so steady and solid in all forms of the game.   Hegle, a six-foot-two-inch guard, hit 34 points versus Cambridge and 27 points versus Monticello. Hegle shoots the ball at such a high percentage that he almost always hurts you if he's left open.    [player_tooltip player_id='2397563' first='Thomas' last='Jordan'], a six-foot-four-inch wing does just about everything while scoring efficiently. Against Spring Lake Park he had 29 points and 22 points versus Monticello. Thomas is a good shooter, passer, team defender and solid defender.   2027 guard [player_tooltip player_id='2126866' first='Matthew' last='Jordan'] has shown to be the perfect facilitator for the Bison like he did versus Monticello when he had 11 assists while also grabbing 7 rebounds. Recently Matthew showed off his scoring ability versus Spring Lake Park when he had 23 points.   2026 senior [player_tooltip player_id='2620834' first='Henry' last='Bloomquist'] is a player to watch as he's adding solid contributions for the Bison.   Waconia 4-1   Ryan James Friday night checked out Waconia to see them up close as they took care of Eastview with an 81-73 win.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/RyanJamesMN/status/1999674183073337659 </div></figure>   Waconia's success largely is due to 2026 senior [player_tooltip player_id='1560741' first='Will' last='Kirsch'], the six-foot-one-inch guard who's scored 39 in comeback win over Shakopee, 25 versus Washburn, 20 versus Prior Lake,   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/streethistory/status/1997840708418605078 </div></figure>   Look for [player_tooltip player_id='2447537' first='Jaxen' last='Holmlund'], Alex Kirsch, [player_tooltip player_id='2493846' first='Luke' last='Hill'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2421469' first='Colton' last='Henke']. The 2026 Holmlund has a six-foot-seven-inch wingspan and a 37-inch vertical. He's showing that solid athletic ability to be very valuable for Waconia.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/RyanJamesMN/status/1999671222469296541 </div></figure>   Richfield 5-0   Richfield was two games away from state last year and leading late in the 2nd half when Texas Tech commit Nolan Groves took over and pushed Orono past Richfield in the 3A Section 6 semifinals.    Five games into 2025-26 [player_tooltip player_id='2412724' first='Dre' last='Collins'], [player_tooltip player_id='2140700' first='Tyrece' last='Hagler'], [player_tooltip player_id='1560817' first='Adin' last='Inda'], and recent transfer [player_tooltip player_id='2126145' first='Waleed' last='Muhammad'] have proven 2024-25 wasn't a fluke. Led by 2027 wing Collins who's averaging 26 points per game Richfield has only had one game win by less than 23 points, a 8 point battle versus BSM.   The 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='1560817' first='Adin' last='Inda'] is a five-foot-eleven-inch guard for Richfield that is averaging 13 points per game giving them a solid 3rd scorer. He's been consistent, scoring 11 in each contest with a season high 15 points versus section rival Orono on Thursday hitting three 3-pointers. Adin's ability to spread the floor along with Muhammad has really opened things up for Richfield.   St. Cloud Apollo 3-0   Apollo is being led by 2027 forward [player_tooltip player_id='2569233' first='De'Anthony' last='Sells'] and 2028 guard [player_tooltip player_id='2560535' first='Trevor' last='Terfehr'] along with two transfers [player_tooltip player_id='1874917' first='Micah' last='Nwachukwu'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1874853' first='Ikenna' last='Nwachukwu']. Plus additional play the last two games from Goay Hoth, a six-foot-four-inch 2027 wing.   Sells caught our radar game 1 of the season with 35 and 11 versus Bemidji. The 2027 wing looks like he's added more ball handling skill with outside shooting to already intriguing athletic skillset. The 2028 Terfehr used scoring to help the Eagles with 17 versus Bemidji and 20 points versus Coon Rapids. Versus Brainerd Terfehr handed out 11 assists while grabbing 11 rebounds.   The two six-foot-three-inch 2026 twin guards Micah and Ikenna have had an immediate impact for the Eagles. Micah looks to have settled in nicely at Apollo scoring 20, 18, and 15 in his first 3 games. Micah was the leading scorer at St. Cloud Cathedral the last 2 seasons and that scoring touch has carried over. Ikenna has picked up his scoring numbers at Apollo with 20, 10, and 24 versus Brainerd Friday Night. Micah and Ikenna both have been offered by Waldorf University.    South St. Paul 3-0   St. Peter 5-0, Marshall 4-0   Two teams in the Big South - Black, St. Peter and Marshall so far at 9-0. The two conference rivals won't face off until January 9th and we'll have to keep an eye on both teams to see if they are undefeated once they collide in 2026.   For St. Peter Park Maloney, [player_tooltip player_id='2815371' first='Owen' last='Potts'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2815359' first='Ethan' last='Potts'] give them a big 3 that lead them in so many ways. Maloney, a six-foot-seven-inch 2026 center that popped big time this summer on the circuit, is a force in the middle. Against Waseca in a 30 point blow-out Maloney had 19 points and 19 boards and against Tri-City United 24 points and 14 boards.   [player_tooltip player_id='2815371' first='Owen' last='Potts'], a six-foot-two-inch 2027 guard scored 16 points versus Waseca, 18 points versus Hutchinson, and scored 20 points versus Tri-CIty United with multiple 3-pointers in each game.   [player_tooltip player_id='2815359' first='Ethan' last='Potts'], Owen's twin, hit four 3-pointers versus Tri-City United for 13 points. You can tell Ethan and Owen apart on the floor by that Ethan shoots right handed.   2026 guard for St. Peter to watch is [player_tooltip player_id='2815228' first='Carter' last='Dale']. He's scored in doubled figures 3 of their 4 recorded games so far. Playing off of the Potts' he settles very nicely in the slots on the wing ready to shoot from the outside.   Players to watch at Marshall are 2027 six-foot-five-inch forward [player_tooltip player_id='2840811' first='Jayden' last='Meister'], 2026 Levi Maeyaert, 2028 Oliver Voight and 2028 six-foot-three-inch player [player_tooltip player_id='2438267' first='Noah' last='Pieper'], and 2026 guard Davion Xyarath.