The Up and Comers – 5 Minnesota Programs on the Rise

<p>What high school programs look to be on the verge of a breakout in the near future?  Here is our five to watch. </p> <p><strong>Andover</strong>. The Huskies were about a .500 team last season finishing in the upper part of their league. With most of their rotation back including a strong backcourt, Andover is the top challenger to 7AAAA favorite Duluth East.  Sophomore pair [player_tooltip player_id="962246" first="Ben" last="Kopetzki"] and [player_tooltip player_id="962227" first="Samuel" last="Musungu"] picked up great experience as freshmen and will now join [player_tooltip player_id="774785" first="Calvin" last="Foy"] to make one of the top backcourts in the north metro. </p> <p><strong>Hiawatha Collegiate</strong>. Three seasons into their existence the Wolves went 18-8 last season with only three upperclassmen.  Jessye Lewis is entering his sophomore year and has already been captain for two seasons.  It’s a shame we didn’t get a full AAU season because I think Lewis would have had a monster spring/summer pushing to become one of the hottest names in that class.  He’s a true playmaker with some special abilities, plus there is a swarm of sophomore and juniors around him that can score as well (Romelle Bell, Mohamed Daud, [player_tooltip player_id="962235" first="Jaheim" last="Houts"]).</p> <p><strong>Maple River</strong>.  The Eagles have been known for their outstanding team basketball for years.  They had memorbale runs from 2006 to 2008, 2015 and 2016, and they won a state title in 1993.  Their next group of top talents looks to be coming in the sophomore class.  Sophomores [player_tooltip player_id="962272" first="Mason" last="Schirmer"], [player_tooltip player_id="962242" first="Will" last="Sellers"], and [player_tooltip player_id="962289" first="Aidan" last="Sindelir"] will mix with juniors [player_tooltip player_id="958801" first="Lucas" last="Doering"], Ethan Fischer, and Ethan McGregor to put an experienced, talented team on the floor.  In all nine players return from last year’s 13-15 team. </p> [caption id="attachment_1022912" align="alignright" width="200"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/MN-LIGHT-16U-Devin-Embacher.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1022912 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/MN-LIGHT-16U-Devin-Embacher-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="958839" first="Devin" last="Embacher"][/caption] <p><strong>Minneapolis South</strong>.  By now you have likely heard of the excellent group of freshman that have enrolled at Minneapolis South for their freshmen season.  <span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">Chiang </span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-b88u0q r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">Ring</span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">,Jerome Williams Jr, De’mari Larkins, Christian Henderson, and Camren Smith are all experienced players about to step on the floor for South, and they are all some of the best freshmen in Minnesota.  They will join with some South upperclassmen to make an exciting young team. </span></p> <p><strong>St. Clair. </strong>St. Clair was a 17-10 team last year led by a group of sophomores growing into big roles.  They lost only one player from last year and all of their top players return, as juniors.  Six-foot-1 guard Connor Andree scored 17 a game last season holding the responsibility as the point producer.  [player_tooltip player_id="958766" first="Tom" last="Loeffler"] is the double-double big, [player_tooltip player_id="958811" first="Mason" last="Ward"] is the attacking playmaker, and [player_tooltip player_id="958839" first="Devin" last="Embacher"] is the shooter/defender.  It’s a team ready for a run .</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>