Southwest Metro Boys Athlete of the Week, Sponsored by RedLine Athletics: Dec. 3-Dec. 9
The 2017-18 high school hoops season is just about fully underway. Teams have played anywhere between one and four games so far, and there has been many an eye-opening performance throughout the state, particularly from the southwest section of the metro.
Remember, nominees are selected from the following 11 schools: Eden Prairie, Edina, Holy Family Catholic, Southwest Christian, Waconia, Shakopee, Minnetonka, Bloomington Jefferson, Bloomington Kennedy, Chanhassen and Chaska.
Today’s candidates have a certain trend: they’ve been super-consistent throughout the week in the scoring department. There’s not much dip in production from these guys, and you can bet they’ll keep it up most of the season. Without further ado, here are the five nominees for the Southwest Metro Boys Athlete of the Week, sponsored by RedLine Athletics! The winner each week will receive a free month of training at the RedLine facility!
Poll closes Thursday night at midnight, with the winner announced Friday afternoon!
Anders Nelson, Edina – Leading the Hornets in scoring so far through two games, Nelson dropped 29 in a win against Benilde-St. Margaret’s and 23 in a huge upset of second-ranked Cretin-Derham Hall.
Austin Andrews, Eden Prairie – The Eagle sophomore has stepped up his game to another level (a very high level, by the way), culminating in a 33-point barrage against North St. Paul on Saturday at the Breakdown Tip-Off Classic. Andrews tossed in 22 to help EP beat Burnsville earlier in the week as well.
PJ Hayes, Waconia – The Wildcats have quietly jumped out to a 3-0 start, thanks to Hayes’ 20 points per game average. He put up 19 points against both Becker and Minneapolis Southwest this week.
Cameron Steele, Minnetonka – The sophomore forward stands 6’7″ and shoots the lights out—a deadly combination that will become a looming Lake threat the next few years. His boxscores this week: 21, 26 and 19 points for the Skippers.
Cole Nicholson, Chaska – Nicholson was the surprise production guy for Chaska last year on a senior-laden squad; now he’s the go-to option. 26, 22 and 21 point outbursts from Cole have pushed the Hawks to a 2-1 record.
To nominate a player for the award, use the hashtag #SWAthleteAlert on Twitter or contact Jared Martinson @JaredNHR.