Granite City Classic: Top 10 Games to See
The Breakdown is hosting the Granite City Classic in St. Cloud on Friday and Saturday (Thursday games re-scheduled due to weather). What are the best games to see, and where to see them? NHR gives you the list today! …
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Continue ReadingThe Breakdown is hosting the Granite City Classic in St. Cloud on Friday and Saturday (Thursday games re-scheduled due to weather). What are the best games to see, and where to see them? NHR gives you the list today!
One. Minneapolis North vs Milwaukee Washington (Friday at SCSU, 2:45)
The Skinny: This is Minneapolis basketball against Milwaukee basketball. Washington has the big name this time but the young players of North will be headliners soon too. And both have good veterans. North is ranked second in Minnesota’s Class AA level where as Washington is 3rd in Wisconsin’s Division 2.
Top Match-Up: Michael Foster vs Davon Townley Jr. Both are ranked in the Prep Hoops top 250 sophomores nationally with Foster being a consensus top five player nationally. Foster is bigger than Townley and he’s got offers from some of the best teams in the nation. It’s a good chance for Townley to make a name for himself.
Top Prospect to See: Michael Foster. Has offers from Kansas, UCLA, Wake Forest, UNLV, Texas A&M, Marquette, LSU, and Arizona State among others.
Prediction: This could be a very close game but it sounds like North is a tad deeper in experience and on bodies off the bench so they win by two.
Two. Park Center vs St. Paul Central (Friday at Apollo, 5:30)
The Skinny: A few of the St. Paul Central players have sounded off on Twitter about how they aren’t respected. Well, now is your chance guys! The Minutemen get the number one ranked team in the state facing undefeated Park Center. Central is 5-1 with a loss to Cooper.
Top Match-Up: Daveonte Davis vs Tommy Chatman Jr. These are the guys that make plays. Davis scores 21 a game where as Chatman – a top 20 player in the state – is the second leading Pirates scorer and the guy that moves the offense.
Top Prospect to See: Dain Dainja. The Pirates leading scorer as well as the go-to guy, Dainja has offers from the type of schools that have made him a top 75 player nationally. Dainja is one of the most skilled low post players you will see.
Prediction: Pirates win by ten.
Three. Lakeville South vs Minnetonka (Friday at SCSU, 4:15)
The Skinny: Nice game between the school that South AD Tom Dasovich is now in charge of against the team he used to coach for (Tonka). Minnetonka is one of the early season surprises where as Lakeville South has sophomore Reid Patterson playing beyond his years at 17 plus a game.
Top Match-Up: Cameron Steele vs Riley Mahlman. This is a match-up of two of the meaner, low post players in the metro. Both will throw elbows without a worry. Both will be aggressive. Steele is also really skilled with a perimeter touch at 6-foot-8, Mahlman is 6-foot-9 and one of the nation’s top sophomore offensive lineman recruits.
Top Prospect to See: Riley Mahlman. Mahlman has football offers from Minnesota, Northwestern, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin but is a really good hooper too.
Prediction: Close game. Both teams are playing about the same type of size and experience. This is a legit pick em for the most part. I have to pick one so I say South.
Four. North St. Paul vs Osseo (Friday at SCSU, 1:15)
The Skinny: I like this game because of the way the coaches (Damien Johnson and Tim Theisen) will get their players to play at a high level. You will see a lot of quality defense and it will be a fight for points to get on the board.
Top Match-Up: Cornell Richardson vs Dajaun Carter. Richardson is a point guard that also leads the team in scoring (14 a game) where as Carter is a guy that has the green light all day. Carter is scoring 33 plus a game. Both will have a big hand in the points scorer.
Top Prospect to See:
Prediction: Another pick’em. Both teams are 3-3. Both teams have faced similar programs and had similar results. Trying to pick one is choosing between a square chocolate chip cookie and a round chocolate chip cookie. I seriously don’t know. I just pick Osseo because they have been winning for more years. By a tenth of a point!
Five. St. Cloud Apollo vs Milwaukee Washington (Saturday at Apollo, 2:15)
The Skinny: Washington has not only one of the elite sophomores in the nation in Foster but also Deontay Long who was the best 2019 in the state of Wisconsin until his break from basketball. Long is still scoring 18 a game in his return to the court. Apollo has one of the better junior groups in Minnesota with a 5-2 record. Apollo has beat some good teams led by Mike Gravelle and Deng Diew.
Top Match-Up: Deontay Long vs Clifton Patterson. Long is a 6-foot-5 guard scoring in strong numbers while Patterson is a 6-foot-3 senior that plays a tough man’s game and will love the challenge of Long.
Top Prospect to See: Michael Foster. Michael Foster is 6-foot-9 and will have a decent challenge in the 6-foot-8 agile length of Nasrudin Mohamed and Deng Diew.
Prediction: Washington by 11.
Six. Delano vs STMA (Friday at SCSU, 7:15pm)
The Skinny: A pair of 4-1 teams that are not only about a game better than expected but with this win would be 5-1 and off to a tremendous start. Derek Techman is scoring over 21 a game as one of the better shooters in the state while Kale Hoselton is one of the metro’s surprise junior players.
Top Match-Up: Kale Hoselton vs Trey Longstreet. Both are about 6-foot-3/6-foot-4 at the wing, both score 14-15 a game, both have multiple years left at these extended Northwest metro schools.
Top Prospect to See: Austin Jentzen and Derek Techam. We are sticking strongly to seniors with this one. Austin is an agile and strong low post big while Techam can shoot at the arc with anybody.
Prediction: Delano by five.
Seven. St. Paul Central vs Brooklyn Center (Saturday, 3:45 at Apollo)
The Skinny: Brooklyn Center was going to be the preseason number two but several upperclassmen left for a prep school. Facing this tough schedule with a young team BC has done well with a 5-4 record. The Centaurs take on a veteran Central team that has lost once.
Top Match-Up: Dion Ford vs Danny Yates. Yates is a 6-foot-2 small forward scoring 13 plus a game, Ford is a 6-foot-4 forward who is second on Central in scoring. Add in Davonte Davis of Central and Qentrell Douglas of BC both being 9-10 scores a game guys and the wing/forward match-ups are excellent.
Top Prospect to See: Quyavant Douglas. It’s too early to say, but right now few people can stake claim to “state’s best 2023” like Quyavant has. A talented scorer leading BC with nearly 18 points a game as an 8th grader.
Prediction: Another tough game to pick, we say Central because of their veteran team. They win by two.
Eight. Robbinsdale Cooper vs Park Center (Saturday at SCSU, 5:45)
The Skinny: There has been talk of Cameron Vaughn playing at both Cooper and Park Center in the past, but he’s at Cooper leading the team in scoring. Cool thing is he is good friends with the Pirates players having played 17U hoops with them. Cooper will need all the good sophomores plus their senior backcourt trio (Vaughn, Jalen Justice, Jalen Miller) to try and stay with the number one team in the state.
Top Match-Up: Jalen Justice vs Tommy Chatman. This could be a fun match-up of playmaking guards that stand about 6-foot-3/6-foot-4. Both can score, handle, and facilitate.
Top Prospect to See: Dain Dainja. Cooper has one player bigger than 6-foot-3 and that player is 6-foot-6 and has scored two baskets this season. If Dainja gets inside and gets touches he will dominate the game. He and DT Frierson should control this contest.
Prediction: Pirates win by 14.
Nine. Totino-Grace vs Big Lake (Friday at SCSU, 10:15am)
The Skinny: This is one of those games that at first glance just seems like another game, but it’s really an important one. Both teams are 4-2 on the season and have the type of talent that could get them into the top ten of Class AAA with a win here. But a loss also means that these teams are 4-3 and just were defeated by a team they feel they should beat.
Top Match-Up: Devin Burger vs Logan Nagorski. Logan is signed and ready to play D2 hoops at U of Mary where as sophomore Devin Burger is one of the state’s best forwards in his grade. Both are skilled face-up players.
Top Prospect to See: Eric Krieger. Eric may not be the best prospect in the game but he is one of them, and his recent play deserves mention. The 6-foot-2 guard went from scoring 8 a game as junior to nearly 22 a game as a senior.
Prediction: Eagles by six.
Ten. Maranatha Christian vs Mound-Westonka (Friday at SCSU, 10am)
The Skinny: MCA is once again one of the most balanced teams out there. Leading scorer Hakim Daniels is scoring 10.1 points a game. Sixth leading scorer Chase Carter (a freshman) is scoring over seven points a game. And of course there are many in between. Mound-Westonka isn’t quite as balanced but still has six guys that score about three times a contest. MCA is 6-1, Mound-Westonka 5-2. Andre Phillips and Robert Ware are both doing a strong job.
Top Match-Up: Clarence Daniels vs Connor Prok. Clarence is headed to Billings in Montana next year as a 6-foot-5 wing. The only White Hawk big enough to put a hand in his face is Prok, a 6-foot-6 center scoring 6-7 a game.
Top Prospect to See: Jason Speath and Chase Carter. The six foot guard is one of the top freshman in all of the metro right now handling, scoring in double figures (13 a game), and playing bigger than his years. Carter is a 6-foot-5 freshman who has found a very nice role for MCA as a young player. Carter is expected to be a highly ranked frosh.
Prediction: MCA has much more veteran depth, they win by two points.