Section 4AAAA Preview: The Raptor and the Rounds
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There seems to be no shortage of capable teams as we enter the east metro for a section 4AAAA preview. Here’s the lineup:
1. East Ridge (24-2)
2. Cretin-Derham Hall (20-6)
3. Tartan (24-2)
4. White Bear Lake (20-6)
5. St. Paul Central (21-6)
6. North St. Paul (16-10)
7. Stillwater (12-14)
8. Woodbury (6-20)
Favorite: East Ridge
The Raptors came into the season riding high expectations, a gigantic lineup and immense talent. They’ve lived up to all of it putting together a stellar season in the Suburban East and making a great case for a top seed should they reach the State Tournament. Sophomore guard Kendall Brown leads a flurry of double-figure scorers at 17 per game, with forwards Ben Carlson and Courtney Brown, Jr. right behind. Senior guard Zach Zebrowski has become as elite a fourth option as you can find scoring 10 a game as well making winning plays. And we haven’t even reached the flurry of 6-foot-5 underclassman forwards waiting for their turn! East Ridge is deep and balanced and athletic and hard to stop in every way imaginable. They are the clear favorite in this section after reaching the final last year and losing to eventual champ CDH.
In The Hunt: Cretin-Derham Hall, Tartan, White Bear Lake
The Raiders are 20-6 with Tre Holloman and Jaeden King at the helm scoring in bunches all year. After a late-season injury and sickness bug, expect CDH to be firing on all cylinders again in the playoffs beginning with their quarterfinal game against Stillwater. A dark horse for section X-factor is junior forward Amari Carter, who has stepped up in all box score columns recently to contribute to Raider wins. Curtis Jones is a sharpshooting 2020 guard who has multiple 30-point drops in the absence of King; can both of them be knockdown this postseason? That gives them a good chance in any game they play.
Tartan is 24-2 on the year with losses to Edina and Mahtomedi early. The Titans haven’t lost since January 3 and are only 2-0 against the rest of the section (a conference sweep of North St. Paul). Firestarter guard Antwan Kimmons leads the ship tossing in 21 points a contest and Joseph Kearney has stepped into a second option role scoring 11 per game. The question isn’t whether Tartan can win games; rather, has their softer schedule readied them for big and more talented squads like East Ridge and Cretin? We’ll find out when they get the rematch with NSP in round 1 and a likely showdown with CDH in the semis.
White Bear Lake is a senior-laden group. They don’t get blown out and they beefed their non-conference schedule this season for better games. Jeremy Beckler and Sam Schwartz are a fantastic inside-out duo with lots of high-pressure experience; the expectation of this team was to be back after a better-than-average 2017-18 and contend for a section title. They’ll look to do just that. Isaac Tessier is a microwave shooter who can get hot in a hurry and turn a game around. Don’t forget the Bears in this playoff hunt.
Don’t Forget: North St. Paul, St. Paul Central
The Polars have had their fair share of nice wins this year too, and they have talent to match up with a lot of these teams ahead of them. Dajuan Carter might have the greenest light in the metro and he can back it up with his shooting prowess. Don’t be surprised if we get a 40 point game from him sometime this week. Shaheed Muhammad is a deadeye shooter with a feisty defensive mentality. Brenden Lankford-Johnson has exceeded all expectations this year playing point forward and directing offensive movement when things get sticky. Their game against Tartan will be one of the most exciting quarterfinals, it’s a rivalry for the third time this year and both teams are hungry to prove the Metro East has top-tier basketball.
And the Minutemen! This section is deep, woah. Fresh off a Twin Cities Game championship over Minneapolis North in comeback fashion, Central has its big 3 humming–Daveonte Davis and Dion Ford are lengthy wings with great games off the bounce and 5-foot-7 Ronnell Porter makes plays on the break that Muggsy Bogues would be proud of. The role players have stepped up over time like Luke McElroy and Khai West as well. That game with White Bear Lake can’t be overlooked either. Again a 4/5 game with a team losing that probably deserves to go deeper than one round.
Predictions
Round 1: East Ridge over Woodbury, CDH over Stillwater, Tartan over North St. Paul, White Bear Lake over Central
Semifinals: East Ridge over White Bear Lake, CDH over Tartan
Finals: East Ridge over CDH