Bakke will likely be much higher ranked the next time around rankings wise. Why? At 6’10 he is already in a very select few when it comes to size and scholarship schools need that size. The next step from there is moving well, Bakke moves well. He gets up and down, is quick off his feet for his size and he can laterally step better than other big players. The next step is caring. Bakke seems to enjoy being on the court and competing. Those three things put him in a group of two in this class (with Ollie McKenna) that fit those categories. Erik will be recruited and he will get his chance at the next level. The next item is, how consistent can be be on the floor? Erik was productive this weekend, next he needs to be productive for his winter team.

There is a balance when talking about Erik that you have to have and it’s about him growing into his very long frame. Bakke is starting to look more comfortable in that frame and with it comes body control and timing. There was more consistent finishing, more balance when facing contact, and more consistent results.

There are very few 6’10 people on earth who can run well and laterally move well with coordination. There even fewer that want to do those things. When you have that in a hooper it’s a rare thing and it gets recruited.

Erik Bakke Erik Bakke 6'10" | C/PF Maranatha Christian | 2028 State MN is a six-foot-ten-inch 2028 Maranatha Christian and D1 Minnesota 3SSB center. Bakke has excellent size and reach, and does well anticipating driving ball handlers coming to the rim to deter them or outright reject them. Bakke does solid keeping the ball high above smaller players and he does get up and down the floor well enough. Bakke’s finishing around the rim is still developing if it’s not a two-hand dunk.

Erik continues to show really impressive flashes of what he can do at 6’10. Throughout the game I watched he ran the floor hard for transition buckets, swatted a handful of shots, and altered many more with his presence around the basket. He’s a good athlete at his size with quickness off the floor to dunk just about everything, and soft touch with his left hand from anywhere within about 10-12 feet. Still more of a defensive and transition threat, but the half-court game continues to show improvements.

Fresh off a big summer with D1 Minnesota , the 6’10” big man made his presence felt by dominating the painted area. Bakke served as an elite rim protector, constantly altering and deflecting shots around the basket while giving his team a massive, reliable target on the post. His fluid mobility in transition and quick rotation as a help defender made him one of the premier frontcourt prospects in attendance as well as in the state.

Erik Bakke Erik Bakke 6'10" | C/PF Maranatha Christian | 2028 State MN played maybe the best half I have seen him play in the third round of games. He had four defensive boards two of which he pushed the other way himself and moved the ball for eventual scores. He hit a three, scored an open floor dunk, and putback one of his own misses with another dunk. Looks more and more comfortable on the floor and at his size with that level of agility, the potential is so high.

Eric Bakke is a six-foot-ten-inch 2028 center from Maranatha and played with D1 Minnesota 3SSB. Bakke has come a long way from when I first saw him with the Blaine 9B team as a freshman. Bakke’s size makes him a shot blocking threat at all times and at the freshman level he did show ability as a rim defender. Bakke is showing improvement in key areas as a front-court player, and he’s starting to look like his perimeter shot is coming together.

Erik Bakke Erik Bakke 6'10" | C/PF Maranatha Christian | 2028 State MN – The 2028 Bakke who transferred to Maranatha from Blaine is playing JV/Varsity as a sophomore, has excellent size at six-foot-ten-inches tall, and has some skills and abilities you can’t always teach. Defensively he can be disruptive with size and length, and recently for Maranatha showed off use in the open floor stealing a ball and taking it the length for slam. Bakke, who I saw last year at Blaine, always seems active around the basket, and swatting shots. We could see a major jump in on court awareness this season with Maranatha and then this spring/summer AAU with D1 Minnesota .

Erik Bakke Erik Bakke 6'10" | C/PF Maranatha Christian | 2028 State MN – The six-foot-nine-inch Bakke is an improving long, lanky forward from Blaine. His height draws interest immediately, his length and mobility make him very interesting and cause interest from evaluators. Around the rim Bakke finishes above the rim well, and he’s a good shot blocking threat.