|
by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
(posted 7/31/2008)
Photo by Michael J. Much
http://minnesotapreps.rivals.com/
It’s understood that yes its only July but some coaches in this state think like the Breakdown in that basketball is a 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 12 months of the year job and we love it. So that is why the Breakdown wants to continue serving the court non-stop just like some of the best athletes in state have done all spring and summer.
With the off-season in full swing some teams have stepped up to show themselves as contenders for the upcoming season. Kids at all levels of Minnesota high school basketball are competing hard this off-season and many of them are competing on behalf of some of the top programs.
At the AAAA level the top four teams talked about are going to be Hopkins, Cooper, Henry Sibley, and St. Cloud Tech coming into the year and all of these teams have improved this off-season continually playing basketball. Of course we all know that Hopkins has a superb group of six seniors playing nationally but their young kids are making big impacts as well and it will not be long before the names Joe Coleman, Siyanni Chambers, and Riley Dearing are highlighting with Marvin Singleton.
_f-1.jpg) Sibley’s pair of Chris Halvorsen and Mike Bruesewitz of course has caught everybody’s attention but fellow senior Maurice Hernandez has shown to be an elite shooter in the senior class and Sibley has done a fine job winning a couple tournaments this off-season. The kids from St. Could Tech have competed hard with the Minnesota Comets program this summer just like their nemesis Robinsdale Cooper has had kids competing with 94 Feet of Game and Howard Pulley. All this off-season of work has made the entire rotation for both these teams extremely strong and don’t be surprised to see future rematches in the upcoming Pacesetter as well in March next season.
At state this past year Tech beat Cooper but at a Breakdown Summer Showcase in Rogers with both of these teams at full strength Cooper was the winner and it was Hawks shooting guard Quincy Bethea who made the big difference. He will be an elite scorer in state and of course he has the highflying help of Rodney Williams to take the pressure off. Or is maybe it was Quincy taking the pressure off of Rodney? That’s more like it but bottom line is both are going to be major scorers.
What other teams will be contenders? We’d have to say Osseo, Apple Valley, Owatonna, Eden Prairie, and Eastview just to name a few. But then there is the improvements of Blaine, Buffalo, Armstrong, Mounds View, Stillwater, Prior Lake, Northfield and we’ll just stop before this gets out of control.
 Down at the single A level the stars of the top teams are not taking any type of rest. You can see Cass Lake-Bena’s Martin Wind and Nate Howard playing someplace every weekend, Ellsworth’s Trevor Gruis played up an age level with the Dakota Schoolers and has made a name for himself nationally while the Noreen brothers Kyle and Kevin have made large impacts on behalf of Minnesota Transitions in the Minnesota Magic program. And while these are the top names of these fine programs remember that they all return with some well coaches teammates who are ready to step up big for their programs.
Again the most exciting class of basketball in Minnesota could be the AA level. Last year New London-Spicer took the title and made sure everybody knew that the Breakdown preseason rankings are only worth so much. This year they lose a lot of seniors but Matt Cordes proved to be one of the best coaches in state last year and who knows what he can whip together for this coming season.
People will argue about the preseason number one for AA but it has to come down to either Pelican Rapids or St. Bernards. The Bulldogs return all of their top athletes and their players have made big impacts with the Minnesota Magic (Trent Davis and Avery Duncan) and Grassroots Minnesota (Brian Sandifer, Jordair Jett) programs. But it’s not like Pelican Rapids has been sitting on their hands as Eric Shulstad and Tydan Storrusten have been two of the best players for the Minnesota Comets and lets not forget that as a team Pelican Rapids beat Henry Sibley at the Breakdown Summer Showcase in Rogers. True the Warriors were without Bruesewitz and Halvorsen but it was still a big win.
 Also playing well this summer has been southern teams Stillwater and Plainview-Elgin-Millville. Stillwater beat Tartan, Faribault BA, and the TNL 16s to win the Rochester Summer Showcase while PEM proved strong throughout that one-day event as well. Stewartville’s Tom Gisler has played like a top 40 kid all spring and summer with his high school team as well as the Minnesota Magic. While PEM’s Clay and Cole Olstad showed they are two of the best of their class.
There will be other strong contenders as well. Minnehaha Academy should be quality and several of their kids have played with the Minnesota Magic. And we have to mention Sibley East, Redwood Valley, and Concordia Academy because they have three of the biggest stars in state in Marshall Bjorklund, Mike Felt, and Zach Towle. Each of these players has shown great improvements playing in the Magic, Schoolers, and Pulley summer programs.
As far as the biggest mystery we have to say AAA. Of course we know Rocori, St. Thomas, Willmar, St. Paul Johnson, and Mankato West should be back strong, as they have built great foundations in their program. All have talent coming back but more importantly they bring back excellent coaching staffs. But the preseason favorite could be Minneapolis Washburn who will have several of the state’s top seniors in their program. Dylan Hale and Cedric Martin are both top 20 kids in this state while Ra’Shede Hageman and Dearon Hearn can make claims as top 50 kids and of course there is sharpshooter Noah Sheppard. But watch out for Monticello as their trio of seniors come back fully prepared by Howard Pulley (Tommy Sawatzke), the Minnesota Comets (Matt Bigelow), and the Minnesota Fury (Josh Hibbison).
Early Mr. Basketball candidates? Mike Bruesewitz, Rodney Williams, and Raymond Cowels have stepped forward. Nate Wolters, Marc Sonnen, Mike Broghammer, Jordair Jett, Trent Lockett, Josh Figini, Mike Felt, and some others are right on their heels and if Royce White has a consistent senior year he has to be right there as he is the most talented kid in state.
|
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Summer leads into winter -- and who's stepping up?
Boys Basketball
Girls Basketball
Boys Hockey
Football
Volleyball
