Friday Night is Hoops Night: Dec 2nd
Tonight is the first winter night for basketball in Minnesota so we bring you “Friday Night is Hoops Night” because there is no better place to be on a Friday night than watching high school basketball.
St. Paul Washington at St. Anthony Village. I feel like Washington is going to be better than expected. Tonight will give us an indication of what they could be as they take on a nice St. Anthony squad led by Rhys Langums and Aaron Smith. Curtis Bell will be the best player on the floor and he has good guards with him but tonight St. Anthony wins as they try and go for a 20 win level year again.
Waconia at Prior Lake. Prior Lake is expected to have a big year, Waconia lost a lot of talent, if the Wildcats can go to Prior Lake and get a win that will tell a lot about where they are headed led by Charlie Gove, Nick Fulford, ad Derek Feltmann. Prior Lake wins by eight as Brian Sitzmann and Trent West start the year in a big way plus Dawson Garcia gives us a glimpse of what is to come.
Chisago Lakes at Mahtomedi. The Shayne Frost versus Trevin Nelson guard match-up will be interesting but the Zephyrs win in a big way. Parker Fox throws down four dunks and it’s a blow out opener.
St. Charles at Hayfield. Hayfield won 17 games last year and has Trace Tebay and Drew Olive back as guards. St. Charles is a top ten level Class AA team and Justin Ruhberg is the Saints leader and if he’s recovered from his knee injury St. Charles will roll. Could be a huge start for the Viking year though.
DGF at Lake Park-Audobon. Two state tournament teams from Class A with big expectations come together for the game of the night. Jesse Bergh and Mitch Hall are big number guys for Lake Park who bring back most of their team. Ethan Edeen and Kyle Rothschadl led DGF but we think the home team wins in this opener if their guards can handle Rothschadl.
Park Christian at Heritage Christian. The CJ Woda versus Steele Senske wing battle is the individual match-up of the night. Woda will be one of the top guys brought in for the MIAC while Senske is a wing that is one of the biggest stock raisers we’ve seen at the Expos (he was at two). Heritage Christian wins because they have more firepower.
Breck at Rochester Lourdes. Love this opening night game. Lourdes and their distinct playing style against a fellow private school at the Class AA level. The young Mustangs with David Roddy and Kerwin Walton are a team to see but can they beat the veterans of Carter Greguson on their home turf? I think so. Marcus Hill is a strong coach.
Rocori at Big Lake. Big Lake has three starters back and a talented young sophomores that should push them past their 10 win season from a year ago. They aren’t ready to beat Rocori yet but they will play them tightly.
Northfield at Byron. Standout Mike Coble, coach Kyle Finney, and young big Kaden Koski will lead the Bears to a 20 win area season but are they ready to compete with the Section 1AAA best teams yet ? All depends who has the best lead guard. Hunter Koepp, Alex Rasmussen, and Nick Zabel are the forwards to face Coble so we think Northfield wins but the team with better lead guard play wins.
Burnsville at New Prague. When I review Burnsville’s talent I have no idea how they won only five games last year. Especially considering that they are pretty well coaches. New Prague coach Bryce Tesdahl will not underestimate the team and they will beat the Blaze.
Columbia Heights at St. Paul Central. Will Braziel is back and the Hylanders will be too. Central will always be solid but they have new pieces to fit in while Heights has an overload of talent ready to play. Deundra Roberson will push, Chris Kelly can’t wait to play his first varsity games after sitting out for the transfer, Wendell Matthews is an excellent young big, and Airreon Austin is the returning senior that people should learn about.