Northstar Hoops — Team of the Week Dec 26-31
It was holiday tournament week across the state. With so many high-quality tournaments, there were plenty of teams picking up big wins.
Here are this week’s options for Team of the Week:
Melrose
The Dutchmen went into the year as one of the top teams in Class AA. After the St. Cloud Cathedral holiday tournament, nothing changed. Melrose picked up three wins last week, capping it off with a 13-point win over St. Cloud Cathedral. The Dutchmen beat Mandan on Tuesday and blew out a solid Litchfield team by 28 on Wednesday.
Robbinsdale Cooper
Holiday tournaments are always interesting and full of potential surprises. The biggest of them all might’ve been the play of Robbinsdale Cooper, which won the Rochester Rotary Classic. Not only did the Hawks pick up a pair impressive wins over two of the best teams in southern Minnesota, they did it in dominating fashion. The Hawks blew out Rochester John Marshall Thursday to the tune of a 20-point win before destroying Lake City 70-38.
New Prague
The Trojans are quietly 9-0 on the season after winning three games at the Hibbing holiday tournament last week. New Prague opened the tournament with a come-from-behind win over Andover. The Trojans picked up perhaps their most impressive win of the year in the second round, beating Totino-Grace by 13 and they capped off the week with a win over Chanhassen.
Wayzata
Wayzata makes its second straight appearance in the Team of the Week poll after a terrific showing in the St. Thomas Invitational. The Trojans picked up wins over two of the top teams in Class AAAA. They started the week by beating No. 3 Park Center and wrapped it up with a 14-point win over Cretin-Derham Hall.
Coon Rapids
The Cardinals won just three games all over last season. Through seven games, they’re 6-1. Coon Rapids added to its early-season success story with a pair of wins in Grand Rapids last week, beating Grand Rapids in overtime before defeating Proctor 64-54 on the way to winning the tournament title.
Northstar Hoops will put out a Team of the Week story every Monday with several teams people can vote for. People can also nominate teams for those polls by contacting me on twitter at M_Biggs_ or any of the other Northstar Hoops writers such as Ryan James, Jared Martinson or Alex Conover.