Ten Best: Blaine vs. Coon Rapids
On Friday night I jumped on Highway 10 and trekked to Cardinal country for the rivalry between Coon Rapids and Blaine. It was a big Northwest Suburban North and section 7AAAA matchup, and I decided it was time to see Coach…
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Continue ReadingOn Friday night I jumped on Highway 10 and trekked to Cardinal country for the rivalry between Coon Rapids and Blaine. It was a big Northwest Suburban North and section 7AAAA matchup, and I decided it was time to see Coach Mike Ogorek and these upstart Cardinals. The home team pulled away by a score of 58-42, but this wasn’t just a statement in the box score for Coon Rapids High School.
MVP: Lionel Warner (SF, 6-4, Sr., Coon Rapids)
I heard some slight buzz about Warner last summer with TC’s Finest, and he’s proving it by scoring at a 17.5 per game clip. It’s not garbage points either. He’s a strong, broad-shouldered wing who works well in the slow, patient Cardinal swing offense. Very pretty shooting form and nose for the bottom of the bucket. He poured in 18 points, 16 in the second half, on four treys. Added five boards too. If he finishes out this season strong, junior colleges will be calling.
Best offensive performance: Kurtis Weigand (PF, 6-5, Sr., Blaine)
Weigand finds a way to pull down rebounds and go back up with smooth fluidity.. Had a smart double-double of 22 points and 10 boards, pump-faking his way to the rim underneath the jump-happy Coon Rapids frontcourt. He’s playing football at Minnesota-Duluth next year for good reason.
Best defensive performance: Marcell Winston (SF, 6-3, Jr., Coon Rapids)
The Cardinal energy had one source from the beginning: Marcell Winston. His presence on the wing of a 1-3-1 trap suffocated the Blaine guards who tried to dribble through it. He quickly snatched five steals in the opening eight minutes of play and kept up the aggressiveness all game.
Best under-the-radar performance: Sam Carver (PF, 6-4, Sr., Coon Rapids)
The metro is very unaware of who steps on the floor for Coon Rapids basketball. Sam Carver has been a varsity guy for all four years of high school, and improved every season. He’s put-together and has post moves, but against Blaine he stretched out opposing big Tim Leo and knocked down three treys. Carver went on an 11-3 run by himself to cap off the first half with an eight-point lead. He holds an offer from Jamestown, and I bet UMACs are watching from the corners of their eyes.
Best shooter: Jackson Odegard (G, 6-1, Sr., Blaine)
Odegard sat in the corner and was open a lot. He scored eight points on two threes and he never hesitated to catch and shoot. Mark Arzdorf trusts him fully to do just that. Opposing teams have to respect his shot because he can get going in a hurry.
Best athlete: Tyree’on Johnson (F, 6-6, Sr., Coon Rapids)
There’s nobody better on this Coon Rapids team to spearhead the 1-3-1 trap than Johnson. He’s 6-6 and his wingspan must be 6-9 or 6-10. He harassed the Blaine backcourt and forced several turnovers into fast breaks. That led to 16 points at the rim for Johnson. He’s a rangy and bouncy guy who wreaks havoc at the top of the trap.
Best balanced performance: Sam Gerrety (PG, 6-0, Sr., Blaine)
The steady-handed Gerrety was all over the place on Friday, in a good way. He tallied four rebounds and four assists, slicing into seams for a chance to dish to teammates. He scored once and gave Cardinal guards trouble with nagging defense.
Best moment: Warner’s momentum-swinging range
In a back and forth second half, it was Lionel Warner vs. Kurtis Weigand. While Weigand did his stuff down low, it was Warner who hit two bombs in a row to push the CR lead to eight and never looked back. He came in clutch right when his team needed the extra nudge.
Other: Coon Rapids 1-3-1
Coach Ogorek has drilled this defense into his players since day one, and even though it’s been ugly and ineffective before, he finally has the personnel and attitude from his guys to make it successful. They’ve bought in and developed over the last few years and are finally getting results. I have a feeling the 1-3-1 is what Coach O wants for an identity.
Best storyline moving forward: Cardinals have hope
As mentioned earlier, Coon Rapids has had a string of long years lately. I went back on MN Scores as far as I could (2010-11 season) and found that they’ve had years of three, seven, zero, one, two, and three wins. That’s 16 wins in six years. They already have ten in 2016-17. A court-storm following the game Friday also made me go dig up this stat: CR hadn’t beaten Blaine during that whole stretch, and maybe even longer.
For a bonus, Coach Ogorek was an assistant at Blaine before taking the Coon Rapids job. Deciding to become a head coach at a school where attending a basketball game was at the bottom of everyone’s priority list is a challenging decision. There were and still are growing pains. But the long two seasons of Coach O’s work to rebuild the culture and program at Coon Rapids are paying off, and it’s a story worth telling. Big ups to his dedication and the young men who have committed to it.