True Under the Radar Talents: Class AAAA
The word “Under the Radar” gets thrown around way to easily these days but today we have some true Under the Radar players from Class AAAA that local colleges should get to know now.
One player per section so we touch on a player from each part of the state (well, from the metro and a couple outstate locations as Class AAAA is 55 metro schools and eight outstate teams).
Section 1AAAA. Six-foot-2 junior Jack Fisher of Rochester Century helped his team take a step forward last year improving from only beating Albert Lea in recent years to grabbing some wins over Winona, Faribault, and Red Wing improving by seven games. Fisher is a 6-foot-2 guard who scored 14 points per contest as a sophomore and now looks like a 20pg guy in the future.
Section 2AAAA. At Shakopee you’ve of course heard about the drama with the head coaching position, you know that Charlie Katona is a top 2020 in Minnesota after an all state 16U year with they Fury, and Will Cordes had a great 17-18 year playing with the Sabers and the Minnesota Matrix. But what about Caleb Druvenga? Caleb scored 16 points per game as a sophomore and he’s one of three 2020 kids that headline the program.
Section 3AAAA. The Raiders of Hastings are as a team under the radar. They were .500 a year ago and return four of the top seven guys including Dylan Wagner, Devon Haraldson, and Isaac Rabaey who were all part of a balanced team. One of the most interesting guys is 6-foot-8 Matt Schlottman, a skilled big man that has a nice face-up shooting tough. Matt scored 9-10 a game as a junior and could have a huge senior season.
Section 4AAAA. Thought North St. Paul lost a lot of talent that will put them in the second half of their league? Learn the name DaJuan Carter and remember that there is a lot of tough guys around him returning as well. Carter is a 6-foot-1 guard that has range on his jumper and confidence in that jumper. The type of confidence that could make him an 18-20 point per game scorer for the Polars. Watch for a big year from Carter.
Section 5AAAA. The Osseo Orioles never go away. Did they lost a pair of 20 plus point per game scorers? Yes. Did they lose a line-up full of talented seniors? They sure did. But don’t expect this team to slip. Junior varsity standouts Elijah Barlue and Montrell Stokes had outstanding 17u seasons as productive basketball producers starting for 17u teams that played far above expectations. Barlue is an active forward while Stokes is an aggressive playmaker and we think both will have big senior years.
Section 6AAAA. If we asked several known Minnesota people who the Armstrong leading scorer was last year I would bet that most don’t know, even though the Falcons 12-16 record was better than many expected it to be. Six foot guard Jake Breitbach scored 11 points a game as a sophomore and is definitely a name to know heading into his upperclassmen years.
Section 7AAAA. The Bluejackets steady building continues as they improved by ten games last year and now have expectations of playing in the state tournament. Henry Abraham, that’s a name you know. Playing along with Henry is Luke Malamisuro, a 5-foot-11 guard that scored 14 points a game as a junior and this winter should take his game to another level. If Luke takes his game to another level, maybe Cambridge gets to the level they have been working for.
Section 8AAAA. The Crimson of Maple Grove went to the state tournament after replacing a full line-up in 17-18, but this year they do return talent. Jared Rainey is the big name but also Nate Adams and Kyle Dreyer are back. Adams is a 6-foot-3 wing and Dreyer is a 6-foot-1 guard and both of them played well along with Rainey last year so we have high expectations for them coming into 18-19.