Five Things To Know: Champlin Park outruns Roseville
Tuesday night was my debut in the streets of the 2018-19 Minnesota high school basketball season, set in the Champlin Park High School gym. The Rebels opened their season with a balanced bang, led by newly minted floor general Bennett Otto.…
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Continue ReadingTuesday night was my debut in the streets of the 2018-19 Minnesota high school basketball season, set in the Champlin Park High School gym. The Rebels opened their season with a balanced bang, led by newly minted floor general Bennett Otto. The Roseville Raiders couldn’t keep up with the Champlin pace and physicality and shot just 6-22 from the field all game, and CP ran away with a 67-35 victory.
Role expansion. What is Bennett Otto’s player profile? Knockdown shooter off the bounce and pass, crafty finisher at the rim, good rebounder for his size. This year Bennett has assumed the job of primary ballhandler for the Rebels as well, along with a flurry of capable wings and bigs that he can distribute to. Otto posted 10 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists against Roseville and didn’t dominate the scoring column but made his mark in every other area with emphasis.
Big man efficiency. The center combo of Alex John (6-8 senior) and Francis Nwaokorie (6-6 sophomore) will be crucial offensively all year. John has physically filled out to be almost a carbon copy of his older brother when he was a senior and his footwork in the post is vastly improved. 6-for-6 on dunks is a fun season opener; that was good for Alex’s 12 points. Then right off the bench was Nwaokorie, a traditional space-eater with better-than-average touch around the rim. He was 5-for-5 for 10 points on the evening. Champlin’s always had a depth issue in the frontcourt but now they’ve got a surefire replacement when the time comes. Promising games from the posts.
No Mario, no high score. Roseville’s got a couple notable names on the roster, but none stand out more than the promising Mario Dukes. The 6-foot-3 bruiser forward was out with a concussion and his production was sorely missed. When healthy Mario is a mismatch in the post because of his strength and when he is fully healthy the Raider offense becomes more stable and dynamic.
John Briggs! The lanky senior wing scored three times at the arc and was the leading scorer for Roseville with nine points. His shot was the one consistent for the Raiders all night and he’ll need to be exactly that all year as a third or fourth option behind Dukes and Camryn Walker. His length was hard to defend with the high release of his shot.
Champlin Park options. They have depth, and tons of it for that matter. 11 players saw time in the first half, and all scored. I was very impressed with senior specimen Kato Seley’s defensive pressure leading to turnovers (13 points on 5-7 shooting) and sophomore point guard Terrance Kamara’s agility on the perimeter. Add in junior forwards Jared Walter and Cooper Olson who both had somewhat quiet nights but are very capable two-way guys, reserve stretch 5 Ethan Rens and junior guard TJ Moberg, you’ve got a very deep rotation that will likely be balanced in all stat columns this season. CP should be considered a fringe top 10 team in AAAA when they start to hit the conference slate.