Breakdown State Tournament: Class AAAA Takeaways
The Breakdown State Tournament took over Bloomington Sunday, with Henning, Caledonia, Mankato East and Park Center taking home championship honors. With most of the top teams from each respective class in attendance, there was no shortage of high-end talent on…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe Breakdown State Tournament took over Bloomington Sunday, with Henning, Caledonia, Mankato East and Park Center taking home championship honors. With most of the top teams from each respective class in attendance, there was no shortage of high-end talent on display all day long.
It’s July. A lot can change between now and the start of the high school season. Everything that happened Sunday should be taken with a grain of salt. A lot of teams were incomplete. A lot of teams have guys breaking in new roles. And a lot of teams will get a lot better when the coaching and gameplanning stuff factors heavier into the equation.
That said, I’m taking stuff away from what I saw knowing full well everything is subject to change.
Dain Dainja Looked like a Mr. Basketball Favorite
Park Center won the tournament championship over the weekend and Dainja was undoubtedly the reason why. He’s always been among the elite prospects in this much-heralded 2020 class but out of the times I’ve ever seen him play, he was at his best by a wide margin on Sunday. When he wants to, he can dominate in ways few guys in the state can. And it was clear that he wanted to on Sunday. At 6-foot-8/6-foot-9 and 240-plus pounds, there isn’t a guy in the state that can stop him consistently one-on-one. When he catches the ball 18-feet and in and attack, he’s unstoppable. His footwork, suddenness, explosiveness and strength allow him to go from the elbow area to the rim in the blink of an eye. I didn’t see that kind of juice from hm a year ago. He averaged 16 and 9 a year ago. I would not be surprised if he puts up 25 and 12 next winter. He doesn’t always have to play hard because he can be really good without going all-out, but if he is engaged like he was Sunday, he’s a Mr. Basketball Favorite and makes the Pirates the state title favorite.
Eden Prairie Has State Title Talent
Eden Prairie is one of the few teams that can legitimately say it’s a state title contender without a high-major Division I guy. That doesn’t mean the Eagles don’t have the talent to win a state championship though. Drake Dobbs is as good as any point guard in Class AAAA, Austin Andrews can score and defend at the 4/5. Ariel Bland is an athletic rebounder and finisher up front. John Henry is one of the state’s best two-way players on the wing and Connor Christensen is a multi-year starter (he didn’t play Sunday). The Eagles have depth, shooting, defense, experience and while they don’t have that 6-foot-9-plus type of big man, they’ve got athleticism and continuity that few others do. Last year was weird for them as they played a really tough schedule and took a while to get going. Then they did. Then they got their doors blown off by a possessed Lakeville North team. They’ll be right in the thick of things this winter.
Cretin-Derham Hall/East Ridge Could be Classics Next Winter
Cretin-Derham Hall was already going to be one of the best 10 teams in Class AAAA next year before J’Vonne Hadley transferred in. His addition gives them a 6-foot-5 swingman who can shoot, pass and rebound. He put up nearly 30 points per game for a state-tourney team last year and while he won’t have the kind of usage he did at Mahtomedi, he’s got to have a lot more room to work with guys like Curtis Jones, Amari Carter and Tre Holloman drawing the focus from the opposition.
East Ridge might be the most talented team in the state on paper with Ben Carlson and Kendall Brown plus a bevvy of young, talented athletes in the pipeline. When rankings come out ahead of next season, these two teams should probably be somewhere in the top-four. And they’ll play at least twice and most likely three times next year. Both teams can legitimately win a state championship next year. I don’t care that only one can make a state tournament. I’m envisioning a section championship game featuring those two teams being epic.
Hopkins will be Younger Than Usual
The Royals won the state championship last season thanks in large part to the efforts of a senior-dominated lineup. Kerwin Walton is the only returning starter and while he’s one of the best two-way wings in the state, he’s going to have more on his plate than a Hopkins best player would have. Usually a team buoyed by transfers, Hopkins is going to be relying on some inexperienced and unproven guys. Andre Gray is one of the better young talents in the state. They’ve got some nice young bigs and it’s Hopkins, so there’s never a shortage of talent. But the talent is younger and more unproven than it’s been in a while. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out over the winter.