Five Things To Watch For In The Minneapolis City Conference
The high school season is quickly approaching, and with fall leagues and expos getting into full swing, the staff at NHR has been able to get a good look at a lot of the state’s talent for the upcoming season.…
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Continue ReadingThe high school season is quickly approaching, and with fall leagues and expos getting into full swing, the staff at NHR has been able to get a good look at a lot of the state’s talent for the upcoming season. This year there’s no shortage of college prospects in the Minneapolis City Conference, and though Minneapolis North enters the season as the favorites, there are a handful of teams that will look to compete for top spots in the conference standings. These are five storylines to keep an eye on in the Minneapolis City Conference this season!
Can Edison carry over their success from last year? Last year Edison was the surprise of the conference, going on to finish their year 16-9, with an 8-4 conference record, good for a third place finish. Can they continue that run of success into this year? The talent they have returning gives them a good shot to do so. Although the stats that I could find only account for about half the season, they bring back three of their top scorers in Jermaine Cornell, Jabari Langley, and Jeremiah Thompson, all of who hovered around the 10 ppg mark. This group of players can cause problems for opposing teams in the conference with their ability to create turnovers and score in transition. Edison is sure to be an exciting team to keep an eye on this winter!
Does Washburn have enough supporting pieces to make a jump? Washburn finished up last season with a 3-22 record, going 1-11 in city conference play. It was a rebuilding year for them, having lost players like Cade Haskins, Charles Johnson, and Emmett Johnson from the previous year. However, coming into this winter they’ll be led by one of the top prospects in the conference in Josh Rogers. He proved towards the end of last season that he can dominate, and continued that success into a strong AAU season. But are there enough pieces around him to make a jump in the conference standings? Double-figure scorers Jamar Nelson and Sir’vell Miller both emerged as viable scoring options towards the end of the season, and could play big roles this year. If they can consistently provided second hand scoring next to Rogers, Washburn could compete with most of the conference.
What will CJ Brown be able to accomplish as a starter? CJ Brown had a nice AAU season with Grassroots Sizzle 16u, and earned himself a D1 offer from Hampton. The smooth shooting junior guard came off the bench for North last year as a sophomore, but will take over a bigger role this season. He averaged just over 7 points a contest for the Polars last season, but had glimpses of potential showing that he could be a force on offense. Brown can knock down threes at a high percentage, but also has the ability to finish through contact with his strong frame in the paint. Watching him this summer he also showed glimpses of a post game, which can be extremely dangerous when faced off against smaller guards. There’s talent all around him so it’s hard to expect huge numbers, but CJ has potential to be one of the most dangerous offensive threats in the conference this year.
Can anyone score on the Patrick Henry guards? If you followed the Prep Hoops Circuit or the Top 250 expo this year, you’ve probably heard us at NHR rave about the defensive abilities of Glentrell Carter and Yusuf Abdullah. That attention was well deserved, as they were both commonly seen locking up opposing players, and giving them fits with their on ball defense. The two of them in the same backcourt makes Patrick Henry a scary team in the city conference. If Henry can rely upon these two to consistently lock up opposing teams’ best players, not many schools in the conference are going to be able to have a third or fourth threat good enough to beat Henry. Don’t sleep on their offense either, as Carter averaged 14.4 ppg and Abdullah averaged 6.1 ppg last season. There is talent on this team, but their defense is what gives them a chance to be successful.
Who are the contenders for player of the year? There is a lot of talent spread throughout the conference this year, with a handful of guys who could put up big numbers for their teams. I’ll run through five of the big contenders here. Davon Townley looks to be the main guy for Minneapolis North this season. At 6’7 he’s the most physically imposing player in the conference, and possesses the ability to score inside and out. He averaged 12.2 ppg last season and is North’s top returning scorer. Josh Rogers was mentioned earlier in this article, and he’ll be Washburn’s go-to player. He scored 14.8 a contest last year, including 19.8 over the last 10 games of the season. He’s a true grinder who scores all of the dirty points inside, but has also developed ball skills and a nice looking shot from beyond the arc. Glentrell Carter was talked about as one of the top defenders in the Twin Cities, but his 14.4 ppg last year suggest he’s a threat on offense too. He can blow by players to get to the rack, making him a big threat on both ends. Jaylen Blakley is an undersized guard for South at just 5’8, but he will be called upon to lead that team this year. Though his 11.5 points a night as a junior isn’t too eye-catching, he showed spurts of being a dominant scorer with a high of 27, and can also dish out assists with the best of them. Christo Polydorou is a guy that quietly produced last season for Southwest. The 6’1 guard had averages of 14.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. With game-highs of 29, 28, 27, and 26, he can put up big time scoring numbers while contributing in every other area of the game. Look for these five prospects to have productive seasons in the Minneapolis City Conference.