Class AAAA Title Contender Series: Champlin Park
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Very few programs have found the consistency that Champlin Park has. The Rebels are back as a state contender led by three scholarship level seniors. Key Wins in 19-20 (18-10): Cooper, Waseca, Wayzata, Osseo, Spring Lake Park Oops: Eastview, Armstrong,…
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Continue ReadingVery few programs have found the consistency that Champlin Park has. The Rebels are back as a state contender led by three scholarship level seniors.
Key Wins in 19-20 (18-10): Cooper, Waseca, Wayzata, Osseo, Spring Lake Park
Oops: Eastview, Armstrong, Totino-Grace, Lakeville South, Hopkins, Maple Grove, Park Center, Rogers
Moving On: The Rebels lost three starters to graduation: Cooper Olson Cooper Olson 6'7" | PF Champlin Park | 2020 State MN who is at U of Mary, Jared Walter Jared Walter 6'3" | SF Champlin Park | 2020 State MN at Bethel, and Devon Moore Devon Moore 6'0" | SG Champlin Park | 2020 State MN . That’s a scholarship frontcourt player, a hard working defensive minded big, and one of the team’s more active, agile players. In addition, talented reserve big Ethan Rens Ethan Rens 6'6" | PF Champlin Park | 2020 State MN , wing Dominic Witt Dominic Witt 6'2" | SF Champlin Park | 2020 State MN , reserve PG TJ Moberg TJ Moberg 5'10" | PG Champlin Park | 2020 State MN who is now at UW-Superior playing, Rashard Scott, and AJ Messinger, five reserves, they all graduated. The Rebels used 10 or 11 guys regularly and eight of them have graduated.
Returning Starters: There are two, but they are a really good two. One of them is Joshua Strong Joshua Strong 6'0" | PG Champlin Park | 2021 State MN , a UMD committed point guard who is ranked as the second best PG in the senior class and has a chance to make a case to be the best PG in his class this year. Strong ran the offense last year and this year he will do so again, and likely be a 15-16 point per game guy. Then you have D1 committed Francis Nwaokorie, a 6-foot-7 center headed to UC-San Diego next year. Francis is a top ten player in his class that will be up for the Mr. Basketball award in terms of finalists. Strong and Nwaokorie make up the best senior duo in Class AAAA basketball (Kody/Beeninga from Wayzata, Reid/Riley from Lakeville South, Xavier/Jaelen at Hopkins are some that may disagree).
Reserves Playing a Bigger Role: There is one, 6-foot-5 wing Dylan Gichaba Dylan Gichaba 6'5" | SF Champlin Park | 2021 State MN . Dylan will slide right into that wing scorer, hard working defender, trusted player role for the Rebels ready to play big minutes. Gichaba was just offered by Minot State and he has the chance to really flourish this year. A double figure type scorer for a good Class AAAA team. Had a nice summer with the Minnesota Comets.
Potentials from the JV: This is what everybody is wondering about, who will fill out the rest of the starting line-up and the main reserve spots? Considering how good the Senior Three are, the Rebels likely won’t go 10 or 11 deep this year but they will likely still dip into that bench as the Rebel younger programs are always building players.
This is still going to be a senior heavy team. You could see about five seniors come up from the JV with little to no varsity experience, play key roles. Five-foot-10 senior guard Robert Feahn is one of the first guys I look at to add depth to the backcourt. Adrian Mogaka and Baron Bahn are 6-foot-1 senior guards that should add backcourt depth and Darian Hoek is a 6-foot-3 wing that could play next to Gichaba. Stephen Weah and Isaiah Miller are also seniors without experience but with 6-foot-3/6-foot-4 size as seniors.
Younger players? The name I have my eye on is Ayo Taki Ayo Taki 6'3" | SF Champlin Park | 2022 State MN , a 6-foot-4 junior forward. Ayo played JV last season and has a chance to step into that varsity rotation. Taki and strong, quick footed Leo Juusola Leo Juusola 6'1" | SF Champlin Park | 2022 MN are the two juniors that seem to be a step ahead.
Final Thoughts: As we’ve told you many times this fall, anybody could step up and take this Class AAAA championship this season. The Rebels? Why not? They have a top big and a top big in the state, a top up and comer in Gichaba on the wing, and a ton of seniors ready for their opportunity. The Rebels won’t be quite as big across the starting five as they usually are but it’s still a team that has a chance to earn gold. They are the favorites in their section but it’s open. Mounds View has been pointing to this season for years, Osseo almost certainly will take a big step forward, Park Center is going to be better than you think, and don’t write off Spring Lake Park. The Panthers have the talent to beat any of the listed teams.