10th Annual Border Battle Preview
The tenth anniversary of the Border Battle put on by The Breakdown and Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook will be played this weekend in Wisconsin at Onalaska High School. After eight seasons of play Minnesota held a slight edge 23-22 but Minnesota…
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Continue ReadingThe tenth anniversary of the Border Battle put on by The Breakdown and Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook will be played this weekend in Wisconsin at Onalaska High School. After eight seasons of play Minnesota held a slight edge 23-22 but Minnesota swept the games last year winning all six. Wisconsin is now home for the event and they hope to even up the score on their own turf.
The feature match-up of the event? That would have to be four time defending Class AAA champion DeLaSalle against La Crosse Central. Both teams have a nationally ranked Rivals top 150 prospect as Islander Goanar Mar leads the Islanders with 20 points per game and 55 percent three point shooting (offers from Xavier, Iowa State, and others) while Kobe King is a Wisconsin Badger committed guard scoring 26 a night.
Islander sophomore Gabe Kalscheur may soon join Mar and King as nationally ranked players while King’s sidekick Bailey Kale could also be a scholarship type talent. DeLaSalle is ranked second in Minnesota while Central is third in Wisconsin. Mar defending King in the backcourt would be something to see.
The team that many Wisconsin fans want to see is number one ranked Stevens Point. The Panther are undefeated led by UWGB signed Trevor Anderson and Marquette signed Sam Hauser. Add in nationally ranked Joey Hauser in the sophomore class and you have a Stevens Point squad that will bring a lot of trouble to the Minnetonka Skippers.
That said, the Skippers won’t be intimidated. This is a team that has already played the number one ranked big schools from Minnesota, and South Dakota (as well as one of the top teams in Iowa) and held their own. Another number one ranked team will be nothing new. Tonka doesn’t have the frontcourt to match the Panthers but they do have scholarship guards including NDSU signed Seth Coatta, the top senior lead guard in Minnesota in Amar Miller, and division one juco committed Cedric Boone.
Minneapolis North is the number one ranked small school in Minnesota but they don’t play a small school schedule. They are 16-4 on the season playing mostly big school teams. The Polars are a heavy favorite to win Class A this year and they have four guys with division one basketball offers (Tyler Johnson who will play football at Minnesota, Jamil Jackson, Pat Dembley, and Issac Johnson). They take on host Onalaska who is 10-3 and led by junior guard Jalen Zubich.
Tartan is 13-4 on the season and has one of Minnesota’s more talented rosters led by Jordan Horn and Jarvis Thomas plus they have Noah Whalen who is a Wisconsin transfer. Horn has a D1 offer from USD and will be an excellent match-up against Eau Clairie Memorial guard Isaac Appleby.
Lake City and Spring Grove are two of the elite small schools from Minnesota’s southeast corner. Spring Grove is ranked second in Minnesota’s smallest class of basketball and are led by junior Chase Grinde who scores 22 points a game. Spring Grove will be bigger than undefeated Columbus Catholic but won’t have the guard depth of the Dons. Lake City is a top ten team at 16-2 led by Brady Kuchinka who is headed to Waldorf College. The Tigers face 10-3 Westby led by junior Jesse Solberg.
At Onalaska High School
January 30, 2016
11:00 a.m. — Marshfield Columbus Catholic (WI) vs. Spring Grove (MN)
12:45 p.m. — Westby (WI) vs. Lake City (MN)
2:30 p.m. — Eau Claire Memorial (WI) vs. Tartan (MN)
4:15 p.m. — La Crosse Central (WI) vs. DeLaSalle (MN)
6:00 p.m. — Onalaska (WI) vs. Minneapolis North (MN)
7:45 p.m. — Stevens Point (WI) vs. Minnetonka (MN)