MaxPreps 2012-13 Minnesota preseason boys basketball Fab 5

MaxPreps 2012-13 Minnesota Boys Basketball Preseason Fab 5 presented by the Army National Guard

1. Osseo
Head coach: Tim Theisen
2011-12 finish: 30-2, Class 4A state champions

Ian Theisen, a 6-foot-9 power forward who scored the game-winning basket in the Class 4A title game last season, returns for the Orioles. Theisen averaged a double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds) as a sophomore and has scholarship offers from Drake and Northern Colorado. Osseo tied a school record by winning 30 games in 2011-12 and its run to a state title included a triple-overtime win over three-time defending state champion Hopkins in the semifinals. Also back for the Orioles are senior guard Bridge Tusler (14 points, five steals per game) and junior guard Wheeler Baker, who is described by coach Tim Theisen as a tremendous scorer.

2. Hopkins (Minnetonka)
Head coach: Ken Novak Jr.
2011-12 finish: 29-2, Class 4A semifinalist

Amir Coffey steps in as a highly regarded freshman as Hopkins attempts to get back to the top of Minnesota's Class 4A. Coffey already has a scholarship offer from Iowa State. The Royals were within a few seconds of winning their fourth-straight state championship last season, falling in triple overtime to Osseo. Now Hopkins will have to rebuild another title contender without two key seniors from last year, Zach Stahl, the team's leading scorer and rebounder who is now a freshman guard at Northeastern University, and Siyani Chambers, an all-state point guard now at Harvard University. The addition of Coffey will certainly help.

3. Eastview (Apple Valley)
Head coach: Mark Gerber
2011-12 finish: 28-2, Class 4A quarterfinalist

Eastview achieved a No. 1 ranking in Minnesota for a portion of last year and defeated rival Apple Valley for a Class 4A sectional title. Ben Oberfield, a 6-foot-9 senior forward and a Bucknell verbal commit, will be among those attempting to make Eastview a title contender again. The squad did lose 2012 graduate Joey King, now at Drake University. Other returning juniors include Jalen Reynolds, Joe Schlosser and T.J. Sinn.

4. Apple Valley
Head coach: Zach Goring
2011-12 finish: 23-6, Class 4A sectional finalist



Apple Valley has the best player in the state, Tyus Jones. There is little question about that. A highly recruited point guard (Kentucky, Kansas, Duke and Minnesota among them), Jones averaged nearly 30 points a game last season as a sophomore and scored more than 40 in some games. He has been on the varsity squad since he was in the eighth grade and received his first college scholarship offer from Southern California when he was 13 years old. But can he lead Apple Valley to a state title? Jones will be worth watching and Apple Valley figures to have lots of major college coaches in the stands this year.

5. DeLaSalle (Minneapolis)
Head coach: Dave Thorson
2011-12 finish: 26-6, Class 3A state champion

This will be a team worth watching. Reid Travis, a 6-7 junior forward who had 20 points and 18 rebounds in the 3A title game, has 19 scholarship offers, including from Boston College, Purdue, Iowa State and Butler. Jarvis Johnson, a sophomore guard, may be one of the best in the Class of 2015 and already has an offer from Iowa State among six others. Senior guard Luke Scott hit more than half of his 3-point shots last year. The Islanders are seeking an 11th trip to the state tournament in 15 years and face a challenging schedule that includes opponents from five states.