By Matt Krumrie
MaxPreps.com
Starting Five
1. Hopkins Update: It’s hard for a week to go by without Hopkins being in the news. The top-ranked Minnesota team and nationally-ranked Royals play Thomas Jefferson High of Brooklyn Friday in the Nike Extravaganza at Fordham University. It was also announced that Minnesota recruit and leading scorer Royce White was among 20 players from across the country – and the only Minnesota player – selected to play in the Jordan Brand All-American Game at New York's Madison Square Garden April 18.
2. Southwest Conference Collisions: One conference that has proven to be tough this year is the Southwest Conference. Five of the seven teams have overall records of .500 or better, led by Redwood Valley in first place (9-1, 15-3), Worthington in second place (8-2, 15-4) and Marshall (7-3, 14-6). Marshall is ranked 7th in the state in 3A, and is led by Caleb Johnson (12 points per game), Tyler Gimmestad (10), Jimmy Petrich (9) and Andy Mathiowetz (9).
3. Bulldogs Looking to Bounce Back: St. Bernard’s is locked in as the top-ranked team in the state in Class 2A at 16-3 heading into weekend action, despite losing two of the past three games. Mr. Basketball candidate Jordair Jett leads the way with 20.6 points per game for the Bulldogs. Meanwhile Averey Duncan is scoring 12.9 points per game, Trent Davis 9.7 and Briand Sandifer 9.3. Despite the recent losses the Bulldogs are still undefeated and in first place in the Tri-Metro East.
4. Cougars on the Prowl: Osseo is the best known team in the Northwest Suburban Conference, but Centennial isn’t going down without a fight. The Cougars are 12-7 overall, and 9-2 in the NWSC, one game behind Osseo heading into action Friday. Thursday the Cougars defeated Coon Rapids 86-78 to stay in conference title contention. In that win Matt Lutz had 16 points, Tony Gerding 14, Anthony Adams 13 and Patrick Ecklund 12. Adams leads the team in scoring with 14 per game, followed by Nathan Kuck (11.3) and Gerding (10.2).
5. Gopher Conference Leaders: At 11-1 (18-2 overall) Bethlehem Academy leads the Gopher Conference, ahead of second place Mankato Loyola (8-2). BA is led by Jake Hansen, who became the school’s all-time career scoring leader with 1,585 points. Hansen broke the record with 29 points in a win over New Life Academy recently.
Three to Watch
1. Virginia: At 16-1, Virginia is ranked No. 5 in the state in Class 2A, and has proven to be among the top teams in the northern region of the state. Leading the way for Virginia is Will Jackson, who averages 22.1 points per game.
2. Mesabi East: ME has a number of players having outstanding seasons. Among them are leading scorer Travis Whiting (22.9 points per game) and Justin Kangas, who averages 14.6 rebounds and over 7 assists per game.
3. North St. Paul: The Polars earned their second Classic Suburban Conference win with an upset of Richfield this week. Only 2-7 in the tough CSC, the Polars are 10-9 overall. Tuesday they beat Richfield (7-4, 13-8) behind 12 points from Rex Johnson and 11 from both Josh Bennett and Charlie Choinere, along with 8 from Andrew Rangistch.
Two Hot Too Handle
1. Minnesota State Academy For The Deaf: MSAD won its fourth straight game with a 46-37 overtime win over Wisconsin School for the Deaf in the Great Plains School for the Deaf basketball tournament. MSAD was seeded 8th in the tournament, while WSD was the top seed. MSAD was led by the trio of Zach Ulrich (16 points), Tony Oliver (15) and Davante Barron (11).
2. Shane Monjeau, Hastings: Monjeau scored 25 points to lead Hastings to a 54-40 win over rival Park Tuesday. Monjeau is among the leading scorers in the Suburban East Conference and leads Hastings with 17.9 points per game.
