Ok, so, we’ve done the NBA and the Timberwolves. We’ve done the Big 10 and the Gopher men and women. So it’s time to move on to a preview of the high school season, and since the girls start 1st, I’ll also start 1st with the girls. Today, 4A, then the other 3 classes, and then the boys.
Now, I could tell you (and I will tell you) that I wrote a lot of the Breakdown Girls Guidebook so I highly recommend it. Go buy a copy for yourself. But I guess I also have to say, then, that the picks you’re going to see here are almost all the same picks that you’ll see there. Now, the Guidebook is 240 pages, so my version here is going to be a lot more concise. (As to the boys, well, I am sure the Boys Guidebook is really good, too, but I don’t know anything about it and so my picks for the boys are going to have nothing to do with the picks you might find in the Guidebook.) So, with that as background, lets begin.
Class AAAA
OK, for starters, Hopkins is going to repeat as state champions and Paige Bueckers is going to be Ms. Basketball. The only suspense is whether the Royals will go unbeaten again. They won the title at 32-0 last year. If they do that, their 64 straight wins would be the 2nd longest winning streak in Minnesota girls history. (Fosston won 78 in a row from 1999 to 2002). And if they do that, considering they have very possibly the greatest girls player ever in Minnesota, they’ll also go down in history as Minnesota’s greatest team.
So the real battle this year is for 2nd place. Once again, the #2 rating goes to Wayzata, who has the incredible misfortune of being in Hopkins’ section. Last year Hopkins defeated Wayzata 77-60 in the Section 6AAAA final and Stillwater 74-45 in the state final. Wayzata will be led by junior forward Jenna Johnson and sophomore guard Mara Braun, who will have two and three chances to catch up to the Royals.
Unfortunately for Wayzata, along with the senior Bueckers, Hopkins is led by sophomores Amaya Battle and Maya Nnaji and freshmen Nunu Agara and Taylor Woodson. Nnaji and Battle are rated #1 and #2 in the state among the 2022s, while Agara and Woodson are rated as co-#1 among the 2023s (by Prep Girls Hoops). (Bueckers is of course #1 among the 2020s.) Hopkins could very possibly win the state title this year without Bueckers, and will very likely win the 2021 title without her. So that’s the hill Wayzata and everybody else in AAAA has to climb.
The other climbers (the next dozen) will include:
• Section 1—Farmington (#3)
• Section 2—Chaska (#9) and Eden Prairie (#12)
• Section 3—Eastview (#13), Lakeville North (#6) and Rosemount (#10)
• Section 4—Stillwater (#7)
• Section 5—Park Center (#4)
• Section 8—Maple Grove (#8) and St. Michael-Albertville (#5)
If all of that pans out, your state tournament semi-finals would find Hopkins vs. St. Michael, and Farmington vs. Park Center.
Players to watch include the top 5 seniors, meaning also your top 5 Ms. Basketball candidates.
Center—Aliza Karlen, Stillwater (going to Marquette)
Forward—Mallory Brake, Hastings (Creighton)
Point Guard—Paige Bueckers, Hopkins (Connecticut)
Combo Guard—Kenzie Kramer, St. Michael-Albertville (Lehigh)
Shooting Guard—Lauren Jensen, Lakeville North (Iowa)
Top 5 Juniors and younger:
Center—Maya Nnaji, Hopkins, sophomore
Forward—Mallory Heyer, Chaska, sophomore
Forward—Jenna Johnson, Wayzata, junior
Point Guard—Mara Braun, Wayzata, sophomore
Shooting Guard—Adalia McKenzie, Park Center, junior
Missing to the Top Recruited Junior in the State on your list... But everybody is entitled to their opinion... that's what makes great theater.
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