The first annual Hall of Fame winter classic hosted by the MN hall of fame announced the 2020 class of Hall of Fame inductees this past weekend. This event provided the opportunity to look at top teams in the state that will possibly contend for a state title and a quick look into the future of player’s names that fans will be able to follow for years to come. These games were played in a packed house in front of the Mr. Basketball and Hall of Fame committee.
Eden Prairie is still the number one team in the state at class 4A and may be the best team in the state of MN regardless of class. They play with a tough team mindset and a togetherness that you don’t often see in high school basketball. EP is a senior led team who made it to the state tournament the past two years and is on a mission to make this the year that they win the state title. EP beat Park Center 82 – 64.
Drake Dobbs - 6’1”- PG - 2020 - Drake Dobbs is a D1 player that committed to play at Liberty University next season. He was the best player on the floor this weekend in the big 4A match up against Park Center who is a top ranked 4A team from the Northwest Suburban conference. Eden Prairie is 15 - 0 and still undefeated. He controlled the game from start to finish. Dobbs controlled the tempo, he stayed in the paint and kept the floor balanced by hitting big shots all game long. At one point he went on a run and scored 9 straight points on his way to finish the night with 31 points over Park Center. With his 31 point performance, Drake Dobbs becomes EP’s all-time leading scorer with 1764 points and counting.
Connor Christensen - 6’7” - F - 2020 - Connor is a senior who will play at Dartmouth University next season. Against Park Center he finished with 19 big points, with most of his points coming from three point land. Eden Prairie is one of the best three point shooting teams in the state which makes them the most dangerous teams to play. Connor is a true glue guy for Eden Prairie.
Austin Andrews - 6’6” - F - 2020 - Austin plays a big role for Eden Prairie and was the leading scorer for most of the season. Against Park Center he finished with 19 points. A highly skilled forward that runs the floor hard to get finishes. He rebounds well for them on the interior giving them that inside out presence. Austin will play at the University of Duluth next season.
Hopkins defeated Hibbing 90 - 58, Hopkins had control of the game from the very start and the core players for Hopkins were just too much for Hibbing in this match up.
Kerwin Walton - 6’4” - SG - 2020 - When you hear the name Kerwin, one thing comes to mind and that is he is an elite shooter and scorer. Walton is avg. 23 ppg on the season. One of the last top unsigned seniors finished the game against Hibbing with 17 points. The race to sign Kerwin Walton has been heating up. This week legendary Coach John Thompson and Coach Patrick Ewing of Georgetown was in MN and watched the game against St. Michael Albertville where Kerwin put up 27 points. Hopkins has been playing really good lately and is currently 12 - 4 on the season.
Jaelen Treml - 6’4” - F - 2021 - Jaelen has played a great role for the Royals this season and getting better each time we see him play. Jaelen is a good, fundamentally sound player with a good outside perimeter shot and plays hard on both ends of the floor providing a spark. Jaelen finished with 15 points against Hibbing.
East Ridge faced off against Rochester Mayo in the final game of the evening. Mayo jumped out to a fast start with Mayo leading in the first half 32 - 19. A slow start for East Ridge’s leading scorers but that all changed in the second half when the intensity picked up for East Ridge when they outscored Mayo in the second half 45 - 31.
Kendall Blue - 6’5”- G - 2022 - Kendall is a long lean athlete that handles the ball a lot for East Ridge. He is a really good combo guard that attacks off the dribble and keeps the pressure on opposing team’s defense and utilizes his length and athleticism to finish through contact. He finished with a game high of 25 points against Mayo scoring points in bunches to spark runs. Kendall has been showing all season why he is an elite prospect in the class of 2022 and a top ten prospect.