|
by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
posted 08-05-2009
 The year was 2003 and Henry Sibley High School was continuing on with being an average high school basketball program. And then Trevor Mbakwe showed up in Mendota Heights from Atlanta, Georgia. That moment was the momentous first that got Sibley basketball rolling. And things didn’t stop from there.
A year later a hungry basketball coach by the name of Tom Dasovich came over from Columbia Heights to direct the Warriors. Also, a pair of basketball families was also in the program that helped ignite the team and they were the Halvorsens and the Leslies. Dasovich would then hire assistant coach Lernell James and this core group set things in motion and now the Sibley Warriors are one of the top programs in the state of Minnesota.
In the southeast corner of the Twin Cities this public basketball program had the same problem it’s hockey program is still having. Kids were leaving the fertile grounds of West St. Paul/Mendota Heights/Sunfish Lake/NE Eagan regions for the public schools of St. Thomas Academy or Cretin-Derham Hall instead of going to Henry Sibley. But times have changed. Area families have opened their eyes to what the school has to offer and the team has went to the state tournament the past two seasons despite being in the deepest and toughest section in Minnesota.
In addition to more area families choosing public over private in recent years there have also been some vastly important transfers. Of course Mbakwe left Sibley for St. Bernards his senior year but the in-coming talent of Brock Zins, Kavon Martin, Mike Bruesewitz, and Jordan Jackson has been gigantic to the program.
Without Jackson the Warriors would certainly have been a top ten team with division one posts Mike Rostampour and Jake Kreuser in the middle. The addition of Jackson makes Sibley a top three or four class AAAA team at least coming into the season because Jordan is a big time athlete with big time scoring ability. After playing with Minnesota Select this past July Jordan is now receiving an overload of division two interest and a few division one schools are also calling.
The question coming into the year will be if Jordan has to run the point or can he play two guard and be a pure scorer? If junior Bobby Wills is ready to man the position or if natural off-guards Jimmy Ryan (a senior) or sophomore Dante Grant can handle the spot Jackson will put up some strong scoring numbers that some people may not have expected. Of course he could always go part time switching between positions and things could go well.
Ryan is going to be a core defender for Sibley this season as the 6-foot-2 guard understands in the ins and outs of the game. And Grant should surprise as he’s shown some eye-opening improvement in the off-season as a scorer. Dante is definitely showing that Sibley basketball will be in good hands when he’s an upper classmen.
Inside there are no question marks. With Bruesewitz and Chris Halvorsen on to Wisconsin and Valpo respectively, its now Kreuser’s time to get more touches on the block. Jake has been hampered by knee and ankle injuries all summer long but when he’s healthy there should be no stopping him down low. Also, now that Brue and Halvo are off to college Jake will be in the game 70 percent of the time so people will get to see how many blocks he can produce game in and game out.
When Jackson, Grant, and Kreuser miss a shot you can bet that Rostampour will clean things up. Mike may lead the team in scoring several games this year without having a single play called for him or without being the primary option on a series. Mike will get his numbers with putbacks, running the floor for scores, cutting to the bucket, and when he does get post-ups bet that he will overpower and finish. The problem he has is fouls as Mike needs to let some plays go so he can stay on the floor and get bigger minutes.
There are a couple more guys to talk about because Sibley will have depth. Juniors Chris Bultena and Jake Goldberg were solid JV players a year ago and Bultena got a sniff of varsity time as well. Goldberg will be the third post and Jake’s game flourished last February. He’s a good face-up talent who attacks the glass hard and has learned how to absorb contact and finish. Bultena will stick his nose into anything on the floor as the hard working 6-foot-3 wing rebounds, defends, and can stick jumpers that make you take twice.
The Sibley Warriors are going to be very good once again and they have a shot at the state title no question. This is a year where the talent in Minnesota is quite spread out and even though the last two Sibley teams may have had more talent and may have been better, this year’s group may have the best shot to bring home the gold. But remember, the section four semi-finals of class AAAA may be a better tournament then the final four of the state tournament. That’s how good Sibley, Tartan, Stillwater, and Cretin-Derham Hall are this year. |
Katrina Newman,
GIRLS BASKETBALL
