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by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
(updated 7/27/2009)
You have to believe that this is going to be quite a bounce back year for the Minnetonka Skippers. After winning the 2008 state championship the Skippers fell below .500 despite have some quality players. No doubt they played a tough schedule and the fact is there was some talent getting time on the floor. But I don’t think anybody expected that Tonka would lose by 34 to Mounds View, 44 to Hopkins, 23 to Apple Valley, 34 to Armstrong, 24 to Edina, and then to Minneapolis North in the first round of sections.
 So they move ahead into 2009-10 with a roster loaded with talented shooters. First and foremost is Cole Stefan who is expected to have a big senior season. As a junior Stefan scored 18.8 points a contest and with everybody around him being a year older Stefan is not expected to have to take as many tough shots as he did a year ago. Add in the fact that Prior Lake transfer Tor Anderson will be eligible to play and what you have is a chance for Stefan to have a special season. Cole has the unique ability to get a good look at the basket from just about any vantage point as he can rise to square his shoulders from anywhere 23 feet and in. And with a beautiful touch Stefan could be the best shooter in the state next year.
However, there is the chance that Stefan may not even have the best three point shooting percentage on his own team. Why? Because Anderson and Nick Latzke are also accomplished rifleman from beyond the arc. Anderson spent last year as the best junior varsity player in the state of Minnesota as he wasn’t eligible to play for the Skippers. As a sophomore Tor was the Prior Lake leading scorer and coming into his senior season it’s tough to know what to expect. He didn’t play any varsity ball as a junior and AAU wise Tor played with Net Gain who you would have a better shot at seeing in an Idaho basketball event than you would locally. When asked about his game one college coach said, “Anderson is a versatile player on the floor who can do a lot of things. Think a less gifted Nate Wolters.” Right now it’s tough to pinpoint what he will bring but expect Tor to have the ball in his hands often this year and to put up solid numbers.
And then you have junior Nick Latzke who was the second leading scorer as a sophomore at 13.8 points a game. That says a lot right there about where the Skippers were a year ago. Think back to 2007-08 when Cole Stefan was a talented sophomore but he was the 5th guy off the bench for his team.
Latzke has the stroke to be the shooter of the 2011 class and he’s been draining triples all summer for the Howard Pulley 16s group. Last year Nick put up a career high of 31 points in late November when Tonka beat Concordia Academy and then scored 32 against Minneapolis Southwest 17 days later. The 6-foot-4 Latzke stands fairly even with 6-foot-3 Stefan and 6-foot-3 Anderson on the wing. Anytime somebody wants to give one of those players extra attention the ball can be moved through the dribble dive motion, or simply skipped or swung, Latzke will be waiting in the corner.
The fourth starter will be the athletic Leonard Glass who is a 6-foot-5 above the rim style player. Glass competed well with the 43 Hoops 17s team this spring/summer learning to play better defense and being more productive finishing around the cup. Glass is a knockout in transition where he finishes above the rim. Leonard averaged 9.3 points a game as a junior.
Four starters will have a good combination of talent and experience but who will round out the usual five on the floor? Does sophomore Andrew Turnblad step in to man the interior? Or will 6-foot-5 Maranatha Christian Academy transfer Milos Ristanovic take over the post in his senior year? Turnblad has a bright future and is likely to play as a sophomore plus he has a smidgen of varsity experience. Ristanovic joined Anderson as an ineligible transfer last year playing junior varsity but he did get a lot of run with the TNL Express over the off-season. The Skippers can also run smaller with Glass at the five depending on the opponent which means adding another guard and they have the prospects to do such a thing.
Tommy McDermott is another sophomore of the future who played a little tiny bit last year and also had JV experience. He’s another kid expected to make a big name for himself in the 2012 class. There are some veterans to consider. Senior Chad Howard found himself minutes late in the year and junior Blake Nelson was a regular bench contributor throughout the 2008-09 season. As a sophomore Nelson did a lot of the dirty work for coach John Hedstrom and Blake may be ready for a bigger role as well. Senior guard Dan Carney is also available as could be fellow senior Nick Burger.
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Katrina Newman,
GIRLS BASKETBALL
