Boys basketball AAAA State Tournament preview
Ishmael El-Amin, junior, lays the ball in during the section championship.
As the section championship games wrapped up on Friday night, it was anyone’s guess how the top-three seeds would look for the State Tournament. Osseo finished the season with an overall record of 29-0. Apple Valley and Hopkins each had one loss.
Despite Apple Valley’s lone loss coming to Hopkins, MN Basketball Hub ranked them ahead of the Royals. Osseo went undefeated, but the winning percentage of their regular season opponents was 48.4%. For comparison, the winning percentage of Hopkins’ opponents was 62.9%.
Ultimately, the Orioles’ undefeated season was too much to overlook. They got the top seed, followed by the Royals and then the Apple Valley Eagles.
With the two-seed, the Royals will play the section 4AAAA champion North St. Paul Polars. The Polars were the fourth seed in their section and, aside from Eden Prairie, are the surprise team to advance out of section play.
Xavier Johnson, senior, shoots a free throw in a game against Wayzata.
Regardless of their matchup, the Royals are motivated to bring a state championship back to Hopkins.
“We aren’t going to overlook anyone,” said Vinnie Shahid, senior. “We have to play it game by game and play with energy every opportunity we get.”
The Polars’ postseason run began with a five point defeat of East Ridge. Then, in the semifinals, they shocked the top-seeded Woodbury Royals by a score of 97-87. The Polars clinched a state tournament berth by beating another higher-seeded team in the Tartan Titans by four points.
The Polars are led by guards Adreon Wadlington and Goodnews Kpegeol. Wadlington, a senior, led the team in regular season scoring with 12.3 PPG. Kpegeol, a sophomore, led the team in section play, averaging 13.3 PPG, including a 23-point performance in the section championship.
Vinnie Shahid, senior, dribbles the ball in a game against Wayzata.
For the Royals, Amir Coffey, senior, led the team in the regular season with 19.9 PPG. In the playoffs, Coffey has been impressive, but others have stepped up as well.
As he did in the playoffs last season, Ishmael El-Amin, junior, has increased his scoring during section play this year. Last season, the guard averaged 10.7 PPG during the regular season, but upped his scoring to 20.3 PPG in section games. This year, he averaged 20.6 PPG in the playoffs.
For El-Amin, there’s just something about the big stage that makes him better.
“We have a different mindset because we are playing for a chance to keep our season alive because it’s win or go home,” El-Amin said. “Every extra game we get in the postseason is a gift.”
Many of the players on the team know what it’s like to have that gift taken away.
Simon Wright, junior, shoots a free throw in a section game against Armstrong.
Of the eight players who played in the state tournament for the Royals last season, five of them are on this year’s roster. The team hasn’t forgotten what happened last season.
“We learned that we can’t take anyone lightly,” said Simon Wright, junior. “We are determined to get past [the first round] this year.”
If the Royals beat the Polars tomorrow night, they will play the winner of Apple Valley and Blaine on Thursday in the semifinals at the Target Center at 8 pm.