Cooper High School junior forward Rodney Williams has impressed Ken Lien and others with his athleticism. Lien, who chairs the Mr. Basketball Committee, said a former Gopher and pro player thinks Williams, about 6-5, 185, can one day play in the NBA.
“I am not so sure the kid couldn’t compete for the NBA dunk title right now,” Lien said. “But physically to be an impact player he needs to get much stronger.”
Lien said Williams also needs to become more consistent with his outside shooting and ball handling. Williams is part of an impressive junior class of state preps that includes forwards Royce White of De La Salle and Mike Bruesewitz of Henry Sibley. Lien said Bruesewitz has verbally committed to Wisconsin. White and Williams are among the metro areas leading scorers, averaging in the low 20’s.
The Mr. Basketball award is for seniors only so none of the above mentioned players can win the honor this year, but meanwhile Lien has announced the names of the 20 finalists. They are: Armond Battle, Benilde-St. Margaret’s; Jordan Taylor, Benilde-St. Margaret’s; Tarell Clark, Burnsville; Michael Floyd, Cretin-Derham Hall; John Nance, Cretin-Derham Hall; Cody Schilling, Ellsworth; Peter Leslie, Henry Sibley; David Hanson, Maranatha Christian Academy; C. J. Erickson, Minnetonka; Anthony Tucker, Minnetonka; Carrington Tankson, Osseo; Jared Berggren, Princeton; Jordan Hicks, Rochester Mayo; Lucas Kuipers, Rochester Mayo; Nick Haugen, Rockford; Andrew Brommer, Rosemount; Theo Rothstein, St. Michael-Albertville; Alex Schneider, St. Thomas Academy; Peter Waldvogel, St. Thomas Academy; and Joel Armstrong, Stillwater.
Lien has been associated with the Mr. Basketball Committee for 32 years. He estimated that already this fall and winter his six member committee has seen about 200 high school games as part of the scouting for the state’s next Mr. Basketball. The award will be presented at a banquet on April 27 at the Minneapolis Marriott West in St. Louis Park.
Lien’s latest weekly rankings of the state’s top 10 boys’ teams are: Hopkins, Osseo, Minnetonka, Henry Sibley, Cretin-Derham Hall, Shakopee, Crosby-Ironton, Stillwater, Wayzata and Benilde-St. Margaret’s. He compiles his top 10 based on who he considers the best teams regardless of school enrollment size.
He said Hopkins has a “great combination of size and quickness.” He likes the Royals depth, too, and ability to defend opposing players on the perimeter. He also said that because they will return so many players, both Hopkins and Henry Sibley will be formidable again next season.