One thing is certain about the boys basketball team
from Cherry High School: The Tigers aren’t going to sneak up on anyone this
season.
Last year, Cherry made headlines by advancing to the
Class A state tournament for the first time in a quarter century. In the
semifinals they lost 72-61 to Hayfield, which went on to capture its second
consecutive state championship.
The Tigers and Hayfield Vikings met again on Saturday in
the 16-game Breakdown Tipoff Classic at Hopkins High School, and Cherry came
away with a 62-43 win.
“They’re the
number one team in the state and we wanted to go show something, kind of set
the tone for the state, I guess,” said Cherry junior Isaac Asuma, one of the
top recruits in the state. The 6-foot-3 junior scored 18 points Saturday,
completing a return from injury.
Asuma, a
three-sport athlete, suffered a broken thumb late in the football season. He
was cleared to play before the Tigers faced Barnum at home on Friday night, and
all he did in that game was get a triple-double. The Tigers boarded a bus at 7
a.m. Saturday for the 12:15 p.m. game against Hayfield, and they showed no signs
of being tired.
“The
mentality is we’ve got to play tired,” coach Jordan Christianson said. “We’ll
play anyone anywhere anytime, just get ready to go.
“We’re working
on the mental part of the game. And we have the athletes, we have the guys.
It’s tough to get 18 high school kids to all focus at the same time. But usually
we take phones away on the bus. Just to focus up on the game, get some sleep,
talk to a teammate. And that seems to help quite a bit actually, just focusing on
taking care of the task at hand.”
The Tigers
stood out last year for having a seventh-grader (Isaiah
Asuma), eighth-grader
(Noah Asuma) and sophomore (Isaac Asuma) in the starting
lineup. Noah and Isaac are brothers and Isaiah is their cousin.
“We're at
the point where we know the expectations and we know what we have to do to take
care of business,” Christianson said. “And they're doing a good job of that.”
Isaac Asuma
was a breakout star at state last season, scoring 31 points in a 68-57 quarterfinal win over Nevis, 36 against
Hayfield and 18 against New Life Academy, which defeated Cherry 75-50 in the Class
A third-place game.
Isaac’s college offers include Minnesota,
Iowa, Iowa State and Nebraska. During Saturday’s game, Gophers coach Ben
Johnson, assistant coach Dave Thorson and most of the Gophers players watched
Cherry face Hayfield. Johnson and Thorson also traveled to Cherry to watch
Isaac play in two football games this fall.
“That was
super cool to see,” Asuma said of the Gophers watching. “I wasn't expecting all
the players to show up. That was just awesome.”
Hayfield and
Cherry have developed a rivalry that’s filled with respect. Their first meeting,
last February, was thrown together when Hayfield needed an opponent. The
Vikings were scheduled to meet Minneota in one of several games on a Saturday
at Kasson-Mantorville, but Minneota was unable to play. Calls were made to
teams around the state and Cherry made the four-hour drive to Kasson.
Hayfield won
that game 78-65 and won round two against the Tigers at state. Saturday’s game
at Hopkins was Cherry’s first win vs. Hayfield.
Before their
meeting at Kasson in February, “I reached out to all the top Class A teams to
try and find anyone that would be willing to play us,” said Hayfield coach Chris
Pack. “And kudos to them for being willing to go anywhere in the state.
“That was
the first time we played. It was a fun, competitive game and there was a lot of
respect right away between players and coaches and everything. And then
obviously at the state tournament, we played again.
“Isaac is just
a great kid and I've gotten to know him a little bit. I know he was out last
week and we were really hoping he was going to play.”
Cherry will
be back in the Twin Cities this Saturday (Dec. 17) for a 7:30 p.m. game at Minnehaha
Academy. If all goes according to plan, they’ll be back for the state
tournament in March.
“We all know
we can definitely do it again this year,” Isaac Asuma said. “We’ve just got to
keep working in the gym. Nothing's given to us. We’ve still got to earn it,
work every day for it and just play our best.”
--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of
Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn
and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts.
Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org
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