Rebuilding is perpetual in high school basketball, but that doesn't make the process any easier. Maple Grove and Robbinsdale Armstrong finished one and two in the Northwest Suburban - West Conference last season, but the en masse graduation of highly-talented seniors has left both teams struggling this season.
The Falcons (2-6, 1-1) have yet to find a groove offensively, twice scoring less than 40 points in a game, and twice scoring in the high 70s. Sophomore guard Jake Breitbach is leading the team in scoring with 7.9 points per game.
The drop in individual production is to be expected after Race Thompson, last season's leading scorer and rebounder, reclassified from the class of 2018 to the class of 2017 and left for Indiana University, but Robbinsdale Armstrong has shown the ability to adapt a new style of play to compensate.
It is defense that has been the strong suit so far this season for the Falcons; they have allowed 80 or more points only twice this season, both times against teams ranked in the Top 10 of Class 4A, according to Minnesota Basketball News. If the new-look offense can grow and produce at the level it is capable on a consistent basis, Robbinsdale Armstrong has a great chance to come out of this conference matchup with a win.
Losing 12 seniors is enough to hamper any team. Losing 12 seniors that includes two players averaging more than 20 points, one of whom is an all-metro first team selection now playing for Wisconsin, can be a recipe for a slow start. Maple Grove (4-3, 0-2) has already lost one more game than last season, but the Crimson should be far from panicked. All three losses have been by eight or fewer points and although no one is scoring more than 20 points per game, junior Jared Rainey (14.6 ppg) and senior Alex Battist (14.4 ppg) have been keeping the offense humming in the early going.
There is still time to get the season back on an upswing for both of these squads, but with the calendar rolling over to January, the clock is starting to tick. Including this game, Maple Grove plays three conference opponents in its next four contests, while Robbinsdale Armstrong has a slate of four straight conference contests. If either team is going to make a run towards the top of the conference, a win in this matchup of rebuilding powerhouses in our Top Game of the Week would go a long way towards building that momentum.