When Robbinsdale Cooper and Chaska landed together in the Metro West Conference during league reshuffling before the 2014-15 season, Chaska established dominance over its new rivals with six consecutive conference victories that season. Cooper, behind guards Jalen Justice and Jalen Miller, broke the hex last season by beating Chaska twice.
With Justice and Miller back for their senior campaigns, and with an improved Chaska team looking to retake a spot atop the league standings, the 2018-19 series promises to be a dogfight, starting with Tuesday’s clash in our Top Game of the Week.
Cooper, which is No. 7 in the Class 3A rankings released by Minnesota Basketball News on Jan. 9, has struggled with consistency this season, posting solid road victories over St. Paul Central (72-69 on Dec. 15) and Rochester Mayo (86-81 on Dec. 28) but losing badly to No. 1-4A Hopkins (71-29 on Dec. 13) and No. 3-4A Park Center (93-61 on Dec. 29).
And Cooper (6-3, 1-0) has no clear primary scoring option. Senior guard Cam Vaughn averages 13.5 points per game, followed by Miller (12.4 ppg) and Justice (11.8 ppg).
Meanwhile, Chaska's Cole Nicholson, a solid contributor last season, has settled into a standout role this season. Nicholson (19.5 ppg), a 6-6 senior heading to Northern Colorado, is the clear leader on both ends of the court. Senior guard Conner Krenos (14.1 ppg) and junior guard Zach Lea (10.1 ppg) add scoring support for No. 10-4A Chaska, which has victories over No. 4-4A Shakopee (59-56, Dec. 15) and No. 7-4A Lakeville North (67-62, Dec. 13) this season.