Unbeaten Blooming Prairie has quick turnaround under third-year coach

Jan. 6—BLOOMING PRAIRIE — The Blooming Prairie boys basketball team has made great strides in the three seasons that Cam Rutledge has been the head coach.

The Blossoms are currently off to an 8-0 start and are the No. 4 ranked team in QRF among Class 1A teams.

"The biggest thing right now I'd say is experience," Rutledge said. "For the first time since I've been coaching here, we have an experienced team. A lot of these boys have been playing varsity now for two or even three years."

Blooming Prairie finished 9-16 a year ago after going 4-22 in Rutledge's first season in 2021-22. He noted the Blossoms put in a lot of work in the offseason and are adjusting well to his system. Rutledge is a 2015 Hayfield grad who played basketball under Chris Pack.

"Chris is one of the best coaches in the state regardless of class," Rutledge said. "I have much respect for him so I definitely kind of model some of the stuff I do with my program on how he did things."

Rutledge was a 3-point shooter at Hayfield and he has certainly had the Blossoms shooting their share of shots from beyond the arc. He also runs a set playbook which has been aided by Blooming Prairie's height this season.

Senior twin brothers Gabe and Zack Hein are 6-foot-5 and 6-4, Cooper Cooke is 6-5 and junior Brady Kittelson, in his third year as a starter, is 6-2. The other starter is 5-11 freshman point guard Gabe Staloch.

Gabe Hein has turned into an dynamic and electric scorer for the Blossoms. He averaged 17.1 points per game as a junior. This year the forward is averaging a whooping 29.0 points per game. He had a single-game school record 49 points to open the season in a win over Lyle/Austin. Hein has also had scoring games of 45 and 34 points this season.

"He's a scoring machine, it's tough for teams to stop him," Rutledge said.

"Gabe is such a great player," the coach added. "He's a guy who can dribble by you, he can pass the ball, he can shoot it from anywhere and jump. He plays above the rim. He's just a guy who can do everything for our team and he's taken a big jump from last season."

Hein is shooting 53.2% from the floor.

The high-scoring Blossoms average 80.8 points per game. Kittelson averages 17.4 points per contest, Zach Hein is at 15.4 and Staloch is at 9.5, with a high game of 22 points.

Rutledge is just 26 years old so he can relate well with the players.

"Now it's my third year so the guys kind of know what to expect," he said.

With the experienced and talented squad, the Blossoms currently lead the Gopher Conference with a 4-0 mark, a half game ahead of 3-0 Triton. Blooming Prairie should also be among the top contenders in Section 1, Class 1A.

"That's kind of our goal, but we're taking it week by week," Rutledge said. "A big goal is obviously to compete for the conference championship and then hopefully we can compete for the section (title). There's a lot of tough teams."

The Blossoms have not played in a boys basketball state tournament since 1966. They won the Section 1-1A title in 2020, but the state tournament was called off due to COVID-19.

Rutledge noted that Spring Grove, Rushford-Peterson, Fillmore Central and Kingsland are all Section 1-1A teams off to strong starts this season.

"There's going to be a lot of tough teams, but we feel we're up there," he said. "We feel if we play well on any given night, we think we have a shot."

The 6-5 forward poured in 34 points as the Blossoms defeated LeRoy-Ostrander 93-55 at the Hayfield Holiday Tournament. It was just Hein's third-highest scoring game of the season.

Camden Hungerholt of LeRoy-Ostrander also had a big game as he scored 28 points in the contest and made four 3-pointers.

The junior guard has been a 3-point sniper all season. He drained five triples and scored 23 points as the Panthers slipped past host St. Charles 79-74 in the title game of the St. Charles Holiday Tournament, which is the longest-running holiday tournament in the state of Minnesota.

The guard continued his recent scoring surge with a pair of big games as the Warriors went 2-0 during a tournament in Wisconsin. Klug scored 26 points and made a trio of 3-pointers in an 85-77 win over West Salem (Wis.). In the first round against a Wisconsin team, Klug had 18 points in an easy 92-37 win over Melrose-Mindoro.

The 6-4 senior forward had a pair of big games at the Winona State Tournament. He opened by scoring 16 points and pulling down seven rebounds in a 73-27 win over Chatfield. Ryan followed that up with a double-double in a 63-39 win over Winona as he had 20 points and 12 rebounds.

It was just a regular-season game played over the holidays, but Johnson was in a celebratory mood after coming up big against Kenyon-Wanamingo. The junior guard knocked down eight 3-pointers and scored 28 points as the Bombers defeated the Knights 75-49.

(Editor's note: These rankings are considered "pound-for-pound" rankings, similar to many rankings systems in boxing and mixed martial arts. They represent the best teams in southeastern Minnesota, relative to the class they play in.

The Warriors continue to roll past opponents as they have topped the 90-point mark four times and average 83.7 points per game. Caledonia, coached by Brad King, has won four straight after beating a pair of Wisconsin teams in a holiday tournament. Mason King, Ethan Stendel, Lewis Doyle and Reid Klug lead a balanced scoring attack.

The Blossoms are surging after going just 13-38 over the past two seasons. High-scoring Gage Hein (29.0 points per game) leads an attack that averages 80.8 points per game. Brady Kittelson (17.4 points per game) and Zach Hein (15.4) also average in double figures. "We have five or so 20-point wins this year so we're off to a pretty good start," coach Cam Rutledge said.

The Panthers got a chance to face a pair of teams from the Twin Cities during a holiday tournament at Hamline University. Century had a strong showing against a pair of big schools as it posted a 76-44 win over White Bear Lake and followed with a narrow 65-62 win over Anoka.

After suffering a narrow 66-63 loss to Lake City to open the season, the surging Bears have rattled off six straight victories. Max Dearborn and Will Brian, a pair of 6-4 juniors, have been leading the way while 6-7 junior Colin Hansen is an emerging inside force.

The Tigers faced some strong competition against fellow Class 3A schools in holiday tournament play and they suffered their first two losses of the season. They struggled in a 63-37 loss to No. 2-ranked Alexandria before playing tough in a 64-61 loss to No. 4 Orono.

The Lions did not play in a holiday tournament and have been off since Dec. 22. They have a solid 60-57 victory over La Crescent-Hokah in their lone game against a Class 2A team. The Lions are the defending Section 1-1A champion.

The Tigers have been without injured guard Hunter Lorenson, who has played just one game. Keegan Ryan continues his strong play as he averaged 18.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in a pair of wins at the Winona State Tournament.

The Bombers have won five in a row since losing to Stewartville, which includes a victory over Pine Island during that stretch. Gavin Johnson is coming off a 28-point effort in a 75-49 victory over Kenyon-Wanamingo.

The Panthers were the winners of the St. Charles Holiday Tournament. That included opening the two-win event with a 58-48 victory over La Crescent-Hokah. Pine Island's two losses have been by 12 points to Kasson-Mantorville and 10 to Cannon Falls.

The Lancers are leading the Three Rivers Conference with a 4-0 mark and are also 3-1 vs. other teams in Section 1-2A. They went 1-1 in the St. Charles Holiday Tournament, but the loss was against Pine Island.