Ask C.J. Banks what drew him to basketball, and he won’t hesitate to answer.

“The competitiveness,” he said. “That’s why it love it.”

With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that the 5-foot-11 guard was such a big-game hunter for Tartan throughout his high school career.

The game that will always stick in Titans coach Mark Klingsporn’s mind is the team’s section semifinal upset of East Ridge last year, when Banks was a junior. The guard dropped 24 points to snap the Raptors’ 16-game winning streak.

“He was utterly fantastic,” Klingsporn said. “And he really needed to be for us to pull that off. … We wouldn’t have been even close without how great he played in that game.”

The coach noted that game revealed to many just how special Banks was, and could be. The guard provided further additional evidence in his senior season.

Banks — the Pioneer Press East Metro Boys Basketball Player of the Year — averaged 18.7 points and 5.5 assists while leading Tartan to a 27-1 season.

The latter number is the one that matters to Banks.

“I love winning,” he said.

Tartan senior guard CJ Banks shoot the ball during the Titans’ 89-52 home win over North St. Paul in Oakdale on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (Aryka Knoche / Aryka Bri Photography)

He was the primary reason Tartan did so much of it this season. Banks is a crafty guard who can shoot the lights out and score from three levels while changing speeds and direction to generate advantages.

That combination allowed Banks to put up big numbers effectively on demand. Yet Klingsporn noted there were also games when the guard would score only 10 points, because that’s all that was required to win.

The guard’s biggest development this season was as a leader. Tartan heavily featured a pair of freshmen this season. Banks took the younger players under his wing and made a point to emphasize communication.

But he also led with his approach.

“Team is the most important thing for him,” Klingsporn said. “And it was, quite frankly, for a lot of our kids, and that’s why we were really good together. We had a bunch of selfless kids.”

Banks noted this year’s team “loved to play together.”

“Everybody liked each other,” he said. “We were all unselfish. And it just helped us.”

But Banks was the head of the snake.

Throughout high school, he gained more and more understanding of how to play with proper tempo and controlled games on a nightly basis. That allowed Tartan to win its first 27 games of the season and become a top-five team in Class 4A. The Titans’ lone loss was a five-point loss in the Class 4A, Section 4 final to Cretin-Derham Hall, the top team in the state.

The Titans put a thorough scare into the Raiders, leading by 13 at the break. Banks finished with 26 points.

“He was really good. He gave us a fighting chance in that game to beat that team,” Klingsporn said. “We fought them tooth and nail.”

What else would you expect from a guy who always seemed to deliver his best in the biggest moments? Banks’ incremental progression was a product, Klingsporn noted, of who the guard is as a person.

“He’s a high-character kid. He allows himself to be coached. He’s a selfless kid. If you allow yourself to be coached, you’re a selfless kid and you’re a good teammate, those are three things that really stick out to me,” Klingsporn said. “You’re going to allow yourself to progress as a basketball player, because there’s nothing blocking you from not progressing, as long as you’re putting the time in.”

The guard is highly appreciative of the support and teaching he has received from Klingsporn. Banks remains uncommitted to a college program, but Klingsporn noted he is garnering interest.

Banks knows what he wants from his next program.

“Just a coach who’s straight up with me, who has a plan for me,” he said.

Because he knows how helpful that was for his development at the high school level.

“Quite frankly, I think people have made a mistake in not recruiting him higher,” said Klingsporn, who has developed a number of Division-I players during his hall of fame, 700-plus win coaching career. “He’s the type of kid that every coach really wants to have on their team.”

Finalists

Undated courtesy photo, circa March 2025, of Tommy Ahneman of Cretin-Derham Hall, one of the finalists for Pioneer Press East Metro Boys Basketball Player of the Year. (Courtesy of Cretin-Derham Hall High School)

Tommy Ahneman, senior center, Cretin-Derham Hall: Notre Dame commit averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds and 3.5 blocks for the top team in Class 4A.

Jojo Mitchell, junior guard, Cretin-Derham Hall: Playmaker averaged 17 points and six assists while guiding the Raiders to state.

Ty Schlagel, sophomore wing, Cretin-Derham Hall: The state’s top recruit in the Class of 2027, he averaged 19 points and seven rebounds as a sophomore this season.

Cedric Tomes, junior guard, East Ridge: All-around player averaged 27 points a game for the Raptors.

Camare Young, junior guard, Apple Valley: Lengthy wing averaged north of 18 points and nine rebounds while leading the Eagles back to state.

Undated courtesy photo, circa March 2025, of Jojo Mitchell of Cretin-Derham Hall, one of the finalists for Pioneer Press East Metro Boys Basketball Player of the Year. (Courtesy of Cretin-Derham Hall High School)
Undated courtesy photo, circa March 2025, of Ty Schlagel of Cretin-Derham Hall, one of the finalists for Pioneer Press East Metro Boys Basketball Player of the Year. (Courtesy of Cretin-Derham Hall High School)
Undated courtesy photo, circa March 2025, of Camare Young of Apple Valley, one of the finalists for Pioneer Press East Metro Boys Basketball Player of the Year. (Courtesy of Apple Valley High School)
Undated courtesy photo, circa March 2025, of Cedric Tomes of East Ridge, one of the finalists for Pioneer Press East Metro Boys Basketball Player of the Year. (Courtesy of East Ridge High School)

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