<p>St. Paul Academy went to the state tournament when <strong>Kent Hanson </strong>and Dalante Peyton were sophomores. Last year they lost a few more games than they wanted but they still collected 19 victories. </p>
<p>In 2015-16 SPA is looking at championships and championships alone.</p>
<p>“I'm feeling optimistic about next year,” said Hanson. “Our 2016 class is the strongest class that St Paul Academy has had in a while. We definitely miss Coach (Kevin) McKenzie but we have a lot of experience in our senior class.</p>
<p>“Our goal is to win the conference and state championship and I think we can do that if we have a strong fall.”</p>
<p>Hanson is coming off a spring and summer that built his reputation as a skilled worker that will do whatever it takes for his team to win.</p>
<p>“Well, obviously (Grassroots basketball) focuses a lot on skill development, but I think that an underrated advantage of (Grassroots) is playing alongside and against better players,” Hanson said. </p>
<p>“In my case, it was a drastic change from playing Class AA basketball in the winter season. Practicing with and playing against better players pushed me to work harder. I think that working hard is a skill that I've improved a lot throughout my Grassroots career.</p>
<p>“Overall, I'm very thankful to have been able to play for Fury. I know that Trey and Ben both genuinely care about me and the feeling is mutual.”</p>
<p>Hanson has offers from the University of Mary and Concordia-St. Paul but the amount of programs he is looking at had to be simplified into four leagues, not just a list of schools.</p>
<p> “My college list is still pretty big right now. I'm looking at the NSIC, MIAC, NESCAC, and a couple of schools in the UAA,” Hanson said.</p>
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