Big South Conference Preview
The Big South is a conference that’s got contenders in big and small school classes. After sending teams to the state tournament in Class AA and AAA, the Big South figures to be a little top-heavy this upcoming winter with…
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Continue ReadingThe Big South is a conference that’s got contenders in big and small school classes. After sending teams to the state tournament in Class AA and AAA, the Big South figures to be a little top-heavy this upcoming winter with Marshall and Waseca but with solid programs like Jackson County Central, Redwood Valley and Fairmont, there certainly won’t be a lot of easy nights for any team.
State Contender:
Marshall
Class AAA has gotten a little NBA-like in that we almost always know that it’s pretty much DeLaSalle and friends when it comes to contending for a state title and the Islanders are the heavy favorite to repeat (actually six-peat). If we’re looking for teams in that next tier that could potentially unseat them, Marshall is worthy of being included. The Tigers have as good a frontline as any team in the state with Weston Baker-McGrath, Reece Winkelman and Mitchell Sueker — who missed most of last season — and they’ve got experienced guards like Trey Lance and Zach Bloemker. The Tigers won 25 games and were ranked in the top-five in Class AAA last year. They might be even better this season.
On the verge:
Waseca
The Bluejays beat the Tigers in the memorable Section 2AAA title game last year, getting to the state tournament as the No. 3 seed in the section. Waseca loses all-state guard Nick Dufault, who averaged 24 points per game a year ago but returns starters Jake Guse and Kaleb Nelson. Both guys averaged double figures a year ago. Sophomore guard Malik Willingham is a player to watch as well and Cole Streich is a solid game-managing type point guard.
In between:
Jackson County Central, Redwood Valley, Fairmont, St. Peter, Pipestone
Jackson County Central was phenomenal last season, winning 25 games and finishing second at the Class AA state tournament. The Huskies lose an awful lot though as Bodey Behrends and Colton Timmer are both gone to graduation. JCC didn’t have a great deal of depth last year, so having to replace three starters leaves them with more unknown than a typical state contender. The cupboard certainly isn’t bare though as the Huskies return Jacob Christopher and Ryan Christopher in the backcourt. Jacob averaged 17 points per game in the state tournament a year ago and should be the go-to guy this season.
Fairmont won 15 games a year ago and the Cardinals return two of their best players in Walker Tordsen and Sam Schwieger. Tordsen is a 6-foot-7 post who averaged 14 points and seven rebounds a year ago and Schwieger averaged 10 points as a sophomore. Throw in Nathan Kallenbach and Tyler Johnson and the Cardinals could push for 20 wins this winter.
St. Peter won 19 games a year ago but loses all but two of its key rotation players. The Saints have two good ones back in Jordein Marquette and Antoine Williams so they shouldn’t fall off this year. But there is a lot of unknown at this point for them.
In a league loaded with talented bigs, Redwood Valley might have the best guard tandem at its disposal in James Pendleton and Mitchell Irlbeck. Pendleton might lead the conference in scoring and Irlbeck is certainly capable of filling it up from the perimeter as well. Scoring shouldn’t be an issue for the Cardinals. The key for them will be to improve on the defensive end, where they surrendered the third-most points per game in the conference.
Pipestone might be on the “rebuilding” side of things as the Arrows won just 10 games a year ago and lost nine games by double digits, but they’ve got a number of talented players back including Cooper Kanthank and Ty Woelber. Those two guys are all-conference caliber players and with them leading the way, it’s entirely possible that this team pushes 15 wins.
Rebuilding:
Worthington, Windom, Luverne, Blue Earth Area, New Ulm, St. James
St. James might be on the “in between” side of things with their two best players back in Brady Stevens and Sandin Skow. But the Saints won just seven games a year ago and in a league where there’s a lot of top-end talent, wins might be hard to come by in conference play.
Worthington brings back two talented guys in Tucker Sorenson and Zach Boever to form a pretty solid inside-outside duo. But the Warriors won just six games a year ago and lost 17 of their 19 games by double digits.
Sometimes “rebuilding” is code for “in for a long season.” Windom could be headed towards a legitimate rebuild though as the Eagles graduated a whopping 11 seniors from last season’s roster. After winning 17 games a year ago, the Eagles don’t have a senior on the team this year. So it’ll be interesting to see the youth movement transpire in a tough league.
Luverne finds itself in a similar situation as the Cardinals graduated six seniors from a season ago including its top three players in Erik Wohnoutka, Nicholas Overgaard and Quinton Siebenahler. The Cardinals won just eight games last season, so a relatively new roster is essentially starting over.
Blue Earth Area and New Ulm each won just four games last year and neither program has had a winning season since 2009-10.
Conference Power Ranking
West
- Marshall
- Jackson County Central
- Redwood Valley
- Pipestone
- Worthington
- Windom
- Luverne
East
- Waseca
- Fairmont
- Peter
- James
- New Ulm
- Blue Earth Area
Preseason All Big South
First Team
Weston Baker-McGrath, Marshall, Sr.
Mitchell Sueker, Marshall, Sr.
Jake Guse, Waseca, Sr.
Jacob Christopher , JCC, Sr.
James Pendleton, Redwood Valley, Sr.
Second Team
Kaleb Nelson, Waseca, Sr.
Walker Tordsen, Fairmont, Sr.
Cooper Kanthak, Pipestone, Sr.
Sam Schwieger, Fairmont, Jr.
Zach Bloemker, Marshall, Sr.
Third Team
Trey Lance, Marshall, Jr.
Malik Willingham, Waseca, So.
Jordein Marquette, St. Peter, Sr.
Mitchell Irlbeck, Redwood Valley, Jr.
Tucker Sorenson, Worthington, Sr.