Postseason Preview: Section 2AA
Section basketball is just around the corner and as the season comes to a close, it’s time to start looking at individual sections. Here’s the lowdown on Section 2AA: Contenders: Waterville-Elysian-Morristown (South), New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva (South), Jordan (North) There isn’t a…
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Continue ReadingSection basketball is just around the corner and as the season comes to a close, it’s time to start looking at individual sections.
Here’s the lowdown on Section 2AA:
Contenders: Waterville-Elysian-Morristown (South), New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva (South), Jordan (North)
There isn’t a huge difference between the three best teams in Section 2AA, but the team that should be considered the favorite if ever by a slim margin would be WEM.
The Buccaneers won at Jordan, just recently beat NRHEG and haven’t lost since the beginning of January (at NRHEG). The Bucs are healthy now as Zac Olson has recovered from a knee injury suffered before the football season and Logan Sendle’s come back from a bout with mono.
Those two missed time earlier in the year and in their absence, Dallas McBroom emerged as a legitimate go-to scorer while guys like Tanner Ranslow, Thomas Hiller and Luke Polzin carved out valuable complementary roles.
Olson might be the best player in the section and is one of the top players in the entire state and while he’ll play on the wing in college, he’s an excellent small-ball post who very few teams are equipped to defend with one guy. The Bucs fill in gaps around him as McBroom and Ranslow are excellent shooters and Sendle controls the tempo with his defense and slashing ability.
NRHEG is right up there with the Bucs for contenders especially in the south subsection. Oakley Baker’s another matchup nightmare because at 6-foot-5, he not only handles the ball and creates like a point guard, but he’s got shooting range out to the NBA 3-point line.
The Panthers’ success this season has been in large part to the emergence of post player Tyler Raimann though. Raimann’s averaging about 13 points and 10 rebounds per game while providing an inside presence that few teams in the Gopher Conference can match. Benji Lundberg’s come along as an excellent sparkplug guard off the bench and gives the team a third reliable scorer and shot-creator.
At one time it looked like Jordan might be the runaway best of the bunch in Section 2AA. The Hubmen’s strength is undoubtedly inside where Jimmy Vollbrecht (pictured) and Eric Tiedman form a lethal one-two punch.
Jordan’s got the most firepower of any of the top three teams as Vollbrecht and Tiedman combine to average more than 40 points per game and freshman guard Ryan Samuelson gives the Hubmen a third scoring option averaging 10 points per game.
WEM beat Jordan in overtime earlier in the season and NRHEG and WEM split the season series with each game being hotly contested throughout.
There’s no clear-cut favorite of those three. WEM plays the best defense and probably has the most offensive balance. But NRHEG and Jordan both have more size and the Panthers have the kind of 3-point shooting that can make all the difference in a tight game.
In the Mix: Sibley East (North), Norwood-Young America (North) , Maple River (South)
Maple River’s the two-time defending section champion and while the Eagles have established a consistently excellent program, this team doesn’t seem to have as much juice as the teams of the last few years.
That said, Jeff Lewis and Cole Sohre form perhaps the best backcourt in the section and with the way they control the tempo, they give the Eagles a shot in just about any game. Maple River’s got some great wins (at Lake City, at St. Charles) but also just got blown out by NRHEG. So it’s a hard team to get a real beat on.
Sibley East has been the surprise of the teams in the section with 18 wins on the year. Gavin Bates has been outstanding all year, averaging right around 20 points per game. Austin Weckworth and Connor Kranz both average double-figures as well and Devon Schultz can control the paint. So the Wolverines have all the components to make a deep run. They got beat up pretty good by Jordan in both matchups this season.
Besides WEM, Glencoe-Silver-Lake is the only other team in the section to beat Jordan. The Panthers don’t have a great overall record but they’ve played in a very tough Wright County Conference.
Luke Frahm and Kyle Christenson give the Panthers two solid scoring options but the team’s strength is one the defensive end of the floor.
Players to watch
The section has a number of very good individual players. Of the course the three top teams all have high-end talent with Olson, Baker, Vollbrecht and Tiedman. Even McBroom, Sendle and Raimann are game-changers.
There are a number of other players worth watching that are capable of winning a game for their team.
Photo by SunPatriotFairmont’s Walker Tordsen is one of the top bigs in the section and can change a game on both ends of the floor for the Cardinals. Kellen Erpenbach and Carter Clemensen make up one of the best backcourts and probably the best guard tandem in the north subsection. Erpenbach is one of the top overall players in the section, averaging about 17 points per game.
St. James has quietly had a terrific year and the Saints have a pair of excellent players in Brady Stevens and Sandin Skow. Both guys are hybrid forwards who can score from all over the floor and impact the game on the defensive end.
Projected seedings
Section 2AA – North
- Jordan
- Sibley East
- Glencoe-Silver-Lake
- Norwood-Young America
- Belle Plaine
- St. Peter
- Tri-City United
- Le Sueur-Henderson
- Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop
Section 2AA-South
- WEM
- NRHEG
- Maple River
- Fairmont
- St. James
- Blue Earth Area
- Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial
- Medford