Postseason Preview: Section 3AA
photo courtesy of the Daily Globe 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 3AA: Favorite: Jackson County Central…
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photo courtesy of the Daily Globe
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 3AA:
Favorite: Jackson County Central
So much for the Huskies falling off. Despite graduating four starters from a team that finished second at the Class AA state tournament last year, the Huskies have proven to be just fine.
With just four losses on the year (three to Marshall and Waseca combined), the Huskies look like the heavy favorite to emerge from Section 3AA once again.
Jacob Christopher, the one returning starter leads the charge. The senior guard averages 18 points for a team that averages nearly 80 per game.
He’s one of five guys that can put up points for the Huskies as Chris Gumto, Easton Bahr and Rudy Voss (a freshman) have proven to be fine complementary players. Ryan Christopher mans the point guard spot and does an excellent job mixing scoring with facilitating.
While the rest of the section is a bit of a jumbled mess with teams hanging around .500, JCC has separated itself as a legitimate contender again in Class AA.
In the Hunt: Redwood Valley, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta, New London-Spicer
The second best team in the section might be Redwood Valley, the only AA team to beat JCC this season. Mitch Irlbeck (pictured) and James Pendleton form a lethal duo as both can score from practically anywhere on the floor.
(Redwood Falls Gazette)If there’s a concern with the Cardinals, it’s that they give up nearly 70 points per game. Some of that is pace related in that they play fast and there are a lot of possessions in general, but they’ve allowed more than 70 points 14 times. That’s an awful lot and there aren’t a lot of teams that can advance deep into postseason play winning in shootout fashion.
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta earned the No. 1 seed in the North subsection thanks in large part to an 8-2 record against section opponents. The Tigers went just 13-12 on the year but have a great mix of upperclassmen and young players. Jacob Zosel led the team in scoring and assists on the season with 12.5 points per game and 5.2 assists. Camden Arndt is a well-rounded sophomore forward who averaged 12 points and 6.4 rebounds.
New London-Spicer’s young but talented. With three sophomores in the rotation including Brandon Adelman, the Wildcats might be a year away from truly contending in the section. But they’ve been tested by a difficult conference schedule and have picked up quality wins all year, which means they should be taken seriously in the north subsection.
Teams to Watch: ACGC, Montevideo, Minneota
The North subsection appears to be wide open as four teams have either 13 or 14 wins and none have dominated.
With that in mind, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City could be one of the teams that gets hot and advances deep into the tournament. Gabe Eisenbacher is one of the top bigs in the section and routinely puts up double-double type numbers. Erik Belgum joins him to form a formidable frontcourt duo. Similar to Redwood Valley, ACGC plays an open, fast paced style which means games are going to be high-scoring.
Montevideo’s got an excellent senior tri of Travis Dreyer, Riley Emery and Isaac Douglas. All three guys average double figures and bring a great deal of experience to the table. The Thunderhawks won 13 games on the year and had success against Morris and ACGC. So the subsection seems as open as any in the state.
Minneota might be the youngest team in the section yet earned the No. 4 seed. Logan Sussner is a top-flight freshmen and nearly averaged a double-double on the year. Thomas Hennen leads the team in scoring as just a sophomore and most of the rest of rotation players will return next year. This team might have a ceiling of subsection semifinals this year. It will be a team to look out for next year and beyond though.
Section Standings
Section 3AA – North
- Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta
- Montevideo
- New London-Spicer
- Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City
- Minnewaska Area
- Lakeview
- Benson
- Yellow Medicine East
Section 3AA – South
- Jackson County Central
- Redwood Valley
- Pipestone
- Minneota
- Windom Area
- Luverne
- Tracy-Milroy-Balaton
- Martin County West