Season Preview: South Dakota Class AA Snapshot
November is almost here and for boys AA teams in South Dakota, we are five weeks away from the start of practice. It’s time to take a quick look at the AA landscape for the 2017-2018 season. We will highlight some teams who will have a chance to compete for the state championship as well as some individual players who you should be watching.
One of the first things to discuss is the introduction of a Sweet 16 playoff format for AA this year. No more region champs and then runner-ups to qualify for an eight team state tournament. Instead, teams will be seeded 1 to 16, play an opening round game, then those winners will advance to the eight team state championship bracket. This was first done last year in Class A and went over well; this will make for an exciting end to the season.
Contenders: Aberdeen Central might be a common pick among fans and coaches as they got the championship game last year but lost. They return some great players including Northern State commit Cole Bergan. Lots of talent and experience on their roster should make them one of the favorites. Harrisburg also returns a great core who led the Tigers to their first AA state playoff appearance last year. Seniors Brady Van Holland and Chase Altenburg will be expected to lead the Tigers this year. SF Lincoln might have one of the most talented trios in Dillon Barrow, Diang Gatluak and Christophe Bwanye and they should be able to make a splash if they can get the chemistry flowing. SF Washington returns lots of players like Logan Uttecht and are big and physical. SF O’Gorman needs to replace lots of minutes but has talent in their junior and sophomores classes.
Teams to watch: I think a few teams out west will be able to surprise some people and if they get hot late in the year, could have a chance to make a run at state. RC Stevens could be good again and RC Central has some talented players. Sturgis has some athletic players and solid guards including 6’6” athlete Connor Crane. Pierre always finds away to be competitive and make a run late in the year. They are led by Peyton Zabel who was awesome at the end of the year last year. Lastly, Brandon Valley should have a chance to make some noise with good size and athletes.
Other teams will need to replace pieces, or build around young talent. Brookings was one of the top teams last year needs to reload around 6’7” junior Drew Cole. Huron has one of the best players in the state in sophomore Kobe Busch and Yankton has the best freshman in the state, Matthew Mors, who will look to lead the Bucks.