Gopher Conference Preview
The Gopher Conference featured two of the 10 best teams in Class AA a season ago as New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva and Waterville-Elysian-Morristown both won more than 20 games during the regular season. WEM rode Zac Olson to a conference regular season title and NRHEG rode Oakley Baker, Tyler Raimann and a monster senior class to a fifth-place finish at the state tournament.
A traditionally strong basketball program, Maple River didn't have the same juice it did the previous season in which it went to state, but the Eagles still won 20 games and made the Panthers scratch and claw their way past them in the postseason.
Bethlehem Academy and Blooming Prairie got glimpses of the light at the end of the tunnel in their rebuild efforts and the Cardinals advanced to the subsection title game before bowing out to Goodhue.
The conference won't be as strong at the top this season as NRHEG and WEM will have to replace the best players in respective school history. Maple River, like NRHEG and WEM, got old and didn't have a lot of underclass talent playing up, so it's easy to envision all three teams going through mini-growing pain seasons.
Conference Commentary
Favorite: Waterville-Elysian-Morristown
The Buccaneers will have to replace Zac Olson, Dallas McBroom, Logan Sendle and a handful of other valuable seniors. And after two years of riding an upperclass-laden roster to great success, head coach Jeff Wagner will get a team with a whole bunch of kids again.
That's not to say things will be bad. The Bucs have a lot of talent in the pipeline with sophomores Cole Kokoschke, Grant McBroom and Matthew VonHoudt. Tanner Ranslow was a key rotation player last year for WEM, serving as an ace perimeter defender and spot up shooter. He's got the ability to score in more ways and came up with a lot of big players at key moments last year for the Bucs. He'll have more on his plate this season, as will Bladyn Bartelt, the other returning varsity regular (sort of).
Kokoschke is a guy to keep an eye on as it wouldn't be surprising to see him lead the team in scoring.
WEM moves down to Class A this season and while a move down in class typically comes as a relief, the Bucs won't be so lucky. Section 2A features four teams that will likely spend time in the top-10 in Class A polls as Cedar Mountain/Comfrey, Springfield, Mayer Lutheran and Cleveland will all compete for top spots. CM/C and Springfield could very well be the two best teams in Class A.
In the Hunt: New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva, Maple River, Bethlehem Academy, Blooming Prairie
NRHEG lost a huge senior class but returns perhaps the best player in the conference in senior guard Benji Lundberg. Lundberg averaged double-figures a year ago in a sixth-man role and was terrific on the AAU circuit. It wouldn't be surprisng to see him put up huge numbers this year for the Panthers. He's also a terrific defender. He's my pick for conference player of the year as I think he could lead the league in points and assists. Brady Agrimson is the other returner for the Panthers. With the way NRHEG traditionally defends and cycles through talent, they might not win 30 games again, but they'll push for 20.
Maple River will have to replace its starting backcourt of Jeff Lewis and Cole Sohre which will be no easy task. The Eagles will have a returning perimeter player in Mason Sohre who is a very good outside shooter. Ethan Sindelir is one of the toughest kids in the conference and while he may never be a big scorer, he's a terrific defender and will set a tone. Sam Bennett is another returning player in the frontcourt.
Bethlehem Academy returns four starters and six of its top seven players from a season in which the Cardinals won 15 games.
Photo credit: Adam J.S. Holt
It took the Cardinals a little while to adjust to Eric Hildebrandt's more methodical offensive style but once they did, the efficiency went up and the offensive talent showed through. BA, like a lot of the top teams in the conference, will win with defense and while they don't have a lot of height, they have plenty of talent to push 20 wins and make an extended postseason run again. Damon Trump looked like the team's best player at times but he has a tendency to disappear for stretches just as well. If he can take a step forward with his consistency, he's a potential player of the year in the league. Jack Clark (pictured) is an explosive lead guard and can score in bunches. If the game slows down for him as an upperclassman, look out. Alex Bongers is an excellent facilitator in the frontcourt and the Cardinals run their offense through him frequently from the high post.
Blooming Prairie played a lot of young guys a year ago and started to show some signs of positive play. The Awesome Blossoms have a ways to go still but Gabe Hagen is a player to watch as is 6-foot-8 forward Jake Ressler. Hagen is a physical wing who put up 12 points per game as a freshman. Ressler, Max Romeo and Kaden Thomas are all capable of scoring in double figures as well.
Rebuilding: United South Central, Medford
United South Central is not long removed from being a consistently excellent squad. Things got away from the Rebels a year ago as they won just five games. Things won't get easier as they'll have to replace all-conference big man Ryan Kloos. Sam Zebro showed some potential a year ago and will be expected to take a big step forward as an upperclassman.
Medford didn't win a game a year ago and kept just two games within single-digits. The Tigers return a lot of guys but with lack of numbers and talent top-to-bottom across the program, it's going to be an uphill battle of a season again.
Conference Predictions
- WEM
- NRHEG
- Bethlehem Academy
- Maple River
- Blooming Prairie
- United South Central
- Medford
