Mississippi 8 Preview
The Mississippi 8 was Rogers and friends last season. Big Lake was the lone state representative and enjoyed one its best seasons in school history thanks to the efforts of an outstanding senior class. The Royals went undefeated in the league and nearly fought their way to the state tournament before bowing out to Maple Grove. Monticello had a bit of a disappointing season after making a bit of a surprise run to the state tournament in 2016. Chisago Lakes, St. Francis, St. Michael-Albertville and Cambridge-Isanti were all middling as well and the result was a fat middle class of a conference after Rogers.
With a lot of top-notch individual talent back combined with teams relying on underclassmen last season, the league looks primed to take a step up.
Conference Commentary
State Contenders: Rogers, Monticello
Rogers has been one of the most consistent programs in the state over the last decade and while the Royals lose a big senior class, they return a conference player of the year candidate in forward Jordan Belka. The Northern State commit went from one of the most improved players in the state to just one of the best overall players over the last year and was terrific over the summer on the AAU circuit. He averaged 16 points per game a year ago and could put up even bigger numbers this year.
The Royals don’t bring back much by way of varsity experience, but there’s always talent in the pipeline. Players wait their turn and get better without always getting a lot of exposure. Some of those guys may have yet to introduce themselves, but guys like Trevor Brenning and Brandon Vazquez are worth watching. I’m not sure which individuals will step up, but at this point, I’ll believe they’ve got players ready to do so.
The Royals won 24 games a year ago and while reaching that height again might be tough, they’ll have a great shot at making an extended run in their section tournament and might be behind only St. Cloud Tech when it comes to picking a favorite for a spot in the state tournament.
Monticello was a solid team during the 2015-16 season and got hot at the right time and cruising to the state tournament. The Magic were supposed to simply keep building on that late-season surge and parlay it into another strong year in 2016-17. That didn’t happen.
They beefed up their nonconference schedule and the loss of a few underrated seniors from the year prior meant Matt Todd had to shoulder too large a load while underclassmen tried to find their way. An 0-5 start put them behind the proverbial eight-ball early.
The Magic played a lot of sophomores last season. And the sophomores mostly played like sophomores. But that crop of sophomores (Austen Puppe, Tommy Blackstone, Carsen Sawatzke and Shawn Sellner among others) also showed flashes of quality play and should be ready to take a collective jump forward.
Todd is the most talented player in the conference. He’s at his best when he’s facilitating first, but oftentimes had to hunt for his own shot a year ago. He’s good enough to put up 30 points per game but his numbers might not have to be that robust if others step up. He and senior wing Rezi Useh form what should be one of the best backcourts in Class AAA.
Offense shouldn’t be an issue for Monticello. The Magic will have to overcome a lack of size/girth in the frontcourt but with the depth they have on the perimeter, if they can play fast, they’ll win a lot of games.
They are a borderline top-10 team and should compete for a spot in the state tournament.
In the Middle: Big Lake, Chisago Lakes, St. Michael-Albertville, Princeton
Big Lake enjoyed one of its best seasons in school history, getting to the state tournament mostly on the back of a terrific senior class. The Hornets return a couple key players in the frontcourt in Logan Nagorski, DaVonne Harris and Drew Rundlong. Nagorski is a player to watch as he averaged nearly 10 points and six rebounds as a sophomore and had a good summer on the AAU circuit.
STMA was a middling club a year ago but return a pair of double figure scorers in Cody Mattson (11 points per game) and Xavier Thurman (10 points per game). Mitchell Kartes also returns after averaging about eight points per night. Junior forward Austin Jentzen is a player to watch as he could provide production in the middle for the Knights. The incoming sophomore class looks good too with Kale Hoselton, Evan Wieker and Nick Olson.
Princeton could be primed to take a big step forward this year. The Tigers return all-conference caliber junior guards Adam Williams (16 points per game) and James Flicek (11.7 ppg) as well as excellent big men Johnny Stimmler (9 ppg) and Logan Miller. Williams, Flicek and Stimmler were productive as sophomores. If they make sophomore-to-junior leaps, 15-plus wins seems doable.
Chisago Lakes took a step back after getting to the state tournament the year prior but still won 15 games and went to the section final. Losing all-conference guard Trevin Nelson will be difficult to overcome but Will Tinjum will be one of the top players in the league. The 6-foot-5 forward averaged nine points per game as a sophomore. It wouldn’t surprise if he came close to doubling that number this winter. Nils Gulbranson is back to give the Wildcats some stability on the wing. Zac Erickson and Seth Thompson also return after earning minutes a year ago.
Rebuilding: Buffalo, St. Francis, Cambridge-Isanti, North Branch
North Branch is an intriguing team on paper. The Vikings return their top-seven guys including three who averaged double-figures in Brady Brodin, Dylan Ramberg and Zach Gazda. But they also went 0-13 in conference. 12 of those losses were by double figures (some very lopsided). So while they should be better, it’s hard to know if it will result in a big jump in wins.
Cambridge-Isanti returns one of the league’s best scorers from a year ago in Henry Abraham (17 ppg as a freshman) along with Westen Olson and Alex Ledahl. The Bluejackets play a tough schedule typically. They won eight games a season ago. Repeating and/or improving on that number may be doable depending on how Abraham progresses along with a number of first-year varsity regulars.
St. Francis won 13 games a year ago including seven in conference. The Saints lose a number of good seniors though including Ryan Svihel. Wyatt Schroeder was very good as a freshman, averaging 10.5 points per game. He’s already good but he might be one of the top players in the conference as soon as this winter. Blake Kulsrud and Christian Bednarz also return.
Buffalo heads into year No. 2 with Josh Ortmann on the sidelines. The Bison had a difficult year a season ago and could be headed for a similar season this winter. The difference is that it looks like this may be more of a rebuilding campaign as the Bison have a number of excellent looking young players in the pipe with Tony Dahl, Brandon Maatz, Aidan Bouman and Matt Willert.
Projected Finish
- Rogers
- Monticello
- St. Michael-Albertville
- Princeton
- Big Lake
- Chisago Lakes
- Cambridge-Isanti
- North Branch
- Buffalo
- St. Francis
Preseason All Mississippi 8
First Team
Matt Todd (POY), Monticello, Sr.
Jordan Belka, Rogers, Sr.
Adam Williams, Princeton, Jr.
Will Tinjum, Chisago Lakes, Jr.
Cody Mattson, STMA., Sr.
Second Team
Logan Nagorski, Big Lake, Jr.
Henry Abraham, Cambridge-Isanti, So.
Rezi Useh, Monticello, Sr.
Trevor Brenning, Rogers, Sr.
Johnny Stimmler, Princeton, Jr.
Third Team
Xavier Thurman, STMA, Sr.
Brandon Vazquez, Rogers, Sr.
Wyatt Schroeder, St. Francis, So.
Zach Gazda, North Branch, Jr.
Brady Brodin, North Branch, Sr.
James Flicek, Princeton, Jr.
Austen Puppe, Monticello, Jr.