Class AAAA Section Darkhorses

Matt Bigelow

October 24, 2019 @ 11:00 AM

It isn’t often that the team that isn’t the favorite in its respective section doesn’t ultimately win it. But upsets at the high school level certainly can happen. Here are teams from each section that could surprise. Section 1AAAA: Rochester Century Favorite: Lakeville South Section 1 will finally have a new representative with Lakeville North getting relocated to Section 3. Lakeville South likely heads into the year the frontrunner with Rochester Mayo in the mix but keep an eye on Rochester Century. Jack Fisher is one of the best players in the section and could be a Player-of-the-Year type guy in the Big 9. The Panthers Stephen Olander and Gabe Hanson are both back as well. Section 2AAAA: Chaska Favorite: Eden Prairie Section 2 is going to be a grind again. Eden Prairie’s won it the last few years and will be the favorite with that crop of seniors who have been varsity guys for four years. Prior Lake still has Dawson Garcia and a solid cast of complementary pieces. Shakopee will be one of the top-10 teams in Class AAAA. Chaska won’t have that kind of hype, but the Hawks have the cumulative talent to push for 20ish wins again this winter. Zach Lea is a rock-solid swingman. Luke Strazzanti, Spencer Goetz and Jack Frick all played big minutes as sophomores and looked ready for bigger roles over the summer. Section 3AAAA: Eagan Favorite: Eastview Eastview and Lakeville North will be the favorites in what is one of the weaker sections overall, but watch out for Eagan. Kurt Olhues is one of the most underrated guards in the state. Finn O’Malley had a good year last winter and was solid over the summer on the AAU circuit and the Wildcats return a solid cast of complementary guards. If they can find another gear offensively, they’ll be dangerous. Section 4AAAA: Tartan Favorite: Cretin-Derham Hall CDH and East Ridge look primed for another collision ultimately but don’t ever sleep on Tartan. The Titans win 20-plus games every year and despite graduating a superstar guard in Antwan Kimmons, they’ve got kids who will step into new roles. Joseph Kearney averaged better than 11 points per game a year ago and will take on more offensive responsibility now. Dorian Singer (11 ppg in 2018-19) joins him in the backcourt to form a potentially scary combo. Section 5AAAA: Spring Lake Park Favorite: Park Center Park Center looks like the likely Preseason No. 1 team in Class AAAA and the Pirates will once again be the favorite in their section. Champlin and Osseo are always in the hunt too. But Spring Lake Park could be a team that gets into that mix and contend for a section title too. Gabe Myren and Blake Remme form one of the best one-two punches in the state and the Panthers have an excellent core of returners joining them. Section 6AAAA: Robbinsdale Armstrong Favorite: Wayzata Wayzata and Hopkins will be the favorites again in this section but Robbinsdale Armstrong was better than expected last year and has a significant amount of returning talent in the fold again this winter. Jake Breitbach and Adam Biewen were double figure scorers on the perimeter last year and big man Hezekiah Lyewa has the ability to be a double-double guy inside. Section 7AAAA: Forest Lake Favorite: Cambridge-Isanti Section 7 is always a tough one to predict as there is little separation between most of these teams. Forest Lake was down last year after going to state the year before and the Rangers should be improved this winter with returning players like Dorell Young (17 ppg in 2018-19) and Eric Peterson providing experience. Section 8AAAA: Moorhead Favorite: Buffalo Section 8 is going to be wide open as Buffalo went from a sizable favorite, to one of the contenders after Tony Dahl was injured over the summer. The Bison still have an excellent outfit and will be considered the favorite but keep an eye on Moorhead. The Spuds return a solid group led by senior forward Drew Hagen and senior guard Quentin Hegg plus a promising crop of junior guards including Brady Walthall and Belind Alemadi.