Minnesota First Look: Springfield

Matt Bigelow

November 21, 2019 @ 10:24 AM

The Springfield Tigers have been one of the top teams in Class A for a while now and are coming off a season in which they won 29 games and reached the state tournament. While Springfield loses the best player in school history in Isaac Fink, there is a senior-heavy class with a lot of multi-year starters in place to keep the train on the tracks. KEY RETURNERS: Decker Scheffler, Mitchell Buerkle, Nolan Hovland Scheffler’s been the Robin to Fink’s Batman the last couple of seasons and he’ll become the unquestioned lead man this winter for the Tigers. The 6-foot-3 combo guard averaged 22 points, six rebounds and five assists per game as a junior and will have the ball in his hands a ton as a senior. He’s long, athletic and highly skilled, showing the ability to score from anywhere on the court while proving himself as a more-than-capable defender. Look for him to turn in a potential all-state type of season at the Class A level. Buerkle’s heading into his third year as a starter and has averaged better than 10 points per game each of the last two seasons. The 6-foot-3 forward has settled in nicely as a third scorer to Fink and Scheffler and now will get an opportunity to be more heavily featured in the Tigers’ attack. He averaged nearly four assists per game a year ago to go along with 11 points and five rebounds. Those numbers should go up even further this winter. Hovland started for the Tigers last year and averaged four points and better than three assists. He’s a terrific slasher and finisher in the paint, as well as a feisty defender on the perimeter. He’ll take on more ball-handling responsibility this winter with Fink gone. STEPPING INTO NEW ROLES: Ivan Hovland, Mason Kretsch, Curtis Tauer, Tori Helget, Mason Leonard In reality, everybody is stepping into a new role this year. But guys like Hovland, Kretsch and Tauer were rotation guys a year ago and will have opportunities to either start or play even heavier minutes this winter with 60ish minutes per game gone to graduation. Helget, Leonard and Ryan Vogel were on the roster last year as sophomores and could be newcomers to watch. QUESTION: What does life look like post Ike Fink? Springfield’s been one of the elite teams in Class A for the last five years and Fink was at the center of that run essentially the entire time. He scored more than 3,000 points in his career and was one of the best players in the state, regardless of class, since his sophomore year. He controlled and dominated games in a way few players are capable. While the Tigers have talented players back in the fold, everything revolved around Fink. And replacing what he did is going to be incredibly difficult. SEASON OUTLOOK Springfield has the look of a top-10 team in Class A heading into the 2019-20 season. While the Tigers may not be the favorite to win a state title like they were each of the last two years (in the preseason), they’ve got as good a chance as any team in what looks like another fairly open field. Look for Scheffler and Buerkle to turn in monster senior seasons and for Springfield to win another 20-plus games.