The Best of Carver County Basketball

<p>Who are the best basketball players in Carver County?  We give you last year’s top five and the five to watch for next winter! </p> <p>***I am going off a list that looks to be somewhat old in terms of what schools are surely in each county.  If you are a new school in this county let me know and I can add on if needed.  Finding the exact private schools in each area was tougher than I thought. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Top Five Seniors</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="721980" first="Mahad" last="Faisal"]</strong> of Chaska. Mahad will play for Iowa Central Community College next year and we expect you could hear more about him in the future as his game continues to grow.  Mahad scored 13 a game for the top five Hawks this year giving the team a nice shooting stroke and a long frame to work against on defense.  </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="846134" first="Luke" last="Gitzen"]</strong> of Chanhassen. The 6-foot-3 wing scored 16 a game for the Storm and had six double-doubles this year.  He was all league both as a player and as a student.  One of the best seniors in Minnesota next year who isn’t going to play college sports in college as he will attend Minnesota.  </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="846122" first="PJ" last="Hayes"]</strong> of Waconia. Hayes averaged 25 points a game as a senior becoming the all time leading scorer in the history of Waconia basketball.  Hayes picked up several post-season honors with a 24-5 season.  He will play at Black Hills State. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="846120" first="Zach" last="Lea"]</strong> of Chaska. Zach is a top 25 senior in the state of Minnesota and one of the elite two-players in basketball last year.  Lea will play for Minnesota-Duluth in college after leading Chaska into the top five of Class AAAA hoops with a 24-5 record. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="846136" first="Connor" last="Schwob"]</strong> of Chaska. Connor is surely one of the most improved basketball players in the senior class this winter.  He will play at St. John’s in the future and it’s my belief that he won’t be one of the players that heads to SJU and we never hear from again as a hooper, he will be a guy that excels.  His defense and jumper at the top of the key will help him excel. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Top Five Returning Players</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="774803" first="Jack" last="Frick"]</strong> of Chaska (Jr).  Jack will be one of the more feared shooters in the state of Minnesota next winter after scoring 8-9 a game as a junior. Don’t just think of Jack as a shooter, there is more to him than that. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="567064" first="Spencer" last="Goetz"]</strong> of Chaska (Jr).  When it comes to guys who know how to use their body to move opposing players, how to find a way to turn a corner, to turn on a player, and to complete possessions, Spencer is one of the better guys in his class.  </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="850739" first="Teigan" last="Martin"]</strong> of Mayer Lutheran (Soph).  [player_tooltip player_id="850739" first="Teigan" last="Martin"] is a scholarship basketball player.  He’s already a scholarship football player.  At 6-foot-7/6-foot-8 Teigan’s agility and face-up ability could lead to him being one of the many, many D1/D2 full offer players in Minnesota’s 2022 class. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="532600" first="Luke" last="Strazzanti"]</strong> of Chaska (Jr). Luke led Chaska in scoring this year and he’s a top 20-25 level player in the senior class to be (we can say that now I believe).  Luke’s touch off screens, the one hand touch to the rim, finishing with his opposite hand, hitting pull-ups, scoring at the arc, all of it is done in a strong way by Strazzanti.  </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="774810" first="Spencer" last="Swanson"]</strong> of Waconia (Jr). In modern day high school basketball seeing a player go from the B-squad to all conference in 12 months is almost unheard of.  That is what [player_tooltip player_id="774810" first="Spencer" last="Swanson"] did scoring 16 points a game for one of the best teams in the metro. </p>