The Hiawatha Valley Preview

<p>The Hiawatha Valley Conference is going to have a lot of eyes on it this year with a pair of nationally ranked players.  Prep Hoops takes a closer look. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Conference Commentary</strong></p> <p><strong>Top Ten: </strong>Byron, Stewartville</p> <p>The Bears won 16 games last year and bring back everything.  But it’s not your traditional, everything.  They have a nationally ranked junior big in Ajhany Lee, they have one of the best senior lead guards in the state in Jake Braaten, and a lot of guards and wings with experience coming back with them.  A true top ten team in Class AAA that could end Austin’s constance as the section rep.  </p> <p>Stewartville will start the season at top five in the state with the biggest stat stuffer in the state, [player_tooltip player_id="567035" first="Will" last="Tschetter"],  Will averaged 35/14 last year and then had a great summer earning Prep Hoops All American First Team status, and a top 100 player nationally as a Michigan commit.  Will and Nolan Steir will lead the team. </p> <p><strong>Compete with Most</strong>:  Goodhue, Lake City, Rochester Lourdes, Kasson-Mantorville</p> <p>Goodhue is likely a year away from competing for the top ten but next year I can really see it.  [player_tooltip player_id="962224" first="Will" last="Opsahl"] and Dayne Wojcik are excellent building blocks.  Lake City is too good to totally rebuild but they were team of almost all seniors last year plus [player_tooltip player_id="796956" first="Justin" last="Wohlers"] who is now a junior. Another team hit heavy by graduation was Lourdes, although senior [player_tooltip player_id="957614" first="Peyton" last="Dunham"], a 6-foot-5 active double-double guy, could have a breakout year. The KoMets have some good pieces with quality returning guards, some size that needs experience, and a big time scorer in [player_tooltip player_id="774764" first="Jace" last="Bigelow"].</p> <p><strong>Rebuilding</strong>: Cannon Falls, Pine Island, Triton, Zumbrota-Mazeppa, Kenyon-Wanamingo</p> <p>Cannon Falls will win games as [player_tooltip player_id="957631" first="Marcus" last="Banks"] is quite good but they have a lot to replace as so many seniors graduated.  It’s not a rebuild like starting over but so much talent has to be replaced. Pine Island lost most of their players from a 17-12 team meaning there will have to put several new faces on the floor.  Is this the year Triton takes a step forward? [player_tooltip player_id="774834" first="Haevan" last="Quimby"] is a good player but the Cobras lost 13 of their last 14 last season. Zumbrota-Mazeppa may take a step back losing several senior starters. Kenyon-Wanamingo lost their best player from a team didn’t win a league game, but they could improve a bit with a couple double figure players returning. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>20-21 Conference Predictions</strong></p> <p>Blue</p> <ol> <li>Goodhue</li> <li>Cannon Falls</li> <li>Zumbrota-Mazeppa</li> <li>Triton</li> <li>Kenyon-Wanamingo</li> </ol> <p>Gold</p> <ol> <li>Stewartville</li> <li>Byron</li> <li>Lake City</li> <li>Kasson-Mantorville</li> <li>Rochester Lourdes</li> <li>Pine Island</li> </ol> <p><strong>Overall</strong></p> <ol> <li>Stewartville</li> <li>Byron</li> <li>Lake City</li> <li>Goodhue</li> <li>Kasson-Mantorville</li> <li>Rochester Lourdes</li> <li>Cannon Falls</li> <li>Pine Island</li> <li>Zumbrota-Mazeppa </li> <li>Triton</li> <li>Kenyon-Wanamingo</li> </ol> <div class="article-content"> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Preseason All Hiawatha Valley Conference</strong></p> <p><strong><u>First Team</u></strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="774764" first="Jace" last="Bigelow"] of Kasson-Mantorville (Sr)</p> <p>Jake Braaten of Byron (Sr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="891901" first="Ahjany" last="Lee"] of Byron (Jr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="567035" first="Will" last="Tschetter"] of Stewartville (Sr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="796956" first="Justin" last="Wohlers"] of Lake City (Jr)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <p><strong><u>Second Team</u></strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="957614" first="Peyton" last="Dunham"] of Rochester Lourdes (Sr)</p> <div class="article-content"> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="774920" first="Easton" last="Hulke"] of Byron (Sr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="962224" first="Will" last="Opsahl"] of Goodhue (Soph)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="956149" first="Nolan" last="Stier"] of Stewartville (Sr)</p> <p>Dayne Wojcik of Goodhue (Jr)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <p><u><strong>Third Team</strong></u></p> <div class="article-content"> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="957631" first="Marcus" last="Banks"] of Cannon Falls (Sr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="958753" first="Trent" last="DeCook"] of Byron (Jr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="958779" first="Camden" last="Holecek"] of Kasson-Mantorivlle (Jr)</p> <p>Jordan Klepel of Kasson-Mantorivlle (Jr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="774834" first="Haevan" last="Quimby"] of Triton (Sr)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <p><u><strong>Fourth Team</strong></u></p> <div class="article-content"> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="962258" first="Isaac" last="Dearborn"] of Byron (Soph)</p> <p>Willie Holm of Zumbrota-Mazzepa (Sr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="958776" first="Carson" last="Matzke"] of Lake City (Jr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="958741" first="Jaxon" last="Marine"] of Byron (Jr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="958829" first="Laden" last="Nerison"] of Kenyon-Wanamingo (Jr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="958815" first="Trevor" last="Steberg"] of Kenyon-Wanamingo (Jr)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="section related-posts-widget mb-4"> <div class="card w-100 card-no-border"> </div> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>