The Mississippi 8 Preview

Ryan James October 20, 2020 @ 10:59 AM

The Princeton Tigers have consistently been the team to beat in the Mississippi 8 as of late, will that continue this winter? Conference Commentary Top Ten Potential - Princeton The Tigers will enter the year a top 15 team in Class AAA working for their third straight section title, another share or outright league title, and if they play enough games, a 20 win season. The Tigers have a pair of all league players they need to replace and four of their top six producers overall. That said there’s a pair of all league starters back in [player_tooltip player_id="958662" first="Haydn" last="Stay"] and [player_tooltip player_id="774900" first="Manny" last="Flicek"] plus several of the second team talents ready to step into a bigger role. Compete with Most - Cambridge-Isanti, Monticello, Chisago Lakes, St. Francis, Big Lake Because the Bluejackets of CI graduated most of their rotation it could be tabbed as a rebuild. However, Cambridge-Isanti has a good frontcourt player in [player_tooltip player_id="957221" first="Connor" last="Braaten"] that will handle a near double-double loud plus several talents up from the JV ready for their turn. They are a traditionally good program that you would expect to have some more good players on their way up. Just will take some time for them to gain experience. The Magic will be interesting. They were really good in league play (10-4) but struggled outside of it. They also have three starters back (full backcourt) and a couple reserves, but lose [player_tooltip player_id="846125" first="Austin" last="Wetter"]. With [player_tooltip player_id="957225" first="Andrew" last="Koehler"], Chisago Lakes likely has the leading scorer and rebounder in the section. This guy is a constant double-double and will battle Stay, [player_tooltip player_id="774761" first="Jack" last="Iverson"], and [player_tooltip player_id="958757" first="Cody" last="Pennebaker"] for League MVP honors. With a veteran backcourt returning, the Wildcats should take another step forward as a program. As far as St. Francis goes (Pennebaker’s school) it’s time to take a step forward. I’m not saying they should be winning 20 games every year but they have too much talent for 7 win seasons, and 5 win seasons. I think this year they step forward behind Cody and [player_tooltip player_id="962233" first="Matthew" last="Bothun"] but they will need inexperienced guards to play well early in their varsity careers. A lot of what we said about St. Francis also applies with Big Lake. Very good talent up from in Iverson and [player_tooltip player_id="957608" first="Wyatt" last="Windhorst"], and good young players, but guards have to step up despite little experience. Rebuilding - Becker, North Branch Not a full rebuild for Becker but they only have one starter back and the roster is only likely to have a couple seniors. North Branch should take a step forward this year after a 5-win season, although before we move them up a category the Vikings have to shown it on the floor some.   20-21 Conference Predictions <ol> <li>Princeton</li> <li>Monticello</li> <li>Chisago Lakes</li> <li>St. Francis</li> <li>Cambridge-Isanti</li> <li>Big Lake</li> <li>North Branch</li> <li>Becker</li> </ol>   Preseason All Mississippi 8 First Team [player_tooltip player_id="774900" first="Manny" last="Flicek"] of Princeton (Sr) [player_tooltip player_id="774761" first="Jack" last="Iverson"] of Big Lake (Sr) [player_tooltip player_id="957225" first="Andrew" last="Koehler"] of Chisago Lakes (Sr) [player_tooltip player_id="958757" first="Cody" last="Pennebaker"] of St. Francis (Jr) [player_tooltip player_id="958662" first="Haydn" last="Stay"] of Princeton (Jr)   Second Team [player_tooltip player_id="962233" first="Matthew" last="Bothun"] of St. Francis (Soph) [player_tooltip player_id="957221" first="Connor" last="Braaten"] of Cambridge-Isanti (Sr) [player_tooltip player_id="958736" first="Carson" last="Kolles"] of Monticello (Jr) [player_tooltip player_id="958685" first="Brady" last="Thompson"] of Monticello (Jr) [player_tooltip player_id="957608" first="Wyatt" last="Windhorst"] of Big Lake (Sr)   Third Team Gus Hansgleben of Monticello (Sr) [player_tooltip player_id="958755" first="Trevor" last="Johnson"] of North Branch (Jr) Nick Knute of Becker (Sr) Callahan O’Neil of Princeton (Sr) Ryan Sanvik of Chisago Lakes (Sr) [player_tooltip player_id="958814" first="Wyatt" last="Sawatzke"] of Monticello (Jr)   Fourth Team [player_tooltip player_id="774880" first="Ben" last="Arseneau"] of Princeton (Sr) Carter Callahan of Becker (Jr) Braden Jones of Cambridge-Isanti (Jr) Noah Lasiuta of Chisago Lakes (Sr) [player_tooltip player_id="958821" first="Logan" last="Murphy"] of North Branch (Jr) Jacob Schultz of St. Francis (Jr)