The Skyline Preview

<p>St. Croix Prep won the Skyline Conference last winter by two games.  They will enter as the favorite but remember Cristo Rey knocked them out in the playoffs.  </p> <p><strong>Conference Commentary</strong></p> <p><strong>Top Ten in State</strong> – St. Croix Prep</p> <p>The Lions return three starters from a team that beat Minneapolis North, beat Stewartville, and went undefeated in league play last season.  This is a team has won 37 of their last 41 games and has an all league candidate leading the way in [player_tooltip player_id="774769" first="Addison" last="Metcalf"].  Should be another good year.  Not a 26-1 like last year as there is a ton of role players that must be found, but a good year again. </p> <p><strong>Top Ten Potential -</strong> Cristo Rey Jesuit</p> <p>The Pumas had a tough time outside of the league last year, but they were 10-4 in conference play,  Cristo Rey went 15-13 for the season, but come section play they gave St. Croix Prep their first loss of the season and were set to play for the section title.  Erick and [player_tooltip player_id="774790" first="Derek" last="Burgess"] are returning starters and among the best players in the league.  The Pumas are certainly league title contenders. </p> <p><strong>Compete with Most</strong> - Maranatha Christian, New Life Academy, St. Agnes, Concordia Academy</p> <p>Maranatha Christian isn’t rebuilding but they sure have gone through a lot of coaches recently.  I believe this is MCA’s fourth new head coach in about six years (just a guess).  MCA has a nice group of sophomores that will pair with solid upperclassmen role players.  Concordia Academy was set to play in the section final last year with their 20-win team.  It’s not a rebuilding time as [player_tooltip player_id="962239" first="AJ" last="Greene"] is too good to call it a rebuilding, but four starters and the 6th man need to be replaced so it will take time.  New Life Academy is going through something similar to Concordia Academy in that they have a lot of young talent returning but their will be a big hole left by five seniors.  That said, New Life has a returning backcourt and a developing scholarship big on their roster. Also going through changes is St. Agnes but they have two starters back and some young talent ready to get their feet wet.  St. Agnes was .500 in their league last year and will be around that again this year. </p> <p><strong>Rebuilding</strong> - Trinity, Nova Classical</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>20-21 Skyline Conference Predictions</strong></p> <ol> <li>St. Croix Prep</li> <li>Cristo Rey Jesuit</li> <li>Maranatha Christian </li> <li>New Life Academy</li> <li>Concordia Academy</li> <li>St. Agnes</li> <li>Trinity School</li> <li>Nova Classical </li> </ol> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Preseason All Skyline Conference </strong></p> <p><strong><u>First Team</u></strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="774790" first="Derek" last="Burgess"] of Cristo Rey Jesuit (Sr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="774750" first="Erick" last="Burgess"] of Cristo Rey Jesuit (Sr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="962239" first="AJ" last="Greene"] of Concordia Academy (Soph)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="774859" first="Andrew" last="Howard"] of St. Croix Prep (Sr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="774769" first="Addison" last="Metcalf"] of St. Croix Prep (Sr)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><u>Second Team</u></strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="962245" first="Isaiah" last="Bluford"] of Maranatha Christian (Soph)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="962244" first="Matthew" last="Bluford"] of Maranatha Christian (Soph)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="958832" first="Kollin" last="Kaemingk"] of New Life Academy (Jr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="958714" first="Jeremiah" last="LaVelle"] of Maranatha Christian (Jr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="957652" first="Teige" last="Lethert"] of St. Croix Prep (Sr)</p> <p>Erick Reader of New Life Academy (Soph)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><u>Third Team</u></strong></p> <p>Caleb Flood of St. Agnes (Jr)</p> <p>Max Briggs of New Life Academy (Soph)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="774765" first="Will" last="Kietzmann"] of Maranatha Christian (Sr)</p> <p>Jace Shields of Concordia Academy (Sr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="962236" first="Bailey" last="McDonald"] of Maranatha Christian (Soph)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><u>Fourth Team</u></strong></p> <p>Jevon Jones of St. Agnes (Sr)</p> <p>JaMauri Funchess of Cristo Rey Jesuit (Sr)</p> <p>Andrew Weber of St. Agnes (Fr)</p> <p>BJ Hollowell of Cristo Rey Jesuit (Jr)</p> <p>Kip Knippel of Trinity (Jr)</p> <p>Sam Johnson of St. Croix Prep (Sr)</p>