The Metro East Preview

<p>South St. Paul won the league in 2020-21 and they will enter the favorite once again.  Here is the Metro East Preview.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Conference Commentary</strong></p> <p><strong>Top Ten</strong>: South St. Paul</p> <p>SSP will be one of the top contenders for the Class AAA title.  They will enter the season a top three team and likely stay in the top three all season.  The Packers just have too much talent to not repeat as champs. </p> <p><strong>Top Ten Potential:  </strong>Tartan, Mahtomedi</p> <p>Tartan is always right there as a league contender for the Metro East title.  With three key returning players plus a frontcourt transfer making them better up front, the Titans will be near the top again. Mahtomedi is also a top ten potential squad at their level and a league contender.  They dropped a pair to Tartan last season but both games were close. The Zephyrs have their best two guys back although almost all of the role players have graduated. </p> <p><strong>Compete with Most</strong>: Simley, Hastings, North St. Paul</p> <p>The Spartans have a solid group of guards and it the size can takes steps they will be a solid team. Hastings is always a challenge with their balance and what they run but with five of the top six players gone it may be tough to repeat their 7-8 league mark.  NSP might be the team that surprises.  There are a lot of hungry players that will now get their chance.  The top two scorers graduated but the Polars might be a bit better this year. </p> <p><strong>Rebuilding</strong>: St. Thomas Academy, Henry Sibley, Hill-Murray</p> <p>STA has a decent amount of players back but they are starting over again.  A new coach and a new outlook.  They could crack that top five if a lot of things break the right way. Sibley went really young last year and that will be the same this season while Hill-Murray not only lost their grads but also their best player to transfer. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>21-22 Conference Predictions</strong></p> <ol> <li>South St. Paul</li> <li>Tartan</li> <li>Mahtomedi</li> <li>North St. Paul</li> <li>Simley</li> <li>St. Thomas Academy</li> <li>Hastings</li> <li>Henry Sibley</li> <li>Hill-Murray</li> </ol> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Preseason All Metro East Conference</strong></p> <p><strong><u>First Team</u></strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="958636" first="Alonzo" last="Dodd"] of South St. Paul (sr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="962216" first="Will" last="Underwood"] of Mahtomedi (jr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1143864" first="Devin" last="Newsome"] of South St. Paul (sr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1221176" first="Owen" last="Carlson"] of Mathomedi (jr)</p> <p>RJ Jioklow of Simley (sr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="958644" first="Shawn" last="West-Zimpel"] of South St. Paul (sr)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><u>Second Team</u></strong></p> <p>D’Marco Chelley of Tartan (sr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="958759" first="Marko" last="Vukomanovich"] of Tartan (sr)</p> <p>Michael Mitchell of Hastings (sr)</p> <p>Romantay Harmon of South St. Paul (sr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="958668" first="Aj" last="Burns"] of Tartan (sr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1288683" first="Sam" last="Yanz"] of Tartan (sr)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><u>Third Team</u></strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="962306" first="Michael" last="Kirchner"] of St. Thomas (jr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1221160" first="Jack" last="Chamberlain"] of St. Thomas (jr)</p> <p>Devin Robinson of Simley (sr)</p> <p>Romantre Harmon of South St. Paul (sr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1288671" first="Nino" last="Johnson"] of North St. Paul (sr)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="962283" first="Ishmael" last="Powell"] of North St. Paul (jr)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><u>Third Team</u></strong></p>