Class AAA Title Contender: Richfield

<p>Can Richfield make it three section titles in a row?  They have a strong shot at it.  Today we preview the Spartans.</p> <p><strong>Key Wins in 20-21 (16-5)</strong><strong>: </strong>  Mankato West, South St. Paul, St Croix Lutheran, Columbia Heights, AHA, DeLaSalle</p> <p><strong>Oops</strong>: Alexandria, Minnehaha Academy, DeLaSalle, St Croix Lutheran</p> <p><strong>Moving On: </strong>Leading scorer and Mr. Basketball final five candidate Lamar Grayson has graduated taking his 23 points a game out of the line-up.  Third leading score Ryan Miles, the power forward/stretch four of the team has also graduated as has starting center Isaiah Casey-Hammond.  Reserve guard Kobie Daoheuang and back-up big man Chance Heddle have also moved on from high school. There is a lot of size that needs to be replaced and overall, three starters, five players from the rotation, and seven seniors are gone from last year.  </p> <p><strong>Returning Starters (2): </strong> The good news for Richfield is their two returning starter are more than ready for a big role.  I believe guard [player_tooltip player_id="958679" first="Mitchell" last="January"] - a 6’0 guard that just committed to play football at Drake - has a chance to move from a 12 point per game scorer to a 20 plus point a game guy among the metro leaders.  January just has that perfect combo of toughness, aggressive approach, skill, agility, and push.  </p> <p>Then there is [player_tooltip player_id="958660" first="Jaden" last="Wollmuth"], the other returning starter.  Because he wasn’t on the AAU circuit this past summer I think he’s maybe the biggest sleeper in the state of Minnesota when it comes to guys on good teams that are about to have a massive year.  Jaden is 6’6 with a touch and knows how to use his body around the basket to complete plays.  He scored 14 a game last year and is very likely to be a 20 point per game guy.  </p> <p><strong>Reserves Playing a Bigger Role: </strong>The player best suited for the third scoring option is 6’4 senior wing [player_tooltip player_id="1288741" first="Jaedyn" last="Patterson"].  He’s a slashing wing that many think will blossom this winter giving Richfield that third option to give January and Wollmuth more room to work.  Then you have senior Ejnar Hewitt the 5’10 defensive dynamo.  I don’t know the Richfield team depth exactly so picking the starting five is tough, but either way, Hewitt is going to be put on point guards and top backcourt scorers and he will have success.  </p> <p>Junior [player_tooltip player_id="1221159" first="Jaylen" last="Hollins"] could move into that Grayson spot on the floor handling some, playmaking often.  We aren’t saying he will have the same year but we are saying that is the role he will play as Hollins is an aggressive 5’8 scorer. Back to the senior class, you better find shooter Bryce Joerger before it’s too late. He’s the guy that will be stretching the D. </p> <p><strong>Potentials from the JV:  </strong>While you may have seen Hollins, Joerger, and Hewitt play that 9th man role each at different times last year, they were mostly JV players having a nice season.  Junior [player_tooltip player_id="1221168" first="Dominic" last="Miller"] is the other guard from that JV that could earn varsity team this year.   Six-foot-one wing Kaleb Olson is the other piece that we think could see time. He’s a junior with toughness.  </p> <p><strong>Final Thoughts</strong>:  The Spartans graduated a big class of contributors so there are a lot of spots to fill.  That said, January has the talent to be the go to perimeter scorer and Patterson has the potential to step right into that Ryan Miles role.  Wollmuth should be a monster inside and Hollins will have the talent to be a backcourt playmaker.  It’s going to be a very good group, the one concern is that they won’t be as big as they were last year, but they may be quicker in spots so there is that counter.  Either way, this is a contender with a very good shot at winning a third straight section title. </p>