Class AAA Title Contender Series: Totino-Grace

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eagles will look to repeat as Class AAA champs. What does their team look like this year and what are their chances to repeat? Those chances look very good. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Wins in 21-22 (26-6):</strong> DeLaSalle, Armstrong, CDH, Park Center, Osseo, Maple Grove, Mahtomedi, Columbia Heights, Mankato East</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Oops</strong>: Park Center, Osseo, Caledonia, Whitney Young, Corona Centennial, Menomenee Falls</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Moving On:</strong>  Demarion Watson and Ahjany Lee were starters last year and have since moved on to Iowa State and UST respectively. Watson was the team's defensive stopper while Lee was the inside finisher and one of the top rebounders. Both were among the five guys that averaged between 10.5 points and 13.5 points a game for the state champs. RJ Spencer also graduated and he was the 9th man for the team last season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Returning Starters (3):</strong> Class AAA Player of the Year [player_tooltip player_id='962198' first='Taison' last='Chatman'], Furman committed wing [player_tooltip player_id='962203' first='Tommy' last='Humphries'], and big man [player_tooltip player_id='1223070' first='Patrick' last='Bath'] all return as starters. Chatman is a top 30/35 player nationally and the team's leader in assists and scoring. He scored 10.5 points a game and then Bath was the second leading scorer for the Eagles last season. Chatman, Humphries, and Bath returning means the Eagles have a returning point guard, wing, and big from a state champ. The return of these three is a huge reason they will be the preseason number one. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Reserves Playing a Bigger Role:</strong> Zy'Lerre Stewart was the team's sixth man last season and he played his role really well. He was a tough defender, he handled the ball some, when I saw the Eagles he scored a decent percentage of the 3-4 shots he took a game, and most importantly he was a dependable worker for the Eagles. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1288748' first='Tyler' last='Wagner'] was another that had a role off the bench last year in addition to playing some JV last year. Wagner is a strong shooter and was a trusted frosh by the end of the year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Potentials from the JV</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id='1428900' first='Jayden' last='Livingston'] is the featured name here as he will be a senior guard adding depth to the team. Livingston played a bit of varsity too last year and got a lot of playing time for the Eagles in the events this summer. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1574227' first='Chase' last='Watley'] was a freshman on the junior varsity last season and he's a player to watch when it comes to making a big jumper from JV into a varsity role. Seniors to be London James and [player_tooltip player_id='1139300' first='Rhikeishi' last='Lee'] were on the JV last year and played with 17u teams this summer and had some good moments. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>New to the Varsity program</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id='1284143' first='Isaiah' last='Johnson'] transferred in from Osseo and Isaiah averaged 13 points and six rebounds a game last season as a sophomore. Johnson is a skilled 6'7/6'8 forward with a good feel away from the basket but the size to do things around the basket. Also, [player_tooltip player_id='1560835' first='Tian' last='Chatman'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1560740' first='Dothan' last='Ijadimbola'] are very good freshmen that have the potential to break into that TG rotation this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Final Thoughts</strong>:  The Eagles will be able to throw out a starting five of Chatman, Stewart, Humphries, Johnson, and Bath and then back it up with say Wagner, Livingston, Watley and one of the freshmen. Our some combination of that group. When it comes to talent and depth, the Eagles are one of the two deepest teams in the state and it would be hard to not rank them as the most talented team in the state. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->