Class AAAA Title Contender Series: Lakeville South

Photo: Alex Conover Northstar Hoops Report

Ryan James September 23, 2022 @ 02:22 PM

The Cougars went 17-11 last season and graduated a solid group of seniors. That said, their current junior class mixed with the rest of the group should have enough talent to be a top ten team and a contender.   Key Wins in 21-22 (22-7): East Ridge, Rosemount, Andover, Shakopee, Northfield   Oops: Wayzata, Lakeville North, CDH, Shakopee, Eastview, Farmington   Moving On: Four of Lakeville South's top five scorers graduate as did one of their reserves, basically five of their top nine guys. Leading scorer Avery Mast is at Bethel, Connor Beauchamp is at Hamline, Sam Fliehe is at Creighton, plus Tyler Swanson and Ben Coleman graduated as well. That is four starting caliber players that must be replaced and these are four players that were key parts of the varsity program for several years.   Returning Starters (1/2): From what I can see senior [player_tooltip player_id='1288839' first='Reece' last='Volk'] started much of last season as a top defender and trusted player while [player_tooltip player_id='962221' first='Jackson' last='Ressler'] started some of the games and Ressler is the top returning scorer from last season. Ressler is 6'3/6'4 and he has the skills to play either guard spot for the Cougars. Volk is a multi-sport playing well rounded versatile athlete.   Reserves Playing a Bigger Role: Juniors [player_tooltip player_id='1296148' first='Marley' last='Baah-Yeboah'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1296149' first='DaMarcus' last='Burks'] are high potential talents that not only played solid roles as sophomores, but then both had really good 16u seasons over the spring/summer. Baah-Yeboah is one of the most explosive athletes in the junior class and he's coming off of a six point per game season. Burks was a good two way player off the bench last season and his summer play included not only playmaking for Minnesota Select but also a couple clutch late game plays winning his team games. The Cougar big man to watch is 6-foot-6 Reece Gerl. We've seen him play really well with WOTN in the past and the second half of his junior year he played a reserve role for the Cougars.   Potentials from the JV: The big name here is [player_tooltip player_id='1284212' first='Ryan' last='Johnson'], a strong 6'4 talent that can play point, can play the wing, and is strong enough to do things around the basket. He played up for the Minnesota Select 17s last summer and did a fantastic job of filling several roles. The Cougars can use him in a number of ways. There are also five seniors that were a part of the JV that will be battling for the deeper bench spots in the rotation. [player_tooltip player_id='1288819' first='Nate' last='Wunderlich'] is a ball handler that has made a name for himself and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1470706' first='Keaton' last='Ressler'] also had a good summer.   Final Thoughts: I really like the versatility of this team. I've seen both Resslers, Burks, Wunderlich and Johnson handle the ball in different situations in the past year, and [player_tooltip player_id='962221' first='Jackson' last='Ressler'], [player_tooltip player_id='1284212' first='Ryan' last='Johnson'], and Demarcus Burks all have the size to play on the wing. Johnson is strong to play the four if need be. Then you have [player_tooltip player_id='1296148' first='Marley' last='Baah-Yeboah'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1288839' first='Reece' last='Volk'] who are both quality wings in different ways. If Gerl can manage things in the post this team has the balance that a top team needs. And few teams can match how versatile this group is.

The Cougars went 17-11 last season and graduated a solid group of seniors. That said, their current junior class mixed with the rest of the group should have enough talent to be a top ten team and a contender.