The Valley Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Valley was one of the best races in Minnesota high school basketball last year with Martin County West edging out three others to win the league by a game. This should be another exciting race this year!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Conference Commentary</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Ten in State</strong>: Martin County West, Mankato Loyola</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With Wayne State signed [player_tooltip player_id='962279' first='Zach' last='Anderson'] and all league player Mitchell Weber back, league champ Martin County West has their best two players returning. They of course have a lot of role players to fill which will be a challenge. That said, Anderson and Weber did so much for the team a year ago, assuming the role players are adequate the team should keep pace with last year's 23-5 record. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mankato Loyola is not top ten in state at the start, but they are close, and I feel they will be in the top ten quickly so I am throwing them in this category. The Crusaders lost one of the top three guys but they return five of their top six including a senior dominated team with five guys who have started before. And [player_tooltip player_id='962250' first='Lawson' last='Godfrey'] is a Class A All State caliber talent. Keep in mind, they beat Martin County West in their second game last year. We are going to start them in second though with the "champ should be dethroned when they have the talent back they do" thought process. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Ten in State Potential</strong>: Lake Crystal-Wellcome-Memorial</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Remember LCWM is a Class AA team so they are not top ten in state although they are top 20 in state. And yes if they were Class A they would be in the group with MCW and Loyola. The Knights return four starters from a 22 win team including [player_tooltip player_id='962261' first='Zack' last='Wells'] who will be one of the best players in the league. I have them a step behind Loyola in league listings because they lost to them by 16 later in the winter last season. But this is a team that could land itself in the Class AA top 10 and that's a really good top ten to be in this year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Compete with Most</strong>: T/ML/GHEC, Nicollet</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This league will likely be a three team race but if there was a fourth that sneaks in, maybe it's Nicollet? The Raiders will be a junior heavy team so they are likely a year away but junior [player_tooltip player_id='1617732' first='Conner' last='Martens'] is a very good player. They should improve on last season's 8-19 record. As for T/ML/GHEC they should be solid and right about where Nicollet is. They will have a more veteran group especially in the backcourt so the Jags could surely be the 4th place team this year and they might be the safer bet. Nicollet just seems to have a bit more potential of growth from that junior class. And Nicollet won the second game last season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rebuilding:</strong> St. Clair, Madelia, Cleveland, Alden-Conger</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Clair lost four really good senior starters and they have a new coach. It's a new look so it's a rebuild. Brandon Meng stops it from being a total overhaul as he will lead some returning seniors but things will be different at St. Clair. Madelia lost Ja'Sean Glover who was a legend at the school and did just about everything one can do for a team. It's going to be a different team of course. Cleveland is still rebuilding as you will be able to count the amount of upperclassmen they will have likely on one hand. Alden-Conger could take a step up in the standings by a team this year, and maybe by even two spots if they really come together. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2022-23 Conference Predictions</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Martin County West</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Mankato Loyola</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Lake Crystal-Wellcome-Memorial</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Nicollet</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>T/ML/GHEC</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>St. Clair</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Alden-Conger</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Madelia</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Cleveland</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason All Valley Conference</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>First Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='962279' first='Zach' last='Anderson'] of Martin County West (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='962250' first='Lawson' last='Godfrey'] of Mankato Loyola (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Zach Wells of LCWM (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1341717' first='Simon' last='Morgan'] of Mankato Loyola (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mitchell Weber of Martin County West (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Second Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1617732' first='Conner' last='Martens'] of Nicollet (jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jakob Fischer of T/ML/GHEC (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jake Sizer of Mankato Loyola (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brandom Meng of St. Clair (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gage McManemy of LCWM (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Third Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Josh Kann of Mankato Loyola (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ethan Andreson of LCWM (jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carter Fox of T/ML/GHEC (jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1339195' first='Drew' last='Dahl'] of LCWM (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Fourth Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carter Zimmerman of Mankato Loyola (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jamis Ulman of LCWM (jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lucas Hensche of Alden-Conger (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Josiah Demaris of Madelia (soph)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->