2022-23 Class AA Basketball: Above Expectations

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What teams are playing above expectations this year and why? And who is a player getting them there? We dive into that now!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Waseca (20-6). Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2103355' first='Damarius' last='Russell'] is scoring 21 points a game and has the Jays back in a section wining potential spot two years after their last run and a lot quicker than many expected. Fellow sophomore Carson Ohnsted is averaging 13 points a game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Belle Plaine (17-5). We got another young player leading a top Class AA team and this one is 6'3 freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2118474' first='Ethan' last='Martin'] forward who is scoring 14 points a game. Martin is surrounded by seniors that are playing well (Andrew Siegle, Ryan Retzer, Emmett Geres). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Minnesota Valley Lutheran (22-3). Scoring 76 points and only three losses all season. MVL won their 17th straight last night and their top player Ben Pearson led the Chargers with 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Maybe the biggest surprise in Class AA is MVL. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eden Valley-Watkins (20-5). This outstanding class of juniors has pushed to a great season about one year ahead of schedule. [player_tooltip player_id='1434977' first='Noah' last='Stommes'] is 6'8 and averaging a double-double again, plus this team is very athletic with Parker Schultz and [player_tooltip player_id='1434065' first='Nolan' last='Geislinger']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Windom Area (17-9). The highest scoring team in the state is the high flying Eagles. I have not watched them play but it does not take a genius to understand they play fast and launch shots fast (their average score is 91-82 each night!). Senior guard combo [player_tooltip player_id='1225657' first='Henry' last='Erickson'] and Abe McKibbin lead the way with those big numbers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Paul Academy (16-7). Another group of juniors that are playing ahead of the schedule that others had for them but they see it differently. [player_tooltip player_id='1451145' first='Ethan' last='Carter'], [player_tooltip player_id='1288695' first='Tysen' last='Hayes'] and Mikkel Rawdon have combined to score 54 points a game this season. Carter is the attack guard, Hayes has touch all over and Rawdon combines it all. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dassel-Cokato (17-8). This is a balanced team playing far better than expected, and maybe way better than anybody ever expected. Junior Gabe Aamont leads the way followed by 5-6 others they can count on for 2-3 buckets a contest. Good depth.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Milaca (18-5). [player_tooltip player_id='962296' first='Peyton' last='Hunt'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1617774' first='Lewis' last='Wolbert'], a senior guard combination that teams are having a ton of trouble dealing with. Wolbert is scoring 23.6 points a game while Hunt is averaging 18 a night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->