The Mississippi 8 Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Mississippi 8 was won by Princeton a season ago but the Tigers lost a lot from their rotation. Who is the favorite coming into the season? This league is one of the most open in the state. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Conference Commentary</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Contenders</strong>: Princeton, Cambridge-Isanti, Big Lake, North Branch, Chisago Lakes</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Princeton lost all five starters and seven of their top eight scorers from last season. There are surely some players that will step into roles but they have to identify themselves coming up from the JV. Cambridge-Isanti was two games behind Princeton last season but they are in a much different spot with returning players as shooter [player_tooltip player_id='1434066' first='John' last='Troolin'] returns after scoring 21 a game. North Branch had a winning record again which is big plus they return three all league players and seven guys from their rotation. Big Lake seems to be the team with the most returning experience and talent back. The Hornets will have three returning double figure scorers. That said, my hesitation in claiming them the clear number one is that 7-7 league record from a season ago. It took some time last year but Chisago Lakes finally got over the hump and got some wins beating Becker, beating Princeton, and pushing Big Lake to the end in the playoffs. They should be better this year. Bottom line, it should be a fun race. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Compete with Most</strong>: St. Francis, Becker</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Francis has a lot to replace but they do have the luxury of size and a good player returning from injury. I don't expect a return to state but I also don't expect them to fade to the bottom either. Becker has a mix of up and coming young guys with a few quality seniors that should keep them solid. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rebuilding:</strong> Monticello, Zimmerman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Magic won one game last season, they should have the talent to be better but how much better is the question. Zimmerman won eight games last year and lost most of their line-up to graduation. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>23-24 Mississippi 8 Conference Predictions</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Big Lake</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Cambridge-Isanti</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Chisago Lakes</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Princeton</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>North Branch</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>St. Francis</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Becker</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Zimmerman</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Monticello</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason All Mississippi 8 Conference</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>First Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1288720' first='Patrick' last='Rowe'] of Chisago Lakes (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1434066' first='John' last='Troolin'] of Cambridge-Isanti (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1167067' first='Brody' last='Beaver'] of North Branch (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1617802' first='Trevor' last='Maruska'] of Big Lake (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kyan Bloomquist of Becker (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='1628769' first='Owen' last='Wilczek'] of Big Lake (soph)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2104446' first='Tyler' last='Minke'] of North Branch (jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1434072' first='Elias' last='Dee'] of Cambridge-Isanti (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1434057' first='Caleb' last='Schoenrock'] of St. Francis (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1428874' first='Owen' last='Layton'] of Big Lake (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Third Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ian Larsen of Chisago Lakes (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cash Pettit of Princeton (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Noah Thorsen of North Branch (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Isaiah Terlinden of Big Lake (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nate Kuznia of St. Francis (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Fourth Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Emerson Droubie of Cambridge-Isanti (jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1617713' first='Harrison' last='Lupkes'] of Princeton (jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2125143' first='Brayden' last='Dollard'] of Monticello (jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1628775' first='Sawyer' last='Brown'] of Becker (soph)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Owen Link of North Branch (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Fifth Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2104516' first='Mitchell' last='Soltau'] of Becker (jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1284205' first='Patrick' last='Shobe'] of Monticello (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Zander Schmidt of Chisago Lakes (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2109914' first='Gianni' last='Artisensi-Skime'] of Zimmerman (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ben Paulsen of Chisago Lakes (sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->