5A Class Teams to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're looking at interesting teams through the classes. What teams return the most talent, while others are “contenders” and “unknowns?” Here's the answers from the 5A class:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Returners:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bishop Carroll</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Golden Eagles didn't win a lot of games last year. But you have to like the core they bring back this season. That's the reason we placed them in the "returners" category. Their three best players return, led by dynamic big man [player_tooltip player_id='1385618' first='Mikey' last='Brand'] (pictured). They will have balance and diversity in their big three of Brand, [player_tooltip player_id='1426037' first='John' last='Hauserman'] and <strong>Van Haneberg</strong>. How big of an improvement can they make on their 10-11 record from last season?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St Thomas Aquinas</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What a junior class the Saints have. They should have enough talent to make up for the graduation of Will Rost. [player_tooltip player_id='1588381' first='London' last='Burton'] is an explosive playmaker, as is [player_tooltip player_id='1588390' first='Isaiah' last='Freeman']. They have great size in [player_tooltip player_id='1588347' first='Will' last='Goode'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1588391' first='Julian' last='Marks'], plus lots of other talent. This team should rise significantly this year. Similar to Bishop Carroll, we slotted Aquinas as "returners" because of the wealth of talent back from last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Contenders:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kapaun Mt. Carmel</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the best teams every year, the Crusaders always seem to have more talent ready to fill graduation holes. But they did lose a significant amount, particularly big man Will Anciaux. But they will certainly have some young players ready to step up to support the excellent returners. [player_tooltip player_id='1270287' first='Will' last='Thengvall'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1270303' first='Teagan' last='Charles'] will be a great tandem in the front court while [player_tooltip player_id='1408946' first='Corbin' last='Johnson'] will lead the guard group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Great Bend</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Panthers will be a team to watch. It will be fun to see what [player_tooltip player_id='2209777' first='Ian' last='Premer'] does as an encore after a special freshman season. He will be surrounded by lots of talent, led by [player_tooltip player_id='1624962' first='Ben' last='Nicholson'], [player_tooltip player_id='1270291' first='Carter' last='Coombs'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1300834' first='Maddox' last='Spray'], guys who can make plays, defend, and especially shoot the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Unknowns:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Andover</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Well, part of why the Trojans won 5A state is because they were so loaded with senior talent. They will pay the price this season as they rebuild. [player_tooltip player_id='1588392' first='Josh' last='Kim'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1300821' first='Blake' last='Rucker'] are very good building blocks, but there will be a ton of new faces to sort out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St James Academy</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Talk about turnover. The Thunder is a school that always has plenty of talent in the pipeline. But when you graduate essentially everyone, there will be a lot of question marks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->