Section 4AAA: First Look

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Is this the year somebody finally stops DeLaSalle from getting to state? They've been to state for 13 straight years!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Summer Summary</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Islanders look like they are in prime position for, yes you guessed it, another section title!&nbsp; It would be their 14th straight season playing in the state tournament.&nbsp; This isn't just simple forecasting, they bring back way more talent than anybody else in the section.&nbsp; And they have young talent to fill in the few spots that were left by graduation.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2103258' first='De'von' last='Irvin'], [player_tooltip player_id='2126102' first='Jaeden' last='Udean'], [player_tooltip player_id='2103394' first='Dorian' last='Pruitt'], [player_tooltip player_id='2175468' first='Marcus' last='Anderson'], [player_tooltip player_id='1288747' first='Andrew' last='Apiagyei'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1560744' first='Evan' last='Miller'] are all back from the rotation and there is talent to fill in the three spots from graduated players.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Meanwhile…. Columbia Heights not only graduated most of their line-up, Coach Willie Braziel moved closer to home and is coaching at Simley, and the Hylander top returning player [player_tooltip player_id='1617786' first='Nigel' last='Caldwell'] transferred to Park Center. Mahtomedi and St. Anthony Village have promising players but the several seniors around them from last season have graduated.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hill-Murray is about the only team in the section that I think will be a guarantee to improve on their record from a season ago and I'm not sure they have the talent to push De off the island.&nbsp; </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Who could? Maybe St. Paul Johnson. They lost three of their top four scorers but everybody else returns. That includes leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id='1560859' first='Kenneth' last='Turner'], [player_tooltip player_id='2120509' first='Guarino' last='Kamp'], and   [player_tooltip player_id='2140591' first='Colin' last='Moore Jr'] who all have at least two years more years in the program.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top 3 4AAA Players</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2103258' first='De'von' last='Irvin'] of DeLaSalle</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1560859' first='Kenneth' last='Turner'] of St. Paul Johnson</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jaeen Udean of DeLaSalle</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Three Teams That Should Improve Their Record</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hill-Murray (11-16)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DeLaSalle (22-10)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Three Teams That Might Not Match Last Year's Win Total</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Columbia Heights (18-7)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Minneapolis Edison (8-20)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mahtomedi (16-12)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Transfer In</em>: none that I know</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Transfer Out</em>: [player_tooltip player_id='1617786' first='Nigel' last='Caldwell'] to Park Center (from Columbia Heights)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->