The 8AAA Profile

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alexandria is the big favorite to win the section and they are a team that some are talking about as a state championship short list contender. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>8AAA Power Rankings</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Alexandria</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Fergus Falls</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Detroit Lakes</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>St. Cloud Apollo</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Rocori</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Willmar</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>St. Cloud Tech</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Little Falls<br></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Section 15</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>First Team</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2103377' first='Ryan' last='Hirst'] of Fergus Falls</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1572690' first='Chase' last='Thompson'] of Alexandria</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1574216' first='Azayah' last='Washington'] of St. Cloud Apollo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2118449' first='Mason' last='Witt'] of Alexandria</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2118495' first='Talan' last='Witt'] of Alexandria</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='1586881' first='Henry' last='Bethel'] of Fergus Falls (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1579924' first='Grant' last='Tylutki'] of Rocori (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2119642' first='Avery' last='Christensen'] of Willmar (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2435956' first='Caden' last='Strand'] of Detroit Lakes (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Obang Obang of St. Cloud Apollo (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Third Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1946855' first='Samson' last='Hagstrom'] of Alexandria (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2119601' first='Thomas' last='Hinrichs'] of Alexandria (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2435962' first='Namarion' last='Fields'] of St. Cloud Apollo (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2617276' first='TJ' last='Starkey'] of Rocori (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2104469' first='Drew' last='Lieser'] of St. Cloud Tech (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>One Thought Per Team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alexandria. Size. Depth. Experience. Youth coming up to fill depth. Shooting. Skill. Star Power. I think the Cards have it all and they have a very real chance to play for a title. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fergus Falls. If I am looking at this correctly, the Otters only lost one player form last year's rotation. They were .500 in the league and .500 overall last season, that means they should make a real jump. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Detroit Lakes. I think the Lakers have a bit more back than people think, and I think they will be a bit better than people think. They lost some stars but they do have a couple starters back and some reserves.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Cloud Apollo. Time to forget about last year's record and think about the talent. [player_tooltip player_id='1574216' first='Azayah' last='Washington'] is one of the best in state, Fields is back, and Obang Obang moved home from Florida. Keep on eye on this team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rocori. Rocori has three players back that have good experience. The depth of talent is a question mark but at the same time, they have some experienced players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Willmar. [player_tooltip player_id='2119642' first='Avery' last='Christensen'] is a good player, they have some size, and some good young talent. It's there for this team to take a step forward. But how big?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Cloud Tech. Tech lost so much from a season ago it's tough to try and guess what they will be.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Little Falls. Little Falls also lost a lot from a season ago and predicting them based on mostly JV guys is a hard thing to do. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->