The Mississippi 8 Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chisago Lakes won the league by a game last year but lost a lot to graduation. Who is next up as favorite? We dive in today!</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>: Becker, Cambridge-Istanti, Monticello</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Becker went young last year and it looks like it was a very smart move. The sophomore driven line-up finished third in the league and prepared themselves for a 24-25 season where they have a real shot to win the league. The Dogs have four starters back. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bluejackets lost their top two scorers but return two key starters, they have a couple young guys who moved into the rotation late last year as frosh that should have a bigger roles this year, and some role players that should play more. Should still be in a good spot to contend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monticello was .500 in league play last year but their non-league record was 3-8. The Magic have a lot going for them as they lost only one player from their rotation and it's a team with a good big and solid guard play. Monticello has a chance to make a push. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Compete with Most</strong>: Chisago Lakes, North Branch, St. Francis, Princeton, Zimmerman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chisago Lakes lost their top four players (four all conference honored guys) who are also their top four scorers. They do return a starter and all of their reserves though so this is a team that is experienced, they will just have much bigger roles this year. North Branch has their top scorer back in [player_tooltip player_id='2104446' first='Tyler' last='Minke'] but the next top five scorers were lost to graduation. The Vikings do have some young talent coming up that should fill spots as well. St. Francis was 7-9 in league play so they were okay. They have their top scorer back and all but two players back from their rotation. Princeton will be better this year. How much better nobody knows, but the Tigers have most of their talent back and should take a step forward. Zimmerman was a six win team total last year but they have their two best players back so they should improve but the question is how much will they improve?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rebuilding:&nbsp;</strong>Big Lake</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Big Lake will be one of the few teams with a player that I would call a conference MVP candidate but also be a team that is rebuilding. The Hornets lost six of their top eight to graduation and they have a new coach after a 14-14 season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>24-25 Conference Prediction</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(1) Becker</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(2) Cambridge-Isanti</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(3) Monticello </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(4) North Branch</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(5) St. Francis</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(6) Chisago Lakes</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(7) Princeton</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(8) Zimmerman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(9) Big Lake</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason All Mississippi 8</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>First Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2103379' first='Jackson' last='Soroko'] of Monticello (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1628769' first='Owen' last='Wilczek'] of Big Lake (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1874817' first='Connor' last='Peterson'] of St. Francis (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Emerson droubie of Cambridge-Isanti (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2104446' first='Tyler' last='Minke'] of North Branch (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='2145758' first='Thomas' last='McEachern'] of Zimmerman (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1628775' first='Sawyer' last='Brown'] of Becker (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2121382' first='Noah' last='Stencel'] of Princeton (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1506327' first='Nathan' last='Weiss'] of Becker (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2399138' first='Landon' last='Peterson'] of Becker (Jr)</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='2140623' first='Hunter' last='Miller'] of Monticello (Soph)</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>[player_tooltip player_id='1560822' first='Rhys' last='Nebben'] of Monticello (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1874838' first='Ethan' last='Bergloff'] of Cambridge-Istanti (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tyler Hardie 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>[player_tooltip player_id='2125143' first='Brayden' last='Dollard'] of Monticello (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2104516' first='Mitchell' last='Soltau'] of Becker (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Luke O'Malley of Chisago Lakes (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2140576' first='Carson' last='Deibele'] of Monticello (Soph)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Max Siegrist of Big Lake (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='1617713' first='Harrison' last='Lupkes'] of Princeton (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kellen Meissner of Chisago Lakes (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jameson Epple of Cambridge-Istanti (Soph)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jacob Knoespel of North Branch (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cohen Underhill of Chisago Lakes (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->