UP Preseason Top Five and Their Difference-Makers: Div. 1-3

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Boy's basketball practices are in full swing across the state and our first games will fire up next week. We want to take a look at the Division 1-3 top 5 boy's basketball teams in the UP and a couple of their players who will be difference-makers during the upcoming season. Stay tuned for my preseason Division 4 rankings, which I will drop in a few days.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top 5 boys Basketball Teams, Div. 1-3, listed in reverse order: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5. Munising </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2353054"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-673e40b5435af"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2353054' first='Trevor' last='Nolan'] is a fiery point guard who will be tasked with leading his team each and every night. He is a seasoned veteran who has a host of accolades entering his senior year, most notably a state championship ring. Trevor is a shoo-in for All-UP and I could even see a Dream-Team selection being within reach of this young man. Munising has moved up to Division 3 in boy's basketball and will be highly tested in District 66, which is probably the most competitive district in the UP.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>4. Iron Mountain</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1441371"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-673e40b54363b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1441371' first='Oskar' last='Kangas'] is another seasoned veteran on our list with a pocket full of accolades. He has twice been selected as the UP Player of the Year and this year is one of my top picks for UP Mr. Basketball. Iron Mountain is also in District 66 and will look to break free from back-to-back plaguing losses to Menominee in the district finals the previous two seasons. Iron Mountain is deep in most positions and will be tested nightly in the West-PAC Conference. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>3. Menominee</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2561784"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-673e4f3982c99"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2561784' first='Tanner' last='Theurkauf'] is looking to have a breakout year above and beyond the superb year he has had over the past two seasons. He has shot up quite a bit over the past year and has added some size to his game. It will not be a surprise to see Tanner put up 20 and 20 on any given night. I have him ranked #4 on my UP Top 25 list and I would say he's a preseason favorite to make the UP All-Class Dream Team. If Menominee can make it out of District 66, I would say they stand a great shot to make the Breslin. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2. Kingsford </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1504837"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-673e4f3982cee"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Kingsford has a HOST weapons at its disposal and has inside size to boot. I watched Morgan this fall at GNB's fall leaugue at Gladstone High and he was heads and shoulders above most of the other players. He is tall and has a huge presence in the paint. Their go-to guard, [player_tooltip player_id='2058663' first='Gavin' last='Grondin'] freshly inked his deal with Lake Superior State University and they have plenty of experienced depth this year. Last year Kingsford was one game shy of making the Breslin; I would say they stand a solid chance of making it there this year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Marquette<br></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2262437"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-673e4f3982d41"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2610321' first='Jaxon' last='Jurmu'] has been garnering a lot of scouting buzz lately and for good reason. He is in my top 5 for UP players and he has had a pretty successful offseason playing the circuit and hitting some pretty high-end college elite camps. Jaxon will lead a Marquette squad that is stacked with talent with the likes of [player_tooltip player_id='2471674' first='Jacob' last='MacPhee'] and Kyler Sager. Jaxon should easily average a double-double and even sneak in a few games with 10+ assists...as his passing game has pin-point accuracy. Marquette will need to enter the post-season hitting on all cylinders as they play in a very tough D1 District 1 with TC West, TC Central and Petoskey. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->