Section 8AAAA: First Look

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alex and Monticello join Section 8AAAA and give it a new look for the next couple years! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Summer Summary</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I look at this section and think three things immediately: 1) Alexandria is the favorite and one of 5-6 teams that I think can win the AAAA state title, 2) I think there are five very good teams that could have some great battles: Alex, Monticello, Bemidji, Moorhead and Elk River, 3) there are three teams that are for the most part jumping into the season with a very new group of players, most of them inexperienced: Brainerd, STMA, and Rogers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One thought on each of the five contenders:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alexandria: three double figure scoring returning players and a group of role players that are more than prepared to step into bigger roles</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monticello: don't forget that they were a top ten team last year and have multiple returning starters</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bemidji: a team with several returning players that are going to play college basketball</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moorhead: they have several players with strong potential that I think will keep them at a very similar level to recent years</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Elk River: they are big up front, they have a player in [player_tooltip player_id='1560831' first='Levi' last='Harris'] that can score in bulk</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top 3 8AAAA Players</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(1) [player_tooltip player_id='2118495' first='Talan' last='Witt'] of Alexandria</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(2) [player_tooltip player_id='2118449' first='Mason' last='Witt'] of Alexandria</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(3) [player_tooltip player_id='1560797' first='Jaxon' last='Boschee'] of Bemidji</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Three Teams That Should Improve Their Record</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bemidji (15-12 last year)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Elk River (8-20 a year ago)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not sure if there is another candidate</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>STMA (18-10 last year)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rogers (10-17 last year)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monticello (24-5 last season)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->