Class AAAA: The Top Sleepers in Each Section

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've been previewing everything and will continue to preview everything as we move closer to basketball season. Here is the top sleeper team per each section. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1AAAA: <strong>Lakeville South.</strong> It has to be the Cougars. I feel like whenever we have them propped up and told people to be ready for massive things we may have taken it too far, and whenever we don't expect as much from them they are better than expected. [player_tooltip player_id='1560811' first='Collin' last='Johnson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2121334' first='Ryker' last='Sanders'] were role guys last year and I think they will have strong seasons along with the returning starters.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2AAAA: <strong>Waconia</strong>. The Cats enter the Nick Perrin era and they do it with a big man on campus type of star in [player_tooltip player_id='1560741' first='Will' last='Kirsch']. But they more you look, the more you see that Kirsch has more pieces than at first look. There were a couple guys that came on later last year that return and [player_tooltip player_id='2447537' first='Jaxen' last='Holmlund'] is a name we keep trying to put on these pages because he had a good junior year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>3AAAA: <strong>Rosemount</strong>. Having seen pieces of this team in spring/summer play and then seeing them in summer league, the conclusion has to be that they could put together a team that tests Eagan and/or Apple Valley. Maybe not a team that beats them in the playoffs, but a team that can test those favorites. [player_tooltip player_id='2126455' first='Peyton' last='Gholson'], [player_tooltip player_id='2845973' first='Jack' last='Burke'], [player_tooltip player_id='1560861' first='Mayon' last='Dixon'], [player_tooltip player_id='1560761' first='Kavari' last='Flowers'], [player_tooltip player_id='1628772' first='Ja'khi' last='Hollie'] and all state 15u talent [player_tooltip player_id='2397555' first='Brady' last='Molenaar'], the talent is there to be good. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>4AAAA: <strong>Two Rivers</strong>. Julian Greer and [player_tooltip player_id='1560793' first='Lamont' last='Michaels'] back is enough to turn that 12-16 into 16-12 at least but [player_tooltip player_id='2544137' first='Acaurii' last='Clark'] on that team should make them really hard to stop. Osseo has that four guard group that we have talked about being a really hard team to deal with if the chemistry is right, that is the same here with Two Rivers. If these three players and [player_tooltip player_id='2121369' first='Martevious' last='Allen'] can pair with the right chemistry they can be dangerous. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5AAAA: <strong>Park Center</strong>. It's so weird to say this but the Pirates are now a team that we will talk about being a sleeper. Bo Powell has taken some teams that weren't expected to do much and motivated them to attack teams with pressure and rim finishes. That could be this group led by DaRoyce Mills, [player_tooltip player_id='1560870' first='Elvis' last='Neckles'], Josiah Smith and others. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>6AAAA: <strong>St. Louis Park</strong>. Clearly the answer is St. Louis Park. The Curtis Brothers made so many headlines last year people didn't even notice that [player_tooltip player_id='2362161' first='Matthew' last='Johnson'] was a 6'5/6'6 developing forward that scored in double figures regularly. And [player_tooltip player_id='2121351' first='Tanner' last='Rose'] moves into that ball handling spot. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>7AAAA: <strong>Forest Lake.</strong> I feel like 7AAAA is always wide open and looked past so there are never really any sleepers but if I had to pick one it would be Forest Lake. Four returning starters back and this is a school that will be coming off of a high from the football season. [player_tooltip player_id='1560745' first='DJ' last='Westman'] leads, and watch out for [player_tooltip player_id='1874903' first='Kevin' last='Ndirangu'] who should take another step forward. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>8AAAA; <strong>Elk River</strong>. The Elks seem like the likely answer here. They were 8-20 last year but this is a big senior group led by [player_tooltip player_id='1560831' first='Levi' last='Harris'] and there is size on this team with [player_tooltip player_id='1560841' first='Dominic' last='Webster'] and seven footer Lincoln Jeno-Laplante. The key might be those role playing seniors at wing and forward: guys like [player_tooltip player_id='1560879' first='Jackson' last='Boll'], [player_tooltip player_id='2447459' first='David' last='Balisidya'], [player_tooltip player_id='1560742' first='Amani' last='Kuhl'], and others. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->