The 2AAAA Profile: What Junior is Ready for the Big Stage

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We give you our 2AAAA power rankings, The Section 15 (best players in the group), and our summary.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2AAAA Power Rankings</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(1) Prior Lake</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(2) Minnetonka</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(3) Eden Prairie</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(4) Chaska</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(5) Shakopee</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(6) Waconia</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(7) Chanhassen</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- 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='2126118' first='Tyler' last='Forrest'] of Chaska (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1560741' first='Will' last='Kirsch'] of Waconia (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2126466' first='Kobby' last='Sambrew'] of Prior Lake (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2126458' first='Luke' last='Schroeder'] of Shakopee (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1560851' first='Hamze' last='Yusuf'] of Eden Prairie (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Second Team</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2140561' first='Benett' last='Barger'] of Chanhassen (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2119596' first='Cooper' last='Fahning'] of Eden Prairie (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Caleb Francois of Minnetonka (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2635710' first='Colten' last='Gunderson'] of Prior Lake (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2052332' first='Trey' last='Theis'] of Prior Lake (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Third Team</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2126143' first='Kalin' last='Jochum'] of Chaska (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2126468' first='Blake' last='Betton'] of Shakopee (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2121339' first='Anthony' last='Ortiz'] of Minnetonka (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2433515' first='Kolby' last='Thompson'] of Prior Lake (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2839785' first='Evan' last='Atkinson'] of Chaska (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>Prior Lake: Prior Lake will be one of the deepest teams in the state. They have good seniors and one really strong junior class. [player_tooltip player_id='2126466' first='Kobby' last='Sambrew'] seems to have the chance to take the biggest step with his ability to move at his size. He is strong, agile and quick, with a chance to lead the team in scoring and rebounding if the paint activity is everything that he is capable of. [player_tooltip player_id='2433515' first='Kolby' last='Thompson'] is also a skilled guard that could take a big step and [player_tooltip player_id='2052332' first='Trey' last='Theis'] is versatile and skilled with size. All of them could have big years mixed with seniors.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Minnetonka: This is an interesting team. They have talent and a lot of guys will take a nice step forward, but will all of the solid players become good or really good players? This team has become so much better defensively so the coaching piece should be there. With Francois, Ortiz and Wright they have good players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eden Prairie: EP will get good years from Yusuf, Sprute, and Fahning, both were strong in 17u, especially Fahning. But there is a host of sophomores and juniors that have potential and if enough of them reach that potential EP can challenge for this section title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chaska: As time has moved on, Chaska has looked even more like a strong contender. [player_tooltip player_id='2126118' first='Tyler' last='Forrest'] is the smart team playing lead guard that I think can make all of the difference. There are also four other key players back and a talented transfer that will step into the line-up as well. Chaska can also win this section. Forrest might just be the all around top player in the section. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shakopee: Shakopee has earned a little bit of trust and what they develop over there but the Sabers have a lot of spots to replace. I think [player_tooltip player_id='2126458' first='Luke' last='Schroeder'] is about to have a big season but how big does it have to be? Betton is a good player and guys like [player_tooltip player_id='2175444' first='Daniel' last='Chua'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2417389' first='Jake' last='Courts'] should step in as the skilled players this team has commonly had, but there are a lot of unknowns. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Waconia: One thing that we have surely noticed is that Waconia has a bit more returning, and more talent than we first thought. They are going to be a better team that we initially expected. [player_tooltip player_id='1560741' first='Will' last='Kirsch'] is going to have a monster year but there are others around to help him. They may not list high in this section but they are a top 25-30 area team in AAAA.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chanhassen: Same with Chan. Sure we have them last in this group BUT they are still going to be better than half of the teams in Class AAAA basketball. And [player_tooltip player_id='2140561' first='Benett' last='Barger'] should step right in as the agile, long armed skilled scorer with some size. Barger is the next junior that will have a big impact on this section as like everybody else in the section, Chan can play with anybody.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->