The Metro East Preview

Tartan won the Metro East by three games last year sweeping the league and earning victories by an average of 23 points a night. They could be even better this season.   Last Year   On the Money   A third of the spots were on the money and four others were picked within one spot of their finish.   Yikes RJ!   I had South St. Paul finishing second out of nine last season because they had the talent to do so and they finished seventh of nine. I also made the mistake of thinking a regularly well coached Mahtomedi group would suffer a setback with so many new faces, and they won 13 of 16 league games.   Conference Commentary   Top Ten in State: Tartan, Mahtomedi   Tartan lost only one game last season and they are now more talented this season than last year. Don't mistake talent for experience together though. Tartan is surely more talented now with a higher ceiling as they are a title contender, but the Titans do have to mold in three all league transfers and young players with Goergen and their sophomore pair of stars. That said, Mark Klingsporn is one of the best coaches in the state and this isn't a new task for him. They are a top five team in the state who will contend as we keep those potential playoff match-ups with CDH and/or East Ridge in mind all season.   Mahtomedi lost to Tartan last year twice by a combined 24 points. Can the Zephyrs over take the Titans? I always love the old time warrior nicknames and like the old time warriors of the past, if you have two well led groups going head to head, the deeper group will overtake. That would be Tartan BUT I think [player_tooltip player_id='2465510' first='Mark' last='Graff'] is an outstanding guard and this is the year that [player_tooltip player_id='2140712' first='Willie' last='Roelofs'] should take his biggest step. [player_tooltip player_id='2822606' first='Noah' last='Carlson'] is a sneaky ex-factor.   Compete with Most: Hastings, STA, Two Rivers, Simley, South St Paul   We have a ton of interesting groups here. Hastings was in a great spot but unfortunately [player_tooltip player_id='2978874' first='Marlowe' last='Strain'] was hurt this fall and taking him away from the team is a big deal. Strain gave Hastings a different element. [player_tooltip player_id='1560773' first='Matthew' last='Foss'] is pretty good and should have them in that 3-4 area. St. Thomas Academy has an outstanding player in [player_tooltip player_id='2119593' first='Lars' last='Osteraas'] but so much around him graduated. There are a couple bench pieces and [player_tooltip player_id='2421555' first='Max' last='Hayes'] from the JV but they will need depth. But we will have STA high because we think that highly of what Lars can do for this team and the way he can push his group. One of the best players in this league.   I think Two Rivers could have a great year but that 12-16 keep staring at me. If they can take a step forward I think Two Rivers can hit the third spot in the league. They have a good group of seniors that can score and I am a big fan of the way [player_tooltip player_id='2544137' first='Acaurii' last='Clark'] plays.   SSP lost Mustafa but they have a load of guards that have the potential to come after you relentlessly. That said SSP has played under expectations for a few years now so they need to prove they can live up to expectations. Willie Braziel's Simley bunch should be better as they return their top guys.   Rebuilding: Hill-Murray, North St. Paul   Hill-Murray had a lot of seniors on a team that only won three games in the league. Now they will be young and while we think they can match the league wins potentially, it seems like they need to develop a lot of depth before we talk about much more. NSP was a 6-10 team last year in league play and .500 overall but not only did they lose their best player, they also lost their best up and coming player to transfer as well. There are a few holdover guards that can help them be competitive.   25-26 Conference Predictions   Metro East Power Rankings   (1) Tartan   (2) Mahtomedi   (3) Hastings   (4) St. Thomas Academy   (5) Two Rivers   (6) South St. Paul   (7) Simley   (8) Hill-Murray   (9) North St. Paul     Preseason All Metro East   First Team   Kevin Wilson Jr of Tartan (Soph)   [player_tooltip player_id='2119645' first='Tyrel' last='Pride'] of Tartan (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2119593' first='Lars' last='Osteraas'] of St. Thomas Academy (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2465510' first='Mark' last='Graff'] of Mahtomedi (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2465512' first='Duke' last='King'] of Tartan (Sr)     Second Team   [player_tooltip player_id='2140712' first='Willie' last='Roelofs'] of Mahtomedi (Jr)   [player_tooltip player_id='1560773' first='Matthew' last='Foss'] of Hastings (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2560458' first='Emmanuel' last='Oyesanmi'] of Tartan (Soph)   [player_tooltip player_id='2126460' first='Donte' last='Branch'] of South St. Paul (Jr)   [player_tooltip player_id='1560793' first='Lamont' last='Michaels'] of Two Rivers (Sr)     Third Team   Justus Daye of Tartan (Fr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2405556' first='Tre' last='Lovelace'] of Simley (Jr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2544137' first='Acaurii' last='Clark'] of Two Rivers (Soph)   [player_tooltip player_id='2822606' first='Noah' last='Carlson'] of Mahtomedi (Sr)   Julian Greer of Two Rivers (Sr)     Fourth Team   [player_tooltip player_id='2121366' first='Connor' last='Streiff'] of Simley (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2560501' first='Koa' last='Fuller'] of Hill-Murray (Soph)   [player_tooltip player_id='1548694' first='Keishion' last='Jarmon'] of South St. Paul (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2121369' first='Martevious' last='Allen'] of Two Rivers (Sr)   La'[player_tooltip player_id='2119654' first='Quan' last='Stewart'] of Tartan (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2124212' first='Jaylen' last='Goergen'] of Tartan (Sr)     Fifth Team   [player_tooltip player_id='2398951' first='Brady' last='Hendrickson'] of Hastings (Soph)   [player_tooltip player_id='2120510' first='Addison' last='Tereau'] of South St. Paul (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2835388' first='Kenny' last='Brown'] of Tartan (Soph)   [player_tooltip player_id='2126151' first='Marco' last='London'] of South St. Paul (Jr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2120503' first='Elijah' last='Ernwein'] of North St. Paul (Sr)     Sixth Team   Caleb Marik of South St. Paul (Soph)   Noah Van Wychen of Hill-Murray (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2440424' first='Andre' last='Glass'] of Simley (Soph)   Terence Horton of North St. Paul (Jr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2421555' first='Max' last='Hayes'] of St. Thomas Academy (Jr)     Seventh Team   Rory Schuler of Two Rivers (Sr)   Todd Rogalski of St. Thomas Academy (Sr)   Sincere Caserez-McCampbell of South St. Paul (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2464625' first='Dominic' last='Baez'] of St. Thomas Academy (Sr)   [player_tooltip player_id='2822600' first='Joe' last='Sevenich'] of Mahtomedi (Sr)

Tartan won the Metro East by three games last year sweeping the league and earning victories by an average of 23 points a night. They could be even better this season.