Class AAA Preseason Top Ten in Detail

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We know the Eagles and Islanders are at the top, but who else is in the top ten? And why? We break it down for you now! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[table id=680 /]<br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Totino-Grace (1). TG is the deepest team in Class AAA basketball. They have the talent to make it four state titles in five seasons if the team has the right chemistry. There is the size of various types, shooters, creators, and everything else needed to win a title. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DeLaSalle (2). The Islanders are the next deepest and the next most talented team. The one thing that keeps De from the top spot is their depth is just as talented but not as experienced. The TG vs DE game will be talked about all season. And keep in mind, these teams play very very difficult schedules. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Richfield (3). I think Richfield is a bit closer to the depth of the top two than I first realized. Not quite as talented or quite as deep, but very close. The fight for the top two is going to be to try and avoid the [program_tooltip program_id='2075852' first='Spartans' last=''] at state in the semis if all three teams make it. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mankato East (4). East is still going to be very good. They might not be as deep as they have been which keeps them from being talked about in the title game, but we could surely see the Cougars back in the state semi-finals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mahtomedi (5). The Zephyrs are going to be very good. I think they will have a place in the top five all season. The question is.... can they stop the Islanders from a 15th straight section title? That is the ultimate goal of the season. They have the guard to lead (Graff), they have agile and skilled size, it all comes down to their experience against the Islander depth. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Paul Johnson (6). The Governors are also in the section with De and the Zephyrs. Johnson can make an argument as being able to go deeper in the bench than anybody not named De or TG. The Governors have a few guys that I think could make big names for themselves this year: I'm thinking seniors Jermaine Thomas-Curtis, [player_tooltip player_id='2120509' first='Guarino' last='Kamp'] and Octavius Johnson. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Orono (7). Orono is interesting. They have two starters back, two guys back from their bench last year, a couple transfers, and then about three or four games from the JV that are good that should all mix together to form a very good team. 6AAA is wide open but we think Orono is the best contender to Richfield. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Becker (8). Becker won 17 games and they return six of their top seven guys from last year's team plus they have some up and comers. They have two setbacks to deal with though: 1) [player_tooltip player_id='1628775' first='Sawyer' last='Brown'] was recently hurt and that is a tough loss and 2) to get to state they have to pull that USSR upset. The Dogs will be Team USA in 1980 in that game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hibbing (9). The Jackets return everything from last year's 19 win team and we think they should be a top ten most of the season and get to state. Do they have the talent to win that first game at state? That is the biggest question. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Faribault (10). The Falcons have the second best frontcourt in all of Class AAA with Kreager and Wolff. But they lost all of their impact guards and wings to graduation. Do they have an up and coming PG? Maybe Wolff can do it? A combo of both? If they can find that backcourt comfort this team can think big. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->