Three Up, Three Down: Class AAAA

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Who are the hot teams in Minnesota and who are the players helping the teams have success? And where are the struggles in Class AAAA?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Three Up</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Osseo (5-1). When Osseo lost to Irondale in the opener (and Irondale has not won since) I think many pushed the Orioles to the back of the mind. I know I did. But since then, Osseo has righted the ship, is flying steadfast, and has won five games in a row including nice wins over Spring Lake Park and Southwest, and slowing down Armstrong who started strong. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='2126472' first='Owen' last='Counce'] is off to a great start leading the team with 19 points a game plus the senior duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1560826' first='Joel' last='Saah'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2575651' first='Quincy' last='Johnson'] have helped scoring 15 and 11 a game respectively. And the emergence of 6'3 senior wing Tony Partyka at nearly ten a game has helped them as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Park of Cottage Grove (5-0). The Wolfpack are 5-0 this year and they have won some two score games beating Stillwater and White Bear Lake which are league contests. They've also earned double figure wins over Como Park and Roseville on their way to that 5-0 record. And.... looking at their upcoming schedule, Park is going to be the favorite in a lot of their upcoming games so they could continue to be impressive. Unfortunately they haven't figured out how to use the Hub so there is nothing we can say about their players but the team looks like they are doing great. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Buffalo (4-0). Buffalo did something this past spring/summer that most high schools can't get their teams to do: play together during the AAU season. And with so many younger players in big roles, and with so many players graduated, that experience has really helped the Bison. So far Buffalo has crushed Cambridge and Monticello, and then won closer games with Chan and St. Louis Park. [player_tooltip player_id='2400077' first='Eli' last='Hegle'], [player_tooltip player_id='2126866' first='Matthew' last='Jordan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2397563' first='Thomas' last='Jordan'] were outstanding in 16u and they have been just as good this year leading the team in scoring. Hegle has a 34 point game against Cambridge, [player_tooltip player_id='2397563' first='Thomas' last='Jordan'] had 27 against Chan, and [player_tooltip player_id='2126866' first='Matthew' last='Jordan'] had 32 against Chan. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Three Down</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lakeville North (1-3). North is off to a rough start and they do have to work in some new guards as they try and get comfortable at this level of play. And keep in mind the schedule has included games against ranked teams from East Ridge, Wayzata and Apple Valley. That is a tough deal for new guards to go against, and North beat a good Spring Lake Park team. They have a couple more games coming up where they will be underdogs (Edina and Eagan) but the schedule will then lighten up for three weeks and that is when you could see this team catch it's breath and get going. Owen Brezinksi is scoring 16 plus a game and off to a nice start and [player_tooltip player_id='1437598' first='Dane' last='Danielson'] is having to do a lot right now as this team gains experience. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shakopee (0-4). Like EP, Shako had a lot of players they needed to break in. They lost a close game to Waconia to start the season and then have lost the rest of the games by double figures against a tough schedule (Chaska, EP and Edina). There will be winnable games coming up soon and that is when this team needs to take it's steps. [player_tooltip player_id='2126458' first='Luke' last='Schroeder'] has scored 100 points in the first four games and he's getting help from [player_tooltip player_id='2417389' first='Jake' last='Courts'] and others, the team just needs experience to develop so they can have depth. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mounds View (2-3).The Mustangs are that team that we always assume will be good. They started the season beating St. Paul Academy and St. Anthony in two/three scores games but have hit a three game losing streak. White Bear Lake and East Ridge handed Mounds View sound losses and then Stillwater surprised MV and beat them by one last night. The Waconia and AHA games coming up are big as those are teams that need that games as badly as Mounds View does. Six-foot-2 junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2140552' first='Andrew' last='Aitkin'] is leading them with 16 points a game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->