The Central Lakes Conference Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alexandria earned another CLC title a season ago. With a new rotation, will their streak end?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Last Year</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>On the Money</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Outside of one team, we were pretty much on the money with the order picking Alex to win, Sartell to be just behind them, and Willmar and Apollo towards the top as well. It was a good run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Yikes</em> <em>RJ</em>!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tech was a year ahead of schedule on that talent rebuild. We picked them at the bottom and they finished in 4th place with a 9-9 record in league play. [player_tooltip player_id='2569247' first='Jiech' last='Jiech'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2873622' first='Nick' last='Brakes'] really surprised in their development which is a big reason they went .500 overall (14-14). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Conference Commentary</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Ten in State:</strong> St Cloud Tech, St Cloud Apollo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Apollo and Tech will start the season in the top ten of Class AAA basketball and they will have every chance to stay there all season with the talent that is on their rosters. In fact, the door is wide open for anybody to join TG, De, and the 6AAA winner in the AAA semi-finals. The winner of 8AAA has as good of a chance as anybody of being there. That is another reason that the Tech/Apollo rivalry could be at its best in like 15 years this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Ten Potential</strong>: Alexandria, Sartell, Fergus Falls</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alexandria will be the CLC favorite as the players and coaches of Tech, Apollo and others have to prove they can beat the Cards. As for AAAA hoops, Alex will be closer to top 20 than top 10 to enter the season but all the new rotational bodies could quickly click and get them into the top ten. Sartell has a couple good starters returning to their line-up and the Otters are serious up and comers. Sartell and Fergus Falls are right there in the mix for contenders for the CLC with Tech, Apollo and Alex.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Compete with Most</strong>: Brainerd, Willmar, Sauk Rapids</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brainerd, Willmar and Sauk Rapids could all be good teams too. Willmar actually returns a ton of their line-up as does Sauk Rapids. Brainerd doesn't have as much back from the rotation, but they have some up and comers. Brainerd, Willmar, and Sauk Rapids all have a chance to be in the upper half of the league. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rebuilding</strong>: Detroit Lakes, Rocori</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rocori has a new coach, a new top player, and they struggled last season. They are in a rebuild that will need a season to get experience. Detroit Lakes was 6-10 last year and they lost a lot of players to graduation. They are in a bit of a reset. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>26-27 Conference Predictions</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>CLC Power Rankings</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(1) Alexandria</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(2) St. Cloud Tech</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(3) St. Cloud Apollo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(4) Sartell</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(5) Fergus Falls</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(6) Brainerd</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(7) Willmar</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(8) Sauks Rapids</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(9) Detroit Lakes</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(10) Rocori</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason All CLC</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>First Team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2569233' first='De'Anthony' last='Sells'] of St. Cloud Apollo (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2575638' first='Izayah' last='Cook'] of St. Cloud Tech (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2569247' first='Jiech' last='Jiech'] of St. Cloud Tech (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='3579594' first='Karson' last='Lewis'] of Sartell (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2869569' first='Jacob' last='Jenc'] of Fergus Falls (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Second Team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2873622' first='Nick' last='Brakes'] of St. Cloud Tech (Sr).  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2382519' first='Eston' last='Bethel'] of Fergus Falls (Jr).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2560535' first='Trevor' last='Terfehr'] of St. Cloud Apollo (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2560448' first='Cooper' last='Schnichels'] of Willmar (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bernat Amborn of Alexandria (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Third Team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='3579605' first='Goay' last='Hoth'] of St. Cloud Apollo (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2441399' first='Aiden' last='Gilbert'] of Brainerd (Sr).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2527128' first='Parker' last='Smith']  of Sartell (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='3719204' first='Alex' last='Hoppe'] of Willmar (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lule Merseth of Brainerd (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fourth Team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Black Scholl of Alexandria (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hudson Sjobeg of Willmar (Sr)  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2869570' first='Nolan' last='Felstul'] of Fergus Falls (Sr).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2835426' first='Ty' last='Miller'] of Alexandria (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Okilli Galo of St. Cloud Tech (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fifth Team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Davion Bower of Detroit Lakes (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='3599761' first='Preston' last='Bernander'] of Brainerd (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Trenton Drouillard of Fergus Falls (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2833317' first='Ty' last='Rudolph'] of Sauk Rapids (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2676981' first='Grady' last='Buchert'] of Sauk Rapids (Sr).  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nolan Vanloy of Rocori (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->