Scouting Minnesota – 8AAA Ten Best

<p>8AAA basketball lost a lot of senior talent.  However, the Alexandria Cardinals bring back their top three scorers, three talents that are also three of the elite players in the section. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Five Best</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958643" first="Thomas" last="Diew"]</strong> of St. Cloud Apollo. Thomas is the best post player and prospect in this section there is zero doubt.  He is coming off of a 13 point and six rebound per game season scoring on nearly 57 percent of his attempts utilizing a pretty touch and an excellent usage of his frame.  But newsflash!  Something the hoops people may not know is that the 6-foot-7, 230 pounder is a division one football prospect on the defensive line. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="957212" first="Gustav" last="Gunderson"]</strong> of Sartell.  Gunderson was the lead guard for Sartell and can play off the ball as well.  He scored 15 points a game for a program that broke through a season ago and Gustav is likely to have this program pushing for another 16-20 wins.  He’s also a stand out football player as well. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="850732" first="Erik" last="Hedstrom"]</strong> of Alexandria. Erik is a strong, thick forward that can move other bigs with his frame but has a feel and touch that allow him to make some smooth plays with the ball getting to space near the basket.  He averaged 13 points a game as a sophomore and they can use him in a few spots. </p> <p><strong>Kris Hoskins</strong> of Alexandria. Kris is an aggressive, strong, quick lead guard that outfights his fellow guard to make plays at a higher rate than his fellow guard.  Hoskins is fighting for his spot among a great 2021 guard class and this year he has his chance to make a huge impression for a team that could/should be top ten in Class AAA. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="774753" first="Colton" last="Roderick"]</strong> of Alexandria. It’s Colton’s time.  He’s earned it.  This is one of the betters shooters in the upcoming seniors class and he stands 6-foot-5 as a wing.  Colton is the most dangerous scorer in this section as he scored nearly 20 a game last winter making 41 percent of his attempts at the arc. Good passer too and contributed six plus boards a game. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Next Five</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="957611" first="Ethan" last="Opsahl"]</strong> of Sauk Rapids-Rice.   Scored 15 a game for the Storm last year, stepping into the big role. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="774872" first="Luke" last="Kush"]</strong> of Little Falls.   Great athlete that rebounds in bulk.  A double-double guy that also scored 13 a game. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958663" first="Gavin" last="Luksik"]</strong> of Bemidji.   Bemidji lost a lost of talent but Gavin scored a dozen a contest.  </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958683" first="Mason" last="Lund"]</strong> of Sartell.   Another reason we are high on Sartell next season is [player_tooltip player_id="958683" first="Mason" last="Lund"], a bigger guard that scored 14 a contest. </p> <p><strong>Kytavion Norwood</strong> of St. Cloud Tech.   Things have changed at Tech with a new coach off a rough season.  Norwood was one of the few bright spots. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>