Class AAAA Title Contender: Lakeville South

<p>The Cougars will be a senior dominated team with high expectations.  We think the Cougars are certainly contenders in Class AAAA! </p> <p><strong>Key Wins in 20-21 (13-7)</strong><strong>: </strong>   Lakeville North, Prior Lake, Eagan, Shakopee, Prior Lake, Farmington</p> <p><strong>Oops</strong>: Shakopee, Eastview, Farmington, Rosemount, Lakeville North, Owatonna</p> <p><strong>Moving On:  </strong>The Cougs lost Reid Patterson to the division two level.  Reid handled some, scored a lot, and was always a leader for South.  He’s now at Concordia St-Paul as a freshman.  All conference honorable mention guard Trystan Ressler scored ten a game for the Cougars playing a bigger role as the year moved on.  South also used Gavin Sather, Holden Mueller, and Trenton Kerr of the bench last season and they’ve graduated as well.  Then you have Riley Mahlman, the 6’9 post who was won of the top Cougar players but with the season delayed last year, he went to Wisconsin to start his football career early so he didn’t play as a senior.  </p> <p><strong>Returning Starters (4):   </strong>[player_tooltip player_id="962221" first="Jackson" last="Ressler"] began the season as a sophomore starter but was injured early in the year so he only played in a handful of games.  He’s back and will be a key junior figure in the line-up.  [player_tooltip player_id="850730" first="Sam" last="Fliehe"] is one of the top shooters and defenders for the South so Sam will figure heavily into this line-up.  [player_tooltip player_id="774771" first="Avery" last="Mast"] is the top returning scorer and rebounder for South.  He was an all league player that scored twelve plus a game.  Finally, Chase Androff is very important.  The 6’6, 230 pound Nebraska football commit was the starting five a season ago.  His return will be crucial because it will allow Mast to play at the four.  </p> <p><strong>Reserves Playing a Bigger Role: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1267323" first="Connor" last="Beauchamp"] had an All State caliber 17u summer with WOTN and will figure heavily into the rotation this season.  Connor could actually challenge for best all around player on the team if his winter goes as his summer did. Beauchamp was that good at 6’3/6’4 this summer. </p> <p><strong style="font-size: 1rem;">Potentials from the JV:   </strong>Six foot guard [player_tooltip player_id="1288839" first="Reece" last="Volk"] improved throughout the year as a sophomore on the JV.  He’s now a junior and could be ready for a bigger role off the bench.  </p> <p><strong>New to the Team</strong>:  [player_tooltip player_id="1267321" first="Tyler" last="Swanson"] isn’t new to the team, he was just injured last year so he wasn’t on the roster.  His return is massive for the Cougars because he gives the team a tough handler, scorer, passer, creator, and leader.  Tyler was excellent with the Minnesota Lightning this past 17u season and he could move right into a very strong starting five.  Also, sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="1284212" first="Ryan" last="Johnson"] played some varsity last year at Apple Valley as a freshmen.  He’s now at South and will add depth to the backcourt. </p> <p><strong>Final Thoughts</strong>: The list of players above are versatile, tough, and experienced.  They have a few different guys that can handle, a few different guys that can shoot, a number of players that can score, and a lot of guys that can defend.  Lakeville South has the potential to have a big senior season if guys come back healthy/stay healthy and they get what they need around the basket. </p>