Section 5A Profile: Nevis Goes for 7 Straight

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nevis has qualified for the state tournament the last six straight seasons. Is this the year somebody takes their place? We think so.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Super Summary</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nevis is a top 15 team in state of course. They need to be knocked off and that will be tough, it's AJ Bessler's turn as the top guy and the 6'5 forward will be a preseason All State player. Ethan Buckholtz is also back as a starter and [player_tooltip player_id='2859869' first='Peyton' last='Benson'] is the up and comer. That said, losing shooter Isaac Bessler, point guard Devan Lindow, and all state big Alex Lester is a big deal. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And it's an even bigger deal when you consider that both East Central and Braham are 20+ win teams with their best players returning. Neither team played Nevis last year but those match-ups are coming. East Central has Ben Carlin and Xavior LeTexier both back among the rest of the line-up, and Braham has [player_tooltip player_id='2369272' first='Tyler' last='Eklund'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2403777' first='Soren' last='Lilly'] back among others. East Central only lost one player from their rotation while Braham lost nobody!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let me say that again, Nevis lost three seniors and four guys from their seven man rotation while East Central and Braham lost a combined one player from their rotations. That is why I think this is the year that somebody COULD not WILL but COULD end this Nevis streak. Browerville, Upsala and Cass-Lake Bena are top 50 teams in Class A and they will play a part in things too, but to me this is a Nevis vs Braham vs East Central battle. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top 3 1A Players</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>AJ Bessler of Nevis</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2432826' first='Benjamin' last='Carlin'] of East Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2369272' first='Tyler' last='Eklund'] of Braham</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Three Teams That Should Improve Their Record</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>East Central (20-8 last year)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Braham (22-7 a year ago)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sebeka (8-19 last year)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Three Teams That Might Not Match Last Year's Win Total</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Upsala (23-7 last season)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Walker-Hackensack-Akeley (20-7 last year)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mille Lacks (8-19 a year ago)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->