Hidden Gems: Mississippi 8

<p>As the season approaches, preview content begins to escalate for the 2019-20 hoops campaign.</p> <p>We’ll continue this series called Hidden Gems by naming one sleeper prospect from each team, conference by conference. Who is poised for a big season with new responsibilities? NHR details an up-and-comer from every angle, today in the downsized Mississippi 8.</p> <p><strong>Becker: Nick Mittelstaedt, 6-0 PG, Sr. </strong>A double-figure scorer for the Bulldogs as a junior, Nick takes primary ballhandling duties partnering with forward Cade Callahan to make a strong offensive pair. Mittelstaedt will lead the more experienced Becker squad to an improved record now that dominant forces STMA, Buffalo and Rogers have left the conference.</p> <p><strong>Big Lake: Jack Iverson, 6-7 PF, Jr. </strong>Iverson's summer gave me very high hopes for the Big Lake streak of strong frontcourt players to continue. He has great upper body strength finishing through contact and can take you one dribble from the baseline or the elbow to get at the rim. Soft shooting touch to 15 feet, good defensive IQ protecting the paint. Jack has room to grow as a complete big man with two years left in his prep career.</p> <p><strong>Cambridge-Isanti: Ryan Cox, 6-1 G, Sr. </strong>If there's a third backcourt option to bolster the scoring potency of Henry Abraham and Micah Ladd, don't be surprised if it's Ryan Cox, one of only five Bluejackets to play in all 26 regular season games. He only provided two scores a game but his presence is consistent and trusted. There were a few games of double-digit scoring scattered during the year and that could be a more common thing from Ryan with so much attention on Abraham and Ladd.</p> <p><strong>Chisago Lakes: Beau Backes, 6-5 F, Sr. </strong>Beau's sister Carmen is a forward for the University of Wisconsin women's basketball team and she was a monster box score stuffer in the paint at Chisago. Beau fits the same mold as a bruising forward. He put up about 10 points per contest last season and with 6-6 forward Will Tinjum's 16 PPG gone to Valley City State, I like the chances of Beau's numbers going up as a senior.</p> <p><strong>Monticello: Wyatt Sawatzke, 6-0 PG, So. </strong>Here comes another Sawatzke in position to play a big lead guard role for the Magic, who return only the experience of star wing Austin Wetter to the 2019-20 season. Wyatt's brother Carson was a nice player graduating this past year and now Wyatt has a chance to spend multiple years growing and leading the Magic offensive flow.</p> <p><strong>North Branch: Drew Van Eerden, 6-1 SG, Sr. </strong>One of the more under-the-radar scoring guards around is Drew VanEerden, who quietly scored 12 a game last year — if 12 a game isn't enough for you, open it up and he had a run of 22, 17, 16, 14, 18 and 25 point outputs in the middle of last season. Now with a perimeter-heavy offense, expect Drew's prowess for stepping into long treys get even more opportunities.</p> <p><strong>Princeton: Tate Laabs, 6-1 PG, Sr.</strong> Lost in the shuffle of Princeton's 80-plus PPG run last year was the seemingly high assist-to-turnover ratio from junior Tate Laabs. His quiet, patient demeanor on the court didn't get him noticed like crazy but he has a good stroke from deep, long arms to whip around tough passes and hands that get in the way of opponent dribbles. He'll make for a versatile lead option that can really unleash his balanced skillset for a green crew of Tigers coming off their first State appearance since 1932.</p> <p><strong>St. Francis: Kenstad Jackson, 6-1 SG, Sr. </strong>The Fighting Saints watch most of their rotation depart. Football star Wyatt Schroeder returns for another year and alongside him is Kenstad Jackson, a strongly built combo wing player that has great balanced form shooting from deep and ability to finish inside at a high rate with both hands. He's a fearless driver and shooter who scored a couple buckets a game and that number will grow pretty quickly with his willingness to take the ball and create. I like what he brings to the table as a do-everything perimeter guy.</p>