Section 2A Preview

The Playoffs are right around the corner. With small-school section tournaments set to begin in the next few weeks, it’s time to turn our attention to the postseason. Section 2 is traditionally one of the strongest in Class A and despite one top team losing an all-time great and another moving up to AA in the class realignment, it is still without question the best section in the state. With five teams ranked in the top-10 and potentially eight with 20 or more wins, Section 2 is going feature high-profile matchups as early as the second round of the tournament - which opens the door for a lot of chaos and excitement. Here’s a look at Section 2A Favorite: BOLD The Warriors went into the season as a state title contender and nothing over the course of the last three months has given any indication that they aren’t one of the three or four best teams in the state. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/gavin-vosika/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/gavin-vosika/">Gavin Vosika</a></a> is one of the best two-way point guards in the state regardless of class size and he’s turned in another terrific season, averaging 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jordan-sagedahl/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jordan-sagedahl/">Jordan Sagedahl</a></a> missed the first few games of the year but has certainly rounded into form, averaging 18 points and six rebounds. And <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/drew-sagedahl/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/drew-sagedahl/">Drew Sagedahl</a></a> has emerged as one of the best players in Class A, averaging 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Matt Moorse is a 40-plus percent 3-point shooter and a trusty veteran while Blake Pass and Trenton Ziesmer have provided solid rotation minutes. The Warriors are tough, athletic and skilled. They are relentless in their style in that they are constantly putting pressure on people on both ends of the floor, trapping all over the floor, playing hard man-to-man and pushing the tempo. That is a strength that few teams can match. It may also be their weakness though if they run into a team that can mitigate that pressure and control the tempo by grinding out possessions. That’s hard to do though and that style combined with the aforementioned high-enders is why BOLD is not only a favorite in this section, but a legitimate favorite to win a state title. Contenders: Waterville-Elysian-Morristown, Springfield, New Ulm Cathedral WEM is enjoying another outstanding season, tracking towards another Gopher Conference title and the No. 1 seed in Section 1A-South. The Buccaneers beefed up their schedule a little bit this year, facing Henning and Cass Lake-Bena in the Granite City Classic and have benefitted from a stronger Gopher Conference (Hayfield and Blooming Prairie in particular). Grant McBroom is working on an all-state type season and is one of the best individual players in the section. Cole Kokoschke is a solid inside-outside big man and the Bucs have quality experienced complementary pieces up and down the lineup. Springfield won the section last year and despite graduating Isaac Fink, the Tigers are once again one of the elite teams in Class A. Offense has largely been the cause for success as the Tigers average 85 points per game and have one of the most efficient attacks in the state. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/decker-scheffler/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/decker-scheffler/">Decker Scheffler</a></a> has taken over go-to duties and is working on an all-state type of season, averaging 27 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/mitchell-buerkle/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/mitchell-buerkle/">Mitchell Buerkle</a></a> is averaging 17.7 points, shooting 42 percent from the 3-point line while adding four rebounds and four assists. Those two form one of the best one-two punches in the section and the collection of complementary guys around them have been key varsity contributors for a few years now. New Ulm Cathedral was supposed to be good this year, but the Greyhounds have been even better than expected, sitting at 21-2 and in the No. 2 slot in the north subsection. While BOLD is exceedingly guard-heavy, the Greyhounds present challenges on the other end of the spectrum with their size and length. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jon-zinniel/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jon-zinniel/">Jon Zinniel</a></a> is having another terrific year, averaging nearly 21 points and eight rebounds plus two steals and two blocks. Seniors Chris Knowles and <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/james-gillis/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/james-gillis/">James Gillis</a></a> have been steady as well, averaging 15 and 12 points per respectively. Knowles leads the team in assists while Gillis is their top 3-point shooter. Sophomore forward Sam Knowles has been awesome too, averaging 12 points and 10 rebounds. In The Mix: Martin County West, Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey Mountain Lake has already eclipsed the 20-win mark on the season with three losses to ranked teams. The Wolverines push the tempo and have a number of talented players including senior forward Sam Paulson. Abraham Stoesz and Ethan Nickel form one of the better backcourts in the section. Martin County West is tracking towards a top-four seed in the south subsection with 18 wins on the year. The Mavericks don’t have the explosive offense that a lot of the other top teams in the section can run out but they’ve been successful because of strong defense and rebounding, the ability to control tempo and senior guard <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/wyatt-geistfeld/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/wyatt-geistfeld/">Wyatt Geistfeld</a></a> stuffing the stat sheet. Watch Out For: Nicollet, St. Clair, Mayer Lutheran, T/ML/GHEC Nicollet would be a top-two seed in a lot of sections. In Section 2A-South, the Knights are tracking towards a No. 3 or No. 4 seed right now but could also potentially be as low as No. 6 because of how deep this subsection is. But this team is dangerous. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/riley-hulke/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/riley-hulke/">Riley Hulke</a></a> is having a terrific year, averaging 24 points and nine assists while knocking down 40 percent of his 3-pointers. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/shane-stevenson/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/shane-stevenson/">Shane Stevenson</a></a>’s had a breakout season, averaging 18 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Colton Thomsen is another guy to watch, as he’s had a solid first year on varsity, averaging 10 points and seven rebounds. St. Clair is one of the teams to watch that won’t head into the postseason with 20 wins, but the Cyclones are dangerous because of their shooting. They are led by a trio of terrific sophomores in Connor Andree, Devin Embacher and Mason Ward. Andree and Embacher both shoot better than 40 percent from 3-point range with high volume. Mayer Lutheran is just 10-13 on the season, but the Crusaders seem to be tracking better as of late, as they’ve won four games in a row and took early losses in part due to a challenging schedule. We know they are going to be battle tested playing in a solid Minnesota River Conference plus facing quality teams in the non-conference. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/teigan-martin/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/teigan-martin/">Teigan Martin</a></a> is one of the best players in the section and a guy to watch. T/ML/GHEC has 18 wins at this point and has a good shot to eclipse 20 by the time the postseason arrives, yet will likely go into the playoffs as the No. 5 or 6 seed. Sophomore big man Adam Heckman is a double-double threat every time out and junior swingman Matt Heckman is a quality perimeter scorer.