Having done our due diligence in Class AAAA, let’s now turn to the “small schools.” It’s hard to believe, but when they first went to 2 classes–not 4 but 2 classes–in 1970, Class A consisted of all 3 classes above the biggest schools, that is, today’s AAA, AA and A. How’d that work? Well, they expanded Class A to include today’s Class AA in 1976. With that….
Class AAA
1. Orono (19-12 last year). The top 2 AAA teams and 3 of probably the top 6 are in Section 6AAA, where most people are picking Benilde-St. Margaret’s. But, hey, Orono has the top individual in Class AAA, though most people will disagree with that, too. But Nolan Groves, a 6-4 senior guard, scored 27 ppg with 8 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals a year ago. And he’ll have 6-9 Brady Wooley (14 ppg-11 reb-5 bks) on his side, too. 3 other contributors are also back with a total of 23 ppg a year ago. Projected as Section 6 champion.
2. Benilde-St. Margaret’s (19-10). Against that the Red Knights have seniors Jalen Wilson (19 ppg last year), Jaleel Donley (15 ppg) and Abu Keita (10) back from last year, and they’ve added T.J. Schuttley, a 6-4 shooting guard from Wisconsin who played at Link Academy in Missouri last year. Granted, that’s a lot of firepower. But Orono won just as many games last year and has 15 more ppg returning. If Stuttley is better than those 15 ppg, well, so be it.
3. DeLaSalle (22-10). Travis Bledsoe is moving to Anoka- Ramsey CC, so 24-year assistant Todd Anderson is moving up as DeLaSalle’s new head coach. My instinct is that he’s going to knock this opportunity right out of the park. Just not this year. But, hey, 3rd place ain’t bad. He returns 5 contributors led by senior guard Devon Irvin (12-3-4-2), plus sophomore Jaeden Udean (14 ppg). Projected as Section 4 champion.
4. Totino Grace (27-5). Oh, yeah, forgot to mention. Most people will be picking Benilde in Section 6 and most people will be picking Totino to four-peat as state champion. And I must say that I don’t doubt that Totino coach Nick Carroll has a couple of new recruits that I don’t know about yet. So there’s that. But based on their returning players, Totino is not my favorite at least for that four-peat. That is not to say that Chace Watley, Tyler Wagher, Dothan Ijambidola and Tian Chatman cannot play. They can play. Hey, 4th place ain’t bad. Projected as Section 5 champion.
5. Mankato East (28-3). Last year’s runners-up bring 6 expeienced contributors back but I can’t quite call them a contender for a state title. Still, their best player, 6-1 senior Brogan Madsen (16 pg) is their point guard and that’s always a good thing. 6-5 senior Ganden Gosch is a Minnesota State Mankato recruit. Projected as Section 2 champion.
Your other state tournament entries are projected to be:
• Byron (21-8 last year) over a very good Stewartville (28-4) team in Section 1AAA
• St. Thomas (18-11) in Section 3
• Hermantown (21-8) in Section 7
• Alexandria (25-7) in Section 8
State tournament: Orono over Hermantown, DeLaSalle over St. Thomas, Totino over Alexandria, Byron over Mankato East.
Semis: Orono over Byron, and DeLaSalle over Totino. Finals: DeLaSalle 72 Orono 68.
Class AA
1. Breck (31-1 last year). Breck loses loaner Daniel Freitag from its defending state champions, but returns at least 7 solid contributors who scored 64 ppg among them. The irony of Daniel Freitag is that everybody attributes Breck’s title to him. They might a won it without him. This year they are favored to win it without him. Junior guard Hanif Muhammad leads the way. Last year his line was 16-4-4-2. Miles Newton and JP Musoke also averaged in double digits. Projected as Section 5AA champion.
2. Caledonia (23-5). Returns highly regarded senior guards Mason King (5-11, 18 ppg) and Reid Klug (6-4, 15 ppg-11 reb) and 7, count ’em, 7 other contributors who scored 78 ppg among them. Projected as Section 1 champion.
3. Jackson County Central (22-9). Returns 3 juniors who combined for a line of 44-14-7 ast-2 stls-2 blks a year ago. Roman Voss leads the way at 19-6-3-2. Projected as Section 3 champion.
4. Albany (30-3). The 2023 champions remain in the mix with 6-3 senior guard Zeke Austin (21-5-3) and 607 senior forward Scott Hondl (17-4-2). Projected as Section 6 champion.
5. Minnehaha (15-16). Returns 6 contributors led by George Norseman (16-6-3). Projected as Section 4 champion.
The other section champions are most likely to be: Waseca (20-12) in Section 2; Pequot Lakes (28-5) in Section 7; and Pelican Rapids (24-7) in Section 8.
State tournament matchups: Breck over the Pelicans; Caledonia over Waseca; Pequot upsets Jackson; and Albany over Minnehaha in a replay of the 2023 final. Semis: Breck over Albany, and Caledonia over Pequot. In the final, Caledonia upsets Breck 77-72.
Class A
1. Heritage Christian (23-8). Returns 6-deep experienced contributors led by senior guard Joshua Sokeye and his line of 18-7-4-3. Abu Tarwallie’s line was 14 ppg and 13 boards. The 6 fellows scored 61 ppg among them. 4 of them averaged in double figures. Projected as Section 4 champion.
2. Cherry (31-2). The more popular choice for #1 will be defending state champion Cherry. 6-3 guard Isaac Asuma, now a Minnesota Gopher, is a big loss and a big hole to fill, but Cherry has 4 returnees to salve its wound. They scored 52 ppg among them. 4 of them averaged in double digits. They’ll be very very good. Projected as Section 7 champion.
3. West Central (28-5). Return 4 contributors include 13 ppg scorers Carter Kjesbo and Ben Bye, the latter also supplying some 6-5 size. Projected as Section 6 champion.
4. Nevis (25-8). John Paul Benson has finally graduated after playing for Nevis for about 10 years, but Nevis returns Alex Lester and A.J. Bessler among others. Projected as the Section 5 champion.
5. Ada Borup West (24-6). Projected as the Section 6 North sub-section champion but runs into West Central in the section final. Returns 3 contributors led by Cadyn Dahl and Austin McCraven.
Your other state tournament entries could be Spring Grove (21-4) in Section 1A; Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s (20-8) in Section 2; Dawson-Boyd (26-3) in Section 3; and Cass Lake-Bena (21-7) in Section 8. State tournament matchups: Heritage over Cass Lake; Cherry over Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s; West Central over Spring Grove; and Dawson-Boyd upsets Nevis . Semi-finals: Heritage over Dawson-Boyd; and Cherry over West Central. In the finals, Heritage 82 Cherry 70.
Top Players in AAA, AA and A
1st Team
C-Brady Wooley, Orono 6-9 sr 14-11-5 blks
PF-Dothan Ijadimbola, Totino 6-6 jr F 13
SF-Jalen Wilson, Benilde 6-7 sr 19
PG-Nolan Groves, Orono, 6-4 sr 27-8-5-2 stls
SG-T.J. Stuttley, Benilde 6-4 sr transfer
2nd Team
C-Chase Thompson, Alexandria 6-9 sr
PF-Max Dearborn, Byron 6-5 sr 16-4-3-2 blks
SF-Tyler Wagner, Totino 6-6 sr 13
PG-Zeke Austin, Albany 6-3 sr G 21-5-3
SG-Reid Klug, Caledonia 6-4 15-11
3rd Team
C-Alex Lester, Nevis 6-8 sr 18-12
PF-Scott Hondl, Albany 6-7 sr 17-4-2
SF-Roman Voss, Jackson CC 6-4 jr 19-6-3-2
PG-Isaiah Asuma, Cherry 6-0 soph 12-4-7-2
SG-Brogan Madson, Mankato East 6-1 sr 16
4th Team
C-Harrison Kennan, Pequot Lakes 6-5 sr 13-8-4 blk
PF-Ganden Gosch, Mankato East 6-5 sr 10
SF-Noah Sundquist, Cherry 6-2 sr F 15-7-2
PG-Devon Irvin, DeLaSalle 6-0 jr 12-3-4-2
SG-Joshua Sokeye, Heritage sr G 18-7-4-3