Postseason Preview: Section 5AA
Photo courtesy of the Star Tribune Section basketball is just around the corner and as the season comes to a close, it’s time to start looking at individual sections. Here’s the lowdown on Section 5AA: Contenders: Annandale, Watertown-Mayer, Brooklyn Center…
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Section basketball is just around the corner and as the season comes to a close, it’s time to start looking at individual sections.
Here’s the lowdown on Section 5AA:
Contenders: Annandale, Watertown-Mayer, Brooklyn Center
Section 5 is as competitive as any section in Class AA. Annandale, Watertown-Mayer and Brooklyn Center can all make cases as top-10 teams in the state and all three could conceivably make a run plus do well in the state tournament.
Annandale’s got several key returnees from last year’s state tournament team namely Jarod Wilken and AJ Hinz. Wilken is one of the top bigs in the 2017 class and his ability to handle the ball and make plays from a frontcourt position makes him a nightmare to defend. Hinz, Nick Bieniek and Trenton Peterson all average more than 10 points per game for a Cardinals team that has all the pieces again. They’ve got size, they’ve got shooting and they’ve got the best defense in the section.
Watertown-Mayer’s got the best individual player in the section in senior guard Trae Berhow. The Pepperdine signee’s been a scoring machine this year for the Royals, averaging more than 24 points per game. He’s got help too as McKinley Gehlhausen is an excellent two-way center who can score effectively within the offense while providing excellent defense in the paint. Ben Theisen and Riley Alger have come along nicely as complementary perimeter scorers as well.
Brooklyn Center has the most explosive offense of any team in the section and while the Centaurs give up more than 67 points per game, that number seems inflated by losses teams like DeLaSalle, Grand Rapids and Minneapolis North.
Le’Cye Patterson is one of the top freshmen in the state and has been stuffing the statsheet all year for the Centaurs. Davonta Prince and DeShawn Pickford are multi-year starters and Adreone Sprinkles has given the team yet another high-end underclass talent to look forward to now and in the future.
There doesn’t appear to be a huge gap between any of the top three teams in Section 5AA. Annandale and W-M split the regular season series while Brooklyn Center didn’t play either team.
In the Hunt: Breck, Eden Valley-Watkins
Breck’s been playing terrific basketball since the start of January. After a 1-5 start to the year, the Mustangs have gone 14-3 (two losses to Minnehaha Academy) and have picked up several impressive wins along the way.
The Mustangs have a great collection of young talent; starting with freshman guard Kerwin Walton and sophomore forward David Roddy. With the way the Mustangs have been playing lately, it feels like they can beat anybody.
Eden Valley-Watkins is another team that looks good enough to be a top two or three seed in most other sections but the depth of Section 5AA pushes the Eagles down to a No. 4/5 seed. That makes them incredibly dangerous.
Jacob Streit and Reese Jensen form a deadly inside-outside duo, averaging nearly 40 points per game combined. Beyond that, the strength of the team is on the defensive end where the Eagles allow just 51 points per game. The Eagles beat Annandale in January and have several other solid wins on the year, so they certainly won’t be intimidated by the big moments.
Teams to watch: Litchfield, Southwest Christian, Rockford
Good guards are a premium at tournament time. That gives the Dragons a lot of cause for optimism because they’ve got a terrific group of guards. Noah Kreger’s had a fantastic senior guard and is a heady lead guard who can score, run a team and provide excellent on-ball defense. Brandon Nelson joins him in the backcourt as another steady senior and sophomore wing Owen Boerema gives the team a go-to scoring option.
The Dragons have three losses to Watertown-Mayer by a combined 16 points. They lost to Annandale by a point. They’ve been competitive in almost all of their losses. They won’t be an easy out.
Rockford’s got a chance to move up in the section standings with a good final week though they face Watertown-Mayer and Litchfield. The Rockets can certainly score. They average the second-most points per game in the section. A lot of that has to do with senior guard Jake Hall, who averages 23 points per night.
Southwest Christian has played a very tough schedule this year and while the Stars have taken more losses than most of the top teams in the section, they don’t have a bad loss.
Trey Sandness is an excellent lead guard and sets the table for the Stars, averaging 11.5 points and four assists. Kyle Meinke gives them blue collar work inside and sophomore guard Max Steensland gives them a top scorer as he averages 14 points per game.
Projected Seedings
- Annandale
- Watertown-Mayer
- Brooklyn Center
- Breck
- Eden Valley-Watkins
- Litchfield
- Southwest Christian
- Rockford
- Holy Family Catholic
- Spectrum
- Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted
- Maple Lake
- Providence Academy
- International School of MN
- Minneapolis Edison
- Heritage Academy
- Paynesville Area
- PACT Charter
- FAIR School