The Wright County Preview (West)
The Wright County Conference (Western part) was won by Alexandria last winter with New London-Spicer on their heels. Who will be the favorites this winter?
Last Year 17-18. 1) Annandale, 2) New London-Spicer, 3) Rockford, 4) Dassel-Cokato, 5) Litchfield, 6) Glencoe-Silver Lake, 7) Mound-Westonka, 8) Watertown-Mayer
Conference Commentary
Top Ten – New London-Spicer
The Wildcats have five of their six guys back from a 19-9 team and all of those guys are seniors. And not only are they seniors, Brandon Adelman is a St Cloud State committed guard plus Ryan Wyganowski will compliment him well. The role guys are experienced and they fit. This is a team that has some tough teams to get through in section 6AA but they will be the favorite there.
Potential Top Ten – Rockford, Litchfield
Rockford has their two best players back from a 19-10 team and both players – Nick Manthana and Luke Pepin – are talented kids that should lead this team to a great year, they just need the depth to step up to make a run at Breck, North, and Maranatha in the sections. The Dragons went 12-16 last year but their top three players return and Owen Boerema is maybe the most under the radar senior in the state of Minnesota. He has the talent to lead this team to the section semis in a tough 5AA.
Compete with Most – Glencoe-Silver Lake, Mound-Westonka
GSL returns six of their top eight guys including Dane Schwirtz and his 11-12 points per game. The Panthers were 11-17 a year ago but with so much talent returning they should be able to flip that record at least. Mound-Westonka returns four of their top six guys from a 13-14 team. This team has really improved their way of playing team basketball, can they now take the next step as a competitive group?
Rebuilding – Annandale, Dassel-Cokato, Watertown-Mayer
I don’t know how much Annandale really rebuilds but they lose their top six guys from last year’s team and only one returning player was in the rotation. So it is a rebuild with so many new guys on the roster but they teach the game well there so you have to expect the new players will be solid. D-C had an excellent talent in Trever Kaiser plus four other seniors out of their six man rotation. The Chargers have a load of players to replace. Watertown-Mayer dealt with injuries last year, they finished last in the league, and the majority of their guys were seniors a year ago.
Predicted Order of Finish
1 – New London-Spicer
2 – Rockford
3 – Litchfield
4 – Annandale
5 – Mound-Westonka
6 – Glencoe-Silver Lake
7 – Dassel-Cokato
8 – Watertown-Mayer
Preseason All Wright County Conference (West)
First Team
Brandon Adelman of New London-Spicer (12)
Owen Boerema of Litchfield (12)
Luke Pepin of Rockford (11)
Ryan Wyganowski of New London-Spicer (12)
Nick Manthana of Rockford (12)
Second Team
Alex Guenke of Litchfield (12)
Ander Arnold of New London-Spicer (12)
Nicolas Phommahaxay of Mound-Westonka (12)
Dane Schwirtz of Glencoe-Silver Lake (12)
Sanders Asplin of Dassel-Cokato (11)
Third Team
Jake Schneider of Rockford (12)
Gabe Ropeke of Glencoe-Silver Lake (12)
Jameson Sexton of Mound-Westonka (11)
Brandyn Harlow of New London-Spicer (12)
Cameron Howard of Annandale (12)
Mitchel Klockmann of Glencoe-Silver Lake (10)