Section 3AA Preview
Playoffs?!? The playoffs are right around the corner. With small-school section tournaments set to begin next week, it’s time to turn our attention to the postseason. See Previous Section Previews Here Section 1A Section 2A Section 3A Section 4A Section…
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Continue ReadingPlayoffs?!? The playoffs are right around the corner. With small-school section tournaments set to begin next week, it’s time to turn our attention to the postseason.
See Previous Section Previews Here
Here’s what you need to know about Section 3AA
Section 3AA is one of the more open sections in the state as there might not be any one clear-cut favorite. There a number of talented teams though and there isn’t a lot of separation between the top seeds and even the No. 4 seeds in their subsections.
Favorite: New London-Spicer
The Wildcats have been probably the best team in the section throughout the season and they’ve got arguably the most pure talent of any team in the section.
Brandon Adelman is one of the best guards in the state and he’s been terrific all season. His ability to control the game offensively and either get his own shot or help his teammates makes the team go. He’s a solid defender too. Ander Arnold has come along nicely in his senior year as a really good complementary piece. His athleticism is a plus and something not a lot of teams can contend with in the section. Ryan Wyganowski is one of the better complementary guards in the section too.
Contenders: Jackson County Central, Morris/Chokio-Alberta, St. James
Jackson County Central and St. James look like the two best teams in the South Subsection.
JCC has a terrific junior duo in Rudy Voss and Andrew Hesebeck. Voss has been a stat-stuffer for a couple years now and is starting to garner recognition as one of not only the best players in the southern corner of the state, but the entire state.
St. James has a really good group of perimeter players who have experience in Parker Jones, Kobe Mohwinkel and Derrick Halvorson. Jones is one of the better scorers in the section.
Morris/Chokio-Alberta has a chance to move up in the section standings with a good finish to the regular season. The Tigers have a great frontcourt led by freshman phenom Jackson Loge. He’s already one of the elite players in the state. Camden Arndt is excellent up front as well – though he does pretty much everything on the court including defending perimeter guys and initiating offense.
In the Mix: Redwood Valley, Minnewaska, Martin County West
Minnewaska won the section title last year and while the Lakers don’t have the same kind of juice they did a year ago, they’ve still got enough talent to win the section again. Grant Jensen and Shawn Carsten were key cogs in last year’s state-tournament run and they are the foundation pieces for this group. Jack Blevins has been very good as well.
Redwood Valley has always been able to put up points as the Cardinals play with good pace and they have talented perimeter scores. Cole Woodford is that guy this year and he’s as good as it gets in the section, averaging roughly 20 points per game.
Martin County West has had a lot of success in the second half of the year though much of the Mavericks’ competition is Class A schools. It’ll be interesting to see if they can handle some of the bigger schools they’ll face in sections because early in the year, they struggled against teams like JCC, Pipestone and Blue Earth Area.