Section 3AAAA Preview: New Blood
Previous section previews: Class A Class AA Section 1AAA Section 2AAA Section 3AAA Section 4AAA Section 5AAA Section 1AAAA Section 2AAAA After years of dominance by two point guards, section 3 is turned upside down and the next team up…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingPrevious section previews:
After years of dominance by two point guards, section 3 is turned upside down and the next team up is to be determined. Here’s the lineup:
1. Eastview (15-11)
2. Burnsville (10-16)
3. Eagan (10-16)
4. Park of Cottage Grove (11-15)
5. Apple Valley (6-20)
6. Hastings (9-17)
7. Rosemount (4-22)
8. Henry Sibley (6-20)
Favorite: Eastview
They have the most talent in the section. The trio of 6-foot-10 Steven Crowl, 6-foot-5 Tate Machacek and 6-foot-4 Ryan Thissen can compete with almost anyone anytime; the Lightning have beaten Chaska and Minneapolis North this year and played other top 10 teams to tight games. Thing is, they have lost some they probably shouldn’t have too; their average point differential is barely two points. But come playoff time it’s hard to top the best players, and Eastview is 9-1 against other section 3 opponents this season. As the only team with a winning record in this grouping, with three of the four best players in the section, they are the favorite.
In The Hunt: Burnsville, Park of Cottage Grove, Eagan
The Blaze turned in a solid season with Rob Mestas at the helm, going 10-16 with a pretty tough schedule. More than half their losses are to top 10-15 teams in the state. Almost four players average double figures led by Hayden Johnson at 13 a game. Burnsville plays an uptempo, pressure defense style that dictates the pace of the game on both ends. They did split the season series with Eastview and will have confidence to win the grudge match if the situation arises.
Park of Cottage Grove has two of the best scorers in the section with Domenik Block scoring 20 a game and Charlie Gorres at 16 per contest (he also averages 11 rebounds a game). They are athletic and explosive wings who are tough to match with in size and speed. They had a rough start to the season but held their own in the Suburban East by the end. They have the most talent to square off with Eastview.
Eagan is still in a bit of a rebuilding mode but surprised us with turning some schedule losses into close wins. Kurt Ohlhues, Ben Kozemzak and Finn O’Malley all score 10 or more points per game for the Wildcats. They play a gritty style that fits the theme of the rest of this section and went 6-4 against the rest of these teams all season.
Predictions:
Round 1: Eastview over Henry Sibley, Burnsville over Rosemount, Eagan over Hastings, Park of CG over Apple Valley
Semifinals: Eastview over Park of CG, Burnsville over Eagan
Finals: Eastview over Burnsville