17u Run Through: WOTN
This WOTN group coached by Luke Swedburg went 33-10 last year and finished in the state’s top three rankings wise. What’s next? Prep Hoops takes you through it now.
The Roster: The ten man WOTN roster has three guys from Lakeville North, two from New Prague, two from Northfield, and one each from Waconia, Minnetonka, and Farmington. This is surely a southwest metro team as the majority of the team is from a similar area of the map.
Big Names Returning: One thing that will make this group quite tough (besides their familiarity of one another) is solid guard play from Lakeville North guard Tommy Jensen (6-foot-0) and New Prague guard Tyler Kemp (6-foot-6). Jensen of course is coming off a state tournament with the Panthers and he was the second leading scorer (10.8 points a game) and second in assists (nearly four a game). Kemp played at New Prague for one of the better defenses out there and led his team in several categories including scoring at 12-13 a contest. Jensen is a tough ball handler who can also hit jumpers off the ball while Kemp is very skilled at his size and has a knack for playmaking.
Moving Up: Six-foot-2 guard Jameson Shrumm is back with WOTN. Jameson was one of the key pieces in the Farmington line-up giving the team eight points a game. Six-foot-1 guard Sam Nelson of Waconia was a key piece to the Wildcats line-up offer consistent shooting and six points a night. Also back is the Lakeville North reserve frontcourt players that you likely saw come off the bench mixing it up and handling whatever assignment coach John Oxton asked of them. That would be 6-foot-3 Eli Mostaert and 6-foot-6 Tate Staloch. Eli was the guy that the Panthers asked to mix it up inside plus he was the steam’s second leading rebounder (five points and five boards a game).
New Additions: The big name addition for WOTN is Northfield’s Mason Zick, a true sleeper in this year’s 17u Minnesota class. Zick scored 14 points a game for a 20 win Raiders team that spent some time in the Class AAA top ten and Zick is at least 6-foot-6 with a good shooting touch and solid ball handling skills. Along with Zick this year will be Blake Christenson, a 5-foot-10 guard who scored seven a game for his team and did some ball handling.
Another solid addition to WOTN will be 6-foot-6 New Prague post Hunter Nielson who was a part of a balanced Trojans line-up that had any number of six guys that could give his team 4-5 baskets a nigh at least. Nielson scored nine a game in side for New Prague. Finally, Minnetonka forward Gavin Patton stands 6-foot-5 and had a strong year for the Skippers putting up four buckets a game in the Lake Conference.