12-13 Section 6AAAA Preview

This is the 23rd preview in my 2012-2013 season preview series.  In this preview, a look at section 6AAAA.  For a list of all the season previews, click here.

Defending Champion: Hopkins

Predicted Seeding

1. Hopkins
2. Edina 
3. Wayzata
4. Minnetonka
5. St. Louis Park
6. Armstrong
7. Minneapolis South
8. Minneapolis Southwest

This will be one of the tougher sections to seed during the season.  You have an Armstrong team who will finish better in the Northwest Suburban than the seed they get in section.  I have St. Louis Park picked for a road game but yet I think they'll win the North Suburban.  That's how deep the Lake is this year.  Hopkins and Edina are top flight teams in AAAA.  Hopkins doesn't have experience but they can throw plenty of athletic bodies at you.  Edina has a goto guy in Graham Woodward at the point and a big time game changer on defense in fly-swatting center Reggie Lynch.  If he stays out of foul trouble, the Hornets will be tough to deal with.  Wayzata has plenty of quality coming back from a squad that was 1-8 vs conference teams but 18-0 against everybody else.  They also beat St. Louis Park last year in the 1st round of the playoffs (revisit that game here).  Minnetonka has Wisconsin commit Riley Dearring back plus plenty of quality youth.  They also just knocked off Hopkins to close out the Minnetonka fall league.  Don't expect Hopkins to forget that.   South and Southwest will fight to stay out of the cellar.  Keep an eye on the Edina holiday tournament for seeding in this section as Edina opens with St. Louis Park with the winner to likely play Armstrong.  Armstrong also plays Wayzata in the tipoff classic in another game that could determine seeding.

Sleeper: Robbinsdale Armstrong.  They return a bus full of players from last year's squad.  They'll get good guard play from the likes of Nick O'Hara, Cyrus Moore-Brown, Evan Nolan etc.  Konner Goettsche is a 4 man that you have to go out on the floor and guard.  They also have athletes on the wing with players like Jerome Dixon.

Section Winner: Hopkins.  Until beaten the Royals are the pick here.  They'll be young but they still defend at entirely different level than everybody else.  They don't have much size but there's not a dominant offensive post player in the section.