Division B
Christian Life Academy Hawks (2016-17 season 7-17, 4-8 Conference, Tie 5th)
Christian Life returns 6 of their top 7 scorers from last season. That includes almost 13 PPG from senior Kyle Ringley and soph Jacob Kyllo's 10.9 PPG. Juniors Caleb Carlson and Kyle Hovey also are experienced returnees. Carlson will provide shooting and Hovey provides size.
Groves Academy Griffins (2016-17 season 3-24, 0-12 Conference, 7th)
Both double figure scorers return for Groves. Senior guard Malik Bodden averaged 18.7 PPG. Forward Max Bilcik averaged almost 15 PPG as a freshman. The next 3 top scorers have departed. Junior guard Larry Mohamed will one of the players to step into that void.
Learning for Leadership Mustangs (2016-17 season 15-11, 6-6 Conference, 4th)
High scoring duo Kafi Abdi and Badrudin Aden return for another season. They combined for over 38 points a night with the 6'4" Abdi getting almost 25 of those. They knocked off a couple of teams above them last year but gave those wins back with a couple losses below them to finish in the middle of the pack.
Liberty Classical Academy Lions (2016-17 season 18-9, 10-2 Conference, 1st)
The defending division champs need to replace their top 2 scorers in Luke Hill and Nate Bliss. That's 19.2 and 16.5 PPG that are gone. Peter Klarr is back on the front line with a team returning high 10.6 PPG. William Reid and Noah Nelson also return to the lineup.
Math and Science Academy Dragons (2016-17 season 15-8, 9-3 Conference, Tie 2nd)
Rich Zellmer takes over for head coach Nathan Schroeder who moved on to be an assistant at New Life Academy. The Dragons have to replace 2 big scorers in Brian Smith (23 PPG) and Andrew Jeyachandran (17.7 PPG). Junior Ahmad Elhassen is the top returnee with 6 PPG.
Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf Trojans (2016-17 season 2-15, 0-9 in Division 1, 8th)
MSAD moves down from the top division of the league. They have to replace their top 2 players Kyrell Cummings and Dawson Moder. Juan Salgado is the top returnee. Jon Schmidt also returns to the starting lineup.
Nova Classical Academy Knights (2016-17 season 12-12, 9-3 Conference, Tie 2nd)
The Knights lose only 1 senior from last year's team. Isaiah Boudreaux leads a group of 3 returning double figure scorers. Fellow senior Shae Nelson and junior Noah Olson were the other double figure scorers. Junior Mathieu LaFrambois is also an experienced returnee.
Division C
Academy for Sciences and Agriculture Eagles (2016-17 season 14-9, 9-1 Conference, 1st)
AFSA loses their top 4 scorers from the division championship team. That includes 11.8 PPG from Kyle Cantwell. But they return the next 5. Junior Cole Walker (7.9 PG) and senior James Wilfong (6.6 PPG) are the top returning scorers. Soph DeAndre Mason returns to the rotation along with seniors Jackson Coenen and Najib Ahmed. Jamey Strand takes over as head coach. He previously spent time at Calvin Christian.
Calvin Christian Cougars (2016-17 season 11-16, 4-8 in Division 2, Tie 5th)
Calvin Christian moves down from the 2nd division. Leading scorer Jaedan Schaap returns for the Cougars. Big center Alex Meybaum and Brad Mateer are important pieces that need to be replaced.
Chesterton Academy (2016-17 season 8-12, 4-5 Conference, 4th)
The move to the 3rd division definitely helped Chesterton play a more balanced schedule. They lose only 1 senior from last year's roster.
Hmong Academy Warriors (2016-17 season 10-7, 6-4 Conference, 3rd)
Hmong Academy had one of their best seasons ever last year. That was thanks to Chinou Vang. He put up a huge season but now needs to be replaced. Tidley Yang is one of the top returnees.
Metro Schools College Prep (2016-17 season 0-11, 0-8 Conference, 6th)
This crew suffered blowout losses all season. No other information available.
North Lakes Academy Huskies (2016-17 season 6-20, 3-7 Conference, 5th)
North Lakes returns most of the major pieces of their roster. Senior Alex Stockton and soph Ethan Crandell lead the way. David Christopherson is the biggest loss.
Shattuck St. Mary's Sabers (2016-17 season 6-3, 6-3 Conference, 2nd)
The Sabers have to replace a senior laden lineup. Not much else known about this group
Predicted Order of Finish - Division B
- Nova Classical Academy
- Christian Life Academy
- Learning for Leadership
- Liberty Classical Academy
- Math and Science Academy
- Groves Academy
- Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf
Nova Classical is the favorite here with basically everybody back. I picked Isaiah Bourdreaux as the division MVP last year and I'll do it again here. Christian Life returns a ton as well. They played the league leaders tough last year and those teams have big losses. Kafi Abdi is enough to make Learning for Leadership dangerous but they were up and down last year. Liberty Classical and Math and Science each have to replace their top 2 guys so I see those 2 teams falling back in the standings. Liberty gets the nod as they still have a double figure scorer coming back. Groves and MSAD struggled last year and I don't see that changing.
Predicted Order of Finish - Division C
- Academy for Sciences and Agriculture
- Calvin Christian
- Shattuck-St. Mary's
- Hmong Academy
- North Lakes
- Chesterton Academy
- Metro Schools College Prep
This is the most fun I'll have with a preview since I didn't see anybody in the division last year despite seeing 92 local teams. AFSA loses a ton but they also have a lot of experience returning. So that's enough for me to pick them to retain the crown. Calvin Christian has my pick for the league MVP so they'll be up there as well. Shattuck-St. Mary's is usually respectable in this group of teams so I'll pick them to stay fairly high. Hmong Academy I put in the middle as they could go anywhere. North Lakes and Chesterton have players returning but need to show they can compete at another level before I move them up.
Conference MVPs:
- Division B: Isaiah Boudreaux - Nova Classical Academy
- Division C: Jaeden Schaap - Calvin Christian
- DeAndre Mason - AFSA
- Jacob Kyllo - Christian Life
- Max Bilcik - Groves
- Ben Horn - Liberty Classical
- Jager Hansen - Math and Science Academy
- Ethan Crandell - North Lakes
- AFSA at Calvin Christian - Jan 12th
- Nova at Christian Life - Jan 26th
- Calvin Christian at AFSA - Feb 5th
- Nova at Learning for Leadership - Feb 5th
- Christian Life at Nova - Feb 20th
- TCAC Tournament Championships - Mar 3rd
- Nova at Maranatha - Dec 19th
- CHOF at Nova - Jan 5th
No comments:
Post a Comment
Have a different take than mine? You can provide your take here.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.