The Czar's 2019-20 All-Surprise Team

The 2019-2020 season is a wrap.  That means its time to hand out hardware and review what happened and what we thought would happen.  In that spirit, I'm going to go back and select a player or 2 from each conference that I previewed.  But this is not an MVP vote.  These are players that didn't necessarily make the biggest impact, but they are guys that exceeded any expectations that I had before the season started.  All were highly valuable contributors to their teams.

EMAC: Joey Ritzema - Avail Academy
Ritzema was the classic dirty work guy for the Valor (FEAR THE RHINO!).  But he also made big plays. 

IMAC: Theo Liu - Blake
The 3 Amigos at the guard spots for the Bears are well known.  But its Theo Liu as a stretch 4 and a 4th scoring option on the floor took the Bears to another level.

Lake: JT Gaffney - Minnetonka and Regan Merritt - Hopkins
Gaffney was a very productive wing for the Skippers.  From knocking down shots to being a defensive stopper, he was a critical piece.

Merritt was a great role guy for Hopkins off the bench.  He hit big shots and was solid defensively.  He always seemed to make a big impact when on the floor.

Metro East:  Dewayne Thompson - Henry Sibley
While the Warriors had a long year, it would have been much longer if not for Thompson.  He emerged as a go to guy that was hard to contain off the bounce.

Metro West: Mahad Faisal - Chaska
Faisal was a productive wing scorer for the Hawks.  He gave them critical length and another guy who could make a big shot.

Minneapolis: Quientrail Jamison-Travis - Minneapolis North
Jamison-Travis was an absolute load inside for opponents to deal with.  His strength and size allowed him to bully his way to many buckets and rebounds.  It also allowed Davon Townley to expand his game by playing more away from the basket.

MCAA: Alex Heimerl - Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity
Another forward gets recognized here.  Heimerl was a key frontcourt piece for the Bulldogs to go with their solid guard play.

NW Suburban:  Kaleb Skelly - Spring Lake Park
It was the seniors who rightfully got noticed for the Panthers.  But it was the junior Skelly who was the extra piece for Spring Lake Park.  His ability to play inside and outside and give them some sort of front line presence was critical to their success.

St. Paul: Nico Peterson - Highland Park
I could have gone with teammate Carter Owens here too.  But it was Peterson's energetic forward play that really got my attention when I watched the Scots this year.  He could run the floor for dunks but also block shots on the other end.

Skyline: Teige Lethert - St. Croix Prep and AJ Greene - Concordia
In the Skyline I have to stretch a bit.  Freshman AJ Greene is the clear newcomer of the year.  The lefty wing was a big part of the rotation for a very good season for Concordia.  A quality 3rd option that will be a much more important player next year.

Lethert forced his way into the St. Croix Prep rotation with toughness and physical play.  That was much needed on the Lions front line.  He'll also see a bigger role next year to go with the quality backcourt that St. Croix Prep returns.

South Suburban: Malcolm Jones - Prior Lake and Avery Mast - Lakeville South
Here its a pair of sophomores who raised their games to become key rotation pieces.  Jones showed a 2 way game that will allow him to step in and try to pick up some of the slack of losing Dawson Garcia.  Expect a big season for him next year at Prior Lake.

Mast proved to be very productive for the Cougars.  While the guard play and interior play were known, it was the wing play of Mast that was a big key.

Suburban East: Evan Kim - Mounds View
For a team that had a very surprising year and did it in their typical fashion, Kim was the perfect guy.  Big, tough and smart with the ability to knock down shots.  That was Kim's story and he was the key to the Mustangs offense all year.

Tri-Metro: Bryce Boyd - Holy Angels and Lamar Grayson - Richfield
I first saw Boyd over the holidays and immediately liked the junior wing.  Good athlete and capable of making plays.  Definitely a name I'm keeping an eye on.

Grayson went from just another one of many guys for Richfield to being a major force.  He was a dynamic scoring slasher for the Spartans.  Very tough to stop and very dangerous in transition.

Independents: Michael Jude - Kaleidoscope
The freshman guard saw plenty of time last year.  This year he took the point guard spot and ran with it.  Not only did he run the show effectively but he was a knockdown shooter as well.  That helped lead the young Comets to a very nice 15-13 season in their 2nd year.  That included their 1st playoff home game.

Coaches: Omar McMillan - Richfield and Nate Bellefeuille - Legacy Christian
This section is to recognize the coaches of teams who went beyond expectations (#ShockTheCzar).  I'm saddened not to see Richfield make a run at state as that could have given them a case for worst Czar prediction ever.  But they still come in a clear 2nd as I got them totally wrong.  The pieces from last year came back and put it together.  Coach McMillan for that would be my metro coach of the year.

Even in the wide open abyss known as the section 4A race, seeing Legacy make the section final was a big surprise.  This year was a 15 game improvement from 9 wins to 24-4.  That results in the best season in school history.  There were definitely pieces in place and getting Jake Wald from St. Francis was huge.  But the Lions put it together at least a year earlier than expected.  Great work by coach Bellefeuille to put it together.