2021 State Tourney Quick Hits

Some quick observations from the 2021 State Tournament

Class A
It was a wacky class A tourney with the top seeds going out immediately in the quarters.  Junior forward Matt Thompson of Hancock was a big part of that in the north half of the bracket.  A name that definitely caught the attention of coaches.  On the other side of the bracket, Ethan Slaathaug put Hayfield on his back with a monster tournament.  He graduates but Hayfield returns a ton behind him.  Expect the Vikings to make another big run next season..  

Class AA
How about Caledonia playing without their star Eli King and beating #2 Minneapolis North in the semis and giving #1 Waseca all they wanted before Ryan Dufault's game winner with 2.3 seconds left in the championship.  Not to mention getting thru a very tough section 1AA.  Athletics remain as strong as ever for the Warriors.  Don't expect them to drop too far.  

After making the AAA championship game in 2019, Waseca came in #1 this season and lived up to all the billing.  Despite only 13 combined points from Andrew Morgan and Kyreese Willingham and 6-30 total 3 point shooting in the championship game, the Bluejays still found a way to win the game of the day.

Class AAA
No shock here that Minnehaha took home their 4th straight title, 1st in AAA.  Byron gave them a fight in the quarters before the Redhawks cruised thru the semis and championship game.  What a run with 2 of the top players in Minnesota history during that stretch.  While Minnehaha for the 1st time in forever won't be a prohibitive favorite to win a state title next season, the cupboard isn't bare either.  With Mercy Miller, Prince Aligbe, Donovan Smith and Chase Carter all returning, the Redhawks will still be very dangerous.

Class AAAA
Tre Holloman putting a whole new roster on his back and taking them to the title game was a sight to see.  I saw them struggle in game 1 of the year vs Mounds View but the nice adjustments to using Holloman more in the low post and pinch post along with a slower defensive minded style worked like a charm.  That defense really carried them later in the season.  The Raiders will be in a similar spot next season, hard to bet against them.

Wayzata will have just about everybody back from a roster that clicked this season after struggling last year.  They'll be the first pick to win it all again next season.  We often talk about all the guard play and shooting the Trojans seem to have.  That remains true but defensively, they really turned it up.  After a halftime adjustment vs Duluth East in the quarters, Wayzata's defense stonewalled teams and that put them over the top.