2017 Class AAAA State Boys Basketball Tournament Preview

         2017 CLASS AAAA STATE BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE
                               Games played Wednesday, March 22 at Target Center, Minneapolis

10:00:  Chaska vs. Champlin Park (Seed 1)
12:00:  Wayzata (Seed 5) vs. Lakeville North (Seed 4)
2:00::  Andover vs. Maple Grove (Seed 2)
4:00:  Cretin-Derham Hall vs. Apple Valley (Seed 3)

Examining the Field:  The 2017 Minnesota State High School Boys Basketball Tournament opens with the Chaska Hawks, led by the program's all-time leading scorer Myles Hanson makes their seventh appearance and their first since 2004.  It's also unfortunatel that the Hawks got a bad draw since they have to face he unbeaten and top seed Champlin Park Rebels.  The Rebels are one of three Northwest Suburban Conference teams in this year's tournament and are led by two Division I signees, McKinley Wright, who will be headed to Dayton and Theo John, who will play next season at Marquette.  Champlin Park's high powered offense has broken the 100 point mark three times this season and they are the favorites to to bring the championship trophy up Highway 169.

There will be a new champion this year in Class AAAA because the Hopkins Royals were dethroned in the Section 6 final by the Wayzata Trojans, who are back in Minneapolis for the first time since they won the 1959 state championship over Carlton.  They will take on the fourth seeded Lakeville North Panthers, who lost in last year's Class AAAA final to Hopkins.  The Panthers are led by Nathan Reuvers who will be headd to Wisconsin next season.  Can the Trojans make the most of their returun after 58 years or will the Panthers prevail?

It will be a Northwest Suburban Conference showdown as the surprising Andover Huskies battle the second seeded Maple Grove Crimson.  The two teams met on March 3 with the Crimson on top 61-45.  The Huskies were the seventh seed in Section 7 and upset a pair of high seeds in the Blaine Bengals and Coon Rapids Cardinals and beat the Forest Lake Rangers to advance to their first state tournament since 2013.  Maple Grove is in their fourth state tournament and led by another future Wisconsin badger in Brad Davison.  Davison was the quarterback on the Crimson football team that lost to Eden Prairie in the state tournament.  Can he quarterback the Crimson toward the Class AAAA final or will Andover's post season success continue?

Concluding the Class AAAA quarterfinals n the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders and the second seeded Apple Valley Eagles. It's also a golden opportunity to see a couplenof outstanding juniors at Target Center in Daniel Oturu of the Raiders, who has committed to Monnesota and Tre Jones, brother of the Timberwolves Tyus Jones of the Eagles. Apple Valley is on a 19 game winning streak  Can they make it 20?

Next up, the Class AAA preview.