by Todd Abeln
Thisweek Newspapers

After a great postseason run that resulted in a third place finish at state the Lakeville Panthers have high expectations for the 2004-05 season.

The Panthers return an experienced backcourt that is fast and quick and should create problems for their opponents.

"Expectations are high. We have some good players back. We don't have a lot of size, so that's a concern but we are pretty scrappy and that's the way we want to play all year,î head coach John Oxton said.

That scrappiness will come from its guards, senior captain Sean Clarke and junior Ben Flavin.

Both are quick and can penetrate the lane when they want to. With those two are sophomores Marcus Brumm, Brady Soule and junior Shane Flannery.

"We have about four or five guys that are pretty good players that are 6-2 or below so they are interchangeable parts,î Oxton said.

The backcourt of Lakeville will have to carry the Panthers this year. They are going to have to score, defend and create opportunities for teammates.

Oxton said that the team's defense is going to be very important because with the lack of size they will need to create easy baskets.

"Our defense is going to get us into our offense, no doubt about it,î Oxton said.

The Panthers' post players will be senior captain Zach Mady at 6-4, Brett Shay at 6-4.

Those are the tallest players on the team, and Oxton said they will have to work hard on rebounding.

"We definitely have to tighten up our rebounding,î Oxton said.

But the lack of size doesn't faze Oxton because he thinks his interchangeable parts are good enough to win a lot of games this season.

"We have the pieces there to be a pretty solid team,î Oxton said. "It's really going to be a working man's kind of team, get down there and scrap and fight.î
Burnsville

Things are different this year for Burnsville basketball.

Last year, they had a very solid team that was ranked No. 1 or No. 2 all season long and finished as the Class AAAA runner-up.

Even with the high expectations, they held up to that challenge because they had a senior-laden lineup and a lot of talent.

This year's team is nowhere near the top of the rankings, but that doesn't stop head coach Doug Boe from being very optimistic about the upcoming season.

The reason for the optimism is that the Blaze may be the tallest team in the Lake Conference. That's good as most teams are searching for size.

The Blaze have size up and down the lineup and can play three tall players at any time.

Burnsville's post players include Peter Rolando at 6-7, Peter Samuelson at 6-9, Mark Daniel at 6-6, Mike Fredrickson at 6-5 and James Ruffin at 6-4.

"Everybody is going to be quicker than us but not too many are going to be bigger than us,î Boe said.

With that size, Boe is going to use it to his advantage and play three of the post players together a lot and use that size to push teams around.

"We would like to think that we are going to be so big and strong inside that we are going to pound the ball inside,î Boe said. "We are going to have to be aggressive on the offensive boards with three bigs, pound it and put it back.î

The question for the Blaze will be in the backcourt where they will have two new starters.

Boe said that Mike York will handle the point guard duties and senior Kyle Lee will handle the shooting guard duties.

Lee found a little playing time on the varsity last year and will need to provide solid defense and timely shooting for the Blaze.

Senior Jon Osgard, who is battling an ankle injury, will be the backup point guard.

The Blaze lost a lot of scoring from last year and will be counting on newcomers to fill the basket.

Boe expects that Elijah Poindexter will become a scorer from the small forward position, and he isn't worried about who is going to score this season.

"We're not worried about that because scorers will emerge, they always do,î Boe said.

The Blaze plans on playing a lot of guys in the hope they wear teams down.

"We will play about 10 kids. How they will mix and how they play will range from game to game,î Boe said.
Eagan

Talk to coaches in the Lake Conference and they will tell you that the league is full of teams with good guards.

And if you ask them who has the best guard combination, many of them mention Eagan.

The Wildcats return senior guards Courtney Tyler and Evan Endsley to the team that many think can challenge for a the conference title.

Tyler and Endsley along with six other players who have varsity experience give the Wildcats reason for hope after a disappointing 2003-04 season.

"We are optimistic about our chances this year,î head coach Kurt Virgin said.

What Tyler and Endsley bring to the team is speed in the backcourt that will be tough for teams to handle.

Backing up Endsley and Tyler will be junior John Baumgardner, Alex Hart, Matt Nelson, and Brad Sicoli.

With that much depth in the backcourt, the Wildcats may play three guards at a time and will use pressure defense to create easy baskets on the offensive end.

The one thing Eagan is concerned about is their lack of height and their rebounding.

Playing three guards can create mismatches, but it also leaves the team vulnerable in rebounding.

Junior Andy Hartman will most likely get the majority of the minutes in the post with his 6-foot, 5-inch frame. Along with 6-3 forwards Matt Kovalik and Roy Larson, those two will have to do a great job of rebounding and clogging up the lane for the Wildcats to be successful.

One good thing going for the Wildcats is that the Lake Conference doesn't seem to have a dominant big man or players with very much height.

So if the Eagan big man can play well, rebound, block shots and fill the lane and the Wildcats guards play up to potential, it may be a great year for them.
Eastview

The Eastview Lightning boys' basketball team hopes to carry on the momentum that last year's team delivered.

After a disappointing 2002-03 season the Lightning rebounded and made it all the way to the section finals on the strength of eight seniors.

Despite losing four starters the Lightning hope the momentum from a year ago continues.

If their first game is any indication, this team should be all right.

The Lightning opened the season by scoring over 100 points and crushing Farmington 108-42.

In that game, the Lightning used several bench players allowing them to gain experience at the varsity level.

Head coach Mark Gerber returns guard B.J. Viau and post players Zach Johnson and Darren Kent to the squad that went 20-7 a year ago.

All three of them found time last year, but they still need to show that they can do it for extended periods of time.

The biggest question mark for the Lightning is who is going to score?

"We are replacing a large portion of our offense, so leadership, team play and depth will be needed to contend in the Lake Conference and a strong section,î Gerber said.

After the first game, scoring may not be the biggest concern for the Lightning.

Gerber said he expects newcomers to the varsity squad Travis Rotegard, Ben Pratt, Alex White, Josh Keeler, Justin Allen, Blake Carroll and J.W. Boyden to contribute right away.
Apple Valley

With three players returning that averaged over 10 points a game last year, the Apple Valley Eagles have their sights set high.

The Eagles surprised teams last year with their success but that won't be the case this year as people will be gunning for the Eagles as many pick them to be near the top of the conference standings.

Head coach Mike Fritze returns three guards who will provide the majority of the scoring for the team this year.

Returning are seniors Steve Olson, Tim Soliday and Laminu Sonie.

Olson and Soliday led the team in scoring with 14 points a game and Sonie average 10 points.

With those three, the Eagles shouldn't have a problem scoring especially considering they also return 6-4 post player Aaron Ford, who averaged 8 points per game a year ago.

That gives Fritze four starters who gained valuable experience a year ago and should only be better this year.

Add bench players, Kyle Radde and Justin Hosman to the mix and Eagles should be very strong.

Fritze said that the team will lean on its speed and experience to carry them, and that the team's lack of size concerns him.

Todd Abeln is at sports.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.

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