Class 4A story lines

1 GIANT-KILLERS

Nothing scares opposing defenses more than a team that can get hot from long range, such as Cretin-Derham Hall. The Raiders, who upset No. 1- ranked Apple Valley in the Section 3 championship game, made 240 three-pointers during the regular season, an average of slightly more than eight per game. Sam Neumann, Joe Rosga and Michael Hannon all shot better than 40 percent from behind the arc during the season. Neumann, a 6-6 junior swingman, doesn’t need much space to get off his shot and draws enough attention to give his teammates good looks at the basket.

2 HOPKINS IS BACK

After missing the tournament field last season for the first time since 2008, the Royals return with another talented, high-scoring team. They compiled their 28-1 record despite playing as tough a schedule as Hall of Fame coach Ken Novak could compile. Hopkins hasn’t lost since falling to Apple Valley on Dec. 10, a winning streak of 23 games. The top seed in Apple Valley’s absence, Hopkins defeated tournament entrants Lakeville North, St. Francis and Osseo during the regular season. It features a budding superstar in sophomore forward Amir Coffey and pure scorers in seniors Jacob Wright and Stephon Sharp. All three average more than 14 points per game.

3 ALL IN THE FAMILY

Buffalo’s last state tournament appearance came in 2007, when the Bison pulled off a mild surprise to win the Class 4A title. Many members of this year’s team have strong connections to past Buffalo teams. Seniors Collin Olmscheid and Sam Ortmann had brothers who played for the champions, one of whom, Josh Ortmann, is an assistant coach. Guard Cameron Sonju’s father, Pat, coached Buffalo before he died in 2000. “We have a lot of community support,” coach Nicholas Guida said. “I think there were 25 alumni in the stands when we won [the Section 8 championship]. It was pretty emotional.”

JIM PAULSEN