When Minnehaha Academy brought its traveling circus of pre-college all-stars to Waseca last winter, the town buzzed with excitement.
“It was one of the coolest experiences our community had a chance to experience,” Waseca coach Seth Anderson said. “With [Jalen] Suggs, a probable top-five NBA draft pick, and [Chet] Holmgren, and all the other Division I talent, it was an exciting time.”
Waseca was no stranger to good basketball. The Bluejays, one of the top teams in Class 2A, were scheduled to play Jordan in the Section 2 championship game when the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic last March. Two years ago, before the Bluejays switched classes, Waseca played in the Class 3A state championship game, losing by seven points to DeLaSalle. But the 81-46 loss to the Redhawks last January was inevitable.
Besides, it wasn’t necessarily the result that was the goal then. It was the experience. And, boy, was that a success.
But when the Bluejays, ranked No. 1 in Class 2A by Minnesota Basketball News from Feb. 24, travel to No. 1-3A Minnehaha Academy on Tuesday night, the players will have a different goal in mind. A victory might be out of reach, or it might not. Regardless, the Bluejays (11-0) plan to compete.
“Our players have a different mentality this year,” Anderson said. “I wouldn’t say we were intimidated last year, but our skill level has gotten better and they probably are not as good without Jalen Suggs running the floor.”
A lot of the Waseca players return, including 6-9 Andrew Morgan, 6-5 Kyreese Willingham and Ryan Dufault, seniors who reached 1,000-career-points threshold last year. Morgan is one of the best big men in the state.
Of course, the Redhawks (11-1) still might be the best team in the state, even without Suggs, who is now a star at Gonzaga. Chet Holmgren, a 7-foot-1 senior who averages 20.5 points a game, is this year’s most sought-after high school player in the nation, according to ESPN. Prince Aligbe (12.6 ppg), Isaiah Davis (14.5 ppg), Hercy Miller (11.2 ppg) and little brother Mercy Miller (10.4 ppg) all are Division I prospects the Redhawks feature.