Coach David Flom of Eden Prairie and Coach Chuck Tolo of Duluth East started practice last week knowing that they would have a little more work to do early in the year than usual. Eden Prairie is one of the state’s more talented teams but they are replacing seven players from last year’s eight-man rotation. Duluth East doesn’t have a lot new faces in their first group but they will be without star Johnny Woodard because of a shoulder injury.

Don’t shed a tear for Flom and the Eagles though. They return 6-foot-3 wing Sander Mohn plus add Minnesota Preps ranked top 10 2013 talent Grant Shaeffer, Minnesota Preps ranked top 10 2014 talent Andre Wallace, and 6-foot-6 senior big Jordan Peterson is ready to have his turn inside. There is also a lot of depth for EP to work with inside and out.

The Greyhounds will be the underdog but opponents can’t underestimate their potential for an upset. Speedy guard Taylor Stafford is a 20 point per game type of scorer and he’ll shoulder a heavier scoring load with Woodard recovering on the bench. Juniors Matt Lochner and Shaq Coleman contributed as sophomores and are expected to make big jumps as upperclassmen.