Mahtomedi Zephyrs boys basketball 2022-23 season preview
MAHTOMEDI, Minn. (BVM) – Mahtomedi High School boys basketball lost to the eventual state champions, Totino-Grace, in the sectional semifinals last season. The loss ended an 18-8 season for the Zephyrs, in which they finished the regular season ranked 10th in the state at the Class 3A level. The team was also young and it has set them up to be one of the top teams in the state heading into the 2022 season.
Mahtomedi will have 14 seniors this season, many of them key contributors on the team last year. That group of seniors has been playing together since they were in grade school and the chemistry they have is noticeable. The huge amount of veteran experience and chemistry is enough to get Mahtomedi excited about the team’s potential. However, experience isn’t the only thing the team is bringing back; it also has scoring.
The Zephyrs return their leading scorer, Owen Carlson. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 23 points per game last year for Mahtomedi. Carlson scored 29 points in the Zephyrs’ first postseason game against Fridley. Along with Carlson, the team’s other three top scorers are Cole Armitage, AJ McCleery and Javan Harvey. Between the four of them, they averaged 56.3 points per game.
Mahtomedi will also have its leading scorer from the 2020 season, Will Underwood, back this season. As a sophomore, Underwood averaged 23.6 points per game for the Zephyrs. Unfortunately, a knee injury Underwood suffered during the football season last year forced him to miss the entire basketball season. That led to Carlson stepping up and now Mahtomadi will have two dynamic scorers returning for their senior seasons.
Scoring, experience and chemistry will be able to take Mahtomedi on an exciting run, which will likely result in another postseason matchup against Totino-Grace. Last year, Totino-Grace, with five starters all heading to Division I, won the Class 3A state championship. This season, the Eagles still have Division I talent like the No. 1 recruit in Minnesota for the Class of 2023, four-star Ohio State commit Taison Chatman.
The Eagles will be a tough matchup if Mahtomedi sees them in the Section 4AAA playoffs but with another year under their belt, this group of Zephyrs are up for the challenge.
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