Forrest Witt didn't have much experience returning to his Alexandria boys basketball team, but his squad wasn't short on talent or competitiveness.
The Cardinals, ranked sixth in Class 3A in the most recent rankings from Minnesota Basketball News, are off to a 6-1 start after recently thumping Class 2A, No. 2 Holy Family 79-53 in the Granite City Classic. Their only loss was to Class 3A No. 2 Benilde-St. Margaret's 82-78 in the season opener.
"I like where we are at the moment," Witt said. "I think our success has come sooner than we expected. I thought it would take a little more time."
The Cardinals used a 22-2 run in the opening seven minutes of the second half to pull away from Holy Family. They led 37-29 at halftime.
Alexandria used a three-quarter 1-2-2 zone against the Fire.
"I think our defense kept them off balance," Witt said.
The Cardinals roster has a good mix of classes — four seniors, five juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen — and size.
Junior 6-9 forward Grayson Grove, a Division I recruit, is averaging 22 points, shooting 65 percent from the floor and 48 percent on three-pointers and getting 7.9 rebounds per game.
Sophomore 6-7 forward Chase Thompson is averaging 11.7 points per game, and senior 6-3 guard Jaxon Schoenrock is averaging 13.1. Thompson is the younger brother of Gophers center Treyton Thompson and one of the best young football quarterbacks in the state.
"We go eight or nine deep," Witt said. "We have a solid group of upperclassmen while our younger kids are competing for minutes. It's a good mix."
STATE RANKINGS
By Minnesota Basketball News (released Jan. 4)
BOYS
Class 4A
1. Park Center (5-0); 2. Lakeville North (6-1); 3. Hopkins (9-1); 4. Maple Grove (6-1); 5. Eden Prairie (5-1); 6. Eastview (5-2); 7. Minnetonka (5-2); 8. Farmington (4-3); 9. Wayzata (4-3); 10. Shakopee (4-2).
Class 3A
1. Totino-Grace (3-2); 2. Benilde-St. Margaret's (6-0); 3. DeLaSalle (4-2); 4. Orono (5-1); 5. Mahtomedi (4-2); 6. Alexandria (6-1); 7. Princeton (4-0); 8. Mankato East (5-3); 9. Austin (5-2); 10. Hermantown (5-0).
Class 2A
1. Lake City (8-0); 2. Holy Family (5-1); 3. Minneapolis North (3-4); 4. Maranatha (4-1); 5. Maple River (9-1); 6. Minnehaha Academy (7-3); 7. Perham (7-0); 8. Albany (4-1); 9. Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial (6-1); 10. Esko (6-0).
Class 1A
1. New Life Academy (8-0); 2. Cass Lake-Bena (6-0); 3. Cherry (4-3); 4. Hayfield (8-1); 5. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (3-1); 6. Henning (7-0); 7. Goodhue (7-1); 8. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (5-0); 9. Mankato Loyola (5-1); 10. Legacy Christian (7-2).
GIRLS
Class 4A
1. Hopkins (8-0); 2. St. Michael-Albertville (9-0); 3. Chaska (8-1); 4. Wayzata (9-1); 5. Rosemount (8-0); 6. Eden Prairie (9-2); 7. East Ridge (10-3); 8. Minnetonka (7-2); 9. Maple Grove (5-3); 10. Lakeville North (7-2).
Class 3A
1. Benilde-St. Margaret's (6-2); 2. Becker (5-1); 3. Jordan (7-0); 4. Holy Angels (7-1); 5. Marshall (4-1); 6. Grand Rapids (8-2); 7. Stewartville (8-2); 8. Cloquet (9-1); 9. Detroit Lakes (6-1); 10. Alexandria (6-3).
Class 2A
1. Providence Academy (7-2); 2. Minnehaha Academy (7-2); 3. St. Croix Lutheran (6-2); 4. Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial (7-0); 5. New London-Spicer (7-0); 6. Albany (8-1); 7. Goodhue (7-2); 8. Rochester Lourdes (8-1); 9. Sauk Centre (7-1); 10. Perham (8-1).
Class 1A
1. Mayer Lutheran (8-0); 2. Mountain Iron-Buhl (8-2); 3. Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart (6-0); 4. Hayfield (8-1); 5. Hancock (4-2); 6. Fosston (6-0); 7. Kelliher-Northome (8-0); 8. Braham (7-0); 9. Badger-Greenbush-Middle River (7-1); 10. Breckenridge (8-0).
