Wayzata coach Bryan Schnettler lost a handful of talented players from his Class 4A state runner-up team of 2021-22. Still, the cupboard wasn't bare.
"We return five guys from our rotation and are excited about what we have coming back," Schnettler said before the season.
Two of those rotation players were starters on a team that went 27-5, just another sign the team wasn't doomed.
Then a contradictory sign emerged: The Trojans started the season 0-3.
That's what led to Schnettler becoming the All-Metro Sports Awards Boys Team Coach of the Year.
The Trojans went 27-1 the rest of the way and won the Class 4A state championship, defeating defending champion Park Center 75-71 in overtime at Target Center. Park Center was the clear favorite to win Class 4A, having ended 2021-22 on a 19-game winning streak and adding 22 more wins to that before its first loss of 2022-23.
Schnettler, in his ninth season leading the Wayzata program, hinted at how it might turn out.
"We have some of the best perimeter play in the state, and we look forward to seeing this group connect with each other throughout the season to be playing our best in March," Schnettler said.
It was only mid-December. Tournament time wasn't for another three months.
When tournament time came …
"We had to attack," Schnettler said. "If we were going to play on our heels, we weren't going to win."
The victory in the Class 4A final avenged a 58-53 setback to Park Center for the state title the previous year. It was Wayzata's second championship in three years.
Junior 6-9 guard Jackson McAndrew fueled the victory, scoring 13 of his team's final 14 points. McAndrew finished with a game-high 25 points.
"It was going to come down to, 'Are we going to compete like crazy? Are we going to make what we call winning plays in March?' " Schnettler said. "That's what we had to do."
