Class 4A •Let's start with the most competitive of the large-school sections, Section 5.
The top three seeds -- No. 1 Cooper, No. 2 Champlin Park and No. 3 Osseo -- are ranked in the final Metro Top 10 of the season.
Throw in No. 4 seeded Mounds View, which is always a factor under highly successful longtime coach Ziggy Kauls, and Irondale, a dangerous No. 5 seed, and Section 5 can satisfy any hoops junkie's basketball fix.
A bonus: Cooper's 6-8, 240-pound forward Calvin Godfrey. A transfer from Milwaukee, Godfrey, who averages 18 points and 10 rebounds per game, has flown largely under the radar this season.
•Speaking of talented players who have not received the recognition they most likely deserve, there are two in Section 7. Forest Lake won the Suburban East behind athletic swingman Zach Riedeman but only received the No. 2 seed. The top seed went to Duluth East, which beat Forest Lake twice in December behind ultra-quick guard Dyami Starks, who has signed with Columbia.
•If recent results are any indication, the most vulnerable No. 1 seed could be Apple Valley in Section 3. The Eagles finished the regular season losing three of their final six games, including a loss to No. 3-seeded Lakeville North.
In the meantime, Lakeville South, the No. 2 seed, won seven of its past eight games. The Cougars' only loss during that stretch? A three-point defeat against Eastview, which earned the No. 4 seed thanks to a six-game winning streak to end the regular season.
•Henry Sibley's early season woes cost it the top seed in Section 4, which instead went to Cretin-Derham Hall. But the No. 2-seeded Warriors still should be favored, having won 15 consecutive games since a 5-6 start.
Class 3A •How good is Section 3? In a normal year, Columbia Heights -- with its 20-6 record and Metro Player of the Year candidate Jacob Thomas -- would be shoo-in as the top seed. But the Hylanders only managed the No. 3 spot, behind No. 1 DeLaSalle and No. 2 St. Paul Central.
Despite tying for the Tri-Metro West title, DeLaSalle has a difficult draw. Should the Islanders win their quarterfinal game against Fridley, they most likely would face No. 4-seeded Minneapolis Henry in the semifinals. Henry defeated DeLaSalle 94-88 last week.
•Some talented big men will be on display in Class 3A. Delano, seeded No. 3 in Section 5, features 6-8 junior post Michael Yahnke; Waconia, No. 2 in Section 6, is led by 6-7 forward Shelby Moats. And Cloquet, the No. 2 seed in Section 7, has 6-10 center Chad Calcaterra, a Colorado State recruit.
Class 2A Sibley East's Marshall Bjorklund averages 25 points and 15 rebounds per game and has signed with North Dakota State. But the 6-7 forward never has sniffed the state tournament's big stage because the Wolverines have not advanced past the Section 5 semifinals in his career. They earned the No. 2 seed in the South Subsection of Section 5 but will need to get past No. 1-seeded Mayer Lutheran, which beat them twice, to have a shot at the state tournament.