CALEDONIA — Caledonia High School senior Mason King doesn’t step on a basketball court with a lot of pressure on his shoulders.
Neither do teammates Reid Klug or Garrett Konz. Neither do teammates Ethan Stendel or Grant King.
All of them are good enough to lead a team, but they do so better when the situation arises because of the mere existence of the others.
Defenses have difficult decisions to make when lining up against the Warriors (27-2), and Lake City (19-9) is up next in the spotlight of trying to derail a team that has won 16 games in a row and 50 of 57 over the past two seasons with the same core group of players.
“You’d imagine that’s very helpful because we aren’t going out there with a one-man show or a two-man show,” said Caledonia coach Brad King, whose top-seeded team plays Lake City in the MSHSL Section 1AA championship game Thursday night at the Rochester Mayo Civic Arena. “I think it gives all of them a little comfort to know that if they aren’t shooting it well, they can look for something else to do that can help the team while someone else is carrying the scoring load.”
Mason King averages a team-high 18.1 points per game and leads the team with 58 3-pointers. Klug and Konz have both made 27 3s and average 16.0 and 15.9 points, respectively.
Stendel and Grant King aren’t players to have huge games, but Stendel averages 10.9 ppg and King 9.6.
To show off this kind of balance at the Class AA state tournament, the Warriors have to find a way to knock off a team that has won seven straight games and finished as state runner-up a year ago.
“They put together a heck of a second half to get by Cannon Falls (in the section semifinals) when a lot of people probably wrote them off,” Brad King said. “They shoot it too good to write them off. They can knock down four of five 3-pointers in a row, and either you’re in trouble or they’re back in the game.
“I think we have to be disciplined the whole game from start to finish.”
That plays well into Caledonia’s attack with a much more experienced team that it is used to putting on the floor. The Warriors have earned a lot of success the past several seasons — they have a 250-44 record over the past 10 with at least 23 wins in nine of those — but the roster makeup is generally a good mix of classes.
Caledonia’s top four scorers this season are seniors, and eight of its players are in their final year with the team.
“I think we are blessed with a lot of seniors because they’ve put a lot of time into this,” Brad King said. “We’ve had a lot of kids on this team play a lot of AAU ball together, and we don’t usually see a lot of that because kids get pulled in so many directions with a lot of great opportunities for them.
“We are fortunate because a lot of kids here put in a lot of basketball time in the offseason.”
Mason King, Klug and Konz are definitely three of those and understand well how each can make the other better.
“It definitely helps a lot mentally because we have so much confidence in one another,” said Konz, a good inside-outside player who can also control a game as a rebounder. “We know there a bunch of us who can get the job done.”
Konz has scored 33 points in the last two games.
Mason King has scored 38 in victories over La Crescent-Hokah and Zumbrota-Mazeppa this month and can light up opponents on the perimeter of by finishing transition. With both teams enjoying the same kind of pace — up-tempo — this could be a very enjoyable game to watch as the Warriors chase their sixth section title in 10 years.
“I think we’ll be doing some pressuring, too, just to try and get them even more up-tempo,” Mason King said. “We want to push it even more because that suits us best, but (Lake City) is a solid team with a lot of good players.”
Klug led the way with 20 points in the win over Zumbrota-Mazeppa and had 25 when Caledonia opened the postseason with a 91-47 victory over Albert Lea. He can also be an asset inside and outside for the Warriors.
With offensive options all over the floor, Klug said defense has been the key for strong team play in recent games. Caledonia has held six straight opponents under 50 points.
“Our on-ball defense is definitely getting better,” he said. “We’ve been pretty good at locking teams down on the perimeter.”
