Independent file photo Minneota’s Logan Sussner (13) looks up at a shot during their section game against Windom Area on March 4.

MINNEOTA – It was quite the freshman season on the hardwood for Minneota’s Logan Sussner. The talented freshman helped the Vikings finish with a 15-7 record and reach the second round of the section tournament.

Sussner was a force in the paint for the Vikings all season, looking more like a seasoned upperclassmen. Sussner nearly averaged a double-double during his freshman campaign, scoring 13.7 points and grabbing 9.9 rebounds per game.

This season Sussner will be one of four returning starters for the Vikings this season. With a talented core returning Sussner expects to Vikings to advance much deeper into the section tournament this winter.

“My goal is for us to go deep into the playoffs,” Sussner said. “We have the talent to make that happen.”

Sussner started playing basketball when he was in fourth grade. It was from that point that Sussner fell in love with the pace of the game.

“I like how fast paced the game is,” Susser said. “There are no breaks and I just like the tempo of the game.”

Logan is the younger brother of Lydia Sussner, a talented post player for the Minneota girl’s basketball team. Logan said that his sister pushes him to get better each day.

“We are both very competitive and don’t like to lose at anything,” Sussner said. “If we are outside playing against each other we aren’t messing around. We both want to beat each other. I feel like that pushes us to get better.”

As Sussner prepares for his sophomore season he’s spent his summer playing for an AAU basketball team out of Marshall. One of his main focuses this offseason is to get stronger with his right hand.

“I played with an AAU team out of Marshall,” Sussner said. “I really tried to work on my ball handling and finishing with my right hand. I’m left-handed and I really tried to focus on getting stronger with my right hand and finishing with my right hand.”