Part I of my preview of metro area (or metro area teams in other tournaments) Christmas Tournament previews. Part I is the 2 day events.
I will be at the 2 day WBY Shootout in Milwaukee seeing 18 games. St. Bernard's plays a solid Madison East team with star sophomore Marquis Mason and then possibly highly ranked 2A Manitowoc Roncalli. Whitefish Bay Dominican (who plays at DLS on Feb 2nd) has 2 high profile games in the event as well. They're #1 in 2A in Wisconsin and have the #2 senior in Wisconsin Kwamain Mitchell.
Mounds Park Academy (Wed/Th): Mahtomedi wins this event easily.
Chisago Lakes (Th/Fri): Good event. I'll take Holy Family to win it. The late game on opening day vs the hosts is interesting and an Esko/HF matchup in the championship could be entertaining as well.
Edina (Th/Fri at the Edina Community Center): The opener of this event will determine the champion as Kennedy plays Cooper. This is the best game of all the 2 day events.
Totino-Grace (Th/Fri): New event and good teams. Minnehaha vs TG is a very good opener of the event with the winner likely playing Braham for the title. Interesting that the host has the play the 1st game. Usually the host is always in the final game of the night.
Cloquet: Look for St. Michael-Albertville to roll, especially if Chad Calcaterra doesn't play for Cloquet.
HLWW (Th/Fri) Look for Columbia Heights to win the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted event over the hosts and a couple of MCAA teams.
Jordan (Th/Fri): Look for Brooklyn Center over West Lutheran in the final
Lakeville N (Th/Fri): Shakopee over Lakeville N in the final with the battle of Lakeville as the nightcap of day 1.
Cannon Falls/Randolph (Fri in Randolph/Sat in Cannon Falls): Look for St. Agnes to steamroll thru this event.
St. Croix Lutheran (Fri/Sat): Look for an interesting New Life Academy vs St. Croix Lutheran final.
Warrior Club (Winona St Fri/Sat): Bracket D has Park Center and my arch-nemesis La Crosse Logan (swampies!) in my projected final. Much to my dismay I have to pick the Rangers (who had an impressive win over ranked 2A rival La Crosse Aquinas last night).
Rebel Holiday Classic--
ReplyDeleteMCA wins it again with wins over the usual victims: Hinckley Finlayson, Pine City and Moose Lake/Willow River.
Have fun in Wisconsin, Czar! I think out of all the two day tournaments, I'd like to check out the Minnehaha-Totino Grace matchup.
ReplyDeleteOn Saturday, I'll be at the Rebel Classic watching whoever plays in the final game at 1 pm. I'm banking on the fact that MCA will be there, but I also planned the outing regardless to spend quality time with my future father-in-law. I'll be picking him up from North Branch, driving to Moose Lake and then going back down to Hinckley for a casino outing.
TC Czar,
ReplyDeleteAny chance you'll get down to Rochester for the Rotary Classic (27,28,29)? Three Rochester teams, P-E-MVille, Northfield, Apple Valley and Stillwater. Should be some good basketball! I'm looking forward to the T-Wolves shoot-Out 1/5 also. We get to see a couple of very good girls teams that day also.
Unfortunately not as I'll be in Milwaukee seeing St. Bernard's, Mobile LeFlore and Whitefish Bay Dominican along with lots of Wisconsin's top players. That Rochester is traditionally a very good event and it looks no different this year. PEM, Mayo, Stillwater is a nice set of teams.
ReplyDeleteI just came back from the Anoka Holiday Classic at Anoka High School and got a game and a half for $5.
ReplyDeleteToday was the only boys basketball action in the Twin Cities to my knowledge, but it was a good start. Kenny Novak was in the stands most likely checking out Wayzata's club. After the Wayzata game, head coach Phil Ward joined him there. Novak stayed for the first few minutes of the Orono-Anoka game, drawing a small crowd in the meantime.
Coach Ward got his share of the recognition when a couple approached him claiming that they came to see Wayzata play. These Classic Lake coaches are in a league of their own.
I saw the 7 footer on Osseo coming out as I was coming in. A scout from Northland Community College was talking to an Osseo player inside.
Meal deal for $3, hot dog, chips and 20 ounce pop!
A little bit of surprise, Edina beat Cooper in the finals of Edina's tournament. The Hornets were up 20+ the majority of the second half. Cooper made a run to make it a 10 point game, and Edina finished winning by about 15. Edina controlled the pace of the game and played very under control. They've bounced back nicely after a disappointing loss to Jefferson.
ReplyDelete