MN AAU Boys District Championship Preview 16U

This is the 2nd in a series of 3 previews of the MN AAU Boys District Championship at Bloomington Jefferson this weekend. We'll do the 16U division here.

Click here to read the 15U preview.
Click here to read the 17U preview.

Seeds:

• 1-4: MN Magic Elite (now includes TNL Express), MN Fury South, MN Magic Black, MN Comets Elite
  
• 5-8: MN Xplosion, Mpls Redhawks, 43 Hoops Harris, MN Fury North
  
• 9-12: Wear Out the Net, MN Select, MN Comets Select, MSB
  
• 13-15: MN Glory, Rochester Shock, MN Magic Blue
  

Schedule: (click here for a bracket)

• Opening round, 4 games Friday night (6:30, 2 at 7:50 and 1 at 9:10) and 3 on Saturday (11:40 AM and 2 at 1:00 PM)
  
• Quarterfinals, Saturday 3:40 and 5:00 PM courts 1 and 2
  
• Semifinals, Sunday 10:50 AM courts 1 and 2
• Championship, Sunday 2:50 PM Court 1
• 3rd Place, Sunday 2:50 PM Court 2
  
• 5th Place, Sunday 1:30 PM Court 1
  

This 16U bracket is very deep with the top 7 teams all very solid. I love the Comets as a #4 seed and would really like to see them take on Magic Elite in the semis. Fury South vs Magic Black is another very good projected semifinal. 43 Hoops Harris with nice perimeter players as the #7 seed could be dangerous. MN Xplosion doesn't have a name that sticks out like other teams but they've been solid all spring and can play with anybody in this bracket.

Players to Watch:

• Chad Calcaterra (Cloquet) - Magic Elite
  
• Marshall Bjorklund (Sibley East) - Magic Elite
  
• Darry Jones (St. Agnes) - MN Fury South
• Santano Rosario (SPA) - MN Fury South
  
• Walter Franklin (DLS) - Magic Black
• Deron Murphy (Kennedy) - Magic Black
• Alex Hanks (St. Cloud Tech) - MN Comets Elite
• Craig Brown (Park) - 43 Hoops Harris
• Nick Quicksell (Woodbury) - 43 Hoops Harris
• Josh Hanson (MCA) - MN Fury North
• Michael Lindberg (West Lutheran) - MN Fury North
• Drew Swanson (Lake City) - Wear Out the Net
  

Predictions:

• Opening Round: MN Fury N over Wear Out the Net (8 vs 9), Comets Elite over Glory (4 vs 13), Xplosion over MSB (5 vs 12), Fury S over Magic Blue (2 vs 15), 43 Hoops over MN Select (7 vs 10), Magic Black over Rochester Shock (3 vs 14), Mpls Redhawks over Comets Select (6 vs 11). No surprises.
  
• Quarterfinals: Magic Elite over MN Fury N (1 vs 8), Comets Elite over MN Xplosion (4 vs 5) , Fury S squeaks by 43 Hoops Harris (2 vs 7), Magic Black over Mpls Redhawks (3 vs 6)
  
• Semifinals: Magic Elite over MN Comets Elite (1 vs 4) thanks to the TNL guards. Fury South over Magic Black in a tough game (2 vs 3).
  
• Title game: Magic Elite over Fury South to avenge another loss
  
• 3rd place: Comets Elite over Magic Black