Breakdown Summer Showcase Thoughts

My thoughts from Sunday at Minnetonka for the Breakdown Summer Showcase

Blue Pool A
Big Lake wins the pool with wins over GFW and Austin. Austin without Connor Gunderson despite Glory's 1st round playoff lost in Mankato. GFW with 5 points in the 1st 25 minutes of that game vs Big Lake. 38-22 final in an ugly one. 6'8 Center Tyler Hansen for Big Lake is an interesting player. Lanky athlete and can shoot a little. He played well.

Blue Pool B
Loaded pool here. Delano with Darius Clare and Mike Yahnke held off New London-Spicer who had Jayme Moten and Erik Tengwall 57-55. NLS then had too much inside for MACCRAY in a 69-53 win. Seth Hinrichs with 11 in the 2nd half but Shaun Condon only 3 FTs and 2 FG attempts. Condon finishes with 15. Hinrichs in a tough spot having the game of a perimeter player but having to defend the top post player. MACCRAY held off Delano in the last pool game 55-51. MACCRAY up 27-24 at half behind 16 points from their star Shaun Condon. In the 2nd half, when Delano would get close, Condon would make a play. He finishes with 28 in the win. Mike Yahnke with 15 points for Delano. So that means all 3 teams finish 1-1. Delano and NLS finish with the same points allowed so despite a head-head win, we go to the coin flip which Delano thankfully wins.

Delano couldn't generate any offense in the championship game vs Big Lake and the Hornets get the surprise championship.

Red Pool A
Apollo with all 3 of their stars from the class of 2011 on hand but it didn't matter vs a loaded Hopkins squad. Hopkins wins 72-49. Zach Stahl really made a case for that 5th spot with his play in this one. Only Riley Dearring missing, but Marvin Singleton, Siyani Chambers, DJ Peterson and Joe Coleman all on hand for the Royals. Cameron Selmer was the only kid from Mankato who made the trip back.

Champlin Park shorthanded as Kyle Zimmerman and Jasper Duberry weren't available. But they gave Hopkins all they wanted. CP had a late lead thanks to a Josh Pella steal and layup but a Hopkins 3 and a Dillon Hager miss allows Hopkins to survive 44-40.

Red Pool B
Sibley rolled through Pool B despite not having Jake Kreuser and Jimmy Ryan (2 key components of next year's team). Interesting that Kreuser didn't play on Sunday in Mankato with what appears to be a bum knee.

Red Championship (Hopkins vs Sibley)
This one had some intensity to it. Interesting to hear Hopkins talk smack about Jordan Jackson transferring to Sibley. I found the irony rather humorous. Then the game was chippy at times too as there was some chirping going on. 26-20 Hopkins at the half with Mike Rostampour scoring 8 points and Jordan Jackson with 6 points on 2 circus field goals. Sibley comes out with 9 in a row to start the 2nd half before a DJ Peterson 3 breaks the run. Rostampour on the bench to end the run as he has 4 fouls. But he returns with 9:30 left in a surprise move. 33-31 Hopkins with 8:30 to play. Siyani Chambers runs out for a pair of layins to push the lead to 6 with 4:20 left. Marvin Singleton with a 3 point play and then Chambers for 3 for a 12 point lead with 2:45 left to conclude a 10-0 run. But DJ Peterson misses a front end with 32.7 seconds left and Chambers misses another front end at 20.5 and Sibley is only down 2 with a chance to tie. But they turn it over with 12.1 to go. Chambers seals the 49-45 Hopkins win with 2 FTs. Mike Rostampour with 17 and 10 as Hopkins had trouble with him inside. Jordan Jackson with 10 points but his shot selection more than once left something to be desired. Jackson is still adjusting to the new style, but coach Dasovich is going to have to determine if he's a 1 or a 2 next season. He's a scorer in a PG body but his athleticism is a major plus. DJ Peterson with 15 points, Siyani Chambers with 12. Marvin Singleton did see plenty of perimeter touches during the day, but he's the guy who's going to have to be an interior presence for them in 09-10.