Another trip to Las Vegas is in the books. Here is what I'll remember. Game and team details can be found in my Northstar Hoops Report article. I was on my own for the trip so thanks to the outlying venues of the other tournaments, I ended up only doing the Adidas Super 64.
Best Game
Fury Dixon vs Pump N Run 16s. This game was setup by both teams winning their way to the round of 16. No team held a lead of any note in the 2nd half and it came right down to a Fury buzzer beater to win it. Fury storms the court after the win and you can't blame them. They lost the 1st 3 meetings of the year, including last week at the buzzer during the Best Buy Summer Classic. Great win for the Fury squad.
Best Win
Fury Davis over Dallas Mustangs. Fury Davis took on the loaded Dallas Mustangs squad and controlled the 2nd half. Another typical performance from a Fury team where if you don't play well, they can make you look bad. Very impressive.
Officiating
I made it out to a handful of outer gyms and the officiating for those gyms was just fine. The main gyms at the 17U super pools court was another story. Last year this was a NBA officials camp and the games were well done. Not this year as the officials were still being evaluated but they were positively awful. PNR 17s head man hit it on the head with "Do you guys just pick names?". It was so bad that the evaluators came out during a timeout and chewed the refs tails. Wish it would have gone on for the whole minute. Absolutely shocking how bad it was for those premier games.
The Strange
The Urban DFW vs Compton Magic round of 16 game saw a donnybrook breakout. The benches emptied and a punch was thrown (that thankfully missed, think Kermit Washington). Both benches emptied and all players on the bench and the 2 players in the game who fought were ejected. The last 5 minutes were played 4 on 4. Urban DFW ended up winning that game and still had guys to play PNR in the quarters. There was some question if DFW would be allowed to play that game as all of those players may have had to sit out. Ultimately the game was played with PNR winning.
At one point on Saturday night at the PNR 15s game, there was 1 college coach watching and 2 fans using blankets thanks to the frigid air conditioning. Not the only building where that happened. Then there were a couple of other buildings that chose to open the doors and play with out AC despite the heat.
The casino floor had NBC, but no NBC in the rooms to watch the Olympics.
Had a group of teenage girls hoops players come up to me and ask me if I was a coach. I showed my media pass and then asked what tournament they were in. They had no idea.
The Food
Last year, they had outstanding pizza at the main Super 64 venue and didn't have it this year. Major disappointment. Thanks to getting in early, I was able to spend some time at the buffet. While it was an expensive $16 (by Vegas standards), it was brunch and the bacon was some of the best I've ever had. French toast, biscuits and gravy, a big slab of turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy. A great way to fill up. But no scramble eggs anywhere to be found, pretty surprised at that. Had McDonald as part of the shops in the hotel. But a 15 minute line at 12:30 AM? What's up with that? Thankfully the Super 64 is a Pepsi outfit. With the Vegas heat, they did rather well out of my pocket book at the wonderful cost of just $1 per 12 oz can. See locals, you can still make a profit at just $1.
The Gambling
I won 3 out of 4 nights. More shocking is that I actually had the discipline to get up and walk away while on a streak. This was really true on opening night. Once again I had a big opening night and with nowhere to be until the games started at 5 PM, I had plenty of time to stay up. But I took my winnings and left early that night. Of course, on night 3, I wasn't smart enough to do that with losses and threw away some extra bucks in the last 30 minutes which ultimately kept me from a profit for the trip. Night 4 was about the entertainment value of the dealers dressed as cocktail waitresses (for the record, yes its a distraction, hit me generally gets you smacked because you're not looking at your cards). No Xena the Warrior Cocktail Waitress this year but we did get a quality Marilyn Monroe look-alike. Overall, same as last year, dead even if you throw out the tips. For 4 nights of entertainment, I'll take that.
Sadness
The trip was book-ended by tragic news. We awoke in Vegas on Wednesday to find out about the deaths of former Henry stars Jordan Hughes and Mandela Jackson. I saw both play numerous times at Henry. Its a harsh reminder of how short life can be. Then the trip ended with word of Southwest Minnesota State head coach Brad Bigler being seriously injured and losing his 5 month old son Drake in a car accident thanks to a repeat drunk driver. We'll keep him and his family in our thoughts.
2012 Best Buy Summer Classic Preview
Labels:
Reid Travis
Its a big week in Minnesota summer basketball as Howard Pulley visits the Peach Jam, Select and Glory invade Louisville and Net Gain visits Milwaukee but most everyone else is home for the 4th annual Best Buy Summer Classic at Jefferson and Kennedy. Pool play begins at 4 PM Thursday and ends Friday night. Bracket play Saturday and Sunday with championships at 2:20 Sunday afternoon. As is the case with most college coaches, focus here will be on the 17U division.
2 super pools in 17U with M33M, Dakota Schoolers I, Indiana Elite Stars MN PNR making up the 1st super pool. The Schoolers bring in one of their better teams in recent memory. Center Zach Hanson just committed to Creighton but had offers from Iowa St and Missouri. Wing Lane Severyn just picked up an NDSU offer and athletic Skyler Flatten is another player at a D1 level for the Schoolers. Guard Jordan Pickett leads the Indiana Elite Stars who were the 2nd Indiana Elite super pool team last week in Indianapolis. They were 1-2 and knocked out in the round of 32. Then you have the host Minnesota Pump N Run. Reid Travis just picked up a USC offer. Point guard Graham Woodward and guard Gerald McCarver both played well last week.
The team to watch is M33M. #11 in the Rivals national ranking is 6'5 wing Robert Hubbs. 6'7 wing Austin Nichols is ranked 43rd by Rivals. Then a couple of highly touted freshmen in 6'10 Skal Labissiere (#8 ESPN's 2015 rankings) and point guard Nyck Smith. Hubbs stock has really shot up since he played here last.
Pool B has perennial power Franchize All-Stars, the returning Michigan Hurricanes, Illinois Warriors and the top team from last year's champion PrymeTyme. Franchize features a pair of 2014 star wings in Mavin Saunders and Joe Burton. The Hurricanes return with wing Bo Ziegler (#118 Rivals). Hurricanes were bounced out of the top bracket last year by PrymeTyme. Will PrymeTyme have another Fred Van Vleet (last year's MVP)?
Pool C is topped by Fury Davis and Bucknell commit Ben Oberfeld. Heat Reese tops Pool D with Fury Ouse and Comets Stock. Pool E features Comets Hanson. Should be very interesting to see what D1 crowd turns out to see 7 footer Connor Voss. The Wisconsin Jets were champions of the Dakota Showcase. Guard Tim Wagner leads the Jets.
Duez Henderson's Iowa PNR squad highlights Pool G. 6'8 Forward Rylan Murray has offers from North Dakota, Nebraska Omaha and Central Michigan. Dakota Pride and Triple Threat could decide pool J. Heat Ogorek gets our sleeper BYC Elite (NM) in their pool. Guard John Dawson has been outstanding all year for BYC. Colorado just offered him. Pool L closes out the list with a bang. MN Lockdown and Logan Doyle have WI Starz Black with their center Blake Derickson. ECI Prospects with NDSU commit AJ Jacobsen also in this pool.
Other players of note include Taylor Schaefer of the ECI Prospects 16s and elite guard 5'10" Hyron Edwards of Team Indiana/Indiana Elite 15s. He's #12 in the ESPN 2015 rankings and has offers from Purdue and Indiana. They're in the PNR 15s super pool. That game is at 6:20 Thursday night.
A couple of other very nice matchups. Fury Dixon and Comets Lewis meet up once again in their 16U super pool. That game is also at 6:20 Thursday. Back in the 15U bracket, the Cyclones take on tNBA in their pool at 10 AM Friday morning. tNBA has been off the radar due to conflicting schedules but they get their shot at Alex Illikainen et al. Last we saw of tNBA was their loss to the very good WI Blizzard-Pronchinske group in the Best Buy Spring Tournament semis.
Heat Biwan 14s step up to 15U with a Schoolers group and SW MN Stars in their pool. Fury Shelman, MN Phenom and Heat Lesewski also representing the best of MN in 15U. Also looking forward to taking another look at the MN Warriors and Heat Garvis. Looking forward to seeing all of the top teams come through Jefferson in all levels which is a change from last year. I like it. More of the premier games will be in the activity center which considering the weather is a good choice as well. Don't expect another power outage though.
2 super pools in 17U with M33M, Dakota Schoolers I, Indiana Elite Stars MN PNR making up the 1st super pool. The Schoolers bring in one of their better teams in recent memory. Center Zach Hanson just committed to Creighton but had offers from Iowa St and Missouri. Wing Lane Severyn just picked up an NDSU offer and athletic Skyler Flatten is another player at a D1 level for the Schoolers. Guard Jordan Pickett leads the Indiana Elite Stars who were the 2nd Indiana Elite super pool team last week in Indianapolis. They were 1-2 and knocked out in the round of 32. Then you have the host Minnesota Pump N Run. Reid Travis just picked up a USC offer. Point guard Graham Woodward and guard Gerald McCarver both played well last week.
The team to watch is M33M. #11 in the Rivals national ranking is 6'5 wing Robert Hubbs. 6'7 wing Austin Nichols is ranked 43rd by Rivals. Then a couple of highly touted freshmen in 6'10 Skal Labissiere (#8 ESPN's 2015 rankings) and point guard Nyck Smith. Hubbs stock has really shot up since he played here last.
Pool B has perennial power Franchize All-Stars, the returning Michigan Hurricanes, Illinois Warriors and the top team from last year's champion PrymeTyme. Franchize features a pair of 2014 star wings in Mavin Saunders and Joe Burton. The Hurricanes return with wing Bo Ziegler (#118 Rivals). Hurricanes were bounced out of the top bracket last year by PrymeTyme. Will PrymeTyme have another Fred Van Vleet (last year's MVP)?
Pool C is topped by Fury Davis and Bucknell commit Ben Oberfeld. Heat Reese tops Pool D with Fury Ouse and Comets Stock. Pool E features Comets Hanson. Should be very interesting to see what D1 crowd turns out to see 7 footer Connor Voss. The Wisconsin Jets were champions of the Dakota Showcase. Guard Tim Wagner leads the Jets.
Duez Henderson's Iowa PNR squad highlights Pool G. 6'8 Forward Rylan Murray has offers from North Dakota, Nebraska Omaha and Central Michigan. Dakota Pride and Triple Threat could decide pool J. Heat Ogorek gets our sleeper BYC Elite (NM) in their pool. Guard John Dawson has been outstanding all year for BYC. Colorado just offered him. Pool L closes out the list with a bang. MN Lockdown and Logan Doyle have WI Starz Black with their center Blake Derickson. ECI Prospects with NDSU commit AJ Jacobsen also in this pool.
Other players of note include Taylor Schaefer of the ECI Prospects 16s and elite guard 5'10" Hyron Edwards of Team Indiana/Indiana Elite 15s. He's #12 in the ESPN 2015 rankings and has offers from Purdue and Indiana. They're in the PNR 15s super pool. That game is at 6:20 Thursday night.
A couple of other very nice matchups. Fury Dixon and Comets Lewis meet up once again in their 16U super pool. That game is also at 6:20 Thursday. Back in the 15U bracket, the Cyclones take on tNBA in their pool at 10 AM Friday morning. tNBA has been off the radar due to conflicting schedules but they get their shot at Alex Illikainen et al. Last we saw of tNBA was their loss to the very good WI Blizzard-Pronchinske group in the Best Buy Spring Tournament semis.
Heat Biwan 14s step up to 15U with a Schoolers group and SW MN Stars in their pool. Fury Shelman, MN Phenom and Heat Lesewski also representing the best of MN in 15U. Also looking forward to taking another look at the MN Warriors and Heat Garvis. Looking forward to seeing all of the top teams come through Jefferson in all levels which is a change from last year. I like it. More of the premier games will be in the activity center which considering the weather is a good choice as well. Don't expect another power outage though.
July Fashion Police
AAU Coaches will wear just about anything. Many comments have been made this week on Twitter about some of those items. So as a public service to our local coaches, I've put them together and provide them there. Here are some things that Joan Rivers would cringe at.
Headgear
This isn't baseball and you're not in the sun. Take off the baseball cap.
Hair Style
If you're sporting a mohawk should any college coach really take your team seriously?
Clothing
Its become acceptable to either dress up, wear practice gear or team gear. Jorts don't fit into any of these categories. There's a reason they have a bad name. Ditch them
Footwear
Flip-flops. Really? You can go to the beach or the bar afterwards. The only known thing about men's feet is that they stink. Wear shoes please.
Accessories
Heaven forbid somebody would steal your expensive Beats by Dre that you and the entire team have. But there's no need to have those around your neck during the game.
If you get a T because you couldn't hear a ref tell you "No More" because you had earbuds in, not cool.
Coach yells at his team "don't make me look like a clown". He's wearing sunglasses which pretty clearly already destroys his message.
Headgear
This isn't baseball and you're not in the sun. Take off the baseball cap.
Hair Style
If you're sporting a mohawk should any college coach really take your team seriously?
Clothing
Its become acceptable to either dress up, wear practice gear or team gear. Jorts don't fit into any of these categories. There's a reason they have a bad name. Ditch them
Footwear
Flip-flops. Really? You can go to the beach or the bar afterwards. The only known thing about men's feet is that they stink. Wear shoes please.
Accessories
Heaven forbid somebody would steal your expensive Beats by Dre that you and the entire team have. But there's no need to have those around your neck during the game.
If you get a T because you couldn't hear a ref tell you "No More" because you had earbuds in, not cool.
Coach yells at his team "don't make me look like a clown". He's wearing sunglasses which pretty clearly already destroys his message.
July 2012 Open Period Day 3 Results
Labels:
Reid Travis
Bracket play underway in the1st open period, here's how the MN teams stand.
St. Louis (Mullen's High Exposure)
MN Cyclones def Kansas Heat Elite 87-44
Ames (IMBBall part 1)
MN Lockdown and MN Suns Brown both lost their bracket games.
Local (IMBBall part 2)
Howard Pulley White 17s lost 55-43 to All Iowa Attack Moore. 21 pts and 9 rebs for Peter Jok of the Attack.
tNBA 17s def La Crosse YMCA Steger 61-53
Heat Schumann 16s def Iowa Cornsharks 68-63
Howard Pulley Blue 15s def NIB Raptors 58-39.
Howard Pulley White 15s def ND Phenom 59-55
Milwaukee (NY2LA)
Bracket play is set.
15U
Fury Shelman will take on Net Gain in the round of 16.
MN Select takes on Chicago Select in the same quarter of the top bracket.
Heat Lesewski/Bui takes on Schoolers Mueller
Comets Elite will play WI Blizzard Kuranda in a Gold bracket pigtail.
16U
Round of 16
MN Select has a pigtail game with WI Swish for the right to play Ray Allen Select
SW MN Stars will play the winner of SYF and Milwaukee Rebels
Those 2 games are in the same quarter
Fury Grosz will play winner of IA Mavs Uthoff and WI Swing Litscher on the same side of the bracket.
On the opposite side.
Fury Dixon gets winner of WI Blizzard Pop vs ECI Prospects
In the same quarter Comets Elite gets a rematch with MN Warriors (who won a tight one at the Pulley tourney). Winner will play top WI Blizzard team and then possibly Fury Dixon.
17U
Net Gain takes on ECI Prospects
Magic Elite takes on Ramey
Winner of that plays winner of Fury Davis and S. Dakota Heat.
Staying in that quarter of the draw Select Blue takes on Comets Hanson
Winner of that to play WI Playmakers White vs SW MN Stars winner.
On the other half
MN Select White vs Playground Elite Wilson
In the Gold Bracket
Magic Maroon vs WI Blizzard Thomas to take on WI Shooters/WOTN winner
Comets Stock vs top WI Blizzard to play winnner of IA Mavs Putz vs Fury Newll.
Comets Seevers and Fury Ouse are in the Silver bracket.
Indianapolis (Adidas Invitational)
17U
PNR def Ohio Phenoms 78-64 to finish 2-1 in their super pool. Reid Travis over 20 points again. They then beat Texas GCBC Cagers 87-77 in pigtail game to advance to final 32 of Championship bracket
Heat Ogorek lost to MBA Select in the 1st round of the Gold Bracket to finish 2-2.
Heat Reese def Illinois Exclusive to advance to final 16 of Silver Bracket.
Heat Frasier def TN Chosen Few in 1st round Bronze bracket thanks to a Robert Ben buzzer beater.
Heat Altena lost to Q6 All-Stars Elite in 1st round Bronze bracket to finish 0-4.
16U
PNR finished 2nd in their pool and then picked up a very good 3 pt win over Florida Elite to advance to the final 16 of the championship bracket.
Heat Vang had the day off after finishing 2nd in their pool. They'll play Michigan Mustangs in the Final 16 of the Gold Bracket
Heat Frank finished 0-3 in pool and will play Indy Ice in 1st round of the Bronze Bracket.
MN Glory 0-3 will play Triple Balance in 1st round of the bronze bracket.
15U
MN PNR won their super pool with a 65-60 win over the WI Playground Warriors (where the Ellenson's once played). They then lost to Indiana Elite Blaze 73-68 in the 1st round of the Championship Bracket.
St. Louis (Mullen's High Exposure)
MN Cyclones def Kansas Heat Elite 87-44
Ames (IMBBall part 1)
MN Lockdown and MN Suns Brown both lost their bracket games.
Local (IMBBall part 2)
Howard Pulley White 17s lost 55-43 to All Iowa Attack Moore. 21 pts and 9 rebs for Peter Jok of the Attack.
tNBA 17s def La Crosse YMCA Steger 61-53
Heat Schumann 16s def Iowa Cornsharks 68-63
Howard Pulley Blue 15s def NIB Raptors 58-39.
Howard Pulley White 15s def ND Phenom 59-55
Milwaukee (NY2LA)
Bracket play is set.
15U
Fury Shelman will take on Net Gain in the round of 16.
MN Select takes on Chicago Select in the same quarter of the top bracket.
Heat Lesewski/Bui takes on Schoolers Mueller
Comets Elite will play WI Blizzard Kuranda in a Gold bracket pigtail.
16U
Round of 16
MN Select has a pigtail game with WI Swish for the right to play Ray Allen Select
SW MN Stars will play the winner of SYF and Milwaukee Rebels
Those 2 games are in the same quarter
Fury Grosz will play winner of IA Mavs Uthoff and WI Swing Litscher on the same side of the bracket.
On the opposite side.
Fury Dixon gets winner of WI Blizzard Pop vs ECI Prospects
In the same quarter Comets Elite gets a rematch with MN Warriors (who won a tight one at the Pulley tourney). Winner will play top WI Blizzard team and then possibly Fury Dixon.
17U
Net Gain takes on ECI Prospects
Magic Elite takes on Ramey
Winner of that plays winner of Fury Davis and S. Dakota Heat.
Staying in that quarter of the draw Select Blue takes on Comets Hanson
Winner of that to play WI Playmakers White vs SW MN Stars winner.
On the other half
MN Select White vs Playground Elite Wilson
In the Gold Bracket
Magic Maroon vs WI Blizzard Thomas to take on WI Shooters/WOTN winner
Comets Stock vs top WI Blizzard to play winnner of IA Mavs Putz vs Fury Newll.
Comets Seevers and Fury Ouse are in the Silver bracket.
Indianapolis (Adidas Invitational)
17U
PNR def Ohio Phenoms 78-64 to finish 2-1 in their super pool. Reid Travis over 20 points again. They then beat Texas GCBC Cagers 87-77 in pigtail game to advance to final 32 of Championship bracket
Heat Ogorek lost to MBA Select in the 1st round of the Gold Bracket to finish 2-2.
Heat Reese def Illinois Exclusive to advance to final 16 of Silver Bracket.
Heat Frasier def TN Chosen Few in 1st round Bronze bracket thanks to a Robert Ben buzzer beater.
Heat Altena lost to Q6 All-Stars Elite in 1st round Bronze bracket to finish 0-4.
16U
PNR finished 2nd in their pool and then picked up a very good 3 pt win over Florida Elite to advance to the final 16 of the championship bracket.
Heat Vang had the day off after finishing 2nd in their pool. They'll play Michigan Mustangs in the Final 16 of the Gold Bracket
Heat Frank finished 0-3 in pool and will play Indy Ice in 1st round of the Bronze Bracket.
MN Glory 0-3 will play Triple Balance in 1st round of the bronze bracket.
15U
MN PNR won their super pool with a 65-60 win over the WI Playground Warriors (where the Ellenson's once played). They then lost to Indiana Elite Blaze 73-68 in the 1st round of the Championship Bracket.
July 2012 Open Period Day 2
Labels:
Reid Travis
Here are results from 2nd day of play in the July 2012 open period.
IMBBall (Ames)
17U
MN Suns Brown go 2-1 and finish 2nd in their pool. Only loss was to the All Iowa Attack EYBL team 70-51. They defeated Iowa Legacy 56-44 and 72-49 over Omaha Crusaders Foster.
MN Lockdown 2-0 to win their pool but lost to All Iowa Attack Moore 62-46 on Wed. They defeated Omaha Crusaders Woodard 52-44 and All Iowa Attack Jensen 65-60.
Lockdown vs Cornsharks and Suns vs All Iowa Moore in brackets play was not yet posted.
16U
Howard Pulley top 16s go 0-3. Lost to Omaha Crusaders 67-57, NE Select by 3 and 76-68 to the Iowa Cornsharks.
Heat Select 1-2 to finish 3rd in their pool
MN Lockdown was 1-1 to finish 2nd in their pool.
15U
Howard Pulley Top 15s swept their pool 3-0. 79-57 over IA Legacy, 79-38 over Omaha Crusaders and 56-39 over All Iowa Attack Johnson.
MN Suns Russell 2-1 to be 2nd in their pool.
Howard Pulley White was 0-2 and 3rd in their pool.
Adidas Invitational (Indianapolis)
17U
MN Pump N Run split their 2 games. 63-55 Loss to Team Nashville and 75-57 win over Dallas Mustangs. Reid Travis 19 and 22 points in those 2 games.
Heat Altena lost to MBA Select 72-62, then lost 70-59 to Tennesse Tigers to finish pool 0-3.
Heat Frasier was swept in their 3 pool games. They lost to Southern Indiana Spartans 61-55 and S. Texas Irish 64-45
Heat Ogorek split their games during the day. They beat Club Elite Warriors 81-67. They lost the pool title game 62-56 to Texas GCBC Cagers. They finish 2-1 in pool. Jack Martinek 20 pts in the loss.
Heat Reese fell to Spiece Higher Level 85-82 and beat Team Pro Look Boys 63-55. They finish 1-2 in pool. Brendan Taylor was 7-7 from 3 in the 1st half of that Team Pro win.
16U
MN Pump N Run lost to a very good Indiana Elite team 61-38. They bounced back to defeat Devin Harris Super Stars 79-65 behind 20 and 9 from Paul Friendshuh.
Heat Vang won both of their games to finish 2-1 in pool play. They beat Indy Jazz 2014 93-60 and Hoop Dreams 73-59. Jake Knupp 6 3s, 25 pts in that last win.
Heat Frank lost 64-46 to Grand Rapids storm and 64-38 to Select Basketball to start 0-2 in pool.
Glory 16s lost to FIST 68-67 and to Atlanta Celtics 2 58-36 to start 0-2.
15U
MN PNR def CIA Bounce 65-49 and Colorado Hawks 71-51. Marshawn Wilson 2 huge dunks and 18 points in that Hawks game.
NY2LA (Milwaukee)
17U
Magic Maroon lost to Next Level Basketball by 4
Fury Davis lost by 17 to WI Swing.
Net Gain def Iowa Mavs Putz (max +15)
Magic Elite def Iowa Mavs Green (max +15) and Playground Elite Wilson by 2
WOTN lost to WI Blizzard Kellett (max -15)
Comets Hanson def Colorado Titans by 6 and Playmakers Blue by 9 to finish 2-1 in pool but they can't win the pool even with help.
MN Select White def WI Shooters White 49-41 and def Team NLA-MA by 14.
Fury Ouse lost a couple of heartbreakers by 2 each to WI Starz and Kingdom Hoops Red
Comets Stock lost to top Schoolers team by 16 then def Flint Dream Team by 12.
MN Select Blue def Rockford Wildcats by 5 and WI Ballers Elite by 7
Comets Seevers loses by 4 to WI Blizzard Thomas
16U
MN Warriors def Next Level Basketball 65-62. Garrett Goetz 37 points (17-17 FTs) to lead the Warriors
Fury Dixon def WI Swing-Litscher 70-67 in 2 OT.
Fury Grosz def WI Blizzard Popp (max + 15)
MN Select def WI Swing-Smith (max +15)
SW MN Stars 16s def Randolph Boys Club White by 2
Comets Lewis def HLC Buch by 25 to start their pool play.
15U
MN Select def WI Blizzard Thomas by 12
Heat Lesewski def Randolph Boys Club by 3
Net Gain def Kingdom Hoops Red (max +15)
Fury Shelman def Peoria Irish by 4
Comets Elite lost by 2 to WI Blizzard Schneider
IMBBall (Ames)
17U
MN Suns Brown go 2-1 and finish 2nd in their pool. Only loss was to the All Iowa Attack EYBL team 70-51. They defeated Iowa Legacy 56-44 and 72-49 over Omaha Crusaders Foster.
MN Lockdown 2-0 to win their pool but lost to All Iowa Attack Moore 62-46 on Wed. They defeated Omaha Crusaders Woodard 52-44 and All Iowa Attack Jensen 65-60.
Lockdown vs Cornsharks and Suns vs All Iowa Moore in brackets play was not yet posted.
16U
Howard Pulley top 16s go 0-3. Lost to Omaha Crusaders 67-57, NE Select by 3 and 76-68 to the Iowa Cornsharks.
Heat Select 1-2 to finish 3rd in their pool
MN Lockdown was 1-1 to finish 2nd in their pool.
15U
Howard Pulley Top 15s swept their pool 3-0. 79-57 over IA Legacy, 79-38 over Omaha Crusaders and 56-39 over All Iowa Attack Johnson.
MN Suns Russell 2-1 to be 2nd in their pool.
Howard Pulley White was 0-2 and 3rd in their pool.
Adidas Invitational (Indianapolis)
17U
MN Pump N Run split their 2 games. 63-55 Loss to Team Nashville and 75-57 win over Dallas Mustangs. Reid Travis 19 and 22 points in those 2 games.
Heat Altena lost to MBA Select 72-62, then lost 70-59 to Tennesse Tigers to finish pool 0-3.
Heat Frasier was swept in their 3 pool games. They lost to Southern Indiana Spartans 61-55 and S. Texas Irish 64-45
Heat Ogorek split their games during the day. They beat Club Elite Warriors 81-67. They lost the pool title game 62-56 to Texas GCBC Cagers. They finish 2-1 in pool. Jack Martinek 20 pts in the loss.
Heat Reese fell to Spiece Higher Level 85-82 and beat Team Pro Look Boys 63-55. They finish 1-2 in pool. Brendan Taylor was 7-7 from 3 in the 1st half of that Team Pro win.
16U
MN Pump N Run lost to a very good Indiana Elite team 61-38. They bounced back to defeat Devin Harris Super Stars 79-65 behind 20 and 9 from Paul Friendshuh.
Heat Vang won both of their games to finish 2-1 in pool play. They beat Indy Jazz 2014 93-60 and Hoop Dreams 73-59. Jake Knupp 6 3s, 25 pts in that last win.
Heat Frank lost 64-46 to Grand Rapids storm and 64-38 to Select Basketball to start 0-2 in pool.
Glory 16s lost to FIST 68-67 and to Atlanta Celtics 2 58-36 to start 0-2.
15U
MN PNR def CIA Bounce 65-49 and Colorado Hawks 71-51. Marshawn Wilson 2 huge dunks and 18 points in that Hawks game.
NY2LA (Milwaukee)
17U
Magic Maroon lost to Next Level Basketball by 4
Fury Davis lost by 17 to WI Swing.
Net Gain def Iowa Mavs Putz (max +15)
Magic Elite def Iowa Mavs Green (max +15) and Playground Elite Wilson by 2
WOTN lost to WI Blizzard Kellett (max -15)
Comets Hanson def Colorado Titans by 6 and Playmakers Blue by 9 to finish 2-1 in pool but they can't win the pool even with help.
MN Select White def WI Shooters White 49-41 and def Team NLA-MA by 14.
Fury Ouse lost a couple of heartbreakers by 2 each to WI Starz and Kingdom Hoops Red
Comets Stock lost to top Schoolers team by 16 then def Flint Dream Team by 12.
MN Select Blue def Rockford Wildcats by 5 and WI Ballers Elite by 7
Comets Seevers loses by 4 to WI Blizzard Thomas
16U
MN Warriors def Next Level Basketball 65-62. Garrett Goetz 37 points (17-17 FTs) to lead the Warriors
Fury Dixon def WI Swing-Litscher 70-67 in 2 OT.
Fury Grosz def WI Blizzard Popp (max + 15)
MN Select def WI Swing-Smith (max +15)
SW MN Stars 16s def Randolph Boys Club White by 2
Comets Lewis def HLC Buch by 25 to start their pool play.
15U
MN Select def WI Blizzard Thomas by 12
Heat Lesewski def Randolph Boys Club by 3
Net Gain def Kingdom Hoops Red (max +15)
Fury Shelman def Peoria Irish by 4
Comets Elite lost by 2 to WI Blizzard Schneider
July 2012 Open Day 1 Results
Night 1 of the open period is in the books, 3 full days await most of the players. Here are results from Day 1 of the July 2012 open period.
NY2LA (Milwaukee)
15U
Heat Lesewski/Bui lost to Kingdom Hoops Elite (max -15)
Net Gain lost to WI Blizzard top team (max -15)
Fury Shelman lost to WI Shooters by 3
MN Select lost to Schoolers (max -15)
Comets Elite def WI Swing Smith (max 15)
16U
Playground Elite def MN Warriors 68-66 at the buzzer.
17U
Magic Maroon lost to Kingdom Hoops Elite (max -15)
Fury Davis beat Schoolers 2 (max 15)
Net Gain def Ramey (max 15)
Magic Elite def Iowa Mavs Green by 32
WOTN lost to Milwaukee Spartans (max -15)
Comets Hanson lost by 10 to Green Bay Gunners
Adidas Invitational
16U
Shot Doc def Heat Vang 70-55
17U
Heat Altena lost 61-31 to South Florida Panthers
Heat Frasier lost 65-44 to Team Miami
Heat Ogorek def Southern Select Basketball 51-42
Heat Reese lost 60-48 to Iowa Barnstormers
NY2LA (Milwaukee)
15U
Heat Lesewski/Bui lost to Kingdom Hoops Elite (max -15)
Net Gain lost to WI Blizzard top team (max -15)
Fury Shelman lost to WI Shooters by 3
MN Select lost to Schoolers (max -15)
Comets Elite def WI Swing Smith (max 15)
16U
Playground Elite def MN Warriors 68-66 at the buzzer.
17U
Magic Maroon lost to Kingdom Hoops Elite (max -15)
Fury Davis beat Schoolers 2 (max 15)
Net Gain def Ramey (max 15)
Magic Elite def Iowa Mavs Green by 32
WOTN lost to Milwaukee Spartans (max -15)
Comets Hanson lost by 10 to Green Bay Gunners
Adidas Invitational
16U
Shot Doc def Heat Vang 70-55
17U
Heat Altena lost 61-31 to South Florida Panthers
Heat Frasier lost 65-44 to Team Miami
Heat Ogorek def Southern Select Basketball 51-42
Heat Reese lost 60-48 to Iowa Barnstormers
5 Players to watch in July 2012
Labels:
Reid Travis
With the July recruiting period upon, here are 5 players who's progress I'll be watching this month.
#5) Carson Shanks - Minnesota Select White 17s
The list begins with the big man in the middle. Select has struggled this spring as has Shanks. Now Grassroots basketball is definitely not a big man's game so good matchups have been difficult to find. Witness the bracket game in St. Cloud where Select couldn't find a good lineup to play against a smaller, more athletic Heat Reese team. That was with or without Shanks on the floor. Shanks definitely has the skills to perform above the level he played at in the spring. Will he show that in July?
#4) Anders Broman - Howard Pulley Blue 17s
Broman took his game to another level this spring. With Tyus Jones out at the Pulley tournament, he showed the ability to run the point. He also showed quality ability to knock down open jump shots along with his usual scoring prowess. That garnered him a handful of D1 offers. The Peach Jam in the middle period is July's biggest stage. Does he move to yet another level there?
#3) Connor Voss - Minnesota Comets Hanson 17s
Voss is the other big man in the middle on our list. His story is entirely different. He sat out a large chunk of the high school season due to injury. That carried over to him missing the entire April recruiting period as well. But he's gotten his legs back over the last 2 months and its showed. His performance at the North Dakota camp earned him an offer from the (insert non-offensive NCAA complaint nickname here). Is he trending toward a July where he breaks through onto a bigger stage?
#2) Reid Travis - Minnesota Pump N Run 17s
The final 2 both fall into the category of "His team will go as far as he takes them". Reid Travis was the catalyst for the PNR 15s run to the Super 64 title game last year. For now, he's the 2014 player that has kind of been forgotten about. The PNR team is his again and needs him to play at a high level. Does he solidify a high major ranking with his play this month?
#1) Darrion Strong - Minnesota Magic Robertson 17s
I would argue that no single player has been more critical to his team's success than Darrion Strong. Before joining the Magic, they were struggling to score points and their record (albeit against a difficult schedule) showed it. It also showed when the Comets trounced the Magic 2 weeks ago with Strong not playing. Strong joined the Magic in May and has been the single most dominant offensive player I've seen in the last 2 months. He led the Magic to the Northstar Hoops Report State Championship with a virtuoso performance in the title game and to a runner up finish (double OT loss at the buzzer) at the Great Plains Alliance tournament at the end of the month. It will be very interesting to see what interest he has after the month is over.
#5) Carson Shanks - Minnesota Select White 17s
The list begins with the big man in the middle. Select has struggled this spring as has Shanks. Now Grassroots basketball is definitely not a big man's game so good matchups have been difficult to find. Witness the bracket game in St. Cloud where Select couldn't find a good lineup to play against a smaller, more athletic Heat Reese team. That was with or without Shanks on the floor. Shanks definitely has the skills to perform above the level he played at in the spring. Will he show that in July?
#4) Anders Broman - Howard Pulley Blue 17s
Broman took his game to another level this spring. With Tyus Jones out at the Pulley tournament, he showed the ability to run the point. He also showed quality ability to knock down open jump shots along with his usual scoring prowess. That garnered him a handful of D1 offers. The Peach Jam in the middle period is July's biggest stage. Does he move to yet another level there?
#3) Connor Voss - Minnesota Comets Hanson 17s
Voss is the other big man in the middle on our list. His story is entirely different. He sat out a large chunk of the high school season due to injury. That carried over to him missing the entire April recruiting period as well. But he's gotten his legs back over the last 2 months and its showed. His performance at the North Dakota camp earned him an offer from the (insert non-offensive NCAA complaint nickname here). Is he trending toward a July where he breaks through onto a bigger stage?
#2) Reid Travis - Minnesota Pump N Run 17s
The final 2 both fall into the category of "His team will go as far as he takes them". Reid Travis was the catalyst for the PNR 15s run to the Super 64 title game last year. For now, he's the 2014 player that has kind of been forgotten about. The PNR team is his again and needs him to play at a high level. Does he solidify a high major ranking with his play this month?
#1) Darrion Strong - Minnesota Magic Robertson 17s
I would argue that no single player has been more critical to his team's success than Darrion Strong. Before joining the Magic, they were struggling to score points and their record (albeit against a difficult schedule) showed it. It also showed when the Comets trounced the Magic 2 weeks ago with Strong not playing. Strong joined the Magic in May and has been the single most dominant offensive player I've seen in the last 2 months. He led the Magic to the Northstar Hoops Report State Championship with a virtuoso performance in the title game and to a runner up finish (double OT loss at the buzzer) at the Great Plains Alliance tournament at the end of the month. It will be very interesting to see what interest he has after the month is over.
Warming up for Summer
A nice event at Irondale as the MN Heat put on a scrimmage for a group of local teams. EOTO 15/16s as a team and their 17s, Fury Ouse, Net Gain 15s and 17s. Plus all the noteworthy Heat teams which makes an event all by itself. Net Gain played without Rashad Vaughn. He'll be attending the Reebok Breakout Camp in Philly before rejoining NGS for bracket play at NY2LA this weekend.
A blinding day as Andre Wallace had his usual bright pink shoes on for NGS. At least grey halfways goes with pink. Bremiah Snyder of the Heat pulled out some construction barrel orange shoes that could only make this native Wisconsinite think they'd be better served for a drive during deer hunting season.
Despite those blinding shoe colors, Hamline, St. Mary's and UMD were in the building flying their colors so kids remember this. Anybody can be watching at anytime. That's very often overlooked
Overall, a ragged night of play but that's to be expected with these teams having minimal ball together over the last month (outside of the Great Plains Alliance). But after a couple of weeks of practice, good to have another look and quick warmup prior to the teams heading on the road tomorrow for the 1st of 3 open periods this month.
For more on July, you can checkout my Northstar Hoops Report article on 5 teams to watch this July (read that here). In addition, come back for my next article here which will be 5 players to watch this July.
A blinding day as Andre Wallace had his usual bright pink shoes on for NGS. At least grey halfways goes with pink. Bremiah Snyder of the Heat pulled out some construction barrel orange shoes that could only make this native Wisconsinite think they'd be better served for a drive during deer hunting season.
Despite those blinding shoe colors, Hamline, St. Mary's and UMD were in the building flying their colors so kids remember this. Anybody can be watching at anytime. That's very often overlooked
Overall, a ragged night of play but that's to be expected with these teams having minimal ball together over the last month (outside of the Great Plains Alliance). But after a couple of weeks of practice, good to have another look and quick warmup prior to the teams heading on the road tomorrow for the 1st of 3 open periods this month.
For more on July, you can checkout my Northstar Hoops Report article on 5 teams to watch this July (read that here). In addition, come back for my next article here which will be 5 players to watch this July.
Hit the road for July 2012
Yes The Czar is still here. The NCAA did not sanction me and force me to write under a new name as I haven't had any illegal contact with agents. Speaking of the NCAA, in years past we'd be right in the middle of the 1st 10 day recruiting period. Thanks to the same NCAA rule changes that opened up April this year, July has now changed too. July's recruiting window is now 3 long weekends, 11-15, 18-22 and 25-29. That's Wednesdays starting at 5 PM and ending at 5 PM on those Sundays. That 1st period is upon us, here's where Minnesota teams will be.
NY2LA Next Level Invitational (Milwaukee)
15U
Top teams from the Fury, Heat, Select, Comets and Net Gain represent Minnesota in this division. The Heat Lesewski crew has Pulley tournament champs Kingdom Hoops Elite in their pool. They'll play at 5:20 on Wednesday. Net Gain gets a tough draw as well with Best Buy Spring Classic runner-up WI Blizzard-Pronchinske at 7:40 on Wednesday night in their pool.
16U
MN Warriors draw one of the better 16U teams in the country RAS (Ray Allen Select) in their pool. They'll meet at 4:10 on Friday afternoon. RAS won the Best Buy Chicago Classic title over Memorial Day. MN Fury Dixon draws the hard nosed Wisconsin Swing squad in their pool. MN Fury Grosz also gets a Wisconsin draw with Terry Porter Elite. MN Select takes on the top WI Blizzard team. SW MN Stars and MN Comets Elite also representing MN in the 16U division.
17U
The best individual matchup here is Net Gain taking on Milwaukee Rebels in pool play at 3 PM on Thursday. That's a pair of elite national wings with Rashad Vaughn taking on Kevon Looney. WOW! That's #11 (Looney) vs #20 (Vaughn) in the Rivals.com Class of 2014 rankings. Don't forget about jitterbug point guard Damontrae Jefferson (#76 in the that same ranking) for the Rebels either. On the next court at the same time, MN Fury Davis draws the loaded WI Swing squad. That Swing squad features top 100 kids Bronson Koenig (WI commit) at the point and post Luke Fischer (Indiana commit). Nick Fuller receiving lots of D1 interest for that Swing squad as well. MN Magic Maroon draws Terry Porter Elite and Kingdom Hoops Elite in their pool. They'll go up against Marquette commit Deonte Burton in 1 game and UNI commit Ted Friedman in the other. Comets Hanson opens the tourney with a grudge match against the Green Bay Gunners who knocked them off in the 1st NY2LA tourney at Hopkins in April. Gunners feature UNI commit Bennett Koch, the 3rd Koch brother to play for the Panthers. Jake is at UNI now and college fans may remember Adam who was the 2010 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. MN Select White and Carson Shanks take on ECI and recent NDSU commit AJ Jacobsen at 3 PM on Friday. Fury Ouse takes on the Dakota Showcase champs WI Jets at 11:30 AM on Friday. Comets Stock takes on Zach Hanson (recent Iowa State and Missouri offers) and the Dakota Schoolers at 9:10 Thursday morning. WOTN, SW MN Stars, Fury Newell, Select Blue, Comets Seevers and Magic Elite Robertson all in the 17U division as well.
Adidas Invitational (Indianapolis)
The huge Adidas Invitational has Minnesota represented. Minnesota Pump N Run sends all 3 of their teams. The Heat send their top 4 17s (Reese, Ogorek, Altena and Frasier) and top 2 16s (Vang and Frank). Then the surprise entrant, MN Glory 16s. Glory has gone to the Hoosier Shootout for years. Their 17s are taking the week off before heading to the Kentucky Hoopfest next week. The field is loaded with too many big names to mention. Schedule should be posted soon.
Others
MN Cyclones 15s will be at the Mullen's High Profile Tournament in St. Louis starting play at 6 PM on Friday night.
Quinton Hooker and Akolda Manyang will be in Washington DC for the Nike Skills U camp
Tyus Jones, who just won a gold medal with the USA 17U team in Lithuania, will also be in Washington DC for the Nike Global Challenge. Pulley site lists him as invited but he's not listed on the Nike rosters. Kyle Washington listed on those same USA rosters.
Also locally, the IMBBall tournament is in Eagan starting Friday night. Local teams represented include Grassroots, Pulley White and tNBA in the 17s. Pulley has both teams in the 16s with Triple Threat and Heat Schumann. The 15s division has both Pulley teams, Southern MN Elite and MN Suns
NY2LA Next Level Invitational (Milwaukee)
15U
Top teams from the Fury, Heat, Select, Comets and Net Gain represent Minnesota in this division. The Heat Lesewski crew has Pulley tournament champs Kingdom Hoops Elite in their pool. They'll play at 5:20 on Wednesday. Net Gain gets a tough draw as well with Best Buy Spring Classic runner-up WI Blizzard-Pronchinske at 7:40 on Wednesday night in their pool.
16U
MN Warriors draw one of the better 16U teams in the country RAS (Ray Allen Select) in their pool. They'll meet at 4:10 on Friday afternoon. RAS won the Best Buy Chicago Classic title over Memorial Day. MN Fury Dixon draws the hard nosed Wisconsin Swing squad in their pool. MN Fury Grosz also gets a Wisconsin draw with Terry Porter Elite. MN Select takes on the top WI Blizzard team. SW MN Stars and MN Comets Elite also representing MN in the 16U division.
17U
The best individual matchup here is Net Gain taking on Milwaukee Rebels in pool play at 3 PM on Thursday. That's a pair of elite national wings with Rashad Vaughn taking on Kevon Looney. WOW! That's #11 (Looney) vs #20 (Vaughn) in the Rivals.com Class of 2014 rankings. Don't forget about jitterbug point guard Damontrae Jefferson (#76 in the that same ranking) for the Rebels either. On the next court at the same time, MN Fury Davis draws the loaded WI Swing squad. That Swing squad features top 100 kids Bronson Koenig (WI commit) at the point and post Luke Fischer (Indiana commit). Nick Fuller receiving lots of D1 interest for that Swing squad as well. MN Magic Maroon draws Terry Porter Elite and Kingdom Hoops Elite in their pool. They'll go up against Marquette commit Deonte Burton in 1 game and UNI commit Ted Friedman in the other. Comets Hanson opens the tourney with a grudge match against the Green Bay Gunners who knocked them off in the 1st NY2LA tourney at Hopkins in April. Gunners feature UNI commit Bennett Koch, the 3rd Koch brother to play for the Panthers. Jake is at UNI now and college fans may remember Adam who was the 2010 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. MN Select White and Carson Shanks take on ECI and recent NDSU commit AJ Jacobsen at 3 PM on Friday. Fury Ouse takes on the Dakota Showcase champs WI Jets at 11:30 AM on Friday. Comets Stock takes on Zach Hanson (recent Iowa State and Missouri offers) and the Dakota Schoolers at 9:10 Thursday morning. WOTN, SW MN Stars, Fury Newell, Select Blue, Comets Seevers and Magic Elite Robertson all in the 17U division as well.
Adidas Invitational (Indianapolis)
The huge Adidas Invitational has Minnesota represented. Minnesota Pump N Run sends all 3 of their teams. The Heat send their top 4 17s (Reese, Ogorek, Altena and Frasier) and top 2 16s (Vang and Frank). Then the surprise entrant, MN Glory 16s. Glory has gone to the Hoosier Shootout for years. Their 17s are taking the week off before heading to the Kentucky Hoopfest next week. The field is loaded with too many big names to mention. Schedule should be posted soon.
Others
MN Cyclones 15s will be at the Mullen's High Profile Tournament in St. Louis starting play at 6 PM on Friday night.
Quinton Hooker and Akolda Manyang will be in Washington DC for the Nike Skills U camp
Tyus Jones, who just won a gold medal with the USA 17U team in Lithuania, will also be in Washington DC for the Nike Global Challenge. Pulley site lists him as invited but he's not listed on the Nike rosters. Kyle Washington listed on those same USA rosters.
Also locally, the IMBBall tournament is in Eagan starting Friday night. Local teams represented include Grassroots, Pulley White and tNBA in the 17s. Pulley has both teams in the 16s with Triple Threat and Heat Schumann. The 15s division has both Pulley teams, Southern MN Elite and MN Suns
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)