Welcome to Czar Season 8

Its Labor Day weekend and that means the traditional flip of the switch to the current school year.  Welcome to Year 8 of The Czar in cyberspace (not to be confused with Pigs...In...Space).  I'll reach a major milestone in December with game #1000 that I've seen since I started here.  As usual, I've gone through the entire site and cleaned things up.  With a bunch of new conferences this school year (more explanation on that when I get to previews), I've redone the League Websites page to include the new leagues.   I've also cleaned up the AAU Websites page to include many more AAU organizations from Wisconsin (many big ones were missing) and Iowa.  It also tidies up the Minnesota list.  The Rankings page has been updated to reflect the most recent end of summer rankings from Rivals, Scout, ESPN and 247Sports.  The recruiting calendars in the Recruiting Links menu are updated to the current recruiting year for those of you who follow when the college guys can be out and about.  The Summer Hoops and Recruiting Links menus point you to anything regarding AAU ball including the leagues that teams participate in.  The Minnesota Hoops menu has anything you may need to know about boys hoops in the state including State Records and the most comprehensive list for the Mr. Basketball award that's out there.

The 2014 Fall Schedule is posted and you can access it from the main navigation menu in full site mode or mobile mode.  If your league isn't on there, let me know and I'll add it.  The Season Previews page is up and available for when I begin my annual 5 week preview series on October 6th to take you right up to the start of practice on November 10th.  There are 2015 players who have already made their college decisions, I keep a full list of those updated throughout the season on the Signings page. 
Posted by Twin Cities Hoops Czar on 8/30/2014 12:39:00 AM
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The Best of AAUBingo 2014

Year 2 of AAU Bingo is in the books and it did not disappoint.  Especially Las Vegas which was absolutely epic in AAU Bingo terms.  The hashtag #AAUBingo exploded this year, especially in July and that's incredible to see.  ESPN's Jeff Goodman was included in the act with a tweet of a coach wearing a camera which was quickly tagged by many loyal followers of the movement.  Trainer Alan Stein in on the act this year as well.

There are too many outstanding tweets to award properly but we'll start with a few that deserve mention.  Then we'll expand the Best Of AAUBingo list to a Top 10.

2014 Special Mention
The MN Cyclones vs Team Loaded 757 game at the Fab 48 in Las Vegas deserves its own category because it was so beyond comprehension. Here's what we got from one official in this last game of the night.

Less than 10 minutes into the game, referee tosses the Team Loaded 757 coach for stepping on the court to instruct his player as he went up the court on offense.   Whacked him twice in 2 minutes, gone, good bye.  Coach doesn't leave, security has to get him at the next dead ball.  I give the coach credit for not going completely ballistic on the official.

Later in the game, a fracas breaks out at halfcourt thanks to a bunch of uncontrolled chirping that was going on.  The benches empty and I was worried that Tom Critchley Sr might end up being part of a Don Zimmer/Pedro Martinez moment.  After a long discussion, the coaches are called over and we end up with this magical epic fail.
  • Double Foul, no technicals (wrong, had to whack somebody there)
  • We'll shoot 2 free throws on each end (wrong, double foul, no FTs)
  • We'll go to a jump ball to determine possession (wrong, point of interruption)
  • The official lines the kids up like the start of the game and jumps it up (wrong, use the arrow if you think its a jump ball)
Inside 10 seconds to go, a ridiculous intentional foul call in a 3 point game to seal it.

One of the absolute most disgraceful pieces of officiating I've seen.  The college coaches section was absolutely howling at this.  Here are some of those tweets.





2014 Honorable Mention #AAUBingo Tweets







Top 10 #AAUBingo Tweets of 2014

#10) In honor of last year's winners (Minnesota Heat), we'll start the list with one of their workouts.
#9) Hungry Referee
#8) Coaching attire at a new level of insanity
#7) In game conditioning
or this
#6)  Coach anger after a loss
#5) Referee/Police Officer fatally injures coach after game

#4) Dog barking at AAU Nationals

#3) Pull Fire Alarm in Protest

#2)  Classic parent behavior courtesy of famous basketball trainer Alan Stein

#1) Team disqualified for using graduated player in 16U division.
Cheating is nothing new in AAU (we wouldn't have #AAUBingo without it after all).  What takes this instance to the top is the included video where the coach attempts to deny everything (think Richard Nixon, I am not a crook). The player in question was in a JUCO showcase the previous week and that's how it came to everyone's attention.  Many calling it one of the most blatant attempts at cheating they've seen.
 
So there you have it, those are the best tweets of year 2.  Let's take it to another level in year 3.  If you missed the best of Year 1 of AAU Bingo, you can read that here.
Posted by Twin Cities Hoops Czar on 8/18/2014 08:02:00 AM
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