2016 Timberwolves Shootout Thoughts

The 2016 Timberwolves Shootout saw 4 of Minnesota's top teams take on teams from Iowa, Wisconsin and Tennessee.  The Crown Prince makes a cameo appearance with me.  1 souvenir Pepsi gets me through the day.  Despite the talent on hand, the crowd didn't appear to be what it has been been in previous years.  While the matchups were well worthwhile and plenty of individual talent played well, the overall quality of the games didn't live up to the on paper projections.

Game 1 9:15 AM:  #5AAAA Champlin Park vs #6 4A Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln (IA)
Lincoln's star forward Tony Bonner gets off to a good star with 8 of the 1st 10 points for the Lynx.  Going right at Theo John.  10 all at the 11:35 mark.  Aaron Kloeppner knocking down a pair of 3s vs the Lynx 2-3 in that stretch.  After that this one is all Champlin Park.  They go on a 27-5 run over the rest of the half only giving up 2 more field goals.  Brian Smith bookends the run with 3s as Champlin Park hits 6 bombs in the half.  The run ends at 31-5 across halftime and 13:35.  TreVonte Jones with a nice 2nd half for Abe Lincoln but its all blowout theater.  Champlin Park wins 76-45.  Tony Bonner 15 and 6 for the Lynx.  Theo John 11 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks for the Rebels.  McKinley Wright with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.  Aaron Kloeppner 15 points with 3 3s in only 17 minutes was a critical contribution.

Game 2 11:00 AM: #6AAAA Rochester John Marshall vs #6 D1 Milwaukee Riverside (WI) 
Story line here was a young and athletic Riverside team against a skilled and not as athletic JM team.  Classic old man who knows how to play showing up on the playground and schooling the young kids.  Rochester John Marshall wins 90-72.  Riverside's 24 offensive rebounds and a late run were the only things that made this even an 18 point game.  Minnesota commit Michael Hurt goes for 35 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks on 14-24 shooting.  Freshman brother Matthew Hurt goes for 18 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks.  Isaiah Walden adds 17 points and 5 blocks.  George Dixon 13 points, 15 rebounds (12 offensive) for Riverside.  Carlos Curtis 15 of his 19 in the 1st half.  Star wing Terrence Lewis finished with 21 points and 8 rebounds but most of those points were late after the game was long over.  Riverside lots of 1 on 1 play while John Marshall did a very nice job of sharing the ball and knocking down open looks.

Game 3 12:45 PM:  #3AAAA Maple Grove vs #1 4A Iowa City West (IA)
No Tanner Lohaus for Iowa City West due to an injured ankle.  Connor McCaffery battling sickness all day.  Devontae Lane with a 3, McCaffery for 3 in transition and a Lane layup off a turnover for a 14-7 West lead at 12:35 (8-0 run).  Tywhon Pickford for 3 and a putback as the Crimson counter 10-0 to go back on top.  Pickford also had the task of guarding McCaffery all day and did a very nice job.  Reed Nikko was a major factor patrolling the paint with 6 blocks in the 1st half.  2 of those were late in the half, with an impressive block on Wali Parks and another swat that turned into points.  That put Maple Grove up 27-26 at the break.  Pickford on the offensive glass for 2, 2 free throws, cut for a layup and a steal for a dunk as the lead grows to 7.  Crimson by 5 with 11 minutes and then they pull away.  Brad Davison with a 3 point play and a lob to Nikko for a dunk.  Pickford 2 jumpers and a layup, Nikko for 2 in the post and then another dunk.  Its a 15-2 Crimson run to stretch the lead to 18.  Game, set, match.  Maple Grove wins 70-57.  Connor McCaffery 20 points, 9 of those after the final run.  He finished with 7-11 FGs.  Tywhon Pickford outstanding with 25 points and 13 rebounds on 10-14 shooting.  Reed Nikko 18 points, 8 rebounds, 7 blocks.  Brad Davison 9 points and 8 assists.  Maple Grove 14-23 (60.9%) shooting in the 2nd half.

Game 4 2:30 PM: #2AAAA Apple Valley vs Lausanne (TN)
Jordan Bolton off the Apple Valley bench for this one.  Lausanne star Isaiah Stokes would star the game with a follow dunk to get everyone's attention.  They tried to isolate him at the point on Brock Bertram but good help from the Apple Valley guards made sure that didn't bear any fruit. Despite 3 Stokes fouls in the half, Lausanne was only down 12 at the half.  They then add the 1st 2 hoops of the 2nd half.  After Gary Trent and Stokes trade 3s, Apple Valley runs away and hides with a 42-10 run in 10 minutes.  Trent starts it with 3 free throws, Tre Jones with a putback and a pair of freebies, Bolten ends the 14-0 section of the run by taking a turnover for a layup.  More blowout theater from there.  Apple Valley wins 79-46.  Gary Trent 17 of his 27 in the 2nd half on 10-20 shooting.  Tre Jones 14 points and 7 boards, Cam Kirksey 12 points.  Kirksey played well in St. Cloud earlier in the week and showed well here after picking up a Furman offer.  Isaiah Stokes 17 points and 8 rebounds to lead Lausanne.  Fun stat from this one, Apple Valley got twice as many shots (38-19) in the 1st half as Lausanne thanks to grabbing 15 offensive rebounds and forcing 10 turnovers.