16 sessions of games this weekend at the AAU qualifier. Let's look at results and highlights of the weekend.
17U (top 2 play D1 next weekend)
Pool A: Comets-Hanson, Triple Threat, MSB, Magic Blue (No surprises). Triple Threat won a pair of close games over MSB and Magic Blue to claim the 2 spot in that pool
Pool B: Fury Elite, Comets-Seevers, Magic Black, River City Cougars (Comets were the 3rd team in the pool, but all 3 of the top teams were worthy, not a major surprise there). On Saturday, Comets-Seevers got 12 points in the last 5 minutes from Scott Nystrom to defeat Magic Black 62-60. Those 12 points included a steal and coast to coast layup in the last 5 seconds in an amazing finish. Magic Black had a chance to potentially eliminate the Comets from the 2 spot, but lost 80-60 on Sunday to MN Fury Elite. Nice performance from Jake Wensmann in that one for the Fury Elites. I did an audio interview on the Fury Elite vs Comets Seevers game for MN Preps yesterday. Read the article and access my interview here.
Pool C: As expected, TNL, TC Elite, MN Fury Gold and Old Skool. TC Elite now without Alex Koch who has moved on to MN Select. Huge loss for them. TNL had to fight to sweep the pool. On Sunday, they went down to the wire with TC Elite. Tied at 41 with 5 minutes left, TNL goes on a 10-0 run over the next 2 minutes. But a dicey 3 by Sewer results in 2 David Rademacher FTs for TC Elite and they're within 54-52 with 40 seconds left. TC Elite doesn't foul and Devon Knopke gets called for a carry with 18 seconds left. Aaron McCrossan's attempt at the horn is no good and TNL survives that game 54-52. In Sunday's late game, TNL got another big game from Jay Sewer (big in the TC Elite game too, I had him for 24 in this game vs Fury Gold). 79-67 TNL sweeps the pool. TC Elite earned the 2 slot in the pool with a 67-62 win over Fury Gold on Friday night.
Pool D: #4 overall and top seed in the pool MN Glory go 0-3 and were blown out by 22+ in their 2 Sunday games. Pump N Run 16s win the pool with MN Heat Select finishing 2nd and Comets Blue 3rd. Pump N Run defeated Glory 67-44 in Sunday morning's opener. PNR 35-44 FTs to Glory's 16-21. Alex Richter 16 points for PNR. They opened Saturday morning with 21 points from Richter in a 62-37 win over Heat Select. Heat Select routed Glory 89-67 on Sunday afternoon (14-1 start) to take the 2nd spot in the pool.
Pool E: Redhawks def Heat Elite in the 6 vs 5 game at the top of pool E for the 1 and 2 spots. Comets North and Wear Out The Net finish 3 and 4. On Sunday, the Redhawks had a 2 point lead on the MN Heat Elite at halftime. Taylor Hanson ignited a big 3 quarter run as the Redhawks won the 3rd quarter 26-12. 71-53 Redhawks win the pool and Heat Elite finish 2nd with the loss.
16U (top 2 play D1 next weekend)
Pool A: MN Glory, Team Minnesota Elite, 43 Hoops II, WI Terror, Comets White. Glory came from 19 down to 43 Hoops to win 83-77 late Saturday afternoon. Ben Figini with a layup with 1:30 left to put Glory over the top and they make their free throws (along with a clutch 3 from Justin Pahl who had 6 in the TNL Super Regional Championship). Glory got a putback from Ben Figini with 3 seconds left to beat Team Minnesota for the pool title and keep their #1 overall seed in 16U. Team Minnesota 53-46 over 43 Hoops II on Sunday morning for the #2 spot in the pool.
Pool B: No surprises. Comets Elite, MN Heat Black, SW MN Heat and Mpls Gators. Comets shorthanded for Sunday's late game vs Heat Black for the pool title, but they still won by 15.
Pool C: MN Heat Elite defeated MSB late Sunday for the pool title. MSB moves up to take the 2 seed in the pool.
Pool D: MN Wrath defeated Magic Elite to swap the top 2 spots in the pool on Sunday. 50-41 Wrath with 1:10 to go before Trevor Morlock gets a 4 point play and after a Daron Garvis steal, he quickly nails another triple. 50-48 Wrath with 43 seconds left, game on. The Wrath miss 2 front ends and a 2nd of 2 FTs and get all of them back in the next 17 seconds. The 2 front ends were offensive rebounds and the 3rd slipped away from a Magic player. 53-48 Wrath wins. Magic Elite over TC Elite 72-63 Saturday morning to avoid a slip to #3 in the pool.
Pool E: Wear Out The Net, MN Fury Gold, Old Skool, Magic Blue (no surprises). The pool title game with WOTN and Fury Gold was a fun finish. Fury's Terez Van Pelt with a steal for 2. 58-56 Fury with 1:15 left. Anthony Lee misses 2 front ends for Fury in the last 35 seconds. After 1 miss, Max Watts makes up for it with a left corner 3 with 9 seconds left for a 1 point lead. Fury with a couple of late chances but they can't convert and WOTN wins 59-58.
15U (all 13 teams play D1 next weekend)
Pool A: MN Suns, MN Heat Elite, TC Elite Green, MN Fury. MN Suns with no big wins but they go 3-0 to keep the #1 overall seed. That included a 79-74 win over MN Heat Elite.
Pool B: MN Magic, Howard Pulley White, 43 Hoops Daniels, TC Elite Black. Howard Pulley came from behind (10 down I heard) to defeat 43 Hoops 64-58 on Sunday to take the #2 spot in the pool.
Pool C: MN Southside, MN Pump N Run, 43 Hoops Gameli, Comets Blue, TC Elite White. The Comets got Joey King in foul trouble in their Saturday morning game vs MN Southside. King had 9 in the 3rd quarter and the game was tied at 39 heading to the 4th quarter. King fouled out with 4 minutes left and Southside down 4. Comets paraded to the foul line all day for a 65-56 win. MN Southside defated Pump N Run 49-38 Saturday afternoon. Pump N Run was on all cylinders on Sunday morning vs 43 Hoops Gameli. Will Dunn with 13 points in the 1st quarter. A 19-2 across the quarter break blows the game open with Cortez Tillman being a huge factor in the run. PNR 50-21 at the half and they win 83-51. Dunn's 19 lead 5 PNR players in double figures. Shot selection for 43 Hoops was a major issue in this one.
A great sight seeing Luke Preiner of the MN Heat Elite 16s having a bandaid on his right temple that was held on with duct tape. Yes, duct tape. Note to self, The Czar needs a cell phone with a camera on it, especially all the razzing I took for it this weekend. :) Also have to give props to the pork sandwich meal deal. Hmmm good. Had to make sure to get that in on both days of the weekend.
To the bad, the scorekeeping/timing had the same issues as last season's tournament. Also, the officiating across the board was horrific in my opinion. Not just in 1 game, just about everywhere from what I saw. I only wish I could say more, but I feel the circumstances and today's lawyer happy society don't allow me to.
Showing posts with label 2009 AAU District Qualifier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2009 AAU District Qualifier. Show all posts
Day 1 at the 2009 AAU District Qualifier
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2009 AAU District Qualifier
A very quiet day 1 at this year's qualifier. The top seeds went 10-2 with the MN Magic taking out Howard Pulley White for 1 of the 2 upsets The other "upset" and a significant near miss in 17U below. Here are my thoughts from the 2 sessions.
Session 1:
The top 2 MSB teams in action. In 17U they took on Magic Blue. Magic Blue off to a 7-0 start in the 1st 2 minutes. Then Elvis left the building. A 27-5 run over the next 10 minutes settles this one. MSB wins easily 79-46.
In the 16U game, MSB vs MN Fury Blue in an important pool C game for the #2 spot. Ladario Sorrell with 8 quick points and Fury is up 15-7 at the 2:50 mark of the 1st quarter. MSB fights back to even the score at 17 just after the start of the 2nd quarter. The rest of the quarter is back and forth with Fury taking a 35-34 lead to the break. Sorrell goes bagel in the quarter but still leads the way for Fury with 8. Brett Rasmussen and Alec Jensen with 10 points each in the half for MSB to keep them in it.
40 all with 4:15 left in the 3rd when MSB goes on a 12-3 run over the next 3+ minutes. 54-46 MSB going to the 4th. Sorrell gets his 1st points since the 1st quarter with a 3 at 2:35 and TJ Gist makes 1 of 2 FTs to cut the lead to 64-60 with 1:37 left. But MSB makes 7 of 8 FTs down the stretch for a 74-65 win. Fury beat themselves with too much dribbling and 1 on 1 offense during that 12-3 run. Sorrell finishes with at least 17 points for Fury. Brett Rasmussen with 18 interior points (8 in the 4th) for MSB.
Session 2:
43 Hoops Gameli vs TC Elite White in a 15U game. This Gameli squad plays up from 14U and they start 7th grader Ian Theisen in the middle. Add in Xavier Hall as a very good wing and Mack Johnson's In the Building range. Not to mention their athletes that 43 Hoops always has and 6'10 Carson Shanks who's legs are ridiculously long. He's an interesting project.
43 holds TC Elite to 1 FG in the 1st quarter for a 11-4 lead. TC Elite White makes a late 1st half comeback and stays within 27-18. Meanwhile the MN Heat Elite 15s hold off MN Fury 57-48, but the story brewing is MN Fury Gold leading TC Elite in 17U. (BTW, 43 Hoops Gameli won, score below). Nice to take the 4th quarter of this one in with a couple of Mounds Park Academy kids who were rooting on their Tri-Metro comrades from St. Anthony.
2nd spot out of 17U Pool C on the line in the game. Fury Gold 30-21 with 3:41 left in the half but TC Elite closes to 33-32 at half. 50-46 Fury going to the 4th and they get the 1st 2 buckets of the 4th. The 2nd is a putback for a 54-46 lead with 6:45 left. Josh Pratt concludes a 9-1 run over 3:30 with a triple and 2 FTs. Tied at 55 with 3:15 left. Derek Wolhowe for 3 and TC Elite is finally back on top, 62-59 with 1:15 left. The teams trade possessions and Joe Conley misses a 3 with 35 seconds left. On the other end, Pratt looks and then goes left baseline. He hangs and gets banged for a huge 3 point play with 17.7 left, dagger! Conley for 3 at the other end and after some clock confusion, we have 7 seconds left. David Rademacher knocks down 2 FTs for the 67-62 TC Elite come from behind win. TC Elite not moving on would have been a noteworthy upset.
Friday Scores
15U: Heat over Fury 57-48, Magic over Howard Pulley White 69-53, 43 Hoops over TC Elite White 55-37.
16U: Heat Black over Mpls Gators 75-37, MSB over Fury Blue 74-65, MN Wrath 70-58 over TC Elite, Fury Gold 68-51 over Magic Blue
17U: 79-46 MSB over Magic Blue, Fury Elite 76-32 over River City, TC Elite 67-62 over Fury Gold, 77-46 Heat Elite over Wear Out The Net.
Session 1:
The top 2 MSB teams in action. In 17U they took on Magic Blue. Magic Blue off to a 7-0 start in the 1st 2 minutes. Then Elvis left the building. A 27-5 run over the next 10 minutes settles this one. MSB wins easily 79-46.
In the 16U game, MSB vs MN Fury Blue in an important pool C game for the #2 spot. Ladario Sorrell with 8 quick points and Fury is up 15-7 at the 2:50 mark of the 1st quarter. MSB fights back to even the score at 17 just after the start of the 2nd quarter. The rest of the quarter is back and forth with Fury taking a 35-34 lead to the break. Sorrell goes bagel in the quarter but still leads the way for Fury with 8. Brett Rasmussen and Alec Jensen with 10 points each in the half for MSB to keep them in it.
40 all with 4:15 left in the 3rd when MSB goes on a 12-3 run over the next 3+ minutes. 54-46 MSB going to the 4th. Sorrell gets his 1st points since the 1st quarter with a 3 at 2:35 and TJ Gist makes 1 of 2 FTs to cut the lead to 64-60 with 1:37 left. But MSB makes 7 of 8 FTs down the stretch for a 74-65 win. Fury beat themselves with too much dribbling and 1 on 1 offense during that 12-3 run. Sorrell finishes with at least 17 points for Fury. Brett Rasmussen with 18 interior points (8 in the 4th) for MSB.
Session 2:
43 Hoops Gameli vs TC Elite White in a 15U game. This Gameli squad plays up from 14U and they start 7th grader Ian Theisen in the middle. Add in Xavier Hall as a very good wing and Mack Johnson's In the Building range. Not to mention their athletes that 43 Hoops always has and 6'10 Carson Shanks who's legs are ridiculously long. He's an interesting project.
43 holds TC Elite to 1 FG in the 1st quarter for a 11-4 lead. TC Elite White makes a late 1st half comeback and stays within 27-18. Meanwhile the MN Heat Elite 15s hold off MN Fury 57-48, but the story brewing is MN Fury Gold leading TC Elite in 17U. (BTW, 43 Hoops Gameli won, score below). Nice to take the 4th quarter of this one in with a couple of Mounds Park Academy kids who were rooting on their Tri-Metro comrades from St. Anthony.
2nd spot out of 17U Pool C on the line in the game. Fury Gold 30-21 with 3:41 left in the half but TC Elite closes to 33-32 at half. 50-46 Fury going to the 4th and they get the 1st 2 buckets of the 4th. The 2nd is a putback for a 54-46 lead with 6:45 left. Josh Pratt concludes a 9-1 run over 3:30 with a triple and 2 FTs. Tied at 55 with 3:15 left. Derek Wolhowe for 3 and TC Elite is finally back on top, 62-59 with 1:15 left. The teams trade possessions and Joe Conley misses a 3 with 35 seconds left. On the other end, Pratt looks and then goes left baseline. He hangs and gets banged for a huge 3 point play with 17.7 left, dagger! Conley for 3 at the other end and after some clock confusion, we have 7 seconds left. David Rademacher knocks down 2 FTs for the 67-62 TC Elite come from behind win. TC Elite not moving on would have been a noteworthy upset.
Friday Scores
15U: Heat over Fury 57-48, Magic over Howard Pulley White 69-53, 43 Hoops over TC Elite White 55-37.
16U: Heat Black over Mpls Gators 75-37, MSB over Fury Blue 74-65, MN Wrath 70-58 over TC Elite, Fury Gold 68-51 over Magic Blue
17U: 79-46 MSB over Magic Blue, Fury Elite 76-32 over River City, TC Elite 67-62 over Fury Gold, 77-46 Heat Elite over Wear Out The Net.
Session by Session at the Qualifier
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2009 AAU District Qualifier
3 days, 18 sessions of hoops at this weekend's AAU district qualifer. Of note, at the 14U and 15U level everybody moves on to next weekend. At the 16U and 17U levels, only the top 2 teams from each of the 5 pools move on to the D1 championship. The remaining teams still play next weekend but for the D2 championship. With that in mind, here are my picks for the games to watch in each of the 18 sessions.
Friday (2 Sessions)
6 PM: Fury Blue gets MSB in a 16U game that will likely determine the 2nd team out of pool C.
7:15 PM: A pretty weak session here of 15s and 17s with a 14U game sprinkled in. Howard Pulley White vs MN Magic is an interesting game in pool B of 15U or take in the 43 Hoops Gameli team. If 17U is your fancy, TC Elite vs Fury Gold would be the game to watch.
Saturday (9 Sessions)
9 AM: Only 1 17U game and that's the PNR 16s vs MN Heat Select. Another interesting game here if you have flashlights or a coal miner's hat is the 15U game of 43 Hoops-Daniels vs TC Elite Black on court 6.
10:15 AM: Keep the flashlights handy as Southside takes on Comets Elite in 15U action on Court 5.
11:30 AM: Magic Black vs Comets Seevers in 17U. Loser faces a must win game against Fury for any chance to move on to D1 next weekend.
12:45 PM: Not a bad time for a lunch break here as the 2 17U games aren't compelling. MN Magic vs 43 Hoops-Daniels 15U might be the game to watch.
2 PM: 43 Hoops Gameli vs Comets Elite tops this session.
3:15 PM: Fury Elite vs Comets Seevers in a big pool B game in 17U. A Fury Elite loss puts them behind the 8 ball and Comets Seevers could basically clinch the pool with a win (if they win at 11:30 AM). Southside vs PNR in a good 15U game as well during this session.
4:30 PM: MN Glory vs 43 Hoops II in 16U may be a 1 vs 11 game on paper but I won't be shocked to see 43 Hoops win this one. Loser will have to beat Team Minnesota Elite to stay in the race for D1.
5:45 PM: Triple Threat vs MSB in 17U should decide the 2nd rep from Pool A. But I'll probably be skipping this session and the last session for the MYAS 17U games at 6:20 and 8:40.
7 PM: Only 4 games in the final session of the day. MN Heat Black vs SW MN Heat in 16U Pool B to decide the 2nd rep from that pool. MN Southside vs 43 Hoops Gameli and Comets Elite vs Pump N Run in good 15U Pool C games.
Sunday (7 Sessions)
9 AM: Glory vs Pump N Run 16s to decide Pool D in 17U. Team MN Elite vs 43 Hoops II to decide 1 of the teams from 16U pool A.
10:15 AM: Nothing of note in this session.
11:30 AM: Pump N Run vs 43 Hoops Gameli in 15U
12:45 PM: Heat Elite vs Redhawks and TNL vs TC Elite in a nice pair of 17U games.
2 PM: Fury Elite vs Magic Black to decide the pool or a D1 spot.
3:15 PM: Things quiet down as we drop to 4 games for the final 2 sessions. Magic Elite vs MN Wrath in 16U or MN Suns vs MN Heat Elite in 15U are both worth watching.
4:30 PM: Final session of the weekend. Comets Elite vs MN Heat Black. Could decide the pool or knock the Heat out of the D1 tourney.
Friday (2 Sessions)
6 PM: Fury Blue gets MSB in a 16U game that will likely determine the 2nd team out of pool C.
7:15 PM: A pretty weak session here of 15s and 17s with a 14U game sprinkled in. Howard Pulley White vs MN Magic is an interesting game in pool B of 15U or take in the 43 Hoops Gameli team. If 17U is your fancy, TC Elite vs Fury Gold would be the game to watch.
Saturday (9 Sessions)
9 AM: Only 1 17U game and that's the PNR 16s vs MN Heat Select. Another interesting game here if you have flashlights or a coal miner's hat is the 15U game of 43 Hoops-Daniels vs TC Elite Black on court 6.
10:15 AM: Keep the flashlights handy as Southside takes on Comets Elite in 15U action on Court 5.
11:30 AM: Magic Black vs Comets Seevers in 17U. Loser faces a must win game against Fury for any chance to move on to D1 next weekend.
12:45 PM: Not a bad time for a lunch break here as the 2 17U games aren't compelling. MN Magic vs 43 Hoops-Daniels 15U might be the game to watch.
2 PM: 43 Hoops Gameli vs Comets Elite tops this session.
3:15 PM: Fury Elite vs Comets Seevers in a big pool B game in 17U. A Fury Elite loss puts them behind the 8 ball and Comets Seevers could basically clinch the pool with a win (if they win at 11:30 AM). Southside vs PNR in a good 15U game as well during this session.
4:30 PM: MN Glory vs 43 Hoops II in 16U may be a 1 vs 11 game on paper but I won't be shocked to see 43 Hoops win this one. Loser will have to beat Team Minnesota Elite to stay in the race for D1.
5:45 PM: Triple Threat vs MSB in 17U should decide the 2nd rep from Pool A. But I'll probably be skipping this session and the last session for the MYAS 17U games at 6:20 and 8:40.
7 PM: Only 4 games in the final session of the day. MN Heat Black vs SW MN Heat in 16U Pool B to decide the 2nd rep from that pool. MN Southside vs 43 Hoops Gameli and Comets Elite vs Pump N Run in good 15U Pool C games.
Sunday (7 Sessions)
9 AM: Glory vs Pump N Run 16s to decide Pool D in 17U. Team MN Elite vs 43 Hoops II to decide 1 of the teams from 16U pool A.
10:15 AM: Nothing of note in this session.
11:30 AM: Pump N Run vs 43 Hoops Gameli in 15U
12:45 PM: Heat Elite vs Redhawks and TNL vs TC Elite in a nice pair of 17U games.
2 PM: Fury Elite vs Magic Black to decide the pool or a D1 spot.
3:15 PM: Things quiet down as we drop to 4 games for the final 2 sessions. Magic Elite vs MN Wrath in 16U or MN Suns vs MN Heat Elite in 15U are both worth watching.
4:30 PM: Final session of the weekend. Comets Elite vs MN Heat Black. Could decide the pool or knock the Heat out of the D1 tourney.
2009 AAU District Qualifier 17U Preview
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2009 AAU District Qualifier
Part 3 in my preview series for this weekend's AAU district qualifier. In this final preview, a look at the 17U division. Read all the previews here.
Pool A
This pool has the top Comets team and then everyone else. Too many guys to mention for the Comets, but I'll be interested to see if they still use the platoon system with Taylor Filipek and Alex Hanks playing with the 2nd unit. Triple Threat comes in off their win at the super regional 2 weeks ago despite a quiet weekend from Michael Lindsay. Aaron Duske and Brandon Schaust give them quality play up front. Brent Kettenacker had 19 points in the 2nd half of the super regional championship game. MSB won't wow you, but Zach Vraa, Andy Jirik, Troy Klingsporn, David Stanley and soph Lucas Brown make up a solid group. Never count out a Mitch Ohnstad group. Magic Blue is the 4th team in the pool. David Michaelson leads them along with Eric Schmechel. I'll also be keeping an eye on senior point guard Jacob Schwartz and Michael Tyler.
Pool B
A tough pool here with the Fury Elite, a hot Comets Seevers team and solid Magic Black. Dajon Newell, Danny Geiger and Yuriy Maleshenko are notables for the Fury. Scott Nystrom played well in the absence of Martin Wind and Nolan Toft for the Comets. Deron Murphy leads the way for Magic Black from a guard spot. Walter Franklin gives the Magic a defensive stopper at the point guard spot which will come in handy against Wind and Newell.
Pool C
TNL is the class of Pool C behind Devon Knopke, Jay Sewer and Jasper Duberry at the guard spots. Milos Ristanovic has joined TNL as a shooter from the small forward slot. TC Elite gets to see TNL yet again. Alex Koch has been on fire for TC Elite. His 6'5 height makes him a tough matchup at the 2. No real size in this pool so the lack of a real inside presence won't hurt TC Elite this weekend. If they control tempo against TNL, they have a great chance to win that game.
Pool D
MN Glory and Pump N Run 16s headline this pool. Can somebody besides Connor Gunderson score for the Glory? With Trey Scott not eligible for the Heat Select squad and the Comets-Blue team in the pool, you have to like the PNR 16s chances in this pool. Who for Glory gets the assignment guarding Alex Richter of PNR?
Pool E
Heat Elite and the Mpls Redhawks headline the pool. Parker Hines and Taylor Hanson have been outstanding for the Redhawks and you have to find John Rowland outside the arc. Look for them to seek redemption after a disappointing upset loss in the super regional 2 weeks ago. Heat Elite aren't spectacular, but they are solid and have many ways to beat you. Run with Nick Quicksell, pound it in to Ryan Duxbury or they can make 3s. Erik Stark was a star for the Comets North squad 2 weeks ago and they also have 6'8 Kevin Rabbers inside so don't count them out.
Pool Games to Watch
Magic Black vs Comets Seevers - Saturday 11:30
Fury Elite vs Comets Seevers - Saturday 3:15
MN Glory vs MN Pump N Run 16s Sunday 9:00
TNL vs TC Elite - Sunday 12:45
MN Heat Elite vs Mpls Redhawks - Sunday 12:45
Fury Elite vs Magic Black - Sunday 2:00
My Picks
Pool A: Comets Hanson, MSB, MN Triple Threat, Magic Blue
Pool B: Comets Seevers, Fury Elite, Magic Black, RiverCity Cougars
Pool C: TNL, TC Elite, Fury Gold, Old Skool
Pool D: PNR 16s, MN Glory, Comets Blue, MN Heat Select
Pool E: Redhawks, Heat Elite, Comets North, WOTN
Pool A
This pool has the top Comets team and then everyone else. Too many guys to mention for the Comets, but I'll be interested to see if they still use the platoon system with Taylor Filipek and Alex Hanks playing with the 2nd unit. Triple Threat comes in off their win at the super regional 2 weeks ago despite a quiet weekend from Michael Lindsay. Aaron Duske and Brandon Schaust give them quality play up front. Brent Kettenacker had 19 points in the 2nd half of the super regional championship game. MSB won't wow you, but Zach Vraa, Andy Jirik, Troy Klingsporn, David Stanley and soph Lucas Brown make up a solid group. Never count out a Mitch Ohnstad group. Magic Blue is the 4th team in the pool. David Michaelson leads them along with Eric Schmechel. I'll also be keeping an eye on senior point guard Jacob Schwartz and Michael Tyler.
Pool B
A tough pool here with the Fury Elite, a hot Comets Seevers team and solid Magic Black. Dajon Newell, Danny Geiger and Yuriy Maleshenko are notables for the Fury. Scott Nystrom played well in the absence of Martin Wind and Nolan Toft for the Comets. Deron Murphy leads the way for Magic Black from a guard spot. Walter Franklin gives the Magic a defensive stopper at the point guard spot which will come in handy against Wind and Newell.
Pool C
TNL is the class of Pool C behind Devon Knopke, Jay Sewer and Jasper Duberry at the guard spots. Milos Ristanovic has joined TNL as a shooter from the small forward slot. TC Elite gets to see TNL yet again. Alex Koch has been on fire for TC Elite. His 6'5 height makes him a tough matchup at the 2. No real size in this pool so the lack of a real inside presence won't hurt TC Elite this weekend. If they control tempo against TNL, they have a great chance to win that game.
Pool D
MN Glory and Pump N Run 16s headline this pool. Can somebody besides Connor Gunderson score for the Glory? With Trey Scott not eligible for the Heat Select squad and the Comets-Blue team in the pool, you have to like the PNR 16s chances in this pool. Who for Glory gets the assignment guarding Alex Richter of PNR?
Pool E
Heat Elite and the Mpls Redhawks headline the pool. Parker Hines and Taylor Hanson have been outstanding for the Redhawks and you have to find John Rowland outside the arc. Look for them to seek redemption after a disappointing upset loss in the super regional 2 weeks ago. Heat Elite aren't spectacular, but they are solid and have many ways to beat you. Run with Nick Quicksell, pound it in to Ryan Duxbury or they can make 3s. Erik Stark was a star for the Comets North squad 2 weeks ago and they also have 6'8 Kevin Rabbers inside so don't count them out.
Pool Games to Watch
Magic Black vs Comets Seevers - Saturday 11:30
Fury Elite vs Comets Seevers - Saturday 3:15
MN Glory vs MN Pump N Run 16s Sunday 9:00
TNL vs TC Elite - Sunday 12:45
MN Heat Elite vs Mpls Redhawks - Sunday 12:45
Fury Elite vs Magic Black - Sunday 2:00
My Picks
Pool A: Comets Hanson, MSB, MN Triple Threat, Magic Blue
Pool B: Comets Seevers, Fury Elite, Magic Black, RiverCity Cougars
Pool C: TNL, TC Elite, Fury Gold, Old Skool
Pool D: PNR 16s, MN Glory, Comets Blue, MN Heat Select
Pool E: Redhawks, Heat Elite, Comets North, WOTN
2009 AAU District Qualifier 16U Preview
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2009 AAU District Qualifier
Part 2 in the preview series for this weekend's AAU district qualifier. In this scroll, a look at the 16U division. Read all the previews here.
Pool A
A tough pool here with the MN Glory who's win at the TNL Super Regional "earned" them the 1 seed and talented 43 Hoops II and Team Minnesota Elite squads. WI Terror and Comets II round out the pool. 43 Hoops II is a major threat here out of the low seed. Ben Figini for Glory is the player to watch in this pool. I'll also be interested to see Joe Zangel returns for Glory after having a bad back 2 weeks ago. Jared Bervin can go off at any time for 43 Hoops II.
Pool B
Comets Elite is the easy pick in this pool. Gotta love Jayme Moten at the point along with Bryan Reeves and Simon Krych up front. Seth Hinrichs gives them a player who poses matchup problems with his size and shooting. The 2nd spot out of the pool is a tougher choice. After their performance with guys playing unnatural positions at the Select tourney, give me the SW MN Heat to be the #2 team here. Caleb Johnson is a point guard playing the post for them and Zak Pendleton gives them a dangerous shooter. Pendleton's Cedar Mountain-Comfrey teammate Dalton Kleinschmidt is another player of note for them. Their game with MN Heat Black at 7 PM on Saturday should be the determining factor. MN Heat Black's Bryan Sprang will be a tough matchup to deal with in this pool.
Pool C
MN Heat Elite's got their revenge on Wear Out the Net in Iowa 2 weeks ago. Easy pick to win this pool. MSB is dangerous (as demonstrated by them taking Pump N Run's 16s to the wire earlier this spring) and their game vs Fury Blue should determine the #2 team out of this pool. TJ Gist is the player I'm watching for Fury.
Pool D
For me, a somewhat unknown pool. MN Wrath is the squad that Shelby Moats played for, but he's now up with the PNR 16s. That said, they blew out Fury Blue and Team MN Elite down in Iowa for a 4-1 record. The only loss was in the bracket opener vs eventual champ Speice MoKan. Magic Elites have a couple of holdovers from last season's Magic Elites in Vaughn Thada and Daron Garvis. Add in talents like Joe Carpenter and BP Pajibo and there's talent here. They had a controversial 59-58 win over Wear Out The Net in Iowa to win their pool before they too lost to Speice MoKan in bracket play. TC Elite and Central Flyers round out the pool.
Pool E
Wear Out the Net leads this pool. Max Watts has been outstanding for them after coming over from 43 Hoops this year. Brandon Siefert is another perimeter player to watch for them. Spencer Pankonin gives them size and scoring inside. Fury Gold is interesting to watch with the pickups of Anthony Lee and Chris Smith-Bond from St. Paul Johnson. Lee saw varsity minutes in the deep rotation this season. Old Skool and P-Town are 2 non factors in the pool.
I think the top 2 from each pool advance to the District Championships so here are my picks
Pool A: MN Glory and 43 Hoops II
Pool B: Comets Elite and SW MN Heat
Pool C: MN Heat Elite and Fury Blue
Pool D: Magic Elite and MN Wrath
Pool E: WOTN and Fury Gold
Pool A
A tough pool here with the MN Glory who's win at the TNL Super Regional "earned" them the 1 seed and talented 43 Hoops II and Team Minnesota Elite squads. WI Terror and Comets II round out the pool. 43 Hoops II is a major threat here out of the low seed. Ben Figini for Glory is the player to watch in this pool. I'll also be interested to see Joe Zangel returns for Glory after having a bad back 2 weeks ago. Jared Bervin can go off at any time for 43 Hoops II.
Pool B
Comets Elite is the easy pick in this pool. Gotta love Jayme Moten at the point along with Bryan Reeves and Simon Krych up front. Seth Hinrichs gives them a player who poses matchup problems with his size and shooting. The 2nd spot out of the pool is a tougher choice. After their performance with guys playing unnatural positions at the Select tourney, give me the SW MN Heat to be the #2 team here. Caleb Johnson is a point guard playing the post for them and Zak Pendleton gives them a dangerous shooter. Pendleton's Cedar Mountain-Comfrey teammate Dalton Kleinschmidt is another player of note for them. Their game with MN Heat Black at 7 PM on Saturday should be the determining factor. MN Heat Black's Bryan Sprang will be a tough matchup to deal with in this pool.
Pool C
MN Heat Elite's got their revenge on Wear Out the Net in Iowa 2 weeks ago. Easy pick to win this pool. MSB is dangerous (as demonstrated by them taking Pump N Run's 16s to the wire earlier this spring) and their game vs Fury Blue should determine the #2 team out of this pool. TJ Gist is the player I'm watching for Fury.
Pool D
For me, a somewhat unknown pool. MN Wrath is the squad that Shelby Moats played for, but he's now up with the PNR 16s. That said, they blew out Fury Blue and Team MN Elite down in Iowa for a 4-1 record. The only loss was in the bracket opener vs eventual champ Speice MoKan. Magic Elites have a couple of holdovers from last season's Magic Elites in Vaughn Thada and Daron Garvis. Add in talents like Joe Carpenter and BP Pajibo and there's talent here. They had a controversial 59-58 win over Wear Out The Net in Iowa to win their pool before they too lost to Speice MoKan in bracket play. TC Elite and Central Flyers round out the pool.
Pool E
Wear Out the Net leads this pool. Max Watts has been outstanding for them after coming over from 43 Hoops this year. Brandon Siefert is another perimeter player to watch for them. Spencer Pankonin gives them size and scoring inside. Fury Gold is interesting to watch with the pickups of Anthony Lee and Chris Smith-Bond from St. Paul Johnson. Lee saw varsity minutes in the deep rotation this season. Old Skool and P-Town are 2 non factors in the pool.
I think the top 2 from each pool advance to the District Championships so here are my picks
Pool A: MN Glory and 43 Hoops II
Pool B: Comets Elite and SW MN Heat
Pool C: MN Heat Elite and Fury Blue
Pool D: Magic Elite and MN Wrath
Pool E: WOTN and Fury Gold
2009 AAU District Qualifier 15U Preview
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2009 AAU District Qualifier
We start the previews of this weekend's AAU district qualifer with a look at the 15U pools. For all scrolls from the qualifier, click here.
Pool A
Gotta like the MN Suns in this pool with Richfield's Darrien Johnson and MCA's Darrien Pittman. They were impressive at the Midwest Festival of Teams 2 weeks ago in a run to the semis before losing to eventual champ Spiece MoKan. That run included a 24 point thrashing of the MN Static. I'll take Trent Pollard and Eric Gebeke to lead the MN Heat Elites to the 2nd spot. Those 2 teams play at 3:15 on Sunday. Easiest pool.
Pool B
A surprise appearance by the 2nd Howard Pulley squad and there's some talent there to note. Chad Potas and Damien Reinke give them an inside presence with Will Iverson and Dwight Anderson as solid perimeter players. They'll be a tough out. Nate Daniels' 43 Hoops squad is loaded with athletes and size. Will Johnson, Josh Turnquist and Cutler Finneman give them quality size up front with Marcus Marshall and Tommy McDermott forming a quality backcourt. Those are my top 2 picks in the pool despite 43 Hoops struggles in Iowa 2 weeks ago (see below), but TC Elite Black could make some noise here as they've had a nice season and MN Magic was solid in Iowa. 43 Hoops takes on Howard Pulley White at 2 PM on Sunday. Difficult pool.
(Czar's Note 5/28/09: The 43 Hoops team mentioned was not the 43 Hoops team that played in Iowa, that was the 15U Robinson squad.)
Pool C
WOW! What a loaded pool. Comets Elite, Pump N Run and a top notch Southside team are all here and then add in the top 43 Hoops 14U squad. Yikes. Joey King of Southside will be the player to watch here. Don't know if Pump N Run has found more than 7 kids, but the 7 they do have are a nice cohesive group. Waterbug point guard Cortez Tillman and forward Taylor Montero from CDH lead the way. Then an athletic 43 Hoops squad with a 6'10 center and you have a really deep pool. Hard not to pick Southside to win it. But this pool could be a major mess with everybody beating each other up. Southside vs PNR 3:15 on Saturday. PNR vs 43 Hoops Sunday at 11:30. Southside vs 43 Hoops Saturday at 7 PM.
Pool A
Gotta like the MN Suns in this pool with Richfield's Darrien Johnson and MCA's Darrien Pittman. They were impressive at the Midwest Festival of Teams 2 weeks ago in a run to the semis before losing to eventual champ Spiece MoKan. That run included a 24 point thrashing of the MN Static. I'll take Trent Pollard and Eric Gebeke to lead the MN Heat Elites to the 2nd spot. Those 2 teams play at 3:15 on Sunday. Easiest pool.
Pool B
A surprise appearance by the 2nd Howard Pulley squad and there's some talent there to note. Chad Potas and Damien Reinke give them an inside presence with Will Iverson and Dwight Anderson as solid perimeter players. They'll be a tough out. Nate Daniels' 43 Hoops squad is loaded with athletes and size. Will Johnson, Josh Turnquist and Cutler Finneman give them quality size up front with Marcus Marshall and Tommy McDermott forming a quality backcourt. Those are my top 2 picks in the pool despite 43 Hoops struggles in Iowa 2 weeks ago (see below), but TC Elite Black could make some noise here as they've had a nice season and MN Magic was solid in Iowa. 43 Hoops takes on Howard Pulley White at 2 PM on Sunday. Difficult pool.
(Czar's Note 5/28/09: The 43 Hoops team mentioned was not the 43 Hoops team that played in Iowa, that was the 15U Robinson squad.)
Pool C
WOW! What a loaded pool. Comets Elite, Pump N Run and a top notch Southside team are all here and then add in the top 43 Hoops 14U squad. Yikes. Joey King of Southside will be the player to watch here. Don't know if Pump N Run has found more than 7 kids, but the 7 they do have are a nice cohesive group. Waterbug point guard Cortez Tillman and forward Taylor Montero from CDH lead the way. Then an athletic 43 Hoops squad with a 6'10 center and you have a really deep pool. Hard not to pick Southside to win it. But this pool could be a major mess with everybody beating each other up. Southside vs PNR 3:15 on Saturday. PNR vs 43 Hoops Sunday at 11:30. Southside vs 43 Hoops Saturday at 7 PM.
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