Rivals released their final 2010 rankings today. Kevin Noreen and Jacob Thomas both miss out on that final ranking.
Here are the players from the list who made a local appearance.
#1 Josh Selby
#2 Harrison Barnes
#18 Joe Jackson
#24 Vander Blue
#25 Dwight Powell
#84 Crandall Head
#85 Tobi Oyedeji
#90 Trevor Releford
#101 Anthony Johnson
#116 Alex Kirk
#129 Brandon Peters
#139 Brandon Spearman
#143 Ahmad Starks
Showing posts with label Jacob Thomas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jacob Thomas. Show all posts
Heights holds off Orioles
Labels:
Jacob Thomas
Prologue
I finally get a trip to St. Louis Park in after missing out on them on the opening Friday of the season. Columbia Heights is the visitor for another senior night. Nice setup for the seniors too. But wait, where's Heights coach Willie Braziel? He doesn't make an appearance until 6 minutes left in the game thanks to the section 3AAA seeding meeting. Credit to coach Braziel for letting his JV coach finish out the game. No concessions tonight thanks to the schedule giving me time to wolf down a 12 in chicken sub from Subway on the way over. But there were spare chocolate cupcakes with orange basketball frosting and orange gatorade in the post game. Restaurant quality desert there, mmmm good! UW-Superior and St. Scholastica in the building along with De La Salle and Armstrong who were doing section scouting. That included an appearance by former Armstrong and University of Wisconsin star Jon Bryant (mandatory Wisconsin reference).
Game Time
The start is all Gerard Baptiste for Heights. He scores the first 12 Hylander points if my sheet is right including a crazy 3 point play where he gets tripped and the ball goes up and off the glass for the highly unconventional 3 point play. 14-8 Heights at the 12:35 mark and the Orioles need a timeout. Alex Koch with 7 of 9 St. Louis Park points to bring them within 22-19 at the 8 minute mark. Oriole point guard Aaron Ziman is a pass first guy but he nails a 3, 2 free throws and then a pull up at the 4:25 mark. Tie game at 28 a piece. Zach Lofton then becomes a handful with 2 and the foul (FT no good), a floater and then a 3 point play. 35-30 Heights at 2:33. Marquelis Edwards with 6 late points for St. Louis Park and we'll go to the half tied at 40. Jacob Thomas only 3 points on 1 FG that came in the last minute of the half.
Thomas with his first 2 triples of the night and a tough scoop for 2 where he was mugged. Those 8 in a row keep Heights ahead 52-50. Ziman with 2 freebies at 11:24 to tie the game at 52. 10-2 against Heights in fouls at this point. TJ Gist with a pair of buckets and then Ziman to Joe Zangel (jingle jangle jingle). 9:10 left and St. Louis Park leads 58-54. Heights has so many weapons and they won't be kept down. Thomas for 3 from the left corner and 2 free throws. Baptiste from Thomas for 2 more and Lofton caps a 10-0 run with a 3. 64-58 Heights with 6:30 to go (Welcome Coach Braziel). Zangel with a pair of hoops and Marquelis Edwards double clutches for 2 at 4:45. 66-64 Heights, ballgame on. Edwards again with a layup. This one at 3:05 and we're tied at 68. Then he adds another layup vs a 1-2-2 zone after 2 Thomas free throws. Lofton and Koch trade putbacks and we're tied at 72 with 1:40 left. Lofton with 2 free throws at 1:27. Zangel misses a good look from the foul line. Lofton to Baptiste for a layup. Zangel strong from the high post for 2 and the foul (FT no good) with 54.5 left. 76-74 Heights. Lofton does it again, this time to Ben Glover for an easy 2 with 30 seconds left. Alex Koch gets a look at a 3 that's no good and the Orioles get 2 more chances at it that are no good. Glover misses a front end with 17.1 left but that's not enough as Thomas seals the deal with 2 free throws with 5.6 left. 80-75 Columbia Heights wins.
For St. Louis Park, forward Marquelis Edwards active around the basket all night. The lefty finishes with 20 points. Joe Zangel nice night of 16 points. A perfect fit at the high post vs the zone. A shame he didn't stay at Providence Academy. They could really use him as he was their best player 2 years ago as a freshman. Alex Koch held to 13 points on 4-13 shooting and didn't get many good rhythm looks. Aaron Ziman 13 points on 3-11 shooting. I had 4 assists and 4 or 5 rebounds on my sheet as well for him. Park falls to 13-12 and can finish above .500 with a win at North Suburban cellar dweller Chisago Lakes on Friday. They've won 11 of their last 17 compared to losing 16 of their last 18 last year. While Alex Koch is a big loss for next year, everybody else is back and they have a group of nice youngsters coming up as well. Nice turnaround job by coach Watkins and they will match my pre-season prediction of a 5th place league finish. Do you believe in miracles? Yes! For the record, that's a reference to my prediction actually being right, not their season. With the recent olympics and the 30 year anniversary of The Miracle on Ice, I have to get that quote in.
For Columbia Heights, Gerard Baptiste finishes with 24 points as he spent all night cleaning up inside. Zach Lofton clutch down the stretch. He finishes with 22 points and while quiet early in the second half, he was very efficient in the half after a cold start to the game. Jacob Thomas very quiet in the first half. He finishes with 20 points, most of that in the second half. 3 triples included in that but he really never got his shooting going. Heights now 20-5 and they finish the regular season at Minnetonka on Friday. They open section play next Wednesday at home against Tri-Metro East champion and neighboring former Metro Alliance rival St. Anthony in the 3 vs 6 game. They will want to clean up the zone defense as their 1-2-2 left huge holes at the foul line. St. Louis Park did exploit that some for FT line drives or weak side cuts for layups on passes from that spot. Interesting that Heights went with both Andrew Hanson and Toby Frisby on the floor for a stretch in the first half. Can't say I've seen that from them all year and not like them at all. They'll still be stacked at the guard spots next year with Roderick Logan taking the point and Lofton/Glover on the wings. Andrew Hanson also returns. So expect Heights to still be a factor in the North Suburban next season.
I finally get a trip to St. Louis Park in after missing out on them on the opening Friday of the season. Columbia Heights is the visitor for another senior night. Nice setup for the seniors too. But wait, where's Heights coach Willie Braziel? He doesn't make an appearance until 6 minutes left in the game thanks to the section 3AAA seeding meeting. Credit to coach Braziel for letting his JV coach finish out the game. No concessions tonight thanks to the schedule giving me time to wolf down a 12 in chicken sub from Subway on the way over. But there were spare chocolate cupcakes with orange basketball frosting and orange gatorade in the post game. Restaurant quality desert there, mmmm good! UW-Superior and St. Scholastica in the building along with De La Salle and Armstrong who were doing section scouting. That included an appearance by former Armstrong and University of Wisconsin star Jon Bryant (mandatory Wisconsin reference).
Game Time
The start is all Gerard Baptiste for Heights. He scores the first 12 Hylander points if my sheet is right including a crazy 3 point play where he gets tripped and the ball goes up and off the glass for the highly unconventional 3 point play. 14-8 Heights at the 12:35 mark and the Orioles need a timeout. Alex Koch with 7 of 9 St. Louis Park points to bring them within 22-19 at the 8 minute mark. Oriole point guard Aaron Ziman is a pass first guy but he nails a 3, 2 free throws and then a pull up at the 4:25 mark. Tie game at 28 a piece. Zach Lofton then becomes a handful with 2 and the foul (FT no good), a floater and then a 3 point play. 35-30 Heights at 2:33. Marquelis Edwards with 6 late points for St. Louis Park and we'll go to the half tied at 40. Jacob Thomas only 3 points on 1 FG that came in the last minute of the half.
Thomas with his first 2 triples of the night and a tough scoop for 2 where he was mugged. Those 8 in a row keep Heights ahead 52-50. Ziman with 2 freebies at 11:24 to tie the game at 52. 10-2 against Heights in fouls at this point. TJ Gist with a pair of buckets and then Ziman to Joe Zangel (jingle jangle jingle). 9:10 left and St. Louis Park leads 58-54. Heights has so many weapons and they won't be kept down. Thomas for 3 from the left corner and 2 free throws. Baptiste from Thomas for 2 more and Lofton caps a 10-0 run with a 3. 64-58 Heights with 6:30 to go (Welcome Coach Braziel). Zangel with a pair of hoops and Marquelis Edwards double clutches for 2 at 4:45. 66-64 Heights, ballgame on. Edwards again with a layup. This one at 3:05 and we're tied at 68. Then he adds another layup vs a 1-2-2 zone after 2 Thomas free throws. Lofton and Koch trade putbacks and we're tied at 72 with 1:40 left. Lofton with 2 free throws at 1:27. Zangel misses a good look from the foul line. Lofton to Baptiste for a layup. Zangel strong from the high post for 2 and the foul (FT no good) with 54.5 left. 76-74 Heights. Lofton does it again, this time to Ben Glover for an easy 2 with 30 seconds left. Alex Koch gets a look at a 3 that's no good and the Orioles get 2 more chances at it that are no good. Glover misses a front end with 17.1 left but that's not enough as Thomas seals the deal with 2 free throws with 5.6 left. 80-75 Columbia Heights wins.
For St. Louis Park, forward Marquelis Edwards active around the basket all night. The lefty finishes with 20 points. Joe Zangel nice night of 16 points. A perfect fit at the high post vs the zone. A shame he didn't stay at Providence Academy. They could really use him as he was their best player 2 years ago as a freshman. Alex Koch held to 13 points on 4-13 shooting and didn't get many good rhythm looks. Aaron Ziman 13 points on 3-11 shooting. I had 4 assists and 4 or 5 rebounds on my sheet as well for him. Park falls to 13-12 and can finish above .500 with a win at North Suburban cellar dweller Chisago Lakes on Friday. They've won 11 of their last 17 compared to losing 16 of their last 18 last year. While Alex Koch is a big loss for next year, everybody else is back and they have a group of nice youngsters coming up as well. Nice turnaround job by coach Watkins and they will match my pre-season prediction of a 5th place league finish. Do you believe in miracles? Yes! For the record, that's a reference to my prediction actually being right, not their season. With the recent olympics and the 30 year anniversary of The Miracle on Ice, I have to get that quote in.
For Columbia Heights, Gerard Baptiste finishes with 24 points as he spent all night cleaning up inside. Zach Lofton clutch down the stretch. He finishes with 22 points and while quiet early in the second half, he was very efficient in the half after a cold start to the game. Jacob Thomas very quiet in the first half. He finishes with 20 points, most of that in the second half. 3 triples included in that but he really never got his shooting going. Heights now 20-5 and they finish the regular season at Minnetonka on Friday. They open section play next Wednesday at home against Tri-Metro East champion and neighboring former Metro Alliance rival St. Anthony in the 3 vs 6 game. They will want to clean up the zone defense as their 1-2-2 left huge holes at the foul line. St. Louis Park did exploit that some for FT line drives or weak side cuts for layups on passes from that spot. Interesting that Heights went with both Andrew Hanson and Toby Frisby on the floor for a stretch in the first half. Can't say I've seen that from them all year and not like them at all. They'll still be stacked at the guard spots next year with Roderick Logan taking the point and Lofton/Glover on the wings. Andrew Hanson also returns. So expect Heights to still be a factor in the North Suburban next season.
Red Knights win battle for second place
Labels:
Jacob Thomas
Prologue
To the Haben Center at Benilde-St. Margaret's for senior night for BSM's 4 seniors. These teams tied for 2nd 1 game behind Cooper in the North Suburban. We have a less full than expected crowd but he do have the Red Knight pep band. The jumbo hot dog tonight was outstanding and no rubik's cube wrap thankfully. Minnesota State and the Mr Basketball guys watching along with Rene Pulley
Game Time
No time to waste here as this was over almost immediately thanks to the seniors. Peter Crawford drives and kicks to Seth Marx for 3. Crawford with a bank and kicks for Marx for another 3. Lather, Rinse and Repeat as its Marx again from deep. 11-2 Red Knights and we're barely 2 minutes in. Time out Heights. Isaiah Zierden then nails back to back bombs. 17-2 at 14:45. Crawford with a putback, Marx again from the great beyond and an Evan Battle layup at 11:30 push the lead to 24-8. Heights needs another timeout. 7 in a row out of the time out for Benilde-St. Margaret and caution flammable, its Marx again during the run for 3 around to Battle buckets inside. 31-8 Red Knights and we haven't reached the halfway point of the first half yet. While BSM has everything going in, Heights can't get anything to go in. Jacob Thomas picks up his second foul at the 7:22 mark with Heights down 33-12 but he'll still sit the rest of the half in a bit of a surprise. 48-23 BSM at the half thanks to 8 threes, 5 of them by Marx. Jacob Thomas 0-4 and no points.
Marx going out in style in his last regular season home game. Flex cut for a 3 point play and a post up for 2 push the lead to 55-25 at the 16:35 mark. Thomas finally heats up with his first hoop of the night on a 3 at the 12:17 mark (0-7 to that point). He scores 15 points in less than the next 5 minutes but a charge in that run also gives him his 4th foul and with 7:33 left he gets trapped. He gets called for the pushoff just before Heights could get a timeout and he's done. The bench gives a small bit of the lead back but the Red Knights win easily 93-69
For Columbia Heights, dismal shooting in the first 10 minutes (along with some tough shots), dug a hole that was too deep. Jacob Thomas finishes with 15 points on 5-15 shooting. Zach Lofton leads the way with 17 points on 7-19 shooting. Heights falls to 18-5 and 3rd place alone in the North Suburban thanks to Cooper beating Irondale tonight. Despite the loss, I'll still take the Hylanders for the #2 seed in section 3AAA and a favorable draw against St. Paul Central in the semis (rather than the bad DLS/Henry draw in the other semi, but that one will play out next week)
For Benilde-St. Margaret's, the seniors go out big. Seth Marx and his 5 triples lead the way with 22 points. Peter Crawford 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists on my sheet in a quality tool box performance. Darren Glover 9 points but he really locked up Thomas for tough shots or no shots, especially during the first half. The Red Knights with one of the class AAA games of the year at De La Salle Saturday afternoon. Glover will have his hands full with Jalen Jaspers in that one. With Waconia 1 ahead in the loss column, does a BSM loss Saturday give Waconia a claim for the top seed, especially if they win the season finale against Orono to share the Wright County title?
To the Haben Center at Benilde-St. Margaret's for senior night for BSM's 4 seniors. These teams tied for 2nd 1 game behind Cooper in the North Suburban. We have a less full than expected crowd but he do have the Red Knight pep band. The jumbo hot dog tonight was outstanding and no rubik's cube wrap thankfully. Minnesota State and the Mr Basketball guys watching along with Rene Pulley
Game Time
No time to waste here as this was over almost immediately thanks to the seniors. Peter Crawford drives and kicks to Seth Marx for 3. Crawford with a bank and kicks for Marx for another 3. Lather, Rinse and Repeat as its Marx again from deep. 11-2 Red Knights and we're barely 2 minutes in. Time out Heights. Isaiah Zierden then nails back to back bombs. 17-2 at 14:45. Crawford with a putback, Marx again from the great beyond and an Evan Battle layup at 11:30 push the lead to 24-8. Heights needs another timeout. 7 in a row out of the time out for Benilde-St. Margaret and caution flammable, its Marx again during the run for 3 around to Battle buckets inside. 31-8 Red Knights and we haven't reached the halfway point of the first half yet. While BSM has everything going in, Heights can't get anything to go in. Jacob Thomas picks up his second foul at the 7:22 mark with Heights down 33-12 but he'll still sit the rest of the half in a bit of a surprise. 48-23 BSM at the half thanks to 8 threes, 5 of them by Marx. Jacob Thomas 0-4 and no points.
Marx going out in style in his last regular season home game. Flex cut for a 3 point play and a post up for 2 push the lead to 55-25 at the 16:35 mark. Thomas finally heats up with his first hoop of the night on a 3 at the 12:17 mark (0-7 to that point). He scores 15 points in less than the next 5 minutes but a charge in that run also gives him his 4th foul and with 7:33 left he gets trapped. He gets called for the pushoff just before Heights could get a timeout and he's done. The bench gives a small bit of the lead back but the Red Knights win easily 93-69
For Columbia Heights, dismal shooting in the first 10 minutes (along with some tough shots), dug a hole that was too deep. Jacob Thomas finishes with 15 points on 5-15 shooting. Zach Lofton leads the way with 17 points on 7-19 shooting. Heights falls to 18-5 and 3rd place alone in the North Suburban thanks to Cooper beating Irondale tonight. Despite the loss, I'll still take the Hylanders for the #2 seed in section 3AAA and a favorable draw against St. Paul Central in the semis (rather than the bad DLS/Henry draw in the other semi, but that one will play out next week)
For Benilde-St. Margaret's, the seniors go out big. Seth Marx and his 5 triples lead the way with 22 points. Peter Crawford 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists on my sheet in a quality tool box performance. Darren Glover 9 points but he really locked up Thomas for tough shots or no shots, especially during the first half. The Red Knights with one of the class AAA games of the year at De La Salle Saturday afternoon. Glover will have his hands full with Jalen Jaspers in that one. With Waconia 1 ahead in the loss column, does a BSM loss Saturday give Waconia a claim for the top seed, especially if they win the season finale against Orono to share the Wright County title?
Heights over Hawks in a thriller
Labels:
Jacob Thomas
Prologue
If its a bad travel night, that must mean a cold miserable trip up the hill into the wind to Columbia Heights to see the Hylanders take on #4AAAA Cooper in a North Suburban showdown. We always like the sausage pizza and Mug Root Beer. More Hylander students out for this one. And another appearance by big Cooper fan Mike Holtz, the mayor of Robbinsdale who I had a chance to talk to at the half. A fun moment during the JV game when I'm eating my pizza and a little kid below me looks at his mom and points up towards me saying he wants pizza too. Funny but it almost makes you feel bad. But the big news tonight was no Calvin Godfrey. Suspended for reasons that I'm not aware of. That puts an entirely different complexion on the game.
Game Time
Brandon Harrison is the 1 big guy in the Cooper lineup and he gets off to a really hot start. A reverse layup, 2 more and a jumper for 6 quick points and he had a block. Jacob Thomas with his 2nd assist to Harold Rainey at 13:26. Timeout Hawks down 17-15 and the pace is crazy fast. Almost such that I can't keep up. Harrison with 8 points already. Cooper's Darry Jones for 3 at 11:53 for a 22-21 Cooper lead before a quick Heights spurt. Harold Rainey with a stepback 3 and then Thomas from the corner off an inbounds for 3 more. 29-22 Heights at 9:55 after an 8-0 run. Johnny Jackson with a pair of post up buckets for Cooper forcing Drew Hanson back into the game for defense. Terrance Averyheart with his 2nd triple of the half and 2 Terry Glass free throws put Cooper back on top 37-35 at the 6:32 mark. Elijah Swen with a pair of late threes and a Charles Williams layup put Cooper up 10 with 1:30 left in the half. Zach Lofton goes right baseline gets bumped and throws in the short jumper left-handed and gets fouled. He misses the free throw but Heights gets it back and Lofton converts a 3 point play. Thomas with a putback and then a scramble with 0.2 left results in a Gerard Baptiste 3 point play to conclude a 10-2 Heights run. 57-55 Cooper after a wild first half.
Heights can't convert a turnover and Swen makes a layup on the other end. That's followed by Harrison double-clutching around Thomas for 2 more at 14:30 for a 66-59 Cooper lead. Thomas with a free throw, then a Rainey pullup for 3 and 2 more Thomas free throws cut the lead to 1. Darry Jones pulls back his dribble for space and knocks down a jumper. 68-65 Cooper at 12:10. Thomas cold at this point going 5-19 shooting but then he wakes up. He drives the lane and get out of my way for the emphatic 1 handed dunk with 12 minutes left. Then 2 between the legs dribbles before rising up for 3. Swen then with back to back drives for easy buckets. Thomas with a classic backdoor layup from an elbow pass. Swen for 3 more and Thomas with 2 more drives for baskets. 78 all with 7:55 left as we go back and forth. Thomas fouled by Harrison for 2 free throws at 6:36 and that's Harrison's 4th. 84-82 Cooper leads. Swen for 3 and then a sweet pivot around Hanson for a post hoop at 5:30 put the Hawks up 89-84. Lofton with his 2nd mini-spurt of the night as he drives for 2 and knocks down a straight away 3. 89 all with 4:55 left. Terry Glass with a pair of freebies but Cooper doesn't get back and it results in a Thomas 3 point play. 92-91 Heights with 4:29 left.
Heights' Gerard Baptiste with a foul and then a technical at 4:05. Jones misses the front end of the 1 and 1 and Averyheart only makes 1 of the 2 technicals. Heights gets a stop on the possession so Cooper only ends up with 1 point out of the whole deal. Charles Williams with a layup off a picture perfect high low entry at 3:10. Heights misses and Cooper takes timeout. Heights loses Swen on defense but he misses the wide open layup at 2:30. Thomas right to the rack for 2 with 2 minutes left and we're tied at 94. Cooper turns it over almost immediately but Heights misses 2 chances on their end. Williams 0-2 free throws with 1:34 left. Rainey back the other way splits a pair of defenders at halfcourt and finds Baptiste for a layup with 1:20 left. 96-94 Heights. Jones right back the other way and he finds Swen for a layup at 1:08. Heights holds and takes time at 41.7. They can't get it in so they take another timeout. Thomas gets the inbounds and dribbles away pressure. To the rack with about 20 seconds left, takes a bump no call and its no good. Mad scramble and it looks like Cooper gets it and has a run out, but Rainey steals it and goes to the basket. He nails a floater with 13.5 left. Cooper takes timeout in the frontcourt with 11.3 to go but they don't get a good look as Swen's 3 gets blocked at the buzzer. Heights wins one of the most entertaining games of the season 98-96.
For Cooper, Elijah Swen leads the way off the bench with 20 of his 26 in the 2nd half. 4 triples in that total. Terrance Averyheart 12 of his 16 in the first half. Darry Jones 11 of his 16 in the first half. Brandon Harrison finishes with only 14 points and 9 rebounds after a quick start. Despite no Godfrey, Cooper is still huge but I feel they could have done much more to pound the ball inside. Cooper falls to 14-3 and into a 3 way tie on top of the North Suburban with a big Irondale at BSM game looming on Friday night.
For Columbia Heights, they get a big win for section seeding in rough and tumble Section 3AAA. It also keeps them 1 game back in the North Suburban standings. Jacob Thomas leads the way with 34 points on 13-32 shooting but he made 8 of 13 in the last 12 minutes, clutch. Harold Rainey with 18 points and whole mitt full of steals. Zach Lofton 11 of his 18 in the first half. Gerard Baptiste all over the place in the first half with 16 of his 22. Heights now 13-4 and should be a favorite in at least 7 of their remaining games. With a difficult schedule they can still make a run at high seed in section play.
If its a bad travel night, that must mean a cold miserable trip up the hill into the wind to Columbia Heights to see the Hylanders take on #4AAAA Cooper in a North Suburban showdown. We always like the sausage pizza and Mug Root Beer. More Hylander students out for this one. And another appearance by big Cooper fan Mike Holtz, the mayor of Robbinsdale who I had a chance to talk to at the half. A fun moment during the JV game when I'm eating my pizza and a little kid below me looks at his mom and points up towards me saying he wants pizza too. Funny but it almost makes you feel bad. But the big news tonight was no Calvin Godfrey. Suspended for reasons that I'm not aware of. That puts an entirely different complexion on the game.
Game Time
Brandon Harrison is the 1 big guy in the Cooper lineup and he gets off to a really hot start. A reverse layup, 2 more and a jumper for 6 quick points and he had a block. Jacob Thomas with his 2nd assist to Harold Rainey at 13:26. Timeout Hawks down 17-15 and the pace is crazy fast. Almost such that I can't keep up. Harrison with 8 points already. Cooper's Darry Jones for 3 at 11:53 for a 22-21 Cooper lead before a quick Heights spurt. Harold Rainey with a stepback 3 and then Thomas from the corner off an inbounds for 3 more. 29-22 Heights at 9:55 after an 8-0 run. Johnny Jackson with a pair of post up buckets for Cooper forcing Drew Hanson back into the game for defense. Terrance Averyheart with his 2nd triple of the half and 2 Terry Glass free throws put Cooper back on top 37-35 at the 6:32 mark. Elijah Swen with a pair of late threes and a Charles Williams layup put Cooper up 10 with 1:30 left in the half. Zach Lofton goes right baseline gets bumped and throws in the short jumper left-handed and gets fouled. He misses the free throw but Heights gets it back and Lofton converts a 3 point play. Thomas with a putback and then a scramble with 0.2 left results in a Gerard Baptiste 3 point play to conclude a 10-2 Heights run. 57-55 Cooper after a wild first half.
Heights can't convert a turnover and Swen makes a layup on the other end. That's followed by Harrison double-clutching around Thomas for 2 more at 14:30 for a 66-59 Cooper lead. Thomas with a free throw, then a Rainey pullup for 3 and 2 more Thomas free throws cut the lead to 1. Darry Jones pulls back his dribble for space and knocks down a jumper. 68-65 Cooper at 12:10. Thomas cold at this point going 5-19 shooting but then he wakes up. He drives the lane and get out of my way for the emphatic 1 handed dunk with 12 minutes left. Then 2 between the legs dribbles before rising up for 3. Swen then with back to back drives for easy buckets. Thomas with a classic backdoor layup from an elbow pass. Swen for 3 more and Thomas with 2 more drives for baskets. 78 all with 7:55 left as we go back and forth. Thomas fouled by Harrison for 2 free throws at 6:36 and that's Harrison's 4th. 84-82 Cooper leads. Swen for 3 and then a sweet pivot around Hanson for a post hoop at 5:30 put the Hawks up 89-84. Lofton with his 2nd mini-spurt of the night as he drives for 2 and knocks down a straight away 3. 89 all with 4:55 left. Terry Glass with a pair of freebies but Cooper doesn't get back and it results in a Thomas 3 point play. 92-91 Heights with 4:29 left.
Heights' Gerard Baptiste with a foul and then a technical at 4:05. Jones misses the front end of the 1 and 1 and Averyheart only makes 1 of the 2 technicals. Heights gets a stop on the possession so Cooper only ends up with 1 point out of the whole deal. Charles Williams with a layup off a picture perfect high low entry at 3:10. Heights misses and Cooper takes timeout. Heights loses Swen on defense but he misses the wide open layup at 2:30. Thomas right to the rack for 2 with 2 minutes left and we're tied at 94. Cooper turns it over almost immediately but Heights misses 2 chances on their end. Williams 0-2 free throws with 1:34 left. Rainey back the other way splits a pair of defenders at halfcourt and finds Baptiste for a layup with 1:20 left. 96-94 Heights. Jones right back the other way and he finds Swen for a layup at 1:08. Heights holds and takes time at 41.7. They can't get it in so they take another timeout. Thomas gets the inbounds and dribbles away pressure. To the rack with about 20 seconds left, takes a bump no call and its no good. Mad scramble and it looks like Cooper gets it and has a run out, but Rainey steals it and goes to the basket. He nails a floater with 13.5 left. Cooper takes timeout in the frontcourt with 11.3 to go but they don't get a good look as Swen's 3 gets blocked at the buzzer. Heights wins one of the most entertaining games of the season 98-96.
For Cooper, Elijah Swen leads the way off the bench with 20 of his 26 in the 2nd half. 4 triples in that total. Terrance Averyheart 12 of his 16 in the first half. Darry Jones 11 of his 16 in the first half. Brandon Harrison finishes with only 14 points and 9 rebounds after a quick start. Despite no Godfrey, Cooper is still huge but I feel they could have done much more to pound the ball inside. Cooper falls to 14-3 and into a 3 way tie on top of the North Suburban with a big Irondale at BSM game looming on Friday night.
For Columbia Heights, they get a big win for section seeding in rough and tumble Section 3AAA. It also keeps them 1 game back in the North Suburban standings. Jacob Thomas leads the way with 34 points on 13-32 shooting but he made 8 of 13 in the last 12 minutes, clutch. Harold Rainey with 18 points and whole mitt full of steals. Zach Lofton 11 of his 18 in the first half. Gerard Baptiste all over the place in the first half with 16 of his 22. Heights now 13-4 and should be a favorite in at least 7 of their remaining games. With a difficult schedule they can still make a run at high seed in section play.
2010 Mr Basketball Final 25 named
Labels:
Cole Stefan,
Jacob Thomas,
Kevin Noreen,
Mike Rostampour
The final 25 for the 2010 Minnesota Mr Basketball award have been announced. Here they are followed by my commentary.
Peter Crawford 6-5 Benilde-SM
Chad Calcaterra 6-10 Cloquet
Jake Thomas 6-3 Columbia Heights
Calvin Godfrey 6-8 Cooper
Seantrel Henderson 6-8 Cretin-Derham Hall
Dyami Starks 6-2 Duluth East
Vinard Birch 5-10 Eastview
Brett Ervin 6-5 Eden Prairie
Trevor Gruis 6-8 Ellsworth
Zach Riedeman 6-5 Forest Lake
Mike Rostampour 6-7 Henry Sibley
Jordan Jackson 6-2 Henry Sibley
Yuriy Malashenko 6-5 Jordan
Shaun Condon 6-2 MACCRAY
Taylor Hanson 6-6 Minnehaha Academy
Cole Stefan 6-3 Minnetonka
Aaron Anderson 6-2 Osseo
Kevin Noreen 6-10 Minnesota Transitions
Jordan Hughes 5-10 Mpls. Patrick Henry
Alonzo Traylor 6-7 Mpls. South
Ben Bucholz 6-7 Perham
Marshall Bjorklund 6-6 Sibley East
Scott Nystrom 6-2 St. Cloud Tech
Taylor Filipek 6-6 Willmar
Alec Brown 6-11 Winona
Biggest surprise to me in the list was the omission of Alex Hanks of St. Cloud Tech.
My final 5 right now are Kevin Noreen, Alec Brown, Calvin Godfrey, Marshall Bjorklund and Jacob Thomas. I pick those 5 based on skill, impact on the game and their teams and team performance. The 1st 4 are from teams that have been in the top 5 in the top 2 classes and have dominated. The 5th spot was much tougher but Thomas gets the nod with 27 PPG (which includes an 8 point game in a holiday blowout so he could be averaging 28-29 a game) and the big games against Hopkins (38), BSM (47) and Staples-Motley (33). MACCRAY's Shaun Condon makes a great case with 24.5 per game for the top ranked team in Class A. Or if you're going small school do you take Ellsworth's Trevor Gruis and his 18.6 and 11.9 boards. I already have Bjorklund here from the MN River, but 21 and almost 16 a night from Yuriy Malashenko is hard to ignore.
Peter Crawford 6-5 Benilde-SM
Chad Calcaterra 6-10 Cloquet
Jake Thomas 6-3 Columbia Heights
Calvin Godfrey 6-8 Cooper
Seantrel Henderson 6-8 Cretin-Derham Hall
Dyami Starks 6-2 Duluth East
Vinard Birch 5-10 Eastview
Brett Ervin 6-5 Eden Prairie
Trevor Gruis 6-8 Ellsworth
Zach Riedeman 6-5 Forest Lake
Mike Rostampour 6-7 Henry Sibley
Jordan Jackson 6-2 Henry Sibley
Yuriy Malashenko 6-5 Jordan
Shaun Condon 6-2 MACCRAY
Taylor Hanson 6-6 Minnehaha Academy
Cole Stefan 6-3 Minnetonka
Aaron Anderson 6-2 Osseo
Kevin Noreen 6-10 Minnesota Transitions
Jordan Hughes 5-10 Mpls. Patrick Henry
Alonzo Traylor 6-7 Mpls. South
Ben Bucholz 6-7 Perham
Marshall Bjorklund 6-6 Sibley East
Scott Nystrom 6-2 St. Cloud Tech
Taylor Filipek 6-6 Willmar
Alec Brown 6-11 Winona
Biggest surprise to me in the list was the omission of Alex Hanks of St. Cloud Tech.
My final 5 right now are Kevin Noreen, Alec Brown, Calvin Godfrey, Marshall Bjorklund and Jacob Thomas. I pick those 5 based on skill, impact on the game and their teams and team performance. The 1st 4 are from teams that have been in the top 5 in the top 2 classes and have dominated. The 5th spot was much tougher but Thomas gets the nod with 27 PPG (which includes an 8 point game in a holiday blowout so he could be averaging 28-29 a game) and the big games against Hopkins (38), BSM (47) and Staples-Motley (33). MACCRAY's Shaun Condon makes a great case with 24.5 per game for the top ranked team in Class A. Or if you're going small school do you take Ellsworth's Trevor Gruis and his 18.6 and 11.9 boards. I already have Bjorklund here from the MN River, but 21 and almost 16 a night from Yuriy Malashenko is hard to ignore.
Red Knights survive big night by Thomas and Refs
Labels:
Jacob Thomas
Prologue
Another trip to #6AAA Columbia Heights as the #2AAA Red Knights of Benilde-St. Margaret's visit. Heights trying to stay undefeated in league play while BSM tries to remain 1 game out. While it isn't the best pizza around (sorry Willie), you can't go wrong having the pizza especially with a pepsi. Rene Pulley in the building for a full night tonight after only sticking around for JV at my game last night. Easily the worst officiated game I saw all year and a poorly configured crew with 1 guy who called the game loose and another one who couldn't resist blowing the whistle made for a very very frustrating night by all fans, players and coaches.
Game Time
9-5 Heights on a Gerard Baptiste putback before BSM goes on a 11-0 run behind a Seth Marx 3 and 3 point play. Peter Crawford with a 3 point play and a turnover becomes an Isaiah Zierdan layup for a 22-14 BSM lead at 8:10. Then the fouls mount. Crawford picks up his 2nd with Myles Barnes and Evan Battle already on the bench with 2. Kyle Washington off the bench to give BSM some nice minutes with a quick pair of shot blocks. Darren Glover for 3 from each corner vs a Heights zone for a 28-18 BSM lead. Zach Lofton with 5 points before a Jacob Thomas step back 3 cuts the lead to 28-26 in a 8-0 Heights run. Thomas with a drive and a steal for a dunk to keep the lead at 2 with 1:05 left in the half. Then Zierdan with a putback. Thomas gets mugged, no call and gets a technical. Zierdan makes the freebies and finds Seth Marx for 3. 39-30 Red Knights at the half on the 7-0 run.
Gerard Baptiste with 2 great blocks and that leads to a Thomas bucket and the foul. 46-40 Red Knights with 14:19 left as they take a smart timeout. Zierdan with a steal for 2 and a triple. Evan Battle inside and the lead is 10. Thomas with a deep 3 to keep Heights close. 9 point game with 12:30 left when BSM decides to go 2-3 zone. Crawford with a layup and 2 Sanjay Lumpkin free throws push the lead to 13. Thomas drives for 2 and hits another step back triple to keep Heights within 10. Thomas then drives for 2 and nails a 3 after a BSM turnover. 63-59 BSM with 7:40 left. Sanjay Lumpkin now face-guarding Thomas. Crawford 3-6 FTs and a Sanjay Lumpkin layup push the lead to 68-59 with 6 minutes left. Zach Lofton for 3, Thomas with 2 free throws and a tough hoop by Lofton cut the lead to 70-67 with 4:10 left. Crawford with a 3 point play countered by a Thomas 3 point play. BSM turns it over and Lofton scores on the other end. 75-72 BSM with 2:40 left. Then a dicey intentional foul call but BSM misses the 2 free throws. Lumpkin walks but gets bailed out with a foul call and makes both freebies with 2:24 left. After Thomas misses from 25 feet or further, BSM holds and Crawford goes strong for the 3 point play with 1:31 left for a 80-72 BSM lead. The rest is free throws. BSM wins 86-74. They outscore Heights 11-2 in the last 2:40
For Columbia Heights, it was the Jacob Thomas show. He scores 47 points, 29 of them in the 2nd half doing everything to keep Heights close. 15-34 shooting on my sheet with 6 triples. I also had him with 9 rebounds. Zach Lofton finishes with 16 points but was Minnesota in January cold with 5-22 shooting along with 9 rebounds on my sheet. Heights falls 1 game back in the league race with a 9-3 (3-1) record with 4 winnable games coming up before a big 1-time only showdown with Cooper in February.
For Benilde-St. Margaret's, a very good road win improves the Red Knights to 9-2. They now have 5 out of 7 at home including Hopkins before a February rematch at Cooper. Isaiah Zierden and Peter Crawford each finish with 20 points. Crawford with 15 of his in the 2nd half and 9 in the last 7:07. Kyle Washington 3 points and 3 blocks on my sheet, but he had a defensive impact in the lane with all the driving that Heights does. Coach Moore showed great confidence in the lefty by putting him back in with 8 minutes to go in a tight game. He earned that time with quality 1st half play as the 3rd big guy in with Barnes and Battle both in foul trouble.
The teams meet again February 23rd at Benilde-St. Margaret's.
Willie Braziel photo courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net
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Another trip to #6AAA Columbia Heights as the #2AAA Red Knights of Benilde-St. Margaret's visit. Heights trying to stay undefeated in league play while BSM tries to remain 1 game out. While it isn't the best pizza around (sorry Willie), you can't go wrong having the pizza especially with a pepsi. Rene Pulley in the building for a full night tonight after only sticking around for JV at my game last night. Easily the worst officiated game I saw all year and a poorly configured crew with 1 guy who called the game loose and another one who couldn't resist blowing the whistle made for a very very frustrating night by all fans, players and coaches.
Game Time
9-5 Heights on a Gerard Baptiste putback before BSM goes on a 11-0 run behind a Seth Marx 3 and 3 point play. Peter Crawford with a 3 point play and a turnover becomes an Isaiah Zierdan layup for a 22-14 BSM lead at 8:10. Then the fouls mount. Crawford picks up his 2nd with Myles Barnes and Evan Battle already on the bench with 2. Kyle Washington off the bench to give BSM some nice minutes with a quick pair of shot blocks. Darren Glover for 3 from each corner vs a Heights zone for a 28-18 BSM lead. Zach Lofton with 5 points before a Jacob Thomas step back 3 cuts the lead to 28-26 in a 8-0 Heights run. Thomas with a drive and a steal for a dunk to keep the lead at 2 with 1:05 left in the half. Then Zierdan with a putback. Thomas gets mugged, no call and gets a technical. Zierdan makes the freebies and finds Seth Marx for 3. 39-30 Red Knights at the half on the 7-0 run.
Gerard Baptiste with 2 great blocks and that leads to a Thomas bucket and the foul. 46-40 Red Knights with 14:19 left as they take a smart timeout. Zierdan with a steal for 2 and a triple. Evan Battle inside and the lead is 10. Thomas with a deep 3 to keep Heights close. 9 point game with 12:30 left when BSM decides to go 2-3 zone. Crawford with a layup and 2 Sanjay Lumpkin free throws push the lead to 13. Thomas drives for 2 and hits another step back triple to keep Heights within 10. Thomas then drives for 2 and nails a 3 after a BSM turnover. 63-59 BSM with 7:40 left. Sanjay Lumpkin now face-guarding Thomas. Crawford 3-6 FTs and a Sanjay Lumpkin layup push the lead to 68-59 with 6 minutes left. Zach Lofton for 3, Thomas with 2 free throws and a tough hoop by Lofton cut the lead to 70-67 with 4:10 left. Crawford with a 3 point play countered by a Thomas 3 point play. BSM turns it over and Lofton scores on the other end. 75-72 BSM with 2:40 left. Then a dicey intentional foul call but BSM misses the 2 free throws. Lumpkin walks but gets bailed out with a foul call and makes both freebies with 2:24 left. After Thomas misses from 25 feet or further, BSM holds and Crawford goes strong for the 3 point play with 1:31 left for a 80-72 BSM lead. The rest is free throws. BSM wins 86-74. They outscore Heights 11-2 in the last 2:40
For Columbia Heights, it was the Jacob Thomas show. He scores 47 points, 29 of them in the 2nd half doing everything to keep Heights close. 15-34 shooting on my sheet with 6 triples. I also had him with 9 rebounds. Zach Lofton finishes with 16 points but was Minnesota in January cold with 5-22 shooting along with 9 rebounds on my sheet. Heights falls 1 game back in the league race with a 9-3 (3-1) record with 4 winnable games coming up before a big 1-time only showdown with Cooper in February.
For Benilde-St. Margaret's, a very good road win improves the Red Knights to 9-2. They now have 5 out of 7 at home including Hopkins before a February rematch at Cooper. Isaiah Zierden and Peter Crawford each finish with 20 points. Crawford with 15 of his in the 2nd half and 9 in the last 7:07. Kyle Washington 3 points and 3 blocks on my sheet, but he had a defensive impact in the lane with all the driving that Heights does. Coach Moore showed great confidence in the lefty by putting him back in with 8 minutes to go in a tight game. He earned that time with quality 1st half play as the 3rd big guy in with Barnes and Battle both in foul trouble.
The teams meet again February 23rd at Benilde-St. Margaret's.
Willie Braziel photo courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net
Pirates shipwreck #4AAA Columbia Heights
Labels:
Jacob Thomas
Prologue
Another trip to Columbia Heights, this time to see one of the season's pleasant early season surprises Park Center. The Pirates come in 3-0 with easy wins over Edison and White Bear Lake and a close one over Wayzata. Columbia Heights coming off a buzzer-beater vs Staples-Motley on Saturday. Tonight's cuisine: a restaurant quality selection of sausage pizza sans grease with the always underrated 20 oz Mug Root Beer.
Game Time
Justin Casey off to a quick start inside for the Pirates. He starts with a post 2, a reverse layup, and a putback. 10-9 Columbia Heights at 13:45 before a Jacob Thomas backdoor layup and a Harold Rainey 3 push the lead to 15-9. Casey still going with a pair of free throws and 2 more buckets. Terez Van Pelt nails a pull up jumper and converts a turnover into a layup. 12-1 Pirates run over 2:40 and they lead 21-16 at the 10 minute mark. Coach Braziel not happy with his guys. Van Pelt with a jumper and 1 and the lead is 6 at the 8:35 mark. Casey picks up #2 at 6:18 and has to sit with the Pirates up 5. Jacob Thomas keeping the Hylanders close with a triple on an inbounds and a steal for a dunk to tie the game at 28 at the 2:45 mark. 34-33 Park Center at the half. Heights had to get out of their zone as Casey was getting great looks at the mid-post. Despite being lefty, Casey mostly finishing with the right hand inside. Casey with 12 in the half. Thomas with 15.
Casey starts the half with a postup dunk but gets called for hanging on the rim. 36-33 Pirates when that happens and wouldn't you know it sparks a Columbia Heights run. Thomas makes the technicals. Zach Lofton with a 3 point play, a floater and then converts a turnover for 2. Timeout Park Center. Gerard Baptiste with a layup and Lofton with a bomb to conclude a 14-0 run. 47-36 Heights with 12 minutes left. The Pirates cut the lead to 5 when Casey picks up his 4th foul with 9:21 left. At this point, Heights has their backup point guard in and being behind I thought the Pirates might try some pressing but they didn't. Lofton with a 3 and a free throw to push the lead back to 9. But then the Ts come Heights way. Lofton gets one and PC cuts the lead to 6. Thomas with a putback for a 3 point play at 7:33 and the Heights lead is 10. But Harold Rainey gets a personal and a technical and that's his 5th with 7:28 left. Big loss of the starting point guard for Heights. Van Pelt back to the line for another set of 4 free throws (shot the previous Ts and the shooting foul). Between the 2 Ts and shooting fouls he only makes 3-8 FTs and that looks like it will loom large. He makes a layup on the possession to cut the lead to 6, 57-51.
Casey returns at 7:26 (clock didn't start so more time really passed). Brian Asberry with a big dunk at 6:30 but Lofton is hot. A 3 point play and a high running bank and then an assist to Toby Frisby. 66-56 Heights with 4:55 left. Park Center doesn't fold and they're right in it. Frosh Quinton Hooker for 3, Jordan Lynn with a 3 point play and a layin. Casey with a tip in and then Van Pelt finds the pogo stick Asberry for another 1 handed hammer. 12-0 run by the Pirates and they lead 68-66 with 2:50 left. Casey fouls out on the ensuing Heights possession for 1 Lofton free throw. PC turns it over and Gerard Baptiste scores and Jordan Lynn fouls out. 69-68 Heights with 2:18 left. Bapiste rebounds his own FT miss and makes 1 of 2 at 2:03. PC turns it over at 1:52 and takes timeout. 70-68 Heights.
Lofton to the basket and misses Brian Blackhawk makes a short jumper to tie the game with 1:20 left. D'Karlos Craig with an offensive rebound for 2 FTs with 1:07 left. PC gets caught on the sideline and takes their last timeout with 57.1 left. Van Pelt turns it over and Lofton converts that into a layup with 36.1 left 74-70 Heights. Hooker makes the first FT at 32.1 on a bad foul and Asberry tips in the miss. Heights then turns it over with 23.6 left and a 74-73 lead. Hooker immedately drives and scores to put the Pirates on top. No timeout for Heights and Lofton gets called for the charge with 9.9 left. Hooker makes 2 FTs at 8.1. Coming back the other way. Thomas gets mugged on a 3 no call, Lofton finds the loose ball and has a 3 go in and out at the horn. Park Center pulls the thrilling upset 77-74.
For Columbia Heights, Zach Lofton leads the way with 27 points on 9-20 shooting with 3 triples. Jacob Thomas with 15 of his 24 in the first half. He finishes 8-25 shooting, 2-11 in the second half including missing his last 6. I also had him for 6 steals. Heights falls to 2-2. They're off until the Minneapolis North holiday tournament.
For Park Center, Justin Casey leads the way with 21 points as Heights had no good answer for him inside. How about the frosh Quinton Hooker with 15 points, 12 in the second half and 8 late. Terez Van Pelt with 12 points but my line had him 4-17 shooting with 12 turnovers. Let's give credit for a couple of nice passes that resulted in big dunks. With their star point guard struggling, the Pirates still pulled the upset which makes this more impressive. Credit to Brian Asberry for doing a nice job defending Jacob Thomas down the stretch. How about that Park Center at Minnesota Transitions game next Tuesday now? Very very interesting game. Expect a wild atmosphere at that one. With some turmoil now at Champlin Park, could Park Center be the best team named Park in the Northwest Suburban???
Another trip to Columbia Heights, this time to see one of the season's pleasant early season surprises Park Center. The Pirates come in 3-0 with easy wins over Edison and White Bear Lake and a close one over Wayzata. Columbia Heights coming off a buzzer-beater vs Staples-Motley on Saturday. Tonight's cuisine: a restaurant quality selection of sausage pizza sans grease with the always underrated 20 oz Mug Root Beer.
Game Time
Justin Casey off to a quick start inside for the Pirates. He starts with a post 2, a reverse layup, and a putback. 10-9 Columbia Heights at 13:45 before a Jacob Thomas backdoor layup and a Harold Rainey 3 push the lead to 15-9. Casey still going with a pair of free throws and 2 more buckets. Terez Van Pelt nails a pull up jumper and converts a turnover into a layup. 12-1 Pirates run over 2:40 and they lead 21-16 at the 10 minute mark. Coach Braziel not happy with his guys. Van Pelt with a jumper and 1 and the lead is 6 at the 8:35 mark. Casey picks up #2 at 6:18 and has to sit with the Pirates up 5. Jacob Thomas keeping the Hylanders close with a triple on an inbounds and a steal for a dunk to tie the game at 28 at the 2:45 mark. 34-33 Park Center at the half. Heights had to get out of their zone as Casey was getting great looks at the mid-post. Despite being lefty, Casey mostly finishing with the right hand inside. Casey with 12 in the half. Thomas with 15.
Casey starts the half with a postup dunk but gets called for hanging on the rim. 36-33 Pirates when that happens and wouldn't you know it sparks a Columbia Heights run. Thomas makes the technicals. Zach Lofton with a 3 point play, a floater and then converts a turnover for 2. Timeout Park Center. Gerard Baptiste with a layup and Lofton with a bomb to conclude a 14-0 run. 47-36 Heights with 12 minutes left. The Pirates cut the lead to 5 when Casey picks up his 4th foul with 9:21 left. At this point, Heights has their backup point guard in and being behind I thought the Pirates might try some pressing but they didn't. Lofton with a 3 and a free throw to push the lead back to 9. But then the Ts come Heights way. Lofton gets one and PC cuts the lead to 6. Thomas with a putback for a 3 point play at 7:33 and the Heights lead is 10. But Harold Rainey gets a personal and a technical and that's his 5th with 7:28 left. Big loss of the starting point guard for Heights. Van Pelt back to the line for another set of 4 free throws (shot the previous Ts and the shooting foul). Between the 2 Ts and shooting fouls he only makes 3-8 FTs and that looks like it will loom large. He makes a layup on the possession to cut the lead to 6, 57-51.
Casey returns at 7:26 (clock didn't start so more time really passed). Brian Asberry with a big dunk at 6:30 but Lofton is hot. A 3 point play and a high running bank and then an assist to Toby Frisby. 66-56 Heights with 4:55 left. Park Center doesn't fold and they're right in it. Frosh Quinton Hooker for 3, Jordan Lynn with a 3 point play and a layin. Casey with a tip in and then Van Pelt finds the pogo stick Asberry for another 1 handed hammer. 12-0 run by the Pirates and they lead 68-66 with 2:50 left. Casey fouls out on the ensuing Heights possession for 1 Lofton free throw. PC turns it over and Gerard Baptiste scores and Jordan Lynn fouls out. 69-68 Heights with 2:18 left. Bapiste rebounds his own FT miss and makes 1 of 2 at 2:03. PC turns it over at 1:52 and takes timeout. 70-68 Heights.
Lofton to the basket and misses Brian Blackhawk makes a short jumper to tie the game with 1:20 left. D'Karlos Craig with an offensive rebound for 2 FTs with 1:07 left. PC gets caught on the sideline and takes their last timeout with 57.1 left. Van Pelt turns it over and Lofton converts that into a layup with 36.1 left 74-70 Heights. Hooker makes the first FT at 32.1 on a bad foul and Asberry tips in the miss. Heights then turns it over with 23.6 left and a 74-73 lead. Hooker immedately drives and scores to put the Pirates on top. No timeout for Heights and Lofton gets called for the charge with 9.9 left. Hooker makes 2 FTs at 8.1. Coming back the other way. Thomas gets mugged on a 3 no call, Lofton finds the loose ball and has a 3 go in and out at the horn. Park Center pulls the thrilling upset 77-74.
For Columbia Heights, Zach Lofton leads the way with 27 points on 9-20 shooting with 3 triples. Jacob Thomas with 15 of his 24 in the first half. He finishes 8-25 shooting, 2-11 in the second half including missing his last 6. I also had him for 6 steals. Heights falls to 2-2. They're off until the Minneapolis North holiday tournament.
For Park Center, Justin Casey leads the way with 21 points as Heights had no good answer for him inside. How about the frosh Quinton Hooker with 15 points, 12 in the second half and 8 late. Terez Van Pelt with 12 points but my line had him 4-17 shooting with 12 turnovers. Let's give credit for a couple of nice passes that resulted in big dunks. With their star point guard struggling, the Pirates still pulled the upset which makes this more impressive. Credit to Brian Asberry for doing a nice job defending Jacob Thomas down the stretch. How about that Park Center at Minnesota Transitions game next Tuesday now? Very very interesting game. Expect a wild atmosphere at that one. With some turmoil now at Champlin Park, could Park Center be the best team named Park in the Northwest Suburban???
Breakdown Tip-Off Classic Thoughts
What a day at the 2009 Breakdown Tip-Off Classic. 20 of the 24 boys teams were ranked and 3 of the 4 unranked teams had stars to follow. Some thoughts on what I saw.
Session 1: #4A Sebeka vs #2AA New London-Spicer
"Moose" Johnson for NLS was just that. Sebeka had no answer for him. Sebeka's Joey Cuperus and John Clark are a duo that any class A team would be glad to have. Sebeka with a 3 point lead with 1:40 left and the teams trade turnovers. Moose with a putback and then a steal to give NLS a chance for the lead but they turn it over. Ryan Sharp with a layup and Sebeka is back up 3 with 30 seconds left. Jayme Moten with 2 FTs with 8.4 left and then NLS forces a turnover. They get the ball with 2.9 left at their free throw line. Motem catches the inbound takes 2 dribbles makes a good but slow pass to Erik Tengwall who knocked down the left corner 3 at the buzzer for the thrilling win. He beat the buzzer but I thought it took more than 2.9. Great finish.
Session 2:
Waconia broke open a close game with a 18-2 run over the last 8:30 of the 1st half for a 39-21 halftime lead. Waconia rolled from there for a 75-55 win. Marshall Bjorklund with 28 and 15 but he had no help in this one. Great job creating space with his strength, particularly by using the left shoulder. Shelby Moats on the other hand had help. Really like what Danny Fischbach is doing for them and Ben Korteum can knock down 3s in a hurry.
#1AA Plainview-Elgin-Millville was down 3 at half to Minneapolis North. Cole Olstad quiet but he hit a 3 at the halftime buzzer for 10 first half points. He finishes with 24 as PEM wins 81-74. No Pengi Mboma or Malik El-Amin for North which definitely would have helped.
Session 3:
Great game between #4AA Staples-Motley and #4AAA Columbia Heights. 22-16 Staples with 6 to go in the first half before a 19-8 Heights run. 35-33 Heights at the break. Columbia Heights continues the spurt into the 2nd half. Jacob Thomas with a 3 and a bucket for push the lead to 53-42 with 14:25 left. The lead gets to 13 before Staples gets hot. Derek Wolhowe with a pair of triples in a big Cardinals run. 74 all with 4:15 left. Staples-Motley star guard Jordan Riewer with a pair of assists and then a continuation 3 point play. 82-76 Staples-Motley with 1:38 left. Columbia Heights with 5 straight turnovers trying to hold the ball vs the Staples 1-2-2 in that stretch. Thomas right back with a tough triple to cut the lead in half. Harold Rainey strips Riewer for a layup and then another Staples turnover. Thomas with 2 FTs at 36.8 and Heights is back on top 83-82. Staples with a miss but Thomas misses the front end of the 1 and 1 with 13.8 left. Riewer fouled and makes 2 FTs with 8.4 left. Heights pushes to half-court and takes time with 4.8 left. Thomas gets a decent look in the corner but its blocked. Gerard Bapiste finds the rebound and puts it back at the buzzer for the thrilling 85-84 Columbia Heights win. Riewer has committed to Jamestown and he'll be a very good player for them. Despite the 2 late turnovers, he was clutch down the stretch. Jacob Thomas with another huge performance.
Session 4:
#2AAA De La Salle vs #10AAAA Osseo. Strange game as it just felt like D was winning the entire way but Osseo was ahead on the scoreboard. Tight all the way though. Aaron Anderson with a great pass to Chris McMorris for a backdoor dunk at 3:50 and Joey Sonnefeld (playing post with 8th grader Ian Theisen) on the post for 2. 56-50 Osseo with 2:47 left. De La Salle not going away. John Hertle with a steal for 2 and a Bretson McNeal bomb give D the 57-56 lead with 1:10 left. John Rowland tips in a miss with 40 seconds left and Osseo is back on top. McNeal misses and Chris McMorris is fouled with 17.9 left. He makes the first and misses the 2nd. No timeout for D as they call a standard set play for Jalen Jaspers. As he attempts to come off a screen from the low post to the top of the key he gets absoluted mugged and tackled. No call for the 2nd time in the game on that. Not to mention it was right in front of the D bench. WOW. Its a broken play and D misses. 60-57 Osseo wins and coach Thorson stares down the refs as they leave. You can't blame him either.
I saw the last 12 minutes of Lakeville South and #1AAA Benilde-St. Margaret's. Soph PG Isaiah Zierden was outstanding in the time I saw. And wow is Benilde deep. Sophs Will Dunn, Sanjay Lumpkin, and Danon Briggs with Zierden all seeing minutes. BSM wins 99-87.
Session 5
#3AAAA Henry Sibley vs Cloquet. The matchup of bigs was entertaining as Jake Kreuser played about as well as I've ever seen him play. 7 points and 7 rebounds in the first half against an overmatched Cloquet squad. Jimmy Ryan continues to shoot well with another pair of triples. 37-16 Sibley at half and they roll.
Talk about a rebound. #10AA Minnehaha took #7AA Braham behind the woodshed for a 81-51 win. Didn't see any of it but I wouldn't have expected that.
Session 6
1st half #3A Minnesota Transitions vs #7AAA Minneapolis Henry. MTS playing zone, Kevin Noreen getting his. 23-7 MTS over the last 6:15 of the first half for a 51-35 halftime lead. But MTS needed OT to hang on 85-83. Disturbing trend for MTS as they let Minnehaha back in on Tuesday and now gave up a lead to Henry. And how does MTS only score 34 points in the last 22 minutes?
Then all of the big game of the day #1AAAA Hopkins vs #2AAAA Tartan. Or it should have been. Tartan with the 1st 4 points of the game and that's their highlight. Hopkins scores the next 19 points. Tartan fights back to within 5 in the first half. 34-23 Hopkins at the break. More Hopkins in the 2nd half as they start the half on a 13-5 run. Hopkins wins 81-66. Joe Coleman with 31 points and again all within 2 feet. Marvin Singleton was matched up with the Preiner twins most of the night in a very difficult matchup for Tartan. He finished with 23 and 9. Tim Lubke was the top scorer for Tartan with 14 points.
Session 7
#5AAAA Chaska at #7AAAA Minnetonka. 3 starters in street clothes for the hosts but they weren't going to lay down in this one. Chaska's super junior Ross Travis left late in the first half with an apparent back injury. 42-39 Tonka at half. Max Watts with a great hustle play for a 3 point play. 60-50 Chaska with 11:13 left. Minnetonka comes all the way back. Andrew Turnblad with a 3 point play to give the Skippers the 68-67 lead with 7:11 left. 74 in the last 2:30. 77-74 Minnetonka after a Blake Nelson 3 at 2:10. Jake White with a putback and 2 free throws to keep Chaska within 1. The teams trade free throws before a Jacob Meyer triple with 8.6 left ties the game at 83 and sends us to OT. Max Watts with a big triple at the 1:33 mark of OT. 94-89 Chaska and they win 99-92. Jake White with 29 points and Max Watts huge again for the Hawks with 26 points. Chad Howard out of his mind stepping up for Minnetonka with 29 points. Nick Latzke outstanding again as he also had 29 points.
Saw a few early minutes of the #8AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall vs #6AAAA Champlin Park game. All 3 of the star sophs for CDH (Montero, Neumann and Tillman) all on the floor. Interesting to see Raijon Kelly and Tillman on the floor at the same time. Look for Neumann to have a bigger role now that Clay Horne has moved out east. Too bad many people didn't see the end of this one as CDH held on 82-80 in double OT.
Session 1: #4A Sebeka vs #2AA New London-Spicer
"Moose" Johnson for NLS was just that. Sebeka had no answer for him. Sebeka's Joey Cuperus and John Clark are a duo that any class A team would be glad to have. Sebeka with a 3 point lead with 1:40 left and the teams trade turnovers. Moose with a putback and then a steal to give NLS a chance for the lead but they turn it over. Ryan Sharp with a layup and Sebeka is back up 3 with 30 seconds left. Jayme Moten with 2 FTs with 8.4 left and then NLS forces a turnover. They get the ball with 2.9 left at their free throw line. Motem catches the inbound takes 2 dribbles makes a good but slow pass to Erik Tengwall who knocked down the left corner 3 at the buzzer for the thrilling win. He beat the buzzer but I thought it took more than 2.9. Great finish.
Session 2:
Waconia broke open a close game with a 18-2 run over the last 8:30 of the 1st half for a 39-21 halftime lead. Waconia rolled from there for a 75-55 win. Marshall Bjorklund with 28 and 15 but he had no help in this one. Great job creating space with his strength, particularly by using the left shoulder. Shelby Moats on the other hand had help. Really like what Danny Fischbach is doing for them and Ben Korteum can knock down 3s in a hurry.
#1AA Plainview-Elgin-Millville was down 3 at half to Minneapolis North. Cole Olstad quiet but he hit a 3 at the halftime buzzer for 10 first half points. He finishes with 24 as PEM wins 81-74. No Pengi Mboma or Malik El-Amin for North which definitely would have helped.
Session 3:
Great game between #4AA Staples-Motley and #4AAA Columbia Heights. 22-16 Staples with 6 to go in the first half before a 19-8 Heights run. 35-33 Heights at the break. Columbia Heights continues the spurt into the 2nd half. Jacob Thomas with a 3 and a bucket for push the lead to 53-42 with 14:25 left. The lead gets to 13 before Staples gets hot. Derek Wolhowe with a pair of triples in a big Cardinals run. 74 all with 4:15 left. Staples-Motley star guard Jordan Riewer with a pair of assists and then a continuation 3 point play. 82-76 Staples-Motley with 1:38 left. Columbia Heights with 5 straight turnovers trying to hold the ball vs the Staples 1-2-2 in that stretch. Thomas right back with a tough triple to cut the lead in half. Harold Rainey strips Riewer for a layup and then another Staples turnover. Thomas with 2 FTs at 36.8 and Heights is back on top 83-82. Staples with a miss but Thomas misses the front end of the 1 and 1 with 13.8 left. Riewer fouled and makes 2 FTs with 8.4 left. Heights pushes to half-court and takes time with 4.8 left. Thomas gets a decent look in the corner but its blocked. Gerard Bapiste finds the rebound and puts it back at the buzzer for the thrilling 85-84 Columbia Heights win. Riewer has committed to Jamestown and he'll be a very good player for them. Despite the 2 late turnovers, he was clutch down the stretch. Jacob Thomas with another huge performance.
Session 4:
#2AAA De La Salle vs #10AAAA Osseo. Strange game as it just felt like D was winning the entire way but Osseo was ahead on the scoreboard. Tight all the way though. Aaron Anderson with a great pass to Chris McMorris for a backdoor dunk at 3:50 and Joey Sonnefeld (playing post with 8th grader Ian Theisen) on the post for 2. 56-50 Osseo with 2:47 left. De La Salle not going away. John Hertle with a steal for 2 and a Bretson McNeal bomb give D the 57-56 lead with 1:10 left. John Rowland tips in a miss with 40 seconds left and Osseo is back on top. McNeal misses and Chris McMorris is fouled with 17.9 left. He makes the first and misses the 2nd. No timeout for D as they call a standard set play for Jalen Jaspers. As he attempts to come off a screen from the low post to the top of the key he gets absoluted mugged and tackled. No call for the 2nd time in the game on that. Not to mention it was right in front of the D bench. WOW. Its a broken play and D misses. 60-57 Osseo wins and coach Thorson stares down the refs as they leave. You can't blame him either.
I saw the last 12 minutes of Lakeville South and #1AAA Benilde-St. Margaret's. Soph PG Isaiah Zierden was outstanding in the time I saw. And wow is Benilde deep. Sophs Will Dunn, Sanjay Lumpkin, and Danon Briggs with Zierden all seeing minutes. BSM wins 99-87.
Session 5
#3AAAA Henry Sibley vs Cloquet. The matchup of bigs was entertaining as Jake Kreuser played about as well as I've ever seen him play. 7 points and 7 rebounds in the first half against an overmatched Cloquet squad. Jimmy Ryan continues to shoot well with another pair of triples. 37-16 Sibley at half and they roll.
Talk about a rebound. #10AA Minnehaha took #7AA Braham behind the woodshed for a 81-51 win. Didn't see any of it but I wouldn't have expected that.
Session 6
1st half #3A Minnesota Transitions vs #7AAA Minneapolis Henry. MTS playing zone, Kevin Noreen getting his. 23-7 MTS over the last 6:15 of the first half for a 51-35 halftime lead. But MTS needed OT to hang on 85-83. Disturbing trend for MTS as they let Minnehaha back in on Tuesday and now gave up a lead to Henry. And how does MTS only score 34 points in the last 22 minutes?
Then all of the big game of the day #1AAAA Hopkins vs #2AAAA Tartan. Or it should have been. Tartan with the 1st 4 points of the game and that's their highlight. Hopkins scores the next 19 points. Tartan fights back to within 5 in the first half. 34-23 Hopkins at the break. More Hopkins in the 2nd half as they start the half on a 13-5 run. Hopkins wins 81-66. Joe Coleman with 31 points and again all within 2 feet. Marvin Singleton was matched up with the Preiner twins most of the night in a very difficult matchup for Tartan. He finished with 23 and 9. Tim Lubke was the top scorer for Tartan with 14 points.
Session 7
#5AAAA Chaska at #7AAAA Minnetonka. 3 starters in street clothes for the hosts but they weren't going to lay down in this one. Chaska's super junior Ross Travis left late in the first half with an apparent back injury. 42-39 Tonka at half. Max Watts with a great hustle play for a 3 point play. 60-50 Chaska with 11:13 left. Minnetonka comes all the way back. Andrew Turnblad with a 3 point play to give the Skippers the 68-67 lead with 7:11 left. 74 in the last 2:30. 77-74 Minnetonka after a Blake Nelson 3 at 2:10. Jake White with a putback and 2 free throws to keep Chaska within 1. The teams trade free throws before a Jacob Meyer triple with 8.6 left ties the game at 83 and sends us to OT. Max Watts with a big triple at the 1:33 mark of OT. 94-89 Chaska and they win 99-92. Jake White with 29 points and Max Watts huge again for the Hawks with 26 points. Chad Howard out of his mind stepping up for Minnetonka with 29 points. Nick Latzke outstanding again as he also had 29 points.
Saw a few early minutes of the #8AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall vs #6AAAA Champlin Park game. All 3 of the star sophs for CDH (Montero, Neumann and Tillman) all on the floor. Interesting to see Raijon Kelly and Tillman on the floor at the same time. Look for Neumann to have a bigger role now that Clay Horne has moved out east. Too bad many people didn't see the end of this one as CDH held on 82-80 in double OT.
Bob Gibbons updated 2010 rankings
Labels:
2010 Recruiting,
Jacob Thomas,
Kevin Noreen
Noted recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons came out with an updated top 200 for the class of 2010 this week. Kevin Noreen moves up to #157 from #172 and in a surprise Jacob Thomas drops out after being #143 in the last rankings.
The entire Bob Gibbons rankings can be found here.
For the list of ranked Minnesota players, check out my Minnesota player rankings page.
The entire Bob Gibbons rankings can be found here.
For the list of ranked Minnesota players, check out my Minnesota player rankings page.
Hopkins at Columbia Heights thoughts
Prologue
I've got 1 hand in my pocket and other has fallen off due to frostbite. Brutal walk up the hill to Columbia Heights as the #4AAA Hylanders host #1AAAA Hopkins. Always like the pizza at Heights and on the way back to my seat, we get Rene Pulley sighting #1 of the season. Zach Lofton in street clothes for this one but Heights does have Andrew Hanson. And before I know it, I have a whole host of people join me behind the scorers table. A shout out to Rogers shooting guard Trevor Morlock for putting up with The Czar for this one.
Game Time
Interesting look from Hopkins as they start small with Joe Coleman at the 4, Marvin Singleton at the 5 and the 5th starter is ... Jeremiah Tolbert. I've been waiting for that forever. Columbia Heights comes out zone and DJ Peterson goes over the top to Joe Coleman for an alley-oop dunk to get us started. Peterson has the assignment guarding Jacob Thomas on the other end. Thomas beats Coleman for a layup after beating him earlier for a step back jumper. 8 quick Thomas points. 12-11 Heights at the 12:45 mark. Then it falls apart for Heights. Marvin Singleton dunks, then Coleman dunks a pair of turnovers. 9-0 Hopkins run forces a Heights timeout. 20-12 Hopkins at the 10:51 mark. Coleman with 10 quick ones on 3 dunks and 2 layups. Highlight moment in the 1st half. Peterson blocks Thomas who gets it back only to be blocked by Coleman. Back the other way we go and Coleman goes up over the top to hammer home a miss. 27-17 Hopkins at the 6:45 mark but it feels like 25. Singleton 2 FTs, Coleman lays in an inbound lob and dunks, Siyani Chambers for 3 to push the lead to 19 before an NBA bomb at the horn cuts the Hopkins lead to 46-30 at halftime.
The momentum carries to the 2nd half. Harold Rainey is hot. Coleman dunks again at 13:40 to keep the lead at 11. Thomas then with a great block for a Rainey layup, then Thomas with a putback for a 3 point play and a swooping layup and all of a sudden its 54-50 with 12:12 to go and Hopkins takes time. 23-8 run over 6 minutes for Heights with Thomas a major factor in it. Heights goes to the bench and Hopkins gets a couple of strategic traps that ignite a 15-0 run over the next 3:12. Heights needs a timeout as the lead is back to 19, 69-50. Heights tries to make 1 more run as they cut the lead to 14, but with Chambers on the bench with 4 fouls, Heights leaves Cameron Selmer alone for an easy corner 3. Until the clock dies at the 1:39 mark, this one is elementary. Game is called as the clock is toast. Hopkins wins 95-71 (I think, but the clock was dead) (Czar's Note 12/10/09: Final Score was reported as 95-78, Jacob Thomas with 38 vs the 35 I had)
For Columbia Heights, Jacob Thomas finishes with 35 points on 13-29 shooting on my sheet to go with 7 rebounds. Step backs, drives, pull from NBA range, heat checks. A bit of everything. He tried to carry the Hylanders but to no avail. Turnovers really hurt Heights in this one but due credit should also go the Hopkins defense for their on-ball pressure. For Heights, they've got a tough one with Staples-Motley on Saturday at Minnetonka. Andrew Hanson was coming off an injury and started but he saw limited time in the 2nd half due to matchups.
For Hopkins, Joe Coleman leads the way with 29 points on 13-20 shooting (7 layups, 6 dunks). Marvin Singleton 25 and 14 on 11-15 shooting. He even got to show off some ball skills late. Both guys were way too much inside as they dominated the paint. Riley Dearring with 12 points on 3-9 shooting. He took a couple of rushed shots but that will come with experience. Despite late foul trouble, gotta like what Siyani Chambers did on the defensive end at the point of the defense. Interesting that frosh Dearring and soph Zach Stahl were the only rotation guys off the bench in this one for the Royals. Hopkins has a trap game with Maple Grove on Friday before taking on Tartan on Saturday at Minnetonka.
I've got 1 hand in my pocket and other has fallen off due to frostbite. Brutal walk up the hill to Columbia Heights as the #4AAA Hylanders host #1AAAA Hopkins. Always like the pizza at Heights and on the way back to my seat, we get Rene Pulley sighting #1 of the season. Zach Lofton in street clothes for this one but Heights does have Andrew Hanson. And before I know it, I have a whole host of people join me behind the scorers table. A shout out to Rogers shooting guard Trevor Morlock for putting up with The Czar for this one.
Game Time
Interesting look from Hopkins as they start small with Joe Coleman at the 4, Marvin Singleton at the 5 and the 5th starter is ... Jeremiah Tolbert. I've been waiting for that forever. Columbia Heights comes out zone and DJ Peterson goes over the top to Joe Coleman for an alley-oop dunk to get us started. Peterson has the assignment guarding Jacob Thomas on the other end. Thomas beats Coleman for a layup after beating him earlier for a step back jumper. 8 quick Thomas points. 12-11 Heights at the 12:45 mark. Then it falls apart for Heights. Marvin Singleton dunks, then Coleman dunks a pair of turnovers. 9-0 Hopkins run forces a Heights timeout. 20-12 Hopkins at the 10:51 mark. Coleman with 10 quick ones on 3 dunks and 2 layups. Highlight moment in the 1st half. Peterson blocks Thomas who gets it back only to be blocked by Coleman. Back the other way we go and Coleman goes up over the top to hammer home a miss. 27-17 Hopkins at the 6:45 mark but it feels like 25. Singleton 2 FTs, Coleman lays in an inbound lob and dunks, Siyani Chambers for 3 to push the lead to 19 before an NBA bomb at the horn cuts the Hopkins lead to 46-30 at halftime.
The momentum carries to the 2nd half. Harold Rainey is hot. Coleman dunks again at 13:40 to keep the lead at 11. Thomas then with a great block for a Rainey layup, then Thomas with a putback for a 3 point play and a swooping layup and all of a sudden its 54-50 with 12:12 to go and Hopkins takes time. 23-8 run over 6 minutes for Heights with Thomas a major factor in it. Heights goes to the bench and Hopkins gets a couple of strategic traps that ignite a 15-0 run over the next 3:12. Heights needs a timeout as the lead is back to 19, 69-50. Heights tries to make 1 more run as they cut the lead to 14, but with Chambers on the bench with 4 fouls, Heights leaves Cameron Selmer alone for an easy corner 3. Until the clock dies at the 1:39 mark, this one is elementary. Game is called as the clock is toast. Hopkins wins 95-71 (I think, but the clock was dead) (Czar's Note 12/10/09: Final Score was reported as 95-78, Jacob Thomas with 38 vs the 35 I had)
For Columbia Heights, Jacob Thomas finishes with 35 points on 13-29 shooting on my sheet to go with 7 rebounds. Step backs, drives, pull from NBA range, heat checks. A bit of everything. He tried to carry the Hylanders but to no avail. Turnovers really hurt Heights in this one but due credit should also go the Hopkins defense for their on-ball pressure. For Heights, they've got a tough one with Staples-Motley on Saturday at Minnetonka. Andrew Hanson was coming off an injury and started but he saw limited time in the 2nd half due to matchups.
For Hopkins, Joe Coleman leads the way with 29 points on 13-20 shooting (7 layups, 6 dunks). Marvin Singleton 25 and 14 on 11-15 shooting. He even got to show off some ball skills late. Both guys were way too much inside as they dominated the paint. Riley Dearring with 12 points on 3-9 shooting. He took a couple of rushed shots but that will come with experience. Despite late foul trouble, gotta like what Siyani Chambers did on the defensive end at the point of the defense. Interesting that frosh Dearring and soph Zach Stahl were the only rotation guys off the bench in this one for the Royals. Hopkins has a trap game with Maple Grove on Friday before taking on Tartan on Saturday at Minnetonka.
2 Minnesota Stars commit
Labels:
2010 Recruiting,
Chad Calcaterra,
Jacob Thomas
2 of Minnesota's top players in 2010 made their commitments over the last few days. Chad Calcaterra of Cloquet committed to Colorado State. Jacob Thomas of Columbia Heights committed to Long Beach State. Both of these came after long talk about them attending Minnesota. Here's an interesting perspective from Gopher writer Marcus Fuller of the Pioneer Press on their commitments.
Here's David Lavaque's Star Tribune article on Thomas signing with Long Beach State. It also includes an update on Calvin Godfrey who's now at Cooper instead of Armstrong as was initially reported (see the original here)
For an entire list of commitments from the class of 2010, click here.
Here's David Lavaque's Star Tribune article on Thomas signing with Long Beach State. It also includes an update on Calvin Godfrey who's now at Cooper instead of Armstrong as was initially reported (see the original here)
For an entire list of commitments from the class of 2010, click here.
Two MN Players in Bob Gibbons Top 175
Labels:
2010 Recruiting,
Jacob Thomas,
Kevin Noreen,
Rivals Recruiting
Bob Gibbons (one of the nation's longest running recruiting analysts) just released his post summer 2009 top 175 (more like 200) for the class of 2010. Jacob Thomas comes in at 143 and Kevin Noreen comes in at 172. Other players who have appeared locally
#2 Harrison Barnes
#13 Joe Jackson
#14 Josh Selby
#34 Tobi Oyedeji
#65 Evan Anderson
#76 Trevor Releford
#93 Alex Kirk
#100 Brandon Spearman
#101 Vander Blue
#103 Cody Larson
#104 Dwight Powell
#120 Ahmad Starks
#124 Anthony Johnson
#150 Zach McCabe
#175 Jesse Berry
Read the entire rankings here
Rivals.com also came out with their post summer 2009 top 150 for the class of 2010 today. No Minnesota players in the list. Here's the list of those who have appeared locally and the comparison to where they were ranked at the start of July.
Harrison Barnes #2 (no change)
Josh Selby #4 (up from #7)
Joe Jackson #12 (up from #18)
Vander Blue #22 (up from #31)
Dwight Powell #23 (up from around #50 if I recall correctly)
Tobi Oyedeji #81 (up from #108)
Trevor Releford #97 (up from #150)
Anthony Johnson #99 (down from #88)
Alex Kirk #108 (down from #106)
Brandon Spearman #115 (down from #100)
Brandon Peters #118 (new)
Ahmad Starks #131 (new)
Read the new Rivals rankings here
#2 Harrison Barnes
#13 Joe Jackson
#14 Josh Selby
#34 Tobi Oyedeji
#65 Evan Anderson
#76 Trevor Releford
#93 Alex Kirk
#100 Brandon Spearman
#101 Vander Blue
#103 Cody Larson
#104 Dwight Powell
#120 Ahmad Starks
#124 Anthony Johnson
#150 Zach McCabe
#175 Jesse Berry
Read the entire rankings here
Rivals.com also came out with their post summer 2009 top 150 for the class of 2010 today. No Minnesota players in the list. Here's the list of those who have appeared locally and the comparison to where they were ranked at the start of July.
Harrison Barnes #2 (no change)
Josh Selby #4 (up from #7)
Joe Jackson #12 (up from #18)
Vander Blue #22 (up from #31)
Dwight Powell #23 (up from around #50 if I recall correctly)
Tobi Oyedeji #81 (up from #108)
Trevor Releford #97 (up from #150)
Anthony Johnson #99 (down from #88)
Alex Kirk #108 (down from #106)
Brandon Spearman #115 (down from #100)
Brandon Peters #118 (new)
Ahmad Starks #131 (new)
Read the new Rivals rankings here
Thomas drops in latest ESPN top 100
Labels:
ESPN Recruiting,
Jacob Thomas
The cycle of updated rankings begins. ESPN just released their updated rankings for the class of 2010. Jacob Thomas remains the only MN player in the rankings. In this round he drops from #75 to #89. Other players who've appeared locally include
Harrison Barnes #1
Josh Selby #8
Joe Jackson #21
Vander Blue #34
Dwight Powell #37
Trevor Releford #49
Tobi Oyedeji #80
Alex Kirk #97
Evan Anderson #100
U of M target Cory Joseph comes in at #30
Read the entire ESPN.com top 100 here.
Harrison Barnes #1
Josh Selby #8
Joe Jackson #21
Vander Blue #34
Dwight Powell #37
Trevor Releford #49
Tobi Oyedeji #80
Alex Kirk #97
Evan Anderson #100
U of M target Cory Joseph comes in at #30
Read the entire ESPN.com top 100 here.
New Scout 100 also omits Thomas
Labels:
2010 Recruiting,
Jacob Thomas,
Scout Recruiting
Scout.com also kept Jacob Thomas out of their pre-open period top 100 for the class of 2010. (I talk about this more in my previous post about the Rivals rankings, read that here) Here are the notables in the Scout.com list
Harrison Barnes #1
Josh Selby #10
Joe Jackson #17
Vander Blue #47
Tobi Oyedeji #58
Alex Kirk #66
Evan Anderson #70
Trevor Releford #72
Anthony Johnson #97
Harrison Barnes #1
Josh Selby #10
Joe Jackson #17
Vander Blue #47
Tobi Oyedeji #58
Alex Kirk #66
Evan Anderson #70
Trevor Releford #72
Anthony Johnson #97
New Rivals 150 doesn't include Thomas
Labels:
2010 Recruiting,
Jacob Thomas,
Rivals Recruiting
Rivals released their going into the open period rankings for the class of 2010. It was widely believed that after ESPN put Jacob Thomas at 75 in their last ranking, that the other services would follow. That's due to the big summer he's had for Howard Pulley. However, that didn't happen with the new Rivals rankings and their 2010 and 2011 rankings both have no Minnesota players (I'll make a prediction that that won't be the case in 2012 or 2013). Here are some kids that have played locally.
Harrison Barnes #2
Josh Selby #7
Joe Jackson #18
Vander Blue #31
Anthony Johnson #88
Brandon Spearman #100
Alex Kirk #106
Tobi Oyedeji #108
Evan Anderson #149
Trevor Releford #150
Add in Flavien Davis at #141 and there's 3 Wisconsin players. Iowa down to 1 player as Jordan Dykstra drops out. Cody Larson has been out of the rankings and doesn't make it in this cut either from South Dakota.
Harrison Barnes #2
Josh Selby #7
Joe Jackson #18
Vander Blue #31
Anthony Johnson #88
Brandon Spearman #100
Alex Kirk #106
Tobi Oyedeji #108
Evan Anderson #149
Trevor Releford #150
Add in Flavien Davis at #141 and there's 3 Wisconsin players. Iowa down to 1 player as Jordan Dykstra drops out. Cody Larson has been out of the rankings and doesn't make it in this cut either from South Dakota.
Jacob Thomas named to ESPN top 100
Labels:
2010 Recruiting,
ESPN Recruiting,
Jacob Thomas
ESPN.com came out with their 2010 rankings last week and for the 1st time, we see a Minnesota player in the rankings. Thanks to a big spring for Howard Pulley, Jacob Thomas of Columbia Heights comes in at #75 on the list. No Minnesota players in the Scout.com or Rivals.com rankings currently but it will be interesting to see if that changes by the end of the summer.
Read the entire ESPN.com top 100 here.
Read the entire ESPN.com top 100 here.
GopherHole talks to a pair of 2010 prospects
Labels:
2010 Recruiting,
Chad Calcaterra,
Jacob Thomas
Last week GopherHole had the chance to catch up with a pair of possible 2010 Gopher recruits in guard Jacob Thomas of Columbia Heights and center Chad Calcaterra of Cloquet.
Jacob talks about the public reports around his interest in Minnesota along with a couple of tidbits on improvements in his game and what it was like playing against Rodney Williams. Read the Jacob Thomas interview here.
Chad talks about his season and his recruiting status with the Gophers. Read the Chad Calcaterra interview here.
Jacob talks about the public reports around his interest in Minnesota along with a couple of tidbits on improvements in his game and what it was like playing against Rodney Williams. Read the Jacob Thomas interview here.
Chad talks about his season and his recruiting status with the Gophers. Read the Chad Calcaterra interview here.
Thomas leads Columbia Heights to upset of #1 St. Bernard's
Labels:
Jacob Thomas
Game #100 of the season is a non-conference matchup of top guards in the state as I travel to St. Bernard's for their matchup with Columbia Heights. Rene Pulley on hand to see Jacob Thomas. Al Harris and George Hemmingson from 43 Hoops watching. Minnehaha and Concordia looking on. Hamline and UW-Superior also watching. The St. Bernard's pep band even makes an appearance. Nice that you can actually find a seat in the place, but those who didn't show up missed a terrific game.
Interesting that Trent Davis gets the assignment guarding Jacob Thomas and not Averey Duncan. A Jordair Jett steal for 2 gives the Bulldogs a 9-6 lead at 15:13. After a couple of Hylanders free throws, Thomas with the rare 4 point play and Heights is up 12-9 at 14:17. Then one of the Hylanders bugaboos, turnovers, sets in. St. Bernard's takes advantage with the next 13 points. Brian Sandifer with 7 of those during the 3 minute run. 22-12 St. Bernard's leads. Columbia Heights chips away and a couple of Gerard Baptiste buckets cuts the lead to 26-23 with 6:40 left in the 1st half. Jett with a nice last 2 minutes of the half as he gets a steal, 2 free throws and then a putback to beat the 1st half buzzer. 45-35 St. Bernard's at halftime. Jett with 16, Thomas with 10. 16 Columbia Heights turnovers and 11 turnovers for St. Bernard's.
Jett with the 1st 4 points of the 2nd half for St. Bernard's to extend the lead to 12 at 16:20. Thomas with a deep 3 and Kendrick Mills quickly off the Hylanders bench with 2 free throws. Heights then goes to a 1-2-2 zone and the Bulldogs get the turnover bug. Mills with 2 more buckets that force a timeout at 13:40. Mills again and Thomas with another 4 point play to force another St. Bernard's timeout. Thomas buries another triple after a Bulldogs turnover and D'Karlos Craig with a layup to punish the press. That all part of a a 23-3 Columbia Heights run over 5 and a half minutes. 60-52 Columbia Heights has the lead and momentum with 10:18 left.
Averey Duncan with a layup and a putback then Jett is back to work with a triple from the right corner against the zone and then a drive down the left baseline for 2. Brian Sandifer nails a jumper to conclude a 11-1 St. Bernard's run. That gives them a 63-61 lead with 8:23 left. Jett with 2 more chances to extend the lead that don't fall. Jett with 2 free throws and then he finds Duncan for 2. Harold Rainey breaks the momentum with a steal and a nice lefty layup. Thomas with a catch near the right elbow. Two dribbles out and he turns and buries a 3 to tie the game at 71 with 4:30 left. After the teams trade hoops, St. Bernard's scores and then Duncan steals the inbounds for 2. 77-73 Bulldogs at 2:55. Thomas right back with a 3 point play. Jett left alone and he scores at 2:15. Rainey with a nice curl for a foul line jumper at 2:05, 79-78 St. Bernard's. Then a tie up and the arrow goes to Columbia Heights at 1:49. Duncan now picks up Thomas and he misses a 3 with 90 seconds left but Heights runs down the miss. Duncan fouls out reaching on Thomas at 1:15 and that's big. Thomas calmly drains both free throws and Heights is on top 80-79. The Hylanders extend the 1-2-2 zone a bit and Rainey gets a pair of tips that almost result in steals. Trent Davis misses a 3 badly with 20 seconds left and Thomas rebounds it. Akruo Imbu with 1 of 2 FTs with 10.2 left. St. Bernard's rebounds with 9 seconds left and call times. They have to go the length of the court and surprisingly no one is denying Jett. He makes the catch at his own foul line and off to the races we go. To the other end, the shot is up and there's the whistle. But the shot doesn't matter as Jett gets called for the offensive foul with 4.2 left. Thomas makes 2 free throws with 3.3 left for the final margin. Columbia Heights pulls the upset over #1AA St. Bernard's 83-79.
For St. Bernard's, Jordair Jett with at least 32 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists on my sheet. He was used in the middle of and on the outside of the Columbia Heights zone. With the exception of baseline drives, that zone did a fair job of slowing him down. Brian Sandifer with 16 points on my sheet. Very sloppy game for the Bulldogs, especially against a 1-2-2 zone that really wasn't anything special. They had around 20 turnovers. But that head-head win over Minnehaha probably means they still keep the #1 seed in 4AA East.
For Columbia Heights, Jacob Thomas with 30 points and 7 of the last 10. 5 triples that included a pair of 4 point plays and 7-7 from the foul line. Heights takes advantage of his length by using him at the top of their 1-2-2. Kendrick Mills once again productive off the bench with 14 and 6. His game isn't pretty, but he's effective for them. Taking care of the ball continues to be an issue. I had at least 26 turnovers on my sheet for them. A big win for Heights as they look to make a run at the #2 seed in section 3AAA. A 2nd over Fridley and a home win over Spring Lake Park need to happen for that scenario to play out. They're at Hopkins next Thursday.
Interesting that Trent Davis gets the assignment guarding Jacob Thomas and not Averey Duncan. A Jordair Jett steal for 2 gives the Bulldogs a 9-6 lead at 15:13. After a couple of Hylanders free throws, Thomas with the rare 4 point play and Heights is up 12-9 at 14:17. Then one of the Hylanders bugaboos, turnovers, sets in. St. Bernard's takes advantage with the next 13 points. Brian Sandifer with 7 of those during the 3 minute run. 22-12 St. Bernard's leads. Columbia Heights chips away and a couple of Gerard Baptiste buckets cuts the lead to 26-23 with 6:40 left in the 1st half. Jett with a nice last 2 minutes of the half as he gets a steal, 2 free throws and then a putback to beat the 1st half buzzer. 45-35 St. Bernard's at halftime. Jett with 16, Thomas with 10. 16 Columbia Heights turnovers and 11 turnovers for St. Bernard's.
Jett with the 1st 4 points of the 2nd half for St. Bernard's to extend the lead to 12 at 16:20. Thomas with a deep 3 and Kendrick Mills quickly off the Hylanders bench with 2 free throws. Heights then goes to a 1-2-2 zone and the Bulldogs get the turnover bug. Mills with 2 more buckets that force a timeout at 13:40. Mills again and Thomas with another 4 point play to force another St. Bernard's timeout. Thomas buries another triple after a Bulldogs turnover and D'Karlos Craig with a layup to punish the press. That all part of a a 23-3 Columbia Heights run over 5 and a half minutes. 60-52 Columbia Heights has the lead and momentum with 10:18 left.
Averey Duncan with a layup and a putback then Jett is back to work with a triple from the right corner against the zone and then a drive down the left baseline for 2. Brian Sandifer nails a jumper to conclude a 11-1 St. Bernard's run. That gives them a 63-61 lead with 8:23 left. Jett with 2 more chances to extend the lead that don't fall. Jett with 2 free throws and then he finds Duncan for 2. Harold Rainey breaks the momentum with a steal and a nice lefty layup. Thomas with a catch near the right elbow. Two dribbles out and he turns and buries a 3 to tie the game at 71 with 4:30 left. After the teams trade hoops, St. Bernard's scores and then Duncan steals the inbounds for 2. 77-73 Bulldogs at 2:55. Thomas right back with a 3 point play. Jett left alone and he scores at 2:15. Rainey with a nice curl for a foul line jumper at 2:05, 79-78 St. Bernard's. Then a tie up and the arrow goes to Columbia Heights at 1:49. Duncan now picks up Thomas and he misses a 3 with 90 seconds left but Heights runs down the miss. Duncan fouls out reaching on Thomas at 1:15 and that's big. Thomas calmly drains both free throws and Heights is on top 80-79. The Hylanders extend the 1-2-2 zone a bit and Rainey gets a pair of tips that almost result in steals. Trent Davis misses a 3 badly with 20 seconds left and Thomas rebounds it. Akruo Imbu with 1 of 2 FTs with 10.2 left. St. Bernard's rebounds with 9 seconds left and call times. They have to go the length of the court and surprisingly no one is denying Jett. He makes the catch at his own foul line and off to the races we go. To the other end, the shot is up and there's the whistle. But the shot doesn't matter as Jett gets called for the offensive foul with 4.2 left. Thomas makes 2 free throws with 3.3 left for the final margin. Columbia Heights pulls the upset over #1AA St. Bernard's 83-79.
For St. Bernard's, Jordair Jett with at least 32 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists on my sheet. He was used in the middle of and on the outside of the Columbia Heights zone. With the exception of baseline drives, that zone did a fair job of slowing him down. Brian Sandifer with 16 points on my sheet. Very sloppy game for the Bulldogs, especially against a 1-2-2 zone that really wasn't anything special. They had around 20 turnovers. But that head-head win over Minnehaha probably means they still keep the #1 seed in 4AA East.
For Columbia Heights, Jacob Thomas with 30 points and 7 of the last 10. 5 triples that included a pair of 4 point plays and 7-7 from the foul line. Heights takes advantage of his length by using him at the top of their 1-2-2. Kendrick Mills once again productive off the bench with 14 and 6. His game isn't pretty, but he's effective for them. Taking care of the ball continues to be an issue. I had at least 26 turnovers on my sheet for them. A big win for Heights as they look to make a run at the #2 seed in section 3AAA. A 2nd over Fridley and a home win over Spring Lake Park need to happen for that scenario to play out. They're at Hopkins next Thursday.
Top guards in 2010 battle at Columbia Heights
Labels:
Cole Stefan,
Jacob Thomas
Game 2 of this Saturday takes me to Columbia Heights for their battle with Minnetonka. 2010 star guards Cole Stefan and Jacob Thomas on display in this one. The MN Glory on hand to watch along with, that's right, Rene Pulley.
Stefan starts the day with a 3 (surprise, surprise). 2 Thomas FTs make it 8-6 Tonka at 13:25. The Skippers counter with 8 of the next 9 thanks to a pair of triples from Nick Latzke. 16-7 Tonka at 10:50. Thomas nails a triple and Stefan counters with a deep 3 of his own. 19-10 Tonka. Akuro Imbu with 4 of the next 5, 19-15 Skippers at 6:50. Stefan then with a drive for 2, he finds Taylor Nelson for 2 more and then nails another triple for 7 in a row over 95 seconds. 26-15 Tonka at 5:15. 8 in a row from Columbia Heights to close the gap to 3 at 2:20. 32-28 Minnetonka at half. Thomas and Stefan cancel each other out with 13 each. I had Thomas 3-9 and Stefan 5-10 from the floor.
Taylor Nelson with a putback and a layup from Stefan push the lead to 8 quickly in the 2nd half. Latzke later gets a layin and then a nails triple on a pass from Stefan for a 49-37 Skippers lead at 12:35. Latzke gets fouled and makes a circus layup at 9:18 for a 55-43 Tonka lead. Minnetonka in their Amoeba defense and not rebounding well out of it and not finding Thomas. He nails a triple at 7:30 to cut it to 58-50. Kyle Risinger with 2 FTs at 5:53 to push the lead back to 13, 66-53. Imbu with a steal for 2 followed by Thomas 3 FTs make it 67-58 with 4:39 left. Risinger fouls out at 3:21. Kendrick Mills with a putback at 2:50 to cut it to 69-62. Tonka goes stall and promptly turns the ball over (drives coaches nuts). Harold Rainey with the layin that cuts it to 5 at 2:20. They force the held ball and have the arrow but Imbu throws it away at 1:32. After 1 Stefan FT, D'Karlos Craig gets called for an illegal screen at 1:21. Stefan turns it over (playing point with Risinger gone) but Thomas misses a 3. He turns it over again which Mills converts into a 3 with 23.4 left. 70-67 Minnetonka. Taylor Nelson makes 1 of 2 FTs. Heights turns it over for a Leonard Glass dunk to end it . 73-67 Minnetonka wins.
For Columbia Heights, they fall to 5-6 and had some chances late. Jacob Thomas finishes with 30 points via 11-13 FTs and 5 triples. But I had him for 7-25 shooting (and that doesn't count 6 misses on shooting fouls) for him. No makes in the last 6:30 though and only the 1 set of 3 FTs that he took after being fouled on a 3. Very aggressive getting to the basket in the 1st half. In fairness some of those misses were late looking for 3s to get back in it. Kendrick Mills gave them very nice minutes off the bench with 11 and 10 on my sheet. Harold Rainey and Akuro Imbu had their trouble running the point and getting Heights into sets.
For Minnetonka, they improve to 8-5. They host a couple of Lake Conference teams this week, Rosemount and Lakeville North. Cole Stefan with 20 and I had 7-17 from the floor. He also took major turns playing the point guard role. But his 5 assists were mainly out of their dribble drive offense. Nick Latzke with 18 and Taylor Nelson with 18 and 10. Their bench gives them very little forcing coach Hedstrom to play his starters despite any foul trouble they may be in. Latzke is quickly developing into one of the best shooters in the metro. He's a guy you just can't leave.
Stefan starts the day with a 3 (surprise, surprise). 2 Thomas FTs make it 8-6 Tonka at 13:25. The Skippers counter with 8 of the next 9 thanks to a pair of triples from Nick Latzke. 16-7 Tonka at 10:50. Thomas nails a triple and Stefan counters with a deep 3 of his own. 19-10 Tonka. Akuro Imbu with 4 of the next 5, 19-15 Skippers at 6:50. Stefan then with a drive for 2, he finds Taylor Nelson for 2 more and then nails another triple for 7 in a row over 95 seconds. 26-15 Tonka at 5:15. 8 in a row from Columbia Heights to close the gap to 3 at 2:20. 32-28 Minnetonka at half. Thomas and Stefan cancel each other out with 13 each. I had Thomas 3-9 and Stefan 5-10 from the floor.
Taylor Nelson with a putback and a layup from Stefan push the lead to 8 quickly in the 2nd half. Latzke later gets a layin and then a nails triple on a pass from Stefan for a 49-37 Skippers lead at 12:35. Latzke gets fouled and makes a circus layup at 9:18 for a 55-43 Tonka lead. Minnetonka in their Amoeba defense and not rebounding well out of it and not finding Thomas. He nails a triple at 7:30 to cut it to 58-50. Kyle Risinger with 2 FTs at 5:53 to push the lead back to 13, 66-53. Imbu with a steal for 2 followed by Thomas 3 FTs make it 67-58 with 4:39 left. Risinger fouls out at 3:21. Kendrick Mills with a putback at 2:50 to cut it to 69-62. Tonka goes stall and promptly turns the ball over (drives coaches nuts). Harold Rainey with the layin that cuts it to 5 at 2:20. They force the held ball and have the arrow but Imbu throws it away at 1:32. After 1 Stefan FT, D'Karlos Craig gets called for an illegal screen at 1:21. Stefan turns it over (playing point with Risinger gone) but Thomas misses a 3. He turns it over again which Mills converts into a 3 with 23.4 left. 70-67 Minnetonka. Taylor Nelson makes 1 of 2 FTs. Heights turns it over for a Leonard Glass dunk to end it . 73-67 Minnetonka wins.
For Columbia Heights, they fall to 5-6 and had some chances late. Jacob Thomas finishes with 30 points via 11-13 FTs and 5 triples. But I had him for 7-25 shooting (and that doesn't count 6 misses on shooting fouls) for him. No makes in the last 6:30 though and only the 1 set of 3 FTs that he took after being fouled on a 3. Very aggressive getting to the basket in the 1st half. In fairness some of those misses were late looking for 3s to get back in it. Kendrick Mills gave them very nice minutes off the bench with 11 and 10 on my sheet. Harold Rainey and Akuro Imbu had their trouble running the point and getting Heights into sets.
For Minnetonka, they improve to 8-5. They host a couple of Lake Conference teams this week, Rosemount and Lakeville North. Cole Stefan with 20 and I had 7-17 from the floor. He also took major turns playing the point guard role. But his 5 assists were mainly out of their dribble drive offense. Nick Latzke with 18 and Taylor Nelson with 18 and 10. Their bench gives them very little forcing coach Hedstrom to play his starters despite any foul trouble they may be in. Latzke is quickly developing into one of the best shooters in the metro. He's a guy you just can't leave.
Cooper at Columbia Heights Thoughts
Labels:
Jacob Thomas,
Rodney Williams
A snowy night in the Kingdom takes The Czar on a miserable trip to Columbia Heights. But I'm not the only one who had a bad trip. Cooper must have had one too because I arrived at 6:40 and the JV game had barely started. Varsity tip scheduled for 7:15, didn't happen until 8:15. Tubby Smith on hand along with Rene Pulley (+1 for the counter) and Louie Mitteco the long time Totino-Grace football coach (Czar's note: 12/17/08, Mitteco was the longtime Basketball coach, not football coach). A nice matchup of a top senior (Rodney Williams) who will be a Gopher and a top junior (Jacob Thomas) who may become a Gopher.
Only 2 refs for this one is a surprise, but if it keeps another car off the road tonight, that might not be a bad thing. Heights goes 1-2-2 out of the gate. Cooper hard man and a 2-2-1 press with Rodney Williams in the back. Joe Bright with a 3 and its 10-4 Cooper at 14:30. Heights with a couple of tip ins for half of their offense and Quincy Bethea with a triple to make it 13-8 Cooper at 12:53. Heights star junior guard Jacob Thomas picks up his 2nd foul on a charge and he sits with 9:42 left in the half. Heights turns it over for a Freddie Burton layin and Bethea scores and its 25-14 Cooper at 7:40. Thomas back in. Rodney with his 1st dunk of the night extends the lead to 28-16 at 6:40. He fouls Thomas on a jumper (always a mental lapse, NEVER foul a jump shooter) for his 2nd foul at 5:25. In a funny moment, he motions to the bench not to worry about the foul. Thomas makes the free throws and that cuts the lead to 28-20.
Heights scores again to cut the lead to 6. Then they can't hang to the ball. Williams with a triple, Kenquane Brown drives baseline for a layup (where's the help in a zone?). Thomas with a nice crossover for 2 free throws, but the Hylanders still can't take care of the ball. Bright with a triple and then 2 layups off of turnovers. When it rains it pours (no that's not a Harold Rainey of CH and Handful Pour of Cooper joke) as Brown beats the halftime buzzer for 3. 45-24 Cooper at the half. The Cooper run is 17-2 over the last 4:38. Bright with 12, Brown with 9, Bethea 8, Rodney with 7 on 3-4 FG, 2 rebs and 2 blocks for Cooper. 6 treys in the half for the Hawks. Jacob Thomas 8 points but only 2-9 from the floor. Kendrick Mills cleaning up junk inside for 8 points.
In the 2nd half, Cooper extends the lead to 53-28 at 15:12. Thomas gets his 1st triple of the night at 14:45. Heights coach Willie Braziel gets T'd up at 13:29 and he's really hot about it. The official had given him a motion during free throws that he had heard enough. Coach Braziel got in 1 more line and it appeared nothing would happen, but after the 2nd free throw, the official gave him the T. He probably earned the T, but the timing of it was really awkward. Credit the official for not adding on a 2nd T for the reaction. I can see where the official didn't want to disadvantage the Cooper FT shooter. He's a young official who I actually think does a pretty good job. (Did I just complement an official???). The officials ended up joking with coach Braziel just a couple of minutes later and I think he got a more complete explanation then.
Cooper gets the lead to 66-38 with 11:15 left and it looks like we may see the dreaded mercy rule tonight. But Cooper gets sloppy and Thomas finds his stroke. The Hylanders go on a 20-5 run over the next 4:15 and its only 71-58 and there's still 7 minutes left. But Brown knocks down a jumper and Rodney gets the 1st of a couple of follow up dunks and Heights is done. 86-62 Cooper leads when they empty their bench. Final 93-65 Hawks win
For Columbia Heights, I had Jacob Thomas with 22 points (14 in the 2nd half) on 7 of 22 shooting with 4 3s and 4-4 FTs and 4 rebounds. Kendrick Mills hung around the basket for 16 points. Akuro Imbu with only 8 points. Heights falls to 1-2 in the North Suburban but they have 3 winnable league games coming up against St. Louis Park, Totino-Grace and St. Francis before a trip to Spring Lake Park January 16th and a home game vs Minnetonka January 17th. They'll be one of the favorites in the Hastings tournament over the holidays.
For Cooper, Rodney Williams 15 points on 7-9 FGs (basically everything was a layup or dunk except 1-2 from 3), 5 rebounds and 4 blocks. Beyond that, he really did very little. Jump and dunk and showed that his ballhandling is still suspect. In one strange moment late in the game, he gave a guy a blatant forearm shiver and correctly got called for it and then questioned the official as to why it was a foul. That rebound number might be low, but a couple of those are offensive rebounds for dunks. He also missed a couple of other tip dunk attempts so he was looking for the highlight reel tonight. Joe Bright big in this one with 25 points. Kenquane Brown with 13 points, Quincy Bethea with 11 and 3 triples. Just way too many weapons and athletes. Still my #2 until beaten. That Eden Prairie game at the TWolves shootout looks very interesting despite Eden Prairie's shocking upset loss at home tonight to Chaska. Cooper now 3-0.
Only 2 refs for this one is a surprise, but if it keeps another car off the road tonight, that might not be a bad thing. Heights goes 1-2-2 out of the gate. Cooper hard man and a 2-2-1 press with Rodney Williams in the back. Joe Bright with a 3 and its 10-4 Cooper at 14:30. Heights with a couple of tip ins for half of their offense and Quincy Bethea with a triple to make it 13-8 Cooper at 12:53. Heights star junior guard Jacob Thomas picks up his 2nd foul on a charge and he sits with 9:42 left in the half. Heights turns it over for a Freddie Burton layin and Bethea scores and its 25-14 Cooper at 7:40. Thomas back in. Rodney with his 1st dunk of the night extends the lead to 28-16 at 6:40. He fouls Thomas on a jumper (always a mental lapse, NEVER foul a jump shooter) for his 2nd foul at 5:25. In a funny moment, he motions to the bench not to worry about the foul. Thomas makes the free throws and that cuts the lead to 28-20.
Heights scores again to cut the lead to 6. Then they can't hang to the ball. Williams with a triple, Kenquane Brown drives baseline for a layup (where's the help in a zone?). Thomas with a nice crossover for 2 free throws, but the Hylanders still can't take care of the ball. Bright with a triple and then 2 layups off of turnovers. When it rains it pours (no that's not a Harold Rainey of CH and Handful Pour of Cooper joke) as Brown beats the halftime buzzer for 3. 45-24 Cooper at the half. The Cooper run is 17-2 over the last 4:38. Bright with 12, Brown with 9, Bethea 8, Rodney with 7 on 3-4 FG, 2 rebs and 2 blocks for Cooper. 6 treys in the half for the Hawks. Jacob Thomas 8 points but only 2-9 from the floor. Kendrick Mills cleaning up junk inside for 8 points.
In the 2nd half, Cooper extends the lead to 53-28 at 15:12. Thomas gets his 1st triple of the night at 14:45. Heights coach Willie Braziel gets T'd up at 13:29 and he's really hot about it. The official had given him a motion during free throws that he had heard enough. Coach Braziel got in 1 more line and it appeared nothing would happen, but after the 2nd free throw, the official gave him the T. He probably earned the T, but the timing of it was really awkward. Credit the official for not adding on a 2nd T for the reaction. I can see where the official didn't want to disadvantage the Cooper FT shooter. He's a young official who I actually think does a pretty good job. (Did I just complement an official???). The officials ended up joking with coach Braziel just a couple of minutes later and I think he got a more complete explanation then.
Cooper gets the lead to 66-38 with 11:15 left and it looks like we may see the dreaded mercy rule tonight. But Cooper gets sloppy and Thomas finds his stroke. The Hylanders go on a 20-5 run over the next 4:15 and its only 71-58 and there's still 7 minutes left. But Brown knocks down a jumper and Rodney gets the 1st of a couple of follow up dunks and Heights is done. 86-62 Cooper leads when they empty their bench. Final 93-65 Hawks win
For Columbia Heights, I had Jacob Thomas with 22 points (14 in the 2nd half) on 7 of 22 shooting with 4 3s and 4-4 FTs and 4 rebounds. Kendrick Mills hung around the basket for 16 points. Akuro Imbu with only 8 points. Heights falls to 1-2 in the North Suburban but they have 3 winnable league games coming up against St. Louis Park, Totino-Grace and St. Francis before a trip to Spring Lake Park January 16th and a home game vs Minnetonka January 17th. They'll be one of the favorites in the Hastings tournament over the holidays.
For Cooper, Rodney Williams 15 points on 7-9 FGs (basically everything was a layup or dunk except 1-2 from 3), 5 rebounds and 4 blocks. Beyond that, he really did very little. Jump and dunk and showed that his ballhandling is still suspect. In one strange moment late in the game, he gave a guy a blatant forearm shiver and correctly got called for it and then questioned the official as to why it was a foul. That rebound number might be low, but a couple of those are offensive rebounds for dunks. He also missed a couple of other tip dunk attempts so he was looking for the highlight reel tonight. Joe Bright big in this one with 25 points. Kenquane Brown with 13 points, Quincy Bethea with 11 and 3 triples. Just way too many weapons and athletes. Still my #2 until beaten. That Eden Prairie game at the TWolves shootout looks very interesting despite Eden Prairie's shocking upset loss at home tonight to Chaska. Cooper now 3-0.
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