The Mr Basketball committee just trimmed their list of 20 candidates down to 5 finalists. Not that it matters since this is one of the easiest selections we'll have, but at least guessing how long we'll have to wait for the official announcement makes it interesting. Here's a refresher on who the original 20 were and who made the final cut. Then I'll tell you who I would have picked and why.
Finalists
Lucas Brown-Roseville
Joe Coleman - Hopkins
Shelby Moats - Waconia
Kyle Noreen - Minnesota Transitions
Jake White - Chaska
The other 15 candidates
Tom Schalk - Apple Valley
Marquel Curtis - Robbinsdale Armstrong
Marcus Alipate - Bloomington Jefferson
Ross Travis - Chaska
Benji Figini - Chisago Lakes
Zach Lofton - Columbia Heights
Raijon Kelly - Cretin-Derham Hall
Jonah Travis - DeLaSalle
Marvin Singleton - Hopkins
Alex Richter - Lakeville South
Seth Hinrichs - MACCRAY
Cole Olstad - Plainview - Elgin - Millville
Roosevelt Scott - St. Paul Johnson
Estan Tyler - St. Paul Johnson
Eric Robertson - Wayzata
The Czar's Final 5
Joe Coleman - Hopkins
Roosevelt Scott - Johnson
Marvin Singleton - Hopkins
Jonah Travis - DeLaSalle
Jake White - Chaska
Coleman, Singleton, Travis and White were easy choices as they were clear game changers and consistent night in and night out. I've been outspoken that I don't like picking 2 guys from the same team but Singleton was just that dominant compared to everybody else, couldn't keep him out. Coleman, Travis and White were monsters all season and dominated most of their competition. The last spot was really tough as there's a bunch of guys worthy of a look. So based on individual performance, importance to their team, overall team performance and college upside, Scott got my 5th spot. I had him as MVP of the St. Paul City, Johnson was undefeated in Minnesota until the Twin Cities Game, he played well in big games (40 vs MTS and end of Lakeville South game on opening night before Tyler's game winning tip are 2 examples) and he's a difference maker athlete even for Johnson and has large college upside.
Showing posts with label Jonah Travis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jonah Travis. Show all posts
Ditching Islanders and future rodents
Labels:
Jonah Travis
Prologue
Its an early New Year's Eve day (4:30 AM start on no sleep) trip to The World's Only Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD for day 2 of the inaugural Mike Miller Classic. Thanks to blizzard warnings in Mitchell, the schedule is cut to 2 games , DLS vs Red Cloud and Memphis White Station, TN vs Mitchell, SD. The warnings look bogus until the South Dakota border as the last hour from Sioux Falls to Mitchell was treacherous in near white out conditions. But we arrive an hour before game time so I get a chance to blow a layup and then make the putback to say I got in some shooting on the court. Really neat venue with corn murals outside and inside the arena. 3 sides with murals. Tight squeeze radio booths perched in the upper corners with the American Flag draped from one of those. For Mitchell games, the 16 championship banners and Mike Miller's retired number banner are lowered. Miller won state titles in 96 and 97 but not as a senior in 98. Worth noting that former Badger Joe Krabbenhoft never won one at Sioux Falls Roosevelt either. After game 1, I did sample the local food for you the loyal reader. My taco in a bag was a major surprise as it was doritos and hamburger slathered with cheese. The Sloppy Joe probably would have been a better choice. As to the song of the day, the artist is a no-brainer choice and the video for this is highly regarded so our easy choice is ...
Song of the Day
Freak on a Leash (clean version) - Korn
Game Time 1: De La Salle vs Red Cloud, SD
South Dakota normally plays 8 minute quarters but we have 2 16 minute halves with a 35 second shot clock for the games. Only 2 or 3 times all day that the shot clock comes into play despite zone defenses from Red Cloud and Mitchell. DLS off to a good start as Jonah Travis dunks and Riley Dearring nails a pullup. Then Bretson McNeal with back to back 3s and a skip to Lamonte Hall for another 3 against the 2-3 zone. 18-6 Islanders with 7:25 left in the half. Thanks to offensive rebounding despite being undersized, Red Cloud hangs around and is only down 24-16 with 3:45 left in the half. DLS finishes strong with Bretson McNeal off a regular Islander inbound set for 3, Travis with 2 and a dunk from the post and McNeal with his 4th 3s of the half to beat the halftime buzzer. 34-18 DLS at the half. Then the counter inbound play is a lob dunk to Travis, Travis to Dearring for 3, Melvin Collins from McNeal for 3, Travis with another dunk, McNeal goes glass and Collins from Travis on the nice bounce pass leading the fast break. Its a 14-3 Islanders run over the first 3:40 of the second half . 48-21 with 12:20 left. DLS expands the lead to 35+ and they go on to win 71-43. Bretson McNeal 16 points on 4 3s. Riley Dearring 13 points. Jonah Travis 13 points 4 boards and 4 assists. Melvin Collins also in double figures with 11 points.
Game Time 2: White Station (Memphis, TN) at Mitchell, SD
The second game featured Rodent recruit Andre Hollins against the hosts. White Station also has a pair of bigs that appeared at the Best Buy Summer Classic in July. Nino Johnson is a SE Missouri St signee. Marvin Williams will attend Lipscomb. Super frosh Leron Black didn't make the trip due to illness. Mitchell was ranked #2 in SoDak coming into this tourney. Head coach Gary Munsen has a career record of 629-267 in 37 years at Mitchell with 9 state titles. He rarely plays zone but he played 2-3 almost all night in this one. But it was no match for Hollins. He was in the lane at will. Mitchell hung around in the first half and was only down 6 at the half despite 8 late points from Hollins. White Station had a 17 point 2nd half lead and won 62-50. Hollins 34 points on 9-17 shooting (1-7 from 3) and 15-19 at the charity stripe. Nothing special from either big guy which was disappointing. Junior Brady Maxwell off the Kernels bench with 19 points. Look for him in the NSIC down the road. South Dakota teams 0-7 in the 2 day event
The Great Adventure
Now the fun begins. People were wondering if anyone would get out before Sunday. Out the side door and its crystal clear. Onto the highway and 1 lane is clear with drifts in lane 2. So its surprisingly good time to Sioux Falls for a dinner break with the NSIC's best shooting assistant coach. Signs show that I90 is closed from Sioux Falls to Rapid City and I29 is closed from Sioux Falls to the North Dakota line. Figuring that the weather is north, I90 seems like a good idea to Albert Lea rather than coming back via Mankato. After a break in Fairmont, then the fun begins. 2 instances of blowing snow causing white out conditions almost most bring the trip to an immediate halt. But the 3rd time is a charm and its off the right edge and into the ditch 20 miles west of Albert Lea. No injuries and the authorities are on site quickly to help out. Doesn't look bad, but the car is going nowhere. The 2nd officer has the all important shovel to dig out of the hard packed snow. A couple rounds of digging and pushing and the 3rd time pushes the car out. In the process of pushing, I end up in line with a spinning wheel clearing out snow and mud so I'm a complete mess of snow and mud from head to toe. No tow truck needed and we're back on the road. Only 1 more stretch of bad road and I finally arrive home at midnight.
Its an early New Year's Eve day (4:30 AM start on no sleep) trip to The World's Only Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD for day 2 of the inaugural Mike Miller Classic. Thanks to blizzard warnings in Mitchell, the schedule is cut to 2 games , DLS vs Red Cloud and Memphis White Station, TN vs Mitchell, SD. The warnings look bogus until the South Dakota border as the last hour from Sioux Falls to Mitchell was treacherous in near white out conditions. But we arrive an hour before game time so I get a chance to blow a layup and then make the putback to say I got in some shooting on the court. Really neat venue with corn murals outside and inside the arena. 3 sides with murals. Tight squeeze radio booths perched in the upper corners with the American Flag draped from one of those. For Mitchell games, the 16 championship banners and Mike Miller's retired number banner are lowered. Miller won state titles in 96 and 97 but not as a senior in 98. Worth noting that former Badger Joe Krabbenhoft never won one at Sioux Falls Roosevelt either. After game 1, I did sample the local food for you the loyal reader. My taco in a bag was a major surprise as it was doritos and hamburger slathered with cheese. The Sloppy Joe probably would have been a better choice. As to the song of the day, the artist is a no-brainer choice and the video for this is highly regarded so our easy choice is ...
Song of the Day
Freak on a Leash (clean version) - Korn
Game Time 1: De La Salle vs Red Cloud, SD
South Dakota normally plays 8 minute quarters but we have 2 16 minute halves with a 35 second shot clock for the games. Only 2 or 3 times all day that the shot clock comes into play despite zone defenses from Red Cloud and Mitchell. DLS off to a good start as Jonah Travis dunks and Riley Dearring nails a pullup. Then Bretson McNeal with back to back 3s and a skip to Lamonte Hall for another 3 against the 2-3 zone. 18-6 Islanders with 7:25 left in the half. Thanks to offensive rebounding despite being undersized, Red Cloud hangs around and is only down 24-16 with 3:45 left in the half. DLS finishes strong with Bretson McNeal off a regular Islander inbound set for 3, Travis with 2 and a dunk from the post and McNeal with his 4th 3s of the half to beat the halftime buzzer. 34-18 DLS at the half. Then the counter inbound play is a lob dunk to Travis, Travis to Dearring for 3, Melvin Collins from McNeal for 3, Travis with another dunk, McNeal goes glass and Collins from Travis on the nice bounce pass leading the fast break. Its a 14-3 Islanders run over the first 3:40 of the second half . 48-21 with 12:20 left. DLS expands the lead to 35+ and they go on to win 71-43. Bretson McNeal 16 points on 4 3s. Riley Dearring 13 points. Jonah Travis 13 points 4 boards and 4 assists. Melvin Collins also in double figures with 11 points.
Game Time 2: White Station (Memphis, TN) at Mitchell, SD
The second game featured Rodent recruit Andre Hollins against the hosts. White Station also has a pair of bigs that appeared at the Best Buy Summer Classic in July. Nino Johnson is a SE Missouri St signee. Marvin Williams will attend Lipscomb. Super frosh Leron Black didn't make the trip due to illness. Mitchell was ranked #2 in SoDak coming into this tourney. Head coach Gary Munsen has a career record of 629-267 in 37 years at Mitchell with 9 state titles. He rarely plays zone but he played 2-3 almost all night in this one. But it was no match for Hollins. He was in the lane at will. Mitchell hung around in the first half and was only down 6 at the half despite 8 late points from Hollins. White Station had a 17 point 2nd half lead and won 62-50. Hollins 34 points on 9-17 shooting (1-7 from 3) and 15-19 at the charity stripe. Nothing special from either big guy which was disappointing. Junior Brady Maxwell off the Kernels bench with 19 points. Look for him in the NSIC down the road. South Dakota teams 0-7 in the 2 day event
The Great Adventure
Now the fun begins. People were wondering if anyone would get out before Sunday. Out the side door and its crystal clear. Onto the highway and 1 lane is clear with drifts in lane 2. So its surprisingly good time to Sioux Falls for a dinner break with the NSIC's best shooting assistant coach. Signs show that I90 is closed from Sioux Falls to Rapid City and I29 is closed from Sioux Falls to the North Dakota line. Figuring that the weather is north, I90 seems like a good idea to Albert Lea rather than coming back via Mankato. After a break in Fairmont, then the fun begins. 2 instances of blowing snow causing white out conditions almost most bring the trip to an immediate halt. But the 3rd time is a charm and its off the right edge and into the ditch 20 miles west of Albert Lea. No injuries and the authorities are on site quickly to help out. Doesn't look bad, but the car is going nowhere. The 2nd officer has the all important shovel to dig out of the hard packed snow. A couple rounds of digging and pushing and the 3rd time pushes the car out. In the process of pushing, I end up in line with a spinning wheel clearing out snow and mud so I'm a complete mess of snow and mud from head to toe. No tow truck needed and we're back on the road. Only 1 more stretch of bad road and I finally arrive home at midnight.
Running around on opening Saturday
Labels:
Joe Coleman,
Jonah Travis
Ah yes, The Czar's favorite day of the week during the season returns. Not quite the day I expected as I had to scrap plans to visit the Tartan Scrimmage and the Red Wing tournament. But that meant I could visit the doubledip at Minnesota Transitions and still head over to Hopkins to see the 2 boys games at the end of the day. With Kevin Noreen gone and Tom Dasovich taking over at Minnetonka, that leads me to...
Song of the Day
Times they are a changing - Bob Dylan
MTS vs Fond Du Lac Ojibwe
After sifting through a pair of taco in a boat (think tub of chips instead of bag of doritos), it was time for the boys game. The MTS drum line and step crew in attendance. Interesting that Fondy's had a transfer playing JV who was a pretty athletic 6'5 wing who surprised. In the varsity game, 19-6 MTS after 8 minutes and then a 19-0 run by MTS really blows the game open. 67-12 at the half as Fondy goes 2-15 from the charity stripe and the Rodney Owens/Kyle Noreen duo combines for about 50. One of FDL's stars, Travis Brown picks up 3 fouls in the 1st 5 minutes and then comes back at the 8:36 mark only to pick up his 4th less than a minute later. Not that it would have mattered but it didn't help. 110-33 is the final. Kyle Noreen goes for 37, Rodney Owens for 30 and Matt Lanier productive inside with 20 to be the 3rd scorer. No Devonte Harvey on the roster in a surprise
Minnetonka vs DeLaSalle
DeLaSalle in full form while Minnetonka in the process of learning a new system. Not a good matchup and it showed. 13-7 at 12:13 then D takes off from there. 26-13 at 8:19, 32-15 and a buzzer beater 3 for a 49-25 halftime lead and they roll from there to a 87-67 win. Nice additions of a flare screen as part of the DeLaSalle secondary break. Bretson McNeal shot it well with 18 points and no answer for Jonah Travis inside as he had 22 points. No Melvin Collins in the rotation was the biggest surprise. Soph Luke Scott did see minutes off the bench for the Islanders.
Lakeville North at Hopkins
This actually turned out to be a much better game than anticipated. Hopkins was up 13 in the second half and Lakeville North cut it to 8 twice late. But Siyani Chambers knocked down a pair of 3s in the last couple of minutes to put the game away and make the 73-57 final score look misleading. Joe Coleman with 31 points and at least 9 rebounds in the stats I kept. One of the storylines I'll be following with him this season is his outside shooting. I had him 2 of 6 tonight. Jacob Peterson just jumped into the MinnesotaPreps player rankings and he showed it with a quality performance inside. He was effective with the righty jump hook over the left shoulder. Lakeville North played without point guard Al Erickson who's out until Christmas and that didn't help against the pressure of Chambers. But you have to like 6'6 athletic Tyler Flack on the wing (14 pts) and 6'4 forward Brett Rasmussen (19 pts) played really well inside. He reminds me of last year's Taylor Hanson from Minnehaha. With only 1 senior in tonight's rotation, keep an eye on North for next year.
Song of the Day
Times they are a changing - Bob Dylan
MTS vs Fond Du Lac Ojibwe
After sifting through a pair of taco in a boat (think tub of chips instead of bag of doritos), it was time for the boys game. The MTS drum line and step crew in attendance. Interesting that Fondy's had a transfer playing JV who was a pretty athletic 6'5 wing who surprised. In the varsity game, 19-6 MTS after 8 minutes and then a 19-0 run by MTS really blows the game open. 67-12 at the half as Fondy goes 2-15 from the charity stripe and the Rodney Owens/Kyle Noreen duo combines for about 50. One of FDL's stars, Travis Brown picks up 3 fouls in the 1st 5 minutes and then comes back at the 8:36 mark only to pick up his 4th less than a minute later. Not that it would have mattered but it didn't help. 110-33 is the final. Kyle Noreen goes for 37, Rodney Owens for 30 and Matt Lanier productive inside with 20 to be the 3rd scorer. No Devonte Harvey on the roster in a surprise
Minnetonka vs DeLaSalle
DeLaSalle in full form while Minnetonka in the process of learning a new system. Not a good matchup and it showed. 13-7 at 12:13 then D takes off from there. 26-13 at 8:19, 32-15 and a buzzer beater 3 for a 49-25 halftime lead and they roll from there to a 87-67 win. Nice additions of a flare screen as part of the DeLaSalle secondary break. Bretson McNeal shot it well with 18 points and no answer for Jonah Travis inside as he had 22 points. No Melvin Collins in the rotation was the biggest surprise. Soph Luke Scott did see minutes off the bench for the Islanders.
Lakeville North at Hopkins
This actually turned out to be a much better game than anticipated. Hopkins was up 13 in the second half and Lakeville North cut it to 8 twice late. But Siyani Chambers knocked down a pair of 3s in the last couple of minutes to put the game away and make the 73-57 final score look misleading. Joe Coleman with 31 points and at least 9 rebounds in the stats I kept. One of the storylines I'll be following with him this season is his outside shooting. I had him 2 of 6 tonight. Jacob Peterson just jumped into the MinnesotaPreps player rankings and he showed it with a quality performance inside. He was effective with the righty jump hook over the left shoulder. Lakeville North played without point guard Al Erickson who's out until Christmas and that didn't help against the pressure of Chambers. But you have to like 6'6 athletic Tyler Flack on the wing (14 pts) and 6'4 forward Brett Rasmussen (19 pts) played really well inside. He reminds me of last year's Taylor Hanson from Minnehaha. With only 1 senior in tonight's rotation, keep an eye on North for next year.
10-11 Tri-Metro Preview
Labels:
10-11 Season Previews,
Jonah Travis
This is the 11th preview in my 2010-2011 season preview series. In this preview, a look at the Tri-Metro Conference. For a list of all the season previews, click here.
Wow, talk about a league in a down year. DeLaSalle is loaded and Concordia gets some help from the closing of St. Bernard's but otherwise, not a good year in the league.
Blake Bears (2009-10 season 10-18, 5-11 Conference, 5th West)
Those 10 wins are deceiving as there really wasn't a good win on the schedule. Sophomore Kebu Johnson is rapidly improving. He was last year's second leading scorer at 11.6 PPG and is their do everything player. Senior forward Tim Zellmer is the other returnee of note.
Breck Mustangs (2009-10 season 7-19, 2-14 Conference, 6th West)
Long time Larry McKenzie assistant Matt McCollister takes over as the new coach. 3 of their 7 wins were against Trinity so 4-19 against everyone else. Top scorer Jeffrey Lurie returns with his 14.8 points a night. Juniors Austin Lommen and Tyler Hudson saw big minutes last season along with guards Nick Hoffman and Joey Yared.
Brooklyn Center Centaurs (2009-10 season 16-11, 11-5 Conference, 3rd West)
Huge loss for the Centaurs with their star point guard Freddie Young leaving for a prep school. Demetrius Anthony is the top returner at 11.1 PPG. Without Young I expect a long season.
Concordia Academy Beacons (2009-10 season 15-13, 9-7 Conference, 2nd East)
The Beacons lose forward Jordan Schneidermann, Chad Koepke and shooter Nik Novitsky.One of the few bright spots in the league. Point guard Shane Taylor comes over from St. Bernard's. Junior Cutler Finneman returns inside. Guards Jeff Weber and Lorenzo Davis also return.
DeLaSalle Islanders (2009-10 season 25-6, 15-1 Conference, tied 1st West)
There's D and everyone else despite the loss of star forward Jalen Jaspers. Jonah Travis returns in the middle and should have a monster year. Bretson McNeal had a breakout summer for Howard Pulley. He's one of the top shooters in the state and can explode for a handful of triples in a very short time. Marcas Dorsey and Robert Ndondo-Lay will see minutes inside. Sophomore Riley Dearring comes over from Hopkins. He should see time on the other wing along with the athletic Marvin Collins. Lamonte Hall is another shooter and he'll see time at the point. Keep an eye on the DLS play at the point. They'll probably do it by committee as there really isn't a true PG right now.
Minnehaha Academy Redhawks (2009-10 season 26-5, 15-1 Conference, tied 1st West)
No team in the league has bigger losses than the Redhawks. Their big 3 of Austin Brown, Parker Hines and Taylor Hansen combined for 48 points a night and all are gone. 3 other seniors are also gone. Joel Reinhardt and Zach Nipper are the top returning players.
Mounds Park Academy Panthers (2009-10 season 3-23, 0-16 Conference, 6th East)
Guard Peter Wright and forward Nate Burstein are back but they struggle to score more than anyone in the league and there's no help coming up to improve them. Expect another very long season.
St. Agnes Aggies (2009-10 season 13-16, 7-9 Conference, 4th East)
Besides 1 senior, the entire roster is back. Though talk has it that 1 of the 3 double-figure scorers transferred out. Even then you'd have 5 back from last year's rotation. With the tons of losses in the rest of the division besides Concordia, expect them to be near the top of the East.
St. Anthony Huskies (2009-10 season 16-11, 13-3 Conference, 1st East)
If Minnehaha doesn't have the biggest losses in the league, the Huskies do. The entire backcourt of Aaron McCrossan and leading scorer Josh Pratt is gone. Forward Derek Jahner is also gone along with Jordan Sayers and Karuza Cook. Guard Stephen Couillard is the top returner at 3.8 PPG.
St. Croix Lutheran Crusaders (2009-10 season 7-21, 2-14 Conference, 5th East)
This is a hard team to figure out. Their only league wins were against Mounds Park Academy despite some talent. But they were young. The junior guard duo of brute Wesley Tucker and Cameron Cummings is back and both averaged double-figures last season. Junior shooter Mark Lawrence is back. Fowards Kyle Prelgo and Michael Galler saw front line minutes last year. Its another year of experience as they should be improved, but I think they're a year away.
St. Paul Academy Spartans (2009-10 season 16-12, 9-7 Conference, 4th West)
The losses are huge here too. SPA has 11 seniors who are gone including their star forward Evan McMillan and point guard Santano Rosario. It seems like they both played varsity for 10 years. Sophomore Spencer Egly saw plenty of minutes last year and is the top returner. He averaged 4.6 a game and will man the point. Expect to see lots of youth on the court.
Predicted Order of Finish
West
Underclassmen to watch:
Kebu Johnson - Blake
Riley Dearring, Reed Travis, Sean Fitzgibbons - DeLaSalle
Mario Franco - St. Agnes
Spencer Egly - St. Paul Academy
Games that will determine the conference title
Wow, talk about a league in a down year. DeLaSalle is loaded and Concordia gets some help from the closing of St. Bernard's but otherwise, not a good year in the league.
Blake Bears (2009-10 season 10-18, 5-11 Conference, 5th West)
Those 10 wins are deceiving as there really wasn't a good win on the schedule. Sophomore Kebu Johnson is rapidly improving. He was last year's second leading scorer at 11.6 PPG and is their do everything player. Senior forward Tim Zellmer is the other returnee of note.
Breck Mustangs (2009-10 season 7-19, 2-14 Conference, 6th West)
Long time Larry McKenzie assistant Matt McCollister takes over as the new coach. 3 of their 7 wins were against Trinity so 4-19 against everyone else. Top scorer Jeffrey Lurie returns with his 14.8 points a night. Juniors Austin Lommen and Tyler Hudson saw big minutes last season along with guards Nick Hoffman and Joey Yared.
Brooklyn Center Centaurs (2009-10 season 16-11, 11-5 Conference, 3rd West)
Huge loss for the Centaurs with their star point guard Freddie Young leaving for a prep school. Demetrius Anthony is the top returner at 11.1 PPG. Without Young I expect a long season.
Concordia Academy Beacons (2009-10 season 15-13, 9-7 Conference, 2nd East)
The Beacons lose forward Jordan Schneidermann, Chad Koepke and shooter Nik Novitsky.One of the few bright spots in the league. Point guard Shane Taylor comes over from St. Bernard's. Junior Cutler Finneman returns inside. Guards Jeff Weber and Lorenzo Davis also return.
DeLaSalle Islanders (2009-10 season 25-6, 15-1 Conference, tied 1st West)
There's D and everyone else despite the loss of star forward Jalen Jaspers. Jonah Travis returns in the middle and should have a monster year. Bretson McNeal had a breakout summer for Howard Pulley. He's one of the top shooters in the state and can explode for a handful of triples in a very short time. Marcas Dorsey and Robert Ndondo-Lay will see minutes inside. Sophomore Riley Dearring comes over from Hopkins. He should see time on the other wing along with the athletic Marvin Collins. Lamonte Hall is another shooter and he'll see time at the point. Keep an eye on the DLS play at the point. They'll probably do it by committee as there really isn't a true PG right now.
Minnehaha Academy Redhawks (2009-10 season 26-5, 15-1 Conference, tied 1st West)
No team in the league has bigger losses than the Redhawks. Their big 3 of Austin Brown, Parker Hines and Taylor Hansen combined for 48 points a night and all are gone. 3 other seniors are also gone. Joel Reinhardt and Zach Nipper are the top returning players.
Mounds Park Academy Panthers (2009-10 season 3-23, 0-16 Conference, 6th East)
Guard Peter Wright and forward Nate Burstein are back but they struggle to score more than anyone in the league and there's no help coming up to improve them. Expect another very long season.
St. Agnes Aggies (2009-10 season 13-16, 7-9 Conference, 4th East)
Besides 1 senior, the entire roster is back. Though talk has it that 1 of the 3 double-figure scorers transferred out. Even then you'd have 5 back from last year's rotation. With the tons of losses in the rest of the division besides Concordia, expect them to be near the top of the East.
St. Anthony Huskies (2009-10 season 16-11, 13-3 Conference, 1st East)
If Minnehaha doesn't have the biggest losses in the league, the Huskies do. The entire backcourt of Aaron McCrossan and leading scorer Josh Pratt is gone. Forward Derek Jahner is also gone along with Jordan Sayers and Karuza Cook. Guard Stephen Couillard is the top returner at 3.8 PPG.
St. Croix Lutheran Crusaders (2009-10 season 7-21, 2-14 Conference, 5th East)
This is a hard team to figure out. Their only league wins were against Mounds Park Academy despite some talent. But they were young. The junior guard duo of brute Wesley Tucker and Cameron Cummings is back and both averaged double-figures last season. Junior shooter Mark Lawrence is back. Fowards Kyle Prelgo and Michael Galler saw front line minutes last year. Its another year of experience as they should be improved, but I think they're a year away.
St. Paul Academy Spartans (2009-10 season 16-12, 9-7 Conference, 4th West)
The losses are huge here too. SPA has 11 seniors who are gone including their star forward Evan McMillan and point guard Santano Rosario. It seems like they both played varsity for 10 years. Sophomore Spencer Egly saw plenty of minutes last year and is the top returner. He averaged 4.6 a game and will man the point. Expect to see lots of youth on the court.
Predicted Order of Finish
West
- DeLaSalle
- Minnehaha
- Blake
- Breck
- St. Paul Academy
- Brooklyn Center
- Concordia Academy
- St. Agnes
- St. Croix Lutheran
- St. Anthony
- Mounds Park Academy
Underclassmen to watch:
Kebu Johnson - Blake
Riley Dearring, Reed Travis, Sean Fitzgibbons - DeLaSalle
Mario Franco - St. Agnes
Spencer Egly - St. Paul Academy
Games that will determine the conference title
- Concordia at St. Agnes - Dec 7th
- Concordia at DeLaSalle - Jan 25th
- St. Agnes at Concordia - Feb 4th
- DeLaSalle vs Chaska - Dec 11th (Breakdown Tipoff Classic)
- Concordia at St. Cloud Cathedral tournament - Dec 28-30
- DeLaSalle vs Superior at UW-Superior - Jan 8th
- Eden Prairie at DeLaSalle - Jan 29th
- DeLaSalle at Waunakee (WI) - Feb 4th
- DeLaSalle at Benilde-St. Margaret's - Feb 8th
- St. Paul Central at Concordia - Feb 11th
- St. Agnes at Maranatha - Feb 14th
- Cretin-Derham Hall at DeLaSalle - Feb 26th
- Minneapolis Henry at DeLaSalle - Mar 1st
- Concordia at Mayer Lutheran - Mar 4th
43 Hoops too much for Pump N Run
Labels:
Jake White,
Jonah Travis,
Ross Travis
Prologue
To 43 Hoops for a 17U showdown between Pump N Run and 43 Hoops. All the notables in the building including the obvious ones (Monter, James, me) along with JohnnyGopher, UWOle and GopherLady of GopherHole fame. Willie Vang from the MN Heat makes an appearance as well. Lots of notables including Randy Carter, Eric Coleman, Zach Towle, Ryan Duxbury, Anthony Tucker all playing tonight in the early games just to name a few. Men meet boys. Sorry folks, no food or beverage at the game but I did have a messy Pulled Pork sandwich with Sierra Mist for dinner prior to venturing over to 43.
Funny moment before the game as I was one of many people who moved back and forth between courts about 5 times until we finally got it right that the curtain would be opened and we'd have action on court 2. The court lined with fans all the way around with 3 quality officials working the game. Gotta like that. PNR without Estan Tyler (unknown), Eric Robertson (ankle), Joel Lindberg (Wisconsin camp) and Kyle Noreen (west coast college tour). They added Carlos Emory and Jonathon Crockett from last year's 17U PNR squad. No Jordan Smith for 43 as he was suffering from tendonitis and just resumed work outs today. Let the record show with Matt Sellers' mom as my witness that I predicted an 8 point 43 Hoops win right before tip.
Game Time
Jake White gets the assignment on Jonah Travis in this one. Travis immediately spins and is fouled. He shoots the 1st free throw and its good. But the ball is trash so let's put that one out of play and pick a new one. Travis drives for 2 more, Emory for 3 and then the alley oop from Crockett. 13-5 PNR leads at the 14:45 in a very low scoring half (these are 25 minute running time halves). But 43 cranks up the pressure and without their regular point guards PNR struggles to get into offense. Schalk with 2 free throws and a 3 ball and 43 has the momentum and the crowd on their side. Emory strong for 1 free throw as he's fouled on a dunk attempt to try and stem the tide. Zach Romashko for 2 and Freddie Young with a steal for 2 and PNR wants time. 14 all with 9 minutes left in the first half. 20-19 43 Hoops leads after 1 Jonah Travis freebie at the 3:40 mark. Raijon Kelly with a pair of big 3s that counter a pair of Travis dunks. 28-23 43 Hoops at the half. Marquel Curtis and Jonah Travis each with 9 points in the half to lead their teams.
Jonah Travis stays hot as he knocks down a pair of left wing triples but the lead is still 5 for 43. A Curtis steal for 2 free throws pushes the lead to 39-33 with 18 minutes left. PNR won't go away. Roosevelt Scott with a 1 handed hammer and Crockett with a layup. Ross Travis emerges with a strong 2 and the foul through Mike Yahnke. Curtis puts in a miss for a 44-39 lead with 14 minutes left. Jonah Travis with 1 free throw, Crockett with 2 freebies of his own and a tough step back jumper. Alex Richter with a layup, Scott with 2 free throws and Emory goes strong and makes 2 more PNR free throws. Its an 11-2 PNR run over 6:30 with 7 free throws and it gives the Pumps a 50-46 lead with 7:30 to play.
Then 43 steps it up. Ross Travis for 3 and a layup. Curtis with a steal for a dunk. Scott misses a layup. Curtis offensive rebounds an airball and puts it back just in time to beat the 30 second shot clock with 3 minutes left. That concludes a 9-0 43 Hoops run and they lead 55-50 with 3 minutes left. Jonah Travis with 2 free throws but 43 is on the offensive board again. This time its Jake White grabbing a Ross Travis miss and making 2 free throws from it at the 1:47 mark. Ross doesn't miss on the next trip as he hammers home a dunk at the 1:10 mark for a 7 point lead. A Crockett steal for 2 cuts the lead to 4 but it doesn't matter. Curtis with the exclamation point dunk and 43 Hoops wins 63-55.
Post Game
For Pump N Run, Jonah Travis leads the way with 18 points and 7 rebounds on my officially unofficial (but I use it anyway) stat sheet. Carlos Emory with 16 points but his turnovers down the stretch were critical. Trying to take over is great but it can be said on this night that he tried to do too much. Jon Crockett 9 points, Roosevelt Scott 8 points, Alex Richter a rough night of 4 points on 1-8 shooting to round out the PNR scoring. Surprisingly PNR gave up critical buckets on the offensive glass. Not surprisingly, when Crockett wasn't handling the ball, 43 did have success with pressure defense and that included Emory.
For 43 Hoops, Marquel Curtis is your game MVP with 21 points. His numerous forays to the rim and off handed finishes (lefty on right side too) had no answer. 12 of those 21 in the 2nd half. 6 in the last 6 minutes to put 43 over the top. Raijon Kelly lived large in this one too with 13 clutch points right across the halftime boundary. Ross Travis a quiet first half but had all 12 of his points in the 2nd half. Versatile too with a putback, an old-fashioned 3 point play with power and then a 3 ball. Tack on a steal for a dunk to show off the athletic ability. Jake White quiet with 8 points and 6 boards but a board for 2 free throws late was large. Tom Schalk 5 points, Zach Romashko 2 and Freddie Young 2 to round out the scoring for 43 Hoops. All in all, a hard fought battle of 2 high quality teams that was greatly enjoyed by all. 43 was the better team on this night and no griping about missing players etc. PNR had plenty of chances in this one and had a lead just outside 6 minutes to play. Let's hope they again in July in Chicago and/or Las Vegas.
Marquel Curtis photo courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net
To 43 Hoops for a 17U showdown between Pump N Run and 43 Hoops. All the notables in the building including the obvious ones (Monter, James, me) along with JohnnyGopher, UWOle and GopherLady of GopherHole fame. Willie Vang from the MN Heat makes an appearance as well. Lots of notables including Randy Carter, Eric Coleman, Zach Towle, Ryan Duxbury, Anthony Tucker all playing tonight in the early games just to name a few. Men meet boys. Sorry folks, no food or beverage at the game but I did have a messy Pulled Pork sandwich with Sierra Mist for dinner prior to venturing over to 43.
Funny moment before the game as I was one of many people who moved back and forth between courts about 5 times until we finally got it right that the curtain would be opened and we'd have action on court 2. The court lined with fans all the way around with 3 quality officials working the game. Gotta like that. PNR without Estan Tyler (unknown), Eric Robertson (ankle), Joel Lindberg (Wisconsin camp) and Kyle Noreen (west coast college tour). They added Carlos Emory and Jonathon Crockett from last year's 17U PNR squad. No Jordan Smith for 43 as he was suffering from tendonitis and just resumed work outs today. Let the record show with Matt Sellers' mom as my witness that I predicted an 8 point 43 Hoops win right before tip.
Game Time
Jake White gets the assignment on Jonah Travis in this one. Travis immediately spins and is fouled. He shoots the 1st free throw and its good. But the ball is trash so let's put that one out of play and pick a new one. Travis drives for 2 more, Emory for 3 and then the alley oop from Crockett. 13-5 PNR leads at the 14:45 in a very low scoring half (these are 25 minute running time halves). But 43 cranks up the pressure and without their regular point guards PNR struggles to get into offense. Schalk with 2 free throws and a 3 ball and 43 has the momentum and the crowd on their side. Emory strong for 1 free throw as he's fouled on a dunk attempt to try and stem the tide. Zach Romashko for 2 and Freddie Young with a steal for 2 and PNR wants time. 14 all with 9 minutes left in the first half. 20-19 43 Hoops leads after 1 Jonah Travis freebie at the 3:40 mark. Raijon Kelly with a pair of big 3s that counter a pair of Travis dunks. 28-23 43 Hoops at the half. Marquel Curtis and Jonah Travis each with 9 points in the half to lead their teams.
Jonah Travis stays hot as he knocks down a pair of left wing triples but the lead is still 5 for 43. A Curtis steal for 2 free throws pushes the lead to 39-33 with 18 minutes left. PNR won't go away. Roosevelt Scott with a 1 handed hammer and Crockett with a layup. Ross Travis emerges with a strong 2 and the foul through Mike Yahnke. Curtis puts in a miss for a 44-39 lead with 14 minutes left. Jonah Travis with 1 free throw, Crockett with 2 freebies of his own and a tough step back jumper. Alex Richter with a layup, Scott with 2 free throws and Emory goes strong and makes 2 more PNR free throws. Its an 11-2 PNR run over 6:30 with 7 free throws and it gives the Pumps a 50-46 lead with 7:30 to play.
Then 43 steps it up. Ross Travis for 3 and a layup. Curtis with a steal for a dunk. Scott misses a layup. Curtis offensive rebounds an airball and puts it back just in time to beat the 30 second shot clock with 3 minutes left. That concludes a 9-0 43 Hoops run and they lead 55-50 with 3 minutes left. Jonah Travis with 2 free throws but 43 is on the offensive board again. This time its Jake White grabbing a Ross Travis miss and making 2 free throws from it at the 1:47 mark. Ross doesn't miss on the next trip as he hammers home a dunk at the 1:10 mark for a 7 point lead. A Crockett steal for 2 cuts the lead to 4 but it doesn't matter. Curtis with the exclamation point dunk and 43 Hoops wins 63-55.
Post Game
For Pump N Run, Jonah Travis leads the way with 18 points and 7 rebounds on my officially unofficial (but I use it anyway) stat sheet. Carlos Emory with 16 points but his turnovers down the stretch were critical. Trying to take over is great but it can be said on this night that he tried to do too much. Jon Crockett 9 points, Roosevelt Scott 8 points, Alex Richter a rough night of 4 points on 1-8 shooting to round out the PNR scoring. Surprisingly PNR gave up critical buckets on the offensive glass. Not surprisingly, when Crockett wasn't handling the ball, 43 did have success with pressure defense and that included Emory.
For 43 Hoops, Marquel Curtis is your game MVP with 21 points. His numerous forays to the rim and off handed finishes (lefty on right side too) had no answer. 12 of those 21 in the 2nd half. 6 in the last 6 minutes to put 43 over the top. Raijon Kelly lived large in this one too with 13 clutch points right across the halftime boundary. Ross Travis a quiet first half but had all 12 of his points in the 2nd half. Versatile too with a putback, an old-fashioned 3 point play with power and then a 3 ball. Tack on a steal for a dunk to show off the athletic ability. Jake White quiet with 8 points and 6 boards but a board for 2 free throws late was large. Tom Schalk 5 points, Zach Romashko 2 and Freddie Young 2 to round out the scoring for 43 Hoops. All in all, a hard fought battle of 2 high quality teams that was greatly enjoyed by all. 43 was the better team on this night and no griping about missing players etc. PNR had plenty of chances in this one and had a lead just outside 6 minutes to play. Let's hope they again in July in Chicago and/or Las Vegas.
Marquel Curtis photo courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net
2010 Pump N Run Spring Classic Weekend
Labels:
2010 PNR Spring Tourney,
Jonah Travis
To the weekend at the 2010 Pump N Run Spring Classic. Pool play and bracket play were 2 totally different items.
Saturday Pool Play
The end of pool play Saturday morning and early afternoon was nothing but blowouts. Pump N Run big in their 2 games in pool A. Heat Black rolled to the pool B title. Heat Elite no problems in pool C. WOTN Gold won pool D. MN Wrath with an easy Saturday win to take pool E. Iowa Barnstormers routed pool F. Fury Blue took pool G. The only interesting pool was pool H. Southside had a 1 point win under their belt but fell by 1 to RK Elite in morning play. RK Elite played Mpls GATOR for the pool title to end 17U pool play. RK Elite would win the pool outright with a win. A Mpls GATOR win by 2 would give them the 3 way tiebreaker. 47 all with 5 seconds left. GATOR ball, they push to halfcourt and get pushed out with 2 seconds left for free throws. The 1st is good and the 2nd is off. GATOR rebounds but holds and wins 48-47. Now we have a complete mess. All 3 teams are tied. We go to the 1 published tiebreaker, point differential. But all 3 teams have a point differential of 0. Now what. Tournament director decision (and you know this will be published next year) takes us to points allowed to determine head-head breakers. RK Elite wins the points allowed and has head-head on Southside to win the pool. Southside takes 2nd via their head-head win over GATOR. 1 free throws takes GATOR from 1st to the Silver bracket.
Round of 16
In the round of 16, Pump N Run took out the WI Blizzard. WI Starz won a Wisconsin battle with RK Elite. WOTN Gold took out Bound 4 Glory. Nimrod Hilliard (who actually was there with his high school club since Playground Elite had the week off) nails a buzzer beater for NESYB to beat MN Wrath. In the bottom half, Heat Sprang took out EOTO. Then the end of the night was wild. Iowa Barnstormers got up 20 on WI Swing but had to hold on for 75-73 win. Fury Gold controlled their game with Heat Elite for a 56-51 win that's hard to call an upset the way Nick Carroll's team has played. Finally MN Southside took out Fury Blue in an ugly 46-45 game. Neither team able to generate offense in that one.
In 16U round of 16 play, 43 Hoops came from 5 down at the half against Heat Elite to win easily. Dave Simmet effective inside for the Heat in the 1st half, but the Heat got locked down on D only scoring 10 points in the 1st 15 minutes of the half. Josh Turnquist hit 3s picking and popping against Simmet and there wasn't an answer for that.
Sunday
To the 16U quarters where 43 Hoops took on 1 of the tourney favorites, WI Swing-Litscher. 43 Hoops dominates the 1st half for a 39-24 lead but gives up a 21-2 run to start the 2nd half. Coach Harris' club locks down again as they don't allow a point in the last 4 minutes of a tie game and win 59-50. Barnstormers won their game in that half. Bound 4 Glory came from 7 down at half vs a game Rosemount squad to advance 57-46. Pump N Run held off Fury 60-52 to complete the bottom half.
In the 17U quarters. Pump N Run rolled over WI Starz. Lucas Brown with a layup with 5 seconds left to beat NESYB and complete the 1st semifinal. Heat Sprang had no problems with Southside. Barnstormers got up big on Fury Gold before Fury cut it to 3 late. Barnstormers win by 7 to setup the other semi.
In the 16U semis, PNR defeats Bound 4 Glory 59-45. 43 Hoops vs Barnstormers was another case of 43 Hoops giving up a big run. This time it was 13-2 early to fall behind by double digits. No panic from coach Harris as once again he chooses to let his kids play through it with no time out. They claw back to within 7 at the half and take a 4 point lead with 4:45 left. 56 all and 43 Hoops has the ball. Its all Marcus Marshall as he goes step back with 6 seconds left for the 3. 59-56 43 Hoops wins.
In the 17U semis, no problems again for the Barnstormers as they steamroll Heat Sprang 80-49. Wear Out the Net Gold gave Pump N Run all they wanted. A 10-0 run ends the 1st half and gives WOTN a 34-28 halftime lead. Then Marcus Alipate with a second 3 in a big stretch and WOTN leads 51-38 with 10:45 left. Kyle Noreen draws 2 quick fouls on Alipate posting him on the left block and to me that turned the tide and set the physical tone for the rest of the game. Roosevelt Scott with a steal and fouled on a dunk. He grabs the miss of the 2nd FT and puts it back. Then he nails a 3 with 7:40 left and PNR is back on top 55-54. That's a 17-3 run. 59 all with 4 minutes left. Marcus Alipate with 2 freebies at 1:27 for a 1 point WOTN lead and then Alex Richter spins into a turnover. Kyle Bauman with 1 of 2 FTs with 54.2 left. To Richter at the high post and he kicks it right out to Joel Lindberg for a right wing 3. Bauman with his own redemption as he scores on the post with 18 seconds left. 66-65 WOTN leads. Timeout PNR as they bring it to the halfcourt line with 11 seconds left. The call is a high pick and roll with Roosevelt Scott and Jonah Travis. Travis catches at the right block and scores the tough finish with 5 seconds left for a 67-66 win.
16U Championship
This was going on at the same time as the 17U final and actually started and finished afterwards. Close game the entire way. Carnell Sheppard with a 3 with 2 minutes left and PNR leads 59-56. But Duke Anywanu (Blaine) puts back a miss with 5 seconds left to give 43 Hoops the title 62-61. Sanjay Lumpkin is really blowing up right now for the PNR 16s. But the story of this tournament, maybe at any level, was Marcus Marshall of 43 Hoops. His offense and ability to cross you over and step back for 3s is flat out dominating. Between him and Isaiah Gray, most of their offense is high screen and roll and for very good reason. Josh Turnquist made a living off of that as both guys are quick enough to get in the lane and cause trouble. Turnquist hit a bunch of 3s this weekend popping off of that high screen and it wasn't a fluke. Interesting chess match with that vs Heat Elite with big Dave Simmet who couldn't get out to Turnquist. Same problem for Pump N Run as they'd start Sanjay Lumpkin on Marshall, but on the high screen/roll they'd switch which would negate that intended matchup.
17U Championship
We get the expected matchup here and Seth Tuttle is back from prom for the Barnstormers after missing time on Saturday. But the big 3 (Josh Oglesby, Seth Tuttle and Jarrod Uthoff) do nothing in the 1st half and PNR controls the half for a 35-23 lead. Barnstormers are too good to get beat by double-digits in this one and we're tied at 40 with 8:35 left. Oglesby for 3 at 5:54 to tie the game at 45 and then 2 technical free throws for the lead. Tuttle then with a kickout from the post and that's a 3 to tie the game at 50 with 2:05 left. Uthoff on the post, 52 all at 1:30. Teams trade misses and Shelby Moats has a 25 footer at the horn that's no good.
In the overtime, Moats around Uthoff for 2 and the foul with 40.4 left for a 3 point PNR lead. The Barnstormers nail a pair of 3s, including 1 with 5.2 left. 57 all. PNR timeout and they turn it over on the inbounds. Barnstormers don't get a good look and we'll play double overtime. WOW. Tuttle with an easy weakside putback with 56 seconds left in the 2nd OT after Uthoff misses on the post. Jonah Travis makes 1 of 2 FTs with 31.2 left. Oglesby has to be fouled and his 2 freebies are all net with 27.4 remaining. Kyle Noreen misses a 3 and a runout dunk finishes it. 65-60 Barnstormers win the title in double overtime. Jonah Travis 24 points in the loss. 100% all the time and relentless inside.
Pump N Run Spring Classic 17U All Tournament Team (as selected by the media members in attendance)
Jarrod Uthoff- Iowa Barnstormers (MVP)
Josh Oglesby - Iowa Barnstormers
Jonah Travis - MN Pump N Run
Roosevelt Scott - MN Pump N Run
Bryan Sprang - MN Heat Black
Marcus Alipate - Wear Out the Net Gold
Nimrod Hilliard - NESYB
Marquealis Edwards - MN Fury Gold
Honorable mentions. I liked what Kyle Bauman did for WOTN Gold this weekend. Eric Robertson of Pump N Run making shots. Congrats to the WI Blizzard 14s who took out and the Iowa Barnstormers 15s for winning titles. Finally, how about some love for Apple Valley assistant Duez Henderson and his Bound 4 Glory program. Great weekend across the board for them after getting some bulletin board material from my preview (i.e lack of any mention). Their 15s took out the top PNR Maroon 15s in the quarters before losing to the Barnstormers and their 16 Black squad made the 16U semis.
Saturday Pool Play
The end of pool play Saturday morning and early afternoon was nothing but blowouts. Pump N Run big in their 2 games in pool A. Heat Black rolled to the pool B title. Heat Elite no problems in pool C. WOTN Gold won pool D. MN Wrath with an easy Saturday win to take pool E. Iowa Barnstormers routed pool F. Fury Blue took pool G. The only interesting pool was pool H. Southside had a 1 point win under their belt but fell by 1 to RK Elite in morning play. RK Elite played Mpls GATOR for the pool title to end 17U pool play. RK Elite would win the pool outright with a win. A Mpls GATOR win by 2 would give them the 3 way tiebreaker. 47 all with 5 seconds left. GATOR ball, they push to halfcourt and get pushed out with 2 seconds left for free throws. The 1st is good and the 2nd is off. GATOR rebounds but holds and wins 48-47. Now we have a complete mess. All 3 teams are tied. We go to the 1 published tiebreaker, point differential. But all 3 teams have a point differential of 0. Now what. Tournament director decision (and you know this will be published next year) takes us to points allowed to determine head-head breakers. RK Elite wins the points allowed and has head-head on Southside to win the pool. Southside takes 2nd via their head-head win over GATOR. 1 free throws takes GATOR from 1st to the Silver bracket.
Round of 16
In the round of 16, Pump N Run took out the WI Blizzard. WI Starz won a Wisconsin battle with RK Elite. WOTN Gold took out Bound 4 Glory. Nimrod Hilliard (who actually was there with his high school club since Playground Elite had the week off) nails a buzzer beater for NESYB to beat MN Wrath. In the bottom half, Heat Sprang took out EOTO. Then the end of the night was wild. Iowa Barnstormers got up 20 on WI Swing but had to hold on for 75-73 win. Fury Gold controlled their game with Heat Elite for a 56-51 win that's hard to call an upset the way Nick Carroll's team has played. Finally MN Southside took out Fury Blue in an ugly 46-45 game. Neither team able to generate offense in that one.
In 16U round of 16 play, 43 Hoops came from 5 down at the half against Heat Elite to win easily. Dave Simmet effective inside for the Heat in the 1st half, but the Heat got locked down on D only scoring 10 points in the 1st 15 minutes of the half. Josh Turnquist hit 3s picking and popping against Simmet and there wasn't an answer for that.
Sunday
To the 16U quarters where 43 Hoops took on 1 of the tourney favorites, WI Swing-Litscher. 43 Hoops dominates the 1st half for a 39-24 lead but gives up a 21-2 run to start the 2nd half. Coach Harris' club locks down again as they don't allow a point in the last 4 minutes of a tie game and win 59-50. Barnstormers won their game in that half. Bound 4 Glory came from 7 down at half vs a game Rosemount squad to advance 57-46. Pump N Run held off Fury 60-52 to complete the bottom half.
In the 17U quarters. Pump N Run rolled over WI Starz. Lucas Brown with a layup with 5 seconds left to beat NESYB and complete the 1st semifinal. Heat Sprang had no problems with Southside. Barnstormers got up big on Fury Gold before Fury cut it to 3 late. Barnstormers win by 7 to setup the other semi.
In the 16U semis, PNR defeats Bound 4 Glory 59-45. 43 Hoops vs Barnstormers was another case of 43 Hoops giving up a big run. This time it was 13-2 early to fall behind by double digits. No panic from coach Harris as once again he chooses to let his kids play through it with no time out. They claw back to within 7 at the half and take a 4 point lead with 4:45 left. 56 all and 43 Hoops has the ball. Its all Marcus Marshall as he goes step back with 6 seconds left for the 3. 59-56 43 Hoops wins.
In the 17U semis, no problems again for the Barnstormers as they steamroll Heat Sprang 80-49. Wear Out the Net Gold gave Pump N Run all they wanted. A 10-0 run ends the 1st half and gives WOTN a 34-28 halftime lead. Then Marcus Alipate with a second 3 in a big stretch and WOTN leads 51-38 with 10:45 left. Kyle Noreen draws 2 quick fouls on Alipate posting him on the left block and to me that turned the tide and set the physical tone for the rest of the game. Roosevelt Scott with a steal and fouled on a dunk. He grabs the miss of the 2nd FT and puts it back. Then he nails a 3 with 7:40 left and PNR is back on top 55-54. That's a 17-3 run. 59 all with 4 minutes left. Marcus Alipate with 2 freebies at 1:27 for a 1 point WOTN lead and then Alex Richter spins into a turnover. Kyle Bauman with 1 of 2 FTs with 54.2 left. To Richter at the high post and he kicks it right out to Joel Lindberg for a right wing 3. Bauman with his own redemption as he scores on the post with 18 seconds left. 66-65 WOTN leads. Timeout PNR as they bring it to the halfcourt line with 11 seconds left. The call is a high pick and roll with Roosevelt Scott and Jonah Travis. Travis catches at the right block and scores the tough finish with 5 seconds left for a 67-66 win.
16U Championship
This was going on at the same time as the 17U final and actually started and finished afterwards. Close game the entire way. Carnell Sheppard with a 3 with 2 minutes left and PNR leads 59-56. But Duke Anywanu (Blaine) puts back a miss with 5 seconds left to give 43 Hoops the title 62-61. Sanjay Lumpkin is really blowing up right now for the PNR 16s. But the story of this tournament, maybe at any level, was Marcus Marshall of 43 Hoops. His offense and ability to cross you over and step back for 3s is flat out dominating. Between him and Isaiah Gray, most of their offense is high screen and roll and for very good reason. Josh Turnquist made a living off of that as both guys are quick enough to get in the lane and cause trouble. Turnquist hit a bunch of 3s this weekend popping off of that high screen and it wasn't a fluke. Interesting chess match with that vs Heat Elite with big Dave Simmet who couldn't get out to Turnquist. Same problem for Pump N Run as they'd start Sanjay Lumpkin on Marshall, but on the high screen/roll they'd switch which would negate that intended matchup.
17U Championship
We get the expected matchup here and Seth Tuttle is back from prom for the Barnstormers after missing time on Saturday. But the big 3 (Josh Oglesby, Seth Tuttle and Jarrod Uthoff) do nothing in the 1st half and PNR controls the half for a 35-23 lead. Barnstormers are too good to get beat by double-digits in this one and we're tied at 40 with 8:35 left. Oglesby for 3 at 5:54 to tie the game at 45 and then 2 technical free throws for the lead. Tuttle then with a kickout from the post and that's a 3 to tie the game at 50 with 2:05 left. Uthoff on the post, 52 all at 1:30. Teams trade misses and Shelby Moats has a 25 footer at the horn that's no good.
In the overtime, Moats around Uthoff for 2 and the foul with 40.4 left for a 3 point PNR lead. The Barnstormers nail a pair of 3s, including 1 with 5.2 left. 57 all. PNR timeout and they turn it over on the inbounds. Barnstormers don't get a good look and we'll play double overtime. WOW. Tuttle with an easy weakside putback with 56 seconds left in the 2nd OT after Uthoff misses on the post. Jonah Travis makes 1 of 2 FTs with 31.2 left. Oglesby has to be fouled and his 2 freebies are all net with 27.4 remaining. Kyle Noreen misses a 3 and a runout dunk finishes it. 65-60 Barnstormers win the title in double overtime. Jonah Travis 24 points in the loss. 100% all the time and relentless inside.
Pump N Run Spring Classic 17U All Tournament Team (as selected by the media members in attendance)
Jarrod Uthoff- Iowa Barnstormers (MVP)
Josh Oglesby - Iowa Barnstormers
Jonah Travis - MN Pump N Run
Roosevelt Scott - MN Pump N Run
Bryan Sprang - MN Heat Black
Marcus Alipate - Wear Out the Net Gold
Nimrod Hilliard - NESYB
Marquealis Edwards - MN Fury Gold
Honorable mentions. I liked what Kyle Bauman did for WOTN Gold this weekend. Eric Robertson of Pump N Run making shots. Congrats to the WI Blizzard 14s who took out and the Iowa Barnstormers 15s for winning titles. Finally, how about some love for Apple Valley assistant Duez Henderson and his Bound 4 Glory program. Great weekend across the board for them after getting some bulletin board material from my preview (i.e lack of any mention). Their 15s took out the top PNR Maroon 15s in the quarters before losing to the Barnstormers and their 16 Black squad made the 16U semis.
The Czar's 2010 Awards
Labels:
Joe Coleman,
Jonah Travis,
Tyus Jones
Here are my picks for various awards for the 11 Metro Area Conferences. It will also include some of my favorite personal awards.
MVP Awards
Classic Lake: Joe Coleman-Hopkins
Classic Suburban: Mike Rostampour-Sibley
Lake: Tyus Jones - Apple Valley
MCAA: Darian Pittman - Maranatha
Missota: Joel Hergott - Shakopee
Minneapolis City: Jordan Hughes - Henry and Alonzo Traylor - South
North Suburban : Calvin Godfrey - Robbinsdale Cooper
Northwest Suburban: Josh Pella - Champlin Park
St. Paul City: Estan Tyler - Johnson
Suburban East: Zach Riedeman - Forest Lake
Tri-Metro: Jalen Jaspers - De La Salle and Taylor Hanson - Minnehaha
Breakout Players
Classic Lake: Joe Coleman-Hopkins
Classic Suburban: Ryan Redmond - Mahtomedi
Lake: Grant Soderberg - Eden Prairie
MCAA: SaVaughn Jordan - Maranatha
Missota: Adam Hjelter - Hutchinson
Minneapolis City: Ricky Collins - Minneapolis North
North Suburban: Seth Marx - Benilde-St. Margaret's
Northwest Suburban: Marcus Tyus - Anoka
St. Paul City: Bryale Winters - Humboldt
Suburban East: David Stanley - Roseville
Tri-Metro: Jonah Travis - De La Salle
Coach of Year Awards
Classic Lake: Ken Novak - Hopkins
Classic Suburban: Keith Newman - Mahtomedi
Lake: Zach Goring - Apple Valley
MCAA: Dean Neumann - Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity
Missota: Larry McKenzie - Holy Angels
Minneapolis City: Bo Powell - Minneapolis North
North Suburban: Dave Johnson - Cooper
Northwest Suburban: Mark Tuchscherer - Champlin Park
St. Paul City: Vern Simmons - Johnson
Suburban East: Dan Cremisino - Forest Lake and Keith Lockwood - White Bear Lake
Tri-Metro:Lance Johnson - Minnehaha
The Czar's Random Awards
Best Hot Dog: Cretin-Derham Hall
Best Taco in a Bag: Hopkins
Best Pizza: White Bear Lake (Donatelli's)
Most Unique Item: Minnehaha Academy's Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Best Value: $2 Taco in a Bag at Totino-Grace.
Worst Time to Not Pay the Light Bill: Chaska, for lights going out in last minute of a tight game with Apple Valley
Better than a Stairmaster award: Running up and down Chanhassen's bleachers
Worst place to lose (insert important item here) award: Elk River. Small children can barely get through the opening to get under the bleachers to retrieve items that fall through.
MVP Awards
Classic Lake: Joe Coleman-Hopkins
Classic Suburban: Mike Rostampour-Sibley
Lake: Tyus Jones - Apple Valley
MCAA: Darian Pittman - Maranatha
Missota: Joel Hergott - Shakopee
Minneapolis City: Jordan Hughes - Henry and Alonzo Traylor - South
North Suburban : Calvin Godfrey - Robbinsdale Cooper
Northwest Suburban: Josh Pella - Champlin Park
St. Paul City: Estan Tyler - Johnson
Suburban East: Zach Riedeman - Forest Lake
Tri-Metro: Jalen Jaspers - De La Salle and Taylor Hanson - Minnehaha
Breakout Players
Classic Lake: Joe Coleman-Hopkins
Classic Suburban: Ryan Redmond - Mahtomedi
Lake: Grant Soderberg - Eden Prairie
MCAA: SaVaughn Jordan - Maranatha
Missota: Adam Hjelter - Hutchinson
Minneapolis City: Ricky Collins - Minneapolis North
North Suburban: Seth Marx - Benilde-St. Margaret's
Northwest Suburban: Marcus Tyus - Anoka
St. Paul City: Bryale Winters - Humboldt
Suburban East: David Stanley - Roseville
Tri-Metro: Jonah Travis - De La Salle
Coach of Year Awards
Classic Lake: Ken Novak - Hopkins
Classic Suburban: Keith Newman - Mahtomedi
Lake: Zach Goring - Apple Valley
MCAA: Dean Neumann - Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity
Missota: Larry McKenzie - Holy Angels
Minneapolis City: Bo Powell - Minneapolis North
North Suburban: Dave Johnson - Cooper
Northwest Suburban: Mark Tuchscherer - Champlin Park
St. Paul City: Vern Simmons - Johnson
Suburban East: Dan Cremisino - Forest Lake and Keith Lockwood - White Bear Lake
Tri-Metro:Lance Johnson - Minnehaha
The Czar's Random Awards
Best Hot Dog: Cretin-Derham Hall
Best Taco in a Bag: Hopkins
Best Pizza: White Bear Lake (Donatelli's)
Most Unique Item: Minnehaha Academy's Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Best Value: $2 Taco in a Bag at Totino-Grace.
Worst Time to Not Pay the Light Bill: Chaska, for lights going out in last minute of a tight game with Apple Valley
Better than a Stairmaster award: Running up and down Chanhassen's bleachers
Worst place to lose (insert important item here) award: Elk River. Small children can barely get through the opening to get under the bleachers to retrieve items that fall through.
Down to the wire with the top of class 3A
Labels:
Jonah Travis
Prologue
There's the Hatfields and McCoys, the Bears and Packers, the Yankees and Red Sox etc. But the biggest "rivalries" throughout history have been based on religion. Which brings us to #5 De La Salle and their home battle with #3 Benilde-St. Margaret's. A disappointing crowd but eventually we fill in. A little extra salsa on the Taco in a Bag but that adds a little kick to it. St. Mary's and St. Olaf again in the house. We have a ton of AAU guys, Krosschell, Harris, Pulley and Nick Carroll from Fury in the house. And a special appearance by Washington Wizards assistant Don Zierden.
I normally don't talk JV ball here but I have to in this instance. BSM without their 4 star sophomores (all stayed up on varsity for this one) was up 39-19 with 12+ left. Then a foul on a rebound on DLS. We get some yapping and a minor 1 handed shove from a DLS player. The BSM player goes into Charles Barkley mode and slams the ball off the DLS player's skull. The official only gives the DLS player a T which means his certification to do any officiating should be immediately revoked. The DLS JV coach finds out this result and he too gets a T. BSM misses both of those freebies and the whole disaster lights a fire under the Islanders who come back and win 56-53.
Game Time
We have 3 officials working this one who either worked state last year or previously. I'm not a fan of at least 2 of them and the officiating was not state tourney quality in this one. To the real deal, we're 6 all at the 15:25 mark before Bretson McNeal caps a 9-0 Islander run with a 3. McNeal and Jaspers with 2 more from deep and its 21-11 Islanders at 11:10. A bad charge call on Peter Crawford sends Benilde's top player to the bench at 10:37. Jonah Travis picks up his 2nd cheap foul of the day and he's on the bench at 9:37. Red Knights on a 9-0 run capped by 2 Nick Meyer free throws at 6:13. 23-22 De La Salle leads. Isaiah Zierden drives and gives the Red Knights their first lead at the 4:30 mark, 26-25. Myles Barnes with a dunk and a 3 point play before McNeal flares for another triple to tie the game at 33. 37-35 De La Salle at the half.
The start of the second half is the Peter Crawford show. A putback, a pullup jumper, a backcut for a 3 point play, a tough 2 and another backcut for 2 more and he'll top it off with a foul line pullup jumper. All of that in just over 4 minutes. 48-46 Red Knights as De La Salle takes a timeout at the 12:48 mark. Crawford with all 13 points for the Red Knights in the half. Zierden and McNeal trade shots from deep. Evan Battle and Travis trade post hoops. Zierden then with another 3. Timeout De La Salle with 8:25 left down 56-51. And that starts the run that ultimately puts them ahead. Travis on the post for 2 more and a putback to cut the lead to 1. Then a sweet baseline spin off of Battle from the left block for a reverse layup. Jaspers with a foul line jumper off the secondary break and he finds McNeal for 3 before knocking down his own 3 with 3:38 left. 65-59 De La Salle after a 14-3 run in 4:47. Crawford strong to the hoop and he finishes over Travis, wow. Nick Meyer and Jaspers trade drives before a Red Knights timeout at 2:40. 69-63 De La Salle.
Double flare screen for Zierden that the Islanders jump out on. Crawford slips it and is fouled for 2 freebies at 2:10. Jaspers misses a front end that Travis rebounds but he misses a 1:40. Seth Marx puts back a miss at 1:30 and its 69-67 De La Salle. Red Knights choose to stay with their run and jump pressure and the Islanders take time with 51.4 left. Out of the timeout, they can't get it in and its a 5 second call. Meyer then called for a questionable pushoff with 38.1 left to give De La Salle the ball back. Red Knights want to foul Islander point guard Walter Franklin but it takes them until 8.5 seconds left to do that. Instructions to Zierden during the free throws are to push the ball to halfcourt and get a timeout. Franklin makes 1 of 2 but Zierden is on the sideline in front of the BSM bench with 3.4 left and coach Moore slams his hand on the scorer's table in disgust. Jalen Jaspers makes 1 of 2 freebies with 2.2 left to seal a 71-67 De La Salle victory.
For Benilde-St. Margaret's, Peter Crawford with 18 of his 22 in the second half. Isaiah Zierden with 3 triples and 15 points. Seth Marx held to 4 points after his big game earlier this week against Columbia Heights. Evan Battle off the bench with 8 points. Myles Barnes with 7 points before fouling out. We talked about section 6 earlier in the week but based on the eye test, you have to keep them the top seed at 19-5.
For De La Salle, they improve to 20-3 and this should lock up the top seed in section 6AAA. Jalen Jaspers leads the way with 25 points. Bretson McNeal with 6 more triples and 20 points. Red Knights did not do a good job of defending the flare screens for him. Jonah Travis finishes with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. Most of that in the second half due to foul trouble in the first half. Marcus Dorsey 5 points and played well, especially early, off the bench. They really were rattled by the run and jump pressure though which is not a good sign against teams like Henry or Columbia Heights in the section final and especially not against Johnson at the state level. On the road at Henry on Tuesday will be an interesting test for the Islanders.
There's the Hatfields and McCoys, the Bears and Packers, the Yankees and Red Sox etc. But the biggest "rivalries" throughout history have been based on religion. Which brings us to #5 De La Salle and their home battle with #3 Benilde-St. Margaret's. A disappointing crowd but eventually we fill in. A little extra salsa on the Taco in a Bag but that adds a little kick to it. St. Mary's and St. Olaf again in the house. We have a ton of AAU guys, Krosschell, Harris, Pulley and Nick Carroll from Fury in the house. And a special appearance by Washington Wizards assistant Don Zierden.
I normally don't talk JV ball here but I have to in this instance. BSM without their 4 star sophomores (all stayed up on varsity for this one) was up 39-19 with 12+ left. Then a foul on a rebound on DLS. We get some yapping and a minor 1 handed shove from a DLS player. The BSM player goes into Charles Barkley mode and slams the ball off the DLS player's skull. The official only gives the DLS player a T which means his certification to do any officiating should be immediately revoked. The DLS JV coach finds out this result and he too gets a T. BSM misses both of those freebies and the whole disaster lights a fire under the Islanders who come back and win 56-53.
Game Time
We have 3 officials working this one who either worked state last year or previously. I'm not a fan of at least 2 of them and the officiating was not state tourney quality in this one. To the real deal, we're 6 all at the 15:25 mark before Bretson McNeal caps a 9-0 Islander run with a 3. McNeal and Jaspers with 2 more from deep and its 21-11 Islanders at 11:10. A bad charge call on Peter Crawford sends Benilde's top player to the bench at 10:37. Jonah Travis picks up his 2nd cheap foul of the day and he's on the bench at 9:37. Red Knights on a 9-0 run capped by 2 Nick Meyer free throws at 6:13. 23-22 De La Salle leads. Isaiah Zierden drives and gives the Red Knights their first lead at the 4:30 mark, 26-25. Myles Barnes with a dunk and a 3 point play before McNeal flares for another triple to tie the game at 33. 37-35 De La Salle at the half.
The start of the second half is the Peter Crawford show. A putback, a pullup jumper, a backcut for a 3 point play, a tough 2 and another backcut for 2 more and he'll top it off with a foul line pullup jumper. All of that in just over 4 minutes. 48-46 Red Knights as De La Salle takes a timeout at the 12:48 mark. Crawford with all 13 points for the Red Knights in the half. Zierden and McNeal trade shots from deep. Evan Battle and Travis trade post hoops. Zierden then with another 3. Timeout De La Salle with 8:25 left down 56-51. And that starts the run that ultimately puts them ahead. Travis on the post for 2 more and a putback to cut the lead to 1. Then a sweet baseline spin off of Battle from the left block for a reverse layup. Jaspers with a foul line jumper off the secondary break and he finds McNeal for 3 before knocking down his own 3 with 3:38 left. 65-59 De La Salle after a 14-3 run in 4:47. Crawford strong to the hoop and he finishes over Travis, wow. Nick Meyer and Jaspers trade drives before a Red Knights timeout at 2:40. 69-63 De La Salle.
Double flare screen for Zierden that the Islanders jump out on. Crawford slips it and is fouled for 2 freebies at 2:10. Jaspers misses a front end that Travis rebounds but he misses a 1:40. Seth Marx puts back a miss at 1:30 and its 69-67 De La Salle. Red Knights choose to stay with their run and jump pressure and the Islanders take time with 51.4 left. Out of the timeout, they can't get it in and its a 5 second call. Meyer then called for a questionable pushoff with 38.1 left to give De La Salle the ball back. Red Knights want to foul Islander point guard Walter Franklin but it takes them until 8.5 seconds left to do that. Instructions to Zierden during the free throws are to push the ball to halfcourt and get a timeout. Franklin makes 1 of 2 but Zierden is on the sideline in front of the BSM bench with 3.4 left and coach Moore slams his hand on the scorer's table in disgust. Jalen Jaspers makes 1 of 2 freebies with 2.2 left to seal a 71-67 De La Salle victory.
For Benilde-St. Margaret's, Peter Crawford with 18 of his 22 in the second half. Isaiah Zierden with 3 triples and 15 points. Seth Marx held to 4 points after his big game earlier this week against Columbia Heights. Evan Battle off the bench with 8 points. Myles Barnes with 7 points before fouling out. We talked about section 6 earlier in the week but based on the eye test, you have to keep them the top seed at 19-5.
For De La Salle, they improve to 20-3 and this should lock up the top seed in section 6AAA. Jalen Jaspers leads the way with 25 points. Bretson McNeal with 6 more triples and 20 points. Red Knights did not do a good job of defending the flare screens for him. Jonah Travis finishes with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. Most of that in the second half due to foul trouble in the first half. Marcus Dorsey 5 points and played well, especially early, off the bench. They really were rattled by the run and jump pressure though which is not a good sign against teams like Henry or Columbia Heights in the section final and especially not against Johnson at the state level. On the road at Henry on Tuesday will be an interesting test for the Islanders.
Islanders survive late Cadet comeback
Labels:
Jonah Travis
Prologue
Its the first of back to back trips to De La Salle. Tonight its St. Thomas Academy visiting. We've got St. Olaf and St. Mary's in the house looking on. Rene Pulley and Willie Braziel make a late appearance and John Moore also makes an appearance. No Taco In A Bag tonight, aw shucks. Hot Dog OK, bun needs a bit of work. Can't go wrong with Mug Root Beer. Jalen Jaspers awarded a ball for passing the 1000 career points mark vs Minnehaha a couple of weeks ago. Best of all, you can't go wrong with a De La Salle teacher playing the national anthem on the saxophone. Not the first time I've seen it there, but still absolutely outstanding and about the only thing that would be a quality replacement for their jazz band doing it.
Game Time
Billy Chapman with a couple of quick assists for layups and St. Thomas is up 8-6 at the 12 minute mark. Marcus Dorsey with a putback for a 3 point play and Jonah Travis adds a putback for De La Salle. St. Thomas playing triangle and 2 on Jaspers and Bretson McNeal. Interesting twist. Out of a DLS timeout at 8:20, St. Thomas goes 3-2 zone. Add in a pair of Charlie Aslesen triples and St. Thomas is within 18-16 at the 5:20 mark. Then John Hertle for 3, Walter Franklin with a great tip out of a rebound and Jaspers takes it the other way for a 2 handed flush and a putback. St. Thomas back to the triangle and 2 as DLS is up 25-16. They go to halftime with a 30-23 lead.
The Cadets stay with the triangle and 2 to start the second half. Hertle with another 3 for a double digit lead. Coach Thorson then gets a technical as 2 of the 3 officials really let the kids play tonight (both did the JV game too, same thing). The Cadets get nothing on the possession and only make 1 of 2 free throws. Jaspers then with a nice baseline drive and reverse layup and then Travis on the post for 2 and St. Thomas needs a timeout. 37-24 they're down with 14:50 left. Coach Sjoberg has seen enough of the gimmicks as the Cadets go straight man the rest of the way. Soph lefty shooter Thomas Sjoberg with back to back triples to force a De La Salle timeout with 8:20 left. Cadets still hanging around down 48-36. Then an 11-2 run blows this one open. John Hertle with 1 great dribble to the baseline for a better passing angle and that's a 2 handed dunk for Travis on the postup. Jaspers backdoor off the secondary break from Travis. Jaspers with a layup and McNeal from deep and its 57-38 Islanders with 6 minutes left. The only post presence for the Cadets, Will Patt, fouls out moments later.
Then Billy Chapman, who was 2-15 shooting with 8 points at this stage, decides to go off and DLS puts it on cruise. Chapman for 3, then he creates space for 2, then a pair of free throws and then a 3 point play at 2:34. The lead is down to 61-50. Chapman with a putback at 2:01 and then a turnover gives him a 3 and another turnover results in him grabbing a miss and making 2 free throws. Holy cow its 61-57 De La Salle with 1:16 left and its a game. DLS doesn't beat the 10 count on the clock but they do beat the ref's 10 count and that's 2 Jaspers free throws. Chapman gets a good look at a 3 and its short with 50 seconds left and that's really the last gasp. Chapman tacks on a 30 footer at the end for 21 points in the last 5:10. DLS hangs on 69-61.
For St. Thomas, Billy Chapman finishes with 29 points on 8-25 shooting (6-10 in last 5:10). Thomas Sjoberg and Charlie Aslesen both reach double figures with 10 points. I'd like to see Aslesen get more shots. Will Patt had foul issues and was held to 4 points. The Cadets fall to 14-9 overall but still should hang on for the 2 seed over league rival Mahtomedi in section 4AAA. The wildcard would be if Mahtomedi knocks off Sibley next week.
For De La Salle, they improve to 19-3 and didn't get trapped before the big one that I'm at on Saturday vs Benilde-St. Margaret's. Jonah Travis with 16 of his 22 points in the second half. Jalen Jaspers 17 points. Once thing that showed again for me in this one is that you can run basic zone stuff (short corner, dive the high post etc) vs junk defenses. Too many teams panic. St. Thomas took advantage of some sloppy play at the end with the big lead. Not something coach Thorson will be happy about.
Its the first of back to back trips to De La Salle. Tonight its St. Thomas Academy visiting. We've got St. Olaf and St. Mary's in the house looking on. Rene Pulley and Willie Braziel make a late appearance and John Moore also makes an appearance. No Taco In A Bag tonight, aw shucks. Hot Dog OK, bun needs a bit of work. Can't go wrong with Mug Root Beer. Jalen Jaspers awarded a ball for passing the 1000 career points mark vs Minnehaha a couple of weeks ago. Best of all, you can't go wrong with a De La Salle teacher playing the national anthem on the saxophone. Not the first time I've seen it there, but still absolutely outstanding and about the only thing that would be a quality replacement for their jazz band doing it.
Game Time
Billy Chapman with a couple of quick assists for layups and St. Thomas is up 8-6 at the 12 minute mark. Marcus Dorsey with a putback for a 3 point play and Jonah Travis adds a putback for De La Salle. St. Thomas playing triangle and 2 on Jaspers and Bretson McNeal. Interesting twist. Out of a DLS timeout at 8:20, St. Thomas goes 3-2 zone. Add in a pair of Charlie Aslesen triples and St. Thomas is within 18-16 at the 5:20 mark. Then John Hertle for 3, Walter Franklin with a great tip out of a rebound and Jaspers takes it the other way for a 2 handed flush and a putback. St. Thomas back to the triangle and 2 as DLS is up 25-16. They go to halftime with a 30-23 lead.
The Cadets stay with the triangle and 2 to start the second half. Hertle with another 3 for a double digit lead. Coach Thorson then gets a technical as 2 of the 3 officials really let the kids play tonight (both did the JV game too, same thing). The Cadets get nothing on the possession and only make 1 of 2 free throws. Jaspers then with a nice baseline drive and reverse layup and then Travis on the post for 2 and St. Thomas needs a timeout. 37-24 they're down with 14:50 left. Coach Sjoberg has seen enough of the gimmicks as the Cadets go straight man the rest of the way. Soph lefty shooter Thomas Sjoberg with back to back triples to force a De La Salle timeout with 8:20 left. Cadets still hanging around down 48-36. Then an 11-2 run blows this one open. John Hertle with 1 great dribble to the baseline for a better passing angle and that's a 2 handed dunk for Travis on the postup. Jaspers backdoor off the secondary break from Travis. Jaspers with a layup and McNeal from deep and its 57-38 Islanders with 6 minutes left. The only post presence for the Cadets, Will Patt, fouls out moments later.
Then Billy Chapman, who was 2-15 shooting with 8 points at this stage, decides to go off and DLS puts it on cruise. Chapman for 3, then he creates space for 2, then a pair of free throws and then a 3 point play at 2:34. The lead is down to 61-50. Chapman with a putback at 2:01 and then a turnover gives him a 3 and another turnover results in him grabbing a miss and making 2 free throws. Holy cow its 61-57 De La Salle with 1:16 left and its a game. DLS doesn't beat the 10 count on the clock but they do beat the ref's 10 count and that's 2 Jaspers free throws. Chapman gets a good look at a 3 and its short with 50 seconds left and that's really the last gasp. Chapman tacks on a 30 footer at the end for 21 points in the last 5:10. DLS hangs on 69-61.
For St. Thomas, Billy Chapman finishes with 29 points on 8-25 shooting (6-10 in last 5:10). Thomas Sjoberg and Charlie Aslesen both reach double figures with 10 points. I'd like to see Aslesen get more shots. Will Patt had foul issues and was held to 4 points. The Cadets fall to 14-9 overall but still should hang on for the 2 seed over league rival Mahtomedi in section 4AAA. The wildcard would be if Mahtomedi knocks off Sibley next week.
For De La Salle, they improve to 19-3 and didn't get trapped before the big one that I'm at on Saturday vs Benilde-St. Margaret's. Jonah Travis with 16 of his 22 points in the second half. Jalen Jaspers 17 points. Once thing that showed again for me in this one is that you can run basic zone stuff (short corner, dive the high post etc) vs junk defenses. Too many teams panic. St. Thomas took advantage of some sloppy play at the end with the big lead. Not something coach Thorson will be happy about.
Exciting Battle of Number 6
Labels:
Jonah Travis
Prologue
ow, Ow, OW!!!! The hard foul on ice on the way here makes this one tough to watch but I'm tough so we'll continue on. Its a battle of #6AAA De La Salle visiting #6AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall. Despite barely making the tipoff, I am making sure to get the restaurant quality beef hot dog. The PA system is bad enough on the CDH side. No wonder they rarely open the side behind the benches where I was tonight.
Game Time
All bigs early. De La Salle's Jonah Travis with 2 free throws from an offensive rebound. Cretin's Seantrel Henderson with 2 putbacks. Travis with a putback and a layup. Those sandwich triples by Raijon Kelly and Taylor Montero. 12-8 CDH at the 11:40 mark. Bretson McNeal for 2 and then 3 around a pretty backdoor cut for 2 from Montero. Travis pins a Elliot Owusu layup to the board for a goaltending call before another Henderson putback. 18-13 CDH as DLS takes time at the 8:10 mark. Jalen Jaspers finally gets going for DLS late in the half as he flares for 3, drives for 2 and nails another 3. 31-28 Cretin-Derham Hall as we go to the half. Henderson really tough to handle inside. Jonah Travis with the 1st 8 for DLS but only 2 more the rest of the half.
Henderson with another putback and Cortez Tillman with a layup at 14:10 for a 39-32 CDH lead. They decide to go zone the rest of the way. It starts with the same 2-3 trap that was so effective against Stillwater earlier this year. After a McNeal 3, Kelly with a pair of freebies, Henderson with a postup for 2 and then Kelly with a steal under the basket for 3 the hard way. 46-35 CDH with 11:27 left and De La Salle needs a timeout. They get the response necessary too. Travis with a set play lob off a baseline out of bounds for a dunk. McNeal for 3 and a Travis block becomes 2 Jaspers free throws. 46-42 CDH with 10:09 left as the Islanders score 7 in a row. Henderson with a post layup off a flash and great touch pass from CJ Neuman. CDH then goes 1-3-1 at the 9 minute mark and promptly forces a pair of turnovers. Owusu gets the first for an easy breakaway dunk and Montero converts the other. 52-44 at 8:01 after that hoops and we get the mysterious CDH timeout. Kelly adds a tough stepback shot from the left baseline to push the lead back to double figures, 54-44, with 7 minutes left.
Travis with 4 straight free throws, a much improved part of his game, to keep it close. Then 2 DLS turnovers, 1 vs each zone as CDH is back to the 2-3. Gus Gehlen converts the 2nd into a triple. 58-48 Raiders with 5:20 left. Jaspers with 2 free throws. A CDH turnover for a McNeal layup cuts the lead to 6. Montero for 3 with 3:30 left for a 61-53 CDH lead. Travis grabs his own miss and puts it back, Jaspers with a layup off a turnover with 2:30 left. DLS really pressuring and in their haste to help on Henderson inside, Owusu gets lost under the rim for a layup. McNeal with 2 FTs at 1:38. CDH then with 2 really questionable shots. DLS can't convert the first but Travis grabs his own miss and converts a 3 point play with 32.8 left and its 63-62 CDH. Hold the phone. DLS doesn't immediately foul and Travis bear hugs Henderson to put him on the line with 22.7 left. Why is Henderson even in the game at this point??? He misses the front end and DLS has the rebound and a chance to win on the road. No timeout, tick, tick, tick. A flare screen for Jaspers or McNeal was effective all night but DLS doesn't get into anything and they lose the ball out of bounds with 5.1 left without taking a timeout. After not getting anything in transition on the rebound, I would have liked to see a DLS timeout. That would have given them about 10 seconds. Montero makes 2 free throws with 3.8 left with Henderson still . DLS has a play drawn up and its a handoff for McNeal who's shot is just long at the buzzer. CDH hangs on 65-62.
For De La Salle, Jonah Travis with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks (goaltending call not included). Jalen Jaspers 6-17 for 18 points. He had some good looks off of their secondary break on the dribble handoff to the top. Against Minnehaha in their last meeting he made a bunch of those shots. Tonight those shots didn't fall. Bretson McNeal with 4 triples and 18 points as well. The Islanders fall to 17-3 breaking an 11 game winning streak.
For Cretin-Derham Hall, they improve to 18-4 with the 4 losses by 15 points. Seantrel Henderson leads the way with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Raijon Kelly and Taylor Montero each with 12 points. Elliot Owusu with 10 points. I liked the zone strategy from CDH as I'd much rather play against the DLS zone offense than man offense. Kicker is that you have to know who not to guard. Most teams don't bother with that and make their lives so much harder. Minnehaha was one of the few who picked out the non-shooters and didn't guard them. The debate for the top seed in section 4AAAA will be very interesting between CDH and Sibley if both win out. Sibley has more losses against a brutally tough schedule but they're a conference champion and CDH will likely be 2 games behind Forest Lake. The teams are #6 and #7 in the current state poll. (We'll ignore the fact the #8 Eden Prairie beat CDH head to head, will win their tougher league and has a better power ranking. How much are polls really worth?)
Jonah Travis photo courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net
ow, Ow, OW!!!! The hard foul on ice on the way here makes this one tough to watch but I'm tough so we'll continue on. Its a battle of #6AAA De La Salle visiting #6AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall. Despite barely making the tipoff, I am making sure to get the restaurant quality beef hot dog. The PA system is bad enough on the CDH side. No wonder they rarely open the side behind the benches where I was tonight.
Game Time
All bigs early. De La Salle's Jonah Travis with 2 free throws from an offensive rebound. Cretin's Seantrel Henderson with 2 putbacks. Travis with a putback and a layup. Those sandwich triples by Raijon Kelly and Taylor Montero. 12-8 CDH at the 11:40 mark. Bretson McNeal for 2 and then 3 around a pretty backdoor cut for 2 from Montero. Travis pins a Elliot Owusu layup to the board for a goaltending call before another Henderson putback. 18-13 CDH as DLS takes time at the 8:10 mark. Jalen Jaspers finally gets going for DLS late in the half as he flares for 3, drives for 2 and nails another 3. 31-28 Cretin-Derham Hall as we go to the half. Henderson really tough to handle inside. Jonah Travis with the 1st 8 for DLS but only 2 more the rest of the half.
Henderson with another putback and Cortez Tillman with a layup at 14:10 for a 39-32 CDH lead. They decide to go zone the rest of the way. It starts with the same 2-3 trap that was so effective against Stillwater earlier this year. After a McNeal 3, Kelly with a pair of freebies, Henderson with a postup for 2 and then Kelly with a steal under the basket for 3 the hard way. 46-35 CDH with 11:27 left and De La Salle needs a timeout. They get the response necessary too. Travis with a set play lob off a baseline out of bounds for a dunk. McNeal for 3 and a Travis block becomes 2 Jaspers free throws. 46-42 CDH with 10:09 left as the Islanders score 7 in a row. Henderson with a post layup off a flash and great touch pass from CJ Neuman. CDH then goes 1-3-1 at the 9 minute mark and promptly forces a pair of turnovers. Owusu gets the first for an easy breakaway dunk and Montero converts the other. 52-44 at 8:01 after that hoops and we get the mysterious CDH timeout. Kelly adds a tough stepback shot from the left baseline to push the lead back to double figures, 54-44, with 7 minutes left.
Travis with 4 straight free throws, a much improved part of his game, to keep it close. Then 2 DLS turnovers, 1 vs each zone as CDH is back to the 2-3. Gus Gehlen converts the 2nd into a triple. 58-48 Raiders with 5:20 left. Jaspers with 2 free throws. A CDH turnover for a McNeal layup cuts the lead to 6. Montero for 3 with 3:30 left for a 61-53 CDH lead. Travis grabs his own miss and puts it back, Jaspers with a layup off a turnover with 2:30 left. DLS really pressuring and in their haste to help on Henderson inside, Owusu gets lost under the rim for a layup. McNeal with 2 FTs at 1:38. CDH then with 2 really questionable shots. DLS can't convert the first but Travis grabs his own miss and converts a 3 point play with 32.8 left and its 63-62 CDH. Hold the phone. DLS doesn't immediately foul and Travis bear hugs Henderson to put him on the line with 22.7 left. Why is Henderson even in the game at this point??? He misses the front end and DLS has the rebound and a chance to win on the road. No timeout, tick, tick, tick. A flare screen for Jaspers or McNeal was effective all night but DLS doesn't get into anything and they lose the ball out of bounds with 5.1 left without taking a timeout. After not getting anything in transition on the rebound, I would have liked to see a DLS timeout. That would have given them about 10 seconds. Montero makes 2 free throws with 3.8 left with Henderson still . DLS has a play drawn up and its a handoff for McNeal who's shot is just long at the buzzer. CDH hangs on 65-62.
For De La Salle, Jonah Travis with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks (goaltending call not included). Jalen Jaspers 6-17 for 18 points. He had some good looks off of their secondary break on the dribble handoff to the top. Against Minnehaha in their last meeting he made a bunch of those shots. Tonight those shots didn't fall. Bretson McNeal with 4 triples and 18 points as well. The Islanders fall to 17-3 breaking an 11 game winning streak.
For Cretin-Derham Hall, they improve to 18-4 with the 4 losses by 15 points. Seantrel Henderson leads the way with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Raijon Kelly and Taylor Montero each with 12 points. Elliot Owusu with 10 points. I liked the zone strategy from CDH as I'd much rather play against the DLS zone offense than man offense. Kicker is that you have to know who not to guard. Most teams don't bother with that and make their lives so much harder. Minnehaha was one of the few who picked out the non-shooters and didn't guard them. The debate for the top seed in section 4AAAA will be very interesting between CDH and Sibley if both win out. Sibley has more losses against a brutally tough schedule but they're a conference champion and CDH will likely be 2 games behind Forest Lake. The teams are #6 and #7 in the current state poll. (We'll ignore the fact the #8 Eden Prairie beat CDH head to head, will win their tougher league and has a better power ranking. How much are polls really worth?)
Jonah Travis photo courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net
Jaspers leads DeLaSalle to big win.
Labels:
Jonah Travis
Prologue
The night session is at DeLaSalle. The Walking Taco at the concession stand tonight, sweet! And as always, yes give me everything on it. And I haven't even entered the gym yet. Due to my late arrival during the girls game I make a rare appearance in the upper deck and find Columbia Heights coach Willie Braziel on hand to watch the Islanders for section play. St. Olaf and Hamline on hand watching as well. Nice crowd but no DLS band and they played on Thursday vs North. Oh the disappointment. Minnehaha won the first meeting 71-59 (read about it here)
Game Time
All Minnehaha early as Austin Brown spins for 2 and Taylor Hanson knocks down a 3. 9-1 Minnehaha at 12:25. Jalen Jaspers with a jumper and 1 at 12:11 for DeLaSalle's first field goal of the night. Bretson McNeal in his first game back in a couple of weeks and he's flammable. He scores 12 De La Salle points in a row on 4 3s in a 5 minute span. The last on a nice set double flare screen where LaMonte Hall absolutely wiped out the defender on a screen that went from elbow to low block. That keeps the Islanders within 17-16 at the 6:30 mark. Jonah Travis picks up his second at the 6:02 mark and that's after Walter Franklin has already been on the bench with 2 for 6 minutes. Eric Klingner turns that into 2 free throws and then converts a 3 point play. Timeout DeLaSalle down 22-16 with 4:08 left in the half. McNeal with a steal for 2 at 3:05 and its 24-20 Minnehaha. Parker Hines for 3, Eric Forson for 3 and Joel Reinhardt with a putback. That sends Minnehaha to the break up 32-24.
2 free throws by Taylor Hanson at the 14:49 mark keep Minnehaha up 37-30. Then an interesting twist as DeLaSalle decides to go small and play without Jonah Travis or Marcus Dorsey. That puts Jaspers in the middle and gives him the chore of guarding Hanson. He immediately responds with a pair of putbacks. Then great ball movement is 2 passes and a great head fake by LaMonte Hall. Hall steps back off the head fake and nails the 3. A turnover becomes 2 free throws by Walter Franklin and we're all tied at 39 with 11:11 left. Hines called for 5 seconds while Minnehaha wanted a timeout. Coach Johnson is livid for good reason and the official compounds the mistake by giving the technical. Franklin makes 1 of the 2 technicals and the Islanders don't convert the possession so we're tied at 41. Hanson with a jumper but then he picks up his 4th foul with 8:40 to go and a 45-44 Minnehaha lead. A turnover turns into a Jaspers layup at 6:45 and DeLaSalle leads for the 1st time all night, 48-47. Hanson right back in the game. Minnehaha with a pair of bad possessions around a Jonah Travis bucket. 50-49 DeLaSalle with the ball as they call timeout with 4:04 left.
Travis with a putback at 3:35 and the lead is 3, big basket. Then another Minnehaha turnover for a Franklin layup is a backbreaker. 54-49 Islanders with 3:10 left. Hanson on the post for 2 but Jaspers counters with a nice bank out of the post and after a turnover he tacks on a free throw to push the lead to 6. Brown with a putback countered by Travis converting inside on a dish. De La Salle turns it over after a Minnehaha miss and Brown's layup with 1:15 left cuts the Islanders lead to 59-55. The rest is free throws and the Islanders make 9 of 10 in the last 1:01 for a 68-61 win.
For Minnehaha, they fall to 18-4 and into a 1st place tie with De La Salle on top of the Tri-Metro west division at 11-1. Austin Brown with 16 of his 20 in the second half but also 6 turnovers in the half. Parker Hines 12 points but no field goals in the 2nd half. Taylor Hanson another quiet game vs the Islanders with 10 points on 3 field goals. Its very possible the Redhawks won't be challenged again until state where Crosby-Ironton could be a state quarterfinal opponent.
For DeLaSalle, Jalen Jaspers with 19 of 26 of his points in the second half as all the offense went through him. That included some post up action with him playing center for a chunk of the 2nd half. Bretson McNeal with 14 of his 18 points in the first half and those were crucial to keeping the Islanders close. Jonah Travis 11 points as Minnehaha chose to double him in the post in this one. Tough non-conference schedule of Cretin-Derham Hall, Benilde-St. Margaret's, St. Thomas Academy and Minneapolis Henry still awaits the Islanders before the regular season ends.
Jalen Jaspers photo courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net
The night session is at DeLaSalle. The Walking Taco at the concession stand tonight, sweet! And as always, yes give me everything on it. And I haven't even entered the gym yet. Due to my late arrival during the girls game I make a rare appearance in the upper deck and find Columbia Heights coach Willie Braziel on hand to watch the Islanders for section play. St. Olaf and Hamline on hand watching as well. Nice crowd but no DLS band and they played on Thursday vs North. Oh the disappointment. Minnehaha won the first meeting 71-59 (read about it here)
Game Time
All Minnehaha early as Austin Brown spins for 2 and Taylor Hanson knocks down a 3. 9-1 Minnehaha at 12:25. Jalen Jaspers with a jumper and 1 at 12:11 for DeLaSalle's first field goal of the night. Bretson McNeal in his first game back in a couple of weeks and he's flammable. He scores 12 De La Salle points in a row on 4 3s in a 5 minute span. The last on a nice set double flare screen where LaMonte Hall absolutely wiped out the defender on a screen that went from elbow to low block. That keeps the Islanders within 17-16 at the 6:30 mark. Jonah Travis picks up his second at the 6:02 mark and that's after Walter Franklin has already been on the bench with 2 for 6 minutes. Eric Klingner turns that into 2 free throws and then converts a 3 point play. Timeout DeLaSalle down 22-16 with 4:08 left in the half. McNeal with a steal for 2 at 3:05 and its 24-20 Minnehaha. Parker Hines for 3, Eric Forson for 3 and Joel Reinhardt with a putback. That sends Minnehaha to the break up 32-24.
2 free throws by Taylor Hanson at the 14:49 mark keep Minnehaha up 37-30. Then an interesting twist as DeLaSalle decides to go small and play without Jonah Travis or Marcus Dorsey. That puts Jaspers in the middle and gives him the chore of guarding Hanson. He immediately responds with a pair of putbacks. Then great ball movement is 2 passes and a great head fake by LaMonte Hall. Hall steps back off the head fake and nails the 3. A turnover becomes 2 free throws by Walter Franklin and we're all tied at 39 with 11:11 left. Hines called for 5 seconds while Minnehaha wanted a timeout. Coach Johnson is livid for good reason and the official compounds the mistake by giving the technical. Franklin makes 1 of the 2 technicals and the Islanders don't convert the possession so we're tied at 41. Hanson with a jumper but then he picks up his 4th foul with 8:40 to go and a 45-44 Minnehaha lead. A turnover turns into a Jaspers layup at 6:45 and DeLaSalle leads for the 1st time all night, 48-47. Hanson right back in the game. Minnehaha with a pair of bad possessions around a Jonah Travis bucket. 50-49 DeLaSalle with the ball as they call timeout with 4:04 left.
Travis with a putback at 3:35 and the lead is 3, big basket. Then another Minnehaha turnover for a Franklin layup is a backbreaker. 54-49 Islanders with 3:10 left. Hanson on the post for 2 but Jaspers counters with a nice bank out of the post and after a turnover he tacks on a free throw to push the lead to 6. Brown with a putback countered by Travis converting inside on a dish. De La Salle turns it over after a Minnehaha miss and Brown's layup with 1:15 left cuts the Islanders lead to 59-55. The rest is free throws and the Islanders make 9 of 10 in the last 1:01 for a 68-61 win.
For Minnehaha, they fall to 18-4 and into a 1st place tie with De La Salle on top of the Tri-Metro west division at 11-1. Austin Brown with 16 of his 20 in the second half but also 6 turnovers in the half. Parker Hines 12 points but no field goals in the 2nd half. Taylor Hanson another quiet game vs the Islanders with 10 points on 3 field goals. Its very possible the Redhawks won't be challenged again until state where Crosby-Ironton could be a state quarterfinal opponent.
For DeLaSalle, Jalen Jaspers with 19 of 26 of his points in the second half as all the offense went through him. That included some post up action with him playing center for a chunk of the 2nd half. Bretson McNeal with 14 of his 18 points in the first half and those were crucial to keeping the Islanders close. Jonah Travis 11 points as Minnehaha chose to double him in the post in this one. Tough non-conference schedule of Cretin-Derham Hall, Benilde-St. Margaret's, St. Thomas Academy and Minneapolis Henry still awaits the Islanders before the regular season ends.
Jalen Jaspers photo courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net
St. Bernard's at DeLaSalle Thoughts
Labels:
Jonah Travis
Prologue
Its the 1st trip of the season to DeLaSalle as they host St. Bernard's. But as we've said before, this is not the St. Bernard's team we're used to seeing despite leading the Tri-Metro East. Standard food fare and no DeLaSalle jazz band which is a disappointment. This was part of a doubleheader and the DLS girls won 81-24 and the starters may not have been in for half the game.
Game Time
St. Bernard's the with usual 2-3 zone for most of this one which slows the pace. But the Islanders knock down 3 triples in a 13-0 run to open a 15-4 lead at the 11:55 mark. This was after a couple of nice Ricky Suggs blocks inside on Jonah Travis. Jalen Jaspers with a pair of those. St. Bernard's hangs around with a Shane Taylor 3 and a Suggs drive to stay within 24-17 at 5:45. Jaspers with a bucket and then a triple in a 9-0 Islander run to push the lead to 16 before Suggs beats the halftime buzzer with a 3. 38-25 DeLaSalle at the half.
A pair of turnovers ignite a 6-0 Islander run and that pushes the lead to 17. 44-27 DeLaSalle at 13:25 and St. Bernard's needs time. Shane Taylor with a 3 at 10:55 and the lead is only 44-32 inside of 11 minutes to go. Then Jonah Travis on the post for 2. Jaspers runs out on a turnover and converts with a 1 handed hammer and then puts back a miss. After another Taylor 3, an outstanding side to side and back possession results in a putback for Jaspers inside of 6 minutes. A skip pass for a Lamonte Hall triple pushes sthe lead to 17 with 5:10 to go. DeLaSalle coasts from there to a 68-45 win.
For St. Bernard's, Asante Simmons with 17 points to keep the Bulldogs close for a while. Ricky Suggs held in check as he finishes with only 7 points. St. Bernard's tried to go 2-3 high with Suggs in the middle to get him some touches but to no avail. The Bulldogs are now 8-8 (6-2) and have 3 tough ones coming up as they host St. Paul Academy, travel to Minnehaha and then have the home rematch with St. Anthony, possibly for the division crown.
For DeLaSalle, Jalen Jaspers leads the way with 19 points. That included 13 points and 3 triples in the 1st half. Nice to see him get back on track after a rough stretch earlier in the year. But to me it was his defense holding down Suggs that was the big story in this one. Jonah Travis working inside against the zone for 17 points and 12 boards. DeLaSalle stays 1 game behind Minnehaha in the Tri-Metro West at 10-2 (7-1). An easy week ahead before a brutal schedule over the last 3 weeks of the season.
Jalen Jaspers photo courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net
Its the 1st trip of the season to DeLaSalle as they host St. Bernard's. But as we've said before, this is not the St. Bernard's team we're used to seeing despite leading the Tri-Metro East. Standard food fare and no DeLaSalle jazz band which is a disappointment. This was part of a doubleheader and the DLS girls won 81-24 and the starters may not have been in for half the game.
Game Time
St. Bernard's the with usual 2-3 zone for most of this one which slows the pace. But the Islanders knock down 3 triples in a 13-0 run to open a 15-4 lead at the 11:55 mark. This was after a couple of nice Ricky Suggs blocks inside on Jonah Travis. Jalen Jaspers with a pair of those. St. Bernard's hangs around with a Shane Taylor 3 and a Suggs drive to stay within 24-17 at 5:45. Jaspers with a bucket and then a triple in a 9-0 Islander run to push the lead to 16 before Suggs beats the halftime buzzer with a 3. 38-25 DeLaSalle at the half.
A pair of turnovers ignite a 6-0 Islander run and that pushes the lead to 17. 44-27 DeLaSalle at 13:25 and St. Bernard's needs time. Shane Taylor with a 3 at 10:55 and the lead is only 44-32 inside of 11 minutes to go. Then Jonah Travis on the post for 2. Jaspers runs out on a turnover and converts with a 1 handed hammer and then puts back a miss. After another Taylor 3, an outstanding side to side and back possession results in a putback for Jaspers inside of 6 minutes. A skip pass for a Lamonte Hall triple pushes sthe lead to 17 with 5:10 to go. DeLaSalle coasts from there to a 68-45 win.
For St. Bernard's, Asante Simmons with 17 points to keep the Bulldogs close for a while. Ricky Suggs held in check as he finishes with only 7 points. St. Bernard's tried to go 2-3 high with Suggs in the middle to get him some touches but to no avail. The Bulldogs are now 8-8 (6-2) and have 3 tough ones coming up as they host St. Paul Academy, travel to Minnehaha and then have the home rematch with St. Anthony, possibly for the division crown.
For DeLaSalle, Jalen Jaspers leads the way with 19 points. That included 13 points and 3 triples in the 1st half. Nice to see him get back on track after a rough stretch earlier in the year. But to me it was his defense holding down Suggs that was the big story in this one. Jonah Travis working inside against the zone for 17 points and 12 boards. DeLaSalle stays 1 game behind Minnehaha in the Tri-Metro West at 10-2 (7-1). An easy week ahead before a brutal schedule over the last 3 weeks of the season.
Jalen Jaspers photo courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net
Redhawks topple #3AAA De La Salle
Labels:
Jonah Travis
Prologue
I gave in and decided to do the highest-profile game I could get to. Nothing wrong with an easy trip to my favorite building to see Minnehaha host #3AAA De La Salle. The rare (to find that is, not cooked rare) and tasty BBQ pork sandwich tonight. mmm, mmm. DLS girls win huge. Great warmup drills from the DLS boys along with nice enthusiam from assistant Quincy Lewis. The drills right out of their offense and 2 coaches making passes to get everybody shots. Well done. Too often we see just basic drills and free shooting just to occupy the 20 minutes. Nice to see a team put that 20 minute warmup to good use working on stuff directly applicable to the game. A bunch of colleges watching too. Concordia-St. Paul (Taylor Hanson??), St. Olaf, Augsburg and St. Mary's all watching tonight. DLS lost the 2 games last year 48-40 and 48-42.
Game Time
Right away you can tell this is a different De La Salle offense than last year. They want to get out and run. 6 all as Bretson McNeal knocks down a corner 3 off a standard DLS baseline out of bounds set. Then Minnehaha goes on an 8-0 run thanks to a nice Austin Brown assist and floater off a screen/roll to end the run. 14-6 Minnehaha at the 9:35 mark. De La Salle right back. Jonah Travis with a 3 point play and a free throw to go with a pair of LaMonte Hall triples. Its a 10-2 DLS run in 2 minutes to tie the game at 16, 7:36 to go as Minnehaha needs a timeout. Parker Hines with back to back triples for 8 straight Minnehaha points to counter McNeal scoring 7 straight DLS points. Melvin Collins drives for a 3 point play and puts back a miss after a turnover to put DLS on top 30-28 at the 4:15 mark. Travis with a layup from McNeal and then a crazy spin off a flare screen nets him a 3 point play. Collins with a steal for a dunk for a 7-0 run that Minnehaha has to stop with a timeout. Austin Brown with a big 3 to stop the bleeding right before the half. 39-38 DLS at the half.
Taylor Hanson hot out of the 2nd half gate for Minnehaha as he nails 3 short jumpers early in the half. 48-46 Minnehaha when Travis catches a lob for 2 and nails 2 FTs to put DLS on top 50-48 with 8:52 left. Hanson with a layup from Hines on a picture perfect screen and roll to tie the game. Brown with another clutch 3 and Hanson drives for 2 after 2 missed DLS free throws. 55-50 Minnehaha with 5:25 left and DLS needs a timeout. Its a 7-0 run over 3 and a half. Travis and Hines trade difficult hoops. Hanson with a steal but misses both free throws and then Brown misses the front end of the bonus. That only nets DLS 2 Walter Franklin free throws. 57-54 Minnehaha with 3:11 left when Parker Hines goes to a crazy good spin move and banks with 3 minutes left for a 5 point lead. DLS misses 2 chances but Minnehaha misses another front end (6 straight misses from the charity stripe). Travis then misses 2 FTs with 2:25 left and that's the dagger. Hanson with a post 2 at 2:05 to make the lead 7. Minnehaha hits their last 8 FTs to seal it. 71-59 Minnehaha pulls the upset
For De La Salle, they fall to 6-2 and out of 1st place in the Tri-Metro West. Jonah Travis leads the way with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks. 1 of those blocks was pinning a layup to the backboard in the last 30 seconds. Ridiculous. He's definitely upped his game and his explosiveness since last season and the summer. 7-14 shooting after starting 1-5. As he was the only effective offensive option tonight, it would have been nice to see him get more touches away from the basket. He had pair of plays where he drove from the foul line area and was able to score with his quickness advantage vs Hanson. Rough night for Jalen Jaspers. After scoring 25, 20 and 25 points in the 1st 3 games of the season. He's only averaging 9.4 over his last 5 with tonight's game of 3 points on 1-9 shooting. Those points came on a late 3 point play. They'll need him to be a major perimeter scoring option if they want to contend at the highest level. Melvin Collins gave the Islanders nice minutes off the bench with 7 of his 9 points coming in the 1st half.
For Minnehaha Academy, they improve to 10-3 and stay on top of the Tri-Metro West standings. Parker Hines leads the way with 24 points. 18 of those in the 1st half to keep Minnehaha close. He started 5-6 shooting before finishing 8-16. Austin Brown rock solid with 20 points and didn't wilt under the defensive pressure of DLS. Taylor Hanson quiet in the 1st half with only 1 FG. 12 of his 18 points were in the 2nd half. 62 of the 71 points from their big 3 scorers. They hold DLS to 20 2nd half points.
Taylor Hanson photo courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net
I gave in and decided to do the highest-profile game I could get to. Nothing wrong with an easy trip to my favorite building to see Minnehaha host #3AAA De La Salle. The rare (to find that is, not cooked rare) and tasty BBQ pork sandwich tonight. mmm, mmm. DLS girls win huge. Great warmup drills from the DLS boys along with nice enthusiam from assistant Quincy Lewis. The drills right out of their offense and 2 coaches making passes to get everybody shots. Well done. Too often we see just basic drills and free shooting just to occupy the 20 minutes. Nice to see a team put that 20 minute warmup to good use working on stuff directly applicable to the game. A bunch of colleges watching too. Concordia-St. Paul (Taylor Hanson??), St. Olaf, Augsburg and St. Mary's all watching tonight. DLS lost the 2 games last year 48-40 and 48-42.
Game Time
Right away you can tell this is a different De La Salle offense than last year. They want to get out and run. 6 all as Bretson McNeal knocks down a corner 3 off a standard DLS baseline out of bounds set. Then Minnehaha goes on an 8-0 run thanks to a nice Austin Brown assist and floater off a screen/roll to end the run. 14-6 Minnehaha at the 9:35 mark. De La Salle right back. Jonah Travis with a 3 point play and a free throw to go with a pair of LaMonte Hall triples. Its a 10-2 DLS run in 2 minutes to tie the game at 16, 7:36 to go as Minnehaha needs a timeout. Parker Hines with back to back triples for 8 straight Minnehaha points to counter McNeal scoring 7 straight DLS points. Melvin Collins drives for a 3 point play and puts back a miss after a turnover to put DLS on top 30-28 at the 4:15 mark. Travis with a layup from McNeal and then a crazy spin off a flare screen nets him a 3 point play. Collins with a steal for a dunk for a 7-0 run that Minnehaha has to stop with a timeout. Austin Brown with a big 3 to stop the bleeding right before the half. 39-38 DLS at the half.
Taylor Hanson hot out of the 2nd half gate for Minnehaha as he nails 3 short jumpers early in the half. 48-46 Minnehaha when Travis catches a lob for 2 and nails 2 FTs to put DLS on top 50-48 with 8:52 left. Hanson with a layup from Hines on a picture perfect screen and roll to tie the game. Brown with another clutch 3 and Hanson drives for 2 after 2 missed DLS free throws. 55-50 Minnehaha with 5:25 left and DLS needs a timeout. Its a 7-0 run over 3 and a half. Travis and Hines trade difficult hoops. Hanson with a steal but misses both free throws and then Brown misses the front end of the bonus. That only nets DLS 2 Walter Franklin free throws. 57-54 Minnehaha with 3:11 left when Parker Hines goes to a crazy good spin move and banks with 3 minutes left for a 5 point lead. DLS misses 2 chances but Minnehaha misses another front end (6 straight misses from the charity stripe). Travis then misses 2 FTs with 2:25 left and that's the dagger. Hanson with a post 2 at 2:05 to make the lead 7. Minnehaha hits their last 8 FTs to seal it. 71-59 Minnehaha pulls the upset
For De La Salle, they fall to 6-2 and out of 1st place in the Tri-Metro West. Jonah Travis leads the way with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks. 1 of those blocks was pinning a layup to the backboard in the last 30 seconds. Ridiculous. He's definitely upped his game and his explosiveness since last season and the summer. 7-14 shooting after starting 1-5. As he was the only effective offensive option tonight, it would have been nice to see him get more touches away from the basket. He had pair of plays where he drove from the foul line area and was able to score with his quickness advantage vs Hanson. Rough night for Jalen Jaspers. After scoring 25, 20 and 25 points in the 1st 3 games of the season. He's only averaging 9.4 over his last 5 with tonight's game of 3 points on 1-9 shooting. Those points came on a late 3 point play. They'll need him to be a major perimeter scoring option if they want to contend at the highest level. Melvin Collins gave the Islanders nice minutes off the bench with 7 of his 9 points coming in the 1st half.
For Minnehaha Academy, they improve to 10-3 and stay on top of the Tri-Metro West standings. Parker Hines leads the way with 24 points. 18 of those in the 1st half to keep Minnehaha close. He started 5-6 shooting before finishing 8-16. Austin Brown rock solid with 20 points and didn't wilt under the defensive pressure of DLS. Taylor Hanson quiet in the 1st half with only 1 FG. 12 of his 18 points were in the 2nd half. 62 of the 71 points from their big 3 scorers. They hold DLS to 20 2nd half points.
Taylor Hanson photo courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net
Pump N Run 16s take the 2009 Jayhawk Invitational
Labels:
Jonah Travis
What a weekend down in Kansas for a bunch of Minnesota teams. The MN Pump N Run 16U team came home with the gold. Here's how PNR might tell you their weekend unfolded.
Game 1: KC Legacy White
That 1st game on Friday is always difficult. Team left at 5:45 AM, was setup at a hotel 30 minutes away from the games (big convention in KC this week). Pump N Run plays sluggish but gets 20 points from Jason Perkins. He looks like a post, but don't discount his ability to handle like a guard. He was used against a big 6'7 280 pound behemoth 1 on 1 and in clear outs against the press. PNR wins by 20. But an early Friday game means a long Saturday day awaits as Game 2 is at 8 AM.
Game 2: Hammond Hurricanes
Leave the hotel at 6:30 AM. 28-17 at the half but the defense wasn't inspriring. A bit of halftime encouragement leads to a 41-14 2nd half as PNR wins 69-31. Aaron Ziman 7-9 for 16 points. Jonah Travis and Alex Richter in double figures and Kyle Noreen with 3 triples for 9 points. Shelby Moats with 7 points. Due to illness he missed the last 2 games of the tournament.
Game 3: St Louis Eagles
This one is for the pool title and features star Brad Beal for the Eagles. A very smooth 6'3 wing who can finish and shoot it while creating for others. Don't be surprised to see him very high in the next round of 2011 rankings that come out. He'll be here with the St. Louis Eagles 17s in the Sabes Invite this weekend.
Beal is being looked at by Kansas amongst other high majors so its a very partisan crowd. PNR gives up some transition hoops during the 1st half but still leads 34-32 at the break. In the 2nd half, the Eagles dominate the offensive glass and their point guard Shaq Noga controls the game. Beal with 17 points but most of them came when Kyle Noreen wasn't guarding him. Alex Richter was a bright spot with 23 points. Eagles win 71-54 with the big 2nd half. Eagles win the pool so that means PNR gets the extra bracket game.
Game 4: Howard Pulley Black
If this matchup were next year, it'd be big news. The matchup of the top 17U programs didn't materialize but we do get this and the kids were fired up for it. PNR dominates the 1st half with a 32-18 lead via outstanding defense. HP upped the intensity in the 2nd half and came all the way back to make it interesting. Its's a 4 point game late when Jonah Travis gets loose vs the press for a dunk and that's a dagger. The lead gets back to double digits. 54-42 PNR wins. Aaron Ziman 8 pts, 8 rebs and a handful of assists. Jonah Travis and Alex Richter with 12 each. Evan Battle impressive inside against the slew of PNR bigs.
Here's the Howard Pulley point of view from their website.
"Our 16 Black team lost in the quarterfinals to the Minnesota Pump N Run 54-42. After trailing most of the game the Panters cut the lead to 4 points with under 2-minutes remaining but couldn't sustain the comeback and lost their first game of the tournament. Evan Battle really played hard in this game and showed a great deal of heart grabbing 10 rebounds, scoring 4 points and playing great defense. Other contributions: Melvin Collins 7 points and 2 rebounds; Marcus Alipate 7 points and 4 assists; Nick Latzke 7 points and 2 rebounds; Myles Barnes 4 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocked shots; Ariel Deloney 4 points and 2 rebouds and 2 points each from Andrew Hansen, Bretson McNeal and Zachary Lofton"
Game 5: Nebraska Bison
This Nebraska Bison team may be the top team in Nebraska and they beat a good All Iowa Attack team to get to this game. 4th game of the day on a short turnaround from an absolutely draining game both mentally and physically. Nothing like starting a game like this at 10 PM. PNR 24-18 at the half but they are absolutely dead. Second half goes back and forth with neither team able to pull away. The Bison putback a miss with 5 seconds left for a 2 point lead. Travis catches the inbound, takes 3 dribbles and lays the ball in the hoop and we'll go to OT tied at 49. Travis makes 1 of 2 to start the OT, after a long Bison possession, he gets a great block on the other end. That earns Travis 2 more free throws with 25 seconds left. The Bison run a play looking to tie it but Travis jumps in the passing lane and steals it to steal the game. 51-49 PNR wins. Travis with the last 8 PNR points of the game. He finishes with 13. Great resolve by the kids to get through a very difficult game where there was nothing in the tank. Team doesn't arrive back to the hotel until 12:45 AM, bed time at 1:45 AM. Up at 7:30 for the 9:10 AM game.
Quarterfinals: Ramey Basketball
Ramey very athletic at the guard spot and PNR is still beat from the rough night not very far in the past. Alex Richter with 23 points in the easy win. He's been so good getting to the basket that he hasn't needed to make outside shots. That's a silent part of his game that continues to show up more in the summer.
Semifinals: KC Truth
The Truth are here this weekend in the Sabes. Best offensive game of the year for PNR. Alex Kreuser 4-5 from 3 in the 1st half. Total of 18 points. Jonah Travis 7-7 FGs for 14 points. 43-25 PNR at the half. 70-49 PNR wins by shooting the lights out. Nice job by Aaron Ziman to handle the slew of small quick guards (like himself) that the Truth sent at him. Jonah Travis gets the opportunity to sign a poster in this one.
Championship: St. Louis Eagles
PNR gets another shot at the Eagles. PNR trying a little box and 1 on Beal 28-24 PNR at the half as Jason Perkins beats the buzzer. Close game late when Beal goes nuts. He hits a 3 on Ethan Petrill. Kyle Noreen comes back to guard Beal and Beal makes a sick 3. PNR down 5 late but Beal can't guard Richter on the other end as Richter has 6 late points. PNR up 1 with about 40 seconds left when Travis goes up for a dunk and runs into a brick wall of denial. The Eagles hold and get a turnaround out of the post with 5 second or so left for a 1 point Eagles lead. Long pass to Travis and Beal runs him over. Travis to the line for 2 freebies. Timeout Eagles. 1st FT is good. Timeout Eagles. 2nd freebie is good. A 3 quarter court shot is right on line but bounces off the backboard long and PNR takes the Jayhawk championship.
Jonah Travis with 16 and 6 and 7 blocks. Those blocks were influences on Beal's drives into the lane. Alex Richter 16. Ethan Petrill 4 of 7 from deep. PNR kept the Eagles off the offensive glass and continued the sound defense (see the 3 charges taken by Jason Perkins). Mike Yahnke with a couple of blocks in the game as well. Kyle Noreen may not be the quickest player, but he uses his length effectively to defend smaller/quicker players. Aaron Ziman named to the all-tourney team for his team management. Alex Richter was a star all tournament and Jonah Travis very easily could have made it for his clutch performances to win 2 games. PNR with a much needed week off this week before trying to defend their title at the Festival of Teams (6 of those kids were on the MN Magic Elite 15s that won it last year). 6'7 wing Eric Robertson was just cleared to play after recovering from a foot injury from the HS season.
Game 1: KC Legacy White
That 1st game on Friday is always difficult. Team left at 5:45 AM, was setup at a hotel 30 minutes away from the games (big convention in KC this week). Pump N Run plays sluggish but gets 20 points from Jason Perkins. He looks like a post, but don't discount his ability to handle like a guard. He was used against a big 6'7 280 pound behemoth 1 on 1 and in clear outs against the press. PNR wins by 20. But an early Friday game means a long Saturday day awaits as Game 2 is at 8 AM.
Game 2: Hammond Hurricanes
Leave the hotel at 6:30 AM. 28-17 at the half but the defense wasn't inspriring. A bit of halftime encouragement leads to a 41-14 2nd half as PNR wins 69-31. Aaron Ziman 7-9 for 16 points. Jonah Travis and Alex Richter in double figures and Kyle Noreen with 3 triples for 9 points. Shelby Moats with 7 points. Due to illness he missed the last 2 games of the tournament.
Game 3: St Louis Eagles
This one is for the pool title and features star Brad Beal for the Eagles. A very smooth 6'3 wing who can finish and shoot it while creating for others. Don't be surprised to see him very high in the next round of 2011 rankings that come out. He'll be here with the St. Louis Eagles 17s in the Sabes Invite this weekend.
Beal is being looked at by Kansas amongst other high majors so its a very partisan crowd. PNR gives up some transition hoops during the 1st half but still leads 34-32 at the break. In the 2nd half, the Eagles dominate the offensive glass and their point guard Shaq Noga controls the game. Beal with 17 points but most of them came when Kyle Noreen wasn't guarding him. Alex Richter was a bright spot with 23 points. Eagles win 71-54 with the big 2nd half. Eagles win the pool so that means PNR gets the extra bracket game.
Game 4: Howard Pulley Black
If this matchup were next year, it'd be big news. The matchup of the top 17U programs didn't materialize but we do get this and the kids were fired up for it. PNR dominates the 1st half with a 32-18 lead via outstanding defense. HP upped the intensity in the 2nd half and came all the way back to make it interesting. Its's a 4 point game late when Jonah Travis gets loose vs the press for a dunk and that's a dagger. The lead gets back to double digits. 54-42 PNR wins. Aaron Ziman 8 pts, 8 rebs and a handful of assists. Jonah Travis and Alex Richter with 12 each. Evan Battle impressive inside against the slew of PNR bigs.
Here's the Howard Pulley point of view from their website.
"Our 16 Black team lost in the quarterfinals to the Minnesota Pump N Run 54-42. After trailing most of the game the Panters cut the lead to 4 points with under 2-minutes remaining but couldn't sustain the comeback and lost their first game of the tournament. Evan Battle really played hard in this game and showed a great deal of heart grabbing 10 rebounds, scoring 4 points and playing great defense. Other contributions: Melvin Collins 7 points and 2 rebounds; Marcus Alipate 7 points and 4 assists; Nick Latzke 7 points and 2 rebounds; Myles Barnes 4 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocked shots; Ariel Deloney 4 points and 2 rebouds and 2 points each from Andrew Hansen, Bretson McNeal and Zachary Lofton"
Game 5: Nebraska Bison
This Nebraska Bison team may be the top team in Nebraska and they beat a good All Iowa Attack team to get to this game. 4th game of the day on a short turnaround from an absolutely draining game both mentally and physically. Nothing like starting a game like this at 10 PM. PNR 24-18 at the half but they are absolutely dead. Second half goes back and forth with neither team able to pull away. The Bison putback a miss with 5 seconds left for a 2 point lead. Travis catches the inbound, takes 3 dribbles and lays the ball in the hoop and we'll go to OT tied at 49. Travis makes 1 of 2 to start the OT, after a long Bison possession, he gets a great block on the other end. That earns Travis 2 more free throws with 25 seconds left. The Bison run a play looking to tie it but Travis jumps in the passing lane and steals it to steal the game. 51-49 PNR wins. Travis with the last 8 PNR points of the game. He finishes with 13. Great resolve by the kids to get through a very difficult game where there was nothing in the tank. Team doesn't arrive back to the hotel until 12:45 AM, bed time at 1:45 AM. Up at 7:30 for the 9:10 AM game.
Quarterfinals: Ramey Basketball
Ramey very athletic at the guard spot and PNR is still beat from the rough night not very far in the past. Alex Richter with 23 points in the easy win. He's been so good getting to the basket that he hasn't needed to make outside shots. That's a silent part of his game that continues to show up more in the summer.
Semifinals: KC Truth
The Truth are here this weekend in the Sabes. Best offensive game of the year for PNR. Alex Kreuser 4-5 from 3 in the 1st half. Total of 18 points. Jonah Travis 7-7 FGs for 14 points. 43-25 PNR at the half. 70-49 PNR wins by shooting the lights out. Nice job by Aaron Ziman to handle the slew of small quick guards (like himself) that the Truth sent at him. Jonah Travis gets the opportunity to sign a poster in this one.
Championship: St. Louis Eagles
PNR gets another shot at the Eagles. PNR trying a little box and 1 on Beal 28-24 PNR at the half as Jason Perkins beats the buzzer. Close game late when Beal goes nuts. He hits a 3 on Ethan Petrill. Kyle Noreen comes back to guard Beal and Beal makes a sick 3. PNR down 5 late but Beal can't guard Richter on the other end as Richter has 6 late points. PNR up 1 with about 40 seconds left when Travis goes up for a dunk and runs into a brick wall of denial. The Eagles hold and get a turnaround out of the post with 5 second or so left for a 1 point Eagles lead. Long pass to Travis and Beal runs him over. Travis to the line for 2 freebies. Timeout Eagles. 1st FT is good. Timeout Eagles. 2nd freebie is good. A 3 quarter court shot is right on line but bounces off the backboard long and PNR takes the Jayhawk championship.
Jonah Travis with 16 and 6 and 7 blocks. Those blocks were influences on Beal's drives into the lane. Alex Richter 16. Ethan Petrill 4 of 7 from deep. PNR kept the Eagles off the offensive glass and continued the sound defense (see the 3 charges taken by Jason Perkins). Mike Yahnke with a couple of blocks in the game as well. Kyle Noreen may not be the quickest player, but he uses his length effectively to defend smaller/quicker players. Aaron Ziman named to the all-tourney team for his team management. Alex Richter was a star all tournament and Jonah Travis very easily could have made it for his clutch performances to win 2 games. PNR with a much needed week off this week before trying to defend their title at the Festival of Teams (6 of those kids were on the MN Magic Elite 15s that won it last year). 6'7 wing Eric Robertson was just cleared to play after recovering from a foot injury from the HS season.
Where are the baskets at Benilde
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Jonah Travis
The nightcap of this quiet Saturday takes me to the Haben Center for my 1st look at Benilde-St. Margaret's this season. No Peter Crawford for the Red Knights as he's out with a injured foot. Not the guy you want out of the lineup when you're playing De La Salle. Sean Kruger from the MN Select and Tri-Metro coaches Lance Johnson and Eric Schutte looking on. Former Minneapolis North coach Brent McNeal watching his son light up the JV game. And...Rene Pulley.
An interesting matchup of sophomore post players as BSM's Myles Barnes and DLS's Jonah Travis get the assignments on each other. Barnes with a couple of early post buckets against Travis. Nice job for the lefty going baseline from the right block. 6-4 BSM with 13:05 left and this pace has DLS written all over it. Darren Glover backdoors and then fakes out Jalen Jaspers for a couple of hoops. 10-8 BSM at 8:54. DLS with the next 6 over 3:30 as AJ Barker gets a couple of hoops. 14-10 DLS. Freshman Isaiah Zierden (Lynx Coach and Gophers radio analyst Don Zierden's son) with a jumper to cut it to 16-14 DLS with 2:20 remaining in the half. Jalen Jaspers with a 3 point play and its 21-16 DLS at the break.
1 minute into the 2nd half, Coke has removed rust from a car battery terminal and destroyed my teeth. 2 minutes into the 2nd half, I get fillings for those teeth. 15:29 Jaspers with a nice curl and that gets him 2 FTs. 23-16 DLS. 3 minutes into the half, I get a root canal. 4 minutes into the half, I get the teeth pulled. 5 minutes into the half, Gone with the Wind has finished. 6 minutes into the half, nuclear fusion is contained. 7 minutes into the half, paint dries and grass grows. At 10:32, we finally get a field goal as Barker gets a layin. Glover counters at 10:15 for the 1st BSM points in the half. Across halftime, that's a scoreless drought of 9:15. Barker again and Glover counters again, this time with a 3. 27-21 DLS with 9:40 left. Jaspers with 2 FTs and a layup to push the lead to 10 and BSM needs time. 31-21 Islanders with 9 minutes left. Jonah Travis with 2 FTs and then a Jaspers 3 with 4:30 left makes it 38-23 DLS and this one is over as they lead is equivalent to 50 with the way DLS plays D and the cold shooting that BSM is going thru at the moment. 44-29 De La Salle wins.
For Benilde-St. Margaret's, Darren Glover with 13 points to lead the Red Knights. 13 2nd half points makes it hard to win. Isaiah Zierden getting big PG minutes as a frosh, he'll be very good. Evan Battle getting varsity minutes as a sophomore. Kyle Washington is another freshman to watch along with Will Dunn in a loaded BSM freshman class.
For DLS, Jalen Jaspers held to 4-13 shooting, but he leads the way with 16 points. Defensively, Darren Glover did most of what he wanted and he caught Jaspers leaning on at least 2 occassions. AJ Barker with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Jonah Travis with 4 points and I had him for 13 rebounds but he struggled guarding Barnes.
An interesting matchup of sophomore post players as BSM's Myles Barnes and DLS's Jonah Travis get the assignments on each other. Barnes with a couple of early post buckets against Travis. Nice job for the lefty going baseline from the right block. 6-4 BSM with 13:05 left and this pace has DLS written all over it. Darren Glover backdoors and then fakes out Jalen Jaspers for a couple of hoops. 10-8 BSM at 8:54. DLS with the next 6 over 3:30 as AJ Barker gets a couple of hoops. 14-10 DLS. Freshman Isaiah Zierden (Lynx Coach and Gophers radio analyst Don Zierden's son) with a jumper to cut it to 16-14 DLS with 2:20 remaining in the half. Jalen Jaspers with a 3 point play and its 21-16 DLS at the break.
1 minute into the 2nd half, Coke has removed rust from a car battery terminal and destroyed my teeth. 2 minutes into the 2nd half, I get fillings for those teeth. 15:29 Jaspers with a nice curl and that gets him 2 FTs. 23-16 DLS. 3 minutes into the half, I get a root canal. 4 minutes into the half, I get the teeth pulled. 5 minutes into the half, Gone with the Wind has finished. 6 minutes into the half, nuclear fusion is contained. 7 minutes into the half, paint dries and grass grows. At 10:32, we finally get a field goal as Barker gets a layin. Glover counters at 10:15 for the 1st BSM points in the half. Across halftime, that's a scoreless drought of 9:15. Barker again and Glover counters again, this time with a 3. 27-21 DLS with 9:40 left. Jaspers with 2 FTs and a layup to push the lead to 10 and BSM needs time. 31-21 Islanders with 9 minutes left. Jonah Travis with 2 FTs and then a Jaspers 3 with 4:30 left makes it 38-23 DLS and this one is over as they lead is equivalent to 50 with the way DLS plays D and the cold shooting that BSM is going thru at the moment. 44-29 De La Salle wins.
For Benilde-St. Margaret's, Darren Glover with 13 points to lead the Red Knights. 13 2nd half points makes it hard to win. Isaiah Zierden getting big PG minutes as a frosh, he'll be very good. Evan Battle getting varsity minutes as a sophomore. Kyle Washington is another freshman to watch along with Will Dunn in a loaded BSM freshman class.
For DLS, Jalen Jaspers held to 4-13 shooting, but he leads the way with 16 points. Defensively, Darren Glover did most of what he wanted and he caught Jaspers leaning on at least 2 occassions. AJ Barker with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Jonah Travis with 4 points and I had him for 13 rebounds but he struggled guarding Barnes.
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