Scout.com releases final class of 2009 rankings

Scout.com has released their final 2009 top 100 (read it here). Here are players that caught my attention.

Minnesota
Royce White (#32, down from #30)
Rodney Williams Jr (#34, up from #32)
Trent Lockett (#97, down from #94)

Wisconsin
Jamil Wilson (#30, up from #35)
Jeronne Maymon (#84, down from #75)

Others who appeared locally
DeMarcus Cousins (#3, up from #6)
DJ Richardson (#46, down from #66)
Darius Smith (re-enters at #83)
Naji Hibbert (enters at #99)

Rivals releases final 2009 rankings

Rivals.com released their final class of 2009 rankings today. Read the entire rankings here. Here are the changes to Minnesota players (and others of note) from the last period (August 19, 2008).

Minnesota Players

• Royce White #19, Minnesota (no change)
  
• Trent Lockett #80, Arizona State (down from #73)
  
• Rodney Williams Jr #100, Minnesota (down from #95)
• Sam Dower #116, Gonzaga (up from #119)
• Mike Bruesewitz #118, Wisconsin (up from #124)

Wisconsin Players

• Jeronne Maymon #47, Marquette (down from #46)
• Jamil Wilson #94, Oregon (down from #93)
• Johnny Lacy #143, Providence (down from #110)
  

Other players who have appeared locally

• DeMarcus Cousins #2, Kentucky (no change)
  
• DJ Richardson #38, Illinois (up from #57)
• Darius Smith #71, Connecticut (up from #113)
• Naji Hibbert #97, Texas A&M (down from #88)
• Joseph Bertrand #128, Illinois (down from #116)
• Diamond Taylor #129, Wisconsin (down from #118)
• Michael Dixon #136, Missouri (down from #130)

ESPN releases final 2009 Rankings

On April 9th, ESPN released their final rankings for the class of 2009 . Read the entire rankings here. Here are the changes to Minnesota players (and others of note) from the last period (January 13, 2009).

Minnesota Players

* Royce White #35, Minnesota (previous #25)
* Rodney Williams Jr #42 (previous #40)

Wisconsin Players

* Jamil Wilson #31 (previous #62)
* Jeronne Maymon #79, Marquette (previous #55)

Other players who have appeared locally

* DeMarcus Cousins #4, UAB (no change)
* DJ Richardson #46, Illinois (previous #51)
* Naji Hibbert #70, Texas A&M (previous #61)

Hopkins finishes the deal with the 09 AAAA Championship

Cowles right off the opening tip. Broghammer on Dower as expected. John Rowland for 3 and Osseo leads 3-2. No goofy game plan for Osseo. Royce thru Dower and tips in his own miss. Rowland again, this time with the turnaround at 16:40. 5-4 Orioles. Bobby Fischer for 3 and a Hopkins turnover. Dower inside and fouled for a pair of FTs at 16:10. He makes 1 of 2 for a 9-6 Osseo lead. White for a layup from Marcus Williams and he'll shoot 1. No good but Broghammer tips it in. Can't have that. Another Osseo turnover but White with another forced shot. Rowland around and out as he gets another look. Hopkins not converting the turnovers. DJ Phillips with a carry for the 4th Osseo turnover. TV timeout at 13:49, 10-9 Hopkins leads.

Bobby Fischer for 3 at 13:10 to put Osseo back on top 12-10. Moses Sundufu in the game and he crashes the glass for FTs at 12:49. Can Phillips and Fischer can keep Hopkins off the offensive glass? Osseo being very patient on offense with no gimmicks. Hopkins not as patient. Aaron Anderson drives and has a nice dropoff to Jayvin Reynolds for a layup. 14-11 Osseo leads as we go to the TV timeout at 10:55. Royce White with 6 points already. Bobby Fischer and John Rowland with 11 of the 14 Osseo points.

Lockett with another Hopkins offensive board for 2. Reynolds back on the other end. Offense coming from the unlikely sources for Osseo. Lockett rebounds, a nice low crossover and spin for freebies at 9:47. 1 of 2 for Lockett. 16-14 Osseo leads. A feed to Dower results in a turnover. Lockett and Broghammer with misses but white draws the 3rd quick foul on Reynolds at the 9:26 mark. White airballs a step back jumper and then reaches around as he didn't get out to Rowland. DJ Phillips spins, avoid a steal and throws in a short shot. 18-15 Osseo. Cowles banks home a 3 at 7:45 to tie it. Lockett grabs another offensive board but turns and goes thru the d for his 2nd foul outside of 7 minutes. Singleton with a bucket and an Osseo turnover. That takes us to the 6:24 TV timeout. 20-18 Hopkins. They already have 8 offensive rebounds which makes up for 8-23 shooting. Osseo 7-16 but 8 turnovers.

Cowles with another Hopkins offensive board at 5:35. That gives him 2 FTs and gives Hopkins a 22-20 lead. Broghammer pushing Dower out but he fouls Dower for his 2nd with 5:22 left. The bonus freebies tie the game at 22. Cowles for 2, Williams for 2 on a turnover. Dower inside and dunks to stop some bleeding. Cowles gets a great look after the 10th offensive board of the half but its up and over with 4:22 left. Phillips great feed to Djerf backdoor, Dower with a block but Phillips can't finish. 26 all at the 3:46 TV timeout.

Hopkins can't convert 2 more offensive rebounds as Osseo is just tipping the ball, not grabbing it. DJ Peterson does convert an Osseo turnover at 3:05 for 2. Dower inside misses a short jump hook over Royce. Dower smacks a Marcus Williams layup off the board for a nice block. Peterson drives on Rowland and Dower doesn't help and Hopkins gets the layup. John Rowland with another 3 and Osseo is within 1, 30-29 at 1:20. Osseo takes time and holds for 1 shot but Phillips turns it over for a Royce dunk. Djerf misses a triple, White with the long outlet to Williams who finds Singleton who'd fouled at the horn. He makes 1 of 2. 33-29 Hopkins at the break. Bad last minute for Osseo. Hopkins 13-39 shooting but they have 12 offensive rebounds (25-18 total advantage on the glass) and have forced 12 turnovers (4 by Osseo PG DJ Phillips). Royce started hot but he's only 4-11. Cowles and Royce have 9 points each to each Hopkins. John Rowland leads Osseo with 8 points. Sam Dower 1-5 with 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and a total of 5 points. Osseo's 4-7 shooting from 3 helping to keep them close. Oustanding performance by the Alexandria Aces at the half with their hoops tricks. Great way to end the season with the best halftime entertainment of the year.

My Class AAAA All-Tournament Ballot
Ellis Libby and Moses Alipate - Jefferson
Mike Bruesewitz - Sibley
Nate Wolters - St. Cloud Tech
John Rowland, Aaron Anderson and Sam Dower - Osseo
Royce White, Ray Cowles and Mike Broghammer - Hopkins

To the last half of the season we go. Osseo looks for another backdoor Djerf and a post up for Dower but they turn it over. Broghammer with great position on Dower and can't convert. He then blows the dunk on a follow-up. Royce bumps Dower to gain space and banks it home. Osseo misses and a kickout to Royce equals 3. Timeout Osseo at 16:25 with Hopkins leading 38-29. Lockett poaches a passing lane and finger rolls for an 11 point lead. The pressure adding up now. Rowland with a big 3 at the 15 minute mark to keep Osseo within 8. Then he strips Lockett and Dower converts for an And 1 on the other end. 14:34 left with Hopkins leading 40-34 after the missed FT. Reynolds gets posted by Royce and has to mug him to save an easy hoop. That's his 4th with 14:15 left but White misses both. Djerf drives and pulls up at 13:50 to cut the lead to 4. Broghammer steals a pair of offensive boards for FTs. Another reason why Reynolds is sorely missed as he's a top rebounder. Broghammer's 2 FTs extend the lead to 6. Royce helping on Dower and Rowland buries another triple at 12:25. 42-39 Hopkins.

Broghammer posts Dower and scores over him lefty at 12:11. Dower guarding Royce now and he immediately gets posted and picks up another foul. Royce gets lost on an inbounds for an easy dunk at 11:10 and the lead is 7. Danger zone here. TV Timeout at 10:30 with Hopkins leading 46-39.

Djerf with another Osseo 3 at 10:10 and they continue to hang around. Lockett posts DJ Phillips and converts a jump hook. Phillips misses a floater and Williams pulls up for a medium range jumper. DJ Peterson with another Hopkins offensive board at 8:58 for 2. Reynolds will come back in for the Orioles. That's the 19th offensive rebound for Hopkins. Dower scores at the 8 minute mark and Peterson puts back another miss. Rowland with another triple and Osseo takes time with 7:44 left. 54-49 Hopkins leads. Hopkins still cold as they're 9-22 shooting this half.

Broghammer misses a bunny but comes back with a tip away from Dower and then a 17 footer from the high post. 56-49 Hopkins leads. Another entry pass where Dower gets mugged and no call and Hopkins gets possession. Royce guarding Dower now with Broghammer on the bench. Reynolds up high for a tip in at 5:45. Marvin Singleton with a tough finish over Dower who stayed straight up. Dower over Broghammer and gets a putback. Royce over Dower on the other end with a floater. Phillips with a turnover and marcus Williams smartly pulls the ball back. Timeout Hopkins wiht 3:26 left and a 60-53 lead. Osseo with 4 turnovers since the last TV timeout.

Lockett to the basket and Dower gets that one. Dower grabs an offensive rebound at 2:45 and fades for 2. Osseo still within 5. Royce strong and converts at 2:30. With Osseo's big lineup (Reynolds and Rowland together), Cowles guards Rowland so no free looks from 3 against Royce. Broghammer with 1 FT at 2:07. Now Reynolds and Rowland alternate offense for defense. Cowles fouled at 1:06 and he makes 2 freebies and the lead is double-digits, 65-55. Hopkins makes their free throws for a 69-59 win.

Hopkins is the third undefeated team today to come in and leave with a title. Royce White finishes with 20 points, 7 rebounds for the game and no meltdowns for the season. Mike Broghammer with 11 points and 13 rebounds. John Rowland with 17 points including 5 triples. Hopkins with 21 offensive rebounds and they forced 21 turnovers. That offsets 37.7% shooting. Sam Dower finishes his career with 15 points and 16 rebounds.

The Class AAAA All-Tournament Team
Nate Wolters, Alex Hanks - St. Cloud Tech
Royce White, Mike Broghammer, Trent Lockett - Hopkins
Moses Alipate, Ellis Libby - Jefferson
Sam Dower, Aaron Anderson, Nick Djerf - Osseo (no Rowland is a mistake by the voters)

Less than 65,000 people attended the tournament compared to 90,000 in Wisconsin. A simple way to address budget issues, fix the schedule so more fans can attend by having the big schools play the primetime games.

Hopkins takes out Tech in the 2nd half.

Tech with a great crowd in attendance. Nice "Transfer" chant for the Hopkins intros by the Tech students. Royce scores on Hanks and the Hopkins crowd chants "This game's over" on the 1st bucket. Brilliant. Wolters crosses over Williams to the ground (totally sick) and scores. Williams really getting after Wolters. Tech coach Randy Jordan going Jerry Tarkanian with the orange towel on his should. Williams leaves and DJ Peterson enters 2:30 into the game as Williams appeared to get injured on the sick crossover on the 1st Tech possession. Tech spreads the floor with 5 high with a 5-2 lead. 5-4 Tech at the 1st TV timeout at 14:20. Tech with Wolters at the center circle and stacks on each hash mark looking for backdoors with the lead.

Williams back in and he's back on Wolters. Wolters takes him and finishes lefty. 7-4 Tech before Williams drops a triple. Interesting that Hanks has the assignment guarding Royce. After a Williams turnover, Tech misses 2 layups and white gets a dunk at 12:30 and Hopkins has a 9-7 lead. Williams again looking to pass instead of score (what I said in my "How to beat Hopkins" post) and he walks. Tech down 2 but staying with the 5 high set. Wolters with a rebound, behind the back dribble and an outlet for a Hanks layup. 9 all at 10:30. Royce on the block 1 on 1 with Hanks but then he runs over a Tech player for a charge. 11-9 Hopkins at the 9:45 TV timeout.

Marvin Singleton puts back some garbage at 9:10, 13-9 Hopkins and Tech still says high and wide. Tyson Euerle blocked and puts it back. 13-11 Hopkins. Hopkins with a couple of doubles on Wolters trying to get the ball out of his hands. Wolters with a steal and finishes against Broghammer. 13 all at 7:50. Hopkins fans try to get a "This is boring chant" going. 13 all at the 6:47 TV break. Very gutsy game plan by Tech. But you wonder if they have any chance to get a stop on defense. Wolters misses a floater over Broghammer after a long possession. Cowles now gets his shot guarding Wolters. Wolters with his 2nd kickout that results in a missed 3. White immediately scores inside on the other end. Euerle with a bad miss at 3 but Hopkins can't convert that as a lob goes off White's hands. 15-13 Hopkins at the 2:42 TV timeout.

Wolters drives and finds Hanks for a layup with 2 minutes left in the half. 15 all. White misses an iso jumper from the right elbow and Tech can take the lead. But Hopkins gets a reach out tap away. Royce with a nice kickout from the post to Marcus Williams. Broghammer collects the miss and converts 1 of 2 FTs with 24 seconds left. 16-15 Hopkins at the break in an absolutely amazing half. Tech can't get a hand-check call which would be huge. Great "Randy Jordan" chant from the Tech students as we go to the locker rooms. This is especially amazing since Hopkins hasn't played well at all. Wolters has had the ball a ton, can he keep it up in the 2nd half. Wolters 3-6 leading the way with 7 points and 3 assists for Tech (that's 13 of their 15 points). Tech 7-21 shooting though. That has to improve. Hopkins only 7-16 with 8 turnovers. Royce White 4-5 and 8 points. Tech with only 5 turnovers and they only gave up 2 offensive rebounds.

Royce with a steal and tries to dunk over a defender and gets fouled. He misses both but Broghammer grabs the miss and he'll shoot FTs. He makes both for a 3 point Hopkins lead. Royce over Hanks on the right block. 20-15 Hopkins at 16:50. Tech stays spread and Hanks goes backdoor for a layup. Wolters then with a steal and he flushes with 2 hands. 20-19 Tech and their crowd wakes up. Marcus Williams gets the initial assignment on Wolters this half. Adam Johnson rejected by Broghammer who's almost playing a 1 man zone to stop backcuts. Wolters comes down on a foot at 15:22 and hobbles toward the bench but he's staying in there noticably limping. Oh No! White with 2 more missed freebies. Tech still hanging around as they're down 20-19 at the 14:53 TV timeout. Wolters still part of all but 2 of the Tech points.

White posts Hanks and spins for a 2 handed dunk from the right block. Adam Johnson with his 3rd straight effort where he couldn't finish at the rim against Broghammer. Broghammer converts for 2. 24-19 Hopkins. Broghammer misses an easy jump hook short and Tech gets a much needed stop after an airball. Royce with a steal at halfcourt that turns into a Lockett layup and Tech needs a timeout. 26-19 Hopkins with 12:51 left. Tech stays with the spread plan out of the timeout. Nick Jordan tries to find Wolters cutting but throws it away. Lockett puts back a Royce miss at 12:10 and the lead has ballooned to 9. 8-0 Hopkins run since Wolters got injured. Wolters with a force and gets no call. Lockett converts that into a free throw on the other end. 29-19 Hopkins. Wolters with a carry and Broghammer gets a dunk from Royce on a high-low feed. Wolters still aggressive and he makes 1 of 2 FTs at 10:51 for the 1st score in 5 and a half minutes for Tech. Lockett strips but Broghammer with a great block that results in a Lockett dunk. Tech turnover for 2 more from Royce and Tech needs another timeout. 35-20 Hopkins with 9:46 left. Tech no field goals since the Wolters dunk cut the lead to 20-19 with 16:23 to play (that also means no FGs since Wolters got hurt). Hopkins on a 15-1 run over almost 7 minutes. Wolters still part of all but 2 of the Tech points.

Wolters goes thru a Hopkins player, no call and still gets the FG. Nick Jordan misses a wide open 3 and that's just typical of this night were Tech isn't converting opportunities. Lockett with a steal and a nice reverse. 40-22 Hopkins at the 7:50 mark. Hanks drives and gets fouled for 2 FTs at 7:45 and the Tigers try to come with pressure. Sundufu makes them pay with a layup. Tech now has to go to conventional offense down 18. Wolters gets the continuation call and the foul at 7:08 for a 3-point play. 42-27 Hopkins leads. More Tech pressure and Broghammer gets a layup. Hanks baseline and a nice reverse at 6:38. But that's the last real highlight as Hopkins is just too much in the 2nd half. Hopkins moves on to the state championship game with a 55-36 win.

For Tech, Wolters terrific and Hanks made a couple of nice plays, but nothing beyond that. The students do get a quick "We don't recruit" and "You're all transfers" chants in. Wolters finishes with 17 points on 6-12 shooting. Hanks 13 points on 5-11. The rest of the team was 3-19. Ouch. Hopkins shoots 16-25 in the 2nd half. Mike Broghammer and Royce White each with 14 points and 6 rebounds as the Hopkins size was too much. Key stat. Mike Broghammer's 7 blocks as kept Tech from converting inside.

Hopkins goes triple figures on Cooper

Mike Broghammer

Welcome to the mass of humanity that is the Hopkins/Cooper showdown. Cooper side very full and we haven't even begun JV yet. Why? The Sophomore game went double OT with Hopkins winning 91-90 after Cooper game from 11 down with 3 minutes left in regulation and hit 2 triples in the last 20 seconds to send the game to OT. Terrell Clay (hope I've got that name right) with 39 for Cooper in the loss. Star 8th grader Riley Dearing (or Carpenter depending on what you believe) missed a chance to win it at the end of the 1st OT. Not only do we get the standard big players (John Millea, Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press in a rare appearance), but we even get the one and only Sid Hartman. But forget press row and those stars, as always I'm right in the middle of the crowd at the front of a bunch of students and sitting behind Robbinsdale mayor Mike Holtz.

Trent Lockett gets the assignment on Rodney as we start. 10-2 Hopkins out to the lead in the 1st 5 minutes. Royce White starts it with a dunk and then finds Mike Broghammer for a dunk to end the run. Great sequence too where Rodney Williams Jr got a block for a Cooper runout that Broghammer ran down and rejected in even better fashion on the other end. Quincy Bethea with a pair of bombs for Cooper. 15-13 Hopkins at 10:35. Kenquane Brown showing he can take Broghammer off the bounce but he's gone to the bench with 2 fouls. Broghammer and Raymond Cowles then go the bench with 2 fouls each. 20-18 Hopkins at 8:39. White with a lob dunk off an inbounds play, a steal that gives him a free throw and an offensive rebound and 2 over Rodney. That rebound was right after Rodney almost posterized Moses Sundufu on the post with a monster 2 handed slam. Sundufu fortunately put him on the line and didn't give up the dunk. After Brown drives and scores and Freddie Burton hits a pullup J, Royce gets another offensive board for a free throw and then another dunk. 30-24 Hopkins with 6:05 left in the half. Rodney picks up #2 trying to get an offensive board at 5:48 at sits for the moment. Marcus Williams then gets his 2nd at 5:02 and he sits (3 Hopkins starters down with 2 fouls at this point). Hopkins 32-30 at that point. Brown then has a 3 go in and out for the best chance of the night to get the lead for Cooper. Royce with 2 more buckets and 2 DJ Peterson FTs make it 38-33 at 2:33 and Rodney comes back in. He goes by Royce for 2 and then Royce counters on the other by going thru him for 2 more. In the last 20 seconds, Moses Sundufu with a triple and then Joe Coleman with a block and a bucket for 5 Hopkins points that give them a 49-40 halftime lead. Royce 7-11 shooting for 16 points with 7 rebounds on my sheet. Quincy Bethea with 7 and Joe Bright with 11 and 5 for Cooper. With all of Hopkins' foul issues, Cooper didn't take advantage of a great opportunity.

Rodney with a lob dunk and Bright puts back a Rodney brick to pull Cooper within 5 2 minutes into the half. Royce then scores and Cowles nails a 3 against a 2-3 zone. Lockett with a layin and just as quick as Cooper was close, the lead is back to 12, 56-44. Rodney with a double clutch 15 footer against Lockett cuts it to 8 with 13:05 left. Lockett with a 3 point play and Rodney counters with a long triple. 59-51 Hopkins outside of 12 minutes left. Hopkins then goes on a 10-2 with 6 Broghammer points and 2 buckets from Lockett. 69-53 with 10:45 left, timeout Cooper and this one is basically over. Rodney comes out of the timeout with a dunk from Bright but Lockett immediately gets a dunk of his own on the other end and the crowd can't get into it. Cooper gets as close as 13 but Cowles nails a 3 with 6:30 remaining that pops the balloon of hope. The crowd starts to file out. Hopkins tacks on an unnecessary layup from Marvin Singleton with 10 seconds left for a 100-78 win.

For Cooper, Rodney Williams with 19 points on my sheet (the scorebook may have him for 21 via 2 I gave to Bethea), 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. He shot around 50% but that's deceptive considering 3 dunks. Besides the dunks he took 1 maybe 2 good shots out of about 10. Very poor shot selection as he tried to do too much. Joe Bright was a beast for them with 17 and 11. Surprising that Cooper showed success with Bright or Brown taking Broghammer off the dribble but never really attacked that weakness. Interesting too that Freddie Burton spent a ton of time in this game off the ball with Bethea handling. Probably to avoid the pressure of Marcus Williams. Despite the loss, it will be criminal if the pollsters drop Cooper down in the polls for this loss. The only exception I might be willing to listen to is if Osseo moves up to #3 and Cooper falls to #4.

For Hopkins, Royce White very quiet in the 2nd half, but he showed up big in the 1st half. Overall I had him for 20 points on solid shooting 9-14. But he's their guy you want to put on the line as he was 2-6 tonight and has struggled there all year. Trent Lockett with a big 2nd half to finish with 23 points and 7 rebounds. Mike Broghammer with 12 points, half during the run that sealed the game, along with 8 rebounds and a pair of blocks by my counts. I was surprised that Cooper didn't try to apply any pressure, especially when Marcus Williams left the game and DJ Peterson was running the point. In-state, they've proven themselves. Will a win in New York City next Friday be a major national poll eye opener?

Mike Broghammer picture courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net

ESPN releases in-season class of 2009 Rankings

On January 13th, ESPN released their in-season rankings for the class of 2009 . Read the entire rankings here. Here are the changes to Minnesota players (and others of note) from the last period (August 19, 2008). Read analysis of the new rankings, including an explanation of the drop of Rodney Williams in the ESPN article here. You'll find it to be consistent with what Rivals said last August. I made some comments last August similar to these as well.

Minnesota Players

• Royce White #25, Minnesota (previous #23)
• Rodney Williams Jr #40 (previous #29)

Wisconsin Players

• Jeronne Maymon #55, Marquette (previous #76)
• Jamil Wilson #62 (previous #60)

Other players who have appeared locally

• DeMarcus Cousins #4, UAB (no change)
  
• DJ Richardson #51, Illinois (previous #56)
• Naji Hibbert #61, Texas A&M (previous #59)

#1 Hopkins holds off #2 Henry Sibley

Chris Halvorsen

Ah the big affair that was #1 Hopkins making the trek to #2 Sibley. A full house at Sibley (what a nightmare parking was). Blake Hoffarber, Ben Biewen and Edina, Greg Meyer and Minnehaha and Jonah Travis from DLS. All the usual AAU suspects in attendance too with Rene Pulley (cha ching), Al Harris (43 Hoops) and Tom Krosschel (MN Pump N Run) all watching for talent. And of course, the famous Taco In A Bag! Huge Sibley student crowd tonight and they are amped up as they're chanting even before warmups start (but surprisingly docile during the JV game).

Hopkins with the 1st 6 of the night in 2:41 as Sibley is very sloppy against the Hopkins pressure D. Sibley trying to play some 1-2-2 zone to hold the Royals down. Very interesting considering Hopkins hit 13 triples last night. But that zone does allow you to get to shooters (in theory). Sibley claws back to 16-11 as Maurice Hernandez gets a bucket off the flex (aaaah, electric shock). Hopkins goes on a 13-4 run over the next 3:45. Coach Novak really hot at the 1 of the young officals during the run and gets a Technical (that official had a really bad night with at least half a dozen whistles that were way late or dreadfully wrong). Mike Bruesewitz with 1 of the 2 free throws but Sibley couldn't make anything of the possession. After the run, the other young official (who I actually think does a good job) calls an absolutely horrendous T on Trent Lockett for slapping the backboard trying to block a shot. You don't make that call in this type of game, period. Bruesewitz with 1 of 2 again and then converts a bucket on the possession. Jimmy Ryan with late Sibley points in the half for a spark and Sibley survives down 43-33 at the break. Cowles 4 triples for 12, Trent Lockett 8, Royce 7. Rostampour and Bruesewitz with 6 each. Sibley couldn't get into any offense and they didn't use Francis Bungue all that much to handle. Sibley 4-11 FTs in the half to 11-14 for Hopkins (3-6 Royce after 1-8 yesterday).

Royce starts the half with an isolation from the right elbow for 2. Nice set to take advantage of Royce's skills and stay within the system (it comes out of their base motion set). Broghammer with 2 inside for a 50-37 lead at 15:25. But Hopkins is taking quick 3s in transition and they're not going. Coach Novak not pleased and he wants time out. 2 FTs from Marcus Williams gives Hopkins a 56-44 lead with 12:43 to go. But every good team has a run in them and Sibley's starts now. Bruesewitz with 2 free throws, Jake Kreuser with a bucket, Royce with a quick miss and then Halvorsen goes around him for 2. Hopkins turns it over and Kreuser scores again on an offensive rebound. 56-52 Hopkins after an 8-0 Sibley run and the crowd is back in it. Timeout Royals at 10:17.

Broghammer with 2 FTs and then Royce with a dunk off a Sibley turnover. 60-52 Hopkins with 7:39 left. Then a bad Sibley sequence. Broghammer ends up on Maurice Hernandez but they never get him the ball with the opportunity to exploit the mismatch. Kelvin Minnig ends up missing a bad shot instead. Hernandez does get a 3 after Royce misses on another iso. 60-55 Hopkins with 6 minutes left. Lockett with a layin and then Broghammer puts it down from the foul line for 2+1 at 5:14 and the lead is 65-55 and it looks like Hopkins has survived the run. But on the next possession at 5:01, Royce fouls Bruesewitz hard going to the rim and then proceeds to make a demonstration with some comments which earns him a technical. Let's just say that my other obligations unfortunately force me to keep my feelings on this issue to myself. Bruesewitz only makes 2 of the 4 free throws, they get nothing on the possession as Hernandez misses a triple. Kreuser misses the front end of the bonus at 4:44. 66-57 Hopkins and this one is basically over. Hopkins makes enough free throws to win it 77-66.

For Sibley, a tough loss but credit to them for fighting back to within 4 and only being down 10 at the half despite playing very poorly. Mike Bruesewitz leads the way with 15 points (only 3 FGs and 9-13 FTs). Chris Halvorsen and Maurice Hernandez with 12 each. I was surprised that Sibley didn't try to take more advantage of Bruesewitz on the outside when Broghammer was guarding him late (after Royce went to the bench with the T and 4 fouls). Unfortunately in the zone they didn't find Cowles and didn't rebound well so they had to play more man defense than they may have initially wanted to. They did settle down and take better care of the ball in the 2nd half. They're now 8-2 and the rest of their schedule is in the Classic Suburban except for the Border Battle game vs Kaukauna, WI on January 24th.

For Hopkins, Mike Broghammer with a nice night of 17 points to lead Hopkins (9-11 FTs). Ray Cowles with 5 more triples for 15 points. Trent Lockett slashed his way to 15 points also. Royce White quiet with 11 points and had a disappointing night. He made some nice plays but he seemed kind of out of it tonight. Next major challenge for the Royals may be against Milwaukee Vincent at the East Metro Showcase on January 23rd.

Chris Halvorsen picture courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net

Hopkins blows out Minnetonka

Ray Cowles

Ah, the thrill, the pagentry, the game that is Hopkins vs Minnetonka. My first time seeing these 2 teams in their rivalry. Disappointing student section from Minnetonka as very few of their kids showed up. The Hopkins students out in force of course and a nice crowd of adults in the stands. Armstrong and Sibley looking on along with Northern Illinois. Rodney Williams and Cooper's longtime assistant also on hand for this one.

Early we have free throws for a 7-1 Hopkins lead. Nick Latzke with a triple for the 1st Tonka FG of the night at 15:10. Lockett with a 3 at 14:35 and its 12-5 Hopkins in a furious pace. Latzke again with a 3 at 11:10 to cut the Hopkins lead to 22-18. After Royce White misses 2 free throws, Cole Stefan with a triple at 9:41 and Minnetonka is within 26-21. Blake Nelson with a 3 point play for Tonka at 8:10, 31-24 Hopkins. Then the roof caves in for Tonka. Royce White nails a triple, Cowles with a 3, Lockett from deep again, Broghammer with a dunk off a Tonka turnover, Cowles with another 3, Lockett again for 3 and Cowles beats the halftime horn with a triple. 60-30 Hopkins at the break. Tonka with 2 field goals in the last 7 minutes of the half as Hopkins ends it with a 34-9 run. 9 triples for Hopkins. Lockett with 5 of them for 15 points, Cowles with 3 more for 17 points and 6 rebounds. Marvin Singleton with 9 and 5 off the bench. Royce with 5 points but 0-6 FTs. Nick Latzke with 3 triples for 11 points. Cole Stefan with 5 on 2-10 shooting.

Royce comes out on fire in the 2nd half. A bucket to start the half, an assist to Lockett, 2 more then an assist to Broghammer that Royce probably should have scored himself. He gets a triple and then concludes his night with a dunk in a 2-1 that I was surprised he didn't give up (being he was looking for assists per the Star Trib article from last week). The top 10 sit the last 8:45 as Hopkins uses a 12-0 run over 2 minutes to put us over the top of the mercy rule. Hopkins wins 106-62.

For Minnetonka, Cole Stefan with 15 on 5-16 shooting by my sheet (3-9 on 3s). He tried to force some shots with Lockett guarding him, but nothing would have mattered on this night. Nick Latzke looks to be a better shooter than his brother Andrew who had a very nice career for the Skippers. 5 more triples for 21 points tonight. The Skippers fall to 6-4 and 0-1 in the Classic Lake. They go on the road for 3 with trips to Kennedy, Apple Valley and Columbia Heights in the next 9 days before getting 6 of 7 at home (exception is the Jan 24th trip to Cooper). Tor Anderson lit up the JV game with 5 triples and 21 points on 7-21 FGs. Joe Coleman played the 1st half of the JV game and had a handful (4-5) dunks slashing thru the Tonka D.

For Hopkins, Ray Cowles with his 17 and 6 in the 1st half. Royce White finishes with 15 but 1-8 from the foul line. He had 2 or 3 silly turnovers trying to get assists. Trent Lockett with 17. Marvin Singleton with a nice night off the bench inside. Hopkins made everything and hit the boards hard. 13 total 3s for the Royals. If they shoot it that well, forget about it. They easily could have put up 125-140 in this one as they had 94 before the mercy rule could even go into effect. They didn't hit 100 until 4:45 left. Joe Coleman played the 1st half of the JV game and had a handful (4-5) dunks slashing thru the Tonka D. Hopkins 9-0 going into the monster game at Sibley.

Mike Broghammer had some comments on the team and news on a trip to Notre Dame if you missed that scroll earlier today. Read that here.

Raymond Cowles picture courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net

Steve Froemming from Steven's Sports Report also attended the game. Read his article here.

2009 Timberwolves Shootout Thoughts

Here's what I saw at the 2009 Timberwolves Shootout. This is the 5th consecutive shootout I've attended. In terms of competitve games, this was the worst one I've been to with 4 blowouts and 1 other game that got back to 4 points, but wasn't in doubt for much of the game. At least the Sibley/Memorial game lived up to the hype. That and a couple of Rodney Williams dunks were the main highlights.

Game 1: Cloquet vs Pelican Rapids
I got the not close part of the prediction correct as Pelican Rapids made 7 1st half 3s and got 29 total points from their stars Tydan Storrusten and Eric Shulstad. Nothing like triples to bust zones. Very strange that Chad Calcaterra played very limited 1st half minutes. Only 6 and 4 in the 1st half for him. He finished with 21 and 10 and 2 blocks (and 4 dunks, more on that later). Beyond Chad, Cloquet has almost nothing. Their inability to deal with the Pelican Rapids halfcourt trap was really painful to watch. They may have most of their roster returning for next season but that won't be enough. Pelican Rapids with all seniors except for 1 sophomore. Very impressive to watch. Storrusten with 29, Shulstad with 27 in the 87-56 win.

Game 2: Osseo vs Sioux Falls Roosevelt
Sam Dower with only 1 1st half point and 2 fouls that forced him to sit the last 13:15 of the 1st half. Osseo still had a 30-20 halftime lead as Aaron Anderson stepped up with 8 points. Osseo cranked up the 2nd half defense and Dower dominated inside in the 2nd half. 82-43 Osseo in another rout. Dower with 22. He hit jump hook after jump hook inside with no Roosevelt answer. Cody Larson with 14 for the Roughriders but didn't do anything of note. I did almost get their point total right. Nice job by Osseo with their full court scramble to generate some points from their defense.

Game 3: Henry Sibley vs Madison Memorial
Final Score 67-64 Memorial, I predicted 65-64 Memorial in my preview. Better to be lucky than good. Jeronne Maymon was an absolute stud in this one and clearly the MVP of the day. Totally unguardable. He scored the 9 of the 1st 11 Memorial points in the 2nd half and then got a couple of assists not long after that. Late in the game, Chris Halvorsen stripped him clean for a reverse dunk that brought Sibley back to a 56-55 lead after being down 55-50. But then he made a jumper and hit Vander Blue for a triple. Sibley with 3 straight turnovers vs the Memorial 1-3-1 in a 1 minute span with 3 minutes left that just killed them. Memorial missed a couple of late free throws that gave Maurice Hernandez a good look from the NBA line that would have tied it but no good and Memorial wins a thriller 67-64. Maymon with 26, Vander Blue with 16 all in the 2nd half including 9 in a row and he didn't start. Frosh Junior Lomomba didn't start either and finished with 6 points. He made a clutch shot late to push the lead to 5. Mike Bruesewitz with 20 and 10 for Sibley, but he was overmatched against Maymon.

Game 4: Hopkins vs Lake Geneva Badger
50-15 at the half as Hopkins used a 28-2 run over 8:30 to blow this game wide open. Royce White still put on a show with 13 and 6 in the 1st half as he showed all his skills. Trent Lockett with a couple of nice dunks during the half too. 79-41 Hopkins rolls as the clock runs the last 8 minutes (not 9 thanks to the scorer's table).

This game was totally pointless for both teams and shouldn't have been played. But the fans turned out in force for it so they got the financial part right. This game was a huge black eye to the Shootout. Badger is well coached, but they had no business being here. Not a single player in the rankings of any class in Wisconsin. It would have been one thing if this had happened in the Border Battle or East Metro Showcase. But this is the Minnesota showcase event, put on by our professional team with maybe the best Minnesota high school team ever. This cannot happen again. I know they tried to get teams like Chicago Whitney Young and other very good teams to come in and couldn't get anybody. I'm not criticizing the effort, but I have a hard time buying the idea that there were no teams in the midwest with a noteworthy player that would have come here for this instead of Badger.

Game 5: Eden Prairie vs Cooper
Rodney Williams with a double-clutch jumper and then a floater to beat the 1st half buzzer on a steal for a 28-18 Cooper lead at the half. Williams had 8 points with 3 blocks (2 of the volleyball spike variety) in the half. Ethan Wragge 5 points but cold shooting. Cooper stretches the lead to 16 in the 2nd half before Cooper goes back to their 1 on 1 offense and allows EP to come back within 4. Rodney gets a 360 dunk and then a half-court lob for a reverse dunk that puts the icing on the cake. He gets another lob but misses the dunk to make Chad Calcaterra the happiest guy in the building as both finish with 4 dunks on the day. 57-50 Cooper wins. Rodney with 16 points on 4 dunks and 4 blocks. Again, not a shooter. Brett Ervin with a big 2nd half as he finishes with 17 points. Ethan Wragge with 9 points but he couldn't buy a shot (he was something like 3-15). But his misses were all good looks (except 1 or maybe 2) against Rodney so I'm not buying the Rodney shut him down argument.

Game 6: St. Cloud Tech vs Manitowoc Roncalli
The building empties out which is a shame because they should have stayed for Nate Wolters of Tech. He had 9 first half points. Roncalli star soph Ben Stelzer 11 for a 35-34 Tech lead at the half. But Wolters gets 17 in the 2nd half with 3 steals for layups. They don't need him to guard Stelzer as Roncalli couldn't buy a shot in the 2nd half. 78-49 Tech rolls. Alex Hanks with 15. Stelzer finishes with 18. Nate Wolters with 28 points and a half dozen steals. Whatever school ends up with him is going to be very happy as I think they're getting a steal.

All Shootout Teams
1st Team
Jeronne Maymon - Madison Memorial (MVP)
Royce White - Hopkins
Sam Dower - Osseo
Vander Blue - Madison Memorial
Nate Wolters - St. Cloud Tech

2nd Team
Eric Shulstad - Pelican Rapids
Mike Bruesewitz - Sibley
Chad Calcaterra - Cloquet
Rodney Williams Jr - Cooper
Tydan Storrusten - Pelican Rapids

St. Bernard's pushes Hopkins to the end

Royce White

A big one in the Kingdom tonight as #1AAAA Hopkins makes the crosstown trip to St. Paul to face #1AA St. Bernard's. The place is filled with people standing on the ends and on the stage in addition to the full bleachers. Tri-Metro coaches out in force as coaches from Minnehaha, the not dapper tonight Eric Schutte of Concordia and a DLS assistant in the building. AAU represented with Willie Vang of the MN Heat, Tom Krosschell of the MN Pump N Run and of course, Rene Pulley.

No Trent Lockett tonight as he's serving back end of getting 2 techs in the Washburn game. DJ Peterson starts in his place and Moses Sundufu is in the rotation tonight. Ray Cowles gets the assignment guarding Jordair Jett. With the stands coming right down to the sidelines and all of the people, the sidelines are really treacherous tonight. Coach Novak even asked for play to be stopped to clean the sideline by the Hopkins bench and he was exactly right. This was after a stoppage for the other sideline. Jett with a quick 2 fouls in the 1st 4:15 and that hangs like a dark cloud. But he hits a hanging banker from the right side to give the Bulldogs 6 straight points and we're tied at 11 at the halfway point of the 1st stanza. Jordan Gittens with a layin at 7:40 to tie it at 15 and the crowd is really into it. Jett with a brief rest and Royce White gets a hoop at 5:45, but Jett comes back and gets 2 of his own and its 23-20 Bulldogs at 4:50. Royce scores 2 more, Brian Sandifer knocks down a 3 and Jett hits a pullup and we're at 28-24 with 3 minutes left in the half. Jett picks up #3 8 seconds later and has to sit. Averey Duncan with 2 buckets and Hopkins misses late free throws. 32-30 St. Bernard's at the break in an outstanding half. They really held their own on the boards, but suffered some late fouls due to their lack of size. Duncan 10 points, Jett 9. Hopkins not doing a good job of looking for their post people. Marcus Williams 7, Royce with 6.

In a major shock, Jett comes out guarding Royce to start the 2nd half. Mike Broghammer starts hot in the 2nd half. He gets a bucket, a block and then a high/low assist to Royce to break a 34 all tie. He then gets an offensive rebound on a free throw and puts it back. Cowles with a nice curl for a foul line jumper and DJ Peterson with a free throw. 7 straight for Hopkins, 41-34 they lead with 14 minutes left. Duncan with 5 in a row to bring SB back within 2. After Marvin Singleton scores on the block its 43-39 with 12:20 left. Jett then misses 2 FTs, but gets a layin via a great pass from Sandifer and then a sweet floater from left baseline. He then rebounds a Hopkins miss and returns the dime to Sandifer for a layin and SB leads 45-43 at 9:10. But once again, just as he gets hot and the Bulldogs are making a run, he picks up a foul. This one is his 4th (on a maybe questionable call on a blocked shot) and we still have 8:58 to play. How long will he sit? Singleton's free throws on the foul tie it at 45. Marcus Williams then gets called for a reach in foul and after OK initial displeasure, has a wrong word for the official and gets T'd up (correctly so for showing up the zebra). Trent Davis makes the free throws. But Bernard's turns it over on the possession and Royce has an And 1 on the other end. He finally makes a FT (1-6) and Hopkins leads 48-47 with 8:20 left. Coach Cassidy rolls the dice and goes all in as Jett returns at 7:52. Out of a time out at 7, Royce takes a turn guarding Jett. Jett promptly puts on the afterburners and gets a layup at 6:50 and we're tied at 49. But SB can't throw it in the ocean the rest of the way. Royce with an OReb 2 before trying to take Jett 1 on 1 in retaliation for the previous bucket. He puts up a bad jumper after pounding the ball for a while. Coach Novak immediately finds a sub. Marcus Williams also sits for an unknown reason (not playing reason, as he left the bench for something) and we have 5:30 left. Sundufu goes right by Jett, who doesn't want his 5th foul, for a inside bucket. 53-49 with 5 to play. Cowles knocks down a wide open triple with 4 to play and the lead is 7. Hopkins makes their free throws and SB only gets 1 field goal after that Jett blow by of Royce. 63-55 Hopkins wins a terrific game.

For St. Bernard's, Jordair Jett leads the way with 19 points. If he could have gotten a shot to fall in the last 5 minutes, this game would have gotten really interesting. Hopkins tried a bunch of different people on him and really didn't have a good answer. Ken Novak looking for a carry call on him all night. Averey Duncan kept SB afloat too as he had 17 points on the night. Nobody else with more than 4. Give Bernard's credit for a great battle as they did a pretty good job inside considering their lack of size against a couple of very good bigs.

For Hopkins, 4 players in double figures. Royce with 13, Broghammer with 12, Cowels 11 and Williams 10. Moses Sundufu gave them nice minutes off the bench as he saw signficant minutes guarding Jett. Marcus Williams is the glue that holds them together and he's guy who sees the least amount of rest. Royce is still struggling to find his role in the offense.

X and O of the Day
New set tonight from Hopkins on the baseline out of bounds. They went box set with Royce on weakside high post and then ran him to the weakside corner for a 3.

Royce White photo courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net

The Basketblogger talks Washburn vs Hopkins

I was with the Basketblogger last night for the Washburn vs Hopkins game. Here's an alternate perspective on what happened at the game from his perspective.

An all-star cast was in attendance at tonight's matchup between the #1 AAAA Hopkins Royals and the #1 AAA Washburn Millers. Former Hopkins center Anthony DiLoreto joined the coaching staff on the Hopkins bench. Usual suspects Rene Pulley and John Millea of the Star Tribune preps were present. Hoops stars such as Sam Dower, Jordair Jett, former Royal Aaron Anderson, and Megan Nipe also spent their Friday watching the clash of the titans. It was apparent that Holy Angels, Osseo, St. Bernard's, Centennial, Richfield, Wayzata, Roosevelt, and DeLaSalle all had representatives. A Hopkins boys basketball game ranks somewhere up there with the Minnesota State Fair and a Twins World Series. An official who resembles Al Sharpton and is known for phantom calls led the zebras.

For the Basketblogger, it was my first time attending a game guarded by a metal detector and a warning sign against pot smoking. It was also my first live event this season. In my 15 years of watching high school hoops, I first witnessed someone botch the national anthem. Maurice Cheeks wasn't there to rescue her, but the instrumental version was available as a backup. Every school ought to have one on hand for situations like these. The P.A. system also malfunctioned after Dylan Hale's introduction, which stifled the crowd's adrenaline. The only pre-game festivity that did not disappoint was the all-beef hot dog.

Even without DiLoreto, Hopkins held the height advantage and won the tipoff. As the Czar predicted, the Royals ran their characteristic backdoor pass to Trent Lockett on the opening possession. The Millers saw this, broke up the pass, but failed to capitalize on the opportunity on its end. They still drew first blood en route to a 6-2 lead. Hopkins' first basket was a Royce White dunk. Dylan Hale, former Central Minuteman and Texas State-bound , responded with a thunderous jam of his own. The crowd was electrified on both ends. Mike Broghammer (Formula 44) stuffed one in to give Hopkins its first lead. Washburn immediately responded with a trifecta to retake the lead, but it was the last lead they enjoyed. Gopher football recruit and Miller center Ra'Shede Hageman dunked the last ball of the half, but racked up his third foul at the 6:18 mark. Tubby Smith and Tim Brewster should have also been in the building for their future Gophers. At the break, the score was 48-39 in favor of Hopkins.

The Millers closed the first half with an 11-5 run and opened the second half with an 8-0 run. It was a 3-point game at one point and Royce White missed four straight free throws in that stretch. Hopkins stretched the lead to 17, but Washburn again closed the gap to single digits with the help of Trent Lockett's first technical foul (for hanging on the rim after the fifth dunk of the game). Hopkins still held on. Washburn coach Reggie Perkins conceded close to the one minute mark, but the drama kept unfolding. Ra'Shede Hageman CAUGHT a Trent Lockett layup as Lockett hit the deck with no call. On the next possession, Al Sharpton T'd up Lockett for who knows what, and he was ejected by virtue of his second technical and fifth personal foul. David Stead and the MSHSL will take action by suspending Lockett for the next matchup against Bernard's, and I don't expect him to catch the same break as the Williams Wall did. The Royals could probably rest two starters next game and still win by double figures against the Bulldogs. The technical foul free throws and subsequent possession kept the final score close at 91-82 Hopkins. Washburn had MANY looks from beyond the arc but only hit six threes. Despite not having the size against the Royals, they crashed the offensive boards and disrupted the passing lanes. But the foul trouble, turnovers and too many missed dunks and three-point shots cost them the game.

Raymond Cowels III (RC-III), though scoring late in the first half, led all scorers with 22 points. Royce White followed with 21. Trent Lockett had 14 points and three blocks. Broghammer had a solid post game with 11 points and two blocks. DJ Peterson was the fifth Royal to score in double figures with a ten point performance off the bench. Cedric Martin of the Millers got to the line a lot, making eight free throws and leading the Millers with 18 points. Ra'Shede Hageman scored 16 with two blocks and Dylan Hale added 15.

Hopkins will next face Class AA St. Bernard's and Jordair Jett while Washburn meets St. Paul Johnson.

The Czar's thoughts on the game can be found here.

For more thoughts from the Basketblogger, you can read his hoops blog here.

Hopkins at Washburn thoughts

Trent Lockett

A fun full house tonight at Washburn. Not as many people for the sophomore (or JV if you wish but this was battle of mostly sophs) game as you might have thought. They missed a heck of a sophomore game and the Washburn crowd especially got into it like it was David vs Goliath. A sign of the night had Washburn taking a bad shot that resulted in a Hopkins 3 and then knocking down a prayer for 2 at the halftime buzzer to take a 32-29 lead. The Washburn JVs extended it to 37-29 before Hopkins went on an 18-0 run for a 10 point lead but Washburn came all the way back to win a really entertaining sophomore game 64-57. Of note, Siyani Chambers started but only played the 1st half so he could be available for varsity.

Why should you care? You can name a star in every grade for the Royals. Seniors, there are bunch (Royce obviously). DJ Peterson as a junior. Marvin Singleton as a sophomore and Siyani Chambers as a freshman. Add Riley Carpenter to that list in 8th grade. 6'4", long and athletic, good looking shot. Remember the name, in the Hopkins system, he should become a really good player that you'll hear about again.

Some points that I noted during the game.

• Strange to see 2 techs on Trent Lockett. After the 1st about midway thru the 2nd half, he sat and I thought he'd stay out but he came back in with about 2 minutes left and picked up the 2nd one with 16 seconds left in the game.
• The play that finished with the 1st technical was terrific. Lockett taps a pass away, chases it down jumps in the air going out of bounds and finds Marcus Williams. Williams gets right back to Lockett who finished with a dunk. Don't know if Lockett called for hanging on the rim or saying something but T seemed questionable.
  
• Interesting that Hopkins only played 7 guys. You could tell Coach Novak thought this was a big game as soph Joe Coleman and frosh Chambers didn't see any meaningful minutes (1 minute for Coleman to end the 1st half with Peterson in foul trouble). Chambers 1 minute at the end of the game after outcome was clear. DJ Peterson got the backup point guard duties for the brief rest that Williams got in the 1st half.
  
• I'd be interested to see what Washburn shot from behind the arc as they were ice cold. If Noah Sheppard would have been hot, it could have gotten interesting. But Washburn settled for too many 3s. With talent of their guards, I would have liked to see them attack the basket far more than they did.
  
• Bad 1st half rebounding for Hopkins as Washburn really outhustled them for way too many offensive rebounds.
• Interesting that with Royce and Broghammer in the game, they play lots of 3 out-2 in offense. Otherwise they're playing 4 out-1 in on offense.
• Last year Hopkins early in the year tried to trap at half court after free throws then they got away from it as they didn't do it well. Once again this year they're trying some of that.
• Neat sequence late in the game. Washburn with a small lineup in the game (No Hageman). Noah Sheppard fronting Mike Broghammer. Royce White with a great job flashing to the high post and going over the top to Broghammer. But Sheppard blocked the shot attempt.
• Fun to see some of the possessions with Royce guarding Cedric Martin. Interesting choice there by Hopkins.
  
• At least 4 or 5 missed dunks by Hageman and Royce in this game. Won't see that much.
• Love the Washburn uniforms. Black with blue numbers and text and then the trim is alternating orange and blue. Sharp look.

X and O of the Day
Nice simple box set on the Baseline inbounds from Hopkins. Both ball side players cross-screen and then the low screener back-screens for the high screener looking for a backside layup. Nice variation of the screen the screener for a backside inbounds layup concept.

Trent Lockett picture courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net

Best of National Signing Day

For the class of 2009, Rivals named their best prospect at each position for each conference today. Plenty of local flavor.

Royce White: Top SF for Big Ten
Mike Bruesewitz: Top PF for Big Ten
Chris Halvorsen: Top SF for Horizon
Sam Dower: Top PF for West Coast Conference

Others who made a local appearance last season.

Jeronne Maymon of Madison Memorial: Top SF for Big East
DeMarcus Cousins of Mobile LeFlore: Top PF for Conference USA

Interviews and Thoughts from Midnight Madness

Gopher Hole did a couple of interviews at Tubby's Tipoff (midnight madness). One was with a couple of committed Gophers, Royce White and Rodney Williams. The other was with a couple of potential Gophers, Trevor Mbakwe and Chad Calcaterra.

Read the Royce and Rodney Intervew Here

Read the Trevor and Chad Interview Here

Also, if you didn't get a chance to see the Wisconsin midnight madness on the BTN they had each player come out and dance with a member of the dance squad. Jon Leuer did Minnesota proud. Jared Berggren came out and danced to "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice. Joe Krabbenhoft and his cowboy hat win honors for funniest dance moment of the night.

Royce White comments on selecting Minnesota

Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com had a chance to talk recently to Royce White about picking Minnesota (scroll down to read the Royce comments). He admits Tubby was a major reason in him staying home instead of leaving for a high profile out-state suitor. But he did complement Dan Monson on how he dealt with him in a funny statement.

NY2LA Sports names MN Stars to midwest top 5

NY2LA Sports named their top 100 players in the midwest region this week. Royce White and Rodney Williams come in at 2 and 3 in that list. Wisconsin players Jamil Wilson and Jeronne Maymon come in at 1 and 4 in the list. Read the NY2LA Sports Midwest top 5 with comments on each player here.

I saw the top 4 kids play in person last season so here's how I'd rank them.

1. White, hands down, due to his polished offensive game.
   
2. Maymon, due to versatility. He's a horse inside, but can handle too. 30 points, 14.6 rebounds, 4.7 blocks, 3.7 steals and 3 assists averages during the Wisconsin state tournament don't lie.
   
3. Williams, due to athleticism. A highlight reel waiting to happen every time he plays.
   
4. Wilson, he didn't impress when I saw him during last year's WBY Shootout.

The concern with White and Maymon is what to do with them at the next level as they are classic tweeners. Neither one is a true power forward and neither has the athleticism of a top small forward. Williams and Wilson do project as wing players at the next level and have the athleticism and skills to play there.

ESPN releases end of summer 2009 top 100

ESPN released their end of summer rankings for the class of 2009 last week. Read the full rankings here.

Minnesota Players

• Royce White #23, Minnesota (up from #61 in last ranking, read why here, was #71 in May)
• Rodney Williams Jr #29 (up from #66 in May)
  

Wisconsin Players

• Jamil Wilson #60 (down from #13 in May)
  
• Jeronne Maymon #76, Marquette (unranked in May)
  

Other players who appeared locally this year

• DeMarcus Cousins #4, UAB (up from #5 in May)
  
• DJ Richardson #56, Illinois (up from #93 in May)
  
• Naji Hibbert #59, Texas A&M (down from #47 in May)
• Michael Dixon dropped out, Missouri (was #49 in May)
  

Scout.com releases end of summer 2009 Top 100

Scout.com has released their end of summer 2009 top 100 (read it here). Here are players that caught my attention.

Minnesota
Royce White (#30, up from #32)
Rodney Williams Jr (#32, up from #57)
Trent Lockett (#94, down from #89)

Wisconsin
Jamil Wilson (#35, down from #16)
Jeronne Maymon (#75, down from #66)
Johnny Lacy (drops out after being #96)

Others who appeared locally
DeMarcus Cousins (#6, unchanged)
DJ Richardson (#66, down from #46)
Darius Smith (dropped out after being #90)
Michael Dixon (dropped out after being #94)

Scout obviously didn't think Rodney Williams performance at the Nike Global Challenge was an issue (unlike Rivals) as they moved him up 25 spots to number 32 (#5 small forward prospect). I'll agree more with Rivals evaluation right now. #5 SF in the nation for a guy who needs to work on his ballhandling and shooting seems rather high right now. Granted, with his athleticism, Scout could easily turn out to be right down the road. Its bad for Rodney's development for the next level that he plays center for Cooper during the high school season as that doesn't allow him to work on or showcase his perimeter skills. Great for Cooper though as their starting 5 will be close to Hopkins for most athletic in the state. Tough spot for a coach when you have a star like that who is better for the team at a different position than he'll play at the next level.

Rivals releases end of summer top 150

Rivals.com released their end of the summer recruiting period updates today. Read the entire rankings here. Here are the changes to Minnesota players (and others of note) from the last period (July 1, 2008).

Minnesota Players

• Royce White #19, Minnesota (down from #18)
• Trent Lockett #73, Arizona State (down from #53)
  
• Rodney Williams Jr #95 (down from #28)
• Sam Dower #119 (up from #130)
• Mike Bruesewitz #124, Wisconsin (up from #125)

Wisconsin Players

• Jeronne Maymon #46, Marquette (down from #42)
• Jamil Wilson #93 (down from #60)
• Johnny Lacy #110, Prep School (down from #97)
  

Other players who appeared locally this year

• DeMarcus Cousins #2, UAB
  
• DJ Richardson #57, Illinois (up from #74)
• Naji Hibbert #88, Texas A&M (up from #142)
• Darius Smith #113 (down from #80)
• Joseph Bertrand #116, Illinois (down from #81)
• Diamond Taylor #118, Wisconsin (down from #86)
• Michael Dixon #130, Missouri (down from #100)

U of M targets Eric Bledsoe and Matt Vogrich come in at #67 and #131 respectively.

The drop of Rodney Williams is totally shocking (read why here). Sam Dower was the only Wisconsin or Minnesota player to make a noteworthy move upward.