Day 2 of the East Metro Showcase was mostly another round of blowouts but there was 1 classic. Here's a look at the day's games.
Game 1: Roseville vs St. John's Lutheran (FL)
Not much to see here as Roseville rolled to a 106-49 win. 2 losses for St. John's by a total of 119 points in the event. Yikes. 65-25 at the half as Roseville pulled away. 14 players score with 4 in double figures. Logan Brown leads with 17 points.
Game 2: Hopkins vs Milwaukee Riverside
In the game that could have been billed as the showcase game of the day, Tubby Smith and staff made an appearance for the first of 3 straight games. One of their targets Phil Nolan of Riverside got off to a quick start with 4 points and 2 rebounds. Then Hopkins totally dominated. From 12-8 Hopkins to a 64-25 halftime lead. Hopkins would coast from there to a 91-58 win. Riverside's effort just not there on this day. Siyani Chambers with another impressive performance with 17 of his 20 points in the 1st half. Zach Stahl 18. Jake Wright 18 on 6 3s. Demetrius Martin 15 of his 17 in the first half. Gopher targets Phil Nolan and D'Andre Downey with 13 and 11 points respectively. Nolan with 4 rebounds and 4 blocks as wel.
Game 4: Eden Prairie vs La Crosse Aquinas
Aquinas would hang around with a tie game at 15 at about the 12 minute mark of the 1st half. Then soph point guard Reggie Rabb picks up his 2nd foul and sits. He's the replacement for future Badger Bronson Koenig at the point. That means the Blugolds have to go to point guard #3 and the wheels fall off from there. Eden Prairie goes on a 34-10 the remainder of the half. They go on to win 72-45. Sander Mohn leads with 15 points. Sophs Andre Wallace and Anthony Anderson with 11 each. Impressive game from forward Abrian Carpenter with all 15 points of his points in the 1st half.
Game 5: St. Paul Central vs Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau (WI)
Hot starts from the top 2 Red Hawks stars get GET off to a nice start. They roll the lead to 41-23 at half, then 62-32 with 6:34 to play before the benches empty. Central cuts that against the GET bench to a 66-44 loss. Central's schedule has been very tough but they look like they've seriously regressed since I saw them a month ago against Tartan. Malik Durant-Haines and Marcus Taylor-Knighten with 10 each to lead Central. Tim Wagner 6 3s and 22 points to lead GET. Winona State commit Riley Bambenek 21 points and 3 triples.
Game 3: Onalaska (WI) at Johnson
We'll save the best game of the day for the end. Gopher staff stayed around to see Matt Thomas. He didn't shoot it well but a pair of jumpers off 1 dribble (a 3 and a 2) plus another bucket with the foul put Onalaska up 21-9 with 6:35 left in the first half. Missouri St recruit Marcus Marshall would get going for Johnson with a pair of 3s. Combine that with UWGB signee Nick Arenz sitting the last 8 minutes with 3 fouls and Johnson would cut the lead to 26-22 at half.
Marshall with a pair of free throws to tie the game at 37 with 12 minutes left. Then Darius Watson off the inbound defenders back for 2 with 10 minutes left. 41-38 Johnson in front. That's followed by a soft T on Onalaska coach Craig Kowal (who was rightfully upset with the brutally awful officiating in this game). Johnson gets 1 free throw from that but doesn't score on the possession. Johnson does extend the lead to 49-42 with 6:36 left. Arenz would foul out with 5:20 left and the Hilltoppers still down 51-44. Then Thomas again comes up clutch. He hangs for a jumper and takes the hit for a 3 point play. Johnson would get a block on 1 end that Quashingm Smith-Pugh converted to a layup on the other. 55-47 Johnson with 4:05 left. Thomas for 2 and then a T on Smith-Pugh for 2 more Thomas free throws. Thomas cashes in the possession with the head fake and lean in from the foul line for a 3 point play. That's 10 straight Thomas points. Johnson turns it over and Ben Socha knocks down a jumper to put Onalaska ahead 56-55 with 2:45 left. 9-0 Hilltoppers run in 1:20. Bajuan Adams counters for Johnson going to the rack for a 3 point play. Onalaska turns it over and Watson makes 1 of 2 FTs with 1:42 left for a 59-56 Johnson lead. Then Thomas for 3 from the top with 1:13 left to tie the game at 59. Johnson holds the ball and then to the rim but its a charge with 25.9 left. Tough call there as well from the officials. Johnson takes timeout to set their defense. Thomas gets the ball to half court and Onalaska takes time out to draw up the final play. There's nothing like calling the timeout, drawing up a play and getting perfect execution to win. That happened here and it clinches the season award for
Play of the Year
Star Matt Thomas in the right corner. Ben Socha on the right block. Double stack on the left block. Ball in a guard's hands in the high right slot (would be the right guard position in a 2-3 high look). Thomas takes off across the baseline to the left corner as the ball is dribbled to the left slot. The entire building is thinking Hoosiers, PICKET FENCE! PICKET FENCE! PICKET FENCE! The guard picks up the dribble as Socha flashes high. With the dead dribble, the player spins and gives a ball fake to Socha's flash. Socha goes backdoor and is wide open for the layup. That wins the game for Onalaska 61-59.
Showing posts with label Siyani Chambers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Siyani Chambers. Show all posts
2012 East Metro Showcase Day 1
Labels:
2012 East Metro Showcase,
Siyani Chambers
Prologue
I didn't see the first game of the East Metro Showcase due to real life but there wasn't much to miss as Highland Park pounded St. John's Lutheran from Florida 98-36. The event founder is head coach at St. John's Lutheran so that explains why they made the trip. I arrive 20 minutes later than expected (thank you traffic) and walk into the gym with my Walking Taco and only 1 minute left in game 2 warmups. Hmm, must multitask. North Dakota and South Dakota both with coaches in the building to watch.
Song of the Day
Life in the Fast Lane - Eagles
Game 2: Milwaukee Riverside vs St. Paul Central
Big story of the day was the arrival of Riverside's lefty post Phil Nolan who has a boatload of high D1 offers. But it was the hot shooting that got it going . Jalen Currie off the always illegal foul line elevator screen for 3. That's the 3rd Tigers 3 for a 13-5 lead just 2:23 into the game. Central claws back with their best scorer Montrell Williams coming off the bench to knock down a 3. 20-14 Riverside at the 11:30 mark. Then Bakari Triggs for 3 inside out from Nolan on the block. Later Nolan gets the pass off the backboard on the break and slams it home to ignite the crowd. Wide body RaVonn Posey with a layup, 3 point play and then puts back a missed free throw. The run is 20-0 as Central goes scoreless for a 7 minute stretch. 40-14 at the 5:50 mark of the 1st half. Williams would get the last 9 of the half for Central and would score the only Minutemen field goals in a 14:15 stretch into the 2nd half. Nolan with 2 dunks and a turn and face in the post for 2 more to start the 2nd half. We get to running time and Riverside with their bench gives up a 12-1 run to end the game. 72-48 Riverside wins. 5 in double figures for Riverside. Bakari Triggs 19 and 5 3s. Jalen Currie 14, Shomari Triggs, D'Andre Downey and Phil Nolan all with 10. Nolan also added 3 blocks. Marcus Taylor-Knighten 14 points and Montrell Williams 11 for Central.
Game 3: Hopkins at Johnson
This is a rematch of the championship game from the Best Buy Holiday Classic 3 weeks ago (read about that here). So with that in mind expectation weren't high, but Johnson is on home turf so you never know. The start is ominous as Marcus Marshall picks up 2 quick fouls. Then Zach Stahl scores on the post and Andre McDonald for 3. 11-2 Hopkins at the 14:35 mark. Johnson would come back with Waylon Johnson scoring and a block converted into 2 points by Quashingm Smith-Pugh. 15-13 Hopkins at 11:20. Darius Watson with a great eurostep for 2 to break some Hopkins momentum. Marshall staying in and his 3 cuts the lead to 5. Then Stahl picks up his 2nd at the 7:28 mark and has to sit. Marshall nails another 3 and a pair of free throws and don't look now but Johnson has their first lead at 32-30 at the 4:30 mark. That's a 14-4 Johnson run. Hopkins would counter with an 11-1 run of their own. Jake Wright's 3 before halftime gives Hopkins a 44-39 going to the 2nd half.
First basket of the half goes to Hopkins and then 6 in a row for Johnson and that gets the crowd involved. Then at a deadball we end up with a push and all 10 guys will get together and the refs have to jump in and break up what thankfully didn't become a much more serious mess. Hopkins kids walk away all clapping and more jakked up about it than Johnson. Waylon Johnson powers for 2 for a Johnson 1 point lead quickly countered by Demetrius Martin. Johnson again, this time with the scoop quickly countered by Stahl. Then a right corner BLOB 3 for Marshall puts the Govs up 52-50 with 15:10 to play. McDonald scores to tie and a turnover results in Siyani Chambers pulling up for 3. 55-52 Hopkins.
Wait a minute, what is this? No, this has never happened. But it is actually happening and I'm actually witnessing something absolutely unthinkable.
Hopkins goes 3-2 zone at about the 15 minute mark of the 2nd half and plays it the rest of the way. That is not a typo. I am absolutely shocked and speechless
Johnson has no answer for it. Chambers continuing his huge half as he gets a 4 point play. Then a pullup and a layup on a turnover. Martin with a layup at the 11:37 mark to end an 18-2 run. 68-54 Hopkins with the lead. Waylon Johnson with a 3 point play and a putback but Chambers counters with a 3 point play of his own. Watson banks in a 3 from the right corner and the lead is back down to 9, 71-62 with 9:20 to play. But Hopkins would score 12 of the next 17 to put the game away. Chambers to Jorgenson for 3 and his own floater in that run. Hopkins goes on to win 99-83. Siyani Chambers with a magnificent 2nd half scoring 25 of his 31 points during that half. Nick Jorgenson and Zach Stahl with 18 each. Marcus Marshall 4 3s for 17 points to lead Johnson. De'Vonta Durr and Waylon Johnson 16 points.
Day 2 features Milwaukee Riverside vs Hopkins in the 2nd game followed by Onalaska, WI vs Johnson. A couple of Gopher interests in those games (Nolan for Riverside and Matt Thomas of Onalaska).
I didn't see the first game of the East Metro Showcase due to real life but there wasn't much to miss as Highland Park pounded St. John's Lutheran from Florida 98-36. The event founder is head coach at St. John's Lutheran so that explains why they made the trip. I arrive 20 minutes later than expected (thank you traffic) and walk into the gym with my Walking Taco and only 1 minute left in game 2 warmups. Hmm, must multitask. North Dakota and South Dakota both with coaches in the building to watch.
Song of the Day
Life in the Fast Lane - Eagles
Game 2: Milwaukee Riverside vs St. Paul Central
Big story of the day was the arrival of Riverside's lefty post Phil Nolan who has a boatload of high D1 offers. But it was the hot shooting that got it going . Jalen Currie off the always illegal foul line elevator screen for 3. That's the 3rd Tigers 3 for a 13-5 lead just 2:23 into the game. Central claws back with their best scorer Montrell Williams coming off the bench to knock down a 3. 20-14 Riverside at the 11:30 mark. Then Bakari Triggs for 3 inside out from Nolan on the block. Later Nolan gets the pass off the backboard on the break and slams it home to ignite the crowd. Wide body RaVonn Posey with a layup, 3 point play and then puts back a missed free throw. The run is 20-0 as Central goes scoreless for a 7 minute stretch. 40-14 at the 5:50 mark of the 1st half. Williams would get the last 9 of the half for Central and would score the only Minutemen field goals in a 14:15 stretch into the 2nd half. Nolan with 2 dunks and a turn and face in the post for 2 more to start the 2nd half. We get to running time and Riverside with their bench gives up a 12-1 run to end the game. 72-48 Riverside wins. 5 in double figures for Riverside. Bakari Triggs 19 and 5 3s. Jalen Currie 14, Shomari Triggs, D'Andre Downey and Phil Nolan all with 10. Nolan also added 3 blocks. Marcus Taylor-Knighten 14 points and Montrell Williams 11 for Central.
Game 3: Hopkins at Johnson
This is a rematch of the championship game from the Best Buy Holiday Classic 3 weeks ago (read about that here). So with that in mind expectation weren't high, but Johnson is on home turf so you never know. The start is ominous as Marcus Marshall picks up 2 quick fouls. Then Zach Stahl scores on the post and Andre McDonald for 3. 11-2 Hopkins at the 14:35 mark. Johnson would come back with Waylon Johnson scoring and a block converted into 2 points by Quashingm Smith-Pugh. 15-13 Hopkins at 11:20. Darius Watson with a great eurostep for 2 to break some Hopkins momentum. Marshall staying in and his 3 cuts the lead to 5. Then Stahl picks up his 2nd at the 7:28 mark and has to sit. Marshall nails another 3 and a pair of free throws and don't look now but Johnson has their first lead at 32-30 at the 4:30 mark. That's a 14-4 Johnson run. Hopkins would counter with an 11-1 run of their own. Jake Wright's 3 before halftime gives Hopkins a 44-39 going to the 2nd half.
First basket of the half goes to Hopkins and then 6 in a row for Johnson and that gets the crowd involved. Then at a deadball we end up with a push and all 10 guys will get together and the refs have to jump in and break up what thankfully didn't become a much more serious mess. Hopkins kids walk away all clapping and more jakked up about it than Johnson. Waylon Johnson powers for 2 for a Johnson 1 point lead quickly countered by Demetrius Martin. Johnson again, this time with the scoop quickly countered by Stahl. Then a right corner BLOB 3 for Marshall puts the Govs up 52-50 with 15:10 to play. McDonald scores to tie and a turnover results in Siyani Chambers pulling up for 3. 55-52 Hopkins.
Wait a minute, what is this? No, this has never happened. But it is actually happening and I'm actually witnessing something absolutely unthinkable.
Hopkins goes 3-2 zone at about the 15 minute mark of the 2nd half and plays it the rest of the way. That is not a typo. I am absolutely shocked and speechless
Johnson has no answer for it. Chambers continuing his huge half as he gets a 4 point play. Then a pullup and a layup on a turnover. Martin with a layup at the 11:37 mark to end an 18-2 run. 68-54 Hopkins with the lead. Waylon Johnson with a 3 point play and a putback but Chambers counters with a 3 point play of his own. Watson banks in a 3 from the right corner and the lead is back down to 9, 71-62 with 9:20 to play. But Hopkins would score 12 of the next 17 to put the game away. Chambers to Jorgenson for 3 and his own floater in that run. Hopkins goes on to win 99-83. Siyani Chambers with a magnificent 2nd half scoring 25 of his 31 points during that half. Nick Jorgenson and Zach Stahl with 18 each. Marcus Marshall 4 3s for 17 points to lead Johnson. De'Vonta Durr and Waylon Johnson 16 points.
Day 2 features Milwaukee Riverside vs Hopkins in the 2nd game followed by Onalaska, WI vs Johnson. A couple of Gopher interests in those games (Nolan for Riverside and Matt Thomas of Onalaska).
Royals Rock Falcons
Labels:
Siyani Chambers
Prologue
Its an early trip to Hopkins as I got a chance to see the quality youth for both squads. But as you all know, the real reason is that I was there for the Walking Taco. Looked like it would be great and felt warm enough but tasted cold throughout. I must have mixed it wrong (always a critical component). Hopkins would pull away late in all 3 games I saw, but some noteworthy points anyway. Since it was played in 2 buildings today and mentioned by a loyal twitter follower (and if you're not following me there, shame on you do it now! You're missing plenty of good stuff that you don't get here), here's our
Song of the Day
Space Jam Theme
Game Time
Jamal Davis comes off the bench in this one for Hopkins. Ibrahim Cisse unavailable for Armstrong and he's one of their few "big" guys. Armstrong gives up the first 4 as scoring is hard to come by for both sides early. Then the Falcons put up 10 quick ones thanks to back to back Nick O'Hara 3s, a SLOB jumper and a pair of free throws from versatile soph Nobel Fahnbulleh. 10-4 Falcons at the 13:38 mark. 14-11 Falcons when their star junior Konner Goettsche goes down with a knee injury. He did not return. Fahnbulleh with a foul line pullup before Hopkins explodes. Siyani Chambers on the offensive glass for 2, Nick Jorgensen with a putback of a free throw miss. Another Hopkins missed free throw results in a Royals 3 point play from Stahl. Demetrius Martin with a drive and then a tough 3 where he though he got fouled. Its all part of a 20-1 Hopkins run in just over 3 and a half minutes. 31-17 Hopkins at the 7:33 mark. Mitchell Biewen with 7 in a row for the Falcons and his 3 cuts the lead to 42-31 with 3:40 left in the half. Hopkins scores the next 9 before an Armstrong tip ends the half. 51-33 Hopkins at halftime.
Armstrong trying to hang around with Fahnbulleh tipping in a miss and driving. Then a Nick O'Hara 3 to cut the lead to 16. 61-45 with 14:30 to play. One more Hopkins run puts it away. Jamal Davis runs for a layup and buries a 3 from Chambers. The rest of the run is layups. Andre McDonald finishes a 16-2 spurt for the biggest lead of the night 77-47 with 7:22 to play. Coach Novak can start going deeper into the bench at that point and the Royals win 90-68.
Post Game
For Armstrong, Nobel Fahnbulleh leads the way with 21 points. Got on the glass, played a little bit in the post, played point guard. Kind of a jack of all trades. Nick O'Hara 3 3s for 13. Mitchell Biewen 3 3s for 11. Armstrong started 4 juniors and the sophomore Fahnbulleh. Add in a good class of freshmen (Evan Nolan 1st off varsity bench and Jerome Dixon got garbage time minutes along with 4 other freshman playing soph or JV regularly) and the future is bright. The Falcons fall to 2-7 (1-5 in NWSC). They are at Centennial on Thursday. Cougars upset Maple Grove tonight thanks to a hungry KuckyMonster (Mitchell Kuck's twitter handle) putting up 40.
Hopkins with 5 in double figures including 17 and 6 from Zach Stahl. Demetrius Martin 14, Nick Jorgenson and Siyani Chambers 12, Andre McDonald with 10. Fun to watch 8th grader Amir Coffey be the best player in the sophomore game as well. Wouldn't shock me to see him with Pulley (betting odds, don't gamble kids) or PNR 15s this spring. Hopkins is now 12-1 and they're off until they play Johnson next Friday night at Johnson in the East Metro Showcase.
Its an early trip to Hopkins as I got a chance to see the quality youth for both squads. But as you all know, the real reason is that I was there for the Walking Taco. Looked like it would be great and felt warm enough but tasted cold throughout. I must have mixed it wrong (always a critical component). Hopkins would pull away late in all 3 games I saw, but some noteworthy points anyway. Since it was played in 2 buildings today and mentioned by a loyal twitter follower (and if you're not following me there, shame on you do it now! You're missing plenty of good stuff that you don't get here), here's our
Song of the Day
Space Jam Theme
Game Time
Jamal Davis comes off the bench in this one for Hopkins. Ibrahim Cisse unavailable for Armstrong and he's one of their few "big" guys. Armstrong gives up the first 4 as scoring is hard to come by for both sides early. Then the Falcons put up 10 quick ones thanks to back to back Nick O'Hara 3s, a SLOB jumper and a pair of free throws from versatile soph Nobel Fahnbulleh. 10-4 Falcons at the 13:38 mark. 14-11 Falcons when their star junior Konner Goettsche goes down with a knee injury. He did not return. Fahnbulleh with a foul line pullup before Hopkins explodes. Siyani Chambers on the offensive glass for 2, Nick Jorgensen with a putback of a free throw miss. Another Hopkins missed free throw results in a Royals 3 point play from Stahl. Demetrius Martin with a drive and then a tough 3 where he though he got fouled. Its all part of a 20-1 Hopkins run in just over 3 and a half minutes. 31-17 Hopkins at the 7:33 mark. Mitchell Biewen with 7 in a row for the Falcons and his 3 cuts the lead to 42-31 with 3:40 left in the half. Hopkins scores the next 9 before an Armstrong tip ends the half. 51-33 Hopkins at halftime.
Armstrong trying to hang around with Fahnbulleh tipping in a miss and driving. Then a Nick O'Hara 3 to cut the lead to 16. 61-45 with 14:30 to play. One more Hopkins run puts it away. Jamal Davis runs for a layup and buries a 3 from Chambers. The rest of the run is layups. Andre McDonald finishes a 16-2 spurt for the biggest lead of the night 77-47 with 7:22 to play. Coach Novak can start going deeper into the bench at that point and the Royals win 90-68.
Post Game
For Armstrong, Nobel Fahnbulleh leads the way with 21 points. Got on the glass, played a little bit in the post, played point guard. Kind of a jack of all trades. Nick O'Hara 3 3s for 13. Mitchell Biewen 3 3s for 11. Armstrong started 4 juniors and the sophomore Fahnbulleh. Add in a good class of freshmen (Evan Nolan 1st off varsity bench and Jerome Dixon got garbage time minutes along with 4 other freshman playing soph or JV regularly) and the future is bright. The Falcons fall to 2-7 (1-5 in NWSC). They are at Centennial on Thursday. Cougars upset Maple Grove tonight thanks to a hungry KuckyMonster (Mitchell Kuck's twitter handle) putting up 40.
Hopkins with 5 in double figures including 17 and 6 from Zach Stahl. Demetrius Martin 14, Nick Jorgenson and Siyani Chambers 12, Andre McDonald with 10. Fun to watch 8th grader Amir Coffey be the best player in the sophomore game as well. Wouldn't shock me to see him with Pulley (betting odds, don't gamble kids) or PNR 15s this spring. Hopkins is now 12-1 and they're off until they play Johnson next Friday night at Johnson in the East Metro Showcase.
2012 Timberwolves Shootout Wrap
Saturday marked the 8th consecutive year that I've attended the Timberwolves Shootout. After the disasterous watershed moment that was Lake Geneva Badger vs Hopkins in 2009, this year showed a couple of major milestones to me. First was the total attendance of 3306 which is a huge disappointment and a surprise. I think that can be directly traced back to that 2009 moment. The Timberwolves insist that a team with big travel (e.g Kevin Love's Lake Oswego, OR team) doesn't bring fans and therefore it makes no sense to bring them in. I insist that they flat out don't get it. My cousin hasn't driven 5 hours each way from eastern Wisconsin for 7 of those years to watch Lake Geneva Badger. He did it to see Jrue Holiday and Joe Jackson and Josh Selby and DeMarcus Cousins etc. People all around the state came to see those stars. It was the top event of the year and was special because of those players. Now they're just another weekend event on the schedule trying to make a buck. Hopefully this all makes the TWolves take a very hard look in the mirror and do a total re-evaluation of how they do the event. Interesting too that one of the tickets given away was a Chicago ticket which doesn't seem to make much business sense either. Why would you cut the 2 hour game window to 90 minutes when basketball history clearly shows there's no way you'll be on time later in the day (late game didn't start til about 7:15 but was scheduled for 6:30). The second is that there was only 1 competitive game all day. We've had blowouts in the past but I've never seen a set of games here that had only 1 good game for the entire day. I'm all for having a little fun with names, but general consensus was the constant embellishing of Latrell LOOOOOVE was way way too much. I don't know about the other side of the court, but on my side for the 1st time there was no open concession stand, only 1 stand way around at 1 end of the arena was open. Very strange. Why not have 1 stand right behind the main crowd of people on each side open (similar to what they do for other high school games there). Now on to the game specifics.
Game 1: #1AAA Benilde St. Margaret's vs #1A St. Thomas More (Rapid City, SD)
KJ Rech with a post up and free throw for St. Thomas More and an early 6-5 lead. Sanjay Lumpkin with a putback and 3 in a 7-0 run to put BSM on top. Eric Hensch counters with 5 in a row to cut the lead to 1. BSM only up 7 inside of 3:30 before an 11-2 run to close the half. Lumpkin for a layup, assist to Isaiah Zierden for 3, plus layups from Isaiah Gray, Breion Creer and Will Dunn. 39-23 BSM at half. Skye Warwick heats up in the second half and combined with a 1-3-1 zone, they cut the BSM lead to 12. Then Hensch and Warwick with bombs to cut the lead to 11. The lead is 10 before a Lumpkin bucket , putback by Creer and 2 freebies from Lumpkin put it away. 68-50 BSM wins. Sanjay Lumpkin with 29 and 10 to lead the way. Quiet 29 but very effective. Skye Warwick 20 pts and 6-14 from 3 to lead St. Thomas More. We'll have the set used to get him many of those looks at the end.
Game 2: Duluth East vs #3 D2 Rice Lake, WI
Story of this game was the return of Johnny Woodard for Duluth East and his battle vs Gopher signee Wally Ellenson and his 2 brothers. This was Woodard's 1st game of the season following a shoulder injury suffered and reinjured during the summer AAU season. He's didn't look it was the 1st game back. His 2 free throws and a 3 give the first 5 Greyhounds points of the game. Taylor Stafford with back to back 3s and the rout is on early. 24-7 East at the 9:50 mark. Woodard with a drive and hang for 2 and a sick dunk late in the half. Wally Ellenson finally gets his 1st field goal on a lob dunk at the 1:15 mark of the half. 44-27 East at the break, Woodard 16, Wally 3. Wally with strong hands snares a pass and reverses for 2 and then a monster follow up dunk flying through the air to hammer home a rebound. 55-38 East at the 13:40 mark. Woodard hangs for 2 more and posts up Wally for 2 more. Wally back the other way with a behind the back assist and a running floater in the lane that he banks home. Woodard right back with a drive for a 3 point play. Woodard a bucket and offensive rebound for 2 free throws and its Wally's 4th foul. 70-48 East with 8:14 left. Duluth East wins 86-71. Johnny Woodard with a huge day of 33 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists on 12-20 FGs, 8-13 FTs. Taylor Stafford 20 points and 9 assists. Wally Ellenson 9 points and 10 boards on 4-14, Henry Ellenson 11 and 5 rebounds. Alex Cuskey 17 points to lead Rice Lake.
Game 3: Minnetonka vs #6AA Pelican Rapids
Pelican Rapids would get a putback and a runout for a layup from forward Luke Halbakken for a early 6-5 lead. Then this one was all Skippers. Latrell Love goes 10 for 10 for 21 points in the first half. The team shoots a sick 22-28 from the floor in the half for a 19 point lead. The lead balloons to 29 before Tonka wins 86-66. Latrell Love with 27 points on the day as there wasn't an answer for him on the post. Tommy McDermott also impressive generating offense from the guard spot for 20 points. Riley Dearring 17 points. Casey Bruggeman with 17, Luke Halbakken 16.
Game 4: Prior Lake vs #7-4A Cedar Falls, IA
Track star James Harrington takes 4 early Prior Lake turnovers the other way for layups. That's on the way to a 23 point lead in the first half. 45-26 at the half. A 10-2 run to end the game by Prior Lake cuts the final margin to 67-56. James Harrington outstanding with 20 of his 25 in the first half. Carson Shanks 11 and 10 for Prior Lake, 16 from Jack Kaiser, 11 and 10 from Jack Harrison. The twins Kalehl and Kalund Brown use their athleticism to do a fantastic defensive job on Jon Sobaski holding him to 4 points and only 1 field goal.
Game 5: #2AAAA Hopkins vs #5-4A Sioux City East, IA
A battle of size vs speed and this one was all speed. Sioux City East picks up 8 fouls in the 1st half, all on their 3 big men. That includes 3 each on their power forward and star center Adam Woodbury. Add in the fact that East had a truckload of first half turnovers and 9 3s from Hopkins, this one was over early. 52-33 Hopkins at the half. Woodbury goes for 15 of his 23 in the second half as Hopkins had nobody near that big to guard him. Zach Stahl with 21 points and had to battle Woodbury. Siyani Chambers 18 points and 4 assists. JC Fuller 22 points for East. East with 23 turnovers for the game.
Game 6: #5AAAA Apple Valley vs #1 D2 Onalaska, WI
Now to the game of the day. Tyus Jones with 3 quick assists and a 3. His 3 comes after a jumper and tip from Hilltoppers star Matt Thomas. 11-10 Onalaska at the 10:30 mark. Tyus with a free throw, NBA 3 and layup on a turnover in a 9-0 Eagles run. 21-17 Apple Valley at the 5:34 mark and the Hilltoppers need a timeout. Tyus misses a breakaway dunk and Thomas promptly buries a 3 coming back, big 5 point swing there. Tyus with another steal for 2 for another Onalaska timeout, 27-22 Eagles at the 1:49 mark. Onalaska gets 2 buckets in the last minute to cut the lead. 29-27 Apple Valley at half. Tyus 11 and 4 assists, Thomas with 12.
Onalaska trying to face guard Tyus in the second half (more on that later as well), but he makes a pair of free throws and scores after a Mitch Hechsel bucket. Its an 8-0 Eagles run, timeout Hilltoppers down 41-33 with 12:13 to play. The lead gets to 10 before Onalaska makes a charge. Nick Arenz on the post for 2 and a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 6. Thomas then starts to go off. Jumper for 2, a Tus turnover leads to a 3 point play. 48-44 Apple Valley with 6:06 to play. Jones to Harry Sonie for 3 and a Hecshel jumper. But Clint Rihn nails a 3, Thomas on the post for a free throw, then a pull up 3. 55-51 Apple Valley with 3:50 left. In the bonus Sonie nails a free throw and then a bad technical on coach Kowal of Onalaska and Sonie nails the back end of the bonus and the 2 technicals. 59-51 Apple Valley with the ball but the Hilltoppers get a stop. Rihn for 3, Thomas with 2 free throws. But the Hilltoppers leaving the middle open in their gimmick defense on Tyus. Sonie to Hechsel for a layup. Bang bang moment is a block on Tyus for 2 Thomas free throws but Sonie counters with a mid-lane pull up. 63-58 Eagles with 2:05 left. Thomas with a jumper and fouled. The free throw is no good but they get it back and Thomas promptly buries another jumper. Then he steals the inbounds for a layup. Holy cow. 64-63 Onalaska with the lead and Apple Valley turns it over. Onalaska takes a tough shot and misses. Tyus comes back with 1 of 2 free throws to tie it with 1:24 left. Thomas misses a tough NBA 3 with a minute left in a tie game and Apple Valley takes time with 58.6 left and the ball. Dustin Fronk misses an open 3 short but the Eagles get it back. Harry Sonie buries a 3 but wait a minute. The Apple Valley bench called a timeout before the shot was released so no basket. Instead the Eagles have the ball with 32.2 to go and we're tied at 64. They hold and Tyus comes to get it with 10 to go. He splits a double team off a high screen and gets into the lane. His floater his short but Hechsel is there to put it back with 1.9 to play. Onalaska out of the timeout goes Valpo, the pass it tipped and Arenz has a clean look from 3 at the buzzer but its off the back iron and Apple Valley hangs on 66-64 in an outstanding game.
Tyus Jones held to 18 points and 6 assists as Onalaska really focused their defense on him. Mitch Hechsel, Harry Sonie and Dustin Fronk all in double figures stepping up. Matt Thomas with 21 of his 33 in the 2nd half and 10 in the last 3 minutes. Clint Rihn 4 3s and 14 points along with faceguarding Jones much of the night. Nick Arenz 11 and 7. Hilltoppers get 0 points from their bench.
Czar's All-Tournament Teams
1st Team
Johnny Woodard - Duluth East (MVP)
Matt Thomas - Onalaska
Sanjay Lumpkin - Benilde-St. Margaret's
James Harrington - Cedar Falls
Latrell Love - Minnetonka
2nd Team
Taylor Stafford - Duluth East
Adam Woodbury - Sioux City East
Zach Stahl - Hopkins
Siyani Chambers - Hopkins
Skye Warwick - St. Thomas More
Tactical Moments of the Day
A couple of noteworthy tactics during the day. We'll start with Onalaska and how they defended Tyus Jones. They showed plenty of 2-3 zone but the majority of the night and most of the 2nd half was a tweak of that 2-3 zone to be a 1-3 with 1 of the top defenders (mostly Clint Rihn) pulled out to play man-man and face guard. Nice concept to adjust within the basic scheme of their regular defense. With Arenz playing the middle and responsible for the basket and only 1 guy on top, Apple Valley was able get to the middle at will. Harry Sonie saw a ton of this. Arenz couldn't step up on the quick guard for fear of a layup. But it he doesn't step up you're giving up a wide open foul line jumper. If Arenz steps up and the the low wing helps behind, then you have a kick for a wing 3 from a guy like Fronk who can really shoot it. A very fun cat and mouse game to watch.
The other item was from St. Thomas More. In South Dakota, they use the shot clock for all of their games (and North Dakota went to it for all games this year vs class A games last year). That means plenty of quick hitters. You saw this when a set didn't work, there's wasn't much in the way of spacing or idea of what to do because you normally have to jack up a shot by that point. One set that the Cavaliers ran with great success was called Eagle.
Sharpshooter Skye Warwick on the right box with a post on the right elbow. Other post is on the left block. Point guard on top who enters the ball to another perimeter player on left wing. Point guard clears to the left corner. Post flashes straight up the lane line to the left slot for a catch. On the catch, the right elbow post goes and pins down on Warwick on the right block. The post with the ball takes 2 hard dribbles across the top toward that action and Warwick comes and gets it on the dribble handoff where he can shoot the 3 behind it.
That was the base action. You could even add a cross screen action where the original left wing goes and cross screens for the pindown post (see Utah St type action) and run it as a continuity. Similarly you could end it with America's play action off that last extra cross screen.
Game 1: #1AAA Benilde St. Margaret's vs #1A St. Thomas More (Rapid City, SD)
KJ Rech with a post up and free throw for St. Thomas More and an early 6-5 lead. Sanjay Lumpkin with a putback and 3 in a 7-0 run to put BSM on top. Eric Hensch counters with 5 in a row to cut the lead to 1. BSM only up 7 inside of 3:30 before an 11-2 run to close the half. Lumpkin for a layup, assist to Isaiah Zierden for 3, plus layups from Isaiah Gray, Breion Creer and Will Dunn. 39-23 BSM at half. Skye Warwick heats up in the second half and combined with a 1-3-1 zone, they cut the BSM lead to 12. Then Hensch and Warwick with bombs to cut the lead to 11. The lead is 10 before a Lumpkin bucket , putback by Creer and 2 freebies from Lumpkin put it away. 68-50 BSM wins. Sanjay Lumpkin with 29 and 10 to lead the way. Quiet 29 but very effective. Skye Warwick 20 pts and 6-14 from 3 to lead St. Thomas More. We'll have the set used to get him many of those looks at the end.
Game 2: Duluth East vs #3 D2 Rice Lake, WI
Story of this game was the return of Johnny Woodard for Duluth East and his battle vs Gopher signee Wally Ellenson and his 2 brothers. This was Woodard's 1st game of the season following a shoulder injury suffered and reinjured during the summer AAU season. He's didn't look it was the 1st game back. His 2 free throws and a 3 give the first 5 Greyhounds points of the game. Taylor Stafford with back to back 3s and the rout is on early. 24-7 East at the 9:50 mark. Woodard with a drive and hang for 2 and a sick dunk late in the half. Wally Ellenson finally gets his 1st field goal on a lob dunk at the 1:15 mark of the half. 44-27 East at the break, Woodard 16, Wally 3. Wally with strong hands snares a pass and reverses for 2 and then a monster follow up dunk flying through the air to hammer home a rebound. 55-38 East at the 13:40 mark. Woodard hangs for 2 more and posts up Wally for 2 more. Wally back the other way with a behind the back assist and a running floater in the lane that he banks home. Woodard right back with a drive for a 3 point play. Woodard a bucket and offensive rebound for 2 free throws and its Wally's 4th foul. 70-48 East with 8:14 left. Duluth East wins 86-71. Johnny Woodard with a huge day of 33 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists on 12-20 FGs, 8-13 FTs. Taylor Stafford 20 points and 9 assists. Wally Ellenson 9 points and 10 boards on 4-14, Henry Ellenson 11 and 5 rebounds. Alex Cuskey 17 points to lead Rice Lake.
Game 3: Minnetonka vs #6AA Pelican Rapids
Pelican Rapids would get a putback and a runout for a layup from forward Luke Halbakken for a early 6-5 lead. Then this one was all Skippers. Latrell Love goes 10 for 10 for 21 points in the first half. The team shoots a sick 22-28 from the floor in the half for a 19 point lead. The lead balloons to 29 before Tonka wins 86-66. Latrell Love with 27 points on the day as there wasn't an answer for him on the post. Tommy McDermott also impressive generating offense from the guard spot for 20 points. Riley Dearring 17 points. Casey Bruggeman with 17, Luke Halbakken 16.
Game 4: Prior Lake vs #7-4A Cedar Falls, IA
Track star James Harrington takes 4 early Prior Lake turnovers the other way for layups. That's on the way to a 23 point lead in the first half. 45-26 at the half. A 10-2 run to end the game by Prior Lake cuts the final margin to 67-56. James Harrington outstanding with 20 of his 25 in the first half. Carson Shanks 11 and 10 for Prior Lake, 16 from Jack Kaiser, 11 and 10 from Jack Harrison. The twins Kalehl and Kalund Brown use their athleticism to do a fantastic defensive job on Jon Sobaski holding him to 4 points and only 1 field goal.
Game 5: #2AAAA Hopkins vs #5-4A Sioux City East, IA
A battle of size vs speed and this one was all speed. Sioux City East picks up 8 fouls in the 1st half, all on their 3 big men. That includes 3 each on their power forward and star center Adam Woodbury. Add in the fact that East had a truckload of first half turnovers and 9 3s from Hopkins, this one was over early. 52-33 Hopkins at the half. Woodbury goes for 15 of his 23 in the second half as Hopkins had nobody near that big to guard him. Zach Stahl with 21 points and had to battle Woodbury. Siyani Chambers 18 points and 4 assists. JC Fuller 22 points for East. East with 23 turnovers for the game.
Game 6: #5AAAA Apple Valley vs #1 D2 Onalaska, WI
Now to the game of the day. Tyus Jones with 3 quick assists and a 3. His 3 comes after a jumper and tip from Hilltoppers star Matt Thomas. 11-10 Onalaska at the 10:30 mark. Tyus with a free throw, NBA 3 and layup on a turnover in a 9-0 Eagles run. 21-17 Apple Valley at the 5:34 mark and the Hilltoppers need a timeout. Tyus misses a breakaway dunk and Thomas promptly buries a 3 coming back, big 5 point swing there. Tyus with another steal for 2 for another Onalaska timeout, 27-22 Eagles at the 1:49 mark. Onalaska gets 2 buckets in the last minute to cut the lead. 29-27 Apple Valley at half. Tyus 11 and 4 assists, Thomas with 12.
Onalaska trying to face guard Tyus in the second half (more on that later as well), but he makes a pair of free throws and scores after a Mitch Hechsel bucket. Its an 8-0 Eagles run, timeout Hilltoppers down 41-33 with 12:13 to play. The lead gets to 10 before Onalaska makes a charge. Nick Arenz on the post for 2 and a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 6. Thomas then starts to go off. Jumper for 2, a Tus turnover leads to a 3 point play. 48-44 Apple Valley with 6:06 to play. Jones to Harry Sonie for 3 and a Hecshel jumper. But Clint Rihn nails a 3, Thomas on the post for a free throw, then a pull up 3. 55-51 Apple Valley with 3:50 left. In the bonus Sonie nails a free throw and then a bad technical on coach Kowal of Onalaska and Sonie nails the back end of the bonus and the 2 technicals. 59-51 Apple Valley with the ball but the Hilltoppers get a stop. Rihn for 3, Thomas with 2 free throws. But the Hilltoppers leaving the middle open in their gimmick defense on Tyus. Sonie to Hechsel for a layup. Bang bang moment is a block on Tyus for 2 Thomas free throws but Sonie counters with a mid-lane pull up. 63-58 Eagles with 2:05 left. Thomas with a jumper and fouled. The free throw is no good but they get it back and Thomas promptly buries another jumper. Then he steals the inbounds for a layup. Holy cow. 64-63 Onalaska with the lead and Apple Valley turns it over. Onalaska takes a tough shot and misses. Tyus comes back with 1 of 2 free throws to tie it with 1:24 left. Thomas misses a tough NBA 3 with a minute left in a tie game and Apple Valley takes time with 58.6 left and the ball. Dustin Fronk misses an open 3 short but the Eagles get it back. Harry Sonie buries a 3 but wait a minute. The Apple Valley bench called a timeout before the shot was released so no basket. Instead the Eagles have the ball with 32.2 to go and we're tied at 64. They hold and Tyus comes to get it with 10 to go. He splits a double team off a high screen and gets into the lane. His floater his short but Hechsel is there to put it back with 1.9 to play. Onalaska out of the timeout goes Valpo, the pass it tipped and Arenz has a clean look from 3 at the buzzer but its off the back iron and Apple Valley hangs on 66-64 in an outstanding game.
Tyus Jones held to 18 points and 6 assists as Onalaska really focused their defense on him. Mitch Hechsel, Harry Sonie and Dustin Fronk all in double figures stepping up. Matt Thomas with 21 of his 33 in the 2nd half and 10 in the last 3 minutes. Clint Rihn 4 3s and 14 points along with faceguarding Jones much of the night. Nick Arenz 11 and 7. Hilltoppers get 0 points from their bench.
Czar's All-Tournament Teams
1st Team
Johnny Woodard - Duluth East (MVP)
Matt Thomas - Onalaska
Sanjay Lumpkin - Benilde-St. Margaret's
James Harrington - Cedar Falls
Latrell Love - Minnetonka
2nd Team
Taylor Stafford - Duluth East
Adam Woodbury - Sioux City East
Zach Stahl - Hopkins
Siyani Chambers - Hopkins
Skye Warwick - St. Thomas More
Tactical Moments of the Day
A couple of noteworthy tactics during the day. We'll start with Onalaska and how they defended Tyus Jones. They showed plenty of 2-3 zone but the majority of the night and most of the 2nd half was a tweak of that 2-3 zone to be a 1-3 with 1 of the top defenders (mostly Clint Rihn) pulled out to play man-man and face guard. Nice concept to adjust within the basic scheme of their regular defense. With Arenz playing the middle and responsible for the basket and only 1 guy on top, Apple Valley was able get to the middle at will. Harry Sonie saw a ton of this. Arenz couldn't step up on the quick guard for fear of a layup. But it he doesn't step up you're giving up a wide open foul line jumper. If Arenz steps up and the the low wing helps behind, then you have a kick for a wing 3 from a guy like Fronk who can really shoot it. A very fun cat and mouse game to watch.
The other item was from St. Thomas More. In South Dakota, they use the shot clock for all of their games (and North Dakota went to it for all games this year vs class A games last year). That means plenty of quick hitters. You saw this when a set didn't work, there's wasn't much in the way of spacing or idea of what to do because you normally have to jack up a shot by that point. One set that the Cavaliers ran with great success was called Eagle.
Sharpshooter Skye Warwick on the right box with a post on the right elbow. Other post is on the left block. Point guard on top who enters the ball to another perimeter player on left wing. Point guard clears to the left corner. Post flashes straight up the lane line to the left slot for a catch. On the catch, the right elbow post goes and pins down on Warwick on the right block. The post with the ball takes 2 hard dribbles across the top toward that action and Warwick comes and gets it on the dribble handoff where he can shoot the 3 behind it.
That was the base action. You could even add a cross screen action where the original left wing goes and cross screens for the pindown post (see Utah St type action) and run it as a continuity. Similarly you could end it with America's play action off that last extra cross screen.
2012 Timberwolves Shootout Preview
The Timberwolves Shootout returns to a 6 game schedule this year with the game schedule compressed to 90 minute intervals so expect things to run way behind later in the day. An outstanding field of Minnesota stars, Gopher recruits (signed, wanted or missed) and quality teams. Let's dive deeper into the games. Worth noting for all of the Non-MN teams that they'll have to contend with the 4 extra minutes of game time and halves.
Note: All records and rankings through January 1, 2012
11:00 AM - St. Thomas More (SD) vs Benilde-St. Margaret's
The day begins with a battle of number 1s. St. Thomas More is out of Rapid City, SD and they're ranked number 1 in South Dakota's class A (enrollment 90-449) with a record of 6-0. The Cavaliers are also the defending state champs. 6'1 G Skye Warwick leads the way. He's a shooter with range beyond the NBA line. He'll attend Northern State next year with Rogers center Mike Schreiber. Eric Hensch mans another guard spot while 6'6 Kirby (KJ) Rech and 6'5 Jeremy Henderson man the front line. Benilde St. Margaret's is ranked number 1 in class AAA with a 7-1 record and has already knocked off class AAAA state favorite Hopkins and fellow Shootout member Minnetonka. They're only loss is to #1AAAA Eastview. They feature 3 division 1 stars. 6'6 Forward Sanjay Lumpkin (Northwestern) is a wing who plays some inside. Sharpshooter Isaiah Zierden (Creighton) can match Warwick's shooting. Will Dunn (IPFW) is a power wing. Keep an eye on guard Isaiah Gray who's been outstanding for the Red Knights. BSM isn't deep or big so we'll see if that becomes a factor on the NBA size court.
Czar's Pick: Benilde-St. Margaret's, too talented and they've proven this year they're tough enough to win the big game.
12:30 PM - Rice Lake (WI) vs Duluth East
Rice Lake comes into the Shootout 8-0 and ranked #3 in Wisconsin's Division 2 (2nd largest class). They feature the 3 Ellenson brothers. They'll be familiar to locals who follow the summer scene as they all played with Minnesota Pump N Run last summer. Senior Wally is a 6'5 lefty who will attend Minnesota next year. He's an explosive wing who has high jumped 6'11. 6'6 Junior Ellwood mans the middle and can block shots. Freshman Henry is a 6'7 wing who may have the highest upside of the 3 brothers. Senior Alex Cuskey is also one to keep an eye on. Duluth East was ranked #10 in AAAA to start the season but they've played the entire season without their star wing Johnny Woodard due to a shoulder injury that he re-injured in July. He won't return until February. They're 2-6 but have played a brutally tough schedule. Senior point guard Taylor Stafford has been lighting up opponents for 30 a game this season. He scored 38 a night in 3 games at the Best Buy Holiday Classic last week.
Czar's Pick: Rice Lake (WI), too much from the Ellenson trio and East not enough firepower
2:00 PM - Pelican Rapids vs Minnetonka
This is the 1 Minnesota vs Minnesota matchup of the day. Pelican Rapids comes into the game 6-2 and ranked #2 in the class AA poll. They'll likely drop after a loss at Moorhead over the holidays. They feature forward Luke Halbakken and guard Casey Bruggeman who provide scoring and senior leadership. Soph guard Ryan Bruggeman is also one to watch. Minnetonka is 8-2 and ranked #9 in the AAAA poll. The Skippers are deep on the perimeter. Junior wing Riley Dearring is one of the top juniors in the state and averages 16.1 PPG. Senior guard Tommy McDermott can score in bunches. He averages 16.2 PPG. Senior wing Joe Risinger has had a breakout season. Latrell Love scores 15.9 a night and is a crafty long-armed post
Czar's Pick: Minnetonka wins with their depth and too much perimeter firepower. No good matchup for Risinger means he has a big day.
3:30 PM - Cedar Falls (IA) vs Prior Lake
Cedar Falls is ranked #7 in Iowa's top class. Their star guard James Harrington averages 21.8 points a night. He'll run track at Alabama next season. 6'2 Senior Caleb Konieczny averages 14.6 points a night. Their record is 3-2 but the 2 losses are to the #1 and #3 teams in the state. Prior Lake is 4-3 and was once ranked #10 in the class AAAA poll. 7'0 junior center Carson Shanks has committed to Utah State. He averages 10.1 points a game. Cedar Falls doesn't have any real size to deal with him so they'll have to be physical and see if they can bump him off the block. Sophomore point guard Jon Sobaski is the straw that stirs the drink. He averages 17.1 points a game. The Lakers can go huge up front with 6'5 senior Jack Harrison and 6'10 Jeff Probert if they so choose.
Czar's Pick: I like Cedar Falls in this one. They pounded a quality Austin team 74-41 and beat #9 Linn-Mar by 1. Harrington vs Sobaski will be fun to watch.
5:00 PM - Sioux City East (IA) vs Hopkins
Sioux City East is currently 7-1 and ranked #5 in Iowa's top class. They feature 7'1 lefty center Adam Woodbury who will play at Iowa next season. He's ranked #42 nationally in the class of 2012 by Rivals.com. Minnesota did attempt to recruit him. He averages 17.4 PPG on 66% shooting with 11 rebounds a game. 6'3 Senior JC Fuller averages 16.8 a night. They can also throw 6'7 and 6'8 on the floor with Woodbury. Hopkins has a record of 9-1 and suffered their only loss to Benilde-St. Margaret's. They're currently ranked #2 in the class AAAA poll. Point guard Siyani Chambers is a great leader and will attend Harvard next season. He's also stepped up his scoring this season. 6'6 Forward Zach Stahl is a division 1 talent who missed the first 6 games of the season (including the Benilde-St. Margaret's loss). Since his return, he won the MVP at the Best Buy Holiday Classic with 28 points in the championship victory over St. Paul Johnson. They have a load of guards and play at as fast a pace as anybody in Minnesota. But besides Stahl there's no real size in their rotation.
Czar's Pick: Hopkins. I think their pace is too much on the big floor with 4 extra minutes. If East is forced to put Woodbury on the floor with 4 guards to keep up with Hopkins and a fast pace, that's to Hopkins advantage. The longer East can stay big and at a slow pace, the better it is for them.
6:30 PM - Onalaska (WI) vs Apple Valley
Onalaska is ranked number 1 in Wisconsin's Division 2 with a record of 7-0. They feature 2013 star shooting guard Matt Thomas who's averaging 21.4 points a game. He's considered the best shooter in Wisconsin. They also feature UW-Green Bay signee 6'8 Nick Arenz up front (12.4 PPG). After playing in the Shootout last year, Arenz blew out a knee in the next game and is still trying to get back to 100%. Guards Clint Rihn and Ben Socha are quality contributors. Apple Valley is 6-1 and ranked #6 in the class AAAA poll. They feature sophomore point guard Tyus Jones who's currently ranked #7 in the nation in the class of 2014 by Rivals.com. He played with the USA national team this summer. You'll be hard pressed to find a better passer anywhere in the high school game right now. He also adds in 28 points a night. Expect to see Tubby Smith and who knows what other high profile coaches in attendance to watch him. He's surrounded by sharpshooter Dustin Fronk at 19 points a night and guard Harry Sonie at 11.7 a night. Its a small and mostly young Apple Valley lineup that will get a serious test from the experienced Hilltoppers
Czar's Pick: Tyus Jones has had a ridiculously huge year. Also note that Onalaska has a huge conference game the previous night vs La Crosse Aquinas and a tough one at Eau Claire Memorial earlier in the week plus the long game day travel and I think its too much to overcome. But Tyus and Thomas will put on a show.
Note: All records and rankings through January 1, 2012
11:00 AM - St. Thomas More (SD) vs Benilde-St. Margaret's
The day begins with a battle of number 1s. St. Thomas More is out of Rapid City, SD and they're ranked number 1 in South Dakota's class A (enrollment 90-449) with a record of 6-0. The Cavaliers are also the defending state champs. 6'1 G Skye Warwick leads the way. He's a shooter with range beyond the NBA line. He'll attend Northern State next year with Rogers center Mike Schreiber. Eric Hensch mans another guard spot while 6'6 Kirby (KJ) Rech and 6'5 Jeremy Henderson man the front line. Benilde St. Margaret's is ranked number 1 in class AAA with a 7-1 record and has already knocked off class AAAA state favorite Hopkins and fellow Shootout member Minnetonka. They're only loss is to #1AAAA Eastview. They feature 3 division 1 stars. 6'6 Forward Sanjay Lumpkin (Northwestern) is a wing who plays some inside. Sharpshooter Isaiah Zierden (Creighton) can match Warwick's shooting. Will Dunn (IPFW) is a power wing. Keep an eye on guard Isaiah Gray who's been outstanding for the Red Knights. BSM isn't deep or big so we'll see if that becomes a factor on the NBA size court.
Czar's Pick: Benilde-St. Margaret's, too talented and they've proven this year they're tough enough to win the big game.
12:30 PM - Rice Lake (WI) vs Duluth East
Rice Lake comes into the Shootout 8-0 and ranked #3 in Wisconsin's Division 2 (2nd largest class). They feature the 3 Ellenson brothers. They'll be familiar to locals who follow the summer scene as they all played with Minnesota Pump N Run last summer. Senior Wally is a 6'5 lefty who will attend Minnesota next year. He's an explosive wing who has high jumped 6'11. 6'6 Junior Ellwood mans the middle and can block shots. Freshman Henry is a 6'7 wing who may have the highest upside of the 3 brothers. Senior Alex Cuskey is also one to keep an eye on. Duluth East was ranked #10 in AAAA to start the season but they've played the entire season without their star wing Johnny Woodard due to a shoulder injury that he re-injured in July. He won't return until February. They're 2-6 but have played a brutally tough schedule. Senior point guard Taylor Stafford has been lighting up opponents for 30 a game this season. He scored 38 a night in 3 games at the Best Buy Holiday Classic last week.
Czar's Pick: Rice Lake (WI), too much from the Ellenson trio and East not enough firepower
2:00 PM - Pelican Rapids vs Minnetonka
This is the 1 Minnesota vs Minnesota matchup of the day. Pelican Rapids comes into the game 6-2 and ranked #2 in the class AA poll. They'll likely drop after a loss at Moorhead over the holidays. They feature forward Luke Halbakken and guard Casey Bruggeman who provide scoring and senior leadership. Soph guard Ryan Bruggeman is also one to watch. Minnetonka is 8-2 and ranked #9 in the AAAA poll. The Skippers are deep on the perimeter. Junior wing Riley Dearring is one of the top juniors in the state and averages 16.1 PPG. Senior guard Tommy McDermott can score in bunches. He averages 16.2 PPG. Senior wing Joe Risinger has had a breakout season. Latrell Love scores 15.9 a night and is a crafty long-armed post
Czar's Pick: Minnetonka wins with their depth and too much perimeter firepower. No good matchup for Risinger means he has a big day.
3:30 PM - Cedar Falls (IA) vs Prior Lake
Cedar Falls is ranked #7 in Iowa's top class. Their star guard James Harrington averages 21.8 points a night. He'll run track at Alabama next season. 6'2 Senior Caleb Konieczny averages 14.6 points a night. Their record is 3-2 but the 2 losses are to the #1 and #3 teams in the state. Prior Lake is 4-3 and was once ranked #10 in the class AAAA poll. 7'0 junior center Carson Shanks has committed to Utah State. He averages 10.1 points a game. Cedar Falls doesn't have any real size to deal with him so they'll have to be physical and see if they can bump him off the block. Sophomore point guard Jon Sobaski is the straw that stirs the drink. He averages 17.1 points a game. The Lakers can go huge up front with 6'5 senior Jack Harrison and 6'10 Jeff Probert if they so choose.
Czar's Pick: I like Cedar Falls in this one. They pounded a quality Austin team 74-41 and beat #9 Linn-Mar by 1. Harrington vs Sobaski will be fun to watch.
5:00 PM - Sioux City East (IA) vs Hopkins
Sioux City East is currently 7-1 and ranked #5 in Iowa's top class. They feature 7'1 lefty center Adam Woodbury who will play at Iowa next season. He's ranked #42 nationally in the class of 2012 by Rivals.com. Minnesota did attempt to recruit him. He averages 17.4 PPG on 66% shooting with 11 rebounds a game. 6'3 Senior JC Fuller averages 16.8 a night. They can also throw 6'7 and 6'8 on the floor with Woodbury. Hopkins has a record of 9-1 and suffered their only loss to Benilde-St. Margaret's. They're currently ranked #2 in the class AAAA poll. Point guard Siyani Chambers is a great leader and will attend Harvard next season. He's also stepped up his scoring this season. 6'6 Forward Zach Stahl is a division 1 talent who missed the first 6 games of the season (including the Benilde-St. Margaret's loss). Since his return, he won the MVP at the Best Buy Holiday Classic with 28 points in the championship victory over St. Paul Johnson. They have a load of guards and play at as fast a pace as anybody in Minnesota. But besides Stahl there's no real size in their rotation.
Czar's Pick: Hopkins. I think their pace is too much on the big floor with 4 extra minutes. If East is forced to put Woodbury on the floor with 4 guards to keep up with Hopkins and a fast pace, that's to Hopkins advantage. The longer East can stay big and at a slow pace, the better it is for them.
6:30 PM - Onalaska (WI) vs Apple Valley
Onalaska is ranked number 1 in Wisconsin's Division 2 with a record of 7-0. They feature 2013 star shooting guard Matt Thomas who's averaging 21.4 points a game. He's considered the best shooter in Wisconsin. They also feature UW-Green Bay signee 6'8 Nick Arenz up front (12.4 PPG). After playing in the Shootout last year, Arenz blew out a knee in the next game and is still trying to get back to 100%. Guards Clint Rihn and Ben Socha are quality contributors. Apple Valley is 6-1 and ranked #6 in the class AAAA poll. They feature sophomore point guard Tyus Jones who's currently ranked #7 in the nation in the class of 2014 by Rivals.com. He played with the USA national team this summer. You'll be hard pressed to find a better passer anywhere in the high school game right now. He also adds in 28 points a night. Expect to see Tubby Smith and who knows what other high profile coaches in attendance to watch him. He's surrounded by sharpshooter Dustin Fronk at 19 points a night and guard Harry Sonie at 11.7 a night. Its a small and mostly young Apple Valley lineup that will get a serious test from the experienced Hilltoppers
Czar's Pick: Tyus Jones has had a ridiculously huge year. Also note that Onalaska has a huge conference game the previous night vs La Crosse Aquinas and a tough one at Eau Claire Memorial earlier in the week plus the long game day travel and I think its too much to overcome. But Tyus and Thomas will put on a show.
2011-12 Lake Conference Preview
Labels:
11-12 Season Previews,
Siyani Chambers
This is the second preview in my 2011-2012 season preview series. In this preview, a look at the Lake Conference. For a list of all the season previews, click here.
Lots of losses in the Lake with Eden Prairie losing almost everything, Hopkins losing their top 2 kids to D1, Minnetonka's top scorer is gone and Wayzata loses a bunch. But the league race should be as interesting as its been in a while. Minnetonka has a bunch of new faces, Eden Prairie still has tons of young talent and Hopkins still has 2 D1 stars, good young talent and 3 straight state titles. As always with the bottom of this league don't be fooled. They end up being better than league record indicates and this year there's no bad team.
Eden Prairie Eagles (2010-11 season 27-5, 7-1 Lake Conference, tied 1st)
Huge losses for the Eagles after they pulled the big time upset over Hopkins last year. 9 of the top 10 players are gone. That includes shooter and defender Grant Soderburg, forward Conner Nord and athletic wing Dylan Stewart. But don't feel sorry for the Eagles as there's plenty of talent coming. Lefty Grant Schaeffer will take over at the point. 6'7" lefty Jordan Peterson will man the middle. The main returning player is shooting guard Sander Mohn at 7.9 PPG. Soph Andre Wallace should play a much bigger role as well. Junior Jack Cottrell will see minutes inside as well. The Eagles will still be pretty good but I think they're a year away.
Edina Hornets (2010-11 season 18-10, 2-6 Classic Lake Conference, 4th)
Edina returns 3 of their top 4 scorers. That includes the 2 double figure scorers Flip Deberg (12.4 PPG) at forward and junior point guard Graham Woodward (11.8 PPG). Juniors Marley Allison (guard) and post Mark Handberg should see increased roles. After a 9 game winning streak at mid-season, the Hornets lost 7 of their last 9 against a tough schedule (mostly league games and then Chaska in the tournament to end their season)
Hopkins Royals (2010-11 season 31-1, 7-1 Classic Lake Conference, tied 1st)
Hopkins comes off the three peat looking for four. Point guard Siyani Chambers (Harvard commit) and forward Zach Stahl (Lehigh commit) are the top returnees. Nick Jorgensen returns on the wing as a 3 point shooter. Guards Demetrius Martin, Jamal Davis and Jake Wright all return as well. Not much size and they will miss the overpowering inside presence of Marvin Singleton (UNI) and athleticism of Joe Coleman. That duo averaged 38+ PPG last year.
Minnetonka Skippers (2010-11 season 4-23, 0-8 Classic Lake Conference, 5th)
The Skippers will have an entirely new look this season as 4 players who weren't on the roster last year will likely see big minutes. Post Latrell Love comes over from Minneapolis Henry and is a crafty inside scorer. Guard Grant Kellogg comes from Benilde-St. Margaret's and wing Riley Dearring comes over from DeLaSalle. Forward Mike Fernando will be eligible after sitting out last year as a transfer from Eden Prairie. Add those returnees to PG Tommy McDermott (14.1 PPG), frosh guard Andrew Grosz, wing Malcolm Moore and post Andrew Turnblad. Forward Joe Risinger will be a glue player for them. 15 points a game from lefty wing Nick Latzke will need to be replaced. So I see the Skippers one of the state's bigger turnaround stories.
Wayzata Trojans (2010-11 season 21-8, 4-4 Classic Lake Conference, 3rd)
The losses at Wayzata are heavy with the 3 leading scorers gone. 4 of the 5 starters and 5 of the top 7 are gone. That includes star 6'7 wing Eric Robertson and his 20 PPG. The returning starter is his younger brother Zach Robertson. He averaged 10.5 PPG last year. Junior Drake Mjaanes and senior Colin Nugent are the other experience returnees at the guard spots. 6'6" Nick Eid should see a much expanded role. Ben Joppa will also see front court minutes.
Predicted Order of Finish
Underclassmen to watch:
Jake Wright, Kamali Chambers, Stephon Sharp, Graham Hutson - Hopkins
Ben Boone, Max Lynch- Edina
Anthony Anderson, Andre Wallace - Eden Prairie
Andrew Grosz, Grant Steele- Minnetonka
Kyle Kalivoda - Wayzata
Games that will determine the conference title
Lots of losses in the Lake with Eden Prairie losing almost everything, Hopkins losing their top 2 kids to D1, Minnetonka's top scorer is gone and Wayzata loses a bunch. But the league race should be as interesting as its been in a while. Minnetonka has a bunch of new faces, Eden Prairie still has tons of young talent and Hopkins still has 2 D1 stars, good young talent and 3 straight state titles. As always with the bottom of this league don't be fooled. They end up being better than league record indicates and this year there's no bad team.
Eden Prairie Eagles (2010-11 season 27-5, 7-1 Lake Conference, tied 1st)
Huge losses for the Eagles after they pulled the big time upset over Hopkins last year. 9 of the top 10 players are gone. That includes shooter and defender Grant Soderburg, forward Conner Nord and athletic wing Dylan Stewart. But don't feel sorry for the Eagles as there's plenty of talent coming. Lefty Grant Schaeffer will take over at the point. 6'7" lefty Jordan Peterson will man the middle. The main returning player is shooting guard Sander Mohn at 7.9 PPG. Soph Andre Wallace should play a much bigger role as well. Junior Jack Cottrell will see minutes inside as well. The Eagles will still be pretty good but I think they're a year away.
Edina Hornets (2010-11 season 18-10, 2-6 Classic Lake Conference, 4th)
Edina returns 3 of their top 4 scorers. That includes the 2 double figure scorers Flip Deberg (12.4 PPG) at forward and junior point guard Graham Woodward (11.8 PPG). Juniors Marley Allison (guard) and post Mark Handberg should see increased roles. After a 9 game winning streak at mid-season, the Hornets lost 7 of their last 9 against a tough schedule (mostly league games and then Chaska in the tournament to end their season)
Hopkins Royals (2010-11 season 31-1, 7-1 Classic Lake Conference, tied 1st)
Hopkins comes off the three peat looking for four. Point guard Siyani Chambers (Harvard commit) and forward Zach Stahl (Lehigh commit) are the top returnees. Nick Jorgensen returns on the wing as a 3 point shooter. Guards Demetrius Martin, Jamal Davis and Jake Wright all return as well. Not much size and they will miss the overpowering inside presence of Marvin Singleton (UNI) and athleticism of Joe Coleman. That duo averaged 38+ PPG last year.
Minnetonka Skippers (2010-11 season 4-23, 0-8 Classic Lake Conference, 5th)
The Skippers will have an entirely new look this season as 4 players who weren't on the roster last year will likely see big minutes. Post Latrell Love comes over from Minneapolis Henry and is a crafty inside scorer. Guard Grant Kellogg comes from Benilde-St. Margaret's and wing Riley Dearring comes over from DeLaSalle. Forward Mike Fernando will be eligible after sitting out last year as a transfer from Eden Prairie. Add those returnees to PG Tommy McDermott (14.1 PPG), frosh guard Andrew Grosz, wing Malcolm Moore and post Andrew Turnblad. Forward Joe Risinger will be a glue player for them. 15 points a game from lefty wing Nick Latzke will need to be replaced. So I see the Skippers one of the state's bigger turnaround stories.
Wayzata Trojans (2010-11 season 21-8, 4-4 Classic Lake Conference, 3rd)
The losses at Wayzata are heavy with the 3 leading scorers gone. 4 of the 5 starters and 5 of the top 7 are gone. That includes star 6'7 wing Eric Robertson and his 20 PPG. The returning starter is his younger brother Zach Robertson. He averaged 10.5 PPG last year. Junior Drake Mjaanes and senior Colin Nugent are the other experience returnees at the guard spots. 6'6" Nick Eid should see a much expanded role. Ben Joppa will also see front court minutes.
Predicted Order of Finish
- Hopkins
- Minnetonka
- Eden Prairie
- Edina
- Wayzata
Underclassmen to watch:
Jake Wright, Kamali Chambers, Stephon Sharp, Graham Hutson - Hopkins
Ben Boone, Max Lynch- Edina
Anthony Anderson, Andre Wallace - Eden Prairie
Andrew Grosz, Grant Steele- Minnetonka
Kyle Kalivoda - Wayzata
Games that will determine the conference title
- Hopkins at Eden Prairie- January 31st
- Eden Prairie at Minnetonka - February 3rd
- Minnetonka at Hopkins - February 6th
- Eden Prairie at Hopkins - Febraury 17th
- Minnetonka at Eden Prairie - February 21st
- Hopkins at Minnetonka - February 24th
- Braham at Hopkins - Dec 3rd (Girls Breakdown Tipoff)
- Eden Prairie at Apple Valley - Dec 6th
- Hopkins vs Cretin-Derham Hall - Dec 10th (Breakdown Tipoff Classic at Minnetonka)
- Lakeville North at Eden Prairie - Dec 20th
- Minnetonka at Benilde-St. Margaret's - Dec 20th
- Hopkins and Minnetonka in Best Buy Holiday Classic (Augsburg) - Dec 28-30th
- Eden Prairie holiday tournament - Dec 27 and 29th
- Holy Family at Minnetonka - Jan 5th
- Hopkins vs Sioux City East - Jan 7th (TWolves Shootout)
- Eden Prairie at St. Paul Johnson - Jan 10th
- Cretin-Derham Hall at Eden Prairie - Jan 14th
- DeLaSalle at Eden Prairie - Jan 17th
- Hopkins at St. Paul Johnson - Jan 20th (East Metro Showcase)
- Hopkins vs Milwaukee Riverside - Jan 21st (East Metro Showcase)
- Hopkins at Robbinsdale Cooper - Feb 11th
5 to watch in the 2011 recruiting period
Labels:
Joey King,
Siyani Chambers,
Tyus Jones
Here are 5 names that have a chance to be noteworthy stockraisers this July.
Joey King - MN Southside
Maybe the player with the most pressure this July. He played well against SW MN Stars at the spring PNR Tourney and was up and down in Iowa. He gets a great opportunity in Milwaukee at the 1st NY2LA event. A win in pool play is a must and will propel them into the platinum bracket. This is the 1 month where his interest level will be crystalized.
Johnny Woodard - Net Gain Sports
Woodard starts his summer where it "ended" as Net Gain returns to Milwaukee to open July. When he last played before Memorial Day it was in Milwaukee where he injured a shoulder and was thought to be done. He's since been cleared and after the outstanding spring he had, it would have been a shame to see him sit out. He has the most college ready body in the class. Using that body, he's also demonstrated that he's as good a finisher as anyone in the class as he can take contact and still score. Continued quality play should have high majors after him.
Nate Kratch - 43 Hoops
Has been outstanding all spring for coach Al Harris and the D1 offers have started to come as Jacksonville and Nebraska-Omaha are on board (how cool would a front line of Krych and Kratch sound?). More athletic than he looks and has shown the ability to swat shots. Expect his stock to rise during this period during a tough schedule in Indianapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Louis.
Siyani Chambers - Howard Pulley Black
He's rebounded nicely after a tough start to the spring. He's a quality leader and has good basketball IQ. Will his size be an issue for high D1 schools? He has the ultimate platforms to show as he'll be at the Lebron James Skills Academy and the Peach Jam during the opening period.
Carson Shanks - MN Select White 16U
Ignoring the fact that its totally ridiculous that I at a hulking 5'3" am projecting results for a 7 footer, let's get a 2013 kid in here. The size and the potential have shown and he's played well recently, specifically at the Gopher Team Camp. Will get plenty of looks because you can't teach size. With a quality July, interest would skyrocket.
10 more to watch
Tyler Flack - MN Select White
Kyle Bauman - MN Select White
Isaiah Zierden - Howard Pulley Black
Zach Stahl - Howard Pulley Black
Wally Ellenson - MN Pump N Run
Sanjay Lumpkin - MN Pump N Run
Zach Huisken - SW MN Stars
Casey Schilling - Dakota Schoolers
Ater Mangyang - Net Gain Sports
Tyler Vaughan - MN Comets
Joey King - MN Southside
Maybe the player with the most pressure this July. He played well against SW MN Stars at the spring PNR Tourney and was up and down in Iowa. He gets a great opportunity in Milwaukee at the 1st NY2LA event. A win in pool play is a must and will propel them into the platinum bracket. This is the 1 month where his interest level will be crystalized.
Johnny Woodard - Net Gain Sports
Woodard starts his summer where it "ended" as Net Gain returns to Milwaukee to open July. When he last played before Memorial Day it was in Milwaukee where he injured a shoulder and was thought to be done. He's since been cleared and after the outstanding spring he had, it would have been a shame to see him sit out. He has the most college ready body in the class. Using that body, he's also demonstrated that he's as good a finisher as anyone in the class as he can take contact and still score. Continued quality play should have high majors after him.
Nate Kratch - 43 Hoops
Has been outstanding all spring for coach Al Harris and the D1 offers have started to come as Jacksonville and Nebraska-Omaha are on board (how cool would a front line of Krych and Kratch sound?). More athletic than he looks and has shown the ability to swat shots. Expect his stock to rise during this period during a tough schedule in Indianapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Louis.
Siyani Chambers - Howard Pulley Black
He's rebounded nicely after a tough start to the spring. He's a quality leader and has good basketball IQ. Will his size be an issue for high D1 schools? He has the ultimate platforms to show as he'll be at the Lebron James Skills Academy and the Peach Jam during the opening period.
Carson Shanks - MN Select White 16U
Ignoring the fact that its totally ridiculous that I at a hulking 5'3" am projecting results for a 7 footer, let's get a 2013 kid in here. The size and the potential have shown and he's played well recently, specifically at the Gopher Team Camp. Will get plenty of looks because you can't teach size. With a quality July, interest would skyrocket.
10 more to watch
Tyler Flack - MN Select White
Kyle Bauman - MN Select White
Isaiah Zierden - Howard Pulley Black
Zach Stahl - Howard Pulley Black
Wally Ellenson - MN Pump N Run
Sanjay Lumpkin - MN Pump N Run
Zach Huisken - SW MN Stars
Casey Schilling - Dakota Schoolers
Ater Mangyang - Net Gain Sports
Tyler Vaughan - MN Comets
2011 Sabes Invitational Preview
Labels:
2011 Sabes Invitational,
Siyani Chambers,
Tyus Jones
Its the 11th annual Howard Pulley Sabes Invitational. This year the event moves to the new High Performance Academy in Eagan. Here's what I'll be watching.
17s
The top Howard Pulley squad tops pool A with the guard trio of Tyus Jones, Siyani Chambers and Isaiah Zierden leading the way. CJ Neumann and Kyle Washington man the middle. The infamous TBD, Nebraska Express and a Magic team (Tillman?) fill out the pool.
Pool B is the pool of death with the top Comets squad, St. Louis Eagles and top Playground Elite team in the pool with the Chicago Demons. Tyler Vaughan and Joe Burt lead the Comets backcourt and keep an eye on forward Jal Rial. Playground Elite looks to have a very deep roster with guard Duane Wilson, forwards Arroyo Edwards and Kevin Mays with Cinmeon Bowers and Philip Nolan inside. The Eagles feature Notre Dame commit Cameron Biedscheid on the wing. He put on a show here last year. Willie Wiley mans the inside as one to watch. Eagles vs Playground Elite at 3:30 on Saturday.
The Dakota Schoolers are in pool C. They usually have a player or 2 from SW MN to watch and this year is no exception. Ellsworth's Casey Schilling and Redwood Valley's Michael Busack are 2 of the top players on the squad. Big Zach Kraning mans the middle (played well in TWolves shootout vs Roseville) and guard Skye Warwick showed unlimited range in St. Cloud. The 2nd All Iowa Attack squad is in the pool (top team is in Indiana so no Marcus Paige et al). KC PNR 17s are in the pool with 6'7 F Gavin Thurman but this is one of the worst KC PNR 17s teams in a while. MN PNR blew them out then gave up a big lead late when they played in Denver but they were better last weekend in their home tourney. Texas Pro is also in the pool.
Pool D features the top Kingdom Hoops squad with Wesley Staten and Casey Kasperbauer. The KC Keys and Illinois Warriors are also in this pool. Warriors were a powerhouse Nike program until recently. Wisconsin Playmakers with Matt Van Sycoc fill out the pool.
Pool E is the pool that has to play all the pigtail games just to make the final 16. The 2nd Howard Pulley team with Jake Wright is here. Will Dallas transfer Gregory Wesley be with them this weekend is a storyline to watch. The 2nd teams from Kingdom Hoops and Playground Elite are here. The KC PNR 16s are playing up and justly so. They get great guard play from Travis Jorgenson and Connor Frankamp. Frankamp will play on the U16 USA team with Tyus Jones. This squad was final 4 in Denver after knocking out Fury Blue. Would not be shocked to see them win the pool.
16s
Howard Pulley's top 16s feature Harry Sonie, Renard Suggs, Robert Ben and Grant Kellogg. Their pool has the 2nd Schoolers team, 2nd Kingdom Hoops team and the Chicago Demons. St. Louis Eagles and the top Comets team highlight the 2nd pool with the 2nd Howard Pulley squad. Keep an eye on Nate Huot from the Comets. Comets vs Eagles 9:45 Friday night. Pool C has the top Kingdom Hoops team. Also in the pool is the top Schoolers team with Trevor Jacobsen who was final 4 in St. Cloud. Playground Elite and KC Keys round out that pool of death. Pool D has the top All Iowa Attack team who its said will have stud Peter Jok with them this weekend. Also the top WI Playmakers team who lost to HP Black in Kansas last week but won St. Cloud is in this pool. Star shooting guard Matt Thomas is back for the Playmakers. 6'9 Toby Hegner and 6'8 David Jesperson (tourney champ buzzer beater in St. Cloud) are 2 more to watch. Playmakers vs AIA 11:10 Saturday morning is worth watching.
15s
Teams I would watch are the Howard Pulley Black 15s (Stephon Sharp and Kamali Chambers are 2 notables) , MN Elite with 8th grader Andrew Grosz (6:30 Fri night they play HP Black for state bragging rights). KC PNR 15s won the Jayhawk last week in 3 OT after playing an OT in the semis. They also blew out MN PNR in the 15U title game in Denver. Ray Allen Select was the runner up at the NY2LA event in early April. Keep an eye on 6'4 F Jonathan Carson and 6'7 center Ricky Landers for them.
17s
The top Howard Pulley squad tops pool A with the guard trio of Tyus Jones, Siyani Chambers and Isaiah Zierden leading the way. CJ Neumann and Kyle Washington man the middle. The infamous TBD, Nebraska Express and a Magic team (Tillman?) fill out the pool.
Pool B is the pool of death with the top Comets squad, St. Louis Eagles and top Playground Elite team in the pool with the Chicago Demons. Tyler Vaughan and Joe Burt lead the Comets backcourt and keep an eye on forward Jal Rial. Playground Elite looks to have a very deep roster with guard Duane Wilson, forwards Arroyo Edwards and Kevin Mays with Cinmeon Bowers and Philip Nolan inside. The Eagles feature Notre Dame commit Cameron Biedscheid on the wing. He put on a show here last year. Willie Wiley mans the inside as one to watch. Eagles vs Playground Elite at 3:30 on Saturday.
The Dakota Schoolers are in pool C. They usually have a player or 2 from SW MN to watch and this year is no exception. Ellsworth's Casey Schilling and Redwood Valley's Michael Busack are 2 of the top players on the squad. Big Zach Kraning mans the middle (played well in TWolves shootout vs Roseville) and guard Skye Warwick showed unlimited range in St. Cloud. The 2nd All Iowa Attack squad is in the pool (top team is in Indiana so no Marcus Paige et al). KC PNR 17s are in the pool with 6'7 F Gavin Thurman but this is one of the worst KC PNR 17s teams in a while. MN PNR blew them out then gave up a big lead late when they played in Denver but they were better last weekend in their home tourney. Texas Pro is also in the pool.
Pool D features the top Kingdom Hoops squad with Wesley Staten and Casey Kasperbauer. The KC Keys and Illinois Warriors are also in this pool. Warriors were a powerhouse Nike program until recently. Wisconsin Playmakers with Matt Van Sycoc fill out the pool.
Pool E is the pool that has to play all the pigtail games just to make the final 16. The 2nd Howard Pulley team with Jake Wright is here. Will Dallas transfer Gregory Wesley be with them this weekend is a storyline to watch. The 2nd teams from Kingdom Hoops and Playground Elite are here. The KC PNR 16s are playing up and justly so. They get great guard play from Travis Jorgenson and Connor Frankamp. Frankamp will play on the U16 USA team with Tyus Jones. This squad was final 4 in Denver after knocking out Fury Blue. Would not be shocked to see them win the pool.
16s
Howard Pulley's top 16s feature Harry Sonie, Renard Suggs, Robert Ben and Grant Kellogg. Their pool has the 2nd Schoolers team, 2nd Kingdom Hoops team and the Chicago Demons. St. Louis Eagles and the top Comets team highlight the 2nd pool with the 2nd Howard Pulley squad. Keep an eye on Nate Huot from the Comets. Comets vs Eagles 9:45 Friday night. Pool C has the top Kingdom Hoops team. Also in the pool is the top Schoolers team with Trevor Jacobsen who was final 4 in St. Cloud. Playground Elite and KC Keys round out that pool of death. Pool D has the top All Iowa Attack team who its said will have stud Peter Jok with them this weekend. Also the top WI Playmakers team who lost to HP Black in Kansas last week but won St. Cloud is in this pool. Star shooting guard Matt Thomas is back for the Playmakers. 6'9 Toby Hegner and 6'8 David Jesperson (tourney champ buzzer beater in St. Cloud) are 2 more to watch. Playmakers vs AIA 11:10 Saturday morning is worth watching.
15s
Teams I would watch are the Howard Pulley Black 15s (Stephon Sharp and Kamali Chambers are 2 notables) , MN Elite with 8th grader Andrew Grosz (6:30 Fri night they play HP Black for state bragging rights). KC PNR 15s won the Jayhawk last week in 3 OT after playing an OT in the semis. They also blew out MN PNR in the 15U title game in Denver. Ray Allen Select was the runner up at the NY2LA event in early April. Keep an eye on 6'4 F Jonathan Carson and 6'7 center Ricky Landers for them.
2011 Class AAAA Championship
Its a rubber match between Lake Conference rivals for the 2011 Class AAAA state championship as Eden Prairie takes on Hopkins. Eden Prairie shot the lights out in the 1st meeting to pull the upset, while Hopkins won the 2nd meeting. Hopkins let teams hang around in their first 2 games at Target Center until late before double digit wins.
A steal by Joe Coleman and then he charges on the other end. 4-2 Hopkins at the 14:27 mark and Coleman has 2 fouls. Coleman then steps in and draws a charge. Coleman bailed out on a short jumper and he steps up and makes both freebies. 4 of the first 6 and Hopkins leads 6-4 at the 12:55 mark. That's Dylan Stewart's 2nd foul for EP which is a big loss. Siyani Chambers great quickness to jump around a post feed and take it the other way for a Marvin Singleton layup. 10-4 Hopkins at the 11:37 mark and Eden Prairie takes timeout after giving up 6 in a row. Coleman takes a breather and Grant Soderberg makes back to back 3s to tie the game at 14 inside of 9 minutes. Connor Nord with his 2nd nice assist of the night to Derek Dedeker and Soderberg leaks out for a free throw. 17 all at 8:04. He's strong to the rim and EP leads 19-17 at the 6:50 mark. Coleman slips a ball screen and Chambers with the perfect feed for the Coleman 2 handed flush. 21-19 Hopkins at the 5:29 mark. The lead stretches to 7 before a Sander Mohn 3 with 2:30 left in the half. That counters a Chambers 3 and steal for 2 more. 32-28 Hopkins at half. EP has the recipe going again with 11-17 shooting, 4-4 from 3 but Hopkins is shooting 13-24 on their end. Eden Prairie with 10 turnovers for 12 Hopkins points is the difference.
After fine halftime entertainment by the Alexandria Aces, there's the Let's Go Nick sign in the crowd held up by a youngster to catch my eye. That's for Nick Jorgensen of Hopkins. Demetrius Martin for 3 on a skip as the close out wasn't far enough. Joe Coleman with a tough turnaround inside and Singleton on the post. An EP turnover and a Zach Stahl FT pullup and its 46-30 Hopkins at the 11:20 mark when Eden Prairie takes the much needed timeout. 14-2 run this half for Hopkins. EP shooting 1-11 and that just won't do it. Dylan Stewart replies with 2 free throws and a bucket followed by a Soderberg 3 and Stewart puts back a FT miss to cut the lead to 8 with 8:49 to play. Dedeker scores with 5:33 left and the lead is cut to 6. Hopkins nicely spacing the floor with 2 guard slots filled up high, the lane open and taking the time on their possessions. Its a possession over a minute and a half long for 2 Coleman FTs. 3:55 left and Hopkins up 54-46. Hopkins turns it over and Nord with a nice drive to the rim for 2 with 2:45 left, 54-48 Hopkins. Zach Stahl for 2 and Singleton steps up and makes 2 FTs iwth 2:10 left and the lead is double digits again. Coleman a nice cut and better pass from Chambers for the layup as we're distracted by 4 beach balls going in the Hopkins student section. Repeat that as Coleman finishes again and puts back his missed free throw with 1:15 left. Bench empties with 29.2 left with Hopkins stars holding up 3 fingers for the third consecutive title. Andre McDonald with a huge block as the exclamation point. Hopkins wins 64-52.
Joe Coleman leads Hopkins with 22 point and 8 rebounds. Zach Stahl 10 points and 8 boards. Siyani Chambers 12 and 5 assists. Marvin Singleton 15 points. Hopkins shoots 56.8% for the game. Grant Soderberg 16 points to lead Eden Prairie. They shoot 44.2% for the game with 16 turnovers that turned into 18 Hopkins points.
My Class AAAA All-Tournament Ballot
Joe Coleman - Hopkins (MVP)
Marvin Singleton - Hopkins
Siyani Chambers - Hopkins
Dylan Stewart - Eden Prairie
Connor Nord - Eden Prairie
Joey Sonnenfeld - Osseo
Terez Van Pelt - Osseo
Raijon Kelly - CDH (replaced by Zach Stahl of Hopkins)
Cortez Tillman - CDH
Taylor Montero - CDH (replaced by Grant Soderberg of Eden Prairie)
Total tournament attendance once again shows a dramatic decline. This year's attendance was 48,274 down from 55,731 last year.
A steal by Joe Coleman and then he charges on the other end. 4-2 Hopkins at the 14:27 mark and Coleman has 2 fouls. Coleman then steps in and draws a charge. Coleman bailed out on a short jumper and he steps up and makes both freebies. 4 of the first 6 and Hopkins leads 6-4 at the 12:55 mark. That's Dylan Stewart's 2nd foul for EP which is a big loss. Siyani Chambers great quickness to jump around a post feed and take it the other way for a Marvin Singleton layup. 10-4 Hopkins at the 11:37 mark and Eden Prairie takes timeout after giving up 6 in a row. Coleman takes a breather and Grant Soderberg makes back to back 3s to tie the game at 14 inside of 9 minutes. Connor Nord with his 2nd nice assist of the night to Derek Dedeker and Soderberg leaks out for a free throw. 17 all at 8:04. He's strong to the rim and EP leads 19-17 at the 6:50 mark. Coleman slips a ball screen and Chambers with the perfect feed for the Coleman 2 handed flush. 21-19 Hopkins at the 5:29 mark. The lead stretches to 7 before a Sander Mohn 3 with 2:30 left in the half. That counters a Chambers 3 and steal for 2 more. 32-28 Hopkins at half. EP has the recipe going again with 11-17 shooting, 4-4 from 3 but Hopkins is shooting 13-24 on their end. Eden Prairie with 10 turnovers for 12 Hopkins points is the difference.
After fine halftime entertainment by the Alexandria Aces, there's the Let's Go Nick sign in the crowd held up by a youngster to catch my eye. That's for Nick Jorgensen of Hopkins. Demetrius Martin for 3 on a skip as the close out wasn't far enough. Joe Coleman with a tough turnaround inside and Singleton on the post. An EP turnover and a Zach Stahl FT pullup and its 46-30 Hopkins at the 11:20 mark when Eden Prairie takes the much needed timeout. 14-2 run this half for Hopkins. EP shooting 1-11 and that just won't do it. Dylan Stewart replies with 2 free throws and a bucket followed by a Soderberg 3 and Stewart puts back a FT miss to cut the lead to 8 with 8:49 to play. Dedeker scores with 5:33 left and the lead is cut to 6. Hopkins nicely spacing the floor with 2 guard slots filled up high, the lane open and taking the time on their possessions. Its a possession over a minute and a half long for 2 Coleman FTs. 3:55 left and Hopkins up 54-46. Hopkins turns it over and Nord with a nice drive to the rim for 2 with 2:45 left, 54-48 Hopkins. Zach Stahl for 2 and Singleton steps up and makes 2 FTs iwth 2:10 left and the lead is double digits again. Coleman a nice cut and better pass from Chambers for the layup as we're distracted by 4 beach balls going in the Hopkins student section. Repeat that as Coleman finishes again and puts back his missed free throw with 1:15 left. Bench empties with 29.2 left with Hopkins stars holding up 3 fingers for the third consecutive title. Andre McDonald with a huge block as the exclamation point. Hopkins wins 64-52.
Joe Coleman leads Hopkins with 22 point and 8 rebounds. Zach Stahl 10 points and 8 boards. Siyani Chambers 12 and 5 assists. Marvin Singleton 15 points. Hopkins shoots 56.8% for the game. Grant Soderberg 16 points to lead Eden Prairie. They shoot 44.2% for the game with 16 turnovers that turned into 18 Hopkins points.
My Class AAAA All-Tournament Ballot
Joe Coleman - Hopkins (MVP)
Marvin Singleton - Hopkins
Siyani Chambers - Hopkins
Dylan Stewart - Eden Prairie
Connor Nord - Eden Prairie
Joey Sonnenfeld - Osseo
Terez Van Pelt - Osseo
Raijon Kelly - CDH (replaced by Zach Stahl of Hopkins)
Cortez Tillman - CDH
Taylor Montero - CDH (replaced by Grant Soderberg of Eden Prairie)
Total tournament attendance once again shows a dramatic decline. This year's attendance was 48,274 down from 55,731 last year.
2011 State Tourney Day 2 Class AAAA
Class AAAA Semifinals
Game 1: Hopkins vs Cretin-Derham Hall
CJ Neumann comes out and scores on the post as CDH opens a 4-0 lead in the first minute. Pull the ball out! Then a Hopkins block and putback followed by a Siyani Chambers steal and layup for a 6-4 Hopkins lead. Coleman with a layup off a great misdirection zone set. 12-9 Hopkins at the first break. Marvin Singleton runs for a layup, Zach Stahl out and about for a 3 point play. 11:35 first half with Hopkins up 18-9 (18-5 run). Cortez Tillman up and under Joe Coleman and Raijon Kelly for 3. Then a pair of Hopkins turnovers and CDH goes to THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE and can't gain the lead. Hopkins running nice sets and action against the zone as Coleman gets a dunk from Chambers. Add in unselfish play on the break as Coleman goes to Stahl to Singleton for layup and the Hopkins lead is 28-22 inside 4 minutes. Raijon Kelly picks up his 3rd foul at the 2:57 mark and has to sit. CJ Neumann with a huge dunk just before halftime. Hopkins 34-28 at half. Hopkins shoots 50% overall but only 1-8 from 3. 8 offensive boards for the Royals.
Another easy backside layup for Coleman and a Singleton putback. CDH needs a quick timeout down 41-30 at the 16:15 mark. CDH back on a 9-0 run ending with a Neumann 3 (something he's added to his game this year). CDH switches over to a 1-3-1. Singleton seals the backside defender and finishes through a Kelly block. Coleman dunks after a CDH miss and a Demetrius Martin layup on a turnover. 50-43 Hopkins with 9:45 left. Coleman with a putback and inside the 9 minute mark CDH finally has to go man to man. Coleman on the inside and a 3rd chance is a Singleton putback. Nick Jorgenson for 3 and CDH needs a timeout. 60-45 Hopkins with 5:51 left and the rest is elementary. Coleman runs out for a flying 1 handed dunk as icing on the cake with 1:20 left. Hopkins wins.
Joe Coleman leads Hopkins with 29 and 9 boards. He shoots 12 of 16 with everything at the rim. Marvin Singleton a double double of 15 and 12. Siyani Chambers 10 points and 10 assists. Raijon Kelly 16 points for CDH. Cortez Tillman played well with 14 points on 6-10 shooting. Hopkins shoots 52.7% but only 4-17 from 3. Big number was a 42-18 advantage on the glass with 17-5 on the offensive glass. CDH didn't play that poorly with 44.2% shooting and only 10 turnovers but they gave up too many easy baskets early in the game with their zone.
Game 2: Eden Prairie vs Osseo
Sad to see Jerrod Bervin in the stands rather than on the court for Osseo. Connor Nord with a couple of quick hoops including a nice post move to give EP a 4-0 lead. Joey Sonnenfeld for 3 to cut the EP to 8-7. Nord inside for a free throw and an assist to Sander Mohn for layup. 13-7 EP at the 11:02 mark. After an Osseo 3, Nord on the post for 2 more. 19-13 EP inside 7 to play. Tough defense both ways with Eden Prairie cleaning up on the glass. Bridge Tusler with a steal for a layup and a block leads to a DJ Hebert layup on the other end. to cut the margin to 4. EP with 2 FTs for a 27-21 hafltime lead.
Nord to Soderberg for a pretty backdoor cut before a Van Pelt 3 cuts the lead to 31-28. After a drought its Van Pelt to Bridge Tusler, Osseo hanging close down 33-31 with 13 minutes left. Nord on the post for back to back buckets. He adds a nice outlet to Dylan Stewart for a nice finish. 43-35 EP with 9:28 left and they take a strange timeout. Ian Thiesen picks up his 4th with 7:38 left and has to sit. Dylan Stewart's 2 FTs take us to a TV timeout at 6:58, EP up 48-42. Stewart with a nice block on a Van Pelt drive. Later a tough drive for 2 more and a cut to the post and lefty finish. 55-45 EP inside 4 to play. DJ Hebert 2 FTs, and EP walks for a Joey Sonnenfeld 3. 57-52 EP with 1:28 left. EP makes their free throws and a Derek Dedeker 3 point play seals it. EP wins 67-56 and will play Hopkins for the state title.
Dylan Stewart with 24 and 8, Connor Nord 18 and 9 for Eden Prairie. Joey Sonnenfeld 21 for Osseo. EP outrebounds Osseo 51-21 in a major surprise. Teams shoot well in the second half after a cold 1st half. 19-60 in the first half. 25-45 in the second half.
Game 1: Hopkins vs Cretin-Derham Hall
CJ Neumann comes out and scores on the post as CDH opens a 4-0 lead in the first minute. Pull the ball out! Then a Hopkins block and putback followed by a Siyani Chambers steal and layup for a 6-4 Hopkins lead. Coleman with a layup off a great misdirection zone set. 12-9 Hopkins at the first break. Marvin Singleton runs for a layup, Zach Stahl out and about for a 3 point play. 11:35 first half with Hopkins up 18-9 (18-5 run). Cortez Tillman up and under Joe Coleman and Raijon Kelly for 3. Then a pair of Hopkins turnovers and CDH goes to THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE and can't gain the lead. Hopkins running nice sets and action against the zone as Coleman gets a dunk from Chambers. Add in unselfish play on the break as Coleman goes to Stahl to Singleton for layup and the Hopkins lead is 28-22 inside 4 minutes. Raijon Kelly picks up his 3rd foul at the 2:57 mark and has to sit. CJ Neumann with a huge dunk just before halftime. Hopkins 34-28 at half. Hopkins shoots 50% overall but only 1-8 from 3. 8 offensive boards for the Royals.
Another easy backside layup for Coleman and a Singleton putback. CDH needs a quick timeout down 41-30 at the 16:15 mark. CDH back on a 9-0 run ending with a Neumann 3 (something he's added to his game this year). CDH switches over to a 1-3-1. Singleton seals the backside defender and finishes through a Kelly block. Coleman dunks after a CDH miss and a Demetrius Martin layup on a turnover. 50-43 Hopkins with 9:45 left. Coleman with a putback and inside the 9 minute mark CDH finally has to go man to man. Coleman on the inside and a 3rd chance is a Singleton putback. Nick Jorgenson for 3 and CDH needs a timeout. 60-45 Hopkins with 5:51 left and the rest is elementary. Coleman runs out for a flying 1 handed dunk as icing on the cake with 1:20 left. Hopkins wins.
Joe Coleman leads Hopkins with 29 and 9 boards. He shoots 12 of 16 with everything at the rim. Marvin Singleton a double double of 15 and 12. Siyani Chambers 10 points and 10 assists. Raijon Kelly 16 points for CDH. Cortez Tillman played well with 14 points on 6-10 shooting. Hopkins shoots 52.7% but only 4-17 from 3. Big number was a 42-18 advantage on the glass with 17-5 on the offensive glass. CDH didn't play that poorly with 44.2% shooting and only 10 turnovers but they gave up too many easy baskets early in the game with their zone.
Game 2: Eden Prairie vs Osseo
Sad to see Jerrod Bervin in the stands rather than on the court for Osseo. Connor Nord with a couple of quick hoops including a nice post move to give EP a 4-0 lead. Joey Sonnenfeld for 3 to cut the EP to 8-7. Nord inside for a free throw and an assist to Sander Mohn for layup. 13-7 EP at the 11:02 mark. After an Osseo 3, Nord on the post for 2 more. 19-13 EP inside 7 to play. Tough defense both ways with Eden Prairie cleaning up on the glass. Bridge Tusler with a steal for a layup and a block leads to a DJ Hebert layup on the other end. to cut the margin to 4. EP with 2 FTs for a 27-21 hafltime lead.
Nord to Soderberg for a pretty backdoor cut before a Van Pelt 3 cuts the lead to 31-28. After a drought its Van Pelt to Bridge Tusler, Osseo hanging close down 33-31 with 13 minutes left. Nord on the post for back to back buckets. He adds a nice outlet to Dylan Stewart for a nice finish. 43-35 EP with 9:28 left and they take a strange timeout. Ian Thiesen picks up his 4th with 7:38 left and has to sit. Dylan Stewart's 2 FTs take us to a TV timeout at 6:58, EP up 48-42. Stewart with a nice block on a Van Pelt drive. Later a tough drive for 2 more and a cut to the post and lefty finish. 55-45 EP inside 4 to play. DJ Hebert 2 FTs, and EP walks for a Joey Sonnenfeld 3. 57-52 EP with 1:28 left. EP makes their free throws and a Derek Dedeker 3 point play seals it. EP wins 67-56 and will play Hopkins for the state title.
Dylan Stewart with 24 and 8, Connor Nord 18 and 9 for Eden Prairie. Joey Sonnenfeld 21 for Osseo. EP outrebounds Osseo 51-21 in a major surprise. Teams shoot well in the second half after a cold 1st half. 19-60 in the first half. 25-45 in the second half.
2011 6AAAA Semifinals
Labels:
Joe Coleman,
Siyani Chambers
Prologue
To Osseo for a night of 6AAAA semifinals. Always love the Dominos Pizza and Pepsi. Plenty of coaches in attendance. UMKC in to watch Marquel Curtis and Butler head coach Brad Stevens reportedly in to watch Siyani Chambers. MN-Moorhead, SW MN State, Central Lakes, Itasca and Augsburg on the list of other colleges attending. The Mr Basketball guys front and center for Joe Coleman. I also get a Rene Pulley sighting (long time no see) and the MN Heat watching as well. A media horde also showing up with Michael Much, Chris Monter and John Sherman in the building. Al Sharpton working the opening game to boot. The Wayzata pep band on hand for the late game. They give us today's song
Song of the Day
Bob Seger - Old Time Rock and Roll
Game 1: Hopkins vs St. Louis Park
Hopkins won the first matchup 102-57 and left very little doubt about this one. Joe Coleman with a reverse layin and a putback. Siyani Chambers for 3 and Hopkins has the 1st 7. Marvin Singleton back to back layups and a Nick Jorgensen layup. 17-3 Hopkins just over 5 minutes into the game. Jorgensen another layup, Singleton on the post again and Coleman with a 3 point play. 26-8 Hopkins at the 8:55 mark for a St. Louis Park timeout. Then a major pullaway late in the half. Demetrius Martin starts the run with a 3. Then Chambers with a nice cut to break pressure in the backcourt and he finds Coleman for a dunk. Zach Stahl coast to coast, a turnover for a Martin layup and the lead is 47-17. Hopkins moves on with a 81-44 win. Zach Stahl an impressive night with 23 points and crashing the class. Joe Coleman standard work with 22 and 8. Marvin Singleton 12. Kashif Hayes showing he has big upside with 15 points. Aaron Ziman 10. Marquealis Edwards held to 7. St. Louis Park has some major losses (Ziman, Edwards, Joe Zangel) but with Hayes, Garrison Gillard and DJ Pollard coming back, there's a nice nucleus there. The Orioles finish their season 18-10. Hopkins is 27-1. Who will they face?
Game 2: Wayzata vs Armstrong
A battle of Wayzata's size vs Armstrong's quality guard play. Chris Burt's layup at 13:15 puts Wayzata up 9-5. Armstrong counters with a 14-4 spurt thanks to Marquel Curtis converting a pair of Trojans turnovers and dunking a miss. 19-13 Falcons at the 7:46 mark. Eric Robertson 4-17 in a cold first half but his bucket at 6:30 cuts the Armstrong lead to 21-18. Curtis in the post for 2 free throws. Then he steals a pass and he'll get the ball back on a lob for a layup, then a tip in at 5:05. 27-20 Armstrong. 9-2 Wayzata the rest of the way. Robertson for 3, Burt inside for 3 of 4 FTs and a Tanner Helgren 3 at the halftime buzzer ties the game at 29.
Wayzata looks to pull away as Helgren with a steal for a layup and then a scoop for a 3 point play. 50-42 Trojans with 11:45 left. Michael Willman with the play of the night. He gets a long outlet from Curtis spins and throws up the reverse layup and the prayer is answered for a 3 point play. KJ Bluford adds 2 to cut the lead to 51-47 Wayzata with 9:46 left. Robertson to the rack for his 1st FG in 13 minutes, Armstrong can't putback 2 misses and Burt responds with a putback for a 3 point play on the other end and the lead is up to 9. Curtis with a pair of buckets to keep Armstrong within 7. Robertson diagonal skip to Helgren for 3 from the left corner. Curtis counters that with his own putback for a 3 point play. 61-54 Wayzata with 5:52 left. But Curtis won't score again and Wayzata pulls away. Burt with 2 free throw, Zach Robertson with a layup, Helgren converts a turnover into a layup and adds 2 free throws, Zach Robertson again at the 2:25 mark. Bluford breaks the 10-0 run with 2:05 left but its too late. Wayzata wins 75-60.
Armstrong finishes their season 18-10 but went 4-8 in February and March. Marquel Curtis with 26 and 10 for the Falcons. KJ Bluford 18 points. Most of the roster graduates including the guard trio of Curtis, Bluford and Levi Abercrombie. Wayzata is now 21-7 and will play Hopkins in the section final on Tuesday night in Osseo. Hopkins won the 2 regular season meetings by 17 and 30 points. Star forward Eric Robertson under the weather, he shot 5-22 and finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds. Credit Wayzata's roster for stepping up around him. Chris Burt with 21 points inside and if he could have had 30 had the Trojans looked for him down low. Tanner Helgren 3 triples and he comes up with 20 big points. Zach Robertson 15 points and he was productive on the glass as well. Only 1 basket off the bench combined for these teams tonight (a garbage time postup by Jaevon Walton).
To Osseo for a night of 6AAAA semifinals. Always love the Dominos Pizza and Pepsi. Plenty of coaches in attendance. UMKC in to watch Marquel Curtis and Butler head coach Brad Stevens reportedly in to watch Siyani Chambers. MN-Moorhead, SW MN State, Central Lakes, Itasca and Augsburg on the list of other colleges attending. The Mr Basketball guys front and center for Joe Coleman. I also get a Rene Pulley sighting (long time no see) and the MN Heat watching as well. A media horde also showing up with Michael Much, Chris Monter and John Sherman in the building. Al Sharpton working the opening game to boot. The Wayzata pep band on hand for the late game. They give us today's song
Song of the Day
Bob Seger - Old Time Rock and Roll
Game 1: Hopkins vs St. Louis Park
Hopkins won the first matchup 102-57 and left very little doubt about this one. Joe Coleman with a reverse layin and a putback. Siyani Chambers for 3 and Hopkins has the 1st 7. Marvin Singleton back to back layups and a Nick Jorgensen layup. 17-3 Hopkins just over 5 minutes into the game. Jorgensen another layup, Singleton on the post again and Coleman with a 3 point play. 26-8 Hopkins at the 8:55 mark for a St. Louis Park timeout. Then a major pullaway late in the half. Demetrius Martin starts the run with a 3. Then Chambers with a nice cut to break pressure in the backcourt and he finds Coleman for a dunk. Zach Stahl coast to coast, a turnover for a Martin layup and the lead is 47-17. Hopkins moves on with a 81-44 win. Zach Stahl an impressive night with 23 points and crashing the class. Joe Coleman standard work with 22 and 8. Marvin Singleton 12. Kashif Hayes showing he has big upside with 15 points. Aaron Ziman 10. Marquealis Edwards held to 7. St. Louis Park has some major losses (Ziman, Edwards, Joe Zangel) but with Hayes, Garrison Gillard and DJ Pollard coming back, there's a nice nucleus there. The Orioles finish their season 18-10. Hopkins is 27-1. Who will they face?
Game 2: Wayzata vs Armstrong
A battle of Wayzata's size vs Armstrong's quality guard play. Chris Burt's layup at 13:15 puts Wayzata up 9-5. Armstrong counters with a 14-4 spurt thanks to Marquel Curtis converting a pair of Trojans turnovers and dunking a miss. 19-13 Falcons at the 7:46 mark. Eric Robertson 4-17 in a cold first half but his bucket at 6:30 cuts the Armstrong lead to 21-18. Curtis in the post for 2 free throws. Then he steals a pass and he'll get the ball back on a lob for a layup, then a tip in at 5:05. 27-20 Armstrong. 9-2 Wayzata the rest of the way. Robertson for 3, Burt inside for 3 of 4 FTs and a Tanner Helgren 3 at the halftime buzzer ties the game at 29.
Wayzata looks to pull away as Helgren with a steal for a layup and then a scoop for a 3 point play. 50-42 Trojans with 11:45 left. Michael Willman with the play of the night. He gets a long outlet from Curtis spins and throws up the reverse layup and the prayer is answered for a 3 point play. KJ Bluford adds 2 to cut the lead to 51-47 Wayzata with 9:46 left. Robertson to the rack for his 1st FG in 13 minutes, Armstrong can't putback 2 misses and Burt responds with a putback for a 3 point play on the other end and the lead is up to 9. Curtis with a pair of buckets to keep Armstrong within 7. Robertson diagonal skip to Helgren for 3 from the left corner. Curtis counters that with his own putback for a 3 point play. 61-54 Wayzata with 5:52 left. But Curtis won't score again and Wayzata pulls away. Burt with 2 free throw, Zach Robertson with a layup, Helgren converts a turnover into a layup and adds 2 free throws, Zach Robertson again at the 2:25 mark. Bluford breaks the 10-0 run with 2:05 left but its too late. Wayzata wins 75-60.
Armstrong finishes their season 18-10 but went 4-8 in February and March. Marquel Curtis with 26 and 10 for the Falcons. KJ Bluford 18 points. Most of the roster graduates including the guard trio of Curtis, Bluford and Levi Abercrombie. Wayzata is now 21-7 and will play Hopkins in the section final on Tuesday night in Osseo. Hopkins won the 2 regular season meetings by 17 and 30 points. Star forward Eric Robertson under the weather, he shot 5-22 and finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds. Credit Wayzata's roster for stepping up around him. Chris Burt with 21 points inside and if he could have had 30 had the Trojans looked for him down low. Tanner Helgren 3 triples and he comes up with 20 big points. Zach Robertson 15 points and he was productive on the glass as well. Only 1 basket off the bench combined for these teams tonight (a garbage time postup by Jaevon Walton).
2011 Border Battle Observations
Labels:
Joe Coleman,
Marvin Singleton,
Siyani Chambers
Prologue
To St. Cloud Tech for the 5th annual Border Battle. Minnesota won last year 5-0 on Wisconsin soil so cheeseheads looking for revenge with a quality lineup of guards across the board. Minnesota defending home turf with the top 2 ranked teams in 4A and #6AAA Apollo in their home town. Respectable hot dog at the cramped concession stand, but props to the Breakdown folks for providing the media with Papa John's. I thought dibs on 1 piece per came called was fair (this was after game 4). I did the color commentary for 5 of the games on Webcast America. Links will be included below to go back and watch any of the games.
Song of the Day
Border Song - Elton John
Game 1: #2AAAA Tartan vs #2-D2 Seymour (Watch it here)
An outstanding opener between 2 of the best traditions in either state. Tartan hosted the inaugural Border Battle and Seymour beat Henry in that same Border Battle. Tartan uses 4 3s from 4 players and 3 interior buckets from Joel Awich to jump out to a 22-8 lead at the 9:05 mark of the 1st half. The rest of the half is all Seymour. Luke Preiner hits another 3 and the lead is 25-12. They use top scorer Cal Skogman in high pick and roll, usually with their other star Phil Romback and usually in transitions and Tartan has no answers. Skogman is in on the last 16 points of the half (11 + 2 ast to Romback for 5 more points) as Seymour finishes on a 14-0 run. 28-27 Seymour at half. Then 5 more out of the break for Skogman. That's involvement in 21 straight over 8:40. He nails another 3 and after a Seymour 3 its 46-34 Seymour with 12:05 left. Tartan had some success vs 1-3-1 with dribble penetration but it went away against 2-3 zone (something Hill-Murray has had great success with against the Titans). Tartan makes an adjustment to set high screens against the 2-3 and it works. Darrion Strong heats up for Tartan with back to back buckets to cut the lead to 6. Then another nice pullup and a tough 3 point play tie the game at 52 with 6 minutes left. Seymour with the ball up 3 late but can't hang on. After a turnover, 2 free throws cut the margin to 1, then 2 missed Seymour FTs with 49.4 left and Awich inside for an easy 2 puts Tartan back ahead with 35 seconds left. Seymour misses 2 or 3 good looks before Tartan makes 2 more freebies. Seymour can't convert at the end and Tartan comes back for a 62-59 win. Darrion Strong 13 of his 15 points in the second half to bring Tartan back. Joel Awich 14 points and 7 rebounds. Cal Skogman 25 points, Phil Romback 20 points for Seymour.
Game 2: Rocori vs #3-D3 Manitowoc Roncalli (Watch it here)
WOW is all I can say to this one. Rocori chooses to go man in the 1st half against the feared motion offense of Roncalli and all the Jets do is drain 11 3s to finish the half on a 21-10 run. Jets star Ben Stelzer (Michigan Tech signee) with 7 3s by himself. Rocori plays zone in the 2nd half and cuts the lead to 45-42 with 10:30 left behind 2 Jonah Eisenschenk buckets. But Stelzer counters with a 4 point play on his 9th 3 of the day. He sits with 4 fouls at the 7:55 mark and Roncalli up 4. Coach Joe Rux rolls the dice and brings him back in with a 54-50 lead and 6:08 left. All Stelzer does is score 8 of the last 10 Roncalli points to close the game out. Roncalli wins 64-54. Stelzer finishes with 10 3s and 41 points. Roncalli finished with 14 3s , 14 FTs and 4 2s. Jonah Eisenschenk 24 points, Nate Meyer 14 for Rocori.
Game 3: St. Cloud Cathedral vs #1-D3 La Crosse Aquinas (Watch it here)
After hammering my alma mater last night, Aquinas comes to town to play St. Cloud Cathedral. The first half Cathedral gives Aquinas all they want. It takes a Bronson Koenig high jumper at the halftime buzzer to tie the game at 32. Cathedral not keeping Evan Pederson out of the lane as he had 5 assists in the half for easy buckets. But Aquinas can't handle Joe Burt as he puts up 15 points in the half. Great matchup with Burt and Koenig going at each other. Bjorn Bjorklund with a 3 and then Scottie Rucks on the baseline drive to keep Cathedral up 46-45 with 10 minutes left. Koenig with a 3 off a set and then coast to coast for a 3 point play to put Aquinas up 55-48. Cathedral cuts the lead to 59-57 with 4:14 left as Koenig takes 3 quick shots and misses when it looked like Aquinas wanted to run some time off. Bjorklund 5 poitns in the run. But Koenig comes back and posts Burt for a 3 point play. Then a sweet pass to Jimmy Ancius for a 3 point play to push the lead to 8 and that's the dagger. Aquinas wins 71-64. Bronson Koenig 26 points, 13 of those after Cathedral took the 46-45 lead. Joe Burt 23 in a quality effort for Cathedral. Bjorn Bjorklund 14 of his 20 in the second half.
Game 4: #1AAAA Hopkins vs Madison East (Watch it here)
This one was over right from the start. Joe Coleman for 2 and a 3 point play. Siyani Chambers with a steal for 2 and then a long ball. 16-2 Hopkins at the 12:08 mark. East couldn't make a shot on the Nimrod Hilliard kickouts but it wouldn't have matter. The lead gets to 31-6 at 7:50, etc etc etc. Hopkins rolls 93-53 with the stars seeing limited action. Nick Jorgenson leads Hopkins with 20 points. Joe Coleman 15 points, 4 rebounds and a highlight block. 0-1 on outside shooting. Marvin Singleton 13. Jake Wright 11 as the frosh saw plenty of 1st half time in this one. Nimrod Hilliard 25 points for East and I had 9 turnovers on my sheet. But he is really fun to watch with his ridiculous quickness.
Game 5: #6AAA St. Cloud Apollo vs #11-D2 Rice Lake (Watch it here)
Rice Lake finishes the 1st half on a 12-2 run to flip the score to a 34-29 halftime lead. Wally Ellenson with 4 highlight reel blocks in the half. The duo of Simon Krych and Blake Maslonkowski producing inside for Apollo. Apollo comes back with their own run out of halftime of 14-3 to take a 43-37 lead inside of 13 minutes remaining. Krych doing work inside for a 3 point play 54-50 Apollo lead. Ellenson quiet to this point in the half banks in a 3 from the left corner (ridiculous) and another 3 at 4:55 for a 58-56 Rice Lake lead. Maslonkowski with a 3 point play countered by a Ellenson pullup. Mas on the post again for 2 with 45 seconds left. Nice play to go right to score after going left most of the game. 62-61 Rice Lake. Ellenson 1 free throw and then Ellenson is roaming on D and appears to tie up Krych but a foul is called. Krych is clutch with both freebies with 10.7 left to tie the game at 63. Rice Lake goes with no time out. Dribble up the right wing and hand off to the lefty Ellenson, he gets another screen at the top of the key but there's nothing there. He fades from 3 against great defense as the buzzer sounds and BOOM goes the dynamite as the 3 goes in for the win. 66-63 Rice Lake wins as Apollo sees another buzzer beater. He finishes with 25 points to lead all scorers. Simon Krych 23 points, Blake Maslonkowski 13 for the Eagles.
Game 6: Baldwin-Woodville at St. Cloud Tech (Watch it here)
To the late game and in a surprise, just nothing for Baldwin-Woodville in the first half. Star point guard Ryan Benoy goes scoreless and has 3 fouls. Tyler Heitmann has 14 points in the half to keep the Blackhawks close. But after a 5-0 Baldwin-Woodville start, the half is all Tech after a 20-5 run. 34-21 Tech at half but not putting it away either. Benoy picks up his 4th foul at 16:45 and has to sit. Tech Frosh Andy Foley with a pair of tough hoops early in the half as Tech extends the lead to 18. Down 13 with 11:15 to play, he comes back in and why not. Benoy finally on the board with a 3 at the 7:50 mark after an 0-7 FG start. Alex Matchinsky with a pair of free throws and Tech keeps the lead at 16 with just over 7 minutes left. But that 3 sparked Benoy. 1 basket, then a 3 point play and a pull up. He follows 2 missed Tech free throws with 2 made free throws of his own. Those 9 in a row cut the Tech lead to 55-48 with 5:05 left. Don't leave just yet. Matchinsky back to back hoops before a Benoy 3 vs a Tech zone cuts the lead to 59-53 with 4:05 left. Matchinsky scores again and Benoy fouls out with 1:58 left. Baldwin-Woodville won't get any closer. Tech makes their free throws to win 71-57. Alex Matchinsky with 18 of his 30 for Tech in the first half. Freshman Andy Foley 14 of his 19 in the second half with 6 late free throws to ice the game. Tyler Heitman 14 of his 20 in the first half to lead Baldwin-Woodville. Ryan Benoy all 15 of his points in a 3:45 span late in the 2nd half where the Blackhawks outscored Tech 19-8.
The series splits 3 and 3. Minnesota leads all time 15-11. Each state has won 2 years and this year's split. Next year's event is at Sun Prairie, WI. Here are the participants for what should be another outstanding.
WI: Sun Prairie, Waunakee, Wisconsin Dells, Madison Edgewood, La Crosse Aquinas and Gale-Ettrick-Trempeleau.
MN: Tartan, DeLaSalle, Maranatha, Maple River, Prior Lake and Grand Rapids
The Czar's All Border Battle Team
Ben Stelzer - Manitowoc Roncalli (MVP)
Wally Ellenson - Rice Lake
Alex Matchinsky - St. Cloud Tech
Calahan Skogman - Seymour
Darrion Strong - Tartan
Bronson Koenig - La Crosse Aquinas
Joe Burt - St. Cloud Cathedral
Simon Krych - St. Cloud Apollo
Nathan Meyer- Rocori
Joe Coleman - Hopkins
To St. Cloud Tech for the 5th annual Border Battle. Minnesota won last year 5-0 on Wisconsin soil so cheeseheads looking for revenge with a quality lineup of guards across the board. Minnesota defending home turf with the top 2 ranked teams in 4A and #6AAA Apollo in their home town. Respectable hot dog at the cramped concession stand, but props to the Breakdown folks for providing the media with Papa John's. I thought dibs on 1 piece per came called was fair (this was after game 4). I did the color commentary for 5 of the games on Webcast America. Links will be included below to go back and watch any of the games.
Song of the Day
Border Song - Elton John
Game 1: #2AAAA Tartan vs #2-D2 Seymour (Watch it here)
An outstanding opener between 2 of the best traditions in either state. Tartan hosted the inaugural Border Battle and Seymour beat Henry in that same Border Battle. Tartan uses 4 3s from 4 players and 3 interior buckets from Joel Awich to jump out to a 22-8 lead at the 9:05 mark of the 1st half. The rest of the half is all Seymour. Luke Preiner hits another 3 and the lead is 25-12. They use top scorer Cal Skogman in high pick and roll, usually with their other star Phil Romback and usually in transitions and Tartan has no answers. Skogman is in on the last 16 points of the half (11 + 2 ast to Romback for 5 more points) as Seymour finishes on a 14-0 run. 28-27 Seymour at half. Then 5 more out of the break for Skogman. That's involvement in 21 straight over 8:40. He nails another 3 and after a Seymour 3 its 46-34 Seymour with 12:05 left. Tartan had some success vs 1-3-1 with dribble penetration but it went away against 2-3 zone (something Hill-Murray has had great success with against the Titans). Tartan makes an adjustment to set high screens against the 2-3 and it works. Darrion Strong heats up for Tartan with back to back buckets to cut the lead to 6. Then another nice pullup and a tough 3 point play tie the game at 52 with 6 minutes left. Seymour with the ball up 3 late but can't hang on. After a turnover, 2 free throws cut the margin to 1, then 2 missed Seymour FTs with 49.4 left and Awich inside for an easy 2 puts Tartan back ahead with 35 seconds left. Seymour misses 2 or 3 good looks before Tartan makes 2 more freebies. Seymour can't convert at the end and Tartan comes back for a 62-59 win. Darrion Strong 13 of his 15 points in the second half to bring Tartan back. Joel Awich 14 points and 7 rebounds. Cal Skogman 25 points, Phil Romback 20 points for Seymour.
Game 2: Rocori vs #3-D3 Manitowoc Roncalli (Watch it here)
WOW is all I can say to this one. Rocori chooses to go man in the 1st half against the feared motion offense of Roncalli and all the Jets do is drain 11 3s to finish the half on a 21-10 run. Jets star Ben Stelzer (Michigan Tech signee) with 7 3s by himself. Rocori plays zone in the 2nd half and cuts the lead to 45-42 with 10:30 left behind 2 Jonah Eisenschenk buckets. But Stelzer counters with a 4 point play on his 9th 3 of the day. He sits with 4 fouls at the 7:55 mark and Roncalli up 4. Coach Joe Rux rolls the dice and brings him back in with a 54-50 lead and 6:08 left. All Stelzer does is score 8 of the last 10 Roncalli points to close the game out. Roncalli wins 64-54. Stelzer finishes with 10 3s and 41 points. Roncalli finished with 14 3s , 14 FTs and 4 2s. Jonah Eisenschenk 24 points, Nate Meyer 14 for Rocori.
Game 3: St. Cloud Cathedral vs #1-D3 La Crosse Aquinas (Watch it here)
After hammering my alma mater last night, Aquinas comes to town to play St. Cloud Cathedral. The first half Cathedral gives Aquinas all they want. It takes a Bronson Koenig high jumper at the halftime buzzer to tie the game at 32. Cathedral not keeping Evan Pederson out of the lane as he had 5 assists in the half for easy buckets. But Aquinas can't handle Joe Burt as he puts up 15 points in the half. Great matchup with Burt and Koenig going at each other. Bjorn Bjorklund with a 3 and then Scottie Rucks on the baseline drive to keep Cathedral up 46-45 with 10 minutes left. Koenig with a 3 off a set and then coast to coast for a 3 point play to put Aquinas up 55-48. Cathedral cuts the lead to 59-57 with 4:14 left as Koenig takes 3 quick shots and misses when it looked like Aquinas wanted to run some time off. Bjorklund 5 poitns in the run. But Koenig comes back and posts Burt for a 3 point play. Then a sweet pass to Jimmy Ancius for a 3 point play to push the lead to 8 and that's the dagger. Aquinas wins 71-64. Bronson Koenig 26 points, 13 of those after Cathedral took the 46-45 lead. Joe Burt 23 in a quality effort for Cathedral. Bjorn Bjorklund 14 of his 20 in the second half.
Game 4: #1AAAA Hopkins vs Madison East (Watch it here)
This one was over right from the start. Joe Coleman for 2 and a 3 point play. Siyani Chambers with a steal for 2 and then a long ball. 16-2 Hopkins at the 12:08 mark. East couldn't make a shot on the Nimrod Hilliard kickouts but it wouldn't have matter. The lead gets to 31-6 at 7:50, etc etc etc. Hopkins rolls 93-53 with the stars seeing limited action. Nick Jorgenson leads Hopkins with 20 points. Joe Coleman 15 points, 4 rebounds and a highlight block. 0-1 on outside shooting. Marvin Singleton 13. Jake Wright 11 as the frosh saw plenty of 1st half time in this one. Nimrod Hilliard 25 points for East and I had 9 turnovers on my sheet. But he is really fun to watch with his ridiculous quickness.
Game 5: #6AAA St. Cloud Apollo vs #11-D2 Rice Lake (Watch it here)
Rice Lake finishes the 1st half on a 12-2 run to flip the score to a 34-29 halftime lead. Wally Ellenson with 4 highlight reel blocks in the half. The duo of Simon Krych and Blake Maslonkowski producing inside for Apollo. Apollo comes back with their own run out of halftime of 14-3 to take a 43-37 lead inside of 13 minutes remaining. Krych doing work inside for a 3 point play 54-50 Apollo lead. Ellenson quiet to this point in the half banks in a 3 from the left corner (ridiculous) and another 3 at 4:55 for a 58-56 Rice Lake lead. Maslonkowski with a 3 point play countered by a Ellenson pullup. Mas on the post again for 2 with 45 seconds left. Nice play to go right to score after going left most of the game. 62-61 Rice Lake. Ellenson 1 free throw and then Ellenson is roaming on D and appears to tie up Krych but a foul is called. Krych is clutch with both freebies with 10.7 left to tie the game at 63. Rice Lake goes with no time out. Dribble up the right wing and hand off to the lefty Ellenson, he gets another screen at the top of the key but there's nothing there. He fades from 3 against great defense as the buzzer sounds and BOOM goes the dynamite as the 3 goes in for the win. 66-63 Rice Lake wins as Apollo sees another buzzer beater. He finishes with 25 points to lead all scorers. Simon Krych 23 points, Blake Maslonkowski 13 for the Eagles.
Game 6: Baldwin-Woodville at St. Cloud Tech (Watch it here)
To the late game and in a surprise, just nothing for Baldwin-Woodville in the first half. Star point guard Ryan Benoy goes scoreless and has 3 fouls. Tyler Heitmann has 14 points in the half to keep the Blackhawks close. But after a 5-0 Baldwin-Woodville start, the half is all Tech after a 20-5 run. 34-21 Tech at half but not putting it away either. Benoy picks up his 4th foul at 16:45 and has to sit. Tech Frosh Andy Foley with a pair of tough hoops early in the half as Tech extends the lead to 18. Down 13 with 11:15 to play, he comes back in and why not. Benoy finally on the board with a 3 at the 7:50 mark after an 0-7 FG start. Alex Matchinsky with a pair of free throws and Tech keeps the lead at 16 with just over 7 minutes left. But that 3 sparked Benoy. 1 basket, then a 3 point play and a pull up. He follows 2 missed Tech free throws with 2 made free throws of his own. Those 9 in a row cut the Tech lead to 55-48 with 5:05 left. Don't leave just yet. Matchinsky back to back hoops before a Benoy 3 vs a Tech zone cuts the lead to 59-53 with 4:05 left. Matchinsky scores again and Benoy fouls out with 1:58 left. Baldwin-Woodville won't get any closer. Tech makes their free throws to win 71-57. Alex Matchinsky with 18 of his 30 for Tech in the first half. Freshman Andy Foley 14 of his 19 in the second half with 6 late free throws to ice the game. Tyler Heitman 14 of his 20 in the first half to lead Baldwin-Woodville. Ryan Benoy all 15 of his points in a 3:45 span late in the 2nd half where the Blackhawks outscored Tech 19-8.
The series splits 3 and 3. Minnesota leads all time 15-11. Each state has won 2 years and this year's split. Next year's event is at Sun Prairie, WI. Here are the participants for what should be another outstanding.
WI: Sun Prairie, Waunakee, Wisconsin Dells, Madison Edgewood, La Crosse Aquinas and Gale-Ettrick-Trempeleau.
MN: Tartan, DeLaSalle, Maranatha, Maple River, Prior Lake and Grand Rapids
The Czar's All Border Battle Team
Ben Stelzer - Manitowoc Roncalli (MVP)
Wally Ellenson - Rice Lake
Alex Matchinsky - St. Cloud Tech
Calahan Skogman - Seymour
Darrion Strong - Tartan
Bronson Koenig - La Crosse Aquinas
Joe Burt - St. Cloud Cathedral
Simon Krych - St. Cloud Apollo
Nathan Meyer- Rocori
Joe Coleman - Hopkins
Chambers drops in new Rivals 150
Labels:
2012 Recruiting,
Rivals Recruiting,
Siyani Chambers
Rivals just released their post summer 2010 top 100 for the class of 2012. Hopkins point guard Siyani Chambers drops to #96 from #81.
Here are others who have appeared locally.
#17 Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell
#20 William "Shaq" Goodwin (up from #60)
#21 Rasheed Sulaimon
#26 Torian Graham (up from #83)
#28 L.J. Rose (down from #23)
#37 Marcus Paige (down from #29)
#42 J-Mychal Reese (up from #43)
#49 Damien Wilson (up from #68)
#55 Jordan Adams
#73 Cameron Biedscheid (down from #59)
#89 Phillip Nolan (up from #92)
#108 Wesley Staten (down from #90)
#109 Cinmeon Bowers (down from #91)
#112 Arroyo Edwards (down from #97)
#145 Demarquise Johnson
Read the entire rankings here.
Here are others who have appeared locally.
#17 Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell
#20 William "Shaq" Goodwin (up from #60)
#21 Rasheed Sulaimon
#26 Torian Graham (up from #83)
#28 L.J. Rose (down from #23)
#37 Marcus Paige (down from #29)
#42 J-Mychal Reese (up from #43)
#49 Damien Wilson (up from #68)
#55 Jordan Adams
#73 Cameron Biedscheid (down from #59)
#89 Phillip Nolan (up from #92)
#108 Wesley Staten (down from #90)
#109 Cinmeon Bowers (down from #91)
#112 Arroyo Edwards (down from #97)
#145 Demarquise Johnson
Read the entire rankings here.
Chambers joins Rivals top 100
Labels:
Rivals Recruiting,
Siyani Chambers
Rivals just released their pre summer 2010 top 100 for the class of 2012. Hopkins adds another player to the national rankings as point guard Siyani Chambers joins the rankings at #81.
Here are others who have appeared locally.
#23 L.J. Rose
#29 Marcus Paige
#43 J-Mychal Reese
#59 Cameron Biedscheid
#90 Wesley Staten
#91 Cinmeon Bowers
#92 Phillip Nolan
#97 Arroyo Edwards
Read the entire rankings here.
Here are others who have appeared locally.
#23 L.J. Rose
#29 Marcus Paige
#43 J-Mychal Reese
#59 Cameron Biedscheid
#90 Wesley Staten
#91 Cinmeon Bowers
#92 Phillip Nolan
#97 Arroyo Edwards
Read the entire rankings here.
Thoughts from a pair of 4A games
First some thoughts on the Tech/Champlin Park game which I saw the last 11 minutes of. Really strange that Champlin Park got a 44-42 lead and then was in a huge hurry to throw up tough shots like they were down 10 with 30 seconds left. A game the Rebels definitely should have won.
As to the 4A semi between Hopkins and Sibley. I arrive at halftime to see an absolutely HUGE Sibley student section at 1 end of the court. Its top to bottom filling the entire corner section. Props to those students.Combined with a small Hopkins section. At the 1st TV Timeout , 5 guys with 3 fouls and Sibley nursing a 40-36 lead. Big time feel to this one. The 1st guy with 4 could make a difference if it happens quickly.
Its Rostampour (really?) with 13:25 left and coach Dasovich has to go get him. Surprised Jordan Jackson hasn't attacked Siyani Chambers and his 3 fouls more. Singleton stops Krueser, then takes him to the rim for a miss and blocks Grant. That leads to Chambers going to the line to tie the game. Kreuser not strong enough to dominate Singleton on the offensive end and now quick enough to stop him on the defense end so a very tough matchup with Rostampour down with 4 fouls. Good timeout at 12:21 by coach Dasovich as you can feel Hopkins picking up the mighty mo.
Coleman with a steal and he tips it out and runs it down for 2 off the wrong foot and Hopkins goes up 41-40. Danger time for the Warriors here. Kreuser misses 2 chances and Coleman converts 2 freebies at 10:18 . 44-40 Hopkins and that gets Rostampour back in at 10:03. How long will he last? Chambers picks up his 4th at the 9:45 mark trying to stop a pass to Kreuser. DJ Peterson taking over the full time point guard duties now. Nice luxury for coach Novak. Also gives Hopkins a bigger lineup with Zach Stahl replacing Chambers.
Hopkins getting a couple of good high post looks vs the Sibley 2-3. Coleman misses one and puts back a miss after that. Singleton converts the other. Still 50-46 Hopkins wiht 7:45 remaining as the teams continue to trade buckets. Kreuser gets his 4th at 7:11. Jake Goldberg replaces him. Coleman picks a Rostampour skip out of the post at 6:45 and goes the other way for the 2 handed hammer. Singleton vs Rostampour now. Fun matchup. Hopkins going right at Rostampour with 2 postups that Singleton scores on. 57-50 Hopkins with 5:20 left. Singleton and Rostampour go tumbling at the other end. Hopkins wants a double foul to get rid of Rostampour but they won't get it. He makes the bonus freebies with 4:39 left for a TV Timeout. Kreuser was at the table so we'll see both Sibley bigs in with 4. 59-54 Hopkins.
Singleton dribbling the spots off the ball trying to attack Kreuser and he turns it over for 2 Jackson freebies. 3:54 left Chambers returns for the Royals. 59-55 as Jackson makes 1 of 2. Kreuser tips a miss in his own basket and Rostampour puts back a miss on his end. 61-57 Hopkins 3 minutes left. Nice pullup jumper by Stahl before getting to Kreuser. Jackson fouled 93 feet away and makes 2 with 2:43 left and we have the final TV timeout. 63-59 Hopkins leads. Sibley has to figure out a way to get a stop.
And they get the turnover. Set postup for Rostampour on the right box and he goes jump hook over the left shoulder at 2:10. Standard set and a good call. Jackson picks up his fourth out high and DJ Peterson shoots 2 at the 1:57 mark. He makes 1 of 2 so Sibley is now within 1 possession. Jimmy Ryan straightaway for 3 and the Sibley section erupts. Hopkins brings the ball to the frontcourt and takes time with 1:27 left. 64 all and this REALLY gets interesting now.
Coleman drives and Kreuser takes the charge with 1:17 left. I know coach Dasovich has siad he may be better at taking charges than blocking shots. Rostampour past Stahl on a postup and he misses. The ball is tipped out and Coleman has a wideopen track Grant gets the left shoulder which is meaningless with 53.5 left as Coleman converts. He misses the free throw but Stahl grabs it and Kreuser fouls out at 51.6. What a turnaround. Stahl gets 2 freebies and misses both. Goldberg grabs the board. Coleman reaches in and tips it away. Its off Rostampour with 49 seconds left. Unbelievable. Coleman fouled with 47.2 left and he makes 1 of 2. 67-64 Hopkins. Jackson right to the rack for 2 with 35 seconds left. Timeout Sibley down 67-66. Lots of time. Coleman 6-10, Singleton 5-8 from the line to this point. Coleman drives and makes a dangerous pass that is tipped out with 25.2 left. Sibley didn't look to foul at all and Coleman would have been a good candidate. But nobody really sticks out as an outstanding foul shooter.
Sibley elects not to foul Coleman but they get DJ Peterson with 20.2 left. He comes in 37 of 60 from the line on the year. He steps up and makes both pure for a 69-66 lead. Sibley pushes and has a passed tipped away. Sibley uses their last timeout with the ball in their half and 10.6 left. With no timeouts, you almost have to play for the 3 here as Hopkins could just let the clock run out on a 2. The ball goes right looking for Jimmy Ryan running the baseline. Nothing there. The ball is reversed to Dante Grant who takes a dribble and ducks under Singleton and banks in a left wing 3 with 2.5 remaining. Absolutely crazy. Best shot I've seen all year. The clocks runs out and we have a table review (new this year by rule). Coaches are called over by the offiicals. Its a 3 and there's no time left. 69 all and we will play overtime. UNREAL! Am I actually courtside watching this??
Nice pick and roll finds Singleton and no help and that puts Hopkins up 73-69. Sibley called for a moving screen. Hopkins goes dribble weave and Grant blocks DJ Peterson from behind. Jimmy Ryan cashes it in with a 3 from the left corner. Timeout Hopkins up 73-72 with 1:35 left and the ball. Singleton catches at the high post and gets called for changing pivot feet on a basic turn. Have to see that again to see if he actually walked. But Sibley turns it over on the other end with 1:12 left. Grant fouls out at 1:04 to put Chambers on the line. He makes both without issue. 75-72 Hopkins. Jackson to the rim and spins for a call with 54.4 left. He makes 1 of 2 and Sibley almost grabs the board after a pair of tips. 75-73 Hopkins with 33.5 left when Jeremiah Tolbert gets fouled. The first is around and out after a "In Your Head" chant from the Sibley students (HA!). The chant starts again and the 2nd is short. Jackson to Ryan who's on the NBA line for 3. Hopkins rushes back the other way. Ball ends up with Coleman going strong and Rostampour fouls out with 7.2 left. Now we have a loud building but the Sibley fans are behind the shooter. 1st is around and down and the 2nd is short. Sibley rebounds and takes timeout. Its an extra long timeout as the time remaining is reviewed on the monitor. Its set to 5.7.
With Kreuser and Rostampour gone, seems awfully tough to think that a 2nd OT would favor Sibley. Jordan Jackson with buzzer beaters in the last 2 games against CDH and Eastview. It has to be all him here. Jackson splits a double team to catch but then a lob pass is turned over. Singleton heaves at the buzzer and its long. We'll play double overtime.
The parade to the foul line continues in the 2nd OT as Singleton makes 2 and Chambers makes 2. 80-76 with 3:01 left in the OT. Chambers fouls out at 2:50 for a pair of Jordan Jackson free throws to cut the lead in half. Peterson drives and finishes right handed at 2:30. Jackson spins, falls away and banks at 2:20. Crazy difficult shot that he's athletic enough to make. Jackson reaches in and he's gone with 5 at 2:07. That's the 3rd starter and 4th guy for Sibley to foul out. Sibley now with 2 freshman on the floor and a reserve who has played minimal minutes. Coleman makes 1 of 2 before a missed Sibley 3. Peterson puts it on the deck and he earnes a trip to the line. He makes 1 with 1:45 left. 84-80 Hopkins leads and Sibley takes timeout with 1:40 left.
Jimmy Ryan goes quick for 2. 90 seconds left and Hopkins by 2. Hopkins in no hurry to score. Sibley gets a trap on Peterson but a quick foul is called when it looked like they may have a steal. Peterson makes 1 of 2 with 44.1 left. Nick Goldberg gets a great look at a 3 from the right corner with 30 seconds left and its no good. Singleton grabs the board and he's fouled with 25.7 left. He makes 1 of 2 for a 4 point Hopkins lead. Hopkins gets a doubleteam and a tip away. Coleman puts on the exclamation point with a big 2 handed dunk. Hopkins goes on to win an amazing game 90-82.
Hopkins wins this one and keeps it interesting at the line. They shoot 39-58 from the charity stripe to 18-24 for Sibley. No team had a lead bigger than 9. Joe Coleman 25 and 7 for Hopkins. Marvin Singleton 22 points. Jordan Jackson 25 for Sibley. Soph Dante Grant comes up big with 20 points. Mike Rostampour 13 and 12. Czar's Note 3/24/10 The 39-58 FT shooting for Hopkins is a record for most free throws taken and attempted.
As to the 4A semi between Hopkins and Sibley. I arrive at halftime to see an absolutely HUGE Sibley student section at 1 end of the court. Its top to bottom filling the entire corner section. Props to those students.Combined with a small Hopkins section. At the 1st TV Timeout , 5 guys with 3 fouls and Sibley nursing a 40-36 lead. Big time feel to this one. The 1st guy with 4 could make a difference if it happens quickly.
Its Rostampour (really?) with 13:25 left and coach Dasovich has to go get him. Surprised Jordan Jackson hasn't attacked Siyani Chambers and his 3 fouls more. Singleton stops Krueser, then takes him to the rim for a miss and blocks Grant. That leads to Chambers going to the line to tie the game. Kreuser not strong enough to dominate Singleton on the offensive end and now quick enough to stop him on the defense end so a very tough matchup with Rostampour down with 4 fouls. Good timeout at 12:21 by coach Dasovich as you can feel Hopkins picking up the mighty mo.
Coleman with a steal and he tips it out and runs it down for 2 off the wrong foot and Hopkins goes up 41-40. Danger time for the Warriors here. Kreuser misses 2 chances and Coleman converts 2 freebies at 10:18 . 44-40 Hopkins and that gets Rostampour back in at 10:03. How long will he last? Chambers picks up his 4th at the 9:45 mark trying to stop a pass to Kreuser. DJ Peterson taking over the full time point guard duties now. Nice luxury for coach Novak. Also gives Hopkins a bigger lineup with Zach Stahl replacing Chambers.
Hopkins getting a couple of good high post looks vs the Sibley 2-3. Coleman misses one and puts back a miss after that. Singleton converts the other. Still 50-46 Hopkins wiht 7:45 remaining as the teams continue to trade buckets. Kreuser gets his 4th at 7:11. Jake Goldberg replaces him. Coleman picks a Rostampour skip out of the post at 6:45 and goes the other way for the 2 handed hammer. Singleton vs Rostampour now. Fun matchup. Hopkins going right at Rostampour with 2 postups that Singleton scores on. 57-50 Hopkins with 5:20 left. Singleton and Rostampour go tumbling at the other end. Hopkins wants a double foul to get rid of Rostampour but they won't get it. He makes the bonus freebies with 4:39 left for a TV Timeout. Kreuser was at the table so we'll see both Sibley bigs in with 4. 59-54 Hopkins.
Singleton dribbling the spots off the ball trying to attack Kreuser and he turns it over for 2 Jackson freebies. 3:54 left Chambers returns for the Royals. 59-55 as Jackson makes 1 of 2. Kreuser tips a miss in his own basket and Rostampour puts back a miss on his end. 61-57 Hopkins 3 minutes left. Nice pullup jumper by Stahl before getting to Kreuser. Jackson fouled 93 feet away and makes 2 with 2:43 left and we have the final TV timeout. 63-59 Hopkins leads. Sibley has to figure out a way to get a stop.
And they get the turnover. Set postup for Rostampour on the right box and he goes jump hook over the left shoulder at 2:10. Standard set and a good call. Jackson picks up his fourth out high and DJ Peterson shoots 2 at the 1:57 mark. He makes 1 of 2 so Sibley is now within 1 possession. Jimmy Ryan straightaway for 3 and the Sibley section erupts. Hopkins brings the ball to the frontcourt and takes time with 1:27 left. 64 all and this REALLY gets interesting now.
Coleman drives and Kreuser takes the charge with 1:17 left. I know coach Dasovich has siad he may be better at taking charges than blocking shots. Rostampour past Stahl on a postup and he misses. The ball is tipped out and Coleman has a wideopen track Grant gets the left shoulder which is meaningless with 53.5 left as Coleman converts. He misses the free throw but Stahl grabs it and Kreuser fouls out at 51.6. What a turnaround. Stahl gets 2 freebies and misses both. Goldberg grabs the board. Coleman reaches in and tips it away. Its off Rostampour with 49 seconds left. Unbelievable. Coleman fouled with 47.2 left and he makes 1 of 2. 67-64 Hopkins. Jackson right to the rack for 2 with 35 seconds left. Timeout Sibley down 67-66. Lots of time. Coleman 6-10, Singleton 5-8 from the line to this point. Coleman drives and makes a dangerous pass that is tipped out with 25.2 left. Sibley didn't look to foul at all and Coleman would have been a good candidate. But nobody really sticks out as an outstanding foul shooter.
Sibley elects not to foul Coleman but they get DJ Peterson with 20.2 left. He comes in 37 of 60 from the line on the year. He steps up and makes both pure for a 69-66 lead. Sibley pushes and has a passed tipped away. Sibley uses their last timeout with the ball in their half and 10.6 left. With no timeouts, you almost have to play for the 3 here as Hopkins could just let the clock run out on a 2. The ball goes right looking for Jimmy Ryan running the baseline. Nothing there. The ball is reversed to Dante Grant who takes a dribble and ducks under Singleton and banks in a left wing 3 with 2.5 remaining. Absolutely crazy. Best shot I've seen all year. The clocks runs out and we have a table review (new this year by rule). Coaches are called over by the offiicals. Its a 3 and there's no time left. 69 all and we will play overtime. UNREAL! Am I actually courtside watching this??
Nice pick and roll finds Singleton and no help and that puts Hopkins up 73-69. Sibley called for a moving screen. Hopkins goes dribble weave and Grant blocks DJ Peterson from behind. Jimmy Ryan cashes it in with a 3 from the left corner. Timeout Hopkins up 73-72 with 1:35 left and the ball. Singleton catches at the high post and gets called for changing pivot feet on a basic turn. Have to see that again to see if he actually walked. But Sibley turns it over on the other end with 1:12 left. Grant fouls out at 1:04 to put Chambers on the line. He makes both without issue. 75-72 Hopkins. Jackson to the rim and spins for a call with 54.4 left. He makes 1 of 2 and Sibley almost grabs the board after a pair of tips. 75-73 Hopkins with 33.5 left when Jeremiah Tolbert gets fouled. The first is around and out after a "In Your Head" chant from the Sibley students (HA!). The chant starts again and the 2nd is short. Jackson to Ryan who's on the NBA line for 3. Hopkins rushes back the other way. Ball ends up with Coleman going strong and Rostampour fouls out with 7.2 left. Now we have a loud building but the Sibley fans are behind the shooter. 1st is around and down and the 2nd is short. Sibley rebounds and takes timeout. Its an extra long timeout as the time remaining is reviewed on the monitor. Its set to 5.7.
With Kreuser and Rostampour gone, seems awfully tough to think that a 2nd OT would favor Sibley. Jordan Jackson with buzzer beaters in the last 2 games against CDH and Eastview. It has to be all him here. Jackson splits a double team to catch but then a lob pass is turned over. Singleton heaves at the buzzer and its long. We'll play double overtime.
The parade to the foul line continues in the 2nd OT as Singleton makes 2 and Chambers makes 2. 80-76 with 3:01 left in the OT. Chambers fouls out at 2:50 for a pair of Jordan Jackson free throws to cut the lead in half. Peterson drives and finishes right handed at 2:30. Jackson spins, falls away and banks at 2:20. Crazy difficult shot that he's athletic enough to make. Jackson reaches in and he's gone with 5 at 2:07. That's the 3rd starter and 4th guy for Sibley to foul out. Sibley now with 2 freshman on the floor and a reserve who has played minimal minutes. Coleman makes 1 of 2 before a missed Sibley 3. Peterson puts it on the deck and he earnes a trip to the line. He makes 1 with 1:45 left. 84-80 Hopkins leads and Sibley takes timeout with 1:40 left.
Jimmy Ryan goes quick for 2. 90 seconds left and Hopkins by 2. Hopkins in no hurry to score. Sibley gets a trap on Peterson but a quick foul is called when it looked like they may have a steal. Peterson makes 1 of 2 with 44.1 left. Nick Goldberg gets a great look at a 3 from the right corner with 30 seconds left and its no good. Singleton grabs the board and he's fouled with 25.7 left. He makes 1 of 2 for a 4 point Hopkins lead. Hopkins gets a doubleteam and a tip away. Coleman puts on the exclamation point with a big 2 handed dunk. Hopkins goes on to win an amazing game 90-82.
Hopkins wins this one and keeps it interesting at the line. They shoot 39-58 from the charity stripe to 18-24 for Sibley. No team had a lead bigger than 9. Joe Coleman 25 and 7 for Hopkins. Marvin Singleton 22 points. Jordan Jackson 25 for Sibley. Soph Dante Grant comes up big with 20 points. Mike Rostampour 13 and 12. Czar's Note 3/24/10 The 39-58 FT shooting for Hopkins is a record for most free throws taken and attempted.
2010 TWolves Shootout Thoughts
Here are my thoughts from the 2010 TWolves Shootout
Game 1: Orono vs #6AAA Grand Rapids
Tight game at the half before a 12-2 second half Orono run puts them up by 6 with 8 minutes left. Grand Rapids right back with a 10-0 run to regain the lead. 6'8 post Kevin Rabbers with 6 points in the run, Eric Stark with the other 4 and an assist in the run. 5 point Grand Rapids lead with 1:30 to go in regulation but they can't hold it. Jordan Smith goes glass and the foul with 54.7 left and Grand Rapids can't snag the rebound. That's gets putback to cut the lead to 2. Then 2 missed free throws. Jeremy Borg (19 and 12 in a big game for him) slips a screen for an easy layup to tie the game and force OT. Orono gets the 1st 9 of OT and they win 74-65 easily. Jordan Smith 25 points on 9-21 shooting on my sheet to lead Orono. For Grand Rapids, Eric Stark 18 points but 6-21 shooting. Michael Johnson 15 points but was quiet in the 2nd half. Nice upset win for Orono and its not out of the question that we could see these teams again at state with Orono leading the power rankings in section 5 and Grand Rapids being the favorite in section 7.
Game 2: #4AA Staples-Motley vs #2A Minnesota Transitions
Staples-Motley tries to slow the pace with a 1-3-1 but their bigs still get in foul trouble vs Kevin Noreen despite double and triple teaming. Jon Bristow with 3 fouls in 7 minutes. Rodney Owens with a great start for MTS. He gets a layup and then a steal for 2 more to push MTS to a 6 point lead. Staples hangs around but Owens with another steal for a dunk and then he finds a cutting Kevin Noreen for a layup. 23-15 MTS with 7:18 left to force a Staples-Motley timeout. Out of the timeout, MTS holds the ball vs the 1-3-1. Staples has to go man and this one is over. Staples-Motley gets 1 field goal in the last 9 minutes. 33-18 MTS at the half. 2nd half, MTS picks apart the man D. Staples-Motley goes the 1st 7 minutes without a field goal in the 2nd half. So 1 field goal in 16 minutes across halftime, ouch. 58-36 easy win for MTS in a game that I thought would be very close since both teams had tight losses to Columbia Heights. Kevin Noreen with 24 points and 9 rebounds on my sheet (officially listed at 12). Jordan Riewer in and out of the lineup all day as there were issues with blood on his uniform. Only 3 points for him.
Game 3: #7AA Plainview-Elgin-Millville vs #1AA Crosby-Ironton
A possible state semifinal preview between these 2 teams. PEM was previously ranked #1, now CI on top. Interesting 2-3 matchup zone from Crosby-Ironton. PEM playing 1-3-1 most of the way though they surprisingly went man late. CI with no size and Cole Olstad was just a beast for PEM. CI had no answer for him and the Rangers couldn't get any offense besides Mark Hoge. Very close all the way to the end. Crosby with many chances late to tie that didn't convert. PEM hits late free throws for a hard fought 51-41 win. Mark Hoge 17 for CI. Cole Olstad 23 for PEM.
Game 4: Henry Sibley vs North Lawndale College Prep (IL)
Paul Bunch, big body inside for NLCP. But he sat a lot in the 1st half. When he was in, he was a factor blocking shots. 2nd half story was Jermaine Winfield of NLCP. He dominated inside on his way to 18 points, most inside in the 2nd half. 50 all with 5 minutes left when Winfield scores inside for the lead. Sibley then turns it over for 2 free throws. Rostampour misses a front end and Bunch follows up a miss with a dunk. That's a 6 point cushion but NLCP pulls the ball out too early and Sibley almost makes them pay. But 2 Winfield putbacks and a steal finally puts the one out of reacy. 62-54 North Lawndale wins. Paul Bunch 11 points 7 boards and 7 blocks. Jake Kreuser with a nice day of 15 pts and 14 boards with 3 blocks. Mike Rostampour with another interior struggle against good inside talent. He struggled against Christian Faith Academy's athletes over the holidays and was only 3-14 inside yesterday, but he did have 14 boards.
Game 5: Linn-Mar, IA vs Minnetonka
Fun game here. Marcus Paige with a floater for a 6 point LM lead early. Then sharpshooters Matt Bohannon and Cole Stefan trade deep 3s. Paige wraps the ball around and goes for a layup to get a nice oooh from the crowd. 21-13 Linn-Mar inside of 9 minutes. But Stefan with a pair of bombs in a 14-5 Tonka run over the last 3:15 of the half. 36-31 Skippers at the half. 2 Tonka turnovers equal layups and then Paige with a 3 for a 55-46 Linn-Mar lead with 11:40 to go. Stefan and Chad Howard with back to back 3s to cut the lead to 3 with 10:45 left. Paige for 3 again. Bohannon with a 3 and its 64-55 Linn-Mar with 8:30 left. Tor Anderson 2 freebies, Nick Latzke with a block for a Leonard Glass layup and a Stefan layup. 64-61 Linn-Mar with 7:33 to go. Another Stefan bomb keeps Tonka close 70-66 with 5:40 to go. Paige with an assist and Bohannon with a foul line jumper. Stefan inside 2 countered by a Paige pullup. Stefan from New York City for 3 countered by a Paige drive. Linn-Mar doesn't let Tonka get back and then make free throws for a 88-71 win. Cole Stefan with 8 triples from every metro suburb, 16-24 shooting as he goes completely nuts for 40 points. Linn-Mar is more than Paige (20 pts and 6 assists, 16 and 4 of those in 2nd half). Matt Bohannon is a nice mid to low-major shooting guard (younger brother of UW's Jason Bohannon). He finished with 26 points and 4 triples of his own. Interesting that Minnetonka took Tor Anderson off of Paige in the 2nd half and moved him over to defend Bohannon in the 2nd half.
Game 6: #1AAAA Hopkins vs #8AAAA Champlin Park
This one to me had blowout written all over it with Hopkins losing at North on Friday. But as I was doing podcast for the 1st half of this one I see Brandon Davis knock down back to back triples from Jasper Duberry to force 1 Hopkins timeout down 11. Then its 33-19 Champlin Park with 2:57 left in the first half. Duberry for 3 at the first half buzzer and Champlin Park is up 10. DJ Peterson with 3 quick fouls and sits for a large part of the half. Hopkins went deep into the bench with a couple of guys (Selmer, Martin) who normally aren't in the rotation.
2nd half Hopkins awakens with pressure defense and ice cold Champlin Park shooting. A 26-4 Hopkins run over the 1st 9:10 of the second half puts the Royals up 54-42 with 9:50 left. Joe Coleman with a 3 and 2 old-fashioned 3 point plays on not smart fouls during the run. The lead stays at 10-12 points and it looks like Hopkins will just cruise. But its not quite over. Duberry a pair of freebies at 3:16, Coleman misses 2 freebies, Brandon Davis 2 freebies, DJ Peterson misses a front end, Josh Pella with a tip. A tieup goes to Champlin Park and Pella tips in a miss and gets fouled for a 3 point play. All of a sudden its 70-67 Hopkins with 1:09 left. But Siyani Chambers makes 4 big free throws to put this one away. 74-69 Hopkins wins. Joe Coleman with 24 points and a pair of 3s during the game. Nice to see him shoot the ball better. Marvin Singleton 20 points as there wasn't a good answer for him inside. Jasper Duberry leads Champlin Park with 17 points. Jordan Reibling with 11 points off the Rebels bench as he was 1 of 5 Rebels in double figures.
Game 1: Orono vs #6AAA Grand Rapids
Tight game at the half before a 12-2 second half Orono run puts them up by 6 with 8 minutes left. Grand Rapids right back with a 10-0 run to regain the lead. 6'8 post Kevin Rabbers with 6 points in the run, Eric Stark with the other 4 and an assist in the run. 5 point Grand Rapids lead with 1:30 to go in regulation but they can't hold it. Jordan Smith goes glass and the foul with 54.7 left and Grand Rapids can't snag the rebound. That's gets putback to cut the lead to 2. Then 2 missed free throws. Jeremy Borg (19 and 12 in a big game for him) slips a screen for an easy layup to tie the game and force OT. Orono gets the 1st 9 of OT and they win 74-65 easily. Jordan Smith 25 points on 9-21 shooting on my sheet to lead Orono. For Grand Rapids, Eric Stark 18 points but 6-21 shooting. Michael Johnson 15 points but was quiet in the 2nd half. Nice upset win for Orono and its not out of the question that we could see these teams again at state with Orono leading the power rankings in section 5 and Grand Rapids being the favorite in section 7.
Game 2: #4AA Staples-Motley vs #2A Minnesota Transitions
Staples-Motley tries to slow the pace with a 1-3-1 but their bigs still get in foul trouble vs Kevin Noreen despite double and triple teaming. Jon Bristow with 3 fouls in 7 minutes. Rodney Owens with a great start for MTS. He gets a layup and then a steal for 2 more to push MTS to a 6 point lead. Staples hangs around but Owens with another steal for a dunk and then he finds a cutting Kevin Noreen for a layup. 23-15 MTS with 7:18 left to force a Staples-Motley timeout. Out of the timeout, MTS holds the ball vs the 1-3-1. Staples has to go man and this one is over. Staples-Motley gets 1 field goal in the last 9 minutes. 33-18 MTS at the half. 2nd half, MTS picks apart the man D. Staples-Motley goes the 1st 7 minutes without a field goal in the 2nd half. So 1 field goal in 16 minutes across halftime, ouch. 58-36 easy win for MTS in a game that I thought would be very close since both teams had tight losses to Columbia Heights. Kevin Noreen with 24 points and 9 rebounds on my sheet (officially listed at 12). Jordan Riewer in and out of the lineup all day as there were issues with blood on his uniform. Only 3 points for him.
Game 3: #7AA Plainview-Elgin-Millville vs #1AA Crosby-Ironton
A possible state semifinal preview between these 2 teams. PEM was previously ranked #1, now CI on top. Interesting 2-3 matchup zone from Crosby-Ironton. PEM playing 1-3-1 most of the way though they surprisingly went man late. CI with no size and Cole Olstad was just a beast for PEM. CI had no answer for him and the Rangers couldn't get any offense besides Mark Hoge. Very close all the way to the end. Crosby with many chances late to tie that didn't convert. PEM hits late free throws for a hard fought 51-41 win. Mark Hoge 17 for CI. Cole Olstad 23 for PEM.
Game 4: Henry Sibley vs North Lawndale College Prep (IL)
Paul Bunch, big body inside for NLCP. But he sat a lot in the 1st half. When he was in, he was a factor blocking shots. 2nd half story was Jermaine Winfield of NLCP. He dominated inside on his way to 18 points, most inside in the 2nd half. 50 all with 5 minutes left when Winfield scores inside for the lead. Sibley then turns it over for 2 free throws. Rostampour misses a front end and Bunch follows up a miss with a dunk. That's a 6 point cushion but NLCP pulls the ball out too early and Sibley almost makes them pay. But 2 Winfield putbacks and a steal finally puts the one out of reacy. 62-54 North Lawndale wins. Paul Bunch 11 points 7 boards and 7 blocks. Jake Kreuser with a nice day of 15 pts and 14 boards with 3 blocks. Mike Rostampour with another interior struggle against good inside talent. He struggled against Christian Faith Academy's athletes over the holidays and was only 3-14 inside yesterday, but he did have 14 boards.
Game 5: Linn-Mar, IA vs Minnetonka
Fun game here. Marcus Paige with a floater for a 6 point LM lead early. Then sharpshooters Matt Bohannon and Cole Stefan trade deep 3s. Paige wraps the ball around and goes for a layup to get a nice oooh from the crowd. 21-13 Linn-Mar inside of 9 minutes. But Stefan with a pair of bombs in a 14-5 Tonka run over the last 3:15 of the half. 36-31 Skippers at the half. 2 Tonka turnovers equal layups and then Paige with a 3 for a 55-46 Linn-Mar lead with 11:40 to go. Stefan and Chad Howard with back to back 3s to cut the lead to 3 with 10:45 left. Paige for 3 again. Bohannon with a 3 and its 64-55 Linn-Mar with 8:30 left. Tor Anderson 2 freebies, Nick Latzke with a block for a Leonard Glass layup and a Stefan layup. 64-61 Linn-Mar with 7:33 to go. Another Stefan bomb keeps Tonka close 70-66 with 5:40 to go. Paige with an assist and Bohannon with a foul line jumper. Stefan inside 2 countered by a Paige pullup. Stefan from New York City for 3 countered by a Paige drive. Linn-Mar doesn't let Tonka get back and then make free throws for a 88-71 win. Cole Stefan with 8 triples from every metro suburb, 16-24 shooting as he goes completely nuts for 40 points. Linn-Mar is more than Paige (20 pts and 6 assists, 16 and 4 of those in 2nd half). Matt Bohannon is a nice mid to low-major shooting guard (younger brother of UW's Jason Bohannon). He finished with 26 points and 4 triples of his own. Interesting that Minnetonka took Tor Anderson off of Paige in the 2nd half and moved him over to defend Bohannon in the 2nd half.
Game 6: #1AAAA Hopkins vs #8AAAA Champlin Park
This one to me had blowout written all over it with Hopkins losing at North on Friday. But as I was doing podcast for the 1st half of this one I see Brandon Davis knock down back to back triples from Jasper Duberry to force 1 Hopkins timeout down 11. Then its 33-19 Champlin Park with 2:57 left in the first half. Duberry for 3 at the first half buzzer and Champlin Park is up 10. DJ Peterson with 3 quick fouls and sits for a large part of the half. Hopkins went deep into the bench with a couple of guys (Selmer, Martin) who normally aren't in the rotation.
2nd half Hopkins awakens with pressure defense and ice cold Champlin Park shooting. A 26-4 Hopkins run over the 1st 9:10 of the second half puts the Royals up 54-42 with 9:50 left. Joe Coleman with a 3 and 2 old-fashioned 3 point plays on not smart fouls during the run. The lead stays at 10-12 points and it looks like Hopkins will just cruise. But its not quite over. Duberry a pair of freebies at 3:16, Coleman misses 2 freebies, Brandon Davis 2 freebies, DJ Peterson misses a front end, Josh Pella with a tip. A tieup goes to Champlin Park and Pella tips in a miss and gets fouled for a 3 point play. All of a sudden its 70-67 Hopkins with 1:09 left. But Siyani Chambers makes 4 big free throws to put this one away. 74-69 Hopkins wins. Joe Coleman with 24 points and a pair of 3s during the game. Nice to see him shoot the ball better. Marvin Singleton 20 points as there wasn't a good answer for him inside. Jasper Duberry leads Champlin Park with 17 points. Jordan Reibling with 11 points off the Rebels bench as he was 1 of 5 Rebels in double figures.
2009 Best Buy Holiday Classic Title Day
Prologue
We love the Davanni's pizza but 2 bucks for a 12 oz can of soda. That'll break me of my drinking habit in a hurry. Nice setup at Augsburg but the introduction takes forever to say (Ernie Anderson court at Si Melby Hall). 1st 2 games minimal attendance, but a nice crowd for the championship game.
Game 1: St. Louis Park (2-6) vs Minneapolis Roosevelt (1-5)
St. Louis Park looks like they're going to run away with this one early. Alex Koch for 3. Joe Zangel with a 3 point play and a putback for an 11-4 start. Then Koch for 3 again for an 18-8 lead. Calvin Jenkins with a pair of baskets and a James Smith hoop at 9:35 cuts the Park lead to 18-14. Koch with a putback and a pair of bombs and another hoop to blow this one open. 38-20 St. Louis Park at the break and Koch has 22. Its a 22 point game with 8:30 left before Roosevelt applies the press to the reserves and makes this one close. 65-56 St. Louis Park wins. Alex Koch with 28 in the win on 11-20 shooting on my sheet. 5 triples in that. Calvin Jenkins leads Roosevelt with 15 points.
Game 2: Chicago Julian vs Milwaukee Marshall (5th place game)
Gotta love the blue hoodies on the Marshall warmups. Even the Chicago kids appeared to have a laugh at that. Worth noting that these teams were staying at the same hotel and got to know each other a bit. Julian with a late first half run to take a 37-26 halftime lead. They close it out 72-21. Julian star Walter Lemon with 22 points. Aristede Brattchet with 17 for Marshall. Fun contest of athletic teams that was a lot like an AAU game.
Game 3: Henry Sibley (4-3) vs Christian Faith Academy, NC (3rd Place Game)
4 all early after a Jordan Jackson follow dunk. CFA applying pressure to get out to a 22-13 lead at the 8:46 mark with superstar 8th grader Andrew Wiggins scoring 7 in a row. But Sibley withstands the early heat. Jake Kreuser gets it going inside with a postup and a putback. Jordan Jackson with 6 free throws thanks to the bonus. Kreuser again inside for 2 postups to put Sibley on top. They take a 32-30 lead to the half. 19-8 run over the last 8:45.
Sibley tries to pull away but can't. 43 all at the 13:53 mark. Then 6 straight Sibley points push the lead to 7 with 8:17 left. Chris Bultena with a big 3 at the 6 minute mark for a 55-49 Sibley lead. CFA cuts into the lead but Sibley hanging on up 59-56 with 2:54 left when Kreuser fouls out. Big play when Sibley runs a postup for Rostampour that gets smashed down and converted to a pair of CFA free throws. 59 all with 1:24 left. Sibley holds for 1 shot and gets 2 looks including a decent look from Jimmy Ryan at the horn that's no good and we'll play OT.
Wiggins quiet but opens the OT with a triple for the first CFA lead since late in the first half. Then Rostampour fouls out at 3:13 of the OT. Too much to ask with both bigs gone. CFA makes enough free throws to withstand 9 late Jordan Jackson points. 78-74 CFA wins. Jordan Jackson with 30 points. Mike Rostampour with a tough night against the long and athletic CFA bigs. I had him 1-15 on my sheet with a 10 and 10 double-double. Jake Kreuser 13 points and 9 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins with 22 for CFA.
Game 4: #1AAAA Hopkins (7-0) vs #1AAA St. Paul Johnson (8-0) (Championship)
The crowd finally files in for this battle of titans. A 13-4 Johnson run over 3:20 forces a Hopkins timeout with 10:15 left in the half. 19-12 Govs lead. Marvin Singleton strong inside for 2 at 9:23 with the foul that puts Hopkins in the bonus. Zach Stahl with a nice lefty bank, a Riley Dearring layup at 8:15 and 2 Singleton freebies cut the lead to 26-24. 29 all after a Siyani Chambers nails triple at 5:57 for Hopkins. Back and forth action. 42-39 Johnson at the half.
Jeremiah Tolbert for 3 and a nice catch of a lob and reverse layup by Joe Coleman put Hopkins on top quickly in the 2nd half. Johnson counters with 2 pairs of freebies. Anthony Lee with a steal for 2, Roosevelt Scott with a big 3 and a Hopkins turnover for a Estan Tyler layup conclude another Johnson spurt. 58-49 Johnson with 12:03 left and Hopkins needs a timeout after the 8-2 run. Hopkins has to have a run in them don't they? DJ Peterson and Riley Dearring score to cut the margin to 64-63 with 8:15 left. After a pair of Siyani Chambers free throws, Hopkins is down 66-65 with 7:33 left.
Johnson has all the answers. Jordan Pluff a pair of free throws. Zach Stahl misses a front end and Donte Warlick converts a layup on the other end. Pluff with a floater countered by 2 Stahl free throws. Then a huge Marcus Marshall triple at the 5 minute mark to push the Johnson lead to 75-67. Anthony Lee drives for 2. 77-69 Govs with 3:55 left. Hopkins can't convert a pair of Tyler turnovers in the next minute. Johnson misses free throws late to keep Hopkins in it. 82-78 with 15.3 left and Hopkins forces a jump ball but it goes to Johnson. Estan Tyler seals the deal with 4 freebies. Johnson wins 86-78 to cement their status as the top team in the metro.
Estan Tyler leads all scorers with 20 points. He didn't shoot it particularly well (6-15) and did have turnovers but he did out play Siyani Chambers at the point. Another struggle for DJ Peterson as well for Hopkins. Jordan Pluff absolutely fearless tonight with 16 points. Roosevelt Scott with 12 points in limited minutes. Marvin Singleton was a beast inside with 18 points and 9 rebounds for Hopkins. Joe Coleman with 18 points and hit a jump shot tonight which was nice to see. Zach Stahl with nice bench minutes for the Royals. The Govs depth was a factor in this one as Hopkins did appear to wear down in the second half.
We love the Davanni's pizza but 2 bucks for a 12 oz can of soda. That'll break me of my drinking habit in a hurry. Nice setup at Augsburg but the introduction takes forever to say (Ernie Anderson court at Si Melby Hall). 1st 2 games minimal attendance, but a nice crowd for the championship game.
Game 1: St. Louis Park (2-6) vs Minneapolis Roosevelt (1-5)
St. Louis Park looks like they're going to run away with this one early. Alex Koch for 3. Joe Zangel with a 3 point play and a putback for an 11-4 start. Then Koch for 3 again for an 18-8 lead. Calvin Jenkins with a pair of baskets and a James Smith hoop at 9:35 cuts the Park lead to 18-14. Koch with a putback and a pair of bombs and another hoop to blow this one open. 38-20 St. Louis Park at the break and Koch has 22. Its a 22 point game with 8:30 left before Roosevelt applies the press to the reserves and makes this one close. 65-56 St. Louis Park wins. Alex Koch with 28 in the win on 11-20 shooting on my sheet. 5 triples in that. Calvin Jenkins leads Roosevelt with 15 points.
Game 2: Chicago Julian vs Milwaukee Marshall (5th place game)
Gotta love the blue hoodies on the Marshall warmups. Even the Chicago kids appeared to have a laugh at that. Worth noting that these teams were staying at the same hotel and got to know each other a bit. Julian with a late first half run to take a 37-26 halftime lead. They close it out 72-21. Julian star Walter Lemon with 22 points. Aristede Brattchet with 17 for Marshall. Fun contest of athletic teams that was a lot like an AAU game.
Game 3: Henry Sibley (4-3) vs Christian Faith Academy, NC (3rd Place Game)
4 all early after a Jordan Jackson follow dunk. CFA applying pressure to get out to a 22-13 lead at the 8:46 mark with superstar 8th grader Andrew Wiggins scoring 7 in a row. But Sibley withstands the early heat. Jake Kreuser gets it going inside with a postup and a putback. Jordan Jackson with 6 free throws thanks to the bonus. Kreuser again inside for 2 postups to put Sibley on top. They take a 32-30 lead to the half. 19-8 run over the last 8:45.
Sibley tries to pull away but can't. 43 all at the 13:53 mark. Then 6 straight Sibley points push the lead to 7 with 8:17 left. Chris Bultena with a big 3 at the 6 minute mark for a 55-49 Sibley lead. CFA cuts into the lead but Sibley hanging on up 59-56 with 2:54 left when Kreuser fouls out. Big play when Sibley runs a postup for Rostampour that gets smashed down and converted to a pair of CFA free throws. 59 all with 1:24 left. Sibley holds for 1 shot and gets 2 looks including a decent look from Jimmy Ryan at the horn that's no good and we'll play OT.
Wiggins quiet but opens the OT with a triple for the first CFA lead since late in the first half. Then Rostampour fouls out at 3:13 of the OT. Too much to ask with both bigs gone. CFA makes enough free throws to withstand 9 late Jordan Jackson points. 78-74 CFA wins. Jordan Jackson with 30 points. Mike Rostampour with a tough night against the long and athletic CFA bigs. I had him 1-15 on my sheet with a 10 and 10 double-double. Jake Kreuser 13 points and 9 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins with 22 for CFA.
Game 4: #1AAAA Hopkins (7-0) vs #1AAA St. Paul Johnson (8-0) (Championship)
The crowd finally files in for this battle of titans. A 13-4 Johnson run over 3:20 forces a Hopkins timeout with 10:15 left in the half. 19-12 Govs lead. Marvin Singleton strong inside for 2 at 9:23 with the foul that puts Hopkins in the bonus. Zach Stahl with a nice lefty bank, a Riley Dearring layup at 8:15 and 2 Singleton freebies cut the lead to 26-24. 29 all after a Siyani Chambers nails triple at 5:57 for Hopkins. Back and forth action. 42-39 Johnson at the half.
Jeremiah Tolbert for 3 and a nice catch of a lob and reverse layup by Joe Coleman put Hopkins on top quickly in the 2nd half. Johnson counters with 2 pairs of freebies. Anthony Lee with a steal for 2, Roosevelt Scott with a big 3 and a Hopkins turnover for a Estan Tyler layup conclude another Johnson spurt. 58-49 Johnson with 12:03 left and Hopkins needs a timeout after the 8-2 run. Hopkins has to have a run in them don't they? DJ Peterson and Riley Dearring score to cut the margin to 64-63 with 8:15 left. After a pair of Siyani Chambers free throws, Hopkins is down 66-65 with 7:33 left.
Johnson has all the answers. Jordan Pluff a pair of free throws. Zach Stahl misses a front end and Donte Warlick converts a layup on the other end. Pluff with a floater countered by 2 Stahl free throws. Then a huge Marcus Marshall triple at the 5 minute mark to push the Johnson lead to 75-67. Anthony Lee drives for 2. 77-69 Govs with 3:55 left. Hopkins can't convert a pair of Tyler turnovers in the next minute. Johnson misses free throws late to keep Hopkins in it. 82-78 with 15.3 left and Hopkins forces a jump ball but it goes to Johnson. Estan Tyler seals the deal with 4 freebies. Johnson wins 86-78 to cement their status as the top team in the metro.
Estan Tyler leads all scorers with 20 points. He didn't shoot it particularly well (6-15) and did have turnovers but he did out play Siyani Chambers at the point. Another struggle for DJ Peterson as well for Hopkins. Jordan Pluff absolutely fearless tonight with 16 points. Roosevelt Scott with 12 points in limited minutes. Marvin Singleton was a beast inside with 18 points and 9 rebounds for Hopkins. Joe Coleman with 18 points and hit a jump shot tonight which was nice to see. Zach Stahl with nice bench minutes for the Royals. The Govs depth was a factor in this one as Hopkins did appear to wear down in the second half.
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