2015-16 Metro East Conference Preview

This is the third preview in my 2015-2016 season preview series.  In this preview, I move to the east metro for a look at the Metro East Conference.  For a list of all the season previews and an explanation of how the previews are generated, click here.

Hastings Raiders (2014-15 season 21-6, 13-3 Conference, 1st)
After a banner season where the Raiders won the conference title, 4 starters need to be replaced.  Forwards Sam Skoyen and versatile Craig Nielsen combined for 33 a night.  Guards Christian Bronner and Joe Dittrich combined for almost 21.  A pair of reserve bigs also graduated.  Forward Brady Gullicks is the top returning player.  Guards Austin Bayne and Colin Kummer will take over in the backcourt.  After that, there's no experience.

Henry Sibley Warriors (2014-15 season 2-24, 1-15 Conference, Tie 8th)
From 18 wins 2 years ago, to 13 wins last year and down to rock bottom with only 2 wins last year.  That was in part due to a youth movement where the Warriors only had 1 senior.  Senior Zach Edwards averaged 9.4 PPG to lead the team.  He's 1 of 5 senior starters returning.  Soph PG Rieshaun Satar also returns.  He averaged 8.4 PPG.

Hill-Murray Pioneers (2014-15 season 21-8, 11-5 Conference, Tie 2nd)
The Pioneers have to replace all everything guard Marshawn Wilson (now at Northern Illinois).  He averaged 26 pts and a ridiculous 10.9 rebounds per game last year.  Double figure shooters Jack Fahey and Sam Westby also graduated.  Starting point guard Simeon Davis was the 2nd scorer last year at 11.2 PPG and 7.6 RPG.  Center Chris Moore also returns with 10 points and 6 boards per game.  Sam Carlson and Nathan Donatell also figure to see time for a guard dominated lineup.

Mahtomedi Zephyrs (2014-15 season 19-10, 10-6 Conference, Tie 5th)
The top 4 scorers including center Sean Hjelle's 15 and 10 are gone.  Hjelle is the hardest to replace of the group.  But more than the other depleted rosters in the league, the Zephyrs are equipped to reload.  That includes junior forwards Andy Voyen and Parker Fox up front.  Seniors Gus Farrell and Jacob Martin also provide frontcourt depth.  Senior lefty Joe Rock and junior Will Tuttle will step in to help replace the departed trio of Sam Muster, Jackson Bell and Sam Newman.  Leading returning scorer Lucas Buller averaged 7.4 PPG and will be a primary option on the wing.

North Polars (2014-15 season 6-21, 4-12 Conference, 7th)
The Polars took their lumps against a veteran league last year.  Now they return 6 of their top 7 scorers and appear poised to make a big jump.  Soph forward Goodnews Kpegeol is the only double figure scorer at 11.7 PPG.  Josh Steckler, Jake Weber, Thomas Acoqui, Adreon Wadlington and Termaine Daniels all return to the rotation.  Wadlington is a JT Gibson lookalike who has the ability to be a defensive stopper.  Steckler provides perimeter punch.  Playing many of the top teams in the league tough last year will prove valuable this season.
 
St. Thomas Academy Cadets (2014-15 season 19-9, 11-5 Conference, Tie 2nd)
New coach Tyler Biwan has to replace 4 starters.  He has forward Nate Chaffee and his 12.7 PPG to man the front line.  No one else averaged more than 5 PPG.  Joe Harvey, TJ Wright and John Myran figure to fill perimeter slots.  Nolan Sullivan should see time in the middle.

Simley Spartans (2014-15 season 19-9, 10-6 Conference, Tie 5th)
Guard Jack Stensgard and his team leading 16.6 PPG returns.  He can play both guard spots.  But the rest of the rotation will need to be replaced.  Andrew Leeder and Blake Scheffkneckt should man forward spots.  Soph Jake Binley should see plenty of time on the wing.  (Czar's Note: I've since been informed Scheffkneckt was a senior, oops)

South St. Paul Packers (2014-15 season 5-22, 1-15 Conference, Tie 8th)
South St. Paul broke a 72 game conference losing streak by winning at Sibley to start the new year.  That win gave them a split for last place.  Now they just have to break that 41 game conference losing streak at home.  4 starters and all but 2 members of the rotation are gone.  Senior forward Zach Taylor returns with 10.8 PPG.  But he may be best known as the uncle of Boo, The Mini Ref.  Guard Nate Totino is the 1 other member of the rotation returning.

Tartan Titans (2014-15 season 21-7, 11-5 Conference, Tie 2nd)
While everyone is trying to figure out how to fill out a lineup, Tartan is loaded.  They return 4 junior starters including their catalyst PG Jordan Horn (17.7 PPG).  Forward Joevon Walker also averaged double figures.  Kingston Myles returns in a defensive wing role along with forward Emanuel Humphrey.  Then as an added bonus star soph Jarvis Thomas will join the lineup.  Add in shooter Noah Wahlen from Ellsworth, WI and depth with DeNario Jackson, Jordan Thompson and Elijah Johnson.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Tartan
2. Mahtomedi
3. North
4. Hill-Murray
5. St. Thomas Academy    
6. Simley 
7. Hastings 
8. Henry Sibley
9. South St. Paul

Conference Overview
Both leagues in the east metro suburbs were ravaged by graduation.  Tartan is loaded but beyond that huge losses across the rest of last year's contending teams.  Mahtomedi has pieces they can plug in.  I'm going to pick North to make a big jump with their experience. Hill-Murray, St. Thomas Academy and Simley all have a couple of pieces to play with.  Sibley has everybody back so they have to go above South St. Paul for the last spot.  I could see Sibley's experience allowing them to battle Hastings for the spot above.

Conference MVP: Jordan Horn - Tartan

Underclassmen to watch:  

• Sawyer Levos - Hastings 
• Rieshaun Satar - Henry Sibley
• Goodnews Kpegeol, Bryce Phillips - North St. Paul  
• Jake Binley - Simley
• Jarvis Thomas - Tartan

Conference Games to Watch

• Mahtomedi at Tartan - Dec 18th
• Tartan at Mahtomedi - Jan 29th

Non-Conference Games to Watch

• Mahtomedi at Chisago Lakes - Nov 24th
• Tartan vs TBD - Dec 12th (Breakdown Tipoff Classic at Minnetonka)
• Centennial at Tartan - Dec 30th (Projected Tartan tourney final)
• Edina at Tartan - Feb 19th

2015-16 Lake Conference Preview

This is the second preview in my 2015-2016 season preview series.  In this preview, a look at the Lake Conference.  For a list of all the season previews and how they are done, click here.

Eden Prairie Eagles (2014-15 season 24-5, 6-2 Lake Conference, Tie 1st)
Despite losing their top 3 scorers, Eden Prairie will rebound from a crushing loss to Hopkins in the section final.  The backcourt is loaded with seniors Brady Rudrud, Ryan Jacobus and Nick Geolat plus junior Owen Chose.  All 4 can knock down 3s and are very interchangeable.  They combined for almost 30 PPG last year and I expect them to do the bulk of the Eagles scoring this year.  The leadership and intangibles of Blake Cashman will be seriously missed.  Jake Ruppert and soph Kyler Kluge provide depth.  Look for Jack Vermedahl to provide size upfront.

Edina Hornets (2014-15 season 18-9, 2-6 Lake Conference, 5th)
Interior presence Max Lynch, wings Ben Boone and John Swanke all need to be replaced.  The high scoring perimeter duo of junior point guard Walt McGrory (17 PPG) and senior sharpshooter Will Moreton (14.2 PPG) returns.  Junior Jimmy Connell returns and soph Anders Nelson will join the rotation.  Size and depth are issues to address.

Hopkins Royals (2014-15 season 23-7, 6-2 Lake Conference, Tie 1st)
Hopkins struggled to find their way after Amir Coffey's injury last year, but once they figured out it, they were very dangerous.  Now Coffey returns to the lineup with a scholarship to Minnesota in hand and fits right into the spot John Warren vacated.  Everyone else returns so expect an even better season this year.  The perimeter play is the deepest in the state with Xavier Johnson, Ishmael El-Amin, Vinnie Shahid and Anthony Davis joining Simon Wright and Coffey.  Erik Davis will see time as a forward.  Its an explosive lineup with many matching parts.  Expect them to be a serious contender for another Gold Ball.

Minnetonka Skippers (2014-15 season 19-8, 3-5 Lake Conference, Tie 3rd)
Chris Carr takes over at the helm of the Skippers program after Tom Dasovich left to become the Watertown-Mayer athletic director.  He has a group that is very well suited to his dribble drive style. PG Amar Miller put up 21 a night and this style should be perfect for him.  It should also help wings Seth Coatta (NDSU recruit) and Cedric Boone who combined for 30 a night last year.  Both will have plenty of chances to knock down 3s or attack the rim.  The Skippers put up 85 a night last year so scoring won't be a problem.  The biggest question is defense.  They gave up 105 to Minneapolis South in an opening round section upset last year.  Size is also a question behind Max Cooper.

Wayzata Trojans (2014-15 season 21-8, 3-5 Lake Conference, Tie 3rd)
Here's one I got completely wrong last year.  The Trojans improved from 8 wins to 21 wins and did it without a single senior.  That means they return no fewer than 10 guys who saw meaningful minutes.  That includes leader Johnny Beeninga (17 PPG, MN-Moorhead recruit), sharpshooters Jack Sowada (14.2 PPG) and junior Ryan Lindberg along with Sioux Falls recruit Austin Slater (11.4 PPG) inside.  They're deep, experienced, and they have players for every position and role.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Hopkins
2. Wayzata
3. Eden Prairie
4. Minnetonka
5. Edina

Conference Overview
There's not a bad team in the league. Edina is no worse than a 500 team.  Minnetonka can outscore anybody on any given night.  The other 3 teams are all top 5 caliber teams.  I take Hopkins as the favorite with Wayzata and Eden Prairie not far behind.  Minnetonka has more coming back than Edina so I'll take the Skippers to stay out of the cellar.  Should be a really fun year to watch as all teams have at least 2 kids that are minimum D2 caliber.  High level play all around.

Conference MVP: Amir Coffey -  Hopkins

Underclassmen to watch:  

• Max Steensland, Kyler Kluge - Eden Prairie
• Anders Nelson- Edina
• Anthony Davis, Joe Hedstrom, Andrew Dahnke - Hopkins 

Conference Games to Watch

• Hopkins at Wayzata - Dec 11th
• Wayzata at Eden Prairie - Jan 8th
• Hopkins at Eden Prairie - Jan 15th
• Wayzata at Hopkins - Jan 29th
• Eden Prairie at Wayzata - Feb 12th
• Eden Prairie at Hopkins - Feb 19th

 Non-Conference Games to Watch

• Robbinsdale Armstrong at Wayzata - Nov 24th
• Wayzata at Lakeville North - Nov 28th
• TBD at Hopkins - Dec 5th (Girls Tipoff Classic)
• All league members vs TBD at Minnetonka - Dec 12th (Boys Tipoff Classic)
• Lakeville North vs Eden Prairie - Dec 22nd
• Hopkins at Champlin Park - Dec 22nd
• Wayzata vs Apple Valley (at St. Cloud Apollo)- Dec 29th (Granite City)
• Wayzata vs Champlin Park (at SCSU) - Dec 30th (Granite City)
• Eden Prairie at Shakopee - Jan 2nd
• De La Salle at Eden Prairie - Jan 5th
• Hopkins at Minneapolis North - Jan 19th
• Eden Prairie vs Cretin-Derham Hall (at UST) - Jan 19th
• Wayzata at Minneapolis North - Jan 25th 
• Minnetonka vs Stevens Point (WI) at Onalaska (WI) - Jan 30th (Border Battle)
• Eden Prairie at Robbinsdale Armstrong - Feb 3rd
• Cretin-Derham Hall at Hopkins - Feb 3rd
• Eden Prairie at Champlin Park - Feb 10th

2015-16 Independent Metro Athletic Conference Preview

This is the first preview in my 2015-2016 season preview series.  We start the 6 week preview series with a look at the Independent Metro Athletic Conference (IMAC).  For a list of all the season previews and how they are done, click here.

Blake Bears (2014-15 season 2-25, 2-8 Conference, 5th)
The Bears fell off hard from 22 wins to 2-25 last season.  Both wins were league wins over Mounds Park Academy.   Sophomore sniper point guard Jack Moe returns after leading the team with 14.8 PPG.  Most of the rest of the rotation graduated.  Charlie Levitt graduates after being one of the other offensive threats.  Expect another long season on top of the hill. 

Breck Mustangs (2014-15 season 20-9, 8-2 Conference, Tie 1st)
Former star PG Marcus Hill takes over the reins of his alma mater after 1 year as an assistant.  He has a ton to replace.  Guards Will Culliton and Mo Lawal with forward Henry Cousineau combined for over 51 PPG.  Those 3 plus athletic wing Kwaku Bodom all graduated.  6'8" Senior Justin Bergerson returns in the middle.  Senior Miles Olowu provides front court depth.  Junior Garrett Opperman should have a much expanded role.

Minnehaha Academy Redhawks (2014-15 season 19-9, 8-2 Conference, Tie 1st)
Coach Lance Johnson returns his top 3 scorers.  Sophomore forward JaVonni Bickham averaged almost a double-double with 17.5 PPG and 9.7 RPG per game last year.  8th grader Jalen Suggs saw limited time due to injury but was still the 2nd scorer at 11 per night.  Plenty of guard depth returns with 10.9 PPG from Jake Richardson.  Toughness and defense from Benny Larry along with 7.1 PPG also return.  Reserve bigs behind Bickham are a question mark.

Mounds Park Academy Panthers (2014-15 season 6-19, 0-10 Conference, 6th)
Dan Haase returns to the boys head coach seat after spending 3 years leading the Panthers girls program and a year off.  He previously led the program from 1999-2011.  The Panthers have currently lost 79 straight conference games since Feb 1, 2008.  Everybody returns so that means another year of junior Brendan Connolly (11.8 PPG) and senior Cole Montour (7.4 PPG) leading the way.

Providence Academy Lions (2014-15 season 16-12, 4-6 Conference, 4th)
The top 2 scorers, wing Matt Richelsen and PG Dominic Miller return for the Lions.   Bruising football prospect Gavin Blomberg will anchor the front line.  He'll replace Sebastian Brown up front.  Drew Lahr provides experience up front.  The bench will need to be more productive.

St. Paul Academy Spartans (2014-15 season 19-10, 8-2 Conference, Tie 1st)
The Spartans won the obscure points allowed tiebreaker to win the conference title.  Seniors Dalante Peyton and Kent Hanson return as a potent 1-2 punch averaging almost 34 points a game.  Role playing guards Ryan Peacock, Emerson Egly  and Angel Smaller also return.  They will need to find replacements for the size of Abdul Osman (9 and 6 last year) and Sam Suzuki.  The defensive stopper role of Dean Isaacson took some burden off of Peyton last year, but won't be there this year.  Head coach Kevin McKenzie left to take the Roseville head job.  Macalester assistant Isaiah Walfred takes over the program.  He was previously a head coach at North St. Paul.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Minnehaha
2. St. Paul Academy
3. Providence
4. Breck
5. Blake
6. Mounds Park Academy

Conference Overview
The league splits into 3 clear tiers.  Minnehaha and SPA should battle for the conference title.  Providence looks to have the inside track for 3rd with Breck maybe jumping in there.  Blake and Mounds Park Academy are a notch below the 2nd tier and will battle each other to stay out of the cellar.

Conference MVP: Dalante Peyton - St. Paul Academy

Underclassmen to watch:  

• Jack Moe - Blake
• Riley Burger- Breck
• JoVanni Bickham, Jalen Suggs - Minnehaha
• Nick Flottmeier, Braeden Mischke - Providence 

Conference Games to Watch

• St. Paul Academy at Minnehaha - Jan 19th
• Minnehaha at St. Paul Academy - Feb 5th

 Non-Conference Games to Watch

• Minnehaha at St. Croix Lutheran - Dec 1st
• St. Paul Academy at Cristo Rey - Dec 5th
• St. Croix Lutheran at St. Paul Academy - Dec 10th
• Minnehaha in Breakdown Tipoff Classic at Minnetonka - Dec 12th
• St. Paul Academy vs Minneapolis Henry (at Hamline) - Dec 22nd
• Minnehaha at Minneapolis North - Jan 16th

Welcome to Czar Season 9

Its Labor Day weekend and that means its time to turn the page to the 2015-2016 season.  All of the 2014-15 pages can be found on the Previous Seasons archive page.  That has all the player signings, previews and pools from the previous seasons I've covered.

As to 2015-16, this is season number 9 online and I've passed the 1000 total games watched mark.  All of the pages you're used to seeing are back.  The notable leagues and camps of the 2015 fall season are on the Fall Ball page.  I'll be doing my usual 6 week long season preview series where I look at all of the metro area conferences and sections.  Team previews will be done in the 13 working days leading up to MEA.  After the MEA break, we'll take you right up until the start of practice with section previews and a wrap of games and events to see.  The full schedule for when those previews will be posted is on the Season Previews page.  With a handful of players from the class of 2016 already making their college choices, the Signings page has been flipped over to 2016 as well.  I also have a start on the local holiday tournament schedule on the Holiday Tourneys page.  I'll update that page as we approach the holidays with the actual schedules.

This year also marks a new set of section assignments and classifications.  As part of a 6 year cycle, not only were teams moved around based on class, the MSHSL did a full review of every team's section location across all sports.  That meant some rather major changes.  You can find all of those on the updated Section Maps and Section Assignment links.

The Rankings page has been updated with all of the latest national rankings from the end of the 2015 AAU season.  Players from the top 150 from the 4 major ranking services (Rivals, Scout, ESPN and 247Sports) are included.  For those of you who are Northstar Hoops Report subscribers, it also includes links for the Minnesota rankings in 2016-2018 as well as the 2019 watch list for incoming freshmen.  For you recruiting diehards, the fall recruiting period opens this week.  Links to the D1 and D2 recruiting calendars have been updated in the Recruiting Links menu.

While we're in the spirit of changes, here's a link to the NFHS rules changes for this season.  Biggest one is hand-checking which is going to be very interesting how consistently this is called over the course of the season.

Vegas Review 2015

The Czar's annual trip to Las Vegas for the July recruiting period has completed.  5 years of Vegas now in the books.  Here are some of the sights and sounds of my trip.

The Games
Probably the biggest theme for me for the trip was all of the point guard play.  Here's a list of no fewer than 10 high profile PGs I saw and its not necessarily all inclusive.  Lonzo Ball, Dennis Smith, Frank Jackson, Jaylen Fisher, Eric Hester, Kobi Simmons, Payton Pritchard, Jaquori McLaughlin, Trevon Duval (2017), Alex Barcello (2017), Jordan McCabe (2018).  McLaughin and Pritchard had Wisconsin following them and as a Badger fan I'd be very happy if Bucky got either one.  My 1st game featured Ball vs Smith.  Ball is a bigger Tyus Jones type (terrific passer).  His mom and pop team (literally his parents coaching his team with him and his 2 brothers playing with many of his high school teammates) played an old Loyola Marymount style with his youngest brother playing the Jeff Fryer role.  The entire team had the "if it feels like leather" green light.  Entertaining but not the greatest basketball and Ball's team ended up getting blown out.  Friday featured a bunch of fun close games in the Fab 48 in their top division.  Main player highlight there was Thon Maker in the 1st game of the day but also saw the Colorado Chaos cause major chaos with 2 late 3s before giving up a buzzer beater to Team Thad. 

As to Minnesota teams, a great showing.  12 teams in the Las Vegas Classic were a combined 39-23, 11 teams in the Fab 48 were 41-20.  D1s 3 teams in the Adidas Summer Championships were 14-4.  That's 94-47 (or 2 out of every 3) overall.  The D1 15s won their 15U bracket.  WOTN Nicols made the championship of the Gold Bracket at the Fab 48 but needed to make their flight.  That meant Select Altenhofen would finish 8-0 and win that title.  Fury Johnson 15s lost in the 2nd bracket championship in Bigfoot.  MN Warriors went 5-1 and lost by 1 in the quarters to the eventual champ of their bracket.  D1 16s lost in the quarters to the eventual runner up.   Big story line locally was Minnesota Fury Wilde taking out EYBL rep Meanstreets easily in the 1st round of championship bracket.  They saw a double digit lead cut to 3 before pulling away.   Heat Northwest, Heat Vang, Select Ohnstad, Select Altenhofen, Fury Johnson, Fury Wilde, D1 16s, D1 15s, MN Warrors, MN Lockdown 15s all won their pools.  Fury Zurn had a great late night matchup against Mac Irvin Fire that they couldn't finish late otherwise that would have been a signature win and pool title as well.  In the D1 16s bracket loss to Utah Prospects, Goanar Mar put on one of the best games I've seen him play as he tried to bring D1 back from double digits down but they ended up getting no closer than 2.  Other local players that played well when I saw them include (in no particular order) David Lindstrand, Austin Slater, Race Thompson, Zach Theisen, Charlie Irmiger, Matthew Hurt, Steffon Mitchell.  Over half of the NSIC was out in Vegas following the local kids too which is as many of those schools as I can recall seeing out there in my time.

The Grub and the Goons
Quality food at all the sites provided to the college coaches.  That's also good for the pocket book.  Quality chicken at Adidas.  Amazing cinnamon roll flavored mini cupcakes at the Fab 48.  The neighboring Irish Pub is always good for lunch on Wednesday before heading out to a week full of games.  As always, plenty of Pepsi consumed too.  The more I see of Vegas, the more shady it is.  Plenty of scary creatures on the streets (insert your own joke about me here) which make even me pay attention.  Did get a chance to saunter through The Fremont Street Experience on the way back to the airport on Saturday.   Think massive full time block party.  I do need to find time to do the zip line over the street sometime.

The Gambling
Always have to make time to hit the tables in Vegas.  After last year's huge losses, a basketball saying came to mind.  There comes a time when summer asks what you did all winter.  Czar put in his fair share of off-season work to make sure that disaster didn't happen again.  Night 1 wasn't anything special but I did walk away with fair gains.  Night 2 it all came thru as I made a big run.  Night 3 was the casino's night as they got all their losses back.  I tried to weather the storm figuring the bad stretch would pass but just never got thru it.  I entered Night 4 dead even and stepped up to higher stakes tables but with less decks so that changes the odds I had prepped with.  After a very rough start, I made the critical decision to switch tables (something I didn't do on night 3) and got back above water for a very tidy profit.  So Czar leaves victorious for the 2nd time in 3 years, always a good feeling.  But especially nice knowing the preparation paid off, literally and figuratively.  2 major differences in my play this year that helped.  Playing possible busts vs dealer non bust cards (e.g hit 16 vs a dealer 17) and soft hands (like double soft 15 vs a 6).  For those wondering, it was not my hot play that caused the Cosmopolitan to burst into flames on Saturday.  Just remember folks as we always say in honor of De La Salle coach Dave Thorson, #GrindersWinGamblersLose

Hit the road 2015

The 4th of July holiday is over and that means its time for our local grassroots teams to hit the road for most of the next 3 weeks.  The 1st period is always a very Midwest feel as teams mostly stay close to home.

Here's the list for the 1st open period starting on Wednesday.  Interesting that Heat Vang gets super pooled in Indy for the 2nd straight year.  They also have a strange split in the schedule where they will play Wednesday night, twice on Thursday and after their 6 PM game on Thursday, will not play again until Saturday morning.  The 1st 12 17U pools in Milwaukee have a Minnesota representative.  Iowa has many local 2nd teams.  Chicago also well represented with Minnesota teams.

Adidas Invitational (Indianapolis)
17s
MN Heat Vang (Super Pool, 5 of those pools)
MN Heat NW
MN Heat Schwarz
MN Heat Schumann

16s
MN Heat Nord
MN Magic Vatsaas

15s
MN Heat Reese

NY2LA Next Level Invitational (Milwaukee)
17s
tMBA
MN Comets Lewis
MN Comets Servaty
MN Phenom
MN Select Altenhofen
MN Select Ellis
MN Select Ohnstad
Net Gain Sports (see below)
Real Athletics - Jay
SW MN Stars
WOTN Nicols
WOTN Swedberg

16s
MN Heat Bui
MN Warriors
tMBA
MN Comets Stumpf
MN Flames
MN Phenom
MN Suns
SW MN Stars
WOTN Herber
WOTN Ewing

15s
Crossfire Swanson
MN Select
tMBA
MN Comets Schmidt
MN Comets North
SW MN Stars

Chicago Summer Jam (Fri-Sun)
17s
Howard Pulley

16s
Howard Pulley
MN Lockdown
MN PREP

15s
Howard Pulley (both)
MN Attack the Paint
MN Lockdown


Midwest Summer Slam (Ames, IA) (Fri-Sun)
17s
MN Select Moore
MN Swish
MN Fury Jordan

16s
MN Fury Jaryan
MN Comets DLR
MN Comets Kirchner
MN Select

15s
D1 Minnesota 2018 Prospects
MN Rise
MN Fury Davis
MN Fury Slick
MN Bulldogs

Also a handful of other Heat teams competing in this event as well.

Mullen's High Profile Tourney (St. Louis, Fri-Sun)

• MN Fury Johnson 15s
• MN Fury Zurn 16s
• MN Fury Wilde 17s

This has a very Sanford league feel with the Omaha Crusaders and Dakota Schoolers also there

OTHERS

• D1 Minnesota 16s and 17s will be at the Adidas Uprising finals in Atlanta.  The 17s are in the Silver bracket.  Those games are Wednesday through Friday.
• D1 Minnesota top 15s will be at Double Pump Summer Tip-Off in Los Angeles.
• Reed Nikko and Ishmael El-Amin of Net Gain Sports are listed on the rosters for the Rivals/Under Armour camp in Charlotte, NC.  They could be back with Net Gain in Milwaukee for weekend bracket play.
• Steffon Mitchell and Nate Reuvers will be representing Fury at the Hoop Group Elite Camp outside Philadelphia
• Crossfire has a 16U team in the Chicago Summer Challenge (different event than Chicago Summer Jam)

An Open Letter From a Referee

The following open letter was sent to me by an official.  I think it encapsulates much of the perspective that is often missing in today's game.  That's especially true at the grassroots level.  Considering recent events, including the 1 year suspensions of dance coaches at 4 schools for their 2015 state dance tournament conduct, it is also timely.  With permission, I'm publishing it here unedited.

An Open Letter to Club Directors, Coaches, Parents, and Referees from a Referee

This weekend, I was involved in a tournament where a referee was called a b***** and shoved by a coach who was upset with a call.  What’s frightening is this type of behavior continues to become more common.  I referee basketball because I think it’s the greatest game in the world and I am writing this letter out of my concern for the game I love. 

Club Directors – Your love for the game of basketball and the kids involved is unparalleled.  Your investment has paid dividends and made Minnesota a basketball hotbed over the past few years.  Protect your investment.  Start holding out of control parents and coaches responsible for their actions.  Stop asking the referees working for you to have thicker skin and start supporting them.  The parents who are thrown out of games are the same ones who complain to you about the team their kid was placed on. The coaches who are ejected are the same ones who give summer basketball a bad name.  You need to start holding parents and coaches accountable for their actions.  When a coach who makes malicious contact with a referee is knowingly allowed to coach in one of your events again you have failed the game, your athletes, and yourself.  

Coaches – I have a special admiration for what you do; my dad coached for 30+ years at a small school in Northern Minnesota.  I grew up watching my dad make countless sacrifices and invest many hours in the student athletes he coached on and off the court.  I know the majority of you are the same way, you live for the kids you coach.  Don’t ever forget that many of these kids live for you too.  They look up to you and will emulate what you do on and off the floor.  You have the ultimate responsibility of being good role model.  A great man who coached me had one rule for his teams – the Golden Rule.  If your biggest concern is winning the consolation bracket of the Club State Tournament, it’s time to reevaluate your approach.  Start with the Golden Rule. 

Parents – There’s no guarantee that your child will receive a scholarship or even want to play college basketball.  Enjoy the moment!  You’re lucky your child is able to participate in the greatest game in the world.  Cheer for them and forget about the officiating.  Many of the people working your child’s games are new to officiating.  $25 per game isn’t enough to get many of the top tier referees in the state to work.  New referees will make mistakes (a lot of mistakes).  If you continue to berate these new referees, the pool of referees will shrink and the officiating will get worse.  Also, if you think you can do a better job quit screaming and start officiating – the game needs more referees.

Referees – Put the game 1st, your partners 2nd, and yourself 3rd.  I’m going to hit you with a mind dump here…  Do the right thing, even if it’s the hard thing to do.  You can’t referee alone and you can’t referee forever – be a good partner and do whatever you can to help others be successful.  A mentor of mine used to say at referee camps “You only get to keep, what you give away.”  The game and your partners always comes before money and assignments.  Last thing, a veteran referee I know well, always says “You can’t be a good referee, if you’re not a good person.” 

The one thing we all have in common is our love for the game.  AAU Directors start supporting your referees.  Coaches remember you are a role model.  Parents enjoy the moment and stop worrying about the officiating (unless you are actually interested in becoming a referee).  Referees put the game 1st, your partners 2nd and yourself 3rd.  If we don’t all take some responsibility, we’ll lose the game we love as we know it.

2015 EYBL Session 4 Howard Pulley Preview

Memorial Day weekend is always a great weekend for local hoops with the EYBL circuit making its annual appearance.  As always its the 4th and final event of the spring on the EYBL circuit.  About 100 players that are ranked in the current 2016 or 2017 Rivals rankings are expected to be in attendance.  The last session saw 3 top 100 ringers from the Adidas Uprising circuit show up too.  This year the games move to the great Maple Grove Community Gyms facility.  8 sessions on Saturday and Sunday.  Then the EYBL regular season completes with 4 sessions early Monday.  So every team gets in 5 final games as they try to make a run to the top event in July, The Peach Jam.

Lots could be said here about all the different teams and players.  I'll limit my comments mostly to Howard Pulley and their 5 opponents.  

The Situation
Howard Pulley is currently 5-7 and tied with CIA Bounce for 7th in Division D.  Teams that finish in the top 5 in their division automatically qualify for The Peach Jam plus 4 wildcards.  3 teams in Division A are 7-5 and tied for 5th so I'd expect the 2 that don't make the top 5 to take 2 of the 4 wildcard spots.  Then there are 3 teams not in at 6-6 but only 2 spots for those teams.  2 others are 6-6 and win head-head tiebreakers for the 5th spot.  So its a steep climb for Pulley to get in.  The schedule doesn't do the Panthers any favors either as they'll play the top 4 teams in their division plus CIA Bounce.  In order to make The Peach Jam, Howard Pulley must win at least 3 games and most likely 4 out of 5.  In terms of tiebreakers, Pulley won head-head over Alabama Challenge and lost in the last game in Houston to NJ Playaz.  Those are the 2 teams directly in front of them.  Playaz also beat the Challenge.  So if you're Pulley you're hoping for 3 way tie or likely looking at a 2 game margin.

For Howard Pulley, its been the Gary Trent show.  He leads the EYBL in scoring at 23.9 PPG.  That included outbursts of 43 and 33 points in the last session in Houston 2 weeks ago.  The main issue for the Panthers has been finding him some help.  Nobody else averages more than 5.9 PPG.  That number comes from Amar Miller who gets that from his quickness that allows him to get into the lane.  But being undersized in the freakishly athletic EYBL takes away many of his interior chances.  Also keep an eye on the rebounding margin for Pulley as it was a problem in Houston.  They'll need to keep that close.


Game 1, 12:30 PM Saturday, Court 3 vs Team Takeover (9-3 Tied 1st Division D)
The brutal schedule starts with 1 of the 3 teams tied for 1st, this one from DC.  Wing VJ King is the leading scorer and rebounder at 15.3 PPG/5.7 RPG.  He's ranked #11 in the country.  2017 stud DJ Harvey is ranked #13 in the country.  He has Georgetown, Maryland, Louisville and Texas offers.  He's 2nd in both categories at 14 PPG/5 RPG.  6'9" forward Corey Manigault (#121) is committed to Pittsburg.  6'9" Mamadi Daikite is ranked #37 and holds an offer from Virginia.  Guard Aaron Thompson is ranked #69 and holds a Penn State offer.  The King vs Trent mano a mano battle is definitely one to watch.

Game 2, 9:30 PM Saturday, Court 3 vs Albany City Rocks (8-4 4th Division D)
Albany City Rocks is led by the guard tandem of 6'5" Kevin Huerter (#101 ranking) and 6'3" Howard Washington (#83 ranking).  Huerter has offers from Iowa, Notre Dame and Maryland just to name a few.    He leads the team in scoring at 12.3 PPG and assists at 3 APG.  Washington has offers from Ohio State and Boston College.  He averages 9.5 PPG and 2.7 APG.  On the front line, Anthony Lamb has a bunch of low D1 offers.  The 6'6" forward averages 11.6 PPG and is 7th in the EYBL with 8.4 rebounds per game.

Game 3, 2:00 PM Sunday, Court 5 vs E1T1 (9-3 Tied 1st Division D)
Guard Maverick Rowan leads the team at 18.4 PPG.  He's ranked #42 in the country and was once a commit to Pittsburgh.  6'9" forward Jonathan Isaac is ranked #45 and has interest from most of the SEC.  Ditto that for 6'10" center Tony Bradley (#35).  Bradley averages 12.6 PPG and 8.7 RPG.  Isaac averages 14.9 PPG and 5.6 RPG.  Guard Jordan Harris is ranked #92 and is committed to Georgia.  Point Guard Lamonte Turner averages 10.8 PPG and 4.9 APG and is committed to Tennessee.  He may have reclassified from 2016 to 2015 so we may not see him this weekend.

Game 4, 9:30 PM Sunday, Court 1 vs Georgia Stars (9-3 Tied 1st Division D)
Just when you thought the front line studs were too much, the Stars pull out a ridiculous front line.  Forward Udoka Azubuike is ranked #13 with Kansas and Georgetown on his list of offers.  6'10" Abdulhakim Ado is ranked #25.  Then you have 2017 F Wendall Carter ranked #8.  He averages 10.6 with 7.5 rbs.   Add in #82 Trent Forrest on the wing with a team high 13.9 PPG and Jared Harper at 13.8 for guard support.  They'll attend Florida State and Auburn respectively.  Too much size here for Pulley to deal with.

Game 5, 12:30 PM Monday, Court 3 vs CIA Bounce (5-7 Tied 7th Division D)
In theory, this could be a Peach Jam play in game for either team or both in the very last session of the regular season.  That would be drama.  The last weekend and day is always interesting because some teams may have spots locked up or have nothing to play for so you never know what you'll get.  Guard Koby McEwen is ranked #102 and has offers from Baylor and Ole Miss.  His 13.4 PPG is the only double figure scoring average for CIA Bounce.  Fellow wing Brandon Cyrus is ranked #110 and has offers from Boston College and San Diego State.  Forward Eddie Ekiyor is ranked #88.  His offer list includes Oregon, Miami and Virginia Tech.  He averages 9.7 PPG and 7.7 RPG.  Point Guard Nelson Kaputo is committed to St. Bonaventure. 

2015 Comets Shootout Thoughts

The Comets Shootout is always one of the most entertaining events of the season.  Its also hectic with the teams playing the games in a 2 day span.  Especially so for the 17U kids who take the ACT Saturday morning and then play up to 5 games in 24 hours after that.  Here are some of the sights and sounds from the weekend.

Saturday
The setup for the tourney was a scheduled play-in game to make the 1st game of the 16 team championship bracket on Saturday night.  That meant most of the day was mismatches.  In the 16U play-in games, Bomb Squad (IA) took out Heat Bui and Select Olafeso took out Fury Jaryan in a pair of upsets. Most notable game of the round of 16 was Lockdown taking on Fury Zurn.  Fury looked to have the game put away but Trae Berhow and Lockdown would make a late rally before just falling short 67-62.

Then it was on to 17U play-in games and a major upset here.  Select Ellis took out Real Athletics Jay 83-78.  Layup drill for the Select guys and Real Athletics didn't shoot the lights out like they're capable of.  In the round of 16, Select Ohnstad took out WOTN Nicols 53-42 in a battle.  Select Altenhofen also with a hard fought 73-67 win over Comets Servaty.  ECI Prospect knocked out Phenom.  Heat NW knocked out Select Ellis and Fury Wilde took out Heat Wayzata.  Heat Wayzata with Johnny Beeninga for the weekend and former Badger Jon Bryant coaching them up on the bench.

Sunday
Its all about donuts thanks to former Comets guard Christian Pekarek. And not mini-donuts either, I have a waistline to maintain.  More than enough to feed me from these full size donuts.  Magic and Comets would move on in the top half of the 16U bracket.  In the 17U quarters, WI Heat shot the lights out and had an 11 point lead late vs Comets Lewis.  But Jordan Bolton was able to get to the rim in the comeback and a late 4 point play from Bryce Irsfeld allowed the Comets to steal one 68-65.  Steal one they did, I have to show some love for the Wisconsin guys playing well this weekend.  They reminded me of some of the old Minnesota Warriors squads.  Heat Vang would take out Select Ohnstad 61-50 behind a clutch shooting 2nd half from Ryan Jacobus.

In the bottom half of the 17U bracket, Select Altenhofen by 10 over ECI Prospects.  Fury Wilde struggled with the trapping of Heat NW in the 1st half but handled it in the 2nd half.  Heat NW would see their offense leave them for the 1st 9 minutes of the 2nd half.  Fury Wilde would pull away for a surprisingly easy 67-43 win.

In the 16U semis, the Magic would take out the hosts Comets 61-50.  Fury Zurn took out Heat Nord 61-47.  Then off to the 17U semis.  Comets Lewis broke open a close one in the 2nd half to defeat Heat Vang 68-46.  The other semi was a Fury Wilde vs Select Altenhofen rematch from last week.  That was Select's only Sanford league loss last week in a 63-60 fistfight.  This one didn't disappoint either.  Right down to the end in this one too and Fury holds off Select 64-58.  Fury would try to run away and Select would make a comeback.  Great game.

Then we get tandem championship games in 15U and 16U.  15U game was a back and forth battle between Future Stars and Comets North.  Things got a little ugly with a scoring controversy in the 2nd half but that dust settled and the Future Stars would hang on for a 48-43 win after trailing by 6 at the half.  In the 16U title game, Magic would control the 1st half and take a 7 point lead to halftime.  Fury would come out on a 12-1 run to get the lead but never fully put the game away.  Fury would break a tie in the last minute and win 57-53.

Then its the 17U championship game.  This championship game may be the latest one we have on the circuit but it never seems to disappoint and this one didn't either.  Fury would jump out to a quick 11-2 lead but the Comets would battle back to tie.  Dalante Peyton with a 3 at the buzzer to send Fury to halftime up 36-33.  The Comets would look to put the game away but Fury with a Furious (sorry, had to go there) rally in the last minute.  Fury missed 3, Comets 2 free throws to go up 5.  Peyton another 3, Comets layup, Sean Ryan for 3 and the lead is 1.  Jordan Bolton makes 2 free throws to put the Comets back up by 3.  Comets intentionally foul Peyton as they don't want to give up a 3.  He makes the first, intentionally misses the 2nd and Ryan crashes in from the left slot, grabs the miss and hits a left baseline fadeaway at the buzzer to force overtime.  WOW! 

In the overtime, its a 1 point game late when Steffon Mitchell gets blocked and Ethan Novacinski scoops on the other end to put the Comets up 1 with 12.7 left.  Fury takes a timeout, Mitchell gets double-teamed.  Jubie Alade stripped as time runs out and the Comets win a thriller 79-78 in overtime. 

Notable Players
Odell Wilson - Future Stars 15U (Mpls North)
Jenson Beachy - Comets North 15U (Perham)
Mitchell Plombon - Comets North 15U (Perham)
Mykal Howard - Magic Vatsaas 16U (St. Louis Park)
Brian Sitzmann - Magic Vatsaas 16U (Prior Lake)
Kade Hart - Magic Vatsaas 16U (Fairbault)
Trae Berhow - Lockdown 16U (Watertown-Mayer)
Myles Hanson - Fury Zurn 16U (Chaska)
Owen Chose - Fury Zurn 16U (Eden Prairie)
Dalante Peyton - Fury Wilde 17U (St. Paul Academy)
Austin Slater - Fury Wilde 17U (Wayzata)
Sam Sustacek - Select Ohnstad 17U (Orono)
Jordan Bolton - Comets Lewis 17U (Apple Valley)
Kobe Boraas - Comets Lewis 17U (Sauk Rapids)

2015 Comets Shootout Predictions

Its time once again for the Comets Shootout, one of the great events of our local grassroots season.  No shoe company teams showing up except for the Net Gain 15s so the field is very wide open.  A shame that we don't get a chance to see D1 and Net Gain as we have in past years.  Its also a much bigger field than we've had.  There are 48 teams each in 17U and 16U divisions and 44 in 15U.  The tourney format is an opening round game to play into the 16 team Platinum championship bracket.  For the teams in the last handful of opening round games, sorry, no soup for you.  Say hello to the Gold bracket.   So with that in mind, many of the opening round games are mismatches so I'm going to skip ahead to my thoughts on bracket play.

15U Predictions
3 possible round of 16 games here stick out to me.  Let's start with apologies to 3 of my players from last year as I can't pick them in their opener vs Comets North.  My team was 0-2 vs Comets teams at the Comets last year, can't go against that here.  Comets North is a very nice team but they'll get a stiff challenge from the MN Eagles.  They are a group of Apple Valley kids who had great success this year.  Also in the bottom half, Fury Johnson looks like they take on Comets Little who had a great season last year.   Then the sleeper game and that's the Comets top group against Crossfire Swanson.  The Crossfire group was largely together with the Heat last year and have some extra pieces to go with it.  The Comets complete the sweep but the game looks to not be a pushover.

Comets Schmidt takes out Select Hermer in a Sanford League game in the quarters.  Future Stars vs Lockdown and Fury Johnson vs Net Gain should be high quality quarterfinal games.  Comets North is my pick to move thru the last quarter with North Hoops being a major sleeper here if its Minneapolis North kids.  Future Stars vs Comets Schmidt in 1 semifinal and Fury Johnson vs Comets North in the other.  Fury Johnson and Comets Schmidt move on to the final with Fury Johnson winning a grudge match.  Love the matchup of point guards in that game.

15U Players to watch:
Matt Todd - Fury Johnson
Jarvis Thomas - Lockdown
Cam Jackson - Comets Schmidt
Odell Wilson - Future Stars (or North Hoops?)

16U Predictions
Comets again get no favors for their top team as I see them drawing Real Athletics Robinson in the round of 16.  But I think the Comets are too deep and move on.  ECI Prospects move on over WOTN Ewing.  Heat Bui and Magic Vatsaas play a tight game with Heat barely moving on.  I'll take Fury Jaryan to advance over Heat Gardner to conclude the top half.  Heat Nord thru against the MN Swish.  Playmakers Streege move on as well.  Comets DLR gets the home court edge over WOTN Herber.  Then a dynamite game at the bottom with Lockdown and Fury Zurn.  Fury moves on in a stiff opening round test.

Comets Stumpf advances over ECI, Heat Bui moves on over Fury Jaryan.  Fury Zurn also advances over the Comets.  Heat Nord advances over the Playmakers.  No Heat vs Heat final as the Comets and Fury knock them out.  So again its a Comets vs Fury top team showdown for the title and again I'll take the Fury.

16U Players to watch:
Dedoch Chan, Myles Hanson, Owen Chose - Fury Zurn
Siman Sem - ECI Prospects
Trae Berhow, Mar Mar Hughes- Lockdown
Derek Thompson, Dillon Haider - Comets Stumpf
Kade Hart - Magic Vatsaas
Isaac Johnson - Real Athletics Robinson

17U Predictions
Long story short, don't leave before the late games.  The best 2 games here are in the 10 PM slot Saturday night.  Fury Wilde rums into Heat McKee (all Wayzata kids) and Heat Northwest has a war with Real Athletics Jay.  Heat Northwest big but if they can add Xavier Johnson this week, that would be huge to go against the guard strength of Real Athletics.  I'll take Real Athletics with their shooting.  Also in the bottom half, I'll take ECI Prospects over WI Playmakers Boll.  Select Altenhofen continues their nice run with a win over Comets Servaty.   In the top half, Comets Lewis over Fury Jordan.  Heat Schumann moves on over Red River Heat.  Select Ohnstad def WOTN Nicols and Heat Vang knocks off the MN Swish.

Comets Lewis no problem moving on to the semis over Heat Schumann.  Select Ohnstad knocks off Heat Vang in a tight one.  Select Altenhofen moves on over ECI.  Fury Wilde with another stiff test knocking out Real Athletics Jay.  They win a rematch with Select Altenhofen in the semis.  Select Ohnstad won a title last week and I'll take them to knock off the hosts in the semis.  Fury Wilde completes the Fury sweep with a win over Select Ohnstad in the final.

17U Players to watch:
Steffon Mitchell, Dalante Peyton - Fury Wilde
Seth Coatta, Chris Olson, Cedric Boone - Real Athletics Jay
Isaiah Wade, Lucas Walford - Heat Northwest
Ryan Lindberg,  Jack Sowada - Heat McKee
Brady Kuchinka - WOTN Nicols
Charlie Irmiger, Carter Brooks, Jack Stensgard - Select Ohnstad
Sam Baker, Nick Dufault - Select Altenhofen
Cole Dahl, Bryce Irsfeld, Ethan Novacinski - Comets Lewis
Samm Jones, Quenton Siebenahler - Heat Vang

Small School Delight

Prologue
To Macalester for the 4A and 4AA championships.  Jammed packed house at the Leonard Center for both games.  The always fun 500 ml bottle of Coke is the drink that closes out the official tally for the beverage counter (hard to track cups at state).  Boo the Toddler Ref is in the house for the late game.

Number of Teams I've Seen: 159 (70 courts)

Beverage Consumption Counter: 1658.7 ounces (107 days, 144 games, 2 scrimmages added on)

• Pepsi: 844 ounces
• Coke: 208.9 ounces
• Dr. Pepper: 48 ounces
• Sprite: 200 ounces
• Sierra Mist: 12 ounces
• Barq's Root Beer: 20 ounces
• A&W Root Beer: 72 ounces
• Red Powerade: 120 ounces
• 0 Calorie Fruit Punch Powerade: 20 ounces
• Red Gatorade: 96.9 ounces
• Water: 500 ml

Hot Dog Counter: 22

Song of the Day: Fleetwood Mac - Seven Wonders

4A Championship (#3 Maranatha vs #2 Minneapolis North):
Cam Monson with a layup to start and a Jeremiah Hanson drive for 2 free throws.  4-0 MCA at 15:57 as the North offense can't get going.  JaQuan Sanders-Smith off the North bench with the nice give and go via Odell Wilson in the post and another layup.  Timeout North at 13:27 down 10-9.  Its Sanders-Smith again, this time its a 3 point play to give North their 1st lead.  He adds bonus free throws and Wilson with a jumper as the frosh continues to produce.  21-18 Polars at the 8 minute mark.  Hanson heating up as he buries back to back 3s as the North offense is really ragged.  He then outmuscles a Polar for a rebound and gets fouled.  Then a North attempt to save a loose ball goes haywire and Hanson turns that into a 3 point play.  4 straight turnovers, outworked on that rebound and they give up an offensive rebound of a free throw.  That's an ugly sequence for North.  31-26 MCA at 2:22 after that.  Isaac Johnson with a tough stepback, a 3 point play and running out for 2 more.  Monson with 3 of 4 free throws during that stretch.  Hanson with a technical free throw after the 2nd North delay of game call and he scores the last bucket of the half.  38-35 Maranatha at the half.  Hanson with 21.  Isaac Johnson with 10.

Jamil Jackson had a rough first half but got off to a quick 2nd half start with a hoop and a putback as the Polars score the 1st 6 of the second half.  Isaac Johnson to the left hand for 2 and Tyler Johnson for 3 to end the Polars 11-2 run.  46-40 North at 13:20.  Jackson sits with his 4th foul a minute later.  Monson with a free throw off a turnover, Hanson saves a miss for a Jake Meyen free throw and then Hanson scores.  49-48 North inside 10 to play.  Then the chess match begins.  MCA with a little momentum and in a 1-1-3 zone.  North looks a bit confused but they'll go 4 corners 2-1-2 and hold it.  Then a strange North timeout with 7:31.  MCA stays zone and North will hold for another 50 seconds.  But for some reason North decides to play at 6:40 and Sanders-Smith makes 1 of 2 free throws at 6:32.  MCA takes time and they'll come out man after they miss.  North misses and Hanson scores to tie it.  Jackson comes back in with 5:37 left.  Bad North miss and Damario Armstrong makes 2 free throws with 4:43 left for a 52-50 MCA lead.  They'll go back to the zone.  Tyler Johnson converts a turnover to tie it as its as 2 minute stretch of bad shots and turnovers both ways.  Hanson makes bonus free throws with 2:07 left, Sanders-Smith scoops for 2 but Jake Meyen scores the other way.  56-54 MCA 1:48 left.  Another bad shot and Armstrong makes an ill advised double clutch bank.  58-54 MCA 1:20 left.  Jackson makes 2 free throws and Maranatha helps the Polars by jacking a crazy shot.  Tyler Johnson to the rim for a monster dunk attempt over Hanson that almost went in.  He makes 1 free throw to cut the MCA lead to 1.  Hanson makes 1 of 2 free throws after the last MCA timeout.  North misses and MCA appears to get whacked but its an overrule to a jump ball with 30.3 left and it goes to MCA.  MCA travels with 20 seconds left, Jamil Jackson tips in a miss and North takes a timeout to set their defense with 9.4 left.  MCA gets in the inbounds and darn near turns it over.  But 1 outlet later they're on the break and its Monson under the rim.  Pump once and its a layup for the game winner with 2 seconds left but it doesn't go down, oh my goodness.  59 all and we'll play overtime.

In overtime, Jackson a tip in to put North up 1.  Armstrong off the bounce, Sanders-Smith with a floater.  Armstrong to Monson for a layup.  64-63 MCA with 2:15 left in OT.  Hanson up and under but its a walk with 1:30 left.  Tyler Johnson puts back a miss and Hanson misses with 1 minute left.  North bails out MCA with a quick miss.  Monson makes 1 free throw and MCA gets the miss back for Hanson to score .  Sanders-Smith fouled and makes 2 with 33.1 left and we're tied at 67.  Maranatha takes their last timeout to setup the final possession . Its Armstrong off the bounce and he makes the floater with 14 seconds left.  North out of timeouts and here they come.  The push up the right wing and Jackson has an open right side look that's no good with 5 seconds left.  MCA grabs the rebound and North makes no attempt to foul?!?!?!?!  Maranatha wins 69-67 in OT.  Jeremiah Hanson leads all scorers with 33 points, Damario Armstrong with 11 and despite struggles in regulation came up large with 2 buckets and an assist for another in the OT.  JaQuan Sanders-Smith leads North with 15, Issac Johnson with 15.  Jamil Jackson with 12 and Tyler Johnson with 10 points but both of them struggled as well.

4AA Championship (#1 St. Croix Lutheran vs #3 Minneapolis Roosevelt):
To show you how respected Roosevelt was in the section, SCL had 2 losses all year (DLS and St. Thomas Academy), #1 in the state poll and power polls and a better record but Roosevelt still got the top seed.  Interesting defensive matchups as its Trenton Krueger who gets Elijah Hannah, Ade Lamu gets London Cobbs and Venkat Valluri gets Arione Farrar.  Ade Lamu active early for SCL with a pair of steals for a bucket and 2 free throws plus a tap in.   London Cobbs carrying the Roosevelt offense as he scores their 1st 9 points with 3 buckets and a triple.  That 3 starts a 7-0 Roosevelt run to put them up 13-10 at the 8 minute mark.  Trenton Krueger and a high low feed for free throws vs the 2-3 zone.  That surrounds a Cobbs 3.  16-15 Roosevelt.  Then Roosevelt coach Rob Mestas leaves the bench at the 4:30 mark and does not return.  Krueger with a 3 point play.  Cobbs fouled and then makes a free throw.  He won't take the 2nd due to blood on the cheek.  But a Roosevelt assistant fixes that by ripping off his tie and using it to get rid of the blood.   Arione Farrar finds Abdullah Aden for a momentum building 3 right before the half.  Roosevelt 23-18 lead going to halftime.

Lamu active again to start the 2nd half as he goes steal for 2 and steal for 2 free throws.  After Cobbs puts back his own miss, its Aage Rovney for 3 and Krueger with another 3 point play.  12-2 Crusaders run puts them back on top 30-26 with 14:20 left.  Cobbs will sit with his 4th foul at the 10:52 mark.  Rovney hit on a 3 for 2-3 FTs and Gunnar Maki converts inside to push the lead to 6 with 9:20 left.  Aden a BLOB 3, Farrar pull for 2 and then buries a 3.  That's a quick Roosevelt 8-0 run for a 38-36 Teddies lead with 7:12 left.  Cobbs back in with more than 6 minutes in a bit of a surprise considering how close the game is.  Lamu with a sick ridiculous block going high at the rim to smack one away.  Krueger with a layup and a SCL pins the backside of the zone for a Rovney 3 from the left corner with 4:10 left.  41-38 SCL back on top.  Roosevelt misses, SCL takes time.  They'll spread the floor but not hold against the zone.  That patience pays off in a Krueger layup thanks to great ball movement with 3:20 left.  43-38 SCL after their 7-0 run.  But the Crusaders can't take care of the ball (PG Valluri sitting).  Farrar to Cobbs for 3 after a turnover, another turnover leads to Cobbs getting hit on a 3.  He makes 2 of the 3 to tie the game at 43 with 1:29 left.  Another SCL turnover with 1:05 left.  Roosevelt takes another timeout to set up offense and SCL comes out 1-3-1.  They get a trap at the halfcourt circle to force another Teddies timeout with 37.8 left.

Teddies shot no good, Cobbs hustles to snare the miss and Krueger bumps him with 22 seconds left.  That's his 5th foul.  Cobbs makes the 1st free throw but misses the 2nd.  Roosevelt runs down that miss too and Farrar is fouled with 18 seconds left.  Timeout SCL before the free throws.  Farrar misses the front end and here come the Crusaders.  Down the right side we go and the ball eventually ends up in the hands of Tommy Metcalf, the 5th guy you would think of in the Crusaders starting 5.  Maybe he's not even in the game if Krueger doesn't foul out.  But who cares, its an open 12 footer from just off the left lane line and its pure with 7 seconds left!  Roosevelt pushes the ball back and Farrar gets called for a walk right at the 3 point line with 0.7 left.  St. Croix Lutheran wins a thriller 45-44.  Trenton Krueger 14, Ade Lamu and Aage Rovney 12 as the big 3 do their part for SCL.  London Cobbs leads all scorers with 21 points, Arione Farrar with 11.

What an amazing night of basketball.  The stands were packed and people were 2 and 3 deep on the 3 rails.  Great fans, great hoops and an overall great environment.  Heartbreak hotel for the Minneapolis City Conference (and my picks) as they lose all 3 of their section finals by a combined 7 points. On a more serious note, best wishes to Rob Mestas, hope he gets well soon.

Revenge is best served cold

Prologue
Off to Farmington for another epic section final matchup.  Its the 3AAAA final between #2 Apple Valley and #4 Cretin-Derham Hall.  This is a rematch of last year's amazing final where CDH pulled the double OT upset.  Early arriving crowd and we end up with a full house including the rails.  Both bands on hand with outstanding work.  CDH kids with a beach theme.  AV students with business suits to match the team's Unfinished Business season mantra.  Another quality game means we have to have a bottle of Pepsi.  Tonight I don't pass on the pizza though. But this game should never happen until state.  Having 2 of the 4 or 5 teams playing each other in the final 16 should be avoided and a reason why I'm a huge fan of a 64 team seeded proposal.

Number of Teams I've Seen: 159 (68 courts)

Beverage Consumption Counter: 1641.8 ounces (106 days, 142 games, 2 scrimmages added on)

• Pepsi: 844 ounces
• Coke: 192 ounces
• Dr. Pepper: 48 ounces
• Sprite: 200 ounces
• Sierra Mist: 12 ounces
• Barq's Root Beer: 20 ounces
• A&W Root Beer: 72 ounces
• Red Powerade: 120 ounces
• 0 Calorie Fruit Punch Powerade: 20 ounces
• Red Gatorade: 96.9 ounces
• Water: 500 ml

Hot Dog Counter: 21

Song of the Day: Brown Eyed Girl  - Van Morrison (AV Pep Band)

Game Time:
Interesting defensive matchups at the start.  Donnell Gresham on Gary Trent, Trent on Sam Neumann.  I felt Apple Valley need a good start and they got it.  Gary Trent a couple of jumpers to get him going.  Tre Jones converts a turnover and Brock Bertram scores to sandwich a 3 and free throw from Donnell Gresham.  12-10 Apple Valley 4 minutes in.  CDH gets it going with Rosga free throws and putback.  Sam Neumann 2 long 3s after another Trent jumper.  Jalen Ousley-Brown 2 free throws to end a 12-2 CDH run and force an Eagles timeout at 10:38.  22-14 CDH on top.  Apple Valley right back with their own run.  Trent for 3, Jones a layup, Cam Kirksey converts a turnover, Jordan Bolton makes a free throw.  The run is 9-0 and CDH gets the MoKiller timeout after 2 Rosga free throws.  Those Rosga freebies come on Bertram's 3rd foul.  24-23 CDH with exactly 6 minutes left in the half.  Neumann starts to post Trent inside and scores 5 straight CDH points out of it.  Chris Perry tips in a miss for a 31-27 CDH lead at 3:20.  Riley Parham goes spin cycle, Trent leaks out on a turnover and makes a free throw.  Jones for 2 (misses the 3 pt play chance) and 2 late free throws to end a 9-0 run.  But Gresham is fouled on a 3 with 0.1 left to put a dent in the run.  36-34 Apple Valley at the break.  Gary Trent 15 efficient points.  Sam Neumann 11, Joe Rosga 9. 

Apple Valley keeps Trent with a transition 3 off a turnover, Kirksey a free throw and Jones for 2 to force a CDH timeout 94 seconds into the half.  Bertram back to back inside hoops to end the 19-3 run across the half and 10-0 to start the half.  Good work by Apple Valley to go horns into high low action and keep going to it.  No CDH FG during that 6 minutes.  Gresham with a 3 to cut the margin to 48-39 with 13 minutes left.  Bolton for 3 to push the lead to 14.  Ousley-Brown scores and Rosga adds a free throw to cut it to 11 with 10 minutes left.  Kirksey and Bertram both sitting with 4 fouls.  Big chance for a CDH run. 

Neumann for 3 with 8:17 left and the Apple Valley lead is still 10, 57-47.  But CDH just can't buy a hoop in the 2nd half.  Trent scores, Steve Christiansen a right baseline drive for an easy 2 to push the lead to 14.  Bertram and Kirksey come back in with 6:14 and 5:40 left and there went CDH's chance.  Trent buries back to back 3s to slam the door.  Then just for good measure Trent makes 1 free throw, grabs his miss of the 2nd and throws it off CDH.  He'll score 1 more time as Apple Valley as its a 17-0 run to slam the door.  Apple Valley wins 74-50.

Post Game:
Cretin-Derham Hall finishes their season 25-4.  They have a 17 game winning streak snapped.  The Big 3 of Gresham/Rosga/Neumann combine to shoot 10-39.  The team shoots a horrific 6-29 (20.7%) in the 2nd half including 3-18 from 3.  That leads to an overall mark of 15-51 (29.4%) for the game.  Yikes.  Hard to win any game with a shooting number like that.  Donnell Gresham finishes with 13 points and 10 rebounds (3/11 FG).  Sam Neumann 5/16 FG on his way to 14 and 6.  Joe Rosga 10 points on 2-12 shooting.

Apple Valley advances to state where I would give them 2 seed behind Champlin Park (if the Rebels advance vs Wayzata, otherwise the top seed).  Gary Trent comes up big with 29 and 11.  10-20 FG, 4-6 from 3.  Tre Jones was outstanding with 14 points and had a couple of impressive finishes against size.  Brock Bertram chips in with 10 and 8 despite the first half foul trouble.  The Eagles shoot 53.8% for the game . They run away in the 2nd half 38-16.  Apple Valley wins the points off turnovers margin 17-5 and holds CDH to only 8 points in the paint.

Royals return to State

Prologue
Its the 2015 Section 6AAAA Championship game between #5 Eden Prairie and #6 Hopkins.  These teams played a classic to end the regular season.  Have to expect that again.  Sold out crowd at Cooper for this one.  No pizza on my menu which is a bad choice by me but a game this good does require Pepsi.  We get both pep bands as an added bonus.  Augustana and Concordia with full or close to full staffs to see John Warren.  St. Thomas and Bethel also in the building. 

Number of Teams I've Seen: 159 (67 courts)

Beverage Consumption Counter: 1621.8 ounces (105 days, 141 games, 2 scrimmages added on)

• Pepsi: 824 ounces
• Coke: 192 ounces
• Dr. Pepper: 48 ounces
• Sprite: 200 ounces
• Sierra Mist: 12 ounces
• Barq's Root Beer: 20 ounces
• A&W Root Beer: 72 ounces
• Red Powerade: 120 ounces
• 0 Calorie Fruit Punch Powerade: 20 ounces
• Red Gatorade: 96.9 ounces
• Water: 500 ml

Hot Dog Counter: 21

Song of the Day: Lips are movin - Meghan Trainor

Game Time:
The offense is slow to start but Graham Hutson breaks the ice with a 3 just before 4 minutes in for Hopkins.  Ishmael El-Amin with the pull up, a John Warren floater and Erik Davis runs the floor for a 3 point play at 10:07 to force an Eden Prairie timeout.  El-Amin adds a jumper and Vinnie Shahid with a 3 point play at 8:37.  22-14 Hopkins in front.  Josh Lanasa punishes Hopkins for gambling for a steal by taking it strong for a dunk.  Blake Cashman cuts for 2 and Jake Ruppert adds a layup to cut the margin to 2 at 5:50.  Ryan Jacobus with a layup and a 3 to put the Eagles back up 30-29.  Xavier Johnson's late 3 sends Hopkins to the locker room up 32-31.

Owen Chose turnaround and a 3 and Cashman runs out for a layup.  Hopkins not messing around as they take time down 38-34 with 13:45 left.   John Warren scores and El-Amin converts after a bad EP shot.  Hopkins pressure really pushing EP out on the floor away from the scoring zone.  But EP not going away.  Lanasa 2 layups and why not bury the 3 from straight away.  7-0 Lanasa run and its another Hopkins timeout.  45-40 EP with 9:46 left.  Hutson with a layup and Warren tips out a rebound and it eventually becomes a Shahid 3 to tie it.  Game really physical during this stretch with almost nothing being called but it was consistent.

El-Amin off ball screens for 2 hoops and its Hopkins back up 49-48 with 5:45 left.  Cashman 2 free throws, Jacobus with 1 of 2 free throws.  Eden Prairie grabs the miss and Lanasa turns that possession into a pretty 3 point play.  Then after a Hopkins miss its 2 on 1 and Cashman gives it up for Chose for a layup with 2:57 left.  Critical 8-0 run for the Eagles puts them up 56-49.  Hopkins calls timeout to regroup.

Shahid with a clutch 3 off hammer action and the extra pass, teams trade misses and then another quick EP shot.  That gives Hopkins the ball back and El-Amin goes up and under to take the hit.  He makes 1 of 2 with 1:32 left.  EP lead down to 3.  EP called for a double dribble but El-Amin misses.  Then Cashman drags the pivot foot for another turnover.  Xavier Johnson 3 to tie goes in and out.  EP rebounds and brings it back.  Pat Rock has a 10 second call as the trail but the lead official waves him off and grants EP's last timeout with 40.8 left (EP bench in the frontcourt).  Karma rears its head as Jacobus slips and falls as he catches the inbounds.  That's a walk and Hopkins still has life.  El-Amin hit with 34.1 left and he makes both ends of the bonus.  Brady Rudrud runs for a layup and the lead is still 3 with 27 seconds left.   Hopkins will play without a timeout and El-Amin hits the tough fadeaway for a long 2.  Hopkins still trails by 1.  Hopkins fouls Chose with 13.8 left and takes a timeout.

After the timeout, Chose misses the front end and here we go.  Hopkins will push to the front court, they miss a 3, Warren grabs a miss, another miss.  Ball loose just below the foul line as time is running out.  Shahid grabs it and heaves it toward the basket and its a foul call!  Shahid to the line with 1.3 left.  Cold blooded daggers as both free throws are nothing but net.  Xavier Johnson steals the inbounds.  Hopkins wins 59-58 to advance to state.

Post Game
Eden Prairie finishes their season 24-5.  Josh Lanasa 15 points to lead the Eagles.  He had 11 of those in the 2nd half.  Blake Cashman adds 10.  Owen Chose and Ryan Jacobus 9 each.  Brady Rudrud adds 8.  This one will eat away at the Eagles.  3 bad shots, 3 turnovers, a missed front end and 2 offensive boards (on the last possession) all in the last 3 minutes.  After some good long possessions early, Hopkins was able to ratchet up the pressure and force EP out.

Ishmael El-Amin leads Hopkins with 17 points off the bench, 11 in the 2nd half.  Vinnie Shahid 8 of his 11 in the 2nd half.   Both came up large down the stretch.  John Warren only 6 points but I also had him for at least that many rebounds.  Most cases you would say Hopkins really stole one and frankly you'd be right.  But Hopkins has done this time and time again over the years.  Once again they find a crazy way to win and take advantage of the Eagles mistakes.

Trojans conquer the Crimson

Prologue
Its a rematch of a late January showdown between 3 seed Wayzata and 2 seed Maple Grove.  Wayzata gave away an 11 point lead in the last 5 minutes in that meeting.  A surprisingly late and not as full as expected crowd.  An early arrival means plenty of time to add another hot dog to the counter and a can of A&W to go with it.  The Wayzata band outstanding from start to finish.  We get today's song (straight link, no rick rolling here) and then after the game we get Pharrell's Happy on the way out the door.

Number of Teams I've Seen: 159 (67 courts)

Beverage Consumption Counter: 1609.8 ounces (104 days, 140 games, 2 scrimmages added on)

• Pepsi: 812 ounces
• Coke: 192 ounces
• Dr. Pepper: 48 ounces
• Sprite: 200 ounces
• Sierra Mist: 12 ounces
• Barq's Root Beer: 20 ounces
• A&W Root Beer: 72 ounces
• Red Powerade: 120 ounces
• 0 Calorie Fruit Punch Powerade: 20 ounces
• Red Gatorade: 96.9 ounces
• Water: 500 ml

Hot Dog Counter: 21

Song of the Day:

Game Time:
Brad Davison was very quiet in the last meeting until the last 5 minutes.  No such thing today.  Off the ball screen for 3, a deuce and he'll bank home a long 3.  Then another bomb and a drive.  Then a pass for Jack Hutchinson free throw and a steal for 2.  That means he's in on the 1st 18 Maple Grove points, scoring 16 of them.  Wayzata would keep up thanks to Jack Sowada.  Double curl BLOB for 3, a putback, a drive and a 3.  18 all at 9:40.  Then back to back 3s from soph Ryan Lindberg and a 3 from Ty Gelinske to end a 14-2 run.  27-20 Trojans at 5:30.  Davison pulls off the ball screen, scores again and then buries another 3 in a 9-2 Crimson run to cut the margin to 2.  He adds 4 free throws to cut the lead to 1 before Sowada drives and reverses to end the half's scoring.  36-33 Wayzata at half.  Davison with 27 of the 33 and a pass that became 2 free throws.

Johnny Beeninga quiet in the 1st half but he drives for 2 and then finishes off glass over Reed Nikko.  Soph Gavin Baumgartner with a 3 and Beeninga with a pair of hoops to push the lead to 9.  50-41 Wayzata with 13:13 left and Maple Grove needs a timeout after the 11-3 run.  Austin Slater with a putback and Baumgartner with a great hustle play to grab an offensive board and finish all in 1 motion while taking the hit.  55-43 Wayzata after that 3 point play.  Davison with 4 in a row to cut the lead to 6 and Wayzata takes time with 8:44 left.   Baumgartner sandwiches a Davison hoop with a layup and 2 free throws.  But out of the free throws, Davison goes over the top of the 1 time only Wayzata 2-3 zone to Nikko for a dunk.  Davison then for 3, MG draws and offensive foul and Davison finds Tywhon Pickford all alone for a layup on the inbounds.  Timmy Bishop drew that charge and then gets a steal and a timeout.  61-58 Wayzata lead with 5:34 left but Maple Grove has the momentum and the ball with a chance to tie.  They can't convert and Slater puts back a miss with Nikko helping on a drive.  Lindberg then hits another big 3 and Davison gets called for a charge at the 3:50 mark.  Bishop forces another turnover for a Davison layup with 3:33 left.  68-62 Wayzata lead.  But Maple Grove wouldn't score again.  Slater with 2 free throws after he grabs another miss.  Beeninga 2 free throws going to the rim, Slater 2 layups vs traps and Wayzata puts it away.  Wayzata wins 77-62 but it was much closer than that.

Post Game
Maple Grove finishes the season 23-4.  Brad Davison goes for 42 points on 14-23 shooting with a handful of rebounds and assists.  Reed Nikko with 11 of the other 20 and a handful of blocked shots, mostly early in the game.  No other help on this night though.  Timmy Bishop came in and committed 3 quick fouls with about 10 minutes left but then his defensive energy became a factor forcing at least 3 turnovers.  I would have liked to see more Mitchell Rekstad to help space the floor for Davison.

Wayzata moves on to play Champlin Park in the 5AAAA final at Rogers on Friday night.  Great balance from the Trojans.  Jack Sowada goes for 21 points, Austin Slater 17, Johnny Beeninga 13, Gavin Baumgartner 12 and Ryan Lindberg 9.  Ty Gelinske with quality energy guarding Davison in the 1st half.  I loved the tactic of forcing Davison left on everything, ball screen or not.  No double teams to let his passing become a major factor, stay home fight over the screen and get back.  Despite giving up 42 to him, he wasn't the same threat going left as when going right.  More of a passer going left than a scorer.   But he's still crafty enough to get steals and get himself to the line to create offense.  Add that with 5 made 3s and you still end up with a big night.

Section Blowouts and Blowups

Prologue
A busy 24 hours of hoops.  I pull out the passport for a Friday trip outside The Kingdom to see Chisago Lakes 7AAA opener.  They should count as a former Kingdom member though (from their North Suburban days).  Then back to the metro for 3 games on Saturday.  Plenty of Pepsi on this trip so the beverage counter gets an appropriate boost.  Domino's and Little Caesar's pizza included, but I did skip the Walking Taco at Highland Park (lunch plans between sessions).  Bad choice.  We get The Rev working the late game and a special appearance from Toddler Ref.

Number of Teams I've Seen: 159 (67 courts)

Beverage Consumption Counter: 1597.8 ounces (101 days, 139 games, 2 scrimmages added on)

• Pepsi: 812 ounces
• Coke: 192 ounces
• Dr. Pepper: 48 ounces
• Sprite: 200 ounces
• Sierra Mist: 12 ounces
• Barq's Root Beer: 20 ounces
• A&W Root Beer: 60 ounces
• Red Powerade: 120 ounces
• 0 Calorie Fruit Punch Powerade: 20 ounces
• Red Gatorade: 96.9 ounces
• Water: 500 ml

Hot Dog Counter: 20

Game 1: 8 Hibbing at 1 Chisago Lakes (Fri 7AAA Quarterfinal)
Chisago Lakes won the regular season meeting in big fashion.  PG Ethan Hickcox would sit for Chisago Lakes with 2 fouls in the 1st 1:41.  Chisago Lakes would go on a 14-2 run  to take control 21-7 at the 6:52 mark.  Jake Lindquist  with 3 triples and a 3 point play in that run.  Hibbing cuts it to 9 but a 10-2 run to close the half puts the Wildcats ahead 32-15 at the break.  The run extends to 23-5 as we get under 14 left.  45-18 Wildcats.  They get a bit sloppy but still win easily 70-51.  Jake Lindquist 19 to lead Chisago Lakes.  Dylan Takkunen 21 to lead Hibbing.

Game 2: 4 St. Paul Academy vs 5 Concordia (at Highland Park, 4AA Quarterfinal)
This one was even for the 1st 6 minutes as we're tied at 10.  Then Concordia's wheels fall off.  Dalante Peyton dunks a turnover, Emerson Egly to the rim for 2, Peyton flares for one 3 and then buries another.  29-14 SPA at 8:38 after a 19-4 run.  Concordia just trying to do too much on the offensive end.  Concordia switches Isaiah Maddox on to Peyton to try to slow him down.   The bleeding is stopped enough.  36-23 SPA at the break.  Kent Hanson slips the flare screen he sets for Peyton for a layup and Abdul Osman puts back a miss to push the lead to 18.  Maddox goes for 6 in a row via a 3, a free throw and a floater to cut the margin to 53-41 with 8:02 left.  Hanson with 7 straight SPA points on 2 free throws a steal for 2 and a 3 point play.  Peyton adds a transition 3 with 3:50 left to slam the door.  The lead is 19 and SPA finishes it off to win 75-53.  Dalante Peyton 22 points and 7 boards along with hounding Roger Moore all day.  Kent Hanson 19 and 11.  Abdul Osman 12 points in effective minutes.  Roger Moore 20 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, Isaiah Maddox with 18 to lead Concordia.  Moore had 11 turnovers on my sheet.  I feel both pressed too much and the rest of roster only combined for 15 points.

Game 3: #9AAA St. Thomas Academy (3) vs #7AAA Hill-Murray (2) (at Washington 4AAA Semifinal)
Tough charge call on Marshawn Wilson at the 13:26 mark is his 2nd foul.  Unlike the holiday matchup where Wilson stayed in, coach Hannigan will sit him down for a bit and then shuttle him in and out in offense/defense type situations.  Senior Jimmy Quirk off the bench for 3 countered by Nate Chaffee going lefty inside and then Ryan Jacobsen shooting the passing lane and going the other way for a dunk.  18 all at 10:25.  Sam Westby drives and scores then Wilson comes back in.  He promptly buries a 3, grabs a defensive board and then kicks it ahead to Jack Fahey who drives and scores to end a 10-2 Pioneers run.  28-20 Hill-Murray at 8:12 as the Cadets need a timeout.  Chaffee controlling the paint but a couple of late Simeon Davis 3s help keep the lead.  46-41 Hill-Murray at the break.

Kai Endahl playing like Wilson in the 2nd half as he just bullied people.  But every time the Cadets would threaten the lead, the Pioneers made a play to keep it.  Endahl drive and a Andrew Mayleben hoop cut lead to 1, Fahey counters for 3.  Endahl free throw, Wilson coast to coast and buries the pull up 3.  Jacobsen for 3, Wilson double clutches the jumper and adds another hoop.  60-52 Hill-Murray with 12:10 left.  Wilson with another hoop to keep the lead at 7 with 5 minutes left.  Endahl to the fade, Jacobsen coast to coast to cut the lead to 3.  Jacobsen makes 2 free throws to keep the margin at 3, Wilson misses 2 free throws and Jacobsen throws a bullet to Endahl on the backside for a layup with 1:50 left.  Hill-Murray misses 4 of 6 free throws but the Cadets can't convert.  Finally Chaffee grabs a miss and makes 2 free throws with 20.5 left.  Another Pioneers missed free throw gives the Cadets a last chance with 9.8 left.  Endahl misses from the right wing at the buzzer.  Hill-Murray wins 81-79.  Marshawn Wilson 30 points and 12 rebounds on my sheet.  3 other Pioneers in double figures as well.  Jack Fahey 14 with 3 triples, Chris Moore 14 points inside and Simeon Davis 10 points (all 1st half).  Ryan Jacobsen goes out with 27 points.  Nate Chaffee scored 16 of his 20 in the 1st half but didn't get many post touches in the 2nd half.  Kai Endahl 11 of his 17 in the 2nd half and was a difficult matchup.

Game 4: #8AAA Simley (4) vs #2AAA Johnson (1) (at Washington 4AAA Semifinal)
The Rev working this game which gets my attention.  Better yet, we get Toddler Ref making a special appearance running up and down the sideline with him.  Pure comic gold.  Justus Murphy with 3 early hoops being productive inside.  Jalen Mobley adds a hoop for a 12-8 Govs lead.  Johnson goes mass subs early bringing in 4 bench guys at once.  Simley takes advantage of that to go on a 9-0 run mostly against those bench guys.  Jack Stensgard for 3 in transition to start it and then a tough floater from Matt Amspoker to finish it.  17-12 Spartans at the 9:30 mark.  Its all Johnson after that.  Simley botches a 4 on 1 break for a Mobley layup, Andre Smith for 3, Mobley to Eric Elliot for a layup to put the Govs on top.  Smith another 3, Murphy a hoop and a Mobley 3 and Elliot bucket before Mobley beats the halftime buzzer.  26-6 Govs run over the last 8:30 and 17-2 in the last 4:45.  38-23 Johnson at half.  The next 5 go to Johnson as well for a 22-2 spurt (or 31-6 if you wish) and the lead is 20.  Simley not quite done as Jack Stensgard hits a pair of 3s and a 3 point play from Alex Anderson cuts the lead to 51-40 with 11 minutes left.  A 8-0 Govs run at that point puts the game away as the lead is back to 19.  The last 4 minutes make the final even worse.  Johnson wins 93-65.  Junior Andre Smith 24 points with 3 triples to help keep Simley's zone honest.  Jalen Mobley and Eric Elliot both add 17.  Justus Murphy with 13.  Jack Stensgard with 4 3s and 18 points.  Alex Anderson and Sam Stensgard 12 each.  The game became a track meet and that's Johnson's way to win.  Simley needed this to be a slow down execution type of game and it wasn't that.

Pride of the Lions is strong

Prologue
To the eastern shore of The Kingdom for the 4AA 7 vs 10 matchup between St. Paul Humboldt and St. Croix Prep.  SCPA going with a beach theme for the student section.  Blow up palm trees included but I didn't see a beach ball.  Some overzealous admin probably would have confiscated it anyway.  Coach Matt McCollister in a dapper black outfit as always.  I on the hand didn't have time to properly prepare so no bow tie and dapper get up for The Czar.  I walk in right at opening tip so no concessions tonight either.  The Beverage Counter and I are about to have a fight.  Gustavus and Hamline amongst the colleges looking on.

Number of Teams I've Seen: 157 (65 courts)

Beverage Consumption Counter: 1545.8 ounces (97 days, 132 games, 2 scrimmages added on)

• Pepsi: 760 ounces
• Coke: 192 ounces
• Dr. Pepper: 48 ounces
• Sprite: 200 ounces
• Sierra Mist: 12 ounces
• Barq's Root Beer: 20 ounces
• A&W Root Beer: 60 ounces
• Red Powerade: 120 ounces
• 0 Calorie Fruit Punch Powerade: 20 ounces
• Red Gatorade: 96.9 ounces
• Water: 500 ml

Hot Dog Counter: 20

Song of the Day:  Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

Game Time:
SCPA star Michael Gutierrez with a 3, an assist for 3 more and a steal for 2 to get the Lions off to a 8-2 start.  He then trades 3 point plays with Humboldt star Demond Dawson then Quinn Fisher with the wild behind the back dribble to split the defense and its coast to coast for a 3 point play.  17-10 Lions at 13:03.  Dawson with a pair of hoops for Humboldt.  Soph Matt Kaul with a pair of 3s off the SCPA bench.  Sam Richardson adds another bomb and its 28-17 SCPA at 7:52.  Jared Shea sits with 2 fouls and Humboldt is faceguarding Gutierrez.  That means the Lions offense struggles.  Soph Guadalupe Tovalin off the Humboldt bench with all 5 of his points to ignite a 10-0 Hawks run.  Terel Haughton-Lyons converts a turnover and Dawson uses a ball screen to score.  Haughton-Lyons ends the half with a 3.  Tie game at 34 going to the halftime break.

Shea scores the 1st 6 of the half for SCPA and we stay tied at 40.  Shea's hoops start a Lions run.  Gutierrez with a steal for 2 free throws, Kaul with another 3 and Shea ends it with a layup.  54-44 SCPA with 9:20 left after their 18-4 run.  Dawson 5 in a row, Marion Moore a problem off the bounce for 2, Haughton-Lyons with a bomb and Moore finishes the 12-0 run with 2 free throws.  56-54 Humboldt 5:59 left.  Shea drives for a layup and Moore counters off the screen and roll with the left hand for 2.  Humboldt adds a free throw to go up 65-61 with 2:11 left.    Gutierrez with a clutch 3 with 1:50 left and that's his 1st FG of the half.  Moore on another isolation for 2 more, SCPA misses and Humboldt has it back up 3.  Gutierrez picks up Dawson on defense, the off arm comes up and Gutierrez is the 1st nominee for the 2016 Oscars.  His world-class flop gets the call and of course he ends up making the tying 3 on the ensuing possession.   Dawson misses with 15 seconds left and Gutierrez will hold for 1 at the horn but that's no good.  67 all to OT.

In OT, Dawson opens the scoring off a ball screen.  Kaul gets run off the line but takes 1 bounce to avoid the defense and buries the jumper.  Moore gets a breakaway layup with 1:55 left.  Dawson misses 2 critical free throws with 1:30 left.  This was after Shea made 2 moves to the hoop and didn't get a call.  SCPA can convert after those charity stripe misses but Humboldt walks on the other end.  High ball screen and its Gutierrez with the long 3 for the lead.  72-71 SCPA with a minute left.  Dawson gets to the rim but can't finish with the right hand (weak hand).  Gutierrez makes 3 of 4 free throws around a Dawson turnover.  St. Croix Prep wins 75-71 in overtime.

Post Game:
Humboldt finishes their season 8-17.  They lose their last 12 games of the season.  Demond Dawson leads the Hawks with 22 points.  The 5'8" lefty would be a nice pickup for some body in the MCAC.  Marion Moore adds 17 points.  Terel Haughton-Lyons with 14 points.  Nice work by Humboldt out of their 1-2-2 faceguarding Gutierrez.  When he was in a player's area, it was a faceguard.  Different concept but it was effective.

St. Croix Prep is now 14-13 with the win.  Michael Gutierrez was quiet for about 30 minutes in the middle of the game.  But he had 7 quick points and then 2 huge 3s to force overtime plus the one to put them over the top in OT  He ends up with 26 points to lead all scorers.  Jared Shea picked up his game in the middle of the Humboldt zone in the 2nd half to fill in during that Gutierrez lull.  Matt Kaul 3 critical bombs off the bench on his way to 11 points. Sam Richardson with a pair of 3s and 10 points for the Lions.  They will play at 2 seed St. Croix Lutheran on Saturday.

Falcons stop the buzz

Prologue
Its the 4 vs 5 game in loaded section 6AAAA with 20-6 Armstrong visiting 18-8 Edina at the Edina Community Center.  I save the stomach from the pizza but that also makes the beverage counter very sad.  Fair number of Edina students in attendance despite their hockey game.  Armstrong with a nice group of vocal students and a full baseline worth of cheerleaders.  Surprising number of scout types in attendance too.

Number of Teams I've Seen: 157 (64 courts)

Beverage Consumption Counter: 1545.8 ounces (97 days, 132 games, 2 scrimmages added on)

• Pepsi: 760 ounces
• Coke: 192 ounces
• Dr. Pepper: 48 ounces
• Sprite: 200 ounces
• Sierra Mist: 12 ounces
• Barq's Root Beer: 20 ounces
• A&W Root Beer: 60 ounces
• Red Powerade: 120 ounces
• 0 Calorie Fruit Punch Powerade: 20 ounces
• Red Gatorade: 96.9 ounces
• Water: 500 ml

Hot Dog Counter: 20

Song of the Day:  The Byrds - Turn Turn Turn

Game Time:
Jerome Dixon with a floater and a 3 and 3 layups from Sean Burns get Armstrong off to a 11-5 lead at the 12:45 mark.  Edina fights back with a transition 3 from soph Jimmy Connell, an inbounds layup and a cherry picking layup and they're on top 14-13 after a 9-2 run.  Armstrong with their own run via Evan Nolan for 3, Dixon to frosh Race Thompson for a 3 point play and a turnover becomes a Burns dunk.  24-16 Falcons at 6:30 and Will Moreton goes to the bench with his 2nd foul right before that dunk.  Then a couple of Burns assists, 1 for a back door and Dixon for 3.  Those counter a couple of Ben Boone jumpers  Max Lynch a couple of post hoops and Edina scores the last 3 of the half.  35-29 Armstrong at the break.  22 points plus at least half of the rest of the offense created by Burns and Dixon.

Dixon and Walt McGrory trade 3s in the broken floor.  Then a pretty Armstrong possession where everybody touches it as it goes backdoor, drift pass to weak side corner then 2 more to the top for a Nolan triple.  Edina still hanging around though.  McGrory with the jumper, then a layup off quality BLOB action, McGrory cherry picks for a layup and then vs the Falcons 3-2 zone he takes the skip pass and buries a 3.  He has 10 of the first 15 in the half for Edina.  Jubie Alade and Race Thompson with post hoops during that time to keep Armstrong ahead 49-44 inside of 11 to play.

Then its all Armstrong the rest of the way.  Dixon to Nolan for 3, Nolan scores on a turnover, Alade on the give and go with Burns to push the lead to 14.  Tre Tate for 3 and the lead is 15 inside of 6 left.  Edina gets a 3 point play from Max Lynch at the 6:39 mark but that's their only field goal in the last 11:25.  Boone makes 2 free throws to cut the margin to 63-50 with 4:27 left.  Armstrong slams the door with 18 of the last 20.  Armstrong finishes the game on a 32-8 run.  Falcons win 81-52.

Post Game:
Edina finishes their season at 18-9, 2-6 in the Lake Conference (5th).  Walt McGrory leads the Hornets with 18 points, 13 of those in the 2nd half and 10 of those early.  But on this night, even those 18 points seemed quiet.  That helped Edina get as close as 4 points.  But nobody else with more than 9 points (Max Lynch).  Lots of missed bunnies and some good looks that just didn't go in.   Ben Boone 6 points, Will Moreton 1 3 for 3 points.  They settled for some quick 3s as they started to fall behind and Armstrong made them pay with solid possessions for scores on the other end.

Armstrong improves to 21-6 and they will play at top seed Eden Prairie on Saturday.  Jerome Dixon with 20 points, Sean Burns with 19.  Evan Nolan with 3 3s on his way to 13 points.  Race Thompson leading the bench mob with 11, 26 total for the bench.  Armstrong ran a ton of offense through Burns at the elbows, usually the left one so he could take it to Lynch with his strong right hand.  Quality tactical move against the shot blocker.  Dixon was also able to create off the bounce without much trouble.  The bench not only provided scoring but great energy all the way down to 10th guy Chance Bowen.

Elks survive a Thundering Herd of Bison

Prologue
No finer time of year than playoff time.  Tonight's a 4 vs 5 game to open the section 8AAAA playoffs.  Its a rematch of Buffalo at Elk River from November when Elk River won 40-34.  Fairly spare crowd on hand but they were vocal.  A super late opening to the concession stand means nothing for the beverage counter tonight.  The Horror!

Number of Teams I've Seen: 157 (64 courts)

Beverage Consumption Counter: 1545.8 ounces (97 days, 132 games, 2 scrimmages added on)

• Pepsi: 760 ounces
• Coke: 192 ounces
• Dr. Pepper: 48 ounces
• Sprite: 200 ounces
• Sierra Mist: 12 ounces
• Barq's Root Beer: 20 ounces
• A&W Root Beer: 60 ounces
• Red Powerade: 120 ounces
• 0 Calorie Fruit Punch Powerade: 20 ounces
• Red Gatorade: 96.9 ounces
• Water: 500 ml

Hot Dog Counter: 20

Song of the Day:  Right Now - Van Halen

Game Time:
Its Matt Keller hot early for Elk River.  A pull up jumper and a 3.  Then whacked on a 3 for 3 free throws and then another 3 out of the secondary break.  Then he gets a flare screen, not there so he comes right back to the ball off of the rescreen for his 3rd triple.  15-10 Elk River 5 minutes into the game and we clearly won't have the low scoring affair of early in the year.  Jonathan Senger for 2 and a 3 point play from Taylor Spier bring us to 17 all just inside of 10 minutes left in the half.  Mitchell Weege, Keller and frosh Jack Burger off the bench with 3s as the Elks go on an 11-4 spurt.  Jared High 2 hoops to stop that but Weege hits from deep again.  Zach Dahl with a late 3 point play for Buffalo to keep it tight.  33-29 Elk River at the break.  The Elks make 7 3s in the half.  17 of the 1st 25 for Elk River from Keller.  High with 12 of his own for Buffalo.

Dahl grabs a miss and makes 2 free throws to tie the game at 35 2:20 into the half.   Elk River makes the critical run.  Weege inside out for 3, a blocked shot leads to a Keller 3 point play.  Soph Wyatt Morrell for 3 and a jumper that ends a 15-4 run.  50-39 Elk River with 11:05 left.  Burger inside for a 3 point play and a hoop with 8:10 left to push the lead to 12, 55-43.  Burger continues his big half with 2 free throws.  Senger to High on a beautiful backdoor at the 6:10 mark.  But post Trent Pink counters and its still 59-47 Elk River inside of 6 to play.

Buffalo rumbles back into the game.  High for 3, Elk River misses 2 front ends and Dahl scores.  Burger makes 2 free throws but that's countered by a Cory Thielman putback for a 3 point play.  Lead down to 6 inside of 4 minutes left.  A steal for 1 Senger free throw, Elk River makes 3-6 free throws before Senger goes coast to coast with 2:31 left.  64-60 Elk River and they are hanging on for dear life.  Buffalo can't convert a turnover and a Buffalo 3 gets stuck in the rim and the arrow goes to Elk River.  After a dicey call, Dahl makes 2 free throws and the lead is 3 with 1:50 left.  Elk River just avoids a 10 second call and turns it over anyway.  Senger fouled on a BLOB curl but misses both free throws with 1:32 left.  Jump ball goes to Buffalo on the miss but they turn it over for a Keller 3 point play and another dicey call on that foul.  High drives and scores and Buffalo not happy with another trip to the line for Keller.  He makes 2 to keep the Elk River lead at 6.  Dahl goes for a 3 point play to cut the lead in half.  Burger on the breakaway scores but gets hit and comes down awkwardly and doesn't return to the game.  That'd be a tough injury for the promising freshman.  The free throw is taken by Morrell and good and the lead is 6 again.  High makes 1 free throw and the miss is grabbed by Dahl for 2 more freebies.  Then Keller beating the press and a mysterious carrying call with 26 seconds left.  That gives Buffalo a chance. After a timeout, they miss once and Senger takes the offensive board back to the line and his 3 is around and out at the horn.  Elk River hangs on 73-70.  The 2nd half (41-40 Buffalo) had more scoring than the entire 1st game.

Post Game
Jared High leads Buffalo with 24 points.  Zach Dahl adds 16 and Cory Thielman chips in with 13.  Strange to see the Bison go straight 5 out rather than their traditional screening system.  But this group doesn't have the shooters of years past.  The Bison finish the season 12-15.  They had some chances down the stretch but just never got over the top.

Elk River came in losing 6 of 7 and almost gave this one away.  They missed 8 free throws in a 2 minute stretch counting 2 front ends of the bonus.  But Matt Keller made the last 3.  The Elks made 7 of their 9 3s in the 1st half.  Freshman Jack Burger with 19 points off the bench.  Lets hope his late injury isn't serious.  Matt Keller with 17 of his 26 in the 1st half.  The Elks move on to play in 8AAAA semifinals at St. Cloud State Saturday afternoon.  The likely opponent is St. Michael-Albertville who beat them by 14 at the end of January.