Its the 5 year anniversary of my 1st trip to Las Vegas. The Adidas Super 64 has fallen off the map, the Fab 48 and Bigfoot Hoops have exploded since being in 2nd year and 1st year respectively back then and now NY2LA is putting on a new quality event out there. Quite the set of changes in a short time.
The overall showing
The Minnesota teams were impressive in their events. Howard Pulley in their 1st Vegas appearance in my time made a run all the way to the top bracket championship game in Bigfoot. Heat Vang was the runner up in a 2nd bracket there as well. 6 of the 7 17U teams swept their pools at Bigfoot. Heat Reese 16s were 2nd place in pool and a runner up in there 16U bracket. At Adidas, D1 Minnesota was the Creators Cup runner up and won a showcase game on ESPNU. They avenged regular season losses to Team Loaded (VA) and Eric Gordon during that run. D1 Minnesota 16s reached the semifinals. Finally, Comets Lewis won the NY2LA event. Grassroots and Select Ohnstad winning their pools there as well.
Individual Games
Its rare to see Minnesota teams take on each other in an event in Vegas. And while that's a generally a good thing, we did get a very significant matchup. In the 2nd round of the championship bracket at NY2LA, Comets Lewis knocked out the MN Warriors in a fantastic game. Thanks to Bryce Irsfeld, the Comets rallied from 7 down in the last 2:45 and down 4 in the last 24 seconds. One of those games where you hate to see a team lose. Knowing that the Warriors are a team that over the years closes games like that, its was hard to see their era end on that note.
Howard Pulley had no trouble in the 3 games I saw them. The black court with white lines setup was pretty unique and the crowds turned out for it. Heat Vang also got to play their final game on that court which had to be a thrill.
Adidas stepping up their game with the showcase court online and shown on a huge projection screen in the Cashman Center. Cashman is the nicest setup in terms of enough room for fans and to move around. They had all of the premier 17s and the top 2 16s pools plus their bracket play under that 1 roof. Fun local tie there as Isaiah Stokes who played in the Timberwolves Shootout this year busted a backboard during Thursday's play.
Biggest surprise of the individual teams was that the both Fury 17s were done after the 1st round of bracket play. No shame in that especially for Fury Zurn who got stuck with uber talented Georgia Stars in the 1st round. But after the great results they've had in Vegas the last couple of years, you would have to classify it as surprising. Doesn't diminish the seasons those teams had though.
Players
When we talk about individuals, Race Thompson immediately comes up. He was an absolute monster for the entire tournament and his offer list blew up in response. I saw his worst game there in the 2nd game on Thursday. Even in that game he came up huge at the end to help D1 get a W.
Matt Hurt was playing in front of UNC most every game and had John Calipari watching at some point as well. He was fantastic in that game with coach Cal watching.
Gary Trent and Tre Jones outstanding as expected. Trent missed Sunday and Theo John had injuries. That gave Daniel Oturu a chance to shine.
Chase Grinde was a stabilizing point forward for the Heat Vang roster. Dom Bledsoe and Sean Sutherlin also giving the Heat quality minutes when I watched.
Great matchup of point guards in that Comets Lewis vs Warriors game with Bryce Irsfeld taking on Jameson Bryan. Bryan played well but Irsfeld would not let his team lose. 2 clutch bombs late brought the Comets back when it looked like they were done. Luke Loehr also playing well in that game. Glad to see his twin brother Alec there on the bench to support the team after a nasty injury last week.
Food
It wouldn't be Vegas if we didn't mention food. No special lunch this year on Wednesday. I hit the buffet on the way to the Comets vs Warriors game. Not terrible but not a great choice either. Especially when I get to NY2LA and they had what looked like excellent menu options available. Best concession item? Ice Cream Bars at Spring Valley. No brainer choice to have that in Vegas and it did not disappoint.
Travel
So after that Comets vs Warriors game and the ending of the Heat Vang 2nd round game, I had a little spare time with the local crowd back at the hotel before my scheduled red-eye flight home. Only to be informed by another local coach on that same flight that I didn't pay enough attention to my email. Flight cancelled! So with a mostly dead phone I manage to get the flight rescheduled for the morning but via Seattle. With no where to stay it was up all night with 6 hours of flight time ahead. And after my 1st year in Vegas, I knew what to expect at 6 AM at McCarron Airport (its a zoo of epic proportions). So I didn't get back until Sunday night. Let's just say Monday was a nightmare of recovery.
Gambling
Now on to the important stuff. So did I take time on the extra night to hit the tables again? Answer, absolutely NOT! Night 1 was a reasonable up tick. Night 2 was even. Minor loss on night 3 with idiots splitting 10s at my table. Then the final night, I got taken to the cleaners and lost the entire gambling budget for the trip. Sad part was it wasn't because of bad play. Bad cards and I can't say I've ever seen a dealer stay that hot for that long. Incredibly disgusting to end up down 25 hands in under an hour of play. Blackjack odds aren't supposed to be that way. Am I bitter, indeed I am. Next year I shall be ready to go again.
July 2016 Pack your bags
Labels:
2016 AAU
Its the 4th of July holiday and that means local AAU squads are ready to head out on the road for the annual July recruiting periods to hopefully set off their own fireworks. The college coaches will be focused on the southeastern part of the US this week. You have The Peach Jam (Nike's championships) in N Augusta, SC and the Adidas Gaunlet Finale in Spartanburg, SC. While Under Armour has their finals in Atlanta next week, they are hosting their star players for a camp in Charlotte, NC. But the Midwest is full of events too and you'll find most of our locals teams there. So here's who's playing where in the 1st July 2016 period from Wednesday thru Sunday.
Howard Pulley's 17s are at The Peach Jam. They open play on Wednesday night as the top seed in Pool D. Then they'll play twice Thursday and Friday to finish round robin pool play. The top 2 teams out of 6 from each of the 4 pools qualify for bracket play starting on Saturday.
D1 Minnesota's top teams are at the Adidas Gauntlet Finale The 16s and 17s avoided the pigtail round and will open Thursday afternoon in the round of 32. Both teams could play Texas PRO in that opener. 2 wins for the D1 16s could put them up against the Iowa Barnstormers in the quarters on Friday afternoon. Very interesting possibility there. The 15s division is just 2 pools of 4. So that means they will play 3 pool games and then 1 final game on Saturday.
Milwaukee (NY2LA Sports Next Level Invite)
Crossfire Weege and Swanson
Grassroots 17s
Top MN Comets teams, 3 in 17s, 2 in 16s and 15s
Top 2 MN Select 17s plus their top 15s and 16s.
WOTN will have 2 17s plus a 16s and 15s.
2 Real Athletics 17s and a 16.
Indianapolis (Adidas Invitational)
What used to be a super event has gone down hill with Adidas revamping their structure. But the Minnesota Heat will still send their 3 Sanford teams plus Heat Wright in 15U.
Then you have the group of events starting on Friday.
Chicago
The Chicago Summer Jam is a noteworthy event for Minnesota teams. In the 17s you have Powerhouse, Fury Kallman, MN Warriors, Heat Bui, MN Phenom and MN PREP. But Powerhouse may see Trae Berhow miss sometime. He'll be at the Powerade camp in Charlotte (not the same as the UA camp mentioned above). Howard Pulley's non-17U teams will be here along with the MN Eagles and Powerhouse in 16U.
There will be no championship game here as it would be the 4th game of the day for the teams. What's more disturbing is that Howard Pulley had to skip the championship game in this same event last year for the exact same reason. How does the NCAA not catch this in post review and why does this event operator continue to not follow the rules and get away with it? What about all the other questions it raises? What happens if they do play the game during the live period (some play it after 5 PM which is OK), can you punish the teams? If so, how? Could you penalize a college coach for watching it? If so, how?
Also in Chicago you have all 3 D1 prospects teams playing the Chicago Summer Challenge
Kansas City (Mullen's Invite)
Minnesota Fury sends their Sanford teams to the quality Mullen's Invite again. This year the event moves from St. Louis to Kansas City.
Ames
Iowa cleans up what hasn't yet been mentioned. 3 Crossfire and a couple of MN Rise teams there. MN Fury's 2nd 16s and 15s also there.
Howard Pulley's 17s are at The Peach Jam. They open play on Wednesday night as the top seed in Pool D. Then they'll play twice Thursday and Friday to finish round robin pool play. The top 2 teams out of 6 from each of the 4 pools qualify for bracket play starting on Saturday.
D1 Minnesota's top teams are at the Adidas Gauntlet Finale The 16s and 17s avoided the pigtail round and will open Thursday afternoon in the round of 32. Both teams could play Texas PRO in that opener. 2 wins for the D1 16s could put them up against the Iowa Barnstormers in the quarters on Friday afternoon. Very interesting possibility there. The 15s division is just 2 pools of 4. So that means they will play 3 pool games and then 1 final game on Saturday.
Milwaukee (NY2LA Sports Next Level Invite)
Crossfire Weege and Swanson
Grassroots 17s
Top MN Comets teams, 3 in 17s, 2 in 16s and 15s
Top 2 MN Select 17s plus their top 15s and 16s.
WOTN will have 2 17s plus a 16s and 15s.
2 Real Athletics 17s and a 16.
Indianapolis (Adidas Invitational)
What used to be a super event has gone down hill with Adidas revamping their structure. But the Minnesota Heat will still send their 3 Sanford teams plus Heat Wright in 15U.
Then you have the group of events starting on Friday.
Chicago
The Chicago Summer Jam is a noteworthy event for Minnesota teams. In the 17s you have Powerhouse, Fury Kallman, MN Warriors, Heat Bui, MN Phenom and MN PREP. But Powerhouse may see Trae Berhow miss sometime. He'll be at the Powerade camp in Charlotte (not the same as the UA camp mentioned above). Howard Pulley's non-17U teams will be here along with the MN Eagles and Powerhouse in 16U.
There will be no championship game here as it would be the 4th game of the day for the teams. What's more disturbing is that Howard Pulley had to skip the championship game in this same event last year for the exact same reason. How does the NCAA not catch this in post review and why does this event operator continue to not follow the rules and get away with it? What about all the other questions it raises? What happens if they do play the game during the live period (some play it after 5 PM which is OK), can you punish the teams? If so, how? Could you penalize a college coach for watching it? If so, how?
Also in Chicago you have all 3 D1 prospects teams playing the Chicago Summer Challenge
Kansas City (Mullen's Invite)
Minnesota Fury sends their Sanford teams to the quality Mullen's Invite again. This year the event moves from St. Louis to Kansas City.
Ames
Iowa cleans up what hasn't yet been mentioned. 3 Crossfire and a couple of MN Rise teams there. MN Fury's 2nd 16s and 15s also there.
2016 AAU 1st Open Period Quick Look
Labels:
2016 AAU
After a long weekend in St. Cloud, its time for the 1st open period of the 2016 spring season. Of course that means all the leagues (except Sanford which goes back to back in mid-May) will be in session so that really limits the field for others. Here's where our teams will be.
The big fish on the block of open spring tournaments locally is NY2LA Spring Extravaganza at Hopkins and Eden Prairie. Comets, Select and Grassroots will have teams in the league portion of this along with SPTS members Dakota Schoolers, Omaha Crusaders and WI Playmakers. Those games are at Hopkins. Eden Prairie has most of the open division. That includes many other Minnesota squads like Heat, WOTN, MN Warriors, SW MN Stars, Real Athletics and the Howard Pulley 16s playing up just to name a few. Pulley's younger kids also playing in the other levels. Also from out of state, ND Phenom, ECI Prospects, SD Attack, RAS Milwaukee, WI Jets and DTA Devin Harris Superstars.
Howard Pulley's EYBL crew will be in New York for the 1st weekend of EYBL play. Once again Pulley's schedule is very tough on Memorial Day weekend (last EYBL weekend) so they'll want to get off to a good start. Its only 3 of the 16 games, but 2-1 will feel much better than 1-2. 0-3 would be a disaster. Powerhouse Hoops MN (formerly MN Lockdown) will also be in the New York area for a different event.
Midwest Live is down in the Des Moines area. MN Fury will have all their teams there. D1 Minnesota will have both of its 15s and the 16s Prospects team there. Twin Cities Finest will have both its 17s there. Crossfire Weege in the 17s will also be playing. Heat MacDonald (did I spell that right Wibi?) also there after a 15U runner up finish to the Comets in St. Cloud last weekend.
So where are the other 3 D1 Minnesota teams you ask? They are in Dallas for the 1st weekend of the Adidas Gauntlet series. D1 MN Prospects 17s are in the Silver division. Other 2 teams are in the Gold divisions. McKinley Wright was my MVP of the Comets Shootout last week. He looks to continue his high level play in the open period. I'm expecting lots of attention on Nate Reuvers as well after a big high school season that has generated Minnesota and Wisconsin offers.
Finally in Chicago, MN Phenom's 17s and 16s make the trip along with MN Ice. BBA Force and Pentagon 16s from South Dakota also making the trek there.
The big fish on the block of open spring tournaments locally is NY2LA Spring Extravaganza at Hopkins and Eden Prairie. Comets, Select and Grassroots will have teams in the league portion of this along with SPTS members Dakota Schoolers, Omaha Crusaders and WI Playmakers. Those games are at Hopkins. Eden Prairie has most of the open division. That includes many other Minnesota squads like Heat, WOTN, MN Warriors, SW MN Stars, Real Athletics and the Howard Pulley 16s playing up just to name a few. Pulley's younger kids also playing in the other levels. Also from out of state, ND Phenom, ECI Prospects, SD Attack, RAS Milwaukee, WI Jets and DTA Devin Harris Superstars.
Howard Pulley's EYBL crew will be in New York for the 1st weekend of EYBL play. Once again Pulley's schedule is very tough on Memorial Day weekend (last EYBL weekend) so they'll want to get off to a good start. Its only 3 of the 16 games, but 2-1 will feel much better than 1-2. 0-3 would be a disaster. Powerhouse Hoops MN (formerly MN Lockdown) will also be in the New York area for a different event.
Midwest Live is down in the Des Moines area. MN Fury will have all their teams there. D1 Minnesota will have both of its 15s and the 16s Prospects team there. Twin Cities Finest will have both its 17s there. Crossfire Weege in the 17s will also be playing. Heat MacDonald (did I spell that right Wibi?) also there after a 15U runner up finish to the Comets in St. Cloud last weekend.
So where are the other 3 D1 Minnesota teams you ask? They are in Dallas for the 1st weekend of the Adidas Gauntlet series. D1 MN Prospects 17s are in the Silver division. Other 2 teams are in the Gold divisions. McKinley Wright was my MVP of the Comets Shootout last week. He looks to continue his high level play in the open period. I'm expecting lots of attention on Nate Reuvers as well after a big high school season that has generated Minnesota and Wisconsin offers.
Finally in Chicago, MN Phenom's 17s and 16s make the trip along with MN Ice. BBA Force and Pentagon 16s from South Dakota also making the trek there.
2016 Comets Shootout Preview
Labels:
2016 AAU
Its time to for the full blown kickoff of the 2016 AAU Season with the annual Comets Shootout. Here's some of what I'm watching. Sunday plays out the quarterfinals to the end, good games. The early 2 or 3 games are pigtails, round of 32 and round of 16. Nice to have a bracket, but not having pools means most of Saturday's play is blowout city. But early in the year anything can happen and we did see a couple of early round upsets last year on Saturday.
17U
In the top quarter of the bracket, I expect the hosts Comets Lewis to have no problem reaching Sunday's quarterfinals. Great additions of Wayzata's Ryan Lindberg and Gavin Baumgartner and Hopkins' Simon Wright for that squad. Only question I have is a backup point guard to Bryce Irsfeld. Fury Kallman and WI Playmakers Hjelter are on the other side of the quarter. Fury Kallman vs Comets Lewis in a sleeper quarter final game. Rocky Kreuser for Fury Kallman is going to be a problem matchup for many of their opponents this year.
In the 2nd quarter of the bracket, its D1 Minnesota's top team. Heat Vang and high-flyer Parker Fox are on the other half of this quarter. Expect D1 Minnesota to have no trouble here. Looking forward to see how D1 rotates their front court trio of Nate Reuvers, Goanar Mar and Matthew Hurt. McKinley Wright, Ishmael El-Amin, Jericho Sims, Jack Sorenson and Jack Hutchinson also on display for that loaded team.
Now to the bottom half and quarter #3. Minnesota Warriors and Select Ohnstad are lined up for what I see as the top round of 16 game. That's at 10:00 PM Saturday night. Mitch Ohnstad playing at least 3 sophs from his WOTN 15U squad last year on this team. ECI Prospects are on the other side of this quarter with the 2 top 2017 prospects in North Dakota. That's post Jordan Meidinger and guard Siman Sem. Plus they have more D2 level talent around them in guys like Lucas Mayer and Justin Engg. I like ECI over the Warriors in the quarters. But the Warriors being together for years always makes them a tough out in this tourney.
In the bottom quarter, you have the Fury top group and D1 Minnesota's 2nd team on separate sides. Not a cake walk section as Comets Kirchner, WOTN Nicols and Real Athletics House are also in this quarter of the bracket. Zach Hanson from WOTN is the sleeper kid to watch in this group. WOTN Nicols vs Comets Kirchner is the only real interesting game I see in the round of 32. Fury Zurn vs D1 MN Prospects is a very good quarterfinal. I'll take Fury to barely hang on.
So that leaves Comets Lewis vs D1 Minnesota and ECI Prospects vs Fury in the semifinals. I think Fury's tough game vs a scrambling fast paced D1 MN Prospects squad takes it toll. Give me ECI to take on D1 Minnesota in the final with D1 Minnesota taking the trophy. D1 Minnesota vs Comets sure to gather a ton of interest as it could be the highest profile Minnesota on Minnesota battle we get all year at 17U. That would also be true if Fury Zurn would make the final.
16U
In 16U, I see a pretty wide open event. No top team from D1 (they're in Wisconsin this week), no Pulley, no Powerhouse Hoops etc means you don't have a whole lot of high profile 2018 guys playing. I have to take the home team, Comets Stumpf, as my favorite. Brevyn Spann-Ford gives them a 3/4 combo guy who's a difficult matchup. Cam Jackson and Kyler Kluge make up a small backcourt that can score it.
But there's a group of teams that can jump up here. Heat Reese knocked off D1 last week (granted in a scrimmage with no Race Thompson) but they've rebuilt that group into one that will be much improved. Tayler Johnson and Odell Wilson from Minneapolis North are nice additions there. Select Altenhofen is also a nice group that will be very competitive. They have a very solid perimeter group. Fury Wilde has to be discussed here as well, but they're not quite what they were last year. Matt Todd has moved on to Pulley and that deprives this crew of a major difference maker. ECI has a couple of top 5 North Dakota kids so they'll be solid here as well. Crossfire Swanson and Comets Servaty are other squads that could surprise. So while there's not star power, you have a nice group of very respectable teams.
17U
In the top quarter of the bracket, I expect the hosts Comets Lewis to have no problem reaching Sunday's quarterfinals. Great additions of Wayzata's Ryan Lindberg and Gavin Baumgartner and Hopkins' Simon Wright for that squad. Only question I have is a backup point guard to Bryce Irsfeld. Fury Kallman and WI Playmakers Hjelter are on the other side of the quarter. Fury Kallman vs Comets Lewis in a sleeper quarter final game. Rocky Kreuser for Fury Kallman is going to be a problem matchup for many of their opponents this year.
In the 2nd quarter of the bracket, its D1 Minnesota's top team. Heat Vang and high-flyer Parker Fox are on the other half of this quarter. Expect D1 Minnesota to have no trouble here. Looking forward to see how D1 rotates their front court trio of Nate Reuvers, Goanar Mar and Matthew Hurt. McKinley Wright, Ishmael El-Amin, Jericho Sims, Jack Sorenson and Jack Hutchinson also on display for that loaded team.
Now to the bottom half and quarter #3. Minnesota Warriors and Select Ohnstad are lined up for what I see as the top round of 16 game. That's at 10:00 PM Saturday night. Mitch Ohnstad playing at least 3 sophs from his WOTN 15U squad last year on this team. ECI Prospects are on the other side of this quarter with the 2 top 2017 prospects in North Dakota. That's post Jordan Meidinger and guard Siman Sem. Plus they have more D2 level talent around them in guys like Lucas Mayer and Justin Engg. I like ECI over the Warriors in the quarters. But the Warriors being together for years always makes them a tough out in this tourney.
In the bottom quarter, you have the Fury top group and D1 Minnesota's 2nd team on separate sides. Not a cake walk section as Comets Kirchner, WOTN Nicols and Real Athletics House are also in this quarter of the bracket. Zach Hanson from WOTN is the sleeper kid to watch in this group. WOTN Nicols vs Comets Kirchner is the only real interesting game I see in the round of 32. Fury Zurn vs D1 MN Prospects is a very good quarterfinal. I'll take Fury to barely hang on.
So that leaves Comets Lewis vs D1 Minnesota and ECI Prospects vs Fury in the semifinals. I think Fury's tough game vs a scrambling fast paced D1 MN Prospects squad takes it toll. Give me ECI to take on D1 Minnesota in the final with D1 Minnesota taking the trophy. D1 Minnesota vs Comets sure to gather a ton of interest as it could be the highest profile Minnesota on Minnesota battle we get all year at 17U. That would also be true if Fury Zurn would make the final.
16U
In 16U, I see a pretty wide open event. No top team from D1 (they're in Wisconsin this week), no Pulley, no Powerhouse Hoops etc means you don't have a whole lot of high profile 2018 guys playing. I have to take the home team, Comets Stumpf, as my favorite. Brevyn Spann-Ford gives them a 3/4 combo guy who's a difficult matchup. Cam Jackson and Kyler Kluge make up a small backcourt that can score it.
But there's a group of teams that can jump up here. Heat Reese knocked off D1 last week (granted in a scrimmage with no Race Thompson) but they've rebuilt that group into one that will be much improved. Tayler Johnson and Odell Wilson from Minneapolis North are nice additions there. Select Altenhofen is also a nice group that will be very competitive. They have a very solid perimeter group. Fury Wilde has to be discussed here as well, but they're not quite what they were last year. Matt Todd has moved on to Pulley and that deprives this crew of a major difference maker. ECI has a couple of top 5 North Dakota kids so they'll be solid here as well. Crossfire Swanson and Comets Servaty are other squads that could surprise. So while there's not star power, you have a nice group of very respectable teams.
2016 AAU Opening Day in Iowa
Labels:
2016 AAU
Its April and that means its time to get on the road for the AAU Season. I open my season with a day trip to Ames, IA. Its the Super 16 hosted by All Iowa Attack. Its my 1st trip to the All Iowa Attack Fieldhouse and what an amazing building it is. 4 courts in an entirely retro feel.
I had a chance to take in all 3 of the games for the Howard Pulley 17s and more than a game's worth of their 16s. Both were playing in the top 17s bracket which is a 6 team round robin setup. The 17s would go 3-0 and the 16s 1-2. The Phenom 17s opened 0-2
Howard Pulley 17s
All Iowa Attack 17U Black 86-48 win
Omaha Elite 17U 67-54 win
All Iowa Attack 17U Red 78-42 win
Howard Pulley 16s
All Iowa Attack 17U Red 66-53 loss
MN Phenom 17s 78-48 win
Omaha Elite 17U 74-66 loss
MN Phenom 17s
Omaha Elite 61-36 loss
Howard Pulley 16s 78-48 loss
Don't have full information on the Phenom 17s roster but Irondale guard Sean Sutherlin is one of their top guys.
As to Howard Pulley, they were able to get everybody's feet wet with lots of playing time which means the event serves it purpose. As expected they go 4 guard around either Theo John or Daniel Oturu. Pulley's man to man defense was really aggressive getting after people. Brad Davison knocked down shots and was very good all around all day. Tre Jones was very good as well. I really like DJ Hunter for this squad. A guy who doesn't need shots and can defend multiple spots. He played his role well as the 5th starter. Isaac Johnson off the bench has the ability to be good in that role too. Gary Trent did his usual scoring in limited minutes with the bench seeing extra minutes. Gabe Kalscheur came off the bench and they ran lots of sets for him. That results in 6 3s in the 1st game of the day. Jeremiah Coddon played a lot of point guard off the bench. But I'd rather see Brad Davison get those back up minutes to allow Coddon to create off the ball and give Davison more time on the ball where's he more comfortable.
The game vs Omaha Elite was a very good test for the Howard Pulley 17s. Omaha Elite's starting backcourt has offers from Nebraska-Omaha and South Dakota. Forward Logan Strom has football and basketball offers from South Dakota State. Center Isaiah Chandler played here in the 2015 Timberwolves Shootout. He has division 1 upside as well. So despite losing a player or 2 to Adidas sponsored Chauncey Billups Elite, they're still very talented. But despite a very quiet game from Gary Trent, Pulley would open a 38-19 halftime lead mainly due to their defense. The 2nd half they would coast a bit. Omaha Elite would try to make it interesting with Small and Chandler making plays in the 2nd half but they never got it to single digits. Pulley would go on to win by 13.
The Pulley 16s have freshmen Courtney Brown (East Ridge) and David Roddy (Breck) starting for them. This team struggled all day on the offensive end. Its an athletic group with 3 or 4 good point guards. However there's no real inside threat and not much shooting. Matt Todd is in a spot similar to Brad Davison where he's a PG who has the ball all the time and creates for his team in HS but is now playing mostly off the ball (Ryan Larson playing PG). So expect some time for him to adjust to that role.
I had a chance to take in all 3 of the games for the Howard Pulley 17s and more than a game's worth of their 16s. Both were playing in the top 17s bracket which is a 6 team round robin setup. The 17s would go 3-0 and the 16s 1-2. The Phenom 17s opened 0-2
Howard Pulley 17s
All Iowa Attack 17U Black 86-48 win
Omaha Elite 17U 67-54 win
All Iowa Attack 17U Red 78-42 win
Howard Pulley 16s
All Iowa Attack 17U Red 66-53 loss
MN Phenom 17s 78-48 win
Omaha Elite 17U 74-66 loss
MN Phenom 17s
Omaha Elite 61-36 loss
Howard Pulley 16s 78-48 loss
Don't have full information on the Phenom 17s roster but Irondale guard Sean Sutherlin is one of their top guys.
As to Howard Pulley, they were able to get everybody's feet wet with lots of playing time which means the event serves it purpose. As expected they go 4 guard around either Theo John or Daniel Oturu. Pulley's man to man defense was really aggressive getting after people. Brad Davison knocked down shots and was very good all around all day. Tre Jones was very good as well. I really like DJ Hunter for this squad. A guy who doesn't need shots and can defend multiple spots. He played his role well as the 5th starter. Isaac Johnson off the bench has the ability to be good in that role too. Gary Trent did his usual scoring in limited minutes with the bench seeing extra minutes. Gabe Kalscheur came off the bench and they ran lots of sets for him. That results in 6 3s in the 1st game of the day. Jeremiah Coddon played a lot of point guard off the bench. But I'd rather see Brad Davison get those back up minutes to allow Coddon to create off the ball and give Davison more time on the ball where's he more comfortable.
The game vs Omaha Elite was a very good test for the Howard Pulley 17s. Omaha Elite's starting backcourt has offers from Nebraska-Omaha and South Dakota. Forward Logan Strom has football and basketball offers from South Dakota State. Center Isaiah Chandler played here in the 2015 Timberwolves Shootout. He has division 1 upside as well. So despite losing a player or 2 to Adidas sponsored Chauncey Billups Elite, they're still very talented. But despite a very quiet game from Gary Trent, Pulley would open a 38-19 halftime lead mainly due to their defense. The 2nd half they would coast a bit. Omaha Elite would try to make it interesting with Small and Chandler making plays in the 2nd half but they never got it to single digits. Pulley would go on to win by 13.
The Pulley 16s have freshmen Courtney Brown (East Ridge) and David Roddy (Breck) starting for them. This team struggled all day on the offensive end. Its an athletic group with 3 or 4 good point guards. However there's no real inside threat and not much shooting. Matt Todd is in a spot similar to Brad Davison where he's a PG who has the ball all the time and creates for his team in HS but is now playing mostly off the ball (Ryan Larson playing PG). So expect some time for him to adjust to that role.
The 2016 Grassroots Saga Begins
Labels:
2016 AAU
Its the start of April this weekend and that means its time for another spring and summer of grassroots basketball. Remember to use the hashtag #AAUBingo on twitter for all the craziness you see. But remember, all the easy ones are taken. Jim Rome phone call rules apply, don't ruin it and don't support the low life thief who has the account. The hashtag is the true #AAUBingo. If you haven't read it, oh boy have you missed out.
This weekend is NOT a viewing period for college coaches due to the Final 4. Though this weekend's Minnesota All-Star Series is an exception for the Minnesota NSIC schools if I read the D2 recruiting calendar correctly. D2 coaches can be out in full force next week and then the following week begins back to back viewing weekends for the D1 coaches.
Here are this week's Minnesota teams in action.
D1 Day (Minneapolis)
D1 Day is at Colin Powell Center on Saturday afternoon and evening. A chance for the teams to tune up for the Comets tournament next week. Here are the teams playing there.
Both D1 teams at all 3 top levels
MN Lace Up 16s and 17s
MN Heat has their Sanford league 15U-17U teams playing
East Metro 9th
MN Eagles
Super 16 (Ames, IA)
In Ames, All Iowa Attack hosts one of their many events. From Minnesota we have both Howard Pulley 15s. Then we have the 16s and 17s both playing in the top 17s division. Those teams are scheduled to play each other in the final game on Sunday afternoon, but I would guess that those teams will come home rather than play that one out.
MN Phenom is also represented with a team each in 15U-17U. Minnesota Rebels 15s are also there.
Swish N Dish (Milwaukee, WI)
Arguably the best non-viewable event we have in the midwest. Its the NY2LA Swish N Dish in suburban Milwaukee starting Friday night. Net Gain is listed for 15s, not sure if that's a local crew or not. Grassroots and Powerhouse Hoops Minnesota (formerly MN Lockdown) are also in the 15s. They could mean in the 2nd round of playoffs.
Powerhouse Hoops MN has 2 teams in the 16U division. Esko's Adam Trapp will also be there with the loaded WI Playground Warriors 16s.
Jalen Suggs and the Grassroots 17s are super pooled. Trae Berhow and the Powerhouse Hoops MN 17s ended up just outside that.
And in an unrelated note, the NW MN Tarantulas will begin their trek to the Comets tourney. Happy April Fools Day.
This weekend is NOT a viewing period for college coaches due to the Final 4. Though this weekend's Minnesota All-Star Series is an exception for the Minnesota NSIC schools if I read the D2 recruiting calendar correctly. D2 coaches can be out in full force next week and then the following week begins back to back viewing weekends for the D1 coaches.
Here are this week's Minnesota teams in action.
D1 Day (Minneapolis)
D1 Day is at Colin Powell Center on Saturday afternoon and evening. A chance for the teams to tune up for the Comets tournament next week. Here are the teams playing there.
Both D1 teams at all 3 top levels
MN Lace Up 16s and 17s
MN Heat has their Sanford league 15U-17U teams playing
East Metro 9th
MN Eagles
Super 16 (Ames, IA)
In Ames, All Iowa Attack hosts one of their many events. From Minnesota we have both Howard Pulley 15s. Then we have the 16s and 17s both playing in the top 17s division. Those teams are scheduled to play each other in the final game on Sunday afternoon, but I would guess that those teams will come home rather than play that one out.
MN Phenom is also represented with a team each in 15U-17U. Minnesota Rebels 15s are also there.
Swish N Dish (Milwaukee, WI)
Arguably the best non-viewable event we have in the midwest. Its the NY2LA Swish N Dish in suburban Milwaukee starting Friday night. Net Gain is listed for 15s, not sure if that's a local crew or not. Grassroots and Powerhouse Hoops Minnesota (formerly MN Lockdown) are also in the 15s. They could mean in the 2nd round of playoffs.
Powerhouse Hoops MN has 2 teams in the 16U division. Esko's Adam Trapp will also be there with the loaded WI Playground Warriors 16s.
Jalen Suggs and the Grassroots 17s are super pooled. Trae Berhow and the Powerhouse Hoops MN 17s ended up just outside that.
And in an unrelated note, the NW MN Tarantulas will begin their trek to the Comets tourney. Happy April Fools Day.
2016 State Wrap Up
Thoughts from the semifinal and finals rounds of the 2016 state tourney.
Class A
No shock that Minneapolis North ended winning the title. Their 21 point win over Red Lake in the semis was their closest game in their playoff wins.The expectations were incredibly high for this team and after a couple of years of not reaching those, they achieved all those goals this season (twin cities game, section and state). But watching them after the game, it almost seemed like more of a relief than anything. Even Larry McKenzie's hugs of his seniors when he pulled them out looked somewhat staged and awkward and he's definitely aware of style points. That a sad statement considering they would have been vilified had they not won it all in this convincing fashion Maybe my expectations were crazy and maybe the celebration at the school afterwards was more in line, just saying it didn't appear that way in real time.
But in the final it almost didn't look that way. North jumped out to a 15-2 lead as they attacked the rim at will. But Goodhue would finish the half on a 24-10 run as North relaxed. That would give the Wildcats an improbable 26-25 lead at the half. Larry McKenzie with a great adjustment at halftime going to a 1-2-2 zone for the 2nd half. After only 5 turnovers in the 1st half for Goodhue, they turned it over 14 times in the 2nd half. Patrick Dembley and Issac Johnson stepped up big in the 2nd half and North went on to the 68-45 win.
Class AA
OK Braham folks, I got this one wrong. I thought the size of St. Croix Lutheran would be too much and Braham's guard play ended up being terrific and the difference in the AA tourney. MN-Moorhead commit Chris Olson with 23,24 and 33 points to lead the Bombers to the title. Soph PG Ryan Larson with 22 and 28 points in the final 28 games from the other guard spot. John Larson with 3 solid games as well. Jackson County Central's Bodey Behrends will attend Augustana and he had a big tourney as well to lead the Huskies to the title game. 16 Pts, 12 boards and 9 blocks in the championship game, 20 pts, 8 rebs and 7 blocks in the semis and the 20, 17 and 5 blocks game vs Caledonia in the quarters. Jackson County Central was down 24 late in the 1st half, but the shooting came on and they rallied to within 5. They had a layup to cut it to 3 that didn't fall with about 3 minutes left and that would have made it very interesting.
Class AAA
Its a record 5th straight title for DeLaSalle. Gabe Kalscheur with a clutch title game of 27 points. But early on it was an Austin McGeheran 3 and 2 more bombs from frosh Tyrell Terry off the bench that kept Fergus Falls at bay. Fergus Falls moved the ball well early for a couple of open 3s and a couple of back doors before DeLaSalle clamped down. Goanar Mar was quiet in the title game, but had 2 high level games before that with teams holding Kalscheur down.
But maybe the 1 extra thing everyone will remember is the twitter storm over Samm Jones' post game TV interview. Side note on some of the outstate teams on the Islanders schedule. The Atascocita (TX) team that beat them was undefeated until losing in the Texas 6A title game. Sioux Falls Washington is the 1 seed in the South Dakota AA tourney and La Crosse Central is in the final 4 of the Wisconsin D2 tourney.
Class AAAA
Osseo loses in the semis and the 3rd place game for their only 2 losses of the season. The team concept was amazing for them but not having a high level go to guy like the other semifinalists showed up on the big stage. Ultimately soph guard Zach Theisen never did recover from the nasty ankle sprain in the final regular season game. He played only 6 minutes the whole tourney and only 1 of those in the last 2 games. That was a huge missing piece for the Orioles as most of their sets had him as an option.
Apple Valley vs Hopkins in the semifinals was a huge letdown. I would have expected Apple Valley to be thru the roof motivated for this one after losing to Hopkins in December. But Hopkins jumped on them right from the opening tip for a double figure lead. Apple Valley would rally to within 1 at the half Hopkins ran away in the second half for a 24 point win. Gary Trent 9-28 and the team had 5 assists on 23 field goals. Tre Jones a very surprising 8 turnovers. Just not the same Apple Valley team that was dominant all season. Amir Coffey 16 and 8 in that game and 24 points from Xavier Johnson.
Lakeville North's Nate Reuvers with a high level tournament and he earned a Minnesota offer from it. His 17 pts, 9 rebs and 5 blocks were a major difference in the semis. I would have liked to see him get the ball with the ability to work off the dribble in the final. In earlier games, they'd station him at the foul line where he could pop and turn and face. He spent more time in the post and that wasn't successful. North's main story though was guard Nick Fossey. He made critical hustle plays all tourney and was the "Where did he come from?" guy of the tourney.
Lakeville North was up 5 in the 2nd half of the title game vs Hopkins. But a 15-0 Hopkins run would ultimately be the difference. Lakeville North would cut the 10 point margin to 4 late but never did recover. Vinnie Shahid with 6 straight points in the last minute (2 FTs, steal for 2 and another layup) to seal the championship for Hopkins. His defense helped force 13 Lakeville North turnovers in the 2nd half. Those turnovers were the catalyst for the game deciding run. Very surprised at his lack of college interest.
Year Wrap
And so it ends, 9 seasons online are now in the books. Its another personal record for total games seen this year with 155 total varsity games. Number of boys games is 5 short due to more boys and girls doubleheaders this season. The final counts are included for your amusement.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 177 (66 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 155 varsity games)
Fire Marshal Sightings: 1
Beverage Ticker: 950 ounces (8540 calories) + 9.7 liters (1370 calories)
Pizza Ticker: 16
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
Class A
No shock that Minneapolis North ended winning the title. Their 21 point win over Red Lake in the semis was their closest game in their playoff wins.The expectations were incredibly high for this team and after a couple of years of not reaching those, they achieved all those goals this season (twin cities game, section and state). But watching them after the game, it almost seemed like more of a relief than anything. Even Larry McKenzie's hugs of his seniors when he pulled them out looked somewhat staged and awkward and he's definitely aware of style points. That a sad statement considering they would have been vilified had they not won it all in this convincing fashion Maybe my expectations were crazy and maybe the celebration at the school afterwards was more in line, just saying it didn't appear that way in real time.
But in the final it almost didn't look that way. North jumped out to a 15-2 lead as they attacked the rim at will. But Goodhue would finish the half on a 24-10 run as North relaxed. That would give the Wildcats an improbable 26-25 lead at the half. Larry McKenzie with a great adjustment at halftime going to a 1-2-2 zone for the 2nd half. After only 5 turnovers in the 1st half for Goodhue, they turned it over 14 times in the 2nd half. Patrick Dembley and Issac Johnson stepped up big in the 2nd half and North went on to the 68-45 win.
Class AA
OK Braham folks, I got this one wrong. I thought the size of St. Croix Lutheran would be too much and Braham's guard play ended up being terrific and the difference in the AA tourney. MN-Moorhead commit Chris Olson with 23,24 and 33 points to lead the Bombers to the title. Soph PG Ryan Larson with 22 and 28 points in the final 28 games from the other guard spot. John Larson with 3 solid games as well. Jackson County Central's Bodey Behrends will attend Augustana and he had a big tourney as well to lead the Huskies to the title game. 16 Pts, 12 boards and 9 blocks in the championship game, 20 pts, 8 rebs and 7 blocks in the semis and the 20, 17 and 5 blocks game vs Caledonia in the quarters. Jackson County Central was down 24 late in the 1st half, but the shooting came on and they rallied to within 5. They had a layup to cut it to 3 that didn't fall with about 3 minutes left and that would have made it very interesting.
Class AAA
Its a record 5th straight title for DeLaSalle. Gabe Kalscheur with a clutch title game of 27 points. But early on it was an Austin McGeheran 3 and 2 more bombs from frosh Tyrell Terry off the bench that kept Fergus Falls at bay. Fergus Falls moved the ball well early for a couple of open 3s and a couple of back doors before DeLaSalle clamped down. Goanar Mar was quiet in the title game, but had 2 high level games before that with teams holding Kalscheur down.
But maybe the 1 extra thing everyone will remember is the twitter storm over Samm Jones' post game TV interview. Side note on some of the outstate teams on the Islanders schedule. The Atascocita (TX) team that beat them was undefeated until losing in the Texas 6A title game. Sioux Falls Washington is the 1 seed in the South Dakota AA tourney and La Crosse Central is in the final 4 of the Wisconsin D2 tourney.
Class AAAA
Osseo loses in the semis and the 3rd place game for their only 2 losses of the season. The team concept was amazing for them but not having a high level go to guy like the other semifinalists showed up on the big stage. Ultimately soph guard Zach Theisen never did recover from the nasty ankle sprain in the final regular season game. He played only 6 minutes the whole tourney and only 1 of those in the last 2 games. That was a huge missing piece for the Orioles as most of their sets had him as an option.
Apple Valley vs Hopkins in the semifinals was a huge letdown. I would have expected Apple Valley to be thru the roof motivated for this one after losing to Hopkins in December. But Hopkins jumped on them right from the opening tip for a double figure lead. Apple Valley would rally to within 1 at the half Hopkins ran away in the second half for a 24 point win. Gary Trent 9-28 and the team had 5 assists on 23 field goals. Tre Jones a very surprising 8 turnovers. Just not the same Apple Valley team that was dominant all season. Amir Coffey 16 and 8 in that game and 24 points from Xavier Johnson.
Lakeville North's Nate Reuvers with a high level tournament and he earned a Minnesota offer from it. His 17 pts, 9 rebs and 5 blocks were a major difference in the semis. I would have liked to see him get the ball with the ability to work off the dribble in the final. In earlier games, they'd station him at the foul line where he could pop and turn and face. He spent more time in the post and that wasn't successful. North's main story though was guard Nick Fossey. He made critical hustle plays all tourney and was the "Where did he come from?" guy of the tourney.
Lakeville North was up 5 in the 2nd half of the title game vs Hopkins. But a 15-0 Hopkins run would ultimately be the difference. Lakeville North would cut the 10 point margin to 4 late but never did recover. Vinnie Shahid with 6 straight points in the last minute (2 FTs, steal for 2 and another layup) to seal the championship for Hopkins. His defense helped force 13 Lakeville North turnovers in the 2nd half. Those turnovers were the catalyst for the game deciding run. Very surprised at his lack of college interest.
Year Wrap
And so it ends, 9 seasons online are now in the books. Its another personal record for total games seen this year with 155 total varsity games. Number of boys games is 5 short due to more boys and girls doubleheaders this season. The final counts are included for your amusement.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 177 (66 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 155 varsity games)
Fire Marshal Sightings: 1
Beverage Ticker: 950 ounces (8540 calories) + 9.7 liters (1370 calories)
- Pepsi: 432 ounces (4850 Calories) + 2 liters (840 Calories)
- Diet Pepsi: 20 ounces (0 Calories)
- Coke: 92 ounces (1080 Calories)+ 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Dr Pepper: 60 ounces (750 Calories)
- Mug Root Beer: 40 ounces (520 Calories)
- Sprite: 76 ounces (900 Calories) + 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Water: 6.2 Liters + 200 ounces (0 Calories)
- Gatorade: 500 ml (40 Calories) + 40 oz (160 calories)
- Powerade: 20 oz (130 Calories)
Pizza Ticker: 16
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
2016 State Tourney Day 1 Thoughts
Day 1 of the 2016 State Tournament has concluded. I attended the Target Center night session. Here are some thoughts from the 2 games I saw plus the rest of the day.
No surprises at Target Center in AA or AAAA. Apple Valley and Hopkins rolled thru their games in the bottom half. Osseo beat Eden Prairie earlier in the year and won again. I wasn't surprised that Lakeville North knocked off Maple Grove. North being there for the 5th straight year and no Tywhon Pickford were part of that reasoning. But also I didn't like the matchup for Maple Grove for who would guard Nate Reuvers and/or Carter Brooks.
That sets up a pair of dynamite Thursday night semifinals with undefeated Osseo taking on Lakeville North. Then its the highly anticipated rematch of Hopkins and Apple Valley. That will be off the charts. Amir Coffey took a nasty spill in their game. Hopefully he's 100% for another mano-a-mano matchup with Gary Trent. No fire marshal required for this one thankfully. Enough seats for all.
In AA at Target Center, St. Croix Lutheran's big 3 went nuts against Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton. Aage Rovney with 6 3s and 22 points in the 1st half as the Crusaders ran away and hid. They roll 86-51 with the big 3 going for 69 points and 18 rebs on 27-37 shooting. Braham did their part in the other game by knocking off Maple River 67-58. Chris Olson with 23 points and 3 3s for Braham. John Larson added 19 points and 12 boards.
That means we get another main gym at the Tipoff Classic rematch. The 1st game was a tale of 2 halves. St. Croix Lutheran looked as awful as they could during the 1st half. Braham opened up a 42-33 halftime lead. Then St. Croix Lutheran turned the tables in the 2nd half with a 28-4 run to get started. They went on to win by 11. But a team that lives and dies by the 3 trying to shoot in the Target Center is a dicey proposition. Especially against a team that has the ability to get easy buckets inside. I like St. Croix Lutheran in that rematch.
Meanwhile over at Williams Arena, the top 3 seeds are thru plus 5 seed Monticello knocks off Chisago Lakes. De La Salle trying to hold down Matt Todd will be very interesting. Red Wing's stifling defense against the great ball movement and shooting of Fergus Falls is a great contrast of styles. Those 2 are the afternoon session at Target Center.
In AA at Williams, it was all about poor shooting. 2 seed Caledonia is out after shooting 9-41 from 3. That's despite getting 28 more shots than Jackson County Central. JCC turned it over 25 times and gave up 21 offensive rebounds. JCC only took 47 shots total. Annandale knocked off Esko 52-40 in the other game. The teams combined to shoot 4-33 from 3. That keeps us from getting the Bodey Behrends (20 and 17 tonight) vs Adam Trapp inside. Also not on the semifinal list Owen King vs Jaxson Turner which would have been a fun guard matchup. Annandale won't wow you but they play a playoff style and the coaching staff has been here.
Finally, Class A tips off their quarterfinals tomorrow. I wonder if anybody goes to a stall against Minneapolis North. The thought of Hopkins vs St. Cloud Tech with Nate Wolters comes to mind if Browerville and North play in round 2 (Star PG Bryce Irsfeld playing the Nate Wolters role for Browerville). Imagine the partisan North crowd (who you know will be out in force) going nuts at Target Center on Friday afternoon if that would happen. Quality television there from that passionate fan base.
No surprises at Target Center in AA or AAAA. Apple Valley and Hopkins rolled thru their games in the bottom half. Osseo beat Eden Prairie earlier in the year and won again. I wasn't surprised that Lakeville North knocked off Maple Grove. North being there for the 5th straight year and no Tywhon Pickford were part of that reasoning. But also I didn't like the matchup for Maple Grove for who would guard Nate Reuvers and/or Carter Brooks.
That sets up a pair of dynamite Thursday night semifinals with undefeated Osseo taking on Lakeville North. Then its the highly anticipated rematch of Hopkins and Apple Valley. That will be off the charts. Amir Coffey took a nasty spill in their game. Hopefully he's 100% for another mano-a-mano matchup with Gary Trent. No fire marshal required for this one thankfully. Enough seats for all.
In AA at Target Center, St. Croix Lutheran's big 3 went nuts against Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton. Aage Rovney with 6 3s and 22 points in the 1st half as the Crusaders ran away and hid. They roll 86-51 with the big 3 going for 69 points and 18 rebs on 27-37 shooting. Braham did their part in the other game by knocking off Maple River 67-58. Chris Olson with 23 points and 3 3s for Braham. John Larson added 19 points and 12 boards.
That means we get another main gym at the Tipoff Classic rematch. The 1st game was a tale of 2 halves. St. Croix Lutheran looked as awful as they could during the 1st half. Braham opened up a 42-33 halftime lead. Then St. Croix Lutheran turned the tables in the 2nd half with a 28-4 run to get started. They went on to win by 11. But a team that lives and dies by the 3 trying to shoot in the Target Center is a dicey proposition. Especially against a team that has the ability to get easy buckets inside. I like St. Croix Lutheran in that rematch.
Meanwhile over at Williams Arena, the top 3 seeds are thru plus 5 seed Monticello knocks off Chisago Lakes. De La Salle trying to hold down Matt Todd will be very interesting. Red Wing's stifling defense against the great ball movement and shooting of Fergus Falls is a great contrast of styles. Those 2 are the afternoon session at Target Center.
In AA at Williams, it was all about poor shooting. 2 seed Caledonia is out after shooting 9-41 from 3. That's despite getting 28 more shots than Jackson County Central. JCC turned it over 25 times and gave up 21 offensive rebounds. JCC only took 47 shots total. Annandale knocked off Esko 52-40 in the other game. The teams combined to shoot 4-33 from 3. That keeps us from getting the Bodey Behrends (20 and 17 tonight) vs Adam Trapp inside. Also not on the semifinal list Owen King vs Jaxson Turner which would have been a fun guard matchup. Annandale won't wow you but they play a playoff style and the coaching staff has been here.
Finally, Class A tips off their quarterfinals tomorrow. I wonder if anybody goes to a stall against Minneapolis North. The thought of Hopkins vs St. Cloud Tech with Nate Wolters comes to mind if Browerville and North play in round 2 (Star PG Bryce Irsfeld playing the Nate Wolters role for Browerville). Imagine the partisan North crowd (who you know will be out in force) going nuts at Target Center on Friday afternoon if that would happen. Quality television there from that passionate fan base.
2016 Mr Basketball Final 5 Commentary
The 5 finalists for the 2016 Mr Basketball award have been announced.
Amir Coffey - Hopkins
Michael Hurt - Rochester John Marshall
Steffon Mitchell - Shakopee
Johnny Beeninga - Wayzata
Brock Bertram - Apple Valley
Czar's Thoughts
The first 3 were obvious and no surprise. Everyone expected those 3 to be there before the season started. Beeninga was the catalyst for a Wayzata team that knocked off Hopkins during the season. Bertram with solid numbers on a loaded Apple Valley squad. He could leave averaging a double double with 3 state titles. Remember the committee likes career accolades. So there's a case to be made for everybody on the list.
Ade Murkey of St. Croix Lutheran was a no brainer choice for me. 22 pts, 10 rebs, 4 ast and 2 steals a game. That was on a team that lost only to Wayzata and by 5 at Minneapolis North. Plus they had wins over state qualifiers De La Salle, Waseca, Braham, St. Clair, Fridley and Maple River. Not to mention wins over Minnehaha (x2), Battle Lake (section finalist) and Waverly-Shell Rock (IA). In those big games Murkey averaged 23.3, 11.5 and 4.6, so he didn't just beat up on the weaker Tri-Metro half of the schedule. Top guy for the top team in AA, getting some D1 interest, played well in the big games and his team is at state. So that's the only player I think who can legitimately complain.
Other guys of interest. Nate Albers of Mounds View who averaged 25 a night and almost willed his team to state. Nick Dufault carried Waseca to state. That Waseca vs Marshall section final game is one of the exciting section finals ever. Tyler Johnson at Minneapolis North with a solid season. But remember Wayzata not only beat North and St. Croix Lutheran but did it handly. Amar Miller with many large individual performances but as a team Minnetonka was just over .500 and arguably were a disappointment. As to other non-metro guys, nobody had the major standout season to force their way on. That would be guys like Cole Dahl from Northern Freeze, Travis Toivonen at Red Wing, Luke Harris at Northfield.
Ultimately though its splitting hairs because the top 3 were always the real 3 contenders for the award. The other 2 spots are just filler. With Hurt and Mitchell done and Coffey still playing, I think it be a major surprise if Coffey doesn't win it.
The full history of the award including semifinalist can be found on my Mr Basketball page.
Amir Coffey - Hopkins
Michael Hurt - Rochester John Marshall
Steffon Mitchell - Shakopee
Johnny Beeninga - Wayzata
Brock Bertram - Apple Valley
Czar's Thoughts
The first 3 were obvious and no surprise. Everyone expected those 3 to be there before the season started. Beeninga was the catalyst for a Wayzata team that knocked off Hopkins during the season. Bertram with solid numbers on a loaded Apple Valley squad. He could leave averaging a double double with 3 state titles. Remember the committee likes career accolades. So there's a case to be made for everybody on the list.
Ade Murkey of St. Croix Lutheran was a no brainer choice for me. 22 pts, 10 rebs, 4 ast and 2 steals a game. That was on a team that lost only to Wayzata and by 5 at Minneapolis North. Plus they had wins over state qualifiers De La Salle, Waseca, Braham, St. Clair, Fridley and Maple River. Not to mention wins over Minnehaha (x2), Battle Lake (section finalist) and Waverly-Shell Rock (IA). In those big games Murkey averaged 23.3, 11.5 and 4.6, so he didn't just beat up on the weaker Tri-Metro half of the schedule. Top guy for the top team in AA, getting some D1 interest, played well in the big games and his team is at state. So that's the only player I think who can legitimately complain.
Other guys of interest. Nate Albers of Mounds View who averaged 25 a night and almost willed his team to state. Nick Dufault carried Waseca to state. That Waseca vs Marshall section final game is one of the exciting section finals ever. Tyler Johnson at Minneapolis North with a solid season. But remember Wayzata not only beat North and St. Croix Lutheran but did it handly. Amar Miller with many large individual performances but as a team Minnetonka was just over .500 and arguably were a disappointment. As to other non-metro guys, nobody had the major standout season to force their way on. That would be guys like Cole Dahl from Northern Freeze, Travis Toivonen at Red Wing, Luke Harris at Northfield.
Ultimately though its splitting hairs because the top 3 were always the real 3 contenders for the award. The other 2 spots are just filler. With Hurt and Mitchell done and Coffey still playing, I think it be a major surprise if Coffey doesn't win it.
The full history of the award including semifinalist can be found on my Mr Basketball page.
Orioles stop the Mustangs Magic
Prologue
From one side of the metro to the other as its the 5AAAA final in Rogers. Undefeated Osseo taking on Mounds View for a chance to go dancing. The usual horrible parking and exit strategy but quality organization including a credit card line for entry fees (no one using it). What's in your wallet? I sent a pal to the concession stand and ended up with cheese pizza and Diet Pepsi (stand was out of Pepsi???). Moral of the Story: Friends don't let friends buy their Pepsi. Excuse me while I hit Dacha de Czar's vending machine for a can of the pure to satisfy the addiction.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 172 (66 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 145 varsity games)
Beverage Ticker: 950 ounces (8540 calories) + 9.7 liters (1370 calories)
Pizza Ticker: 16
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
Game Time:
No Zach Theisen for Osseo as he's still nursing a nasty ankle sprain from the regular season finale 2 weeks ago. Osseo gets off to a great start. Thanks to pressure defense forcing turnovers and 3 early 3s (2 from Damario Armstrong), Orioles jump out to a 15-5 lead just under 5 minutes in. All 5 Osseo starters already with a field goal. Mounds View would hang tough with a 10-3 run. Nate Albers with a nice split of defenders for 2, Zeke Thompson 2 drives for hoops and a Albers putback to finish the run. 24-19 Osseo with 6 minutes left in the half. Mounds View still struggling with the pressure and the lead grows to 30-19. Osseo goes 3-12 from the charity stripe. Mounds View turns it over 13 times. Osseo leads 34-27 at the break but it felt like it should have been much worse.
John Bezdicek for 3 and Kyle Williams with 2 free throws to push the lead to 13. Kameron Bettie 3 putback chances before he makes 2 free throws. That's Zeke Thompson's 4th foul with 11:30 left. Bettie with 2 more and the lead is up to 54-39 with 10:40 left. Albers take over the Mounds View offense. 2 free throws, a hoop and a bomb and 2 more freebies for 9 straight Mustangs points. Osseo lead down to 58-50 with 7 left. Then its Albers overplayed and the nice backcut to earn 2 more free throws. 60-54 Osseo with 5 minutes left as Mounds View chips away. They get the ball back but throw it away for an Armstrong layup to lose momentum. Cole Jurek with another 3 off the Mustangs bench and its down to 5 with 4 minutes left. Osseo makes 2 free throws and then its a backbreaking 3 point play from Matt Bezdicek with 3:21 left. Mounds View misses 2 free throws on the other end. Allan Anderson makes 3 of 4 free throws and the lead is back to double figures. 70-57 Osseo with 2:47 left. Albers makes a couple more 3s but Osseo is out of danger. Osseo wins 76-65.
Post Game:
Nate Albers ends his career with 31 points, 21 in the 2nd half. His toughness and work ethic and basketball smarts were major reasons why this team won 22 games. Zeke Thompson held to 8. Nick McMillan with 10. Cole Jurek with 2 3s and 8 points off the bench. Turnovers and inability to find other offense were the factors.
Osseo remains undefeated at 29-0. The eye test might say they're the 3 seed but hard to argue against them for the 1 seed. Damario Armstrong leads the Orioles with 21 points. Plus he had the task of holding down Zeke Thompson. Kameron Bettie 15, Allan Anderson 13. Osseo shoots 21-31 from the foul line in the 2nd half after 3-12 in the 1st half. Their defensive pressure and ability to switch most screens really took Mounds View out of any offense. 2 guys would come together for a backcut, they communicated the switch and still took offense away, great team defense. Kyle Williams quality minutes off the bench.
From one side of the metro to the other as its the 5AAAA final in Rogers. Undefeated Osseo taking on Mounds View for a chance to go dancing. The usual horrible parking and exit strategy but quality organization including a credit card line for entry fees (no one using it). What's in your wallet? I sent a pal to the concession stand and ended up with cheese pizza and Diet Pepsi (stand was out of Pepsi???). Moral of the Story: Friends don't let friends buy their Pepsi. Excuse me while I hit Dacha de Czar's vending machine for a can of the pure to satisfy the addiction.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 172 (66 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 145 varsity games)
Beverage Ticker: 950 ounces (8540 calories) + 9.7 liters (1370 calories)
- Pepsi: 432 ounces (4850 Calories) + 2 liters (840 Calories)
- Diet Pepsi: 20 ounces (0 Calories)
- Coke: 92 ounces (1080 Calories)+ 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Dr Pepper: 60 ounces (750 Calories)
- Mug Root Beer: 40 ounces (520 Calories)
- Sprite: 76 ounces (900 Calories) + 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Water: 6.2 Liters + 200 ounces (0 Calories)
- Gatorade: 500 ml (40 Calories) + 40 oz (160 calories)
- Powerade: 20 oz (130 Calories)
Pizza Ticker: 16
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
Game Time:
No Zach Theisen for Osseo as he's still nursing a nasty ankle sprain from the regular season finale 2 weeks ago. Osseo gets off to a great start. Thanks to pressure defense forcing turnovers and 3 early 3s (2 from Damario Armstrong), Orioles jump out to a 15-5 lead just under 5 minutes in. All 5 Osseo starters already with a field goal. Mounds View would hang tough with a 10-3 run. Nate Albers with a nice split of defenders for 2, Zeke Thompson 2 drives for hoops and a Albers putback to finish the run. 24-19 Osseo with 6 minutes left in the half. Mounds View still struggling with the pressure and the lead grows to 30-19. Osseo goes 3-12 from the charity stripe. Mounds View turns it over 13 times. Osseo leads 34-27 at the break but it felt like it should have been much worse.
John Bezdicek for 3 and Kyle Williams with 2 free throws to push the lead to 13. Kameron Bettie 3 putback chances before he makes 2 free throws. That's Zeke Thompson's 4th foul with 11:30 left. Bettie with 2 more and the lead is up to 54-39 with 10:40 left. Albers take over the Mounds View offense. 2 free throws, a hoop and a bomb and 2 more freebies for 9 straight Mustangs points. Osseo lead down to 58-50 with 7 left. Then its Albers overplayed and the nice backcut to earn 2 more free throws. 60-54 Osseo with 5 minutes left as Mounds View chips away. They get the ball back but throw it away for an Armstrong layup to lose momentum. Cole Jurek with another 3 off the Mustangs bench and its down to 5 with 4 minutes left. Osseo makes 2 free throws and then its a backbreaking 3 point play from Matt Bezdicek with 3:21 left. Mounds View misses 2 free throws on the other end. Allan Anderson makes 3 of 4 free throws and the lead is back to double figures. 70-57 Osseo with 2:47 left. Albers makes a couple more 3s but Osseo is out of danger. Osseo wins 76-65.
Post Game:
Nate Albers ends his career with 31 points, 21 in the 2nd half. His toughness and work ethic and basketball smarts were major reasons why this team won 22 games. Zeke Thompson held to 8. Nick McMillan with 10. Cole Jurek with 2 3s and 8 points off the bench. Turnovers and inability to find other offense were the factors.
Osseo remains undefeated at 29-0. The eye test might say they're the 3 seed but hard to argue against them for the 1 seed. Damario Armstrong leads the Orioles with 21 points. Plus he had the task of holding down Zeke Thompson. Kameron Bettie 15, Allan Anderson 13. Osseo shoots 21-31 from the foul line in the 2nd half after 3-12 in the 1st half. Their defensive pressure and ability to switch most screens really took Mounds View out of any offense. 2 guys would come together for a backcut, they communicated the switch and still took offense away, great team defense. Kyle Williams quality minutes off the bench.
Polars shock the world
Prologue
To East Ridge for the 4AAAA between Tartan and district rival North St. Paul in a rubber match. The lobby already packed with fans at 5:30 for the 7 PM tip. It did taper off just before game time but we did end up with a full house. Both bands seated in folding chairs on the end line to save bleacher space, very smart. JMOA is on duty for this one along with Ricky Spencer. Not worth fighting the crowd for concessions. Its a full house and a state trip on the line, so let's get to it.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 172 (66 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 144 varsity games)
Beverage Ticker: 930 ounces (8540 calories) + 9.7 liters (1370 calories)
Pizza Ticker: 15
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
Game Time:
10-7 Tartan early before N St.Paul gets it going. Goodnews Kpegeol with a 3 point play and a 3. Soph guard Bryce Phillips scores off a turnover to end the 10-2 run. 17-12 NSP at 8:20. Joevon Walker playing big inside with a pair of hoops and a nice pass to Elijah Johnson who hammers it home. 20-18 NSP at 5:47 as they take a timeout to regroup. Jordan Horn with a 4 point play as Tartan comes from 6 down to tie at 26. Walker with a 3 point play and a Horn 3 sandwich a Goodnews triple. Kpegoel misses 2 free throws but the 2nd miss is tipped in his own basket by Jarvis Thomas as the halftime buzzer sounds. 34-32 North St. Paul at the break.
Horn hits a 3 and puts back his own miss for a 3 point play. Its a 10-3 Tartan run to start the half for a 42-37 lead with 14:30 left. Termaine Daniels for 3 to cut it to 2 but its Horn taking over with a 3, a drive and another bomb. 52-44 Tartan with 10 minutes left and NSP appears to be in trouble. But Tartan starts taking bad shots and NSP capitalizes. Goodnews for 3, Phillips for 3, a drive and he runs out for a 3 point play with 6:15 left. NSP takes the lead 57-54 after the 13-2 run in under 4 minutes.
Daniels and Kpegeol both with clutch bonus free throws. 63-57 NSP to 3:20 left but Horn counters with another bomb. NSP turns it over with 1:44 left and Jordan Thompson scores it for Tartan. Out of a timeout its Adreon Wadlington with a strong drive for 2. Jarvis Thomas called for a travel in the post and its Goodnews for North St. Paul with 51 seconds left to push the lead to 5. Horn hits a 3 with 19.8 seconds left to cut the margin to 3. NSP turns it over and Tartan has a chance. They miss a 3 and then at least 2 offensive rebound chances. Daniels makes 2 free throws with 13 seconds left to seal it. North St. Paul advances to state with the 70-65 win.
Post Game:
Jordan Horn leads Tartan with 31 points via 7 triples. He had 20 of those points in the 2nd half as he carried the offense. Joevon Walker with 14 of his 16 points in the 1st half but in an interesting twist he didn't play much in the 2nd half. He was their only other offense as no one else had more than 5 points. Shot selection a major issue for Tartan. Jarvis Thomas with an off night of only 5 points. The Titans finish the season 24-5 and co-champs of the Metro East with North St. Paul. For as poorly as they played, this one will sting for the offseason. Expectations will be very high for this group next season as almost everybody returns.
Goodnews Kpegeol leads North St. Paul with 23 points. He came up with clutch plays all night. Termaine Daniels with 12. Bryce Phillips with 12 off the bench in high quality minutes. Adreon Wadlington with 11. Give North St. Paul all the credit. They played better and made more big plays and totally deserved to win. Great job mixing defenses in the 1st half to keep the Titans off balance. Then a smaller lineup in the 2nd half (mainly with Phillips) came up huge. North St. Paul likely looking at no seed at state which means 1 of Hopkins, Apple Valley and possibly Osseo in the quarters. If Osseo wins state seeds are pretty well set. Hopkins, Apple Valley, Osseo as the top 3 with Maple Grove 4 and the winner of Lakeville North and Rochester John Marshall at 5. Pick your order for the top 3. I say Osseo 1 and Apple Valley 3. Yes that sounds horrible to have AV at 3 but For me, Osseo has to be rewarded for being undefeated and doing it in the toughest conference around (and they played in the tougher half). Hopkins gets 2 based on head to head. Now if Osseo loses, then that means that 1 of Mounds View, N St. Paul, Blaine or the Eden Prairie/Edina winner will get the 5 seed. I would vote for random draw the bottom 4 instead of the bottom 3 in that case.
To East Ridge for the 4AAAA between Tartan and district rival North St. Paul in a rubber match. The lobby already packed with fans at 5:30 for the 7 PM tip. It did taper off just before game time but we did end up with a full house. Both bands seated in folding chairs on the end line to save bleacher space, very smart. JMOA is on duty for this one along with Ricky Spencer. Not worth fighting the crowd for concessions. Its a full house and a state trip on the line, so let's get to it.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 172 (66 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 144 varsity games)
Beverage Ticker: 930 ounces (8540 calories) + 9.7 liters (1370 calories)
- Pepsi: 432 ounces (4850 Calories) + 2 liters (840 Calories)
- Coke: 92 ounces (1080 Calories)+ 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Dr Pepper: 60 ounces (750 Calories)
- Mug Root Beer: 40 ounces (520 Calories)
- Sprite: 76 ounces (900 Calories) + 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Water: 6.2 Liters + 200 ounces (0 Calories)
- Gatorade: 500 ml (40 Calories) + 40 oz (160 calories)
- Powerade: 20 oz (130 Calories)
Pizza Ticker: 15
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
Game Time:
10-7 Tartan early before N St.Paul gets it going. Goodnews Kpegeol with a 3 point play and a 3. Soph guard Bryce Phillips scores off a turnover to end the 10-2 run. 17-12 NSP at 8:20. Joevon Walker playing big inside with a pair of hoops and a nice pass to Elijah Johnson who hammers it home. 20-18 NSP at 5:47 as they take a timeout to regroup. Jordan Horn with a 4 point play as Tartan comes from 6 down to tie at 26. Walker with a 3 point play and a Horn 3 sandwich a Goodnews triple. Kpegoel misses 2 free throws but the 2nd miss is tipped in his own basket by Jarvis Thomas as the halftime buzzer sounds. 34-32 North St. Paul at the break.
Horn hits a 3 and puts back his own miss for a 3 point play. Its a 10-3 Tartan run to start the half for a 42-37 lead with 14:30 left. Termaine Daniels for 3 to cut it to 2 but its Horn taking over with a 3, a drive and another bomb. 52-44 Tartan with 10 minutes left and NSP appears to be in trouble. But Tartan starts taking bad shots and NSP capitalizes. Goodnews for 3, Phillips for 3, a drive and he runs out for a 3 point play with 6:15 left. NSP takes the lead 57-54 after the 13-2 run in under 4 minutes.
Daniels and Kpegeol both with clutch bonus free throws. 63-57 NSP to 3:20 left but Horn counters with another bomb. NSP turns it over with 1:44 left and Jordan Thompson scores it for Tartan. Out of a timeout its Adreon Wadlington with a strong drive for 2. Jarvis Thomas called for a travel in the post and its Goodnews for North St. Paul with 51 seconds left to push the lead to 5. Horn hits a 3 with 19.8 seconds left to cut the margin to 3. NSP turns it over and Tartan has a chance. They miss a 3 and then at least 2 offensive rebound chances. Daniels makes 2 free throws with 13 seconds left to seal it. North St. Paul advances to state with the 70-65 win.
Post Game:
Jordan Horn leads Tartan with 31 points via 7 triples. He had 20 of those points in the 2nd half as he carried the offense. Joevon Walker with 14 of his 16 points in the 1st half but in an interesting twist he didn't play much in the 2nd half. He was their only other offense as no one else had more than 5 points. Shot selection a major issue for Tartan. Jarvis Thomas with an off night of only 5 points. The Titans finish the season 24-5 and co-champs of the Metro East with North St. Paul. For as poorly as they played, this one will sting for the offseason. Expectations will be very high for this group next season as almost everybody returns.
Goodnews Kpegeol leads North St. Paul with 23 points. He came up with clutch plays all night. Termaine Daniels with 12. Bryce Phillips with 12 off the bench in high quality minutes. Adreon Wadlington with 11. Give North St. Paul all the credit. They played better and made more big plays and totally deserved to win. Great job mixing defenses in the 1st half to keep the Titans off balance. Then a smaller lineup in the 2nd half (mainly with Phillips) came up huge. North St. Paul likely looking at no seed at state which means 1 of Hopkins, Apple Valley and possibly Osseo in the quarters. If Osseo wins state seeds are pretty well set. Hopkins, Apple Valley, Osseo as the top 3 with Maple Grove 4 and the winner of Lakeville North and Rochester John Marshall at 5. Pick your order for the top 3. I say Osseo 1 and Apple Valley 3. Yes that sounds horrible to have AV at 3 but For me, Osseo has to be rewarded for being undefeated and doing it in the toughest conference around (and they played in the tougher half). Hopkins gets 2 based on head to head. Now if Osseo loses, then that means that 1 of Mounds View, N St. Paul, Blaine or the Eden Prairie/Edina winner will get the 5 seed. I would vote for random draw the bottom 4 instead of the bottom 3 in that case.
2016 4AA Semifinals
Prologue
To St. PaulArlington Washington for the 4AA semifinals. 2 of the top teams in AA represented along with a couple of dangerous programs in Roosevelt and New Life. Very disappointing crowd turnout for both games. Its Sprite from the concession stand and McDonald's afterwards.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 172 (65 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 143 varsity games)
Beverage Ticker: 930 ounces (8540 calories) + 9.7 liters (1370 calories)
Pizza Ticker: 15
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
Game 1: Minnehaha vs Minneapolis Roosevelt
Tight game early on at 11 with Elijah Hannah carrying the Roosevelt offense. Minnehaha then goes on an 11-2 run with 2 JaVonni Bickham putbacks and a pair of 3s from their bench. Roosevelt cuts it to 5 with a Martez Rodgers 3 but a 9-1 Minnehaha run pushes the lead to 36-25 at the break. Bickham with a 3 after a 2nd Kaden Johnson 3 to push the lead to 13. Bickham putback and steal for 2. 53-38 Minnehaha with 9:40 left. TaRay Graves with a drive for 2 and a triple to cut the margin to 9 with 7:10 left. Bickham again inside followed by Jalen Suggs to Jose Williamson for a 3 point play. Roosevelt never gets closer than 9. Minnehaha wins 75-59. JaVonni Bickham with a huge night of 23 points and 21 rebounds. That included a pair of 3s as well, 1 of those with about 4 minutes to go to kill Teddies momentum. Jalen Suggs an off night of 13 points but a much better 2nd half than 1st. His supreme confidence is a great asset but it also negatively impacts his shot selection. Elijah Hannah leads Roosevelt with 22.
Game 2: St. Croix Lutheran vs New Life Academy
New Life lost to St. Croix Lutheran 65-39 in the season opener for both teams so the season comes full circle for one of them tonight. Trenton Krueger with a block that leads to an Ade Murkey layup to start the scoring. After a New Life bucket, its 10 in a row from the Crusaders with Murkey hitting a 3 and dunking off a turnover. 12-2 St. Croix Lutheran at 13:41. Krueger sits with his 2nd foul at 6:14 and New Life hanging around down 14. Its 30-17 Crusaders with 4:30 left in the half. Then Aage Rovney knocks down 4 3s in the last 3 minutes including 1 just before the halftime buzzer. 49-23 St. Croix Lutheran and the rout is on. New Life keeps it in the 25 range for most of the half but the outcome is never in doubt. St. Croix Lutheran wins 81-52. Aage Rovney 27 points with 5 3s. Ade Murkey 22 points and 12 rebounds with the Mr Basketball crew taking a look (to me, he's a no brainer final 5 selection). Trenton Krueger 16 points. Ebenezer Ketema with 3 3s and 13 points to lead New Life. New Life with no answer for the simple right wing pick and roll with Rovney and Krueger (via Euro ball screen offense). Rovney with a bunch of jumpers off of that and a couple of drives for fouls. Left wing though, not so much as that was going to his weak hand. We'll see how well scouted that is.
That sets up an epic rematch for the section title. These teams played back at the beginning of December (read about it here). St. Croix Lutheran broke open a halftime tie to take a 21 point lead. But Minnehaha roared back to cut the margin to 3 late. St. Croix Lutheran pulled away at the charity stripe to win 96-83. Minnehaha will want to force turnovers in that game. Aage Rovney handling the ball vs pressure and providing perimeter scoring is my key to watch.
To St. Paul
Number of Teams I've Seen: 172 (65 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 143 varsity games)
Beverage Ticker: 930 ounces (8540 calories) + 9.7 liters (1370 calories)
- Pepsi: 432 ounces (4850 Calories) + 2 liters (840 Calories)
- Coke: 92 ounces (1080 Calories)+ 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Dr Pepper: 60 ounces (750 Calories)
- Mug Root Beer: 40 ounces (520 Calories)
- Sprite: 76 ounces (900 Calories) + 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Water: 6.2 Liters + 200 ounces (0 Calories)
- Gatorade: 500 ml (40 Calories) + 40 oz (160 calories)
- Powerade: 20 oz (130 Calories)
Pizza Ticker: 15
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
Game 1: Minnehaha vs Minneapolis Roosevelt
Tight game early on at 11 with Elijah Hannah carrying the Roosevelt offense. Minnehaha then goes on an 11-2 run with 2 JaVonni Bickham putbacks and a pair of 3s from their bench. Roosevelt cuts it to 5 with a Martez Rodgers 3 but a 9-1 Minnehaha run pushes the lead to 36-25 at the break. Bickham with a 3 after a 2nd Kaden Johnson 3 to push the lead to 13. Bickham putback and steal for 2. 53-38 Minnehaha with 9:40 left. TaRay Graves with a drive for 2 and a triple to cut the margin to 9 with 7:10 left. Bickham again inside followed by Jalen Suggs to Jose Williamson for a 3 point play. Roosevelt never gets closer than 9. Minnehaha wins 75-59. JaVonni Bickham with a huge night of 23 points and 21 rebounds. That included a pair of 3s as well, 1 of those with about 4 minutes to go to kill Teddies momentum. Jalen Suggs an off night of 13 points but a much better 2nd half than 1st. His supreme confidence is a great asset but it also negatively impacts his shot selection. Elijah Hannah leads Roosevelt with 22.
Game 2: St. Croix Lutheran vs New Life Academy
New Life lost to St. Croix Lutheran 65-39 in the season opener for both teams so the season comes full circle for one of them tonight. Trenton Krueger with a block that leads to an Ade Murkey layup to start the scoring. After a New Life bucket, its 10 in a row from the Crusaders with Murkey hitting a 3 and dunking off a turnover. 12-2 St. Croix Lutheran at 13:41. Krueger sits with his 2nd foul at 6:14 and New Life hanging around down 14. Its 30-17 Crusaders with 4:30 left in the half. Then Aage Rovney knocks down 4 3s in the last 3 minutes including 1 just before the halftime buzzer. 49-23 St. Croix Lutheran and the rout is on. New Life keeps it in the 25 range for most of the half but the outcome is never in doubt. St. Croix Lutheran wins 81-52. Aage Rovney 27 points with 5 3s. Ade Murkey 22 points and 12 rebounds with the Mr Basketball crew taking a look (to me, he's a no brainer final 5 selection). Trenton Krueger 16 points. Ebenezer Ketema with 3 3s and 13 points to lead New Life. New Life with no answer for the simple right wing pick and roll with Rovney and Krueger (via Euro ball screen offense). Rovney with a bunch of jumpers off of that and a couple of drives for fouls. Left wing though, not so much as that was going to his weak hand. We'll see how well scouted that is.
That sets up an epic rematch for the section title. These teams played back at the beginning of December (read about it here). St. Croix Lutheran broke open a halftime tie to take a 21 point lead. But Minnehaha roared back to cut the margin to 3 late. St. Croix Lutheran pulled away at the charity stripe to win 96-83. Minnehaha will want to force turnovers in that game. Aage Rovney handling the ball vs pressure and providing perimeter scoring is my key to watch.
Mustangs are road warriors
Prologue
Its Mounds View again, but this time the Mustangs are on the road at Champlin Park in the 5AAAA semifinals. Great crowd on hand. Quality hot dog and the 1st Powerade of the season from the concession stand tonight.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 171 (65 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 141 varsity games)
Beverage Ticker: 910 ounces (8300 calories) + 9.7 liters (1370 calories)
Pizza Ticker: 15
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
Game Time:
Zeke Thompson 6 early points for Mounds View as they jump out to a 14-9 advantage 6 minutes in. Champlin Park counters with an 11-2 run. Theo John starting that with a post up for a dunk and he adds a putback in the run as well. 20-16 Champlin Park inside 9 minutes left in the half. Then Nate Albers takes over with a 3, then he kicks out of the post for a 3. He makes a free throw and then back to back bombs as he contributes to all 13 points (10 scored, assisted on other 3) in a 13-4 run. McKinley Wright picking up his 2nd foul during the run but he has to come back in at the 4:26 mark before the game gets away. 29-24 Mounds View leading. Theo John in the post again and a tip in. Josiah Strong with a jumper and a steal that he finishes with a nice euro step. Thompson with a floater over John to finish the scoring in the half. 36-32 Mounds View at the break.
John with a free throw and a putback to keep Champlin Park within 5. 2 more Mounds View hoops countered by a Wright 3 point play. Thompson with a back cut on the baseline for an easy layup. 48-38 Mounds View with 10:14 left and the Rebels need a timeout. McKinley Wright then heats up while Nate Albers is ice cold. Wright drives for 2 and puts back a miss. Albers breaks a streak of 8 straight misses before Wright scores again. John and Wright each add a free throw. Then Wright scores again. 52-50 Mounds View with 4:24 left and they need a timeout. Champlin Park run is 10-2. Wright sits with his 4th foul with 3:53 left. John misses a front end but the Rebels get it back and Aaron Kloppner spins for 2. John then fouled inside and makes 2 free throws with 2:51 left to bring the game to even at 54. But Albers counters with a huge 3 and he is pumped up. Champlin Park takes a timeout and gets Wright back in the game with 2:34 left.
Champlin Park goes right inside to John who immediately scores. The Mustangs then hold and almost turn it over with 1:30 left. They take a timeout to save possession with 1:16 left. Steven Skwarek makes clutch bonus freebies with 52.7 left to push the lead back to 3. Wright puts back his own miss with 39.6 left. Lots of 1-4 low down the stretch with Wright crossing over to his left to finish or step back (mostly finish tonight). Mounds View misses a front end with 26 seconds left and here we go. We go flat again and Wright goes left again. He rises up from 10 feet and Albers with great defense to not foul just does get a piece of it. The jump ball goes to Mounds View with 8.7 left. Thompson makes 2 free throws. Champlin Park last chance is Wright pushing it straight to the top of the key, no Mounds View foul in this Foul or Defend situation. Wright raises up from at the top of the arc and its no good at the buzzer. Mounds View wins 61-58. The Mustangs will play Osseo in the 5AAAA championship Friday in Rogers.
Post Game:
Champlin Park finishes their season 21-7. McKinley Wright with 14 of his 19 in the second half to lead the Rebels. I liked the idea of using Marcus Hill and DJ Hunter (big athletic guys) on Albers and it proved fairly effective in the 2nd half. Then again the officials allowed them to mug people off the ball. But that's all the idea that they had for Thompson and Albers. They did get Theo John some post touches but with no guy over 6-3 playing (if you believe the roster sizes), demand a post touch on every possession. But only 1 senior graduates so expectations will be even higher next year.
Mounds View just continues to find ways to win. They are now 22-6. Nate Albers with another big night. He makes 5 3s and finishes with 24 points. I had him only 3-12 FGs in the 2nd half but he came up with the huge 3 once Champlin Park rallied from 10 down to tie it. Zeke Thompson adds 18. They made Champlin Park work for absolutely everything and hurt themselves with mistakes. Very patient offense and they got quality looks. Love the matchup with Osseo. Both teams grind you out defensively, take care of the ball to get quality shots and don't have a major post threat. Osseo deeper and more athletic but no Zach Theisen is a major loss of outside shooting for the Orioles. Kameron Bettie is my X-Factor in that game. He came up big in their win over Champlin Park taking advantage of their small lineup with Theo John in foul trouble.
Its Mounds View again, but this time the Mustangs are on the road at Champlin Park in the 5AAAA semifinals. Great crowd on hand. Quality hot dog and the 1st Powerade of the season from the concession stand tonight.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 171 (65 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 141 varsity games)
Beverage Ticker: 910 ounces (8300 calories) + 9.7 liters (1370 calories)
- Pepsi: 432 ounces (4850 Calories) + 2 liters (840 Calories)
- Coke: 92 ounces (1080 Calories)+ 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Dr Pepper: 60 ounces (750 Calories)
- Mug Root Beer: 40 ounces (520 Calories)
- Sprite: 56 ounces (660 Calories) + 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Water: 6.2 Liters + 200 ounces (0 Calories)
- Gatorade: 500 ml (40 Calories) + 40 oz (160 calories)
- Powerade: 20 oz (130 Calories)
Pizza Ticker: 15
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
Game Time:
Zeke Thompson 6 early points for Mounds View as they jump out to a 14-9 advantage 6 minutes in. Champlin Park counters with an 11-2 run. Theo John starting that with a post up for a dunk and he adds a putback in the run as well. 20-16 Champlin Park inside 9 minutes left in the half. Then Nate Albers takes over with a 3, then he kicks out of the post for a 3. He makes a free throw and then back to back bombs as he contributes to all 13 points (10 scored, assisted on other 3) in a 13-4 run. McKinley Wright picking up his 2nd foul during the run but he has to come back in at the 4:26 mark before the game gets away. 29-24 Mounds View leading. Theo John in the post again and a tip in. Josiah Strong with a jumper and a steal that he finishes with a nice euro step. Thompson with a floater over John to finish the scoring in the half. 36-32 Mounds View at the break.
John with a free throw and a putback to keep Champlin Park within 5. 2 more Mounds View hoops countered by a Wright 3 point play. Thompson with a back cut on the baseline for an easy layup. 48-38 Mounds View with 10:14 left and the Rebels need a timeout. McKinley Wright then heats up while Nate Albers is ice cold. Wright drives for 2 and puts back a miss. Albers breaks a streak of 8 straight misses before Wright scores again. John and Wright each add a free throw. Then Wright scores again. 52-50 Mounds View with 4:24 left and they need a timeout. Champlin Park run is 10-2. Wright sits with his 4th foul with 3:53 left. John misses a front end but the Rebels get it back and Aaron Kloppner spins for 2. John then fouled inside and makes 2 free throws with 2:51 left to bring the game to even at 54. But Albers counters with a huge 3 and he is pumped up. Champlin Park takes a timeout and gets Wright back in the game with 2:34 left.
Champlin Park goes right inside to John who immediately scores. The Mustangs then hold and almost turn it over with 1:30 left. They take a timeout to save possession with 1:16 left. Steven Skwarek makes clutch bonus freebies with 52.7 left to push the lead back to 3. Wright puts back his own miss with 39.6 left. Lots of 1-4 low down the stretch with Wright crossing over to his left to finish or step back (mostly finish tonight). Mounds View misses a front end with 26 seconds left and here we go. We go flat again and Wright goes left again. He rises up from 10 feet and Albers with great defense to not foul just does get a piece of it. The jump ball goes to Mounds View with 8.7 left. Thompson makes 2 free throws. Champlin Park last chance is Wright pushing it straight to the top of the key, no Mounds View foul in this Foul or Defend situation. Wright raises up from at the top of the arc and its no good at the buzzer. Mounds View wins 61-58. The Mustangs will play Osseo in the 5AAAA championship Friday in Rogers.
Post Game:
Champlin Park finishes their season 21-7. McKinley Wright with 14 of his 19 in the second half to lead the Rebels. I liked the idea of using Marcus Hill and DJ Hunter (big athletic guys) on Albers and it proved fairly effective in the 2nd half. Then again the officials allowed them to mug people off the ball. But that's all the idea that they had for Thompson and Albers. They did get Theo John some post touches but with no guy over 6-3 playing (if you believe the roster sizes), demand a post touch on every possession. But only 1 senior graduates so expectations will be even higher next year.
Mounds View just continues to find ways to win. They are now 22-6. Nate Albers with another big night. He makes 5 3s and finishes with 24 points. I had him only 3-12 FGs in the 2nd half but he came up with the huge 3 once Champlin Park rallied from 10 down to tie it. Zeke Thompson adds 18. They made Champlin Park work for absolutely everything and hurt themselves with mistakes. Very patient offense and they got quality looks. Love the matchup with Osseo. Both teams grind you out defensively, take care of the ball to get quality shots and don't have a major post threat. Osseo deeper and more athletic but no Zach Theisen is a major loss of outside shooting for the Orioles. Kameron Bettie is my X-Factor in that game. He came up big in their win over Champlin Park taking advantage of their small lineup with Theo John in foul trouble.
An Outstate Playoff Weekend
What a weekend. 2AA Quarterfinals in New Prague Friday night then the northwest corner of the state invades St. Cloud with 8AAA and 8AAAA semifinals but 5AAA kicking it off. Plenty of pizza on the schedule. The Dominos pizza at Halenback always worthwhile. Also plenty of Pepsi to get me through it. 56 more ounces of that in all. The miles, too many to count.
Friday Night
Full house at New Prague for the 2AA quarters and no cheating by watching the girls game in the auxillary gym (who looks identical to the main gym). Its the top 3 teams in the Minnesota River plus St. Peter (co-champ of the Big South-East division). Belle Plaine and Jordan split their 2 regular season meetings. Nice strategy from Jordan to faceguard Luke Narveson (league MVP and SMSU FB commit) and Mitchel Stier. Big night from Jordan's Jimmy Volbrecht with 27 and 15. But Belle Plaine goes on a late 14-0 run to break a 53 all tie down the stretch. 68-58 Belle Plaine advances. Clutch nights from Brandon Schulz and Brody Curtiss to put Belle Plaine over the top.
In the late game Norwood-Young America saw the same faceguard idea from St. Peter. Kellen Erpenbach would still control the game for NYA despite that. St. Peter gets 1 FG in the last 8 minutes of the 1st half. NYA goes on a 18-2 run with that. Then 1 FG in the last 9 minutes of the 2nd half. NYA runs away for a 56-39 win. Erpenbach with 16, Brice Panning with a big night of 21 for NYA. Colton Lusty 9 for the Saints.
Saturday at Halenbeck
Then its off to St. Cloud State for 3 sets of semifinals. We begin with the closest group of 5AAA. Monticello no trouble with Becker in the 1st game of the day. Matt Todd 22 pts, 10 rebs, 3 ast and 6 steals. Becker 22 turnovers and they shoot 30.6% for the game. Todd went over 1000 career points in the game. The 2nd game also looked like it was going to get out of hand. Rocori held a 56-41 lead but gave up a late 18-1 run to allow Apollo take the lead. Apollo had the ball at the end of regulation to win it but couldn't score. Rocori would win 74-68 in overtime. Ethan Novacinski with 25 pts and 11 rebs for Apollo before fouling out in OT. Austin Overman played a stabalizing point power forward role for Rocori. He ended up with 11 pts, 6 rbs and 8 ast. Apollo 34.8% shooting for the game and still hung around thanks to 52% in the 2nd half. Their scrambling pressure triggered the big run.
Then its the 8AAA semis. Ugly start to Detroit Lakes and Fergus Falls. Detroit Lakes 11 turnovers while Fergus Falls started 1-10 from 3. Fergus Falls would make 4 straight 3s to end the half but Detroit Lakes was 9-12 (with 11 TO) to stay close. Fergus Falls would make their 1st 2 3s of the 2nd half. Then it was a clinic. Cut and move and it was layup after layup after layup. 2-3 from 3 right away in the half, the rest of the half 15-18 from the floor. Fergus Falls rolls 67-45. 21 assists on 27 field goals for the Otters. Alexandria no problem with Sauk Rapids-Rice in the other semifinal. Jaran Roste 19 points and 8 assists controlling the pace. Alec Wensman adds 17 points and 14 rebounds for Alexandria. Kobe Boraas 19 points as he tried to rally the Storm in the 2nd half. Soph PG Camden Jackson 14 pts, 6 rebs, 7 ast for the Storm. But too much 1 on 1 offense from Sauk Rapids.
Now to the big boys as 8AAAA finishes the night. Both of these games are rematches of regular season blowouts. Rogers would hang around vs Maple Grove but ultimately the Crimson were in no major danger. Brad Davison another huge night of 32 points, 6 boards and 6 assists with a pair of steals. Steffan Musoke all 11 of his points in the 1st half for Rogers. He went over the 1000 career points plateau with that. Maple Grove wins 74-61. Brainerd gave up 36 to Matt Keller and got pounded by 28 in the 1st meeting vs Elk River. Keller would be very quiet to start and Brainerd stayed within 2 at half Trent Pink with the 1st 10 of the half for Elk River taking over inside. Then Keller would heat up and that's too much for Brainerd. Elk River wins 65-51. Matt Keller with 5 3s and 24 points. He also added 7 rebounds. Trent Pink 16 and 6. Kobe Ahonen 14 points and 12 boards for Brainerd. Michael Russell 17 points to lead the Warriors. Brainerd only shot 21.7% in the 2nd half.
Maple Grove will play Elk River in the 8AAAA final on Thursday (site TBD). I could only wish they'd move the game to Friday night and make it a doubleheader with 5AAAA's final at Rogers. What a night of getting the top 4 in the NW Suburban together that would be (unless Mounds View would crash the party). Maple Grove won the regular season meeting 81-49 in early December. But Tywhon Pickford had 19 in that game and he's now out. That makes Maple Grove a very different team.
Friday Night
Full house at New Prague for the 2AA quarters and no cheating by watching the girls game in the auxillary gym (who looks identical to the main gym). Its the top 3 teams in the Minnesota River plus St. Peter (co-champ of the Big South-East division). Belle Plaine and Jordan split their 2 regular season meetings. Nice strategy from Jordan to faceguard Luke Narveson (league MVP and SMSU FB commit) and Mitchel Stier. Big night from Jordan's Jimmy Volbrecht with 27 and 15. But Belle Plaine goes on a late 14-0 run to break a 53 all tie down the stretch. 68-58 Belle Plaine advances. Clutch nights from Brandon Schulz and Brody Curtiss to put Belle Plaine over the top.
In the late game Norwood-Young America saw the same faceguard idea from St. Peter. Kellen Erpenbach would still control the game for NYA despite that. St. Peter gets 1 FG in the last 8 minutes of the 1st half. NYA goes on a 18-2 run with that. Then 1 FG in the last 9 minutes of the 2nd half. NYA runs away for a 56-39 win. Erpenbach with 16, Brice Panning with a big night of 21 for NYA. Colton Lusty 9 for the Saints.
Saturday at Halenbeck
Then its off to St. Cloud State for 3 sets of semifinals. We begin with the closest group of 5AAA. Monticello no trouble with Becker in the 1st game of the day. Matt Todd 22 pts, 10 rebs, 3 ast and 6 steals. Becker 22 turnovers and they shoot 30.6% for the game. Todd went over 1000 career points in the game. The 2nd game also looked like it was going to get out of hand. Rocori held a 56-41 lead but gave up a late 18-1 run to allow Apollo take the lead. Apollo had the ball at the end of regulation to win it but couldn't score. Rocori would win 74-68 in overtime. Ethan Novacinski with 25 pts and 11 rebs for Apollo before fouling out in OT. Austin Overman played a stabalizing point power forward role for Rocori. He ended up with 11 pts, 6 rbs and 8 ast. Apollo 34.8% shooting for the game and still hung around thanks to 52% in the 2nd half. Their scrambling pressure triggered the big run.
Then its the 8AAA semis. Ugly start to Detroit Lakes and Fergus Falls. Detroit Lakes 11 turnovers while Fergus Falls started 1-10 from 3. Fergus Falls would make 4 straight 3s to end the half but Detroit Lakes was 9-12 (with 11 TO) to stay close. Fergus Falls would make their 1st 2 3s of the 2nd half. Then it was a clinic. Cut and move and it was layup after layup after layup. 2-3 from 3 right away in the half, the rest of the half 15-18 from the floor. Fergus Falls rolls 67-45. 21 assists on 27 field goals for the Otters. Alexandria no problem with Sauk Rapids-Rice in the other semifinal. Jaran Roste 19 points and 8 assists controlling the pace. Alec Wensman adds 17 points and 14 rebounds for Alexandria. Kobe Boraas 19 points as he tried to rally the Storm in the 2nd half. Soph PG Camden Jackson 14 pts, 6 rebs, 7 ast for the Storm. But too much 1 on 1 offense from Sauk Rapids.
Now to the big boys as 8AAAA finishes the night. Both of these games are rematches of regular season blowouts. Rogers would hang around vs Maple Grove but ultimately the Crimson were in no major danger. Brad Davison another huge night of 32 points, 6 boards and 6 assists with a pair of steals. Steffan Musoke all 11 of his points in the 1st half for Rogers. He went over the 1000 career points plateau with that. Maple Grove wins 74-61. Brainerd gave up 36 to Matt Keller and got pounded by 28 in the 1st meeting vs Elk River. Keller would be very quiet to start and Brainerd stayed within 2 at half Trent Pink with the 1st 10 of the half for Elk River taking over inside. Then Keller would heat up and that's too much for Brainerd. Elk River wins 65-51. Matt Keller with 5 3s and 24 points. He also added 7 rebounds. Trent Pink 16 and 6. Kobe Ahonen 14 points and 12 boards for Brainerd. Michael Russell 17 points to lead the Warriors. Brainerd only shot 21.7% in the 2nd half.
Maple Grove will play Elk River in the 8AAAA final on Thursday (site TBD). I could only wish they'd move the game to Friday night and make it a doubleheader with 5AAAA's final at Rogers. What a night of getting the top 4 in the NW Suburban together that would be (unless Mounds View would crash the party). Maple Grove won the regular season meeting 81-49 in early December. But Tywhon Pickford had 19 in that game and he's now out. That makes Maple Grove a very different team.
Mounds View OT Thriller
Prologue
To Mounds View for their 5AAAA Quarterfinal matchup with restocked Centennial. This is the 3 vs 6 game but we all know Centennial would have been higher than the 6 had they had everybody all season. Quality student sections on hand. But we did have a dad thrown out early in the 1st half. That required intervention by the sheriff. No concessions tonight. Gustavus and St. Thomas looking on.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 159 (63 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 132 varsity games)
Beverage Ticker: 834 ounces (7470 calories) + 9.7 liters (1370 calories)
Pizza Ticker: 12
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
Game Time:
Centennial out quickly with Josh McGreal scoring twice inside. 7-0 Cougars 2:20 in. Mounds View would go on a 9-0 run to cut the Cougars lead to 12-11 at 13:03. Zeke Thompson with a pair of Mustang hoops in that run. The Mustangs are now box and 1 on South Dakota commit Tyler Peterson. But it doesn't both the Cougars as they go on a 7-0 run with 2 more McGreal hoops. After a Nate Albers 3 breaks that spurt, its McGreal with a 3 point play and Peterson in the post. Centennial tearing it up inside. Then Peterson from deep and a Theo Johnson postup after a MoKiller timeout. 29-14 Centennial at 6:17 after a 17-3 run. Mounds View scores 10 of the last 14 of the half with Thompson scoring 5 of those. 33-24 Centennial at the break.
Nick McMillan with an offensive rebound for 2 free throws. Thompson with a tough 2 as he's taking anybody off the bounce. Mounds View within 6. McGreal from Peterson and Alex Facon runs out for a dunk to keep the lead at double figures. 45-35 Centennial with 12 minutes left. The game then changes in the blink of an eye.
Its Thompson with the hoop and harm. Albers for 3 off a BLOB and a McMillan steal for a 3 point play. 9-0 Mounds View run in 17 seconds and we have a game. 45-44 Centennial with 11:41 left. Back and forth we go. Thompson bonus free throws to keep Mounds View within 1. Then a rebound and an accidental takedown that looked horrible gets no call. That fires up the crowd. Peterson picks up his 4th with 7:43 left but he's too valuable to sit. Albers finally gets Mounds View the lead with 6:20 left. Its their 1st lead of the night.
Peterson really controlling the Centennial offense but Centennial can't find a hoop. Its Thompson for 2 more free throws off the bounce and a post up from Albers for a 56-53 Mounds View lead with 4:35 left. Centennial looks like they are in trouble. But Peterson won't let them go away. He makes both ends of the bonus and buries a 3 after Mounds View missed 2 freebies. 58-56 Centennial with 2:15 left. Thompson called for a charge to wave off a bucket right after that. Peterson with 2 more freebies with 1:01 left. 61-56 Centennial and now Mounds View is in trouble.
But the Mustangs do an absolutely fabulous job of managing the final minute. Thompson quickly attacks for a layup. They keep the ball out of Peterson's hands. That results in 2-4 free throws. Thompson makes 2 free throws in the middle of those attempts. Mounds View ball with 13.7 left down 3. They draw up a great set to free Albers up off the SLOB and its free money to tie it! Peterson rushes the ball back (no timeouts) and while there was contact, its a good no call with 2.3 left. Mounds View has 1 last chance full court but gets no look. 63 all to overtime.
In the OT, Thompson and Peterson still controlling the offenses for both sides. Its Thompson off the bounce for 2 free throws with 39.2 left and that's Peterson's 5th foul. Facon counters on the other end with a nice spin move for 2 with 25 seconds left. Thompson comes back and is fouled again with 12 seconds left. He misses the 1st and makes the 2nd. Centennial out of a timeout, misses a left corner 3. Mounds View makes 1 of 2 free throws with 2.2 left to seal it. Mounds View moves on with the thrilling 69-67 win in overtime.
Post Game:
Tyler Peterson leads Centennial with 21 points and had at least 3 assists in the 2nd half. He did a fine job of managing the game for the Cougars. He also played quality defense on Nate Albers. Junior forward Josh McGreal with 11 of his 15 in the 1st half. Theo Johnson with 12 inside. Centennial dominated the paint in the 1st half. I would have liked to see them pound the ball inside more in the 2nd half. Centennial finishes their season 10-17 but they were 8-5 in the 2nd half of the regular season. They have 3 bench guys and 2 starters coming back so there are some nice pieces there.
For Mounds View, the offense wasn't doing much. So give the ball to Zeke Thompson and get out of the way. Plenty of right side isos for 29 points from him. Simple but effective basketball. Nate Albers with a quiet 18 but had another clutch 3 late. Nick McMillan adds 13. Totally outplayed the 1st half they hung around, then 1 quick run and bang you're right in the game. Mounds View improves to 21-6 and they'll play at Champlin Park Monday night in the 5AAAA semifinals.
To Mounds View for their 5AAAA Quarterfinal matchup with restocked Centennial. This is the 3 vs 6 game but we all know Centennial would have been higher than the 6 had they had everybody all season. Quality student sections on hand. But we did have a dad thrown out early in the 1st half. That required intervention by the sheriff. No concessions tonight. Gustavus and St. Thomas looking on.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 159 (63 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 132 varsity games)
Beverage Ticker: 834 ounces (7470 calories) + 9.7 liters (1370 calories)
- Pepsi: 356 ounces (4200 Calories) + 2 liters (840 Calories)
- Coke: 92 ounces (1080 Calories)+ 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Dr Pepper: 60 ounces (750 Calories)
- Mug Root Beer: 40 ounces (520 Calories)
- Sprite: 56 ounces (660 Calories) + 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Water: 6.2 Liters + 200 ounces (0 Calories)
- Gatorade: 500 ml (40 Calories) + 40 oz (160 calories)
Pizza Ticker: 12
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
Game Time:
Centennial out quickly with Josh McGreal scoring twice inside. 7-0 Cougars 2:20 in. Mounds View would go on a 9-0 run to cut the Cougars lead to 12-11 at 13:03. Zeke Thompson with a pair of Mustang hoops in that run. The Mustangs are now box and 1 on South Dakota commit Tyler Peterson. But it doesn't both the Cougars as they go on a 7-0 run with 2 more McGreal hoops. After a Nate Albers 3 breaks that spurt, its McGreal with a 3 point play and Peterson in the post. Centennial tearing it up inside. Then Peterson from deep and a Theo Johnson postup after a MoKiller timeout. 29-14 Centennial at 6:17 after a 17-3 run. Mounds View scores 10 of the last 14 of the half with Thompson scoring 5 of those. 33-24 Centennial at the break.
Nick McMillan with an offensive rebound for 2 free throws. Thompson with a tough 2 as he's taking anybody off the bounce. Mounds View within 6. McGreal from Peterson and Alex Facon runs out for a dunk to keep the lead at double figures. 45-35 Centennial with 12 minutes left. The game then changes in the blink of an eye.
Its Thompson with the hoop and harm. Albers for 3 off a BLOB and a McMillan steal for a 3 point play. 9-0 Mounds View run in 17 seconds and we have a game. 45-44 Centennial with 11:41 left. Back and forth we go. Thompson bonus free throws to keep Mounds View within 1. Then a rebound and an accidental takedown that looked horrible gets no call. That fires up the crowd. Peterson picks up his 4th with 7:43 left but he's too valuable to sit. Albers finally gets Mounds View the lead with 6:20 left. Its their 1st lead of the night.
Peterson really controlling the Centennial offense but Centennial can't find a hoop. Its Thompson for 2 more free throws off the bounce and a post up from Albers for a 56-53 Mounds View lead with 4:35 left. Centennial looks like they are in trouble. But Peterson won't let them go away. He makes both ends of the bonus and buries a 3 after Mounds View missed 2 freebies. 58-56 Centennial with 2:15 left. Thompson called for a charge to wave off a bucket right after that. Peterson with 2 more freebies with 1:01 left. 61-56 Centennial and now Mounds View is in trouble.
But the Mustangs do an absolutely fabulous job of managing the final minute. Thompson quickly attacks for a layup. They keep the ball out of Peterson's hands. That results in 2-4 free throws. Thompson makes 2 free throws in the middle of those attempts. Mounds View ball with 13.7 left down 3. They draw up a great set to free Albers up off the SLOB and its free money to tie it! Peterson rushes the ball back (no timeouts) and while there was contact, its a good no call with 2.3 left. Mounds View has 1 last chance full court but gets no look. 63 all to overtime.
In the OT, Thompson and Peterson still controlling the offenses for both sides. Its Thompson off the bounce for 2 free throws with 39.2 left and that's Peterson's 5th foul. Facon counters on the other end with a nice spin move for 2 with 25 seconds left. Thompson comes back and is fouled again with 12 seconds left. He misses the 1st and makes the 2nd. Centennial out of a timeout, misses a left corner 3. Mounds View makes 1 of 2 free throws with 2.2 left to seal it. Mounds View moves on with the thrilling 69-67 win in overtime.
Post Game:
Tyler Peterson leads Centennial with 21 points and had at least 3 assists in the 2nd half. He did a fine job of managing the game for the Cougars. He also played quality defense on Nate Albers. Junior forward Josh McGreal with 11 of his 15 in the 1st half. Theo Johnson with 12 inside. Centennial dominated the paint in the 1st half. I would have liked to see them pound the ball inside more in the 2nd half. Centennial finishes their season 10-17 but they were 8-5 in the 2nd half of the regular season. They have 3 bench guys and 2 starters coming back so there are some nice pieces there.
For Mounds View, the offense wasn't doing much. So give the ball to Zeke Thompson and get out of the way. Plenty of right side isos for 29 points from him. Simple but effective basketball. Nate Albers with a quiet 18 but had another clutch 3 late. Nick McMillan adds 13. Totally outplayed the 1st half they hung around, then 1 quick run and bang you're right in the game. Mounds View improves to 21-6 and they'll play at Champlin Park Monday night in the 5AAAA semifinals.
Cadets advance on the road
Prologue
Its the quarterfinals in section 3AAA. I take in the 4 vs 5 game with Holy Angels hosting St. Thomas Academy. Solid student sections from both sides on hand. USA theme for the Holy Angels kids. Jerseys for the St. Thomas Academy kids. 2 very similar teams with a solid big guy inside and limited guards. Single game means no concessions.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 159 (63 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 131 varsity games)
Beverage Ticker: 834 ounces (7470 calories) + 9.7 liters (1370 calories)
Pizza Ticker: 12
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
Game Time:
Nate Chaffee doing his work inside for St. Thomas Academy early. He puts back 2 misses and scores in the post. The Cadets open up a 18-8 lead with 9:22 left in the 1st half. Sam Boehne the only offense for Holy Angels in that stretch. Dan Voxland would lead the really back for Holy Angels with 3 hoops. Chaffee with a late hoop to push the St. Thomas lead to 5 at half. 29-24 St. Thomas Academy at the break.
Boehne scores inside to cut it to 3 but then a 9-0 run from the Cadets pushes it to double digits. Chaffee 2 post hoops and a big Joe Harvey 3 in that run. Chaffee with a putback countered by a Robbie Metcalf 3 point play and a hoop from Joey Oslund. Holy Angels has the lead down to 42-39 with 9:25 left. But Holy Angels couldn't get the most critical stops. They give up back to back 3s, a tough driving hoop and a backdoor hoop. All of that when they were able to counter those to keep the margin at 4. That last backdoor hoop by Eddie Perry pushes the lead to 6 as we hit crunch time. But St. Thomas Academy misses all 3 front ends to keep it close. Holy Angels can't get a bucket though. St. Thomas Academy seals it with 6 straight free throws in the double bonus. Only 1 Holy Angels FG in the last 8:50 outside of a last second meaningless hoop. St. Thomas Academy advances with a 60-52 win.
Post Game:
Forward Sam Boehne with 10 of his 14 in the 1st half for Holy Angels. Guard Joey Oslund with 14, most of those in the 2nd half. 8 of those in a row to keep Holy Angels close. They gave up too many easy touches to Nate Chaffee in the post. Holy Angels finishes the season 9-16, 4-8 in the Tri-Metro. They have a nice piece to build around for next year in Sam Boehne.
Joe Harvey lead St. Thomas Academy with 18 points, 11 of those in the 2nd half. Nate Chaffee with 14 inside. Sam Vascellaro with 12. I thought they could have gotten Chaffee even more post touches than they did. Harvey, Eddie Perry and Sam Schleper make a couple of more plays than the AHA guards and that's the difference. St. Thomas Academy improves to 8-19 overall. They'll play top seed Highland Park in the semis on Saturday night at Jefferson. Very contrasting styles in that game as Highland Park will want to get out and go vs a slower pace from the Cadets.
Its the quarterfinals in section 3AAA. I take in the 4 vs 5 game with Holy Angels hosting St. Thomas Academy. Solid student sections from both sides on hand. USA theme for the Holy Angels kids. Jerseys for the St. Thomas Academy kids. 2 very similar teams with a solid big guy inside and limited guards. Single game means no concessions.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 159 (63 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 131 varsity games)
Beverage Ticker: 834 ounces (7470 calories) + 9.7 liters (1370 calories)
- Pepsi: 356 ounces (4200 Calories) + 2 liters (840 Calories)
- Coke: 92 ounces (1080 Calories)+ 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Dr Pepper: 60 ounces (750 Calories)
- Mug Root Beer: 40 ounces (520 Calories)
- Sprite: 56 ounces (660 Calories) + 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Water: 6.2 Liters + 200 ounces (0 Calories)
- Gatorade: 500 ml (40 Calories) + 40 oz (160 calories)
Pizza Ticker: 12
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
Game Time:
Nate Chaffee doing his work inside for St. Thomas Academy early. He puts back 2 misses and scores in the post. The Cadets open up a 18-8 lead with 9:22 left in the 1st half. Sam Boehne the only offense for Holy Angels in that stretch. Dan Voxland would lead the really back for Holy Angels with 3 hoops. Chaffee with a late hoop to push the St. Thomas lead to 5 at half. 29-24 St. Thomas Academy at the break.
Boehne scores inside to cut it to 3 but then a 9-0 run from the Cadets pushes it to double digits. Chaffee 2 post hoops and a big Joe Harvey 3 in that run. Chaffee with a putback countered by a Robbie Metcalf 3 point play and a hoop from Joey Oslund. Holy Angels has the lead down to 42-39 with 9:25 left. But Holy Angels couldn't get the most critical stops. They give up back to back 3s, a tough driving hoop and a backdoor hoop. All of that when they were able to counter those to keep the margin at 4. That last backdoor hoop by Eddie Perry pushes the lead to 6 as we hit crunch time. But St. Thomas Academy misses all 3 front ends to keep it close. Holy Angels can't get a bucket though. St. Thomas Academy seals it with 6 straight free throws in the double bonus. Only 1 Holy Angels FG in the last 8:50 outside of a last second meaningless hoop. St. Thomas Academy advances with a 60-52 win.
Post Game:
Forward Sam Boehne with 10 of his 14 in the 1st half for Holy Angels. Guard Joey Oslund with 14, most of those in the 2nd half. 8 of those in a row to keep Holy Angels close. They gave up too many easy touches to Nate Chaffee in the post. Holy Angels finishes the season 9-16, 4-8 in the Tri-Metro. They have a nice piece to build around for next year in Sam Boehne.
Joe Harvey lead St. Thomas Academy with 18 points, 11 of those in the 2nd half. Nate Chaffee with 14 inside. Sam Vascellaro with 12. I thought they could have gotten Chaffee even more post touches than they did. Harvey, Eddie Perry and Sam Schleper make a couple of more plays than the AHA guards and that's the difference. St. Thomas Academy improves to 8-19 overall. They'll play top seed Highland Park in the semis on Saturday night at Jefferson. Very contrasting styles in that game as Highland Park will want to get out and go vs a slower pace from the Cadets.
Jackson's Monster Night leads Patriots
Prologue
Now we get to the playoffs. But man does it feel weird saying playoffs (Playoffs?, thanks Jim Mora) on February 23rd. What an opener we have as its off to the Haben Center to see #7AAA Henry take on #9AAA Benilde-St. Margaret's in the section 6AAA 4 vs 5 game. Its Lithgow working tonight with 2 other bad refs. No Sam Baker tonight on the bench or in the roster for Benilde-St. Margaret's. That's a huge loss for them. The biggest oddity of the night? How about the 23.7 oz bottle of water. That's 700 ml for those of you scoring in the metric system. Who comes up with that? 500 ml, not enough, 750 ml, no too much. 700 ml, just right. Thanks Goldilocks. Lithgow throws a terrible opening toss and we're off and running
Song of the Day:
Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing
Number of Teams I've Seen: 158 (62 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 130 varsity games)
Beverage Ticker: 834 ounces (7470 calories) + 9.7 liters (1370 calories)
Pizza Ticker: 12
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
Game Time:
Julian Jackson going to work early and often for Henry. He scores off 2 post ups, then a putback for a 3 point play in a 9-2 Henry run. Benilde-St. Margaret's keeps the pace slow with a bit of a matchup zone. Henry not all that patient against it. But they're getting almost every offensive rebound. Still the Red Knights hang around to tie it at 15 via a Matt Lilienthal 3 just inside the 8 minute mark. Jackson another putback and postup. Michael Wexler for 3 to keep BSM within 23-22. Then Henry takes off. Jackson putback 3 point play and a hoop off a turnover. Then Henry hits 3 triples around another Jackson putback 3 point play and a Savion Scott stickback. Henry stretches the lead to 44-29 at the half. The last run just before half was 19-4 before frosh Jamison Battle hit a 3.
Eli Cave starts the 2nd half with a driving 3 point play to bring BSM within 12. But the Red Knights won't get any closer. Scott for 3, Jackson puts back a missed free throw and scores in the post and the lead is 53-32 with 15:27 left. After Jackson scores off a turnover, Battle hits 2 more 3s to end an 8-0 BSM run. 63-46 Henry still in control with 7 minutes left. Jackson on the offensive glass again and in the post for 4 free throws plus another bucket. Its a slow last 10 minutes. Then a late T from Lithgow on BSM head coach John Moore (pretty soft). Plus an intentional foul that could have gotten ugly. Great job by both teams getting their teammate away and staying under control. BSM in total frustration mode at the end. Henry moves on with the 83-57 win.
Post Game:
Eli Cave leads Benilde-St. Margaret's with 16 points. But overall it was a pretty quiet 16. Freshman lefty Jamison Battle with 4 3s and 12 points off the Red Knights bench. Looking forward to seeing him play the next 3 years. I'm a Wisconsin guy and I refer to The Swing Offense as The Flex's ugly step-sister. This was another night I saw BSM where the Swing wasn't good to them at all. Benilde-St. Margaret's finishes their season at 17-10, 9-5 in the Metro West (Tied for 3rd). This wasn't the season I envisioned for them.
For Patrick Henry, what a night for Julian Jackson. He goes off for 42 points. 21 of those coming via 9 offensive rebounds. He had to have somewhere between 15 and 20 rebounds. He was all over the glass on both ends. BSM did a terrible job of trying to keep the ball out of his hands as he got post touches mostly whenever he wanted. Henry getting way too many offensive boards as well(not just from Jackson). Demetress Edwards-Brown with 17 points and a couple of 3s to provide a perimeter option. Savion Scott added 12. Henry improves to 20-7 overall and moves on to play at De La Salle on Saturday night in the 6AAA semis. With Orono knocking off Waconia on the road tonight, Czar goes 4-0 in the 6AAA quarterfinal predictions for an early +2 score vs picking chalk.
Now we get to the playoffs. But man does it feel weird saying playoffs (Playoffs?, thanks Jim Mora) on February 23rd. What an opener we have as its off to the Haben Center to see #7AAA Henry take on #9AAA Benilde-St. Margaret's in the section 6AAA 4 vs 5 game. Its Lithgow working tonight with 2 other bad refs. No Sam Baker tonight on the bench or in the roster for Benilde-St. Margaret's. That's a huge loss for them. The biggest oddity of the night? How about the 23.7 oz bottle of water. That's 700 ml for those of you scoring in the metric system. Who comes up with that? 500 ml, not enough, 750 ml, no too much. 700 ml, just right. Thanks Goldilocks. Lithgow throws a terrible opening toss and we're off and running
Song of the Day:
Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing
Number of Teams I've Seen: 158 (62 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 130 varsity games)
Beverage Ticker: 834 ounces (7470 calories) + 9.7 liters (1370 calories)
- Pepsi: 356 ounces (4200 Calories) + 2 liters (840 Calories)
- Coke: 92 ounces (1080 Calories)+ 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Dr Pepper: 60 ounces (750 Calories)
- Mug Root Beer: 40 ounces (520 Calories)
- Sprite: 56 ounces (660 Calories) + 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Water: 6.2 Liters + 200 ounces (0 Calories)
- Gatorade: 500 ml (40 Calories) + 40 oz (160 calories)
Pizza Ticker: 12
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
Game Time:
Julian Jackson going to work early and often for Henry. He scores off 2 post ups, then a putback for a 3 point play in a 9-2 Henry run. Benilde-St. Margaret's keeps the pace slow with a bit of a matchup zone. Henry not all that patient against it. But they're getting almost every offensive rebound. Still the Red Knights hang around to tie it at 15 via a Matt Lilienthal 3 just inside the 8 minute mark. Jackson another putback and postup. Michael Wexler for 3 to keep BSM within 23-22. Then Henry takes off. Jackson putback 3 point play and a hoop off a turnover. Then Henry hits 3 triples around another Jackson putback 3 point play and a Savion Scott stickback. Henry stretches the lead to 44-29 at the half. The last run just before half was 19-4 before frosh Jamison Battle hit a 3.
Eli Cave starts the 2nd half with a driving 3 point play to bring BSM within 12. But the Red Knights won't get any closer. Scott for 3, Jackson puts back a missed free throw and scores in the post and the lead is 53-32 with 15:27 left. After Jackson scores off a turnover, Battle hits 2 more 3s to end an 8-0 BSM run. 63-46 Henry still in control with 7 minutes left. Jackson on the offensive glass again and in the post for 4 free throws plus another bucket. Its a slow last 10 minutes. Then a late T from Lithgow on BSM head coach John Moore (pretty soft). Plus an intentional foul that could have gotten ugly. Great job by both teams getting their teammate away and staying under control. BSM in total frustration mode at the end. Henry moves on with the 83-57 win.
Post Game:
Eli Cave leads Benilde-St. Margaret's with 16 points. But overall it was a pretty quiet 16. Freshman lefty Jamison Battle with 4 3s and 12 points off the Red Knights bench. Looking forward to seeing him play the next 3 years. I'm a Wisconsin guy and I refer to The Swing Offense as The Flex's ugly step-sister. This was another night I saw BSM where the Swing wasn't good to them at all. Benilde-St. Margaret's finishes their season at 17-10, 9-5 in the Metro West (Tied for 3rd). This wasn't the season I envisioned for them.
For Patrick Henry, what a night for Julian Jackson. He goes off for 42 points. 21 of those coming via 9 offensive rebounds. He had to have somewhere between 15 and 20 rebounds. He was all over the glass on both ends. BSM did a terrible job of trying to keep the ball out of his hands as he got post touches mostly whenever he wanted. Henry getting way too many offensive boards as well(not just from Jackson). Demetress Edwards-Brown with 17 points and a couple of 3s to provide a perimeter option. Savion Scott added 12. Henry improves to 20-7 overall and moves on to play at De La Salle on Saturday night in the 6AAA semis. With Orono knocking off Waconia on the road tonight, Czar goes 4-0 in the 6AAA quarterfinal predictions for an early +2 score vs picking chalk.
Heritage stars show out in the city
Prologue
Its only fitting that I end the regular season almost as I began it. It was a road game for Heritage on night 2 of the season. Now its Heritage closing out my regular season schedule with a trip to Como Park. All the section 4A contenders, North, Praiire Seeds and Cristo Rey in the house scouting. Hot dog and a bottle of gatorade on the menu. Then a stray walking taco ends up in my hands. That will work. Waistline very happy.
Song of the Day:
Disturbed - Sounds of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel cover)
Number of Teams I've Seen: 158 (62 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 129 varsity games)
Beverage Ticker: 834 ounces (7470 calories) + 9 liters (1370 calories)
Pizza Ticker: 12
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
Game Time:
The first half is all offense. Como Park's Demetrice Mitchell takes a turnover and we have lift off. Heritage makes the mistake of challenging him and they'll get the foul and signed poster. 9-7 Cougars after the free throw. Zach Johansen with a huge night. He buries a 3, then 3 straight turnovers for Como result in Heritage layups (2 by Johansen). Johansen for 3 and the foul to end a 15-1 Heritage run. 22-10 Heritage at 12:05. Mitchell with 2 hoops, Donald Ventrelli with 2 layups. That helps keep the rest of the half even. Mostly is layup after layup. CJ Woda with 3 of those and a late putback to put Heritage up 48-44 at the break.
Mitchell with a drive for 2 and 4 free throws. 53-52 Como Park with 13:28 left. Johansen drives for 2, then 3 straight Como Park turnovers (sounds familiar) for 2 layups and a Johansen 3. 9-0 run for a 62-56 Heritage lead with 11:22 left. Jack VanderTop with a hoop before Johansen makes 2 free throws and then a nice give and go for 2 from Woda. That pushes a 5 point lead to 11 with 3:25 left and that's your ball game. Heritage wins 83-74.
Post Game:
Adnan Guled with a couple of late 3s and another hoop to keep it interesting. He finishes with 4 3s and 22 points. Demetrice Mitchell adds 20. Tom Fritts with 14 inside. Como Park finishes the regular season 11-15 and have lost 5 straight. They ended tied for 4th in the St. Paul City at 5-7. They go on the road to Johnson on Wednesday in the 2/7 game in section 4AAA.
Heritage finishes the regular season 19-7, 14-1 in the MCAA (13-0 regular season champs, lost MCAA tourney title game at New Life). No Ben Allen in the Eagles lineup again which costs the thin squad a starter. Tonight it didn't matter. CJ Woda goes for 33 and had to have double digit boards. Zach Johansen had 16 of the 1st 22 Heritage points on his way to 29 points. He made 4 of his 5 3s in the 1st half. Pressure bothered Heritage which I'm sure all the scouts noticed. They will host the winner of Calvin Christian and St. Paul Prep on Thursday. That's in the section 4A round of 16. Then the road of Cristo Rey and Prairie Seeds just to get a shot at North. No guarantees there.
Its only fitting that I end the regular season almost as I began it. It was a road game for Heritage on night 2 of the season. Now its Heritage closing out my regular season schedule with a trip to Como Park. All the section 4A contenders, North, Praiire Seeds and Cristo Rey in the house scouting. Hot dog and a bottle of gatorade on the menu. Then a stray walking taco ends up in my hands. That will work. Waistline very happy.
Song of the Day:
Disturbed - Sounds of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel cover)
Number of Teams I've Seen: 158 (62 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 129 varsity games)
Beverage Ticker: 834 ounces (7470 calories) + 9 liters (1370 calories)
- Pepsi: 356 ounces (4200 Calories) + 2 liters (840 Calories)
- Coke: 92 ounces (1080 Calories)+ 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Dr Pepper: 60 ounces (750 Calories)
- Mug Root Beer: 40 ounces (520 Calories)
- Sprite: 56 ounces (660 Calories) + 500 ml (200 Calories)
- Water: 5.5 Liters + 200 ounces (0 Calories)
- Gatorade: 500 ml (40 Calories) + 40 oz (160 calories)
Pizza Ticker: 12
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6
Game Time:
The first half is all offense. Como Park's Demetrice Mitchell takes a turnover and we have lift off. Heritage makes the mistake of challenging him and they'll get the foul and signed poster. 9-7 Cougars after the free throw. Zach Johansen with a huge night. He buries a 3, then 3 straight turnovers for Como result in Heritage layups (2 by Johansen). Johansen for 3 and the foul to end a 15-1 Heritage run. 22-10 Heritage at 12:05. Mitchell with 2 hoops, Donald Ventrelli with 2 layups. That helps keep the rest of the half even. Mostly is layup after layup. CJ Woda with 3 of those and a late putback to put Heritage up 48-44 at the break.
Mitchell with a drive for 2 and 4 free throws. 53-52 Como Park with 13:28 left. Johansen drives for 2, then 3 straight Como Park turnovers (sounds familiar) for 2 layups and a Johansen 3. 9-0 run for a 62-56 Heritage lead with 11:22 left. Jack VanderTop with a hoop before Johansen makes 2 free throws and then a nice give and go for 2 from Woda. That pushes a 5 point lead to 11 with 3:25 left and that's your ball game. Heritage wins 83-74.
Post Game:
Adnan Guled with a couple of late 3s and another hoop to keep it interesting. He finishes with 4 3s and 22 points. Demetrice Mitchell adds 20. Tom Fritts with 14 inside. Como Park finishes the regular season 11-15 and have lost 5 straight. They ended tied for 4th in the St. Paul City at 5-7. They go on the road to Johnson on Wednesday in the 2/7 game in section 4AAA.
Heritage finishes the regular season 19-7, 14-1 in the MCAA (13-0 regular season champs, lost MCAA tourney title game at New Life). No Ben Allen in the Eagles lineup again which costs the thin squad a starter. Tonight it didn't matter. CJ Woda goes for 33 and had to have double digit boards. Zach Johansen had 16 of the 1st 22 Heritage points on his way to 29 points. He made 4 of his 5 3s in the 1st half. Pressure bothered Heritage which I'm sure all the scouts noticed. They will host the winner of Calvin Christian and St. Paul Prep on Thursday. That's in the section 4A round of 16. Then the road of Cristo Rey and Prairie Seeds just to get a shot at North. No guarantees there.
2016 Section Predictions
Its time for 2016 section predictions. Last year was a good year as I ended up +2 against picking chalk (all high seeds). We'll see how we do this season.
Section 4A
I have no idea how Prairie Seeds got the 2 seed here. There was no head to head with Heritage and they lost to CHOF head to head. Everything pointed to them getting the 4 seed.
Pigtails: 1st rule of 4A pigtails, take chalk. Only interesting one here is Learning for Leadership hosting Groves. Groves lost 2 close ones in the regular season to the Mustangs.
Round of 16: Blowout city here for the top 6 seeds. Maranatha vs Legacy in the 7/10 game saw MCA win at Legacy by 16 in January. But Legacy returned the favor by 19 at MCA 2 weeks ago. MTS and Community of Peace in the 8 vs 9 game is a fun matchup of guards. No bigs there to get in the way. MTS has Charles Gordon back. I'll call that the difference and take chalk in this round.
Quarters: I'll take North, Prairie Seeds and CHOF. The 3 vs 6 game Heritage vs Cristo Rey sticks out. Heritage won the regular season meeting by 15 at the Colin Powell Center. But they've fallen on hard times lately, including a head scratching loss to MTS. They've been banged up. Jericho Sims is a major X factor here. I'll take chalk here.
Semis: North rolls against CHOF. Prairie Seeds and Heritage very interesting. Brian Robinson will be a handful for Heritage to deal with. But Prairie Seeds doesn't have great size to hurt Heritage with. Heritage survives
Final: North steamrolls and overcomes another hurdle from the last 2 years by making state.
Section 4AA
Round of 16: Lots of blowouts here. I'll take 1 upset and that's St. Agnes at 9 over #8 Math and Science
Quarters: The top 3 seeds have no trouble. I'll take 5 seed New Life Academy over 4 St. Paul Academy. New Life lost the regular season meeting but with no Kent Hanson that changes the equation. 2 bad losses to end the regular season for SPA after beating Breck.
Semis: St Croix Lutheran no problem with New Life. Minnehaha takes out Roosevelt.
Final: A great rematch of the 2nd game of the season that SCL won 96-83 at home. Ade Murkey went off for 38 in that one. Minnehaha doesn't have a good matchup for him. Key person here is Aage Rovney. If he stays out of foul trouble and keeps the ship steady, SCL wins again. I'll take the defending champs again.
Section 5AA East
I'll only do the east half here. Take the high seeds in the pigtails. Then Zach Knollenberg might keep it interesting for Spectrum vs Providence but take Providence here. Brooklyn Center will be slowed down but not stopped by the Providence 2-3 zone. Breck's size too much for SW Christian. Ditto that for Breck being too big for Brooklyn Center in the final.
Section 3AAA
A very wide open section here. Even the 1 vs 8 game with Highland Park taking on Kennedy. Markel Aune vs Highland Park's guards will be fun. Kennedy is winless but has played better recently. Sam Boehne vs Nate Chaffee makes for a nice inside battle in the 4 vs 5 St. Thomas Academy at Holy Angels game. Simley should have no trouble with Harding, ditto that for Richfield with S St. Paul. Highland Park will force enough turnovers to beat Kennedy. St. Thomas Academy has been much better recently and I'll take them on the road. Highland Park takes down the Cadets in the semis. Richfield beat Simley in the regular season and I think the rematch is very tight. I'll take Jack Stensgard to come up big and put Simley in the final. Stensgard missed the regular season meeting with Highland Park. I'll take him again to put Simley in the state tourney.
Section 4AAA
Mahtomedi and Johnson no trouble in round 1. I like the middle 2 games here. St. Anthony with a chip on their shoulder for not getting a home game. Classic good record vs lower class and weak schedule (St. Anthony) vs lesser record vs tough higher class schedule (Totino-Grace) there. Columbia Heights and Fridley split the regular season series in the 3/6 game. Fridley won 27 at home and lost by 7 on the road. They have more firepower but have been so inconsistent. I'll take Fridley as the only upset. St. Anthony with no good answer for Rocky Kreuser in that game. Johnson and Mahtomedi make the final. I'll take Mahtomedi to advance via too much Parker Fox.
Section 6AAA
DLS and Delano no problems in round 1. Expect a very tight game between Orono and Waconia in the 3/6 matchup. Teams split close games with home wins during the regular season. I won't be against Barry Wohler in the post season. I'll be at the 4/5 game Henry at Benilde-St. Margaret's. Eli Cave vs Julian Jackson up front will be fun to watch. Henry has a group of guys to help counter Sam Baker. Give me Patrick Henry or give me death! I like De La Salle in the semi over Henry. Then I'll take Orono to beat Delano again in that semifinal. No way I'm betting against De La Salle in the section final.
Section 1AAAA
I'll take chalk here. Its the year for JM to get it done and Kirk Thompson has been there. Love the Hurt brothers vs Carter Brooks and Nate Reuvers in the projected final. But I won't bet against John Oxton as he's been JM's kryptonite.
Section 2AAAA
Another very tough and open section. Chaska folks might be unhappy with the 2 seed but I think it works for the better for Shakopee and Chaska. No way I want the rivalry game in round 1 if I'm Chaska (vs Chan) or Shakopee (vs Prior Lake). They both advance in round 1. Jefferson has to like their draw at Edina in the 3/6 game. They won there by 7 earlier this year. I picked against Edina last year at home in round 1 and was right. I'll go to the well again. Tonka vs Eden Prairie is a fantastic 4 vs 5 game. Its a matter of who makes more shots since neither teams likes to defend. EP won the regular season meeting at home by 23. I'll take the Eagles again. Jefferson got Chaska by 3 the last time they played but I'll take Chaska in a close one in this semifinal rubber match. Eden Prairie has no answer for Steffon Mitchell but only lost by 5 at Shakopee after the new year. Mitchell goes for 30+ but Eden Prairie holds down everybody else to win. Then I'll take Eden Prairie to avenge another regular season loss to Chaska in the final.
Section 3AAAA
Picking this section because I have to. Apple Valley and Eastview make the final. Rosemount over Hastings in round 1. Eagan knocks off Park in round 1. Eastview and Eagan stumbling in to the tourney. Apple Valley easy trip to state after must see television in the section finals in recent years.
Section 4AAAA
Woodbury and CDH no problems in round 1. Stillwater loses at Tartan, but Randy Jordan will have something for Jordan Horn. Wouldn't be shocked to hear about some box and 1 in that game. Woodbury. Woodbury advances to final over North St. Paul. Tartan takes out CDH in the semis. Great matchup of top soph posts Daniel Oturu and Jarvis Thomas in that one. Then I'll take Woodbury over Tartan in the final. Tartan's losses are vs guard oriented teams and that's what Woodbury is.
Section 5AAAA
Osseo and Champlin Park no problems in round 1. Terrible draw for Centennial getting Mounds View in round 1. Mounds View moves on. Park Center knocks off Spring Lake Park at home. Osseo no problems with Park Center in the rivalry section game. Mounds View will grind it out vs Champlin Park in a game that I'll likely be at. I think Champlin Park has just enough at home to get through. Could see plenty of 1-3-1 both ways in that game. An Osseo vs Champlin Park rematch in the final would be very interesting. Kameron Bettie has 26 in the 1st meeting but 22 of those were with Theo John sitting due to foul trouble. If he stays on the floor, Champlin Park has a chance. But even then, Osseo is too deep. I like them to move on.
Section 6AAAA
Hopkins and Wayzata move on with no trouble. I have absolutely no idea how Cooper got the 3 seed here. Worst schedule and the worst QRF plus a split and conference tie with St. Louis Park and a head to head loss to Armstrong. They get giant killer Minneapolis South in round 1 and I'll take South to pull the upset here. Armstrong won the head to head with St. Louis Park in the regular season. I'll take the Falcons to do it again. Hopkins and Wayzata meet in a classic section final. The teams split in the regular season. Expect a great game here and I'll take Hopkins to advance.
Section 7AAAA
I'll take chalk all the way through this bracket. Too much size from Blaine.
Section 8AAAA
I'll also take chalk here. Elk River handled Brainerd easily in the regular season. Maple Grove did the same to Elk River in their meeting. Maple Grove moves on.
Section 4A
I have no idea how Prairie Seeds got the 2 seed here. There was no head to head with Heritage and they lost to CHOF head to head. Everything pointed to them getting the 4 seed.
Pigtails: 1st rule of 4A pigtails, take chalk. Only interesting one here is Learning for Leadership hosting Groves. Groves lost 2 close ones in the regular season to the Mustangs.
Round of 16: Blowout city here for the top 6 seeds. Maranatha vs Legacy in the 7/10 game saw MCA win at Legacy by 16 in January. But Legacy returned the favor by 19 at MCA 2 weeks ago. MTS and Community of Peace in the 8 vs 9 game is a fun matchup of guards. No bigs there to get in the way. MTS has Charles Gordon back. I'll call that the difference and take chalk in this round.
Quarters: I'll take North, Prairie Seeds and CHOF. The 3 vs 6 game Heritage vs Cristo Rey sticks out. Heritage won the regular season meeting by 15 at the Colin Powell Center. But they've fallen on hard times lately, including a head scratching loss to MTS. They've been banged up. Jericho Sims is a major X factor here. I'll take chalk here.
Semis: North rolls against CHOF. Prairie Seeds and Heritage very interesting. Brian Robinson will be a handful for Heritage to deal with. But Prairie Seeds doesn't have great size to hurt Heritage with. Heritage survives
Final: North steamrolls and overcomes another hurdle from the last 2 years by making state.
Section 4AA
Round of 16: Lots of blowouts here. I'll take 1 upset and that's St. Agnes at 9 over #8 Math and Science
Quarters: The top 3 seeds have no trouble. I'll take 5 seed New Life Academy over 4 St. Paul Academy. New Life lost the regular season meeting but with no Kent Hanson that changes the equation. 2 bad losses to end the regular season for SPA after beating Breck.
Semis: St Croix Lutheran no problem with New Life. Minnehaha takes out Roosevelt.
Final: A great rematch of the 2nd game of the season that SCL won 96-83 at home. Ade Murkey went off for 38 in that one. Minnehaha doesn't have a good matchup for him. Key person here is Aage Rovney. If he stays out of foul trouble and keeps the ship steady, SCL wins again. I'll take the defending champs again.
Section 5AA East
I'll only do the east half here. Take the high seeds in the pigtails. Then Zach Knollenberg might keep it interesting for Spectrum vs Providence but take Providence here. Brooklyn Center will be slowed down but not stopped by the Providence 2-3 zone. Breck's size too much for SW Christian. Ditto that for Breck being too big for Brooklyn Center in the final.
Section 3AAA
A very wide open section here. Even the 1 vs 8 game with Highland Park taking on Kennedy. Markel Aune vs Highland Park's guards will be fun. Kennedy is winless but has played better recently. Sam Boehne vs Nate Chaffee makes for a nice inside battle in the 4 vs 5 St. Thomas Academy at Holy Angels game. Simley should have no trouble with Harding, ditto that for Richfield with S St. Paul. Highland Park will force enough turnovers to beat Kennedy. St. Thomas Academy has been much better recently and I'll take them on the road. Highland Park takes down the Cadets in the semis. Richfield beat Simley in the regular season and I think the rematch is very tight. I'll take Jack Stensgard to come up big and put Simley in the final. Stensgard missed the regular season meeting with Highland Park. I'll take him again to put Simley in the state tourney.
Section 4AAA
Mahtomedi and Johnson no trouble in round 1. I like the middle 2 games here. St. Anthony with a chip on their shoulder for not getting a home game. Classic good record vs lower class and weak schedule (St. Anthony) vs lesser record vs tough higher class schedule (Totino-Grace) there. Columbia Heights and Fridley split the regular season series in the 3/6 game. Fridley won 27 at home and lost by 7 on the road. They have more firepower but have been so inconsistent. I'll take Fridley as the only upset. St. Anthony with no good answer for Rocky Kreuser in that game. Johnson and Mahtomedi make the final. I'll take Mahtomedi to advance via too much Parker Fox.
Section 6AAA
DLS and Delano no problems in round 1. Expect a very tight game between Orono and Waconia in the 3/6 matchup. Teams split close games with home wins during the regular season. I won't be against Barry Wohler in the post season. I'll be at the 4/5 game Henry at Benilde-St. Margaret's. Eli Cave vs Julian Jackson up front will be fun to watch. Henry has a group of guys to help counter Sam Baker. Give me Patrick Henry or give me death! I like De La Salle in the semi over Henry. Then I'll take Orono to beat Delano again in that semifinal. No way I'm betting against De La Salle in the section final.
Section 1AAAA
I'll take chalk here. Its the year for JM to get it done and Kirk Thompson has been there. Love the Hurt brothers vs Carter Brooks and Nate Reuvers in the projected final. But I won't bet against John Oxton as he's been JM's kryptonite.
Section 2AAAA
Another very tough and open section. Chaska folks might be unhappy with the 2 seed but I think it works for the better for Shakopee and Chaska. No way I want the rivalry game in round 1 if I'm Chaska (vs Chan) or Shakopee (vs Prior Lake). They both advance in round 1. Jefferson has to like their draw at Edina in the 3/6 game. They won there by 7 earlier this year. I picked against Edina last year at home in round 1 and was right. I'll go to the well again. Tonka vs Eden Prairie is a fantastic 4 vs 5 game. Its a matter of who makes more shots since neither teams likes to defend. EP won the regular season meeting at home by 23. I'll take the Eagles again. Jefferson got Chaska by 3 the last time they played but I'll take Chaska in a close one in this semifinal rubber match. Eden Prairie has no answer for Steffon Mitchell but only lost by 5 at Shakopee after the new year. Mitchell goes for 30+ but Eden Prairie holds down everybody else to win. Then I'll take Eden Prairie to avenge another regular season loss to Chaska in the final.
Section 3AAAA
Picking this section because I have to. Apple Valley and Eastview make the final. Rosemount over Hastings in round 1. Eagan knocks off Park in round 1. Eastview and Eagan stumbling in to the tourney. Apple Valley easy trip to state after must see television in the section finals in recent years.
Section 4AAAA
Woodbury and CDH no problems in round 1. Stillwater loses at Tartan, but Randy Jordan will have something for Jordan Horn. Wouldn't be shocked to hear about some box and 1 in that game. Woodbury. Woodbury advances to final over North St. Paul. Tartan takes out CDH in the semis. Great matchup of top soph posts Daniel Oturu and Jarvis Thomas in that one. Then I'll take Woodbury over Tartan in the final. Tartan's losses are vs guard oriented teams and that's what Woodbury is.
Section 5AAAA
Osseo and Champlin Park no problems in round 1. Terrible draw for Centennial getting Mounds View in round 1. Mounds View moves on. Park Center knocks off Spring Lake Park at home. Osseo no problems with Park Center in the rivalry section game. Mounds View will grind it out vs Champlin Park in a game that I'll likely be at. I think Champlin Park has just enough at home to get through. Could see plenty of 1-3-1 both ways in that game. An Osseo vs Champlin Park rematch in the final would be very interesting. Kameron Bettie has 26 in the 1st meeting but 22 of those were with Theo John sitting due to foul trouble. If he stays on the floor, Champlin Park has a chance. But even then, Osseo is too deep. I like them to move on.
Section 6AAAA
Hopkins and Wayzata move on with no trouble. I have absolutely no idea how Cooper got the 3 seed here. Worst schedule and the worst QRF plus a split and conference tie with St. Louis Park and a head to head loss to Armstrong. They get giant killer Minneapolis South in round 1 and I'll take South to pull the upset here. Armstrong won the head to head with St. Louis Park in the regular season. I'll take the Falcons to do it again. Hopkins and Wayzata meet in a classic section final. The teams split in the regular season. Expect a great game here and I'll take Hopkins to advance.
Section 7AAAA
I'll take chalk all the way through this bracket. Too much size from Blaine.
Section 8AAAA
I'll also take chalk here. Elk River handled Brainerd easily in the regular season. Maple Grove did the same to Elk River in their meeting. Maple Grove moves on.
2016 St. Paul Championship Saturday
To St. Paul for the Twin Cities Game and the EMAC championships. I miss out on walking tacos at Central but pulled pork deal cheap at Nova is a great replacement. The atmosphere of EMAC Championship night always fun to see. Great touch to hand out the all-conference awards at the half (boys at half of the girls game and vice versa).
Game 1: #1A Minneapolis North at St. Paul Central (Twin Cities Game)
Jack Beckman back in the Central lineup after sitting out on Thursday against Johnson. Story of this one is that North would make a run, then get sloppy to keep Central in it. That was either via ill-advised turnovers or ill-advised shots. Central cut 3 first half leads of 7 or 8. They'd have 2 free throws missed that would have cut the halftime margin to 2. 40-36 North at the half. Abdi Muse carrying the Central offense with 15. Isaac Johnson with 13 for North.
Jamal Galato for 2 and then a transition 3 to cut the North lead to 49-48 with 13:30 to play. But Central never got over the hump. They did try the 1-3-1 zone that helped them against Johnson to no avail. Isaac Johnson runs for 2 free throws, a blocked shot on 1 end leads to a high flying tip dunk from Tyler Johnson. Isaac Johnson with a 3 point play and Jamil Jackson runs for a dunk. 64-52 North after an 11-0 run. Central down 8 when they miss 2 free throws with 3:09 left. Odell Wilson scores on the other end to go back to double digits and North is out of danger. North wins 83-70 to avenge losses the last 2 years in this game. Great balance from North with all 5 starters in double figures. Isaac Johnson with 18, Jaquan Sanders 17, Odell Wilson 16, Jamil Jackson 13, Tyler Johnson 12. Abdi Muse with 15 of his 19 in the 1st half to lead Central. Sam Gubbrud 16 points, Jack Beckman 12.
Game 2: Hope vs International School of MN (EMAC Championship)
The top 2 seeds make it thru in the top bracket. Hope won the regular season meeting 98-60. 5 seed Nova Classical won their half easily by defeating Calvin Christian 63-30. Soph Isaiah Boudreaux with 24 points to lead Nova. Christian Life girls ran away with the girls title game. In the boys game, the story was Johnny Erickson. Maybe a little venom in his game after not being named EMAC MVP. He scores 14 of the 1st 18 points for Hope. That was via a pair of 3s and a hang and bang 3 point play. Hope jumps out to an 18-8 lead. Soph Micah Hjelle for 3 and ISM is within 29-23 with 2:45 left in the 1st half.
But its all Hope after that. They score the last 10 of the 1st half with 4 from Tobias Griffin and 4 from Erickson. 39-23 at the half. The teams trade 3s to start the 2nd half before Hope scores 12 more in a row. Hjelle scores but its Nate Elifson for 3 and 2 transition layups from Dashon Holcomb. 61-28 Hope with 8:50 left after a 32-5 run across halftime. Erickson leaves right after that and running time soon follows. Hope wins 75-36. They hold ISM to only 3 2nd half field goals. Ultimately Hope was still able to play the game at their fast pace and ISM had no answer. Johnny Erickson with 25 points and 7 rebounds to lead Hope. Nate Elifson with 11 points via 3 triples. He also added 6 blocks as his length was a factor inside. Tobias Griffin with 17. ISM star Rich Berkley held to 4 points with 11 rebounds. Jason Sheppard leads ISM with 9 points.
As mentioned earlier, the all conference teams were announced at halftime of the girls game.
EMAC All 1st Team
Rich Berkley - International School of MN (MVP)
Johnny Erickson, Nate Elifson - Hope
Ontario Chapman - Community of Peace
Romello Wilson - Charter Stars
Coach of the Year - Shun Tillman (International School of MN)
Game 1: #1A Minneapolis North at St. Paul Central (Twin Cities Game)
Jack Beckman back in the Central lineup after sitting out on Thursday against Johnson. Story of this one is that North would make a run, then get sloppy to keep Central in it. That was either via ill-advised turnovers or ill-advised shots. Central cut 3 first half leads of 7 or 8. They'd have 2 free throws missed that would have cut the halftime margin to 2. 40-36 North at the half. Abdi Muse carrying the Central offense with 15. Isaac Johnson with 13 for North.
Jamal Galato for 2 and then a transition 3 to cut the North lead to 49-48 with 13:30 to play. But Central never got over the hump. They did try the 1-3-1 zone that helped them against Johnson to no avail. Isaac Johnson runs for 2 free throws, a blocked shot on 1 end leads to a high flying tip dunk from Tyler Johnson. Isaac Johnson with a 3 point play and Jamil Jackson runs for a dunk. 64-52 North after an 11-0 run. Central down 8 when they miss 2 free throws with 3:09 left. Odell Wilson scores on the other end to go back to double digits and North is out of danger. North wins 83-70 to avenge losses the last 2 years in this game. Great balance from North with all 5 starters in double figures. Isaac Johnson with 18, Jaquan Sanders 17, Odell Wilson 16, Jamil Jackson 13, Tyler Johnson 12. Abdi Muse with 15 of his 19 in the 1st half to lead Central. Sam Gubbrud 16 points, Jack Beckman 12.
Game 2: Hope vs International School of MN (EMAC Championship)
The top 2 seeds make it thru in the top bracket. Hope won the regular season meeting 98-60. 5 seed Nova Classical won their half easily by defeating Calvin Christian 63-30. Soph Isaiah Boudreaux with 24 points to lead Nova. Christian Life girls ran away with the girls title game. In the boys game, the story was Johnny Erickson. Maybe a little venom in his game after not being named EMAC MVP. He scores 14 of the 1st 18 points for Hope. That was via a pair of 3s and a hang and bang 3 point play. Hope jumps out to an 18-8 lead. Soph Micah Hjelle for 3 and ISM is within 29-23 with 2:45 left in the 1st half.
But its all Hope after that. They score the last 10 of the 1st half with 4 from Tobias Griffin and 4 from Erickson. 39-23 at the half. The teams trade 3s to start the 2nd half before Hope scores 12 more in a row. Hjelle scores but its Nate Elifson for 3 and 2 transition layups from Dashon Holcomb. 61-28 Hope with 8:50 left after a 32-5 run across halftime. Erickson leaves right after that and running time soon follows. Hope wins 75-36. They hold ISM to only 3 2nd half field goals. Ultimately Hope was still able to play the game at their fast pace and ISM had no answer. Johnny Erickson with 25 points and 7 rebounds to lead Hope. Nate Elifson with 11 points via 3 triples. He also added 6 blocks as his length was a factor inside. Tobias Griffin with 17. ISM star Rich Berkley held to 4 points with 11 rebounds. Jason Sheppard leads ISM with 9 points.
As mentioned earlier, the all conference teams were announced at halftime of the girls game.
EMAC All 1st Team
Rich Berkley - International School of MN (MVP)
Johnny Erickson, Nate Elifson - Hope
Ontario Chapman - Community of Peace
Romello Wilson - Charter Stars
Coach of the Year - Shun Tillman (International School of MN)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)