Week 2 of the Magic Fall League

Week 2 of the Magic Fall League was today at Bloomington Jefferson. Here's what I saw.

Session 1: Titans vs Eagan. No Marshall Bjorklund for the Titans but Jordan Reetz and Evan Anderson were on hand. No Jameson Parsons for Eagan. Eagan does a nice job early of swarming Anderson on every touch. Anderson responded by smartly pivoting and hitting the open man opposite. Anderson does get an offensive rebound which he turns into a dunk to give the Titans a 16-12 lead with 8 minutes left in the half. Eagan comes back thanks to Charlie Baker to take a 25-20 halftime lead. They extend the lead to 32-20 before Reetz breaks the run at 16:10 of the 2nd half. Anderson gets a dunk and Reetz then makes a nice spin move for 2 to pull the Titans within 4. 39-35 Eagan with 10:15 to play. Baker to the bench for a rest. He returns with 5:30 to play and promptly drains a 3 to put Eagan up 52-42 and they don't look back. Eagan makes their free throws down the stretch for a surprising 60-49 win. Evan Anderson with 11 pts and 9 rbs, Jordan Reetz with 11 points for the Titans. But this game was about Charlie Baker of Eagan. 17 points and at least a half dozen assists for him. He hit triples in the 1st half and then in the 2nd half he drew help and picked apart the Titans defense for layups. A terrific performance to lead Eagan to the win.

Session 2: Freddie Burton (Cooper) lead Transitions II to a 91-37 win over Bethany.

Session 3: Titans vs Belle Plaine. Belle Plaine goes 1-2-2 zone the entire game to try and combat Anderson's size. 1st half is back and forth with the Titans leading 22-18 at the break. 43-34 Titans with 8 minutes to play before they go on a 14-4 run to put the game away. Titans win 57-41. Anderson with 7 pts, 7 rbs and 4 blks. Reetz with 11.

In the other session 3 game, Eagan came back from a 10 point deficit vs Como Park. Charlie Baker made a layup and got fouled with 10 seconds left. But he missed the free throw which would have tied it. Como Park missed 3 front ends of 1 and 1 at the end to make it possible but they hang on for the 61-60 win.

Session 4: Prior Lake vs Belle Plaine. Prior Lake gets the 1st 25 points of the game over 15:45 and they roll to a 67-31 win. Tor Anderson with 22 points and Andrew Dale with 17 despite playing out of position at center due to no Deryck Ludwig. Ludwig was with Shakopee's Matt Zager touring SW MN State. Congrats to both as they received full ride offers. Ludwig returns next week.

In the other session 4 game, Transitions II def PL Hoops 76-59 after having a 3 point halftime lead.

Session 5: Titans vs BSM. Best game of the day here. BSM used a 2-3 zone to try and slow down Evan Anderson. Darren Glover with 7 quick points for BSM countered by 15 early Jordan Reetz points for the Titans. 24-20 Titans with 8:09 left in the 1st half. 35-34 Titans at the break. Peter Crawford with 13 and 5 for BSM at the break. Reetz with 18 for the Titans. Titans get out to a 48-42 lead with 12 minutes left but Justin Segal gets a layup for BSM off of a blocked shot. 60-58 BSM leads with 5 minutes left. Crawford hits 2 clutch free throws with 1:52 left to push the lead to 65-62. Reetz misses and Justin Segal gets 2 assists to put the game away. BSM wins 70-66. Peter Crawford huge with 25 and 12 for BSM. Darren Glover with 15 but a major cool down after making his 1st 3 shots. Evan Anderson with 14 and 11 for the Titans. Jordan Reetz lead the way with 27.

PL Hoops def Bethany 63-48 in the other session 5 game.

Some fun games next week as here are some matchups that caught my eye.

• MTS vs Eagan
• Eagan vs Prior Lake
• Chaska vs Eden Prairie

Week 2 of the MBA Fall League

Action from week 2 of the MBA fall league at Minnehaha Academy.

Session 1 Scores: NYA def Blake 74-29, Maple Grove JV def North Branch JV 35-20 and Edison def Dunwoody Academy 56-28.

Session 2 Scores: Blake def North Branch JV 44-43, Maple Grove JV def NYA 44-37 and Maple Grove blew out Edison 63-35 in an ugly game.

Session 3: A couple of real good ones here to start my day. Armstrong vs Sibley in the one of the biggest games of the league in my featured game. Regular season rosters mostly intact for this game which adds to the excitement. The game is even early as Damarius Cruz goes over Jake Kreuser for an early bucket to pull Armstrong within 11-9 4 minutes into the action. Sibley uses 5 Mike Bruesewitz points and alley-oop to Chris Halvorsen to lead 27-18. 37-28 Sibley at the break behind 16 points and 5 rebounds from Bruesewitz.

Sibley opens the 2nd half on a 10-2 run over the 1st 3:50 of the 2nd half to blow the game open 47-30 with 16:10 to play. Maurice Hernandez with a couple of buckets in that run. They go on to win 68-55. Bruesewitz finishes with 25 and 11, Hernandez with 21 for Sibley. Damarius Cruz with 21 for Armstrong. Interesting to see Halvorsen spend some time guarding Cruz in this game. Armstrong with no answer for the Sibley size.

In other session 3 action, Dunwoody Academy def NYA 47-35. In the other game, Minnehaha got 7 straight points in the last 2 minutes to go from 1 down to 6 up on TNL. Taylor Sparkman with the 1st 5 of those points to lead the Redhawks to the 76-70 win.

Session 4: Coon Rapids vs St. Peter. Ben Baker with a quick start for Coon Rapids with 10 of the first 13 Cardinal points. They lead 25-18 at the break. They start the 2nd half on a 15-4 spurt over the first 12 minutes of the 2nd half to break the game open. Coon Rapids wins 48-27. Baker with 20 points and 7 rebounds.

In other session 4 action, Hoops Training def Park Center 44-36. Maple Grove def St. Paul Central 52-44.

Session 5: Minnehaha vs Sibley in another premier league matchup. Parker Hines gets a steal and layup to give Minnehaha an early 10-6 lead. Sibley then goes on a 13-0 run over the next 8 minutes to take control. Chris Halvorsen with a nice drive and dunk within that run. A Mike Rostampour putback at the buzzer gives Sibley a 33-23 lead at the break. Nice balance on both sides as Rostampour and Bruesewitz each have 8 and Hernandez with 7 for Sibley. Greg Meyer, David Burnham and Hines all with 5 for Minnehaha.

Hernandez comes out and hits 2 quick threes and Halvorsen gets a dunk off of the nice Sibley inbounds package to push the lead to 17. Hernandez finishes the spurt with a 3 point play to make it 54-30 with 11 minutes to play. Taylor Sparkman with 8 late points for Minnehaha to try and make it interesting but the game is long over. Sibley wins 64-51. Mike Rostampour with 16 and 10. Hernandez with 18 for Sibley. Taylor Sparkman with 12 points all in the 2nd half. Greg Meyer also with 12 for Minnehaha. Sparkman was playing center and often guarded by Jake Kreuser. I thought Sparkman could exploit Kreuser by stepping outside, but that didn't happen until late in the game after the outcome was already determined.

In other session 5 action, Coon Rapids blew out Mankato 78-41. TNL blew out Mpls Demons 53-35.

Session 6: Hoops Training vs Armstrong. Armstrong ice cold early and in a major shock its 25-8 Hoops Training with 7:45 left in the 1st half. Then Damarius Cruz blows the roof off as he goes down the lane with a thunderous 1 handed dunk to put some life back in the Falcons. 29-15 Hoops Training with 5 minutes left in the half after the dunk. 33-21 Hoops Training at the break. Cruz the only offense for the Falcons as he had 15 points.

Trevor Gruis (Ellsworth) gets a couple of buckets for Hoops Training to keep the lead at 12, 39-27 after 3 minutes of the 2nd half. Its a 10 point lead with 13 minutes to play before Armstrong comes to life. Marquel Curtis with back to back blocks on the same possession leads to an Andy Seidlitz triple. Cruz finds Seidlitz for a layup and then gets another dunk plus a layin and Armstrong is all the way back to lead 52-49. That concluded a 19-6 Armstrong run over an 8 minute stretch. Gruis doing it all for Hoops Training down the stretch. He gets 2 buckets and then after an Armstrong turnover, gets the assist to give them the lead back 55-54. After a Curtis miss, Gruis dunks with 31 seconds left to give Hoops Training a 57-54 lead. Cruz with a clutch triple from straight away to tie it with 18 seconds left. Gruis doesn't touch it on the last possession and we go to overtime. Ted Vogt with an early bucket and Curtis with a free throw for the final 60-57 margin as Hoops Training doesn't score in the 2 minute OT. Cruz with at least 24 for the Falcons in the win.

Park Center def St. Paul Central 55-53 in the other game. PC missed a FT to give Central a shot at the buzzer to win it, but the 3 was off.

Session 7: Sibley vs Mpls Demons. A rout all the way. The Demons with only 3 1st half field goals. Sibley leads 27-11 at the break. More ugliness in the 2nd half as the Demons needs 7 minutes to get their 1st field goal of the half. So that's 4 field goals in 27 minutes. Yikes, nice job by Sibley on the defensive end. 45-21 Sibley wins. Bruesewitz with 12 and Halvorsen 11 for Sibley.

St. Peter def Mankato 60-47 in the other game.

Random thoughts from the days action:

• You can really tell the teams that use this for the regular season and those who don't. The dead giveaway is the teams that are running all of their regular season stuff (Armstrong, Sibley) and those who are just running around (Edison, Mpls Demons). Its one thing to build the system for the regular season. Its entirely another to build bad habits that have to be broken once the regular season comes along.
  
• This was my 1st chance to see Sibley's Mike Rostampour play. He didn't play varsity last year, but he's grown 5 inches in the last year and he's got the same motor that Mike Bruesewitz has. He was very active on the glass and around the basket all day. He'll be fun to watch this season.
  
• Chris Halvorsen's cold shooting continues to surprise me. He didn't shoot well when I saw him at the Twin Cities Summer Classic and today he was 5-16 shooting free throws. I'm not sure I saw him hit an outside shot all day.
• Sibley's biggest question this year in my mind will be point guard play. They really struggled with that today. Granted they had a kid missing there, but they used Maurice Hernandez and Mike Bruesewitz (especially vs pressure) to do some of the ball handling. Shows the skills that Bruesewitz has and how he'll be a nice fit for Bo Ryan. But it also shows that this is an area that the Warriors will continue to look at.
  

2008 Magic Fall League Info

I've added the MN Magic Fall League to the schedule on the Fall Leagues page. Here's the full schedule for this week. I'll be adding each week as it approaches as its too long to post it all here. Note the Titans team that is playing in this league. They have Marshall Bjorklund (Sibley East) and Jordan Reetz (Fall Creek, WI) from the MN Magic 16 Elites along with 2010 star Evan Anderson of Eau Claire North (committed to Wisconsin).

Saturday 9/27/08 at Bloomington Kennedy:
1 PM: Raiders vs Chaska - Ct 1
2 PM: Raiders vs Watertown - Ct 1
2 PM: Chaska vs Bethany - Ct 2
3 PM: Eden Prairie vs Bethany - Ct 1
4 PM: Transitions I vs Watertown - Ct 1
5 PM: Transitions I vs Eden Prairie - Ct 1

Sunday 9/28/08 at Bloomington Jefferson:
12 PM: Titans vs Eagan - Ct 2
1 PM: Prior Lake vs Como Park - Ct 2
1 PM: Transitions II vs Bethany - Ct 3
2 PM: Titans vs Belle Plaine - Ct 2
2 PM: Eagan vs Como Park - Ct 3
3 PM: Prior Lake vs Belle Plaine - Ct 2
3 PM: Transitions II vs PL Hoops - Ct 3
4 PM: Titans vs BSM - Ct 2
4 PM: Bethany vs PL Hoops - Ct 3
5 PM: Transitions II vs BSM -Ct 2

NY2LA Sports comments on local players

NY2LA Sports released comments on a few players this week. Their article includes comments on Rodney Williams, Billy Giddings (Blaine), Cole Stefan and Nick Latzke (Minnetonka) along with a couple of Wisconsin players that I saw last season and one of the sons of the best player ever. The entire article can be read here.

It also mentions the 2008 Full Court Fall Showcase camp that will be held at Minnetonka on Oct 11 and 12th. This is put on by Net Gain Sports. More info can be found on the Net Gain Sports website.

The article mentions Tyler Brown and Brett Meinecke from Wisconsin. Brown plays in the shadow of 2010 star Evan Anderson (committed to Wisconsin, ranked #37 Rivals.com, #17 Scout.com, #24 ESPN), but he's the best scorer on his Eau Claire North team. Can play inside and has the ability to step all the way out to the 3 point line and make shots. Nice pickup for Central Michigan. I'll get another chance to see him play December 2nd for their big game at the Swamp vs La Crosse Logan and one of Wisconsin's top 2011 prospects, Trevor Jorgenson (offered by UW-Milwaukee). Its a matchup of some of the best big guys in Wisconsin.

Meinecke is also in the shadow of another star Kameron Cerroni (26.5 PPG last year as a sophomore, committed to UWGB). He's part of a young and small Sussex Hamilton squad that is building to be very dangerous in 2009-2010. He's a small guard but can shoot it. A nice compliment. He struggled with injuries this summer. They play De La Salle in the Border Battle in Owatonna on Saturday January 24th, 2009 in a compelling matchup.

Giddings has sufficient physical tools. Playing without the ball and his defense are areas he continues to work on. But he can definitely score.

Latzke is a lot like his older brother Andrew who played for the Skippers this last year. Another sweet shooting lefty who will be a big contributor down the road.

And what more needs to be said about Cole Stefan. His stock continues to rise and with a full year to shine now that all of the Tonka seniors are gone, expect him to have a monster year.

MN Fury head coach moves up to college level

Ben Davis has stepped down from his position running the Minnesota Fury boys program in order to become an assistant coach at Macalester. The remaining coaches in the Fury system will take over. Read the entire release here.

Congrats to coach Davis on this new opportunity. He was the head man for the MN Fury 16U South and MN Fury 17U teams this past season. He didn't have the most talent or high profile names, but he got as much out of his 2 teams as anyone this summer. His local AAU and high school background should be a great asset to the Macalester program.

Gopher Hole talks recruiting with Rodney Williams

After his mom talked recruiting with the Star Tribune yesterday, Rodney Williams Jr talked to Gopher Hole about his recruitment today. Some highlights.

• While he's cleared by the NCAA, he still has to retake the ACT and get a higher score than his previous score.
• The U of M is the front runner to get him, but he'll still visit Santa Clara.
• Wisconsin quit calling him. (OK that's not news, but being a Wisconsin guy I'm compelled to mention it)
  

Everybody has been saying he's fine academically, but the news that he still has to get a better score on the ACT is big. Shouldn't be an issue, but it changes the previous perception that his academic issues were just about his grades. Wisconsin probably quit calling him because they're out of scholarships, but ultimately Bo Ryan succeeds with players that are well-rounded and maybe not the most athletic. He's done a terrific job of getting guys to fit his scheme. Williams isn't as well-rounded as guys like a Joe Krabbenhoft so I think that the Badger system wouldn't have been a good fit for his skills. Unlike Minnesota where he's definitely a fit with Tubby's system. Obviously the U of M is the front runner but Santa Clara has a recruiter (Raymond Cowles) on their roster too. Therefore, there it would be understandable if he went there. But since I think this is ultimately about basketball and not academics, I'll be shocked if he ends up anywhere but Minnesota.

Read the entire Gopher Hole interview here.

Week 1 of the MBA Fall League

Fall leagues opened today with a full day of action at Minnehaha Academy as part of the Minnesota Basketball Assocation fall league. I attended the 1st half of the day (4 boys sessions) and here's what I saw.

Session 1: Coon Rapids vs TNL Express (Champlin Park based)
A battle of NW Suburban foes in the opening session. 28-24 TNL at the half and then a couple of Jay Sewer 3s in the 2nd half breaks the game open. TNL goes on to a 62-48 win. Sewer with 5 triples and a total of 22 pts in the win. Jasper Duberry with 20 points for TNL. Ben Baker with 10 pts and 7 rebs for Coon Rapids in the loss.

Session 2: Maple Grove vs Redhawks (Minnehaha Academy)
We continue the NW Suburban theme here as Maple Grove takes on the home team. No Taylor Sparkman for the Redhawks. I believe it was David Burnham on the bench watching and Greg Meyer playing but I may have them reversed. I'm going with Meyer and an apology if I mixed them up. 23-22 Maple Grove at halftime. Nothing for Meyer in the 1st half. MG comes out in a 2-3 zone in the 2nd half after playing man in the 1st half. This gets them out to a 41-33 lead with 9:10 to play. Them Meyer hits a 3 and gets a 3 pt play and Parker Hines knocks down a 3 to complete a 14-0 Redhawks run. 47-41 Minnehaha with 3:20 left. MG only gets 1 FG and 3-6 FTs in the last 9:10. Minnehaha goes on to win 56-47. Meyer with 9 pts, all in the 2nd half. Hines with 7 late points to put the game away.

In other session 2 action, Maple Grove JV def Blake 65-62.

Session 3: TNL Express vs Park Center
Tied at 26 at the break. Devon Knopke comes out and has a great 2nd half and we're tied at 46 with 5:20 to play. A 4 point play and a TNL technical foul give PC a 54-49 lead with 2 minutes left. But TNL gets the next 6 as Knopke gets the assist on a 3 by Josh Pratt (St. Anthony) with 45.2 seconds to play to give TNL a 55-54 lead. PC gets a layup with 28 seconds left to regain the lead. TNL then gives Knopke the ball again on a clear out and he delivers with a nice floater in the lane with 3 seconds left to give TNL the 57-56 win. Jasper Duberry made a living at the FT line in this game (7-9 FTs) and finished with 11 points. Jay Sewer quiet with 10 points.

In other session 3 action, Edison defeats Coon Rapids 58-46 after the scoreboard operator flipped the teams on the scoreboard. A shame to see situations like that. Armstrong blew out Maple Grove 86-67.

Session 4: Armstrong vs St. Paul Central
No Ted Vogt for Armstrong but their guards were out in force in this game. Armstrong out to a quick 11-4 lead after 2 and a half minutes. 42-28 Armstrong at halftime. Central gets as close as 51-45 with 12 minutes to play, but a 17-4 Armstrong run puts the game away. Falcons win 77-57.

A typical Armstrong game with at least 9 triples. That includes a very cold shooting game for Damarius Cruz who started 2-12 before making a couple in the 2nd half. 4-15 shooting overall with 9 points. Andy Seidlitz with 3 triples and 15 points. David Weber with a real nice game of 4 triples and 16 points. Seidlitz had 9 triples in a JV game vs Hopkins last season. A real sniper and you know coach Miller will get him good looks over the next 2 seasons.

In other session 4 action, Dunwoody Academy blew out Blake 50-27. Minnehaha held off the Mpls Demons 72-65 after leading by 13 at halftime. The Demons squad has Jalen Jaspers and Jonah Travis of De La Salle as players of note.

Random thoughts from the day's action:

• TNL's running game is fun to watch in addition to their trapping style defense. The long outlet pass off of a score or rebound is what makes it go and it appears they really work on that.
  
• Along similar lines, Champlin Park had better be a running and trapping team this year as Josh Pella and Kyle Zimmerman will be their biggest players. The loss of Calvin Nolte and Emeka Okafor is definitely something big for the Rebels.
• Dunwoody Academy has some athletes, but they too are a small team.
• Sloppy play all day and a surprising amount of playground antics like behind the back passes.
• Henry Sibley joins the party next week. Should be real interesting to see how they look.
  

UW-Stout hires 2 assistants with Twin Cities roots

UW-Stout announced the hiring of 2 assistant coaches from the metro today, Josh Hawton and Larry Ronglien.

Coach Ronglien will be the recruiting coordinator after spending 31 years coaching locally (20 as a head coach at numerous local schools, last at St. Louis Park). Head Coach Eddie Andrist said this in the press release.

“Larry’s background and experience speak for themselves. He knows the game inside and out and will be extremely valuable in evaluation of our team and players. On the recruiting side, he knows a ton of coaches and good people in Minnesota and will prove to be invaluable in getting quality student-athletes here to UW Stout."

Josh Hawton will also be involved in recruiting in addition to his assistant coach duties. He's had local stints with Augsburg and Breck in addition to work with the 43 Hoops AAU program. Coach Andrist said this in the press release.

“We are very excited to welcome Josh to the Blue Devil basketball family here at Stout. He is young and energetic and every program needs that infectious enthusiasm to keep everyone sharp. Josh will handle a variety of duties for us with recruiting being right at the top of the list.”

Stout isn't as local to many Wisconsin players as other schools in the UW system. So with that, they continue to look at Twin Cities players. With these 2 hires, this gives some real good access and knowledge of the Twin Cities area.

Gopher Hole interviews Jake Kreuser

In an interview today with GopherHole.com, Sibley junior Jake Kreuser talked about his recruitment and game. He hits it on the head when he says he needs to get stronger. Talk is that he had a nice summer for 43 Hoops though I didn't get to see him play for them. I expected him to be a varsity regular last season based on his freshman season, but he had a load of talent in front of him. With Mike Bruesewitz, Chris Halvorsen and Mike Rostampour on the front line this season, he may be in a similar situation. But there are benefits to that. He won't be called upon to carry the offensive load, so he'll be able to defend, block shots and rebound which I think would maximize his effectiveness. Certainly a different situation than fellow 2010 big man Chad Calcaterra who needs to be the offense for Cloquet. Both of these players are scheduled for this season's Timberwolves Shootout (Jan 3, 2009) and it will be interesting to follow their progress.

Read the entire Gopher Hole Interview here.

Interview on Sam Dower's Signing and Cole Stefan's Future

Gonzaga student blog The Kennel Report did an interview yesterday with Net Gain Sports coach Marquise Watts regarding the signing of Osseo standout Sam Dower and the future for up and coming Minnetonka junior Cole Stefan. Nice job by TKR as this provides some nice insight on both players. It was interesting to see that Stefan may be a better baseball player as Ryan James of Minnesota Preps just wrote an article that Stefan may be the top junior basketball player in the state. Should be interesting to see how he performs in front of at least 5 schools at an open gym tonight. With Wazoo hard after him and watching Tony Bennett play at UWGB when I was young, I'd be happy to see another Minnesota player end up in the Pacific Northwest. Stefan could really light it up in that system.

Read the entire TKR interview here.

NY2LA Sports names MN Stars to midwest top 5

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

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

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

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

Three more 2009 players make college choices

Congrats to the following local players for their college choices over the last few days.

Sam Dower (Osseo) - Gonzaga
Mike Broghammer (Hopkins) - Notre Dame
Ethan Wragge (Eden Prairie) - Creighton

Here are links to a couple of articles by respective local papers on the signings.

Spokesman review article on Sam Dower signing
South Bend Tribune article on Mike Broghammer signing

Cole Aldrich leader of Kansas in 08-09

Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com wrote a piece today on Cole Aldrich (Bloomington Jefferson 07) being a major piece for Kansas in the 2008-2009 season. Goodman writes "Seven of the team's top nine scorers are gone, which means that Aldrich and Collins will be the de facto leaders this season." This is after his impressive performance vs North Carolina in the NCAAs last season. Interesting how he comments that he's focused on the future and hasn't watched that UNC game and really doesn't appear to have much current interest in it. You have to like that focus if you're a Jayhawk fan.

Cole was a top flight recruit coming in (#30 in the final 2007 Rivals.com Top 150 and #6 Center, #38 Scout.com and a McDonald's All-American). This is a season where it appears he'll have every opportunity to live up to that. Travis Releford (played here in 2007 Sabes Invitational) will join him next season.

Read the full article here.

The NEW Twin Cities Boys Hoops Has Arrived

It is with great joy that I announce the arrival of the new Twin Cities Boys Hoops! I've expanded the layout to allow more information and changed the color scheme to spice it up a bit. Here's a quick tour.

The left hand column has links for year round basketball. The most current season being at the top (in this case the upcoming 08-09 high school season) and the last being at the bottom. I've added 1 click links to all the local teams and conferences so you can your favorite team or conference at a glance via the Schedules & Results or Section and Conference Standings links. That information is courtesy of Minnesota-Scores.net. During the AAU season, the Summer Hoops and Recruiting Resources sections will move to the top. You'll find links to my posts on some of the top local players in the Featured Players section, links to Minnesota basketball info in the MN Basketball Resources section and links to what I read in The Czar's Reading List.

The right hand column is blog information. I've added a section for my schedule so you can see what games I'll be covering at a glance and quickly go read about recent games I've seen. There's a whole section of background information on me in Blog Information. My posts (scrolls as I refer to them) and the ability to search them are the next 2 sections. Finally we have an entire section of miscellaneous basketball links. Other Local Hoops Sites contains links to other local bloggers and/or specific basketball teams . The More Basketball Links section has other basketball links that I occassionally read or purchase from.

The middle section still contains the scrolls, but I've added on there too. Some of you may have noticed that I've started adding labels to posts. For very specific topics or players, I will labeling those. But I'm keeping the number of labels to a minimum and will usually have visible links to those instead of having to read the fine print of the posts to find them. Also, look for many more pictures in the posts this season thanks to Michael J Much of MNPhotonet.net. I only got to use a couple of his pictures last season, but I'm looking forward to showing more of them this season as he gets some terrific pictures.

You'll still get the same game coverage and I've kept popular features like the Current Scoring Records tracker that's been tracking Kevin Noreen since the day Cody Schilling broke the record. Many of the links to what I read you've seen before but I have added a few. For example, local coach John Carrier has just started a new blog. He’s been a high school coach in northern Minnesota for the last few years after helping to clean up my alma mater after I left it in shambles. In addition, he’s been published in Winning Hoops and has been an active contributor to the forums there. His 2 page article, “Get More From Your Undersized Post Players”, published in the March 2008 edition of Winning Hoops is a great read. This season he brings his experience to the metro. He’s a smart, up and coming coach and a great student of the game that I think we’ll hear more about in the future. A link to his blog (and other local blogs) can be found in the Other Local Hoops Sites section. You can also read it here. Between his blog and coach Dasovich's blog, I think these will give great coaching insights during the season.

I hope you enjoy the new layout and the new features. I enjoyed putting it together. If you have comments, questions or suggestions on the new site, please feel free to contact me.

ESPN releases end of summer 2009 top 100

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

Minnesota Players

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

Wisconsin Players

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

Other players who appeared locally this year

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

Scout.com releases end of summer 2009 Top 100

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

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

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

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

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

Why Rodney Williams Ranking Fell

In my last post, I noted that Rodney Williams had a drastic drop in his ranking. I asked Rivals.com what their logic was behind dropping Rodney Williams from #28 to #95 in their latest rankings. Their head scouting guru Jerry Meyer responded with this answer.

"We were giving Williams a big benefit of the doubt with the #28 ranking based on his athletic ability and potential. Unfortunately, we just haven't seen progress. He looked very out of place at the Nike Global Challenge and was just okay at Lebron Skills Camp. Can really jump, but don't know if he'll get the feel for the game and skill level for that athleticism to really translate."

Read the entire thread where my question was posted here.

Williams drops behind Trent Lockett for the #2 spot in the Minnesota Class of 2009.

Rivals releases end of summer top 150

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

Minnesota Players

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

Wisconsin Players

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

Other players who appeared locally this year

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

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

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

Sam Dower talks about unofficial visit to Minnesota

Sam Dower took an unofficial visit to the U of M yesterday. Gopher Hole interviewed him about it afterwards. A couple of things in the interview that stuck out to me. The rumor mill said Dower was concerned if Minnesota was actually serious about him which may have led to this visit. Interesting that it didn't come up in the interview.

He also mentions that he can play center or small forward. I don't know that you could use him at center right away because of the strength issues, but I can see him playing center in a small lineup or later in his career being used there. The small forward part of the statement was really amusing and surprising. Yes he can step out and shoot it a bit, but I think its very safe to say that the small forward position is not in his future unless its a temporary thing in a big lineup (which is rare these days thanks to the myriad of motion systems used today and a lack of big men). He's being recruited to be an interior presence with his perimeter abilities as an extra asset, not to be a face-up wing player. If I'm a coach watching Osseo this season, I want to see Dower dominating down low on the blocks, not settling for 17 foot jump shots from the high post. Last year the outside game was understandable when you had him and 7 footer Zach Peterson in the game together. This year he'll need to carry a bigger scoring load for the Orioles.

I'd like to see him in George Mason's scramble system as that would give them the type of backline shotblocker that they rarely have. With his abilities, I think that'd be a good fit. Dower mentions that he has family out at Cal, it'll be interesting to see if that's a factor in the final decision.

Read the entire Gopher Hole interview here.

Final results from Rockford and the stars in Portland

In Rockford, 94 FT of Game finished the weekend 2-2 in preliminary play before losing both their Sunday bracket game. In 16U, the Minnesota Xplosion were also 2-2 in preliminary play. On Sunday they won their bracket opener before losing in the tournament quarterfinals.

Royce White and Rodney Williams played in the championship of the Nike Global Challenge in Portland, OR. Interesting that this team is coached by the highly entertaining Otis Hughley of Mobile LeFlore, AL.

Results from the 96-80 semifinal win over Canada.

Royce White: 14 Points, 7 Rebs, 2 Blks, 4 Turnovers, 6-12 FGs in only 17 minutes.
Rodney Williams: 0 Pts, 2 Rebs, 2 Turnovers and 0-2 FTs in 8 minutes.

Once again Harrison Barnes was a monster with 22 points and 8 rebounds. If you missed him at the Sabes Invitational in May, you missed a terrific player. Jamil Wilson also quiet in the win. Corey Joseph with 10 points and 5 rebounds in 22 minutes for Canada in the loss.

In the Championship game vs USA 2, USA2 wins 117-104 after leading 53-49 at the half.

• Royce White: 6 Pts, 3 Rebs, 3 Turnovers in only 14 minutes.
• Rodney Williams: 8 Pts, 6 Rebs on 4-8 FGs in 20 minutes.
• Harrison Barnes with 11 pts and 7 rebs in 16 minutes.
• Jamil Wilson with 8 pts and 4 rebs in 13 minutes.
• Demarcus Cousins the star with 29 points on 12-17 FGs with 6 rebounds in 19 minutes to lead USA 1.

White/Williams at Nike Global Challenge Day 1

The top 2 players in the MN Class of 2009, Royce White (Hopkins) and Rodney Williams Jr (Robbinsdale Cooper) are in Portland, OR this weekend for the Nike Global Challenge. Here's how they did on day 1.

Game 1 vs Senegal (US wins 81-68 by winning the 4th quarter 30-20)
Royce White: 9 Pts, 2 Rebs, 2 blks in 21 minutes. 3-5 FG including 2-2 from 3 pt land and 1-4 FTs.
Rodney Williams: 0 Pts, 2 Rebs in 18 Minutes. 0-1 FG

Other players I saw this past season also played with this USA team (1 of 3 in the event)
Demarcus Cousins: 23 Pts, 5 Rebs, 2 blks in 26 minutes. 9-12 FG including 3-4 3 Pts (wow) and 2-4 FTs.
Harrison Barnes: 6 Pts, 8 Rebs in 16 minutes. 2-8 FG including 0-3 3 Pt and 2-2 FTs
Jamil Wilson: 8 Pts, 2 Rebs in 18 minutes. 2-6 FG including 0-2 3 Pt and 4-4 FTs.

They'll play Corey Joseph and Team Canada next.

MN Results from Rockford 8/8/08

A couple of Minnesota teams still playing this weekend down in Rockford, IL. In 17U, 94 Ft of Game def Chicago Stars 55-35. They have a fun matchup tomorrow with Badger Sporting Good who has the #9 Jr in Wisconsin, Marquis Mason.

In 16U, the Minnesota Xplosion def Future Stars Magic 67-54 and Quad City Select 60-47. Like 94 Ft, they also have 2 pool play games tomorrow. The event website lists Kyle Zimmerman (TNL/MN Magic Elite and Champlin Park) and Jess Briggity (MN Fury and Blaine) as part of the roster which would be very nice additions for the Xplosion for this event.

Sam Dower evaluation article

The Kennel Report (Gonzaga Student Blog) has started to breakdown the 2009 recruits that Gonzaga is after. They started it with a nice breakdown of Sam Dower. Click here to read it.

MN Suns 14U out at AAU Nationals

In championship bracket play, the MN Suns 14U squad lost 79-65 to OKC Showtime. They then lost 63-58 to Hoop Heaven Heat in the opening round of the 7th place bracket. If they stay together, they should remain a top team in MN at the 15U level next summer.

The Consequences of Recruiting

In a case of basketball gone bad, longtime Wisconsin powerhouse Milwaukee Rufus King has been banned from the 2009 WIAA state tournament. Outside "recruits" at open gyms and doctored or incomplete admissions documentation were the reasons. I'm surprised they're still eligible for the Milwaukee City Conference title. Thankfully this doesn't appear to involve longtime head coach Jim Gosz.

I'm surprised they got only a 1 year ban and still get to go play out-state games. After all, there have been complaints to the WIAA that the outstate games the Milwaukee teams play give them a recruiting advantage. Hence the new Wisconsin rule this year that you get to play 22 games if you play all your games in-state or in neighboring states (MN, IA, MI, IL). Otherwise you can only play 20 games (the previous limit).

If I'm running a high school association, I come down much harder as this cannot be tolerated. Considering there are always accusations about the top teams recruiting (and that's true here in the metro) and no charges, this would have been a great time to send a strong message. Especially with a premier program like King's. Granted it appears the coach in question is taking the brunt of the punishment rather than the kids which is good, but I think more punishment should have been handed down to the school. Along the lines of what the NCAA would term "lack of institutional control".

Read the entire Wishoops.net article here.

The preps writer who wrote about my high school back in the day wrote this for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

MN Suns 14U advances to final 32 at AAU Nationals

The MN Suns 14U team won 2 out of 3 in pool play to advance to the championship bracket at AAU Nationals. They defeated Dream Vision Basketball 59-51 this afternoon in 1st round bracket play. Next game is vs OKC Showtime at 10:30 AM tomorrow.

Thoughts on the 2008 MN AAU Season

Now that the spring and summer recruiting periods have officially ended, I figured I'd chime in with a few random thoughts on what I saw during my 1st year of seriously following the 2nd season.

If Nate Wolters (St. Cloud Tech) wasn't already on the radar, he should be now. I didn't have the chance to him play in person during the regular season and I haven't watched the state semifinal yet, so this summer was my 1st exposure to him. It was his defense, in particular vs Mike Felt in the Sabes Invitational, that really stuck out to me. I think he'll be a real nice mid-major D1 find for somebody. Other players that jumped on to my radar screen during the summer. Eric Olson (Buffalo, MN Fury 17s), Max Rosenbloom (Johnson, 43 Hoops Harris 16s), Marshall Bjorklund (Sibley East, Magic Elite 16s), Ethan Petrill (Shakopee, Magic Elite 15s), Alex Richter (Lakeville South, MN Heat Elite 15s)

Officiating. I didn't see a coach get tossed at all during the regular season and I saw 3 get tossed during local summer play. (Note: I'm not counting the DLS incident during the sections semis since I wasn't there). Not to mention seeing officials getting into it with fans which I have a huge problem with. I know there's fewer people and closer proximity which leads to a higher chance of this happening, but like the coaches and fans the officials also need to realize that this is for the kids. Also, these officials do a ton of games in 1 day. Bob Knight has talked about college officials doing too many games in a week and I think that's a fair comparison here. Very tall task for anyone to take on.

Scorekeeping. This is a real pet peeve of mine. There were far too many mistakes with the clock, fouls and especially the score in every local event I attended. It's amazing to see all the hard work that goes into putting these events together only to have people at the table who aren't paying attention by talking on cell phones, talking to each other etc etc. That really ruins it. I'm of the thought that we should mandate that basketball savvy adults be at the table.

Loyalty. Who's playing who here. Guys jumping from 1 team to another every week. From Rodney Williams jumping for the State AAU tournament to Raymond Cowles being done for the summer long ago and then all of a sudden showing up with Howard Pulley last week after being a Net Gain player in the spring. Not to mention conflicts with high school teams pulling kids for their events. I don't have a better solution. I don't fault a player for wanting more exposure during the recruiting periods. I don't blame the teams for taking these players in to fill the spots that they lost (see Rodney Williams for Carlos Emory at the State AAU tournament and Cowles last week as Pulley had to mix and match to put a roster together). Call me old fashioned as I think committing to a team actually means something. Does it send the wrong message to the kids to allow them to jump around? All this work for a scholarship which is a huge deal, but at some point aren't we also teaching life skills. I think there's plenty of room to have a system where the high school guys can have their time and the colleges can have their viewing time with the summer teams playing for them to watch and the kids are shown a better example.

Coaches. The coaches have an amazingly tough job. Travel, limited practice time, roster shuffling, dealing with colleges etc all make for some real difficult challenges. I had the great pleasure of watching the Magic 15 Elites practice this summer. To see for myself the very limited time that the coaches have to put in basic offense and defense let alone all of the other basics you need (ex: press break, inbound plays) just to have a chance in any game you play was really eye opening. Guys like Ben Davis (MN Fury 17s and MN Fury South 16s), Andy Birdsong (Mpls Redhawks 16s) and Jake Phillips (MN Magic Black 16s) all did terrific jobs with their teams this summer just to name a few.

Royce White. I hesitate to comment on this as I didn't see the event. It bothered me to see him get tossed from a Pulley Pro Am game. I'm all for giving anyone, especially kids, a second chance. When I look at his track record on and off the court from last season thru this summer season culminating with this ejection, that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I don't feel he's yet taken advantage of the extra chances he's been given. I don't know him and he may be a wonderful person. I give him credit for coming out with a good public face and saying the right things. That's a good start. Its my hope that this upcoming high school season and the people around him help him continue to grow and move beyond these events to help his success down the road in basketball and in life.

The Czar travels and a Sam Dower interview

The Czar returns after a trip to see the Brewers/Astros game in Milwaukee last Saturday night. Its an annual cancer benefit trip that the Crown Prince (my brother) puts on. Over $900 raised this year putting the event over $2,000 for the last 3 years. Always lots of fun and we had the Miller High Life guy ("For 16 dollars I'll be a macadamia nut" guy) come over to our tailgate group. Fun moment.

In doing some catch up reading I came across an interview that The Kennel Report (Gonzaga student blog) did with Sam Dower and his AAU coach Marquise Watts of Net Gain Sports. This is from July 2nd and is well done. Though the comparison to Kevin Garnett may be a little much. Click here to read the entire article.

(Czar's Note 7/30/08, there are also 2 other interviews there as well)
July 29th
July 9th

Day 3 scores from Las Vegas and Orlando

Here's how the MN teams fared in Las Vegas and Orlando on Day 3.

17U

• 43 Hoops def Wedman Pumas 52-49 and then def Juice All-Stars 78-70. Mike Bruesewitz with 20 points in the bracket game.
  
• Magic Robertson def Indiana Dawgz 68-61 and then def Derek Smith All-Stars 92-86. Carlos Emory with 31 points in that game.
  
• Net Gain def Midwest Mission 63-55. That means that all 3 teams in the Adidas event move on to the final 32 tomorrow.
  
• MN Select Kruger def Texas Bluechips Silver 61-48 with a big 2nd half. Maurice Hernandez leads the way with 13 points. Noah Kaiser with 12 and Justin Harding with 10. Select Kruger now in the final 16 of the 2nd place finishers bracket at the Reebok Championships
  
• MN Select DeKok lost to DC Triple Threat 77-69 in a game I watched online. Read about it here.
  
• ECI MN lost to SW Titans 17U Red 63-57 yesterday. Jordan Aaberg with 17 in that game. They def Inland Reebok II 75-58 in bracket play. The twin towers were a force in this game. Aaberg with 27 and Kurt Mickelson with 14. They're in the final 16 of the consolation bracket at the Reebok Championships.
  
• Howard Pulley def Martin Brothers Select 70-58 in pool play at the super 17 showcase in Orlando. They play Rising Stars-Gold later today.
• Magic Superfriends def Central Jersey Hawks Burke 60-57 and lost to Land O Lakes Youth Basketball 65-64.
  

16U

• 43 Hoops 16s def San Diego Warriors 66-39
  

15U

• 43 Hoops Carr def Las Vegas Prospects 61-46. They'll open bracket play tomorrow.
  
• MN Heat Elite def All 4 Sports Dream Team 52-45 yesterday. They lost 71-47 to Rich Soil today. They def Triple Threat Youth Org in the opening round of bracket play.
  

MN Select DeKok vs DC Triple Threat in Vegas

In Las Vegas, MN Select DeKok with a nice showing at 4-0. Now they meet up with a very good DC Triple Threat team. This DC team has the 2nd leading scorer in the tournament, shooting guard Maurice Creek (#97 Scout, committed to Indiana) and big guy Chris Braswell (#84 Rivals) along with Virginia Tech recruit Erick Green. Roy Williams and John Thompson III on hand to watch. MN Select DeKok was the #8 seed at the state AAU tournament. Total mismatch on paper.

Nice move by Select to go with a 2-3 zone as they were clearly out-manned talent wise. They did a great job of hustling in the 1st half along with sloppy play by DC. Top it off with a Chris Neumann 3 and a Justin Segal FT and its 27-18 Select inside of 7 minutes. Braswell has been sitting but now he comes into the game and it all changes. DC goes to a trap and Braswell and company are all over the glass taking advantage of their size. Creek has a steal for a dunk to end a 18-5 DC run that gives them a 36-32 lead with 2:48 to play in the half. But Select stays tough and Neumann gets a late bucket to send the game to the break all square at 43. Creek with 4 triples and the dunk for 14 1st half points. Neumann with 14 for Select.

Select gets the 1st bucket of the half, but turnovers lead to quick transition points for DC and they use that to lead 51-45 with 14 minutes left. But fouls take a toll on DC and Select is in the bonus just inside of 10 minutes. Select claws back and uses a Ben Gervais 3 to take a 56-55 lead and then a David Leafblad 3 puts them up 60-59 with 7:20 to play. Down 2, Select turns the ball over and Creek goes over the top for a offensive rebound to a 2 hand dunk to make it 68-64 DC. That one hurt in terms of momentum. Braswell has been out and doesn't return. Leafblad makes another 3 to make it 68-67 DC with 4:30 to play. At 71-68 ahead, DC tries to spread the floor to pull Select out of their 2-3. Creek takes a bad shot and Select has the ball back with 3 minutes left. But they can't convert 2 chances. DC hits their FTs down the stretch for a tough 77-69 victory.

Creek with 27 and was the zone buster. Select only gave him 1 3 in the 2nd half, but his defense was a factor. Braswell with 7 but in limited minutes. No answers for him when he was in there. Neumann with 17, but a quiet 2nd half for MN Select. Great effort here by Select. While they did get hurt on the glass, they wanted it more and kept it from being much worse. Select finishes 4-1 in Vegas. Very impressive tournament for them.

If you want to watch the game, go to Wazoo Sports.

Day 2 scores from Las Vegas and Orlando

Here's how the MN teams fared in Las Vegas and Orlando on Day 2.

17U

• 43 Hoops def Utah Swoosh 63-52 (7/24/08, Corrected score and result to reflect 43 Hoops win instead of loss)
  
• Magic Robertson def BTI Elite 63-54
  
• Net Gain lost to Texas D1 Ambassadors 86-79
  
• MN Select Kruger lost to DFW Select Black 78-64. Maurice Hernandez and Alex Miller with 17 points each. They def Spirit Got Game 74-67. Tall Kid Tall (Alex Miller) plays well again with 20 points.
  
• MN Select DeKok def Boulder Titans Black 80-66 and CBC Dublin 69-52. Chris Neumann continues his good play with 18 and 21 points.
  
• Old School Cavaliers def ECI MN 69-50. Jordan Aaberg with 13 for ECI.
  

16U

• 43 Hoops 16s def PAL of DE 80-58. (7/24/08 corrected to show 43 Hoops victory, incorrect on Adidas Super 64 site). Max Rosenbloom with 18 points. They def Oakland Bulldogs 64-55. Clay Horne with 14 points.
  
• Magic Elite 16s def NYC Jaguars 80-59 last night to win their pool. They defeated Lou Will the Elite 78-67 in a bracket pigtail game before losing to the Charlotte Royals 65-62 in the round of 16.
  

15U

• 43 Hoops Carr def Playaz Basketball Club White 69-58
  
• MN Heat Elite vs All 4 Sports Dream Team in a late game. Their 71-69 loss yesterday was on a buzzer beater in the 2nd overtime, ouch! Alex Richter big inside for the Heat with 32 points.
  

Day 1 scores from Las Vegas and Orlando

Here's how the MN teams fared in Las Vegas and Orlando on Day 1.

17U

• 43 Hoops def One Tough School of Basketball 66-56
• Magic Robertson def Texas Select Horace 77-46
• Net Gain def Wisconsin Swing 68-51, lost to Full Package Athletics 61-55
  
• MN Select Kruger def Boulder Titans Gold 69-40 (Maurice Hernandez with 25 pts)
• MN Select DeKok def Skywalkers 80-60 (Chris Neumann with 17 pts, Josh Bennett with 18 pts, Ben Gervais with 19 pts)
• Branch West Prospects def ECI MN 92-72 (Jordan Aaberg with 18 for ECI)
  

16U

• 43 Hoops 16s def Michigan Mustangs 46-30
• Magic Elite 16s def Elite Hawks 71-27 and Georgia Hawks 69-53, playing for pool title at time of this post.
  

15U

• 43 Hoops Carr def All Iowa Attack Red 57-39
• MN Heat Elite lost to Virginia Pride 71-69
  

The biggest week of recruiting begins

The college scouts take a couple of days away from their evaluation period before all the shoe companies fire up action in Las Vegas and AAU goes national in Orlando. The recruiting period starts up again on the 22nd. Here's what the local teams are doing.

• Howard Pulley - 17U Super Showcase in Orlando before going to the Kansas City Prep Invitational
• 43 Hoops - Adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas (includes 15U Carr and 16U)
  
• Net Gain - Adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas and then to Phoenix for the Desert Duel
• Magic Robertson - Adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas and then to Orlando for national 17U tournament.
• Magic Superfriends - 17U Super Showcase and national 17U tournament in Orlando
• MN Select (both DeKok and Kruger) - Reebok Summer Championships in Las Vegas
  
• ECI MN - Reebok Summer Championships in Las Vegas
• MN Magic 16U Elites - 16U Super Showcase and national 16U tournament in Orlando
• MN Xplosion (16U) - National 16U tournament in Orlando
• MN Heat Elite 15U - Main Event in Las Vegas
  

But before that there's a couple of interesting events going on this weekend right here in the metro. I think both of these are well worth it. And of course, they're on opposite ends, go figure.

• The Gopher State Prep Showcase put on by MYAS is out at Lakeville South. Bethlehem Academy and Concordia Academy in the A/AA bracket. Lakeville North, Eden Prairie, St. Cloud Tech, Armstrong, Champlin Park, Johnson, Apple Valley, Eastview just to name a few in the AAA/AAAA bracket. Schedules and pools can be found here.
• In Rogers, the Breakdown is putting on a summer showcase. The Gold Bracket in particular is loaded with Cooper, Osseo and Sibley from the metro. Quality non-metro teams here too with Monticello, St. Cloud Apollo and Pelican Rapids in the same bracket. Schedules and pools can be found here.
  

Twin Cities Summer Classic Semifinals

Much to my dismay, I have this annoying thing called a day job that prevents me from doing useful things such as covering the quarterfinals or the championship games. But that doesn't mean I can't get to the 3 evening sessions of semifinal action. Overall this weekend it's been fun seeing college coaches but also good to see high school coaches out following their kids. Tom Dasovich, Greg Miller, Mark Klingsporn and Tim Theisen were ones that I saw.

15U Semifinals

• The MN Heat Elite had only 6 guys available for their quarterfinal game vs MN Heat Black thanks to the Concordia team camp, but they did manage to advance to face the Madison Spartans. Alex Richter back for the Heat and he was a force inside early. 13 first half points for him. He's got a great motor and is very aggressive. The Heat went Box and 1 on Miles Chamberlain to start the game which I found amusing as I love junk defenses. The teams trade 1st half runs to stay even and its 43-43 Spartans with 7 minutes left before Jaron Schaffner gets 7 straight Spartans points which the Heat never recover from. The final straw was Richter getting stripped by Chamberlain in a scramble that led to a Spartans layup that gave the Spartans a 54-50 edge with a minute to play. Big 4 point swing there. A couple of Heat misses later its over with the Madison Spartans moving on 56-53. Alex Richter with 18 points for the Heat, but a quiet 2nd half.
  
  
• 43 Hoops Carr taking on East Metro Elite (St. Paul Johnson Freshman) in the other semifinal. Close 1st half with 43 Hoops looking to break it open early with a 9-0 run, but East Metro counters that with a 10-0 run of their own. 32-31 43 Hoops at the break. They extend the lead out to 10 and Freddie Young gets a couple buckets in the 2nd half to keep it there. 43 Hoops Carr moves on 66-55. Jordan Smith shows great poise for a freshman point guard. Not to mention he's a solid shooter. Thomas Shalk looks like he'll be a good inside presence with the good guards (Varmah Sonie, Mitch Bires, maybe DJ Peterson too) at Apple Valley this season.

16U Semifinals

• 43 Hoops Harris vs 43 Hoops Gameli. Brett Irvin playing well for Gameli with a couple inside buckets and a couple of 3s. This game goes back and forth with no team getting out to a huge lead. With 6 minutes left, 43 Hoops Harris goes to a 1-2-2 zone down 38-36. Max Rosenbloom puts back 2 offensive rebounds to give 43-Harris the lead. Tim Lubke puts in the big bucket as he knocks down a clutch tiebreaking 3 with 1:40 left for a 43-40 lead for Harris. Leonard Glass gets a bucket and 1 while 43-Gameli is trying to foul for a 46-41 43-Harris lead with 33 seconds left. 43-Gameli gets a triple to cut it to 2 with 18 seconds left but they only have 2 team fouls. It takes them until 3.7 left to get to the bonus. Tony Gerding knocks down the final 2 to seal a 48-44 win for 43 Hoops Harris.
  
  
• In the game of the night, Mpls Redhawks vs MN Comets Elite. The Redhawks use a 12-3 run to get out to a 25-15 lead but the Comets don't go away. The Comets claw back in the 2nd half and get an offensive rebound and putback to finally tie it at 53 with 1:20 to play. The Redhawks hold for the last shot and don't get it. Taylor Filipek has a chance at the horn, but no good and we've got OT.
  
  In the OT, Taylor Hanson gets a layin with 1:20 left to give the Redhawks a 57-56 lead. Zach Noreen puts back a rebound for a 58-57 Comets lead with 20 seconds left. Parker Hines gets fouled with 8.7 left and buries both FTs for a 59-58 Redhawks lead. The Comets come back out of a timeout and push the ball upcourt, with a right wing drive to the bucket, the ball gets kicked cross-court to Scott Willenbring who knocks down the triple at the horn to send the Comets onto the title game with a 61-59 win.

17U Semifinals

• 43 Hoops Chatman vs Big Game Sports. Of note, Jamie Donnelly did not play for Team Missouri in the quarterfinal game vs BGS as he was out with the flu. Mike Bruesewitz gets a dunk off the opening tap and shortly after Chris Halvorsen gets 2 dunks during a 13-0 run that gets 43 Hoops out to a 21-6 lead. They coast from there to a 66-44 win.
  
• Net Gain Sports vs Illinois Warriors. Trent Lockett gets the last 9 of the 1st half for Net Gain as they lead 35-26 at the break. A dry spell for both teams in the 2nd half as Net Gain went scoreless for 4 minutes. The Warriors also go scoreless during that time and its 51-36 with 6:30 to play. But the Warriors turn up the defense and get as close as 57-53 with 1:30 left. But Sam Dower gets a bucket and Trent Lockett puts back his own missed bonus front end. Net Gain wins 67-55. Trent Lockett terrific in this game with 17 points. Sam Dower also played well with 16 points. Andy Burns went the whole way without a break and while he did crack a little at the end with a couple of costly turnovers, definitely a solid performance from him. Diamond Taylor for the Wolves was a major disappointment. I counted 6 times where he went to the basket and got blocked (often by Dower). For a player of his skill that surprised me.
  

Sunday action at the Twin Cities Summer Classic

Session 1: 43 Hoops Chatman vs Elite Sports Select. 43 Hoops was lethargic but I did like when they used their dribble motion. Marc Sonnen with 10 1st half points and then Damarius Cruz got hot in the 2nd half. Dylan Rodriguez also showed nice range on his shot. 43 Hoops wins 61-46. Cruz with 17 pts, Rodriguez with 12.

Team Missouri with a nice showing in the tournament as they beat MN Mustangs 68-42. Big Game Sports 16U came from 5 down with a minute to go to beat the Comets Blue 78-77. They got 2 FTs with 2.4 seconds to go to win it.

Session 2: MSB vs Big Game Sports in 17U pool play. Blake Johnson with 8 quick points to give BGS an early 13-4 lead. With under 6 to play in the 1st half its 25-12 BGS and MSB's play has been really sloppy. BGS extends the lead to 42-20 at the break as everything was going wrong for MSB. MSB makes a 2nd half run to pull within 16, but they get no closer. Final is a impressive 66-44 victory for Big Game Sports. Mike Muscala with 11 pts for MSB. Much to my disappointment, Sahr Ngekia got almost no playing time so all my opportunities for BONZI Wells references go away. OK, maybe I just like to say BONZI!

Session 3: 94 Ft of Game vs All Iowa Elite Back and forth 1st half with 94 Ft getting the last 5 pts of the half to lead 38-35 at the break. Kevin Thompson (MTS) very active inside on the glass and he has 14 pts at the break. 94 Ft extends the lead to 56-42 before 10 straight All Iowa Elite points cuts the deficit to 4 with 4:15 to play. But All Iowa Elite can't get over the top as 94 Ft of game hangs on for a 62-58 win. Steven Baker with 18 points, Kevin Thompson with 15 points but 2 of 10 FTs. Daniel Van Kalsbeek with 15 for All Iowa Elite.

Net Gain blew out the Comets Stars 69-44. In 16U play, the Comets Elite squad almost squandered a big lead vs 94 Ft of Game. They need 2 Taylor Filipek FTs with 1.1 seconds left to ice the 62-58 victory.

Session 4: 16U action, MSB vs HoopMasters. HoopMasters is a Mayer Lutheran based team. After leading 38-30 at the break, MSB gets all over the offensive glass in the 2nd half. They stretch the lead to 54-37 with 8 to play and win 67-46. Andrew Dale with a nice active game for MSB with 14 points.

Session 5: 16U action, 43 Hoops Harris vs MN Heat Black 16U. 43 Hoops gets out to a quick 16-4 lead in the 1st 6 mniutes. The Heat come back to only trail 26-23 at the half. With a 27-25 lead in the 2nd half, Tim Lubke trains back to back 3s to start a 13-0 run for 43 Hoops. But the Heat come back with the next 9 points and its 40-34 43 Hoops with 8:45 to play. But the Heat don't score for the next 7+ minutes and 43 Hoops gets the next 16 points. Add in a couple garbage time hoops and 43 Hoops wins 62-36. 43 Hoops with great balance from their squad in this game as 6 players had 7 or more points.

In 15U action, the MN Heat Elites played Wizard's Den Super Hoopers. A relatively slow start for the Heat as they lead 22-18 with 6 minutes to go in the first half but they extend that to 41-29 at the break. A 10-0 run to start the half continues the trend. The Heat win 81-43. John Christensen with another bunch of layups by being active around the basket as I had him for 24 points. Luke Preiner with 13 and Rob Dahl with 14.

43 Hoops Amundson held on for a 50-49 win over Hoop School in the other 15U game that was played.

Session 6: Opening round of 17U bracket play has 94 Ft of Game vs Elite Sports. The pace to start the game was super fast and Elite Sports absolutely shot the lights out. But 94 Ft played almost no defense for most of the game. But definitely a fun shootout to watch. Kenquene Brown (Cooper) with a big 1st half with 17 points and 3 steals. In the 2nd half, the Elite Sports coach gets tossed (2nd T) after a technical on a player for touching the ball in the player's hands out of bounds. Rare call but the right one. That kills any chance Elite Sports had. 94 Ft wins 80-69. Kenquene Brown with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 4 stls. He got to the rim at will and could have had 30 points as he was 7 of 13 from the FT line. Steven Baker with 15 points and Freddie Burton with 18 points for 94 Ft.

Session 7: A bunch of 17U bracket play. 43 Hoops Chatman led All Iowa Elite 39-25, but opened the 2nd half on a big run and they go on to win 66-43. Mike Bruesewitz with a very impressive 1st half. Very active around the basket and when he got (usually in the short corner vs zone), it was over either via a pass to a cutter or a strong baseline drive. The MN Mustangs stayed close with Net Gain Sports until about 5 minutes left in the 1st half before Net Gain ran away. Net Gain wins 92-47.

Sessions 8-11: Only 1 17U bracket game remaining. The MN Comets Elite got out to a 10-0 lead vs 43 Hoops Hemmingson. They open that lead up in the 2nd half and win 68-46. There were 2 16U games that were ongoing.

Magic Black vs MSB. MSB led 55-50 with 3:15 to play before 9 straight Magic points. Jeff Fallat (Burnsville) with a clutch bucket and then a dagger 3 with 1:20 to go to conclude the run. After an MSB 3 with 1 minute left, we find that MSB only has 4 team fouls. In this tournament you need 10 team fouls for the 1 and 1. MSB holds off fouling until 25 seconds left. Finally they get to foul #10 with 9.6 left and Fallat buries them both. MSB can't get a 3 at the end and the Magic Black move on with a 61-58 win.

The MN Xplosion had a 31-15 lead over the MN Heat Black 16U squad in the 1st half. The Heat cut that deficit to 54-51 with under 5 minutes to play before a couple of Jack Ghizoni buckets stopped the bleeding. Xplosion win 68-55.

In Session 9, 43 Hoops Harris rolled over Upstate Elite 76-39. The Mpls Redhawks used a late 2nd half to blow open their game with Hoop Masters. They win 63-42.

In Session 10, Nolan Toft and Martin Wind join the Comets Blue squad for their game with Big Game Sports. Back and forth game that came right down to the end. BGS missed 2 FTs with 21 seconds left that would have cut it to 1, but they had a look at a 3 at the end of regulation that would have tied it. Comets Blue moves on 61-58.

Session 11: The MN Heat Black 15U squad had a 25-21 lead at the break. In the 2nd half, they effectively used "the world's WORST offense" (The Flex) to get good looks. Despite missing 4 technical free throws for a KC Keys coach getting tossed, the Heat go on to a 68-41 win. 43 Hoops Amundson played Team Minnesota Elite in the other 15U game. 43 Hoops had a 45-34 lead early in the 2nd half before Team MN roared back to take a 66-60 lead with 4:30 to play. 43 Hoops gets the next 7 points to take a 67-66 lead with 2:10 to play. Antonio Seals (Apple Valley) gets a layin with 1:40 to reclaim the lead for Team MN Elite. After trading possessions, Jeremy Borg (Orono) hits a nice 10 foot floater in the lane for 43 Hoops and they have the
lead back 69-68 with 30 seconds to play. He then gets a steal but misses the front end of the bonus with 16.4 to play. Marquealis Edwards (St. Louis Park) gets a bunny with 10 seconds left, 43 Hoops can't counter it and Team MN Elite moves on with a 70-69 win.

17U Quarterfinal matchups

• Net Gain Sports vs MSB. Net Gain's small lineup with Dower in the middle is explosive and really fun to watch. MSB can stay competitve, but ultimately I think Net Gain has too much scoring.
• Illinois Wolves vs 94 Ft of Game. If not close, it should be a highly entertaining up and down affair. Wolves roll with more size and skill.
• 43 Hoops Chatman vs Comets Elite. Fun to see Nate Wolters vs in state peers. This game would be even more interesting if Jordair Jett is really on the roster for the Comets. Too much power and size for the Comets to deal with here.
• Big Game Sports vs Team Missouri. This may not be the 1st game that sticks out of the 4, but it may end up being the closest. If Team Missouri can handle the BGS athletes, I think they win. But if only Jamie Donnelly shows up for Team Missouri, then BGS has to like their chances.

16U Quarterfinal Matchups

• MN Comets Elite vs MN Xplosion. These teams have met 3 times this summer with the Comets taking the tiebreaker game 55-49 at the State AAU tournament in early June. Key difference here is that Taylor Filipek is now added to the Comets Elite roster. This could be the best quarterfinal game.
• Mpls Redhawks vs 94 Ft of Game. Its hard to say a team played better then when the Redhawks took apart Magic Black in pool play here. I think they're a buzzsaw right now, they win big.
• 43 Hoops Gameli vs MN Magic Black. A couple of big guys may be missing for 43 Hoops in this one. Kevin Noreen is in the mix for Magic Black which is an interesting dynamic. I'm picking Magic Black here.
• 43 Hoops Harris vs MN Comets Blue. Having Toft/Wind adds a little bit of spice to this, but this Harris squad has played really well here. I'll take them to win easily.
  

15U Quarterfinals

• MN Heat Elite vs MN Heat Black. Heat Black had a nice win tonight in the late session. The rest of having a bye and the return of Alex Richter put the Heat Elite over the top. The winner gets the Madison Spartans in the semis.
  
• I'll assume 43 Hoops Carr won tonight which means they'll play Team MN Elite. I'll take 43 Hoops in that one. The winner gets an impressive East Metro Elite squad in the semis.
  

Saturday action at the Twin Cities Summer Classic

Saturday games at the Twin Cities Summer Classic, as almost all of the 17U action is at Wayzata, that's where I was watching games. Many college coaches in attendance. A list of just a few D1 schools in attendance includes Iowa, Wisconsin, Southern Illinois, Columbia, Princeton, Northern Iowa. Not to mention all the local schools. I missed session 1 tending to other business in the kingdom but I did arrive in time to see the end of session 2.

Session 2: 43 Hoops Chatman def MN Mustangs 74-43. Will Deberg playing with this 43 Hoops squad. Team Missouri def Elite Sports 60-57 in a tight game in the same pool.

Session 3: This session is all about the 16U pool of death. Kevin Noreen joined the Magic Black squad for their game with the MN Xplosion. As the Xplosion struggle on the glass, Noreen makes his first appearance at 12:25 with Josh Pella guarding him in a entertaining matchup. The Magic get out to a 14-8 lead after Deron Murphy finds Noreen for a layup with 10 minutes left in the half. The rest of the half is back and forth and a Magic 3 at the horn makes it 37-36 Magic Black at the half. A 9-2 run out of halftime topped off by a Steve Bailey 3 gives the Xplosion a 45-39 lead with 14 minutes left. With the score 52-50 and about 10 minutes left, Noreen makes 1 of 2 FTs and then gets 2 straight layups on postups to give the Magic a 57-50 lead with 7 minutes to play and they won't look back. Magic-Black wins 75-63. Kevin Noreen with 14 points and Deron Murphy with 10 points for the Magic. Jack Ghizoni with 17 points to lead the Xplosion.

In the other pool of death game, the Mpls Redhawks rolled to a 57-38 win over the Upstate Elite. 43 Hoops Harris def MSB 53-46 in other 16U action.

Sessions 4 and 5: In session 4, the Madison Spartans def 43 Hoops Amundson 65-55 in 15U action. The MN Heat Black squad def Hoops Masters 59-48 in 16U Action. In session 5, Net Gain Sports blew out All Iowa Elite 95-50. Sam Dower had it going early inside and then knocked down a couple 3s in a row in the 2nd half. Cole Stefan was on fire from the outside and Andy Burns did a terrific job orchestrating the whole thing. Trent Lockett slashed to the basket at will in the 2nd half. Net Gain Scoring: Dower with 21, Lockett with 17 and Stefan with 26. Dan VanKalsbeek with 10 and a nice showing for All Iowa Elite.

In other 17U action in this session, 43 Hoops Chatman holds off a game Team Missouri squad 62-51 with 2 nice dunks late by Chris Halvorsen. This game was much closer than that the whole way. 94 Ft of Game survived 2 changes by the MN Comets Stars to win during regulation. They win 78-72 in OT.

Session 6: The 16U Pool of Death continues with the Mpls Redhawks taking on Magic Black. Back and forth 1st half gets us to 48-40 Redhawks with 7:29 to go. Out of a Magic timeout, they try to apply more pressure and it just blows up horribly. That, combined with ice cold shooting and precision ball movement vs the pressure, allows the Redhawks to go on a 15-2 run over the next 5 minutes to put the game well out of reach. Redhawks win 67-45. John Rowland (Osseo) was the beneficiary of many of the passes to end up with 17 points. Parker Hines (Minnehaha) with 12 points.

Sessions 7 and 10: These sessions allowed me the chance to take a look at the MN Heat Elite 15U squad. The Preiner twins were available, but Alex Richter was out. His return is expected for bracket play. In the 1st game they played the East Metro Elite. That squad is a Vern Simmons (Johnson coach) led squad and they play just like the Johnson varsity. Scrambling, trapping, aggressive defense. The Heat led 23-10 in the 1st half of the game before East Metro went 1-3-1. That cut the deficit to 32-26 Heat at the half. East Metro opened the 2nd half man to man just like the 1st half, but once again with about 8 minutes left in the half, they applied pressure and it bothered the Heat. East Metro finally took the lead 42-40 off a steal with 6:05 to play and they never trailed again. The Heat missed a layup that would have tied it late. East Metro seals it with 2 late FTs to win 59-55. In the 2nd game that I saw them play, they blew out MN Team Elite 77-51 after starting the game on a 19-3 run. Drew Preiner impressive in the 1st game at the point guard spot (12 pts), Luke Preiner with the impressive 2nd game with 11 pts and a nice well rounded game. John Christensen turned the 2nd half of the 2nd game into his own personal layup drill to finish with at least 25 points by my count.

Also during these 2 sessions, the MN Xplosion def Upstate Elite 77-68 in 16U action. In 15U action, 43 Hoops Amundson def KC Keys 68-61.

Session 8: The Illinois Wolves come in with their prime talent to take on the MN Comets. This was a mismatch from the start. 14-3 early, 39-17 at halftime and the Wolves roll to a 74-47 win. Nate Wolters lit it up for the Comets with 27 points but no one else could find a way to put the ball in the basket. Joseph Bertrand (Illinois recruit) with 11 points with numerous nifty moves off the dribble to get to the basket. Diamond Taylor (Wisconsin recruit) with only 4 points. He didn't look as explosive as Bertrand, but I can see where he'd be a nice fit in Bo Ryan's system. He was sporting the high socks look and got the initial defensive assignment on Wolters.

Session 9: 43 Hoops Harris blows out Hoops Masters 81-32 in 16U action and it could have been far worse as the score was 66-19 with over 9 minutes left. Clay Horne very active around the basket but had difficulty converting. Max Rosenbloom was his usual active self and Tim Lubke knocked down 3 triples in the game.

MN Heat Black 16U def MSB 69-64 in the other 16U game going on.

Session 11: Finally the end to a long day. Taylor Filipek gives us the hat trick of name players switching teams. He joins the MN Comets Elite 16U squad for their game with Big Game Sports. With 7:40 left in the 1st half, the Comets led 30-13. They also led 47-32 at halftime. But BGS didn't go away. They go on a 16-3 spurt to start the 2nd half and its only 50-48 Comets with 12:15 to play. With 9 minutes left its 57-50 Comets and they open it up late to win 88-70. Eric Tengwall 14-14 from the FT line. Alex Hanks with 16 points and Taylor Filipek with 14 points for the Comets.

43 Hoops Twin Cities Summer Classic Preview

7/11/08 Games scheduled for Hopkins HS have now been moved to Wayzata HS.

(Czar's Note 7/10/08, I've been notified that I've got the 2 MN Comets teams reversed. The Comets Stars are in Pool A and the Comets Elite are in Pool B. My thanks for the info and apologies go out to the Comets. Preview Updated at 12:23 PM

Corrected Comets Stars Roster and fixes to schedule, 10 PM)

Here's my preview of the Inaugural Twin Cities Summer Classic hosted by 43 Hoops. I'll be out watching the games and writing afterwards. You can also get reports from Stevens Sports Report.

17U

Pool A: MN Comets Stars, All Iowa Elite, Net Gain Sports, 94 Feet of Game
Pool B: Illinois Wolves, Triple Threat, MN Comets Elite, Wisconsin Playmakers
Pool C: 43 Hoops Chatman, Team Missouri, Elite Sports Select, MN Mustangs
Pool D: Mac Irvin Fire, Big Game Sports, MSB Roadrunners, 43 Hoops Hemmingson

Schedule (click here for a link to the full schedule)
1st pool games: 8:00 and 9:15 Saturday except Pool B (4:45 PM). All at Hopkins High
2nd pool games: 1:00, 2:15 and 3:30 PM Saturday at Hopkins except Pool B (8:30 PM at 43 Hoops).
3rd pool games: Sunday 8 AM (Pool C), 9:15 AM (Pool D), 10:30 AM (Pool A) at Hopkins. 11:45 AM (Pool B) at 43 Hoops.

Round of 16 Playoffs: Sunday afternoon at 43 Hoops and Hopkins
Final 8: Monday 10:30 and 11:45 AM at 43 Hoops
Semifinals: Monday 6 PM at 43 Hoops
Championship: Tuesday 1 PM at King of Grace in Golden Valley

The Czar's Thoughts

Pool A: Net Gain Sports has a load of perimeter talent with Trent Lockett (Hopkins), Cole Stefan (Minnetonka) and Tor Anderson (Prior Lake). It looks like they also add Chanse Creekmur from Marshalltown, IA. He's a 6'6" wing player in the class of 2010 that mid-majors like Northern Iowa and Creighton are already after. Sam Dower leads them inside. He's had a good summer and may develop into a high-major D1 player this season. I see 94 Ft of Game as the next best squad in this bracket. Steve Baker has had a big summer for them and Freddie Burton is another solid guard for this athletic squad. All Iowa Elite knocked out TNL Express in a tournament this past weekend. The MN Comets Stars is the lesser of the 2 Comets teams here. This bracket is tough enough that they may not win a game in pool play.

Pool B: The Illinois Wolves should be the class of this pool with 2 top 100 players in Diamond Taylor (Wisconsin, #86 Rivals) and Joseph Bertrand (Illinois, #81 Rivals). For the MN Comets Elite, Nate Wolters has had a terrific summer and they've got plenty of other athletes and good players to compete with anybody in this tournament. Their game with the Wolves (4:45 Saturday at Hopkins) will be really fun to watch. The Wisconsin Playmakers (read another preview here) come in with high scoring guard Jack Taylor of Black River Falls and wing Allen Swiggum. Mike Hanson of La Crosse Aquinas is also on this squad. He's being looked at by Columbia, Drake, Winona St and WIAC schools. Taylor has interest from Drake and Winona State.

Pool C: The top 43 Hoops squad resides here. Mike Bruesewitz, Chris Halvorsen and Marc Sonnen lead this squad and give them good inside out balance. Dylan Rodriguez and Damarius Cruz are 2 others who also are worth watching. Team Missouri was here for the Sabes Invitational in May and struggled, but they do have guard Jamie Donnelly. Elite Sports Select brings in a group of players from Northeast Iowa. The MN Mustangs played well in the Star of the North games a couple weeks ago. Their squad is one of Hiawatha Valley Conference all-stars. Overall, I see this as the weakest bracket.

Pool D: The Mac Irvin Fire come in with a very good and young team. 2010 stud Crandall Head (brother of current NBA player Luther Head) is #11 in the Rivals rankings and #12 in the Scout rankings. They also have a real star in the making from the 2011 class, Mike Shaw. They got knocked out of the Milwaukee event this week by the All Iowa Attack 17s. Big Game Sports had a very nice run in Indianapolis this week and could be a real sleeper in this pool. MSB brings their dangerous size to the pool with Mike Muscala (Roseville) and David Berthene (Lakeville N). The Big Game Sports vs MSB matchup (Sunday 9:15 AM at Hopkins) intrigues me and should determine 2nd place in the pool. 43 Hoops Hemmingson is the lesser of the 2 43 Hoops teams in the 17U portion. Travon McKee (Arlington) can really score and Jayvin Reynolds (Osseo) is a big man who will have an important role this coming season.

Pool Winner Predictions: Net Gain Sports, Illinois Wolves, 43 Hoops Chatman and Mac Irvin Fire

In 16U, many of the top Minnesota teams are present. They include the Mpls Redhawks, MN Magic Phillips, MN Comets Elite, MN Xplosion in addition to the 2 43 Hoops teams. The MN Heat Black, Big Game Sports and 94 Ft of Game squads are also represented here. Also watch Silas Mills Jr of the Terry Porter Elite. For those of us who remember the dynasty that was Milwaukee Washington in the 80s, you'll know him as the son of Silas Mills who played in the NBA.

Games to watch:
Saturday

• 8:00 AM 94 Ft of Game vs Net Gain Sports, Hopkins Court 3
• 9:15 AM Mac Irvin Fire vs Big Game Sports, Hopkins Court 3
• 10:30 AM MN Magic Phillips vs MN Xplosion (16U), Hopkins Court 3
• 11:45 AM MN Heat Black vs 43 Hoops Carr 43 Hoops Court 2 OR 43 Hoops Amundson vs Madison Spartans Hopkins Court 3(both games 15U)
• 1:00 PM All Iowa Elite vs Net Gain Sports, Hopkins Court 3
  
• 2:15 PM Mac Irvin Fire vs MSB Roadrunners, Hopkins Court 2 OR Mpls Redhawks vs MN Magic Phillips (16U), Hopkins Court 4
• 3:30 PM Elite Sports Select vs MN Mustangs, Hopkins Court 4 (only 17U game going on)
• 4:45 PM Illinois Wolves vs MN Comets Elite, Hopkins Court 2
  
• 6:00 PM MSB Roadrunners vs MN Heat Black (16U), Hopkins Court 3
• 7:15 PM MN Heat Elite vs Illinois Wolves (15U), Hopkins Court 2
• 8:30 PM Illinois Wolves vs Triple Threat 43 Hoops Court 1 OR MN Comets Elite vs WI Playmakers 43 Hoops Court 2

Sunday

• 8:00 AM 43 Hoops Chatman vs Elite Sports Select, Hopkins Court 2
  
• 9:15 AM Big Game Sports vs MSB Roadrunners, Hopkins Court 3
  
• 10:30 AM All Iowa Elite vs 94 Ft of Game, Hopkins Court 3
  
• 11:45 AM Illinois Wolves vs WI Playmakers , 43 Hoops Court 1
  
• 1:00 PM 43 Hoops Harris vs MN Heat Black (16U) Hopkins Court 4
• Tournament play begins with round of 16 play (pool winners vs last place pool finishers)
  

Monday (all games at 43 Hoops)

• 10:30 and 11:45 AM 17U Quarterfinals
• 1:00 and 2:15 PM 16U Quarterfinals
• 3:30 and 4:45 PM 15U Quarterfinals
• 6 PM 17U Semifinals
• 7:15 16U Semifinals
• 8:30 15U Semifinals

Tuesday (all games at King of Grace church in Golden Valley)

• 9:15 AM 14U Championship
• 10:30 AM 15U Championship
• 11:45 AM 16U Championship
• 1:00 PM 17U Championship

July 7th results from Indianapolis and Milwaukee

At the Hoosier Shootout in Indianapolis, here's how MN teams did on day 2.

* Magic Elite def Peoria Irish 68-31
* MSB def Spiece Gym Rats 70-46
* ECI-MN lost to PC Players Black 86-69
* 94 Ft of Game def Club Indiana Bulldogs 65-58
* 43 Hoops (2nd roster) won their 3rd game by forfeit.
* MN Select-DeKok def Team Ontario 75-74
* Big Game Sports lost to Nebraska Bison Red 93-54
* MN Glory lost to Pioneer Technologies 96-90
* MN Select-Kruger def Charlotte Court 53-49
* MN Mustangs lost to NLP-DS 73-51
* MN Fury lost 69-67 to the Michigan Roadrunners.

Bracket play

• ECI West Black def MN Glory 75-73
• MN Select Kruger def Nashville Celtics Green 55-44 and then lost 74-68 to the Iowa Barnstormers.
• Magic Elite def MSB 50-47 and NLP-AM 80-72.
• Big Game Sports def Windy City Spartans 66-65.

At the NY2LA event in Milwaukee

• Grassroots lost to Meanstreets 72-57 and SYF Players 77-67.
• Howard Pulley lost to REACH 72-62 and then defeated Next Level Elite 62-61. Its worth noting that this is their 2nd team. The top guys are camping this week. Royce White and Rodney Williams are at the Lebron James camp. A handful of other players are in Kansas at a camp.
  
• Net Gain lost 59-54 to the Illinois Stars and def the Playground Elite 74-70.
  

Results for Minnesota teams from the opening day of the July recruiting season

At the Hoosier Shootout in Indianapolis, here's how MN teams did on day 1. All scores here are 17U teams only.

• Magic Elite lost to TN Thunder 63-61 and def WI Swing 59-37
• MSB def Texas D1 Ambassadors 73-46 and the St Louis Raptors 81-59 (Czar's Note 7/10/08, corrected Raptors result to reflect MSB win and not a loss as previously noted)
  
• ECI-MN lost to Spiece Select 65-32 and Kessel Heat Black 62-52
• 94 Ft of Game lost to Toronto Mission 1 60-59 and NLP-AM 97-90
• 43 Hoops (2nd roster) lost to Ducks 77-54 and Illinois Elite 65-62.
• MN Select-DeKok lost to TN Travelers 72-43 and Indiana Select 84-68.
• Big Game Sports def Old Gold Dream Team 82-75 and lost to Parallel 45 65-55.
• MN Glory def Camp Darryl Royal 76-48 and Springfield Magic 88-56.
• MN Select-Kruger def Creek Basketball 93-63 and Camp Darryl White 57-46
• MN Mustangs lost to Midwest Elite 68-48 and UPs Finest 78-57
• MN Fury lost to Team CBIZ 71-69 and Speice Rising Stars 86-69
  

At the NY2LA event in Milwaukee, Grassroots, Howard Pulley and Net Gain are all 0-1. All Iowa Attack 17U def Net Gain 60-55. Howard Pulley lost to All Iowa Attack 16U 79-59. Grassroots appears to have forfeited their game.

The 43 Hoops top 17U team played 2 games in Cincinnati in the Adidas It Takes 5ive Classic.

Congrats to the TNL Express for their performance this weekend in Kearney, NE. They went 3-0 in pool play before bowing out in the 2nd round of bracket play. Jasper Duberry averaged 19.4 PPG for the weekend. Scott Theisen had 41 pts with 11 3s in a game. He averaged 18 PPG for the tournament. Both players made the all-tournament team along with Wisconsin stars Kameron Cerroni, Evan Anderson and Chim Kadima of the champion Wisconsin Playground Warriors. Josh Pella of the MN Xplosion joined the Express for the weekend.

Scout.com releases updated 2009 Top 100 for July 2008

Scout.com has made another tweak to their 2009 top 100 (101 actually) before the July recruiting period (read it here). Here are players that caught my attention.

Minnesota
Royce White (#32, up from #38)
Rodney Williams Jr (#57, down from #45)
Trent Lockett (#89, previously unranked)

Wisconsin
Jamil Wilson (#16, no change)
Jeronne Maymon (#66, down from #58)
Johnny Lacy (#96, down from #62)

Others who appeared locally
DeMarcus Cousins (#6, up from #7)
DJ Richardson (#46, up from #60)
Darius Smith (#90)
Michael Dixon (#94, down from #66)

Rivals releases updates to 2009 rankings

Rivals.com has made another tweak to their 2009 top 150 before the July recruiting period (read it here). Here are players that caught my attention.

Minnesota
Royce White (#18, no change)
Rodney Williams Jr (#28, no change)
Trent Lockett (#53, big jump from #98)
Mike Bruesewitz (#125, up from #144)
Sam Dower (#130, up from #130)

Wisconsin
Jeronne Maymon (#42, moves up from #60)
Jamil Wilson (#60, drops from #58)
Johnny Lacy (#97, up from #99)

Others who appeared locally or will be playing at the Twin Cities Summer Classic
DJ Richardson (#74)
Darius Smith (#80)
Joseph Bertrand (#81)
Diamond Taylor (#86)
Michael Dixon (#100)
Nik Garcia (#109)
Jack Cooley (#147)