Prologue
Its a busy 28 and a half hours filled with 9 games from the fringes of Siberia (North St. Paul, White Bear Lake is the real Siberia) to the vacation resort area on the other side of the kingdom (Minnetonka). Solid pizza at North St. Paul and a first ever sighting of the Minnetonka Skippers mascot wasn't a bad thing. 2 games at North St. Paul Friday night and then I did webcast of all 7 games in the West gym at Minnetonka as part of the Breakdown Tipoff Classic on Saturday. No trips to the concession stand or the other gym on Saturday. Busy day with only 15 minute warmup periods.
Song of the Weekend:
Kansas - Carry On My Wayward Son.
5th Annual Polar Tip Off Classic
Game 1: Eagan vs Fridley
Fridley jumped out to a 12-2 lead thanks to their top player Nate Geving running off 7 quick points. Eagan would get Shea Mandli going and counter with a 13-0 run to take the lead. Soph guard Michael Murray would knock down back to back 3s as Fridley put up an 8-0 run. 23-17 Fridley 8:25 first half as Mandli was getting a rest. Mandli would come back in and Fridley's small lineup had no good answer. 38-37 Eagan at the half despite Fridley knocking down 7 3s. Fridley would run a handback lob for Geving to start the half, then the drought began. A 17-0 Eagan run over the next 4:10 would put the game away. Eagan wins 83-70. Nick Sabatke with 25 points and 7 rebounds, Shea Mandli with 25 and 13 for Eagan. Nate Geving 27 points to lead Fridley.
Game 2: St. Paul Harding at North (St. Paul)
A fun first half to watch as Harding switched between triangle and 2 and 1-3-1 on the defensive end. Then on offense they went with a very spread dribble drive motion. A major point was that the Knights didn't have most of their kids looking for 3s out of it. Their athletic wings would catch and then pass the ball back to the guards on top and reset. So call it a slow DDM. North struggled with defending the drive, specifically of David McClain. That helped Harding jump out to a 28-19 lead at the half. Then North defended the dribble better and Harding could find a way to score. North opens the half on an 11-0 run over first 8:50 to regain the lead. Harding would come back after 5 in a row from Korey Dean to trail 43-42 with 6:25 to play. Then Hunter Books on the post, a Jacob Steckler layup (frosh starter) off great hustle from soph center Joe Messerole and 2 more buckets from Dean would be an 8-0 run over 3 minutes to put it away. North wins 58-49. David McClain 15 for Harding. Hunter Books 19 and 8 to lead the Polars. Korey Dean with 15 of his 18 in the second half to put the Polars over the top.
Breakdown Tipoff Classic
Game 1: #4AAA Rocori vs Roseville (click here for my webcast)
Remember Rocori is the 1 team I would actually pay to run the flex so no insults to the offense in this game. Story of the game was Roseville's pressure defense. The run and jump traps were just too much and allowed Roseville to end the first half on a 18-5 run over the last 6 minutes. Roseville would cruise from the there to a surprising 77-52 blowout win. Mack Johnson outstanding for the Raiders with 20 of his 29 in the first half. Jonah Eisenschenk 19 of his 25 in the second half for Rocori despite foul trouble.
Game 2: #6AA Braham vs Orono (click here for my webcast)
A very even first half and Orono was able to only lose 2 points in the last 7:32 that Brady Wohler sat with 3 fouls. Then in the 2nd half, Tyler Vaughan caught fire to break open the close game. In a 14-2 run, he scores 10 points with an assist for 2 more. That breaks the game open, 75-59 with 6:30 left. Braham wins 85-75. Brady Wohler 25 points for Orono, Anthonie Tholey 17. Vaughan 28, 9 boards and 8 assists on my sheet. The supporting cast of Anthony Bias, Shawn Hollenkamp and Sam Stigen came up big with 8 3s and 37 total points. Cameron Braund 14 points inside.
Game 3: #10AAAA Prior Lake vs #3AAAA Osseo (click here for my webcast)
A very close game with Prior Lake getting a pair of Jack Harrison buckets and Carson Shanks scoring to open up a 47-38 lead with 11:30 left to play. Osseo having no answers for the Prior Lake 2-3 zone. Then DJ Hebert would go off for Osseo and the Orioles go on a 14-2 run over the next 9 minutes to take a 52-49 lead. Osseo had a chance to extend the lead when Hebert was fouled on a 3 but only 1 free throw was good with 1:49 left, Osseo 55-51. Jack Harrison would score on the post and a crazy pretty spin move from soph point guard Jon Sobaski with 55 seconds left would tie the game. Osseo had the ball with a chance to win it but couldn't convert.
In the overtime, Hebert would make his 3rd 3 and Bridge Tusler with a 3 point play for a quick 6 point lead. Sobaski with a pair of freebies countered by a Hebert putback. Sobaski jumper countered by 1 Ian Theisen FT. Then Sobaski to Will McPherson for 2. Tusler counters that before Sobaski nails an NBA 3. 68-67 Osseo with 53.2 left. Prior Lake chooses not to foul and they force an Osseo timeout with 28.4 left. Then Tusler gets trapped with 22.1 and travels giving the ball back to Prior Lake. They can't convert but then the team missed front ends. Hebert makes 2 free throws with 5 seconds left for a 3 point lead. Prior Lake can't get a good look and Osseo hangs on for a tough 70-67 win in overtime. Jon Sobaski 19 points, Jack Harrison 14, Matt Dysthe 14 (4 3s). DJ Hebert 22 all after halftime (3 3s), Bridge Tusler 16 of his 21 after halftime. In the big man matchup, Osseo's Ian Theisen 7 points (3-7 FG) and 9 rebounds and Prior Lake's Carson Shanks 6 points (3-14 FGs) and 5 rebounds. Shanks got hit in the head during the overtime but was able to return.
Game 4: #1AAA Benilde-St. Margaret's vs Eastview (click here for my webcast)
Eastview played really physical defense on Isaiah Zierden with Chris Narum getting the initial task. Zierden able to get loose in the half as Eastview ran into foul trouble. Darin Haugh came up big with 3 3s in the first half. 1 of them giving Eastview a 7 point lead. BSM would comeback from 22-15 down in the last 7:20 of the half to lead 31-28 at halftime. Isaiah Gray would run off 8 points in the first 8 minutes of the second half for a 46-41 lead. Eastview would counter with a 7-0 run ended by 2 Joey King inside buckets. Then just outside of 5 minutes to go a critical moment. A scrum ensues and in the scramble, Eastview picks up a technical. After the officals get together, it becomes a double technical. With just the 1 technical, BSM would have had 2 free throws plus the ball. Instead, no free throws and Eastview retains the jump ball with a 50-48 lead. Ben Oberfeld would convert a 3 point play and then Chris Narum with a huge 3 with 3:40 left to push the lead to 56-48. Eastview wins 61-54. Haugh with 22 (I had 19, I thought Narum hit that big 3 but could have been Haugh). Joey King with 19 points, Ben Oberfeld with 11 and 10. Isaiah Zierden 20 points to lead BSM. Sanjay Lumpkin 12 points and 8 rebounds, Will Dunn 12 points. Too much Eastview size and they did a nice job keeping Zierden from getting good looks on the sets BSM runs for him.
Game 5: #10AAA DeLaSalle vs Robbinsdale Cooper (click here for my webcast)
Rashad Vaughn off to a quick start in this one for Cooper. He spins for 2, blocks a shot which leads to 2 more. Add in a 3 and a putback for 7 quick points. 11-6 Cooper at the 9:51 mark to force a DLS timeout. Cooper extends the lead to 29-17 with a pair of Eric Brown triples with 4:50 left in the half. Vaughn takes a rest and can't get back in the game as DLS goes on a 16-0 run to end the half. 33-29 DLS at half. The Hawks don't get on the scoreboard again until a Vaughn 3 with 14:20 to play. It ends up being 28-0 run across halftime in 8:10. Vaughn's triple triggers a Cooper run. He follows with a tough jumper. Brown for 3 and a monster breakaway dunk on a Vaughn steal. Vaughn finishes the run with another 3. 14-2 Cooper run in 3:20 gets the Hawks right back in the game. DLS up 47-43 with 11 minutes to play. DLS extends the lead back to 10 before Vaughn with a putback and a pullup to cut the lead to 6. 57-51 DLS with 5:20 left. Leroy Taylor for 2, Vaughn with a dunk and draws a charge. But DeLaSalle would still be able to maintain a 62-56 lead with 59.2 to play. Cooper would score and force a turnover that led to a Vaughn 3 with 20 seconds to go. 62-61 DLS. 1 DLS free throw and Cooper couldn't score. 1 more free throw with 2.8 left and Vaughn's heave at the horn is no good. DLS wins 64-61. Rashad Vaughn outstanding in front of the Minnesota staff with 30 points and 10 boards. Eric Brown with 16. 6 DLS players with 8 points or more. Luke Scott 13 points, Reid Travis with 12 and 7 boards, Sean Fitzgibbons with 11. Interesting that Vaughn played behind Travis most of the day but on post entries got tons of tips jumping around in front.
Game 6: #1AAAA Hopkins vs #4AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall (click here for my webcast)
CDH frosh Sam Neumann would nail 2 3s and get another bucket to keep CDH within 18-16 at the 8:30 mark of the first half. Then 6 in a row (3 pt play and 3) from Andre McDonald as CDH PG Cortez Tillman had to sit with 3 fouls. Another McDonald 3 plus a Siyani Chambers 3 allowed Hopkins to open a 35-26 halftime lead. CJ Neumann would score 6 quick points for CDH to cut the lead to 38-32. Then an 11-0 Hopkins run in the next minute finished by another McDonald 3 point play. Royals roll from there to a 74-45 win. Andre McDonald 16, Siyani Chambers 14 to lead Hopkins. CJ Neumann 15 points and 7 rebounds and Sam Neumann 11 points (3 3s) to lead CDH.
Game 7: Buffalo at Minnetonka (click here for my webcast)
Buffalo would jump out to a 16-12 lead. Then an 11-2 Skippers run finished by a Joe Risinger 3 at the 5:47 mark. 23-18 Minnetonka lead, but 3 3s from Buffalo would allow them to end the half on an 11-0 run. 6 3s in the half give the Bison a 29-23 lead at the break. Buffalo's motion offense couldn't generate any points in the 2nd half as Minnetonka goes on a 22-4 spurt over the first 12:10 of the half. The Skippers pound the ball into Latrell Love inside and he has a big 2nd half. Minnetonka wins 57-45 (34-16 2nd half). Latrell Love leads with 23 points, 17 in the 2nd half. Joe Risinger 3 3s on his way to 12 points. Peter Cassady leads Buffalo with 11 points, Ethan Freer with 10 for Buffalo.
We can play Angry Birds
Prologue
Its my first trip to Coon Rapids and a quality evening. Hot dog wasn't up to last night's standard but still average. First root beer on my tally for the season. Osseo opens their season in this one. Coon Rapids on the other hand with a pair of blowout wins over Cambridge-Isanti and Big Lake (Big Lake let the game go from 4 down to 30 down without a timeout I'm told). Late in warmups, the lights dim and here comes the Coon Rapids Cardinal comes out on a cushman (think mining cart). My oh my does he look angry. Great interaction with the fans all night. Though his crown looked as much like a mohawk as anything else. One of the best mascot performances I've seen in a long long time. Music comes from the public address so you can make this your Night at the Roxbury.
Song of the Day
Haddaway - What is Love?
Game Time
Osseo jumps out 7-0 in the first 2 minutes. Ian Theisen goes to the bench with 2 fouls at the 12:38 mark and that gives Coon Rapids opportunities to get the rim. Edvonte Hibbler drive for 2 and then a 3. 11-10 Osseo at the 11:20 mark. Hello Cardinal, how's your evening? (Mascot meandering thru the crowd visiting). Omat Okwan with a dunk to finish a 12-4 run for the first Cardinals lead, 12-11 at the 10 minute mark. Neither team can break out the rest of the half. Bridge Tusler all over people on defense to generate his own offense. 33-30 Orioles at the half.
Okwan with a pair of layups early in the half. Coon Rapids 36-35 lead with 15:05 to play. Ian Theisen on the offensive glass for the 2nd time in the half and fouled for free throws. That was after a Michael Brush putback. Cal Bloom (a major revelation at the Tonka fall league) with a bunny inside and a drive. Theisen off an inbounds pin and post. Tusler finishes the 15-2 run with a layup. 50-38 Osseo with 8:55 left. Theisen back on the offensive glass for 2 more free throws and he adds 2 for freebies to make the lead 14. 54-40 Orioles with 7:35 left. EdVonte Hibbler with a layup to cut the lead to 56-48 with 4:35 left. Theisen would hit 2 more free throws and score again on the post. That puts the lead back to double digits. Osseo wins 69-55.
Post Game
For Coon Rapids, they do end up with 4 guys in double figures. Omot Okwan leads with 12, Edvonte Hibbler 11, Joe Churilla 11, EdDarie Hibbler 10. No size really hurt the Cardinals in the 2nd half. They have guards who are quick. Cardinals fall to 2-1, 0-1 in NW Suburban play. Irondale visits next Tuesday and then league play continues with a trip to upstart Elk River next Thursday.
For Osseo, they struggled in the season opener but got through it. Michael Brush took advantage of looks to lead the Orioles with 16 points. Bridge Tusler 14 points and 6 steals, most of that in the first half. Ian Theisen with 11 points and 10 rebounds on my sheet. Most of that in the 2nd half due to 1st half fouls. He was too much for the small Cardinals lineup to handle on the offensive glass in that time. DJ Hebert 12 points. Osseo faces Prior Lake on Saturday in the Tipoff Classic. Former summer teammates Ian Theisen and Carson Shanks the featured attraction in that game. Osseo will likely throw a bunch of bodies at Jon Sobaski. Sounds like Will Johnson will be on a football visit this weekend and may not be available which is an important loss against Prior Lake's huge front line.
Its my first trip to Coon Rapids and a quality evening. Hot dog wasn't up to last night's standard but still average. First root beer on my tally for the season. Osseo opens their season in this one. Coon Rapids on the other hand with a pair of blowout wins over Cambridge-Isanti and Big Lake (Big Lake let the game go from 4 down to 30 down without a timeout I'm told). Late in warmups, the lights dim and here comes the Coon Rapids Cardinal comes out on a cushman (think mining cart). My oh my does he look angry. Great interaction with the fans all night. Though his crown looked as much like a mohawk as anything else. One of the best mascot performances I've seen in a long long time. Music comes from the public address so you can make this your Night at the Roxbury.
Song of the Day
Haddaway - What is Love?
Game Time
Osseo jumps out 7-0 in the first 2 minutes. Ian Theisen goes to the bench with 2 fouls at the 12:38 mark and that gives Coon Rapids opportunities to get the rim. Edvonte Hibbler drive for 2 and then a 3. 11-10 Osseo at the 11:20 mark. Hello Cardinal, how's your evening? (Mascot meandering thru the crowd visiting). Omat Okwan with a dunk to finish a 12-4 run for the first Cardinals lead, 12-11 at the 10 minute mark. Neither team can break out the rest of the half. Bridge Tusler all over people on defense to generate his own offense. 33-30 Orioles at the half.
Okwan with a pair of layups early in the half. Coon Rapids 36-35 lead with 15:05 to play. Ian Theisen on the offensive glass for the 2nd time in the half and fouled for free throws. That was after a Michael Brush putback. Cal Bloom (a major revelation at the Tonka fall league) with a bunny inside and a drive. Theisen off an inbounds pin and post. Tusler finishes the 15-2 run with a layup. 50-38 Osseo with 8:55 left. Theisen back on the offensive glass for 2 more free throws and he adds 2 for freebies to make the lead 14. 54-40 Orioles with 7:35 left. EdVonte Hibbler with a layup to cut the lead to 56-48 with 4:35 left. Theisen would hit 2 more free throws and score again on the post. That puts the lead back to double digits. Osseo wins 69-55.
Post Game
For Coon Rapids, they do end up with 4 guys in double figures. Omot Okwan leads with 12, Edvonte Hibbler 11, Joe Churilla 11, EdDarie Hibbler 10. No size really hurt the Cardinals in the 2nd half. They have guards who are quick. Cardinals fall to 2-1, 0-1 in NW Suburban play. Irondale visits next Tuesday and then league play continues with a trip to upstart Elk River next Thursday.
For Osseo, they struggled in the season opener but got through it. Michael Brush took advantage of looks to lead the Orioles with 16 points. Bridge Tusler 14 points and 6 steals, most of that in the first half. Ian Theisen with 11 points and 10 rebounds on my sheet. Most of that in the 2nd half due to 1st half fouls. He was too much for the small Cardinals lineup to handle on the offensive glass in that time. DJ Hebert 12 points. Osseo faces Prior Lake on Saturday in the Tipoff Classic. Former summer teammates Ian Theisen and Carson Shanks the featured attraction in that game. Osseo will likely throw a bunch of bodies at Jon Sobaski. Sounds like Will Johnson will be on a football visit this weekend and may not be available which is an important loss against Prior Lake's huge front line.
Millers tame Cougars
Prologue
A quiet Wednesday on the schedule so I'm at Como Park to see them play #2AAA Washburn. A quality hot dog which The Czar rates a solid B+. Washburn brings their cheerleading squad which makes things deafening. Washburn without point guard Nick Anderson. Como Park has Johnson transfer Kendarius Latimore. Song of the day has to temporarily revert to my era.
Song of the Day
John Cougar Mellencamp - Pink Houses
Game Time
Como Park comes out in a 2-3 and packs it in, refusing to come out to the arc. Washburn's offense early on consists of a pair of powerful dunks and putback from Jerry Pratt. 8-7 Washburn at the 13:40 mark. Washburn can't make a shot and they have no energy. All 5 starters sit and Como goes on a 9-0 run. Dwight Anderson makes his first 3 of the night before Keiron Sauer scores 4 in a row for Como. 20-11 Como Park and Anderson picks up his 2nd foul with 6:07 left. That stoppage allows Como Park to take a Momentum Killer timeout after the 13-3 run. Washburn would go to a full court press and get opportunity traps in their halfcourt man defense. That forces 7 Como Park turnovers which put Washburn on a 19-5 run. Add in Como Park sagging to the foul line in their zone and leaving Anderson with open stand still 3s from the top of the key which he buried. Washburn 35-29 lead at the half. Anderson with 16 in the half on 4 3s.
The pressure continues in the 2nd half leading to more easy points. Como Park sags the 2-3 zone even further with the guards getting only 1 foot to the free throw line. The half is mostly ugly and not much to see. I leave just before the end with the game. Washburn wins 72-56 and it should not have been that close.
Post Game
For Como Park, Andre Schowalter-Perry leads the way with 18 points. Keiron Sauer with 12. A very depleted squad who looks to be in a fight with Harding and Humboldt to stay out of the league cellar. Very interesting strategy to pack the 2-3 in but not being prepared for Anderson's shooting is not acceptable. Overall it was very effective for an undermanned squad. The Cougars fall to 0-2 with the loss. They have a week off before back to back games next Thursday and Friday at Henry and at Concordia.
For Washburn, Dwight Anderson tops all scorers with 21 points. Jerry Pratt 3 big dunks in the game for 16 points. Center Joseph Doby 8 points but a pair of 3s made up most of those points. Washburn had another kid who I had with 3 3s in the 2nd half (#15 Corey Puterbaugh maybe? PA guy said Smith, no idea who it was). The Millers were very lethargic early and settled for way too many 3s against the zone. But the defense forced turnovers and generated points. The ability to get surprise traps out of their man to man was fun to watch. The Millers get through the season opener and start their home schedule on Friday against Hill-Murray. Hill-Murray played without center Dave Simmet at Holy Angels yesterday so unknown if he'll play Friday.
Czar's Note 12/7/11: #15 for Washburn was North transfer Charles Smith.
A quiet Wednesday on the schedule so I'm at Como Park to see them play #2AAA Washburn. A quality hot dog which The Czar rates a solid B+. Washburn brings their cheerleading squad which makes things deafening. Washburn without point guard Nick Anderson. Como Park has Johnson transfer Kendarius Latimore. Song of the day has to temporarily revert to my era.
Song of the Day
John Cougar Mellencamp - Pink Houses
Game Time
Como Park comes out in a 2-3 and packs it in, refusing to come out to the arc. Washburn's offense early on consists of a pair of powerful dunks and putback from Jerry Pratt. 8-7 Washburn at the 13:40 mark. Washburn can't make a shot and they have no energy. All 5 starters sit and Como goes on a 9-0 run. Dwight Anderson makes his first 3 of the night before Keiron Sauer scores 4 in a row for Como. 20-11 Como Park and Anderson picks up his 2nd foul with 6:07 left. That stoppage allows Como Park to take a Momentum Killer timeout after the 13-3 run. Washburn would go to a full court press and get opportunity traps in their halfcourt man defense. That forces 7 Como Park turnovers which put Washburn on a 19-5 run. Add in Como Park sagging to the foul line in their zone and leaving Anderson with open stand still 3s from the top of the key which he buried. Washburn 35-29 lead at the half. Anderson with 16 in the half on 4 3s.
The pressure continues in the 2nd half leading to more easy points. Como Park sags the 2-3 zone even further with the guards getting only 1 foot to the free throw line. The half is mostly ugly and not much to see. I leave just before the end with the game. Washburn wins 72-56 and it should not have been that close.
Post Game
For Como Park, Andre Schowalter-Perry leads the way with 18 points. Keiron Sauer with 12. A very depleted squad who looks to be in a fight with Harding and Humboldt to stay out of the league cellar. Very interesting strategy to pack the 2-3 in but not being prepared for Anderson's shooting is not acceptable. Overall it was very effective for an undermanned squad. The Cougars fall to 0-2 with the loss. They have a week off before back to back games next Thursday and Friday at Henry and at Concordia.
For Washburn, Dwight Anderson tops all scorers with 21 points. Jerry Pratt 3 big dunks in the game for 16 points. Center Joseph Doby 8 points but a pair of 3s made up most of those points. Washburn had another kid who I had with 3 3s in the 2nd half (#15 Corey Puterbaugh maybe? PA guy said Smith, no idea who it was). The Millers were very lethargic early and settled for way too many 3s against the zone. But the defense forced turnovers and generated points. The ability to get surprise traps out of their man to man was fun to watch. The Millers get through the season opener and start their home schedule on Friday against Hill-Murray. Hill-Murray played without center Dave Simmet at Holy Angels yesterday so unknown if he'll play Friday.
Czar's Note 12/7/11: #15 for Washburn was North transfer Charles Smith.
Blake makes statement
Labels:
Reid Travis
Prologue
To a building that might be my least favorite in the metro as I visit Blake to see their Tri-Metro showdown with DeLaSalle. If you read my weekly Preps column (and if not, shame on you) you'll know there were some good reasons to think an upset could happen. Only candy at the concession stand but I know this from experience so I manage to wolf down some Arby's before my arrival. Blake has repainted the floor and updated to some bright lighting so that helps a little but not much. When I arrive I find Al Harris searching for the entry (which is very confusing) and thanks to all my winter gear I don't recognize him until we're inside. HA! So I think that adds up to today's music.
Song of the Day
Jay-Z - 99 Problems.
Game Time
If you arrived late for this one, you didn't miss much. Blake goes 3-2 zone right from the opening tip and that takes the air out of everything. Blake's 1st field goal comes at 14:20 for a 4-0 lead. DLS goes the first 6:10 without a bucket before a James Lawson bucket in the lane. Blake goes almost 6 minutes before their next field goal. Timeout DeLaSalle at the 8:45 mark. 6-4 Blake lead and I think you could paint the floor again and watch it dry before these teams get to 60 points. Reid Travis with his 3rd straight bucket on a short baseline pullup. 10-8 DLS at the 5:15 mark. Blake would get the next 6 points ending with a Kebu Johnson bucket. But then he would go to the bench with 2 fouls for the last 2:34. Luke Scott heats up for DLS as he's finding openings on the wings against the zone. His pair of triples in the last 3 minutes sends the game to halftime tied at 20.
Major gap in the Blake zone to start the 2nd half as they're running at Tyler Moore which leaves Scott open on the next pass. That leads to another pair of Scott bombs. 26-22 Islanders with 16:05 left. Then Paul Blake heats up for Blake (how fitting). A jumper, a 3 off the world's most famous BLOB (inbounder comes back to corner for 3) and another 3 after a big Bears block on defense. DLS turns it over for a free throw, then another block and Kebu Johnson turns that into a bucket (misses and 1 free throw). Timeout Islanders with 9:51 left. 34-28 Blake with the lead. Then a great tweak by Blake coach Nick Rathmann in the timeout. He flops spots to run his favorite set (more later on that) for Paul Blake and he buries the 3. 37-28 Bears with 9:20 left, wow. Jarvis Johnson for 3 to keep DLS hanging around. Blake timeout with 7:24 left up 6 and they show 1 possession of THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE (a Bears favorite but not tonight). They turned it over on that possession, boo hoo. But John Veil grabs a loose rebounds and takes it the distance for 2 and a Kebu Johnson free throw after another Islander turnover. 40-31 Bears with 4:37 left.
Jarvis Johnson buries another 3 but Veil with a nice cut and converts a floater to counter it. Travis was quiet all half but his 3 point play with 3:47 left cuts the lead to 42-37. Veil with 2 free throws with 1:45 left and the Blake students pull out the "I Believe" chant. One of the few times you'll actually see it used properly. Down 6 with a minute left, DLS would force a Kebu Johnson turnover but he would get a block on the other end. Veil would make 3 of 4 FTs and that would be enough. Blake pulls the upset over #5AAA DeLaSalle 50-44.
Post Game
For DeLaSalle, just no answers vs the 3-2 zone. They did have some good looks that didn't fall but this young squad will learn to show more patience. Reid Travis was effective inside in the first half, then didn't see the ball inside in the 2nd half. Reid Travis and Luke Scott each with 15 points. 4 3s for Scott and 2 of his 3 free throws were when he was fouled on a 3. Travis with 4 rebounds on my sheet. Providence Academy comes to the island on Fri before the Islanders take on Rashad Vaughn and Cooper in the Tipoff Classic. Cooper coach Dave Johnson was in the building tonight so expect some zone from the Hawks in that one.
For Blake, John Veil leads the way with 17 points, 11 of 12 from the charity stripe. He did well not turning it over against the DLS pressure. Paul Blake came up huge with 12 of his 16 in the 2nd half. Kebu Johnson held to 7 points with 6 rebounds. Credit the DLS defense. Blake ran lots of ball screens (single or double) with Veil and Johnson and really didn't get much out of it against a hard showing defense. Blake continues play with a rivalry game at Breck on Friday. Tough followup game for the Bears but the rest of the month's schedule is favorable before a tough first half of January (though that is mostly at home). They won't see DeLaSalle again until February 2nd.
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Play of the Day
Blake ran this a ton, including for the huge Paul Blake 3 for the 9 point lead mid-second half. We'll start in a horns set. Kebu Johnson in right corner. Normally Veil will dribble handoff to Johnson who will then come off a high double ball screen set by the 2 posts. Those posts will then pin down for Veil for a throwback 3. The screeners continue to the block where the other corner (Blake usually) can come across the baseline off the double for another look. For Paul Blake's big 3, they ran the handoff and throw back to him instead of Veil. Great move to go to the hot guy, something most high school coaches don't do.
To a building that might be my least favorite in the metro as I visit Blake to see their Tri-Metro showdown with DeLaSalle. If you read my weekly Preps column (and if not, shame on you) you'll know there were some good reasons to think an upset could happen. Only candy at the concession stand but I know this from experience so I manage to wolf down some Arby's before my arrival. Blake has repainted the floor and updated to some bright lighting so that helps a little but not much. When I arrive I find Al Harris searching for the entry (which is very confusing) and thanks to all my winter gear I don't recognize him until we're inside. HA! So I think that adds up to today's music.
Song of the Day
Jay-Z - 99 Problems.
Game Time
If you arrived late for this one, you didn't miss much. Blake goes 3-2 zone right from the opening tip and that takes the air out of everything. Blake's 1st field goal comes at 14:20 for a 4-0 lead. DLS goes the first 6:10 without a bucket before a James Lawson bucket in the lane. Blake goes almost 6 minutes before their next field goal. Timeout DeLaSalle at the 8:45 mark. 6-4 Blake lead and I think you could paint the floor again and watch it dry before these teams get to 60 points. Reid Travis with his 3rd straight bucket on a short baseline pullup. 10-8 DLS at the 5:15 mark. Blake would get the next 6 points ending with a Kebu Johnson bucket. But then he would go to the bench with 2 fouls for the last 2:34. Luke Scott heats up for DLS as he's finding openings on the wings against the zone. His pair of triples in the last 3 minutes sends the game to halftime tied at 20.
Major gap in the Blake zone to start the 2nd half as they're running at Tyler Moore which leaves Scott open on the next pass. That leads to another pair of Scott bombs. 26-22 Islanders with 16:05 left. Then Paul Blake heats up for Blake (how fitting). A jumper, a 3 off the world's most famous BLOB (inbounder comes back to corner for 3) and another 3 after a big Bears block on defense. DLS turns it over for a free throw, then another block and Kebu Johnson turns that into a bucket (misses and 1 free throw). Timeout Islanders with 9:51 left. 34-28 Blake with the lead. Then a great tweak by Blake coach Nick Rathmann in the timeout. He flops spots to run his favorite set (more later on that) for Paul Blake and he buries the 3. 37-28 Bears with 9:20 left, wow. Jarvis Johnson for 3 to keep DLS hanging around. Blake timeout with 7:24 left up 6 and they show 1 possession of THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE (a Bears favorite but not tonight). They turned it over on that possession, boo hoo. But John Veil grabs a loose rebounds and takes it the distance for 2 and a Kebu Johnson free throw after another Islander turnover. 40-31 Bears with 4:37 left.
Jarvis Johnson buries another 3 but Veil with a nice cut and converts a floater to counter it. Travis was quiet all half but his 3 point play with 3:47 left cuts the lead to 42-37. Veil with 2 free throws with 1:45 left and the Blake students pull out the "I Believe" chant. One of the few times you'll actually see it used properly. Down 6 with a minute left, DLS would force a Kebu Johnson turnover but he would get a block on the other end. Veil would make 3 of 4 FTs and that would be enough. Blake pulls the upset over #5AAA DeLaSalle 50-44.
Post Game
For DeLaSalle, just no answers vs the 3-2 zone. They did have some good looks that didn't fall but this young squad will learn to show more patience. Reid Travis was effective inside in the first half, then didn't see the ball inside in the 2nd half. Reid Travis and Luke Scott each with 15 points. 4 3s for Scott and 2 of his 3 free throws were when he was fouled on a 3. Travis with 4 rebounds on my sheet. Providence Academy comes to the island on Fri before the Islanders take on Rashad Vaughn and Cooper in the Tipoff Classic. Cooper coach Dave Johnson was in the building tonight so expect some zone from the Hawks in that one.
For Blake, John Veil leads the way with 17 points, 11 of 12 from the charity stripe. He did well not turning it over against the DLS pressure. Paul Blake came up huge with 12 of his 16 in the 2nd half. Kebu Johnson held to 7 points with 6 rebounds. Credit the DLS defense. Blake ran lots of ball screens (single or double) with Veil and Johnson and really didn't get much out of it against a hard showing defense. Blake continues play with a rivalry game at Breck on Friday. Tough followup game for the Bears but the rest of the month's schedule is favorable before a tough first half of January (though that is mostly at home). They won't see DeLaSalle again until February 2nd.
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Play of the Day
Blake ran this a ton, including for the huge Paul Blake 3 for the 9 point lead mid-second half. We'll start in a horns set. Kebu Johnson in right corner. Normally Veil will dribble handoff to Johnson who will then come off a high double ball screen set by the 2 posts. Those posts will then pin down for Veil for a throwback 3. The screeners continue to the block where the other corner (Blake usually) can come across the baseline off the double for another look. For Paul Blake's big 3, they ran the handoff and throw back to him instead of Veil. Great move to go to the hot guy, something most high school coaches don't do.
Falcons win section 4A clash
Prologue
The first full week of the 2011-2012 season begins with a trip to Minneapolis North for their opener with FAIR. A tumultuous offseason at North with a pair of coaching changes and the drop from section 6AAAA to 4A. That leads to former coach Brett McNeal returning to the bench. These teams both with athletes to make a run in section 4A. No hotdogs so my options are candy (which I did last week) so I'll try the popcorn. Healthy without the butter but not running back for more. Really strange JV game where FAIR's Deonte Blakemore (formerly of Mpls Henry) goes nuts in the scorebook in the 2nd half. He pulls up from halfcourt on not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 occasions. He buries 1 and is fouled by the North 2-3 trap on another. Over a point per possession which is outstanding. He throws in a bunch of other really tough 3s during the half but North wins by 22. Not a single word or movement from the coaching staff on all the tough shots, specifically the halfcourt ones. Really makes you wonder what they're trying to accomplish.
Song of the Day
Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
Game Time
To the varsity game and North top player Jaylin Dubose picks up 2 quick fouls and sits the last 14:38 of the half. Low scoring and even early. Thanks to a triplicate of 3s, 13-8 North at the 9:17 mark. Then FAIR goes to a 1-3-1 and North never did find an answer. A 14-2 run culimating with Darrion Scott converting a turnover into a layup puts FAIR up 22-15 at the 4:25 mark. That bucket would start a run of 10 straight points for Scott to end the half. A late North 3 would keep them within 30-24 at halftime.
Scott comes out with the 1st 5 Falcons points of the second half for a total of 15 in a row. His 3 point play to end that personal spurt sends Dubose right back to the bench with his 3rd foul. 35-26 FAIR with 16:32 to play. Lee Gaines would score back to back buckets to cut the lead to 7 before a 9-0 FAIR run pushes the lead to 16. Dubose comes back in with 12:33 left just before John Warren ends the run off a double screen for a triple from the left corner. Dubose makes a difference with a great block hustling back after a turnover and North hustles to track down the loose ball. Out of a timeout, Dubose converts the effort into a 3. He follows up with a steal for a free throw and an assist to Corey Jones. Lead is cut to 10 and North switches from 2-3 to 3-2 zone and extends it to good effect. Jones with a putback with 5:35 to cut the lead to 46-39. That's a 9-2 North run. Interestingly enough Dubose comes out with 5:03 left with North down 9and didn't return (don't think he fouled out). Desmond Williams controls the paint down the stretch for FAIR with back to back layups and a pair of trips to the line (1-4 FTs though). FAIR wins 54-45.
Post Game
For North, post Corey Jones leads the way with 14 points. Lee Gaines 13 points. Jaylin Dubose held to 6 with the foul trouble. North was a very different team when he was on the floor. He showed a real burst with the ball that FAIR didn't have a match for. Add in the hustle and a full game from him would have been a difference. North is off until next Friday when they travel to St. Paul Johnson.
For FAIR, Darrion Scott leads the way with 22 points on 9-24 shooting as his shot wasn't falling in the 2nd half. But he's still their difference maker. Desmond Williams very effective inside as he reached double figures with 12 or 13 points. A definite presence for the Falcons down lown. Akil England 15 points. The 1-3-1 for the Falcons was the difference in the game as it generated offense. The Falcons host St. Croix Prep in their Metro Charter Conference opener on Thursday.
The first full week of the 2011-2012 season begins with a trip to Minneapolis North for their opener with FAIR. A tumultuous offseason at North with a pair of coaching changes and the drop from section 6AAAA to 4A. That leads to former coach Brett McNeal returning to the bench. These teams both with athletes to make a run in section 4A. No hotdogs so my options are candy (which I did last week) so I'll try the popcorn. Healthy without the butter but not running back for more. Really strange JV game where FAIR's Deonte Blakemore (formerly of Mpls Henry) goes nuts in the scorebook in the 2nd half. He pulls up from halfcourt on not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 occasions. He buries 1 and is fouled by the North 2-3 trap on another. Over a point per possession which is outstanding. He throws in a bunch of other really tough 3s during the half but North wins by 22. Not a single word or movement from the coaching staff on all the tough shots, specifically the halfcourt ones. Really makes you wonder what they're trying to accomplish.
Song of the Day
Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
Game Time
To the varsity game and North top player Jaylin Dubose picks up 2 quick fouls and sits the last 14:38 of the half. Low scoring and even early. Thanks to a triplicate of 3s, 13-8 North at the 9:17 mark. Then FAIR goes to a 1-3-1 and North never did find an answer. A 14-2 run culimating with Darrion Scott converting a turnover into a layup puts FAIR up 22-15 at the 4:25 mark. That bucket would start a run of 10 straight points for Scott to end the half. A late North 3 would keep them within 30-24 at halftime.
Scott comes out with the 1st 5 Falcons points of the second half for a total of 15 in a row. His 3 point play to end that personal spurt sends Dubose right back to the bench with his 3rd foul. 35-26 FAIR with 16:32 to play. Lee Gaines would score back to back buckets to cut the lead to 7 before a 9-0 FAIR run pushes the lead to 16. Dubose comes back in with 12:33 left just before John Warren ends the run off a double screen for a triple from the left corner. Dubose makes a difference with a great block hustling back after a turnover and North hustles to track down the loose ball. Out of a timeout, Dubose converts the effort into a 3. He follows up with a steal for a free throw and an assist to Corey Jones. Lead is cut to 10 and North switches from 2-3 to 3-2 zone and extends it to good effect. Jones with a putback with 5:35 to cut the lead to 46-39. That's a 9-2 North run. Interestingly enough Dubose comes out with 5:03 left with North down 9and didn't return (don't think he fouled out). Desmond Williams controls the paint down the stretch for FAIR with back to back layups and a pair of trips to the line (1-4 FTs though). FAIR wins 54-45.
Post Game
For North, post Corey Jones leads the way with 14 points. Lee Gaines 13 points. Jaylin Dubose held to 6 with the foul trouble. North was a very different team when he was on the floor. He showed a real burst with the ball that FAIR didn't have a match for. Add in the hustle and a full game from him would have been a difference. North is off until next Friday when they travel to St. Paul Johnson.
For FAIR, Darrion Scott leads the way with 22 points on 9-24 shooting as his shot wasn't falling in the 2nd half. But he's still their difference maker. Desmond Williams very effective inside as he reached double figures with 12 or 13 points. A definite presence for the Falcons down lown. Akil England 15 points. The 1-3-1 for the Falcons was the difference in the game as it generated offense. The Falcons host St. Croix Prep in their Metro Charter Conference opener on Thursday.
2011-12 Opening Saturday
Prologue
A busy opening Saturday of the 2011-12 season. 3 games on my schedule plus the 7 session round robin Jefferson scrimmage. A good day for food as I had cheese pizza at Richfield and despite the bad traffic getting over to Hopkins for the other 2 games, I did manage to get another outstanding Walking Taco at Hopkins. But the Doritos weren't smashed. That's a very important step 1 that was overlooked. The parking lot was packed at Hopkins so nice crowds but thanks to the media entrance being in the back I ended up walking all the way around the building in the snow. At least I need the exercise. I forgot song of the day yesterday so you get 2 songs today. We'll go with the colors of the winners at Hopkins and an injury reference which will be explained later.
Songs of the Day
Eiffel 65 - Blue
Pat Benetar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Jefferson Scrimmage
Props to Tom Critchley for the scheduling. 7 teams on my court all played twice and no Jefferson. That means I don't get to see Jefferson's unwatchable style, the pity. That included Pelican Rapids, Grand Rapids, Marshall, Spring Lake Park, Eden Prairie, Roseville and Blaine. Teams played 7 straight running time halves in a row (20 minutes each) so the play got more ragged as they went on. Alex Illikainen played well for Grand Rapids and Austin Pohlen showed some flashes. I liked Casey Bruggeman from Pelican Rapids as well. Sean Scott lit up Roseville during their session.
Game 1: Waconia at Richfield
To start this one looked to be all Richfield. Eric Jimson with a drive for a 3 point play. Shawn Bear for 3 and Jared Noonan gets the bounce for another 3 point play. Timeout Waconia. Noonan with a tough shot for 2 more and Deshawn Jones with a steal for a dunk. 13-0 Richfield and another Waconia timeout. Noonan to Jones for a layup and a Jimson putback. 19-4 Richfield at the 13:25 mark and the rout appears to be on. But Waconia wakes up. The rest of the half is all Wildcats as Alex Schmitt scores 14 in the half and Waconia leads 43-32 at half after a 39-13 run of their own.
Richfield greatly improves their defense in the second half and that leads to a run off of turnovers that forces a Waconia timeout. Its a 10-0 Richfield run off of 4 straight Wildcat turnovers. Noonan with a drive at 12:45 and Richfield takes the lead back 50-48 (18-5 Richfield spurt). Waconia would see Wiley Ferron sit with 4 fouls and 7:50 left but they would still go on a 6-0 run to push the lead to 7. Fast forward to 2:27 left 67-61 Waconia, Richfield ball and Noonan goes to the bench. Waconia would miss a layup and 2 free throws to give Richfield a chance. 54 seconds left down 69-66 when Richfield takes timeout with the ball and here comes Noonan back into the game. Richfield would get a layup and then force a turnover to get the ball back. On the inbounds, a scrum ensues and Richfield gets another timeout with 28.5 seconds left. In the process, Waconia's Josh Lenz would hit his chin on the floor and we have a long delay to get him stitched up right on the court. He was also cut above the eye earlier in the game and was taped up. Rough day but he was OK. After the delay, Richfield's initial set would get them nothing. Noonan got the ball back on top with 16 seconds left and called for a clearout. He drove to the lane and went up and under, no good. Lorenzo Evans with 1 tip, 2 tips and a 3rd tip just falls off the rim at the horn and Waconia wins 69-68.
Waconia's guard duo gets it done with Alex Schmitt scoring 19 and Matt Rachey 18. Schmitt is the only senior on the Wildcats roster. Despite losing last year's guards and star Shelby Moats, the Wildcats appear to be a team that won't drop off much from last year's trip to the state semis. Eric Jimson and Deshawn Jones 14 each for Richfield. Jared Noonan 12 points, 4 boards, 3 assists on 4-15 shooting. Deshawn Jones impressive getting after it and very athletic. I didn't get the move to sit Noonan and then bring him back late. If his play meant he needed to sit down 6, then why bring him back down 3 later? Conversely, if he was important enough to have on the floor down 3 in the last minute, then why have him sit down 6 with 2:30 left? That coaching move just didn't add up for me. Seems to me you'd keep him in the entire way or sit him down the rest of the game.
Game 2: #1AAAA Hopkins vs #3AA Braham
Thanks to the injury, traffic and walking all the way around the building at Hopkins, I was looking forward to a relaxed game and Walking Taco. But the girls tipoff classic was far enough behind that I made it in time for tip. That's great but with another game, when can I do the Walking Taco? Hopkins jumps out to an 18-3 lead as the defense is too much. Braham would settle down and go on a 11-2 run of their own thanks to Sam Stigen knocking down a pair of 3s. Cameron Braund gets loose inside and a Tyler Vaughan drive. 37-31 Hopkins with 4 minutes left in the half. Hopkins would put this one away with a 26-4 run across halftime (including 15-0 to start 2nd half). Tyler Vaughan would knock down 5 3s in the second half to make it interesting but that was after the big run. Braham would get no closer than 14 the rest of the way. 102-67 Hopkins rolls. Siyani Chambers 22 points for Hopkins. Tyler Vaughan 27 points, Cameron Braund 15 points for Braham. I did manage to get the Walking Taco in at halftime.
Game 3: Minnetonka vs Rogers
A depleted backcourt for Minnetonka as they played without Andrew Grosz (wrist injury) and Tommy McDermott. The first half was a story of runs. 9-0 for Minnetonka for a quick 11-3 lead. Joe Risinger's 2nd 3 would push the lead to 10 before a 11-2 Rogers run thanks to 6 from center Mike Schreiber. 25-24 Minnetonka at the 7:31 mark. Minnetonka immediately countered with an 10-0 run. Chase Cleveland outstanding off the Rogers bench. His pair of 3 point plays cut the lead 4. 44-38 Minnetonka at half.
Schreiber still going inside as his 3 buckets allow Rogers to tie the game at 58. Careino Gurley with a jumper and then forces a jump ball for Tonka as the Skippers getting the bench to give them plays. Risinger would add a pair of free throws. 73-64 Minnetonka with 6:47 left and Schreiber goes to the bench with 4 fouls. Rogers rallies with a 7-0 run ending with an Austin Barbeln 3. 73-71 Minnetonka with 5 minutes left. Risinger would counter with another 3 off a nice set drawn up in a timeout. Rogers counters with another 3 to keep the lead at 3. Then another Tonka bench player, Bennett Celichowski, with a huge 3 to push the lead back to 6 with 3:25 left. Back to back Rogers turnovers result in a free throw and Risinger's 6 3 of the night on a nice flare to the left corner. 84-74 Tonka with 2:50 left and that's too much to overcome. Minnetonka makes their free throws and wins 93-83. Joe Risinger 6 3s and 26 points to lead the Skippers. Riley Dearring and Latrell Love 19 points each. Celichowski and Gurley not huge numbers on the stat sheet but really gave the Skippers solid minutes to replace the missing pieces. 11 3s for Minnetonka plus 16 inside points from Latrell Love (he hit 1 of the 3s). Skippers get that balance on a nightly basis and that's tough to beat. Michael Schreiber 29 points to lead Rogers. Nick Runge 16. Chase Cleveland off the bench with 14 points, 12 in the first half.
A busy opening Saturday of the 2011-12 season. 3 games on my schedule plus the 7 session round robin Jefferson scrimmage. A good day for food as I had cheese pizza at Richfield and despite the bad traffic getting over to Hopkins for the other 2 games, I did manage to get another outstanding Walking Taco at Hopkins. But the Doritos weren't smashed. That's a very important step 1 that was overlooked. The parking lot was packed at Hopkins so nice crowds but thanks to the media entrance being in the back I ended up walking all the way around the building in the snow. At least I need the exercise. I forgot song of the day yesterday so you get 2 songs today. We'll go with the colors of the winners at Hopkins and an injury reference which will be explained later.
Songs of the Day
Eiffel 65 - Blue
Pat Benetar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Jefferson Scrimmage
Props to Tom Critchley for the scheduling. 7 teams on my court all played twice and no Jefferson. That means I don't get to see Jefferson's unwatchable style, the pity. That included Pelican Rapids, Grand Rapids, Marshall, Spring Lake Park, Eden Prairie, Roseville and Blaine. Teams played 7 straight running time halves in a row (20 minutes each) so the play got more ragged as they went on. Alex Illikainen played well for Grand Rapids and Austin Pohlen showed some flashes. I liked Casey Bruggeman from Pelican Rapids as well. Sean Scott lit up Roseville during their session.
Game 1: Waconia at Richfield
To start this one looked to be all Richfield. Eric Jimson with a drive for a 3 point play. Shawn Bear for 3 and Jared Noonan gets the bounce for another 3 point play. Timeout Waconia. Noonan with a tough shot for 2 more and Deshawn Jones with a steal for a dunk. 13-0 Richfield and another Waconia timeout. Noonan to Jones for a layup and a Jimson putback. 19-4 Richfield at the 13:25 mark and the rout appears to be on. But Waconia wakes up. The rest of the half is all Wildcats as Alex Schmitt scores 14 in the half and Waconia leads 43-32 at half after a 39-13 run of their own.
Richfield greatly improves their defense in the second half and that leads to a run off of turnovers that forces a Waconia timeout. Its a 10-0 Richfield run off of 4 straight Wildcat turnovers. Noonan with a drive at 12:45 and Richfield takes the lead back 50-48 (18-5 Richfield spurt). Waconia would see Wiley Ferron sit with 4 fouls and 7:50 left but they would still go on a 6-0 run to push the lead to 7. Fast forward to 2:27 left 67-61 Waconia, Richfield ball and Noonan goes to the bench. Waconia would miss a layup and 2 free throws to give Richfield a chance. 54 seconds left down 69-66 when Richfield takes timeout with the ball and here comes Noonan back into the game. Richfield would get a layup and then force a turnover to get the ball back. On the inbounds, a scrum ensues and Richfield gets another timeout with 28.5 seconds left. In the process, Waconia's Josh Lenz would hit his chin on the floor and we have a long delay to get him stitched up right on the court. He was also cut above the eye earlier in the game and was taped up. Rough day but he was OK. After the delay, Richfield's initial set would get them nothing. Noonan got the ball back on top with 16 seconds left and called for a clearout. He drove to the lane and went up and under, no good. Lorenzo Evans with 1 tip, 2 tips and a 3rd tip just falls off the rim at the horn and Waconia wins 69-68.
Waconia's guard duo gets it done with Alex Schmitt scoring 19 and Matt Rachey 18. Schmitt is the only senior on the Wildcats roster. Despite losing last year's guards and star Shelby Moats, the Wildcats appear to be a team that won't drop off much from last year's trip to the state semis. Eric Jimson and Deshawn Jones 14 each for Richfield. Jared Noonan 12 points, 4 boards, 3 assists on 4-15 shooting. Deshawn Jones impressive getting after it and very athletic. I didn't get the move to sit Noonan and then bring him back late. If his play meant he needed to sit down 6, then why bring him back down 3 later? Conversely, if he was important enough to have on the floor down 3 in the last minute, then why have him sit down 6 with 2:30 left? That coaching move just didn't add up for me. Seems to me you'd keep him in the entire way or sit him down the rest of the game.
Game 2: #1AAAA Hopkins vs #3AA Braham
Thanks to the injury, traffic and walking all the way around the building at Hopkins, I was looking forward to a relaxed game and Walking Taco. But the girls tipoff classic was far enough behind that I made it in time for tip. That's great but with another game, when can I do the Walking Taco? Hopkins jumps out to an 18-3 lead as the defense is too much. Braham would settle down and go on a 11-2 run of their own thanks to Sam Stigen knocking down a pair of 3s. Cameron Braund gets loose inside and a Tyler Vaughan drive. 37-31 Hopkins with 4 minutes left in the half. Hopkins would put this one away with a 26-4 run across halftime (including 15-0 to start 2nd half). Tyler Vaughan would knock down 5 3s in the second half to make it interesting but that was after the big run. Braham would get no closer than 14 the rest of the way. 102-67 Hopkins rolls. Siyani Chambers 22 points for Hopkins. Tyler Vaughan 27 points, Cameron Braund 15 points for Braham. I did manage to get the Walking Taco in at halftime.
Game 3: Minnetonka vs Rogers
A depleted backcourt for Minnetonka as they played without Andrew Grosz (wrist injury) and Tommy McDermott. The first half was a story of runs. 9-0 for Minnetonka for a quick 11-3 lead. Joe Risinger's 2nd 3 would push the lead to 10 before a 11-2 Rogers run thanks to 6 from center Mike Schreiber. 25-24 Minnetonka at the 7:31 mark. Minnetonka immediately countered with an 10-0 run. Chase Cleveland outstanding off the Rogers bench. His pair of 3 point plays cut the lead 4. 44-38 Minnetonka at half.
Schreiber still going inside as his 3 buckets allow Rogers to tie the game at 58. Careino Gurley with a jumper and then forces a jump ball for Tonka as the Skippers getting the bench to give them plays. Risinger would add a pair of free throws. 73-64 Minnetonka with 6:47 left and Schreiber goes to the bench with 4 fouls. Rogers rallies with a 7-0 run ending with an Austin Barbeln 3. 73-71 Minnetonka with 5 minutes left. Risinger would counter with another 3 off a nice set drawn up in a timeout. Rogers counters with another 3 to keep the lead at 3. Then another Tonka bench player, Bennett Celichowski, with a huge 3 to push the lead back to 6 with 3:25 left. Back to back Rogers turnovers result in a free throw and Risinger's 6 3 of the night on a nice flare to the left corner. 84-74 Tonka with 2:50 left and that's too much to overcome. Minnetonka makes their free throws and wins 93-83. Joe Risinger 6 3s and 26 points to lead the Skippers. Riley Dearring and Latrell Love 19 points each. Celichowski and Gurley not huge numbers on the stat sheet but really gave the Skippers solid minutes to replace the missing pieces. 11 3s for Minnetonka plus 16 inside points from Latrell Love (he hit 1 of the 3s). Skippers get that balance on a nightly basis and that's tough to beat. Michael Schreiber 29 points to lead Rogers. Nick Runge 16. Chase Cleveland off the bench with 14 points, 12 in the first half.
Lakeville North at Edina thoughts
Prologue
Its a battle of preseason top 10s with #8AAAA Lakeville North visiting #9AAAA Edina. The soph game goes to sudden death OT and afterwards the hot dogs still aren't ready. We know this because of the meat thermometer. Hungry? Why wait? So I'll go with Snickers and Twix. Its Lakeville North on hand so look around and what do I see, is that who I think it is? Oh my it is! Its the one and only HAT LADY!!!! Red is the day's color with a purple jacket. Tyler Flack and Devon Shockley out for Lakeville North. Flack with a broken arm suffered at the Edina scrimmage on Tuesday. He may be out 6 weeks. Reggie Lynch playing JV for Edina as his transfer from Jefferson not yet approved. Somebody must have seriously bonked that. The public address system is broken with multiple squeals during pregame and we're way late for tip so we'll go straight to tip with no national anthem.
Game Time
Mark Handberg in early foul trouble for Edina but Dane Tueteberg relieves him off the bench with 4 quick points. Add in a Nick Boone bucket inside for a 11-8 Edina lead at the 13:49 mark. Lakeville North counters with 7 in a row and then gets a Ryan Saarela 3 point play. Graham Woodward with a jumper and the foul to cut the Lakeville North lead to 18-17 at 10:09. Saarela with another inside bucket before picking up foul #2 and sitting for the remainder of the half. 22-17 North at 8:35. North extends the lead to 7 but Graham Woodward keeps it going with a pair of buckets to cut the lead to 4. The PA system comes to life with Smoke On The Water (always a Czar pep band favorite). Woodward with a late floater and Boone goes for a pair of late buckets in the half to keep Edina close. 33-29 Lakeville North at the half. Woodward with 12. Saarela with 9.
Brett Rasmussen fires up to start the 2nd half with 2 buckets on the post and on a break out he drains a right corner 3 after an Edina timeout. 9-0 Lakeville North run for a 42-29 Panthers lead. Saarela with 3 of 4 free throws and the lead balloons to 16. 49-33 Panthers with 10:49 to play. Like last night's game at Park Center the lead doesn't stay. Derek Hill for 3, Boone inside and a Lakeville North turnover turns into a Woodward drive for 2 free throws. 52-43 Lakeville North with 6:12 to play but Edina on a 7-0 run. The Hornets would get no closer as they would turn it over on the next 3 possessions allows Lakeville North to score the next 6 and push the lead back to double digits. Lakeville North goes on to win 63-49.
Post Game
For Edina, Graham Woodward leads with way with 14 points. 12 of those in the first half and almost no looks in the second half. Nick Boone 11 points. Flip Deberg held to 7 points. Edina's 5 out offense didn't run anything for Woodward or Deberg. Lakeville North's group of guards able to switch the screens on the perimeter to help stifle the offense. Lynch would have helped some on defense as they got beat up inside. They aren't a bad team but I certainly don't see them as a top 10 team. The schedule gives them a rough trip to #2AAAA Eastview (92-55 win at Duluth East tonight) on Tuesday.
For Lakeville North, the interior play did it even without Tyler Flack. 16 points each for Ryan Saarela and Brett Rasmussen (12 in 2nd half). But they have a ton of guards too even without Shockley or soph JP Macura who only saw garbage seconds tonight. Joel Oxton a pair of 3s for 12 points. Zach Creighton off the bench with a pair of 3s. Grant Erickson and Trey Heid give them a pair of solid ball handlers. Tyler David and Kyrell Newell get after it on defense. They took advantage of their pieces with lots of switching on defense. 2 significant pieces out of the lineup and they still won by double digits. This is a very underrated squad that will be really scary when they have everybody late in the season. Expect them to be in the top 5 before long. The upcoming road schedule will challenge them with a trip to my Missota favorite Chanhassen next Friday and then against Champlin Park in the Tipoff Classic next Saturday
Play of the Day
Side out of bounds concept that I first saw from the Hopkins girls a few years ago but tonight it was used by Edina. Guys on both blocks with the other 2 up high at foul line and center circle. Ball side post cross screens partner to the strong side corner. Then screener flashes back to ball side elbow. Meanwhile on top its a basic down screen. But on the pass to the elbow against pressure, the backside is clear for that top screener to continue hard to the rim for an easy layup and Edina got it for a bucket tonight.
Its a battle of preseason top 10s with #8AAAA Lakeville North visiting #9AAAA Edina. The soph game goes to sudden death OT and afterwards the hot dogs still aren't ready. We know this because of the meat thermometer. Hungry? Why wait? So I'll go with Snickers and Twix. Its Lakeville North on hand so look around and what do I see, is that who I think it is? Oh my it is! Its the one and only HAT LADY!!!! Red is the day's color with a purple jacket. Tyler Flack and Devon Shockley out for Lakeville North. Flack with a broken arm suffered at the Edina scrimmage on Tuesday. He may be out 6 weeks. Reggie Lynch playing JV for Edina as his transfer from Jefferson not yet approved. Somebody must have seriously bonked that. The public address system is broken with multiple squeals during pregame and we're way late for tip so we'll go straight to tip with no national anthem.
Game Time
Mark Handberg in early foul trouble for Edina but Dane Tueteberg relieves him off the bench with 4 quick points. Add in a Nick Boone bucket inside for a 11-8 Edina lead at the 13:49 mark. Lakeville North counters with 7 in a row and then gets a Ryan Saarela 3 point play. Graham Woodward with a jumper and the foul to cut the Lakeville North lead to 18-17 at 10:09. Saarela with another inside bucket before picking up foul #2 and sitting for the remainder of the half. 22-17 North at 8:35. North extends the lead to 7 but Graham Woodward keeps it going with a pair of buckets to cut the lead to 4. The PA system comes to life with Smoke On The Water (always a Czar pep band favorite). Woodward with a late floater and Boone goes for a pair of late buckets in the half to keep Edina close. 33-29 Lakeville North at the half. Woodward with 12. Saarela with 9.
Brett Rasmussen fires up to start the 2nd half with 2 buckets on the post and on a break out he drains a right corner 3 after an Edina timeout. 9-0 Lakeville North run for a 42-29 Panthers lead. Saarela with 3 of 4 free throws and the lead balloons to 16. 49-33 Panthers with 10:49 to play. Like last night's game at Park Center the lead doesn't stay. Derek Hill for 3, Boone inside and a Lakeville North turnover turns into a Woodward drive for 2 free throws. 52-43 Lakeville North with 6:12 to play but Edina on a 7-0 run. The Hornets would get no closer as they would turn it over on the next 3 possessions allows Lakeville North to score the next 6 and push the lead back to double digits. Lakeville North goes on to win 63-49.
Post Game
For Edina, Graham Woodward leads with way with 14 points. 12 of those in the first half and almost no looks in the second half. Nick Boone 11 points. Flip Deberg held to 7 points. Edina's 5 out offense didn't run anything for Woodward or Deberg. Lakeville North's group of guards able to switch the screens on the perimeter to help stifle the offense. Lynch would have helped some on defense as they got beat up inside. They aren't a bad team but I certainly don't see them as a top 10 team. The schedule gives them a rough trip to #2AAAA Eastview (92-55 win at Duluth East tonight) on Tuesday.
For Lakeville North, the interior play did it even without Tyler Flack. 16 points each for Ryan Saarela and Brett Rasmussen (12 in 2nd half). But they have a ton of guards too even without Shockley or soph JP Macura who only saw garbage seconds tonight. Joel Oxton a pair of 3s for 12 points. Zach Creighton off the bench with a pair of 3s. Grant Erickson and Trey Heid give them a pair of solid ball handlers. Tyler David and Kyrell Newell get after it on defense. They took advantage of their pieces with lots of switching on defense. 2 significant pieces out of the lineup and they still won by double digits. This is a very underrated squad that will be really scary when they have everybody late in the season. Expect them to be in the top 5 before long. The upcoming road schedule will challenge them with a trip to my Missota favorite Chanhassen next Friday and then against Champlin Park in the Tipoff Classic next Saturday
Play of the Day
Side out of bounds concept that I first saw from the Hopkins girls a few years ago but tonight it was used by Edina. Guys on both blocks with the other 2 up high at foul line and center circle. Ball side post cross screens partner to the strong side corner. Then screener flashes back to ball side elbow. Meanwhile on top its a basic down screen. But on the pass to the elbow against pressure, the backside is clear for that top screener to continue hard to the rim for an easy layup and Edina got it for a bucket tonight.
2011-12 Season Opener
Prologue
Welcome to the kickoff of the 2011-12 Minnesota boys hoops season. My trip takes me to one of my favorite restaurants, I mean buildings, for White Bear Lake at Park Center. The Park Center Pizza on the menu and tough to turn down. But the Walking Taco is outstanding and I mixed it properly (an underappreciated part of the enjoyment and taste). It was pricey at $3.50 but Park Center is usually pricey and they won't be accused of being the most affluent school in the Osseo school district so I'm glad to contribute. As to the game its speed and guards for Park Center (Quinton Hooker and Treyton Daniels) vs the inside play of Zach Meyer for White Bear Lake. Will someone cut Samson's hair? I hope not. A teammate gave it a nice tug during the intros. A great opening course with the WBL JV opening up a 25 point halftime lead and then sitting 3 kids for the 2nd half (varsity and they were needed). Park Center came all the way back and had a chance to tie in the last minute before falling 68-62. 3rd Rock From the Sun Guy working both games and he was a major factor. I bring back the Song of the Day for this season and with it being opening night and me being a Phil Collins fan, In The Air Tonight would be fitting but since I'm trying to go with more modern selections this year (Wipe off that grin, I know where you've been, its all been a pack of lies). So with that insane logic out of the way and the fact that this was the 1st tune on the PA system tonight, without further delay, this is my jam, gonna watch games into the AM.
Song of the Day
Flo Rida - In The Ayer
Game Time
Park Center has added Coon Rapids transfer Isaac Matthews and that gives them a presence inside. Josh Tismer at the 2 for WBL with Nick Wieland mostly running the point. This game early was all about fouls. Meyer gets 2 in the first 38 seconds on the offensive end, both touchy as Lithgow is going nuts with the whistle. Daniels gets his 2nd only 98 seconds into the game. Both will sit and both coaches spend the half trying to buy guys time. The 3 JV kids for WBL who sat the 2nd half are almost immediately thrust into the action. Hooker gets off to a quick start making his first 4 shots for 9 points. His 3 gives the Pirates a 13-5 lead at the 14:50 mark. Eric Gebeke steps up big for WBL with Meyer in foul trouble. His play inside and on the glass (both ends). 3 putbacks for him in a 19-4 Bears run 24-17 WBL at the 7:35 mark. Hooker trying to take the game over with a pair of buckets and Gebeke keeping pace. 32-28 WBL with 4 minutes left in the half. 37-32 WBL as soph Isaiah McKay scores for PC. WBL would finish the half on a 7-1 spurt with a nice Beau Smit reverse layup and off a turnover, Tanner Hinck (1 of the 3 JV kids) buries a 3. 44-33 Bears at half. 25 fouls combined. White Bear Lake only 10-18 from the charity stripe.
The Bears continue the run in the 2nd half. Weiland for 3, Gebeke with an assist for a layup, Meyer on the post and a Tismer skip to Weiland for 3 more. Timeout Park Center after the 12-2 run (19-3 in about 4 minutes spanning halftime). 56-35 WBL with 15:30 left. Out of the timeout, a Pirates turnover for a Weiland layup and Hooker smacks the board and gets the T from Lithgow. WBL would miss both free throws and not score on the possession. Meyer with a putback at 14:25 to push the lead to 60-37 but he follows up with his 4th foul (all 4 tough calls) and sits. Hooker struggling with his shot in the 2nd half but Treyton Daniels playing well after the first half fouls. Pirates cut the lead to 18 before a Daniels jumper. 69-53 WBL with 7:10 left. Then in the span of about 2 minutes 3 different kids go down and stay down. Hooker gets helped off after a pretty reverse layup cut the lead to 14. Then another Park Center player is down. Finally Meyer gets a nice lob pass over the top on the SLOB, has an easy layup and goes down in a heap. The left knee buckles and early indications are that he'll miss some time as was helped off and didn't return. Huge loss for the Bears if he misses major time. Meanwhile, Daniels with a drive on the right baseline and the lefty finish going to the basket followed by a pair of freebies. 72-59 WBL with 5:33 and here comes Hooker back into the game. Then a Park Center steal for a basket and intentional foul with 3:18 left. The 2 free throws are no good and Hooker couldn't convert on the possession. WBL misses a front end and Hooker takes to the rack and scores to cut the lead to single digits. 72-63 with 3 minutes left. 19-5 Park Center run over 7:30 with Daniels doing damage. WBL scores the next 6 with free throws and a pair of layups to put it away. 5 late Hooker points don't impact. White Bear Lake wins 80-68.
Post Game
For the record, Mr. Lithgow is a very respected official and worked on an all-star crew last year at state. Its not that he called a bad game, yes he missed a few but overall the calls made sense. He was consistent on both ends calling it very very very tight (as tight as I've seen in a long time). My issue is 2 fold. First, the concept of advantage/disadvantage has to come into play. If there's contact that can be a foul but doesn't impact play, then calling a foul just disrupts the flow. I say play on. Bigger issue is that his partner was calling a very loose game. That just doesn't work well to have a crew that calls the game in totally different ways and it frustrates the heck out of everybody. I'd like to see officials associations or whoever is responsible for assigning do a better job of grouping officials who call similar games and who can work to make each other call the game as close to the same as possible whether that's tight or loose. As most coaches would tell you, just be consistent and then the players can adjust.
For Park Center, Quinton Hooker with 29 points and 9 rebounds on my officially unofficial stat sheet. 20 of those in the 1st half. No assists and 5 turnovers but he had at least 3 or 4 nice passes that could have gone for easy scores that weren't converted. I had him 12-26 shooting with the first 4 and last 2 makes. He had 2 or 3 chances lefty at the basket that just didn't fall. Treyton Daniels all 10 of his points in the 2nd half where he played very well. He's under the radar now but keep an eye on the junior wing. Isaiah McKay also with 10 points. The Pirates visit Columbia Heights in a battle of coaching pals on Tuesday.
For White Bear Lake, Zach Meyer 8 points and 5 boards despite foul trouble and the injury. Eric Gebeke with 18 of his 22 in the first half and he had to have double figure rebounds. Big step up performance from him and he'll need to keep that up. Beau Smit 13 points, Eric Weiland 11, Lucas 10 as the Bears end up with 4 in double figures. They'll be disappointed they didn't put away a 23 point lead with 10:40 to play. 18-34 from the foul line in a game with 45 total fouls (24 on PC) is something they'll look to improve on. Don't sleep on the guards for the Bears. Weiland and junior Alex Rost are a quality point guard duo. Josh Tismer is experienced and can play either guard spot. Smit can shoot and score. The Bears continue their difficult stretch of 5 of their 1st 6 on the road with trips to Lakeville South and Wayzata next week.
Welcome to the kickoff of the 2011-12 Minnesota boys hoops season. My trip takes me to one of my favorite restaurants, I mean buildings, for White Bear Lake at Park Center. The Park Center Pizza on the menu and tough to turn down. But the Walking Taco is outstanding and I mixed it properly (an underappreciated part of the enjoyment and taste). It was pricey at $3.50 but Park Center is usually pricey and they won't be accused of being the most affluent school in the Osseo school district so I'm glad to contribute. As to the game its speed and guards for Park Center (Quinton Hooker and Treyton Daniels) vs the inside play of Zach Meyer for White Bear Lake. Will someone cut Samson's hair? I hope not. A teammate gave it a nice tug during the intros. A great opening course with the WBL JV opening up a 25 point halftime lead and then sitting 3 kids for the 2nd half (varsity and they were needed). Park Center came all the way back and had a chance to tie in the last minute before falling 68-62. 3rd Rock From the Sun Guy working both games and he was a major factor. I bring back the Song of the Day for this season and with it being opening night and me being a Phil Collins fan, In The Air Tonight would be fitting but since I'm trying to go with more modern selections this year (Wipe off that grin, I know where you've been, its all been a pack of lies). So with that insane logic out of the way and the fact that this was the 1st tune on the PA system tonight, without further delay, this is my jam, gonna watch games into the AM.
Song of the Day
Flo Rida - In The Ayer
Game Time
Park Center has added Coon Rapids transfer Isaac Matthews and that gives them a presence inside. Josh Tismer at the 2 for WBL with Nick Wieland mostly running the point. This game early was all about fouls. Meyer gets 2 in the first 38 seconds on the offensive end, both touchy as Lithgow is going nuts with the whistle. Daniels gets his 2nd only 98 seconds into the game. Both will sit and both coaches spend the half trying to buy guys time. The 3 JV kids for WBL who sat the 2nd half are almost immediately thrust into the action. Hooker gets off to a quick start making his first 4 shots for 9 points. His 3 gives the Pirates a 13-5 lead at the 14:50 mark. Eric Gebeke steps up big for WBL with Meyer in foul trouble. His play inside and on the glass (both ends). 3 putbacks for him in a 19-4 Bears run 24-17 WBL at the 7:35 mark. Hooker trying to take the game over with a pair of buckets and Gebeke keeping pace. 32-28 WBL with 4 minutes left in the half. 37-32 WBL as soph Isaiah McKay scores for PC. WBL would finish the half on a 7-1 spurt with a nice Beau Smit reverse layup and off a turnover, Tanner Hinck (1 of the 3 JV kids) buries a 3. 44-33 Bears at half. 25 fouls combined. White Bear Lake only 10-18 from the charity stripe.
The Bears continue the run in the 2nd half. Weiland for 3, Gebeke with an assist for a layup, Meyer on the post and a Tismer skip to Weiland for 3 more. Timeout Park Center after the 12-2 run (19-3 in about 4 minutes spanning halftime). 56-35 WBL with 15:30 left. Out of the timeout, a Pirates turnover for a Weiland layup and Hooker smacks the board and gets the T from Lithgow. WBL would miss both free throws and not score on the possession. Meyer with a putback at 14:25 to push the lead to 60-37 but he follows up with his 4th foul (all 4 tough calls) and sits. Hooker struggling with his shot in the 2nd half but Treyton Daniels playing well after the first half fouls. Pirates cut the lead to 18 before a Daniels jumper. 69-53 WBL with 7:10 left. Then in the span of about 2 minutes 3 different kids go down and stay down. Hooker gets helped off after a pretty reverse layup cut the lead to 14. Then another Park Center player is down. Finally Meyer gets a nice lob pass over the top on the SLOB, has an easy layup and goes down in a heap. The left knee buckles and early indications are that he'll miss some time as was helped off and didn't return. Huge loss for the Bears if he misses major time. Meanwhile, Daniels with a drive on the right baseline and the lefty finish going to the basket followed by a pair of freebies. 72-59 WBL with 5:33 and here comes Hooker back into the game. Then a Park Center steal for a basket and intentional foul with 3:18 left. The 2 free throws are no good and Hooker couldn't convert on the possession. WBL misses a front end and Hooker takes to the rack and scores to cut the lead to single digits. 72-63 with 3 minutes left. 19-5 Park Center run over 7:30 with Daniels doing damage. WBL scores the next 6 with free throws and a pair of layups to put it away. 5 late Hooker points don't impact. White Bear Lake wins 80-68.
Post Game
For the record, Mr. Lithgow is a very respected official and worked on an all-star crew last year at state. Its not that he called a bad game, yes he missed a few but overall the calls made sense. He was consistent on both ends calling it very very very tight (as tight as I've seen in a long time). My issue is 2 fold. First, the concept of advantage/disadvantage has to come into play. If there's contact that can be a foul but doesn't impact play, then calling a foul just disrupts the flow. I say play on. Bigger issue is that his partner was calling a very loose game. That just doesn't work well to have a crew that calls the game in totally different ways and it frustrates the heck out of everybody. I'd like to see officials associations or whoever is responsible for assigning do a better job of grouping officials who call similar games and who can work to make each other call the game as close to the same as possible whether that's tight or loose. As most coaches would tell you, just be consistent and then the players can adjust.
For Park Center, Quinton Hooker with 29 points and 9 rebounds on my officially unofficial stat sheet. 20 of those in the 1st half. No assists and 5 turnovers but he had at least 3 or 4 nice passes that could have gone for easy scores that weren't converted. I had him 12-26 shooting with the first 4 and last 2 makes. He had 2 or 3 chances lefty at the basket that just didn't fall. Treyton Daniels all 10 of his points in the 2nd half where he played very well. He's under the radar now but keep an eye on the junior wing. Isaiah McKay also with 10 points. The Pirates visit Columbia Heights in a battle of coaching pals on Tuesday.
For White Bear Lake, Zach Meyer 8 points and 5 boards despite foul trouble and the injury. Eric Gebeke with 18 of his 22 in the first half and he had to have double figure rebounds. Big step up performance from him and he'll need to keep that up. Beau Smit 13 points, Eric Weiland 11, Lucas 10 as the Bears end up with 4 in double figures. They'll be disappointed they didn't put away a 23 point lead with 10:40 to play. 18-34 from the foul line in a game with 45 total fouls (24 on PC) is something they'll look to improve on. Don't sleep on the guards for the Bears. Weiland and junior Alex Rost are a quality point guard duo. Josh Tismer is experienced and can play either guard spot. Smit can shoot and score. The Bears continue their difficult stretch of 5 of their 1st 6 on the road with trips to Lakeville South and Wayzata next week.
2011 Pulley Jamboree thoughts
Labels:
Reid Travis,
Tyus Jones
It was the return of the St. Thomas Jamboree but now out in Eagan at High Performance Academy. Having 3 pizza choices, including a 3 meat pizza, is definitely worth noting. Who am I to be unhappy when the Wisconsin/Penn State game was on the TV in the lobby? Good crowd on hand for the 8 sessions. Sessions were 2 10 minute halves with regular timing.
Session 1: Orono vs Rosemount
A hot start for Orono's Brady Wohler as he had 3 assists (2 for 3s) and a pair of buckets to be involved in the first 12 Orono points. Orono took a 17-13 lead midway through the first half but a pair of Rosemount bombs led an 11-3 run to end the half. 24-20 Rosemount at half. The Irish would score the first 6 of the second half to push the lead to 10. Orono made a furious comeback. A putback for a 3 point play cut the lead to 36-35 with 2 minutes left. Orono would get 3 more chances to take the lead and couldn't convert. Rosemount hung on for the 36-35 win. Brady Wohler 11 points for Orono.
Session 2: Minneapolis South vs Hill-Murray
Carnell Sheppard opened the game with a pair of 3s to lead South to a quick 10-2 lead. Hill-Murray would counter with a 7-0 lead to cut the lead to 1. Then the teams traded points for a 18-17 South lead at the half. Hill-Murray would tie the game at 21 and then go to the bench. South countered with a 7-0 run as the Pioneers would score again until 45 seconds left. 30-23 South wins. Carnell Sheppard 10 points for South. Dave Simmet 8 points for Hill-Murray.
Session 3: Braham vs St. Thomas Academy
This game was all about Braham's Tyler Vaughan (MN-Moorhead commit) and seeing some of THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE (with all due respect to coach Bob Vaughan). A bucket followed by a pair of 3s for Vaughan as Braham opened a 13-3 lead. 15-8 Bombers at the half. The Bombers hold St. Thomas star Thomas Sjoberg without a field goal and go on to win 32-25. Vaughan finishes with 5 3s and 19 points.
Session 4: DeLaSalle vs Holy Angels
Holy Angels played without their front line of Danny Sullivan and Mike Hudson in this one. 5 all midway thru the first half before a 15-4 run to take control. 22-16 DLS at the half. All Islanders in the second half as they pull away for a 47-25 win. Shawn Fitzgibbons very productive and Reid Travis showing a burst inside and quality play. 12 points for Travis on my sheet. Jordan Dembley 11 points for the Stars.
Session 5: Osseo vs Minnetonka
Behind the post play of Latrell Love, Minnetonka jumped out to a 10-4 lead. Bridge Tusler would counter with 5 in a row for Osseo in the last minute of the first half. 14-12 Minnetonka at the half. An overall run of 13-4 by Osseo across halftime would give them a 21-16 lead with 5 minutes left. Then both teams went deep into their benches, especially Osseo. Andrew Turnblad with a great hustle play for a bucket with 3:16 left would put Tonka back on top and they would pull away for a 31-25 win. 8 points for Latrell Love.
Session 6: Hopkins vs Apple Valley
No Harry Sonie for Apple Valley so a major piece missing for the Eagles. But Tyus Jones would control the half for Apple Valley. He had anywhere from 4 to 7 assists in the first half along with 6 points. Those passes not just for points, but mostly for layups. In the half court, in transitions, right handed, left handed, all the passes were there. 26-23 Apple Valley at the break. Apple Valley would extend the lead to 7 but Zach Stahl tried to bring Hopkins back. He makes a pair of layups and a free throw to cut the lead to 36-34 with 4:20 left. Totally looked like the Hopkins run to put them over the top but not to be. Apple Valley pulls away late and wins 52-38. Tyus Jones 13 points and anywhere from 8-12 assists. So as expected he was factor in a large majority of their points. 11 points for Zach Stahl and Siyani Chambers. Great day for the Apple Valley supporting cast who played extremely well.
Session 7: Park Center vs Tartan
Park Center played without star guard Quinton Hooker who was visiting family in Nebraska. That would make one think this would be a blowout. Not to be the case. Park Center's athletes were effective and overcame some moments from Darrion Strong to have the lead most of the way. Tartan would get a putback to take the lead for good with 2:37 left. A late Strong bucket pushed the lead to 4. Tartan hung on 40-38.
Session 8: Armstrong vs Columbia Heights
Ben Glover on the bench in street clothes for the game. Coach Greg Miller doesn't have much in the way of seniors so Armstrong will rely on juniors and youth. 3 freshman moved up to JV and 3 more to the sophomore squad in a class that the Falcons are very excited about. As you can tell, not much to mention from the game itself. 18-11 Heights at the half and they roll to a 34-21 win.
Session 1: Orono vs Rosemount
A hot start for Orono's Brady Wohler as he had 3 assists (2 for 3s) and a pair of buckets to be involved in the first 12 Orono points. Orono took a 17-13 lead midway through the first half but a pair of Rosemount bombs led an 11-3 run to end the half. 24-20 Rosemount at half. The Irish would score the first 6 of the second half to push the lead to 10. Orono made a furious comeback. A putback for a 3 point play cut the lead to 36-35 with 2 minutes left. Orono would get 3 more chances to take the lead and couldn't convert. Rosemount hung on for the 36-35 win. Brady Wohler 11 points for Orono.
Session 2: Minneapolis South vs Hill-Murray
Carnell Sheppard opened the game with a pair of 3s to lead South to a quick 10-2 lead. Hill-Murray would counter with a 7-0 lead to cut the lead to 1. Then the teams traded points for a 18-17 South lead at the half. Hill-Murray would tie the game at 21 and then go to the bench. South countered with a 7-0 run as the Pioneers would score again until 45 seconds left. 30-23 South wins. Carnell Sheppard 10 points for South. Dave Simmet 8 points for Hill-Murray.
Session 3: Braham vs St. Thomas Academy
This game was all about Braham's Tyler Vaughan (MN-Moorhead commit) and seeing some of THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE (with all due respect to coach Bob Vaughan). A bucket followed by a pair of 3s for Vaughan as Braham opened a 13-3 lead. 15-8 Bombers at the half. The Bombers hold St. Thomas star Thomas Sjoberg without a field goal and go on to win 32-25. Vaughan finishes with 5 3s and 19 points.
Session 4: DeLaSalle vs Holy Angels
Holy Angels played without their front line of Danny Sullivan and Mike Hudson in this one. 5 all midway thru the first half before a 15-4 run to take control. 22-16 DLS at the half. All Islanders in the second half as they pull away for a 47-25 win. Shawn Fitzgibbons very productive and Reid Travis showing a burst inside and quality play. 12 points for Travis on my sheet. Jordan Dembley 11 points for the Stars.
Session 5: Osseo vs Minnetonka
Behind the post play of Latrell Love, Minnetonka jumped out to a 10-4 lead. Bridge Tusler would counter with 5 in a row for Osseo in the last minute of the first half. 14-12 Minnetonka at the half. An overall run of 13-4 by Osseo across halftime would give them a 21-16 lead with 5 minutes left. Then both teams went deep into their benches, especially Osseo. Andrew Turnblad with a great hustle play for a bucket with 3:16 left would put Tonka back on top and they would pull away for a 31-25 win. 8 points for Latrell Love.
Session 6: Hopkins vs Apple Valley
No Harry Sonie for Apple Valley so a major piece missing for the Eagles. But Tyus Jones would control the half for Apple Valley. He had anywhere from 4 to 7 assists in the first half along with 6 points. Those passes not just for points, but mostly for layups. In the half court, in transitions, right handed, left handed, all the passes were there. 26-23 Apple Valley at the break. Apple Valley would extend the lead to 7 but Zach Stahl tried to bring Hopkins back. He makes a pair of layups and a free throw to cut the lead to 36-34 with 4:20 left. Totally looked like the Hopkins run to put them over the top but not to be. Apple Valley pulls away late and wins 52-38. Tyus Jones 13 points and anywhere from 8-12 assists. So as expected he was factor in a large majority of their points. 11 points for Zach Stahl and Siyani Chambers. Great day for the Apple Valley supporting cast who played extremely well.
Session 7: Park Center vs Tartan
Park Center played without star guard Quinton Hooker who was visiting family in Nebraska. That would make one think this would be a blowout. Not to be the case. Park Center's athletes were effective and overcame some moments from Darrion Strong to have the lead most of the way. Tartan would get a putback to take the lead for good with 2:37 left. A late Strong bucket pushed the lead to 4. Tartan hung on 40-38.
Session 8: Armstrong vs Columbia Heights
Ben Glover on the bench in street clothes for the game. Coach Greg Miller doesn't have much in the way of seniors so Armstrong will rely on juniors and youth. 3 freshman moved up to JV and 3 more to the sophomore squad in a class that the Falcons are very excited about. As you can tell, not much to mention from the game itself. 18-11 Heights at the half and they roll to a 34-21 win.
Watching a future Badger
Welcome to The Old Kingdom! It's The Czar's 2011-12 Season Opener at Green Bay Northeast Wisconsin Lutheran (GB or NEW for short). The Crown Prince and a cousin of mine and his wife join me for this one. Never a bad thing to be within shouting distance of The Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field. Tonight's attraction is 6'7" F Sam Dekker of Sheboygan Lutheran. He's a top 40 kid nationally who will play at Wisconsin next season. He averaged 29 and 10 last season and Sheboygan Lutheran lost 4 starters so he's primed for a HUGE season (hint, foreshadowing). The game itself has plenty of meaning too. GB NEW comes into the season as the 2-time defending section champions and these 2 are in the same sub-section. Both are picked second preseason in their leagues so don't be surprised if they meet again in March. Had to duck into the game before halftime to make sure we all got a seat as a full house of 1 side of bleachers was on hand for this one. I had to get a picture of the GB NEW Lutheran Blazer mascot as it was one of the more unique ones I've seen in a while.
Upon arriving, we find that the school's cafeteria is used for concessions and that's never a bad thing. There's chili on the menu so I can't let that pass. A little thick but had some kick to it which isn't a bad thing. Add in a 24 oz Pepsi to wash it down and that's a good enough dinner for me. As to game fare, I didn't have the popcorn but the rest of my posse said it may have been the worst they've ever had. Big thumbs down to that from the peanut gallery.
Game Time
This was the season opener for both teams and the first quarter showed it. NEW gets the first 5 of the game and Dekker misses his first 2 free throws. Dekker would come back with a 3 point play off of a turnover. That was the only Sheboygan Lutheran field goal of the quarter. Dekker missed a pair of bunnies but was fouled to make a pair of free throws for a 7-5 lead at the 5:33 mark. Freshman Jacob Jurss with a pair of freebies at the 1:52 mark for Sheboygan Lutheran and we're tied at 9. Dekker's touches totally gone as there were a pair of instances where he was wide open and teammates didn't even look at him. Very surprising. Sheboygan Lutheran falls apart in the last 2 minutes with turnovers. NEW converts that into an 11-0 run to close the quarter. NEW's Travis Voigt with a pretty up and under to get it started and a bucket at the buzzer to end it. 20-9 GB NEW after the first quarter. Dekker 5 points and 4 rebounds (2 of them offensive boards on the same play).
Dekker comes out as a man on a mission to start the 2nd quarter. He drives from the high post against a NEW zone for 1 free throw and puts back the miss of the other. Then he scores on the post followed by a pullup for 3. He tips in a miss for a personal 10-0 run. After a NEW bucket, he gets out for a huge dunk at the 4:50 mark. 22-21 NEW. NEW not phased as they get a floater, a triple from Voigt and a putback for a 7-0 run. 29-21 NEW. Then a big swing as NEW missed a pair of bonus front ends that could have pushed the lead to 12. Dekker drives at the 1:20 mark for what was almost his 3rd charge of the night (his 2 charges in the half were very questionable). Jurss nails a 3 and converts a steal for 2 more in the last 30 seconds of the half. Those were the only field goals by somebody other than Dekker in the half. NEW gets the last hoop of the half and takes a 35-28 lead to halftime. Easily could have been double digits as Dekker got almost no help and NEW with great balance. Dekker's line at halftime 19 points and 9 rebounds.
To the 3rd quarter we go. Dekker inside on the post countered by a Voigt 3. 40-30 NEW at the 6:52 mark and they take the classic Momentum Killer timeout after the Voigt 3. Whatever was said got the rest of Dekker's teammates going. Dekker gets a continuation call at 5:47 for the And 1 to cut the lead to 42-35. Soph lefty Tyler Zastrow knocks down a 3. Dekker on the post and another Zastrow jumper. Add on 2 more Sheboygan Lutheran free throws and they're within 46-44 at the 2:21 mark. 14-6 spurt in 4:31 since the NEW timeout. Dekker with a putback and a coast to coast 3 point play around a Josh Wheeler 3 and that's a 4 point Sheboygan Lutheran lead (22-8 run since the timeout). Junior Tyler Schaut hits his 2nd 3 of the night for NEW just before the end of the quarter. 52-51 Sheboygan Lutheran going to the final stanza. Dekker's line after 3, 33 points and 13 boards.
Sophomore Dakota Zinser with a foul line jumper as NEW won't go away to start the 4th. 59-55 NEW with 5:40 remaining. Dekker 4 straight free throws, last 2 on an offensive board. Zinser for 3 and a turnover goes the other way for a Voigt layup. 64-59 NEW with 4:10 to go and Sheboygan Lutheran appears to be on the ropes. 66-62 NEW inside of 3 minutes when Zastrow comes up with a huge 3. NEW counters with a bucket and they get a stop with 2:30 to go up 68-65. Then a pair of costly turnovers for NEW and Jurss converts both with a jumper for 2 and then a pass from Dekker for a huge 3 with 1:40 left. 70-68 Sheboygan Lutheran. NEW fouled and they miss another front end with 1:35 left. Dekker fouled and makes 1 of 2 and NEW turns it over again. Sheboygan Lutheran takes a timeout inside a minute to just barely avoid a turnover of their own and Dekker converts it into a driving layup with 35 seconds left. Nathan Claflin buries a 3 for NEW with 27.7 left to cut the lead to 73-71. But to no avail. Dekker makes 2 more freebies and after a turnover adds a layup. Sheboygan Lutheran gets a hard fought road win 77-71. 12-3 run over the last 2:30 put the Crusaders over the top.
Post Game
For GB NEW, lefty Travis Voigt leads a balanced attack with 16 points. Tyler Schaut 14, Grant Glodoski 10, Dakota Zinser and Nathan Claflin 9 each. Their big senior center was in foul trouble for a large chunk of the night and wasn't a good matchup. That means most of the contributions were by non-seniors which is impressive. Take Dekker out of the Sheboygan Lutheran lineup and I thought top to bottom NEW had more talent. Nothing fancy from them on either end. Very interesting that they didn't really throw any bag of tricks at Dekker (e.g Box and 1). Definitely expect them to be a tough out come tourney time in D5. Playing in the larger school Packerland definitely helps too.
For Sheboygan Lutheran, Sam Dekker finishes with 45 points and 15 boards on my sheet (paper says 13 but I'll take my 15). Most of that damage was inside as his outside shot wasn't falling. I had him 1-6 from 3 point range, 14-26 overall. 16-21 from the charity stripe. Only 1 shot that I would say was forced and a very willing passer. Jacob Jurss 13 points. Tyler Zastrow 7 of his 9 points in the second half were big.
GB NEW Lutheran will definitely come away from this one feeling they let one slip away. Considering they had a 5 point lead with 4 minutes to go and had some costly turnovers and missed free throws, I would definitely love to see these 2 teams hook up again in March. I'd expect Sheboygan Lutheran's youth to show strides since this game and NEW to come out with something to at least try to slow Dekker down a tad while they lock down on the other guys.
More Czar ramblings on conference realignment
Starting next season, you've got New London-Spicer and Holy Family joining the Wright County to make 11 teams. Becker leaves the Mississippi 8 dropping that league to 6 teams. So I figured while teams are moving teams around I'd fix some other issues that are out there. Here are some realignment thoughts I had. These should be viewed through the prism of current situations and not overall ideals where the entire map could be redrawn. That said all of my proposed leagues have been checked for enrollments and the numbers do mostly make sense.
Thought 1A: It seems obvious that the Mississippi 8 won't exist for long as a 6 team league and has already talked to the St. Cloud area schools about joining. So that is the big elephant in the room that needs to be addressed first. Here's what I'd do for a new league.
Mississippi Lakes East - Cambridge-Isanti, Buffalo, STMA, Rogers, Elk River, St. Francis
Mississippi Lakes West - Rocori, Tech, Apollo, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, Willmar
The St. Cloud schools want in? I can oblige them. The league wants Elk River? I can do that too despite Elk River's past refusals. Teams would play 16 league games in a divisional schedule with home and home against your division and 1 game against the other division split 3 home and 3 away. This puts the 4A teams on 1 side and 3A teams on the other with Tech as the exception. Look at the rivalries in this league. CI vs St. Francis, Buffalo vs STMA, Rogers vs Elk River in a district game, Tech vs Apollo, Sartell vs Sauk Rapids. Even Rocori and Willmar. Those pairs of teams would be the "travel partners" for purposes of balancing out travel each year. That means you would have only 1 bad cross-division trip a year. i.e. West teams would travel to St. Francis or Cambridge-Isanti but not both. East teams would travel to Rocori or Willmar, but not both. The long travel games would be scheduled for Friday nights.
There are plenty of other benefits to this proposal as well and they impact the immediate metro.
North Central Lakes - Alexandria, Moorhead, Fergus Falls, Bemidji, Brainerd, Detroit Lakes, Grand Rapids
This gives 3 independents a place to play (Grand Rapids, Moorhead and Bemidji) with travel that isn't all that bad. Each team has 2 others that are close enough to play on a Tuesday night (Detroit Lakes to Bemidji is borderline though). So league play would be 4 Tuesday nights (2 in January and 2 in Feb against the 2 close schools) and the last 8 Fridays of the season for long trips. A 12 game league schedule and a holiday tournament means these teams only have to find 8 to 10 other games. Here are the pairings for the Tuesday games.
Alexandria - Brainerd & Fergus Falls
Bemidji - Grand Rapids & Detroit Lakes
Brainerd - Alexandria & Grand Rapids
Detroit Lakes - Moorhead & Bemidji
Fergus Falls - Moorhead & Alexandria
Moorhead - Detroit Lakes & Fergus Falls
Thought 1C: I didn't forget about Monticello and Big Lake from the Mississippi 8. The Wright County needs a 12th team so we'll add Monticello (largest school in the league) and put them in the east division with the other growing schools from the western fringes of the metro. That would make the Wright County look like this.
Wright County East - Holy Family, Delano, Orono, Waconia, Mound-Westonka, Monticello
Wright County West - New London-Spicer, Annandale, Litchfield, Glencoe-Silver Lake, Dassel-Cokato, Hutchinson
Thought 1D: Big Lake would go with neighbor Becker to the Granite Ridge. With Melrose likely being placed in the Granite Ridge by the MSHSL, that would put that league at 11 teams. Of course I can't allow that. Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it so from the history of the old Rum River Conference, I add Pine City from the Great River to make 12 teams. That would cut the Great River down to a perfect size of 8 teams. They'd split as follows with same scheduling rules as my new Mississippi Lakes Conference. Becker and Big Lake go west because of proximity to the interstate and to keep traditional Rum River rivalries in the east.
Granite Ridge East - Foley, Milaca, Mora, Princeton, Zimmerman, Pine City
Granite Ridge West - Little Falls, St. Cloud Cathedral, Albany, Melrose, Becker, Big Lake
Thought 1A: It seems obvious that the Mississippi 8 won't exist for long as a 6 team league and has already talked to the St. Cloud area schools about joining. So that is the big elephant in the room that needs to be addressed first. Here's what I'd do for a new league.
Mississippi Lakes East - Cambridge-Isanti, Buffalo, STMA, Rogers, Elk River, St. Francis
Mississippi Lakes West - Rocori, Tech, Apollo, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, Willmar
The St. Cloud schools want in? I can oblige them. The league wants Elk River? I can do that too despite Elk River's past refusals. Teams would play 16 league games in a divisional schedule with home and home against your division and 1 game against the other division split 3 home and 3 away. This puts the 4A teams on 1 side and 3A teams on the other with Tech as the exception. Look at the rivalries in this league. CI vs St. Francis, Buffalo vs STMA, Rogers vs Elk River in a district game, Tech vs Apollo, Sartell vs Sauk Rapids. Even Rocori and Willmar. Those pairs of teams would be the "travel partners" for purposes of balancing out travel each year. That means you would have only 1 bad cross-division trip a year. i.e. West teams would travel to St. Francis or Cambridge-Isanti but not both. East teams would travel to Rocori or Willmar, but not both. The long travel games would be scheduled for Friday nights.
There are plenty of other benefits to this proposal as well and they impact the immediate metro.
- It chops the North Suburban and Northwest Suburban down to a manageable 10 teams from the obnoxious number of 11.
- It takes away an outlying member to limit travel in those leagues that they're leaving.
- It would allow the North Suburban to go back to a balanced league schedule.
North Central Lakes - Alexandria, Moorhead, Fergus Falls, Bemidji, Brainerd, Detroit Lakes, Grand Rapids
This gives 3 independents a place to play (Grand Rapids, Moorhead and Bemidji) with travel that isn't all that bad. Each team has 2 others that are close enough to play on a Tuesday night (Detroit Lakes to Bemidji is borderline though). So league play would be 4 Tuesday nights (2 in January and 2 in Feb against the 2 close schools) and the last 8 Fridays of the season for long trips. A 12 game league schedule and a holiday tournament means these teams only have to find 8 to 10 other games. Here are the pairings for the Tuesday games.
Alexandria - Brainerd & Fergus Falls
Bemidji - Grand Rapids & Detroit Lakes
Brainerd - Alexandria & Grand Rapids
Detroit Lakes - Moorhead & Bemidji
Fergus Falls - Moorhead & Alexandria
Moorhead - Detroit Lakes & Fergus Falls
Thought 1C: I didn't forget about Monticello and Big Lake from the Mississippi 8. The Wright County needs a 12th team so we'll add Monticello (largest school in the league) and put them in the east division with the other growing schools from the western fringes of the metro. That would make the Wright County look like this.
Wright County East - Holy Family, Delano, Orono, Waconia, Mound-Westonka, Monticello
Wright County West - New London-Spicer, Annandale, Litchfield, Glencoe-Silver Lake, Dassel-Cokato, Hutchinson
Thought 1D: Big Lake would go with neighbor Becker to the Granite Ridge. With Melrose likely being placed in the Granite Ridge by the MSHSL, that would put that league at 11 teams. Of course I can't allow that. Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it so from the history of the old Rum River Conference, I add Pine City from the Great River to make 12 teams. That would cut the Great River down to a perfect size of 8 teams. They'd split as follows with same scheduling rules as my new Mississippi Lakes Conference. Becker and Big Lake go west because of proximity to the interstate and to keep traditional Rum River rivalries in the east.
Granite Ridge East - Foley, Milaca, Mora, Princeton, Zimmerman, Pine City
Granite Ridge West - Little Falls, St. Cloud Cathedral, Albany, Melrose, Becker, Big Lake
11-12 Sections 4A-4AA Preview
Labels:
11-12 Season Previews
This is the 23rd and final preview in my 2011-2012
season preview series. We finish with a look at the little guys. Its time to preview sections 4AA and 4A.
For a list
of all
the season previews, click here.
Section 4AA
Defending Champion: Minnehaha
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Breck. Coach Matt McCollister has a group of 4 talented freshmen. They'll take some lumps early but with a year under their belt, come tourney time they will be a tough out.
Section Winner: Concordia. Post Cutler Finneman is too much inside and he'll have help.
Section 4A
Defending Champion: Maranatha
I won't bother with seeding predictions because you never know who will actually play come section time. 23 teams are listed but I'll be surprised if more than 19 actually play. Big story is the move of Minneapolis North into the section from 6AAAA. The 2 favorites have to be Maranatha and Prairie Seeds Academy. Garrison Gillard joins an already talented class at Maranatha and should have a big year. Gage Deis joins Prairie Seeds and will be the top post in the section. Heritage and Minnesota Transitions are 2 other teams I'm keeping an eye on. Heritage has plenty returning from a 19-9 squad. MTS won't be a juggernaut likes years past but will still have plenty to work with in forward David Wallendorf, wing Terrence Lofton and post Tevin Simms. North, Legacy, CHOF, West Lutheran, Four Directions, FAIR, PACT and St. Croix Prep should make up the best of the rest in no particular order. Ben Freeby (Legacy), Kyle Roy (Four Directions) and Tyler Strandlund (CHOF) are posts that will need to be prepared for.
Sleeper: Minnesota Transitions. I see most sleeping on the Wolves with a Noreen no longer on the roster.
Section Winner: Maranatha. I see too much talent and tradition there to pick against the Mustangs.
Section 4AA
Defending Champion: Minnehaha
Predicted Seeding
- Concordia
- Minnehaha
- Trinity
- St. Croix Lutheran
- St. Agnes
- Breck
- St. Paul Academy
- New Life Academy
- Minneapolis Edison
- St. Paul Humboldt
- Brooklyn Center
- Mounds Park Academy
- International School
- Great River
- Hmong Academy
Sleeper: Breck. Coach Matt McCollister has a group of 4 talented freshmen. They'll take some lumps early but with a year under their belt, come tourney time they will be a tough out.
Section Winner: Concordia. Post Cutler Finneman is too much inside and he'll have help.
Section 4A
Defending Champion: Maranatha
I won't bother with seeding predictions because you never know who will actually play come section time. 23 teams are listed but I'll be surprised if more than 19 actually play. Big story is the move of Minneapolis North into the section from 6AAAA. The 2 favorites have to be Maranatha and Prairie Seeds Academy. Garrison Gillard joins an already talented class at Maranatha and should have a big year. Gage Deis joins Prairie Seeds and will be the top post in the section. Heritage and Minnesota Transitions are 2 other teams I'm keeping an eye on. Heritage has plenty returning from a 19-9 squad. MTS won't be a juggernaut likes years past but will still have plenty to work with in forward David Wallendorf, wing Terrence Lofton and post Tevin Simms. North, Legacy, CHOF, West Lutheran, Four Directions, FAIR, PACT and St. Croix Prep should make up the best of the rest in no particular order. Ben Freeby (Legacy), Kyle Roy (Four Directions) and Tyler Strandlund (CHOF) are posts that will need to be prepared for.
Sleeper: Minnesota Transitions. I see most sleeping on the Wolves with a Noreen no longer on the roster.
Section Winner: Maranatha. I see too much talent and tradition there to pick against the Mustangs.
11-12 Section 3AAA Preview
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11-12 Season Previews
This is the 22nd preview in my 2011-2012
season preview series. In this preview, we look at our final class AAA section. Its off to the north metro for a look at section 3. For a list
of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: Columbia Heights
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: St Anthony. Coach Dave Bratland gets his guys to play as hard as anyone and makes sure his top guys get the shots. Add in a goto scorer who can get points inside against a section that has very little size and I see a sleeper.
Section Winner: DeLaSalle. They come out of another tough game to win the section. But don't ignore the experience at Spring Lake Park. Columbia Heights is a serious threat with a big time scorer and a ton of athletic bodies. If they can force opponents to play their frenetic style, they'll have a great shot to return to state.
Defending Champion: Columbia Heights
Predicted Seeding
- DeLaSalle
- Spring Lake Park
- Columbia Heights
- Minneapolis Patrick Henry
- St. Anthony
- Totino-Grace
- St. Paul Como Park
- Fridley
Sleeper: St Anthony. Coach Dave Bratland gets his guys to play as hard as anyone and makes sure his top guys get the shots. Add in a goto scorer who can get points inside against a section that has very little size and I see a sleeper.
Section Winner: DeLaSalle. They come out of another tough game to win the section. But don't ignore the experience at Spring Lake Park. Columbia Heights is a serious threat with a big time scorer and a ton of athletic bodies. If they can force opponents to play their frenetic style, they'll have a great shot to return to state.
11-12 Section 4AAA Preview
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11-12 Season Previews
This is the 21st preview in my 2011-2012
season preview series. In this preview, we look at section 4AAA. For a list
of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: St. Paul Johnson
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Hill-Murray. I totally missed on Hill-Murray last year picking them 5th in league (went 16-0). Nobody in the section has a matchup for center Dave Simmet. Their 2-3 zone gives people fits and Dick Ghizoni is a very underrated coach. Beating good Tartan teams 4 straight times isn't to be ignored. Side Note: Johnson has knocked Hill-Murray out of the playoffs the last 4 years but at least 2 of those have been very good games. Could very likely happen again this season.
Section Winner: St. Paul Johnson. They've been there and done that with 3 straight titles. I think they're too athletic for the rest of the section.
Defending Champion: St. Paul Johnson
Predicted Seeding
- St. Paul Johnson
- St. Thomas Academy
- St. Paul Central
- Hill-Murray
- St. Paul Highland Park
- Simley
- St. Paul Harding
- South St. Paul
Sleeper: Hill-Murray. I totally missed on Hill-Murray last year picking them 5th in league (went 16-0). Nobody in the section has a matchup for center Dave Simmet. Their 2-3 zone gives people fits and Dick Ghizoni is a very underrated coach. Beating good Tartan teams 4 straight times isn't to be ignored. Side Note: Johnson has knocked Hill-Murray out of the playoffs the last 4 years but at least 2 of those have been very good games. Could very likely happen again this season.
Section Winner: St. Paul Johnson. They've been there and done that with 3 straight titles. I think they're too athletic for the rest of the section.
11-12 Section 6AAA Preview
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11-12 Season Previews
This is the 20th preview in my 2011-2012
season preview series. In this preview, we move down a class and start looking at class AAA. We'll start with section 6. For a list of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: Waconia
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Blake. As mentioned, I think they would have been a real contender in 4AA. Junior forward Kebu Johnson is back for what seems like his 700th season as the goto guy. Soph point guard John Veil is under the radar now but won't be for long.
Section Winner: Benilde-St. Margaret's. I like the matchup against Washburn or Richfield so that's a part of it. Main reason is to make up for last year's loss in the section final. There's still 3 D1 kids there and they'll always be able to find quality role kids.
Defending Champion: Waconia
Predicted Seeding
- Benilde-St. Margaret's
- Washburn
- Richfield
- Holy Family
- Blake
- Chaska
- Holy Angels
- Roosevelt
Sleeper: Blake. As mentioned, I think they would have been a real contender in 4AA. Junior forward Kebu Johnson is back for what seems like his 700th season as the goto guy. Soph point guard John Veil is under the radar now but won't be for long.
Section Winner: Benilde-St. Margaret's. I like the matchup against Washburn or Richfield so that's a part of it. Main reason is to make up for last year's loss in the section final. There's still 3 D1 kids there and they'll always be able to find quality role kids.
11-12 Section 3AAAA Preview
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11-12 Season Previews,
Joey King,
Tyus Jones
This is the 19th preview in my 2011-2012
season preview series. In this preview, a look at section 3AAAA. For a list of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: Lakeville South
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: East Ridge. With shooter Justin Pahl and the development of freshman Sidney Tomes at the point there's enough here to pay attention to. Plus they have no games against the South Suburban which makes them a better sleeper than Rosemount (who would play those teams twice).
Section Winner: Eastview. I think they're too big across the front line and they have a star to ride in Joey King. Apple Valley is scary with Tyus Jones able to go off on any given night but come section final time, teams will make others beat them and I'm not sure the Eagles have enough other firepower to do that in a big time game.
Defending Champion: Lakeville South
Predicted Seeding
- Eastview
- Apple Valley
- Cretin-Derham Hall
- Eagan
- East Ridge
- Rosemount
- Henry Sibley
- Park
Sleeper: East Ridge. With shooter Justin Pahl and the development of freshman Sidney Tomes at the point there's enough here to pay attention to. Plus they have no games against the South Suburban which makes them a better sleeper than Rosemount (who would play those teams twice).
Section Winner: Eastview. I think they're too big across the front line and they have a star to ride in Joey King. Apple Valley is scary with Tyus Jones able to go off on any given night but come section final time, teams will make others beat them and I'm not sure the Eagles have enough other firepower to do that in a big time game.
11-12 Section 2AAAA Preview
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11-12 Season Previews
This is the 18th preview in my 2011-2012
season preview series. In this preview, a look at section 2AAAA. For a list of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: Eden Prairie
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Prior Lake. They have a quality point guard in Jon Sobaski and a pair of twin towers in Carson Shanks and Jeff Probert to throw at you. Add in experience with Jack Harrison and an entire season of playing together and come tourney time I think they have a chance against anybody in the section.
Section Winner: Eden Prairie. The tradition rolls on and they're the most complete team. They defend, have quality guard play with Grant Schaeffer and Sander Mohn, and enough size and athletes to go with that to put together another state run.
Defending Champion: Eden Prairie
Predicted Seeding
- Eden Prairie
- Chanhassen
- Bloomington Kennedy
- Lakeville South
- Shakopee
- Prior Lake
- Bloomington Jefferson
- Burnsville
Sleeper: Prior Lake. They have a quality point guard in Jon Sobaski and a pair of twin towers in Carson Shanks and Jeff Probert to throw at you. Add in experience with Jack Harrison and an entire season of playing together and come tourney time I think they have a chance against anybody in the section.
Section Winner: Eden Prairie. The tradition rolls on and they're the most complete team. They defend, have quality guard play with Grant Schaeffer and Sander Mohn, and enough size and athletes to go with that to put together another state run.
11-12 Section 4AAAA Preview
Labels:
11-12 Season Previews
This is the 17th preview in my 2011-2012
season preview series. In this preview, a look at section 4AAAA. For a list of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: Cretin-Derham Hall
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Woodbury. I had to pick them 4th here because of my conference selections but I'm already reconsidering that pick. I'm very high on the Royals. They have 4 top kids from last year returning plus a pair of transfers who can immediately contribute. They have plenty of offensive firepower and if they can get out and run where Ricky Suggs is a scorer, they'll be tough to handle.
Section Winner: Tartan. The Titans have lost heartbreakers to Cretin-Derham Hall the last 2 years and haven't made a state trip since 2005. With CDH out of the section and no post factor in the section besides Zach Meyer to exploit them inside, I see Tartan getting back to state.
Defending Champion: Cretin-Derham Hall
Predicted Seeding
- Tartan
- Roseville
- White Bear Lake
- Woodbury
- Stillwater
- North
- Mahtomedi
- Mounds View
Sleeper: Woodbury. I had to pick them 4th here because of my conference selections but I'm already reconsidering that pick. I'm very high on the Royals. They have 4 top kids from last year returning plus a pair of transfers who can immediately contribute. They have plenty of offensive firepower and if they can get out and run where Ricky Suggs is a scorer, they'll be tough to handle.
Section Winner: Tartan. The Titans have lost heartbreakers to Cretin-Derham Hall the last 2 years and haven't made a state trip since 2005. With CDH out of the section and no post factor in the section besides Zach Meyer to exploit them inside, I see Tartan getting back to state.
11-12 Section 5AAAA Preview
Labels:
11-12 Season Previews,
Rashad Vaughn
This is the 16th preview in my 2011-2012
season preview series. In this preview, a look at section 5AAAA. For a list of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: Osseo
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Centennial. Lots of teams who could surprise but who ever the 5 seed ends up being is very dangerous. Mitchell Kuck when hot can get 30 from deep. Jared Nelson returns to run the point and they have size. If its Cooper, Rashad Vaughn could put the team on his back. Champlin Park would be far more talented than the average 5 seed.
Section Winner: Osseo. Too much talent, experience and tradition. Ian Theisen and Bryan Gichaba inside. Bridge Tusler is a warrior on the wing. Michael Brush can knock down shots. DJ Hebert and Will Johnson from the football are tough.
Defending Champion: Osseo
Predicted Seeding
- Osseo
- Maple Grove
- Champlin Park
- Robbinsdale Cooper
- Centennial
- Park Center
- Irondale
- Coon Rapids
Sleeper: Centennial. Lots of teams who could surprise but who ever the 5 seed ends up being is very dangerous. Mitchell Kuck when hot can get 30 from deep. Jared Nelson returns to run the point and they have size. If its Cooper, Rashad Vaughn could put the team on his back. Champlin Park would be far more talented than the average 5 seed.
Section Winner: Osseo. Too much talent, experience and tradition. Ian Theisen and Bryan Gichaba inside. Bridge Tusler is a warrior on the wing. Michael Brush can knock down shots. DJ Hebert and Will Johnson from the football are tough.
11-12 Section 6AAAA Preview
Labels:
11-12 Season Previews
This is the 15th preview in my 2011-2012
season preview series. In this preview, a look at section 6AAAA. For a list of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: Hopkins
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: St. Louis Park. With a no-brainer favorite, picking a sleeper is a bit crazy but if I have to pick one its the Orioles. With Kashif Hayes running the dribble drive and another scorer in DJ Pollard on the wing they can be a handful to defend. The other Lake teams are dangerous but too much familiarity to pick Wayzata or Edina as a sleeper.
Section Winner: Minneapolis Southwest. Who else is there? Of course Hopkins is the pick here. As the preseason favorite to repeat anything less than a return to defend their crown would be a disappointment. Too much firepower at the guard slots, too well coached and their intensity is just at another level.
Defending Champion: Hopkins
Predicted Seeding
- Hopkins
- Minnetonka
- Edina
- St. Louis Park
- Wayzata
- Armstrong
- Minneapolis South
- Minneapolis Southwest
Sleeper: St. Louis Park. With a no-brainer favorite, picking a sleeper is a bit crazy but if I have to pick one its the Orioles. With Kashif Hayes running the dribble drive and another scorer in DJ Pollard on the wing they can be a handful to defend. The other Lake teams are dangerous but too much familiarity to pick Wayzata or Edina as a sleeper.
Section Winner: Minneapolis Southwest. Who else is there? Of course Hopkins is the pick here. As the preseason favorite to repeat anything less than a return to defend their crown would be a disappointment. Too much firepower at the guard slots, too well coached and their intensity is just at another level.
11-12 Section 7AAAA Preview
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11-12 Season Previews
This is the 14th preview in my 2011-2012
season preview series. In this preview, I start my look at the metro area sections. For variety sake, we'll do these in reverse order starting with section 7AAAA. For a list of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: Duluth East
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Anoka. The Tornadoes as my 2 seed normally wouldn't qualify here but since Duluth East gets knocked down I'll make an exception. Quality guard play is never a bad thing come playoff time and Anoka has that. Malcolm Seals should have a breakout year and be able to run the offense. Marcus Tyus is talented enough to carry an offense so if he gets it going he could lead them through the section.
Section Winner: Duluth East. Assuming Johnny Woodard is healthy for the tournament, him and Taylor Stafford are the best duo in the section. Just too much for the rest of the section to handle. Add in 2 straight years in the section final and last year's win and I won't pick against the champs.
Defending Champion: Duluth East
Predicted Seeding
- Blaine
- Anoka
- Duluth East
- Forest Lake
- Andover
- Cambridge-Isanti
- St. Francis
Sleeper: Anoka. The Tornadoes as my 2 seed normally wouldn't qualify here but since Duluth East gets knocked down I'll make an exception. Quality guard play is never a bad thing come playoff time and Anoka has that. Malcolm Seals should have a breakout year and be able to run the offense. Marcus Tyus is talented enough to carry an offense so if he gets it going he could lead them through the section.
Section Winner: Duluth East. Assuming Johnny Woodard is healthy for the tournament, him and Taylor Stafford are the best duo in the section. Just too much for the rest of the section to handle. Add in 2 straight years in the section final and last year's win and I won't pick against the champs.
11-12 The Rest Preview
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11-12 Season Previews
This is the 13th preview in my 2011-2012 season preview series. In
this preview, I conclude my look at the teams around the metro with a look at a couple of local independents and then some quick thoughts on the EMAC, Wright County and Mississippi 8. Did you miss any of the conference previews? For a
list of all the season previews, click here. Coming next week predictions for the metro area sections.
CHOF Lions (2010-11 season 5-17)
Senior center Tyler Strandlund remains one of the top 1 bands in the state. Last year he averaged 21 points and 15 boards a night. But he's the only person with any size on a tiny roster. Guard Adam Rohlf is gone but the rest of a short rotation returns. Shooting guard Tate Piepkorn put up 14 a night last season. Junior Kendall Strandlund missed time last year with an injured wrist but almost reached double figures in scoring. Soph Nate Johnston will run the point and his play will be a major barometer for the Lions.
Four Directions Wolves (2010-11 season 16-8)
They lose a couple of high scoring guards including 26.2 a night from James Red Eagle. But 6'9 big man Kyle Roy returns in the middle as a major double-double threat and soph guard Gus Christianson and Marcus McDade return.
Eastern Minnesota Athletic Conference Thoughts
Apologies to the EMAC as I don't have enough to go on to even begin to look at the little guys but 2 quick bits from the 1 league game I saw last year. International School does have 2 of their top 3 back including soph guard Ethan Forney. Loss of Omar Bushara will hurt but coach Shun Tillman figures to keep the Huskies in contention for the league crown along with Great River. Calvin Christian was 13-9 and in the middle of the EMAC pack. They return their top player center Ben Stephens.
Wright County Conference Thoughts
Big losses in the Wright County as Jordan Smith (Orono), Mike Yahnke (Delano) and Shelby Moats (Waconia) all moved up to the D1 level. Most of Orono's rotation except Brady Wohler is gone. Anthonie Tholey will play a much bigger role. Waconia has some nice pieces returning with Wylie Ferron, Alex Chandler, Tommy Gove, Matt Rachey and Alex Schmitt. Schmitt being the only senior in that group. Delano also returns a nice core despite losing Yahnke. Grayson Pulis is a big body in the middle. Junior Zach Checkal had a nice season for them last year along with Toby Hanson. Then you have the league's top player Nate Kratch (Santa Clara signee) returning at Watertown-Mayer as 3 of their top 5 scorers return. So I think that has to be the top group of teams. Annandale loses star forward James Fort but returns shooter Brett Ahsenmacher. Mound-Westonka needs to replace the duo of Matt Daoust and Dan Flesher but returns shooter Collin Host. Ethan Maass returns to lead Glencoe-Silver Lake. Zach Miner returns for Hutchinson but they lose their top 4 scorers including guards Adam Hjelter and Trent Kucera. Litchfield returns their top 3 scorers so they look to jump into the top half.
Mississippi 8 Conference Thoughts
The league takes a hit with state qualifier Zimmerman and Princeton leaving for the new Granite Ridge Conference. Defending champ Buffalo loses their top 2 scorers including sniper Andy Ortmann but junior Ethan Freer and Dominic Gilmer are 2 core pieces coming back along with Caleb Ruter. St. Michael-Albertville loses their star Joe Carpenter (top scorer and rebounder) and his sick athleticism. The starting guards Michael Wiese and Michael Mooney both return and center Herbert Tarpeh should give them productive minutes. Continuing down the road toward the metro, Rogers loses post Rory Donovan (16 a night), forwards Trevor Morlock and Trevor Berkley and point guard RJ Dean. Post Michael Schreiber will be the goto guy after a nice summer. Forward Josh Turnquist is a nice fit with him to stretch the defense. Austin Barbeln and Chase Cleveland will man guard spots. Big Lake loses their top 3 scorers including point guard Michael Stevens. Soph Austin Poe is the top returning scorer. The top 5 scorers at Monticello are gone including posts Kevin Flesch and Anthony Svaavedra. Junior guards Ryan Tuffs and Hayden Laimer will lead the way. Becker leaves for the Granite Ridge next year and looks to go out with a bang behind forward Damien Reinke and his 19 a night. But they lose a ton of people after him Ryan Rosenberg returns to lead Cambridge-Isanti. They lose shooter Ted Lutterman who was their only double figure scorer last season. Soph Matt Swanson saw action in over 20 games last year.
CHOF Lions (2010-11 season 5-17)
Senior center Tyler Strandlund remains one of the top 1 bands in the state. Last year he averaged 21 points and 15 boards a night. But he's the only person with any size on a tiny roster. Guard Adam Rohlf is gone but the rest of a short rotation returns. Shooting guard Tate Piepkorn put up 14 a night last season. Junior Kendall Strandlund missed time last year with an injured wrist but almost reached double figures in scoring. Soph Nate Johnston will run the point and his play will be a major barometer for the Lions.
Four Directions Wolves (2010-11 season 16-8)
They lose a couple of high scoring guards including 26.2 a night from James Red Eagle. But 6'9 big man Kyle Roy returns in the middle as a major double-double threat and soph guard Gus Christianson and Marcus McDade return.
Eastern Minnesota Athletic Conference Thoughts
Apologies to the EMAC as I don't have enough to go on to even begin to look at the little guys but 2 quick bits from the 1 league game I saw last year. International School does have 2 of their top 3 back including soph guard Ethan Forney. Loss of Omar Bushara will hurt but coach Shun Tillman figures to keep the Huskies in contention for the league crown along with Great River. Calvin Christian was 13-9 and in the middle of the EMAC pack. They return their top player center Ben Stephens.
Wright County Conference Thoughts
Big losses in the Wright County as Jordan Smith (Orono), Mike Yahnke (Delano) and Shelby Moats (Waconia) all moved up to the D1 level. Most of Orono's rotation except Brady Wohler is gone. Anthonie Tholey will play a much bigger role. Waconia has some nice pieces returning with Wylie Ferron, Alex Chandler, Tommy Gove, Matt Rachey and Alex Schmitt. Schmitt being the only senior in that group. Delano also returns a nice core despite losing Yahnke. Grayson Pulis is a big body in the middle. Junior Zach Checkal had a nice season for them last year along with Toby Hanson. Then you have the league's top player Nate Kratch (Santa Clara signee) returning at Watertown-Mayer as 3 of their top 5 scorers return. So I think that has to be the top group of teams. Annandale loses star forward James Fort but returns shooter Brett Ahsenmacher. Mound-Westonka needs to replace the duo of Matt Daoust and Dan Flesher but returns shooter Collin Host. Ethan Maass returns to lead Glencoe-Silver Lake. Zach Miner returns for Hutchinson but they lose their top 4 scorers including guards Adam Hjelter and Trent Kucera. Litchfield returns their top 3 scorers so they look to jump into the top half.
Mississippi 8 Conference Thoughts
The league takes a hit with state qualifier Zimmerman and Princeton leaving for the new Granite Ridge Conference. Defending champ Buffalo loses their top 2 scorers including sniper Andy Ortmann but junior Ethan Freer and Dominic Gilmer are 2 core pieces coming back along with Caleb Ruter. St. Michael-Albertville loses their star Joe Carpenter (top scorer and rebounder) and his sick athleticism. The starting guards Michael Wiese and Michael Mooney both return and center Herbert Tarpeh should give them productive minutes. Continuing down the road toward the metro, Rogers loses post Rory Donovan (16 a night), forwards Trevor Morlock and Trevor Berkley and point guard RJ Dean. Post Michael Schreiber will be the goto guy after a nice summer. Forward Josh Turnquist is a nice fit with him to stretch the defense. Austin Barbeln and Chase Cleveland will man guard spots. Big Lake loses their top 3 scorers including point guard Michael Stevens. Soph Austin Poe is the top returning scorer. The top 5 scorers at Monticello are gone including posts Kevin Flesch and Anthony Svaavedra. Junior guards Ryan Tuffs and Hayden Laimer will lead the way. Becker leaves for the Granite Ridge next year and looks to go out with a bang behind forward Damien Reinke and his 19 a night. But they lose a ton of people after him Ryan Rosenberg returns to lead Cambridge-Isanti. They lose shooter Ted Lutterman who was their only double figure scorer last season. Soph Matt Swanson saw action in over 20 games last year.
11-12 Tri-Metro Preview
Labels:
11-12 Season Previews,
Reid Travis
This is the 12th preview in my 2011-2012 season preview series. In
this preview, a look at the Tri-Metro Conference. For a list of all
the season previews, click here.
The league welcomes Providence Academy and can go back to the full divisional schedule. DeLaSalle has the talent but not the experience. Concordia is the favorite on the other side. Blake, Minnehaha, St. Agnes, St. Anthony, St. Croix Lutheran all have enough returning to beat most anybody in the league on any night.
Blake Bears (2010-11 season 19-9, 10-5 Conference, 2nd West)
Forward Tim Zellmer is the biggest loss but he sat out big minutes last year anyway due to injury. Junior forward Kebu Johnson returns for his 4th season on varsity (seems like 500). He led the team at 11.9 PPG last season. Soph point guard John Veil was the 2nd leading scorer. Paul Blake and Conner Kline return inside. Soph JR Bascom also saw major minutes last season.
Breck Mustangs (2010-11 season 11-16, 6-9 Conference, 4th West)
The Mustangs lose 4 of their top 5 scorers including 17+ a night from Jeff Lurie. But lots of youth saw big minutes last season. Junior point guard Tilyn Hollis, frosh forward Will Culliton and forward Michael Marzec all return after seeing big minutes last year. Keep an eye on the Mustangs freshman class as they have a group of 4 quality kids there to build around.
Brooklyn Center Centaurs (2010-11 season 3-24, 2-13 Conference, 6th West)
How long a year was it for the Centaurs? They gave up a 46-0 run to Tartan over the holidays. Expect another long season. Sophs Deandre Bell and DeAndre Shipp are 2 of the notable returnees.
Concordia Academy Beacons (2010-11 season 20-9, 11-3 Conference, Tied 1st East)
The Beacons lose scorers 2-5 but don't sleep on them. Sioux Falls commit Cutler Finneman returns to man the front line. He was the team scoring leader at 17 a night last year. 4 other players from the rotation including guard Christian Koehn return for a squad that has 9 seniors. 6'6' Junior forward Jared Schneidermann gives them another lanky athlete on the front line. Junior Charlie Kennelly should also see minutes.
DeLaSalle Islanders (2010-11 season 25-4, 15-0 Conference, 1st West)
The Islanders enter the season on a 27 game conference winning streak. With 6 seniors gone including beast Jonah Travis (Harvard) and the transfer of Riley Dearring to Minnetonka, this roster has very little varsity experience but is very talented. The point guard position will be shared between senior Tyler Moore (the 1 experienced returnee) and talented frosh Jarvis Johnson (one of the top 2015 kids in MN). Shooter Luke Scott and Shawn Fitzgibbons will see wing minutes. Soph Reid Travis will see inside and out minutes. Except for Moore this group will see a couple of years together so expect a huge year next year. As is usual at D, the freshman class is absolutely loaded with talent.
Minnehaha Academy Redhawks (2010-11 season 17-14, 9-6 Conference, 3rd West)
One of disappointments of last year was not getting to one of my favorite buildings to see the Redhawks. They got hot late and won 8 out 9 to make a run through weak section 4AA before losing to Redwood Valley in the state quarters (big game from Mankato commit Mike Busack was the difference). They lose 1 of their 2 weapons Matt Prior (18 a night) but 19 a night from power guard Gerald McCarver returns. Junior guard John Prior figures to jump into double figures this season after just missing out last season. Junior Marcellous Hazzard also saw major minutes last season.
Mounds Park Academy Panthers (2010-11 season 3-21, 0-14 Conference, 5th East)
The Panthers are on a 53 game conference losing streak. Since the league went to the 2 division format in 2006-2007, their league record is 3-74. A shame too because recently built Lansing Center is a quality facility. Undersized forward Nate Burstein is the top returnee with guard Eddie Freier.
Providence Academy Lions (2010-11 season 11-13, 2-7 MCAA Conference, 9th)
The Lions move into the league from the MCAA and while its means some great girls games vs DeLaSalle. The boys program isn't at that level yet. 5 of the 7 members of the rotation are back and only 1 of them is a senior. Junior Jackson Canfield averaged over 17 a night last year. Joe Heck put up 14 a night.
St. Agnes Aggies (2010-11 season 13-16, 5-9 Conference, 4th East)
Now for the all saints portion of the preview. The Aggies lose wing Mario Franco and his 9.9 a night to Woodbury. The top 2 scorers Dakari Davison (15 PPG) and Antonio Hartfeld-McGhee (11 PPG) return. McGhee is an athletic power wing who can be a handful to defend and is willing to take over a game. Guards Nick Bennett, Charlie Turch and Jordan Delaney also return to the rotation.
St. Anthony Huskies (2010-11 season 18-9, 11-3 Conference, Tied 1st East)
Forward Anthony Brama was a major revelation last year averaging 21 a night. He's unorthodox but very effective. 3rd leading scorer Dustin Iannazzo also returns. Junior Nick Kampa will run the point after seeing big minutes last season. Jordan Wiggins and forward Mike Studer will see more minutes as well.
St. Croix Lutheran Crusaders (2010-11 season 16-12, 8-6 Conference, 3rd East)
Top scorer and interior player Kyle Prelgo is gone from his forward spot. The guard trio of power guard Wesley Tucker, point guard Cameron Cummings and lefty shooter Mark Lawrence all return after each averaged close to double figures. Guard Dominic Cambrice also saw significant time last season and returns. Size will be a major question mark.
St. Paul Academy Spartans (2010-11 season 7-21, 3-12 Conference, 5th West)
Leading scorer and post Sam Dicke departs but the next 4 scorers return. That includes the guard duo of point guard Spencer Egly and athletic wing Josh Gray. Post Andrew Bullard is also gone so the Spartans will have to find some size. Expect junior Steve Olson to fill that role. Story to follow is where 8th grade guard Dalante Payton fits in. He played with the freshmen last year and the Spartans are very high on him.
Predicted Order of Finish
West
Underclassmen to watch:
Roger Moore Jr - Concordia
John Veil, JR Bascom - Blake
Dalante Payton - St. Paul Academy
Will Culliton, Mo Lawal - Breck
Jarvis Johnson, Sacar Anim, Reid Travis, James Lawson, Drayton Carlburg, Wheeler Baker - DeLaSalle
Games that will determine the conference title
The league welcomes Providence Academy and can go back to the full divisional schedule. DeLaSalle has the talent but not the experience. Concordia is the favorite on the other side. Blake, Minnehaha, St. Agnes, St. Anthony, St. Croix Lutheran all have enough returning to beat most anybody in the league on any night.
Blake Bears (2010-11 season 19-9, 10-5 Conference, 2nd West)
Forward Tim Zellmer is the biggest loss but he sat out big minutes last year anyway due to injury. Junior forward Kebu Johnson returns for his 4th season on varsity (seems like 500). He led the team at 11.9 PPG last season. Soph point guard John Veil was the 2nd leading scorer. Paul Blake and Conner Kline return inside. Soph JR Bascom also saw major minutes last season.
Breck Mustangs (2010-11 season 11-16, 6-9 Conference, 4th West)
The Mustangs lose 4 of their top 5 scorers including 17+ a night from Jeff Lurie. But lots of youth saw big minutes last season. Junior point guard Tilyn Hollis, frosh forward Will Culliton and forward Michael Marzec all return after seeing big minutes last year. Keep an eye on the Mustangs freshman class as they have a group of 4 quality kids there to build around.
Brooklyn Center Centaurs (2010-11 season 3-24, 2-13 Conference, 6th West)
How long a year was it for the Centaurs? They gave up a 46-0 run to Tartan over the holidays. Expect another long season. Sophs Deandre Bell and DeAndre Shipp are 2 of the notable returnees.
Concordia Academy Beacons (2010-11 season 20-9, 11-3 Conference, Tied 1st East)
The Beacons lose scorers 2-5 but don't sleep on them. Sioux Falls commit Cutler Finneman returns to man the front line. He was the team scoring leader at 17 a night last year. 4 other players from the rotation including guard Christian Koehn return for a squad that has 9 seniors. 6'6' Junior forward Jared Schneidermann gives them another lanky athlete on the front line. Junior Charlie Kennelly should also see minutes.
DeLaSalle Islanders (2010-11 season 25-4, 15-0 Conference, 1st West)
The Islanders enter the season on a 27 game conference winning streak. With 6 seniors gone including beast Jonah Travis (Harvard) and the transfer of Riley Dearring to Minnetonka, this roster has very little varsity experience but is very talented. The point guard position will be shared between senior Tyler Moore (the 1 experienced returnee) and talented frosh Jarvis Johnson (one of the top 2015 kids in MN). Shooter Luke Scott and Shawn Fitzgibbons will see wing minutes. Soph Reid Travis will see inside and out minutes. Except for Moore this group will see a couple of years together so expect a huge year next year. As is usual at D, the freshman class is absolutely loaded with talent.
Minnehaha Academy Redhawks (2010-11 season 17-14, 9-6 Conference, 3rd West)
One of disappointments of last year was not getting to one of my favorite buildings to see the Redhawks. They got hot late and won 8 out 9 to make a run through weak section 4AA before losing to Redwood Valley in the state quarters (big game from Mankato commit Mike Busack was the difference). They lose 1 of their 2 weapons Matt Prior (18 a night) but 19 a night from power guard Gerald McCarver returns. Junior guard John Prior figures to jump into double figures this season after just missing out last season. Junior Marcellous Hazzard also saw major minutes last season.
Mounds Park Academy Panthers (2010-11 season 3-21, 0-14 Conference, 5th East)
The Panthers are on a 53 game conference losing streak. Since the league went to the 2 division format in 2006-2007, their league record is 3-74. A shame too because recently built Lansing Center is a quality facility. Undersized forward Nate Burstein is the top returnee with guard Eddie Freier.
Providence Academy Lions (2010-11 season 11-13, 2-7 MCAA Conference, 9th)
The Lions move into the league from the MCAA and while its means some great girls games vs DeLaSalle. The boys program isn't at that level yet. 5 of the 7 members of the rotation are back and only 1 of them is a senior. Junior Jackson Canfield averaged over 17 a night last year. Joe Heck put up 14 a night.
St. Agnes Aggies (2010-11 season 13-16, 5-9 Conference, 4th East)
Now for the all saints portion of the preview. The Aggies lose wing Mario Franco and his 9.9 a night to Woodbury. The top 2 scorers Dakari Davison (15 PPG) and Antonio Hartfeld-McGhee (11 PPG) return. McGhee is an athletic power wing who can be a handful to defend and is willing to take over a game. Guards Nick Bennett, Charlie Turch and Jordan Delaney also return to the rotation.
St. Anthony Huskies (2010-11 season 18-9, 11-3 Conference, Tied 1st East)
Forward Anthony Brama was a major revelation last year averaging 21 a night. He's unorthodox but very effective. 3rd leading scorer Dustin Iannazzo also returns. Junior Nick Kampa will run the point after seeing big minutes last season. Jordan Wiggins and forward Mike Studer will see more minutes as well.
St. Croix Lutheran Crusaders (2010-11 season 16-12, 8-6 Conference, 3rd East)
Top scorer and interior player Kyle Prelgo is gone from his forward spot. The guard trio of power guard Wesley Tucker, point guard Cameron Cummings and lefty shooter Mark Lawrence all return after each averaged close to double figures. Guard Dominic Cambrice also saw significant time last season and returns. Size will be a major question mark.
St. Paul Academy Spartans (2010-11 season 7-21, 3-12 Conference, 5th West)
Leading scorer and post Sam Dicke departs but the next 4 scorers return. That includes the guard duo of point guard Spencer Egly and athletic wing Josh Gray. Post Andrew Bullard is also gone so the Spartans will have to find some size. Expect junior Steve Olson to fill that role. Story to follow is where 8th grade guard Dalante Payton fits in. He played with the freshmen last year and the Spartans are very high on him.
Predicted Order of Finish
West
- DeLaSalle
- Blake
- Minnehaha
- Breck
- Providence Academy
- Brooklyn Center
- Concordia Academy
- St. Anthony
- St. Croix Lutheran
- St. Agnes
- St. Paul Academy
- Mounds Park Academy
Underclassmen to watch:
Roger Moore Jr - Concordia
John Veil, JR Bascom - Blake
Dalante Payton - St. Paul Academy
Will Culliton, Mo Lawal - Breck
Jarvis Johnson, Sacar Anim, Reid Travis, James Lawson, Drayton Carlburg, Wheeler Baker - DeLaSalle
Games that will determine the conference title
- DeLaSalle at Blake - Dec 6th
- Concordia at St. Anthony - Dec 9th
- St. Anthony at Blake - Jan 19th
- DeLaSalle at Concordia - Jan 24th
- Blake at DeLaSalle - Feb 2nd
- St. Anthony at Concordia - Feb 17th
- Trinity at Concordia - Dec 2nd
- DeLaSalle vs Robbinsdale Cooper - Dec 10th (Breakdown Tipoff Classic at Minnetonka)
- Concordia at St. Cloud Cathedral tournament - Dec 28-30
- DeLaSalle at Mike Miller Classic - Dec 29-30 (Mitchell, SD)
- DeLaSalle at Eden Prairie - Jan 17th
- DeLaSalle vs Waunakee, WI - Feb 4th (Border Battle at Sun Prairie, WI)
- Benilde-St. Margaret's at DeLaSalle - Feb 7th
- Blake at Holy Family - Feb 8th
- DeLaSalle at Cretin-Derham Hall - Feb 18th
- Blake at Maranatha - Feb 21st
- Blake at Richfield - Feb 25th
- Moorhead at DeLaSalle - Mar 3rd
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