Its the 4th annual Southside Showcase. Burnsville was this year's host to many south Minneapolis teams in the event. 7 games on the schedule with the younger levels playing across the hall in the new activity setup. Here are some sights and sounds from the day.
Game 1: Cristo Rey 65 Minneapolis Edison 56
Tenzing Chime with 4 early 3s to help Edison jump out to a 24-8 lead midway thru the first half. Cristo Rey would close that lead to 10 at half thanks to a couple Franklin Doyle 3s. That continues in the 2nd half as the Pumas dominate. Cristo Rey starts the 2nd half on a 11-0 run to take the lead. The young backcourt duo of James Sommer and Erick Burgess leading the way for Cristo Rey. Sommer with 17, Burgess with 15 for Cristo Rey. Chime with 14 for Edison but all in the 1st half.
Game 2: St. Paul Central 69 Minneapolis Roosevelt 68
This one was a back and forth affair. Central would take a 1st half lead but would be hampered by foul trouble. That would allow Roosevelt to gain a 4 point half time lead. Deszi Sims leading a 11-2 Roosevelt run with 2 free throws, 2 buckets on turnovers and an assist on a triple. 54-46 Roosevelt with 12:30 left. But Central would counter with a 13-2 run of their own. Dion Ford 2 buckets and 3 from Ronelle Porter for a 59-56 Minutemen lead with 7:21 left. Then a Central Mokiller timeout and Roosevelt scores the next 6 to reclaim the lead. Porter scores on 2 turnovers and Central goes up 3 with 2:40 left. Roosevelt with 2 Leo Buchwald hoops to pull within 1. Central misses 2 front ends and its Sims with the drive and scores with 6.3 left for the lead. He misses the free throw. Ball ends up in the front court for a Central timeout with 1.3 left. Dion Ford screens and comes back to the post for the catch and immediate finish at the horn for the Central win. Leo Buchwald with at least 25 and Deszi Sims with at least 21 for Roosevelt. Ronelle Porter 19, Luke McElroy 17 with 15 3s to lead Central. 4 starters in double figures for Central. Central with only 1 senior on the roster, its loaded with juniors.
Game 3: #6AA Brooklyn Center 78 Benilde-St. Margaret's 76
Another tight game throughout here. 7-0 Brooklyn Center run for an early 13-6 lead. 8-2 BSM run late in the 1st half. The lead hovers in the 5-8 range as BSM just can't get over the hump. Soph Walker Johnson off the bench with a pair of 3s and BSM is within 2 with 6:40 left. But the Red Knights would not score a FG for the next 4 minutes and the lead is back to 8. BSM would make 1 last push thanks to a couple of late Brooklyn Center turnovers. But the Centaurs close it out with 5 of 6 at the charity stripe late. Brooklyn Center's defense once again struggling, particularly on the interior where they don't have a presence. Adreone Sprinkles with 3 bombs and 24 points to lead all scorers for Brooklyn Center.Lu'Cye Patterson with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the Centaurs. Joe Dunn leads the Red Knights with 20 points. Riley Miller adds 17.
Game 4: Elk River 95 Minneapolis South 72
This one got out of hand early. Jack Burger having his way inside. The game gets out of hand quickly for a 45-27 Elk River halftime lead. It balloons to 27 before South's soph guard Curtis Jones goes on a run of his own. That gets the lead down to 15 and we'll see the starters for Elk River again. But the outcome is never in doubt. Burger ends up with 27 points, Devon Robers 16 for the Elks. Curtis Jones hits 5 3s and goes for at least 25 in the 2nd half alone. But he didn't have much help on the offensive end.
Game 5: Minneapolis Washburn 80 Rosemount 58
Very little to say about nothing blow out. Washburn with great 1st half balance on their way to a 26 point halftime lead. Gavin Yares solid inside. Isaac Lotz with 3 triples off the bench. Add in interchangable parts like Charles Cook-Gordon. Terrell Adams and Crisean Cole on the wing for more options. Rosemount got the expected offense out of Luke Siwek. Also as expected, the question of who else can help the offense showed.
Game 6: #1AAAA Edina 88 #5AAA Delano 58
This was the showcase game of the day and it was the biggest surprise of the day. Delano's Keegan O'Neill with a hoop on a turnover and a triple. Delano down 11-9 at 11:03. Then a 10-0 Edina run with an Anders Nelson jumper and triple. That forces the 2nd Delano timeout of the half. O'Neill breaks the run with 2 free throws before 2 more Nelson buckets. Charlie Fischer 2 bombs and Delano takes their 4th timeout of the half as the margin gets to 17. 43-27 Edina at the break.
Calvin Wishart tries to bring Delano back. He tips in his own miss and buries a triple. Tigers within 51-40 with 12:20 left. Then Edina pours it on in a big way. Fischer another bomb along with a Dominick Ingram bomb. Derek Techam scores for Delano and its within shouting distance at 59-44. Zach Kloos for 3, Nelson with another hoop, Luke Glenna from deep plus a layup from Nelson. Nelson to Kloos for 3 plus his own triple. A block leads to an Ingram bucket and Kloos adds 2 hoops. 29-4 Hornets run turns this into a 40 point game when the benches empty with 3 minutes left. Delano gets the last 10. Anders Nelson outstanding with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists on my sheet for Edina. Luke Glenna 11 and he hounded Calvin Wishart all night. Charlie Fischer 4 triples for 12. Zach Kloos 14 points off the bench. Calvin Wishart with 18 points and 9 rebounds on my sheet but Glenna's hounding limited him to 5-16 shooting. Derek Techam 14 points. Keegan O'Neill 10 of his 11 in the 1st half. He caused foul trouble on all of Edina's bigs in the 1st half but Delano got so far behind they were never able to pound the ball into him where he had an advantage. Edina's offense very fun to watch and a bear to defend with their player and ball movement and shooting. Contrast that with the dribble oriented Delano offense that was very stagnant in this one.
Game 7: Robbinsdale Cooper 72 Burnsville 62
Very ugly game here but gotta love the small Burnsville band. Cooper's pressure turned this into a scrambling messy affair which is exactly what they want. Burnsville didn't handle it well at all. Burnsville would hang around thanks to a 2-3 zone in the 1st half that helped hold Cooper without a field goal for almost 8 minutes. But quick 3s from Jalen Miller and Jalen Justice would open the lead to 13 at half. Trokon Massey with a layup, a putback and a pair of dunks as Cooper extends the lead to 49-30 despite a T on coach Bo Powell. The bench is in and Burnsville rallies with a 13-0 run. Lead is down to 6 with 8:25 left. Onte Burns stops the bleeding with a 3 point play and 2 more Massey hoops push the lead back to double digits. Marcus Shepley's 3 and Ty Miklowski's hoop with 1:29 left cut it to 4. Jalen Miller seals it with 4 free throws and a layup. Miller ends up with 25 to lead all scorers. Trokon Massey with 16. Marcus Shepley with 19 to lead Burnsville.
Raiders pack the first punch
Prologue
Back to St. Paul for a Suburban East showdown between #8AAAA East Ridge and #3AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall. This is the first of at least 2 meetings with a possible third meeting during section 4AAAA play. Northeastern, Central Florida (former Gopher Asst Vince Taylor) and Wisconsin (asst Joe Krabbenhoft) along with St. Cloud State and Augustana in the house for this one. Not Joe Janquart on the whistle and Saul on the microphone. Which means this tune is a natural.
Song of the Day: Smells like Nirvana - Weird Al
Number of Teams I've Seen: 61 (37 games, 16 days, 13 buildings, 10 online)
Beverage Ticker: 236.9 ounces (2510 Calories)
Strong start for Daniel Oturu. He scores the 1st 7 CDH points plus a nice block of Ben Carlson at the 3 point line. That counters a pair of 3s and dunk by Courtney Brown. Jaeden King with a pair of hoops in a mini 6-0 run to put CDH up 15-10 at the 9:29 mark. Kendall Brown to the rim and a nice backcut from Zach Zebrowski keeps East Ridge within 2, 18-16 at 5:50. Oturu with another bucket inside and King with a triple in a 7-0 run to push the lead to 9. Oturu adds the last 5 of the half for CDH. 31-23 Raiders at the break.
East Ridge immediately rallies with Kendall Brown for, Carlson converting a turnover, Courtney Brown coast to coast and a Zebrowski 3. 10-2 Raptors run in the 1st 2 minutes and we're tied at 33. CDH replies with a 17-2 run of their own to put the game out of reach. Oturu runs out and dunks a lob. Jacob Prince takes a steal for 2. Ryan Larson 2 layups. Sy Chatman 3 point play and a big block for a Caleb Davis hoop. Smothering Cretin-Derham Hall defense. 50-35 Raiders with 9:28 left. Courtney Brown tries to bring the Raptors back but Oturu adds a couple of dunks and a couple more buckets to keep the game at double figures. Cretin-Derham Hall wins 71-57.
Post Game
Courtney Brown leads East Ridge with 20 points. His 10 in the 1st half kept the game close before CDH pulled out to a lead. Most of his 2nd half offense after the game was basically over. Ben Carlson adds 11. Only 2 points from the bench and not a good night for the Raptors guards. East Ridge falls to 2-2 overall, 0-1 in the Suburban East. They have coach Tesdahl's old squad New Prague at home, then a trip to Lakeville South to end the week. Then they are in the top bracket of the Rochester Rotary Holiday Classic.
Daniel Oturu dominant for Cretin-Derham Hall with 29 points and a bunch of blocks plus the usual rebounds. He set the tone early with a couple of blocks on Carlson. Plus he bullied the young sophomore on the glass inside. Sy Chatman adds 12 points. The Raiders too strong inside with no good matchup for Oturu. He was too strong for Carlson and too big for Courtney Brown to handle. Plus his shot blocking kept anything out of the paint. Add that to defensive pressure from the more athletic CDH guards and they took East Ridge out of almost any offensive stuff they wanted to do. Cretin-Derham Hall now 4-1 overall, 1-0 in the Suburban East. They continue Suburban East play at White Bear Lake on Tuesday then a rivalry trip to #3AAA St. Thomas Academy next Saturday night.
Back to St. Paul for a Suburban East showdown between #8AAAA East Ridge and #3AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall. This is the first of at least 2 meetings with a possible third meeting during section 4AAAA play. Northeastern, Central Florida (former Gopher Asst Vince Taylor) and Wisconsin (asst Joe Krabbenhoft) along with St. Cloud State and Augustana in the house for this one. Not Joe Janquart on the whistle and Saul on the microphone. Which means this tune is a natural.
Song of the Day: Smells like Nirvana - Weird Al
Number of Teams I've Seen: 61 (37 games, 16 days, 13 buildings, 10 online)
Beverage Ticker: 236.9 ounces (2510 Calories)
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
- Coke: 52 ounces (620 calories)
- Pepsi: 48 ounces (600 calories)
- Sprite Zero: 20 ounces (0 calories)
- Sprite: 60.9 ounces (720 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
- Hot Dogs: 7
- Walking Tacos:2
- Pizza: 4
Strong start for Daniel Oturu. He scores the 1st 7 CDH points plus a nice block of Ben Carlson at the 3 point line. That counters a pair of 3s and dunk by Courtney Brown. Jaeden King with a pair of hoops in a mini 6-0 run to put CDH up 15-10 at the 9:29 mark. Kendall Brown to the rim and a nice backcut from Zach Zebrowski keeps East Ridge within 2, 18-16 at 5:50. Oturu with another bucket inside and King with a triple in a 7-0 run to push the lead to 9. Oturu adds the last 5 of the half for CDH. 31-23 Raiders at the break.
East Ridge immediately rallies with Kendall Brown for, Carlson converting a turnover, Courtney Brown coast to coast and a Zebrowski 3. 10-2 Raptors run in the 1st 2 minutes and we're tied at 33. CDH replies with a 17-2 run of their own to put the game out of reach. Oturu runs out and dunks a lob. Jacob Prince takes a steal for 2. Ryan Larson 2 layups. Sy Chatman 3 point play and a big block for a Caleb Davis hoop. Smothering Cretin-Derham Hall defense. 50-35 Raiders with 9:28 left. Courtney Brown tries to bring the Raptors back but Oturu adds a couple of dunks and a couple more buckets to keep the game at double figures. Cretin-Derham Hall wins 71-57.
Post Game
Courtney Brown leads East Ridge with 20 points. His 10 in the 1st half kept the game close before CDH pulled out to a lead. Most of his 2nd half offense after the game was basically over. Ben Carlson adds 11. Only 2 points from the bench and not a good night for the Raptors guards. East Ridge falls to 2-2 overall, 0-1 in the Suburban East. They have coach Tesdahl's old squad New Prague at home, then a trip to Lakeville South to end the week. Then they are in the top bracket of the Rochester Rotary Holiday Classic.
Daniel Oturu dominant for Cretin-Derham Hall with 29 points and a bunch of blocks plus the usual rebounds. He set the tone early with a couple of blocks on Carlson. Plus he bullied the young sophomore on the glass inside. Sy Chatman adds 12 points. The Raiders too strong inside with no good matchup for Oturu. He was too strong for Carlson and too big for Courtney Brown to handle. Plus his shot blocking kept anything out of the paint. Add that to defensive pressure from the more athletic CDH guards and they took East Ridge out of almost any offensive stuff they wanted to do. Cretin-Derham Hall now 4-1 overall, 1-0 in the Suburban East. They continue Suburban East play at White Bear Lake on Tuesday then a rivalry trip to #3AAA St. Thomas Academy next Saturday night.
Lions Roar Back
Prologue
To the Salvation Army in St. Paul for some small school action. Its Maranatha visiting CHOF. The usual lack of concessions means I'll make a Chipotle stop before hand. Vocal participation on both sides. Maranatha bench digging out chants that you usually only hear at a girls game. Maranatha coming in with 2 straight wins including a high quality section win vs Holy Family. CHOF with 4 double-digit losses. Great music all night from the 80s. Eye of the Tiger and Jump just a couple of those plus the obvious Jump Around for the jump ball. But tonight's tune is an instrumental movie theme from the 80s.
Song of the Day: Axel F - Harold Faltermeyer (Beverly Hills Cop theme)
Number of Teams I've Seen: 61 (36 games, 15 days, 12 buildings, 10 online)
Beverage Ticker: 216.9 ounces (2270 Calories)
Tight game early on. McCaleb Alleman with an inbounds layup and a 3 point play for CHOF. 11-8 CHOF at the 12:27 mark. Beijan Newbern converts a turnover into a 3 point play before 2 Alleman free throws. Maranatha's pressure starts to take effect. Clarence Daniels scores a turnover, Beijan Newbern dunks a lob on another and turns a 3rd into a 3 point play. 19-15 MCA at the 8:05 mark. Newbern 2 more hoops before another Alleman BLOB score. 27-21 MCA inside the 5 minute mark. Alleman adds a putback and triple sandwiched by 3 Travaris Ricks-Wesseh hoops inside. Newbern converts yet another turnover and the MCA lead is 9 with 2:30 left in the half Fouls a huge factor but no matter for MCA as their 10th and 11th guys to play each bury triples. Newbern adds 2 more hoops. 47-35 Maranatha at the break.
Newbern puts back his own miss and Daniels puts back a miss. That bookends a 10-2 Mustangs run to start the 2nd half. 57-37 Maranatha in cruise control as the starters get a break. CHOF didn't get the message. Alleman with a 3 point play and Jackson Rohlf off the CHOF bench with 3 straight triples. That cuts the lead to 10 with 12 minutes left and all 5 starters head back to the scorers table. Alleman adds another 3 point play, hoop and 2 free throws. 61-56 MCA with 10 minutes left. Alleman carrying the CHOF offense but Daniels has all the answers. 69-60 MCA with 5:25 left. Alleman drives for 2 free throws, makes a pair of bonus freebies and goes backdoor for 2. 69-66 MCA with 4 minutes left. Newbern will hold hit for a minute before he drives and makes 1 free throw. Its Erik Strandlund with a layup and Alleman with more bonus freebies. 70 all with 2:16 left. Newbern with a clutch 3 point play with 1:54, CHOF scores and MCA will hold. Before CHOF can get into their trap, a great pass finds Newbern underneath for a layup. CHOF takes their last timeout with 35.9 left down 3. It turns into a scramble and its Rohlf once again from deep to tie it. MCA turns it over but Alleman can't get a handle on it. We'll play overtime.
CHOF makes the 1st 2 free throws of overtime for their 1st lead in forever. Then its Rohlf with a jumper and a Newbern travel. Rohlf converts that as Alleman kicks to him for a knockdown 3 with 1:20 left to put CHOF up 5. Newbern with 2 hoops but CHOF gets a layup and makes all 4 free throws. CHOF comes from 20 down in the 2nd half to win 88-83 in overtime.
Post Game
Beijan Newbern leads Maranatha with 32 points, all inside attacking. He had NDSCS looking on tonight. Hakim Daniels with 12 points. Clarence Daniels with 14 off the Mustangs bench. Both of them very active on the offensive glass. Defensively they gave up 26 fouls leading to 37 free throws. After a great win over Holy Family, this qualifies as a bad loss. Maranatha falls to 2-3 overall. They host Nova Classical and St. Agnes next week.
CHOF gets their 1st win of the year to improve to 1-4. They play at St. Agnes and Minneapolis Edison next week. McCaleb Alleman goes for 40 points on my sheet. That was with only 1 3 pointer but 15-15 at the charity stripe. CHOF 32-37 as a team at the line compared to 9-18 for MCA. Jackson Rohlf with 17 points and 5 3s. All of those after halftime. His 3 straight triples in the 2nd half completely changed the momentum. Erik Strandlund adds 13.
To the Salvation Army in St. Paul for some small school action. Its Maranatha visiting CHOF. The usual lack of concessions means I'll make a Chipotle stop before hand. Vocal participation on both sides. Maranatha bench digging out chants that you usually only hear at a girls game. Maranatha coming in with 2 straight wins including a high quality section win vs Holy Family. CHOF with 4 double-digit losses. Great music all night from the 80s. Eye of the Tiger and Jump just a couple of those plus the obvious Jump Around for the jump ball. But tonight's tune is an instrumental movie theme from the 80s.
Song of the Day: Axel F - Harold Faltermeyer (Beverly Hills Cop theme)
Number of Teams I've Seen: 61 (36 games, 15 days, 12 buildings, 10 online)
Beverage Ticker: 216.9 ounces (2270 Calories)
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
- Coke: 32 ounces (380 calories)
- Pepsi: 48 ounces (600 calories)
- Sprite Zero: 20 ounces (0 calories)
- Sprite: 60.9 ounces (720 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
- Hot Dogs: 6
- Walking Tacos:2
- Pizza: 4
Tight game early on. McCaleb Alleman with an inbounds layup and a 3 point play for CHOF. 11-8 CHOF at the 12:27 mark. Beijan Newbern converts a turnover into a 3 point play before 2 Alleman free throws. Maranatha's pressure starts to take effect. Clarence Daniels scores a turnover, Beijan Newbern dunks a lob on another and turns a 3rd into a 3 point play. 19-15 MCA at the 8:05 mark. Newbern 2 more hoops before another Alleman BLOB score. 27-21 MCA inside the 5 minute mark. Alleman adds a putback and triple sandwiched by 3 Travaris Ricks-Wesseh hoops inside. Newbern converts yet another turnover and the MCA lead is 9 with 2:30 left in the half Fouls a huge factor but no matter for MCA as their 10th and 11th guys to play each bury triples. Newbern adds 2 more hoops. 47-35 Maranatha at the break.
Newbern puts back his own miss and Daniels puts back a miss. That bookends a 10-2 Mustangs run to start the 2nd half. 57-37 Maranatha in cruise control as the starters get a break. CHOF didn't get the message. Alleman with a 3 point play and Jackson Rohlf off the CHOF bench with 3 straight triples. That cuts the lead to 10 with 12 minutes left and all 5 starters head back to the scorers table. Alleman adds another 3 point play, hoop and 2 free throws. 61-56 MCA with 10 minutes left. Alleman carrying the CHOF offense but Daniels has all the answers. 69-60 MCA with 5:25 left. Alleman drives for 2 free throws, makes a pair of bonus freebies and goes backdoor for 2. 69-66 MCA with 4 minutes left. Newbern will hold hit for a minute before he drives and makes 1 free throw. Its Erik Strandlund with a layup and Alleman with more bonus freebies. 70 all with 2:16 left. Newbern with a clutch 3 point play with 1:54, CHOF scores and MCA will hold. Before CHOF can get into their trap, a great pass finds Newbern underneath for a layup. CHOF takes their last timeout with 35.9 left down 3. It turns into a scramble and its Rohlf once again from deep to tie it. MCA turns it over but Alleman can't get a handle on it. We'll play overtime.
CHOF makes the 1st 2 free throws of overtime for their 1st lead in forever. Then its Rohlf with a jumper and a Newbern travel. Rohlf converts that as Alleman kicks to him for a knockdown 3 with 1:20 left to put CHOF up 5. Newbern with 2 hoops but CHOF gets a layup and makes all 4 free throws. CHOF comes from 20 down in the 2nd half to win 88-83 in overtime.
Post Game
Beijan Newbern leads Maranatha with 32 points, all inside attacking. He had NDSCS looking on tonight. Hakim Daniels with 12 points. Clarence Daniels with 14 off the Mustangs bench. Both of them very active on the offensive glass. Defensively they gave up 26 fouls leading to 37 free throws. After a great win over Holy Family, this qualifies as a bad loss. Maranatha falls to 2-3 overall. They host Nova Classical and St. Agnes next week.
CHOF gets their 1st win of the year to improve to 1-4. They play at St. Agnes and Minneapolis Edison next week. McCaleb Alleman goes for 40 points on my sheet. That was with only 1 3 pointer but 15-15 at the charity stripe. CHOF 32-37 as a team at the line compared to 9-18 for MCA. Jackson Rohlf with 17 points and 5 3s. All of those after halftime. His 3 straight triples in the 2nd half completely changed the momentum. Erik Strandlund adds 13.
Another Crimson nailbiter
Prologue
To Robbinsdale Cooper for another non-conference game that features an NW Suburban team. This time is a road non-con game with Maple Grove making the short trip. Maple Grove coming off a 57-50 overtime win over Rogers last Friday. No back to back Jet's pizza as I settle for a hot dog and more Sprite. Its a surprise how loud the building at Cooper is, especially when the students get into the end of a tight JV game. Today's tune is another dance step tune.
Song of the Day: Cupid - Cupid Shuffle
Number of Teams I've Seen: 56 (33 games, 14 days)
Beverage Ticker: 192.9 ounces (1970 Calories)
Jalen Miller with 2 early 3s for Cooper and we're tied at 10. Cooper adds a FT to go up 11-10 at the 7:51 mark. Then a quick 10-0 Crimson run with Jared Rainey scoring 5 of those. 20-11 Maple Grove at the 6:30 mark. The run breaks when Maple Grove tips a rebound in their own basket. Rainey adds more bonus free throws before Cooper breaks a 5 minute drought of their own field goals. Maple Grove with the last 7 of the half thanks to a couple Alex Battist hoops. 33-20 Maple Grove at the half.
Cooper increases their pressure and cuts into the lead. Nate Hill 2 on a turnover and a Trokon Massey dunk to cut the margin to 7. Then Jalen Justice heats up for the Hawks. His layup and triple cut the margin to 5 before a big inbound dunk from Battist. Hill 3 of 4 free throws. Justice with a pair of triples to counter a pair of Jordan Stensland hoops. He is then fouled and has to leave for 10 seconds of game time. The free throw he doesn't take ties the game at 50 with 6:26 left. Massey with a putback and then 4 straight Maple Grove turnovers. But Cooper sloppy in the stretch as well. Hill converts one of those turnovers into points. Then another Massey dunk with 2:12 left and Cooper is up 56-52. Hill with clutch bonus free throws to keep the lead at 3 before a nice cut from Rainey for a 3 point play. That ties it at 58 with 47.7 left. Cooper holds for 1 shot and draws a play up out of a time out. That results in nothing and we'll play OT.
Almost all free throws in the extra session. Hill with 2 more freebies to put Cooper up 63-59 with 1:32 left. Battist makes 1 of 2 free throws and the Crimson get the miss which Battist turns into a bucket. Hill makes 1 of 2 and its still a Cooper 2 point lead with 43.7 left. Then the critical sequence. Maple Grove draws up a backdoor set and turns it over. Cooper in their haste turns it over and then commits an intentional foul with 27.6 left. Stensland makes the 2 free throws to tie it and the Crimson keep possession. After an offensive rebound and Crimson timeout, Rainey gets fouled way out top with 3 seconds left. He makes the 2nd of 2 and Cooper's halfcourt heave is no good at the buzzer. Maple Grove wins again in overtime 65-64
Post Game
Jalen Justice leads the Hawks with 21 points and 5 3s. 16 of those points and 4 of those 3s in the 2nd half when he was hot. Nate Hill chips in with 16 points making 5 of his last 5 free throws after starting 2-6. Cooper falls to 0-2 with the loss. The 2 home losses are by a combined 4 points. Back to back trips to Prairie Seeds Academy and Burnsville end the week for the Hawks. They are then off until the Rochester holiday tournament.
Maple Grove is 2-0 with both wins in overtime. Forward Alex Battist scores 21 points. PG Jared Rainey adds 17. He had 13 in the 1st half then the last field goal of regulation to tie it and the final free throw to win it. Jordan Stensland scores 11. Maple Grove continues a 3 game road trip on Friday at St. Michael-Albertville. Then a tough NW Suburban matchup at Park Center on Tuesday.
Strategy Session
We've talked offense in the previous strategy sessions. Now let's talk some defense. Tonight's game was a great contrast of man to man styles of defense. Maple Grove staying in gaps and not trying to apply much pressure. Robbinsdale Cooper on the other hand using their athletes to extend their man defense. They were out in passing lanes and picking up full court. Plus they threw in some run and jump traps. Both styles not only making sense for their talent but also for the opponent. Cooper trying to use their athletic advantage to turn Maple Grove over and get to the rim. Maple Grove trying to keep a quicker Cooper roster out of the lane while forcing them to hit outside shots. It shows there's no 1 way to do things.
To Robbinsdale Cooper for another non-conference game that features an NW Suburban team. This time is a road non-con game with Maple Grove making the short trip. Maple Grove coming off a 57-50 overtime win over Rogers last Friday. No back to back Jet's pizza as I settle for a hot dog and more Sprite. Its a surprise how loud the building at Cooper is, especially when the students get into the end of a tight JV game. Today's tune is another dance step tune.
Song of the Day: Cupid - Cupid Shuffle
Number of Teams I've Seen: 56 (33 games, 14 days)
Beverage Ticker: 192.9 ounces (1970 Calories)
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
- Coke: 32 ounces (380 calories)
- Pepsi: 48 ounces (600 calories)
- Sprite Zero: 20 ounces (0 calories)
- Sprite: 60.9 ounces (720 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
- Hot Dogs: 6
- Walking Tacos:2
- Pizza: 4
Jalen Miller with 2 early 3s for Cooper and we're tied at 10. Cooper adds a FT to go up 11-10 at the 7:51 mark. Then a quick 10-0 Crimson run with Jared Rainey scoring 5 of those. 20-11 Maple Grove at the 6:30 mark. The run breaks when Maple Grove tips a rebound in their own basket. Rainey adds more bonus free throws before Cooper breaks a 5 minute drought of their own field goals. Maple Grove with the last 7 of the half thanks to a couple Alex Battist hoops. 33-20 Maple Grove at the half.
Cooper increases their pressure and cuts into the lead. Nate Hill 2 on a turnover and a Trokon Massey dunk to cut the margin to 7. Then Jalen Justice heats up for the Hawks. His layup and triple cut the margin to 5 before a big inbound dunk from Battist. Hill 3 of 4 free throws. Justice with a pair of triples to counter a pair of Jordan Stensland hoops. He is then fouled and has to leave for 10 seconds of game time. The free throw he doesn't take ties the game at 50 with 6:26 left. Massey with a putback and then 4 straight Maple Grove turnovers. But Cooper sloppy in the stretch as well. Hill converts one of those turnovers into points. Then another Massey dunk with 2:12 left and Cooper is up 56-52. Hill with clutch bonus free throws to keep the lead at 3 before a nice cut from Rainey for a 3 point play. That ties it at 58 with 47.7 left. Cooper holds for 1 shot and draws a play up out of a time out. That results in nothing and we'll play OT.
Almost all free throws in the extra session. Hill with 2 more freebies to put Cooper up 63-59 with 1:32 left. Battist makes 1 of 2 free throws and the Crimson get the miss which Battist turns into a bucket. Hill makes 1 of 2 and its still a Cooper 2 point lead with 43.7 left. Then the critical sequence. Maple Grove draws up a backdoor set and turns it over. Cooper in their haste turns it over and then commits an intentional foul with 27.6 left. Stensland makes the 2 free throws to tie it and the Crimson keep possession. After an offensive rebound and Crimson timeout, Rainey gets fouled way out top with 3 seconds left. He makes the 2nd of 2 and Cooper's halfcourt heave is no good at the buzzer. Maple Grove wins again in overtime 65-64
Post Game
Jalen Justice leads the Hawks with 21 points and 5 3s. 16 of those points and 4 of those 3s in the 2nd half when he was hot. Nate Hill chips in with 16 points making 5 of his last 5 free throws after starting 2-6. Cooper falls to 0-2 with the loss. The 2 home losses are by a combined 4 points. Back to back trips to Prairie Seeds Academy and Burnsville end the week for the Hawks. They are then off until the Rochester holiday tournament.
Maple Grove is 2-0 with both wins in overtime. Forward Alex Battist scores 21 points. PG Jared Rainey adds 17. He had 13 in the 1st half then the last field goal of regulation to tie it and the final free throw to win it. Jordan Stensland scores 11. Maple Grove continues a 3 game road trip on Friday at St. Michael-Albertville. Then a tough NW Suburban matchup at Park Center on Tuesday.
Strategy Session
We've talked offense in the previous strategy sessions. Now let's talk some defense. Tonight's game was a great contrast of man to man styles of defense. Maple Grove staying in gaps and not trying to apply much pressure. Robbinsdale Cooper on the other hand using their athletes to extend their man defense. They were out in passing lanes and picking up full court. Plus they threw in some run and jump traps. Both styles not only making sense for their talent but also for the opponent. Cooper trying to use their athletic advantage to turn Maple Grove over and get to the rim. Maple Grove trying to keep a quicker Cooper roster out of the lane while forcing them to hit outside shots. It shows there's no 1 way to do things.
Browsing the NW Suburban
So its 2 nights in the NW Suburban with trips to Spring Lake Park and Park Center for a couple of competitive non-conference games. Quality hot dogs and Jet's pizza to go around with plenty of regular Sprite as the beverage. Rowdy Spring Lake Park students for the JMOA on Monday. Lithgow and Ricky get the Tuesday tilt. Both crews get double duty as they also work the JV games. Here's what I saw.
Monday: Spring Lake Park 62 Mounds View 51
Mounds View would use a 7-0 run to take a 1st half lead but then they wouldn't score another field goal the rest of the half. The drought goes over 9 minutes crossing halftime. It results in a 25-3 Spring Lake Park run that puts them up 41-20 early in the 2nd half. Then Spring Lake Park forward Blake Remme goes down with an injury (back within a week or 2 I hear). Mounds View comes out of the injury delay with zone and the game totally shifts. Spring Lake Park takes 2 quick time outs at the beginning of the run and it doesn't help. The Mustangs manage to cut the margin to 5 with just over 3 minutes left. Josh Albers scores 10 points in that run. But Gabe Myren slams the door with a hoop and 6 free throws. He finishes with 21 points. Remme with all 14 of his points including a couple of 3s in the 1st half before the injury. Josh Albers 12 of his 16 in the 2nd half to help lead the Mustangs back. Mounds View turned it over far more than you'd ever expect from them. Spring Lake Park with some effective run and jump pressure to cause that.
Tuesday: #3AAAA Park Center 68 Minnetonka 56
Minnetonka coming in a bit banged up with no AJ Tolliver or Aaron Syverson in the lineup. Tonka goes on a 13-2 first half run to counter a 9-0 Park Center run. DJ Purnell 5 points in the Pirates run. Jarius Cook hits a couple of 3s to bring Park Center back to even at 17. Jalen Dearring to the bench for the last 5 minutes of the half with 3 fouls for Minnetonka. Cam Steele with a hoop and triple to put the Skippers up 5 but an Emmanuel Tamba full court dash and scoop at the buzzer would tie the game at 26 going to the break.
Dain Dainja with a putback and a Tommy Chatman 3 point play allow the Pirates to open a 10 point lead. That's with Steele sitting with 4 fouls. He comes back in and Tonka claws its way back via a pair of Dearring triples. Cook with a pair of hoops to counter a Dearring FT and triple. Park Center closes it out from there. Jarius Cook leads the Pirates with 17 points. Emmanuel Tamba 13 off the bench. Dain Dainja adds 12. He didn't shoot as many jump shots this game but still isn't getting enough touches in the post. Jalen Dearring leads Minnetonka with 15 of his 20 in the 2nd half. Soph Cam Steele adds 13 of his 15 in the 1st half. Its a difficult offensive lineup for Tonka with 2 non-shooting wings and a post playing and the 2nd best perimeter shooter is the power forward.
Monday: Spring Lake Park 62 Mounds View 51
Mounds View would use a 7-0 run to take a 1st half lead but then they wouldn't score another field goal the rest of the half. The drought goes over 9 minutes crossing halftime. It results in a 25-3 Spring Lake Park run that puts them up 41-20 early in the 2nd half. Then Spring Lake Park forward Blake Remme goes down with an injury (back within a week or 2 I hear). Mounds View comes out of the injury delay with zone and the game totally shifts. Spring Lake Park takes 2 quick time outs at the beginning of the run and it doesn't help. The Mustangs manage to cut the margin to 5 with just over 3 minutes left. Josh Albers scores 10 points in that run. But Gabe Myren slams the door with a hoop and 6 free throws. He finishes with 21 points. Remme with all 14 of his points including a couple of 3s in the 1st half before the injury. Josh Albers 12 of his 16 in the 2nd half to help lead the Mustangs back. Mounds View turned it over far more than you'd ever expect from them. Spring Lake Park with some effective run and jump pressure to cause that.
Tuesday: #3AAAA Park Center 68 Minnetonka 56
Minnetonka coming in a bit banged up with no AJ Tolliver or Aaron Syverson in the lineup. Tonka goes on a 13-2 first half run to counter a 9-0 Park Center run. DJ Purnell 5 points in the Pirates run. Jarius Cook hits a couple of 3s to bring Park Center back to even at 17. Jalen Dearring to the bench for the last 5 minutes of the half with 3 fouls for Minnetonka. Cam Steele with a hoop and triple to put the Skippers up 5 but an Emmanuel Tamba full court dash and scoop at the buzzer would tie the game at 26 going to the break.
Dain Dainja with a putback and a Tommy Chatman 3 point play allow the Pirates to open a 10 point lead. That's with Steele sitting with 4 fouls. He comes back in and Tonka claws its way back via a pair of Dearring triples. Cook with a pair of hoops to counter a Dearring FT and triple. Park Center closes it out from there. Jarius Cook leads the Pirates with 17 points. Emmanuel Tamba 13 off the bench. Dain Dainja adds 12. He didn't shoot as many jump shots this game but still isn't getting enough touches in the post. Jalen Dearring leads Minnetonka with 15 of his 20 in the 2nd half. Soph Cam Steele adds 13 of his 15 in the 1st half. Its a difficult offensive lineup for Tonka with 2 non-shooting wings and a post playing and the 2nd best perimeter shooter is the power forward.
2017 Boys Tipoff Classic Thoughts
Its the 14th annual Breakdown Boys Tipoff Classic. Bigger than ever with 9 games on the main court and 8 on the east court. Great crowd on hand for the Gopher recruits playing. I make it thru the day with only 3 beverages (serious restraint) and choking down a couple of slices of pizza. Give Hopkins credit for using healthier options but since when do I enjoy healthy. Better than expected on the predictions as I went 15-2 missing 1 game on each court. 14 ranked teams in action out of the 18 I saw, 10 of them in the top 5 in their class. Here are some of the sights and sounds from 14 hours and 36 minutes of games on the main court.
Game 1: #7AAAA Osseo 91 #3AAA St. Thomas Academy 77
A surprisingly high scoring affair. Osseo's Zach Theisen and St. Thomas Academy's Jack Thompson would go back and forth early on to carry their offenses. Then it was about Emmette Page (Osseo) and Sam Vascellaro (STA). They both exploded in the latter stretches of the 1st half and the entire 2nd half. The lefty Page with 21 of his 34 in the 2nd half with 5 triples. The right corner was his friend for many of his 7 3s in the game. Vascellaro attack at will and had 18 of his 31 in the 2nd half. St. Thomas Academy would close to within 6 in the 2nd half before 2 Page 3s pushed the margin back to double digits. Zach Theisen with 20 of his 27 in the 1st half. Jack Thompson with 19.
Game 2: #9AA Perham 82 Breck 75
No Gopher FB recruit Logan Richter for Perham (all-star football game). That would have been a big help against Breck star David Roddy. Roddy goes for 37 points and 9 rebounds in the game as he had his way inside once again. That gives him 30+ in all 3 of his games this year. Joey Ganley would add 19 for Breck. But Perham with too much firepower. The junior duo of Jenson Beachy and Josh Jeziorski too much. Beachy with 6 bombs and 36. Jeziorski with 3 triples and 24 points playing a PF role in the Yellowjackets offense. Always fun to watch Perham execute their Euro ball screen offense (same stuff Apple Valley runs). They slip screens, the bigs attack off the bounce, and have nice counters. 13 Perham triples ultimately the difference to overcome Roddy inside.
Game 3: #10AAAA Lakeville North 71 St. Cloud Tech 42
Tech missing a ton of guys for this one. That included star F Brevyn Spann-Ford and James Kaczor who were at the all-star football game. Tech was up 3 early but then went scoreless for 10 minutes while Lakeville North went on a 27-2 run. North ran 2 very simple but well designed BLOB sets and got as many points in a game off of them as you'll ever see. Another solid showing from Tyler Wahl as he goes for 19 pts and 16 boards for North. Cole Anderson adds 16. Trent Meyer with 5 bombs and 17 points to lead Tech.
Game 4: #5AAAA Wayzata 88 #9AAAA Woodbury 64
Another disturbing start for Woodbury as they were down early at Lakeville North last Thursday and fell behind 33-11 out of the gate in this one. Wayzata hit 9 of their 14 3s in the 1st half and took a 24 point lead at half. The lead would grow to 30 before Michael Jones would help trim that to 14. Jones scores 24 of his 35 in the 2nd half and also adds 10 rebounds. Jacob Beeninga 28 points with 4 3s, Luke Paulson 19 with 5 3s, Drew Galinson 4 3s and 16 points. Keep an eye on 8th grader Camden Heide for Wayzata as well. Solid 6 point performance off the bench for the youngster. Freshman Kody Williams also part of the Trojans rotation.
Game 5: Rochester John Marshall 75 Lakeville South 72
Important section 1AAAA matchup in this one. This one was tight the entire way. JM would score 6 in a row to break a tie and lead by 6 with just over 2 minutes left. Matt Hurt would foul out with 42 seconds left and the drama would begin. Shae Mitchell with a FT and a jumper and a Beau Bailey 3 to cut it to 1. South would get a driving layup chance to tie at the end but it was no good (maybe contact?). Shae Mitchell with 26, Beau Bailey 18 for South in quality performances. But it was Matt Hurt with the performance of the day. 46 points, 17 boards, 4 blocks on 16-26 shooting. He left 50 on the table though with a unexpected 9-15 at the line. This after he lit rival Mayo up for 38 and 13 the night before. They put him at the high post and he's just unstoppable when catching there.
Game 6: #1AA Minnehaha 61 #3AAAA Park Center 55
Jalen Suggs 2 quick fouls and a 3rd in the 1st half. Park Center would jump out to a 19-3 lead. But Minnehaha would claw their way back. Jarius Cook would pick up his 4th foul right at the end of the 1st half. An unbelievable mistake from James Ware. Minnehaha within 11 at half. Cook would sit well into the 2nd half. That would allow Minnehaha to rally. Cook would come back at the 9:48 mark with the lead at 4 but his rhythm was shot. The Pirates would go up 12 with 14 minutes left after a mean tip dunk by Levonte Parker. But they would have only 2 field goals the rest of the way until a late Cook 3 after the outcome was already determined. Jalen Suggs 24 points to lead the Redhawks. Jarius Cook 21 of his 24 in the 1st half.
Game 7: #4AAAA Hopkins 84 #1AAA De La Salle 79
De La Salle would lead most of the way in this one including by double digits. The connection of Tyrell Terry to Jamison Battle would work all day. Terry to Battle for a layup and 2 Battle free throws would put the Islanders up 5 with 3 minutes left. Then a Hopkins putback and 2 DLS turnovers would allow Hopkins to take the lead with just over a minute left. Great drive by Rayquan Moore to score and get fouled with 19.5 left but the And 1 is no good. Zeke Nnaji grabs a missed FT and puts it back for a 3 point play with 6.4 left to eliminate a final De La Salle chance. Soph Kerwin Walton with 14 of his 17 (4 3s) in the 2nd half. Blaise Beauchamp with 4 1st half 3s as Hopkins hung around. He finished with 19. Zeke Nnaji 17, Anthony Davis 16 as well for Hopkins. Great outing for Jamison Battle with 6 3s and 24 points. Tyrell Terry adds 3 3s and 20 points, love his poise. Gabe Kalscheur had 1st half foul trouble and finished with 17. The De La Salle offense much more open than in past years. The role guys have far more freedom than ever.
Game 8: #2AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall 77 #2AAA Orono 76
The game of the day for the fans and we do get Jarvis Omersa and Daniel Oturu going at each other. Oturu would get the better of the head to head battles as Omersa had problems scoring against him all day CDH would lead the whole way and Orono could never get over the hump. 2 late Sy Chatman dunks as CDH would hang on. Daniel Oturu 21 pts, 9 boards, 7 blocks on my sheet. One of those blocks was a monster block with 25 seconds left and CDH up 3. Jarvis Omersa 18 points and 13 boards. Sy Chatman 17, Jaeden King 13 with 3 3s, Ryan Larson 16. Max Bjorklund 19 of his 26 in the 1st half. Colton Codute more aggressive than I've seen with 15 points.
Game 9: #1AAAA Apple Valley 81 #2AA Minneapolis North 73
Jimmy Butler and Jamal Crawford in the house with Tyus Jones for this one. AV would go on a 10-0 to take a 10 point lead. Tre Jones 2 quick fouls and then he sits the last 7:11 of the 1st half with his third foul. North goes on a run during that time to get it back to even. But with Jones and Luke Martens (injury) out, Apple Valley holds it together to remain tied at the half. Odell Wilson was a problem all day and his bucket with 9:05 left would pull North within 60-57 with 9 minutes left. Then 2 Tre Jones free throws, 2 North FT misses and Jones on the break with the dunk of the year so far. He gets a T on the dunk and North remains within 5. Then Zach Korba for 3, Nathan Macho and Korba convert turnovers and the lead is up to 12 with 4:45 left and its over. Apple Valley shoots 33-53 from the charity stripe to 11-26 for North and the Polars fans weren't happy. Tre Jones finishes with 19 points and 12 rebounds on my sheet. Zach Korba 19 points and many were at important times. Josh Arnold 20 on 16-19 FTs. Tayler Johnson 21 for North. Odell Wilson was the man inside with 20 points. 8th grader Trejuan Holloman with 12 points off the Polars bench as well.
Game 1: #7AAAA Osseo 91 #3AAA St. Thomas Academy 77
A surprisingly high scoring affair. Osseo's Zach Theisen and St. Thomas Academy's Jack Thompson would go back and forth early on to carry their offenses. Then it was about Emmette Page (Osseo) and Sam Vascellaro (STA). They both exploded in the latter stretches of the 1st half and the entire 2nd half. The lefty Page with 21 of his 34 in the 2nd half with 5 triples. The right corner was his friend for many of his 7 3s in the game. Vascellaro attack at will and had 18 of his 31 in the 2nd half. St. Thomas Academy would close to within 6 in the 2nd half before 2 Page 3s pushed the margin back to double digits. Zach Theisen with 20 of his 27 in the 1st half. Jack Thompson with 19.
Game 2: #9AA Perham 82 Breck 75
No Gopher FB recruit Logan Richter for Perham (all-star football game). That would have been a big help against Breck star David Roddy. Roddy goes for 37 points and 9 rebounds in the game as he had his way inside once again. That gives him 30+ in all 3 of his games this year. Joey Ganley would add 19 for Breck. But Perham with too much firepower. The junior duo of Jenson Beachy and Josh Jeziorski too much. Beachy with 6 bombs and 36. Jeziorski with 3 triples and 24 points playing a PF role in the Yellowjackets offense. Always fun to watch Perham execute their Euro ball screen offense (same stuff Apple Valley runs). They slip screens, the bigs attack off the bounce, and have nice counters. 13 Perham triples ultimately the difference to overcome Roddy inside.
Game 3: #10AAAA Lakeville North 71 St. Cloud Tech 42
Tech missing a ton of guys for this one. That included star F Brevyn Spann-Ford and James Kaczor who were at the all-star football game. Tech was up 3 early but then went scoreless for 10 minutes while Lakeville North went on a 27-2 run. North ran 2 very simple but well designed BLOB sets and got as many points in a game off of them as you'll ever see. Another solid showing from Tyler Wahl as he goes for 19 pts and 16 boards for North. Cole Anderson adds 16. Trent Meyer with 5 bombs and 17 points to lead Tech.
Game 4: #5AAAA Wayzata 88 #9AAAA Woodbury 64
Another disturbing start for Woodbury as they were down early at Lakeville North last Thursday and fell behind 33-11 out of the gate in this one. Wayzata hit 9 of their 14 3s in the 1st half and took a 24 point lead at half. The lead would grow to 30 before Michael Jones would help trim that to 14. Jones scores 24 of his 35 in the 2nd half and also adds 10 rebounds. Jacob Beeninga 28 points with 4 3s, Luke Paulson 19 with 5 3s, Drew Galinson 4 3s and 16 points. Keep an eye on 8th grader Camden Heide for Wayzata as well. Solid 6 point performance off the bench for the youngster. Freshman Kody Williams also part of the Trojans rotation.
Game 5: Rochester John Marshall 75 Lakeville South 72
Important section 1AAAA matchup in this one. This one was tight the entire way. JM would score 6 in a row to break a tie and lead by 6 with just over 2 minutes left. Matt Hurt would foul out with 42 seconds left and the drama would begin. Shae Mitchell with a FT and a jumper and a Beau Bailey 3 to cut it to 1. South would get a driving layup chance to tie at the end but it was no good (maybe contact?). Shae Mitchell with 26, Beau Bailey 18 for South in quality performances. But it was Matt Hurt with the performance of the day. 46 points, 17 boards, 4 blocks on 16-26 shooting. He left 50 on the table though with a unexpected 9-15 at the line. This after he lit rival Mayo up for 38 and 13 the night before. They put him at the high post and he's just unstoppable when catching there.
Game 6: #1AA Minnehaha 61 #3AAAA Park Center 55
Jalen Suggs 2 quick fouls and a 3rd in the 1st half. Park Center would jump out to a 19-3 lead. But Minnehaha would claw their way back. Jarius Cook would pick up his 4th foul right at the end of the 1st half. An unbelievable mistake from James Ware. Minnehaha within 11 at half. Cook would sit well into the 2nd half. That would allow Minnehaha to rally. Cook would come back at the 9:48 mark with the lead at 4 but his rhythm was shot. The Pirates would go up 12 with 14 minutes left after a mean tip dunk by Levonte Parker. But they would have only 2 field goals the rest of the way until a late Cook 3 after the outcome was already determined. Jalen Suggs 24 points to lead the Redhawks. Jarius Cook 21 of his 24 in the 1st half.
Game 7: #4AAAA Hopkins 84 #1AAA De La Salle 79
De La Salle would lead most of the way in this one including by double digits. The connection of Tyrell Terry to Jamison Battle would work all day. Terry to Battle for a layup and 2 Battle free throws would put the Islanders up 5 with 3 minutes left. Then a Hopkins putback and 2 DLS turnovers would allow Hopkins to take the lead with just over a minute left. Great drive by Rayquan Moore to score and get fouled with 19.5 left but the And 1 is no good. Zeke Nnaji grabs a missed FT and puts it back for a 3 point play with 6.4 left to eliminate a final De La Salle chance. Soph Kerwin Walton with 14 of his 17 (4 3s) in the 2nd half. Blaise Beauchamp with 4 1st half 3s as Hopkins hung around. He finished with 19. Zeke Nnaji 17, Anthony Davis 16 as well for Hopkins. Great outing for Jamison Battle with 6 3s and 24 points. Tyrell Terry adds 3 3s and 20 points, love his poise. Gabe Kalscheur had 1st half foul trouble and finished with 17. The De La Salle offense much more open than in past years. The role guys have far more freedom than ever.
Game 8: #2AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall 77 #2AAA Orono 76
The game of the day for the fans and we do get Jarvis Omersa and Daniel Oturu going at each other. Oturu would get the better of the head to head battles as Omersa had problems scoring against him all day CDH would lead the whole way and Orono could never get over the hump. 2 late Sy Chatman dunks as CDH would hang on. Daniel Oturu 21 pts, 9 boards, 7 blocks on my sheet. One of those blocks was a monster block with 25 seconds left and CDH up 3. Jarvis Omersa 18 points and 13 boards. Sy Chatman 17, Jaeden King 13 with 3 3s, Ryan Larson 16. Max Bjorklund 19 of his 26 in the 1st half. Colton Codute more aggressive than I've seen with 15 points.
Game 9: #1AAAA Apple Valley 81 #2AA Minneapolis North 73
Jimmy Butler and Jamal Crawford in the house with Tyus Jones for this one. AV would go on a 10-0 to take a 10 point lead. Tre Jones 2 quick fouls and then he sits the last 7:11 of the 1st half with his third foul. North goes on a run during that time to get it back to even. But with Jones and Luke Martens (injury) out, Apple Valley holds it together to remain tied at the half. Odell Wilson was a problem all day and his bucket with 9:05 left would pull North within 60-57 with 9 minutes left. Then 2 Tre Jones free throws, 2 North FT misses and Jones on the break with the dunk of the year so far. He gets a T on the dunk and North remains within 5. Then Zach Korba for 3, Nathan Macho and Korba convert turnovers and the lead is up to 12 with 4:45 left and its over. Apple Valley shoots 33-53 from the charity stripe to 11-26 for North and the Polars fans weren't happy. Tre Jones finishes with 19 points and 12 rebounds on my sheet. Zach Korba 19 points and many were at important times. Josh Arnold 20 on 16-19 FTs. Tayler Johnson 21 for North. Odell Wilson was the man inside with 20 points. 8th grader Trejuan Holloman with 12 points off the Polars bench as well.
No Bull Eagles hang on
Prologue
Its a late starting girls/boys doubleheader with Heritage visiting St. Agnes. Decent crowd on hand. Tonight's meal is a 1/4 lb Nathan's beef hot dog sticking out of the bun. Excellent. A can of battery acid washes it down. A unrecognized 2 man crew working the tilt. Nice crowd of folks on hand. I had to limit my climb up the heavily inclined bleachers due to leaving my oxygen tank at home. Today's tune is from warmups.
Song of the Day: Katy Perry - Roar
Number of Teams I've Seen In Person: 26 (13 games, 9 days)
Number of Games I've Seen Online: 6
Beverage Ticker: 140 ounces (1340 Calories)\
Heritage's Seth Halvorsen with a deep triple and he also converts a turnover. 12-8 Heritage at the 10:30 mark. St. Agnes guard Marcus Johnson went for 38 against Henry earlier this week. He has his game going out of the dribble weave look against the Heritage man defense. A drive and a triple from Johnson get the offense going. That's despite Heritage switching to a 2-3 zone. Norman Strickland with the 1st of his 4 triples. Johnson with another 3 and a bucket. That ends a 15-2 St. Agnes run. Aggies up 23-14 at the 4:30 mark. Offense hard to come by the rest of the half. Nothing for St. Agnes and only 2 Sam Frederickson buckets. 24-18 St. Agnes leads at the half.
Ben Allen and Phil Berge with bombs and Heritage is back to even 90 seconds into the 2nd half. Frederickson adds 3 hoops in a row, 2 of them off of turnovers and he's psyched. The run is 17-4 Heritage in just under 6 minutes (21-5 over 10 minutes across halftime). 35-28 Eagles with 12:12 left. St. Agnes tries to rally as Strickland hits 2 more 3s. 38-34 Heritage inside 8 minutes to play.
Halvorsen banks a floater and converts a layup with 3:45 left. Heritage appears safe as the lead is back to 8. But the best is just beginning. Luke Brezny for 3, Heritage misses a front end. Tom Gutzmann converts a layup off a great Jacob Brezny steal. Lead down to 3. Heritage misses another front end and Johnson makes 1-2 free throws. Then Heritage misses both ends of the double bonus with 30 seconds left. St. Agnes advances the ball and takes timeout down 2 with 26.5 left.
Heritage stays with the 2-3 zone and the ball gets swung to Strickland's favorite spot on the right wing and BANG!. That's good with 12 seconds left. Heritage takes time out to set up their last chance. Halvorsen takes the right wing entry, waits for the UCLA cut and then drives it baseline and scores with 1.7 left. St. Agnes has 1 last chance full court. They inbound, throw it ahead and the shot is good but its well after the buzzer. Heritage wins a thriller 44-43.
Post Game
St. Agnes falls to 0-2 with the loss. They'll host Mounds Park Academy next Friday as they continue a 4 game home stretch to begin the season. Marcus Johnson leads the Aggies with 15 points. But 14 of those were in the 1st half. He didn't have a field goal after the 4:30 mark of the 1st half. The zone help limit his scoring opportunities. Norman Strickland knocks down 4 3s to chip in with 12 points. Tom Gutzmann with 7 points and I liked his defense.
Sam Frederickson leads Heritage with 16 points. Seth Halvorsen's game winner gave him 15 on the night. Ben Allen and Phil Berge each with a pair of 3s for 6. The 2-3 zone was wide open in the middle but the Eagles got away with it. St. Agnes didn't punch the ball in the middle to make plays nearly as much as they could have. That said, the move to the zone made sense as the St. Agnes dribble weave was having no problem getting easy penetration and great driving looks. The Eagles improve to 2-1 on the season. Heritage returns home next Friday to host neighborhood rival Providence Academy.
Its a late starting girls/boys doubleheader with Heritage visiting St. Agnes. Decent crowd on hand. Tonight's meal is a 1/4 lb Nathan's beef hot dog sticking out of the bun. Excellent. A can of battery acid washes it down. A unrecognized 2 man crew working the tilt. Nice crowd of folks on hand. I had to limit my climb up the heavily inclined bleachers due to leaving my oxygen tank at home. Today's tune is from warmups.
Song of the Day: Katy Perry - Roar
Number of Teams I've Seen In Person: 26 (13 games, 9 days)
Number of Games I've Seen Online: 6
Beverage Ticker: 140 ounces (1340 Calories)\
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
- Coke: 32 ounces (380 calories)
- Pepsi: 36 ounces (450 calories)
- Sprite Zero: 20 ounces (0 calories)
- Sprite: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
- Hot Dogs: 4
- Walking Tacos: 2
- Pizza: 1
Heritage's Seth Halvorsen with a deep triple and he also converts a turnover. 12-8 Heritage at the 10:30 mark. St. Agnes guard Marcus Johnson went for 38 against Henry earlier this week. He has his game going out of the dribble weave look against the Heritage man defense. A drive and a triple from Johnson get the offense going. That's despite Heritage switching to a 2-3 zone. Norman Strickland with the 1st of his 4 triples. Johnson with another 3 and a bucket. That ends a 15-2 St. Agnes run. Aggies up 23-14 at the 4:30 mark. Offense hard to come by the rest of the half. Nothing for St. Agnes and only 2 Sam Frederickson buckets. 24-18 St. Agnes leads at the half.
Ben Allen and Phil Berge with bombs and Heritage is back to even 90 seconds into the 2nd half. Frederickson adds 3 hoops in a row, 2 of them off of turnovers and he's psyched. The run is 17-4 Heritage in just under 6 minutes (21-5 over 10 minutes across halftime). 35-28 Eagles with 12:12 left. St. Agnes tries to rally as Strickland hits 2 more 3s. 38-34 Heritage inside 8 minutes to play.
Halvorsen banks a floater and converts a layup with 3:45 left. Heritage appears safe as the lead is back to 8. But the best is just beginning. Luke Brezny for 3, Heritage misses a front end. Tom Gutzmann converts a layup off a great Jacob Brezny steal. Lead down to 3. Heritage misses another front end and Johnson makes 1-2 free throws. Then Heritage misses both ends of the double bonus with 30 seconds left. St. Agnes advances the ball and takes timeout down 2 with 26.5 left.
Heritage stays with the 2-3 zone and the ball gets swung to Strickland's favorite spot on the right wing and BANG!. That's good with 12 seconds left. Heritage takes time out to set up their last chance. Halvorsen takes the right wing entry, waits for the UCLA cut and then drives it baseline and scores with 1.7 left. St. Agnes has 1 last chance full court. They inbound, throw it ahead and the shot is good but its well after the buzzer. Heritage wins a thriller 44-43.
Post Game
St. Agnes falls to 0-2 with the loss. They'll host Mounds Park Academy next Friday as they continue a 4 game home stretch to begin the season. Marcus Johnson leads the Aggies with 15 points. But 14 of those were in the 1st half. He didn't have a field goal after the 4:30 mark of the 1st half. The zone help limit his scoring opportunities. Norman Strickland knocks down 4 3s to chip in with 12 points. Tom Gutzmann with 7 points and I liked his defense.
Sam Frederickson leads Heritage with 16 points. Seth Halvorsen's game winner gave him 15 on the night. Ben Allen and Phil Berge each with a pair of 3s for 6. The 2-3 zone was wide open in the middle but the Eagles got away with it. St. Agnes didn't punch the ball in the middle to make plays nearly as much as they could have. That said, the move to the zone made sense as the St. Agnes dribble weave was having no problem getting easy penetration and great driving looks. The Eagles improve to 2-1 on the season. Heritage returns home next Friday to host neighborhood rival Providence Academy.
Tommies win a battle of cats
Prologue
The Rev and big Zach once again on duty together. A lower profile game for that crew as its PACT visiting Edison. The teams come out for warmups with 25 min on the clock and the Rev is still on the rail in street clothes. Gotta love that. Tonight's walking taco was just nacho cheese as I declined the jalapenos. Simple but effective to go with a regular Sprite. None of this 0 calories stuff tonight. Today's tune is also from Tuesday but is heard everywhere to get the crowd to make noise.
Song of the Day: Handclap - Fitz and the Tantrums
Number of Teams I've Seen In Person: 22 (11 games, 8 days)
Number of Games I've Seen Online: 5
Beverage Ticker: 128 ounces (1200 Calories)\
PACT can't buy a bucket in this one. They don't get their 2nd field goal until the 5:35 mark of the half. That allows Edison to jump out to a 19-4 lead. PACT not helping its own cause with double digit turnovers in the 1st half. That 2nd field goal is a Cade Johnson triple and breaks the ice. He adds another bomb and a nice cut for 2 more. 26-14 Edison at the break.
2 quick Edison hoops pushes the lead to 16 but we never reach blowout territory. Jaylen Schweiger gets going with a couple of buckets and frosh Jordan Stone with a 3. PACT within 30-21 with 11:30 left. Tenzing Chime counters another Cade Johnson triple with 2 buckets of his own. He'll add a lefty drive after 2 Johnson freebies. That keeps the lead at 13 with 2:35 left. Edison wins 49-36.
Post Game
PACT falls to 1-1 with the loss. Star guard Cade Johnson leads the Panthers with 10 of his 15 in the 1st half. The ball wouldn't go in for him though as he shot 4-18 on my sheet. Jaylen Schweiger with 11 of his 13 in the 2nd half to keep the game interesting. Turnovers a huge problem and were the difference in the game. Too much athletic pressure on the ball for PACT to handle. PACT hosts Cristo Rey on Friday.
Edison wins their home opener to improve to 1-1 on the season. Tenzing Chime leads the Tommies with 18 points. George Terry with 3 3s and 11 points. Forward Jackson Rusnucko held scoreless. But the defense picked up the slack. The Tommies visit Nova Classical on Tuesday.
The Rev and big Zach once again on duty together. A lower profile game for that crew as its PACT visiting Edison. The teams come out for warmups with 25 min on the clock and the Rev is still on the rail in street clothes. Gotta love that. Tonight's walking taco was just nacho cheese as I declined the jalapenos. Simple but effective to go with a regular Sprite. None of this 0 calories stuff tonight. Today's tune is also from Tuesday but is heard everywhere to get the crowd to make noise.
Song of the Day: Handclap - Fitz and the Tantrums
Number of Teams I've Seen In Person: 22 (11 games, 8 days)
Number of Games I've Seen Online: 5
Beverage Ticker: 128 ounces (1200 Calories)\
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
- Coke: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- Pepsi: 36 ounces (450 calories)
- Sprite Zero: 20 ounces (0 calories)
- Sprite: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
- Hot Dogs: 3
- Walking Tacos: 2
- Pizza: 1
PACT can't buy a bucket in this one. They don't get their 2nd field goal until the 5:35 mark of the half. That allows Edison to jump out to a 19-4 lead. PACT not helping its own cause with double digit turnovers in the 1st half. That 2nd field goal is a Cade Johnson triple and breaks the ice. He adds another bomb and a nice cut for 2 more. 26-14 Edison at the break.
2 quick Edison hoops pushes the lead to 16 but we never reach blowout territory. Jaylen Schweiger gets going with a couple of buckets and frosh Jordan Stone with a 3. PACT within 30-21 with 11:30 left. Tenzing Chime counters another Cade Johnson triple with 2 buckets of his own. He'll add a lefty drive after 2 Johnson freebies. That keeps the lead at 13 with 2:35 left. Edison wins 49-36.
Post Game
PACT falls to 1-1 with the loss. Star guard Cade Johnson leads the Panthers with 10 of his 15 in the 1st half. The ball wouldn't go in for him though as he shot 4-18 on my sheet. Jaylen Schweiger with 11 of his 13 in the 2nd half to keep the game interesting. Turnovers a huge problem and were the difference in the game. Too much athletic pressure on the ball for PACT to handle. PACT hosts Cristo Rey on Friday.
Edison wins their home opener to improve to 1-1 on the season. Tenzing Chime leads the Tommies with 18 points. George Terry with 3 3s and 11 points. Forward Jackson Rusnucko held scoreless. But the defense picked up the slack. The Tommies visit Nova Classical on Tuesday.
Youthful D leads the Titans
Prologue
No programs last night so no writeup of the tight Prairie Seeds at Henry game. Tonight the color red is still in order as I visit Richfield for an old Classic Suburban showdown with Tartan. Stoney was the highlight of tonight's 3 man officiating crew. Oversized slice of sausage pizza is the meal with a bottle of red Powerade. And a quality selection of music including this 80s hit from The King of Pop
Song of the Day: Bad - Michael Jackson
Number of Teams I've Seen: 20 (10 games, 6 days) (not counting 3 online)
Beverage Ticker: 108 ounces (960 Calories)
Good start for Tartan with soph Joseph Kearney knocking down a kickout for 3 and driving for a 3 point play. Antwan Kimmons adds his own 3 point play on a turnover. 13-6 Tartan at the 14:29 mark. Richfield frosh Ryan Miles off the bench and tries to stop the bleeding with pair of free throws and a layup. Tartan counters that with a 12-0 run. Kimmons with 2 buckets off turnovers and a putback in that span. 25-10 Titans at the 9:10 mark. Kimmons will expand that lead to 19 with a lefty 3 point play and another putback. Richfield's best scorer Devin Wade-Henderson then sits the last 4 minutes with 3 fouls but Richfield only gives up 1 field goal in that stretch. 43-22 Tartan at the break. Kearney for 3 and a nice curl for 2 more as the lead grows to 56-27. Wade-Henderson tacks on a few to get his but the name is never in any doubt as the bench empties with 3 min left. Tartan wins 79-61
Post Game
For Richfield, Devin Wade-Henderson scores 18 points. The Tartan defense with soph Joseph Kearney getting most of the duty held him to 7-22 shooting on my sheet with 5 turnovers. Freshman Ryan Miles with a very nice debut for the Spartans with 17 points off the bench. He knocked down 3 triples. Richfield opens the season 0-1 and they get another former Classic Suburban foe next as they visit St. Thomas Academy on Thursday.
For Tartan, Antwan Kimmons leads the way with 16 of his 21 in the 1st half. Andre Jenkins-Whitmore with 14 of his 20 in the 2nd half. Soph Joseph Kearney with 16. Dante Aganmwonyi chips in with 10. The Titans as you would expect of a Mark Klingsporn group are defensive minded. Aganmwonyi, Kearney and Kimmons really get after it on that end. They'll be fine defensively but how the offense progresses is what I'm watching. Tartan opens 1-0 and visits North Branch on Friday. That's part of a 3 game road trip to start the season.
Strategy Session
After talking about how teams get open off the dribble, we look at Tartan's offense. They use a Villanova women's style cutting offense. Its 5 out and instead of reads its all called vs the read and react variation often used in 5 out. That includes anything from straight pass and cut to curl cuts to intentionally back cutting the screen. The curl cuts were definitely available on this night and they did get some looks out of rejecting the screen as well.
No programs last night so no writeup of the tight Prairie Seeds at Henry game. Tonight the color red is still in order as I visit Richfield for an old Classic Suburban showdown with Tartan. Stoney was the highlight of tonight's 3 man officiating crew. Oversized slice of sausage pizza is the meal with a bottle of red Powerade. And a quality selection of music including this 80s hit from The King of Pop
Song of the Day: Bad - Michael Jackson
Number of Teams I've Seen: 20 (10 games, 6 days) (not counting 3 online)
Beverage Ticker: 108 ounces (960 Calories)
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
- Coke: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- Pepsi: 36 ounces (450 calories)
- Sprite Zero: 20 ounces (0 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
- Hot Dogs: 3
- Walking Tacos: 1
- Pizza: 1
Good start for Tartan with soph Joseph Kearney knocking down a kickout for 3 and driving for a 3 point play. Antwan Kimmons adds his own 3 point play on a turnover. 13-6 Tartan at the 14:29 mark. Richfield frosh Ryan Miles off the bench and tries to stop the bleeding with pair of free throws and a layup. Tartan counters that with a 12-0 run. Kimmons with 2 buckets off turnovers and a putback in that span. 25-10 Titans at the 9:10 mark. Kimmons will expand that lead to 19 with a lefty 3 point play and another putback. Richfield's best scorer Devin Wade-Henderson then sits the last 4 minutes with 3 fouls but Richfield only gives up 1 field goal in that stretch. 43-22 Tartan at the break. Kearney for 3 and a nice curl for 2 more as the lead grows to 56-27. Wade-Henderson tacks on a few to get his but the name is never in any doubt as the bench empties with 3 min left. Tartan wins 79-61
Post Game
For Richfield, Devin Wade-Henderson scores 18 points. The Tartan defense with soph Joseph Kearney getting most of the duty held him to 7-22 shooting on my sheet with 5 turnovers. Freshman Ryan Miles with a very nice debut for the Spartans with 17 points off the bench. He knocked down 3 triples. Richfield opens the season 0-1 and they get another former Classic Suburban foe next as they visit St. Thomas Academy on Thursday.
For Tartan, Antwan Kimmons leads the way with 16 of his 21 in the 1st half. Andre Jenkins-Whitmore with 14 of his 20 in the 2nd half. Soph Joseph Kearney with 16. Dante Aganmwonyi chips in with 10. The Titans as you would expect of a Mark Klingsporn group are defensive minded. Aganmwonyi, Kearney and Kimmons really get after it on that end. They'll be fine defensively but how the offense progresses is what I'm watching. Tartan opens 1-0 and visits North Branch on Friday. That's part of a 3 game road trip to start the season.
Strategy Session
After talking about how teams get open off the dribble, we look at Tartan's offense. They use a Villanova women's style cutting offense. Its 5 out and instead of reads its all called vs the read and react variation often used in 5 out. That includes anything from straight pass and cut to curl cuts to intentionally back cutting the screen. The curl cuts were definitely available on this night and they did get some looks out of rejecting the screen as well.
Opening Saturday Action
The opening Saturday as is recent tradition included a set of boys games as part of the girls tipoff classic. Rather than stay thru the early girls games I took in a separate boys game. Here's a look at the 5 games that I saw.
Game 1: St. Cloud Apollo at St. Louis Park
This game was setup due to some rescheduling required by ESPN taking the Apple Valley vs Minnehaha game. Apollo would shoot a ton of 3s in this back and forth game and made 12 of them. St. Louis Park used a 12-2 run in the 1st half to take an 8 point lead. Apollo would see an 8 point lead cut to 1 but one of those triples would extend the lead to 65-56 with 4 minutes left.
Both teams would squander late chances with very sloppy play. Apollo with 4 turnovers in the last 2:15. That would help St. Louis Park would score 13 in a row before a meaningless 3 at the buzzer. St. Louis Park wins 69-68. Cire Mayfield with the last 6 Orioles points and finishes with a team high 17. Aiden Doherty with 16 now playing out of the post. DaShawn Emerson with 13 and hounding defense off the bench. Renell Edwards carried the Apollo offense with 18 points and 3 3s. As they get older and more used to the new system plus refining their shot selection, they can be a dangerous team to play against.
Game 2: #1AAA De La Salle vs Iowa City West
Now the 4 boys games at the girls tipoff. Iowa's top ranked team in town to take on the 6 time defending AAA champs. Full Gophers staff on hand to watch all 3 of their commits in 3 straight games. Gabe Kalscheur with 20 of his 31 points in the 1st half (4 3s) as the Islanders would take a 4 point lead to halftime. But he was also attacking the rim aggressively. Patrick McCaffrey with 13 of his 23 in the 2nd half including a late hoop and 2 free throws. Difference here was the interior play of Seybian Sims. He finished with 20 points and was a problem on the offensive glass all day. Tyrell Terry with a late 3 to tie the game and got bumped late for a debatable no-call with DLS trying to win it. Iowa City West wins a battle 65-62. The rebounding issues and the integration of Jamison Battle are issues to watch for the Islanders.
Game 3: #2AAA Orono vs Robbinsdale Armstrong
Armstrong with a very scrappy 1st half to take a 29-26 halftime lead. They kept the ball out of Jarvis Omersa's hands. The hot shooting of Thomas Lecy, particularly from the left corner, was a problem all day. He hit 4 of his 6 3s in the 1st half to keep the Spartans close. Then Omersa was too much in the 2nd half. He scores 6 points in a 16-0 Orono run early in the 2nd half. That turns a 4 point deficit into a 12 point lead. Add in another hoop plus a 3 point play and the lead grows to 16. Orono in no danger after that. They win 64-50. Jarvis Omersa with 18 points and 17 rebounds on my sheet with a double double in the 2nd half alone. Also showed some nice passing ability. Thomas Lecy 6 3s for 18 points. Soph Jake Breitbach with 11 off the bench to lead Armstrong.
Game 4: #2AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall at #4AAAA Hopkins
This was the surprise of the day. CDH would jump all over the Royals to the tune of 21-5 in just over 6 minutes. Then Daniel Oturu would leave the game with an injury and not return. Jaeden King knocking down shots and Sy Chatman continuing his progression. Both score 15 in the 1st half as the lead grows to 19 and is 43-27 at the half. 17 point game inside 9 minutes to play before quick 5 in, 5 out rotations allows Hopkins to rally. Joe Hedstrom dunks a turnover to end a 14-2 Royals run and the lead is down to 7 with 4:24 left. CDH would score the next 9 to put the game away. Chatman with 6 of those on his way to a game high 33 points. Jaeden King with 22, Ryan Larson with 19 for CDH. DJ Davis a bright spot for Hopkins off the bench with 16. Zeke Nnaji also with 16, Anthony Davis 13 for Hopkins. Hopkins will likely want to burn the black jerseys they used for the game after how they looked in the 1st half.
Game 5: #1AA Minnehaha vs #6AAAA East Ridge
East Ridge keeping this one at a slow pace. Combine that with a quiet 1st half from Jalen Suggs and Minnehaha only had 3 field goals in the 1st 13 minutes. That was part of a 12-2 East Ridge run to take a 15-9 lead. Minnehaha would end the half on a 10-2 run of their own with East Ridge not scoring a field goal in the last 4+ minutes. Courtney Brown with a quick triple and hoop as East Ridge would go up 5. Then a 15-3 Minnehaha run with Suggs asserting himself. Minnehaha would stretch the lead to 47-37 after Javonni Bickham converted a turnover. Courtney Brown for and the 4th and 5th 3s from Zack Zebrowksi. East Ridge within 3 with 4:29 left. Bickham bonus freebies and a Suggs FT for a 7 point lead inside 2 left. But Courtney Brown isn't done. He hits a pullup and a triple. Then a tough catch to finish a pick and roll to cut the margin to 2. Bickham puts back a miss and Brown with another 3 to cut the lead to 1. After a Minnehaha free throw, the teams trade turnovers and East Ridge doesn't have a time out. Nothing good on the last shot. Minnehaha wins 60-58. Courtney Brown went off in the 2nd half with 22 of his 29 points for East Ridge. He scored in the post, midrange and hit 5 3s. Zach Zebrowski with 5 3s for his 15 points. Only 4 players score for the Raptors though. Jalen Suggs with a quiet 8 points for Minnehaha. Javonni Bickham leads the Redhawks with 19 points. Terry Lockett adds 10. Big difference at the charity stripe with Minnehaha shooting 17-31 to 1-2 for East Ridge.
Game 1: St. Cloud Apollo at St. Louis Park
This game was setup due to some rescheduling required by ESPN taking the Apple Valley vs Minnehaha game. Apollo would shoot a ton of 3s in this back and forth game and made 12 of them. St. Louis Park used a 12-2 run in the 1st half to take an 8 point lead. Apollo would see an 8 point lead cut to 1 but one of those triples would extend the lead to 65-56 with 4 minutes left.
Both teams would squander late chances with very sloppy play. Apollo with 4 turnovers in the last 2:15. That would help St. Louis Park would score 13 in a row before a meaningless 3 at the buzzer. St. Louis Park wins 69-68. Cire Mayfield with the last 6 Orioles points and finishes with a team high 17. Aiden Doherty with 16 now playing out of the post. DaShawn Emerson with 13 and hounding defense off the bench. Renell Edwards carried the Apollo offense with 18 points and 3 3s. As they get older and more used to the new system plus refining their shot selection, they can be a dangerous team to play against.
Game 2: #1AAA De La Salle vs Iowa City West
Now the 4 boys games at the girls tipoff. Iowa's top ranked team in town to take on the 6 time defending AAA champs. Full Gophers staff on hand to watch all 3 of their commits in 3 straight games. Gabe Kalscheur with 20 of his 31 points in the 1st half (4 3s) as the Islanders would take a 4 point lead to halftime. But he was also attacking the rim aggressively. Patrick McCaffrey with 13 of his 23 in the 2nd half including a late hoop and 2 free throws. Difference here was the interior play of Seybian Sims. He finished with 20 points and was a problem on the offensive glass all day. Tyrell Terry with a late 3 to tie the game and got bumped late for a debatable no-call with DLS trying to win it. Iowa City West wins a battle 65-62. The rebounding issues and the integration of Jamison Battle are issues to watch for the Islanders.
Game 3: #2AAA Orono vs Robbinsdale Armstrong
Armstrong with a very scrappy 1st half to take a 29-26 halftime lead. They kept the ball out of Jarvis Omersa's hands. The hot shooting of Thomas Lecy, particularly from the left corner, was a problem all day. He hit 4 of his 6 3s in the 1st half to keep the Spartans close. Then Omersa was too much in the 2nd half. He scores 6 points in a 16-0 Orono run early in the 2nd half. That turns a 4 point deficit into a 12 point lead. Add in another hoop plus a 3 point play and the lead grows to 16. Orono in no danger after that. They win 64-50. Jarvis Omersa with 18 points and 17 rebounds on my sheet with a double double in the 2nd half alone. Also showed some nice passing ability. Thomas Lecy 6 3s for 18 points. Soph Jake Breitbach with 11 off the bench to lead Armstrong.
Game 4: #2AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall at #4AAAA Hopkins
This was the surprise of the day. CDH would jump all over the Royals to the tune of 21-5 in just over 6 minutes. Then Daniel Oturu would leave the game with an injury and not return. Jaeden King knocking down shots and Sy Chatman continuing his progression. Both score 15 in the 1st half as the lead grows to 19 and is 43-27 at the half. 17 point game inside 9 minutes to play before quick 5 in, 5 out rotations allows Hopkins to rally. Joe Hedstrom dunks a turnover to end a 14-2 Royals run and the lead is down to 7 with 4:24 left. CDH would score the next 9 to put the game away. Chatman with 6 of those on his way to a game high 33 points. Jaeden King with 22, Ryan Larson with 19 for CDH. DJ Davis a bright spot for Hopkins off the bench with 16. Zeke Nnaji also with 16, Anthony Davis 13 for Hopkins. Hopkins will likely want to burn the black jerseys they used for the game after how they looked in the 1st half.
Game 5: #1AA Minnehaha vs #6AAAA East Ridge
East Ridge keeping this one at a slow pace. Combine that with a quiet 1st half from Jalen Suggs and Minnehaha only had 3 field goals in the 1st 13 minutes. That was part of a 12-2 East Ridge run to take a 15-9 lead. Minnehaha would end the half on a 10-2 run of their own with East Ridge not scoring a field goal in the last 4+ minutes. Courtney Brown with a quick triple and hoop as East Ridge would go up 5. Then a 15-3 Minnehaha run with Suggs asserting himself. Minnehaha would stretch the lead to 47-37 after Javonni Bickham converted a turnover. Courtney Brown for and the 4th and 5th 3s from Zack Zebrowksi. East Ridge within 3 with 4:29 left. Bickham bonus freebies and a Suggs FT for a 7 point lead inside 2 left. But Courtney Brown isn't done. He hits a pullup and a triple. Then a tough catch to finish a pick and roll to cut the margin to 2. Bickham puts back a miss and Brown with another 3 to cut the lead to 1. After a Minnehaha free throw, the teams trade turnovers and East Ridge doesn't have a time out. Nothing good on the last shot. Minnehaha wins 60-58. Courtney Brown went off in the 2nd half with 22 of his 29 points for East Ridge. He scored in the post, midrange and hit 5 3s. Zach Zebrowski with 5 3s for his 15 points. Only 4 players score for the Raptors though. Jalen Suggs with a quiet 8 points for Minnehaha. Javonni Bickham leads the Redhawks with 19 points. Terry Lockett adds 10. Big difference at the charity stripe with Minnehaha shooting 17-31 to 1-2 for East Ridge.
Cougars overcome a foul fest
Prologue
To Roseville for a section 5AAAA matchup between Centennial and the host Raiders. Solid but quiet student section on hand. A very basic concession menu as always. But I'm more and more a fan of prewrapped hot dogs. My looked disappointing immediately on opening but actually turned out to be good. Add in the daily dose of battery acid (Coke) to keep the beverage counter rolling. Lots of older music on the public address including Journey and the Bee Gees but we'll pick the 1st and oldest song of the night for today's tune.
Song of the Day: Let Your Love Flow - Bellamy Brothers
Number of Teams I've Seen: 4 (2 games, 2 days)
Beverage Ticker: 32 ounces (380 Calories)
The stars of the night get started right away. Soph Carter Anderson for 3 for Centennial countered by a Roseville 3 from Drew Adams. 2 quick fouls on Gary Smith for Roseville and he'll sit for the rest of the half after only 3 minutes. Adams with another 3 before Anderson splits 2 pairs of free throws. Then its Matt Wyffels for 3 on a throwback pass and shooter Ricky Eason with a triple to break a 13 all tie. Quick Roseville timeout at 10:28.
Fouls all over the place and lots of guys with 2 in the 1st half. The lead hovers in that 6 point range until Anderson makes 4 straight free throws and adds a hoop in an 8-2 run. That extends the lead to 37-26 late in the half. The 12th guy Roseville used in the 1st half was JV starting center Spencer Nath. He makes 2 free throws and a hoop late. That cuts the Centennial lead to 42-33 at the half.
The lead gets to 12 before Roseville goes to their "Hawkeye" 1-2-2 3/4 trap. Adams with a putback and 3 point play off a turnover thanks to that trap. Its part of a 10-0 run over 3:40 and gets the Raiders right back in the game. 45-42 Centennial with over 12 minutes left. Then an up and down sequence with the teams racing back and forth but no points. Adams with 2 blocks during that stretch. Daevonte Munson with good minutes and his 3 keeps Roseville within 54-50 with 5:46 left.
Wyffels counters with another throwback 3 off the dribble handoff. Then a post feed and Andrew Nordquist comes from the weakside and just takes it away for an Eason layup. Nordquist then adds a runner for a 61-50 lead with 3:40 left. At this point, the game should have been over. Smith finds Munson for 3 and he makes a free throw. Adams adds a 3 point play and Roseville still has life down 6 with 2:30 left.
It only gets worse for the Cougars. Centennial turns it over, misses a front end and then takes 2 horrific shots quickly with Roseville not trapping or fouling. All of that allows a Smith drive to cut it to 3 and then after an offensive rebound its Adams from the deep beyound and we're all tied at 63 with 1:06 left. That's a 13-2 Raiders run in just over 2 and a half minutes. Wyffels immediately scores on the other end to put Centennial on top. Roseville takes timeout and draws up a baseline double screen.
The play said the ball had to go there so the pass went there. Unfortunately, a defender was already there for a Roseville turnover. Anderson makes 1 of 2 free throws, Centennial fouls and Roseville misses both freebies. Centennial makes only 1 FT again and Smith goes quick to the rim for 2. Still a 2 point game with 14 seconds left. Centennial gets out on the break and its an intentional foul from behind (new emphasis this year) with 7.9 seconds left. Centennial makes 1 and then on the inbound they are fouled and miss both. Roseville has 1 last chance but is out of timeouts. 2 desperation 3s are no good. Centennial wins 68-65.
Post Game
For Roseville, Drew Adams was outstanding with 25 points and 3 triples to lead all scorers. He was very active on the glass and was at the top of the 1-2-2 trap that got Roseville back in the game. Daevonte Munson with quality minutes for the Raiders as well with 4 triples and 3 free throws for 15 points. Gary Smith with all 9 of his points in the 2nd half after missing most of the 1st half with 2 fouls. Roseville starts the season 0-1. They'll continue their 5 game homestand to start the season with a visit from Rosemount on Tuesday.
For Centennial, soph Carter Anderson scores 16 of his 21 in the 1st half to lead the Cougars. Shooter Ricky Eason adds 16. Starters Matt Wyffels and Andrew Metz also in double figures with 13 and 11 respectively. Centennial's run and jump style traps were effective in the 1st half. I liked what I saw and the Cougars will be better than I expected.
Neither team with a post presence and that showed in the strange stat of the night. The starting "big" for each team was scoreless and fouled out. Of the 11 bench guys who played, none of them had more than 1 field goal. 67 FTs in the game, 16-30 for Roseville, 18-37 for Centennial. Note that I count missed front ends as 2 attempts and misses. That was due to over 50 fouls called.
Strategy Session
In the last strategy session, I talked about how Johnson gets their guards going to the rim. Tonight showed another way to do that. Its the Bethel Dribble Drive inspired offense that is a local rage right now. Thank you MN Heat guys for going to this after using THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE for ages. A fundamental concept is cuts to the corners to create the idea of "double gaps" for driving. What you end up with is a player passing and cutting to a corner. Then the pass receiver immediately drives thru the area where the passer was. The passer's cut creates extra space for the driver to attack. Shooters then spot up in the corners for 3s or cut to the rim if their defender turns their head.
There were 3 permutations of this that Centennial showed tonight out of a 4 out dribble drive look.
1) Guard to guard pass, passer follows to the same side corner but also tries to cut off of the receivers defender. Receiver has a ton of room as the spot where the passer is vacated and the other player on that side is a shooter spaced to the corner.
2) As a counter to the 1st, after the guard to guard pass the passer cuts to the corner on his side. The corner player then clears under the rim to the opposite side of the floor. This creates the same exact look as the 1st. But it puts more stress on the passers defender and helps eliminate a double team option.
3) Centennial also used the post player to come set a ball screen. Then the other guard could fill behind the drive or to the basket while the post player would pop. Only saw it once but it was a nice look.
To Roseville for a section 5AAAA matchup between Centennial and the host Raiders. Solid but quiet student section on hand. A very basic concession menu as always. But I'm more and more a fan of prewrapped hot dogs. My looked disappointing immediately on opening but actually turned out to be good. Add in the daily dose of battery acid (Coke) to keep the beverage counter rolling. Lots of older music on the public address including Journey and the Bee Gees but we'll pick the 1st and oldest song of the night for today's tune.
Song of the Day: Let Your Love Flow - Bellamy Brothers
Number of Teams I've Seen: 4 (2 games, 2 days)
Beverage Ticker: 32 ounces (380 Calories)
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
- Coke: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- Hot Dogs: 1
- Walking Tacos: 1
The stars of the night get started right away. Soph Carter Anderson for 3 for Centennial countered by a Roseville 3 from Drew Adams. 2 quick fouls on Gary Smith for Roseville and he'll sit for the rest of the half after only 3 minutes. Adams with another 3 before Anderson splits 2 pairs of free throws. Then its Matt Wyffels for 3 on a throwback pass and shooter Ricky Eason with a triple to break a 13 all tie. Quick Roseville timeout at 10:28.
Fouls all over the place and lots of guys with 2 in the 1st half. The lead hovers in that 6 point range until Anderson makes 4 straight free throws and adds a hoop in an 8-2 run. That extends the lead to 37-26 late in the half. The 12th guy Roseville used in the 1st half was JV starting center Spencer Nath. He makes 2 free throws and a hoop late. That cuts the Centennial lead to 42-33 at the half.
The lead gets to 12 before Roseville goes to their "Hawkeye" 1-2-2 3/4 trap. Adams with a putback and 3 point play off a turnover thanks to that trap. Its part of a 10-0 run over 3:40 and gets the Raiders right back in the game. 45-42 Centennial with over 12 minutes left. Then an up and down sequence with the teams racing back and forth but no points. Adams with 2 blocks during that stretch. Daevonte Munson with good minutes and his 3 keeps Roseville within 54-50 with 5:46 left.
Wyffels counters with another throwback 3 off the dribble handoff. Then a post feed and Andrew Nordquist comes from the weakside and just takes it away for an Eason layup. Nordquist then adds a runner for a 61-50 lead with 3:40 left. At this point, the game should have been over. Smith finds Munson for 3 and he makes a free throw. Adams adds a 3 point play and Roseville still has life down 6 with 2:30 left.
It only gets worse for the Cougars. Centennial turns it over, misses a front end and then takes 2 horrific shots quickly with Roseville not trapping or fouling. All of that allows a Smith drive to cut it to 3 and then after an offensive rebound its Adams from the deep beyound and we're all tied at 63 with 1:06 left. That's a 13-2 Raiders run in just over 2 and a half minutes. Wyffels immediately scores on the other end to put Centennial on top. Roseville takes timeout and draws up a baseline double screen.
The play said the ball had to go there so the pass went there. Unfortunately, a defender was already there for a Roseville turnover. Anderson makes 1 of 2 free throws, Centennial fouls and Roseville misses both freebies. Centennial makes only 1 FT again and Smith goes quick to the rim for 2. Still a 2 point game with 14 seconds left. Centennial gets out on the break and its an intentional foul from behind (new emphasis this year) with 7.9 seconds left. Centennial makes 1 and then on the inbound they are fouled and miss both. Roseville has 1 last chance but is out of timeouts. 2 desperation 3s are no good. Centennial wins 68-65.
Post Game
For Roseville, Drew Adams was outstanding with 25 points and 3 triples to lead all scorers. He was very active on the glass and was at the top of the 1-2-2 trap that got Roseville back in the game. Daevonte Munson with quality minutes for the Raiders as well with 4 triples and 3 free throws for 15 points. Gary Smith with all 9 of his points in the 2nd half after missing most of the 1st half with 2 fouls. Roseville starts the season 0-1. They'll continue their 5 game homestand to start the season with a visit from Rosemount on Tuesday.
For Centennial, soph Carter Anderson scores 16 of his 21 in the 1st half to lead the Cougars. Shooter Ricky Eason adds 16. Starters Matt Wyffels and Andrew Metz also in double figures with 13 and 11 respectively. Centennial's run and jump style traps were effective in the 1st half. I liked what I saw and the Cougars will be better than I expected.
Neither team with a post presence and that showed in the strange stat of the night. The starting "big" for each team was scoreless and fouled out. Of the 11 bench guys who played, none of them had more than 1 field goal. 67 FTs in the game, 16-30 for Roseville, 18-37 for Centennial. Note that I count missed front ends as 2 attempts and misses. That was due to over 50 fouls called.
Strategy Session
In the last strategy session, I talked about how Johnson gets their guards going to the rim. Tonight showed another way to do that. Its the Bethel Dribble Drive inspired offense that is a local rage right now. Thank you MN Heat guys for going to this after using THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE for ages. A fundamental concept is cuts to the corners to create the idea of "double gaps" for driving. What you end up with is a player passing and cutting to a corner. Then the pass receiver immediately drives thru the area where the passer was. The passer's cut creates extra space for the driver to attack. Shooters then spot up in the corners for 3s or cut to the rim if their defender turns their head.
There were 3 permutations of this that Centennial showed tonight out of a 4 out dribble drive look.
1) Guard to guard pass, passer follows to the same side corner but also tries to cut off of the receivers defender. Receiver has a ton of room as the spot where the passer is vacated and the other player on that side is a shooter spaced to the corner.
2) As a counter to the 1st, after the guard to guard pass the passer cuts to the corner on his side. The corner player then clears under the rim to the opposite side of the floor. This creates the same exact look as the 1st. But it puts more stress on the passers defender and helps eliminate a double team option.
3) Centennial also used the post player to come set a ball screen. Then the other guard could fill behind the drive or to the basket while the post player would pop. Only saw it once but it was a nice look.
A pressure packed opening night
Prologue
Its official Minnesota kickoff for the 2017-18 season. Great to be back at it for an 11th season. Since I didn't see a Wisconsin game during my Thanksgiving visit to The Old Kingdom, its only fitting that I still get in a Wisconsin team for my official opener. That's River Falls visiting St. Paul Johnson. Johnson a very fitting place to start the season with the walking taco on the menu. No salsa or sour cream makes for a dry version, but the basic lettuce and cheese with the standard Doritos makes it a solid B. But I only wish people would realize how valuable it is to crush the bag of Doritos first. 7-Up gets the beverage counter rolling for another season.
Song of the Day: Break on Through (To The Other Side) - The Doors
Number of Teams I've Seen: 2
Beverage Ticker: 12 ounces (140 Calories)
1 day, 1 game
Game Time:
River Falls features Big Rivers Player of the Year and North Dakota State signee Jaxon Knotek on the wing. He has an assist for 3 and a 3 of his own early. Add in a pair of hoops from Ryan Spafford and River Falls jumps out to a 10-4 lead, time debatable due to it not running for a long period right after the 1st possession. Knotek scores in the post but is countered by a pair of Terrel Turner triples for Johnson. But its Knotek trailing the break for another great look at 3 and its good for a 22-14 Wildcats lead at the 8:52 mark.
After a 3 extends the lead to 10, Johnson rallies. Kyle Lee with a fadeaway, Nueadean Adam for 3, Keylon Jackson with 3 the old fashioned way and Jordan Mobley scores after an offensive board of a free throw (biggest crime in the game). Johnson within 27-26 at the 4:30 mark. Knotek carrying the Wildcat offense with another bucket and Spafford adds 2 free throws. Lee another bucket and Turner another bomb. A late turnover gives the Govs a chance to regain the lead but a late jumper by Lee is no good. 32-31 River Falls up at the half.
2 wide open layups with solid passes being made give River Falls a 5 point edge to start the 2nd half. After trading buckets, Johnson's full court pressure finally starts to take its toll. 4 River Falls turnovers lead directly to buckets. Knotek tries to get a breather but the turnovers only allow him a 23 second bench rest. The Johnson run is 15-4 in about 3 minutes. That puts the Govs up 48-40 with 12:42 left.
River Falls replies with a 11-3 run of their own. Knotek wasn't getting any touches as Johnson decided to practically face guard him. But he took matters into his own hands but putting back his own miss for a 3 point play, 2 free throws out of a post up and another putback. 51 all with 7:20 left. Then the pace slows but Johnson able to get to the lane and get the next 3 buckets. After a Mobley FT they have the ball up 5 but turn it over with 2:05 left. River Falls misses a front but Knotek with a steal for a dunk with 1:12 left and the Wildcats still have a chance down 3. But that's the last gasp. Mobley makes both ends of the bonus while River Falls turns it over twice and misses a FT block out to cost them 2 free throws. Johnson misses 5 FTs in the last 35 seconds but that only keeps it close. Johnson wins 63-59
Post Game
For River Falls, NDSU signee Jaxon Knotek finishes with 24 points and 16 rebounds on my sheet. I had him 9-21 from the field but that was with his 1st 4 as misses. He showed a very versatile game handling the ball, trailing the break for 3s or playing in the post. Outside of 1 3 minute flurry in the 2nd half, the defense keying on him after the big 1st half (15 pts, 9 rbs) took him out of the game. Forward Ryan Spafford did a bunch of dirty work inside on his way to 16 points. Nobody else with more than 5 points for the Wildcats.
For Johnson, they end up with 3 players in double figures. Terrel Turner and Jordan Mobley with 13 each and Kyle Lee with 11. Johnson's pressure did exactly what its intended to do by just continuing to wear on the opponent. The Govs guard play will be very good to them in league play. The quartet of Kyle Lee, Shemar Tucker-Adams, Jordan Mobley and Terrel Turner had 45 of the 63 points. Expect that trend to continue. They aren't great shooters but they get into the lane and will share the ball. St. Paul Johnson opens 1-0 and they visit Brooklyn Center for the Centaurs opener on Friday.
Strategy Session
Johnson has long been known for their full court scrambling pressure. While that is a calling card for the Govs, I want to talk offense. There were a couple of things that the Govs did that I liked and really fit their lineup well. First was a simple 3 out 2 in dribble weave with a random big stepping up for the high ball screen in it from time to time. That was effective in getting the guards going down hill and good discipline not to settle for bad 3s.
The other very effective set that the Govs used was a horns look with the point guard (mostly Lee) coming off both elbow screeners to his right hand and being able to turn the corner or kick to Turner for 3 on the ball side. That was largely how Turner got his 3 point looks. They'll also use a baseline runner look but that didn't net them anything.
Its official Minnesota kickoff for the 2017-18 season. Great to be back at it for an 11th season. Since I didn't see a Wisconsin game during my Thanksgiving visit to The Old Kingdom, its only fitting that I still get in a Wisconsin team for my official opener. That's River Falls visiting St. Paul Johnson. Johnson a very fitting place to start the season with the walking taco on the menu. No salsa or sour cream makes for a dry version, but the basic lettuce and cheese with the standard Doritos makes it a solid B. But I only wish people would realize how valuable it is to crush the bag of Doritos first. 7-Up gets the beverage counter rolling for another season.
Song of the Day: Break on Through (To The Other Side) - The Doors
Number of Teams I've Seen: 2
Beverage Ticker: 12 ounces (140 Calories)
1 day, 1 game
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
Game Time:
River Falls features Big Rivers Player of the Year and North Dakota State signee Jaxon Knotek on the wing. He has an assist for 3 and a 3 of his own early. Add in a pair of hoops from Ryan Spafford and River Falls jumps out to a 10-4 lead, time debatable due to it not running for a long period right after the 1st possession. Knotek scores in the post but is countered by a pair of Terrel Turner triples for Johnson. But its Knotek trailing the break for another great look at 3 and its good for a 22-14 Wildcats lead at the 8:52 mark.
After a 3 extends the lead to 10, Johnson rallies. Kyle Lee with a fadeaway, Nueadean Adam for 3, Keylon Jackson with 3 the old fashioned way and Jordan Mobley scores after an offensive board of a free throw (biggest crime in the game). Johnson within 27-26 at the 4:30 mark. Knotek carrying the Wildcat offense with another bucket and Spafford adds 2 free throws. Lee another bucket and Turner another bomb. A late turnover gives the Govs a chance to regain the lead but a late jumper by Lee is no good. 32-31 River Falls up at the half.
2 wide open layups with solid passes being made give River Falls a 5 point edge to start the 2nd half. After trading buckets, Johnson's full court pressure finally starts to take its toll. 4 River Falls turnovers lead directly to buckets. Knotek tries to get a breather but the turnovers only allow him a 23 second bench rest. The Johnson run is 15-4 in about 3 minutes. That puts the Govs up 48-40 with 12:42 left.
River Falls replies with a 11-3 run of their own. Knotek wasn't getting any touches as Johnson decided to practically face guard him. But he took matters into his own hands but putting back his own miss for a 3 point play, 2 free throws out of a post up and another putback. 51 all with 7:20 left. Then the pace slows but Johnson able to get to the lane and get the next 3 buckets. After a Mobley FT they have the ball up 5 but turn it over with 2:05 left. River Falls misses a front but Knotek with a steal for a dunk with 1:12 left and the Wildcats still have a chance down 3. But that's the last gasp. Mobley makes both ends of the bonus while River Falls turns it over twice and misses a FT block out to cost them 2 free throws. Johnson misses 5 FTs in the last 35 seconds but that only keeps it close. Johnson wins 63-59
Post Game
For River Falls, NDSU signee Jaxon Knotek finishes with 24 points and 16 rebounds on my sheet. I had him 9-21 from the field but that was with his 1st 4 as misses. He showed a very versatile game handling the ball, trailing the break for 3s or playing in the post. Outside of 1 3 minute flurry in the 2nd half, the defense keying on him after the big 1st half (15 pts, 9 rbs) took him out of the game. Forward Ryan Spafford did a bunch of dirty work inside on his way to 16 points. Nobody else with more than 5 points for the Wildcats.
For Johnson, they end up with 3 players in double figures. Terrel Turner and Jordan Mobley with 13 each and Kyle Lee with 11. Johnson's pressure did exactly what its intended to do by just continuing to wear on the opponent. The Govs guard play will be very good to them in league play. The quartet of Kyle Lee, Shemar Tucker-Adams, Jordan Mobley and Terrel Turner had 45 of the 63 points. Expect that trend to continue. They aren't great shooters but they get into the lane and will share the ball. St. Paul Johnson opens 1-0 and they visit Brooklyn Center for the Centaurs opener on Friday.
Strategy Session
Johnson has long been known for their full court scrambling pressure. While that is a calling card for the Govs, I want to talk offense. There were a couple of things that the Govs did that I liked and really fit their lineup well. First was a simple 3 out 2 in dribble weave with a random big stepping up for the high ball screen in it from time to time. That was effective in getting the guards going down hill and good discipline not to settle for bad 3s.
The other very effective set that the Govs used was a horns look with the point guard (mostly Lee) coming off both elbow screeners to his right hand and being able to turn the corner or kick to Turner for 3 on the ball side. That was largely how Turner got his 3 point looks. They'll also use a baseline runner look but that didn't net them anything.
2017-18 Opening Week Preview
Its opening week of the 2017-18 season and despite not officially starting until Thursday, it has plenty to offer. Let's get to it.
Wednesday
A couple of last minute tune up jamborees before the season starts. If you like big north metro schools, then Spring Lake Park is the place to be. 8 teams from the NW Suburban plus Fridley, St. Francis, Forest Lake and Mounds View are participating there.
If smaller schools are more your thing, then Jump City is for you. That's High School for Recording Arts in St. Paul. They'll host Humboldt, Highland Park, Maranatha, Brooklyn Center and Prairie Seeds Academy with each team playing twice. Both of those events start at 6 PM.
Thursday
Its a quiet opening night but quality is on the schedule. The highest profile local game is the battle for St. Paul supremacy with Central visiting Cretin-Derham Hall. That game is online so I may have comments on it after my game with the other St. Paul team looking for a title, Johnson. They have a sneaky good game against River Falls, WI to open the season. Jaxon Knotek played well over the summer and made himself into a NDSU commit.
The Minneapolis side has a couple of games of note as well. Roosevelt visits Orono in an early season matchup of 6AAA teams. No good matchup for Jarvis Omersa there but Roosevelt's guards vs the Orono guards is a good test. Rochester Lourdes visits Breck in a quality AA game as well.
Friday
Rare for a weeknight but one could pull off a 2 location tripleheader with the early Humboldt at Nova game and then a late girls/boys doubleheader at Trinity. Nothing incredibly sticks out but Johnson gets no break as they visit Brooklyn Center. Forest Lake also has the quick turnaround for a 7AAAA road game at Coon Rapids. Centennial at Roseville is an early season 5AAAA battle and is my prediction for the 4 vs 5 section game. Central Minnesota Christian comes in for a weekend doubleheader with SW Christian (Fri) and Heritage Christian (Sat)
Saturday
Speaking of Saturday, one could sit at the girls tipoff all day and wait for the boys games. I on the other hand will take the chance to watch St. Cloud Apollo at St. Louis Park in an early noon start. St. Louis Park is experienced, Apollo has talented youth and a new coach. Should make for an interesting game. Kasson-Mantorville visits Simley in a game that should have an impact on how these teams are seeded in 1AAA. Then its the 4 boys games at the girls tipoff.
Iowa City West is the top ranked team in Iowa with star Patrick McCaffrey. They'll take on De La Salle in the 3:45 game. Gabe Kalscheur vs McCaffrey is the appealing matchup there. But I would expect the worker bees from each team to get the defensive assignments and not much head to head. Expect a grind it out defensive battle.
Orono takes on Robbinsdale Armstrong in the 5:30 game. This was intended to be the Race Thompson vs Jarvis Omersa showdown but with Thompson leaving early for Indiana, that appeal is gone.
Cretin-Derham Hall shows up again on my radar for the 3rd time in a week. This time they get host Hopkins. That's the clear early season battle for #2 in the state AAAA poll. Oturu vs Hedstrom and Beauchamp vs Larson are fun matchups. But the most interesting matchup could be Sy Chatman vs Zeke Nnaji. Chatman stuck out with his play at the CDH jamboree on Saturday and in fall league. His game has definitely advanced.
In the late game, its East Ridge vs Minnehaha. These teams both return a ton. Ben Carlson needs to be a big factor inside in this one. If Javonni Bickham is in foul trouble for Minnehaha, that takes a major threat off the floor. Jalen Suggs so dangerous creating off the high pick and roll either for himself or for a bevy of outside shooters. The Raptors game plan against him will be interesting to see.
Wednesday
A couple of last minute tune up jamborees before the season starts. If you like big north metro schools, then Spring Lake Park is the place to be. 8 teams from the NW Suburban plus Fridley, St. Francis, Forest Lake and Mounds View are participating there.
If smaller schools are more your thing, then Jump City is for you. That's High School for Recording Arts in St. Paul. They'll host Humboldt, Highland Park, Maranatha, Brooklyn Center and Prairie Seeds Academy with each team playing twice. Both of those events start at 6 PM.
Thursday
Its a quiet opening night but quality is on the schedule. The highest profile local game is the battle for St. Paul supremacy with Central visiting Cretin-Derham Hall. That game is online so I may have comments on it after my game with the other St. Paul team looking for a title, Johnson. They have a sneaky good game against River Falls, WI to open the season. Jaxon Knotek played well over the summer and made himself into a NDSU commit.
The Minneapolis side has a couple of games of note as well. Roosevelt visits Orono in an early season matchup of 6AAA teams. No good matchup for Jarvis Omersa there but Roosevelt's guards vs the Orono guards is a good test. Rochester Lourdes visits Breck in a quality AA game as well.
Friday
Rare for a weeknight but one could pull off a 2 location tripleheader with the early Humboldt at Nova game and then a late girls/boys doubleheader at Trinity. Nothing incredibly sticks out but Johnson gets no break as they visit Brooklyn Center. Forest Lake also has the quick turnaround for a 7AAAA road game at Coon Rapids. Centennial at Roseville is an early season 5AAAA battle and is my prediction for the 4 vs 5 section game. Central Minnesota Christian comes in for a weekend doubleheader with SW Christian (Fri) and Heritage Christian (Sat)
Saturday
Speaking of Saturday, one could sit at the girls tipoff all day and wait for the boys games. I on the other hand will take the chance to watch St. Cloud Apollo at St. Louis Park in an early noon start. St. Louis Park is experienced, Apollo has talented youth and a new coach. Should make for an interesting game. Kasson-Mantorville visits Simley in a game that should have an impact on how these teams are seeded in 1AAA. Then its the 4 boys games at the girls tipoff.
Iowa City West is the top ranked team in Iowa with star Patrick McCaffrey. They'll take on De La Salle in the 3:45 game. Gabe Kalscheur vs McCaffrey is the appealing matchup there. But I would expect the worker bees from each team to get the defensive assignments and not much head to head. Expect a grind it out defensive battle.
Orono takes on Robbinsdale Armstrong in the 5:30 game. This was intended to be the Race Thompson vs Jarvis Omersa showdown but with Thompson leaving early for Indiana, that appeal is gone.
Cretin-Derham Hall shows up again on my radar for the 3rd time in a week. This time they get host Hopkins. That's the clear early season battle for #2 in the state AAAA poll. Oturu vs Hedstrom and Beauchamp vs Larson are fun matchups. But the most interesting matchup could be Sy Chatman vs Zeke Nnaji. Chatman stuck out with his play at the CDH jamboree on Saturday and in fall league. His game has definitely advanced.
In the late game, its East Ridge vs Minnehaha. These teams both return a ton. Ben Carlson needs to be a big factor inside in this one. If Javonni Bickham is in foul trouble for Minnehaha, that takes a major threat off the floor. Jalen Suggs so dangerous creating off the high pick and roll either for himself or for a bevy of outside shooters. The Raptors game plan against him will be interesting to see.
2017-18 Season in a Nutshell
Labels:
17-18 Season Previews
The 2017-2018 Season Preview series concludes its 6 week run with my favorite preview. Its an overview of
what and who you need to see and when and where you can find it. This
is a higher level preview for the more casual fan who doesn't eat, sleep
and breathe hoops like many of us do. So with that in mind, we distill
the season down to some high points. For a list of all of the detailed previews, click here.
Local Events to Watch
Other Non-Conference Games to Watch
Local Players to Watch
2018
Its a great year for Gopher fans with 3 local seniors moving on Williams Arena next season (Kalscheur, Omersa, Oturu). Its not a coincidence that their teams will be looking to compete for state titles this season. Assuming De La Salle sees Orono in the 6AAA final, we'll get a full round robin of those 3 teams. Apple Valley and Minnehaha enter the season with a ton returning and favorites to repeat. De La Salle looks to plug in Jamison Battle for Goanar Mar and do the same in AAA. Delano and Austin from outside of section 6AAA and Orono in their section are the biggest threats to end the 6 year Islanders title streak. Class A becomes wide open with Minneapolis North moving up to AA. The Polars should compete again for a state title there. But they'll find AA is much deeper than single A ever was against them Lake City and St. Cloud Cathedral return a ton from state teams last year plus Annandale is still strong. Then you have Caledonia, Esko and Perham who are talented enough to win a title.
In AAAA, Cretin-Derham Hall and Hopkins stick out as the immediate threats to Apple Valley's throne. Park Center and East Ridge are talented enough to jump into that group as well. After that, its a down year in AAAA. The Metro West and NW Suburban are down and the South Suburban isn't as strong as past years. 4 teams in AAAA with no metro ties stick out for me. That's Rochester John Marshall, Rochester Mayo, Owatonna and St. Cloud Tech. So those with Woodbury, North St. Paul and the rest of the Lake conference stick out as a group that will stick around the back half of the state poll. Barring any major upsets, I think the top 4 seeds at state will be pretty clear (AV, CDH/Hopkins, Park Center). I see the 5th seed as a battle between Eden Prairie and the winner of section 1.
On the rules side, some fun points of emphasis this year. Intentional fouls are intended to be called much closer. We'll see what impact that has on the end of games. Officials can now formally warn a bench for misconduct. How that impacts coaching behavior will be interesting to see. On ball defense with guys bumping ball handlers is part of the emphasis too. Head and shoulders past the defender is the key to watch there. While Minnesota has a shot clock rule, we mostly don't use it. Wisconsin tried to put a full time rule in for 2019 and the WIAA has been shredded for how it was handled. Will that discussion and result drive any discussion and changes here?
Tre Jones should sweep the post season awards barring a catastrophe. The Mr Basketball award situation will be interesting to watch to see what the reaction is. I think their process will be fair. However, the committee was still picked by Ken Lien. While I personally don't find that an issue, the perception of many others is very different. I still feel the committee has done an absolutely terrible job of publicly denouncing the actions and addressing the perceptions. Both in terms of slow timing and soft messaging. I'm convinced the committee feels stronger than they've let on and for their sake I wish they would say it in public as a united group. The McDonald Award is a worthy alternative but I really wonder if it will get any traction at all. In a just world, the Mr Basketball award would just be turned over to the coaches association like its done in many other states. That would clean up much of the mess.
Local Events to Watch
- Dec 2 - Breakdown Girls Tipoff Classic at Hopkins (4 premier boys games)
- Dec 9 - Breakdown Boys Tipoff Classic at Hopkins
- Dec 16 - Southside Showcase at Burnsville
- Jan 15 - MLK events (Totino-Grace and South Mpls)
- January - Super 60 Events
Other Non-Conference Games to Watch
- Minnehaha at Apple Valley - Dec 7th (ESPN)
- Hopkins vs Minnehaha - Dec 23rd (projected tournament championship at Augsburg)
- Apple Valley vs Park Center - Dec 29th (at St. Cloud Apollo)
- Minnehaha vs Orono - Dec 30th (at St Cloud State)
- Cretin-Derham Hall vs Apple Valley - Dec 30th (at St. Cloud State)
- Hopkins at Orono - Jan 9th
- Minneapolis North at Minnehaha - Jan 25th
- Austin at Minnehaha - Feb 3rd
- De La Salle at Cretin-Derham Hall - Feb 10th
- Hopkins at Minneapolis North - Feb 13th
- Caledonia at Minnehaha - Feb 17th
Local Players to Watch
2018
- Joe Hedstrom - Hopkins
- Michael Jones - Woodbury
- Tre Jones - Apple Valley
- Gabe Kalscheur - De La Salle
- Jarvis Omersa - Orono
- Daniel Oturu - Cretin-Derham Hall
- Zeke Nnaji = Hopkins
- Tyrell Terry - De La Salle
- Ben Carlson - East Ridge
- Dain Dainja - Park Center
- Dawson Garcia - Prior Lake
- Jalen Suggs - Minnehaha
- Apple Valley
- Cretin-Derham Hall
- Hopkins
- Park Center
- East Ridge
- De La Salle
- Orono
- Minnehaha
- Minneapolis North
- Apple Valley - 40 wins (24 in a row overall)
- Heritage Christian Academy - 24 wins
- Champlin Park - 19 wins
- Minnehaha - 19 wins (19 in a row overall)
- De La Salle - 16 wins
- Minneapolis North - 15 wins
- Mounds Park Academy - 29 losses IMAC, 68 conference back Tri-Metro play
- South St. Paul - 43 losses total , 57 in a row at home
- Concordia-Roseville - 18 losses
- Stillwater - 14 losses
- PACT - 12 losses
Its a great year for Gopher fans with 3 local seniors moving on Williams Arena next season (Kalscheur, Omersa, Oturu). Its not a coincidence that their teams will be looking to compete for state titles this season. Assuming De La Salle sees Orono in the 6AAA final, we'll get a full round robin of those 3 teams. Apple Valley and Minnehaha enter the season with a ton returning and favorites to repeat. De La Salle looks to plug in Jamison Battle for Goanar Mar and do the same in AAA. Delano and Austin from outside of section 6AAA and Orono in their section are the biggest threats to end the 6 year Islanders title streak. Class A becomes wide open with Minneapolis North moving up to AA. The Polars should compete again for a state title there. But they'll find AA is much deeper than single A ever was against them Lake City and St. Cloud Cathedral return a ton from state teams last year plus Annandale is still strong. Then you have Caledonia, Esko and Perham who are talented enough to win a title.
In AAAA, Cretin-Derham Hall and Hopkins stick out as the immediate threats to Apple Valley's throne. Park Center and East Ridge are talented enough to jump into that group as well. After that, its a down year in AAAA. The Metro West and NW Suburban are down and the South Suburban isn't as strong as past years. 4 teams in AAAA with no metro ties stick out for me. That's Rochester John Marshall, Rochester Mayo, Owatonna and St. Cloud Tech. So those with Woodbury, North St. Paul and the rest of the Lake conference stick out as a group that will stick around the back half of the state poll. Barring any major upsets, I think the top 4 seeds at state will be pretty clear (AV, CDH/Hopkins, Park Center). I see the 5th seed as a battle between Eden Prairie and the winner of section 1.
On the rules side, some fun points of emphasis this year. Intentional fouls are intended to be called much closer. We'll see what impact that has on the end of games. Officials can now formally warn a bench for misconduct. How that impacts coaching behavior will be interesting to see. On ball defense with guys bumping ball handlers is part of the emphasis too. Head and shoulders past the defender is the key to watch there. While Minnesota has a shot clock rule, we mostly don't use it. Wisconsin tried to put a full time rule in for 2019 and the WIAA has been shredded for how it was handled. Will that discussion and result drive any discussion and changes here?
Tre Jones should sweep the post season awards barring a catastrophe. The Mr Basketball award situation will be interesting to watch to see what the reaction is. I think their process will be fair. However, the committee was still picked by Ken Lien. While I personally don't find that an issue, the perception of many others is very different. I still feel the committee has done an absolutely terrible job of publicly denouncing the actions and addressing the perceptions. Both in terms of slow timing and soft messaging. I'm convinced the committee feels stronger than they've let on and for their sake I wish they would say it in public as a united group. The McDonald Award is a worthy alternative but I really wonder if it will get any traction at all. In a just world, the Mr Basketball award would just be turned over to the coaches association like its done in many other states. That would clean up much of the mess.
2017-18 Section 8AAAA Preview
Labels:
17-18 Season Previews
This is the 27th preview in my 2017-2018
season preview series. Its the final class AAAA preview, a look at section 8AAAA. For a list of all the
season previews and how
they are
generated, click here.
Section 8AAAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: Maple Grove
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Tuesday, March 6th
Semifinals: Saturday, March 10th at St. Cloud State
Finals: Thursday, March 15th at TBD (Neutral site based on teams)
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Maple Grove. No experience and no expectations after losing the entire rotation. But they do have some talent that hasn't had the chance to show on the big stage yet. By the end, they'll work the kinks out and be much better than early in the year.
Section Winner: St. Cloud Tech. This is the year they've built to. They are too deep and talented to not advance. A potential Spann-Ford vs Belka matchup in the final is very attractive.
Section 8AAAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: Maple Grove
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Tuesday, March 6th
Semifinals: Saturday, March 10th at St. Cloud State
Finals: Thursday, March 15th at TBD (Neutral site based on teams)
Predicted Seeding
- St. Cloud Tech
- Rogers
- St. Michael-Albertville
- Elk River
- Maple Grove
- Brainerd
- Moorhead
- Buffalo
Sleeper: Maple Grove. No experience and no expectations after losing the entire rotation. But they do have some talent that hasn't had the chance to show on the big stage yet. By the end, they'll work the kinks out and be much better than early in the year.
Section Winner: St. Cloud Tech. This is the year they've built to. They are too deep and talented to not advance. A potential Spann-Ford vs Belka matchup in the final is very attractive.
2017-18 Section 7AAAA Preview
Labels:
17-18 Season Previews
This is the 26th preview in my 2017-2018
season preview series. The class AAAA previews move on to the often maligned section 7AAAA. For a list of all the
season previews and how
they are
generated, click here.
Section 7AAAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: Andover
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, March 7th
Semifinals: Saturday, March 10th at Chisago Lakes
Finals: Thursday, March 15th at Chisago Lakes
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Cambridge-Isanti. Despite losing their top scorer, the Bluejackets have plenty of experience coming back and they play a unique system. Add in shooter like Henry Abraham and in this section they should be able to compete with everybody.
Section Winner: Forest Lake. This is more by default than anything. But the Rangers have enough firepower that they should withstand the competition.
Section 7AAAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: Andover
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, March 7th
Semifinals: Saturday, March 10th at Chisago Lakes
Finals: Thursday, March 15th at Chisago Lakes
Predicted Seeding
- Forest Lake
- St. Francis
- Blaine
- Andover
- Cambridge-Isanti
- Duluth East
- Anoka
- Coon Rapids
Sleeper: Cambridge-Isanti. Despite losing their top scorer, the Bluejackets have plenty of experience coming back and they play a unique system. Add in shooter like Henry Abraham and in this section they should be able to compete with everybody.
Section Winner: Forest Lake. This is more by default than anything. But the Rangers have enough firepower that they should withstand the competition.
2017-18 Section 6AAAA Preview
Labels:
17-18 Season Previews
This is the 25th preview in my 2017-2018
season preview series. The class AAAA previews roll along with a look at section 6AAAA. For a list of all the
season previews and how
they are
generated, click here.
Section 6AAAA (7 teams)
Defending Champion: Wayzata
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Tuesday, March 6th
Semifinals: Friday, March 9th at Osseo
Finals: Wednesday, March 14th at Osseo
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Minneapolis South. Coach Joe Hyser always has his teams ready to go. They have plenty of experience coming back. Add in soph Curtis Jones as a scorer and the Tigers are the most likely to pull an upset.
Section Winner: Hopkins. The Royals were stung by the section final loss to Wayzata last year. As is the case in my Lake Conference picks, the big front line of Joe Hedstrom and Zeke Nnaji is the difference here.
Section 6AAAA (7 teams)
Defending Champion: Wayzata
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Tuesday, March 6th
Semifinals: Friday, March 9th at Osseo
Finals: Wednesday, March 14th at Osseo
Predicted Seeding
- Hopkins
- Wayzata
- St. Louis Park
- Robbinsdale Armstrong
- Minneapolis Washburn
- Minneapolis South
- Minneapolis Southwest
Sleeper: Minneapolis South. Coach Joe Hyser always has his teams ready to go. They have plenty of experience coming back. Add in soph Curtis Jones as a scorer and the Tigers are the most likely to pull an upset.
Section Winner: Hopkins. The Royals were stung by the section final loss to Wayzata last year. As is the case in my Lake Conference picks, the big front line of Joe Hedstrom and Zeke Nnaji is the difference here.
2017-18 Section 5AAAA Preview
Labels:
17-18 Season Previews
This is the 24th preview in my 2017-2018
season preview series. In this final week of previews, we finish our look at class AAAA and then finish up with our annual season overview on Friday. Today its section 5AAAA. For a list of all the
season previews and how
they are
generated, click here.
Section 5AAAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: Champlin Park
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, March 7th
Semifinals: Tuesday, March 13th at Maple Grove
Finals: Friday, March 16th at Rogers
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Roseville. They finished strong last year and have some productive pieces returning. Add in Gary Smith from St. Agnes and the Raiders could surprise here.
Section Winner: Park Center. The Pirates have all the ingredients and their depth is a major difference. They won 10 straight before a 1 point loss to Osseo in sections. They should battle to be in the 2nd tier of teams behind Apple Valley this season.
Section 5AAAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: Champlin Park
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, March 7th
Semifinals: Tuesday, March 13th at Maple Grove
Finals: Friday, March 16th at Rogers
Predicted Seeding
- Park Center
- Champlin Park
- Osseo
- Roseville
- Centennial
- Mounds View
- Spring Lake Park
- Irondale
Sleeper: Roseville. They finished strong last year and have some productive pieces returning. Add in Gary Smith from St. Agnes and the Raiders could surprise here.
Section Winner: Park Center. The Pirates have all the ingredients and their depth is a major difference. They won 10 straight before a 1 point loss to Osseo in sections. They should battle to be in the 2nd tier of teams behind Apple Valley this season.
2017-18 Section 4AAAA Preview
Labels:
17-18 Season Previews
This is the 23rd preview in my 2017-2018
season preview series. Continuing our look at the class AAAA sections, we move on to section 4. For a list of all the
season previews and how
they are
generated, click here.
Section 4AAAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: Cretin-Derham Hall
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, March 7th
Semifinals: Saturday, March 10th at Hastings
Finals: Thursday, March 15th at Hastings
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Tartan. This will be the 1st year in a long time with no expectations as they lose almost everybody. But there is still talent there and a hall of fame coach in Mark Klingsporn who has taken teams to state.
Section Winner: Cretin-Derham Hall. Not betting against the defending section champs with everybody returning. East Ridge will be an extremely tough out this year and they are looking at a couple of great years ahead. Look for that 3rd meeting to be one the best section finals of the season.
Section 4AAAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: Cretin-Derham Hall
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, March 7th
Semifinals: Saturday, March 10th at Hastings
Finals: Thursday, March 15th at Hastings
Predicted Seeding
- Cretin-Derham Hall
- East Ridge
- North St. Paul
- Woodbury
- St. Paul Central
- Tartan
- White Bear Lake
- Stillwater
Sleeper: Tartan. This will be the 1st year in a long time with no expectations as they lose almost everybody. But there is still talent there and a hall of fame coach in Mark Klingsporn who has taken teams to state.
Section Winner: Cretin-Derham Hall. Not betting against the defending section champs with everybody returning. East Ridge will be an extremely tough out this year and they are looking at a couple of great years ahead. Look for that 3rd meeting to be one the best section finals of the season.
2017-18 Section 3AAAA Preview
Labels:
17-18 Season Previews
This is the 22nd preview in my 2017-2018
season preview series. Continuing our look at the class AAAA sections, we move on to section 3. For a list of all the
season previews and how
they are
generated, click here.
Section 3AAAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: Apple Valley
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Tuesday, March 6th
Semifinals: Friday, March 9th at Farmington
Finals: Thursday, March 15th at Farmington
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Henry Sibley. They have talented point guard Reshaun Satar returning and a couple of experienced juniors coming back. That gives them the best chance of the lower group to jump out.
Section Winner: Apple Valley. The defending state champs have most of the roster back and the top player in the state in Tre Jones. Plus its a terribly weak section so no problems here.
Section 3AAAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: Apple Valley
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Tuesday, March 6th
Semifinals: Friday, March 9th at Farmington
Finals: Thursday, March 15th at Farmington
Predicted Seeding
- Apple Valley
- Eastview
- Burnsville
- Hastings
- Park
- Henry Sibley
- Rosemount
- Eagan
Sleeper: Henry Sibley. They have talented point guard Reshaun Satar returning and a couple of experienced juniors coming back. That gives them the best chance of the lower group to jump out.
Section Winner: Apple Valley. The defending state champs have most of the roster back and the top player in the state in Tre Jones. Plus its a terribly weak section so no problems here.
2017-18 Section 2AAAA Preview
Labels:
17-18 Season Previews
This is the 21st preview in my 2017-2018
season preview series. Continuing our look at the class AAAA sections we stay in the south metro with section 2AAAA. For a list of all the season previews and how
they are
generated, click here.
Section 2AAAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: Chaska
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, March 7th
Semifinals: Saturday, March 10th at TBD
Finals: Friday, March 16th at TBD
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Minnetonka. With a talented point guard in Jalen Dearring and talent on the wings, the Skippers will not be an easy out. They also have experience.
Section Winner: Eden Prairie. They have a ton of guard firepower with Drake Dobbs and Kyler Kluge. Plus they have plenty of experience returning and will be battle tested by their normally difficult schedule.
Section 2AAAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: Chaska
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, March 7th
Semifinals: Saturday, March 10th at TBD
Finals: Friday, March 16th at TBD
Predicted Seeding
- Eden Prairie
- Prior Lake
- Bloomington Jefferson
- Edina
- Minnetonka
- Chaska
- Shakopee
- Chanhassen
Sleeper: Minnetonka. With a talented point guard in Jalen Dearring and talent on the wings, the Skippers will not be an easy out. They also have experience.
Section Winner: Eden Prairie. They have a ton of guard firepower with Drake Dobbs and Kyler Kluge. Plus they have plenty of experience returning and will be battle tested by their normally difficult schedule.
2017-18 Section 1AAAA Preview
Labels:
17-18 Season Previews
This is the 20th preview in my 2017-2018
season preview series. Now we begin our look at all of the class AAAA sections going in numerical order. So that means we start with section 1. For a list of all the season previews and how
they are
generated, click here.
Section 1AAAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: Lakeville North
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, March 7th
Semifinals: Saturday, March 10th at Rochester Civic Arena
Finals: Saturday, March 17th at Rochester Civic Arena
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Rochester Mayo. We know there's talent. How everything comes together is what remains to be seen.
Section Winner: Lakeville North. The Panthers have been the nemesis of Rochester John Marshall for the last 5 years in this section. Their experience and proven ability to reload will be big factors here. But they aren't at the same level as past years. The top 5 teams are all not that far apart so it should be a very entertaining section to watch.
Section 1AAAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: Lakeville North
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, March 7th
Semifinals: Saturday, March 10th at Rochester Civic Arena
Finals: Saturday, March 17th at Rochester Civic Arena
Predicted Seeding
- Lakeville North
- Rochester John Marshall
- Rochester Mayo
- Owatonna
- Lakeville South
- New Prague
- Farmington
- Rochester Century
Sleeper: Rochester Mayo. We know there's talent. How everything comes together is what remains to be seen.
Section Winner: Lakeville North. The Panthers have been the nemesis of Rochester John Marshall for the last 5 years in this section. Their experience and proven ability to reload will be big factors here. But they aren't at the same level as past years. The top 5 teams are all not that far apart so it should be a very entertaining section to watch.
2017-18 Section 6AAA Preview
Labels:
17-18 Season Previews
This is the 19th preview in my 2017-2018
season preview series. Week 5 of this 6 week series begins with a
glance at the final metro area section in class AAA, loaded section 6. For a list of all the season previews and how
they are
generated, click here.
Section 6AAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: De La Salle
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, March 7th
Semifinals: Saturday, March 10th
Finals: Thursday, March 15th at Chanhassen
New teams in the section
Sleeper: Robbinsdale Cooper. They've got a bunch of quick guards that can be very disruptive in Bo Powell system. In recent years the Hawks have been a bracket buster. So moving down, even into a tough section, I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen again.
Section Winner: Orono. So far in my predictions the top pick in each section has been pretty straight forward and clearly above the rest. Not here. Barry Wohler has been there and done that. He has an outstanding backcourt of Colton Codute and Max Bjorklund to go with Jarvis Thomas up front. Plus they have quality depth behind that. De La Salle has no good matchup for Thomas and Orono should be strong enough at the guard spots to get into sets. I'll take this as the year that the Islanders AAA streak ends.
Section 6AAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: De La Salle
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, March 7th
Semifinals: Saturday, March 10th
Finals: Thursday, March 15th at Chanhassen
New teams in the section
- Minneapolis Roosevelt (4AA)
- Robbinsdale Cooper (6AAAA)
- Blake (5AA)
- Delano (5AAA)
- DeLaSalle
- Orono
- Waconia
- Minneapolis Roosevelt
- Robbinsdale Cooper
- Minneapolis Henry
- Benilde-St. Margaret's
- Mound-Westonka
Sleeper: Robbinsdale Cooper. They've got a bunch of quick guards that can be very disruptive in Bo Powell system. In recent years the Hawks have been a bracket buster. So moving down, even into a tough section, I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen again.
Section Winner: Orono. So far in my predictions the top pick in each section has been pretty straight forward and clearly above the rest. Not here. Barry Wohler has been there and done that. He has an outstanding backcourt of Colton Codute and Max Bjorklund to go with Jarvis Thomas up front. Plus they have quality depth behind that. De La Salle has no good matchup for Thomas and Orono should be strong enough at the guard spots to get into sets. I'll take this as the year that the Islanders AAA streak ends.
2017-18 Section 4AAA Preview
Labels:
17-18 Season Previews
This is the 18th preview in my 2017-2018
season preview series. To end week 4 of this 6 week series, I take a
look at section 4AAA. For this 2 year cycle, no changes to the section members. For a list of all the season previews and
how they are
generated, click here.
Section 4AAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: Columbia Heights
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, March 7th
Semifinals: Saturday, March 10th at St. Paul Washington
Finals: Thursday, March 15th at St. Paul Washington
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: St. Paul Johnson. The Govs have been the team to beat in this section for many years. After seeing their 13 year streak of St. Paul City conference championships snapped, they have most of the rotation returning.
Section Winner: Columbia Heights. The Hylanders have most of their roster back from last year's state qualifier. Plus the section isn't as good. With Wendell Matthews inside, Deaundra Robersonand Christian Kelly on the the wings and point guard Quentin Hardrict running the show from that team, there are quality pieces at all positions.
Section 4AAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: Columbia Heights
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, March 7th
Semifinals: Saturday, March 10th at St. Paul Washington
Finals: Thursday, March 15th at St. Paul Washington
Predicted Seeding
- Columbia Heights
- Totino-Grace
- St. Anthony
- Mahtomedi
- St. Paul Johnson
- Fridley
- St. Paul Como Park
- Hill-Murray
Sleeper: St. Paul Johnson. The Govs have been the team to beat in this section for many years. After seeing their 13 year streak of St. Paul City conference championships snapped, they have most of the rotation returning.
Section Winner: Columbia Heights. The Hylanders have most of their roster back from last year's state qualifier. Plus the section isn't as good. With Wendell Matthews inside, Deaundra Robersonand Christian Kelly on the the wings and point guard Quentin Hardrict running the show from that team, there are quality pieces at all positions.
2017-18 Section 3AAA Preview
Labels:
17-18 Season Previews
This is the 17th preview in my 2017-2018
season preview series. As week 4 of the 6 week preview series moves along, I start my look at the local
AAA sections with section 3AAA. For a list of all the season previews and how they are
generated, click here.
Section 3AAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: St. Thomas Academy
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Tuesday, March 6th
Semifinals: Friday, March 9th at Bloomington Jefferson
Finals: Thursday, March 15th at Bloomington Jefferson
New teams in the section
Note on Simley who moves south to section 1AAA. Austin is the clear favorite there. With Byron and Stewartville dropping down to AA, Simley should get a first round game and I'll pick them to advance past it and then go out in the semis.
Sleeper: Richfield. The Spartans made a run to the section final in a weak section last year. They took St. Thomas Academy right to the wire. If any team outside the top 2 in this section is going to do that, it'll be Richfield again. They have a scorer in Devin Wade-Henderson and a couple of other experienced returnees that give them the experience and talent to fit.
Section Winner: St. Thomas Academy. The Cadets have the experience and 2 talented leaders in Jack Thompson and Sam Vascellaro to lead them back to the state tourney.
Section 3AAA (8 teams)
Defending Champion: St. Thomas Academy
Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Tuesday, March 6th
Semifinals: Friday, March 9th at Bloomington Jefferson
Finals: Thursday, March 15th at Bloomington Jefferson
New teams in the section
- St. Croix Lutheran (4AA)
- Simley (1AAA)
- St. Thomas Academy
- St. Croix Lutheran
- St. Paul Highland Park
- Bloomington Kennedy
- Richfield
- Holy Angels
- St. Paul Harding
- South St. Paul
Note on Simley who moves south to section 1AAA. Austin is the clear favorite there. With Byron and Stewartville dropping down to AA, Simley should get a first round game and I'll pick them to advance past it and then go out in the semis.
Sleeper: Richfield. The Spartans made a run to the section final in a weak section last year. They took St. Thomas Academy right to the wire. If any team outside the top 2 in this section is going to do that, it'll be Richfield again. They have a scorer in Devin Wade-Henderson and a couple of other experienced returnees that give them the experience and talent to fit.
Section Winner: St. Thomas Academy. The Cadets have the experience and 2 talented leaders in Jack Thompson and Sam Vascellaro to lead them back to the state tourney.
2017-18 Section 5AA Preview
Labels:
17-18 Season Previews
This is the 16th preview in my 2017-2018
season preview series. In this preview, a look at section 5AA. For a list of
all the season previews and how they are
generated, click here.
Section 5AA (16 teams)
Defending Champion: Annandale
Tournament Schedule:
Round of 16: Thursday, March 8th
Quarterfinals: Saturday, March 10th at St. Michael-Albertville
Semifinals: Wednesday, March 14th at St. Michael-Albertville
Finals: Friday, March 16th 8 PM at St. Cloud State
New teams in the section
Minneapolis North goes in the top spot as they have Odell Wilson inside, Tayler Johnson outside and a truckload of athletes that these teams just can't replicate. Brooklyn Center has plenty back and should be in or around the rankings all year. Holy Family won only 10 games during the regular season last year. But they upset the Centaurs in the quarters and were a miracle buzzer-beater from the section final. Now the Fire return everybody from last year. The record may not show it because of the gauntlet known as the Wright County East but that schedule will benefit them come section time.
Maranatha and Breck are the next tier of teams with their stars David Roddy and Beijan Newbern being a level above the remainder of the section. Litchfield has Owen Boerema coming back and SW Christian has guard firepower in the next group. Providence will look to jump in that group with Matt Richelsen. 1 more group of 3 before PACT and ISM fight it out for the final spot.
In 6AA, I see Spectrum going out in a 1st round road game.
Sleeper: SW Christian. Their shooting and nasty matchup zone are both able to keep them in any game. In a 1 and done scenario, that's always a chance.
Section Winner: Minneapolis North. Too athletic and having Odell Wilson inside means they still advance. But they won't have a cakewalk like Minnehaha as the top of the section has plenty of quality.
Section 5AA (16 teams)
Defending Champion: Annandale
Tournament Schedule:
Round of 16: Thursday, March 8th
Quarterfinals: Saturday, March 10th at St. Michael-Albertville
Semifinals: Wednesday, March 14th at St. Michael-Albertville
Finals: Friday, March 16th 8 PM at St. Cloud State
New teams in the section
- Blake (6AAA)
- Maranatha Christian (4A)
- Minneapolis North (4A)
- Annandale (6AA)
- Eden Valley-Watkins (6AA)
- Maple Lake (6AA)
- Minneapolis Edison (4AA)
- Paynesville (3AA)
- Spectrum (6AA)
- Minneapolis North
- Brooklyn Center
- Holy Family
- Maranatha
- Breck
- Litchfield
- Southwest Christian
- Rockford
- Providence
- Watertown-Mayer
- Blake
- HLWW
- PACT
- International School
Minneapolis North goes in the top spot as they have Odell Wilson inside, Tayler Johnson outside and a truckload of athletes that these teams just can't replicate. Brooklyn Center has plenty back and should be in or around the rankings all year. Holy Family won only 10 games during the regular season last year. But they upset the Centaurs in the quarters and were a miracle buzzer-beater from the section final. Now the Fire return everybody from last year. The record may not show it because of the gauntlet known as the Wright County East but that schedule will benefit them come section time.
Maranatha and Breck are the next tier of teams with their stars David Roddy and Beijan Newbern being a level above the remainder of the section. Litchfield has Owen Boerema coming back and SW Christian has guard firepower in the next group. Providence will look to jump in that group with Matt Richelsen. 1 more group of 3 before PACT and ISM fight it out for the final spot.
In 6AA, I see Spectrum going out in a 1st round road game.
Sleeper: SW Christian. Their shooting and nasty matchup zone are both able to keep them in any game. In a 1 and done scenario, that's always a chance.
Section Winner: Minneapolis North. Too athletic and having Odell Wilson inside means they still advance. But they won't have a cakewalk like Minnehaha as the top of the section has plenty of quality.
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