2017-18 Tri-Metro Preview

This is the 5th preview in my 2017-2018 season preview series.  Week 1 of the 6 week long series concludes with a look at the Tri-Metro Conference.  For a list of all the season previews and how they are generated, click here.

Academy of Holy Angels Stars (2016-17 season 3-22, 2-10 Conference, 5th West)
Forward Sam Boehne and his 19 PPG needs to be replaced.  Senior wing Ryan Mazurek is the top returnee at 10.4 PPG.  Senior Jacob Werle is the other returning starter.  Juniors Tommy Shelstad and lefty Max Gerstner lead the full bench group that returns.
 
Brooklyn Center Centaurs (2016-17 season 19-8, 9-3 Conference, 2nd West)
Athletic forward Davonta Price (14.5 PPG) and guard Deshawn Pickford (13 PPG) need to be replaced.  All the other major contributors last year were talented underclassmen.  That starts with leading scorer Lu'Cye Patterson  (16.8 PPG) returning to run the point as a sophomore.  Junior wing Adreone Sprinkles averaged 13+ a night as the top shooter.  Soph Rudwan Tahir is an experienced defensive piece along with junior Quentrell Douglas in the rotation.

Columbia Heights Hylanders (2016-17 season 22-10, 8-4 Conference, 3rd West)
The Hylanders look to make noise in AAA this year with all of their top players returning.  3 double figure scorers return.  That includes Deaundra Roberson on the wing (17.7 PPG), forward Wendell Matthews inside  (15.9 PPG) and point guard Quentin Hardrict (13.9 PPG).  Christian Kelly is another solid wing.  Junior Jarvis Wright was a revelation off the bench.  They will need to find depth as they lose role guys Kadeem Thomas, Nate Sherefaw and Airreon Austin.
 
Concordia Academy Beacons (2016-17 season 8-19, 0-11 Conference, 4th East)
Concordia returns their top 3 scorers including 2 in double figures.  Junior forward Barnabas Preble averaged 13.2 PPG.  Senior guard Gavin Harbo averaged 11.2 PPG.  Senior Casey Hackett also returns to the rotation.  Lots of depth behind that is lost and will need to be replaced.  A pair of sophomores could be the answer to that.

De La Salle Islanders (2016-17 season 27-3, 12-0 Conference, 1st West)
Islander alumnus and former Centennial head coach Travis Bledsoe takes over for legend Dave Thorson who's now an assistant at Drake.  Star forward Goanar Mar and his 21 PPG is the biggest loss.  The shooting of Dominic Bledsoe will also be missed.  Senior wing Gabe Kalscheur (17.7 PPG) will take on the bulk of the scoring.  Junior Jamison Battle comes over from Benilde-St. Margaret's to man the other wing.  Junior point guard Tyrell Terry will run the show again.  Christian Dickson and Sage Booker are high quality defensive role guys.  The interior will be the question.  The development of Malik Lamin inside will be something to watch.

Fridley Tigers (2016-17 season 14-13, 5-7 Conference, 4th West)
High scoring guard Tirik Reeves and his 20 PPG are a major loss for the Tigers.  3 starters return including Jerome Cunningham (10.9 PPG) and shooter Evan Nelsen (10.6 PPG).  Nate Soto is the other returning starter.  Junior Casey Fisher should see more time at the point guard spot.

St. Agnes Aggies (2016-17 season 14-15, 2-9 Conference, 3rd East)
Coach Chris Hopkins has to replace 4 of his top 5 players.  Darius Lopez (16.8 PPG) and Brandon Plasch (11.4 PPG) graduated.  Athletic forward Gary Smith  (11.8 PPG) is now at Roseville.  Junior big man Jonathan Prokop will not return.  The small junior guard duo of Terrell Jones and Kentale Morris will lead the way.

St. Anthony Huskies (2016-17 season 19-8, 6-5 Conference, 2nd East)
Forward Rhys Langums and his 19.3 PPG as one of the top big men in the league has graduated.  Soph Tait Nelson (15.6 PPG) returns at the point and senior shooter Aaron Smith (16.1 PPG) return as a very good backcourt.  Mickey Jah also returns to the starting lineup.  Drew Nelson and Abe Jaeger Mountain will provide experienced depth.

St. Croix Lutheran Crusaders (2016-17 season 16-13, 8-3 Conference, 1st East)
Forward Jamaris Johnson is the lone starter that graduated.  His 13.9 PPG and athleticism will be missed.  But the Crusaders return 4 senior starters and 2 reserves.  was a revelation once added to the starting lineup last year.  Forwards Garett Maag and Jack Kuckhahn are the top offensive options at 15.9 and 11.9 PPG respectively.  Stephen Kletcher does the inside dirty work and Aaron Jenniges runs the point.  Adam Arroyo and Dorrell Bratton return to the rotation as well.

Predicted Order of Finish

East

1. St. Croix Lutheran 
2. St. Anthony 
3. Concordia
4. St. Agnes 

 West

1. De La Salle
2. Brooklyn Center  
3. Columbia Heights
4. Fridley 
5. Holy Angels    

Conference MVP: Gabe Kalscheur - De La Salle

Conference Overview:
Once again the west division has the heavyweights.  Expect the top 3 teams to be in the state polls all season.  De La Salle remains the favorite but not as heavy as past years.  Columbia Heights and Brooklyn Center will both look to give them a run.  Brooklyn Center won 2 close games vs Heights last year but since that logic didn't work for me last year in picks, I'll say a tie for 2nd.  Fridley and Holy Angels fall in behind them.

The east should look about the same as last year.  St. Croix Lutheran will take the top spot with St. Anthony behind them.  Concordia with returnees and St. Agnes with major losses will swap spots.  But both are a level behind the saints at the top of the division.

Underclassmen to watch: 

• Lu'Cye Patterson, Rudwan Tahir - Brooklyn Center
• Aaron Terhaar, Bryce Paul - Concordia
• Conor O'Rourke - Holy Angels
• Xavier Garcia - St. Croix Lutheran
• Tait Nelson, Jeremiah Lucas - St. Anthony

Conference Games to Watch

• Columbia Heights at Brooklyn Center - Jan 9th
• De La Salle at Brooklyn Center - Jan 16th
• Brooklyn Center at St. Croix Lutheran - Jan 19th
• St. Anthony at St. Croix Lutheran - Jan 26th
• St. Croix Lutheran at Columbia Heights - Jan 30th
• De La Salle at St. Croix Lutheran - Feb 1st
• De La Salle at Columbia Heights - Feb 13th
• St. Croix Lutheran at St. Anthony - Feb 16th
• Brooklyn Center at De La Salle - Feb 20th 
• Brooklyn Center at Columbia Heights - Feb 23rd
• Columbia Heights at De La Salle - Mar 2nd

Non-Conference Games to Watch

• De La Salle vs Iowa City West - Dec 2nd (Breakdown Girls Tipoff at Hopkins)
• De La Salle vs Hopkins - Dec 9th (Breakdown Tipoff at Hopkins)
• Brooklyn Center at Minneapolis North Holiday Tourney - Dec 27-28
• De La Salle  at Cretin-Derham Hall - Feb 10th 
• Minnehaha at Columbia Heights - Feb 16th
• Wayzata at De La Salle - Feb 23rd

2017-18 IMAC Preview

This is the 4th preview in my 2017-2018 season preview series.  Week 1 of the 6 week series fully transitions to local class AA and higher schools with a look at the Independent Metro Athletic Conference (IMAC).  For a list of all the season previews and how they are done, click here.

Blake Bears (2016-17 season 10-17, 5-4 Conference, 3rd)
The Bears lose 4 top senior scorers plus 20 PPG game from Jack Moe who left for California.  The top 2 returnees are freshmen Robert Grace and Gabe Ganz.  Juniors Alex Martha and Isaac Gittleman should see increased roles.

Breck Mustangs (2016-17 season 19-10, 8-2 Conference, 2nd)
Star forward David Robby returns to the lineup.  He averaged 18.3 PPG last year and had a very good AAU season.  Guard Elijah Zackery also returns to the starting lineup.  Josh Roddy and Joey Ganley also return to the rotation.  The size of Sam Willey inside will need to be replaced.  Biggest loss is the transfer of soph wing Kerwin Walton (16.3 PPG) to Hopkins.

Minnehaha Academy Redhawks (2016-17 season 26-5, 7-0 Conference, 1st)
The defending conference and class AA champs are the favorites to repeat.  They carry a 19 game winning streak in league games going back 3 seasons.  The Redhawks lose only 1 notable senior, forward Jose Williamson.  Top 5 national player in 2020 Jalen Suggs (21.5 PPG) and senior forward JaVonni Bickham (14.5 PPG) lead a loaded group of 5 returnees that averaged double figures.  Senior Lorenzo Smith and sophs Terry Lockett and Kaden Johnson all averaged double figures and return on the wings.  Freshman Chet Holmgren and 8th grader Prince Aligbe are the next youngsters in line.

Mounds Park Academy Panthers (2016-17 season 3-20, 0-9 Conference, 6th)
2009 guard and former JV coach Jacob Schwartz takes over at his alma mater.  The program's all-time leading scorer Brendan Connolly graduates.  He was the only double figure scorer last year at 16.4 PPG.  Guard Nick Guiang and center Tom Fitzgerald are the top returnees. Anthony Kuba and Ben Nippolt also return to the rotation.  The program is 0-29 in conference play in the 3 year history of the IMAC.

Providence Academy Lions (2016-17 season 7-19, 4-5 Conference, 4th)
Juniors Mark Richelsen and Dylan Servais return after averaging double figures last season.  Richelsen was the team leader at 17.6 PPG.  Junior Sam Young and Joey Fafinski return to the rotation as well.  Jackson Baird and the size of Gavin Blomberg inside will need to be replaced.  Senior Adam Kettler should step into that inside role.

St. Paul Academy Spartans (2016-17 season 10-17, 3-7 Conference, 5th)
2 of the top 3 scorers for SPA depart.  Tommy Dicke and Emerson Egly are double figure scorers that will be hard to replace.  Leading scorer Gus Grunau returns with 13.8 PPG.  Ryan Moore (6.8 PPG) and Ryan Kuntz (8.9 PPG) also are returning starters.  The bench crew all returns.  Junior shooting guard Andrew Johnson leads that group with 6.1 PPG.

Predicted Order of Finish

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

Conference Overview
Minnehaha is the obvious favorite here.  Their non-conference schedule is a ridiculous guantlet of the best across AA, AAA and AAAA.  Breck with just David Roddy is enough for clear 2nd here.  Providence with 2 top scorers back falls into clear 3rd.  The bottom 3 are going to have long seasons.  Blake and St. Paul Academy will fight for 4th.  Mounds Park Academy still fighting to get out of the cellar.

Conference MVP: Jalen Suggs - Minnehaha

Underclassmen to watch:  

• Robert Grace, Gabe Ganz- Blake
• Jaren Morton - Breck
• Jalen Suggs, Kaden Johnson, Terry Lockett, Chet Holmgren, Prince Aligbe - Minnehaha

Conference Games to Watch

• Minnehaha at Breck - Jan 11th
• Breck at Minnehaha - Jan 30th

 Non-Conference Games to Watch

• Minnehaha vs East Ridge- Dec 2nd (Girls Tipoff at Hopkins)
• Breck at Brooklyn Center - Dec 5th
• Minnehaha at Apple Valley - Dec 7th (ESPN game)
• Breck vs Perham - Dec 9th (Boys Tipoff at Hopkins)
• Eden Prairie at Minnehaha - Dec 12th
• Minnehaha vs Hopkins (projected) -Dec 23rd (Augsburg Tournament championship)
• Breck vs Orono - Jan 15th (MLK event at Totino-Grace)
• Minneapolis North at Minnehaha - Jan 25th
• Austin at Minnehaha - Feb 3rd
• Breck at Maranatha - Feb 13th
• Minnehaha at Columbia Heights - Feb 16th
• Caledonia at Minnehaha - Feb 17th
• St. Paul Central at Minnehaha - Mar 1st

2017-18 MCAA Preview

This is the third preview in my 2017-18 season preview series.  Week 1 of the 6 week series moves on with a look at the Minnesota Christian Athletic Association (MCAA).  For a list of all the season previews and how they are done, click here.

Bethany Academy Eagles (2016-17 season 15-11, 3-8 Conference, 10th)
After the departure of the head coach to New Life, many of the players followed him.  So Bethany will not have a team this season.  Whether those kids will be eligible at New Life this year is still to be determined.

Heritage Christian Academy Eagles (2016-17 season 23-6, 11-0 Conference, 1st)
Heritage holds a 26 game regular season conference winning streak going back to 2014-15.  That will be hard to uphold this year.  CJ Woda and Zach Johansen both averaged over 20 PPG and have to replaced.  Starting center Jack Vander Top also graduated.  Seth Halvorsen and guard Ben Allen are experienced returnees.

Legacy Christian Academy Lions (2016-17 season 15-13, 5-6 Conference, Tie 6th)
Assistant Josh Olson takes over as the 3rd head coach in 3 years at Legacy.  The backcourt duo of Lucas Nelson and Cole Bertsch was worth over 31 PPG last year and needs to be replaced.  Overall the top 4 scorers depart.  Junior Josh Hinrichs is the top returnee at 4.1 PPG.  Junior Justin Demars and Luke Chaika return to the lineup.

Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity Bulldogs (2016-17 season 12-15, 5-6 Conference, Tie 6th)
Junior guard Michael Ziermann is the top returnee with 13.3 PPG.  Expect that number to go up significantly this year.  Big man Rees Schutte and 18.9 PPG needs to be replaced inside.  He's one of 2 6'8" centers that graduate for the now smaller Bulldogs.  Guards Leighton Burr and Tyler Scheevel return to the lineup.

Maranatha Christian Academy Mustangs (2016-17 season 13-14, 6-5 Conference, 5th)
Rob Ware comes over from Totino-Grace to take the head job.  Transfers Beijan Newbern (Cooper) and Quinn Smith (Armstrong) provide a major boost to the roster.  That will ease the pain of losing 2 of their top 3 scorers.  That includes 14.5 PPG from guard Elisha Coleman.  Soph Hakim Daniels returns to the front line after averaging just under 10 PPG last season.  Juniors Julian Cavin and Jeff Ekiyor and Justin Mason provide experienced depth.

New Life Academy Eagles (2016-17 season 24-4, 9-2 Conference, 2nd)
Longtime head coach Doug Linton has moved up to D3 University of Northwestern-St. Paul.  2010 graduate Kory Kiekhofer comes home from Bethany to replace him.  8 seniors have to be replaced including all of their top perimeter play.  Kyle Kaemingk (17.5 PPG), Chris Ketema (13.1 PPG) and PG Adam Busch (8.6 PPG) are all major pieces that graduated there.  Size won't be a problem as senior forwards Drew Wynia (9 PPG) and Zach Thor return.  Tate Hullett should be a top option to step into the vacated perimeter roles.

PACT Charter Panthers (2016-17 season 2-25, 0-11 Conference, 12th)
Senior Cade Johnson had another big season with 22.5 PPG last season.  The rest of the roster returns along side of him.  That includes 8+ PPG from forward Bennett Olson and guard Matt Johnson.

St. Croix Prep Lions (2016-17 season 15-13, 5-6 Conference, Tie 6th)
Leading scorer Matt Kaul and his 17.5 PPG graduated.  Point guard Jayton Metcalf and almost 16 PPG returns. 9.3 PPG from Adam Wiering also is back.  Size is a question mark.

Southwest Christian Stars (2016-17 season 16-10, 9-2 Conference, 3rd)
This will be the final year for the Stars in the MCAA.  They'll move to the Minnesota River Conference next year.  4 major rotation pieces have to be replaced.  That includes guard Trey Sandness and his 11.7 PPG.  The backcourt as seems is always the case will be their strength.  Juniors Max Steensland (14.2 PPG, leading scorer last year) and Jalen Wight will be the main firepower.  Senior David Solfelt will provide the size.

Spectrum Sting (2016-17 season 11-15, 5-6 Conference, Tie 6th)
Spectrum returns their top 3 scorers.  Junior Cole Elrod tops the list at 16.2 PPG.  Junior Matthew Kruse and soph Max Lawrence also averaged double figures last year.  Kelton Sundstrom's double figure production needs to be replaced.  Fisher Marberg also returns to the rotation.

Trinity Tri-Hawks (2016-17 season 11-16, 6-5 Conference, 4th)
Leading scorer Luke Lodoen and his 10.5 PPG needs to be replaced.  But the rest of the rotation returns from a very balanced lineup.  The other 4 starters all return and averaged 6.9 to 9.8 PPG.  Plus no fewer than 4 bench players return as well.  Does somebody step up as a go-to scorer?

West Lutheran Warriors (2016-17 season 9-18, 2-9 Conference, 11th)
3 of the top 4 scorers depart.  That includes leading scorer Griffin Ewing and power forward Ben Beise who were their double figure scorers.  Junior Brett Volrath is the top returnee at 9.6 PPG.  Lefty Josh Englert also returns in the backcourt.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Maranatha  
2. Trinity
3. Southwest Christian 
4. Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity    
5. New Life 
6. Heritage Christian
7. St. Croix Prep
8. Spectrum  
9. Legacy
10. PACT  
11. West Lutheran 

Conference Overview
Maranatha is far and away the favorite, especially with all the top teams coming there except for the long trip to Lester Prairie.  Trinity was a pleasant surprise last year.  With 8 returnees and major departures from the teams above them, I like them to make a jump.  The next group is a major jumble.  Very similar to last year where there were about 6 teams behind the top 3, only with 2 of those dropping back to the pack.  I see SW Christian, LP/HT and New Life in the next group as they have quality pieces coming back but significant losses.  Heritage is similar but the losses are bigger and returnees not at the same level.  St. Croix Prep with a healthy Jayton Metcalf and Spectrum with a solid group of returnees also fit into that group.  Legacy and West Lutheran have too much to replace and PACT struggled last year so those 3 make up the bottom group.

Conference MVP: Beijan Newbern - Maranatha


Underclassmen to watch: 

• TJ Guggenberger - Heritage Christian 
• Payton Thomsen - Legacy Christian
• Hakim Daniels - Maranatha
• Ben Kaus - New Life
• Daniel McCarrell - St. Croix Prep
• Max Lawrence - Spectrum
• Troy Kokkinen- West Lutheran

Conference Games to Watch

• Trinity at Maranatha - Jan 9th
• Maranatha at Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity - Jan 23rd
• MCAA Tournament Championship - Feb 24th

Non-Conference Games to Watch

• Maranatha at Mayer Lutheran - Dec 5th
• Maranatha at Minnetonka - Feb 13th

2017-18 TCAC Divisions B and C Preview

This is the second preview in the 2017-2018 season preview series.  The 6 week preview series moves along with a 2 for 1 preview of Division B and Division C of the Twin Cities Athletic Conference.  For a list of all the season previews and how they are done, click here.

Division B

Christian Life Academy Hawks (2016-17 season 7-17, 4-8 Conference, Tie 5th)
Christian  Life returns 6 of their top 7 scorers from last season.  That includes almost 13 PPG from senior Kyle Ringley and soph Jacob Kyllo's 10.9 PPG.  Juniors Caleb Carlson and Kyle Hovey also are experienced returnees.  Carlson will provide shooting and Hovey provides size.

Groves Academy Griffins (2016-17 season 3-24, 0-12 Conference, 7th)
Both double figure scorers return for Groves.  Senior guard Malik Bodden averaged 18.7 PPG.  Forward Max Bilcik averaged almost 15 PPG as a freshman.  The next 3 top scorers have departed.  Junior guard Larry Mohamed will one of the players to step into that void.

Learning for Leadership Mustangs (2016-17 season 15-11, 6-6 Conference, 4th)
High scoring duo Kafi Abdi and Badrudin Aden return for another season.  They combined for over 38 points a night with the 6'4" Abdi getting almost 25 of those.  They knocked off a couple of teams above them last year but gave those wins back with a couple losses below them to finish in the middle of the pack.

Liberty Classical Academy Lions (2016-17 season 18-9, 10-2 Conference, 1st)
The defending division champs need to replace their top 2 scorers in Luke Hill and Nate Bliss.  That's 19.2 and 16.5 PPG that are gone.  Peter Klarr is back on the front line with a team returning high 10.6 PPG.  William Reid and Noah Nelson also return to the lineup.

Math and Science Academy Dragons (2016-17 season 15-8, 9-3 Conference, Tie 2nd)
Rich Zellmer takes over for head coach Nathan Schroeder who moved on to be an assistant at New Life Academy.  The Dragons have to replace 2 big scorers in Brian Smith (23 PPG) and Andrew Jeyachandran (17.7 PPG).  Junior Ahmad Elhassen is the top returnee with 6 PPG.

Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf Trojans (2016-17 season 2-15, 0-9 in Division 1, 8th)
MSAD moves down from the top division of the league.  They have to replace their top 2 players Kyrell Cummings and Dawson Moder.  Juan Salgado is the top returnee.  Jon Schmidt also returns to the starting lineup.

Nova Classical Academy Knights (2016-17 season 12-12, 9-3 Conference, Tie 2nd)
The Knights lose only 1 senior from last year's team.  Isaiah Boudreaux leads a group of 3 returning double figure scorers.  Fellow senior Shae Nelson and junior Noah Olson were the other double figure scorers.  Junior Mathieu LaFrambois is also an experienced returnee.

Division C

Academy for Sciences and Agriculture Eagles (2016-17 season 14-9, 9-1 Conference, 1st)
AFSA loses their top 4 scorers from the division championship team.  That includes 11.8 PPG from Kyle Cantwell.  But they return the next 5.  Junior Cole Walker (7.9 PG) and senior James Wilfong (6.6 PPG) are the top returning scorers.  Soph DeAndre Mason returns to the rotation along with seniors Jackson Coenen and Najib Ahmed.  Jamey Strand takes over as head coach.  He previously spent time at Calvin Christian.

Calvin Christian Cougars (2016-17 season 11-16, 4-8 in Division 2, Tie 5th)
Calvin Christian moves down from the 2nd division.  Leading scorer Jaedan Schaap returns for the Cougars.  Big center Alex Meybaum and Brad Mateer are important pieces that need to be replaced.

Chesterton Academy  (2016-17 season 8-12, 4-5 Conference, 4th)
The move to the 3rd division definitely helped Chesterton play a more balanced schedule.  They lose only 1 senior from last year's roster.

Hmong Academy Warriors (2016-17 season 10-7, 6-4 Conference, 3rd)
Hmong Academy had one of their best seasons ever last year.  That was thanks to Chinou Vang.  He put up a huge season but now needs to be replaced.  Tidley Yang is one of the top returnees.

Metro Schools College Prep (2016-17 season 0-11, 0-8 Conference, 6th)
This crew suffered blowout losses all season.  No other information available.

North Lakes Academy Huskies (2016-17 season 6-20, 3-7 Conference, 5th)
North Lakes returns most of the major pieces of their roster.  Senior Alex Stockton and soph Ethan Crandell lead the way.  David Christopherson is the biggest loss. 

Shattuck St. Mary's Sabers (2016-17 season 6-3, 6-3 Conference, 2nd)
The Sabers have to replace a senior laden lineup.  Not much else known about this group

Predicted Order of Finish - Division B

1. Nova Classical Academy
2. Christian Life Academy
3. Learning for Leadership
4. Liberty Classical Academy 
5. Math and Science Academy
6. Groves Academy
7. Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf

Division B Overview
Nova Classical is the favorite here with basically everybody back.  I picked Isaiah Bourdreaux as the division MVP last year and I'll do it again here.  Christian Life returns a ton as well.  They played the league leaders tough last year and those teams have big losses.  Kafi Abdi is enough to make Learning for Leadership dangerous but they were up and down last year.  Liberty Classical and Math and Science each have to replace their top 2 guys so I see those 2 teams falling back in the standings.  Liberty gets the nod as they still have a double figure scorer coming back.  Groves and MSAD struggled last year and I don't see that changing.

Predicted Order of Finish - Division C

1. Academy for Sciences and Agriculture 
2. Calvin Christian
3. Shattuck-St. Mary's
4. Hmong Academy
5. North Lakes
6. Chesterton Academy
7. Metro Schools College Prep

Division C Overview
This is the most fun I'll have with a preview since I didn't see anybody in the division last year despite seeing 92 local teams.  AFSA loses a ton but they also have a lot of experience returning.  So that's enough for me to pick them to retain the crown.  Calvin Christian has my pick for the league MVP so they'll be up there as well.  Shattuck-St. Mary's is usually respectable in this group of teams so I'll pick them to stay fairly high.  Hmong Academy I put in the middle as they could go anywhere.  North Lakes and Chesterton have players returning but need to show they can compete at another level before I move them up.

Conference MVPs: 

• Division B: Isaiah Boudreaux - Nova Classical Academy
• Division C: Jaeden Schaap - Calvin Christian

Underclassmen to watch: 

• DeAndre Mason - AFSA
• Jacob Kyllo - Christian Life 
• Max Bilcik - Groves 
• Ben Horn - Liberty Classical
• Jager Hansen - Math and Science Academy
• Ethan Crandell - North Lakes

Conference Games to Watch

• AFSA at Calvin Christian - Jan 12th
• Nova at Christian Life - Jan 26th
• Calvin Christian at AFSA - Feb 5th 
• Nova at Learning for Leadership - Feb 5th
• Christian Life at Nova - Feb 20th
• TCAC Tournament Championships - Mar 3rd

Non-Conference Games to Watch

• Nova at Maranatha - Dec 19th
• CHOF at Nova - Jan 5th

2017-18 TCAC Division A and Independents Preview

This is the first preview in the 2017-2018 season preview series.  This is 11th annual edition of this series and we'll go for 6 weeks leading up to the start of practice November 20th .  The previews will be done starting with small schools and working up to the big schools.  That means the Twin Cities Athletic Conference (TCAC) goes first.  Since the league is 21 teams and 3 divisions, we'll break it into 2 previews.  In this preview a look at the top division of the league plus the small local independents.  Then in tomorrow's preview, we'll do the other 2 divisions of the league.  For a list of all the season previews and how they are done, click here.

Independents

CHOF Lions (2016-17 season 15-12)
The Lions have to replace 3 starters including their top 2 scorers, Jacob Bluhm and Dillon Alleman.  They combined for over 33 points a night.  Junior McCaleb Alleman averaged just over 10 PPG.  He returns along with senior Jackson Rohlf.  Rohlf averaged just under 10 PPG and is the only notable size on the roster.  Dawson Eckman also provides returning experience.  Junior Eric Strandlund should see an increased role.

Minnesota Transitions Wolves 
The Wolves cancelled their season due to lack of numbers and did not play last season.  No idea if they'll have a team this year or what that team would have.

TCAC Division A

Charter Stars (2016-17 season 8-19, 2-9 Conference, 7th)
Last year's lineup was a junior laden lineup.  That means the Stars lose only 1 notable senior from the rotation.  That should lead to an improved season.  Taye Carter and Brett McNeal are the top returnees.  They are still looking for a head coach at the time of this writing.

Community of Peace Academy Tigers (2016-17 season 10-16, 5-6 Conference, 5th)
CPA has to replace their top 4 scorers from last season.  That includes the all-conference duo of forward Ontario Chapman (18.5 PPG) and guard Edward Milton (13.7 PPG).  Soph Zaveon Smith and junior Geancarlos Pujols are the top returning scorers and will man the guard spots.  Alex Baker returns inside.
 
Cristo Rey Jesuit Pumas (2016-17 season 21-8, 11-1 Conference, Tie 1st)
All everything forward Jericho Sims and his 25 PPG are off to Texas.  Forward Karlton Gregory's 11 PPG also needs to be replaced.  But coach Stan Clay's cupboard isn't bare.  Senior forward Franklin Doyle figures to see a big jump in his 13.3 PPG.  Soph PG James Sommer returns to the starting lineup after putting up 8.3 PPG.  Juniors Victory George and post John Williams also saw major minutes last season.

Hope Academy Lions (2016-17 season 18-10, 7-5 Conference, 3rd)
The Lions have to replace the 2000+ career points of guard Johnny Erickson.  In addition to his 26.5 PPG, forward Nate Elifson and his 20+ PPG also graduated.  Elifson was their interior defensive stopper plus a top long ranger bomber.  Junior Joey Erickson returns after averaging 14.3 PPG, expect him to have a huge year.  Soph Caleb Hoilien returns as a shooting threat.  Simon Gray provides returning experience to the rotation.

International School of Minnesota Huskies (2016-17 season 8-13, 3-9 Conference, 6th)
Coach Shun Tillman has a couple of nice pieces to work with this season.  Junior guard Preston Dahlen leads the way.  Micah Hjelle and Zach Breen also return to the rotation.  With most of the roster back expect the Huskies to be improved.

Prairie Seeds Academy Lycans (2016-17 season 24-5, 11-1 Conference, Tie 1st)
The Lycans made a repeat run to the section 4A final last year.  They have to replace a ton of firepower as their top 3 scorers depart.  That was on all levels as Brian Robinson averaged 22.5 at the point guard slot.  Daveon Gibson averaged 16 on the wing and AJ Abara put up 20+ a night as the post.  Starters Jamar Robinson (11 PPG) and junior AiMonti Booth return.  Brian Bohanon also returns and will see minutes inside.  Soph Isaiah Jones should see a much increased role.  Depth is a concern.

St. Paul Prep/High School for Recording Arts Falcons (2016-17 season 15-7, 6-5 Conference, 4th)
Aaron Gill returns to Jump City and once again should put up monster numbers.  He's arguably the most athletic player in the state and can put on a dunking exhibition.  What help he'll have is the big question mark.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Cristo Rey
2. Prairie Seeds Academy
3. Hope Academy
4. St. Paul Prep/HSRA 
5. International School 
6. Community of Peace
7. Charter Stars

Conference Overview
Last year's league schedule was turned on its head when St. Paul Prep/HSRA was moved up to the top division late.  This year we're back to the intended 3 groups of 7.  That means St. Paul Prep/HSRA will stay up in the top division.  MN State Academy for the Deaf moves down to the 2nd division.  The league was at an all-time high last year but no way you can replace all the talent that was lost.  Depth in this league is always a question mark.  I see the deepest team as Cristo Rey and that's why I take them to win the league.  Prairie Seeds has a style that suits the league well so I like them with Hope Academy and St. Paul Prep/HSRA to also be very competitive at the top.  Then a drop off to the bottom 3.  International School gets the nod as I see Preston Dahlen as one of the top scorers in the league. But Charter Stars knocked them off late last season.  Community of Peace has a ton to replace.  Overall the league will be more balanced top to bottom.

Conference MVP: Joey Erickson - Hope Academy


Underclassmen to watch: 

• Isaiah Long, Akpevwe Avwonuma - Charter Stars
• Zaveon Smith - Community of Peace 
• James Sommer, Eric Burgess - Cristo Rey Jesuit 
• Caleb Hoilien - Hope Academy
• Isaiah Jones - Prairie Seeds Academy

Conference Games to Watch

• Cristo Rey at Prairie Seeds - Jan 5th 
• Prairie Seeds at Cristo Rey - Jan 30th
• TCAC Tournament Championships - Mar 3rd

Non-Conference Games to Watch

• Hibbing at Cristo Rey - Dec 1st

How the WI Realignment Plan Might Look in MN

There's a very interesting development going on in Wisconsin right now regarding classification.  The WIAA, Wisconsin's version of the MSHSL, is pushing a new plan for realigning sections based on a rural vs urban model.   Here's a good link to read about the particulars.  Basically it says that small schools based in large population areas will be moved up from the 2 smallest divisions (4 and 5) to division 3 while the 2 largest divisions (1 and 2) remain unchanged.  The definition of large urban area is defined by the US Census with a link in the article.  Basically that's an area of more than 25,000 people.  I decided to play around with it a bit and see what it might look like here in Minnesota. 

Here are the rules, I tried to base it on the Wisconsin stuff but 4 classes instead of 5 complicated it.  So I chose the number 300 as a dividing point since I didn't want the smallest schools to move up more than 1 class.

1) Class AAAA remains unchanged.
2) Schools with an enrollment of over 300 and in an urban area will play no lower than class AAA.
3) Schools with an enrollment of under 300 and in an urban area will play in class AA.
4) Enrollment for co-op programs is the combined enrollment of the schools.
5) Enrollment figures are from the MSHSL website but likely doesn't include free lunch calculations or schools who have the ability to opt down.
6) Opt Up schools not included

Results:
AAAA retains the same 1195+ range and 64 teams

14 schools were urban and had an enrollment of over 300.  They were moved from class AA to class AAA.  They are (in order of enrollment)
St. Cloud Cathedral
Rochester Lourdes
Charter Stars
St. Paul Academy
St Paul Prep/HSRA
Holy Family Catholic
International School/Eagle Ridge
St. Croix Prep
Minnehaha Academy
Brooklyn Center
Southwest Christian
Providence Academy
Spectrum
Hmong Academy

Class AAA expands to 96 teams in an attempt to balance the enrollments.  That's 8 sections of 12 teams so 4 pigtail games in each which I think would be interesting.  Its the next 82 in enrollment after class AAAA plus the mandated 14 teams above.  The 14 teams above are the smallest in the class with Hmong Academy coming in at 307.  But note they play in section 4A right now, so they would likely be AA after adjustments.  St. Croix Lutheran also moves up but they already opted up for this 2 year cycle.  Note that Brooklyn Center with an enrollment of 336 moves up.  Brooklyn Center is the only public school moved under the plan.  In Wisconsin, the Milwaukee area has a number of smaller public schools that move up to Division 3.

Bloomington Kennedy with a listed enrollment of 1290 (meets AAAA criteria but adjusted to AAA) is the largest school.  Fairmont at 464 is the smallest non-adjusted school in the class.  That compares today to a range of 555-1290.  By comparison, Wisconsin leaves their top 2 classes alone and sees a large disparity in the middle class where all the teams are moved to.

Class AA remains at 128 teams.  Its the next 103 schools by enrollment.  Then 25 teams move up from class A, 18 of those are from the metro area.  Mankato Loyola and Lakeview Christian are 2 other notables that move up.  Hope Lutheran is the bad luck draw here with an enrollment of 27 but being in Winona bumps them up.  On the other end, Milaca is the biggest school with an enrollment of 460.  Rushford-Peterson is the smallest school not forced up with an enrollment of 195.  AA today is a range of 204 - 554.  Wisconsin also ends up with the problem of a very tiny private school facing a public school in the 500 enrollment range.

Class A drops to 138 teams.  Largest school is Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton with an enrollment of 195.  It drops all the way down to Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig at 23.  Ellsworth at 40 is the smallest public.  Note that the class still has private schools, some of them with very good basketball histories.  Central Minnesota Christian, SW MN Christian, Hillcrest Lutheran, New Ulm Cathedral, Minnesota Valley Lutheran and Mayer Lutheran remain in class A because they aren't in a big enough urban area.

Now I'm not advocating for the idea or for the exact way I did it.  The splits in AA and AAA aren't all that appealing.  I did try a version where I moved urban schools over 600 to AAAA with 96 teams.  But that made the split between biggest and smallest in AAA even worse.  My point is discussion as private vs public is an issue that has been around forever.  The WIAA proposal is definitely new and worth evaluation and discussion.  One suggestion is a private school federation.  I find that ironic being I grew up with WISAA (the now defunct private school version of WIAA) in Wisconsin and I always complained that I wanted them to prove them were as good as the public schools so be careful what you wish for.  Another option that has come up is a multiplier value to a private school's enrollment.  The methodology here is probably most similar to the idea of bumping all private schools up a class, another popular suggestion.

Welcome to Czar Season 11

Its that time of year again.  As is tradition here on Labor Day weekend, I move forward to the new school year and another season of high school hoops.  Its my 11th season and I've provided all the usual updates for the 2017-2018 season.  That includes the biennial update of Section Assignments and Section Maps.   We'll dive more into the specific section updates during previews.

The fall basketball schedule including fall leagues and valuable camps can be found here on my Fall Basketball page.  All of the players who have made the choice to play D1 or D2 basketball are listed on my Signings page.  New this year, I'm also including any non-seniors who have made that choice.  I'll move those forward to next season when the time comes.  The Holiday Tournaments page lists out the laundry list of holiday tournaments and who will be playing in them (as far as I know now).  That list will be updated as more teams and schedules become available.

I'll be doing my usual season preview series starting in October.  That will be on the usual schedule of the 6 weeks leading into the start of practice in November with a 2 day MEA break thrown in.  Find out when your conference and section will be previewed on my Season Previews page.  Once again, I'll be doing those in the general order of small schools to large schools.

One major change I've made is the addition of a Resources Page.  This will appear as the 1st option in the menu for folks on mobile devices.  This duplicates all the things you see in the Basketball Links menu on the left side of desktop site but don't appear on a phone.  I've broken that out into 3 major areas, High School Season, AAU Season and Other Sites.  So it has a slightly different feel than the current menu.  Hopefully that makes the multitude of resources that are there easy to use in the mobile world.  Anything that you want to find about Minnesota hoops is likely there. 

2017 Summer Stockraisers

So after watching another season of grassroots hoops here are 10 names that stuck out to me as improving their stock in the recruiting world.  I've limited the list to 17U kids only since that's the vast majority of what I watched.  The names are in no particular order.

Tre Jones - Apple Valley/Howard Pulley
With a very talented point guard class at the national level, where would Tre stand at the end of the season.  Well if you watched the high school season, the end result is no surprise.  He raised his game during the high school season leading the Eagles to a state title.  He continued that momentum into the grassroots season where he repeatedly outplayed his peers.  As has been stated before, you can have any other point guard you want and I'll take my chances (credit Ryan James)

Jarvis Thomas - Orono/Howard Pulley
It was fair to wonder where he would fit in at the start of the season.  After all, with Daniel Oturu already there and Pulley traditionally plays small, how would his minutes turn out?  No questions afterwards.  He hustled and dunked his way up the recruiting charts all season long.  He even showed flashes of a perimeter game.

David Roddy (2019) - Breck/Howard Pulley
Playing up a year didn't hurt Roddy any.  He played a perfect role for the Panthers squad and hit a bunch of big shots.  He definitely progressed faster than expected for a talented Panthers squad.

Joe Hedstrom - Hopkins/Minnesota Comets Lewis
Hedstrom went from being a lower level D1 guy to having Wisconsin, Minnesota and Purdue following him at different points this season.  He played hard and showed ability to finish in the paint.  And as a biased former coach of his, I'll always say he's more skilled than he appears.

Max Bjorklund - Orono/Minnesota Fury Antl
Bjorklund was the catalyst for the 2nd Fury crew and opened eyes all spring and summer.  He's another guard who took the momentum of a great finish to the high school season and showed it during the spring and summer.  He's a capable ball handler and shot maker.  If there's a vastly underappreciated guy out there, he fits the bill. 

Josiah Strong - Champlin Park/Minnesota Powerhouse Hoops Black
At first glance you wonder is he a 2 stuck in a 1 body.  He proved he too can make big shots and play either guard spot.  Was very impressive in his final game vs EYBL rep Portland BC in Las Vegas.  Played himself into a Missouri-Kansas City offer.  Will get a chance to break out this high school season with all the graduation losses for the Rebels.

Tayler Johnson - Minneapolis North/Grassoots Sizzle
Sizzle was often undermanned on the Under Armour Circuit.  But Johnson did everything he could to keep it from being only the Jalen Suggs show.  He stepped up and became the clear #2 guy for the Sizzle.  His quickness definitely played well on the circuit and he showed he could definitely compete.

Luke Martens - Apple Valley/Minnesota Select Ohnstad
Martens has always been known as a great role player who will defend anybody.  But in Vegas he took his offensive game to another level.  Playing without Beijan Newbern or Christian Dickson, Martens carried the offense in the 1st bracket game and then lit it up for 30 and a buzzer beater on championship day as Select won their bracket

Deaundra Roberson - Columbia Heights/43 Hoops
Roberson definitely helped himself with 43 Hoops this grassroots season.  His athleticism caused fits for opponents all season.  He was definitely the catalyst for his crew.  Its also true during the high school season where the Hylanders will be a team to be reckoned with in class AAA.

Calvin Wishart - Delano/D1 Minnesota
Wishart used his speed very effectively throughout the grassroots season.  That allowed him to be very effective playing on the Adidas circuit.  He looks to have another big season for a dangerous Delano squad in AAA.

Vegas 2017 Part 2 (The Rest)

This is part 2 of my writings on what I saw in Las Vegas during the 2017 recruiting period.  Part 1 was about the Minnesota teams so read that here if you missed it.  In this post, everything else that happened.

Lavar Ball
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the clown show around Lavar and Big Ballers.  I didn't attend the Wednesday night game with Zion Williamson where 80,000+ watched on Facebook and another 3,000 to 4,000 watched in person.  The craziest atmosphere that I can recall in my time covering grassroots hoops.  Fans flocking around his team after each game ended.  Then the whole debacle on Friday where he got a T, had the female official replaced and then forfeited his team after he got another T but wouldn't leave the court.  The national writers have said everything that needs to be said on this and far better so I won't repeat it here.  Shame on Lavar and Adidas for how they both handled it.  Total embarrassment.  Credit to the officials group for backing out of their contract with Adidas.  Part of me is slightly disgusted though that when I did seem them on Thursday he actually behaved himself which seems to more and more rare.  Say what you will about the style of play but I love how they get the ball out of the net and get it to the front court . Either via the pass as a 1st option (super underutilized in today's game) or pushing it hard with the dribble.  After that, the shot selection etc etc leaves much to be desired.

The Other Basketball
Another year like 2015 where Point Guard play was the theme.  I got to see a glimpse of most of top point guards in the country during the week between the 3 events.  That made it clear to me that Tre Jones is the top point guard in the country.  There are scoring point guards (most of the crop) and then floor generals like Jones and Devon Dotson.  Very impressed with both of those generals.  Also impressive, Mac Irvin Fire PG Ayo Dosunmu went off for 40 something in the 3rd place game of Pulley's bracket of The Eight.

Speaking of point guards, when not watching The Eight or The Creators Cup, I took in championship bracket runner up Las Vegas Prospects.  Backup PG Christopher Hawkins is no more than 5'6" but just loved how he got after it on the ball and took FOH Seattle out of their offense. 

Cache Valley of Idaho features one of the top bigs in Idaho in Brayden Parker.  The big bruising forward was dominant in the game against Team 907 of Alaska.  That Team 907 squad knocked out 43 Hoops in the bracket opener to get to this point.  Fun game with a surprisingly athletic Alaska team really getting after it and the fans/bench both being very vocal.  But the big man with the Idaho State offer was just too much.

The championship games of the mini brackets didn't disappoint either.  At The Eight, Team Takeover won the Peach Jam finale rematch with the Oakland Soldiers in a very entertaining game.  Ditto that as the Compton Magic went down to the wire to beat the New England Playaz in the Creators Cup final.  Compton got a couple late freebies from star PG Jules Bernard to hold off D1 in the semis.

The Gambling
Now for the important stuff.  I started my monetary adventures at the Bellagio on Monday night.  It was only after I sat down and started playing that I realized that the table was only paying 6 to 5 for Blackjack.  That's a terrible table when most pay 3 to 2.  Quickly got back to even and got out.  Lost everything for the Tuesday afternoon session.  The regular hotel sessions Monday thru Thursday ended about even.  So down a big number going to the big table on the final night.  Double deck and I couldn't bust.  Poor guy next to me was getting 15 and 16 all night.  Not me as I doubled up and more than made up the early losses to come home a big winner.  Best result ever there and even better cards than 2011 at the Bellagio.


The Hangover
It started on Monday on the strip with sightings of an Austin Powers impersonator and Chewbacca on the way to the Bellagio.  So not only did I break my regular glasses on Thursday morning (so who knows what I actually saw) but after recovering on Sunday from the flight home, somehow I was missing part of a tooth (Chewbacca noise here).  Sad part is I have no idea how.  I had fun but didn't think I had THAT much fun.  No super late nights, just extra good food as I used Tuesday to get some quality Pot Liquor CAS BBQ.  After 5 miles on foot with luggage on my back on Saturday, all I could do is sleep and rehydrate.  Well worth it though to see 5 kids that I once coached.  Spent 3 hours in the dentist's chair getting that fixed to wash away all the winnings.

Vegas 2017 Part 1 (MN Teams)

The annual adventure known as the Las Vegas recruiting period has completed for 2017.  So much to talk about that I'm going to split it into 2 parts.  This post will deal with the Minnesota teams that I saw.  The next post will be the lighter side of the trip and the other hoops I saw.  9 of the top 10 Minnesota 17U teams were in Vegas (WOTN season was done).  I had a chance to see 8 of those teams and saw the game that 43 Hoops would have played in had they won their bracket opener.  So here are my thoughts in order of viewing.

Howard Pulley
Pulley is the one team in this group that I saw twice.  They lost their opener to E1T1 on Wednesday.  Very good use of a soft trap to get the ball out of Tre Jones hands.  That held him to 12 points in that game.  Tre rebounded to outplay LSU commit Javonte Smart in the 5th place game of The 8.  But that was another game where his shot left him.  3-12 FG but ended with 19 points, 6 board and 8 assists.  Gabe Kalscheur combined for 7 triples in those 2 games. David Roddy's hot shooting in game 2 was a big factor.  Jarvis Thomas very active in both games and even knocked down a 3 in each game.  Disappointing end to the tourney with a big loss to NY2LA champ Team Blaze Select and Ohio St commit Musa Jallow.  They finish 2-2.

Grassroots Sizzle
Sizzle played a Wednesday showcase game in the Fab 48 vs 1 Family.  1 Family had a quick turnaround with only 1 session off to cross town after a tough 4 point loss.  Jalen Suggs and 1 Family star Nassir Little both played well but ended up leaving with injuries.  Javonni Bickham and Tayler Johnson would pick up the slack and get THE NATION a win.  Johnson impressive all weekend.  They would beat Belmont Shore in their pool finale to reach the championship bracket.  They lost the opener to Nike South Beach who then forfeited the next game.  That meant a rematch with fellow UA member C2K Elite which they lost.  We'll ignore that since they shouldn't have been in it anyway and on the schedule it shows as a forfeit.  They finish 3-2.

D1 Minnesota
Matt Hurt had a quiet 2nd half in the game I saw vs Compton Magic.  Beyond that though he was terrific.  Race Thompson stepped up in that 2nd half and finished with 23 points.  Calvin Wishart continued to play well at the point guard spot.  D1 would finish 3rd in the Creators Cup by knocking off eventual tourney champion Team Loaded VA.  They lost to the Iowa Barnstormers in the tourney quarterfinals to finish 5-2.

Comets Lewis
The game I saw had the Comets lose a NY2LA league rematch with the WI Swing.  Joe Hedstrom had 15 of his 20 points in the 1st half of the game.  Purdue and Wisconsin 2 big names there to watch him.  Ultimately though, the Swing made big shots in the 2nd half and hung on late.  That put the Comets 2nd in pool play.  They advanced to the semis of the Gold Elite bracket to finish 5-2.

The rest of these 17U games were in Saturday bracket play.  My luggage and I hiked over 4 miles to see these and they didn't disappoint.

Powerhouse Black
Powerhouse won their pool and drew Portland Basketball Club of the EYBL in the 1st round of bracket play.  Portland BC featuring Barrow, AK native and top 50 national player Kamaka Hepa.  Powerhouse played without Jarius Cook who was injured earlier in the tourney.  But the Powerhouse guys didn't care.  After trailing by 7 in the 1st half, they would open up a 12 point second half lead.  Both Gach with a big first half.  Josiah Strong would make big shot after big shot.  Portland BC would rally to tie behind their big guards which Powerhouse had no answer for.  Tie game at the end of regulation, Portland BC trying to give 5 fouls to close the clock out.  Both Gach with a catch and 1 dribble pullup for 3 that he got hit on and its good but waved off.  Dig thru my twitter feed for the video.  Spirit of the call right but easily could have counted for the win.  Hepa would miss late in double OT but Portland BC would put it back for a 60-59 2 OT win.  Both Gach 20 pts and Josiah Strong 17 pts with terrific games.  Nate Hendler with a very good game off the bench as well.  Powerhouse finishes 3-1.

Fury Wilde
Fury took on Griffins, a collection of players including John Stockton's son and coached by none other than Stockton himself.  We get to bingo him immediately for not turning his lineup in to start the game.  You could really see the Utah Jazz influence on his team too.  Hard cuts and UCLA action both shown and were staples of the old Jazz offense.  They also had a really good big guy that Fury had no answer for.  Fury really struggled in this one until late.  But Michael Jones would keep Fury close.  Drew Galinson with a late 3 to make it a 2 possession game and Fury would hang on from there.  Jones with 22, Galinson with 10.  Joey Whitlock 3 big 3s to help do some zone busting for 9.  Fury.  They would lose in the Platinum championship semis to finish 5-1.

Select Ohnstad
Select's bracket day was strange.  They were given a 1st round bye but their opponent sat in the main gym and didn't show up.  Game ends up being a forfeit.  But no time wasted as Select only had to wait another 90 minutes for their next game.  San Antonio GATA played a nasty 1-2-2 matchup and gave Select fits.  Select would make a shot and GATA would have an answer for a 33-20 lead in the 2nd half.  Luke Martens the only Select player able to get any offense to work.  Select would finally start making some shots.  The biggest being by Nick Fulford who buried 3 huge 3s down the stretch.  that brought Select back from 5 down with 3:30 left to 1 up with 1:20 left.  Select would hang on from there to win 51-47.  Luke Martens with 17 in the game.  He would go for 30 and hit a 3 to force overtime on championship day.  Select goes 7-0 and wins their Platinum championship bracket.

Fury Antl
Fury Antl came into Vegas hot but struggled to a 1-2 mark in bracket play.  That means we get the infamous 9 PM game and on Saturday night no less.  A detached auxiliary gym means no air conditioning and no game in the main gym.  Add in a full day of sweaty kids and fans in the gym and you can fill in the rest.  This made the old days under the track at Jefferson during the AAU State Tourney look like a picnic.  Their opponent was the Dallas Razorbacks who have a fun and athletic squad.  Offense in the 1st half very hard to come by with a 16-15 halftime score.  Razorbacks getting only 1 bucket in the last 7:45.  Max Bjorklund carried the Fury offense.  His 3 point play with 1:15 left tied the game.  Fury would get a stop and take timeout with 37.8 left.  Razorback player gets in the Fury huddle while ref is cleaning up a wet spot.  Fans start going nuts about it, kid gets shoved out of the huddle and gets a T.  Fury goes on to win 48-45 with Bjorklund scoring half of those.  Fury Antl would go on to sweep their bracket and win the Copper Elite championship.  They finish 5-2.

Lower Levels
Also have to give mention here to the Heat MacDonald and Heat Bui 16s that I saw play on Thursday night.  Heat MacDonald had no trouble winning their pool and they made a run all the way to their Platinum championship final before losing.  They finish 6-1.  Heat Bui and their Bethel offense was really fun to watch.  We had to invoke the up 50 media must leave mercy rule for their game.  They won a rematch with School Boys to open bracket play.  They lost their Platinum championship semifinal to finish 5-1. 

What I didn't see
43 Hoops 17s swept their pool and lost in 1st round to go 3-1.  D1 16s swept their pool before losing in the 2nd round of bracket play.  They finish 4-1.  Select Jaryan 16s finished 0-4.  Both Fury 16s won their pool but lost in 1st round to finish 3-1.  School Boys also swept their pool before losing to Heat Bui in the 1st round, 3-1 finish. 
 
D1 15s steamrolled their 3 pool opponents and their 1st bracket opponent before losing in the 2nd round.  They finish 4-1.  43 Hoops 15s started with a win over the Oakland Soldiers but lost their last 3 games for a 1-3 finish.  Fury Zurn won their pool and lost in 1st round for a 3-1 finish.  Select Gaddis 15s finished 2nd in pool and made a run to the Gold Elite championship game before losing.  They finish 5-2.

Thoughts from 2017 GPA

Another quality weekend at the Great Plains Alliance in St. Cloud.  Champioship games in St. Cloud never seem to disappoint and they didn't this weekend either.  We had 2 overtime title games and the other was a tight classic.  Here's some of the notes from what I saw.

17U
Powerhouse Red won the 17U bracket over Comets Lewis in a 70-69 overtime thriller.  Powerhouse rallied from 5 down in the last couple minutes of regulation to force the OT.  Josiah Strong with a couple of big buckets late.  The Comets would get a late hoop but Powerhouse would see Colton Codute go coast to coast to beat the regulation buzzer.  The Comets had 1 last chance in OT but Matt Todd's lane fadeaway at the buzzer was off.

The game was a very fun coaching chess match as 6'10" center Joe Hedstrom for the Comets ended up guarding the 5'10" PG Codute for a significant portion of the game.  Powerhouse would show a Golden State like "death" lineup with Jarius Cook, Josiah Strong, Anthony Davis, Duoth Gach and Michael Schaefer to start the 2nd half.  I was really hoping to see more of that group just for the humor value.  Very logical lineup too as you wouldn't want Hedstrom chasing any of that group around the 3 point line.  But the leadership and defense of Codute is really hard to take off the floor.  Jarius Cook hit a couple of big 3s in the game and as the biggest stockriser on the Powerhouse squad he did not disappoint.

Powerhouse looked like they would steamroll the MN Eagles in the semis.  Schaefer had 25+ thanks to hot shooting before fouling out.  Codute also fouled out and the roof almost caved in.  Powerhouse saw a 25 point lead with 12 minutes left shrink all the way down to 6 with 2:40 left.  But the rally would fall short.

Speaking of rallies and hot shooting, another great game on the weekend in 17s was ECI Prospects vs Wisconsin Shooters.  Preston Maccoux of the Shooters showed a smooth stroke leading the Shooters to a 14 point halftime lead.  ECI would rally to take a late lead.  But a Grant Basile layup and 2 free throws in the last minute would lead the Shooters to the last 8 points of the game and the victory.  Maccoux didn't play on Saturday and the Shooters fell to Select Ohnstad in the quarterfinals.

Credit to WI Playmakers Clark for their performance.  They took Comets Servaty right down to the final 6 seconds on Thursday night before a Jordan Belka 3 did them in.  Then they won a couple of bracket games before falling to Comets Lewis in the quarterfinals.  Speaking of Belka, the Rogers forward is one of the hottest names coming out of the event as he starts to rack up a bunch of D2 offers.

16U
SD Attack won the 15s last year at the GPA and defended that title in 16s with a 77-73 win over Comets Stumpf.  Even more impressive when you consider they did it without star PG Sawyer Schultz (has Augustana offer).  That left Noah Freidel as the main attraction and he did not disappoint.  He made tough shots all weekend and had 36 in the championship game.  Its a fun squad to watch as they execute good offense well, play rock solid defense and don't make mistakes. 

The biggest story of the 16U bracket has to be Wayzata G Jacob Beeninga.  He was fantastic all weekend and finished it with 42 points in the championship game.  The mano-a-mano battle with Friedel in that game will be remembered for a long time. 

Beeninga and White Bear Lake's Sam Schwartz for Heat MacDonald were the leaders for their squads in the semis.  Beeninga had a big first half with 16 of his 22 points and Schwartz brought his crew back in the 2nd half to finish with 19 points.  A late Beeninga steal and free throw would finish the game.  Comets Stumpf won that semifinal 58-55.

WOTN Swedberg lost to the eventual champs in the quarterfinals but won their other 4 games of the weekend.  Lakeville North forward Tate Staloch played well and definitely helped himself.  Fury Zurn played up in the 16s and drew the champs in the round of 16s.  But Fury also won their other 4 games to win the consolation championship.  They knocked off a talented ECI Prospects squad and solid Heat Wright and Real Athletics squads along the way.  ECI's Isaac Undlin was a physical inside presence that caused problems and Mitch Larson showed nice range on his shot over the weekend.


15U
In the 15u bracket, WOTN Davis won the title 68-62 in OT over Comets DLR.  6'8" C Steven Crowl from Eastview looks like he'll be a nice compliment to Tate Machacek on the Lightning frontline.  Add in a shooter like Gabe Bassett from Farmington and forward Reid Gastner from Lake City and you have a nice squad.  They played very well in Sanford League play and extended that here.

Looking back at 10 years

Today marks the 10 year anniversary of the creation of this site and my entry in the local high school hoops scene.  Who would have thought this would last this long?  This ride is an amazing roller coaster and you always feel like you're about to fall off.

I've mellowed and slowed down over the past few years or should I say I do a better job of picking my spots.  But there's a been a ton I've seen.  Over 1000 high school varsity games plus countless other lower level and AAU games.  That means I've had tons of concessions food and thousands of ounces of beverages and heard more current music than I would like.  Here are some of the things that stick out in no particular order.

The Food and Beverages: This started as space filler at the start of a post.  Then it grew and now some of you (you know who you are) only read that section.  Yes the numbers are preposterous, but is it really that interesting?  Who knew?  You can ponder that while you ignore the rest of this piece.

Locations: When I first started this, I was shocked by the total number of schools in the metro.  Now I look back at the places I've been where you can't normally see a game.  There are closed schools like St. Bernard's, Concordia-Bloomington, Minneapolis Central and the original St. Paul Washington.  Then there are places that have built new gyms like Mounds Park Academy, St. Thomas Academy, St. Agnes and the University of St. Thomas.  Not to mention the places that had rare games or don't hold them anymore like the 2008 state tournament using Mariucci Arena because of a robotics event at Williams Arena.  While we're at the U of M how about the old section final doubleheaders at the Sports Pavilion.  Then there was Osseo Junior High coming into play when Maple Grove's gym got flooded.  ESPN's use of the big gym at CDH for a Joe Mauer event forced a game to the small upstairs gym.  Even a concert taking over the Orono main gym and forcing the Spartans next door to the middle school for a season opener.

The Officials:  It started as a harmless way for me to remember these guys.  Then Lithgow got out of hand.  Before you know it, he's working a game at Breck with another official who demanded a nickname on the spot.  Hence The Nutty Professor was born.  Other nicknames came along like The Rev, Billy Crystal and the JMOA.  But I've only gotten to use Mr. Roboto once which is a huge disappointment.

Best Team: Hopkins 2009 class AAAA state champions
This one was easy.  PG Marcus Williams (NDSU FB and NY Jets), Trent Lockett (Az St and Marquette), Ray Cowels (Santa Clara), Mike Broghammer (Notre Dame) and Mr Basketball Royce White (MN and Iowa State) was the starting 5.  DJ Peterson (La Salle) and Marvin Singleton (UNI) came off the bench.  Freshman PG Siyani Chambers (Harvard) and soph Joe Coleman (Minnesota/St. Mary's) were also on that team.  Both would go on to win the Mr Basketball award (2011 and 2012 respectively) but didn't play many critical minutes that year.  So that's 9 kids who played at a mid-major level or above.  Scary talent level.

On a side note about the 2009 class, remember this.  Nate Wolters and Mike Muscala have seen NBA time and didn't make the Mr. Basketball final 5 that year.  Wolters not making it was almost criminal.  That class and the class of 2017 absolutely stacked with talent.

Best Game: Dec 12, 2008  Hopkins at St. Bernard's (what I said then)
Its only fitting that the 2008-2009 Hopkins team is here.  They played 2 single digit games all season and this was the closest of them.  St. Bernard's was the consensus top team in AA that season and ended up going up 28-4 and losing to Pelican Rapids in the state title game.  Coach Ed Cassidy had a loaded roster of his own and this game was as big as any.  Then you add in the tiny gym at Bernard's with people crammed in for the atmosphere and you have a game for the ages.   Jordair Jett and Royce White going head to head was something to behold.  A tie game with 7 minutes to play before Hopkins hung on.

Some other games that deserve mention here.

• Hopkins winning the 2014 AAAA title in 4 OT over Shakopee thanks to a 3/4 court heave from Amir Coffey as Hopkins held the ball for 3 of the 4 overtimes against the Shakopee zone. That shot was from right in front of my position on press row and is still incredible.
• 2012 State championship night.  Ian Theisen from the baseline in front of me to give Osseo the AAAA title over Lakeville North.  That was after De La Salle went full court after a bucket with no time out and got a Ross Barker buzzer beater to defeat Washburn.  That was the 1st in the string of their current 6 straight AAA titles.  
• Southwest with the February 8, 2013 buzzer beater against South.  That home win was needed as the Minneapolis City ended up in a 3 way tie between South, Southwest and Washburn.  Southwest would go to the Twin Cities Game for the 1st time in 30 years and for only the 2nd time.  While they were only 15-13 that season and lost to Johnson in that Twin Cities Game, it was a landmark moment for a program that has long struggled in the league.
• March 6, 2014 Cretin-Derham Hall ends the Tyus Jones era.   This was the 3AAAA section final in 2014 with Tyus Jones and Apple Valley trying to defend a state title.  A full house, intense double OT game and a major upset.
• The Blake Hoffarber shot at state vs Eastview was before my time.  I didn't attend the 2007 final between Buffalo and Robbinsdale Armstrong but the shooting and ovation from the crowd is still worth watching.

Best Atmosphere:  That Hopkins at St. Bernard's game was great but I want to mention Dec 7, 2013, De La Salle vs Apple Valley boys in the 2013 Girls Breakdown Tipoff Classic at Hopkins.   Both teams were ranked number 1 and arguably the top 2 teams in the state.  While the game lost some luster because Reid Travis was out due to injury, the interest in the game was still crazy.  I wrote about it here.

Scoring Records:  Its crazy to think that the boys scoring record has been broken 3 times during these 10 years.  Cody Schilling broke it in the state tourney quarters at Mariucci Arena in 2008.  Anders Broman set the current record in December 2012 at the Hibbing Holiday Tournament.  Then there was January 25th, 2010 when Kevin Noreen of MTS broke the record in a game at Roosevelt.  I feel the same way now as I did then about how the record was treated differently for Kevin than others.  The Red Star drooled over Schilling sending then writer John Millea (now the designed scribe for the MSHSL) down to Ellsworth for a big feature.  Broman's record was heavily followed.  But on Noreen's night, nobody showed up besides me and Steve Froemming.   That's sad.  Not to mention The Red Star had a hatchet piece ready to go that was posted almost instantly after the game ended.  With the whole LaMelo, Lonzo, Lavar Ball mess going on today, it draws a striking parallel for me.  Many people had issues with Kevin's dad and/or MTS coach John Sherman for whatever reason.  While they may not have been saints, many took that out on Kevin which is a shame.  Kevin is a great person who never wanted the spotlight and he deserved much better.

Most Unintentionally Funny Headline Ever:   January 12, 2012 Hooker reaches a milestone.
I write lame post titles all the time which are usual sad plays on words.  Some actually work out well like "Ponies mash the Spuds" from November 27, 2015.  Most don't.  But the post in question was completely unintentional.  Park Center star Quentin Hooker who had a very nice career at North Dakota is the subject of the post.  He reached his 1000th career point during the game.  So the title is innocent enough.  But if you don't know the player in question or have a humorous point of view, the prostitution angle to this adds an entirely different spin to it.  This generated a lot of good laughs all from an innocent attempt to acknowledge a milestone.
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The Changing of the AAU Landscape
Once upon a time, we had actual AAU qualifiers and a state tournament.  There was only 1 shoe program not 3.  Almost every major event was held at Bloomington Jefferson (Magic spring tourney, State AAU tourney, Howard Pulley tourney).  Then AAU went away and the shoe programs came along.  Magic is still trying to rebuild.  Glory fell off the map (RIP Charlie Paxson) while many other programs like Comets, Fury, Heat, WOTN etc all took a step up.  More and more Minnesota players are playing.  More and more players are seeing success and scholarships.  Great to see it take a big step forward.  I've seen tournaments in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Iowa and of course Las Vegas where its a different world.  But our teams definitely hold their own.  And what would AAU be without Twitter and #AAUBingo.  That adds another level of fun to watching the circuit.

2017 Week 1 Sanford League Preview

So the April open periods are now behind us.  Now we move into May where there are a couple more weeks for the D2 schools to be out.  While the shoe companies and NY2LA played their league games during the open periods, the Sanford Pentagon Tournament Series kicks up this week.  They'll be playing games Saturday and Sunday on 4 courts at the fantastic Lansing Center at Mounds Park Academy in Maplewood.  Then next week the teams invade the Iowa West Fieldhouse in Council Bluffs, Iowa for week 2.  That building is the home of league member Omaha Sports Academy.  Then the teams get a week off before playing the finals at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls over Memorial Day weekend.

This weekend features 30 games in each of the 15U, 16U and 17U divisions.  12 teams will play in each division with 13 total organizations being represented.  6 Minnesota programs plus Omaha Sports Academy, Dakota Schoolers, ECI, WI Playmakers (16U and 17U) and new SPTS members IA Mavericks, Team KC and 43 Hoops (15U only) make up the league this year.  Let's take a look at the programs.  One of consistent themes you'll see here interestingly enough is size, something that seems to be lacking nationally.

Dakota Schoolers
In 17U, the Schoolers feature the top rated 2018 player in South Dakota.  That's 6'8" center Trevor Hanson.  6'7" Forward Mason Larson is ranked 4th.

ECI Prospects
In 17U, 6'3" Josh Sipes and 6'6" Kade Amundson are ranked 3rd and 4th in North Dakota.  They are high school teammates at Bismarck Century.  They struggled at the Comets Shootout last month.  In 16U, ECI has the top 3 ranked players in North Dakota, Jaden Klabo, Isaac Undlin and Mitch Larson.  They lost to Heat Bui in St. Cloud before winning 2 consolation games.

Iowa Mavericks Purple
The 17U Mavs have played well in the open period going 7-2 the last 2 weeks.  That included a semifinal finish in Des Moines 2 weeks ago.  Keep an eye on 6'7" forward Peter Timmerman.  The 16U group went 3-4 in those 2 events.  That included a loss 2 weeks ago to fellow SPTS member Team KC.

Minnesota Comets
The Comets Lewis 17s finished 5-4 in NY2LA play after being the runner up in the Comets Shootout.  PG Matt Todd and C Joe Hedstrom have both shined in spots so far.  The Comets Stumpf 16s won their division of the NY2LA league after an early playoff loss to the very good SD Storm at the Comets Shootout.  The Comets have shown great success in the history of the Sanford league and should be right near the top again.

Minnesota Fury
The Fury Wilde 17s have gotten off to a very solid start losing only 1 game in each of their 1st 3 tourneys.  Wing Michael Jones is a big scorer for this crew.  His stock has gone up with a nice spring.  Fury Mikiska has also been very solid in the 16s.  Fury Zurn 15s are off to a great start.   They swept the open division at NY2LA last week, ran the table at the Comets Shootout and their only loss is to MOKAN Elite in Iowa 2 weeks ago.  Fury has run the table with Sanford championships. They look to do so again.

Minnesota Heat
Its a down year for the Heat 17s but they'll still claw and scrap.  The Heat MacDonald 16s were knocked off by the Playmakers last week.  They meet again Saturday night.

Minnesota Select
The Select 16s and 17s were both 4-4 in NY2LA play.  Coach Mitch Ohnstad's 17s were 4-1 in St. Cloud with a loss to Comets Lewis.  Beijan Newbern gives them a go to scorer.  The Select 16s made a run to the Comets Shootout final.  Jack Thompson and Malik Willingham is a very effective guard tandem for them.  Both teams lack size but have a bunch of interchangeable parts. 

Omaha Sports Academy
The OSA Crusaders are a traditional Sanford league power.  This year should be no different.  The 17U team was an impressive 7-1 in Adidas Silver play the last 2 weeks.  6'10" Gopher target Brady Heiman leads the way in the middle.  The roster is loaded with 7 of the top 9 ranked players in Nebraska.  PG Shereef Mitchell just picked up a Nebraska-Omaha offer.  The 16U roster features Nebraska's top ranked player 6'5" F Akol Arop.

Southwest Minnesota Stars
The Stars have fallen out a bit in the last couple of years.  Marshall's Trey Lance leads the 17U group along with Noah Slagter of Willmar.  Carter Henry from Central Minnesota Christian and Bentley Boike of Dawson-Boyd are top guys for the 16U team.

Wear Out The Net
WOTN Ewing 17s impressively went 6-0 to win the NY2LA open division last week.  That included a very nice win over 43 Hoops in the championship game.  They were also solid in Iowa going 3-1.  The only loss was in the opener to the champion MOKAN 16s.  They were 3-1 in St. Cloud with the loss to Comets Lewis.  Very impressive 12-2 start so far.   Owatonna forward Dalton Kubista is their main weapon. 

WI Playmakers 17s and 16s
The Playmakers put separate squads in the NY2LA and Sanford Leagues.  The 17U group is the 1 Playmakers team that was not in St. Cloud last month.  The Sanford roster features South Dakota St recruit Owen King from Caledonia.  But they also have plenty of Wisconsin talent around him.  In 16U, Owen's brother Noah plays up a year.  Keep an eye on 6'10" Bennett Loersch in the middle for that 16U crew as well.

43 Hoops 15s
43 Hoops 15s impressively ran the table at 9-0 in NY2LA play.  They made the semifinals at the Comets Shootout before losing to Fury Zurn.  No better way to start league play than with the 8 AM Saturday rematch.  That will be one of the top 15U games in the league.  Henry Abraham and Nate Heise give this group a couple of the best shooters in the 2020 class in MN.  Tate Machacek is a very skilled forward who plays inside and outside for this group.

Team KC
Sorry, too far away and too little info.

2017 Open Period 2 17U Look ahead

Its another open period week on the AAU schedule.  This week the big notable event locally is the NY2LA Spring Extravaganza taking place at Hopkins, Eden Prairie and Minnetonka.  NY2LA league games for the 17s are all at Hopkins.  Open division and lower level games vary between other locations.

In the 17U open division, 13 Minnesota teams will play in the open division.   Sanford teams from WOTN and the MN Heat both playing.  43 Hoops, MN Eagles, Fury Antl, Real Athletics, Heat Johnson, tNBA, Crossfire Schmidt, Select Ellis, Select Leafblad, Comets Little and MN Magic also playing in that 17U open bracket.   Plenty of possibilities for local matchups.  All 20 opening game winners will move on to the championship bracket.  The bottom 8 games send the loser to the silver bracket.  MN Eagles is in that group that could go silver.  However, they have a favorable draw into Sunday.  They could run into Fury Antl in the semis.

Czar Watch: 43 Hoops.  They followed up their win over D1 Minnesota on Easter weekend with a 3-1 weekend in Iowa last week.  They have good quick guards and Wendell Matthews inside so its a solid group for coach Shaye Fields.  Their opener is right away Friday night against Kingdom Hoops who also lost in the same quarter of the bracket to Sanford rep Iowa Mavericks Purple.  Kingdom Hoops was also 3-1 last weekend.  Both teams will open bracket play at 11:15 AM Saturday morning at Hopkins.  Location in the bracket determined by result of their game.

In 17U NY2LA play, Comets Lewis, Comets Servaty and Select Ohnstad represent Minnesota.  Both Comets groups were 2-2 and Select Ohnstad went 1-3 in week 1 in Dallas.   Comets Servaty has 4 games against opponents who are a combined 11-5 in league play.  Select Ohnstad fares a little better in their 4 games as the opponents are a combined 7-9.  Comets Lewis has a 5 game weekend.  Their opponents are 12-8 combined in league play.  3-1 WI Swing Litscher is always a hardnosed team and tough out.  Keep an eye on Mitch Listau for that crew.  Omaha Elite will feature a couple of 2017 kids including Isaiah Poor Bear Chandler who played here in the Timberwolves shootout.  Then the Sunday finale against 3-1 Team Blaze and arguably the top player in the NY2LA league this year, top 100 player Musa Jallow.   (Czar Correction: Comets beat Swing last weekend.  Opponents were 7-13 last week.  I had a 3-1 Swing and 2-2 Mac Irvin in my original count instead of the 2 0-4 teams that Comets actually play)

Fury Wilde will make the road trip east to the Steel City for the well regarded Pittsburgh Jam Fest.   The format is all at 1 convention center with a truck load of courts   Fury with an opening win would have to come right back and play a 2nd game Friday night which is a very very rare site for events.  But its a full 107 team bracket with only a 3 game guarantee.  Lose on opening night and they won't play Sunday.  Fury Wilde was 3-1 last week in Iowa.  Only loss was to Spiece Indy Heat's 16U EYBL team.

Powerhouse Hoops is at the Terrific 24 in Indianapolis.  Somehow there are 52 teams in 17U, hmm.  Czar confused, doesn't match name of event.  Powerhouse gets traditional power Belmont Shore on Saturday afternoon with the dynamic guard duo of UCLA commit David Singleton (#57 Rivals) and #83 ranked Bryce Hamilton.  Powerhouse was 3-1 last weekend at the So Cal Hoop Review.

Speaking of Indy, its the center of the hoops universe this weekend with Under Armour and Nike both playing in town.  Howard Pulley behind a big week from Tre Jones finished 3-1.  Jones averaged 18 points and almost 10 assists a game.  Their 4 opponents this week are a combined 7-9.  Biggest game of the weekend is vs division foe NY Rens who are also 3-1.  Also a fun matchup of PGs with Jones vs 2019 #24 ranked Tyger Campbell on Saturday morning.  Campbell runs the show for prep school powerhouse La Lumiere.

Grassroots got off to a rough start last weekend going 0-4 in UA Association play.  Jalen Suggs and didn't shoot it well but still carried the load.  He needs somebody else to step up and give him some help.  This week their 4 opponents are a combined 4-12. That could help the NATION get back on track.

Adidas has their weekend in Atlanta this week.  Nike will be there in 2 weeks and Under Armour has their finals there in July.  D1 Minnesota was 1-3 last weekend.  Despite having McKinley Wright for Friday and Saturday, D1 gave up big games to multiple guards.  Their 4 opponents were 7-9 last week.  Their 6:40 PM Saturday game vs Urban ASAK will be streamed online.  Urban ASAK featuring a quality frontline with Brock Cunningham and Will Baker.  Cunningham just picked up a Texas offer (Dad played there) and has Utah as well.  Baker is ranked #92 by Rivals in the 2019 class.

2017 Open Period 1

The 1st D1 open period of the 2017 AAU season is upon us with back to back open weekends.  Now this weekend there's nothing of note going on locally.  Just a couple of minor tourneys.  But here's where everybody else will be.

In the Des Moines area, its the Midwest Live Tourney.  13 17U teams make the trip.  That includes 8 local teams in the 32 team top bracket.  43 Hoops has a pretty open bracket in the top quarter.  They knocked off D1 Minnesota last weekend (no Matt Hurt though).  D1 Prospects and WOTN could meet in the 2nd round in the 2nd quarter of the bracket.  But Nike rep MOKAN has their 16s playing against WOTN in the 1st round.  Fury Wilde and MN Eagles are in the 3rd quarter.  Spiece Indy Heat's 16s from the Nike circuit are also here.  The quarter of doom is the bottom quarter.  Fury Antl, Mpls FAB, MOKAN Select, SD Attack and a Grassroots group are all here.  Also in Des Moines, 10 16U teams and 8 15U teams.

In Sioux Falls, its the Sanford Pentagon Spring Jam.  12 Minnesota teams make that trip.  GetShook 15s who are off to a very nice start will be in Chicago.

As to the teams in leagues.  Comets and Select will be at the Lone Star Invitational in Dallas as part of the NY2LA league.  Also in Dallas is the Adidas Gauntlet.  D1 Minnesota will have their top 15, 16 and 17U teams there.  Net Gain also has 15s and 16s in the top Adidas gauntlet.   The 16U teams are in separate brackets in Dallas but the 15s could meet in the semifinals.  Howard Pulley has their top 2 teams in Virginia for the opening weekend of the EYBL.  The 15U teams are in a local event.

Let's talk matchups for those teams playing on the shoe circuits.

Howard Pulley has a matchup against a loaded California Supreme team on Saturday.  That includes Shaquille O'Neal's son Shareef who just committed to Arizona.  Manute Bol's son Bol Bol is also a star on that roster.  Pulley finishes with a pair of fun point guard matchups.  Tre Jones is ranked #27 in the new Rivals rankings.  He'll see #30 Ayo Dosunmu of Mac Irvin Fire and #129 David Dejulius (Michigan recruit) of The Family in the last 2 games.    #75 Daniel Oturu not only gets O'Neal but also #96 Trevion Williams of The Family.  #107 Jeenathan Williams and #38 in 2019 Isaiah Stewart will be the challenge in the Friday opener vs Albany City Rocks.

Grassroots has a tough Under Armour Association opener against Team Breakdown in Brooklyn.  Jalen Suggs will see #28 Elijah Weaver and #51 Anfernee Simons.  Game 2 isn't much easier as #21 6'9" Miles Norris and Earl Watson Elite are the matchup.  Washington Supreme and Houston Defenders are the other 2 opponents for Grassroots.  The Grassroots UA schedule is favorable as the 1 team they'll miss is DC Premier.

D1 Minnesota will see Texas PRO, Mass Rivals, Stackhouse Elite and Game Elite in the 1st half of Kyle Lowry division play. Their 1st pair of games are tough as well.  #65 Jaedon LeDee vs #117 Race Thompson and #6 2019 Matt Hurt (assuming he plays with the hand injury) is the matchup there.  #55 5'11 G Kendric Davis is going to  be a tough matchup for the D1 guards.  Mass Rivals has a couple of players on the edge of the top 50.  #50 David Duke is 6'3" and 6'5" AJ Reeves is #54.

2017 Comets Shootout 17U Preview

Its time to kick off another AAU season.  That means the annual trip to St. Cloud for the Comets Shootout.  As usual the 17s will start late with 3 games at 3:00, 4 more at 4:10 and the final 9 openers starting at 5:20.  In a change from recent history, the tournament goes back to pool format.  In recent years its been a 32 team bracket with 2 games Saturday night and the quarterfinals to finish on Sunday.  This year its still 2 Saturday games for everybody.  But we're back to 16 pool winners making the championship bracket.  That begins bright and early at 8 AM on Sunday and goes thru the traditional 5:20 final.  That takes a toll on even the deepest of teams.  16 2nd place teams will play in the Gold bracket.  Then 12 3rd place teams will play in the Silver bracket.  Its a unique format with the last 4 pools being only 2 team pools.  Those pools will start play with a cross-over game but only the head to head game at 7:40 PM will have any meaning for pool standings.  The 4 cross-over pools will play their games at St. Cloud State.  Everybody is at the home base of Whitney Rec Center or Sauk Rapids Middle School.  While the format has changed, the concept of having a balanced championship bracket has not.  That still means very little in the way of surprises in Saturday pool play and plenty of blowouts.  So let's get to the important stuff.

The Favorites
Comets Lewis and D1 Minnesota are the clear top 2 teams in the tourney.  D1 Minnesota has already started their season with a 3-1 record at the Real Deal In The Rock tourney in Arkansas last weekend.  They lost to eventual champion and fellow Adidas squad Marcus Smart YGC36 in the semifinals.  The Comets return a talented squad and have some nice additions.  Monticello PG Matt Todd joins group as does Hopkins C Joe Hedstrom.  They also added a talented top 30 ranked forward from Wisconsin.  They go 2 deep at every position and have pieces to do a bit of everything.  I expect a dynamite final between these 2.

Other Teams of Note
Half of the Sanford League is represented with Select, Heat, Fury, WOTN and ECI also attending.  Select's top team keeping the guys who played up last year plus adding many guys from last year's very nice 16U crew.  Not much size there but they have a couple of solid PGs in Charlie Gove/Cire Mayfield and a scorer in Beijan Newbern to go with a solid group of wings.  For WOTN, PG Bryce Phillips and W Jon Martens are nice pickups for them.  Dalton Kubista from Owatonna gives them a forward scorer who can play in and out.  Fury will feature high scoring wing Michael Jones along with Charlie Jacob.   Heat's group from last year fell apart.  Former St. Anthony star Josh Pratt has the Sanford group this year.  Kameron Davis from Spring Lake Park had a nice season.  St. Anthony's Aaron Smith could break out for this group.  More on ECI later.

Other Minnesota notables.  We have to start with MN Powerhouse bringing 2 teams.  What looks like their top team gets D1 MN Prospects in their pool.  That's one of few compelling pool games.  MN Eagles come back together for the spring.  That's Apple Valley guys coming off a state title.  Crossfire brings 2 squads.  That includes 2nd division Sanford League team Crossfire-Schmidt who should give Heat Pratt all they want in the crossover game.  The Comets have all their other teams playing as expected.  Fury's 2nd team, Mpls FAB, MN Magic, MN Phenom also on the list.  FAB is the young Brooklyn Center kids playing with some Tri-Metro seniors. They got off to a nice start in Arkansas last week as well.    FAB part of the 1 pool that could be called the Pool of Doom with the WI Playmakers top team and Minneapolis Henry.  MN Phenom went 3-1 and finished 2nd in Iowa last weekend.  Center Michael Johnson is a sleeper name to be aware of for that crew.

Its not just Minnesota that's well represented.  Three Wisconsin Playmakers teams on the list but not the Playmakers-King team (that's Owen King) that will play in the Sanford events.  But Playmakers-Knutson is their NY2LA team.  I like the size of that team and they have 4 top 50 Wisconsin kids.  I'm looking forward to seeing forwards Josh Dahlke and Jaxon Knotek from that crew.  North Dakota Phenom brings their top 2 teams.  That means between the ECI and ND Phenom top 2 teams we should see 3 of the top 5 kids in North Dakota in the event.   Center Josh Kihle with ND Phenom.  Guard Josh Sipes and Forward Kade Amundson expected for ECI.

Predictions
Now for the always infamous predictions.  Here's how I see the championship bracket ending up.

Round of 16 Games (better games here than you might expect)
Comets Lewis vs Crossfire Schmidt
WOTN Ewing vs ND Phenom
Select Ohnstad vs D1 MN Rise
Powerhouse Black vs Fury Antl
D1 MN vs Select Ellis
MN Eagles vs Comets Servaty
Fury Wilde vs MN Phenom
ECI Prospects vs WI Playmakers Knutson

Quarterfinal Results
Comets Lewis over WOTN Ewing
Powerhouse Black over Select Ohnstad
D1 MN over MN Eagles
Fury Wilde over WI Playmakers Knutson

Semifinals
Comets Lewis over Powerhouse Black in a grudge match
D1 MN over Fury Wilde

Championship
D1 MN wins a nailbiter championship over Comets Lewis