Prologue
A pair of heavyweights getting together as #4AAAA Eden Prairie made in the trip into the city to visit #7AAA Minneapolis Washburn. Its the season opener for both teams. Eden Prairie playing short handed without star point guard Grant Shaeffer and power forward Jack Cottrell. New Washburn coach Jamin Cook bringing in a very young squad. A disappointing hot dog by Washburn standards, their's are usually the best all-beef around (them and CDH). That's the 4th hot dog of the season. Beverage #10 puts me at an even 160 oz for the season. A small crowd early on but the Eden Prairie students kept things even for the visitors.
Game Time
Zach Hovey comes off the EP bench and provides a spark for the Eagles. He immediately puts back a miss to ignite a 9-0 run. 13-5 EP inside of the 12 minute mark. Washburn right back with 6 in a row. Jeff Jones with a pull and then coast to coast and he finishes with a slick stop and go. Timeout Eden Prairie holding a 13-11 lead at the 9:59 mark. Andre Wallace with a putback and a pair of free throws as EP pushes the lead back to 6. Jones once again strong coast to coast with a burst and taking a bump to finish a 3 point play. 27-23 Eden Prairie at the half.
Wallace with a pair of buckets and free throws in the first 3 minutes. Washburn takes a timeout with 14:56 left down 35-27. Anthony Anderson steals the inbounds out of the timeout for a layup and adds a pair of free throws. That pushes the lead to 39-27. Nick Anderson finally gets on the board with a tough runner with 12:47 to play. Eden Prairie adds a 3 and then a blocked shot turns into a Wallace layup. Just like that the lead is 44-29. Washburn would counter with the next 7 points thanks to 5 from Corey Peterbaugh. Timeout EP with 10:10 left up 44-36. Anthony Anderson is in on the next 10 points and that allows the Eagles to run away. He comes up with back to back 3 point plays, an assist for a layup and both ends of the bonus at the line. A set shuffle look gets Wallace a straight away 3. 57-36 Eagles lead with 7:20 left. That 13-0 run puts the game out of reach once and for all. Eden Prairie goes on to win 73-56
Post Game
For Washburn, Jeff Jones was outstanding in the 1st half. But somehow didn't get enough touches while the game was close during the 2nd half. I was surprised at how much ball handling they had him do. With 2 guys like Nick Anderson and Kevin Gleason (2 pure point guards), I wouldn't have expected to see him on the ball that much. But it's something I wanted more of in the 2nd half when he only had 4 points. Nick Anderson did end up with 3 assists but was shut down to the tune of something around 1-10 shooting. Washburn has an interesting game at Hill-Murray on Friday and then they play Hudson, WI in the tipoff classic.
For Eden Prairie, Anthony Anderson was outstanding. He scored 19 of his 27 points in the 2nd half and was too strong inside. That made up for an off night from Andre Wallace who ended up in the 4-14 range from the field. He still ended up with 16 points. Sam Johnson 3 knock downs from the left corner on his way to 12 points. A quality defensive effort as always from the Eagles. The experience vs a young Washburn squad was very evident.
Charting a new technical course in section 4A
Traditionally, a trip to St. Agnes for me means a frigid experience. Nice change of pace for a very warm winter evening. Tonight's beverage is a 20 oz red Powerade. Beverage #9 puts me at 148 oz for the season. Hot Dog #3 slots in at the bottom of the season list. Not bad, but not as good as the other 2 I've had this season. Heritage, Maranatha, Concordia and St. Croix Prep all looking on.
Metro Tech features many players from last year's Prairie Seeds Academy rosters. The former Dunwoody Academy has last year's PSA head man Jamil Jackson as the AD, JV and Varsity coach. He's very connected in Minneapolis basketball circles. Expect plenty of talent to flow through the Warriors program in future years. St. Agnes loses 2 athletic scorers from last year. What's in store in this section 4A battle?
Game Time
Nick Turch off to a quick start for St. Agnes with a nice curl cut for an easy bucket, a triple and a steal for 2. 9-3 St. Agnes at the 13:07 mark. MetroTech gets their Take Him offense going and goes on a 23-6 run over the next 9 minutes. Dominick Jackson closing the run with a 3, a runner and a long NBA 3. Jackson would finish the half with another NBA bomb. 33-23 Metro Tech at the half. Dominick Jackson and Mike Miller combine for 26 of those points. Miller very effective attacking the rim.
The Aggies come out strong in the 2nd half. They score the 1st 9 of the half to cut the lead to 1, 33-32 with 15:10 to play. Nick Bennett good minutes for St. Agnes with an early bucket and running the floor for an easy layup. Then another successful right wing pick and roll from St. Agnes and its Bennett for the 3 point play. 42-40 St. Agnes takes the lead with 11:17 to play.
Dominick Jackson held scoreless so far in the half for Metro Tech, but he comes up big. Drive for 1 free throw, and the rebound eventually gives him a 3. He finds frosh Josh Stephenson for a pair of free throws. Then a steal that leads to a Mike Miller layup. Timeout St. Agnes as the run is 11-0. 51-42 Metro Tech in control with 9:15 left. Inside play from St. Agnes allows them to make it interesting. Dante Davison for 2 on the post then a kickout to Jordan Delaney for 3. Bennett makes 2 free throws with 5:56 left and its Dominick Jackson's 4th foul. 55-50 Metro Tech but can they hang on?
Jackson with a clutch 3 on the next possession to push the lead to 8. Delaney goes glass and knocks down a jumper from the foul circle with 4:05. St. Agnes with the ball down 60-54 with 3:45 left. But St. Agnes only scores 1 more time. Metro Tech goes on to win 68-56.
Post Game
For St. Agnes, Nick Bennett with a very productive 2nd half inside. He leads the Aggies with 16 points. Nick Turch 15 points. Dante Davison was active off the bench playing inside. Soph PG Dominick Webster came off the bench and made a couple of nice passes that turned into easy layups. Turnovers were the killer. When the game was a halfcourt game and they pounded the ball inside, they were at a major advantage. When they turned it over and allowed Metro Tech to run, that was not their game.
Metro Tech gets 26 points from Dominick Jackson. The lefty showed deep range and couldn't be contained off the dribble. Think of him as Metro Tech's equivalent to Trent Pollard last year for PSA. Mike Miller is a strong wing who is difficult to contain as well. He scored 15 points. Freshman made up most of the rest of the scoring. Freshman wing Jamil Jackson is long and athletic. He knocked down a pair of 3s on the way to 10 points. Amir Miller is an undersized ball handler but was serviceable down the stretch. MetroTech improves to 2-0 but gets a stiff test at Heritage in the back to back games. Then Saturday at Carlton. 4 Games in 8 days for a young and not terribly deep roster. They'll have to shoot it well as they shoot a ton of 3s and don't really have a post presence. But in section 4A, Dominick Jackson is a player that you have to really emphasize. If he struggles, you can slow them down.
Play of the Day
We could go through 23 which is the St.Agnes shuffle set for Nick Turch. But I like their 1-4 low set on the baseline out of bounds. Turch takes the spot between the backside block and the top of the charge circle. Ball side post (a guard) pops back and catches at the 3 point line. Turch pops back towards the ball and fakes a catch. The backside corner will then come and flare screen for Turch to the open side. If the defender gets anxious before the inbounds, Turch can take one hard step away and come back hard to the ball. The Aggies got this tonight in addition to the flare screen.
2012-13 Week 1 Impressions
The 1st week of the 2012-2013 Minnesota High School Boys Basketball Season is in the book. Here's what caught my eye.
Wins of Note
Elk River took a 37-19 lead on Buffalo at the half and an easy 64-48 win. No surprise that Elk River won as they are a quality team. However, you don't expect a solid Buffalo team to be dominated like that.
Waconia def Edina 66-57. No surprise that Penn St commit Graham Woodward went off for Edina scoring 30. But also no surprise that nobody else was in double figures. Hornets will need to find somebody else to consistently put the ball in the basket.
Minnehaha goes 2-0 on road trip to Perham and New London-Spicer. Yes Perham lost a ton from last year's state team but they're still expected to make a run in 8AA. Kaharri Carter with a big game with 21 points to lead the way. At New London-Spicer, the Redhawks went on a 27-8 run in the last 5:30 to over come a big margin. Redhawks get a putback at the buzzer for a 71-69 win.
St. Louis Park win at Chaska 67-51. This would be a good win regardless but the Orioles won without Kashif Hayes. Hayes the catalyst for the dribble drive offense that the Orioles run. Only 1 player in double figures (DJ Pollard 15) but 10 players end up in the book. Chaska didn't have Eric West or Kolby Seiffert in the scorebook so those are huge losses too. Soph Jacob Hansen stepping in with 12 points after a big summer.
Northfield win at Rochester Century 78-65. Northfield had a really bad season last year and Century has 6'10" Carter Evans (multiple D1 offers but going to Northern State). Yes this game was 58-53 Century at Northfield last year but Century was 15-11 and Northfield only won 5 games. Evans had a double double of 15 and 11. Even better was that Northfield had 4 in double figures and 1 of them was not Eric Shepley who's expected to be their goto guy.
Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity is currently overshadowed in the MCAA by Maranatha and Heritage (both ranked now). But the Bulldogs knocked off #6 Sleepy Eye St. Mary's 77-68 on their way to winning the Sleepy Eye tournament. Nick Machemehl stuffing the stat sheet for LP/HT with 24 points, 7 boards, 5 assists and 4 steals in the SESM game. Fun LP/HT side note is that Bethany Academy still has the old Holy Trinity Trojans banner on the wall to show them as a MCAA member.
Notable performance
Joey Witthus - Chanhassen. Witthus with 36 points in the Storm win over Henry Sibley. The sophomore had an outstanding summer and its obviously translating quickly to the regular season. As to Sibley, yes it was a road game but with their experience against a young Chan team, they should have looked better.
Wins of Note
Elk River took a 37-19 lead on Buffalo at the half and an easy 64-48 win. No surprise that Elk River won as they are a quality team. However, you don't expect a solid Buffalo team to be dominated like that.
Waconia def Edina 66-57. No surprise that Penn St commit Graham Woodward went off for Edina scoring 30. But also no surprise that nobody else was in double figures. Hornets will need to find somebody else to consistently put the ball in the basket.
Minnehaha goes 2-0 on road trip to Perham and New London-Spicer. Yes Perham lost a ton from last year's state team but they're still expected to make a run in 8AA. Kaharri Carter with a big game with 21 points to lead the way. At New London-Spicer, the Redhawks went on a 27-8 run in the last 5:30 to over come a big margin. Redhawks get a putback at the buzzer for a 71-69 win.
St. Louis Park win at Chaska 67-51. This would be a good win regardless but the Orioles won without Kashif Hayes. Hayes the catalyst for the dribble drive offense that the Orioles run. Only 1 player in double figures (DJ Pollard 15) but 10 players end up in the book. Chaska didn't have Eric West or Kolby Seiffert in the scorebook so those are huge losses too. Soph Jacob Hansen stepping in with 12 points after a big summer.
Northfield win at Rochester Century 78-65. Northfield had a really bad season last year and Century has 6'10" Carter Evans (multiple D1 offers but going to Northern State). Yes this game was 58-53 Century at Northfield last year but Century was 15-11 and Northfield only won 5 games. Evans had a double double of 15 and 11. Even better was that Northfield had 4 in double figures and 1 of them was not Eric Shepley who's expected to be their goto guy.
Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity is currently overshadowed in the MCAA by Maranatha and Heritage (both ranked now). But the Bulldogs knocked off #6 Sleepy Eye St. Mary's 77-68 on their way to winning the Sleepy Eye tournament. Nick Machemehl stuffing the stat sheet for LP/HT with 24 points, 7 boards, 5 assists and 4 steals in the SESM game. Fun LP/HT side note is that Bethany Academy still has the old Holy Trinity Trojans banner on the wall to show them as a MCAA member.
Notable performance
Joey Witthus - Chanhassen. Witthus with 36 points in the Storm win over Henry Sibley. The sophomore had an outstanding summer and its obviously translating quickly to the regular season. As to Sibley, yes it was a road game but with their experience against a young Chan team, they should have looked better.
Breaking down opening Saturday
Its the 1st Saturday of the season and in traditional Saturday form that means a bunch of games. I started with an iron range boys/girls doubleheader at Target Center, then 2 girls followed by 2 boys games in the Breakdown Tipoff Classic (Girls edition) at Hopkins. 12 oz of Pepsi and a 20 oz coke put the season beverage count at 8 with a total volume of 128 oz.
Target Center
Mountain Iron-Buhl and Bigfork brought their teams down from the iron range area to invade Target Center in a late morning doubleheader. I caught the last 12 minutes of the girls game. #2A Mountain Iron-Buhl already sporting a 71-5 lead when I walk in. Finally at running time we eventually get the last 5 players out of their warmups and in. Let's make sure they work on the 3/4 court 1-2-2 trap too. That's just too much. Final was 85-7.
As to the boys game, Bigfork coming off a 20 win season and MIB 6-22 last year. Bigfork won this game last year 78-49. The Huskies look to be one of the serious contenders against Lakeview Christian in section 7A. Then you look at the MIB starting lineup and you see 2 sophs, a freshman and an 8th grader. Looks like trouble. MIB down 6-4 when they take a timeout at the 14:30 mark. That sparks a 13-1 run. 8th grader Jaylon Holmes with his 2nd 3 of the game and it forces the 3rd Bigfork timeout of the half. 20-9 Rangers staying ahead with 5:49 left. Bigfork would use their 1-2-2 trapping in the full court to cut into the lead. While their stars Zac Lovdahl (almost 1500 career points) and Andrew Anderson struggled, soph forward Curt Titze came off the bench to provide a spark. His tip at the halftime buzzer cut the MIB lead to 24-19. Titze with 10 of those for Bigfork.
Bigfork would hang around with long 3s from Josh Lovdahl and Zac Lovdahl. 35-29 MIB at the 13:35 mark. Holmes would go coast to coast and MIB had a 40-29 lead with 10:54 left and Bigfork would take their 4th timeout. Zac Lovdahl then picks up his 4th and has to sit with 8:28 left. MIB extends the lead to 46-33 with 7:15 left and Zac Lovdahl has to come back in. Lovdahl and Anderson a combined 3-21 FGs to this point. Then Anderson would come alive with 3 buckets in a row and an assist from him quickly cut the lead to 46-39. Anderson with a 3 point play with 3:15 left to cut the MIB lead to 50-47. That put Anderson over the 1000 career point mark. MIB would get a Holmes layup with 1:30 left but some scoreboard confusion as score should have been 54-51, but showed 53-51. Bigfork would have plenty of chances in the last minute. They miss a front end with 1:12 left. After MIB missed a layup, Anderson missed a quick 3 with 47 ticks left. MIB missed the back end of the bonus but got the offensive rebound with 33 seconds left. That allowed the Rangers to kill 20 seconds of the clock. They would miss 2 more free throws but the 2nd once again came off to the Rangers. That would finish it off. Mountain Iron-Buhl pulls off the 56-51 upset. Dante Josephson was a horse inside in the 2nd half. I had him for 15 points to lead MIB. Andrew Anderson reached the 1000 point mark with 16 points in the game. Zac Lovdahl held to 7 points on 2-12 FGs.
Breakdown Tipoff Classic Games
Then out to the Breakdown Tipoff Classic. Its Hopkins and that means the finest Walking Taco around. Very appopriate for the 1st one of the year. $4 is very inflationary or blatent price gouging, I haven't figured out which. Interesting today that they used bags of baked Tostitos scoops instead of Doritos. Still good, but the Doritos add extra flavor that can't be overlooked.
1st boys game was Centennial vs Hopkins. Centennial getting a pair of early buckets from star Dan Becken for an 8-2 lead at the 15:10. That's a pair of layups and a putback against the Hopkins pressure defense. The Royals would respond with an 11-2 run of their own thanks to a pair of bombs and a layup from Kamali Chambers. 13-10 Royals at the 13:16 mark. Nick Johnson for 3 and its 20-15 Hopkins. Centennial comes right back with a 16-2 run of their own. 3 separate players knock down 3s including a rainbow 3 from Becken. Pierre Roddy with a nice backdoor cut for a layup to finish the run. 31-22 Cougars at the 5:10 mark. Big play to end the half as Hopkins missed a 3, saved it back inbounds to Chambers who heaved home a 3 at the buzzer. 39-35 Centennial at the half.
Becken with a jumper and 3 to push the lead to 7. Roddy with a free throw to keep the lead at 3. 50-47 Centennial with 12:11 to play. But Hopkins always seems to have that big run in them and today was no different. Chambers with 2 FTs, a big 3 point play and a steal for 2 in a 24-4 Hopkins run that broke the game open. 71-54 Hopkins with 4:10 left. Hopkins would go on to a 73-62 victory. Dan Becken with 3 3s and 18 points to lead Centennial. Josh Dewitt 11 points. Kamali Chambers 20 points to lead the Royals. Nick Johnson a pair of 3s and 14 points. Jamal Davis 12. Interesting to see that Centennial played 11 guys and Hopkins 10 in their main rotations.
Thanks to a full warmup clock, we get to see all of the opening game and the last game, Holy Angels vs Minnetonka. Charlie Koontz doing everything for Holy Angels in the early going. Layup, post, drive, and a 3 all in his stat sheet. 14-10 Holy Angels at the 12 minute mark. 15 all when Holy Angels goes on an 11-0 run. Danny Sullivan for 3, Jordan Dembley straight away for 3 and a nice over the head pass on a turnover finds Delshon Strickland for a pair of free throws (foul to prevent a monster dunk). 26-15 Stars at the 9:07 mark. The next 9 points go to the Skippers. Soph Justin Moes for 3, then 2 easy buckets from Careino Gurley and another layup from Mike Fernando. AHA lead cut to 2, 26-24 at 7 minute mark. 7 in a row from Holy Angels ends with Matt Bowlin shooting 2 free throws for Koontz who ended up with blood on his jersey. Ping pong back the other way as Tonka would finish the half on a 15-0 run. Riley Dearring with a 3 point play and the half ends with sniper Luke Petterson getting an inbounds 3 off a turnover. Another case of defenses refusing to chase the inbounder, instead going over the top and getting pinned in. 39-33 Minnetonka with the halftime lead.
Tonka would extend the lead to 9 but Koontz with a layup and bomb to keep the the Stars within 46-42 at the 14:33 mark. Minnetonka with an 11-2 run to put the game out of reach thanks to 3 easy buckets inside. 57-44 Tonka with 8:25 to play. Holy Angels would never threaten after that. Minnetonka wins 72-60. Charlie Koontz 23 points to lead Holy Angels, Jordan Dembley with 14 and Danny Sullivan with 11 for Holy Angels. Minnetonka gets 16 from Riley Dearring, 14 from Mike Fernando, 12 from Bremiah Snyder, 10 from Careino Gurley. Surprising to see Minnetonka dominate inside. Holy Angels stared a big lineup with Sullivan, Koontz and 6'7 Joey Poehling. Minnetonka mostly used smaller interior guys but with strength.
Hopkins plays next at Rosemount on Friday and then in the Boys Tipoff Classic vs Tartan in an early afternoon game. Tough turnaround there for the Royals. Centennial has 3 winnable games coming up against Blaine and Forest Lake this week and then at Andover a week from Tuesday. Minnetonka plays at Jefferson before hosting Cooper in the final game of the tipoff classic. I'll see Holy Angels in their next game at Breck on Wednesday, then home to BSM before a tough afternoon game against Roseville in the tipoff classic.
Target Center
Mountain Iron-Buhl and Bigfork brought their teams down from the iron range area to invade Target Center in a late morning doubleheader. I caught the last 12 minutes of the girls game. #2A Mountain Iron-Buhl already sporting a 71-5 lead when I walk in. Finally at running time we eventually get the last 5 players out of their warmups and in. Let's make sure they work on the 3/4 court 1-2-2 trap too. That's just too much. Final was 85-7.
As to the boys game, Bigfork coming off a 20 win season and MIB 6-22 last year. Bigfork won this game last year 78-49. The Huskies look to be one of the serious contenders against Lakeview Christian in section 7A. Then you look at the MIB starting lineup and you see 2 sophs, a freshman and an 8th grader. Looks like trouble. MIB down 6-4 when they take a timeout at the 14:30 mark. That sparks a 13-1 run. 8th grader Jaylon Holmes with his 2nd 3 of the game and it forces the 3rd Bigfork timeout of the half. 20-9 Rangers staying ahead with 5:49 left. Bigfork would use their 1-2-2 trapping in the full court to cut into the lead. While their stars Zac Lovdahl (almost 1500 career points) and Andrew Anderson struggled, soph forward Curt Titze came off the bench to provide a spark. His tip at the halftime buzzer cut the MIB lead to 24-19. Titze with 10 of those for Bigfork.
Bigfork would hang around with long 3s from Josh Lovdahl and Zac Lovdahl. 35-29 MIB at the 13:35 mark. Holmes would go coast to coast and MIB had a 40-29 lead with 10:54 left and Bigfork would take their 4th timeout. Zac Lovdahl then picks up his 4th and has to sit with 8:28 left. MIB extends the lead to 46-33 with 7:15 left and Zac Lovdahl has to come back in. Lovdahl and Anderson a combined 3-21 FGs to this point. Then Anderson would come alive with 3 buckets in a row and an assist from him quickly cut the lead to 46-39. Anderson with a 3 point play with 3:15 left to cut the MIB lead to 50-47. That put Anderson over the 1000 career point mark. MIB would get a Holmes layup with 1:30 left but some scoreboard confusion as score should have been 54-51, but showed 53-51. Bigfork would have plenty of chances in the last minute. They miss a front end with 1:12 left. After MIB missed a layup, Anderson missed a quick 3 with 47 ticks left. MIB missed the back end of the bonus but got the offensive rebound with 33 seconds left. That allowed the Rangers to kill 20 seconds of the clock. They would miss 2 more free throws but the 2nd once again came off to the Rangers. That would finish it off. Mountain Iron-Buhl pulls off the 56-51 upset. Dante Josephson was a horse inside in the 2nd half. I had him for 15 points to lead MIB. Andrew Anderson reached the 1000 point mark with 16 points in the game. Zac Lovdahl held to 7 points on 2-12 FGs.
Breakdown Tipoff Classic Games
Then out to the Breakdown Tipoff Classic. Its Hopkins and that means the finest Walking Taco around. Very appopriate for the 1st one of the year. $4 is very inflationary or blatent price gouging, I haven't figured out which. Interesting today that they used bags of baked Tostitos scoops instead of Doritos. Still good, but the Doritos add extra flavor that can't be overlooked.
1st boys game was Centennial vs Hopkins. Centennial getting a pair of early buckets from star Dan Becken for an 8-2 lead at the 15:10. That's a pair of layups and a putback against the Hopkins pressure defense. The Royals would respond with an 11-2 run of their own thanks to a pair of bombs and a layup from Kamali Chambers. 13-10 Royals at the 13:16 mark. Nick Johnson for 3 and its 20-15 Hopkins. Centennial comes right back with a 16-2 run of their own. 3 separate players knock down 3s including a rainbow 3 from Becken. Pierre Roddy with a nice backdoor cut for a layup to finish the run. 31-22 Cougars at the 5:10 mark. Big play to end the half as Hopkins missed a 3, saved it back inbounds to Chambers who heaved home a 3 at the buzzer. 39-35 Centennial at the half.
Becken with a jumper and 3 to push the lead to 7. Roddy with a free throw to keep the lead at 3. 50-47 Centennial with 12:11 to play. But Hopkins always seems to have that big run in them and today was no different. Chambers with 2 FTs, a big 3 point play and a steal for 2 in a 24-4 Hopkins run that broke the game open. 71-54 Hopkins with 4:10 left. Hopkins would go on to a 73-62 victory. Dan Becken with 3 3s and 18 points to lead Centennial. Josh Dewitt 11 points. Kamali Chambers 20 points to lead the Royals. Nick Johnson a pair of 3s and 14 points. Jamal Davis 12. Interesting to see that Centennial played 11 guys and Hopkins 10 in their main rotations.
Thanks to a full warmup clock, we get to see all of the opening game and the last game, Holy Angels vs Minnetonka. Charlie Koontz doing everything for Holy Angels in the early going. Layup, post, drive, and a 3 all in his stat sheet. 14-10 Holy Angels at the 12 minute mark. 15 all when Holy Angels goes on an 11-0 run. Danny Sullivan for 3, Jordan Dembley straight away for 3 and a nice over the head pass on a turnover finds Delshon Strickland for a pair of free throws (foul to prevent a monster dunk). 26-15 Stars at the 9:07 mark. The next 9 points go to the Skippers. Soph Justin Moes for 3, then 2 easy buckets from Careino Gurley and another layup from Mike Fernando. AHA lead cut to 2, 26-24 at 7 minute mark. 7 in a row from Holy Angels ends with Matt Bowlin shooting 2 free throws for Koontz who ended up with blood on his jersey. Ping pong back the other way as Tonka would finish the half on a 15-0 run. Riley Dearring with a 3 point play and the half ends with sniper Luke Petterson getting an inbounds 3 off a turnover. Another case of defenses refusing to chase the inbounder, instead going over the top and getting pinned in. 39-33 Minnetonka with the halftime lead.
Tonka would extend the lead to 9 but Koontz with a layup and bomb to keep the the Stars within 46-42 at the 14:33 mark. Minnetonka with an 11-2 run to put the game out of reach thanks to 3 easy buckets inside. 57-44 Tonka with 8:25 to play. Holy Angels would never threaten after that. Minnetonka wins 72-60. Charlie Koontz 23 points to lead Holy Angels, Jordan Dembley with 14 and Danny Sullivan with 11 for Holy Angels. Minnetonka gets 16 from Riley Dearring, 14 from Mike Fernando, 12 from Bremiah Snyder, 10 from Careino Gurley. Surprising to see Minnetonka dominate inside. Holy Angels stared a big lineup with Sullivan, Koontz and 6'7 Joey Poehling. Minnetonka mostly used smaller interior guys but with strength.
Hopkins plays next at Rosemount on Friday and then in the Boys Tipoff Classic vs Tartan in an early afternoon game. Tough turnaround there for the Royals. Centennial has 3 winnable games coming up against Blaine and Forest Lake this week and then at Andover a week from Tuesday. Minnetonka plays at Jefferson before hosting Cooper in the final game of the tipoff classic. I'll see Holy Angels in their next game at Breck on Wednesday, then home to BSM before a tough afternoon game against Roseville in the tipoff classic.
Prepping for a big season
Prologue
There were some good big school games in the distant outreaches of the metro. That made it an easy decision to step back and take a look at my pick to win the Metro Charter, St. Croix Prep. They opened their season at Bethany Academy. Weston Berg out of the SCPA lineup with an injured shoulder. Expect him back midseason. Bethany featuring a very young lineup with 3 8th graders listed on the JV roster. A later start time means a late arrival still gives me plenty of time for food. The 2nd hot dog of the year not bad, but Como Park still takes our top hot dog award so far. Pepsi always the top beverage on the menu so we'll get that in. Beverage #6 puts me at 96 oz for the season to date. Nothing like the mini 12 oz bottle for tonight's container. Crown College in the building scouting talent.
Game Time
SCPA leading scorer Jakob Schollmeier sat the 1st 4:21 before coming off the Lions bench. Nick Richardson with a 3 to cap a 7-0 St. Croix Prep run. 9-4 SCPA just outside the 12 minute mark. Schollmeier didn't take long to be productive as he scored in the post and made a pair of free throws to stretch the lead to 17-8 (15-5 run) at the 8:52 mark. Bethany would come back with their own 15-5 spurt. Sam Hagen and Mark Mikhail with triples to cut the lead to 5. RT Mould with both ends of the bonus, Jared Johnson working on the offensive glass for 2 more Eagles freebies, Mould to the rack with the left hand and Johnson finishes the run with a free throw. 23-22 Bethany with 1:03 left in the half. Sloppy play from St. Croix Prep. Fouls hurting the Lions too (11-4 against in the 1st half). Guard Cameron Mehls on the bench during this stretch with a pair of fouls. Richardson would go coast to coast to earn himself a trip to the line. He made the 1st and the Lions ran down the miss of the 2nd. Soph guard Michael Gutierrez made the Eagles pain with a right wing bomb just before the half. 26-23 St. Croix Prep with the lead at halftime.
Richardson with layup to push the lead to 6 for SCPA before a Hagen 3 cut the lead to 30-29 just over 2 minutes into the 2nd half. Then the Lions would get an 8-0 to start to break it open. Richardson with a putback and 3 that sandwiched a Schollmeier 3. 38-29 Lions with 14:20 left. Schollmeier with 4 FTs around an elbow jumper for 6 in a row. Hagen matching him with a nice pick and pop for 3 and another bomb inside the 12 minute mark. Bethany hanging around down 44-39 with 11:35 to play. Then a critical 7-0 SCPA run. Seth Johnson with a putback, the best possession and passing of the night tic tack toe from top to the right wing to Schollmeier in the middle to Gutierrez in the left corner vs a trapping defense. Ring that 3 up. Bethany turns it over and Mehls knocks down a jumper. 51-39 SCPA with 9:43 left and Bethany needs a timeout. Bethany would make 1 last run at it. Seth Cupersmith for 3 after a tough spin move on the right baseline by Hagen scored him a basket. Hagen with both ends of the bonus with 5:31 to play. 54-47 SCPA hanging on to the lead. That dead ball brought Schollmeier back in after a breather and that was all the Lions needed. Seth Johnson with a putback and the foul, Hagen missing 2 free throws, Schollmeier on the offensive glass for 2 more, Mehls with a nice drive for 2. Those are 7 in a row to stretch the lead to 61-47 with 3:40 left. St. Croix Prep wouldn't be threatened after that. Lions go on to win 68-53.
Post Game
For Bethany Academy, Sam Hagen leads with 22 points. 15 of those in the 2nd half and 5 triples for the game. Senior RT Mould with 10 points as the only other Eagles player in double figures. Eagles definitely played hard. They continue a soft portion of their schedule with their next 3 games at home against Edison, Randolph and Mounds Park Academy.
For St. Croix Prep, Jakob Schollmeier sat the 1st 4 minutes but came on in the second half. He scored 14 of his 18 in that half to help put the game away. He made his 1st 7 free throws and then somehow missed his last 3. Seth Johnson 13, Nick Richardson 11, Cameron Mehls 10 to round out the double figure scorers. Johnson active inside despite being undersized. Richardson played very well making plays all night on both ends. Mehls very underappreciated as a point guard. In this section, his play along with Gutierrez as another ball handler can make this club very dangerous. The Lions have their home opener next against Brooklyn Center on Tuesday. Then a very interesting game at Target Center on Thursday against St .Croix Lutheran. After that game, they could be a favorite in every game until February. But that's why they play the games.
There were some good big school games in the distant outreaches of the metro. That made it an easy decision to step back and take a look at my pick to win the Metro Charter, St. Croix Prep. They opened their season at Bethany Academy. Weston Berg out of the SCPA lineup with an injured shoulder. Expect him back midseason. Bethany featuring a very young lineup with 3 8th graders listed on the JV roster. A later start time means a late arrival still gives me plenty of time for food. The 2nd hot dog of the year not bad, but Como Park still takes our top hot dog award so far. Pepsi always the top beverage on the menu so we'll get that in. Beverage #6 puts me at 96 oz for the season to date. Nothing like the mini 12 oz bottle for tonight's container. Crown College in the building scouting talent.
Game Time
SCPA leading scorer Jakob Schollmeier sat the 1st 4:21 before coming off the Lions bench. Nick Richardson with a 3 to cap a 7-0 St. Croix Prep run. 9-4 SCPA just outside the 12 minute mark. Schollmeier didn't take long to be productive as he scored in the post and made a pair of free throws to stretch the lead to 17-8 (15-5 run) at the 8:52 mark. Bethany would come back with their own 15-5 spurt. Sam Hagen and Mark Mikhail with triples to cut the lead to 5. RT Mould with both ends of the bonus, Jared Johnson working on the offensive glass for 2 more Eagles freebies, Mould to the rack with the left hand and Johnson finishes the run with a free throw. 23-22 Bethany with 1:03 left in the half. Sloppy play from St. Croix Prep. Fouls hurting the Lions too (11-4 against in the 1st half). Guard Cameron Mehls on the bench during this stretch with a pair of fouls. Richardson would go coast to coast to earn himself a trip to the line. He made the 1st and the Lions ran down the miss of the 2nd. Soph guard Michael Gutierrez made the Eagles pain with a right wing bomb just before the half. 26-23 St. Croix Prep with the lead at halftime.
Richardson with layup to push the lead to 6 for SCPA before a Hagen 3 cut the lead to 30-29 just over 2 minutes into the 2nd half. Then the Lions would get an 8-0 to start to break it open. Richardson with a putback and 3 that sandwiched a Schollmeier 3. 38-29 Lions with 14:20 left. Schollmeier with 4 FTs around an elbow jumper for 6 in a row. Hagen matching him with a nice pick and pop for 3 and another bomb inside the 12 minute mark. Bethany hanging around down 44-39 with 11:35 to play. Then a critical 7-0 SCPA run. Seth Johnson with a putback, the best possession and passing of the night tic tack toe from top to the right wing to Schollmeier in the middle to Gutierrez in the left corner vs a trapping defense. Ring that 3 up. Bethany turns it over and Mehls knocks down a jumper. 51-39 SCPA with 9:43 left and Bethany needs a timeout. Bethany would make 1 last run at it. Seth Cupersmith for 3 after a tough spin move on the right baseline by Hagen scored him a basket. Hagen with both ends of the bonus with 5:31 to play. 54-47 SCPA hanging on to the lead. That dead ball brought Schollmeier back in after a breather and that was all the Lions needed. Seth Johnson with a putback and the foul, Hagen missing 2 free throws, Schollmeier on the offensive glass for 2 more, Mehls with a nice drive for 2. Those are 7 in a row to stretch the lead to 61-47 with 3:40 left. St. Croix Prep wouldn't be threatened after that. Lions go on to win 68-53.
Post Game
For Bethany Academy, Sam Hagen leads with 22 points. 15 of those in the 2nd half and 5 triples for the game. Senior RT Mould with 10 points as the only other Eagles player in double figures. Eagles definitely played hard. They continue a soft portion of their schedule with their next 3 games at home against Edison, Randolph and Mounds Park Academy.
For St. Croix Prep, Jakob Schollmeier sat the 1st 4 minutes but came on in the second half. He scored 14 of his 18 in that half to help put the game away. He made his 1st 7 free throws and then somehow missed his last 3. Seth Johnson 13, Nick Richardson 11, Cameron Mehls 10 to round out the double figure scorers. Johnson active inside despite being undersized. Richardson played very well making plays all night on both ends. Mehls very underappreciated as a point guard. In this section, his play along with Gutierrez as another ball handler can make this club very dangerous. The Lions have their home opener next against Brooklyn Center on Tuesday. Then a very interesting game at Target Center on Thursday against St .Croix Lutheran. After that game, they could be a favorite in every game until February. But that's why they play the games.
Opening night with Bears in the Park
Prologue
Its opening night and that's a chance for #3 Blake to make a statement on the road vs St. Paul Como Park. Also the 1st game for new Blake coach Sean Kruger. I only saw the last minute of the JV game but it was close enough to force me to wait for the usual quality hot dog. The 20 oz Sierra Mist raises the season total to 5 beverages and 84 oz. Pretty quiet crowd. Always a difficult game to do since there's only public address for the starting lineups. Hamline in the building along with Concordia Academy.
Game Time
In what may end up being 1 of the surprises of the year, it took over 7 minutes before we saw the 1st flex cut from Blake. That said, Blake did run their entry into THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE on the 1st possession so I suppose that counts for something. 2 big missing pieces for Blake in this one as Sioux Falls commit Kebu Johnson and forward JR Bascom were both on the bench in street clothes. Blake's 3-2 matchup zone caused some fits early as Como Park couldn't find any offense. Post Blaine Crawford with a bunny, John Veil with an easy 3 off a simple BLOB set then Alex Smith with a jumper and post layup on a nice lob feed. 11-1 Blake at the 13:01 mark to force a Cougars time out. Como Park would finally get on the board at the 10:10 mark with their first field goal of the night but the lead was still at double figures. Veil would go to the bench for a breather and Como Park used that to go on a 7-0 spurt. Cougars leader Keiron Sauer with a long distance bomb to close that run. 16-10 Blake at the 6:12 mark. Johnny Curran with one of his clutch triples on the night and 5 in a row from Crawford. The 8-2 spurt counters the Como Park run for a 24-12 lead at the 4:20 mark. Veil to Crawford off the nice screen and roll execution at the 3 minute mark and another Curran 3 inside the last minute. That closes out the Blake offense for a 29-16 halftime lead.
The second half saw Como Park hang around for far too long. Sauer with back to back buckets to cut the lead to 30-20 inside of 15 to play. Sauer with a 17 footer inside the foul circle. Como Park would score again to cut the lead to 9. Then a Blake turnover but the Cougars missed 2 bunnies for a chance to cut the lead to 7 with more than 11 to play. Sauer with 2 free throws and Como would tack on another bucket and the lead was cut to 7. Timeout Blake with a 37-30 lead and 10:17 to play. Veil with another pretty assist and a Crawford 2 handed dunk after Sauer gambled on the post feed. Not quite done yet though. Darnell Elliot with a bucket and a nice spark off the bench. Como Park hanging around only down 41-32 with 7:45 to play. Blake back to their matchup zone and that helped put this one away. Curran and Smith with both ends of the bonus against the Como pressure. Veil to Curran for a dagger 3, Crawford with a 3 point play and a Veil pullup. That finally puts the game out of reach. 56-39 inside of 3 to play and its over. Blake goes on to win 62-46.
Post Game
For Como Park, they're undersized and really don't have much firepower. Keiron Sauer had plenty of moments with 20 points in the game. I also had him for at least 6 steals. Bryon Shaw with 8 points off the bench. They extended the floor and it actually bothered Blake some. That was especially true when Veil didn't handle the ball. But it bothered Veil some too which I didn't expect. Cougars play at Tartan on Tuesday and that's not a good matchup of personnel for Como Park.
For Blake, Blaine Crawford leads with 22 points and 10 boards on the Blake stat sheet (20 points in the officially posted box score). John Veil 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists on the Blake stat sheet. Only 4 players in the scoring column for the Bears and that has to be slightly disturbing. Alex Smith and Johnny Curran with 13 each rounded out the scoring. Everybody else wanted no part of shooting. Blake running a lot of pick and roll with Veil and Smith/Crawford out of the left slot area. That did lead to those nice Veil assists. For the future, keep an eye on 7th grade guard Jack Moe who's playing JV right now. The Bears are in the loaded Tartan scrimmage at Prior Lake on Saturday morning before they play at Chaska on Tuesday. 1st 8 games for the Bears are on the road or neutral site. They won't play a home game until January 5th vs Holy Family
Play of the Day
Today's play is a simple BLOB set from Blake. 2 guards on the blocks with your best shooter backside. 2 posts on the elbows. Ball side guard on the block pops out to the corner for the catch. He dribbles to the top where the shooter is coming off the foul double (or the always illegal elevator screen) from the bigs for the straight away 3. Blake runs this for Veil and for good reason.
Its opening night and that's a chance for #3 Blake to make a statement on the road vs St. Paul Como Park. Also the 1st game for new Blake coach Sean Kruger. I only saw the last minute of the JV game but it was close enough to force me to wait for the usual quality hot dog. The 20 oz Sierra Mist raises the season total to 5 beverages and 84 oz. Pretty quiet crowd. Always a difficult game to do since there's only public address for the starting lineups. Hamline in the building along with Concordia Academy.
Game Time
In what may end up being 1 of the surprises of the year, it took over 7 minutes before we saw the 1st flex cut from Blake. That said, Blake did run their entry into THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE on the 1st possession so I suppose that counts for something. 2 big missing pieces for Blake in this one as Sioux Falls commit Kebu Johnson and forward JR Bascom were both on the bench in street clothes. Blake's 3-2 matchup zone caused some fits early as Como Park couldn't find any offense. Post Blaine Crawford with a bunny, John Veil with an easy 3 off a simple BLOB set then Alex Smith with a jumper and post layup on a nice lob feed. 11-1 Blake at the 13:01 mark to force a Cougars time out. Como Park would finally get on the board at the 10:10 mark with their first field goal of the night but the lead was still at double figures. Veil would go to the bench for a breather and Como Park used that to go on a 7-0 spurt. Cougars leader Keiron Sauer with a long distance bomb to close that run. 16-10 Blake at the 6:12 mark. Johnny Curran with one of his clutch triples on the night and 5 in a row from Crawford. The 8-2 spurt counters the Como Park run for a 24-12 lead at the 4:20 mark. Veil to Crawford off the nice screen and roll execution at the 3 minute mark and another Curran 3 inside the last minute. That closes out the Blake offense for a 29-16 halftime lead.
The second half saw Como Park hang around for far too long. Sauer with back to back buckets to cut the lead to 30-20 inside of 15 to play. Sauer with a 17 footer inside the foul circle. Como Park would score again to cut the lead to 9. Then a Blake turnover but the Cougars missed 2 bunnies for a chance to cut the lead to 7 with more than 11 to play. Sauer with 2 free throws and Como would tack on another bucket and the lead was cut to 7. Timeout Blake with a 37-30 lead and 10:17 to play. Veil with another pretty assist and a Crawford 2 handed dunk after Sauer gambled on the post feed. Not quite done yet though. Darnell Elliot with a bucket and a nice spark off the bench. Como Park hanging around only down 41-32 with 7:45 to play. Blake back to their matchup zone and that helped put this one away. Curran and Smith with both ends of the bonus against the Como pressure. Veil to Curran for a dagger 3, Crawford with a 3 point play and a Veil pullup. That finally puts the game out of reach. 56-39 inside of 3 to play and its over. Blake goes on to win 62-46.
Post Game
For Como Park, they're undersized and really don't have much firepower. Keiron Sauer had plenty of moments with 20 points in the game. I also had him for at least 6 steals. Bryon Shaw with 8 points off the bench. They extended the floor and it actually bothered Blake some. That was especially true when Veil didn't handle the ball. But it bothered Veil some too which I didn't expect. Cougars play at Tartan on Tuesday and that's not a good matchup of personnel for Como Park.
For Blake, Blaine Crawford leads with 22 points and 10 boards on the Blake stat sheet (20 points in the officially posted box score). John Veil 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists on the Blake stat sheet. Only 4 players in the scoring column for the Bears and that has to be slightly disturbing. Alex Smith and Johnny Curran with 13 each rounded out the scoring. Everybody else wanted no part of shooting. Blake running a lot of pick and roll with Veil and Smith/Crawford out of the left slot area. That did lead to those nice Veil assists. For the future, keep an eye on 7th grade guard Jack Moe who's playing JV right now. The Bears are in the loaded Tartan scrimmage at Prior Lake on Saturday morning before they play at Chaska on Tuesday. 1st 8 games for the Bears are on the road or neutral site. They won't play a home game until January 5th vs Holy Family
Play of the Day
Today's play is a simple BLOB set from Blake. 2 guards on the blocks with your best shooter backside. 2 posts on the elbows. Ball side guard on the block pops out to the corner for the catch. He dribbles to the top where the shooter is coming off the foul double (or the always illegal elevator screen) from the bigs for the straight away 3. Blake runs this for Veil and for good reason.
Beacons to the New Season
There's a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel of fall basketball and at the other end is the start of the 2012-13 season. This light just so happens to be a shining beacon which means its a trip to Concordia Academy. They held their annual scrimmage with 8 teams and 4 games of play. Nothing like having the parent of a former player of mine doing the cooking. Chicken sandwich with cheese,mmm good. Add in a 20 oz Sprite and the season's beverage count is at 64 oz on 4 beverages.
A fairly quite evening of play. The proverb that defense is ahead of offense early in the year was especially true.
St. Anthony had a late chance at a 3 that was no good. They fell to Chisago Lakes 34-31 in the early session.
Stillwater and Richfield came down to the wire in game 2. Stillwater missed a short pullup jumper and putback with 20 seconds left. Richfield got the ball back and on a BLOB with 2.2 left, they had a good look at a 3 that didn't go in. Richfield would get a 3 with 5 seconds left in the OT to win 42-41.
In the late game, St. Thomas Academy had no problems with Concordia on their way to a 39-19 win.
Moving back to game 3, see blue as Minnetonka and Woodbury collided. In my season preview, I wondered what Woodbury would do on the offensive end. The results are in and the Royals are switching to dribble drive motion this year. That makes sense with their talent base of Diallo Powell and Robert Claypool to run the show with Renard Suggs and Matt Ambriz to shoot it. But right now it is a major work in progress. 3 offensive fouls (2 charges and a pushoff) against Renard Suggs in the 1st half showed the frustration on offense. Defensively, Woodbury appeared almost uninterested. For a team that I believe is a top team in the Suburban East, I was surprised at the performance. Tonka did whatever they wished but let's give credit for a tenacity on the defensive end and some good execution on offense. Riley Dearring with 11 1st half points and Grant Kellogg showing well for the Skippers. Tonka held a 12 point lead at the half and stretched it to 18 before the starters sat for the last 10 minutes. 51-37 Minnetonka wins.
Czar knows that the game ultimately comes down to Jimmies and Joes but you know I love my Xs and Os. With that hideous introduction, we bring you the season's 1st...
Play of the Day
Minnetonka coach Tom Dasovich may not have dug a better looking sweater out of the closet but he did find this gem buried in the playbook for this season. Here's one of their BLOB sets, "Gonzaga"
Positions
Overall, a simple but very effective set. I like the initial action of a dive from a star player as a distraction to the screen the screener action. A nice twist to a common concept.
A fairly quite evening of play. The proverb that defense is ahead of offense early in the year was especially true.
St. Anthony had a late chance at a 3 that was no good. They fell to Chisago Lakes 34-31 in the early session.
Stillwater and Richfield came down to the wire in game 2. Stillwater missed a short pullup jumper and putback with 20 seconds left. Richfield got the ball back and on a BLOB with 2.2 left, they had a good look at a 3 that didn't go in. Richfield would get a 3 with 5 seconds left in the OT to win 42-41.
In the late game, St. Thomas Academy had no problems with Concordia on their way to a 39-19 win.
Moving back to game 3, see blue as Minnetonka and Woodbury collided. In my season preview, I wondered what Woodbury would do on the offensive end. The results are in and the Royals are switching to dribble drive motion this year. That makes sense with their talent base of Diallo Powell and Robert Claypool to run the show with Renard Suggs and Matt Ambriz to shoot it. But right now it is a major work in progress. 3 offensive fouls (2 charges and a pushoff) against Renard Suggs in the 1st half showed the frustration on offense. Defensively, Woodbury appeared almost uninterested. For a team that I believe is a top team in the Suburban East, I was surprised at the performance. Tonka did whatever they wished but let's give credit for a tenacity on the defensive end and some good execution on offense. Riley Dearring with 11 1st half points and Grant Kellogg showing well for the Skippers. Tonka held a 12 point lead at the half and stretched it to 18 before the starters sat for the last 10 minutes. 51-37 Minnetonka wins.
Czar knows that the game ultimately comes down to Jimmies and Joes but you know I love my Xs and Os. With that hideous introduction, we bring you the season's 1st...
Play of the Day
Minnetonka coach Tom Dasovich may not have dug a better looking sweater out of the closet but he did find this gem buried in the playbook for this season. Here's one of their BLOB sets, "Gonzaga"
Positions
- Big post on ball side block (e.g Grant Steele)
- Leaper on ball side elbow (Mike Fernando)
- Star on back side elbow (Riley Dearring)
- Guard at top of key
Overall, a simple but very effective set. I like the initial action of a dive from a star player as a distraction to the screen the screener action. A nice twist to a common concept.
Thoughts from Pulley Jamboree and week 1
Labels:
Rashad Vaughn,
Reid Travis,
Tyus Jones
With Minnesota getting its annual late start, once again I decided to return to The Old Kingdom to start my season. 3 games last week with a surprisingly limited supply of food (no meals at games in Wisconsin) but a worthwhile week anyway. Here are some thoughts on what I saw.
Pulley Jamboree
The annual jamboree is amongst the best around and didn't disappoint this year. 2 sessions of 10 minutes each comprised the games. Many teams choose to use the last 5 minutes for their JV guys so the 1st half has far more meaning. As usual, the pizza was worth the purchase.
Game 1: Minneapolis South vs Braham. South won both sessions by scores of 19-16 and 23-7. Braham with their usual running of THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE. The big surprise here was how porous the Braham defense was. South did whatever they wanted getting to the rim, especially in the 2nd session.
Game 2: St. Thomas Academy vs Orono. The revamped Cadets won both sessions by scores of 17-16 and 14-11. Jalen Patterson impressive for the Cadets. St. Thomas longer and taller than expected.
Game 3: Rosemount vs Tartan. Tartan releasing the hounds as they blew out the Irish 26-9 in the 1st half. Brody Jackson getting easy buckets inside thanks to great ball movement from the Titans. Defensively Tartan showing the expected nastiness. They will be no fun to play against. Rosemount going with the dribble drive motion. They definitely have the guards to shoot it. Soph Logan Halvorsen looks like he'll be in the rotation after a nice spring and summer season. Rosemount won the 2nd half 18-9
Game 4: Columbia Heights vs Hill-Murray. Marshawn Wilson on the bench in street clothes for Hill-Murray was the big news of this game. Hill-Murray swept both halves 15-14 and 18-15.
Game 5: Osseo vs Cretin-Derham Hall. CDH featuring a young lineup with 3 sophs and without soph forward Jashon Cornell up front. Add in an off day from Sam Neumann against a bigtime opponent and you can guess the results. Ian Theisen had his way inside, Bridge Tusler controlled play and Osseo rolled out those role players. Orioles roll 23-14 and 27-13.
Game 6: Minnetonka vs Prior Lake. Coaching pals going at it in this one. No Andrew Grosz in the building for Minnetonka. That's a major loss at a guard spot. Prior Lake jumped out to a 13-1 lead in the 1st half. Backup center Jeff Probert with a pair of nice hooks inside during that run. Minnetonka would score the last 11 of the half but never got over the hump. With the benches seeing lots of time, Minnetonka took the 2nd half 12-7.
Game 7: Hopkins vs Holy Angels. No Charlie Koontz for the Stars. Hopkins steamrolled through the 1st half 27-4. Just way too much defense. People don't appreciate just how intense they are on that end. Totally different level than everybody else. Holy Angels kept the 2nd half close but lost 16-15.
Game 8: Park Center vs Cooper. Section rivals at it in this one. Quinton Hooker with a hot 1st half as the Pirates jumped out to a 16-2 lead. Park Center would win the half 24-15 behind 14 Hooker points. Rashad Vaughn showed all game he could get any place he wanted with the ball. He goes for 14 in the 2nd half including a 360 slam on the break. Lavar McCollough with a huge slam as well as it got out of hand. Cooper wins 2nd half 30-15.
Game 9: Apple Valley vs De La Salle
Tyus Jones with a quiet 1st half until a late dunk. He added a couple of clutch assists for 3s late in the 2nd half to seal that half. Apple Valley wins both halves by identical 18-13 scores. Reid Travis without a field goal. Soph Sacar Anim in the starting lineup and played well for the Islanders. Dustin Fronk struggled with his shot early but hit a pair of big 3s in the 2nd half for Apple Valley. Frosh Brock Bertram very active on the glass. Surprised he didn't start this one but I expect that to be remedied sooner rather than later.
The Week in Wisconsin
Earlier in the week I took in 3 games in Wisconsin. The JustAGame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells may be known to some in Minnesota as it hosts a couple of nice AAU tournaments during the spring and summer. They use a showcase court for section play and this year's inaugural Iowa vs Wisconsin border battle. The actual games were absolutely dreadful as Wisconsin Dells pounded Racine Park 90-54 and Kimberly mauled Baraboo 72-16. SW MN State recruit MJ Delmore 24 of his 29 in the 1st half.
The start of the season was #8 Appleton West at #3 De Pere. This one will interest local fans as these teams both play in the border battle at Prior Lake on Feb 2nd. Its a tough road for them as the opponents are Hopkins and De La Salle. Appleton West star Jake Verhagen (Eastern Illinois recruit) struggled in the 1st half at 0-6 but came back to finish with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Lefty guard Matt Reader is a junior who is receiving low D1 looks and NSIC attention. He controlled the game and never changed his speed. Very impressive control of the game from him. Add in 24 points and that was enough for West to win 64-48 and they had the lead the entire way. Final score was worse than it appeared as it was a 40-36 game with 7 minutes left. De Pere's Adam Beyer is an Augustana recruit. He was held to 10 points. Soph shooting guard Brevin Pritzl is one to keep an eye on when he comes here. He had 15 points to lead the Redbirds.
De Pere didn't look good in the game but you can see they'll be a handful for opponents. You'll see 5 out action from them on offense with some wing ball screens. Defensively you'll see man but they also showed some 1-3-1 that I was surprised they didn't go back to late in the game. Appleton West is a 4 out motion team and will play man on defense.
Pulley Jamboree
The annual jamboree is amongst the best around and didn't disappoint this year. 2 sessions of 10 minutes each comprised the games. Many teams choose to use the last 5 minutes for their JV guys so the 1st half has far more meaning. As usual, the pizza was worth the purchase.
Game 1: Minneapolis South vs Braham. South won both sessions by scores of 19-16 and 23-7. Braham with their usual running of THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE. The big surprise here was how porous the Braham defense was. South did whatever they wanted getting to the rim, especially in the 2nd session.
Game 2: St. Thomas Academy vs Orono. The revamped Cadets won both sessions by scores of 17-16 and 14-11. Jalen Patterson impressive for the Cadets. St. Thomas longer and taller than expected.
Game 3: Rosemount vs Tartan. Tartan releasing the hounds as they blew out the Irish 26-9 in the 1st half. Brody Jackson getting easy buckets inside thanks to great ball movement from the Titans. Defensively Tartan showing the expected nastiness. They will be no fun to play against. Rosemount going with the dribble drive motion. They definitely have the guards to shoot it. Soph Logan Halvorsen looks like he'll be in the rotation after a nice spring and summer season. Rosemount won the 2nd half 18-9
Game 4: Columbia Heights vs Hill-Murray. Marshawn Wilson on the bench in street clothes for Hill-Murray was the big news of this game. Hill-Murray swept both halves 15-14 and 18-15.
Game 5: Osseo vs Cretin-Derham Hall. CDH featuring a young lineup with 3 sophs and without soph forward Jashon Cornell up front. Add in an off day from Sam Neumann against a bigtime opponent and you can guess the results. Ian Theisen had his way inside, Bridge Tusler controlled play and Osseo rolled out those role players. Orioles roll 23-14 and 27-13.
Game 6: Minnetonka vs Prior Lake. Coaching pals going at it in this one. No Andrew Grosz in the building for Minnetonka. That's a major loss at a guard spot. Prior Lake jumped out to a 13-1 lead in the 1st half. Backup center Jeff Probert with a pair of nice hooks inside during that run. Minnetonka would score the last 11 of the half but never got over the hump. With the benches seeing lots of time, Minnetonka took the 2nd half 12-7.
Game 7: Hopkins vs Holy Angels. No Charlie Koontz for the Stars. Hopkins steamrolled through the 1st half 27-4. Just way too much defense. People don't appreciate just how intense they are on that end. Totally different level than everybody else. Holy Angels kept the 2nd half close but lost 16-15.
Game 8: Park Center vs Cooper. Section rivals at it in this one. Quinton Hooker with a hot 1st half as the Pirates jumped out to a 16-2 lead. Park Center would win the half 24-15 behind 14 Hooker points. Rashad Vaughn showed all game he could get any place he wanted with the ball. He goes for 14 in the 2nd half including a 360 slam on the break. Lavar McCollough with a huge slam as well as it got out of hand. Cooper wins 2nd half 30-15.
Game 9: Apple Valley vs De La Salle
Tyus Jones with a quiet 1st half until a late dunk. He added a couple of clutch assists for 3s late in the 2nd half to seal that half. Apple Valley wins both halves by identical 18-13 scores. Reid Travis without a field goal. Soph Sacar Anim in the starting lineup and played well for the Islanders. Dustin Fronk struggled with his shot early but hit a pair of big 3s in the 2nd half for Apple Valley. Frosh Brock Bertram very active on the glass. Surprised he didn't start this one but I expect that to be remedied sooner rather than later.
The Week in Wisconsin
Earlier in the week I took in 3 games in Wisconsin. The JustAGame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells may be known to some in Minnesota as it hosts a couple of nice AAU tournaments during the spring and summer. They use a showcase court for section play and this year's inaugural Iowa vs Wisconsin border battle. The actual games were absolutely dreadful as Wisconsin Dells pounded Racine Park 90-54 and Kimberly mauled Baraboo 72-16. SW MN State recruit MJ Delmore 24 of his 29 in the 1st half.
The start of the season was #8 Appleton West at #3 De Pere. This one will interest local fans as these teams both play in the border battle at Prior Lake on Feb 2nd. Its a tough road for them as the opponents are Hopkins and De La Salle. Appleton West star Jake Verhagen (Eastern Illinois recruit) struggled in the 1st half at 0-6 but came back to finish with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Lefty guard Matt Reader is a junior who is receiving low D1 looks and NSIC attention. He controlled the game and never changed his speed. Very impressive control of the game from him. Add in 24 points and that was enough for West to win 64-48 and they had the lead the entire way. Final score was worse than it appeared as it was a 40-36 game with 7 minutes left. De Pere's Adam Beyer is an Augustana recruit. He was held to 10 points. Soph shooting guard Brevin Pritzl is one to keep an eye on when he comes here. He had 15 points to lead the Redbirds.
De Pere didn't look good in the game but you can see they'll be a handful for opponents. You'll see 5 out action from them on offense with some wing ball screens. Defensively you'll see man but they also showed some 1-3-1 that I was surprised they didn't go back to late in the game. Appleton West is a 4 out motion team and will play man on defense.
What to watch for in the 2012-13 Season
Labels:
12-13 Season Previews,
Rashad Vaughn,
Reid Travis,
Tyus Jones
The Czar's 2012-2013 Season Preview Series concludes after 5 weeks and 25 previews. In this final preview let's condense everything for the casual fan. Its who to see, what to see, when and where to see it.
10 Teams You Should Watch
10 Players You Should See
10 Events You Should Attend (ordered by date)
Then a jam packed last month of the season. The Border Battle is stacked once again. Apple Valley vs Madison Memorial is the showcase game but there's lots more than that. I'll see Appleton West take on De Pere to open my season. That's a pair of Wisconsin conference favorites who will test their luck here against De La Salle and Hopkins in the Border Battle. Park Center at Osseo is a matchup that could finalize the NW Suburban championship. When these 2 district rivals get together the intensity is at a higher level. Unfortunately the 1st meeting at Park Center is the same night as Hopkins vs Apple Valley. Then a pair of teams expected to be in the top 10 in class A. Maranatha returns to the scene of last year's bounce out of the playoffs. This one could have major implications. The MCAA North Division title, top seed in the conference tourney and top seed in section 4A could all be on the line. If Apple Valley gets knocked off in league play it might just be at Prior Lake on Feb 26th. The Lakers gave Apple Valley all they wanted last year in both games. The point guard and post matchups are enough to make a fan drool. The inaugural Tri-Metro title game will likely feature a rematch of 2 of the best in class AAA, De La Salle and Blake. They also meet at Blake on Feb 12th in a game that will almost certainly determine the regular season champion.
10 Teams You Should Watch
- Apple Valley
- Hopkins
- De La Salle
- Osseo
- Edina
- Roseville
- Park Center
- Eden Prairie
- Blake
- Maranatha
10 Players You Should See
- Tyus Jones (Apple Valley)
- Rashad Vaughn (Cooper)
- Reid Travis (De La Salle)
- Anders Broman (Lakeview Christian)
- Riley Dearring (Minnetonka)
- Graham Woodward (Edina)
- Reggie Lynch (Edina)
- Quinton Hooker (Park Center)
- Brock Bertram (Apple Valley)
- Amir Coffey (Hopkins)
10 Events You Should Attend (ordered by date)
- Breakdown Tipoff Classic at Minnetonka- Dec 8th
- Hopkins at Apple Valley - Dec 18th
- Park Center at De La Salle - Jan 3rd
- Timberwolves Shootout - Jan 5th
- Super 60 Showcase at Heritage- Jan 26th
- Border Battle at Prior Lake- Feb 2nd
- Park Center at Osseo - Feb 5th
- Maranatha at Heritage - Feb 15th
- Apple Valley at Prior Lake - Feb 26th
- Tri-Metro Conference Tournament Championship - Mar 1st
Then a jam packed last month of the season. The Border Battle is stacked once again. Apple Valley vs Madison Memorial is the showcase game but there's lots more than that. I'll see Appleton West take on De Pere to open my season. That's a pair of Wisconsin conference favorites who will test their luck here against De La Salle and Hopkins in the Border Battle. Park Center at Osseo is a matchup that could finalize the NW Suburban championship. When these 2 district rivals get together the intensity is at a higher level. Unfortunately the 1st meeting at Park Center is the same night as Hopkins vs Apple Valley. Then a pair of teams expected to be in the top 10 in class A. Maranatha returns to the scene of last year's bounce out of the playoffs. This one could have major implications. The MCAA North Division title, top seed in the conference tourney and top seed in section 4A could all be on the line. If Apple Valley gets knocked off in league play it might just be at Prior Lake on Feb 26th. The Lakers gave Apple Valley all they wanted last year in both games. The point guard and post matchups are enough to make a fan drool. The inaugural Tri-Metro title game will likely feature a rematch of 2 of the best in class AAA, De La Salle and Blake. They also meet at Blake on Feb 12th in a game that will almost certainly determine the regular season champion.
12-13 Section 7AAAA Preview
Labels:
12-13 Season Previews
This is the 24th preview in my 2012-2013
season preview series. In this 2nd to last preview in my 5 week long look at the metro area conferences and sections, I finish my look at sections with predictions in section 7AAAA. Tomorrow's final preview will be a list of players, teams and games to watch this season. For a list of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: Duluth East
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: As down as this section is you could make a case for just about anybody, but I'm going to take St. Francis. Jake Johnson inside gives them an advantage over most in the section.
Section Winner: Duluth East. They have a couple of solid starters back from last year's club. The rest of the section is down and the 1 seed gets a nice advantage with the bye. At least the Greyhounds will have a chance to get some more fans to the section semis and finals. Those games this year have been moved to North Branch. That makes far more sense than the recent site Elk River did.
Defending Champion: Duluth East
Predicted Seeding
- Duluth East
- Forest Lake
- Anoka
- Blaine
- St. Francis
- Andover
- Cambridge-Isanti
Sleeper: As down as this section is you could make a case for just about anybody, but I'm going to take St. Francis. Jake Johnson inside gives them an advantage over most in the section.
Section Winner: Duluth East. They have a couple of solid starters back from last year's club. The rest of the section is down and the 1 seed gets a nice advantage with the bye. At least the Greyhounds will have a chance to get some more fans to the section semis and finals. Those games this year have been moved to North Branch. That makes far more sense than the recent site Elk River did.
12-13 Section 6AAAA Preview
Labels:
12-13 Season Previews
This is the 23rd preview in my 2012-2013
season preview series. In this preview, a look at section 6AAAA. For a list of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: Hopkins
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Robbinsdale Armstrong. They return a bus full of players from last year's squad. They'll get good guard play from the likes of Nick O'Hara, Cyrus Moore-Brown, Evan Nolan etc. Konner Goettsche is a 4 man that you have to go out on the floor and guard. They also have athletes on the wing with players like Jerome Dixon.
Section Winner: Hopkins. Until beaten the Royals are the pick here. They'll be young but they still defend at entirely different level than everybody else. They don't have much size but there's not a dominant offensive post player in the section.
Defending Champion: Hopkins
Predicted Seeding
- Hopkins
- Edina
- Wayzata
- Minnetonka
- St. Louis Park
- Armstrong
- Minneapolis South
- Minneapolis Southwest
Sleeper: Robbinsdale Armstrong. They return a bus full of players from last year's squad. They'll get good guard play from the likes of Nick O'Hara, Cyrus Moore-Brown, Evan Nolan etc. Konner Goettsche is a 4 man that you have to go out on the floor and guard. They also have athletes on the wing with players like Jerome Dixon.
Section Winner: Hopkins. Until beaten the Royals are the pick here. They'll be young but they still defend at entirely different level than everybody else. They don't have much size but there's not a dominant offensive post player in the section.
12-13 Section 5AAAA Preview
Labels:
12-13 Season Previews,
Rashad Vaughn
This is the 22nd preview in my 2012-2013
season preview series. In this preview, a look at section 5AAAA. For a list of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: Osseo
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Robbinsdale Cooper. Anytime you have a top 20 kid in the country in Rashad Vaughn, that means a team can be dangerous. Cooper has plenty returning around him. Remember that the Hawks knocked off Park Center on the road last year in the opening round 2 vs 7 game. If this group puts it together, don't be shocked to see a run at tourney time.
Section Winner: Osseo. The Orioles return leadership and clutch play from Bridge Tusler. They have a quality post in Ian Theisen. They'll have a scorer in Wheeler Baker. Add in plenty of supporting pieces and the Orioles have to be the favorite until beaten.
Defending Champion: Osseo
Predicted Seeding
- Osseo
- Park Center
- Champlin Park
- Centennial
- Robbinsdale Cooper
- Maple Grove
- Irondale
- Coon Rapids
Sleeper: Robbinsdale Cooper. Anytime you have a top 20 kid in the country in Rashad Vaughn, that means a team can be dangerous. Cooper has plenty returning around him. Remember that the Hawks knocked off Park Center on the road last year in the opening round 2 vs 7 game. If this group puts it together, don't be shocked to see a run at tourney time.
Section Winner: Osseo. The Orioles return leadership and clutch play from Bridge Tusler. They have a quality post in Ian Theisen. They'll have a scorer in Wheeler Baker. Add in plenty of supporting pieces and the Orioles have to be the favorite until beaten.
12-13 Section 4AAAA Preview
Labels:
12-13 Season Previews
This is the 21st preview in my 2012-2013
season preview series. The final week of previews begins with a look at section 4AAAA. For a list of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: Woodbury
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Stillwater. The Ponies return almost all of last year's roster. Note that this crew knocked off Roseville in mid-February so they have the potential to beat anybody in this section on any given night. They have strength up front with Andrew Duxbury and Matt Anderson. That will be a difficult matchup for the rest of the section.
Section Winner: Roseville. Heartbreak hotel last year for the Raiders as they lost an overtime thriller to Woodbury last year in the section final. This year's squad may be even deeper. With depth at every position, I think they clear that hurdle this season.
Defending Champion: Woodbury
Predicted Seeding
- Roseville
- Tartan
- Woodbury
- Stillwater
- Mahtomedi
- White Bear Lake
- North
- Mounds View
Sleeper: Stillwater. The Ponies return almost all of last year's roster. Note that this crew knocked off Roseville in mid-February so they have the potential to beat anybody in this section on any given night. They have strength up front with Andrew Duxbury and Matt Anderson. That will be a difficult matchup for the rest of the section.
Section Winner: Roseville. Heartbreak hotel last year for the Raiders as they lost an overtime thriller to Woodbury last year in the section final. This year's squad may be even deeper. With depth at every position, I think they clear that hurdle this season.
12-13 Section 3AAAA Preview
Labels:
12-13 Season Previews,
Tyus Jones
This is the 20th preview in my 2012-2013
season preview series. In this preview, we stay in the southern region of the metro to take a look at section 3AAAA. For a list of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: Eastview
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: East Ridge. Once again I'll perch out on a limb and pick the Raptors. I think this group is a year away but they have pieces that could make them dangerous late in the year. Conrad Sexe gives them size against other bigs in the section. Sid Tomes is a quality point guard. Plus they have wing options to provide more offensive punch.
Section Winner: Apple Valley. This is clearly the Eagles section to lose. With the additions of freshman Brock Bertram and transfer Deidrick Hubbard on the frontline cure last year's lack of size problem. They have all the pieces. You have the best player in the section (and some vote in the nation for his class) in Tyus Jones with plenty of firepower around him. Dustin Fronk, Harry Sonie and Dennis Austin give them scoring and experience. In their league, they'll be plenty battle tested.
Defending Champion: Eastview
Predicted Seeding
- Apple Valley
- Henry Sibley
- Cretin-Derham Hall
- Eastview
- East Ridge
- Rosemount
- Eagan
- Park
Sleeper: East Ridge. Once again I'll perch out on a limb and pick the Raptors. I think this group is a year away but they have pieces that could make them dangerous late in the year. Conrad Sexe gives them size against other bigs in the section. Sid Tomes is a quality point guard. Plus they have wing options to provide more offensive punch.
Section Winner: Apple Valley. This is clearly the Eagles section to lose. With the additions of freshman Brock Bertram and transfer Deidrick Hubbard on the frontline cure last year's lack of size problem. They have all the pieces. You have the best player in the section (and some vote in the nation for his class) in Tyus Jones with plenty of firepower around him. Dustin Fronk, Harry Sonie and Dennis Austin give them scoring and experience. In their league, they'll be plenty battle tested.
12-13 Section 2AAAA Preview
Labels:
12-13 Season Previews
This is the 19th preview in my 2012-2013
season preview series. The final segment of my previews begins here as we finish with previews of 6 of the 8 sections in class AAAA. In this preview, a look at section 2AAAA. For a list of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: Eden Prairie
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Bloomington Kennedy. With Dejon Davis and Jumah'ri Turner on the wings and Travon Hearns to man the inside, the Eagles have some nice pieces. Add in a coach who's been to the biggest stage and I wouldn't write them off.
Section Winner: Eden Prairie. Their guard duo of Grant Shaeffer and Andre Wallace is too much in this section. They also have enough size to deal with the big lineups posed by Prior Lake and Shakopee.
Defending Champion: Eden Prairie
Predicted Seeding
- Eden Prairie
- Prior Lake
- Shakopee
- Chanhassen
- Bloomington Kennedy
- Lakeville South
- Bloomington Jefferson
- Burnsville
Sleeper: Bloomington Kennedy. With Dejon Davis and Jumah'ri Turner on the wings and Travon Hearns to man the inside, the Eagles have some nice pieces. Add in a coach who's been to the biggest stage and I wouldn't write them off.
Section Winner: Eden Prairie. Their guard duo of Grant Shaeffer and Andre Wallace is too much in this section. They also have enough size to deal with the big lineups posed by Prior Lake and Shakopee.
12-13 Section 6AAA Preview
Labels:
12-13 Season Previews
This is the 18th preview in my 2012-2013
season preview series. In this preview, from the east side to the west side for a look at section 6AAA. For a list
of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: Minneapolis Washburn
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Holy Family. The Fire was put out last year with only 1 win. Don't sleep on Holy Family this season. Their front line will be very good with junior forwards Joe Hanel and Joe Conroy. Then soph center Justin Dahl is a potential beast. You know they'll run a disciplined style. With guard play they can be very dangerous.
Section Winner: Blake. The Bears have a scorer in Kebu Johnson, length in players like JR Bascom and Blaine Crawford who are both underappreciated. Add in a quality and experienced point guard in John Veil. They'll also be battle tested by a very tough non-conference schedule.
Defending Champion: Minneapolis Washburn
Predicted Seeding
- Blake
- Holy Angels
- Washburn
- Richfield
- Chaska
- Holy Family
- Benilde-St. Margaret's
- Roosevelt
Sleeper: Holy Family. The Fire was put out last year with only 1 win. Don't sleep on Holy Family this season. Their front line will be very good with junior forwards Joe Hanel and Joe Conroy. Then soph center Justin Dahl is a potential beast. You know they'll run a disciplined style. With guard play they can be very dangerous.
Section Winner: Blake. The Bears have a scorer in Kebu Johnson, length in players like JR Bascom and Blaine Crawford who are both underappreciated. Add in a quality and experienced point guard in John Veil. They'll also be battle tested by a very tough non-conference schedule.
12-13 Section 4AAA Preview
Labels:
12-13 Season Previews
This is the 17th preview in my 2012-2013
season preview series. In this preview, we look at section 4AAA. For a list
of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: St. Paul Johnson
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: St. Paul Central. I said in my season preview that they have enough talent to challenge Johnson in the St. Paul City and I still believe that. Markus Taylor-Knighten is talented enough to be the MVP of the section. Malik Durant-Haines gives them a post presence that is hard to find. Plus they have plenty of athletes.
Section Winner: St. Paul Johnson. I can't pick against the champs until beaten. The winning tradition is in full force at Johnson and without a no-brainer better team, they have to be the team to beat. Jalen Mobley and Quashingm Smith-Pugh give them a pair of standouts to lead the way,
Defending Champion: St. Paul Johnson
Predicted Seeding
- St. Paul Johnson
- Hill-Murray
- St. Paul Central
- St. Thomas Academy
- St. Paul Highland Park
- Simley
- St. Paul Harding
- South St. Paul
Sleeper: St. Paul Central. I said in my season preview that they have enough talent to challenge Johnson in the St. Paul City and I still believe that. Markus Taylor-Knighten is talented enough to be the MVP of the section. Malik Durant-Haines gives them a post presence that is hard to find. Plus they have plenty of athletes.
Section Winner: St. Paul Johnson. I can't pick against the champs until beaten. The winning tradition is in full force at Johnson and without a no-brainer better team, they have to be the team to beat. Jalen Mobley and Quashingm Smith-Pugh give them a pair of standouts to lead the way,
2012-13 Section 3AAA Preview
Labels:
12-13 Season Previews
This is the 16th preview in my 2012-2013
season preview series. In this preview, we begin our look at the large school sections in the metro. Its off to the north metro for a look at section 3AAA. For a list
of all
the season previews, click here.
Defending Champion: De La Salle
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Minneapolis Henry. They have a goto scorer in Darius Hill and they have athletes. Those can go a long way in this section.
Section Winner: De La Salle. With basically everything back from last year's state championship crew plus a player like Sacar Anim breaking into the rotation, they are the easy favorite. Not just here but to win state.
Defending Champion: De La Salle
Predicted Seeding
- De La Salle
- Spring Lake Park
- Minneapolis Patrick Henry
- Columbia Heights
- Totino-Grace
- St. Anthony
- Fridley
- St. Paul Como Park
Sleeper: Minneapolis Henry. They have a goto scorer in Darius Hill and they have athletes. Those can go a long way in this section.
Section Winner: De La Salle. With basically everything back from last year's state championship crew plus a player like Sacar Anim breaking into the rotation, they are the easy favorite. Not just here but to win state.
12-13 Section 4AA Preview
Labels:
12-13 Season Previews
This is the 15th preview in my 2012-2013
season preview series. To end the 3rd week of previews, let's take a look at section 4AA. For a list of all the season previews, click here.
Section 4AA
Defending Champion: St. Croix Lutheran
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: New Life Academy. I think they're as well coached as anybody in the section which is huge come tourney time. They have some experience. Conrad Engstrom can be a difficult wing matchup. That's enough to make a run in a weak section.
Section Winner: St. Paul Academy. This section is way too up in the air and even to think about picking the top seed. This section will be all about matchups. Come tourney time have good guards is key. For SPA, I like their guards with Spencer Egly at the point and Josh Gray on 1 wing. Frosh Dalante Peyton can score on the other wing and Steven Olson gives them a body up front.
Section 4AA
Defending Champion: St. Croix Lutheran
Predicted Seeding
- St. Croix Lutheran
- Breck
- St. Paul Academy
- Minnehaha
- New Life Academy
- Concordia
- Trinity
- Brooklyn Center
- St. Agnes
- Minneapolis Edison
- St. Paul Humboldt
- International School
- Great River
- St. Paul Washington
- Hmong Academy
- Cristo Rey
Sleeper: New Life Academy. I think they're as well coached as anybody in the section which is huge come tourney time. They have some experience. Conrad Engstrom can be a difficult wing matchup. That's enough to make a run in a weak section.
Section Winner: St. Paul Academy. This section is way too up in the air and even to think about picking the top seed. This section will be all about matchups. Come tourney time have good guards is key. For SPA, I like their guards with Spencer Egly at the point and Josh Gray on 1 wing. Frosh Dalante Peyton can score on the other wing and Steven Olson gives them a body up front.
2012-13 Section 4A Preview
Labels:
12-13 Season Previews
This is the 14th preview in my 2012-2013 season preview series. In the first set of previews, we took a look at 12 metro area conferences and some independents. In this second set of previews, its time to predict the 11 metro area sections. We'll begin with a look at Section 4A. For a list of all the season previews, click here.
Section 4A
Defending Champion: Prairie Seeds Academy
Predicted Seeding
Sleeper: Metro Tech Academy. Metro Tech is new on the scene but as a city school and with a couple of players from Prairie Seeds I think they can play with many in the section. Their schedule of only 3 home games along with games at Minnetonka and Wayzata means they will take their lumps. They'll get voted down in the seeding meeting but are a top candidate to pull at least 1 upset (at least in terms of seed). They're as good a candidate as anybody to be that 5th best team.
Section Winner: Maranatha. The Mustangs return plenty of experience and have tons of firepower. Add in the best player in the section in Isaiah Hanson. That's enough to be picked at the top.
Section 4A
Defending Champion: Prairie Seeds Academy
Predicted Seeding
- Maranatha
- Heritage
- West Lutheran
- St. Croix Prep
Sleeper: Metro Tech Academy. Metro Tech is new on the scene but as a city school and with a couple of players from Prairie Seeds I think they can play with many in the section. Their schedule of only 3 home games along with games at Minnetonka and Wayzata means they will take their lumps. They'll get voted down in the seeding meeting but are a top candidate to pull at least 1 upset (at least in terms of seed). They're as good a candidate as anybody to be that 5th best team.
Section Winner: Maranatha. The Mustangs return plenty of experience and have tons of firepower. Add in the best player in the section in Isaiah Hanson. That's enough to be picked at the top.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)