Its the 2013 Timberwolves Shootout. I've been very critical of the scheduling but let's give some credit where credit is due. A quality job done by Jeff Munneke and his staff putting together the best set of games we've had to look forward to in many years. No food but 64 oz of Pepsi to keep me awake and refreshed for the early games. Here's are some of the sights and sounds.
Game 1: #5A Lakeview Christian vs Onalaska (WI)
Iowa State in the building early to take in their recruit Matt Thomas from Onalaska. Onalaska goes with the expected diamond and 1 on Anders Broman. Bjorn Broman knocks down a pair of NBA 3s for an 8-4 Lakeview Christian lead. Matt Thomas gets it going with a stretch where he scores 10 of 12 Hilltoppers points. 23-13 lead for Onalaska at the 7:50 mark. LCA goes on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 25-22 at the 5:50 mark. Thomas with 9 more (11 per the book on a tip that he probably didn't get) as Onalaska goes up 43-32 at the half.
Thomas 3 of 4 free throws as the lead stays 51-39 with 12:16 left. Anders Broman to Bjorn Broman for 3 and a Bjorn runner. Thomas right back with 4 in a row. Anders with 2 more buckets. Thomas scores and the lead is 64-48 with 6:55 left. Anders with a 3 point play as LCA hangs within 11. Thomas slams the door with a pair of free throws and then gets undercut in a dangerous looking play but its a 3 point play. That helps push the lead to 18 and Lakeview Christian never threatens again. Onalaska wins 77-62. Matt Thomas officially listed with 43 and 14 coming up 1 point short of Rick Rickert's Shootout record. Anders Broman 10-19 for 26 points. Bjorn Broman 21 points and 9 rebounds. LCA goes 5-21 from behind the arc while Onalaska only shot 4-22 from there. Give an undermanned LCA squad credit for hanging in on the glass and keeping the game from becoming from a blowout early.
Game 2: #1 3A De La Salle vs Blue Valley Northwest (KS)
Hoiberg hanging around to see another Cyclones recruit Clayton Custer. Reid Travis starts out 1-4 but he does get it going for the 1st Islanders points of the game. 7-2 Islanders at the 13:55 mark. Travis adds 2 free throws at the 8:36 mark for a 13-6 lead. A critical adjustment by the Huskies in a timeout sees them go to a 5 out look. Interestingly they call it False Motion. Clayton Custer with a 3 point play and a Kyle Harrison 3 cut the lead to 1. Then Custer on the drive for 2 and a pair of bonus free throws for a 12-2 run. Only Islander offense is 2 more Travis buckets inside. The Huskies run down the clock for a Custer pullup at the buzzer. 24-19 Huskies at the half.
Back and forth we go to start the half. Travis on a high/low feed, Custer 4 in a row and Travis 2 more. 32-29 Blue Valley at the 13:10 mark. Then a David Salach tip dunk for his only 2 of the day and Custer with a steal for 2 more. 38-31 Blue Valley with all the momentum and Dave Thorson needs a timeout. The Huskies get a T in the celebration (questionable but head of refs loves the call). Jarvis Johnson with a pair of free throws and a drive for 2 more. 42-39 Blue Valley with 8:15 left. Custer on the drive countered by Travis with 2 free throws and another inside bucket. Then a great set call for a Scott 3 and De La Salle is back on top 46-44 with 5 minutes left. Back and forth until a Travis free throw off a Luke Scott missed free throw ties the game at 50 with 1:43 left. Blue Valley gets a bucket, followed by an impatient miss looking for Travis inside. De La Salle has to foul and the bonus free throws from Vince Fritz are good. De La Salle misses a 3 and Clayton Custer makes 3 of 4 free throws to put the game away. Blue Valley Northwest defeats De La Salle 57-52 to give head coach Ed Fritz his 500th career win. Clayton Custer 26 points and 8 rebounds. Reid Travis 29 and 15. 3 point shooting crazy cold in this one too. Blue Valley 1-15 and De La Salle 2-11 from deep. 15 offensive rebounds for De La Salle for a 37-20 overall advantage on the glass. That helped keep DLS in it but 18 turnovers to 8 hurt their cause.
Game 3: #3AAAA Roseville vs West Des Moines Valley (IA)
Mack Johnson out of the Roseville lineup with a bum ankle. That's a big loss. Iowa commit Peter Jok off to a quick start for Valley with 14 points in the 1st 7:16. Roseville has lots of pieces but they don't really have a good piece to defend an athletic high caliber wing like Jok. Jok picks up his 2nd foul with 10:30 left and has to sit with Valley leading 22-11. Jordan Burich very active and effective for Roseville in the half. His putback starts a 7-0 run after Jok sits. Burich inside for 2 free throws after Jok returns late in the half. Jok with a putback before he sits for the last minute to avoid the 3rd foul. 30-26 Valley at the half. Jok 16 points and only played 9 minutes. Burich almost a double double in the half with 9 points, 9 boards and 3 blocks thanks to 7-10 FTs.
Logan Brown 4 quick points to tie the game in the 1st 40 seconds of the half. Jok off an inbounds lob and a dunk for a 42-38 Valley lead with 11:32 left. Roseville staying close with Burich in the post at the 9 minute mark to cut the Valley lead to 44-41. Jok with a 3 point play off a turnover and the lead expands to 55-46 with 5:43 left. Brown with back to back 3s and a Burich free throw with 3:53 left. 55-53 Valley holding on. Then head coach and former Iowa star Jeff Horner decides to face guard Brown. That strategy is huge as Valley finishes the game from there on a 14-0 run to win 69-53. Peter Jok 34 and 8 on 13-20 shooting for Valley. Logan Brown 20 and 5 for Roseville. Jordan Burich ends up with Andrei Kirilenko type numbers of 15 points, 14 boards, 4 steals, 5 blocks. 9-16 at the line held his point total down but 8 offensive boards were big. Valley 1-13 from 3 in a recurring theme of the day. Roseville 6-16 from 3 but only 15-52 overall (28.8%) as the loss of Johnson really stunted their offense.
Game 4: #2AAAA Apple Valley vs Robbinsdale Cooper
Roy Williams and Hubert Davis from North Carolina along with Tubby Smith join Fred Hoiberg at courtside for this one. Rashad Vaughn with a drive for 2 and then a dunk 3 minutes in for a 10-5 Cooper lead. Dennis Austin 4 in a row to tie the game at 12. Then Tyus Jones for 2 and a 3 point play. Vaughn picks up his 2nd foul but no way he sits. Austin still effective as his layup at 8:15 extends the Apple Valley lead to 26-19. Then Vaughn with 2 buckets in an 8-2 run to cut the Eagles lead to 28-27 at the 6:15 mark. Vaughn with a fade away in the post and a Billy Kellogg 3 and the Cooper lead is 36-30. Dustin Fronk for 3 and then Vaughn turns it over and Tyus Jones takes it the other way just in time to beat the buzzer. 36-35 Cooper at the half. Vaughn 15 points, Jones 9 and 5 assists.
Vaughn fading in the post and going glass on a very slick move. Cooper countering the option of Harry Sonie on defense by posting Vaughn. That caused big James Horton to get some minutes guarding Vaughn. Vaughn makes 2 free throws for a 5 point lead with 15:38 left. Austin has his own matchup advantage and Apple Valley makes the adjustment by finding him inside. Back to back hoops for him down low. Vaughn with 2 huge 3s and another bucket for 8 straight Cooper points. What do we have here, its Cooper leading 54-43 with 11:40 left.
But the rest of the game is all Apple Valley. Fronk with a layup and a 3 in a 10-0 to cut the lead to 54-53 with 9:22 left. After Vaughn swats Tyus in transition and a Cooper timeout. Fronk with a bomb to tie the game at 56. Vaughn right back with a nasty 3. Austin killing inside as he's fouled and misses 2 free throws. Back to him for the hoop and harm but another missed freebie and another post bucket. A Cooper layup keeps them within 1, 61-60 with 5:05 left. Sonie for 3, Tyus with a 3 point play. Austin with 2 free throws, Tyus with a bucket and 2 free throws and Cooper is down 9. Vaughn blocked on 1 end and Tyus converts it with an assist to Austin running for 2. Timeout Cooper with 2:33 left but its out of reach down 74-63. Apple Valley wins 80-70. Rashad Vaughn leads all scorers with 35 points and 7 boards. He shot 14-33, 4-11 from 3. Tyus Jones 18 points, 4 boards, 8 assists, 2 steals on 7-10 shooting. Dennis Austin came up large with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Dustin Fronk added another fine performance of 21 points and 5 rebounds. The rest of the Cooper roster shoots a blistering 16-29. But their lack of defense reared its ugly head again as Apple Valley shot 57.7% for the game and 62.5% for 2nd half. They held Cooper to 38.9% in the 2nd half.
All Timberwolves Shootout Team
Matt Thomas - Onalaska
Peter Jok - West Des Moines Valley
Clayton Custer - Blue Valley Northwest
Reid Travis - De La Salle
Dennis Austin - Apple Valley
2nd Team
Tyus Jones - Apple Valley
Anders Broman - Lakeview Christian
Rashad Vaughn - Cooper
Dustin Fronk - Apple Valley
Jordan Burich - Roseville
Showing posts with label 2013 Timberwolves Shootout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2013 Timberwolves Shootout. Show all posts
2013 Timberwolves Shootout Preview
Its once again time for the annual Timberwolves Shootout. This year is a different schedule with only 4 games but some of the better games we've seen in the event in a few years. Those games are early thanks to the Timberwolves hosting Portland in the night cap. Here's my look at what to expect from the 4 games.
9:00 AM Game 1 - #5A Lakeview Christian vs #2 D2 Onalaska (WI)
Onalaska makes a return trip to the shootout after losing at the end to Apple Valley last season. They are 7-2 with their only losses to #5 D1 Milwaukee Hamilton with national star Kevon Looney and conference rival La Crosse Aquinas with Wisconsin signee Bronson Koenig (see more about that battle here). Their star Matt Thomas is ranked #58 in the nation by Rivals.com in the class of 2013. The sweet shooting guard is averaging 27.8 points per game for the Hilltoppers. But they aren't a 1 man band. With a supporting cast of players like Clint Rihn, the Hilltoppers are a serious threat to repeat as Division 2 state champions.
Lakeview Christian features the Broman brothers, Anders and Bjorn. Anders is 6'2 wing who just set the all time career scoring record in Minnesota. Bjorn runs the show but can fill it up as well. He had 10 3s against Blake in the tipoff classic. The rest of the roster is thin but they will knock down 3s, specifically lefty Josh Plys. They had 21 bombs in that Blake game.
Expect Onalaska to use the same tactics as they did last year against Tyus Jones, a 1-3 zone with 1 man face guarding Anders Broman. Gaps in the middle of the zone could be exploited. Onalaska doesn't have a serious inside threat so that helps Lakeview Christian out. But Onalaska is too talented and Lakeview Christian is not a good defensive team. I'll take the Hilltoppers to cruise in this one.
11:00 AM Game 2 - #1AAA De La Salle vs #1 6A Blue Valley Northwest (KS)
De La Salle returns from The Corn Palace after 2 impressive wins against ranked teams from New York and South Dakota. Junior forward Reid Travis is ranked #41 nationally by Rivals.com (#29 by ESPN) and just picked up an offer from Michigan State to add to his many offers. The forward is having a huge year putting up over 30 a night for the Islanders. Point guard Jarvis Johnson also has high major interest. Shooting guard Luke Scott is one of the top shooters in Minnesota. Wing Sacar Amin is one of the top sophomores in Minnesota. So in other words, the Islanders are loaded and a major favorite to repeat as state champs in class AAA.
The Huskies from Blue Valley NW (Overland Park, KS) are currently ranked #1 in Kansas class 6A, the largest schools. They have a sweet shooting guard in junior Clayton Custer. He's ranked #97 by Rivals.com and has committed to Iowa State. Keep an eye on fellow 2014 guards Ben Richardson, Vince Fritz and Kyle Harrison as well. All 4 played with Nike program Mokan Elite during the summer. Blue Valley NW is ranked #4 in the current PrepNation.com Midlands region poll and they've already beaten #5 Nixa, MO. De La Salle is #6 in that same poll. These 2 teams saw each other play in Des Moines in December. Blue Valley NW knocked off fellow TWolves Shootout team West Des Moines Valley 55-51 in that event. I expect this to be the best game of the event.
1:00 PM Game 3 - #3AAAA Roseville vs #8AAAA West Des Moines Valley (IA)
Roseville enters the game 8-0 and just put up 113 points against formerly ranked Moorhead on their home court. The Raiders are loaded at the guard spots with Mack Johnson, another sweet shooter, Logan Brown, Kobe Critchley and Ben Farmer. Jordan Burich controls the inside as 1 of 4 players averaging double figures for the Raiders. Johnson leading the way at 21 a game. They are as deep as any team in the state with at least 10 guys who give them quality minutes.
Valley comes in to the game with a record of 6-2 with losses to Blue Valley Northwest in Des Moines and Ankeny. De La Salle beat Ankeny at the event in Des Moines. Their 6'6 star wing Peter Jok will play at Iowa next season. He's averaging almost 25 a night as one of the top scorers in Iowa. He adds almost 8 rebounds a night. When he played here in the Best Buy Summer Classic after his freshman year he was one of the top 20 players in the country. Then he injured a knee right after that. That injury cost him the next 2 seasons. He finally came back for last July's open period. Its a fascinating story. It will be very interesting to see him now after seeing him the 1st week of July right after he came back. 6'5 Senior Clint Boffeli gives them a 13.1 a night. Both him and Jok are making over 2 3s per game with over 40% from deep.
3:00 PM Game 4 - #2AAAA Apple Valley vs Robbinsdale Cooper.
The local matchup of the 2 best players in the class of 2014 will be the biggest circus we've seen in a while at the shootout. Tyus Jones is #1 overall in the ESPN 2014 rankings while Rashad Vaughn is #10. Of course the big question is will Tyus play or not. He aggravated his back in the game against Hopkins on December 18th and hasn't played since. My info is that its questionable but if I had to guess, I would guess he sits out. But Apple Valley has proven they can win without him all fall and this season. They just knocked off #5 Osseo in St. Cloud without Jones playing. They also came from behind to knock off #4 Hopkins after Jones left that game with only 5 minutes of playing time. Shooter Dustin Fronk has played very well in Jones absence with over 25 a night in those 4 games. Freshman center Brock Bertram seeing more time for the Eagles as well as one of the state's top 2016 prospects. Dennis Austin is a difficult matchup with strength and quickness. They have shooters in players like Chris Laymon and Robert Tobroxen.
On the Cooper side, Vaughn is one of the most dynamic 1 on 1 players we've seen in the state in a long time. Lavar McCollough is an athletic wing who may really surprise some people in this event. He's averaging over 15 a night and was dynamite in the tipoff classic against Minnetonka. With or without Tyus, this will be a classic example of team over individual. Vaughn will likely put on a show to keep it close, but Apple Valley is that good. If Tyus plays it could get ugly as Cooper is not good defensively giving up over 68 a night.
9:00 AM Game 1 - #5A Lakeview Christian vs #2 D2 Onalaska (WI)
Onalaska makes a return trip to the shootout after losing at the end to Apple Valley last season. They are 7-2 with their only losses to #5 D1 Milwaukee Hamilton with national star Kevon Looney and conference rival La Crosse Aquinas with Wisconsin signee Bronson Koenig (see more about that battle here). Their star Matt Thomas is ranked #58 in the nation by Rivals.com in the class of 2013. The sweet shooting guard is averaging 27.8 points per game for the Hilltoppers. But they aren't a 1 man band. With a supporting cast of players like Clint Rihn, the Hilltoppers are a serious threat to repeat as Division 2 state champions.
Lakeview Christian features the Broman brothers, Anders and Bjorn. Anders is 6'2 wing who just set the all time career scoring record in Minnesota. Bjorn runs the show but can fill it up as well. He had 10 3s against Blake in the tipoff classic. The rest of the roster is thin but they will knock down 3s, specifically lefty Josh Plys. They had 21 bombs in that Blake game.
Expect Onalaska to use the same tactics as they did last year against Tyus Jones, a 1-3 zone with 1 man face guarding Anders Broman. Gaps in the middle of the zone could be exploited. Onalaska doesn't have a serious inside threat so that helps Lakeview Christian out. But Onalaska is too talented and Lakeview Christian is not a good defensive team. I'll take the Hilltoppers to cruise in this one.
11:00 AM Game 2 - #1AAA De La Salle vs #1 6A Blue Valley Northwest (KS)
De La Salle returns from The Corn Palace after 2 impressive wins against ranked teams from New York and South Dakota. Junior forward Reid Travis is ranked #41 nationally by Rivals.com (#29 by ESPN) and just picked up an offer from Michigan State to add to his many offers. The forward is having a huge year putting up over 30 a night for the Islanders. Point guard Jarvis Johnson also has high major interest. Shooting guard Luke Scott is one of the top shooters in Minnesota. Wing Sacar Amin is one of the top sophomores in Minnesota. So in other words, the Islanders are loaded and a major favorite to repeat as state champs in class AAA.
The Huskies from Blue Valley NW (Overland Park, KS) are currently ranked #1 in Kansas class 6A, the largest schools. They have a sweet shooting guard in junior Clayton Custer. He's ranked #97 by Rivals.com and has committed to Iowa State. Keep an eye on fellow 2014 guards Ben Richardson, Vince Fritz and Kyle Harrison as well. All 4 played with Nike program Mokan Elite during the summer. Blue Valley NW is ranked #4 in the current PrepNation.com Midlands region poll and they've already beaten #5 Nixa, MO. De La Salle is #6 in that same poll. These 2 teams saw each other play in Des Moines in December. Blue Valley NW knocked off fellow TWolves Shootout team West Des Moines Valley 55-51 in that event. I expect this to be the best game of the event.
1:00 PM Game 3 - #3AAAA Roseville vs #8AAAA West Des Moines Valley (IA)
Roseville enters the game 8-0 and just put up 113 points against formerly ranked Moorhead on their home court. The Raiders are loaded at the guard spots with Mack Johnson, another sweet shooter, Logan Brown, Kobe Critchley and Ben Farmer. Jordan Burich controls the inside as 1 of 4 players averaging double figures for the Raiders. Johnson leading the way at 21 a game. They are as deep as any team in the state with at least 10 guys who give them quality minutes.
Valley comes in to the game with a record of 6-2 with losses to Blue Valley Northwest in Des Moines and Ankeny. De La Salle beat Ankeny at the event in Des Moines. Their 6'6 star wing Peter Jok will play at Iowa next season. He's averaging almost 25 a night as one of the top scorers in Iowa. He adds almost 8 rebounds a night. When he played here in the Best Buy Summer Classic after his freshman year he was one of the top 20 players in the country. Then he injured a knee right after that. That injury cost him the next 2 seasons. He finally came back for last July's open period. Its a fascinating story. It will be very interesting to see him now after seeing him the 1st week of July right after he came back. 6'5 Senior Clint Boffeli gives them a 13.1 a night. Both him and Jok are making over 2 3s per game with over 40% from deep.
3:00 PM Game 4 - #2AAAA Apple Valley vs Robbinsdale Cooper.
The local matchup of the 2 best players in the class of 2014 will be the biggest circus we've seen in a while at the shootout. Tyus Jones is #1 overall in the ESPN 2014 rankings while Rashad Vaughn is #10. Of course the big question is will Tyus play or not. He aggravated his back in the game against Hopkins on December 18th and hasn't played since. My info is that its questionable but if I had to guess, I would guess he sits out. But Apple Valley has proven they can win without him all fall and this season. They just knocked off #5 Osseo in St. Cloud without Jones playing. They also came from behind to knock off #4 Hopkins after Jones left that game with only 5 minutes of playing time. Shooter Dustin Fronk has played very well in Jones absence with over 25 a night in those 4 games. Freshman center Brock Bertram seeing more time for the Eagles as well as one of the state's top 2016 prospects. Dennis Austin is a difficult matchup with strength and quickness. They have shooters in players like Chris Laymon and Robert Tobroxen.
On the Cooper side, Vaughn is one of the most dynamic 1 on 1 players we've seen in the state in a long time. Lavar McCollough is an athletic wing who may really surprise some people in this event. He's averaging over 15 a night and was dynamite in the tipoff classic against Minnetonka. With or without Tyus, this will be a classic example of team over individual. Vaughn will likely put on a show to keep it close, but Apple Valley is that good. If Tyus plays it could get ugly as Cooper is not good defensively giving up over 68 a night.
2013 Timberwolves Shootout Schedule
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2013 Timberwolves Shootout
The following games are confirmed for the 2013 Timberwolves Shootout on Sat. January 5th, 2013. Read my full preview here
Featured Players
Anders Broman (G, 2013) - Lakeview Christian (see Broman scoring tracker here)
Matt Thomas (G, 2013) - Onalaska (Iowa State commit, #58 Rivals.com)
Reid Travis (F, 2014) - De La Salle (#41 Rivals.com)
Clayton Custer (G, 2014) - Blue Valley Northwest (Iowa State commit, #97 Rivals.com)
Peter Jok (G/F, 2013) - WDM Valley (Iowa commit, was a top 20 player nationally as a freshman)
Tyus Jones (PG, 2014) - Apple Valley (#1 ESPN)
Rashad Vaughn (G/F, 2014) - Robbinsdale Cooper (#10 ESPN)
- 9:00 AM Lakeview Christian vs Onalaska (WI)
- 11:00 AM De La Salle vs Blue Valley Northwest (KS)
- 1:00 PM Roseville vs West Des Moines Valley (IA)
- 3:00 PM Apple Valley vs Robbinsdale Cooper
Featured Players
Anders Broman (G, 2013) - Lakeview Christian (see Broman scoring tracker here)
Matt Thomas (G, 2013) - Onalaska (Iowa State commit, #58 Rivals.com)
Reid Travis (F, 2014) - De La Salle (#41 Rivals.com)
Clayton Custer (G, 2014) - Blue Valley Northwest (Iowa State commit, #97 Rivals.com)
Peter Jok (G/F, 2013) - WDM Valley (Iowa commit, was a top 20 player nationally as a freshman)
Tyus Jones (PG, 2014) - Apple Valley (#1 ESPN)
Rashad Vaughn (G/F, 2014) - Robbinsdale Cooper (#10 ESPN)
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