2014 Timberwolves Shootout Review

A great day of basketball at the 2014 Timberwolves Shootout.  Here's are some of my observations.

Game 1: #3AAAA Lakeville North vs Grand Rapids
JP Macura would get off to a quick start with 8 of the first 11 Lakeville North points.  Grand Rapids would pull within 11-10 on an Alex Illikainen jumper.  Macura would counter with 6 points in a 9-0 run.  That would propel the Panthers to a 24-15 halftime lead, Macura with 16 of those 24.  Macura would pick up a 3rd foul early in the 2nd half and get a long rest.  But the rest of the Panthers would extend the lead thanks to a zone defense.  39-21 Lakeville North with 10 minutes left.  Illikainen gets 1 burst in by dunking his own free throw miss and making a 3 for 8 straight Thunderhawks points.  I thought Lakeville North would really swarm him but they let him get plenty of good looks and touches.  Illikainen picks up his last 2 fouls in a 1:18 stretch and he fouls out with 6:41 left.  Lakeville North would take the 14 point lead at that point to a 59-36 victory.  JP Macura 24 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals.  Alex Illikainen 17 points and 13 boards.  Those 2 combine for 15-25 shooting.  The remaining players shoot 17-73 (23.3%).  Teams combine for 8-41 from the 3 point line including 0-4 from Macura.

Game 2: Cretin-Derham Hall vs Bettendorf (IA)
Bettendorf goes on an early 10-0 run.  Kyle Buhman runs the floor for a pair of layups including a nice Cole Clearman behind the back assist.  CDH comes right back with 9 in a row of their own with 5 from Sam Neumann.  16-15 Bettendorf at 11:30.  Neumann 2 more bombs in the half for a total of 15 points but Bettendorf would lead 28-25 at half.   Kendall Jacks with 5 in a row countered by a pair of Joe Rosga 3s.  35-33 Bettendorf with 15:35 left.  Then Sam Neumann goes absolutely nuts.  2 more bombs for him to tie the game at 41.  Neumann with back to back NBA 3s to sandwich a Dylan Sortillo 3.  One of those was his 2nd chance at a 4 point play in the game.  Jacks for 3 to push the Bettendorf to 63-56 with 3:55 left.   Neumann isn't done.  Bombs away not once but twice, the second with 1:40 left and then a post up for 2 more and CDH is back ahead 66-65 with 1:03 left.  Nicholas Baer for 2 and then makes both ends of the bonus after a CDH miss.  Last timeout for CDH in the front court with 20.2 left down 3.  Bettendorf brilliantly changes from the man defense they've shown all day to a 3-2 zone.  CDH totally discombobulated.  Neumann gets it and has no choice but to hoist from at least 30 feet.  It goes off the back iron no good.  Jacks seals it with both ends of the bonus with 2.5 left.  Bettendorf wins 71-66.  Sam Neumann buries 9 treys and goes off for 39 points, 24 of those points and 6 3s in the 2nd half.  He shoots 15-24, 9-15 from 3.  Dylan Sortillo 12 of his 19 in the 2nd half for Bettendorf.  Nicholas Baer with a double double of 16 and 13.  11-32 FGs from the rest of the CDH roster  Throw out Neumann's 9-15 from 3s and through 2 games the 4 teams combined for 17-75 from behind the 3 point line.


Game 3: #2AAA De La Salle vs Chicago St. Rita (IL)
Chicago St. Rita's was hounded by the De La Salle defense to the tune of 6-25 FGs and 17 turnovers.  That included a desperation 3 at the halftime buzzer.  The Mustangs get 1 field goal in a 13 minute stretch.  De La Salle would go on a 13-2 run to take control.  Sacar Anim carries the offense for De La Salle with Jarvis Johnson on the bench with 2 fouls.  25-15 De La Salle leading at the break.  St. Rita would up the ante with a productive halfcourt trap in the 2nd half.  Northwestern commit Victor Law with a 3 to tie and a 3 point play for a 41-38 St. Rita lead with 8:32 left.  Dominique Matthews would score the next 9 for St. Rita as he had a big 2nd half.  Critical moment with 3 minutes left.  Loose ball ends up being poked ahead for a James Lawson layup.  That's gives De La Salle a  49-45 lead with 3 minutes left.  The Islanders would get enough stops and make enough free throws to hang on 59-53.  Sacar Anim outstanding again for the Islanders with 29 points slashing his way inside.  Geno Crandall adds 13.  Dominique Matthews all 17 of his points in the 2nd half.  Charles Matthews very quiet with 11 points.  Only 1 bucket in the 2nd half until a meaningless 3 at the end of the game.  Very little run for him which was also surprising.  Add in 5-20 from these teams from 3 and we're at 22-95 on the day (excluding Neumann's 9-15).  St. Rita does grab 18 offensive rebounds but the De La Salle survives that.  Reid Travis participated in warmups but did not play.  Look for his return soon.

Game 4: #1AAAA Apple Valley vs Blue Valley Northwest (KS)
An entertaining first half between these 2 outstanding squads.  Gary Trent with a floater off the ball screen, Tyus coast to coast for 2 and a inbounds bomb for an 18-11 Eagles lead.  But Iowa St commit Clayton Custer scores 4 points in a 10-2 run to put Blue Valley NW on top.  Ben Richardson for 3 and its Blue Valley 30-24  at the 5:30 mark after a 19-6 spurt.  The lead is 4 at half.  Custer with a nice cut for 2 and a Richardson 3 to push the lead to 39-30 with 16:30 left.  Trent with a putback, Custer with a drive for 2.  Tyus with a steal for 2, Custer with a 3 point play.  Trent 2 free throws and a 3.  Dennis Austin adds 2 free throws to tie the game at 46.  Vince Fritz with 2 3s to put Blue Valley up 52-48 with 10:45 left.  Then the bottom falls out.

Trent for 3, Tyus 2 free throws and then the poster.  A left wing steal, Apple Valley pushes and the feed is to Tyus running right down the middle.  He goes up, over and through a defender with the 1 handed hammer dunk and the building explodes.  Trent scores and the lead is 5 and Blue Valley needs a timeout.  That doesn't help.  Tyus with bonus free throws a nice spin for 2 more, then 2 more bonus free throws and a jumper.  The Apple Valley run is 19-0 over 7:15.  Blue Valley gets a putback with 2:45 left to break an 8 minute scoreless drought but this one is over.  Apple Valley wins 72-59.  Tyus Jones finishes with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.  If you haven't seen the dunk, its worth it.  Gary Trent with 17 points.  Clayton Custer 18 points, Ben Richardson 11 points and 6 rebounds.   Adding in the 12-36 3 point shooting in this game and we end up with 34-131 (not including Neumann's 9-15) which is just under 26%.

Czar's All- Timberwolves Shootout Team
JP Macura - Lakeville North
Tyus Jones - Apple Valley
Sam Neumann - Cretin-Derham Hall
Sacar Anim- De La Salle
Clayton Custer - Blue Valley Northwest

The Nightcap
Who needs to see Kevin Durant score 48 when you can see 2 of the top senior guards in the state.  The night session sends me to Prior Lake for their non-conference game against Eden Prairie.  Sausage Pizza and 20 oz of Coke on the evening menu after having just 1 expensive Pepsi at the Target Center.  Andre Wallace scores 12 of the 1st 14 EP points.  Jon Sobaski sits with a 2nd foul on a charge but Prior Lake hangs close.  Zach Hovey very active inside with 5 in a row as EP builds a 24-16 lead.  Prior Lake closes the half on an 8-0 run for a 24 all tie at halftime.

In a bit of a replay from the De La Salle vs EP game, the EP offense is all Wallace and Gillard in the 2nd half.  Wallace 8 points in the 1st 5 minutes and EP leads 40-38.  Sobaski 6 in a row for Prior Lake.  Grantham Gillard for 3, a jumper and another NBA 3 .  50-45 EP looking to pull away with 8 minutes left.  Wallace with a pull up and then 2 nice assists for layups 58-49 EP with 3:20 left.  Wallace with his final points on 2 free throws with 1:05 left.  EP 62-55 leading at that point but they would miss 2 front ends.  Sobaski scores and a clutch 3 from Kevin McKiernan after a jump ball to Prior Lake and Sobaski down the lane to tie it with 12 seconds left.  EP takes the ball right out of the net and goes it.  Its Gillard flying up the right wing and he goes straight to the rim.  Tons of contact as Prior Lake attempts to take the charge.  Shot no good and we get the late whistle with 0.9 left.  The call is a blocking foul.  The home crowd not at all happy with that.  Gillard leaves the 1st free throw short but makes the 2nd.  Eden Prairie wins 63-62.  Andre Wallace outstanding again with 28 points and 3 late assists for layups.  Grantham Gillard 17 of his 20 points in the 2nd half.  Jon Sobaski 20 points, Connor Bair 18 points.  Nice movement by Sobaski vs Wallace in the head to head matchup.  Sobaski would be in the weak side block area, Wallace would turn his head and Sobaski flashed right in front of him to the ball side post on 3 occasions for 2 easy buckets and another missed bunny.

2014 Timberwolves Shootout Preview

Saturday is the 18th annual Timberwolves Shootout.  It features 4 early games with the Timberwolves taking on Oklahoma City that evening.  $20 ticket gets you into all 4 high school games and the TWolves game.  Here's what I'm watching.

Game 1: 9:15 AM #3AAAA Lakeville North (7-1) vs Grand Rapids (8-2)
This game features one of the state's top guards taking on one of the state's top big men.  Lakeville North features Xavier signee J.P. Macura.  Macura is currently ranked #104 nationally per Rivals.com.  He's averaging 37.4 PPG this season including a 55 point outburst vs section rival Farmington.  The rest of the Panthers can fill it up too.  Wing Connor Flack and guard Alex Reiland also average double figures.  Soph lefty Drew Stewart is a dangerous shooter.  Center Bronson Bruneau will walk-on with the Duke football program as a long snapper.  One worthy note is that Lakeville North has a critical conference matchup at Eagan on Friday night.  That short turnaround could be a factor.

Grand Rapids features the top junior big man in the state, Alex Illikainen.  He's averaging 27.2 points per game this season.  That's picking up where he left off from last season when he averaged 27 points and 15 rebounds per game.  He's currently ranked #83 nationally per Rivals.com.  He holds offers from Minnesota and Indiana amongst others and just visited Creighton.  The Thunderhawks will be without last year's other double figure scorer AJ Watland due to a torn ACL suffered in the offseason.

Czar's Pick: Lakeville North.  This will be the ugliest game of the day.  Lakeville North has too much firepower and is too well coached.  North in a blowout.

Game 2:11:00 AM Cretin-Derham Hall (8-1) vs #2 4A Bettendorf (IA) (5-0)
This will be the only game of the day without a nationally ranked player.  But expect another size vs speed struggle that should be closer than game 1.  Cretin-Derham Hall comes in at 8-1 but just lost their 1st game to Rosemount in the Catholic Spirit tourney championship game. Their junior class is loaded with the perimeter trio of Sam Neumann, Joe Rosga and Donnell Gresham.  All 3 average double-figures.   Rosga is the glue guy and leads the team at 21.2 PPG.  Gresham is the pure point guard of the 3.  He averages 12 points a night.  Sam Neumann is one of the state's top juniors and is a scorer.  He averages 18.6 points per game.   The Raiders make up for a lack of size by moving the ball well and running.  They've scored 91 points or more 4 different times this season.  That includes 112 in a 30 point thrashing of Minnetonka.

Bettendorf comes in as the second ranked team in Iowa's big school class.  They have a pair of players signed with D2 schools, guard Cole Clearman (Missouri Western State) and wing Kendall Jacks (Wayne St).  Jacks averages 10 points a game.  Guard Dylan Sortillo averages 11.8 PPG.  6'7" forward Nick Baer leads the team at 16 points a night and can step out and shoot it.  Cretin won't have a good matchup for him.

Czar's Pick: Bettendorf.  High school teams struggle shooting in Target Center.  Cretin-Derham Hall is a jump shooting team. Bettendorf is good enough to make the Raiders pay for not making jump shots.

Game 3: 12:45 PM #2AAA De La Salle (4-3) vs St. Rita (Chicago, IL) (5-3)
De La Salle comes in off back to back losses to national powerhouse Findlay Prep and #8AAAA Eden Prairie.  Stanford signee Reid Travis is ranked #40 in the nation by Rivals.com but hasn't played all season due to a foot injury.  But the Islanders are still loaded.  Junior point guard Jarvis Johnson is ranked #68 nationally by Rivals.com.  He leads the Islanders with 16 points a game.  He's an amazing athlete and a very good passer.  He's high on Minnesota's radar.  Sacar Anim is another one of the state's top juniors.  The defensive minded wing averages 14.7 points per game.  Senior guard Geno Crandall can score in bunches.  He'll attend North Dakota next season. 

Chicago St. Rita is one of the top teams in the tough Chicago Catholic League and a defending division champion.  6'7" forward Vic Law is ranked #86 nationally by Rivals.com and will attend Northwestern next season.  He has a game of 22 points and 20 boards to his credit this season.  6'6" junior guard Charles Matthews is ranked #11 nationally and has Kentucky, Illinois, Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan St, Ohio St and Marquette on his list of 10 schools.  He's been nursing a left ankle injury.  During that time, his senior brother Dominique has been outstanding.  He has offers from SMU, Toledo, UW-Milwaukee and Chicago State.  6'8" junior power forward Myles Carter is ranked #119 nationally by Rivals.com.  He has offers from Providence, Memphis, VCU and Xavier on his list.  St. Rita was 2-2 in the prestigious Iolani Classic in Hawaii over the holidays.  Carter registered a triple double of 13 points, 10 rebounds and 11 blocks in one of the games there.  He also had 11 blocks in another game there and 16 blocks in another game this season.

Czar's Pick: Chicago St. Rita.  Without Reid Travis and with Carter protecting the rim, De La Salle will have to make jump shots.  They aren't a jump shooting team and in the big venue I can't see them making tons of them.

Game 4: 2:30 PM #1AAAA Apple Valley vs #1 6A Blue Valley Northwest (Overland Park, KS)
Both of these teams return to the shootout from last year.  Apple Valley features point guard Tyus Jones.  He's ranked #5 nationally by Rivals.com and will attend Duke.  I expect a monster game from him on the big stage.  The Eagles are so much more than him though.  The state's top sophomore big man Brock Bertram anchors the front line.  The state's best freshman Gary Trent, Jr starts on the wing.  Tre Jones, Tyus' younger brother, comes off the bench as the best 8th grader in the state.  Forward Dennis Austin has the bulk of a power forward combined with the height and quickness of a guard.  Robert Tobroxen is a lanky sharpshooter on the wing.

Blue Valley Northwest returns their entire roster from last year's Kansas state championship team in class 6A.  Remember they handed De La Salle their only loss of the season at the shootout.  Coach Ed Fritz won his 500th game that day.  Expect some fun strategy from him and his staff for contending with Tyus Jones.  His son Vince is part of a loaded backcourt that features 3 D1 players.  Vince will attend Sacred Heart next season.  Ben Richardson will attended Loyola of Chicago.  Star Clayton Custer is ranked #90 nationally by Rivals.com and will attend Iowa State.  All 3 can handle it and knock down shots.  Forward David Salach will attend D2 Washburn and will likely be the one to contend with Bertram inside. 

Czar's Pick: Blue Valley Northwest.  Apple Valley loses to DLS if Reid Travis plays and Blue Valley Northwest beat a better De La Salle squad last year.  So as much as I like going with Apple Valley, I just can't do it.  I do expect it to be a very good game.  Keep an eye on Brock Bertram in this one.  Will coach Zach Goring be able to stay with him in this one or will he have to sit to give Apple Valley better matchups?

2014 Timberwolves Shootout Schedule

Here are the games for the 2014 Timberwolves Shootout on Sat. January 4th, 2014 before the TWolves vs Oklahoma City game.

• 9:15 AM Lakeville North vs Grand Rapids
• 11:00 AM Cretin-Derham Hall vs Bettendorf (IA)
• 12:45 PM De La Salle vs St. Rita (Chicago, IL)
• 2:30 PM Apple Valley vs Blue Valley Northwest (Overland Park, KS)

Featured Players
JP Macura (SG, 2014)- Lakeville North (Xavier, #104 Rivals)
Alex Illikainen (PF, 2015) - Grand Rapids (#83 Rivals)
Tyus Jones (PG, 2014) - Apple Valley (Duke, #5 Rivals)
Clayton Custer (G, 2014) - Blue Valley NW (Iowa St, #90 Rivals)
Vince Fritz (G, 2014) - Blue Valley NW (Sacred Heart)
Ben Richardson (G, 2014) - Blue Valley NW (Loyola of Chicago)
David Salach (C, 2014) - Blue Valley NW (Washburn)
Reid Travis (PF, 2014) - De La Salle (Stanford, #40 Rivals)
Jarvis Johnson (PG, 2015) - De La Salle (#68 Rivals)
Sacar Anim (W, 2015) - De La Salle
Vic Law (W, 2014) - St. Rita (Northwestern, #86 Rivals)
Charles Matthews (G, 2015) - St. Rita (#11 Rivals)
Myles Carter (F, 2015) - St. Rita (#119 Rivals)
Sam Neumann (W, 2015) - Cretin-Derham Hall
Joe Rosga (G, 2015) - Cretin-Derham Hall
Donnell Gresham (PG, 2015) - Cretin-Derham Hall
Cole Clearman (G, 2014)- Bettendorf (IA) (Missouri Western State)
Kendall Jacks (W, 2014) - Bettendorf (IA) (Wayne St)