2011-2012 Pre-Season-Preview REVISED 11-30-11

The early line of 2011-2012 "bests" originally was published back on April 6. With some more time to think about things and to digest the Lynx' WNBA title and now Trevor Mbakwe's season-ending injury, here are the new forecasts and new lists.

The Scoop

1. The Timberwolves. At the top of the heap is the NBA, and thank god that they and the Minnesota Timberwolves will be playing this year. OK, I'm being facetious and cynical. There's more reason for hope this year than usual, of course, with Rick Adelman coming aboard. Forget Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams. The simple fact of a competent coach is the big news here. Somebody said that the Wolves should win 20 games this year, even with the short season. Last year it was 17-65 (.207). Is 20-46 (.303) too much to hope for? No, that's about right. 

2. Gopher men and women. The men's season took a hit with the loss of Trevor Mbakwe. If these guys didn't have bad luck, they'd have no luck at all. From middle of the pack and a possible NCAA tournament bid, we're now looking at maybe a 4-14 conference record and another miss at both the NCAA and the NIT.

The women provide hope, mainly with the promise of continuing improvement among the younger kids like Rachel Banham, Katie Loberg, Micaela Riche and company. Still a .500 conference record is about as good as you can reasonably hope for, and that probably doesn't quite cut it for an NCAA bid.

3. The small colleges. I'm getting cold feet on some of these races, having picked the UMD women and Hamline men last April, for example. Right now, I'm going to say that Winona State sweeps the men's and women's titles in the NSIC, while St. Thomas does the same in the MIAC. Still, all 4 of these races (or should I say, all 8 of these races considering there are both regular season and playoff titles at stake) will be highly competitive.

NSIC Men--the coaches picked Augustana and its hard to argue that one. Winona or Augustana. And Concordia is much improved, though I'm not gonna argue Cody Schilling of Augie as the MVP. Good choice there.

NSIC Women--the coaches picked Wayne, and I'll argue that. Winona, UMD, Concordia and Moorhead will represent the Minnesota division quite well. And Moorhead's Angie Jetvig should be player of the year ahead of Wayne's Ashley Arlen, last year's MVP and the coaches pick for this year.

MIAC Men--the Tommies are not the powerhouse of last year but they're not exactly rebuilding either. But St. Olaf, Hamline and Augsburg will all provide some healthy competition.

MIAC Women--the Tommies should be better than last year's regular season champs (post-season runners-up) with Taylor Young and Maggie Weiers back, but St. Ben's suddenly looks very solid, too.

4. High school girls. The defending champs--Hopkins, DeLaSalle, Braham and Maranatha--are all favored. Or, well, at least co-favored, as Providence is rated #1 and Braham #2 in AA. In AAAA, White Bear Lake threatens to break into the top tier with Eden Prairie, Lakeville North and Kennedy, but that's a battle for 2nd place. In AAA, only Benilde can expect to play with DeLaSalle. A is pretty open, as always, though Maranatha is a more than worthy favorite. Juniors Tyseanna Johnson and Rebekah Dahlman and Nia Coffey will all be better than Ms. Basketball.

5. High school boys. At least 2 of the defending champs--Hopkins and Perham--expect to contend. Benilde is favored in AAA, and Maranatha in A. Beyond that, these are pretty wide open with perhaps Eastview in AAAA being the best of the challengers. Tyus Jones, still just a sophomore, is the superstar of the bunch, individually. 

Player of the Year Candidates April 6

1. Mya Moore, Minnesota Lynx

2. Syani Chambers, Hopkins boys

3. Tyus Jones, Apple Valley boys

4. Trevor Mbakwe, Minnesota Gopher men

5. Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves

6. Tyseanna Johnson, DeLaSalle girls

7. Rebekah Dahlman, Braham girls

8. Jackie Johnson, Eden Prairie girls

9. Rachel Banham, Minnesota Gopher women

10. Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves

Player of the Year Candidates November 30


1. Lindsay Whalen, Minnesota Lynx--with her season complete, she probably cannot be caught
2. Tyus Jones, Apple Valley boys--his play with U.S. team this summer raised his stock even further
3. Tyseanna Johnson, DeLaSalle girls
4. Rebekah Dahlman, Braham girls
5. Rachel Banham, Minnesota Gopher women
6. Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
7. Seimone Augustus, Minnesota Lynx
8. Siyani Chambers, Hopkins boys
9. Jackie Johnson, Eden Prairie girls
10. Clayton Vette, Winona State men

11. Angie Jetvig, Moorhead State women
12. Kiara Buford, Minnesota Gopher women
13. Katie Loberg, Minnesota Gopher women
14. Mya Moore, Minnesota Lynx
15. Taylor Young, St. Thomas women
16. Trevor Mbakwe, Minnesota Gopher men--based on 1/3 of a season
17. Austin Hollins, Minnesota Gopher men--about the break through
19. Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves--the big question mark
20. Joey King, Eastview boys

Team of the Year Candidates April 6

1. Hopkins girls

2. Minnesota-Duluth women

3. Hopkins boys

4. DeLaSalle girls

5. Minnesota Lynx

6. Concordia (St. Paul) women

7. Braham girls

8. Hamline men

9. St. Olaf men

10. Benilde boys and girls

Conspicuous by their absence--Minnesota Gopher men and women, Minnesota Timberwolves

Team of the Year Candidates November 30

1. Minnesota Lynx

2. Hopkins girls

3. White Bear Lake girls

4. Winona State men

5. Winona State women

6. Minnesota-Duluth women

7. Hopkins boys

8. DeLaSalle girls

9. St. Thomas men

10. St. Ben's women

11. Concordia (St. Paul) men

12. Concordia (St. Paul) women

13. Braham girls

14. Benilde-St. Margaret's boys

15. St. Olaf men

16. Hamline men

17. St. Thomas women

18. Augsburg men

19. Benilde-St. Margaret's girls

20. Minnesota Timberwolves

Coach of the Year Candidates April 6

1. Nelson Whitmore, Hamline men

2. Annette Wiles, Minnesota-Duluth women

3. Dan Kosmoski, St. Olaf men

4. Paul Fessler, Concordia (St. Paul) women

5. Tim Whittle, Macalester men

6. Brian Cosgriff, Hopkins girls

7. John Herbrechtsmeyer, Bethel women

8. Ken Novak, Jr., Hopkins boys

9. Faith Patterson, DeLaSalle girls

10. Ruth Sinn, St. Thomas women

Coach of the Year Candidates November 30


1. Cheryl Reeve, Minnesota Lynx
2. Rick Adelman, Minnesota Timberwolves
3. Brian Cosgriff, Hopkins girls
4. Dan Kosmoski, St. Olaf men
5. Mike Durbin, St. Ben's women
6. Jeremy Post, White Bear Lake girls
7. Scott Ballard, Winona State women
8. Annette Wiles, Minnesota-Duluth women
9. Nelson Whitmore, Hamline men
10. Aaron Greiss, Augsburg men

11. John Herbrechtsmeyer, Bethel women
12. Kelly Boe, Concordia (St. Paul) men
13. Ken Novak, Jr., Hopkins boys
14. Faith Patterson, DeLaSalle girls
15. Mike Leaf, Winona State men
16. Ruth Sinn, St. Thomas women
18. Johnny Tauer, St. Thomas men
19. Paul Fessler, Concordia (St. Paul) women
20. Tim Whittle, Macalester men