Class AAAA All-Tournament
Apple Valley--Tyus Jones, Dennis Austin, Dustin Fronk
Park Center--Quinton Hooker, Devin Buckley, Treyton Daniels
Edina--Graham Woodward, Reggie Lynch
Eden Prairie--Grant Shaeffer
Lakeville North--JP Macura
It's tough not to see Brock Bertram on this list, but what are you gonna do? I woulda bumped Shaeffer.
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It seems attendance tonight is big. The MSHSL has just distributed the attendance figures and, indeed, tonight's attendance is the highest since the advent of 4 classes in 1997 at 13,309. The only times it had reached 12,000 was 2001 and 2007.
The grand total of 62,000 is higher than the past 3 years but lower than most years in the 4 class format.
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It would have been difficult for this game to live up to the hype and it did not. I would have to say that Park Center got a little bit psyched out by it, their shooting eyes and arms exhibiting a case of the jitters or something that made it exceedingly tough for them to put the ball in the hoop. Late in the 2nd half, Park Center is shooting 28 percent from the field and 48 from the line. Everything else is surprisingly even--turnovers, offensive boards, etc. But the Pirates simply have been unable to put the ball in the hoop with any consistency. Treyton Daniels is the only player who has seen time who is shooting 40 percent.
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Apple Valley and Park Center fans and just basketball fans and Michigan State coach Tom Izzo have pretty much filled up the Target Center tonight. Old timers say its the biggest crowd they've seen here for a state tournament game in the 21st century. We'll see what the numbers say. But the place is rockin.'
It was a sloppy 1st half with mediocre shooting and some sloppy ball-handling. The defenses are fairly intensive but we've certainly seen more intense defenses than this. Both teams will try to run their offensives with a little more precision in the 2nd half.
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I am happy to report that the Target Center is filling up. There's a fair bit of red here. It's harder to pick out the DeLaSalle fans, since any of hem are dressed in black and just a few in yellow. Target was of course virtually empty at times on Wednesday and Thursday (and I do mean during the Class AAAA games). So, again, it's nice to see the place filling up with people and also with a good bit of noise.
Then on top of that we've got the DeLaSalle band, which is of course the best in the business. Austin's is not bad, by the way, and makes up with energy and rhythm whatever it is lacking in melody.
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Next up--Austin vs. DeLaSalle at 6 p.m. in Class AAA. A preview of this game can be found down below, just scroll down a ways and keep your eyes open. And watch for half-time and post-game reports here. Also reports on 14 previous tournament games are posted below. Again, scroll down.
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Well, I've seen 'em, back-to-back, and I'll say it again. Southwest Christian and/or Maranatha would beat either Minnehaha or Litchfield. They're a tiny bit bigger, a good bit stronger, and probably just a little bit quicker. The only common opponents across the 2 classes is Brooklyn Center: Class A Maranatha beat 'em by 17, Class AA Minnehaha by 10. That seems to me to be a pretty good approximation of the caliber of the 4 teams.
My combined all-star team from this afternoon (only, not all 3 games, but just today)
C- Leighton Sampson, Southwest Christian 22 points 5 boards 3 blocks
F- Kaharri Carter, Minnehaha 11 points 8 boards
F- Isaiah Hanson, Maranatha 24 points 8 boards
G- Dominic Nibbelink, Southwest Christian 29 poins 7 assists
G- Josh Goldschmidt, Maranatha 16 points 7 boards 4 assists 2 blocks
6th- Zach Kinny, Litchfield 8 points 7 boards 6 assists
Class AA All-Tournament
Once again a team has 4 all-tournament players but this time it's the champs:
Minnehaha--Jesse Johnson, Kaharri Carter, Thomas Gedion, Marcellous Hazzard
Litchfield--Zach Whitchurch, Zach Kinny, Riley Pater
Annandale--Matt Miller, Brett Ahsenmacher
Esko--Kory Deadrick
The only Minnehaha starter who did not get honors is the guy whose 3 put his team in the lead for good and then added another crucial 3 down the stretch--that being John Pryor. I voted for Alec Koster (Redwood) and Cole Krueger (Hayfield) from the 1st time losers and voted for 3 from Minnehaha and 2 from Litch.
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More than a few folks are unhappy, of course, that 2 private schools played for the "small town" title, and then you've got another private school playing for the AA title. Private schools are to be expected in AAA, but AA and A? There's lots of theories about what the MSHSL "should" do to give public schools a better shot but people who've been involved with the MSHSL over the years say that there's only 1 chance that the MSHSL is going to do something about the situation and that is "no chance."
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The Class A final, won by Southwest Christian (full report elsewhere) 81-73, did not disappoint. It was played at a very fast pace, the 2 teams shot about a combined 55 percent from the field, and there were just 16 turnovers (only 5 by the Eagles) despite the fast pace.
Both defenses, that had performed so well previously in the tournament, were exposed, however. Both teams were able to get to the rim, but Southwest more so than Maranatha, thanks mostly to a super game by Dominic Nibbelink. And Southwest also had the edge on the conventional inside game, led by 6-5 junior post Leighton Sampson.
Class A All-Tournament Team
Southwest Christian--Leighton Sampson, Dominic Nibbelink, Klint Knutson
Maranatha--Jeremiah Hanson, Isaiah Hanson, Garrison Gillard, Grantham Gillard
Upsala--Christian Pekarek
Rushford-Peterson--Seth Thompson
Lakeview--Anders Broman
It is an unsual all-tournament team. How often do you see 4 players from a 2nd place team? How often do you see 4 players from any team? But Southwest and Maranatha spread-eagled the field and deserved 7 spots. I thought Josh Goldschmidt was an all-tournament player for Maranatha ahead of Isaiah and Grantham, but that's hair-splitting.
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Saturday Lineup Complete
Class A--#1 Maranatha Christian (31-1) vs. #3 Southwest Christian (30-1)
A couple of Class A powerhouses who could easily compete, and probably win, in AA. Both are of average height but have great physical strength, and because they can and do dominate the boards, they can get out and run and do so very effectively. Both are superb defensively--Southwest is perhaps better inside and Maranatha on the perimeter. The classic Class A title game was and is Ellsworth over Cass Lake back in 2007. This could be right up there with that one. But I've already picked Southwest and I'll stay with 'em. Too tough inside.
Class AA--#1 Minnehaha (25-6) vs. #2 Litchfield (26-5)
Both looked overpowering today--but Litchfield did so all night long, Minnehaha for the 1st 14 minutes and then coasted. Neither was really tested. I think they'll be tested tomorrow and it should stay close and competitive, unlike tonight. Minnehaha is a little bigger and a little stronger, but if I need a crucial, crunch-time possession and bucket, I think Litch's discipline and Zach Kinny are more likely to deliver.
Class AAA--#1 DeLaSalle (29-1) vs. #2 Austin (30-0)
The last unbeaten goes down. DeLaSalle is just too good. It would probably win Class AAAA. No weaknesses. And, as we saw, both Blake and Marshall took Austin down to the wire, and Zach Wessels and Joe Aase can be stopped. DeLaSalle beat Blake 79-54, and Reid Travis cannot be stopped.
Class AAAA--#1 Apple Valley (31-1) vs. #2 Park Center (28-3)
Apple Valley beat Park Center 72-70 early in the year. That was a long time ago in elephant years. But I guess Apple Valley by 2 is as good a guess as any. If anybody can compete with Tyus Jones, Quinton Hooker is your guy. And don't tell Hooker's teammates their not as good as Jones' supporting cast. Apple Valley does have the edge in size with 6-10 Brock Bertram, however. And, again,, there's Jones.
But overall the #1 team in the state of Minnesota (after tomorrow) is DeLaSalle, who beat Park Center 74-60 early this year.
These are my predictions, anyway, and you can pretty much be assured that at least 1 of them is wrong.
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Friday All-Stars
C- Leighton Sampson, Southwest Christian 33 points 12 rebounds 3 blocks
F- Isaiah Hanson, Maranatha 18 points 6 boards 2 assists
G- Kaharri Carter, Minnehaha 29 points 8 rebounds
G- Zach Kinny, Litchfield
G- Joel Goldschmidt, Maranatha 0 points 8 boards 5 assists 4 blocks 4 steals
2nd Team
C- Avery Smieja, Upsala 10 points 8 boards
F- Jeremiah Hanson, Maranatha 17 points 6 boards
G- Christian Pekarek, Upsala 22 points 2 steals
G- Jesse Johnson, Minnehaha 23 points 3 assists
G- Brett Ahsenmacher, Annandale 24 points 4 steals
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Yet again we've got 1 team off to a red hot start. Or maybe it's 1 team off to an ice cold start. Litchfield 17 Esko 3. More often than not, the team that gets way down early comes back to make a respectable effort and make it a respectable game. But rarely have we seen a team actually come back from such a deficit to win. Austin was the closest and it certainly wasn't 17-3 or 32-6. Still, there've been enough comebacks that Litch is not gonna lay off. But these frigid starts are not helping make this a great tournament for spectators.
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It sure looked for about 10 minutes there like I had seriously misunderestimated the Minnehaha Redhawks. I mean, I picked 'em to win but, c'mon, 32-6!? I mentioned then remembering Minnetonka coming back from a 31-9 deficit to win a state title a few years ago, not thinking for a minute that Annandale could or would do anything similar. Yet the Cardinals threw a serious scare into Minnehaha, getting within 47-40 before going down 91-79.
But back to the Redhawks. I said that the Class A finalists are better. Maranatha and Minnehaha have only 1 opponent in common: Maranatha beat Brooklyn Center 85-68, Minnehaha beat 'em 66-56. Proving nothing. They're of similar size, ranging from 6-feet to 6-4, nothing out of the ordinary either way. But Maranatha's kids seem maybe just a little bit stronger and those Hanson kids sure can shoot. I still don't know about Minnehaha, tonight it was largely a layup drill.
I'll still take Maranatha for the moment, but I reserve the right to change my mind after they both play for a state title tomorrow, but back to back and not against one another. I'm not sure some Greater Minnesota fans wouldn't prefer that Maranatha in fact play Minnehaha for a private school title and let let tonight's Litchfield-Esko match be for the small public school title.
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The 4th and final set of semi-finals is underway. That would be Class AA and, yes, I've said that these 4 teams are not as good as the 4 Class A semi-finalists. Well, now's their chance to prove me wrong. 1st up is Annandale and Minnehaha, followed by Esko and Litchfield. I have seen the latter 2 but not the former. Litch is a nice club--well-balanced and with a go-to guy in Zach Kinny--but lacks the size and strength of the Class A finalists. Esko depends on the long bomb to an alarming extent.... More to come.
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Maranatha vs. Southwest Christian for the Class A title may feature 2 better teams than the Class AA final, though I suppose I ought to let the AA semis play out before making such a pronouncement. But my point is here are 2 teams with the size and strength to play with anybody and, oh yes, the skill levels are pretty darned nice as well.
Maranatha is going to be able to slow the Eagles' Ralph Sampson, er, I mean, Leighton Sampson better than Upsala did but he is and will be a force in the paint nevertheless. Beyond that Southwest is just a bunch of hard-nosed kids, not to say they're lacking in skills, but the supplement their skills with a high level of competitiveness.
Maranatha plays it a little more cool but is not likely to back down from physical play. And I think their skill level is a tiny bit higher though, again, Sampson is not just strong but fundamentally very, very solid down in the block. But the Maranatha perimeters seem to have just a slightly higher level of basketball skill.
Put it all together and I have no idea what is going to happen. I picked Southwest Christian earlier, however, so I see no reason to change my mind now. Should be a great game and, like I say, as of this moment, at least, I think either of them could and would beat any of the AA semi-finalists.
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Next up Southwest Christian vs. Upsala. SWC looks like a buzzsaw but they will play the game and Upsala is not without it weapons. Upsala's strength is guards Christian Pekarek and Garrett Wolff penetrating into the lane but I think SWC will make it hard for them to do it. SWC can beat you fast or slow, but likes to get inside either way, so the pressure is on Upsala's big kids to defend the rim.
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Rushford-Pete is young and has been pointing toward next year for a good long while. Getting to the semis this year was a nice achievement, but also a sobering one. They'll be a year older next year, but probably not any taller. They now know that they will have to get stronger to win a state title next year.
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Having spent a couple days at Williams Arena, I am finding press row at Target Center to be abuzz with talk of DeLaSalle's dominance of St. Paul Johnson yesterday. Nobody thinks DeLaSalle can be beaten tomorrow. DeLaSalle could easily compete in AAAA. In fact, they beat Park Center 74-60 during the regular season.
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Park Center beat Apple Valley and people expect a similarly competitive game in AAAA tomorrow. Quinton Hooker vs. Tyus Jones should be something to see, and of course the supporting casts are both very solid. Apple Valley's got the big guy Brock Bertram at 6-10 while the Pirates have nobody bigger than 6-4, but Park Center may have the edge in quickness after you get past Jones. We will see
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Boys state tournament coverage continues today with the Class A semis at noon and 2. The 4 winners yesterday all looked pretty terrific.
Based on what I saw, I would have to pick Maranatha over Rushford-Pete, though this one should be close. Neither team is deep--4 of 5 starters on each team played 30 minutes or more--so a little bit of foul trouble could go a long way toward deciding it. Unsung heroes were "glue" players Josh Goldschmidt and Cole Kingsley for Maranatha and RP, respectively. Those are the 2 guys that each would hope to keep out of foul trouble though Garrison Gillard of Maranatha is also a do-everything guy who would be hard to replace.
In the 2nd game, Southwest Christian looks pretty unbeatable, not just today but Saturday as well. Or maybe Walker was just that bad. Upsala has a slight height advantage, but not for overall size and physical play. Both teams are a little deeper than the 2 teams in the 1st game. But I think Southwest has more weapons and is harder to defend. If I had to pick my poison, I guess I would try to keep 'em from running with the defensive rebound and of course minimize turnovers. Upsala probably has the skills to do the latter, not sure about the former. On the other side, stop the dribble drive by Upsala's Christian Pekarek and Garrett Wolff and you're a long way toward a win. Of course, nobody's done it, Upsala remains undefeated.
These 4 teams are 116-5.
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I am not able to stay for the conclusion of Southwest Christian vs. Walker, so here are my all-stars for the day so far.
Class A 3/4 All-Stars
C- Carter Kirk, Mountain Lake 21 points 11 rebounds 4 assists
F- Anders Broman, Lakeview 34 points 7 rebounds
F- Garrison Gillard, Maranatha 12 points 8 boards 4 assists
G- Christian Pekarek, Upsala 24 points 8 rebounds
G- Charlie Krambeer, Rushford-Pete 14 points, the designated 3-point shooter, so far
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Next up Southwest Minnesota Christian vs. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, not to be confused with Warren-Alvarado-Oslo. That would be WAO, not WHA. I have picked SWC to go all the way but the winners so far--Maranatha, Rushford-Pete and Upsala--all look very very solid. So we shall see.
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Wow, a guy can sure wish he had been at Target Center to see Austin and Marshall go OT. Neither team led by more than 4 the entire 2nd half.
Still the loser gets a consolation prize. Marshall won't have to play DeLaSalle tomorrow. Austin will have its hands more than full.
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2 years ago Upsala played and lost in this tournament. Now one might think that Battle Lake will take today's experience home with them and prepare to return here themselves. They start a freshman, 2 sophomores and 2 juniors. Junior Dan Marso led Battle Lake with 14 points including 4-of-7 3s, while the freshman Tony Ukkelberg and a sophomore Petric Van Erp each added 10.
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Like Maranatha earlier today, Battle Lake has 2 sets of brothers. There are Petric, Andrew and Evan Van Erp are, well, 2 of them are brothers and the other is a cousin. Then, all 3 are also 1st cousins to brothers Tony and Tyler Ukkelberg. I think that's right.
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Anders Broman finished his illustrious high school basketball career on a down note, as Rushford-Peterson held him to 13-of-24 shooting and 32 points and, more to the point, hammered Broman's Lakeview Lions 72-54. RP denied Broman the ball effectively most of the way, certainly as long as it mattered. And Bjorn had a tough day, shooting 2-of-10, and couldn't take much of the load off his brother.
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Rushford-Peterson gets a chance to slow down Anders Broman in today's 2nd game. Broman is of course Minnesota's 1st ever 5,000 point scorer, and averages 42 points per game. Meanwhile Rushford-Pete coach Tom Vix has never been a slouch as a defensive coach and as a ball control coach. So we'll see what gives. The Trojans are the #4 seed and the Lions #5 and I guess that feels about right. So I say Broman gets his 42 and Rushford-Pete wins a close game.
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In today's 1st Class A quarter-final, Maranatha features 2 sets of brothers, each consisting of a senior and a sophomore. Senior Isaiah and sophomore Jeramiah Hanson are the 10th and last of the Hansons to play at Maranatha, I'm told, while senior Garrison and sophomore Grantham Gillard are the 1st of their clan to do so. No word on whether there will be more.
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Today--Thursday, March 21--I will be at Williams Arena for Class A quarter-finals beginning with #1 seed Maranatha Christian vs. Mountain Lake.
Southwestern Minnesota is well represented here to support Mountain Lake. And I don't necessarily mean Mountain Lake fans, though they are here in large numbers. But I just fell into something of a Windom reunion among a bunch of Windom natives (Windom native Bill Bentson is sitting next to me here at court side) and I also had the pleasure of meeting coach Les Knutson who is covering the game for the Worthington Globe.
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Wednesday Williams All-Stars
C- Alex Illikainen, Grand Rapids 31 points
F- Reid Travis, DeLaSalle 23 points, 16 boards 4 steals, the day's MVP
F- Quiashingm Smith-Pugh, St. Paul Johnson 20 points, 15 rebounds, 3 steals
G- Ajuda Nywesh, Austin 15 points, 6 boards, 5 steals, game-changing defense
G- Alec Koster, Redwood Valley 27 points, 7 boards
2nd Team
C- Joe Aase, Austin 20 points, 8 boards
F- JR Bascom, Blake 17 points, 9 boards, basically played Aase to a draw
F- Kory Deadrick, Esko 30 points, 7 boards, 2 steals
G- Cole Krueger, Hayfield 28 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks
G- Zach Kinny, Litchfield 18 points, 4 assists
3rd Team
C- Parker Hagen, Sartell 19 points
F- Riley Pater, Litchfield 11 points, 9 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals
G- Kebu Johnson, Blake 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, great defense
G- Zach Checkal, Delano 12 points 10 boards
G- Riley Sharbono, Marshall 18 points
As always, AA was guard-dominated. I could make an argument for any 1 of 4 AA guards as the best of the day--those being Koster, Deadrick, Krueger or Kinny. But 1st I picked the top scorers from each game--Koster and Deadrick--then decided that Koster had the better all-around game. So Koster is the 1 and only AA player to make the day's all-star team.
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Kory Deadrick, who scored 25 points in the 1st half for Esko vs. Hayfield, has just 4 in the first 8-and-a-half minutes of the 2nd, and Hayfield is coming back. George asked me if Deadrick could challenge Cory Mountain's record of 51 points at half-time, and I said I don't think so. Putting 2 halves like that together is not a easy thing to do.
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The big separation is not between AAA and AA, it's between the brackets in AAA. DeLaSalle and St. Paul Johnson play a stifling pressure defense and so there were 61 turnovers in the morning games. In the afternoon the D was a bit more passive, shall we say, and there were 42 turnovers.
In the 1st Class AA game the defenses were, well, I hesitate to say passive but they were not turnover inducing and so there were 12. There were 5 in the 1st half of Esko-Hayfield, Esko had 1 turnover which is a comment Hayfield's defense, not on Esko's ball-handling, trust me on this.
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Watching Litch and Redwood in Class AA, I am struck at the lack of separation between AA and AAA. Redwood lost twice to AAA tournament entry Marshall by 6 and 7 points. And by my count, Litch went 4-2 against AAA opponents, beating AAA tournament entry Delano 60-49 and its 2 losses each by 1 point.
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Sitting here in Williams Arena, it's enough jsut to keep up with what's happening in front of my face, but we're also trying to watch what's going on at the Target Center, and it's hard not to notice that Graham Woodward scored 40 today and Edina clobbered Andover 99-61. Woodward is probably p-o'd, and he should be, at being left off the Strib's all-metro 1st team. I mean, seriously. But of course Andover was not a real test, Park Center and Quinton Hooker, now that's a test.
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It's amazing how many more people are here for AA than for AAA, though I must add that the bands are not as good or as loud.
The story on the court so far is 3s. Redwood Valley and 3s. They made 7-of-15 3s in the 1st half, and 1-of-7 2s.
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Class AAA All-Stars
C- Alex Illikainen, Grand Rapids 31 points
F- Reid Travis, DeLaSalle 23 points, 16 boards 4 steals
F- Quiashingm Smith-Pugh, St. Paul Johnson 20 points, 15 rebounds, 3 steals
G- Ajuda Nywesh, Austin 15 points, 6 boards, 5 steals, game-changing defense
G- Kebu Johnson, Blake 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, great defense
2nd Team
C- Joe Aase, Austin 20 points, 8 boards
F- Parker Hagen, Sartell 19 points
F- JR Bascom, Blake 17 points, 9 boards, basically played Aase to a draw
G- Zach Checkal, Delano 12 points 10 boards
G- Riley Sharbono, Marshall 18 points
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Today's 4th and final Class AAA game is a rarity, matching 2 Greater Minnesota teams from 1 school towns. You don't need to say North or South or East or West to name these teams. And while the upper bracket is the metro bracket (with DeLaSalle and St. Paul Johnson facing off in the semis), the lower bracket is the Greater Minnesota bracket (with Austin facing off against either Marshall or Grand Rapids).
The Thunderhawks are 20-9 on the season but they were 15-3 before 6-7 sophomore Alex Illikainen broke his hand and sat out for about 3 weeks. Then they're 3-0 in section 7 play. Marshall will probably find them to be more like a 15-3 team than 20-9.
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No offense to Grand Rapids but I'd like to see Austin and Marshall tomorrow. The tournament program includes a feature, as it does every year, called "50 years ago." Well, 50 years ago, Marshall won the single class tournament after beating Austin 65-63 in the 1st round. It would be a fitting re-match.
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The 1st 2 Class AAA semi-finals both saw the underdog get off to an early lead but then the favorite surged ahead and never looked back. The 3rd game had a 3rd act. Austin got off to the quick start, Blake then took control, but then the Packers came back for the win in the best game of the day.
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Indeed, Blake is giving Austin all it can handle at the half, leading 31-24. Blake is getting open looks a little too easily.
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Austin has a nice crowd and reasonably boisterous band. Blake not so much and no band.
I have not seen undefeated Austin and Joe Aase so this will be a treat. On the other hand, I am not convinced that Blake will not give them a game.
There is talk of this being Austin's greatest team ever. Beat DeLaSalle if you want to talk about that. Austin won state titles in 1935, 1946 and 1958, and the 1946 team in particular was a powerhouse of historic proportions winning the state final 66-31 if I remember correctly.
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DeLaSalle vs. St. Paul Johnson is going to be ridiculous. I mean faster-than-fast-paced. You'd think the Islanders' size (6-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2) might be decisive, but Delano was even taller. Of course, nobody from Delano or from Johnson is Reid Travis. But DeLaSalle guards Jarvis Johnson and Sacar Anim will be tested by Johnson's quickness, whereas today they were tested by Sartell guard Patrick Fischer's size and physical play. One would have to favor DeLaSalle but today Johnson beat a better team than the one the Islanders defeated and did it by a double-digit margin.
One could also observe that tomorrow's game matches 2 of the very best coaches in the business in these parts--Vern Simmons of Johnson, and Dave Thorson of DeLaSalle.
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Wow, I see that Woodbury took it on the chin from Eden Prairie as Renard Suggs had a very tough day. I think he was 0-for-11 from the field with 0 points at 1 time deep into the 2nd half.
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Neither is as good as the DeLaSalle band, of course, but it should be noted that that really nice national anthem from the Islanders band did have the band teacher featured on the trumpet. Is that cheating?
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OK, Delano has a nice crowd here for the 12 noon game, sitting right behind us here. And it's a good battle of the bands, too, as both Delano and St. Paul Johnson have pretty good bands. Johnson specifically having a huge percussion section.
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How in the world did Sartell lose 12 games? They are a very solid club.
The sub-plot during the DeLaSalle-Sartell game, however, was what was going on a few miles away at the Target Center. For awhile the Live Stats had Brainerd ahead...well, and they were as late as half-time. But during the 2nd half the score got transposed. Apple Valley had gone ahead but Live Stats showed otherwise. Even so, it appears that Apple Valley and Brainerd were tied 56-all before the Eagles pulled away to win 81-67. Tyus Jones is reported as having 19 points and 7 assists.
The band is here, but the Islanders fans are a bit sparse. Sartell a little better, but neither can match the fan support by most of the Class A girls teams that were here at Williams Arena a week ago tomorrow. Still, that's a darn good band.
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The Sartell-St. Stephen Sabres (17-12) will have their work cut out for them, shall we say. They appear to protect the ball OK, 12 turnovers per game. But DeLaSalle forces 19 per game. Sartell is going to have to be closer to 12 to make a game of it. 1st thing to watch for is simply whether the Sabres can get into their offense.
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9:40 a.m... DeLaSalle and Sartell have taken the floor, and according to the clock on the wall, tip off will be in about 20 minutes. The DeLaSalle band, always the best band at the state tournament, is wailing. It is noisy, a little too noisy for me but, hey, I wanted to be in the fast lane.
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1st, I've moved all my boys tournament previews back up to the top of the page, so they are all located right below this post. 2nd, I will be at Williams Arena today, so watch this space for reports on all 4 AAA games plus the Litchfield-Redwood and Hayfield-Esko game.
For each game there will be a half-time report and then a game report after. Enjoy.
