Gopher women's recruiting in Minnesota 2018

I see that people want to read about the Gopher women. A piece I wrote about Gopher women’s recruiting over the years—specifically, about its chronic neglect of girls from Minnesota—is one of the most-read posts here on Minnesota Hoops. The only problem with that is it’s a 5-year-old piece. Merlene Stollings hadn’t even come on board yet, much less Lindsay Whalen.

So, I guess an update is in order. What has happened in the 5 years since I wrote that piece and what is likely to happen now that Lindsay is the boss at the U?

Well, 1^stthings 1^st. The Gophers' record of recruiting Minnesota girls got worse over the past 5 years. As bad as it had been, it got worse under Stollings, who never recruited a single Minnesota girl to the U in her 4 years here. Carlie Wagner (New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva, class of 2014) had already committed to the U when Stollings arrived. Thank goodness she stuck by that commitment. The Gophers needed her and she proved herself to be a Big 10 caliber player, no question. 

The Minnesota class of 2013 had been one of the best ever, at least at the top—Nia Coffey (Hopkins) went on to score 20 ppg at Northwestern and is now playing in the WNBA; Seanna Johnson (DeLaSalle) scored 16 ppg at Iowa State as a senior; Rebekah Dahlman (Braham), well, she’s had a checkered college career with injury trouble both at Vandy and at DePaul, where she is now in her 6^th college season. Jessica January (Richfield) had a more conventional (4-year) career at DePaul, and a very successful one. 

The class of 2014 was one of the deepest ever with 13 Power 5 D1 recruits, of whom about 6 or 7 had productive careers. They would include Wagner, Chase Coley (Mpls. Washburn and Iowa), Kenisha Bell (Kennedy and Marquette, then/now Minnesota), Cayla McMorris (Park Center and Wisconsin), Tia Elbert (Tartan and Marquette, then Indiana) and Sydney Lamberty (Park and Creighton). Bryanna Fernstrom (Chisago Lakes) started at Iowa State, then she also transferred back to Minnesota. Yet, other than Carlie Wagner, the Gophers initially struck out on these 2 stellar classes. And, that’s on Pam Borton, to be sure. 

Bell, of course, came back to Minnesota, where she had initially committed. It was a well-known secret that Bell hated Grace Coughlin of Edina, and so what did Borton do? She already had Bell and then she recruited Coughlin. As soon as Coughlin committed to Borton and the Gophers, Bell decommitted. It was only after Coughlin transferred out that Bell came back. All of that was due to the remarkable ineptitude of Borton as a recruiter.

And the Gophers’ failure to recruit anybody from the class of 2015 was really on Borton, too. Stollings came in 2014 by which time most of the 2015s were committed or down to their short list, and the Gophers were already not going to get anybody that mattered. In hindsight, of course, the only player that really mattered was Alex Wittinger, the power forward from Delano who is still at Illinois and is an all-Big 10 caliber player.

But, 2016 and 2017 and 2018 are on Stollings, though it’s true that these were not super classes. In 2016, everybody knew that Shakopee’s Taylor Koenen was big-time and once North Carolina came calling, the Gophers were not going to be in the running there. Of course, everybody thought Nia Hollie was a great recruit (well, modesty does not quite permit me to say who demurred from that evaluation), but the Gophers were never in the running. (Hollie is now, as a junior, averaging 2 ppg in 15 minutes at Michigan State.) Actually, the other big get in 2016 would have been Abi Scheid of Elk River and now of Northwestern, where she is scoring 16 ppg with 8 boards as the starting post. (Again, I can’t say: Who was that masked man who kept touting Scheid as a great prospect?) Other stars from that class—Jamie Ruden (Rochester JM and Arizona State), Kiara Russell (Osseo and Arizona State), Hollie, Andrayah Adams (St. Paul Como and St. John’s but now Texas Tech—yes, that’s right, she’s now playing for Merlene Stollings)—have all been a bit of a disappointment, along with Hollie.

The class of 2017 still shows some promise. Kristin Scott (Kasson-Mantorville and Iowa State) is averaging 9 points on 58 percent shooting and 7 boards in 19 minutes as a backup post. Rachel Ranke (Eastview and Kansas State) and Annika Jank (Edina and Colorado) are also scoring 9 ppg each in their sophomore years. All of them—plus, again, Koenen and Scheid—would look good in maroon and gold, but Stollings never had any interest in any of them.

Then there’s the 2018s! Again, not a great class, except that, well, Sam Haiby from Moorhead, who was my pick (and only mine, apparently) for MN Ms. Basketball last year, is the leading scorer already, as a freshman, for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Sometime in the next 4 years—and, one can only hope it only happens once or twice—she is going to torch the Minnesota Gophers. Carmen Backes (Chisago Lakes and Wisconsin) and Yokie Lee (Byron and Kansas State) are not playing due to injuries, but the upside remains. Haiby and Backes should be Gophers.

So that brings us up to the present, well, almost. I wrote a piece for Northstar Girls Hoops—oh, well, it’s called Girls Prep Hoops now—when Lindsay was hired at the U. I said that Lindsay would recruit Minnesota, unlike at least the past 2 Gopher coaches. And she proved me correct with the rapid signing of Sara Scalia, 2019 guard from Stillwater. Well, on second thought, that’s not proof. It’s a trend, a tendency, but proof? Is Lindsay going to recruit Minnesota better than Borton, better than Stollings? 

Well, yes. But will she recruit Minnesota as well as she should? Still yes, but one recruit is not proof. The rest of the 2019s are all spoken for, so you won’t find proof among the 2019s. They came too soon--that is, Lindsay came too late--for the 2019s to be a really good test.

So then there’s the 2020s, and another case that is just flat out not a fair test, and that is Paige Bueckers (Hopkins), who is perhaps the greatest player ever to come out of Minnesota. Lindsay at least got Minnesota into the Bueckers sweepstakes for awhile, but now it looks a lot like Bueckers will be going to Connecticut or Notre Dame. 

Now, the 2020s (after Bueckers) are not a great class but there is still some worthwhile talent there, and if Lindsay signs a couple of them, that will be at least the start of some proof that Lindsay values Minnesota girls as a part of a renewed Gopher program. After Bueckers, the list starts with guard Lauren Jensen (Lakeville North), who would be a pretty good consolation prize. Lindsay is also thought to be recruiting 6-2 guard (yes, you read that right) Alyssa Ustby of Rochester Lourdes. Kenzie Kramer, another guard from St. Michael-Albertville; Mallory Brake, a wing from Hastings; and Liza Karlen, a post from Stillwater, are also highly regarded. Mia Curtis of Minnehaha and Patience Williams of Benilde-St. Mary’s might be thought of as late bloomers who still have some upside. Again, I am hopeful Lindsay will sign 2 or 3 of these girls—not just as proof that she values Minnesota girls, but because I think they are all potential difference-makers even at the Big 10 level.

The class of 2021 looks maybe even better—well, setting aside Paige Bueckers for the moment, but of course they’re younger and so we’re talking potential now, not proven and demonstrated ability to play Power 5 ball. Still, you’ve got 6-4 Sophia Hart of Farmington and 6-2 Erin Lamb of Stewartville at the 5 and the 4. You’ve got 6-foot wings Jenna Johnson (Wayzata), Nora Francois (DeLaSalle), Kendall Coley (St. Louis Park) and Cassidy Carson (Eastview)—that is, 6-footers and bigger, with perimeter skills. And you’ve got guards Adalia McKenzie (Park Center)—yes, those McKenzies—and Jade Hill (Mpls. South)—yes, those Hills—so, in other words, some pretty good genetics there. I don’t know which of these 8 are going to be the best, but I would hope Lindsay would sign a couple-three of these players as well. Right now, the potential is there.

Then, the 2022s! Here is a class like the 2013s, with some incredible top-tier talent—6-3 Maya Nnaji of Hopkins is rated #1 in that class. Her brother Zeke, who is 6-11, just committed to Arizona. Hopkins guard Amaya Battle isn’t the second coming of Paige Bueckers, but she is potentially the 2^nd best guard since Wagner and Bell in 2014. And 6-2 Mallory Heyer (Chaska) is the real deal, she scored 35 in Chaska’s opener the other night. She is a freshman. I have seen photos of her chatting with Lindsay. 

So, in short, there is plenty of talent in Minnesota, just as there has always been, and of course that is just what Borton and Stollings managed to ignore for the better part of a decade. All the indicators right now are that Whalen is working Minnesota very hard. She is working to establish relationships with kids and parents and with high school coaches, all of which her predecessors proved to be really, really dreadful at. But the only proof that really matters is that between now and 2022—you’ve got to give her 5 years—Lindsay will sign at least a half dozen Minnesota girls, and they will prove to have been the right girls, and the Minnesota Gophers will win under coach Whalen just like they won with player Whalen 15 years ago. Personally, I believe it can happen and that it will happen. But, there are no guarantees. It will take not just hard work and belief, but it will require a little bit of luck, which is something Gopher sports seems to have had very little of. But, wait, we can’t think that way. It can happen and it will happen. Because if not—if Lindsay can’t do it—then it probably can’t be done.

Just for Fun—the Best Minnesotans 2013-2022

The point being that every one of the 8 women listed here who did not play for Minnesota, could have played for the Gophers and would have made the Gophers better.

Center—Abi Scheid, Elk River (2016), Northwestern, 16 ppg-8 reb

Power Forward—Alex Wittinger, Delano (2015), Illinois, 15 ppg-10 reb

Small Forward—Nia Coffey, Hopkins (2013), Northwestern, 20 ppg-10 reb

Point Guard—Kenisha Bell, Kennedy (2014), Minnesota, 20 ppg-6 reb-4 asts-3 stls

Shooting Guard—Tyseanna Johnson, DeLaSalle (2013), Iowa State, 16 ppg-8 reb-3 asts

2^ndTeam

Center/Power Forward—Chase Coley, Mpls. Washburn (2014), Iowa, 11 ppg-6 reb

Small Forward—Taylor Koenen, Shakopee (2016), North Carolina, 8 ppg-7 reb

Combo Guard—Sam Haiby, Moorhead (2018), Nebraska, 11 ppg

Shooting Guard—Carlie Wagner, NRHEG (2014), Minnesota, 19 ppg-5 reb

Shooting Guard—Sydney Lamberty, Park (2014), Creighton, 12 ppg-6 reb-5 asts

And looking ahead, here are some people I would hope to see in maroon and gold someday.

Center—Maya Nnaji, Hopkins (2022)

Power Forward—Mallory Heyer, Chaska (2022)

Small Forward—Alyssa Ustby, Rochester Lourdes (2020)

Point Guard—Paige Bueckers, Hopkins (2020)

Shooting Guard—Lauren Jensen, Lakeville North (2020)

2^ndTeam

Center—Aliza Karlen, Stillwater (2020)

Forward—Jenna Johnson, Wayzata (2021)

Wing—Nora Francois, DeLaSalle (2021)

Point Guard—Amaya Battle, Hopkins (2022)

Shooting Guard—Kendall Coley, St. Louis Park (2021)

Gopher women survive #12 Syracuse 72-68

The Minnesota Gopher women made hard work of defeating Syracuse at Williams Arena Thursday night but, hey, THEY BEAT #12 SYRACUSE 72-68. The Gophers led most of the way. Syracuse led 2-0, then took the lead 57-55 at 4:43 of the 4th, and led by as many as 6 at 61-55 at 3:36 as the Gophers turned it over on 5 consecutive possessions. The Gophers, who got just 14 minutes and 2 points from their bench, looked winded while Syracuse, who got 80 minutes and 26 points from their bench, looked fresh. It looked pretty bad for the Gophers.

Instead, after a Minnesota timeout, Destiny Pitts drained a 3 and Kenisha Bell scored a couple of layups and a FT after a block and a defensive rebound, a steal, and another defensive rebound, all by Annalese Lamke. All in all, it was a 12-0 run, and Bell then added 3 more points for a total of 11 in the 4th quarter. The "hard work" comment is a reference to 5-of-10 FT shooting down the stretch, as a result of which Syracuse was still within 69-65 at 25 seconds. But a FT by Lamke and 2 by Taiye Bello iced it.

The Gophers ran out to a quick 21-9 lead in the 1st by shredding the Orange's full court pressure defense for innumerable fast break baskets. Syracuse abandoned the full court D for most of the 2nd and 3rd periods and clawed its way back into the game by outshooting the Gophers. Syracuse ended up shooting 45 percent from the field, the Gophers 35 percent. But midway through the 4th quarter Syracuse' percentage was 48 and rising, the Gophers' 31 and falling. And, the Orange put their full court pressure defense back on, and now it bothered the tired Gophers a bunch. But Minnesota bounced back to outshoot Syracuse 50 percent to 44 in the 4th to hang on.

The Gophers made up for their poor FG shooting with volume, which is to say 23 offensive boards, 10 of them by Taiye Bello. That ended up reflecting not in FGA, however, but FTA--31 for the Gophers, just 6 for Syracuse. They also made up for any offensive deficiencies with a stalwart defense. Jasmine Brunson guarded Syracuse guard Tiana Mangakahia most of the day and held her to 5-of-19 shooting. At times she and guard Kiara Lewis penetrated to the rim too easily, but over the entire game Brunson, Bell and Pitts played a perimeter defense that bent but did not break, that was good enough, and got the job done. Meanwhile, the Gophers got inside a lot more than the Orange did, and thus their big edge in FTA.

Overall, it was a great win against a solid opponent. The Gophers overall seemed to be the quicker team. But, overall, the Gophers need very much to develop and use their bench, and their bench players need to give Lindsay a reason to do that.

Player of the Day--Kenisha Bell

Team of the Day--MN Gopher women

Coach of the Day--Lindsay Whalen

Augsburg women survive Bethel to open MIAC conference season

The MIAC conference season opened tonight with 5 men's and 1 women's game but, as it happens, the only game between 2 teams with winning records was that women's opener--Bethel at Augsburg. Both are expected to reach the MIAC playoffs, based on the coaches pre-season poll, and the 2 teams played nip-and-tuck all night long. It took an Arianna Jones (Osseo) steal and assist to Tamira McLemore for a fast break basket with just 10 seconds remaining for the Auggies to outlast Bethel 70-68. Both teams made and missed FT for the final score but it was Jones' play that sealed the deal.

Bethel outshot Augsburg 46-42 percent from the field but the Auggies got 7 more FG attempts based on 7 more offensive rebounds and 4 fewer turnovers. Quantity turned out to be better than quality on this night. Augsburg had a 30-16 edge in points off turnovers and a 16-9 edge in 2nd chance points.

Bethel led 17-9 after 1 quarter, but Augsburg won the next 2 periods 21-15 and 22-13 to take a 52-45 lead into the 4th. Bethel roared back to lead 65-61 at 2:21 as Augsburg turned it over 5 times in about 5:30. But Bethel turned it over twice in the final 1:37, the second one leading to the winning points. Taite Anderson missed a tying FT at :06, then missed a pair of FT that could have tied it at :01.

That's too bad, because Anderson was the best player on the floor with 25 points on 7-of-17 shooting, 8 boards and 4 assists. She was 10-of-12 FT before missing the last 3. Bethel was hampered by Hannah Johnson's foul trouble. She finished with 9 points and 8 boards, both below her averages.

McLemore matched Anderson with 25 points on 7-of-18 shooting, with 9 rebounds. Jones had 10 points, 7 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals, including the game winner.

Player of the Day--Anders Nelson, freshman guard for the St. Thomas men, continued his stellar play in an easy win over Macalester

Team of the Day--Augsburg women

Coach of the Day--Jim Hayes, Hamline men, got over .500 with a win over Gustavus

Apple Valley, Hopkins, Mountain Iron-Buhl among the girls winners

The girls season had its first big weeknight of the year on Tuesday night. I saw former White Bear Lake assistant Brian Doughty, now head coach at Apple Valley, return to his old stomping grounds and pin a 59-47 loss on his mentor, Bears coach Jeremy Post. The REALLY big games ended up including a couple of blowouts as #1AAAA Hopkins demolished #6AAAA Lakeville North 83-41, and #3A Mountain Iron-Buhl hammered defending section 7AA champion Mesabi East 86-45.

But, first, the Hub has the Apple Valley-White Bear score wrong. White Bear led 31-30 at the half as Ella Janicki got loose for several 3 pointers, while Apple Valley was scoring off the offensive glass and converting White Bear turnovers into fast break baskets. White Bear led 36-32 early in the 2nd half when it turned the ball over on 3 straight possessions, all trying to run high-low plays from the elbow, and Anna Mutch and Kalena Myers hit consecutive 3s and Myers also converted another fast break basket. Suddenly it was 46-39 Apple Valley, and White Bear could not get a shot to drop after that.

Bottom line: Apple Valley is severely lacking in depth, and when Creighton-bound post Mykel Parham sat down with fouls in the 1st half, the Eagles definitely did not soar. But they have 5 tough, athletic, experienced players who, in the 2nd half, executed on both ends of the floor. White Bear, meanwhile, has 3 experienced guards but, with no inside-out ball movement, they could not shake loose for an open look in the 2nd half.

Meanwhile, Hopkins took a 50-18 halftime lead at Lakeville North and never looked back. Paige Bueckers scored 26 points, Dlayla Chakolis 22, and the Hopkins defense held North's Lauren Jensen to just 6 points. North does not have the firepower to win when Jensen scores 6 points.

And Mountain Iron-Buhl served notice that they will be a force to be reckoned with again in 2019. I talked to coach Jeff Buffetta recently and said, "I'll see you at the Breakdown." He laughed and noted that MIB had not been invited to the Breakdown Tip-Off this year. "Every year we lose some seniors and people keep thinking we must be done!" I guess not.

Player of the Day--Paige Bueckers, Hopkins, scored 26 and helped to hold Lauren Jensen to 6.

Team of the Day--Hopkins girls. As much as I liked the discipline and execution of the Apple Valley Eagles, it is very tough not to pick a team that doubled up Lakeville North on the road!

Coach of the Day--But as much as I like the way coach Brian Cosgriff has Hopkins playing so early in the season, I have to recognize Apple Valley coach Brian Doughty, who has got his team executing and playing together and playing hard, all things that were not a part of the Apple Valley DNA when he arrived there.

Timberwolves now 6-2 without Mr. What's-His-Name

The Minnesota Timberwolves won on the road for the 2nd time this year--beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 102-95 in Cleveland--to run their record to 6-2 since the trade that sent what's-his-name to Philadelphia in return for 2 actual ballplayers, Robert Covington and Dario Saric. Covington led all scorers in the game with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting and added 7 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He was +8. Saric came off the bench to scored 9 points on 4-of-10 shooting with 6 boards. He was +15.

It was essentially the T-Wolves bench that stole this game from the Cavs. Saric was +15. Thus Jones was +12, though he scored only 3 points himself. Gorge Dieng was +14 though he scored just 2 points. Derrick Rose scored 12 points, 10 of them in the 4th quarter, and added 4 assists. He was +5. Covington rounds out the 5 most efficient T-Wolves on the night.

Still, Karl Towns scored 21 with 10 boards, but he was -7 and his opposite number for the Cavs, Tristan Thompson, scored 16 with 11 boards and 3 assists on half as many shots and was +9.

Still it was a good effort. Forget that the Cavs are 4-14. The operative number was the Wolves 1-8 road record. They shot just well enough to win, making 40-of-86 shots versus the Cavs' 36-of-86. That was the difference in a game that was maybe a little closer than the 102-95 score suggests. The Wolves led 29-26, 54-47 and 75-71 at the quarter breaks, and just 88-84 at the 5 minute mark, 91-86 at the 2 minute mark, and 99-95 with 14 ticks left on the clock.

Meanwhile, the Gopher men couldn't generate any offense, especially in the 2nd half--Dupree McBrayer failed to score on the night--and lost to a mediocre Boston College team 68-56 on the road.

Player of the Day--Robert Covington
Team of the Day--Minnesota Timberwolves
Coach of the Day--Tom Thibodeau

Nov. 25--Concordia St. Paul defeats Jamestown to go 5-1

The Bears of Concordia St. Paul won 2 games this weekend, beating Northern Michigan 63-61 and Jamestown 76-59, to bring their pre-season record to 5-1. They're seeking a return to the glory days, when they won 20 games+ 11 times in 15 seasons under coach Paul Fessler. Coach Amanda Johnson may have things headed in the right direction--she's now 46-39 in 3+ years. The coaches think so--the Bears were ranked 3rd (2nd in the South) in the pre-season conference poll. But, we'll find out for real soon enough. The NSIC season starts next Saturday December 1.

She's got a heck of a 1-2 punch in 6-2 senior post Lindsay Dorr from Rogers, who started her college career at Toledo. She is averaging 21 ppg and 9 boards, and scored 23 and 13 Saturday against Jamestown. Meanwhile, lightning quick guard Anna Schmitt (Waconia) is back for her 4th time around. She scored 15, 18 and 19 ppg in her 1st 3 seasons as a Bear. This year she's scoring 15 and dumping the ball inside more. Yesterday she scored 19 with 6 assists. Sidney Wentland, sophomore forward from Elk River, in her 1st year in St. Paul, is scoring 7 ppg. Yesterday she scored 12. She and Dorr are shooting 62 and 56 percent from the field, so CSP is shooting a solid 43 percent as a team.

Other than Schmitt, however, the perimeter shooting has been pretty bad. The 3 guards with the most minutes--Lexi Lee, Kyrah Fredeenburg and Hanna Vidlund--are all shooting below 30 percent.

Elsewhere on Sunday the St. Thomas women demolished UW Stevens Point 70-49 as Kaia Porter scored 23 points and Hannah Spaulding put up a 19-10-5-2-2 line, and Augsburg took it on the chin from UW LaCrosse 65-44, shooting just 29 percent from the field.

Player of the Day--Lindsay Dorr
Team of the Day--Concordia St. Paul
Coach of the Day--Amanda Johnson

Nov. 23-24--Girls season opens, Hill-Murray and Hopkins shine

The girls season, well, it actually opened last Wednesday night when Delano defeated Howard Lake-Winsted-Waverly 56-44. But it began in earnest Friday and Saturday with tournaments at Dover-Eyota, Red Wing and Sleepy Eye St. Mary's, and single games at Apple Valley, Chicago Lakes, Duluth East, Heron Lake-Okabena, Onalaska, WI, Princeton and Waseca. Notable results saw Princeton surprise Grand Rapids, Stewartville avenge a loss a year ago to Onalaska, and Zumbrota-Mazeppa defeat defending Class A state champion Lyle-Pacelli.

But, mostly, the season began at Hamline and St. Thomas, where a total of 28 teams played 2 games each. At Hamline the matchups were stacked in favor of 12 of the 14 teams winning 2 or losing 2. Only St. Louis Park and Stillwater went 1-1. At St. Thomas, only Benilde-St. Margaret's and Hill-Murray went 2-0.

The top game of the weekend saw perennial power Hopkins handle the upstart Stillwater Ponies 84-62. The Ponies, led by MN Gopher recruit Sara Scalia, stayed with Hopkins for awhile, leading 9-8 and 12-11, and they were still within 23-20 at 7:20. But Stillwater made just 2-of-14 shots the rest of the half to trail 38-26 at intermission. And, Paige Bueckers had not yet really asserted herself on offense. Amaya Battle had 10 1st half points, while Bueckers focused on defending Scalia and made her work extremely hard for anything she got. Scalia had 6 points on 3-of-8 shooting in the half. The Ponies were hurt when junior post Liza Karlen went out with 2 fouls at around the 13 minute mark.

Stillwater scored the first points of the 2nd half, but Hopkins then went on a 19-6 run to put the game out of reach for the Ponies. The veterans Bueckers (8 points) and Dlayla Chakolis (7) led the charge. But, it was Bueckers defense on Scalia that continued to dictate the game. Scalia scored another 12 points in the 2nd half on 3-of-6 shooting. The Ponies needed a lot more from Scalia to compete with the powerful Royals.

Hopkins dominated the boards 42-22. Bueckers finished with 24 points on 11-of-17 shooting. Kayla Adams scored 16 on 6-of-10 shooting, Chakolis 15 (5-of-6) and Battle 10 on 6-of-8. Hopkins shot 34-for-67 for the night. Bottom line, Hopkins served notice that it is ready for yet another run at a state title. What remains to be seen is who, if anyone, can compete with the Royals in 2018-2019.

The Game of the Day on Friday saw Hill-Murray defeat Holy Family 45-43 on a buzzer-beater three by senior guard Delaney Runyon. I did not see that game but I saw the Pioneers run out to a 53-12 half-time lead over Visitation the next day. The seniors--Runyon, Grace Prokosch and Vanessa Wren--are experienced, smart, skilled players. What makes Hill-Murray a real threat is the development of their kids--sophomores Bella Hartzell and Lilly Mackey and freshman Ella Runyon. They are super athletic and show maturity on the court beyond their years.

Between the 2 big tournaments at Hamline and St. Thomas, here are your top scorers.

1. Macy Guebert, Eastview, scored 45 points, many on 3-point bombs, as the Lightning easily on a pair of games at Hamline.

2 tie. Bueckers scored 42 in 2 games for Hopkins and is our Player of the Day(s).

2 tie. Frankie Vascellero of Holy Angels scored 42 points in 2 games.

3. Kahla Adams added 40 for Hopkins.

Player of the Day(s)--Paige Bueckers and Delaney Runyon

Team of the Day(s)--Hopkins and Hill-Murray

Coach of the Day(s)--Brian Cosgriff, Hopkins, and Erin Herman, Hill-Murray

Nov. 22--UMCrookston wins 2 of 3 in Puerto Rico

The only Minnesota basketball team at any level that was active on Thanksgiving Day was the U of M Crookston Golden Eagles, who played down in Puerto Rico on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The Eagles won 2 of 3, with both wins coming against Puerto Rican teams, but lost on Thursday to Missouri Southern 87-63. The Eagles are heading home today at 7-2.

But Mo. Southern took them to the cleaners, shooting 43 and 39 percent from the field (vs. 38 and 33 percent for the Eagles) to win easily despite making just 45 percent of their FT. 6-1 junior guard Harrison Cleary led the Eagles with 13 points, 7 below his average, while 6-6 senior forward Josh Collins scored 10 and 6-7 senior forward Chase Knickerbocker (Annandale) scored 5 with 10 rebounds, just the reverse of his season averages. The Eagles were within 6-1 sophomore guard Ben Juhl, who averages 12 ppg but got 8 points, double his season average, from 6-6 junior wing Malcolm Cohen.

Bottom line: This is a pretty good D2 team but in the Northern Sun, pretty good probably gets you about a .500 record. Going into the pool today for our November monthly awards are:

Player of the Day--Harrison Cleary
Team of the Day--UM Crookston men
Coach of the Day--Dan Weisse, UM Crookston

Nov. 21--Gopher men close out 3-game sweep at Vancouver

The Minnesota Gopher men defeated what is expected to be a very good Washington team 68-66 to close a successful 3-game stand in Vancouver Wednesday night. The Gophers again shot poorly and trailed much of the way. But, trailing 54-47 with 8:38 left to play, they made 5 of their next 8 shots to tie it up at 63-all. They also made 3-of-4 FT during that run after making just 19-of-29 previously. Jordan Murphy scored to put the Gophers ahead for the 1st time since 38-37, but Washington took a 66-65 lead at 1:09. Gabe Kalscheur hit a 3-pointer at :02 for the final score.

The Gophers finished at 37/27/67 percent shooting (FGs/3s/FTs) and made just 17-of-43 2s (39.5 percent). Washington shot 50/21/71 percent and made 20-of-32 2s (62.5 percent). But the Gophers made up for all of that 1) by getting to the line 9 more times than the Huskies, and 2) with a 17-8 edge on the offensive boards, including 5 during their final push from 8:38 to the final horn.

Still, other than Murphy (7-of-9), the Gophers shot just 29 percent (13-for-45). Dupree McBrayer and Isaiah Washington were 2-of-14. Add Amir Coffey and Kalscheur in and you get 10-of-34 (29 percent). This is of slightly greater concern than one might think because they also shot poorly--again, except for a final push--against Santa Clara last night. And the Gophers were powerless to stop
Washington's big guy, Noah Dickerson, a 6-8 senior, who torched Minnesota for 28 points (9-of-11 FG, 10-of-13 FG).

Still, 3-0 in Vancouver, 6-0 overall (including the exhibition). We'll take it.

Player of the Day--Jordan Murphy
Team of the Day--Gopher men
Coach of the Day--Richard Pitino

Nov. 20--Gopher men pull away to defeat Santa Clara 80-66

The Gopher men made hard work of the winless Santa Clara Broncos, shooting just 36 percent from the field and 62 percent from the line. But Minnesota pulled away from a 46-all tie at 11:34 of the 2nd half. Still, the lead was just 62-57 at 4:35, but Dupree McBrayer got hot and scored 10 points the rest of the way for a total of 15.

It was freshman Gabe Kalscheur who kept the Gophers in position to win it, however, scoring 23 of his 25 points in the game's 1st 26 minutes. At that point, Kalscheur was shooting 8-of-13, his teammates 8-of-37.

From the 4:35 mark, the Gophers managed to shoot 4-of-7 but still only 8-of-15 FT. But McBrayer made 3-of-4 FT at 3:14 after a flurry of Santa Clara technical fouls. That pretty much put it out of reach for the Broncos at 71-57.

Jordan Murphy finished with 11 points, 14 boards and 5 assists, while Daniel Oturu had 8 points, 7 boards and 2 blocks.

Player of the Day--Gabe Kalscheur
Team of the Day--Minnesota Gopher women defeated Arkansas Pine Bluff 84-42
Coach of the Day--Pat McKenzie, St. John's, as the 3-1 Johnnies edged WI-LaCrosse 84-79

Nov. 19--Augsburg women could be best Auggies ever

The Augsburg women have at least 2 things going for them...maybe 3, though time will tell. One is coach Ted Riverso, who knows a thing or two about basketball. The 2nd is a deep, deep roster. The 3rd? A pair of experienced point guards who can, well, do what exactly?

But, first, there's ol' Ted Riverso, and there's the thing that Augsburg doesn't have, and that is tradition. You know, the Auggies finished 5th in the MIAC in its very first year of women's basketball in 1982. They have never, ever finished as high as 5th ever since, in 37 years. They've finished 6th a few times--twice in the playoff era and in two playoff appearances, they've won one game. It's true, however, that the Auggies were on the road back before Ted arrived. The late Bill McKee was another guy who knew a thing or three about basketball, and in 2012 and 2015 he coached Augsburg to its first winning seasons since 1985 and its only playoff win ever. Riverso took over in 2015 and he is now the only Augsburg coach ever with a winning record (41-34 in 3 years, 44-34 as of today; McKee was close at 50-52).

So, anyway, you've got ol' Ted Riverso and you've got a deep, deep roster. Put the 2 together, and the MIAC coaches could not help themselves but to pick the Auggies for their best MIAC finish since 1982--that is, 5th place. Well, that might be selling 'em short. It says here, their best finish EVER is well within reach.

And, put the 2 together and you've also got a 79-63 win over a very good opponent in UW-Superior.

So, third, there are those point guards--juniors Arianna Jones (Osseo) and Tamira McLemore (Eagan)--who are averaging 26 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists and 6 steals between them. And there are shooting guards Camille McCoy (senior, Park Center), Aiza Wilson (junior, DeLaSalle, who comes off the bench) and Kaezha Wubben (junior, Hopkins) who score 23 points among there with 10 boards and 6 assists. The catch is they shoot 40 percent among them, and the forwards--Jazmyn Solseth (sophomore, St. Croix Lutheran) and Camryn Speese (junior, DeLaSalle)--are more like 30 percent.

None of that hurt too much against a very good UW Superior team Monday night, however. Augsburg shot 40/38/68 percent. UW shot 43 and 87 percent, though only 26 percent from 3-point range. The key for Augsburg was 8 extra offensive rebounds and 9 fewer turnovers, resulting in 14 extra FGA and 12 more FTA. You don't have to shoot the lights out when you're getting that many extra shots. Augsburg outscored Superior by a ridiculous 36-7 on points off turnovers and 15-8 on 2nd chances. That's 51-15 on the "special teams." Superior won the battle at even strength 38-28 for a final score of 79-63.

In fact, Augsburg led just 60-57 at 7:24 when Superior got a terminal case of butterfingers. Or, well, maybe Augsburg got a case of quick feet and quick hands. But, Superior turned it over on 5 of their next 6 possessions, by which time they were down 74-61. But, these were not just Superior turnovers, they were also steals by Solseth, Speese, Jones and McLemore.

When I say Augsburg is deep, I should add that after the top 7, there's still guards Selena Lor (freshman, Winona, 9 ppg) and Nicole Zielsdorf (sophomore, St. Anthony, 5 ppg) and forwards Abby Jordan (junior, Rogers, 4 ppg), Pashia Scott (sophomore, Columbia Heights, 3 pts-2 reb) and Carlee Kobow (senior, Becker, 2 mpg). The fact is that these five players on the deeper bench are shooting, collectively, well above 50 percent. So if that shooting percentage should get to be a problem, there are some options.

But on the other hand, even at 39 percent, Augsburg is outshooting its opponents by 7 percent. Not an accident. If they keep that up, they will be the best team that Augsburg ever had.

Player of the Day--Tamira McLemore, Augsburg, 22 points tonight
Team of the Day--Augsburg women
Coach of the Day--Ted Riverso, Augsburg

Nov. 18--Gopher men dodge a bullet, defeat Texas A&M 69-64

The Gopher men ran out to a 21-7 lead over Texas A&M Sunday night in Vancouver, only to squander that lead and more, before coming back with a stellar final 4 minutes. The Gophers trailed the Aggies 60-57 with 5 minutes remaining, meaning that they had been outscored 50-39 over the previous 27 minutes.

Then at 4:20 Dupree McBrayer missed a layup, but Daniel Oturu grabbed the offensive board and put it back in to bring the Gophers within 1. 46 seconds later, after an Aggie turnover, Jordan Murphy missed a layup but got his own rebound, got fouled and made a pair of throws for a 61-60 Gopher lead.

A&M went up 62-61 and 64-63 but at 1:54 Murphy grabbed another offensive board of a 3 by Gabe Kalscheur. He again got fouled and made 1 of 2 to tie it up. Amir Coffey then made the play of the game with a steal, drawing the foul and converting a pair of throws. Then at 35 seconds, it was Kalscheur who got the steal. He missed a layup but Coffey grabbed the board, drew the foul and made a pair of throws for the final margin.

So, after a pretty lackadaisical performance for 27 minutes, the Gophers put together the following 5 minutes of near-perfection: Well, OK, they made just 1-of-6 FG but they rebounded 4 of the 5 misses and scored every time. Then there were 2 steals good for another 4 points. Meanwhile A&M went 0-for-7 from the field with 3 turnovers. The Gophers finished on a 12-4 run.

Player of the Day: Jordan Murphy 14-7-2-2
Team of the Day: Minnesota Gopher men
Coach of the Day: Richard Pitino

Nov. 17--Gopher women dodge a bullet, 53-48

That was unexpected. But, what a luxury, to be able to say that "close call" was unexpected rather than that "loss" was unexpected. But, make no mistake. This was a "close call." The Gophers trailed most of the way, retook the lead at 6:03 of the 4th at 39-38, then made 7-of-10 FT inside of a minute to hang on.

The Gophers led early 9-4, but fell behind 15-13 at 6:31 of the 1st. It took more than 20 minutes to catch up because they shot 16-of-49 from the field and 20-of-34 from the line, and that's including a 24-point 4th quarter. They were 7-of-13 from the line after 3. They also won the rebounding battle in the 4th quarter. San Diego had one more after 3 but the Gophers ended up with a 47-37 edge.

Thank goodness for Taiye Bello, who has to be one of the best rebounders in the game. She corralled 11 in the 4th period alone (17 for the night), 3 of them on the offensive end, and 2 of which she putback in the basket. One of those was the bucket that gave Minnesota the lead for good at 6:03. She scored 6 points in the 4th on 3-of-5 shooting. Jasmine Brunson added 8 4th quarter points on 1-of-1 FG and 6-of-9 throws. She too had a key offensive board leading to 1-of-2 FT. Kenisha Bell led the Gophers with 21 points. She was pretty much the entire story for 3 periods, though she managed to make just 1-of-5 FG in the 4th and 3-of-8 FT. It was just enough.

Minnesota had of course moved into the top 25 at #25 on Monday. Now, in their 1st game as a ranked team, they played pretty tight and the pressure played havoc with their shooting. Hopefully that is now behind them.

Player of the Day--Taiye Bello
Team of the Day--I'm going to go with the Mankato State--er, MSU-Mankato--men, who won at St. Cloud 80-77 in an OT thriller.
Coach of the Day--Matt Marganthaler, MSU Mankato men

Timberwolves 3-0 without Mr. Butler

I decided to wait to comment on the "new look" Timberwolves. First, tonight's game vs. Portland was already my Game of the Day for today and, second, I got 2 "looks" at the new guys Robert Covington and Dario Saric. Besides, I can now report that the Wolves are 3-0 without the late, not-so-great Jimmy Butler against 3 teams with at least a respectable total record of 25-21. How did they do that?

Well, they've gone back to the basics, which is to say Karl Towns and Anthony Wiggins. Wiggins has moved back into Butler's 2-guard spot and last night he led the Wolves with 23 points on 6-of-13 2s, 3-of-8 3s and 2-for-2 from the line. He was quoted in the paper today saying that he felt that he could get to the rim a little more from the 2-spot than the 3, which is as good a reason as I can think of why he should be at the 2. Last night it worked out, not only with the 23 points but also with a team-best +17.

Towns didn't have a huge game, like he did on both Monday and Wednesday of this week, with 14 points on 6-of-15 and 9 boards. He are Gorgui Dieng combined for 20 points on 9-of-19 shooting with 12 boards. Portland's 3 7-footers combined for 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting and 24 boards.

Meanwhile, the new guys combined for 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting including 5-of-11 3s and 12 boards. They played 50 minutes though Covington split his time at the 3 with Wiggins and Saric split his time with Gibson at the 4. Both of the new guys space the floor, hit the 3 and hit the boards.

Meanwhile Jeff Teague was solid with 7 assists and +16 and Derrick Rose came off the bench to score 17 points on 7-of-13 shots with 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

In other words, the Wolves suddenly have a pretty competitive 7-deep NBA rotation that can score on anybody and has shown actual signs of life on the defensive end this week. They outshot Portland all the way around, had 28 assists to just 16 and minimized turnovers. They still gave up too many offensive boards yet the held the Blazers to under 100 points. Who'd a thought? If they keep shooting 50 percent and Wiggins can stay on the + sides of +/-, the Wolves have every chance of being competitive this year after all.

I guess the one question we'll never be able to answer is whether 2 11 mpg scorers (Covington and Saric) is better than one 20 (Josh Richardson, who it appears could have been had from Miami for Butler). Conventional wisdom would usually go for one star over 2 journeymen but, of course, it's possible that Covington and/or Saric is in fact more than just a journeyman.

Player of the Day: Andrew Wiggins
Team of the Day: Minnesota Timberwolves
Coach of the Day: Tom Thibodeau

Nov. 15--Tommies men lose at Brooklyn on last-second putback

After sweeping 10 of 10 regular season MIAC championships in the playoff era, plus 6 of 10 playoff championships, St. Thomas slumped all the way to 5th last year, then lost at Augsburg in the 1st round of the playoffs. A bounce back in 2019 is anticipated, but how far back? The coaches thought only to #4 in their pre-season poll.

Well, I don't know how good Brooklyn is, and neither do you. But, I'm sure the Tommies had planned on a win in their season opener out east as a first step in that bounce back. It didn't happen. Brooklyn scored on a last-second outback to win 78-77, negating a 7-2 St. Thomas rally to take the lead with 14 ticks left on the clock.

The Tommies started a lineup of 6-5, 6-5, 6-3, 6-2 and 6-0, and its fair to say a lack of size was a bit of a problem. Brooklyn outscored them 40-30 in the paint and 18-5 on 2nd chances, including the game-winner.

Senior 6-2 guard Michael Hannon (Cretin) led the Tommies with 15 points, while 6-3 sophomore guard Ryan Lindberg (Wayzata) added 12 and 4 assists. The 5th starter was freshman 6-0 guard Anders Nelson (Edina) who scored 9 points. Tommies coach Johnny Tauer also gave significant minutes to guards Burt Hedstrom (Minnetonka), Steffan Musoke (Rogers) and Riley Miller (Eden Prairie) off the bench. Hedstrom may have been the Tommies' most effective player with 12 points and 8 boards. If you're gonna play 3 guards and give up size every night, you better find the right guards, eh?

Again, I have no idea how good Brooklyn is and how significant this game is as a predictor of the Tommies' potential for 2019. But, a win would have been nice.

Player of the Day--Burt Hedstrom, St. Thomas

Team of the Day--The Augsburg women opened with a win, so I'll slot them in here. Not that they broke a sweat. The final was Augsburg 94 Crown 25. So it's hard to say how good Augsburg really is. But I'll say this. They are deep. Nobody is that deep. Their top 3 scorers--Aiza Wilson, Nicole Zielsdorf and Selena Lor--came off the bench. Their 11th player had 4 points and 3 boards. They're deep.

Coach of the Day--Ted Riverso, Augsburg women. The Auggies have finished 7th, 6th and 6th in Riverso's 3 years at the helm. They will finish higher than that in 2019, maybe a bunch higher.

Nov. 14--Gopher women hammer Xavier 78-53

The Gopher women and coach Lindsay Whalen got another stress-free tuneup Wednesday night in Cincinnati, leading Xavier 20-7, 42-20 and 62-32 at the end of 1, 2 and 3 quarters of play. The final score of 78-53? It was not that close.

The Gophers seem to have done everything pretty well except shoot the 3 and protect the ball. Minnesota shot 49 percent from the field--56 percent of 2-pointers, 31 percent of 3s--and 79 percent from the line. The Gophers turned it over 18 times, however, and were outscored 21-14 off of turnovers.

Kenisha Bell made 7-of-10 shots for 18 points and added 4 assists, but turned it over 4 times. Taiye Bello had an incredibly efficient night, making 5-of-7 and adding 16 rebounds. Destiny Pitts had her 2nd straight off-night shooting FG but made 7-of-7 from the line. Jasmine Brunson continued to play well with 13 points, 3 boards, 4 assists and 1 turnover in 29 minutes. Annalese Lamke made 3-of-4 shots for 7 points with 5 boards.

There was good news off the bench. Irene Perez made 2-of-5 3s and 1-of-1 2s for 8 points with 2 boards, an assist and a steal in 24 minutes. And, Palma Kaposi had 6 rebounds to go with 2 points, an assist and a steal in 17 minutes. Freshman Mercedes Staples has still not found her rhythm or her range but played 18 minutes, and is being given every opportunity to show her stuff which, by the way, she will do eventually.

The Gophers and coach Whalen now get 6 straight home games with only Syracuse on Thursday, November 29, a threat. So far, so good, and everybody will have plenty of additional chances to stretch their legs, get into their comfort zone, and just generally do whatever they need to do to get ready for the Big 10 season.

Player of the Day--Taiye Bello 16 pts-11 reb
Team of the Day--Minnesota Gopher women
Coach of the Day--Lindsay Whalen

Nov. 13--St. Ben's wins as 17 MN colleges see action

It was the busiest night of this basketball season yet as 17 MN D2 and D3 schools took the court in 13 games, going 5-4 against out-of-state opponents and of course 4-4 among themselves.

The 4 all-MN games included St. Ben's opener, a 52-45 grinder over MN-Morris, who drops to 0-3 with previous exhibition losses to MSU-Moorhead and St. Cloud State. Soph G Megan Thompson (Holy Angels) tied her career high with 18 points for the Bennies, while freshman F McKenzie Holgate (New Prague) added 15. Junior post Alex Johnson (Becker) scored just 5 points but they all came in the 4th quarter, when Johnson and Thompson scored 16 of the Bennies' 19 points. Johnson added 12 boards and 3 blocks. Abby Van Kempen (West Central) and Kendra Raths (Sartell) combined for 20 points and 20 boards for Morris.

Men's Games

The other all-MN games (all men's games) saw St. Cloud State (3-0) blow away Crown 121-81; MSU-Moorhead (4-0) do the same to Concordia (Moorhead) 90-66; and Carleton (1-1) defeated North Central 66-48. The top player across those 3 games was perhaps Moorhead's Gavin Baumgartner, a senior guard from Wayzata, who scored 24 points with 5 boards and 3 steals.

Elsewhere Hamline (1-1) edged WI Superior 75-69 as Connor Knutson, a senior wing from Forest Lake, put up a 26-6-2 block line; UMD (1-2) lost at Northern Michigan 64-52 after leading 35-25 at the half; and St. Olaf lost to WI Stevens Point 54-41 to drop to 0-3.

Other Women's Games

The UMD women succeeded where the Bulldog men failed, which is to say at Northern Michigan. It was a grinder 51-45 as Emma Bohm scored 12 points and Sammy Kozlowski 10 with 4 assists and 2 steals. They won despite shooting just 3 FT and getting out-rebounded 41-21. But, hey, they're 4-0 and are getting up a pretty good head of steam heading into the meat of the season.

Elsewhere MN-Crookston defeated Valley City State 79-64 to get to 4-1 on the year. Freshman point guard Kylie Post (Maranatha) scored 17 points with 3 assists and 2 steals while senior post Issy Odor (Kennedy) scored 17 with 10 boards.

Bemidji State defeated Mayville State 78-71 as sophomore guards Maria Appicelli (Winona) and Sydney Zerr (Shakopee) each scored 14 points. Claire Blascziek (Lakeville North) scored 14 for Mayville.

Concordia St. Paul hammered a very good (but D3) WI Superior team 95-58 as Lindsay Dorr (Rogers) and Sidney Wentland (Elk River) combined for 42 points and 12 boards.

Finally Carleton and St. Olaf took it on the chin. WI River Falls defeated Carleton 67-54 and WI Stout defeated St. Olaf 64-51 despite 14 points by freshman guard K'Lynn Lewis (St. Agnes).

A 5-Pack of Players of the Day

C-Lindsay Dorr, Concordia St. Paul, Sr., Rogers (22 pts-7 reb)
F-Connor Knutson, Hamline, Sr., Forest Lake (26-6-2 blocks)
G-Megan Thompson, St. Ben's, Soph., Holy Angels (18 pts)
G-Gavin Baumgartner, MSU-Moorhead, Sr., Wayzata (24-5-3 stls)
G-Bryden Urie, Concordia Moorhead, Soph., Proctor (17-9-4-2 stls)

Team of the Day--This is a tie among the unbeaten--the MSU-Moorhead and St. Cloud State men, and the UMD women, so they're all in the pool for our Team of the Month in November

Coach of the Day--They're not unbeaten but UM-Crookston coach Mike Roysland is the miracle man with a great recruiting class and his team at 4-1.

So, there, now you're caught up on MN D2 and D3 action, sort of.

Nov. 12--Johnnies open title defense with non-conference win

I was tempted to shift gears to talk about the "new-look" Timberwolves tonight. But the new guys haven't arrived yet and the fact that what's-his-name wasn't around to play for the Wolves, well, that's nothing new. Goodbye. Good luck. Good riddance. I can hardly wait to see how much the 76ers young nucleus, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, are going to improve now that they've got a new big-shot teammate.

Who gives a damn about the past. It's all about the future so, until Robert Covington and Dario Saric arrive, I'm going to keep my powder dry. For the record, the Wolves held on to defeat the Brooklyn Nets 120-113 as Karl Towns scored 25 points and added 21 rebounds and all 5 starters scored in double figures.

All 5 Minnesota Gopher men starters did the same led by freshman Gabe Kalxchuer's 19 points and the Gophers knocked off Utah 78-69.

But, returning to our intended Game of the Day, the defending MIAC champion Johnnies of St. John opened their season with a 95-54 rout of Minnesota-Morris. The Johnnies are primed for a repeat with 3 starters returning. They are:

• David Stokman, 6-2, Sr., G, Maple Lake. Scored 14 ppg last year, 32 in an NCAA tournament loss and 19 tonight.

• Jubie Alade, 6-4, Jr., Wing, Armstrong. Scored 11 ppg last year, 14 tonight.

• Lucas Walford, 6-8, Jr., P, New Prague. Scored 9 ppg with 9 boards last year, started with 10 and 8 tonight.

Oakley Baker, a 6-5, So., F, NRHEG, did not play last year but started with 11 points tonight.

The Johnnies had an off night shooting with 49% from the field, 48% on 3s and 81% from the line. OK, I'm kidding about that being an off night, but it is true that they shot 51% from the field last year as a team. The whole year, the whole team. 51%. No wonder they went 23-4.

The one thing the Johnnies will be looking to improve upon is their post-season. Bethany Lutheran of the UMAC shocked the Johnnies in Collegeville 102-92 in the 1st round of NCAA tournament play last year. So the Johnnies remain hungry. Anything less than an MIAC title will be a disappointment.

Player of the Day--David Stokman, St. John's 19 pts, and Gabe Kalscheur, Gophers, 19 pts

Team of the Day--St. John's

Coach of the Day--Pat McKenzie, St. John's

Nov. 11--Macalester women lose; CSP men win a pair

The Macalester women are looking to improve on last year's 8-17 record (4-14 in the MIAC) but the results so far (2 games, 2 losses) are not encouraging. The Scots lost to WI-LaCrosse by 15 a year ago. This afternoon they lost by 19. Last year they defeated Bethany Lutheran 78-75. Last Thursday they lost 69-55.

Today they hung with the Eagles for 2 quarters--in fact, leading 31-24 at halftime. But 2 things--2 big things--caught up to the Scots in the 2nd half. One was a remarkably difficult day shooting 2-pointers. They made 2-of-13 2s in the 1st half, 3-of-20 in the 2nd. 5-of-33 overall, for a 15% shooting percentage. And this is on 2-pointers. They made 9-of-21 3s, 7-of-11 in the 1st half, ergo the halftime lead. But relying so heavily on the 3, then shooting 2-of-10 in the 2nd half wasn't going to cut it. Overall they shot 14-of-54 (26%) for the day.

Then there were turnovers, 12 in the 1st half and 10 more in the 2nd, enabling WI-LaCrosse to rack up an insurmountable 31-10 edge on points off turnovers.

Justine Barraza, a 5-6 sophomore guard from CA, was the entire show for Macalester. She made 5-of-13 3s (0-for-4 2s) for 22 points. Her teammates shot 9-of-37. Kayla Toggery, a 5-11 sophomore forward, also out of CA, supplied the other bright spot, which was 7 blocked shots off the bench.

WI-LaCrosse has 5 Minnesotans on its roster--2 of them starters today--led by Ava Kramer, 5-6 sophomore guard from Elk River's 2017 state champions. She scored 9 ppg last year but managed just 3 today. 6-1 freshman post Caitlin O'Brien from Kimball started but played just 7 minutes and did not score. Jayne Emerson, 5-8 sophomore guard from Winona, came off the bench to score 2 points. Claire White, 5-10 freshman forward from Mound, came off the bench but did not score. Shayla Karge, 5-10 sophomore forward from Mankato East, scored 4 ppg last but did not play today.

The Concordia St. Paul men opened their season this weekend with a pair of wins over Arkansas Tech and Arkansas-Monticello. The Sunday game with Tech went to 3 OT with the Bears winning 118-113. So while the Macalester women's game was our game of the day, our award winners are from CSP.

Player of the Day--Bryndan Matthews, CSP, 6-4 senior guard (from Eagan), 34 pts-15 reb-7 acts
Team of the Day--CSP men
Coach of the Day--Joey James, CSP.

James is 43-76 in 4 years at CSP and 11-49 the past 2 years. A turnaround this year would seem to be pretty important for his future here. Of course, CSP has had little enough success historically under any coach. They have now won 530 games and lost 780 since the program was established back in 1967, for a .405 winning percentage, and just 13 winning seasons in what is now 50 seasons. (The CSP women, in contrast, have won 770 games and lost 535 for a winning percentage of .590. In an average year the men have been 11-15, the women 16-10. Since the year 2000 the men are an average of 12-16, the women 20-10. Why is that?)

Nov. 10--UMD women defeat Bethel to complete 3-0 exhibition season

2 great women's programs and 2 great coaches went at it up in Duluth today. It's never a surprise when a D2 team beats a D3 team at home in an early-season exhibition, but this was a little more interesting than most. Yes, UMD knocked off Bethel 86-68, but Bethel and coach John Herbrechtsmeyer had a 38-37 lead at halftime, and UMD led just 46-44 halfway through the 3rd period. But the Bulldogs took charge from there to win going away.

It was UMD's 3rd straight exhibition win and what makes that newsworthy is that in the 1st win it was the Bulldogs who were playing up and on the road. They surprised the NDSU Bison in Fargo 70-65 in that game. Now, in 3 exhibitions, sophomore post Sarah Grow (Centennial) is scoring 14 ppg with 7 boards and 3 blocks, and senior point guard Sammy Kozlowski is scoring 11 ppg with 5 assists. Freshmen Brooke Olson and Maesyn Theisen are playing great off the bench. Olson, a 6-2 forward from Rice Lake, WI, is leading the Bulldogs in scoring at 14+ ppg with 6 rebounds, while Theisen, the point guard from Sauk Centre, scored 0, then 2, then 10 points with 7 assists in the 2 more recent ball games.

UMD has won 20 games just once in the past dozen years with an average record of 14-14. Not what the Bulldogs had been accustomed to for many, many years. They're improving under coach Mandy Pearson and they're the pick to win the NSIC northern division in the coach's poll. This could be a breakout year for coach Pearson and the 'Dogs.

Meanwhile, Bethel has been super-competitive in the MIAC in recent years without, of course, breaking through against coach Ruth Sinn and her St. Thomas juggernaut. Right now, though, coach Herbie is looking for some additional firepower to support returning starters Taite Anderson, a junior wing from White Bear Lake, and Hannah Johnson, a senior post from Duluth East. Anderson and Johnson combined for 46 points and 19 boards against UMD. Point guard Haylee Barker, a junior from Maple Grove, added 8 points, 5 boards and 6 assists. Nobody else scored more than 2.

Player of the Day--Taite Anderson, Bethel
Team of the Day--Minnesota-Duluth
Coach of the Day--we'll call this one a tie between John Herbrechtsmeyer, Bethel, and Mandy Pearson, UMD

Nov. 9--It's all good as Gopher women grind out a win in Lindsay's debut

It's all good. Some 14,500 people came to Williams Arena to welcome Lindsay Whalen and the Lindsay Whalen era, and Lindsay's Gophers overcame some early jitters and played well enough to win by a comfortable margin (70-47) against an outmanned opponent (New Hampshire). I didn't say they played well, they played well enough. They let New Hampshire's 2-3 zone turn the game into a grinder for 3 periods in which the Gophers shot 39.5 percent and led 48-29. They picked up the pace in the 4th quarter with 22 points and 59 percent shooting for the final margin.

6-2 senior post Annalese Lamke scored a career high 21 points and junior forward Taiye Bello posted a double double at 14 and 14 with 5 blocked shots. But this is Kenisha Bell's team--well, hers and Lindsays. Bell didn't shoot great (6-of-16 FG, 4-of-8 FT) but had 8 assists and 4 steals to just 1 turnover. As Kenisha Bell goes, so go the Gophers, and Bell got better and better as the night went on.

So, it's all good. Well, almost all good. Specifically, the Gophers kept attacking the lane. They didn't shoot it very well but they had some good opportunities that just didn't fall, until the 4th quarter when Bell got in the lane to create 4 Annalese Lamke layups. Lamke showed up for her senior year in the best shape of her career, and she was very active in the lane. But, credit to Bell and also to guard Jasmine Brunson (6 assists) who got into the lane to break down the Wildcats defense.

Secondly, well, it would be too easy to knock the Gophers defense. They got beat early on some back cuts, some plain vanilla dribble drives and some ball screens, but they still held New Hampshire to 47 points and 33 percent shooting. They were also able to knock the ball loose a few times and so had a 17-6 edge in points of turnovers and a 11-4 edge on fast break points.

The most conspicuous shortcoming was on the boards, where they had a 34-30 edge after 3 and a final edge of 45-38. They gave up 5 offensive boards in the 1st period alone. Credit New Hampshire's scrappy play. When the Gophers grabbed a rebound, the Wildcats didn't stand around and mope about it. They attacked the rebounder on both ends of the court, knocking the ball loose a good many times after the Gophers appeared to have possession. I'm guessing they ended up with 6 or 8 boards that the Gophers had gotten a hand on first.

Taiye Bello was the Gophers MVP. She is not that big, not that quick, not that physical, but she is always around the ball and/or the rim and she just gets it done. She is very effective down low despite a relatively small frame.

Destiny Pitts had a tough night shooting 3-of-9/1-of-6 3s, but she is a tremendous athlete. Brunson had a nice overall game despite making just 2-of-6, with her 6 assists and 4 steals.

4 players had 9 to 12 minutes off the bench and shot just 3-of-12 among them. Palma Kaposi, a long 6-2 forward, got it together in the 2nd half for 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks but shot 0-for-3. Freshman guard Mercedes Staples is a shooter, mostly, not too quick, but went 0-for-4 from long range. Irene Perez is a smooth 6-1 3 who made her only shot. Barbara Tumancova was not too mobile in her 9 minutes. There's some upside off the bench but, still, the Gophers will need Gadiva Hubbard to come back from foot surgery on schedule (January).

The Gophers will need a healthy Hubbard, and they're going to have to improve their defense and rebounding in order to justify the media's 3rd place pick in their pre-season Big Ten poll. In all likelihood, that's a spot or two too high. Still, the Lindsay Whalen era is now off and running, and it got off on the right foot last night.

Player of the Day--Taiye Bello
Team of the Day--Minnesota Gophers
Coach of the Day--who else, but Lindsay Whalen

Minnesota Hoops Is Back! Here's What to Look for in November

Hey! We're back. For the past 5 years I've been covering girls high school basketball for Northstar Girls Hoops (now Girls Prep Hoops). It was a blast. But I was really losing track of boys and men's and women's basketball. So now, on Minnesota Hoops, I'll be covering everybody at every level. You might recall that I used to have a Game of the Day, every single day. And that's what we'll be doing again for 2018-2019. Along with that, a Player of the Day, a Team of the Day and a Coach of the Day, rolling up into monthly awards each month and a Player, Team and Coach of the Year next spring. That's the drill.

For November, here's what we've got lined up.

Thurs., Nov. 1--Minnesota Gopher men 109 UMD 53. There's a report on that game posted, and it doubles as a preview of the Gopher men's season.

Fri., Nov. 2--Golden State 116 Timberwolves 99. There's a report on this game as well, plus a report on the Halloween game in which Derrick Rose scored those 50 points you've been hearing about.

Sun., Nov. 4--Winona State women at Iowa State. Not unexpectedly, the Cyclones won this one 73-39.

Mon., Nov. 5--Concordia Moorhead women at U. of Mary. Again, no surprise when the home team is in a higher NCAA division and wins. This one was 64-27.

Tues., Nov. 6--Omaha at the Gopher men. Gophers overpower another opponent 104-76.

Wed., Nov. 7--Timberwolves at L.A. Lakers. Another 4th quarter loss, 114-110, despite another nice game from Derrick Rose.

Thurs., Nov. 8--Bethany Lutheran men at Carleton, Bethany Lutheran women at Macalester. Bethany wins a pair.

Fri., Nov. 9--New Hampshire at Minnesota women in Lindsay Whalen's debut as Gopher coach. Gophers grind out a 70-47 win.

Sat., Nov. 10--Bethel women at Concordia St. Paul.

Sun., Nov. 11--Macalester women as Wisconsin-LaCrosse.

Mon., Nov. 12--MN Morris men at St. John's.

Tues., Nov. 13--St. Ben's at MN Morris women.

Wed., Nov. 14--Gopher women at Xavier.

Thurs., Nov. 15--St. Thomas men at Brooklyn.

Fri., Nov. 16--Portland at the Timberwolves.

Sat., Nov. 17--San Diego at Gopher women.

Sun., Nov. 18--Concordia Moorhead men at MN Crookston.

Mon., Nov. 19--Wisconsin-Superior at Augsburg women.

Tues., Nov. 20--Arkansas Pine Bluff at Gopher women.

Wed., Nov. 21--Denver Nuggets at Timberwolves.

Thurs., Nov. 22--Turkey Day. No ball that I'm aware of.

Fri., Nov. 23--St. Thomas Thanksgiving Tip-Off girls basketball tournament. 7 games including Hill-Murray vs. Holy Family at 12:30 p.m. The tournament continues all day on Saturday as well.

Sat., Nov. 24--Pat Paterson girls basketball tournament at Hamline. 6 games including Hopkins vs. Stillwater at 8:15 p.m. The tournament runs all day Friday as well.

Sun., Nov. 25--Jamestown women at Concordia-St. Paul.

Mon., Nov. 26--Timberwolves at Cleveland.

Tues., Nov. 27--Mountain Iron-Buhl girls at Mesabi East. Matchup of 2 state tournament teams a year ago.

Wed., Nov. 28--MIAC regular conference season gets underway. Bethel men at St. John's looks like the top game of the night.

Thurs., Nov. 29--Syracuse at Gopher women in ACC-Big Ten challenge.

Fri., Nov. 30--It's a shakedown cruise for the Final Four--a basketball "classic" at U.S. Bank Stadium.  St. Thomas plays Wisconsin-River Falls at 6 p.m., and the Gopher men take on Oklahoma State at 9. I believe there are 2 more games on Saturday, Dec. 1, but I will be busy elsewhere on that day.

Nov. 8--Bethany Lutheran men, women open with wins

Bethany Lutheran is helping to quickly close the gap between the UMAC and the MIAC. Some of you may remember that Bethany Lutheran's UMAC champions shocked the MIAC champion St. John's at Collegeville 102-92 in last March's NCAA tournament. Meanwhile, Bethany Lutheran's women finished 2nd in the UMAC. Both teams are expected to repeat in 1st and 2nd place, respectively, according to the UMAC coach's pre-season poll.

The men won at Carleton 70-61 last night as newcomer Cire Mayfield, a 6-0 freshman from St. Louis Park, poured in 24 points. Jared Milinkovich, a 6-3 sophomore guard from New Prague, added 11, and Daniel Gutzmer, a 6-2 senior guard from Jordan, added 10. The Carls finished 5th in the MIAC last year and are picked for 6th this year. They were led by Kent Hanson, a 6-5 junior forward from St. Paul, with 18 points and 9 boards.

The Bethany Lutheran website says that Bethany also won a scrimmage at Gustavus Adolphus last week, 76-70.

The Bethany Lutheran women opened at Macalester and won 69-55. Guards Abby Olson (5-6, sophomore, Montevideo) and Haley Sandin (5-7, senior, Princeton) led the way with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Kenzie Pytleski, a 6-1 soph who played for Granada-Huntley-East Chain, added 10. Holly Hull scored 23 for Macalester.

Player of the Day--Cire Mayfield, Bethany Lutheran men
Team of the Day--Bethany Lutheran men
Coach of the Day--Matt Fletcher, Bethany Lutheran men

Nov, 7--L.A. Lakers 114 Timberwolves 110

It's been a week now since Derrick Rose scored his 50 points, and the Timberwolves surprised the Utah Jazz 128-125 to get back to .500 (4-4). Suddenly, there was hope. Here was a road map to win without what's-his-name, who refused to play that night. Of course, you knew that, at 30 years of age and with his injury history, Derrick Rose couldn't play 41 minutes every night....

Well, no he couldn't. After playing 41 minutes, he couldn't play at all for 5 days. But, more than that, since Utah, the Wolves have now lost without Derrick Rose, they've lost with Derrick Rose, they've lost with what's-his-name, they've lost without what's-his-name, they've lost with neither, they've lost with both. Sure, they're on the road. But it's not just the losses, it's how they've lost. They've been in 3 of the 4 games after 3 periods; twice they've led after 3.

But they've played like a bunch of rookies in the 4th quarter. Golden State outscored them 33-12 in the 4th. Last night, they led the Lakers 88-86 after 3. They were up 28-19, 65-57, 88-83 with 11 seconds left in the 3rd. It was 104-104 at 3:07. The Lakers scored on their next 3 possessions while the Wolves went 0-for-3, all from 3-point range, 2 of those by what's-his-name. They got back within 1 on a pair of Rose 3s. The Lakers took over the ball at 1:07. They missed 3 shots and got 3 offensive rebounds. The Wolves didn't get another shot until 1 second remained.

Thank goodness there's just one more game left out west on this trip, and then it's home again. A loss Friday at Sac would make them 4-9 and .500 will already be pretty much out of the question. The Wolves could just as easily be 4-9 without the guy and the Twin Cities would be a better place.

Player of the Day: Derrick Rose scored 31 on 11-of-17

Team of the Day: There was one college game that I could find--an exhibition between St. Cloud State and Minnesota-Morris, in which the homesteading Huskies easily defeated the Cougars 61-35. Madeline Dammann (Waconia) led the Huskies with 15 points and added 4 boards and 2 assists.

Coach of the Day: Lori Fish, St. Cloud State

Nov. 6--MN Gopher men 104 Omaha 76

OK, I expected a 100 point effort vs. D2 UMD last week. I don't necessarily expect the same against a D1 opponent, even a mid-major, even a mid-major from Omaha, NE. But that's what we got as the Gophers once again overpowered (54-26 edge in the paint and 21-9 on 2nd chances) and outran (28-7 on fast break points) the Mavericks 104-76.

Granting the competition so far, but the Gophers are beginning to look like a good shooting team. I mean, sure, making 71% of your 2s isn't that hard when they're layups, but getting layups is a skill, right? And making 10-of-21 3s is not bad even when you're open. With 28 assists (11 of them by Isaiah Washington) on 39 buckets, I'd have to say the Gophers are sharing the ball pretty well. Thus, the high percentage.

Washington came off the bench to get those 11 assists, which was the single most impressive individual stat on the night. He went 0-for-3 on 3-points, but he added 4 boards and 2 steals.

Daniel Oturu continues to impress with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting plus 8 boards. His backup, Matz Stockman, added 8 points on 4-of-5 shooting off the bench, plus 5 boards and 2 blocks. Jordan Murphy has 12 points, 10 boards and 5 assists.

On the perimeter, along with Washington, Amir Coffey got into his rhythm after a rocky start last week vs. UMD. He made 5-of-7 FG and 8-of-8 FT for a team-high 18 points and added 4 assists.  Dupree McBrayer added 17 points on 5-of-6 3s. Gabe Kalscheur and Brock Stull each added 2-of-3 3s.

Player of the Day--Amir Coffey
Team of the Day--Minnesota Gopher men
Coach of the Day--Richard Pitino

Nov. 5--U. Mary Women 64 Concordia Moorhead 27

I'll be glad when these exhibition games are over. We've had 3 of them, now as our Games of the Day, and the average score has been 82-40. Well, no surprise. Here you had a D3 visiting a D2. Two strikes right there. And D2 U. Mary defeated Concordia Moorhead easily 64-27. It was 31-13 at the half, 50-16 after 3, 54-16 a minute later. Concordia shot 9-of-49 (18 percent) from the floor. 'Nut sed.

What was interesting here is that I learned that Concordia has a couple of new guards in freshmen Autumn Thompson from Stephen-Argyle and Anna Rinke from Wheaton, both veterans of the MN state tournament. They had little if any impact tonight but, longer term, they will help Concordia, who went 11-14 last year, 8-10 in the MIAC. Meanwhile, Grace Wolhowe, a junior from Staples-Motley, is the star. She led in scoring last year at 11 mpg and shot 45 percent from the field. Tonight, she led the Cobbers with 7 points and 5 rebounds.

Concordia also brings back a pair of bigs (5-11 and 5-10 are big in the MIAC) in Kirstin Simmons (Waseca) and Mira Ellefson (Hawley). The averaged 17 points and 9 boards last year and shot 48 and 43 percent, respectively, from the field. Rachel Hoernemann (Ortonville) and Elizabeth Birkmeyer (Ada) also return.

The Cobbers should be somewhat improved this year but the MIAC is shaping up to be pretty competitive. Improved on the floor may not translate into wins this year, but a person has got to wish a team coached by Jessica Rahman, now in her 15th season at Concordia well. She's a great lady who has coached some outstanding teams. Just now, MS-Moorhead and coach Karla Nelson are grabbing all the best players in the west central part of the state, which used to be Rahman's stomping ground. Concordia will be back. It's just a question of when.

Player of the Day--Grace Wolhowe, Concordia Moorhead
Team of the Day--Concordia Moorhead
Coach of the Day--Jessica Rahman, Concordia Moorhead

Here are the top 10 contenders for MN Player of the Year 2019

Top Ten Player of the Year Candidates

1. Matthew Hurt, Rochester John Marshall, 6-9, senior, post

2. Jordyn Murphy, Minnesota Gophers, 6-6, senior, post

3. Paige Bueckers, Hopkins, 5-10, junior, guard

4. Jalen Suggs, Minnehaha, 6-4, junior, guard

5. Kenisha Bell, Minnesota Gophers, 5-9, senior, guard

6. Amir Coffey, Minnesota Gophers, 6-8, guard

7. Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves, 7-0, post

8. Zeke Nnaji, Hopkins, 6-10, senior, forward

9. Anna Schmitt, Concordia St. Paul, 5-8, senior, guard

10 (tie). Josh Okogie, Minnesota Timberwolves, 6-5, wing

10 (tie). Daniel Oturu, Minnesota Gophers, 6-11, freshman, post

Nov. 4 Game of the Day--Iowa State women 73 Winona State 39

The short college exhibition season continued today with the D2 Winona State Warrior women traveling to Iowa State to face the D1 Cyclones. It is no surprise in such games when the D1 team wins on its own home court. How could it not? Well, it happens, but not very often.

In this case, Winona State hung tough, trailing 38-27 with 2:30 left in the 1st half. Iowa State closed the half on a 7-0 run, however, and never looked back. Winona shot 57% in the 1st half to stay within 45-27. Imagine the 2nd half when they shot 17 percent and scored just 2 points in the 4th quarter. Ouch. Even shooting 57 percent in the 1st, there weren't enough shots, as the Warriors turned it over 15 times against the Cyclones pressure defense.

Two Minnesotans started and played well for Winona. They are 5-11 senior forward Kayla Schaefer (Paynesville), who scored 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting and had 6 rebounds, but also had 7 turnovers. 5-7 sophomore guard Allie Pickrain (Eastview) scored 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting (3-of-7 from long range) but also had 4 turnovers. 5-11 sophomore forward Taylor Hustad (New Prague) started but failed to score. 5-11 freshman guard Sydney Lodermeier (Goodhue) came off the bench to score 3 points with 5 boards. 6-1 sophomore Emma Fee (Burnsville) also came off the bench and scored 1 point.

The Warriors went 17-13 last year (10-12 in the Northern Sun) but get almost everybody back. Pickrain is a 1st team Southern Division pre-season all-conference pick. She scored 13 ppg last year as a freshman and was the NSIC Freshman of the Year. She ranked #13 nationally in D2 by shooting 43 percent from long range. The Warriors were picked for 4th place in the South (behind Sioux Falls, Concordia-St. Paul and Augustana) in the pre-season coach's poll.

Meanwhile, Kristin Scott (Kasson-Mantorville), a 6-3 redshirt freshman at Iowa State, came off the bench to score 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting while also grabbing 8 boards, 5 of them on the offensive end. The Cyclones were an uncharacteristic 14-17 last year, 7-11 in the Big 12, but look for improvement around a 6-3 (Scott), 6-3, 6-1 frontline consisting of two sophomores and the redshirt freshman, Scott.

Both teams anticipate some improvement this year, but a win over a D2 visitor is hardly an indicator thereof, nor is a road loss at a D1 power an indicator that Winona won't be improved. Both play in fiendishly tough conferences, however, so let's just say we'll be monitoring their progress.

Our Game, Player, Team and Coach of the Day awards go into the hopper for our first monthly award, and our monthly winners then go into the mix for our annual awards next March or April. Cheers.

Player of the Day--Kayla Schaefer, 5-11, senior, Winona State, 12 points, 6 rebounds

Team of the Day--Winona State

Coach of the Day--Scott Ballard, Winona State

100 Years of Boys Basketball: The 21st Century: "The Invisible Hand"

Youth basketball in Minnesota had functioned as a regulated market for 75 years. The Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) and the schools dictated that boys could only play so many games in the school year—18, to be exact, when I played in the late 1960s. And, for many years, they could not play organized ball outside of their school at all without forfeiting their eligibility to play for their high school team. In 1961, once-defeated Minneapolis Roosevelt went into the single-class state tournament as co-favorites. Then, just one day before the start of the tournament, came the news that Roosevelt had been banned from the tournament because two of their deep bench players had played for their church in the Catholic DeMolay League. 

Throughout the 1960s, Minnesota kids were playing significantly less basketball than boys in neighboring states and, so, frankly, we weren’t very good. My own basketball career, from the 5^thgrade through the 12^th, consisted of about 110 games. In an average season in the 1960s, just one or two Minnesota boys would go on to play basketball at a Division 1 college. 

In the 1970s, according to Lake City (class of 1979) and Minnesota Gopher great Randy Breuer, “That was a different time. Back then, the High School League didn’t allow you to play 5-on-5 summer basketball. You could only play 3-on-3. So Minnesota was at quite a disadvantage with the rest of the country when it came to playing basketball and competing on a national stage.” Despite all of that, a cohort of very talented and very big Minnesotans made it to D1 and even to the NBA in the 1970s. 

By the 1980s, the pendulum again was swinging back the other way. So, the MSHSL finally decided to allow Adam Smith’s “invisible hand,” the free market, to prevail in high school sports, including basketball. In 1986, the MSHSL reversed its long-standing rules limiting summer basketball. Initially there was no place to play but over time a variety of basketball clubs opened up and provided kids with the opportunity to play ball all year long. 

Thirty years later, the payback on that decision is only too clear. On May 21, 2017, StarTribunereporter Chip Scoggins noted that Minnesota had a five-star recruit in every class—if you counted Gary Trent, formerly of Apple Valley, then at a California prep school, and signed to play at Duke in the fall of 2017. (As a freshman in 2017-2018, Trent scored 14.5 ppg as Duke advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight before losing to Kansas. Trent quickly signed up for the NBA draft.) Among the junior class of that year, it was Tre Jones of Apple Valley. Among the sophomores, it was Matthew Hurt of Rochester John Marshall, whose older brother Michael already played for the Gophers. Among the freshmen it was Jalen Suggs of Minnehaha Academy, who is rated as the top point guard in his class nationally. Jones and Suggs won state titles in 2017, and Suggs won another in 2018.

“When I took the Minnesota job,” Gopher coach Richard Pitino told Scoggins, “I had no idea how much of a basketball state it was. I always assumed it was a hockey state…. But it’s a terrific basketball state.” Former Minneapolis North and University of Connecticut star Khalid El-Amin recently said, “We have tremendous talent here. It must be something in the water in the 10,000 lakes producing these great basketball players.”

But summer ball and the vast improvement in the quality of Minnesota basketball talent is only half the story of 21^stcentury hoops. The other half of the story is “open enrollment” and a spectacular decline in competitive balance. In 1988, “open enrollment” was established by the Minnesota legislature. Open enrollment enabled any high school student to enroll in any school at almost any time and for virtually any reason. It had nothing necessarily to do with athletics. The theory was that schools would compete for students and funding, and in competing, schools would get better.

As it relates specifically to athletics, together, open enrollment and summer ball encouraged the creation of all-star teams in the high schools. Previously, high school success had depended on random fluctuations in the gene pool within a given school district. Now, success begat success. 

Excellence in Minnesota high school basketball long had been described by the number four. Red Wing won its fourth state title in 1933. Duluth Central, Bloomington Jefferson, Chisholm, Minneapolis North and DeLaSalle all won their fourth between 1979 and 1999. Then, in the early years of the new century, two teams would give the number four a whole new dimension. Only Edina and Minneapolis North had ever won three straight state titles. Now Southwest Minnesota Christian, located in the historic Minnesota basketball town of Edgerton, and Minneapolis Patrick Henry would win four consecutive titles—Southwest Christian from 1999 through 2002, Henry from 2000 to 2003.

Historic wins did not only come in sets of four, however. Minneapolis North, DeLaSalle and Hopkins each quickly won a fifth championship (not consecutively), while Braham and Litchfield each won three, all in the years from 2000 to 2006. Minneapolis Henry's fourth straight title was its sixth overall. By 2016 Hopkins had won nine titles overall, and the following year DeLaSalle won its sixth consecutive Class AAA title and its eleventh title altogether. 

Meanwhile, the three-point shot had been adopted by Minnesota high schools way back in 1986, but its true impact came to be seen only in and after 1997. You can score three points at a time, you can score in a hurry, sure, and that’s no small thing. And, yet, the most important effect of the three-point shot is that it forced the defense to go on the attack. The rules-makers though it would stretch the defense to create more space for the old old-fashioned low post in the lane. But, defenses refused to fall into that trap. “We’re in defend-and-go,” says Hopkins coach Kenny Novak, Jr. “You want to get easy buckets. You’re making a mistake if you don’t.” 

“(The three-point shot) leads to a faster style of game,” Novak says. That (not quoting Novak, but saying this myself) exacerbates the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Even the best-conditioned athletes can’t go full-tilt, full-court, full-time. Everybody needs a break. So elite teams play deeper rotations than ever before. But, only elite teams and programs can go to their bench without sacrificing some ability. So, once teams do go to their bench, the chasm between the best and the rest gets a little wider.

And then there’s this. “Our game kind of follows the way they referee,” Novak said. “The offense can really go at people, they handle the ball so well. They allow you to put your hand on the side of the ball and even underneath. In the old days you had to be right on top. You couldn’t just go right by people, but now you can. The offense causes the defense to get more physical just because there is no choice,” Novak adds. 

What does Novak think of this newer, more physical style of play? “I like it, I like contact. It’s become a more athletic game, it’s become a very smart game. Strength is a really big factor. It’s a great game, but if you’re going to win, you’ve got to get physical.”

So that is the story of Minnesota boys high school basketball in the 21^stcentury in the abstract. The opportunity to play more basketball led to a major improvement in the quality of Minnesota’s top basketball athletes. “Open enrollment” helped create all-star teams and dynasties that far eclipsed the best of previous eras. The three-point shot made for a faster-paced game, and officials decided somewhere along the way to allow the game to become vastly more physical than it was back in the day. Wow! That's a lot of change to absorb.

Summer Ball Begins to Pay Off

Summer ball was approved by the MSHSL in 1986 but it was only a decade later that an improvement in the caliber of Minnesota high school basketball became discernible. 

Howard Pulley quickly emerged as the ace of clubs. Rene Pulley founded the club in 1985, a year before the MSHSL relaxed its rules against summer play, and named it in honor of his father. Pulley has been one of Minnesota’s top clubs continuously for more than 30 years. Alumni include Adam Boone (Minnetonka, North Carolina and Minnesota). Khalid El-Amin (Minneapolis North and Connecticut), Devean George (Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Augsburg and the Los Angeles Lakers), Johnnie Gilbert (Minneapolis Henry and Oklahoma), Moe Hargrow (St. Paul Highland Park and Minnesota), Kris Humphries (Hopkins, Minnesota and the NBA), Darius Lane (Totino-Grace and Seton Hall), Joe Mauer (Cretin and the Minnesota Twins), Rick Rickert (Duluth East and Minnesota), Jake Sullivan (Tartan and Iowa State), and hundreds more.

The Minnesota Magic and the Minnesota Glory also were among the earlier clubs to achieve notoriety. The Magic won 17 national championships of various kinds, mostly in the 1990s. The Glory produced 40 D1 scholarship players.

Other clubs have come and gone. The Select was another successful early club but, eventually, D1, Comets, Crossfire, Fury, Heat and others came along so that there were plenty of places for boys to play summer ball. By about 2005, Minnesota had more boys (and girls) playing AAU summer ball, per capita, than almost any state in the nation, and they were more prominent on the national scene than they had been at any time since the 1970s—or, maybe even the 1940s.

It was the class of 1997 that, suddenly, became vastly more visible at the college level, including Brian Giesen of New Prague and Indiana State, Jared Nuness of Hopkins and Valparaiso, Slovakian native Martin Rancik of St. Louis Park and Iowa State, Dusty Rychert of Grand Rapids and Minnesota, and more. Chris Bjorklund of Brainerd and Cal Poly scored more than 2,000 career points in college. Greg Buth of Edina scored more than 1,000 at Dartmouth. And, Kyle Behrens of Hayfield and North Dakota, Chad Koenen of Clara City and Southwest State, and Kyle Schlaak of New Richland and Winona State all earned NCAA D2 all-American honors.

The class of 1999 was even better. Nick Horvath of Mounds View won a state championship, then went to national powerhouse Duke. Michael Bauer of Hastings, Ben Johnson of DeLaSalle and Shane Schilling of 1998 champion Minnetonka all went on to start at Minnesota. Troy Bell of Holy Angels went out east to Boston College, where he scored more than 2,000 career points.

In 2002, five Minnesota men—Bell, Horvath, Nuness, Alan Anderson of DeLaSalle and Michigan State, and Nick Jacobson of Roseville and Utah—played in the NCAA tournament. By the fall of 2005, there were 60 Minnesotans on Division I rosters. And, it was about this time, from 2002 to 2005, that a program emerged as the flagship of Minnesota high school basketball.