Dear Paige and Dear Members of the Class of 2020,
First of all, congratulations to every member of the class of 2020 on the completion of your high school careers. You of all classes undoubtedly appreciate the magnitude of your accomplishment because it has occurred under such strange and historic circumstances. And, being honest, you will all face harder challenges in the years to come. But, heck, you've spent 12 years on this quest and you've passed a lot of gates to get where you are today.
But, what's even more important than where you've been is where you're going. If you have indeed had a successful high school career, the proof of that someday will be that you will still have lifelong friends with whom you've shared this journey.
Hopefully, where you're going in future years will be filled with such friends. Unfortunately, you may also experience another pandemic like the coronavirus. But, hopefully, what you will not see is another event like the killing of George Floyd and the riots and mayhem that we have had on our streets. But, this will indeed be a harder challenge than surviving high school.
So, let me specifically thank and congratulate Paige Bueckers on a truly beautiful commentary published in the Star Tribune on Sunday June 7. If you haven't seen it, hopefully you can still find it online. It suggests to me that Paige is as good of a person as she is a basketball player. And, by the way, I also have every faith and belief that most members of the class of 2020 would agree with the things that Paige articulated. "Never take the little things for granted." Whatever you've lost, "it is so important to think of others." Concerning the death of George Floyd, she said, "When will people of color stop being judged by their skin? I am white. I will never be able to understand what it's like to be a person of color, but that does not make me any less angry.... There is a need for action instead of words. Something good just has to come out of this." Wise words even for a person who has successfully navigated their K-12 education.
But, I repeat: This will be a harder challenge than what you've faced so far, maybe the hardest challenge of your life. I hope you will pardon the expression, but when I was your age, the civil rights movement came in a sense to an end. The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were passed by the U.S. Congress. We really thought that a new day had dawned. It turned out that the real beauty of the civil rights movement was that it shamed the racists and drove them underground. It was no longer acceptable to do and say racist things in public. Well, this lasted a good long while. But, after some 40 years, it suddenly became acceptable to be racist again. For every Paige Bueckers, there's a fellow like the one I read about in the Star Tribune the Sunday after Paige's commentary. He owns the bar in Sauk Rapids, and it's filled with Confederate paraphernalia. It turns out that he actually spent 90 days in jail for deliberately running down a black man in his pickup truck. 90 days!
Then, in 1968, when I graduated from high school, the Vietnam War was raging. We all marched in the streets against the war and against a militaristic approach to our relations with foreign countries. And, you know, until 2001 if felt like we had made progress there as well. But, the fact is that the U.S. government abolished the military draft in 1973 and, no longer faced with the possibility of being sent to Vietnam against our will, we abandoned the fight. We decided to go about our business of getting jobs, getting married, having families.... We took our eye off the ball, and now we've gone back to a future where we deal with foreign countries mostly by virtue of our military.
The fact is that my generation, the Baby Boomers, have presided over a disastrous period in American life in which racism, inequality and militarism have expanded exponentially. Why? Well, because not all Baby Boomers believed is equality and peace, and the other guys were stronger and richer and smarter and had a lot more money than "we" did, those of us who marched for equality and peace. And, so, they won, and "we" lost.
So, Paige, don't underestimate the magnitude of the fight that you have outlined. Action, not words. Something good just has to come out of this. Paige and the class of 2020, don't be like us Baby Boomers because something good won't come out of this unless you really mean what you say, and you continue to mean what you said, year after year after year, unless you keep your eye on the ball, and unless you never ever underestimate your peers who don't share your perspective, who think that racism and violence are OK. My generation really meant it when we demanded peace and equality. We just didn't have the heart for the fight. And, we lost.
God bless everyone in the class of 2020 who wishes to bring peace and equality to all of your friends and neighbors and all Americans.
Sunny
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Friday, June 5, 2020
St. Thomas Finally Movin' On Up
Wow, is it really 6, almost 7 years ago now that I wrote about St. Thomas' domination of the MIAC and its potential to move into a more competitive environment? Yes, it was. Amazing. So, it was 6.5 years after what an anonymous commenter said was a "great article, great insight" that St. Thomas is now looking to move up to D1.
My conclusion 6.5 years ago was in 2 parts:
1. "One's sense of fair play is somewhat offended by the Tommies superiority over its day to day opponents in the MIAC." This was based on, as I reported, at that time:
• 31 men's basketball titles (#1 all-time), 7 straight and 71-3 record over 6 years
• 13 women's basketball titles (tied #1) (which have since increased to 8 of 9)
Plus:
Men's Sports
• 31 baseball titles (#1) including 9 straight
• 24 cross-country titles (#1)
• 28 ice hockey titles (#1)
• 27 indoor track titles (#1, in fact, that was 27 out of 27 since the sport was initiated)
• 29 outdoor track titles (#1) including 24 of the past 29
• 16 football titles (#4) but 3 in a row
• 9 golf titles (#4)
• 10 swimming titles (#4)
• 6 soccer titles (#4)
• 9 tennis titles (#7)
Women's Sports
• 15 cross-country titles (#1)
• 24 indoor track titles (#1) including 12 in a row and 24 of 27 overall
• 27 outdoor track titles (#1) including 7 in a row and 27 of 30
• 16 softball titles (#1) with 10 of the past 12
• 8 golf titles (#2)
• 2 hockey titles (#2)
• 1 tennis title (#3)
• 4 soccer titles (#4)
• No swimming titles
Again, this was where things stood in January 2013, and it is likely that if I totaled up 2013-2019, the disparity between St. Thomas and the rest of the MIAC would be worse.
But 2. I also concluded that, considering enrollments and endowment funds, "it is almost impossible to construct an alternative model wherein it makes sense for St. Thomas to be in D1 or D2." The point was (and is) that there are virtually no private schools of St. Thomas' size and wealth (their endowment fund at that time was $335 million) that plays football and everything else in D1, or even in D2.
Now, it's true that that statement was based on the assumption that St. Thomas wanted to play football, which assumption looks very much to be correct. Because as St. Thomas prepares for the possibility of moving up to D1, football remains very much a part of the planning.
But, before we talk about the future, let's talk about the past--that is, the recent past, wherein the MIAC, well, what? They didn't really kick St. Thomas out, as was widely reported, at least not technically, though, on the other hand, if St. Thomas hadn't resigned, at least seven other schools had said they would have left and the MIAC would have died an ignominious death. So the Tommies did the only decent thing they could do and they left, well, not voluntarily, but they left.
Yer Out
In any event, St. Thomas is out of the MIAC. As I said, at least 7 schools (and maybe 9) said they would quit the MIAC if St. Thomas stayed in. Those reportedly were St. Olaf, Hamline, Augsburg, Carleton, Macalester, St. Mary's and St. Kate's--and Gustavus and Concordia were on the fence but might have joined the exodus. So, at that point, St. Thomas did the right thing and left sort of voluntarily though they announced that it was involuntary, but anyway you get the point. It was involuntary until it was voluntary.
There's a rumor that people love underdogs, but I don't think that's true. People love a winner. And, so, in this circumstance, everybody loves St. Thomas and most everybody was madder than hell at the MIAC. Pat Borzi, writing in MinnPost, wrote that "the MIAC damaged itself....the MIAC will be known as the conference that kicked out a founding school for winning too much." Bob Collins at MPR wrote, "It's not the fault of St. Thomas...that some MIAC football programs are terminally lousy.... It's a bad look for (the) MIAC." (Wow, I thought MPR was nice people! Collins must be a Tommie!) "All St. Thomas did was be really good at sports, and also be a school that people wanted to attend." (Yeah, definitely a Tommie!)
Of course, there was the little matter of Tommies football coach Glenn Caruso running up scores, like 84-0 over Hamline and 97-0 over St. Olaf, a game in which the Tommies went for it on 4th down 5 times and got a 1st down all 5 times. Oh, and went for a 2-point conversion in the 4th quarter. When you're up 64-0 at the half, you're not supposed to pull shit like that, right?
But, there was more complaining the day St. Thomas got sacked than the day they won 97-0, at least in the Twin Cities media. Jock cliches filled the air. The other MIAC schools were "cowards." If you can't beat 'em, you just gotta get better. Chip Scoggins, not content to rip the MIAC in his own columns in the StarTrib, had to piggyback a comment on Collins' MPR rant. "The MIAC schools who forced this outcome should be embarrassed."
Well, I once said St. Thomas should stay in D3, but now, frankly, I have to say that the fellows who ought to be embarrassed are those who seem to think that colleges are just places that sponsor athletic teams. And, now, I'll add, yes, it's too bad the MIAC kicked St. Thomas out. It's too bad St. Thomas didn't make the move first. Because, as I said 6.5 years ago, "One's sense of fair play is somewhat offended by the Tommies superiority over its day to day opponents in the MIAC." And, since then, it's gotten worse, including 97-0 worse.
They say that DeLaSalle will never move up no matter how many Class AAA basketball championships they win, because those championships translate directly into dollars and cents in donations. Similarly, a 97-0 football loss probably has the opposite effect on fund-raising from alumni and the so-called philanthropic community, which is to say, old guys who definitely don't lean toward underdogs.
So, what really makes sense to me is that this was not fundamentally about sports. Of course, the MIAC was its own worst enemy. I mean, I think they said it was about competitive equity. They couldn't really come right out and admit it was about money. It was and is about survival. Because, well, as Borzi reported, "Don't be surprised if an MIAC school closes or merges with another in the next ten years." The cost of education is skyrocketing and, as a result, it is feared that the number of kids going to college could decline and soon. And, those who do go to college are already voting with their wallets (that is, their loan portfolios) for business schools and engineering and everything except the liberal arts. So, some liberal arts colleges are struggling, and some will be closing--again, soon.
So, you're the president of such a university. Maybe your bread and butter is your law school and then, one day, St. Thomas says, we're gonna open a law school. Or, your bread and butter is a nursing school and then, one day, St. Thomas says, we're gonna open a nursing school. Or, for that matter, your the "sister-school" to St. Thomas and one day they say, We're gonna go coed.
At that point, St. Thomas is no longer a friendly competitor. Not off the field. Not on the field. And people have the nerve to say, if you can't beat St. Thomas, well, you just gotta get better. Sports cliches. Dumb jock cliches. A lot of these schools don't have two nickels to rub together, and you think they should take money out of the classrooms to make their football team better? Wow.
And then, on top of all of that, there's 84-0 and 97-0. Sorry. I always liked underdogs, and I am so sympathetic to those 7 or 9 presidents who said, if St. Thomas stays, we're leaving. Much of course was made of the fact that St. Thomas was a founder of the MIAC about 100 years ago. Well, it was about 6 years after that that Carleton was winning everything. They were beating Big 10 teams in basketball and football. They were winning everything. And, so, they left to go play tougher competition. (Of course, the massive irony is that at that time that meant moving to the Midwest Conference of Beloit and Grinnell and Knox and Ripon who, some of you will recognize are now the conference that Macalester has joined in football because it's looking for weaker competition.) Well, things change. Carleton is now back in the MIAC. And just because St. Thomas was there 100 years ago at the founding doesn't mean it's the right conference for them anymore.
Now, before I continue, I have to say. There are people at St. Thomas, and you know their names, who know I've always been a supporter of Tommies athletics. But, I'm just sayin.' It was time to move on. St. Thomas would be no better and no worse off if it had been the one to initiate the change, but the MIAC would be better off if it had.
And, So, the Future
As I said back in 2013, Marquette's got nothing that St. Thomas hasn't got. Except a football team. Oh, and a hockey team. Still, St. Thomas is gonna be better than Marquette at everything except men's and women's basketball by year 5 in D1. Men's and women's basketball, maybe year 10. The problem is that being better than Marquette in football is not a good measure because, again, they ain't got one.
So, anyway, St. Thomas has been invited into the Summit League and everybody I know at St. Thomas wants to go that way. The Summit League is North Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota, South Dakota State, Omaha, Oral Roberts, Denver, Fort Wayne and Western Illinois.
The Tommies need a waiver from the NCAA to go directly from D3 to D1. Nobody's ever done it. The NCAA says it should be a 12-14 year process. Seriously? Then jumping directly must be impossible. Except nobody thinks it's impossible. What's impossible is how the hell anybody came up with 12 to 14 years! So, even St. Thomas folks says it's 50-50 at best that they're gonna get that waiver. But, if they do, they'll do fine in the Summit. Not as in winning 70 percent of the titles but as in winning 10 percent, which would be their fair share. In 10 years, maybe more. They'll do fine.
Except the Summit doesn't do football or hockey. So several Summit schools already play football in the Pioneer and/or the Missouri Valley. The Pioneer, which does not give football scholarships, includes Drake, Butler and Valpo. The MVC, which does, includes 3 of the Dakota teams. So maybe you start in the Pioneer and, if it goes well, move up?
In hockey, 7 teams are leaving the WCHA after 2021--Mankato, Bemidji, Bowling Green, Ferris, Lake Superior, Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan. Perfecto mundo. Meanwhile, the Lady Tommies hockey team is having discussions with the WCHA which still consists of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Mankato, Bemidji, UMD and St. Cloud. So hockey, not a problem.
As I said 6.5 years ago, football--specifically, scholarship football--is the one really big nut in moving to D1. So start out in the Pioneer, and all the rest is doable.
Still it's hard to escape the feeling that the D3 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) isn't a better fit. The WIAC is nothing like the MIAC. It is all of the UW satellite campuses--more like Mankato, St. Cloud, Duluth, Bemidji, etc. Compared to the MIAC it is bigger schools with bigger athletic budgets, better facilities, better coaches, better programs, and utterly unafraid to compete with St. Thomas. They are said to be more than willing to accept St. Thomas as a member. If that happened, the Tommies could keep on playing St. John's every year--and I mean St. John's (Collegeville). So, if, in the end, that NCAA waiver isn't forthcoming, well, that just might be a gift that keeps on giving.
But, if it is, then St. Thomas is going to do just fine. In fact, I'll go one better. In about 25 years, I would expect to see St. Thomas moving into the Big East.
My conclusion 6.5 years ago was in 2 parts:
1. "One's sense of fair play is somewhat offended by the Tommies superiority over its day to day opponents in the MIAC." This was based on, as I reported, at that time:
• 31 men's basketball titles (#1 all-time), 7 straight and 71-3 record over 6 years
• 13 women's basketball titles (tied #1) (which have since increased to 8 of 9)
Plus:
Men's Sports
• 31 baseball titles (#1) including 9 straight
• 24 cross-country titles (#1)
• 28 ice hockey titles (#1)
• 27 indoor track titles (#1, in fact, that was 27 out of 27 since the sport was initiated)
• 29 outdoor track titles (#1) including 24 of the past 29
• 16 football titles (#4) but 3 in a row
• 9 golf titles (#4)
• 10 swimming titles (#4)
• 6 soccer titles (#4)
• 9 tennis titles (#7)
Women's Sports
• 15 cross-country titles (#1)
• 24 indoor track titles (#1) including 12 in a row and 24 of 27 overall
• 27 outdoor track titles (#1) including 7 in a row and 27 of 30
• 16 softball titles (#1) with 10 of the past 12
• 8 golf titles (#2)
• 2 hockey titles (#2)
• 1 tennis title (#3)
• 4 soccer titles (#4)
• No swimming titles
Again, this was where things stood in January 2013, and it is likely that if I totaled up 2013-2019, the disparity between St. Thomas and the rest of the MIAC would be worse.
But 2. I also concluded that, considering enrollments and endowment funds, "it is almost impossible to construct an alternative model wherein it makes sense for St. Thomas to be in D1 or D2." The point was (and is) that there are virtually no private schools of St. Thomas' size and wealth (their endowment fund at that time was $335 million) that plays football and everything else in D1, or even in D2.
Now, it's true that that statement was based on the assumption that St. Thomas wanted to play football, which assumption looks very much to be correct. Because as St. Thomas prepares for the possibility of moving up to D1, football remains very much a part of the planning.
But, before we talk about the future, let's talk about the past--that is, the recent past, wherein the MIAC, well, what? They didn't really kick St. Thomas out, as was widely reported, at least not technically, though, on the other hand, if St. Thomas hadn't resigned, at least seven other schools had said they would have left and the MIAC would have died an ignominious death. So the Tommies did the only decent thing they could do and they left, well, not voluntarily, but they left.
Yer Out
In any event, St. Thomas is out of the MIAC. As I said, at least 7 schools (and maybe 9) said they would quit the MIAC if St. Thomas stayed in. Those reportedly were St. Olaf, Hamline, Augsburg, Carleton, Macalester, St. Mary's and St. Kate's--and Gustavus and Concordia were on the fence but might have joined the exodus. So, at that point, St. Thomas did the right thing and left sort of voluntarily though they announced that it was involuntary, but anyway you get the point. It was involuntary until it was voluntary.
There's a rumor that people love underdogs, but I don't think that's true. People love a winner. And, so, in this circumstance, everybody loves St. Thomas and most everybody was madder than hell at the MIAC. Pat Borzi, writing in MinnPost, wrote that "the MIAC damaged itself....the MIAC will be known as the conference that kicked out a founding school for winning too much." Bob Collins at MPR wrote, "It's not the fault of St. Thomas...that some MIAC football programs are terminally lousy.... It's a bad look for (the) MIAC." (Wow, I thought MPR was nice people! Collins must be a Tommie!) "All St. Thomas did was be really good at sports, and also be a school that people wanted to attend." (Yeah, definitely a Tommie!)
Of course, there was the little matter of Tommies football coach Glenn Caruso running up scores, like 84-0 over Hamline and 97-0 over St. Olaf, a game in which the Tommies went for it on 4th down 5 times and got a 1st down all 5 times. Oh, and went for a 2-point conversion in the 4th quarter. When you're up 64-0 at the half, you're not supposed to pull shit like that, right?
But, there was more complaining the day St. Thomas got sacked than the day they won 97-0, at least in the Twin Cities media. Jock cliches filled the air. The other MIAC schools were "cowards." If you can't beat 'em, you just gotta get better. Chip Scoggins, not content to rip the MIAC in his own columns in the StarTrib, had to piggyback a comment on Collins' MPR rant. "The MIAC schools who forced this outcome should be embarrassed."
Well, I once said St. Thomas should stay in D3, but now, frankly, I have to say that the fellows who ought to be embarrassed are those who seem to think that colleges are just places that sponsor athletic teams. And, now, I'll add, yes, it's too bad the MIAC kicked St. Thomas out. It's too bad St. Thomas didn't make the move first. Because, as I said 6.5 years ago, "One's sense of fair play is somewhat offended by the Tommies superiority over its day to day opponents in the MIAC." And, since then, it's gotten worse, including 97-0 worse.
They say that DeLaSalle will never move up no matter how many Class AAA basketball championships they win, because those championships translate directly into dollars and cents in donations. Similarly, a 97-0 football loss probably has the opposite effect on fund-raising from alumni and the so-called philanthropic community, which is to say, old guys who definitely don't lean toward underdogs.
So, what really makes sense to me is that this was not fundamentally about sports. Of course, the MIAC was its own worst enemy. I mean, I think they said it was about competitive equity. They couldn't really come right out and admit it was about money. It was and is about survival. Because, well, as Borzi reported, "Don't be surprised if an MIAC school closes or merges with another in the next ten years." The cost of education is skyrocketing and, as a result, it is feared that the number of kids going to college could decline and soon. And, those who do go to college are already voting with their wallets (that is, their loan portfolios) for business schools and engineering and everything except the liberal arts. So, some liberal arts colleges are struggling, and some will be closing--again, soon.
So, you're the president of such a university. Maybe your bread and butter is your law school and then, one day, St. Thomas says, we're gonna open a law school. Or, your bread and butter is a nursing school and then, one day, St. Thomas says, we're gonna open a nursing school. Or, for that matter, your the "sister-school" to St. Thomas and one day they say, We're gonna go coed.
At that point, St. Thomas is no longer a friendly competitor. Not off the field. Not on the field. And people have the nerve to say, if you can't beat St. Thomas, well, you just gotta get better. Sports cliches. Dumb jock cliches. A lot of these schools don't have two nickels to rub together, and you think they should take money out of the classrooms to make their football team better? Wow.
And then, on top of all of that, there's 84-0 and 97-0. Sorry. I always liked underdogs, and I am so sympathetic to those 7 or 9 presidents who said, if St. Thomas stays, we're leaving. Much of course was made of the fact that St. Thomas was a founder of the MIAC about 100 years ago. Well, it was about 6 years after that that Carleton was winning everything. They were beating Big 10 teams in basketball and football. They were winning everything. And, so, they left to go play tougher competition. (Of course, the massive irony is that at that time that meant moving to the Midwest Conference of Beloit and Grinnell and Knox and Ripon who, some of you will recognize are now the conference that Macalester has joined in football because it's looking for weaker competition.) Well, things change. Carleton is now back in the MIAC. And just because St. Thomas was there 100 years ago at the founding doesn't mean it's the right conference for them anymore.
Now, before I continue, I have to say. There are people at St. Thomas, and you know their names, who know I've always been a supporter of Tommies athletics. But, I'm just sayin.' It was time to move on. St. Thomas would be no better and no worse off if it had been the one to initiate the change, but the MIAC would be better off if it had.
And, So, the Future
As I said back in 2013, Marquette's got nothing that St. Thomas hasn't got. Except a football team. Oh, and a hockey team. Still, St. Thomas is gonna be better than Marquette at everything except men's and women's basketball by year 5 in D1. Men's and women's basketball, maybe year 10. The problem is that being better than Marquette in football is not a good measure because, again, they ain't got one.
So, anyway, St. Thomas has been invited into the Summit League and everybody I know at St. Thomas wants to go that way. The Summit League is North Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota, South Dakota State, Omaha, Oral Roberts, Denver, Fort Wayne and Western Illinois.
The Tommies need a waiver from the NCAA to go directly from D3 to D1. Nobody's ever done it. The NCAA says it should be a 12-14 year process. Seriously? Then jumping directly must be impossible. Except nobody thinks it's impossible. What's impossible is how the hell anybody came up with 12 to 14 years! So, even St. Thomas folks says it's 50-50 at best that they're gonna get that waiver. But, if they do, they'll do fine in the Summit. Not as in winning 70 percent of the titles but as in winning 10 percent, which would be their fair share. In 10 years, maybe more. They'll do fine.
Except the Summit doesn't do football or hockey. So several Summit schools already play football in the Pioneer and/or the Missouri Valley. The Pioneer, which does not give football scholarships, includes Drake, Butler and Valpo. The MVC, which does, includes 3 of the Dakota teams. So maybe you start in the Pioneer and, if it goes well, move up?
In hockey, 7 teams are leaving the WCHA after 2021--Mankato, Bemidji, Bowling Green, Ferris, Lake Superior, Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan. Perfecto mundo. Meanwhile, the Lady Tommies hockey team is having discussions with the WCHA which still consists of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Mankato, Bemidji, UMD and St. Cloud. So hockey, not a problem.
As I said 6.5 years ago, football--specifically, scholarship football--is the one really big nut in moving to D1. So start out in the Pioneer, and all the rest is doable.
Still it's hard to escape the feeling that the D3 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) isn't a better fit. The WIAC is nothing like the MIAC. It is all of the UW satellite campuses--more like Mankato, St. Cloud, Duluth, Bemidji, etc. Compared to the MIAC it is bigger schools with bigger athletic budgets, better facilities, better coaches, better programs, and utterly unafraid to compete with St. Thomas. They are said to be more than willing to accept St. Thomas as a member. If that happened, the Tommies could keep on playing St. John's every year--and I mean St. John's (Collegeville). So, if, in the end, that NCAA waiver isn't forthcoming, well, that just might be a gift that keeps on giving.
But, if it is, then St. Thomas is going to do just fine. In fact, I'll go one better. In about 25 years, I would expect to see St. Thomas moving into the Big East.
Yet Another Look at St. Thomas
I can't help but notice that over the past month or two a post entitled "The Tommies Are Back" has been my most-read post. I have no idea why that would be. It's a post from 2010 and it's about the St. Thomas men's and women's teams concerning their progress in the 2010 season.
I can't help but think that readers think it's gonna be about the more recent St. Thomas controversies--their exclusion from the MIAC and their efforts at going D1 that are ongoing as we speak. So I've taken 2 posts and put them up here at the top of the blog. One is from way back in 2013, when I said that St. Thomas really should move up. Dominating the MIAC like they had done over the previous quarter-century just didn't seem like a particularly sporting proposition at that time. Then in 2019, I wrote about the fact that the Tommies were and are now trying to move up to D1, if the NCAA will let them.
Please take a look at these 2 articles (below). Some very smart people have told me they're pretty good. And don't get me wrong. I love St. Thomas. And, yet, I don't share the fairly common view that the MIAC should be ashamed and/or the MIAC is cowardly or whatever for compelling St. Thomas to leave the MIAC. The simple fact that they are one of the founders of the conference 100 years ago is irrelevant. The University of Chicago was a founder of the Big 10. So what? My own opinion in 2013 was that St. Thomas should move up at least to D2. My opinion today is that the MIAC did them a favor, and St. Thomas will absolutely thrive at D1--again, if the NCAA let's them in. I mean, what does Marquette have that St. Thomas doesn't have? The answer is, Nothing, and on top of that, St. Thomas has got football, which Marquette ain't got.
St. Thomas is gonna be fine.
So, anyway, if you're looking for some thoughts about St. Thomas as it moves up in the world, these are the articles you want to see, not that one from 2010. Cheers!
I can't help but think that readers think it's gonna be about the more recent St. Thomas controversies--their exclusion from the MIAC and their efforts at going D1 that are ongoing as we speak. So I've taken 2 posts and put them up here at the top of the blog. One is from way back in 2013, when I said that St. Thomas really should move up. Dominating the MIAC like they had done over the previous quarter-century just didn't seem like a particularly sporting proposition at that time. Then in 2019, I wrote about the fact that the Tommies were and are now trying to move up to D1, if the NCAA will let them.
Please take a look at these 2 articles (below). Some very smart people have told me they're pretty good. And don't get me wrong. I love St. Thomas. And, yet, I don't share the fairly common view that the MIAC should be ashamed and/or the MIAC is cowardly or whatever for compelling St. Thomas to leave the MIAC. The simple fact that they are one of the founders of the conference 100 years ago is irrelevant. The University of Chicago was a founder of the Big 10. So what? My own opinion in 2013 was that St. Thomas should move up at least to D2. My opinion today is that the MIAC did them a favor, and St. Thomas will absolutely thrive at D1--again, if the NCAA let's them in. I mean, what does Marquette have that St. Thomas doesn't have? The answer is, Nothing, and on top of that, St. Thomas has got football, which Marquette ain't got.
St. Thomas is gonna be fine.
So, anyway, if you're looking for some thoughts about St. Thomas as it moves up in the world, these are the articles you want to see, not that one from 2010. Cheers!
Time for St. Thomas to Move On Up!?
Random thoughts while watching the St. Thomas men demolish St. John's 94-63 in a game in which everyone agreed that St. John's played well....
90 years ago Carleton was the powerhouse of Minnesota small college athletics. After 6 straight MCC (the forerunner of the MIAC) basketball titles and similar success in football, Carleton went in search of tougher competition, joining the Midwest Conference featuring schools like Coe and Beloit and Grinnell. It would be about 50 years before the Knights would come back to the MIAC, their glory years by then far in the rear-view mirror.
Today it is St. Thomas that is the 800-pound gorilla of Minnesota small college athletics. In basketball, the Tommies men have won or shared 7 straight conference titles and won a total of 31 such titles, 8 more than anybody else, through the years. They're 71-3 in the conference since 2006, and St. Thomas won the national title in 2011.
The Tommies women, meanwhile, have won 13 MIAC titles, tying with St. Ben's for the most in conference history. They've won 2 straight, and made the NCAA D3 Final Four last year.
And so it goes, in sport after sport after sport.
Men's Sports
Baseball--31 conference titles, #1 all-time in the MIAC, with 9 in a row and a 224-36 record in the 21st century.
Cross-Country--24 titles, #1
Ice Hockey--28 titles, #1
Indoor Track--27 titles, #1. Oh, and the MIAC has had indoor track competition for, ah, 27 years. The Tommies are 27-for-27.
Outdoor Track--29 titles, #1, including 24 of the past 29.
Then there's football (16 titles, #4, but 3 in a row and national runner-up this past fall), Golf (9 titles, #4), Swimming (10 titles, #4), Soccer (6 titles, #4) and Tennis (9 titles, #7). In only Soccer and Tennis has there not been a title in the 21st century.
Women's Sports
Cross-Country--15 titles, #1
Indoor Track--24 titles, #1, 12 in a row and 24 of 27 overall
Outdoor Track--27 titles, #1, 7 in a row and 27 of 30
Softball--17 titles, #1, 10 of the past 12
Volleyball--13 titles, #1
Golf--8 titles #2
Hockey--2 titles, #2
Tennis--1 title, #3
Soccer--4 titles, #4
Swimming--no titles
Enrollment
Then there's the fact that St. Thomas has almost twice the enrollment of the MIAC's next largest universities with 6,800 undergraduate students (plus another 4,000 graduate students, but for athletic purposes, they don't count). Next best are St. Catherine's at 3,800 and Bethel at 3,500. Granted, this is a little misleading, as St. Kate's enrollment is 97 percent women, so for women, St. Thomas is the 2nd largest. For men, it is the largest by a good margin with about 3,300. St. John's has just 1,900. It and Bethel are pretty close for #2.
St. Thomas 6,300 undergraduates (plus 4,000 graduate students)
St. Catherine's 3,800 undergrads (mostly women)
Bethel 3,500 (plus 3,000 graduate students)
Augsburg 3,200 (plus 900)
St. Olaf 3,200
Concordia (Moorhead) 2,600
Gustavus 2,500
St. Ben's 2,100 (all women)
Carleton, Hamline, Macalester, St. Mary's about 2,000 (St. Mary's has 3,200 grad students, Hamline 2,900)
St. John's 1,900 (all men)
Concordia (St. Paul) (D2) for comparison 1,700
Show Me the Money
Then there's the little matter of money, as measured by the endowment funds. These are a big help with facilties, for example. Is it a coincidence that St. Thomas and Macalester have shiny new basketball arenas?
Macalester $665 million (acc. to US News)
Carleton $645 million (acc. to the school)
St. Thomas $335 (acc. to US News), $408 (acc. to the school), $557 (acc. to Wikipedia)
St. Olaf $327 (the school), $345 (US News and Wikipedia)
St. John's $144 (US News)
Gustavus $109 (US News)
Concordia (Moorhead) $83 (US News)
Hamline $76 (US News, Wikipedia)
St. Kate's $55 (US News)
St. Mary's $45 (US News)
St. Ben's $45 (US News), $38 (Wikipedia)
Augsburg $33 (US News)
Bethel $25 (US News)
Concordia (St.Paul) for comparison $22 (US News)
MIAC + Concordia St. Paul Average: Enrollment 2,600 Endowment $195M
Comparables
Who is St. Thomas like? The following are all Roman Catholic affiliated. All are D1 in basketball. Many do not have football.
St. Thomas 6,300 undergrad enrollment, classified as a National University and rated #113 in its class, with an endowment of $400 to $500 million
Chicago Loyola 9,800 National University #106, $388 million
Boston College 9,000 National U #31, 1,756M
St. Louis 8,600 National U #92, $880M
Marquette 8,400, National U #83, $400M
Georgetown 7,600, National U #21, $1,162M
Duquesne 5,600 National U #120, $171M
St. Joseph's 5,500, Regional U #8, $173M
Seton Hall 5,100 National U #131, $232M
Xavier 4,500 Regional University #4, $120M
LaSalle 4,500 Regional U #41, $73M
Creighton 4,150 Regional U #1, $300M
Providence 3,850 Regional U #4, $165M
Holy Cross 2,900 National Liberal Arts College #32, $600M
Average D1 Basketball, Not Football: 5,750 enroll, or about 500 less than St. Thomas. $360M endow, or about 10 percent less than St. Thomas.
Not So Comparable
If you narrow it down to private schools that play D1 football, you find that St. Thomas is not very comparable, specifically as it relates to $$$, with schools like these:
Notre Dame 8,500 National U #17, $6.4B
Duke 6,700, National U #8, $5.7B
Northwestern 8,500, National U #12, $5.5B
Stanford 7,000, National U #6, $16.5 B
USC 17,500, National U #24, $3.5B
There are a few other private schools that play D1 football--SMU, TCU, BYU--but not many.
Average D1 Football: 11,600 enroll, not quite twice as many as St. Thomas, and a multi billion dollar endowment ($7.5B), or about 20X more than St. Thomas.
What About Division 2?
So if St. Thomas wants to play football, Division 1 is a stretch. But what about Division 2? Here are some Division 2 private schools with football programs.
Bellarmine 3,100 Regional Universities 11, $42M
Dallas Baptist 3,500 Regional U 50, $34M
Drury 2,100 Regional U 11, $66M
Hillsdale 1,300 National Liberal Arts college 96, $312M
Lewis 4,500, Regional U 35, $40M
Mary 2,800, Regional U 105, $34M
Maryville 3,400 National Liberal Arts 161, $34M
Rockhurst 3,000, Regional U 21, $33M
St. Joseph's IN 1,000, Regional U 27, $20M
St. Mary's TX 4,500 Regional U 20, $126M
William Jewell 1,000 National Liberal Arts 140, $65M
Concordia (St. Paul) 1,700, $22M
Average D2 with football: Enroll 2,750, less than half of St. Thomas. Endow only about $80M, or about 20 percent of St. Thomas.
Summary
St. Thomas is an odd duck. It is a Roman Catholic private school that plays football (along with other sports) in D3. Compared to its peers on these criteria, St. Thomas:
• Has a larger enrollment
• And has a lot more money than its peers
Compared to its peers regardless of classification (Roman Catholic and of its general size and wealth), St. Thomas:
• Plays football
If St. Thomas were to move up to D1 or D2, it:
• In D1, it would have many peer schools that do not play football. But if it wanted to play D1 football, there is virtually no model of "comparable" schools based on size and wealth that play football.
• In D2, the schools that are comparable to St. Thomas (private schools of similar size that play football), their peers would have lower academic ratings on average and much lower endowments. There is virtually no school that is truly comparable to St. Thomas playing football in D2.
This is not to say that St. Thomas is not free to forge a new path, one that few other schools have chosen. But there are in fact 4 private schools in the Northern Sun Conference already. St. Thomas would hardly be the first.
Concordia St. Paul--Regional University # 93, enrollment 1,700, endowment $22M
Augustana--Regional University #3, enrollment 1,800, endowment $53M
Sioux Falls--Regional U #32, enrollment 1,500, endowment $20M
Upper Iowa--Regional U Tier 2, enrollment 5,700, endowment $9M
Still it is hard to see how St. Thomas' prestige would be enhanced by an affiliation with these schools rather than the Carletons and Gustavuses and Macalesters of the world. The next most logical conference affiliation might be the Great Lakes Valley Conference, Western Division. which includes:
Drury
Maryville
Quincy
Rockhurst
William Jewell
These would be much more prestigious than than, well, 3 of the 4 privates in the Northern Sun, but the travel would be vastly greater than in the MIAC or NSIC.
Conclusion
Still, the competitive issues remain substantial. Sure, it's great from the Tommies perspective to be successful. But for the rest of the MIAC members, frankly, St. Thomas' obvious superiority has to be a pain in the butt. Or does it? The fact is that MIAC members derive some prestige from their association with St. Thomas, both from an overall perspective and from an athletic perspective.
So on one side, one's sense of fair play is somewhat offended by the Tommies superiority over its day-to-day opponents in the MIAC. But it is almost impossible to construct an alternative model wherein it makes sense for St. Thomas to be in D1 or D2. Not what I set out to discover, frankly. But on a closer look, an inescapable conclusion.
St. Thomas, you have my blessing to stay D3 in the MIAC. (Which I am sure must be a vast relief to all you Tommies out there.)
90 years ago Carleton was the powerhouse of Minnesota small college athletics. After 6 straight MCC (the forerunner of the MIAC) basketball titles and similar success in football, Carleton went in search of tougher competition, joining the Midwest Conference featuring schools like Coe and Beloit and Grinnell. It would be about 50 years before the Knights would come back to the MIAC, their glory years by then far in the rear-view mirror.
Today it is St. Thomas that is the 800-pound gorilla of Minnesota small college athletics. In basketball, the Tommies men have won or shared 7 straight conference titles and won a total of 31 such titles, 8 more than anybody else, through the years. They're 71-3 in the conference since 2006, and St. Thomas won the national title in 2011.
The Tommies women, meanwhile, have won 13 MIAC titles, tying with St. Ben's for the most in conference history. They've won 2 straight, and made the NCAA D3 Final Four last year.
And so it goes, in sport after sport after sport.
Men's Sports
Baseball--31 conference titles, #1 all-time in the MIAC, with 9 in a row and a 224-36 record in the 21st century.
Cross-Country--24 titles, #1
Ice Hockey--28 titles, #1
Indoor Track--27 titles, #1. Oh, and the MIAC has had indoor track competition for, ah, 27 years. The Tommies are 27-for-27.
Outdoor Track--29 titles, #1, including 24 of the past 29.
Then there's football (16 titles, #4, but 3 in a row and national runner-up this past fall), Golf (9 titles, #4), Swimming (10 titles, #4), Soccer (6 titles, #4) and Tennis (9 titles, #7). In only Soccer and Tennis has there not been a title in the 21st century.
Women's Sports
Cross-Country--15 titles, #1
Indoor Track--24 titles, #1, 12 in a row and 24 of 27 overall
Outdoor Track--27 titles, #1, 7 in a row and 27 of 30
Softball--17 titles, #1, 10 of the past 12
Volleyball--13 titles, #1
Golf--8 titles #2
Hockey--2 titles, #2
Tennis--1 title, #3
Soccer--4 titles, #4
Swimming--no titles
Enrollment
Then there's the fact that St. Thomas has almost twice the enrollment of the MIAC's next largest universities with 6,800 undergraduate students (plus another 4,000 graduate students, but for athletic purposes, they don't count). Next best are St. Catherine's at 3,800 and Bethel at 3,500. Granted, this is a little misleading, as St. Kate's enrollment is 97 percent women, so for women, St. Thomas is the 2nd largest. For men, it is the largest by a good margin with about 3,300. St. John's has just 1,900. It and Bethel are pretty close for #2.
St. Thomas 6,300 undergraduates (plus 4,000 graduate students)
St. Catherine's 3,800 undergrads (mostly women)
Bethel 3,500 (plus 3,000 graduate students)
Augsburg 3,200 (plus 900)
St. Olaf 3,200
Concordia (Moorhead) 2,600
Gustavus 2,500
St. Ben's 2,100 (all women)
Carleton, Hamline, Macalester, St. Mary's about 2,000 (St. Mary's has 3,200 grad students, Hamline 2,900)
St. John's 1,900 (all men)
Concordia (St. Paul) (D2) for comparison 1,700
Show Me the Money
Then there's the little matter of money, as measured by the endowment funds. These are a big help with facilties, for example. Is it a coincidence that St. Thomas and Macalester have shiny new basketball arenas?
Macalester $665 million (acc. to US News)
Carleton $645 million (acc. to the school)
St. Thomas $335 (acc. to US News), $408 (acc. to the school), $557 (acc. to Wikipedia)
St. Olaf $327 (the school), $345 (US News and Wikipedia)
St. John's $144 (US News)
Gustavus $109 (US News)
Concordia (Moorhead) $83 (US News)
Hamline $76 (US News, Wikipedia)
St. Kate's $55 (US News)
St. Mary's $45 (US News)
St. Ben's $45 (US News), $38 (Wikipedia)
Augsburg $33 (US News)
Bethel $25 (US News)
Concordia (St.Paul) for comparison $22 (US News)
MIAC + Concordia St. Paul Average: Enrollment 2,600 Endowment $195M
Comparables
Who is St. Thomas like? The following are all Roman Catholic affiliated. All are D1 in basketball. Many do not have football.
St. Thomas 6,300 undergrad enrollment, classified as a National University and rated #113 in its class, with an endowment of $400 to $500 million
Chicago Loyola 9,800 National University #106, $388 million
Boston College 9,000 National U #31, 1,756M
St. Louis 8,600 National U #92, $880M
Marquette 8,400, National U #83, $400M
Georgetown 7,600, National U #21, $1,162M
Duquesne 5,600 National U #120, $171M
St. Joseph's 5,500, Regional U #8, $173M
Seton Hall 5,100 National U #131, $232M
Xavier 4,500 Regional University #4, $120M
LaSalle 4,500 Regional U #41, $73M
Creighton 4,150 Regional U #1, $300M
Providence 3,850 Regional U #4, $165M
Holy Cross 2,900 National Liberal Arts College #32, $600M
Average D1 Basketball, Not Football: 5,750 enroll, or about 500 less than St. Thomas. $360M endow, or about 10 percent less than St. Thomas.
Not So Comparable
If you narrow it down to private schools that play D1 football, you find that St. Thomas is not very comparable, specifically as it relates to $$$, with schools like these:
Notre Dame 8,500 National U #17, $6.4B
Duke 6,700, National U #8, $5.7B
Northwestern 8,500, National U #12, $5.5B
Stanford 7,000, National U #6, $16.5 B
USC 17,500, National U #24, $3.5B
There are a few other private schools that play D1 football--SMU, TCU, BYU--but not many.
Average D1 Football: 11,600 enroll, not quite twice as many as St. Thomas, and a multi billion dollar endowment ($7.5B), or about 20X more than St. Thomas.
What About Division 2?
So if St. Thomas wants to play football, Division 1 is a stretch. But what about Division 2? Here are some Division 2 private schools with football programs.
Bellarmine 3,100 Regional Universities 11, $42M
Dallas Baptist 3,500 Regional U 50, $34M
Drury 2,100 Regional U 11, $66M
Hillsdale 1,300 National Liberal Arts college 96, $312M
Lewis 4,500, Regional U 35, $40M
Mary 2,800, Regional U 105, $34M
Maryville 3,400 National Liberal Arts 161, $34M
Rockhurst 3,000, Regional U 21, $33M
St. Joseph's IN 1,000, Regional U 27, $20M
St. Mary's TX 4,500 Regional U 20, $126M
William Jewell 1,000 National Liberal Arts 140, $65M
Concordia (St. Paul) 1,700, $22M
Average D2 with football: Enroll 2,750, less than half of St. Thomas. Endow only about $80M, or about 20 percent of St. Thomas.
Summary
St. Thomas is an odd duck. It is a Roman Catholic private school that plays football (along with other sports) in D3. Compared to its peers on these criteria, St. Thomas:
• Has a larger enrollment
• And has a lot more money than its peers
Compared to its peers regardless of classification (Roman Catholic and of its general size and wealth), St. Thomas:
• Plays football
If St. Thomas were to move up to D1 or D2, it:
• In D1, it would have many peer schools that do not play football. But if it wanted to play D1 football, there is virtually no model of "comparable" schools based on size and wealth that play football.
• In D2, the schools that are comparable to St. Thomas (private schools of similar size that play football), their peers would have lower academic ratings on average and much lower endowments. There is virtually no school that is truly comparable to St. Thomas playing football in D2.
This is not to say that St. Thomas is not free to forge a new path, one that few other schools have chosen. But there are in fact 4 private schools in the Northern Sun Conference already. St. Thomas would hardly be the first.
Concordia St. Paul--Regional University # 93, enrollment 1,700, endowment $22M
Augustana--Regional University #3, enrollment 1,800, endowment $53M
Sioux Falls--Regional U #32, enrollment 1,500, endowment $20M
Upper Iowa--Regional U Tier 2, enrollment 5,700, endowment $9M
Still it is hard to see how St. Thomas' prestige would be enhanced by an affiliation with these schools rather than the Carletons and Gustavuses and Macalesters of the world. The next most logical conference affiliation might be the Great Lakes Valley Conference, Western Division. which includes:
Drury
Maryville
Quincy
Rockhurst
William Jewell
These would be much more prestigious than than, well, 3 of the 4 privates in the Northern Sun, but the travel would be vastly greater than in the MIAC or NSIC.
Conclusion
Still, the competitive issues remain substantial. Sure, it's great from the Tommies perspective to be successful. But for the rest of the MIAC members, frankly, St. Thomas' obvious superiority has to be a pain in the butt. Or does it? The fact is that MIAC members derive some prestige from their association with St. Thomas, both from an overall perspective and from an athletic perspective.
So on one side, one's sense of fair play is somewhat offended by the Tommies superiority over its day-to-day opponents in the MIAC. But it is almost impossible to construct an alternative model wherein it makes sense for St. Thomas to be in D1 or D2. Not what I set out to discover, frankly. But on a closer look, an inescapable conclusion.
St. Thomas, you have my blessing to stay D3 in the MIAC. (Which I am sure must be a vast relief to all you Tommies out there.)
Monday, April 6, 2020
2020 Game of the Year
Call me old fashioned. It came down to 2 games.
• One represented a venerable old rivalry between two 100-year rivals with pretty much everything that they live for at stake.
• The other representing the kind of game that only the 21st century could produce, where the excitement was manufactured by hyperventilating TV announcers and social media influencers, and winning and losing was a side dish. The main dish was the show, the hype, the TV announcers and the TV ratings and the NBA-like atmosphere.
Call me old fashioned. I'll take the Tommies and the Johnnies with the MIAC title and an NCAA tournament bid on the line as my game of the year.
Minnehaha 78 Sierra Canyon, CA 58
The other contender is of course the January 4 matchup of Minnehaha Academy and Sierra Canyon, CA, in the Target Center with a live audience of 16,000 and a national television audience also tuned in. Minnehaha was of course touted, by Minnehaha personnel, it must be said, as the greatest high school basketball team in Minnesota history. They proved to be something less, losing to Cretin 75-66 and Hopkins 92-85 to start 3-2. They finished 22-1, losing only to undefeated Eden Prairie at home 78-64 the rest of the way. Gotta love the headline on swnewsmedia.com after that one. "'Best ever' effort silences 'best ever' talk.'" Well, unfortunately, it didn't totally silence the best ever talk except of course among people who knew whereof they spoke.
Still, my hat is off to 'Haha for moving up from Class AA to Class AAA after 3 straight state titles. DeLaSalle, whom they probably would have played for the AAA title in a normal year, wouldn't move up after 6 straight titles and 7 of 8. They won't move up after 20. You know it's true.
But, anyway, Minnehaha somehow got the nation's hype machine and its team, Sierra Canyon, to come to Minnesota to play them at the Target Center on TV. It was a great night of basketball, if your idea of basketball is the NBA all-star game and the Harlem Globetrotters. It was show time from the opening tip. Sierra had Bronny James, son of LeBron James, yeah, that LeBron James. He's just a freshman and he may one day be a great ballplayer. For now, he comes off the bench, but that's plenty of fodder for the hype masters, I guess. But, Sierra also has Zaire Wade, son of Dwayne, also not a star. But, after James transferred to Sierra, he was followed by 5-star dudes B.J. Boston, now a Kentucky commit, and Ziaire Williams. Boston scored 27 points with 8 boards for the losers.
But, the fact is that Sierra is better than what it showed on January 4. They finished 30-4 and rated #2 nationally behind 25-0 Montverde Academy (FL).
Minnehaha's role in this soap opera was a tribute to Jalen Suggs, the #10-ranked player nationally in this year's senior class. He fed the hype machine by announcing his college choice on TV the night before. He "committed" to Gonzaga. It was the kind of commitment that required a postscript, however, that Suggs would continue to consider turning professional overseas. He patted Richard Pitino on the head, then kicked him in the ass, saying that the Gophers just weren't where Jalen Suggs needed them to be. As if their mission is to serve Jalen Suggs. Sigh.
But, hey, Suggs scored 23 points and made the highlight reel against Sierra Canyon and Bronny James.
Game of the Year: St. John's 82 St. Thomas 63
That brings us to the game of the year, and a game that was about the game, and about basketball, and about all the things missing at the Target Center on January 4. St. Thomas had already won at St. John's 71-66, as the Johnnies made just 4-of-19 3-pointers. But, then St. John's came down to the big city and hammered the Tommies 87-70, making 6-of-13 3s and 30-of-42 (.714) 2s. The Johnnies and Tommies tied for the MIAC regular season title--it was the Johnnies 9th title, St. Thomas has 34. For whatever reason, St. John's got the #1 seed and the home court advantage for the playoffs. In the semis, the Johnnies beat St. Olaf easily while St. Thomas pulled away from St. Mary's around the 10 minute mark and won by 13.
So, now, St. John's ran out to an 11-0 lead. The Tommies got within 16-12 but trailed 41-28 at the half, and never got within single digits in the 2nd half. Jubie Alade and Oakley Baker made 9-of-15 3s for the Johnnies and scored 47 points between them.
All of which may not quite seem like a Game of the Year. But, considering they both went on to win a pair of NCAA tournament games on the road, and that they were 27-2 and 26-3, and that they were #2 and #4 in the nation, and considering further that they were scheduled to play one another again at St. John's in the D3 Sweet 16, well, there was enough riding on this game to make it a great game even in a relative blowout. Who thought, for example, that there would be another blowout in the round of 16? No one, that's who. But, since that game never came to pass, this one will have to do and it will do as our Game of the Year.
• One represented a venerable old rivalry between two 100-year rivals with pretty much everything that they live for at stake.
• The other representing the kind of game that only the 21st century could produce, where the excitement was manufactured by hyperventilating TV announcers and social media influencers, and winning and losing was a side dish. The main dish was the show, the hype, the TV announcers and the TV ratings and the NBA-like atmosphere.
Call me old fashioned. I'll take the Tommies and the Johnnies with the MIAC title and an NCAA tournament bid on the line as my game of the year.
Minnehaha 78 Sierra Canyon, CA 58
The other contender is of course the January 4 matchup of Minnehaha Academy and Sierra Canyon, CA, in the Target Center with a live audience of 16,000 and a national television audience also tuned in. Minnehaha was of course touted, by Minnehaha personnel, it must be said, as the greatest high school basketball team in Minnesota history. They proved to be something less, losing to Cretin 75-66 and Hopkins 92-85 to start 3-2. They finished 22-1, losing only to undefeated Eden Prairie at home 78-64 the rest of the way. Gotta love the headline on swnewsmedia.com after that one. "'Best ever' effort silences 'best ever' talk.'" Well, unfortunately, it didn't totally silence the best ever talk except of course among people who knew whereof they spoke.
Still, my hat is off to 'Haha for moving up from Class AA to Class AAA after 3 straight state titles. DeLaSalle, whom they probably would have played for the AAA title in a normal year, wouldn't move up after 6 straight titles and 7 of 8. They won't move up after 20. You know it's true.
But, anyway, Minnehaha somehow got the nation's hype machine and its team, Sierra Canyon, to come to Minnesota to play them at the Target Center on TV. It was a great night of basketball, if your idea of basketball is the NBA all-star game and the Harlem Globetrotters. It was show time from the opening tip. Sierra had Bronny James, son of LeBron James, yeah, that LeBron James. He's just a freshman and he may one day be a great ballplayer. For now, he comes off the bench, but that's plenty of fodder for the hype masters, I guess. But, Sierra also has Zaire Wade, son of Dwayne, also not a star. But, after James transferred to Sierra, he was followed by 5-star dudes B.J. Boston, now a Kentucky commit, and Ziaire Williams. Boston scored 27 points with 8 boards for the losers.
But, the fact is that Sierra is better than what it showed on January 4. They finished 30-4 and rated #2 nationally behind 25-0 Montverde Academy (FL).
Minnehaha's role in this soap opera was a tribute to Jalen Suggs, the #10-ranked player nationally in this year's senior class. He fed the hype machine by announcing his college choice on TV the night before. He "committed" to Gonzaga. It was the kind of commitment that required a postscript, however, that Suggs would continue to consider turning professional overseas. He patted Richard Pitino on the head, then kicked him in the ass, saying that the Gophers just weren't where Jalen Suggs needed them to be. As if their mission is to serve Jalen Suggs. Sigh.
But, hey, Suggs scored 23 points and made the highlight reel against Sierra Canyon and Bronny James.
Game of the Year: St. John's 82 St. Thomas 63
That brings us to the game of the year, and a game that was about the game, and about basketball, and about all the things missing at the Target Center on January 4. St. Thomas had already won at St. John's 71-66, as the Johnnies made just 4-of-19 3-pointers. But, then St. John's came down to the big city and hammered the Tommies 87-70, making 6-of-13 3s and 30-of-42 (.714) 2s. The Johnnies and Tommies tied for the MIAC regular season title--it was the Johnnies 9th title, St. Thomas has 34. For whatever reason, St. John's got the #1 seed and the home court advantage for the playoffs. In the semis, the Johnnies beat St. Olaf easily while St. Thomas pulled away from St. Mary's around the 10 minute mark and won by 13.
So, now, St. John's ran out to an 11-0 lead. The Tommies got within 16-12 but trailed 41-28 at the half, and never got within single digits in the 2nd half. Jubie Alade and Oakley Baker made 9-of-15 3s for the Johnnies and scored 47 points between them.
All of which may not quite seem like a Game of the Year. But, considering they both went on to win a pair of NCAA tournament games on the road, and that they were 27-2 and 26-3, and that they were #2 and #4 in the nation, and considering further that they were scheduled to play one another again at St. John's in the D3 Sweet 16, well, there was enough riding on this game to make it a great game even in a relative blowout. Who thought, for example, that there would be another blowout in the round of 16? No one, that's who. But, since that game never came to pass, this one will have to do and it will do as our Game of the Year.
Sunday, April 5, 2020
2020 Coach of the Year
You'd think our coach of the year would come from one of our team of the year candidates, and you'd be correct. And, since most of my pre-season team of the year candidates did not end up on my final list, well, many of my pre-season coach of the year candidates are not on my final list either.
My pre-season list was Scott Bergman, Sauk Centre girls; Matt Marganthaler, Mankato State men; Mandy Pearson, UMD women; Ryan Saunders, Minnesota Timberwolves; Ruth Sinn, St. Thomas women; Lindsay Whalen, Gopher women.
Meanwhile, my final list of team of the year candidates included the Hopkins girls and Eden Prairie boys; the St. John's and St. Thomas men; and the Minnehaha boys. The UMD, Bethel and St. Cloud women were all contenders as well.
From this list, here are my picks as the top 5 coaches of the year.
1. John Herbrechtsmeyer, Bethel women
Among these top 6 coaches, Herbie's team--that is, the Bethel women--seemed to be the least likely to succeed in a historical sense. Bethel has just not been in the winner's circle a whole lot. Everybody else had just a little less of a hill to climb. All six of these coaches are terrific, but what Bethel did was the most out-of-the-ordinary outcome among these six programs. All of these other teams have done it before...well, with the exception of the Eden Prairie boys, who have had some great teams, some state championship contenders but never unbeaten, never a #1 seed. Had they won the state title, as expected, yes, it would have been a first. That's why EP coach David Flom comes in at #2.
2. David Flom, Eden Prairie boys
3. Jim Smith, St. John's
4. Brian Cosgriff, Hopkins girls
5 (tie). Lori Fish, St. Cloud State women
5 (tie). Mandy Pearson, UMD women
My pre-season list was Scott Bergman, Sauk Centre girls; Matt Marganthaler, Mankato State men; Mandy Pearson, UMD women; Ryan Saunders, Minnesota Timberwolves; Ruth Sinn, St. Thomas women; Lindsay Whalen, Gopher women.
Meanwhile, my final list of team of the year candidates included the Hopkins girls and Eden Prairie boys; the St. John's and St. Thomas men; and the Minnehaha boys. The UMD, Bethel and St. Cloud women were all contenders as well.
From this list, here are my picks as the top 5 coaches of the year.
1. John Herbrechtsmeyer, Bethel women
Among these top 6 coaches, Herbie's team--that is, the Bethel women--seemed to be the least likely to succeed in a historical sense. Bethel has just not been in the winner's circle a whole lot. Everybody else had just a little less of a hill to climb. All six of these coaches are terrific, but what Bethel did was the most out-of-the-ordinary outcome among these six programs. All of these other teams have done it before...well, with the exception of the Eden Prairie boys, who have had some great teams, some state championship contenders but never unbeaten, never a #1 seed. Had they won the state title, as expected, yes, it would have been a first. That's why EP coach David Flom comes in at #2.
2. David Flom, Eden Prairie boys
3. Jim Smith, St. John's
4. Brian Cosgriff, Hopkins girls
5 (tie). Lori Fish, St. Cloud State women
5 (tie). Mandy Pearson, UMD women
2020 Team of the Year
My pre-season Team of the Year candidates were:
• The Hopkins girls and Park Center boys among the high schools
• The Mankato State men and St. Thomas women from D2 and D3.
• The Minnesota Gopher women.
• The Minnesota Timberwolves.
So, not very good. Only the Hopkins girls are still a candidate.
The High Schools
There are of course no state champions this year. Among the girls we got down to 4 finalists--Farmington and Hopkins in Class AAAA and Becker and DeLaSalle in AAA. In AA and A, we got down to 4 semi-finalists when everything went sideways. Rochester Lourdes was #1 and still a pretty solid fave in AA, Minneota #1 but Class A looked pretty wide open.
Among all of those teams, only Hopkins was still unbeaten and only Hopkins had Minnesota Ms. Basketball and the national player of the year in Paige Bueckers. Hopkins is the obvious candidate for team of the year among the girls.
Among the boys, we had 16 section finals and another 32 teams scheduled to play for the other 16 section championships, so there's a lot more guesswork. Minnehaha in Class AAA was probably the heaviest favorite to win a state title, even more so than undefeated Eden Prairie in AAAA. EP would of course face tougher competition, though Minnehaha would probably have to beat DeLaSalle, so there were no gimmes. I liked Caledonia and Henning in AA and A, though Caledonia might have to beat undefeated Perham to win a title.
Still, you have to go with Eden Prairie as the top boys team. It's not their fault they didn't win a state title, and the Eagles were unbeaten against a fiendishly tough schedule.
D2 and D3
My picks, the Mankato State men and St. Thomas women, well, they weren't bad. But, they weren't best.
Among the NSIC men, Mankato went just 12-10 in the regular conference season and the top 3 finishers were all non-Minnesota teams. UMD was 4th at 15-7. Mankato beat #2 Sioux Falls and #4 UMD to get to the final, but lost to Northern State 80-59.
Among the NSIC women, UMD won the North at 20-2 with St. Cloud 2nd at 16-6. In the South, Mankato was 2nd at 13-9. In the post-season semi-finals, UMD beat Mankato 80-77 while St. Cloud beat Sioux Falls 76-59. St. Cloud surprised UMD in the final 71-62. Both teams were invited to the NCAA tournament but did not play. UMD finished 26-6, St. Cloud 23-7.
In the MIAC, my choice, the St. Thomas women, finished 3rd at 16-4, behind Bethel at 19-1 and Augsburg at 17-3. They finished the same in the playoffs. Bethel was beaten in the NCAA tournament but finished 26-2. Among the men, St. John's and St. Thomas tied for 1st in the regular season at 19-1. The Johnnies won easily at home 82-63 in the playoffs. After both won a pair of NCAA tournament games, they were scheduled to play one another again at Collegeville when everything got shut down. St. John's was 27-2, St. Thomas 26-3.
So the best of the D2 and D3 teams are the St. John's men 27-2, the St. Thomas men 26-3, the UMD women at 26-6, the Bethel women at 26-2 and rounding out the top 5 are the St. Cloud women at 23-7.
Minnesota Gophers
I had higher expectations of the women than the men, as did almost everyone. Both disappointed. The men were a pretty big disappointment, the women a bigger one. Daniel Oturu was terrific, the Gopher men's guards were a disappointment, and Destiny Pitts was a huge disappointment. The word is that Pitts and the Bello sisters, all from Michigan, decided that they would run their own offense rather than the one that coach Lindsay Whalen wanted. Pitts thought that her plays would better prepare her for the WNBA. It would have been obvious to everybody on the team--the players and the coaches--that something funny was going on. It's not clear what the coaches did to put a stop to it. But, finally, Pitts and the Bellos were suspended and told that they needed to apologize to their teammates in order to be reinstated. The Bellos decided to apologize though belatedly. Pitts decided to bas to what she had done and so nobody had given her an offer as of a month ago. So Pitts then let it be known that she wanted to come back but it wasn't clear that she still had agreed to apologize to her teammates or that Lindsay would take her back at anyway. Stay tuned.
Minnesota Timberwolves
I was ambivalent about the Wolves. Early on I said it seemed more likely that they would end up rebuilding than moving forward. Later, after they started 8-5, I started thinking there might be some potential. But, then, Karl Towns started missing games, then Andrew Wiggins was traded for D'Angelo Russell, who then did very little to justify all the hype that accompanied the Wolves efforts to obtain him. Ouch.
Team of the Year
Have we tipped our hand? We've already picked Paige Bueckers as our player of the year. Hopkins seemed to be a lock to win a second straight state title. They outscored their opponents a ridiculous 85-51. They've now won 62 straight games and a state record (for the modern era) is well within reach next year. So, yeah, team of the year.
But. The Eden Prairie boys finished 28-0 with an average winning score of 82-62. The Eagles have never won a state title and of course they have still never won a state title. But, my goodness, what a schedule. They played top 10 opponents 12 times, winning them all. They won at Eastview, East Ridge, Hopkins, they won at DeLaSalle, they won at Minnehaha. Co-team of the year.
1 (tie). Eden Prairie boys 28-0
1 (tie). Hopkins girls 30-0
3. St. John's 27-2
4. St. Thomas men 26-3
5. Minnehaha boys 25-3
• The Hopkins girls and Park Center boys among the high schools
• The Mankato State men and St. Thomas women from D2 and D3.
• The Minnesota Gopher women.
• The Minnesota Timberwolves.
So, not very good. Only the Hopkins girls are still a candidate.
The High Schools
There are of course no state champions this year. Among the girls we got down to 4 finalists--Farmington and Hopkins in Class AAAA and Becker and DeLaSalle in AAA. In AA and A, we got down to 4 semi-finalists when everything went sideways. Rochester Lourdes was #1 and still a pretty solid fave in AA, Minneota #1 but Class A looked pretty wide open.
Among all of those teams, only Hopkins was still unbeaten and only Hopkins had Minnesota Ms. Basketball and the national player of the year in Paige Bueckers. Hopkins is the obvious candidate for team of the year among the girls.
Among the boys, we had 16 section finals and another 32 teams scheduled to play for the other 16 section championships, so there's a lot more guesswork. Minnehaha in Class AAA was probably the heaviest favorite to win a state title, even more so than undefeated Eden Prairie in AAAA. EP would of course face tougher competition, though Minnehaha would probably have to beat DeLaSalle, so there were no gimmes. I liked Caledonia and Henning in AA and A, though Caledonia might have to beat undefeated Perham to win a title.
Still, you have to go with Eden Prairie as the top boys team. It's not their fault they didn't win a state title, and the Eagles were unbeaten against a fiendishly tough schedule.
D2 and D3
My picks, the Mankato State men and St. Thomas women, well, they weren't bad. But, they weren't best.
Among the NSIC men, Mankato went just 12-10 in the regular conference season and the top 3 finishers were all non-Minnesota teams. UMD was 4th at 15-7. Mankato beat #2 Sioux Falls and #4 UMD to get to the final, but lost to Northern State 80-59.
Among the NSIC women, UMD won the North at 20-2 with St. Cloud 2nd at 16-6. In the South, Mankato was 2nd at 13-9. In the post-season semi-finals, UMD beat Mankato 80-77 while St. Cloud beat Sioux Falls 76-59. St. Cloud surprised UMD in the final 71-62. Both teams were invited to the NCAA tournament but did not play. UMD finished 26-6, St. Cloud 23-7.
In the MIAC, my choice, the St. Thomas women, finished 3rd at 16-4, behind Bethel at 19-1 and Augsburg at 17-3. They finished the same in the playoffs. Bethel was beaten in the NCAA tournament but finished 26-2. Among the men, St. John's and St. Thomas tied for 1st in the regular season at 19-1. The Johnnies won easily at home 82-63 in the playoffs. After both won a pair of NCAA tournament games, they were scheduled to play one another again at Collegeville when everything got shut down. St. John's was 27-2, St. Thomas 26-3.
So the best of the D2 and D3 teams are the St. John's men 27-2, the St. Thomas men 26-3, the UMD women at 26-6, the Bethel women at 26-2 and rounding out the top 5 are the St. Cloud women at 23-7.
Minnesota Gophers
I had higher expectations of the women than the men, as did almost everyone. Both disappointed. The men were a pretty big disappointment, the women a bigger one. Daniel Oturu was terrific, the Gopher men's guards were a disappointment, and Destiny Pitts was a huge disappointment. The word is that Pitts and the Bello sisters, all from Michigan, decided that they would run their own offense rather than the one that coach Lindsay Whalen wanted. Pitts thought that her plays would better prepare her for the WNBA. It would have been obvious to everybody on the team--the players and the coaches--that something funny was going on. It's not clear what the coaches did to put a stop to it. But, finally, Pitts and the Bellos were suspended and told that they needed to apologize to their teammates in order to be reinstated. The Bellos decided to apologize though belatedly. Pitts decided to bas to what she had done and so nobody had given her an offer as of a month ago. So Pitts then let it be known that she wanted to come back but it wasn't clear that she still had agreed to apologize to her teammates or that Lindsay would take her back at anyway. Stay tuned.
Minnesota Timberwolves
I was ambivalent about the Wolves. Early on I said it seemed more likely that they would end up rebuilding than moving forward. Later, after they started 8-5, I started thinking there might be some potential. But, then, Karl Towns started missing games, then Andrew Wiggins was traded for D'Angelo Russell, who then did very little to justify all the hype that accompanied the Wolves efforts to obtain him. Ouch.
Team of the Year
Have we tipped our hand? We've already picked Paige Bueckers as our player of the year. Hopkins seemed to be a lock to win a second straight state title. They outscored their opponents a ridiculous 85-51. They've now won 62 straight games and a state record (for the modern era) is well within reach next year. So, yeah, team of the year.
But. The Eden Prairie boys finished 28-0 with an average winning score of 82-62. The Eagles have never won a state title and of course they have still never won a state title. But, my goodness, what a schedule. They played top 10 opponents 12 times, winning them all. They won at Eastview, East Ridge, Hopkins, they won at DeLaSalle, they won at Minnehaha. Co-team of the year.
1 (tie). Eden Prairie boys 28-0
1 (tie). Hopkins girls 30-0
3. St. John's 27-2
4. St. Thomas men 26-3
5. Minnehaha boys 25-3
Sunday, March 29, 2020
2020 Player of the Year
Each year since 1900 we have named a player, team, coach and game of the year. Despite the crazy turn of events this past month, we're going to do the same for 2019-2020. We just don't have as much data as usual.
For the record, my pre-season picks for Player of the Year were Paige Bueckers, Hopkins girls; Booker Coplin, Augsburg men; Daniel Oturu, Gopher men; Jalen Suggs, Minnehaha boys; and Karl Towns and Andrew Wiggins, Timberwolves
So, in short, my pre-season picks proved to be substantially less than prescient. Let's see where we ended up.
Player of the Year Finalists
Taite Anderson led Bethel to the MIAC title and a 26-2 record. Individually, she scored 20.5 ppg, was named MIAC PoY, and won all-America honors. She is from White Bear Lake, MN.
Paige Bueckers of course won every award a high school girl can win this year, except a state championship. But, the Royals hammered Cambridge and Stillwater and were as close to a lock as a team can be going into the state final. It would have been her second. I've said all along that we ought to wait until her career is over to say that she is the best ever. OK, she's the best ever.
Harrison Cleary, 6-1 guard of Minnesota Crookston, scored 24 ppg to become the top scorer in NSIC history. He is from Oak Creek, WI.
Brooke Olson, 6-2 forward at UMD, scored 17 ppg on 52-42 and 74% shooting and led the Bulldogs to a 26-6 season. She is from Rice Lake, WI.
Daniel Oturu, 6-10 sophomore, Minnesota Gophers, who exceeded expectations at 20 ppg and 11 rebounds, and will be entering the NBA draft. Bye, bye, Daniel, we hardly knew ya.
Only Bueckers and Oturu were pre-season candidates. The drop-outs are Booker Coplin, Augsburg guard, who had another nice season but just fell short. Ditto Jalen Suggs.
Then, of course, there's Karl Towns and Andrew Wiggins. I started my season preview way back around Labor Day with an NBA preview, in which I said that I thought the Timberwolves were more likely to be heading toward another rebuild than a breakthrough. That proved to be correct. By the time I wrote my Player of the Year preview around December 1 I had seen the Timberwolves play 5 or 6 times and they started off pretty well. I think they were 8-5 at one point. Wiggins in particular was playing way above last year's level. But, then Towns started missing games and, well, the rest is history. Wiggins is gone, replaced by another offensive wizard who doesn't play a lick of defense. We've got until next October to worry about it, but it's not a pretty picture. So no way are any Timberwolves candidates for PoY.
So. Player of the Year. 2020. As much as I love Daniel Oturu and as much as I respect the small college athletes, there is really no other choice but Paige Bueckers, who is the first repeat winner since Lindsay Whalen in 2002 and 2003. Before that it was Kevin Garnett in 1998 and 1999. Before that Mark Olberding in 1973 and 1974. Before that Lou Hudson. You get the picture.
For the record, my pre-season picks for Player of the Year were Paige Bueckers, Hopkins girls; Booker Coplin, Augsburg men; Daniel Oturu, Gopher men; Jalen Suggs, Minnehaha boys; and Karl Towns and Andrew Wiggins, Timberwolves
So, in short, my pre-season picks proved to be substantially less than prescient. Let's see where we ended up.
Player of the Year Finalists
Taite Anderson led Bethel to the MIAC title and a 26-2 record. Individually, she scored 20.5 ppg, was named MIAC PoY, and won all-America honors. She is from White Bear Lake, MN.
Paige Bueckers of course won every award a high school girl can win this year, except a state championship. But, the Royals hammered Cambridge and Stillwater and were as close to a lock as a team can be going into the state final. It would have been her second. I've said all along that we ought to wait until her career is over to say that she is the best ever. OK, she's the best ever.
Harrison Cleary, 6-1 guard of Minnesota Crookston, scored 24 ppg to become the top scorer in NSIC history. He is from Oak Creek, WI.
Brooke Olson, 6-2 forward at UMD, scored 17 ppg on 52-42 and 74% shooting and led the Bulldogs to a 26-6 season. She is from Rice Lake, WI.
Daniel Oturu, 6-10 sophomore, Minnesota Gophers, who exceeded expectations at 20 ppg and 11 rebounds, and will be entering the NBA draft. Bye, bye, Daniel, we hardly knew ya.
Only Bueckers and Oturu were pre-season candidates. The drop-outs are Booker Coplin, Augsburg guard, who had another nice season but just fell short. Ditto Jalen Suggs.
Then, of course, there's Karl Towns and Andrew Wiggins. I started my season preview way back around Labor Day with an NBA preview, in which I said that I thought the Timberwolves were more likely to be heading toward another rebuild than a breakthrough. That proved to be correct. By the time I wrote my Player of the Year preview around December 1 I had seen the Timberwolves play 5 or 6 times and they started off pretty well. I think they were 8-5 at one point. Wiggins in particular was playing way above last year's level. But, then Towns started missing games and, well, the rest is history. Wiggins is gone, replaced by another offensive wizard who doesn't play a lick of defense. We've got until next October to worry about it, but it's not a pretty picture. So no way are any Timberwolves candidates for PoY.
So. Player of the Year. 2020. As much as I love Daniel Oturu and as much as I respect the small college athletes, there is really no other choice but Paige Bueckers, who is the first repeat winner since Lindsay Whalen in 2002 and 2003. Before that it was Kevin Garnett in 1998 and 1999. Before that Mark Olberding in 1973 and 1974. Before that Lou Hudson. You get the picture.
A Look Back at Ms. Basketball 2016-2019
Kevin Anderson published a post the other day listing the top 5 scorers in D1 from each of the past 4 high school classes. Thanks, Kevin. It is great reading. It made me think that, well, these are the top 5 today, in a manner of speaking, and there are 5 Ms. Basketball finalists each year. How many of them are the same? How much has Ms. Basketball been predictive of college success?
Class of 2016
Not very.
The Ms. Basketball finalists were Nia Hollie, Hopkins and Michigan State; Taylor Koenen, Shakopee and North Carolina; Jamie Ruden, Rochester JM and Arizona State; Kiara Russell, Osseo and also Arizona State; and Abi Scheid, Elk River and Northwestern. Nia Hollie was Ms. Basketball.
The top 5 scorers in 2020 are Maddie Nelson, Dover-Eyota and Denver (20 ppg); Hannah Crymble, Champlin Park and Vermont (17); Koenen (15); Laura Bagwell-Katalinich, Holy Angels and Cornell (13); and Ashley Bates, Hopkins and Hampton (13). Also in double figures are Hannah Sjerven, Rogers and South Dakota; and Madison McKeever, Win-E-Mac (Kevin incorrectly attributed her to Ada-Borup; that was her sister Mariah who played at Ada, then went to Moorhead State).
Crymble was first team all-America East and defensive player of the year; Sjerven was both of those same things in the Summit. Bates was also defensive PoY for the 2nd time. Crymble is also the only 2016 to score in double figures four times. That's not to say they should have been Ms. Basketball finalists. They did their work in the mid-majors while the finalists all went high D1.
But if you wanted to pick 5 Ms. BB finalists from this class today, you'd consider taking Crymble and Sjerven ahead of Ruden (7 ppg), Russell (5) and Hollie (3). Granted, Ruden, Russell and Hollie played high D1, Crymble and Sherven didn't. Still, you'd have to think about it. You'd also take a good hard look at McKeever. Koenen and Scheid are the locks.
And if you were picking Ms. Basketball 2016 today, there's no question that Koenen would be the pick. She was the Star Tribune Metro PoY. The Ms. BB committee liked Hollie. I was writing for North Star Girls Hoops at that time, and we liked Koenen, too.
The real sickening thing in all of this, though, was Scheid's rejection by Gopher coach Merlene Stollings. Scheid pretty much begged the Gophers to let her walk on. No scholarship, just let me walk on. Stollings said no. So she went to Northwestern and the Wildcats tied for the Big 10 title and Scheid made 1st team all-Big 10.
Bagwell-Katalinich will be playing for the Gophers next year as a graduate transfer. It says here that she'll be a contributor.
Class of 2017
The Ms. Basketball finalists were Kiley Borowicz, Roseau and Moorhead State; Temi Carda, Lakeville North and Creighton; Gabi Haack, Elk River and Bradley; Rae Johnson, St. Michael-Albertville and Iowa State; and Chelsea Mason, Mountain Iron-Buhl and UMD.
The committee snubbed Kristin Scott of Kasson-Mantorville and Iowa State, and guess who is now the #1 scorer from this class? Scott at 14 ppg. Ms. BB Haack is second at 13, while Carda is also at 13. Rachel Ranke of Eastview and Kansas State is at 10, and Maddie Monahan, Glencoe-Silver Lake and Drake, is at 9.
Borowicz scored 14 ppg this year but is retiring from basketball due to arthritis. Johnson scored 9 ppg for Iowa State, while Mason never intended to play college ball, then relented for one year at UMD, then retired again.
I remember moving Haack into the top 10 of the North Star Girls Hoops ratings her sophomore year. Everybody said, "She's not that good." I moved her up to #5 her junior year and they said, "She's not that good." Then as a senior I moved her up to #3 and they said, "She's not that good." Then she led the Elks to a 32-0 record, a big upset of Hopkins and a state title. Voila! She won the Ms. Basketball award and I said, "She's not that good." (I liked Kristin Scott.) After having no D1 offers at the time, Bradley finally came through and she has more than paid off for the Braves.
Still, I thought the committee made a big mistake in snubbing Scott and if I could pick a Ms. BB 2017 today, I would still pick Kristin Scott.
Class of 2018
The Ms. Basketball finalists in 2018 were Sam Haiby, Moorhead and Nebraska; Heaven Hamling, Grand Rapids and Stephen F. Austin (but now NDSU); Sydney Lodermeier, Goodhue and Winona State; Maesyn Thiesen, Sauk Centre and UMD; and Megan Walstad, Eastview and Milwaukee.
The top 5 today are Monika Czinano, Watertown-Mayer and Iowa (16 ppg and 2nd team all-Big 10); Ayoka Lee, Byron and Kansas State (16, 1st team all-Big 12 and freshman of the year after redshirting last year); Emma Grothaus, Mahtomedi and Lehigh (10); Haiby (10); and Jaclyn Jarnot, Maranatha and North Dakota (9).
With Czinano and Lee eating up two high D1 conferences, they look like big oversights by the Ms. BB committee. I liked Haiby as PoY, the committee liked Walseth. Walseth scored 11 ppg as a freshman, then sat out this past year, I assume with an injury. Right now, today, the Ms. BB 2018 is still wide open among Czinano, Lee and Haiby, and Walseth is still in the running.
Class of 2019
Today's college freshmen who were Ms. BB finalists were Kacie Borowicz, Roseau and North Dakota; Dlayla Chakolis, Hopkins and Hampton; McKenna Hofschild, Prior Lake and Seton Hall; Frannie Hottinger, Cretin and Lehigh; and Sara Scalia, Stillwater and Minnesota.
The top 5 scorers this year were Lariah Washington, St. Cloud Apollo and Eastern Illinois (11 ppg); Scalia (11); Tori Nelson, Henry Sibley and South Dakota State (10); Borowicz (7); and Olivia Lane, Pequot Lakes and North Dakota (6).
Chakolis scored 4, Hofschild and Hottinger 2. Hofschild in particular deserves some additional adjustment time, playing at a high D1. But, it seems today that the committee erred in not picking Scalia, who is already in double digits at a high D1. Washington, meanwhile, was not highly regarded. Prep Hoops had her down in the 20s, which looks like a miss. And, the committee's snub of Tori Nelson also looks like a mistake though I wouldn't bet against Hottinger becoming a star. Right now she's stuck behind Grothaus in the Lehigh rotation.
10 Years from Now, These Will Look Like the Best High School Players 2016-2020
Center--Yokie Lee, Byron and Kansas State, 6-6, 2018
Forward--Monika Czinano, Watertown-Mayer and Iowa, 6-2, 2018
Wing--Taylor Koenen, Shakopee and North Carolina, 6-0, 2016
Point Guard--Sara Scalia, Stillwater and Minnesota, 5-9, 2019
Shooting Guard--Sam Haiby, Moorhead and Nebraska, 5-10, 2018
2nd Team
Center--Abi Scheid, Elk River and Northwestern, 6-2, 2016
Forward--Megan Walstad, Eastview and Milwaukee, 6-2, 2018
Wing--Tori Nelson, Sibley and South Dakota State, 6-1, 2019
Point Guard--Gabi Haack, Elk River and Bradley, 5-10, 2017
Shooting Guard--Maddie Nelson, Dover-Eyota and Denver, 6-0, 2016
3rd Team
Center--Kristin Scott, Kasson-Mantorville and Iowa State, 6-2, 2017
Forward--Laura Bagwell-Katalinich, Holy Angels and Cornell (and Minnesota), 6-2, 2016
Wing--Rachel Ranke, Eastview and Kansas State, 6-2, 2017
Point Guard--Temi Carda, Lakeville North and Creighton, 5-7, 2017
Shooting Guard--Ashley Bates, Hopkins and Hampton, 5-8, 2016
Honorable Mention
Center--Hannah Sjerven, Rogers and South Dakota, 6-3, 2016
Forward and Wing--Kiley Borowicz, Roseau and Moorhead State, 2017
Point Guard--Madison McKeever, WEM and South Dakota, 2016
Shooting Guard--Lariah Washington, St. Cloud Apollo and Eastern Illinois, 2019
Ms. Basketball 2016-2019 Taylor Koenen
Class of 2016
Not very.
The Ms. Basketball finalists were Nia Hollie, Hopkins and Michigan State; Taylor Koenen, Shakopee and North Carolina; Jamie Ruden, Rochester JM and Arizona State; Kiara Russell, Osseo and also Arizona State; and Abi Scheid, Elk River and Northwestern. Nia Hollie was Ms. Basketball.
The top 5 scorers in 2020 are Maddie Nelson, Dover-Eyota and Denver (20 ppg); Hannah Crymble, Champlin Park and Vermont (17); Koenen (15); Laura Bagwell-Katalinich, Holy Angels and Cornell (13); and Ashley Bates, Hopkins and Hampton (13). Also in double figures are Hannah Sjerven, Rogers and South Dakota; and Madison McKeever, Win-E-Mac (Kevin incorrectly attributed her to Ada-Borup; that was her sister Mariah who played at Ada, then went to Moorhead State).
Crymble was first team all-America East and defensive player of the year; Sjerven was both of those same things in the Summit. Bates was also defensive PoY for the 2nd time. Crymble is also the only 2016 to score in double figures four times. That's not to say they should have been Ms. Basketball finalists. They did their work in the mid-majors while the finalists all went high D1.
But if you wanted to pick 5 Ms. BB finalists from this class today, you'd consider taking Crymble and Sjerven ahead of Ruden (7 ppg), Russell (5) and Hollie (3). Granted, Ruden, Russell and Hollie played high D1, Crymble and Sherven didn't. Still, you'd have to think about it. You'd also take a good hard look at McKeever. Koenen and Scheid are the locks.
And if you were picking Ms. Basketball 2016 today, there's no question that Koenen would be the pick. She was the Star Tribune Metro PoY. The Ms. BB committee liked Hollie. I was writing for North Star Girls Hoops at that time, and we liked Koenen, too.
The real sickening thing in all of this, though, was Scheid's rejection by Gopher coach Merlene Stollings. Scheid pretty much begged the Gophers to let her walk on. No scholarship, just let me walk on. Stollings said no. So she went to Northwestern and the Wildcats tied for the Big 10 title and Scheid made 1st team all-Big 10.
Bagwell-Katalinich will be playing for the Gophers next year as a graduate transfer. It says here that she'll be a contributor.
Class of 2017
The Ms. Basketball finalists were Kiley Borowicz, Roseau and Moorhead State; Temi Carda, Lakeville North and Creighton; Gabi Haack, Elk River and Bradley; Rae Johnson, St. Michael-Albertville and Iowa State; and Chelsea Mason, Mountain Iron-Buhl and UMD.
The committee snubbed Kristin Scott of Kasson-Mantorville and Iowa State, and guess who is now the #1 scorer from this class? Scott at 14 ppg. Ms. BB Haack is second at 13, while Carda is also at 13. Rachel Ranke of Eastview and Kansas State is at 10, and Maddie Monahan, Glencoe-Silver Lake and Drake, is at 9.
Borowicz scored 14 ppg this year but is retiring from basketball due to arthritis. Johnson scored 9 ppg for Iowa State, while Mason never intended to play college ball, then relented for one year at UMD, then retired again.
I remember moving Haack into the top 10 of the North Star Girls Hoops ratings her sophomore year. Everybody said, "She's not that good." I moved her up to #5 her junior year and they said, "She's not that good." Then as a senior I moved her up to #3 and they said, "She's not that good." Then she led the Elks to a 32-0 record, a big upset of Hopkins and a state title. Voila! She won the Ms. Basketball award and I said, "She's not that good." (I liked Kristin Scott.) After having no D1 offers at the time, Bradley finally came through and she has more than paid off for the Braves.
Still, I thought the committee made a big mistake in snubbing Scott and if I could pick a Ms. BB 2017 today, I would still pick Kristin Scott.
Class of 2018
The Ms. Basketball finalists in 2018 were Sam Haiby, Moorhead and Nebraska; Heaven Hamling, Grand Rapids and Stephen F. Austin (but now NDSU); Sydney Lodermeier, Goodhue and Winona State; Maesyn Thiesen, Sauk Centre and UMD; and Megan Walstad, Eastview and Milwaukee.
The top 5 today are Monika Czinano, Watertown-Mayer and Iowa (16 ppg and 2nd team all-Big 10); Ayoka Lee, Byron and Kansas State (16, 1st team all-Big 12 and freshman of the year after redshirting last year); Emma Grothaus, Mahtomedi and Lehigh (10); Haiby (10); and Jaclyn Jarnot, Maranatha and North Dakota (9).
With Czinano and Lee eating up two high D1 conferences, they look like big oversights by the Ms. BB committee. I liked Haiby as PoY, the committee liked Walseth. Walseth scored 11 ppg as a freshman, then sat out this past year, I assume with an injury. Right now, today, the Ms. BB 2018 is still wide open among Czinano, Lee and Haiby, and Walseth is still in the running.
Class of 2019
Today's college freshmen who were Ms. BB finalists were Kacie Borowicz, Roseau and North Dakota; Dlayla Chakolis, Hopkins and Hampton; McKenna Hofschild, Prior Lake and Seton Hall; Frannie Hottinger, Cretin and Lehigh; and Sara Scalia, Stillwater and Minnesota.
The top 5 scorers this year were Lariah Washington, St. Cloud Apollo and Eastern Illinois (11 ppg); Scalia (11); Tori Nelson, Henry Sibley and South Dakota State (10); Borowicz (7); and Olivia Lane, Pequot Lakes and North Dakota (6).
Chakolis scored 4, Hofschild and Hottinger 2. Hofschild in particular deserves some additional adjustment time, playing at a high D1. But, it seems today that the committee erred in not picking Scalia, who is already in double digits at a high D1. Washington, meanwhile, was not highly regarded. Prep Hoops had her down in the 20s, which looks like a miss. And, the committee's snub of Tori Nelson also looks like a mistake though I wouldn't bet against Hottinger becoming a star. Right now she's stuck behind Grothaus in the Lehigh rotation.
10 Years from Now, These Will Look Like the Best High School Players 2016-2020
Center--Yokie Lee, Byron and Kansas State, 6-6, 2018
Forward--Monika Czinano, Watertown-Mayer and Iowa, 6-2, 2018
Wing--Taylor Koenen, Shakopee and North Carolina, 6-0, 2016
Point Guard--Sara Scalia, Stillwater and Minnesota, 5-9, 2019
Shooting Guard--Sam Haiby, Moorhead and Nebraska, 5-10, 2018
2nd Team
Center--Abi Scheid, Elk River and Northwestern, 6-2, 2016
Forward--Megan Walstad, Eastview and Milwaukee, 6-2, 2018
Wing--Tori Nelson, Sibley and South Dakota State, 6-1, 2019
Point Guard--Gabi Haack, Elk River and Bradley, 5-10, 2017
Shooting Guard--Maddie Nelson, Dover-Eyota and Denver, 6-0, 2016
3rd Team
Center--Kristin Scott, Kasson-Mantorville and Iowa State, 6-2, 2017
Forward--Laura Bagwell-Katalinich, Holy Angels and Cornell (and Minnesota), 6-2, 2016
Wing--Rachel Ranke, Eastview and Kansas State, 6-2, 2017
Point Guard--Temi Carda, Lakeville North and Creighton, 5-7, 2017
Shooting Guard--Ashley Bates, Hopkins and Hampton, 5-8, 2016
Honorable Mention
Center--Hannah Sjerven, Rogers and South Dakota, 6-3, 2016
Forward and Wing--Kiley Borowicz, Roseau and Moorhead State, 2017
Point Guard--Madison McKeever, WEM and South Dakota, 2016
Shooting Guard--Lariah Washington, St. Cloud Apollo and Eastern Illinois, 2019
Ms. Basketball 2016-2019 Taylor Koenen
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Boys Fantasy Tournament Class A
In Class A we had 3 section champions crowned on Thursday night. Blooming Prairie beat Hayfield 59-51 in 1A to win just their 2nd state tournament berth ever and 1st since 1966. Perennial power and 5 time champion Southwest Minnesota Christian beat Central Minnesota Christian 71-64 in 2A. And in 6A defending state champ and #1 rated Henning beat West Central 57-45 to return to the tournament for just the 4th time.
So here are all of the tournament entries in our fantasy version of the 2020 Class A boys tournament.
Section 1A--Blooming Prairie 25-3 #8 QRF
Section 2A--We had 2 upsets in this loaded section on Monday night. #6 QRF New Ulm Cathedral beat #1 BOLD 82-68, and #5 Springfield beat #4 Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 70-66. So the section final Friday night had Cathedral (26-3) and Springfield (also 26-3 and the defending section champion). I have Springfield repeating over Cathedral 70-69 and now with a record of 27-3.
Section 3A--Southwest MN Christian 29-0 but only #9QRF!?
Section 4A--CHOF vs. Legacy was the final. Legacy 64-63 to advance at 25-4 and #16 QRF.
Section 5A--Nevis plays 14-14 Hinckley-Finlayson in the final. Nevis 77 Hinckley 41.
Section 6A--Henning 29-1 #3 QRF. BOLD gave Henning its only loss.
Section 7A--Nashwauk-Keewatin beats 3-time defending champion North Woods 73-68 to advance at 25-4 and #11 QRF.
Section 8A--Ada defeats Class Lake 76-62 to repeat as section champ. They're 28-1 and #2QRF.
The Seeds and Matchups
1. Henning draws Legacy. Last year Henning rode roughshod over everybody, forcing turnovers by the bushel basket. But that was mostly guard Sam Fisher, who is now gone. But, Henning remains very quick, maybe not as explosive but with more depth than a year ago. Senior guards Peter Frakl, Blaine Wellevand and Isaac Fisher lead the way but, hey, forward Brandon Trana, who scored 5 ppg in the regular season, scored 19 in a section game. Lots of weapons.
2. Ada draws Nash-Kee. Contrary to popular opinion, Ada is not a one-man band, but Mason Miller is one big, big man and scores 21 ppg. But, 6-0 guard Preston Gwin adds 18. Like Henning, they've got just one loss. Henning lost to BOLD, Ada lost to...Henning. 4 guys scored in double figures for Nash-Kee, so they're no pushover.
3. Southwest Christian draws Nevis. How does a 5-time state champion go undefeated and finish #9 in QRF. Wow. But, OK, they only played one ranked team all year, that being Central MN Christian. They won both times. 6 guys averaged in double figures for Southwest Christian. Absolutely a threat. Meanwhile, Nevis had 4 guys in double figures led by Eddie Kramer at 21.
4. Blooming Prairie plays Springfield. High scoring Isaac Fink is gone for Springfield, but Decker Scheffler assumed the mantle, scoring 28 ppg, while Mitch Buerkle added 20.
5. Springfield
X. Legacy Christian
X. Nash-Kee
X. Nevis
1st Round
Henning 80 Legacy 56
Ada 70 Nash-Kee 67
Southwest Christian 71 Nevis 58
Springfield 65 Blooming Prairie 62
Semis
Nash-Kee and Blooming Prairie advance in the consolation bracket.
Henning 70 Ada 64
Southwest Christian 70 Springfield 69
Finals
5th--Blooming Prairie 63 Nash-Kee 61
3rd--Springfield 70 Ada 69
Championship Henning 69 Southwest Christian 63. Henning repeats.
All-Tournament
Peter Frakl, Blaine Wellevand and Isaac Fisher--Henning
Cade Fey, Avery Pater--Southwest Christian
Decker Scheffler--Springfield
Mason Miller--Ada
Gabe Hagen--Blooming Prairie
Jager Nash--Nash-Kee
Eddie Kramer--Nevis
Saturday, March 14, 2020
Boys Fantasy Tournament Class AA
Two section champions were crowned on Thursday--#5 QRF Caledonia beat Stewartville 71-53 is 1AA, and #18 Jackson County Central beat Minnewaska in 3AA 69-60.
2AA--#6 Waseca was set to play #29 Jordan. I like Waseca 79-55.
4AA--#27 Concordia and #40 Cristo Rey Jesuit had advanced to the final. I like Cristo 70-64. Cristo Rey gave St. Croix Prep their 1st loss of the season in the semis 66-61. Cristo is just 15-13 but that was a message.
5AA--#1 Minneapolis North would have handled #10 Blake in the final 75-66.
6AA--#12 Melrose 63 #15 Mora 58.
7AA--#13 Esko 76 #25 Pierz 59.
8AA--#4 Perham 60 #2 Fergus 57.
The Seeds and Matchups
1. Caledonia 28-1 and 5-1 vs. the top 15 teams, and #5 QRF.
2. Perham 28-0 and 3-0, #1 QRF.
3. Waseca 25-5, 6-4, #6.
4. Minneapolis North 21-8, 2-7 and #1 QRF.
5. Melrose 23-6 and 1-1 and #12 QRF.
X. Cristo Rey 15-13, 2-4 and #40.
X. Esko 21-7 and 0-2, #13 QRF.
X. Jackson CC 20-7, 0-4 and #18.
#1 Caledonia vs. Cristo Rey Jesuit
#4 Mpls. North vs. #5 Melrose
#2 Perham vs. Esko
#3 Waseca vs. Jackson CC
First Round
Caledonia would easily dispatch Cristo Rey 93-47.
Minneapolis North 70 Melrose 57.
Perham 75 Esko 61.
Waseca 80 Jackson 63. Waseca defeated Jackson 94-78 in December in the Big South Showcase.
Semi-Finals
Melrose wins easily, and Esko by 2 in consolation.
Caledonia 80 Minneapolis North 79 (OT).
Perham 65 Waseca 61. Perham goes into my fantasy final undefeated.
Finals
5th--Esko 63 Melrose 62.
3rd--Minneapolis North 72 Waseca 70.
Championship--Caledonia 71 Perham 67. Caledonia is just #7 in QRF.
All-Tournament 5
Noah King, Caledonia, 6-2, senior, G
Rudy Voss, Jackson, 6-2, senior, G
Finn Diggins, Perham, 6-5, junior, C
Andrew Morgan, Waseca, 6-8, junior, F
Davon Townley, Mpls. North, 6-7, junior, F
2AA--#6 Waseca was set to play #29 Jordan. I like Waseca 79-55.
4AA--#27 Concordia and #40 Cristo Rey Jesuit had advanced to the final. I like Cristo 70-64. Cristo Rey gave St. Croix Prep their 1st loss of the season in the semis 66-61. Cristo is just 15-13 but that was a message.
5AA--#1 Minneapolis North would have handled #10 Blake in the final 75-66.
6AA--#12 Melrose 63 #15 Mora 58.
7AA--#13 Esko 76 #25 Pierz 59.
8AA--#4 Perham 60 #2 Fergus 57.
The Seeds and Matchups
1. Caledonia 28-1 and 5-1 vs. the top 15 teams, and #5 QRF.
2. Perham 28-0 and 3-0, #1 QRF.
3. Waseca 25-5, 6-4, #6.
4. Minneapolis North 21-8, 2-7 and #1 QRF.
5. Melrose 23-6 and 1-1 and #12 QRF.
X. Cristo Rey 15-13, 2-4 and #40.
X. Esko 21-7 and 0-2, #13 QRF.
X. Jackson CC 20-7, 0-4 and #18.
#1 Caledonia vs. Cristo Rey Jesuit
#4 Mpls. North vs. #5 Melrose
#2 Perham vs. Esko
#3 Waseca vs. Jackson CC
First Round
Caledonia would easily dispatch Cristo Rey 93-47.
Minneapolis North 70 Melrose 57.
Perham 75 Esko 61.
Waseca 80 Jackson 63. Waseca defeated Jackson 94-78 in December in the Big South Showcase.
Semi-Finals
Melrose wins easily, and Esko by 2 in consolation.
Caledonia 80 Minneapolis North 79 (OT).
Perham 65 Waseca 61. Perham goes into my fantasy final undefeated.
Finals
5th--Esko 63 Melrose 62.
3rd--Minneapolis North 72 Waseca 70.
Championship--Caledonia 71 Perham 67. Caledonia is just #7 in QRF.
All-Tournament 5
Noah King, Caledonia, 6-2, senior, G
Rudy Voss, Jackson, 6-2, senior, G
Finn Diggins, Perham, 6-5, junior, C
Andrew Morgan, Waseca, 6-8, junior, F
Davon Townley, Mpls. North, 6-7, junior, F
Boys Fantasy Tournament: Class AAAA
There will be no boys tournament in 2020 for the 1st time in 108 years. We've had World War I, World War II, the killer flu of 1919, 9-11, all kinds of stuff but never have they ever canceled the tournament until now.
So we had I think 16 section finals completed last Wednesday and Thursday, but we had 16 more section finals cancelled last Friday night, so 48 teams had not lost in their sections. Our fantasy tournament will have to figure out who would have won that 2nd set of 16 section titles, what the seeds would have been, and who would have won if they were only going ahead with it.
Class AAAA
The Sections
Section 1 #1 Lakeville South and #2 Rochester Mayo made it to the finals. South is #9 statewide and Mayo #23 so South was the fave. Reid Patterson leads the way for South while the improvement of sophomore Andrew Mast is a bonus. The Madsen boys, Gabe and Mason, lead the way with 45 points between them, while junior guard Michael Sharp is most-improved. The game would have been played in Rochester so I'll take Mayo 67-66.
Section 2 Here 28-0 #1 Eden Prairie was getting ready to play Shakopee when things went to heck, and they got that game at home. I like EP 76-67.
Section 3 #1 and #2, Eastview and Lakeville North, would have played in 3AAAA. Eastview has Steven Crowl and a solid supporting cast. You had to like Eastview maybe 75-69.
Section 4 Cretin beat East Ridge 51-48 on a last-second 3 to advance to the state tournament.
Section 5 Park Center was #1 and Spring Lake Park #2, and both made it to the finals. Park Center was always the fave in 5AAAA while Spring Lake Park is one of the biggest surprises in AAAA this year. Park Center beat SLP 69-62 and 70-59 so three on a match? No, I'll stay with Park Center
69-60.
Section 6 Hopkins beat Cooper 71-60.
Section 7 Cambridge-Isanti beat Duluth East 81-73.
Section 8 Maple Grove edged Buffalo 54-52.
The Seeds
1. Eden Prairie 28-0
2. Eastview 24-4
3. Cretin 25-4
4. Park Center 23-5
5. Hopkins 24-5
X. Lakeville South 21-7
X. Cambridge 24-4
X. Maple Grove 23-5
The Matchups
#1 Eden Prairie vs. Cambridge
#4 Park Center vs. Hopkins
#2 Eastview vs. Lakeville South
#3 Cretin vs. Maple Grove
First Round
Last year Cambridge was unseeded and drew #1 Hopkins. This year the Cambridge girls were unseeded and drew #1 Hopkins. Now the Cambridge boys are unseeded and draw #1 again. Eden Prairie 81 Cambridge 65.
Park Center beat Hopkins 85-70 on Day One, then lost their mo in January, but then won 13 of 14 on the way in. It's hard to picture the Pirates being the Royals by 15 again at this time of the year. Hopkins started out losing to Park Center and Shakopee but lost only to Eden Prairie and DeLaSalle after that. Last year the Royals won it all with 4 losses, so who knows what might have happened. I like Hopkins 70 Park Center 69.
Eastview started 20-2 and finished 4-2. South started 10-0 and finished 11-7. South won by 1 at Eastview in January, and lost to the Lightning by 7 at home in March. Eastview finished in a 3-way tie for 1st in the South Suburban at 15-3 while South faded to 11-7. You gotta like Eastview 72-65.
You gotta like Cretin in game #4, I'll say 76-63.
Sem-Finals
Park Center and Maple Grove advanced in the consolation bracket.
EP beat Hopkins 82-68 and 81-75. 3 on a match? I'd be nervous if I were EP. I'd like to have lost one somewhere along the way. It's tough enough at #1 without being unbeaten besides. Still, it would be a big upset if Hopkins won this one. I'll take EP 71-66.
Cretin vs. Eastview is a bona fide tossup. Cretin is athletic and young. Eastview is a great offensive team, not as good on the defensive side of the ball. Eastview has a big size advantage with 6-11 Steve Crowl. J'Vonne Hadley at 6-7 is Cretin's biggest starter and he is an elite player, too. Cretin guard Tre Holloman may give his team a similar edge on the perimeter though Eastview guards Ryan Thissen and Jaylen James are solid, too. Cretin's Amari Carter is a solid shooter, too. So this would have been a great game. I like Cretin 71-68.
Finals
5th Place Park Center 66 Maple Grove 65
3rd Place Eastview 80 Hopkins 77
Championship Eden Prairie 75 Cretin 74
All-Tournament 5
Drake Dobbs, Eden Prairie, senior, guard
Steven Crowl, Eastview, senior, forward
Kerwin Walton, Hopkins, senior, guard
Dain Dainja, Park Center, senior, post
John Henry, Eden Prairie, senior, forward
So we had I think 16 section finals completed last Wednesday and Thursday, but we had 16 more section finals cancelled last Friday night, so 48 teams had not lost in their sections. Our fantasy tournament will have to figure out who would have won that 2nd set of 16 section titles, what the seeds would have been, and who would have won if they were only going ahead with it.
Class AAAA
The Sections
Section 1 #1 Lakeville South and #2 Rochester Mayo made it to the finals. South is #9 statewide and Mayo #23 so South was the fave. Reid Patterson leads the way for South while the improvement of sophomore Andrew Mast is a bonus. The Madsen boys, Gabe and Mason, lead the way with 45 points between them, while junior guard Michael Sharp is most-improved. The game would have been played in Rochester so I'll take Mayo 67-66.
Section 2 Here 28-0 #1 Eden Prairie was getting ready to play Shakopee when things went to heck, and they got that game at home. I like EP 76-67.
Section 3 #1 and #2, Eastview and Lakeville North, would have played in 3AAAA. Eastview has Steven Crowl and a solid supporting cast. You had to like Eastview maybe 75-69.
Section 4 Cretin beat East Ridge 51-48 on a last-second 3 to advance to the state tournament.
Section 5 Park Center was #1 and Spring Lake Park #2, and both made it to the finals. Park Center was always the fave in 5AAAA while Spring Lake Park is one of the biggest surprises in AAAA this year. Park Center beat SLP 69-62 and 70-59 so three on a match? No, I'll stay with Park Center
69-60.
Section 6 Hopkins beat Cooper 71-60.
Section 7 Cambridge-Isanti beat Duluth East 81-73.
Section 8 Maple Grove edged Buffalo 54-52.
The Seeds
1. Eden Prairie 28-0
2. Eastview 24-4
3. Cretin 25-4
4. Park Center 23-5
5. Hopkins 24-5
X. Lakeville South 21-7
X. Cambridge 24-4
X. Maple Grove 23-5
The Matchups
#1 Eden Prairie vs. Cambridge
#4 Park Center vs. Hopkins
#2 Eastview vs. Lakeville South
#3 Cretin vs. Maple Grove
First Round
Last year Cambridge was unseeded and drew #1 Hopkins. This year the Cambridge girls were unseeded and drew #1 Hopkins. Now the Cambridge boys are unseeded and draw #1 again. Eden Prairie 81 Cambridge 65.
Park Center beat Hopkins 85-70 on Day One, then lost their mo in January, but then won 13 of 14 on the way in. It's hard to picture the Pirates being the Royals by 15 again at this time of the year. Hopkins started out losing to Park Center and Shakopee but lost only to Eden Prairie and DeLaSalle after that. Last year the Royals won it all with 4 losses, so who knows what might have happened. I like Hopkins 70 Park Center 69.
Eastview started 20-2 and finished 4-2. South started 10-0 and finished 11-7. South won by 1 at Eastview in January, and lost to the Lightning by 7 at home in March. Eastview finished in a 3-way tie for 1st in the South Suburban at 15-3 while South faded to 11-7. You gotta like Eastview 72-65.
You gotta like Cretin in game #4, I'll say 76-63.
Sem-Finals
Park Center and Maple Grove advanced in the consolation bracket.
EP beat Hopkins 82-68 and 81-75. 3 on a match? I'd be nervous if I were EP. I'd like to have lost one somewhere along the way. It's tough enough at #1 without being unbeaten besides. Still, it would be a big upset if Hopkins won this one. I'll take EP 71-66.
Cretin vs. Eastview is a bona fide tossup. Cretin is athletic and young. Eastview is a great offensive team, not as good on the defensive side of the ball. Eastview has a big size advantage with 6-11 Steve Crowl. J'Vonne Hadley at 6-7 is Cretin's biggest starter and he is an elite player, too. Cretin guard Tre Holloman may give his team a similar edge on the perimeter though Eastview guards Ryan Thissen and Jaylen James are solid, too. Cretin's Amari Carter is a solid shooter, too. So this would have been a great game. I like Cretin 71-68.
Finals
5th Place Park Center 66 Maple Grove 65
3rd Place Eastview 80 Hopkins 77
Championship Eden Prairie 75 Cretin 74
All-Tournament 5
Drake Dobbs, Eden Prairie, senior, guard
Steven Crowl, Eastview, senior, forward
Kerwin Walton, Hopkins, senior, guard
Dain Dainja, Park Center, senior, post
John Henry, Eden Prairie, senior, forward
The Final Top 10: Class A
In Class A, the 4 1st round winners are head and shoulders above the field, but what's the right order. How would it have played out if it had been played?
1. Minneota 31-1, #1 seed, 5-1 vs. the top 15. Minneota is of course the defending state champion. Their only loss was to Goodhue in a rematch of last year's Class A final, won by Minneota 40-31. But Goodhue is in Class AA now, and Goodhue beat state tournament entries Cromwell, BBE and Red Lake and beat Southwest Christian twice. You have to believe that Minneota was going to repeat.
2. Cromwell 29-2 and 7-2 vs. the top 15. Cromwell of course lost to Minneota just 49-47 and finally got that long-anticipated playoff win over Mountain Iron-Buhl. Taya Hakamaki scored 34 in the 1st round against BBE and Cromwell beat BBE a lot more easily than Minneota did. It's not a given that Cromwell would have beaten Henning, but they had a real shot at winning the title.
3. Henning 29-2 and 1-0 against the top 15. Didn't face the competition that Minneota and Cromwell played. That doesn't mean they couldn't win but it does mean that in the absence of results on the court, a person can't find enough evidence that they would.
4. Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 27-4 and 4-0. Beat Blooming Prairie twice, Sleepy Eye St. Mary's and Heritage, but lost 3 straight in Jan.-Feb. Another team that could have gone all the way. This would have been a great couple of final rounds. But Minneota and Cromwell have a little better resume.
5. Mountain Iron-Buhl 23-7 and 4-6. Lost to Cromwell but beat Heritage.
6. Heritage Christian 22-8 and 2-5. Missed Taylie Scott even more than I would have thought.
7. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 27-3 and 2-1. Lost to BBE in the section final.
8. Mayer Lutheran 23-6 and 2-3.
9. Sleepy Eye St. Mary's 25-3 but 0-1.
10. Hills-Beaver Creek 22-3 and 2-1.
Class A Big 5
Taya Hakamaki, Cromwell, senior, guard
Ellie Dague, Henning, junior, guard
Madi Mathiowetz, Sleepy Eye St. Mary's, sophomore, guard
Abby Hennen, Minneota, junior, guard
Shaily Hakamaki, Cromwell, senior, guard
1. Minneota 31-1, #1 seed, 5-1 vs. the top 15. Minneota is of course the defending state champion. Their only loss was to Goodhue in a rematch of last year's Class A final, won by Minneota 40-31. But Goodhue is in Class AA now, and Goodhue beat state tournament entries Cromwell, BBE and Red Lake and beat Southwest Christian twice. You have to believe that Minneota was going to repeat.
2. Cromwell 29-2 and 7-2 vs. the top 15. Cromwell of course lost to Minneota just 49-47 and finally got that long-anticipated playoff win over Mountain Iron-Buhl. Taya Hakamaki scored 34 in the 1st round against BBE and Cromwell beat BBE a lot more easily than Minneota did. It's not a given that Cromwell would have beaten Henning, but they had a real shot at winning the title.
3. Henning 29-2 and 1-0 against the top 15. Didn't face the competition that Minneota and Cromwell played. That doesn't mean they couldn't win but it does mean that in the absence of results on the court, a person can't find enough evidence that they would.
4. Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 27-4 and 4-0. Beat Blooming Prairie twice, Sleepy Eye St. Mary's and Heritage, but lost 3 straight in Jan.-Feb. Another team that could have gone all the way. This would have been a great couple of final rounds. But Minneota and Cromwell have a little better resume.
5. Mountain Iron-Buhl 23-7 and 4-6. Lost to Cromwell but beat Heritage.
6. Heritage Christian 22-8 and 2-5. Missed Taylie Scott even more than I would have thought.
7. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 27-3 and 2-1. Lost to BBE in the section final.
8. Mayer Lutheran 23-6 and 2-3.
9. Sleepy Eye St. Mary's 25-3 but 0-1.
10. Hills-Beaver Creek 22-3 and 2-1.
Class A Big 5
Taya Hakamaki, Cromwell, senior, guard
Ellie Dague, Henning, junior, guard
Madi Mathiowetz, Sleepy Eye St. Mary's, sophomore, guard
Abby Hennen, Minneota, junior, guard
Shaily Hakamaki, Cromwell, senior, guard
The Final Top 10: Class AA
OK, this is a little tougher than AAAA and AAA, where they had played another round deeper into the tournament and I had more games as guidance to what the final outcome might have been. On the other hand, with the #2, #3 and #4 seeds all losing, there's not too much question about who is #1. So, here goes. My unofficial state champion and #1 in Class AA is....
1. Rochester Lourdes 28-2. Now I admit to being a bit of a skeptic regarding Lourdes. I picked New London to win the tournament, but that wasn't going to happen. And I have to admit that Lourdes was 8-2 against the top 15 teams in AA. Part of that is the good luck to play in Section 1 where you have the greatest concentration of top 15 caliber teams. Others might have gone 8-2 but didn't have the chance to try. (For the record, the 2nd most wins was 5 by Sauk Centre, while the second best W-L percent vs. the top 15 was Providence at 3-1.) So, while I am not blown away by Lourdes roster--obviously, after Alyssa Ustby--there is no compelling reason to pick anybody else at #1.
2. New London-Spicer 29-2. Taking the full season into account, the competition for #2 is Sauk, Pelican and Fergus, but New London beat Sauk and Pelican beat Fergus head to head in the post-season. So that leaves Pelican, and New London played a lot better than Pelican in the 1st round and beat a tougher opponent in the consolation semis. Sauk was 5-4 vs. the top 15, Pelican 2-1, Fergus 3-3, New London just 2-2. But, none of them blew the doors off. So, despite one loss, New London was the best of the 4 in the post-season.
3. Waseca 25-6 and 4-4 vs. the top 15. OK, statistically, Sauk, Pelican and Fergus are still the next best teams, but Waseca beat Pelican so badly that I can't go with Pelican over Waseca. Sauk lost twice. So that leaves Waseca. They lost at Lourdes by 5. New London, Sauk, Pelican and Fergus were not going to win the state title if the tournament had proceeded. Waseca might.
4. Sauk Centre 28-4 and 5-4 vs. the top 15. They shot the ball so terribly against Providence that I think they would beat Providence 3 out of 5. On the other hand, if the tournament had gone ahead, Sauk was not going to win. Providence still could. I get that.
5. Providence 25-6 and 3-1 vs. the top 15. They probably got more out of their talent level at state than any of these teams, well, except Waseca.
6. Pelican Rapids 30-1 and 2-1.
7. Albany 27-3 and 2-3. They beat Sauk to get the #1 seed, then lost to Sauk by 16 in the section final.
8. Duluth Marshall 26-5 but just 1-3 against the top 15, the "1" being in the state QF over New London 60-55.
9. Fergus Falls 25-5 and 3-3. Lost to Pelican by 2 in the section.
10 (tie). Goodhue 26-4 and Lake City 22-6. Lake City lost a QF upset in the section while Goodhue got to the final and had Lourdes beat. But Lake City also beat Goodhue during the regular season.
Honorable Mention--Pine City 26-3, Proctor 23-4.
1. Rochester Lourdes 28-2. Now I admit to being a bit of a skeptic regarding Lourdes. I picked New London to win the tournament, but that wasn't going to happen. And I have to admit that Lourdes was 8-2 against the top 15 teams in AA. Part of that is the good luck to play in Section 1 where you have the greatest concentration of top 15 caliber teams. Others might have gone 8-2 but didn't have the chance to try. (For the record, the 2nd most wins was 5 by Sauk Centre, while the second best W-L percent vs. the top 15 was Providence at 3-1.) So, while I am not blown away by Lourdes roster--obviously, after Alyssa Ustby--there is no compelling reason to pick anybody else at #1.
2. New London-Spicer 29-2. Taking the full season into account, the competition for #2 is Sauk, Pelican and Fergus, but New London beat Sauk and Pelican beat Fergus head to head in the post-season. So that leaves Pelican, and New London played a lot better than Pelican in the 1st round and beat a tougher opponent in the consolation semis. Sauk was 5-4 vs. the top 15, Pelican 2-1, Fergus 3-3, New London just 2-2. But, none of them blew the doors off. So, despite one loss, New London was the best of the 4 in the post-season.
3. Waseca 25-6 and 4-4 vs. the top 15. OK, statistically, Sauk, Pelican and Fergus are still the next best teams, but Waseca beat Pelican so badly that I can't go with Pelican over Waseca. Sauk lost twice. So that leaves Waseca. They lost at Lourdes by 5. New London, Sauk, Pelican and Fergus were not going to win the state title if the tournament had proceeded. Waseca might.
4. Sauk Centre 28-4 and 5-4 vs. the top 15. They shot the ball so terribly against Providence that I think they would beat Providence 3 out of 5. On the other hand, if the tournament had gone ahead, Sauk was not going to win. Providence still could. I get that.
5. Providence 25-6 and 3-1 vs. the top 15. They probably got more out of their talent level at state than any of these teams, well, except Waseca.
6. Pelican Rapids 30-1 and 2-1.
7. Albany 27-3 and 2-3. They beat Sauk to get the #1 seed, then lost to Sauk by 16 in the section final.
8. Duluth Marshall 26-5 but just 1-3 against the top 15, the "1" being in the state QF over New London 60-55.
9. Fergus Falls 25-5 and 3-3. Lost to Pelican by 2 in the section.
10 (tie). Goodhue 26-4 and Lake City 22-6. Lake City lost a QF upset in the section while Goodhue got to the final and had Lourdes beat. But Lake City also beat Goodhue during the regular season.
Honorable Mention--Pine City 26-3, Proctor 23-4.
The Final Top 10: Class AAA
In the absence of an official champion, who was the best team in AAA. OK, that's easy. Here are the final top 10.
1. DeLaSalle 26-4, including 9-2 against the top 15 in AAA and AAAA. Won 2 state tournament games by a whopping 55 points.
2. Becker 28-2. Granted, they didn't play a 1st-class schedule, going 2-1 against the top 15 prior to state. But, at state, they beat 2 top 15 teams by 21 and 8.
3. Simley 28-3 and 7-3 against the top 15.
4. Holy Angels 23-7, just 2-3 against the top 15, and just 1-2 prior to state. Being located in the metro, they really should be playing a tougher schedule.
5. Marshall 27-1 and 3-1 against the top 15. The only loss was to Waconia by 11 in the section final, but they also beat Waconia by 4 during the regular season.
6. Waconia 20-11 and 3-7 vs. the top 15 including 0-5 against top 15 AAAA opponents. Split with Marshall. And, while they won a state tournament game, they did not play well at state, needing OT to beat a cold-shooting Red Wing team and the losing to Becker by 21.
7. Red Wing 26-4 and 4-4. Did not look good at state.
8. Alexandria 23-8 and 1-2. Did not play a tough schedule but did play well at state, staying with 8 of Becker (13 points better than Waconia) and beating Red Wing by 12.
9. Austin 21-7 and 3-4. Several key injuries down the stretch. Split with Red Wing.
10. Hill-Murray 21-8 and 4-2.
Honorable Mention--St. Paul Como 21-5 and won its 6th straight Twin City game. Hermantown was 26-5 and made it to state and drew #1 and #3.
Class AAA Big 5
Kiani Lockett and Nurjei Weems, DeLaSalle
Julia Bengtson, Becker
Frankie Vascellero, Holy Angels, 40 pts vs. Hermantown at state
Jordyn Hilgemann, Marshall or Ella Grove, Alexandria
1. DeLaSalle 26-4, including 9-2 against the top 15 in AAA and AAAA. Won 2 state tournament games by a whopping 55 points.
2. Becker 28-2. Granted, they didn't play a 1st-class schedule, going 2-1 against the top 15 prior to state. But, at state, they beat 2 top 15 teams by 21 and 8.
3. Simley 28-3 and 7-3 against the top 15.
4. Holy Angels 23-7, just 2-3 against the top 15, and just 1-2 prior to state. Being located in the metro, they really should be playing a tougher schedule.
5. Marshall 27-1 and 3-1 against the top 15. The only loss was to Waconia by 11 in the section final, but they also beat Waconia by 4 during the regular season.
6. Waconia 20-11 and 3-7 vs. the top 15 including 0-5 against top 15 AAAA opponents. Split with Marshall. And, while they won a state tournament game, they did not play well at state, needing OT to beat a cold-shooting Red Wing team and the losing to Becker by 21.
7. Red Wing 26-4 and 4-4. Did not look good at state.
8. Alexandria 23-8 and 1-2. Did not play a tough schedule but did play well at state, staying with 8 of Becker (13 points better than Waconia) and beating Red Wing by 12.
9. Austin 21-7 and 3-4. Several key injuries down the stretch. Split with Red Wing.
10. Hill-Murray 21-8 and 4-2.
Honorable Mention--St. Paul Como 21-5 and won its 6th straight Twin City game. Hermantown was 26-5 and made it to state and drew #1 and #3.
Class AAA Big 5
Kiani Lockett and Nurjei Weems, DeLaSalle
Julia Bengtson, Becker
Frankie Vascellero, Holy Angels, 40 pts vs. Hermantown at state
Jordyn Hilgemann, Marshall or Ella Grove, Alexandria
The Final Top 10: Class AAAA
Well, that's different. For the first time in 108 years of state tournament basketball, there will be no finals and no champion decided on the floor. Hopkins coach Brian Cosgriff asked, this morning, speaking rhetorically, I think, "So, what are they going to do? Have co-champions?" I don't know. But, the fact is that people are going to have an opinion as to who the champion is or who the best team is....
And, in Class AAAA, it's obviously Hopkins. They 31-0, #1 in QRF, and ran roughshod over Stillwater in the semis 66-40. They've got the state's best player and its soon-to-be best player in sophomore post Maya Nnaji. It will be interesting to see how Sunny Agara and Taylor Woodson develop. They're already awesome athletes with some excellent skills, and other areas not quite as excellent but, hey, they're freshmen.
So, here's the rest of the top 10.
2. Farmington 29-2, with a 2nd-best 8-2 record and 67-62 scoring edge vs. the top 13 teams. And, they did it with point guard Molly Mogenson hurt the last 5-6 weeks and Paige Kindseth out for a goodly portion of the last month. A 19-point win over St. Michael-Albertville speaks volumes.
3. Wayzata 24-5, 7-5 and 70-69 vs. the top 13, and they lost Jenna Johnson for the last month of the season. 3 of their losses came to Hopkins, by just 10 points in the section final.
4. St. Michael-Albertville was 20-9 overall, but 5-8 against the top 13 and 15-1 against the rest. They played Hopkins pretty tough a couple of times.
5. Stillwater 24-6, but just 1-4 against top 13 teams. But, they hammered Park Center by 30 when it really counted.
6. Park Center was 26-5 and 6-3 against the top 13. They lost T'Naye Griffin to injury for the last 6 weeks and fared pretty well without her. She was cleared to come back in the sectional semi-final. Coach Barb Metcalf decided not to play her. One opposed NWSC coach said they were much better without her. Griffin quit the team, and this was just one week before state. The drama obviously got to them and they lost to Stillwater 82-52. But, they were 3rd best against the top 13 at 6-3.
7. Eden Prairie was just 18-11 but played Hopkins, Wayzata and St. Michael twice each in the Lake Conference. They were 5-10 against the top 13.
8. Chaska had a great season at 24-5 and 3-4 vs. the top 13, but got knocked off by Eden Prairie 70-56 in the section final.
9. Maple Grove 23-6 and 3-5 vs. the top 13. Lost to St. Michael by 18in the sections.
10. Lakeville North beat Rosemount in the section. They were a respectable 4-7 against top 13 teams.
Honorable Mention--Cambridge-Isanti made it to state. That's what it's all about. Rochester Mayo lost to Farmington by 2 and is for sure the most-improved team in the state regardless of class. Rosemount had a great season but just 2-5 against the top 13.
Class AAAA Player of the Year is of course Paige Bueckers. The rest of the Big 5 are Adalia Mackenzie, Park Center; Kenzie Kramer, St. Michael; Lauren Jensen, Lakeville North; and Maya Nnaji, Hopkins.
And, in Class AAAA, it's obviously Hopkins. They 31-0, #1 in QRF, and ran roughshod over Stillwater in the semis 66-40. They've got the state's best player and its soon-to-be best player in sophomore post Maya Nnaji. It will be interesting to see how Sunny Agara and Taylor Woodson develop. They're already awesome athletes with some excellent skills, and other areas not quite as excellent but, hey, they're freshmen.
So, here's the rest of the top 10.
2. Farmington 29-2, with a 2nd-best 8-2 record and 67-62 scoring edge vs. the top 13 teams. And, they did it with point guard Molly Mogenson hurt the last 5-6 weeks and Paige Kindseth out for a goodly portion of the last month. A 19-point win over St. Michael-Albertville speaks volumes.
3. Wayzata 24-5, 7-5 and 70-69 vs. the top 13, and they lost Jenna Johnson for the last month of the season. 3 of their losses came to Hopkins, by just 10 points in the section final.
4. St. Michael-Albertville was 20-9 overall, but 5-8 against the top 13 and 15-1 against the rest. They played Hopkins pretty tough a couple of times.
5. Stillwater 24-6, but just 1-4 against top 13 teams. But, they hammered Park Center by 30 when it really counted.
6. Park Center was 26-5 and 6-3 against the top 13. They lost T'Naye Griffin to injury for the last 6 weeks and fared pretty well without her. She was cleared to come back in the sectional semi-final. Coach Barb Metcalf decided not to play her. One opposed NWSC coach said they were much better without her. Griffin quit the team, and this was just one week before state. The drama obviously got to them and they lost to Stillwater 82-52. But, they were 3rd best against the top 13 at 6-3.
7. Eden Prairie was just 18-11 but played Hopkins, Wayzata and St. Michael twice each in the Lake Conference. They were 5-10 against the top 13.
8. Chaska had a great season at 24-5 and 3-4 vs. the top 13, but got knocked off by Eden Prairie 70-56 in the section final.
9. Maple Grove 23-6 and 3-5 vs. the top 13. Lost to St. Michael by 18in the sections.
10. Lakeville North beat Rosemount in the section. They were a respectable 4-7 against top 13 teams.
Honorable Mention--Cambridge-Isanti made it to state. That's what it's all about. Rochester Mayo lost to Farmington by 2 and is for sure the most-improved team in the state regardless of class. Rosemount had a great season but just 2-5 against the top 13.
Class AAAA Player of the Year is of course Paige Bueckers. The rest of the Big 5 are Adalia Mackenzie, Park Center; Kenzie Kramer, St. Michael; Lauren Jensen, Lakeville North; and Maya Nnaji, Hopkins.
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Day 1 Girls State Tournament: Class AA
The big news in Class AA was upset, upset, upset. #1 seed Rochester Lourdes defeated unseeded Concordia 71-55. But then #5 Waseca throttled #4 and undefeated Pelican Rapids 38-22. Unseeded Providence shocked #2 Sauk Centre 47-42. And unseeded Duluth Marshall came from behind to defeat #3 (and my pick to win it all) New London-Spicer 60-56.
It was a crazy evening, and it was during the Class AA games that the news came about the NBA suspending its season and the NCAA playing its tournament in empty halls. I asked an MSHSL staffer if they would be playing tomorrow (today) and the answer was, "So far."
Lourdes 71 Concordia 55
Lourdes was never in any danger, leading 39-26 at the half. Concordia made a run in the 2nd half but Lourdes then pulled away again. Lourdes took the early leads of 12-6 and 23-11, as Alyssa Ustby scored the first 5 points and 18 in the first half. Caroline Adamson scored 6 in a row to make it 16-6, and finished with 11 in the half. Concordia got within 48-40 in the second half, but no closer.
The points in the paint were 40-18, and Lourdes shot 50 percent despite making just 3-of-19 3s. They made a crazy 24-of-35 2s. Ustby finished with 25, Adamson 23, and Ivane Tensaie of Concordia 19.
Providence 47 Sauk Centre 42
Sauk Centre led Providence 20-14 at the half as Sauk shot 21 percent, Providence 14. In the second half, Sauk shot 23 while Providence founds it rhythm, shooting 46 percent and pulling away for the win.
Providence had its first lead of the 2nd half at 22-21, while Sauk had its final lead at 23-22. A 16-5 run over the next 5 minutes made it 38-28 Providence at 8:20, as freshman Kyra Miller scored a 3 and a pair of 2s. Sauk got within 39-33 at 6 minutes, but Grace Counts hit 3 buckets to make it 45-35 with 2:26 to go. Still Sauk rallied, but another Miller bucket with 23 ticks left on the clock made it 47-42 to ice it for the Lions.
Miller scored 14, Counts 12 and point guard Hailey Hohenecker provided 11 and lots of glue. These three shot 14-for-42 for Providence, everybody else was 3-of-13. Tori Peschel and Michaela Dammann scored 14 each for Sauk and added 30 rebounds between them. They shot 9-of-24. Everybody else was 4-for-36.
Waseca 38 Pelican Rapids 22
Waseca put on a defensive clinic, holding unbeaten Pelican Rapids to 7-of-35 shooting. Waseca wasn't much better and led 8-7 with 3 minutes left in the 1st half. They pulled away from a 16-15 lead early in the 2nd half, outscoring the Vikings 22-7 the rest of the way. Hannah Potter scored 12 for Waseca on 4-of-11 3s. She did not shoot a 2.
Waseca was playing without their best player, guard Gus Boyer, who appears to be out for the duration.
Duluth Marshall 60 New London-Spicer 56
Like the Sauk-Providence game, both teams shot poorly in the 1st half--NLS 28 percent, Marshall 20 percent--and NLS took a 26-21 lead. Points in the paint were 10-2, 2nd chance points 11-2 NLS as the 3 Wildcats bigs scored just 8 points but also grabbed 15 boards. Mackenzie Rich added a pair of 3s, including one that opened the scoring and set a tone as Marshall never led in the 1st half.
But, Marshall caught up right away at 26 to open the 2nd half. NLS went back up by 9 at 41-32 at 11 minutes. From there, Marshall made 9-of-13 shots (they were 8-of-35 previously). They caught up again at 45-all, went ahead 47-45 and never trailed. It was a one-possession game for all but 21 seconds of the final 3:13 but after leading 41-32 NLS made 3-of-14 shots.
Wing Giana Kneepkens and point guard Grace Kirk combined for 51 points on 15-of-40 shooting for Marshall. They were 5-of-22 in the 1st half and 10-of-18 in the 2nd. Merlea Mrozik added 9, including a big 3 to open the 2nd half. If you want to check your math, you'll see that those 3 accounted for all 60 Marshall points. Everybody else was 0-for-2. Emma Hanson, Mackenzie Rich and Payton Mages scored in double figures for the Wildcats but even they shot 5-of-19 in the 2nd half.
Top Performers in AA
Center--Michaela Dammann, Sauk, 6-1, junior, 14 pst, 17 reb
Forward--Rachel Breck, Waseca, 6-0, senior, 6 points, 9 reb
Wing--Alyssa Ustby, Lourdes, 6-2, senior, 25 points
Point Guard--Grace Kirk, Marshall, 5-5, senior, 25 points
Shooting Guard--Gianna Kneepkens, Marshall, 5-11, junior, 26 points, 15 reb
Looking Ahead
For those who assume that the 3 upsets clear the path for Lourdes, consider that Lourdes lost to Waseca at home 64-59. If anybody can derail Ustby, it is the Bluejays. Still I'll go with Lourdes 52-48.
In the second semi, I'll take Duluth Marshall 58 Providence 57.
In the final Lourdes 63 Marshall 61.
It was a crazy evening, and it was during the Class AA games that the news came about the NBA suspending its season and the NCAA playing its tournament in empty halls. I asked an MSHSL staffer if they would be playing tomorrow (today) and the answer was, "So far."
Lourdes 71 Concordia 55
Lourdes was never in any danger, leading 39-26 at the half. Concordia made a run in the 2nd half but Lourdes then pulled away again. Lourdes took the early leads of 12-6 and 23-11, as Alyssa Ustby scored the first 5 points and 18 in the first half. Caroline Adamson scored 6 in a row to make it 16-6, and finished with 11 in the half. Concordia got within 48-40 in the second half, but no closer.
The points in the paint were 40-18, and Lourdes shot 50 percent despite making just 3-of-19 3s. They made a crazy 24-of-35 2s. Ustby finished with 25, Adamson 23, and Ivane Tensaie of Concordia 19.
Providence 47 Sauk Centre 42
Sauk Centre led Providence 20-14 at the half as Sauk shot 21 percent, Providence 14. In the second half, Sauk shot 23 while Providence founds it rhythm, shooting 46 percent and pulling away for the win.
Providence had its first lead of the 2nd half at 22-21, while Sauk had its final lead at 23-22. A 16-5 run over the next 5 minutes made it 38-28 Providence at 8:20, as freshman Kyra Miller scored a 3 and a pair of 2s. Sauk got within 39-33 at 6 minutes, but Grace Counts hit 3 buckets to make it 45-35 with 2:26 to go. Still Sauk rallied, but another Miller bucket with 23 ticks left on the clock made it 47-42 to ice it for the Lions.
Miller scored 14, Counts 12 and point guard Hailey Hohenecker provided 11 and lots of glue. These three shot 14-for-42 for Providence, everybody else was 3-of-13. Tori Peschel and Michaela Dammann scored 14 each for Sauk and added 30 rebounds between them. They shot 9-of-24. Everybody else was 4-for-36.
Waseca 38 Pelican Rapids 22
Waseca put on a defensive clinic, holding unbeaten Pelican Rapids to 7-of-35 shooting. Waseca wasn't much better and led 8-7 with 3 minutes left in the 1st half. They pulled away from a 16-15 lead early in the 2nd half, outscoring the Vikings 22-7 the rest of the way. Hannah Potter scored 12 for Waseca on 4-of-11 3s. She did not shoot a 2.
Waseca was playing without their best player, guard Gus Boyer, who appears to be out for the duration.
Duluth Marshall 60 New London-Spicer 56
Like the Sauk-Providence game, both teams shot poorly in the 1st half--NLS 28 percent, Marshall 20 percent--and NLS took a 26-21 lead. Points in the paint were 10-2, 2nd chance points 11-2 NLS as the 3 Wildcats bigs scored just 8 points but also grabbed 15 boards. Mackenzie Rich added a pair of 3s, including one that opened the scoring and set a tone as Marshall never led in the 1st half.
But, Marshall caught up right away at 26 to open the 2nd half. NLS went back up by 9 at 41-32 at 11 minutes. From there, Marshall made 9-of-13 shots (they were 8-of-35 previously). They caught up again at 45-all, went ahead 47-45 and never trailed. It was a one-possession game for all but 21 seconds of the final 3:13 but after leading 41-32 NLS made 3-of-14 shots.
Wing Giana Kneepkens and point guard Grace Kirk combined for 51 points on 15-of-40 shooting for Marshall. They were 5-of-22 in the 1st half and 10-of-18 in the 2nd. Merlea Mrozik added 9, including a big 3 to open the 2nd half. If you want to check your math, you'll see that those 3 accounted for all 60 Marshall points. Everybody else was 0-for-2. Emma Hanson, Mackenzie Rich and Payton Mages scored in double figures for the Wildcats but even they shot 5-of-19 in the 2nd half.
Top Performers in AA
Center--Michaela Dammann, Sauk, 6-1, junior, 14 pst, 17 reb
Forward--Rachel Breck, Waseca, 6-0, senior, 6 points, 9 reb
Wing--Alyssa Ustby, Lourdes, 6-2, senior, 25 points
Point Guard--Grace Kirk, Marshall, 5-5, senior, 25 points
Shooting Guard--Gianna Kneepkens, Marshall, 5-11, junior, 26 points, 15 reb
Looking Ahead
For those who assume that the 3 upsets clear the path for Lourdes, consider that Lourdes lost to Waseca at home 64-59. If anybody can derail Ustby, it is the Bluejays. Still I'll go with Lourdes 52-48.
In the second semi, I'll take Duluth Marshall 58 Providence 57.
In the final Lourdes 63 Marshall 61.
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Day 1 Girls State Tournament: Class AAA
The QF in Class AAA are done and I'm sorry to say that tomorrow will be the finals and the 3rd place game, instead of Saturday as previously scheduled. DeLaSalle and Simley won the first 2 games and they will play for the state title tomorrow (Thursday) at noon. This is Ali-Frazier stuff. Meanwhile, at 2 p.m. Becker and Waconia will play for 3rd--well, OK, 2nd.
I'm sorry if this sounds harsh. But, the seeds this year set all of this up. The heavyweights all ended up in the upper bracket. Simley and Holy Angels should have been #2 and #3, not #4 and #5. They should be playing in a semi, not the 1st round. But, anyway.
Game 1
Hermantown stayed closer than expected for awhile. They were down 29-27 late in the 1st half. It was 38-29 at the half. But, the 2nd half was all De and it ended up 85-52. It was closer than that but that isn't saying a whole lot, I know. Hermantown had a couple of nice players--senior guard Ava Asgard, who scored 15, and junior 6-0 forward Elly Schmitz, who scored 16.
But DLS, well they've got 7 or 8 or 9 nice players. The best is sophomore guard Kiani Lockett, a glue-type player who can also score 19 point against state tournament competition (with 8 assists). Senior post Nurjei Weems is a handful, and sophomore guard Sydney Runsewe is, too. They each scored 20. De made 13-of-23 3s and 14-of-27 2s, and turned it over just 10 times. Tough.
Game 2
Simley beat Holy Angels in what should have been a semi-final. Simley led 33-30 at the half. Holy Angels took leads of 41-40 and 44-42 but Simley scored the next 10. Champ Danso scored down low, then the Spartans scored in transition 4 times, with Ravyn Miles, Danso, Miles and Ysareia Chèvre doing the honors. The Stars got within 5 3 times, but Simley had too many weapons, moved and shared the ball really well, got really good shots, and made 'em, 7 in a row, 8-of-11 and 11-of 14 down the stretch. For the day, they made 27-of-49 and all 5 starters scored in double figures.
Meanwhile, Simley was able to defend Holy Angels mid-range game (Frankie Vascellero and Grace Massaquoi) who shot 8-of-24 between them. The final was 70-62.
Game 3
Unseeded Alexandria trailed #2 Becker 29-27 at the half, but heading into the stretch Alex was up 45-43 and coach Wendy Kohler thought she had Becker where she wanted them. But a couple of late 3s put Becker ahead 51-45. From there, Alex shot 4-of-12 with 2 turnover while Becker made 15-of-18 FT. Becker won 63-55.
Ella Grove had 21 for Alex playing on a sprained ankle, while Julia Bengtson led Becker with 16.
Game 4
Finally, unseeded Waconia needed OT but beat #3 Red Wing 52-45. It was 37-all at the end of regulation as both teams struggled offensively, shooting around 25 percent. In OT, Waconia's Addy Salzer hit a 3 and 4-for-4 FT to put it away.
Tomorrow, Tomorrow
As I saids, the upper bracket is where the power is. I still like Simley. They moved the ball so well today, got such good shots, and made 'em, that I think they can repeat that performance even against the Islanders. Sub-plot: The Islanders Runsewe and I'Tianna Salaam transferred from Simley to De after their 8th grade seasons. Simley by 3.
In the lower bracket, hopefully somebody will bring their shooting touch with them tomorrow. Whoever does that will win. More likely Becker than Waconia, but it's almost a toss-up. Becker by 4.
I'm sorry if this sounds harsh. But, the seeds this year set all of this up. The heavyweights all ended up in the upper bracket. Simley and Holy Angels should have been #2 and #3, not #4 and #5. They should be playing in a semi, not the 1st round. But, anyway.
Game 1
Hermantown stayed closer than expected for awhile. They were down 29-27 late in the 1st half. It was 38-29 at the half. But, the 2nd half was all De and it ended up 85-52. It was closer than that but that isn't saying a whole lot, I know. Hermantown had a couple of nice players--senior guard Ava Asgard, who scored 15, and junior 6-0 forward Elly Schmitz, who scored 16.
But DLS, well they've got 7 or 8 or 9 nice players. The best is sophomore guard Kiani Lockett, a glue-type player who can also score 19 point against state tournament competition (with 8 assists). Senior post Nurjei Weems is a handful, and sophomore guard Sydney Runsewe is, too. They each scored 20. De made 13-of-23 3s and 14-of-27 2s, and turned it over just 10 times. Tough.
Game 2
Simley beat Holy Angels in what should have been a semi-final. Simley led 33-30 at the half. Holy Angels took leads of 41-40 and 44-42 but Simley scored the next 10. Champ Danso scored down low, then the Spartans scored in transition 4 times, with Ravyn Miles, Danso, Miles and Ysareia Chèvre doing the honors. The Stars got within 5 3 times, but Simley had too many weapons, moved and shared the ball really well, got really good shots, and made 'em, 7 in a row, 8-of-11 and 11-of 14 down the stretch. For the day, they made 27-of-49 and all 5 starters scored in double figures.
Meanwhile, Simley was able to defend Holy Angels mid-range game (Frankie Vascellero and Grace Massaquoi) who shot 8-of-24 between them. The final was 70-62.
Game 3
Unseeded Alexandria trailed #2 Becker 29-27 at the half, but heading into the stretch Alex was up 45-43 and coach Wendy Kohler thought she had Becker where she wanted them. But a couple of late 3s put Becker ahead 51-45. From there, Alex shot 4-of-12 with 2 turnover while Becker made 15-of-18 FT. Becker won 63-55.
Ella Grove had 21 for Alex playing on a sprained ankle, while Julia Bengtson led Becker with 16.
Game 4
Finally, unseeded Waconia needed OT but beat #3 Red Wing 52-45. It was 37-all at the end of regulation as both teams struggled offensively, shooting around 25 percent. In OT, Waconia's Addy Salzer hit a 3 and 4-for-4 FT to put it away.
Tomorrow, Tomorrow
As I saids, the upper bracket is where the power is. I still like Simley. They moved the ball so well today, got such good shots, and made 'em, that I think they can repeat that performance even against the Islanders. Sub-plot: The Islanders Runsewe and I'Tianna Salaam transferred from Simley to De after their 8th grade seasons. Simley by 3.
In the lower bracket, hopefully somebody will bring their shooting touch with them tomorrow. Whoever does that will win. More likely Becker than Waconia, but it's almost a toss-up. Becker by 4.
Day 1 Girls State Tournament Action: Class AAAA
Class AAAA 1st round action went almost according to hoyle, and almost went all to heck. #1 Hopkins indeed defeated unseeded Cambridge-Isanti, as expected, 85-55.
• But then #5 seed Stillwater hammered #4 Park Center 82-52. That's an upset any way you look at it. It shoulda been a close game. Modesty does not prevent me from saying I had picked Stillwater, but 30 points? No way.
• Then #2 seed Farmington edged Eden Prairie 58-54 and in this case I have to admit I had also picked the upset here. So I got 2 of the 1st 3.
• #3 St. Michael-Albertville and Lakeville North are playing as we speak. St. Michael has the early lead and it will be a big surprise if St. Michael doesn't win. These 2 teams were scheduled to play January 18 at the Hall of Fame Winter Classic, but the game was snowed out and was not rescheduled. Lakeville North declined to play on January 25 because they had too many games right around that.
Hopkins 85 Cambridge 55
Here the big story is Hopkins won easily despite Paige Bueckers taking 4 shots, making 3 for 7 points and adding 7 assists. She played 27 minutes, and she was out there today to make her teammates look good and, well, she sure as heck made Maya Nnaji look good. The 6-2 freshman post had 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting with 7 boards and 3 blocks.
It was 54-24 at the half. Cambridge got a tie in the 2nd half. Cambridge shot a respectable 21-of-53 and got out rebounded 37-27 and had 17 turnovers to 9 for Hopkins. There was nothing where Cambridge got totally hammered, it's just that Hopkins won every aspect by enough that the cumulative effect was a blowout.
Stillwater 82 Park Center 52
Stillwater won the rebounding battle 60-27. It might have been a case of too much drama for Park Center, or maybe it was simply a case of too much size for Stillwater. Park Center forward T'Naye Griffin has been hurt, but she was cleared to play in last week's section final. Coach Barb Metcalf decided not to play her, and she quit the team. Clearly, Park Center did not have their heads entirely into this game.
Alexis Pratt had 23 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists while Aliza Karlen scored 19 with 15 boards. Sillwater's big guns shot 17-of-34, Park's big guns--Adalia McKenzie and Lauren Frost--shot 13-for-39. 'Nuff sed.
Farmington 58 Eden Prairie 54
Finally a close game, and it was a very good game in the 1st half, which ended with Farmington up 36-31. Farmington's 6-of-10 shooing from 3-point range was the difference.
The 2nd half, on the other hand, was pretty sloppy. Farmington shot just 6-of-18. After leading 50-42 at 6:30, they made just 1-of-3 FG and 6-of-11 FT, and they turned it over 4 times, so EP was able to hang around. Destinee Bursch, who led EP with 19 points, got the Eagles within 55-54 at one minutes with a steal-and-2 but missed a potential tying FT. They had two chances to tie, but never scored again.
The rebounds were 41-24 Farmington, with Sophie Hart getting 16. But the Tigers turned it over 18 times and missed 7 FT. Peyton Blandin was solid offensively, however, with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-for-3 3s, and 3-for-4 FT.
St. Michael 45 Lakeville North 25 (half)
Kenzie Kramer scored 18 1st half points as St. Michael threatened to make the 4th game into the 3rd blowout.
Looking Ahead
It will be Hopkins vs. St. Michael. Trust me.
• But then #5 seed Stillwater hammered #4 Park Center 82-52. That's an upset any way you look at it. It shoulda been a close game. Modesty does not prevent me from saying I had picked Stillwater, but 30 points? No way.
• Then #2 seed Farmington edged Eden Prairie 58-54 and in this case I have to admit I had also picked the upset here. So I got 2 of the 1st 3.
• #3 St. Michael-Albertville and Lakeville North are playing as we speak. St. Michael has the early lead and it will be a big surprise if St. Michael doesn't win. These 2 teams were scheduled to play January 18 at the Hall of Fame Winter Classic, but the game was snowed out and was not rescheduled. Lakeville North declined to play on January 25 because they had too many games right around that.
Hopkins 85 Cambridge 55
Here the big story is Hopkins won easily despite Paige Bueckers taking 4 shots, making 3 for 7 points and adding 7 assists. She played 27 minutes, and she was out there today to make her teammates look good and, well, she sure as heck made Maya Nnaji look good. The 6-2 freshman post had 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting with 7 boards and 3 blocks.
It was 54-24 at the half. Cambridge got a tie in the 2nd half. Cambridge shot a respectable 21-of-53 and got out rebounded 37-27 and had 17 turnovers to 9 for Hopkins. There was nothing where Cambridge got totally hammered, it's just that Hopkins won every aspect by enough that the cumulative effect was a blowout.
Stillwater 82 Park Center 52
Stillwater won the rebounding battle 60-27. It might have been a case of too much drama for Park Center, or maybe it was simply a case of too much size for Stillwater. Park Center forward T'Naye Griffin has been hurt, but she was cleared to play in last week's section final. Coach Barb Metcalf decided not to play her, and she quit the team. Clearly, Park Center did not have their heads entirely into this game.
Alexis Pratt had 23 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists while Aliza Karlen scored 19 with 15 boards. Sillwater's big guns shot 17-of-34, Park's big guns--Adalia McKenzie and Lauren Frost--shot 13-for-39. 'Nuff sed.
Farmington 58 Eden Prairie 54
Finally a close game, and it was a very good game in the 1st half, which ended with Farmington up 36-31. Farmington's 6-of-10 shooing from 3-point range was the difference.
The 2nd half, on the other hand, was pretty sloppy. Farmington shot just 6-of-18. After leading 50-42 at 6:30, they made just 1-of-3 FG and 6-of-11 FT, and they turned it over 4 times, so EP was able to hang around. Destinee Bursch, who led EP with 19 points, got the Eagles within 55-54 at one minutes with a steal-and-2 but missed a potential tying FT. They had two chances to tie, but never scored again.
The rebounds were 41-24 Farmington, with Sophie Hart getting 16. But the Tigers turned it over 18 times and missed 7 FT. Peyton Blandin was solid offensively, however, with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-for-3 3s, and 3-for-4 FT.
St. Michael 45 Lakeville North 25 (half)
Kenzie Kramer scored 18 1st half points as St. Michael threatened to make the 4th game into the 3rd blowout.
Looking Ahead
It will be Hopkins vs. St. Michael. Trust me.
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Girls State Tournament Preview, Part III: Class AA
Class AA tips off tomorrow (Wed.) at 6 p.m. with 2 games at the Pav and 2 at Williams. Here's what's gonna happen.
Seeds
The 5 seeds are 1) Rochester Lourdes, 2) Sauk Centre, 3) New London-Spicer, 4) Pelican Rapids and 5) Waseca. The unseeds are Concordia, Duluth Marshall and Providence.
So, are seeds meant to reward teams for their regular season and playoff performances? Or, are they supposed to make for the best matchups and to reflect who has the best chance to win? Both, I suppose but, seriously, those are different things. And, everybody knows, well, this year in particular, everybody knows the seeds are meant to reflect something about the season prior to today rather than to try to make the best possible state tournament. Because, otherwise, why would you have semi-final games like Park Center-Stillwater and Simley-Holy Angels in the 1st round?
It's not as egregious in AA, but I would have seeded them 1) Sauk, 2) Pelican, 3) New London, 4) Lourdes and 5) Duluth Marshall if my point was to have the best possible tournament. As it is, you'll probably get my top 4 seeds in the semis anyway but Duluth Marshall and New London seem to have gotten an especially difficult draw, more so than 4 and 5.
Predictions
#1 Lourdes gets Concordia. It's not impossible that we might see an upset right away here. Providence has been playing very well since starting out 0-6 and 1-8. I mean, they're 20-9, or 19-1 in 2020. Lourdes is 16-1 in 2020. So the difference between a #1 seed and an unseed grossly exaggerates the spread between these 2 teams. Still, I like Lourdes 56-54.
#4 Pelican Rapids gets #5 Waseca. Pelican is unbeaten 29-0 and could have been as high as #1. It's true they don't play a particularly tough schedule but they did beat Fergus Falls 43-41 in the section. Waseca won at Rochester Lourdes but then lost 6 times. Still, Waseca would be favored except I don't know if Gus Boyer will be playing. If not or if she's 75 percent, Pelican is the favorite. I'll hedge my bets by calling it close, Pelican 47-46.
#2 Sauk Centre gets Providence. It would be easy to underestimate Providence with their 5 losses, but they're 16-2 in 2020. Both teams lost to Minnehaha, Sauk by 3 in 3OT at the Breakdown Tip-Off, Providence by 6 at Minnehaha. Still, the state tournament is like a home game for Sauk and I'll take the Mainstreeters 60-52.
#3 New London-Spicer gets Duluth Marshall. Now, in my book, Marshall was a seed, so this is more like a semi-final game. Duluth Marshall has 2 of the top players in AA in Gianna Kneepkens and Grace Kirk. Don't know how they left Kneepkens off the coach's all-state team. But, New London is probably the deepest team in AA while Marshall is the top-scoring team with 75 ppg. I would have liked to see them both in the semis. I do have to take New London, say, 64-57.
Semis
Pelican 52 Lourdes 49
New London 55 Sauk 52
Finals
5th--Duluth Marshall 71 Concordia 69
3rd--Sauk 55 Lourdes 54
1st--New London 50 Pelican 47
All-Tournament 5
W- Alyssa Ustby, Rochester Lourdes
W- Tori Peschel, Sauk Centre
PG- Grace Kirk, Duluth Marshall
SG- Gianna Kneepkens, Duluth Marshall
SG- Ivane Tensaie, Concordia
Second 5
F- Greta Tollefson, Pelican Rapids
F- Rachel Breck, Waseca
F- Ava Kraemer, New London-Spicer
PG- C.J. Adamson, Rochester Lourdes
SG- Mackenzie Rich, New London-Spicer
Wild Card- Gus Boyer, Waseca, PG, has been hurt. If she's healthy, Waseca could be in the final.
Seeds
The 5 seeds are 1) Rochester Lourdes, 2) Sauk Centre, 3) New London-Spicer, 4) Pelican Rapids and 5) Waseca. The unseeds are Concordia, Duluth Marshall and Providence.
So, are seeds meant to reward teams for their regular season and playoff performances? Or, are they supposed to make for the best matchups and to reflect who has the best chance to win? Both, I suppose but, seriously, those are different things. And, everybody knows, well, this year in particular, everybody knows the seeds are meant to reflect something about the season prior to today rather than to try to make the best possible state tournament. Because, otherwise, why would you have semi-final games like Park Center-Stillwater and Simley-Holy Angels in the 1st round?
It's not as egregious in AA, but I would have seeded them 1) Sauk, 2) Pelican, 3) New London, 4) Lourdes and 5) Duluth Marshall if my point was to have the best possible tournament. As it is, you'll probably get my top 4 seeds in the semis anyway but Duluth Marshall and New London seem to have gotten an especially difficult draw, more so than 4 and 5.
Predictions
#1 Lourdes gets Concordia. It's not impossible that we might see an upset right away here. Providence has been playing very well since starting out 0-6 and 1-8. I mean, they're 20-9, or 19-1 in 2020. Lourdes is 16-1 in 2020. So the difference between a #1 seed and an unseed grossly exaggerates the spread between these 2 teams. Still, I like Lourdes 56-54.
#4 Pelican Rapids gets #5 Waseca. Pelican is unbeaten 29-0 and could have been as high as #1. It's true they don't play a particularly tough schedule but they did beat Fergus Falls 43-41 in the section. Waseca won at Rochester Lourdes but then lost 6 times. Still, Waseca would be favored except I don't know if Gus Boyer will be playing. If not or if she's 75 percent, Pelican is the favorite. I'll hedge my bets by calling it close, Pelican 47-46.
#2 Sauk Centre gets Providence. It would be easy to underestimate Providence with their 5 losses, but they're 16-2 in 2020. Both teams lost to Minnehaha, Sauk by 3 in 3OT at the Breakdown Tip-Off, Providence by 6 at Minnehaha. Still, the state tournament is like a home game for Sauk and I'll take the Mainstreeters 60-52.
#3 New London-Spicer gets Duluth Marshall. Now, in my book, Marshall was a seed, so this is more like a semi-final game. Duluth Marshall has 2 of the top players in AA in Gianna Kneepkens and Grace Kirk. Don't know how they left Kneepkens off the coach's all-state team. But, New London is probably the deepest team in AA while Marshall is the top-scoring team with 75 ppg. I would have liked to see them both in the semis. I do have to take New London, say, 64-57.
Semis
Pelican 52 Lourdes 49
New London 55 Sauk 52
Finals
5th--Duluth Marshall 71 Concordia 69
3rd--Sauk 55 Lourdes 54
1st--New London 50 Pelican 47
All-Tournament 5
W- Alyssa Ustby, Rochester Lourdes
W- Tori Peschel, Sauk Centre
PG- Grace Kirk, Duluth Marshall
SG- Gianna Kneepkens, Duluth Marshall
SG- Ivane Tensaie, Concordia
Second 5
F- Greta Tollefson, Pelican Rapids
F- Rachel Breck, Waseca
F- Ava Kraemer, New London-Spicer
PG- C.J. Adamson, Rochester Lourdes
SG- Mackenzie Rich, New London-Spicer
Wild Card- Gus Boyer, Waseca, PG, has been hurt. If she's healthy, Waseca could be in the final.
Girls State Tournament Preview, Part II: Class AAA
So, Sunny bought a house and I've spent the past 4 days filling out forms. But, state tournament previews must go on even I'm running a little late. Class AAA tips off tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the Maturi Pavilion and I will be there.
DeLaSalle got the #1 seed and of course they deserve it. 24-4 with a 23 point average winning margin, a 16 game win streak and a 31 point thrashing of Hill-Murray in the section final. Nurjei Weems in the post and Kiani Lockett at the point lead the way, but if either, or even if both have an off night, there are reinforcements. They're legit.
But, they're not invincible. They might be invincible the next couple of years, so if you're going to beat DeLaSalle, do it now. And if anybody can do that, it's gonna have to be Simley. Last fall I told Kevin Anderson that St. Paul Como was going to win Section 3 and he just looked at me like I was the biggest idiot in history. He was right and I was wrong. Now, Simley is the 2nd-lowest scoring team in the field at 62 ppg, but they've given up 4 points less than anybody and 11 less than DeLaSalle. So the Islanders outscored their opponents by 23. Simley outscored their opponents by 23. Nobody plays defense like Simley.
Not only that, but with Ravyn Miles back, even (still) running at 3/4 speed, that frees everybody else up to play where they belong, and Sydney Stensgard in particular has benefitted from being able to catch and shoot, and not handle the ball too much. So if anybody's going to beat De, it's probably going to have to be Simley.
Still, Simley is the #4 seed and Becker is #2. But Simley at 27-2 played a tougher schedule than Becker at 26-2. Of course Becker outscored its opponents by 28. So they've got lots of weapons. But, we saw what happened to them against DeLaSalle in the final last year, and I don't know why things would be a whole lot different this year.
Red Wing is #3 and I'm kind of underwhelmed there.
Simley and #5 Holy Angels would beat Red Wing. Simley vs. Holy Angels should be a semi-final game. As tough as Simley is inside, the Stars Caron and Kawiecki can hang with them. Simley has an edge at the guards but a small one with Miles and Stensgard but Holy Angels has more depth, which could be a factor. In fact, guard Grace Massaquoi is perhaps the biggest surprise player of the year, any class. Then there's Ysareia Chèvre vs. Frankie Vascellero on the wing. That is the matchup of the day. This should be a great game. (Unfortunately it goes against the other best game of the day, at the same time, that is, which is the Park Center-Stillwater matchup in AAAA.
The unseeds are Alexandria, Hermantown and Waconia. Among the 3 of them, it's no secret that you don't want to play Waconia, as unbeaten Marshall found out in Section 2. As it happens #1 De gets Hermantown, #2 Becker gets Alex, and #3 Red Wing gets Waconia. That's how it ought to be, and that third game is an upset waiting to happen.
So here are the picks.
DeLaSalle 64 Hermantown 51
Simley 59 Holy Angels 57
Becker 70 Alexandria 54
Waconia 60 Red Wing 59
Simley 57 DeLaSalle 56
Becker 70 Waconia 59
Simley 63 Becker 61
3rd: DeLaSalle 78 Waconia 69
5th: Holy Angels 65 Red Wing 64
All-Tournament 5
C- Weems
F- Chevre
W- Vascellero
PG- Lockett
SG- Stensgard
2nd 5
C- Tiwaah Danso, Simley
F- Savannah White, DLS
W- Audrey Swanson, Waconia
PG- Julia Bengtson, Becker
SG- Ella Grove, Alex
DeLaSalle got the #1 seed and of course they deserve it. 24-4 with a 23 point average winning margin, a 16 game win streak and a 31 point thrashing of Hill-Murray in the section final. Nurjei Weems in the post and Kiani Lockett at the point lead the way, but if either, or even if both have an off night, there are reinforcements. They're legit.
But, they're not invincible. They might be invincible the next couple of years, so if you're going to beat DeLaSalle, do it now. And if anybody can do that, it's gonna have to be Simley. Last fall I told Kevin Anderson that St. Paul Como was going to win Section 3 and he just looked at me like I was the biggest idiot in history. He was right and I was wrong. Now, Simley is the 2nd-lowest scoring team in the field at 62 ppg, but they've given up 4 points less than anybody and 11 less than DeLaSalle. So the Islanders outscored their opponents by 23. Simley outscored their opponents by 23. Nobody plays defense like Simley.
Not only that, but with Ravyn Miles back, even (still) running at 3/4 speed, that frees everybody else up to play where they belong, and Sydney Stensgard in particular has benefitted from being able to catch and shoot, and not handle the ball too much. So if anybody's going to beat De, it's probably going to have to be Simley.
Still, Simley is the #4 seed and Becker is #2. But Simley at 27-2 played a tougher schedule than Becker at 26-2. Of course Becker outscored its opponents by 28. So they've got lots of weapons. But, we saw what happened to them against DeLaSalle in the final last year, and I don't know why things would be a whole lot different this year.
Red Wing is #3 and I'm kind of underwhelmed there.
Simley and #5 Holy Angels would beat Red Wing. Simley vs. Holy Angels should be a semi-final game. As tough as Simley is inside, the Stars Caron and Kawiecki can hang with them. Simley has an edge at the guards but a small one with Miles and Stensgard but Holy Angels has more depth, which could be a factor. In fact, guard Grace Massaquoi is perhaps the biggest surprise player of the year, any class. Then there's Ysareia Chèvre vs. Frankie Vascellero on the wing. That is the matchup of the day. This should be a great game. (Unfortunately it goes against the other best game of the day, at the same time, that is, which is the Park Center-Stillwater matchup in AAAA.
The unseeds are Alexandria, Hermantown and Waconia. Among the 3 of them, it's no secret that you don't want to play Waconia, as unbeaten Marshall found out in Section 2. As it happens #1 De gets Hermantown, #2 Becker gets Alex, and #3 Red Wing gets Waconia. That's how it ought to be, and that third game is an upset waiting to happen.
So here are the picks.
DeLaSalle 64 Hermantown 51
Simley 59 Holy Angels 57
Becker 70 Alexandria 54
Waconia 60 Red Wing 59
Simley 57 DeLaSalle 56
Becker 70 Waconia 59
Simley 63 Becker 61
3rd: DeLaSalle 78 Waconia 69
5th: Holy Angels 65 Red Wing 64
All-Tournament 5
C- Weems
F- Chevre
W- Vascellero
PG- Lockett
SG- Stensgard
2nd 5
C- Tiwaah Danso, Simley
F- Savannah White, DLS
W- Audrey Swanson, Waconia
PG- Julia Bengtson, Becker
SG- Ella Grove, Alex
Friday, March 6, 2020
Girls State Tournament Preview Part 1: Class AAAA
The girls state tournament field is set. The seeds are out tomorrow, but I'll jump the gun with this one preview at least, Class AAAA. So, here I'll not only tell you who's going to win but also what the seeds should be. Not what they will be, but what they should be. (See below for the actual seeds and some comments thereto.)
#1 Hopkins will obviously get the #1 seed at 28-0. They've not looked completely invincible lately in close wins over St. Michael-A. and Wayzata, but they're certainly #1. Their likelihood of winning has been downgraded from 100% to, oh, 98, maybe. They will score a lot of points, but they've also given up a fair number of points this year so you gotta ask yourself, who can score with Hopkins? Anybody?
Cambridge-Isanti will be unseeded and I'll just take a guess that they'll play Hopkins. They were just the #4 seed in their section, but came out of a pretty weak section.
#2 Stillwater. OK, I don't think Stillwater will get the #2 seed with their #7 QRF and 5 losses, but right now I think they should. They've been the second-best team in AAAA the past couple of weeks. They've got a lot of weapons. They've outscored their opponents by the 2nd biggest margin in AAAA at 75-48.
Eden Prairie will be unseeded and so I'll take a guess that they'll draw Stillwater. In any event, EP will be one scary unseeded team, having beaten a very good Chaska team in the 2AAAA finals and by 14 points, no less. Their size is really intimidating, and they could beat anybody including Stillwater.
#3 Park Center (25-4) scores 75 ppg, like Stillwater. I don't think they're quite as good on D as the Ponies. But a Stillwater-Park Center semi (or a Park Center-Eden Prairie semi, for that matter) would be toss-ups.
Lakeville North will be unseeded so I'll take a wild guess that they draw Park Center. Like EP, they are an unseed with a shot at a win but, sure, they're the underdog.
#4 Farmington vs.
#5 St. Michael-Albertville I would say this is a pretty good 4-5 game. It could easily be 2-3 in the semis. Farmington, in particular, with the second-best won-lost record at 27-2, could just as well be a #2 seed, but their leader and point guard Molly Mogenson is out and scorer Paige Kindseth has been hurt. So, they're not the team they were before those 2 got hurt. And, St. Michael, with guards Kenzie Kramer and Tess Johnson could hardly be more dangerous.
Semi-Finals
Hopkins 81 St. Michael-Albertville 71
Stillwater 72 Park Center 66
Finals
Hopkins 77 Stillwater 63
All-Tournament 5
C- Maya Nnaji, Hopkins
F- Adalia McKenzie, Park Center
G- Paige Bueckers, Hopkins, AAAA MVP
G- Alexis Pratt, Stillwater
G- Kenzie Kramer, St. Michael
2nd 5
C- Aliza Karlen, Stillwater
F- Nia Holloway, Eden Prairie
G- Lauren Jensen, Lakeville North
G- Lauren Frost, Park Center
G- Tess Johnson, St. Michael
Actual Seeds--just came out Saturday morning after the above was already published.
Hopkins got #1 and plays Cambridge. Fair enough.
Farmington got #2. They earned it but with the injuries they've had, they're not the 2nd best team at this point. They get Eden Prairie. That's a tough draw for both teams but for unseeded Eden Prairie, it's pretty good. They coulda gotten Hopkins. With Farmington's injuries, this is a tossup or maybe EP should even be a slight fave. Natalie Mazurek vs. Sophie Hart is huge, you could say.
St. Michael-Albertville got #3. They played a tough schedule but, still, with 8 losses, this is a pretty good seed, and they get Lakeville North, which is a favorable draw. I had them at #5 which, with the official seeds, might have gotten them Park Center or Stillwater.
I'm gonna say St. Michael gets out of this bracket to the finals for a 3rd meet up with Hopkins.
Park Center got #4, Stillwater got #5, and they got each other. This is a tough draw for both of them and this will be the best 1st round game. As you saw, I had them seeded #2 and #3. This should have been a semi-final. As you also saw, I had Stillwater 72 Park Center 66 in the semis. Now, one of them will get Hopkins in the semis.
#1 Hopkins will obviously get the #1 seed at 28-0. They've not looked completely invincible lately in close wins over St. Michael-A. and Wayzata, but they're certainly #1. Their likelihood of winning has been downgraded from 100% to, oh, 98, maybe. They will score a lot of points, but they've also given up a fair number of points this year so you gotta ask yourself, who can score with Hopkins? Anybody?
Cambridge-Isanti will be unseeded and I'll just take a guess that they'll play Hopkins. They were just the #4 seed in their section, but came out of a pretty weak section.
#2 Stillwater. OK, I don't think Stillwater will get the #2 seed with their #7 QRF and 5 losses, but right now I think they should. They've been the second-best team in AAAA the past couple of weeks. They've got a lot of weapons. They've outscored their opponents by the 2nd biggest margin in AAAA at 75-48.
Eden Prairie will be unseeded and so I'll take a guess that they'll draw Stillwater. In any event, EP will be one scary unseeded team, having beaten a very good Chaska team in the 2AAAA finals and by 14 points, no less. Their size is really intimidating, and they could beat anybody including Stillwater.
#3 Park Center (25-4) scores 75 ppg, like Stillwater. I don't think they're quite as good on D as the Ponies. But a Stillwater-Park Center semi (or a Park Center-Eden Prairie semi, for that matter) would be toss-ups.
Lakeville North will be unseeded so I'll take a wild guess that they draw Park Center. Like EP, they are an unseed with a shot at a win but, sure, they're the underdog.
#4 Farmington vs.
#5 St. Michael-Albertville I would say this is a pretty good 4-5 game. It could easily be 2-3 in the semis. Farmington, in particular, with the second-best won-lost record at 27-2, could just as well be a #2 seed, but their leader and point guard Molly Mogenson is out and scorer Paige Kindseth has been hurt. So, they're not the team they were before those 2 got hurt. And, St. Michael, with guards Kenzie Kramer and Tess Johnson could hardly be more dangerous.
Semi-Finals
Hopkins 81 St. Michael-Albertville 71
Stillwater 72 Park Center 66
Finals
Hopkins 77 Stillwater 63
All-Tournament 5
C- Maya Nnaji, Hopkins
F- Adalia McKenzie, Park Center
G- Paige Bueckers, Hopkins, AAAA MVP
G- Alexis Pratt, Stillwater
G- Kenzie Kramer, St. Michael
2nd 5
C- Aliza Karlen, Stillwater
F- Nia Holloway, Eden Prairie
G- Lauren Jensen, Lakeville North
G- Lauren Frost, Park Center
G- Tess Johnson, St. Michael
Actual Seeds--just came out Saturday morning after the above was already published.
Hopkins got #1 and plays Cambridge. Fair enough.
Farmington got #2. They earned it but with the injuries they've had, they're not the 2nd best team at this point. They get Eden Prairie. That's a tough draw for both teams but for unseeded Eden Prairie, it's pretty good. They coulda gotten Hopkins. With Farmington's injuries, this is a tossup or maybe EP should even be a slight fave. Natalie Mazurek vs. Sophie Hart is huge, you could say.
St. Michael-Albertville got #3. They played a tough schedule but, still, with 8 losses, this is a pretty good seed, and they get Lakeville North, which is a favorable draw. I had them at #5 which, with the official seeds, might have gotten them Park Center or Stillwater.
I'm gonna say St. Michael gets out of this bracket to the finals for a 3rd meet up with Hopkins.
Park Center got #4, Stillwater got #5, and they got each other. This is a tough draw for both of them and this will be the best 1st round game. As you saw, I had them seeded #2 and #3. This should have been a semi-final. As you also saw, I had Stillwater 72 Park Center 66 in the semis. Now, one of them will get Hopkins in the semis.
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