It was a great day of basketball at Anoka-Ramsey CC on Saturday, January 25, at the 1st annual Jack Link's Hall of Fame Winter Classic, which is a fund-raiser for the Minnesota High School Basketball Hall of Fame.
Hopkins and Eden Prairie won fairly easily, while East Ridge had to come from behind to beat Rochester Mayo 64-63 in the finale.
Eden Prairie 82 Park Center 64
The Eagles showed why they're unbeaten and ranked #1, running away from an elite Park Center team 36-8 early and 46-20 at the half. Eden Prairie did its thing, which is to make the 3--9-of-14 in the 1st half. Meanwhile, the Pirates were making just 2-of-11 3s and just 5-of-14 2s in the 1st half. After Dain Dainja opened the scoring with a 3 for Park Center--just imagine this!--Eden Prairie went on a 36-5 run.
It was more of the same early in the 2nd half, as the Eagles took their largest lead at 56-24 on an Austin Andrews 2+1 at 14:12 and it was still 70-42 after a Drake Dobbs layup at 5:08. The Pirates won the final 5 minutes 22-12 to tighten up the final score a little bit.
But, the bottom line is that, well, yes, Eden Prairie makes 3s, 12-of-22 for the night. But, more than that, they do the little things on both sides of the ball. They move the ball and move without the ball better than anybody. They're all great passers. They all know that if they get open, the teammates will get them the ball. The hustle on defense and really shut down dribble penetration. Meanwhile, 6-7 Connor Christensen took on 6-10 Dainja man-to-man but of course he got help when needed, which was often, and the Eagles really excel at help defense.
They don't really overwhelm you with their athleticism or their size or anything, but then the clock starts and they play with great intensity and even greater intelligence. They don't just play games, they put on clinics.
Dobbs scored 31 points on 4-of-6 3s, 4-of-7 2s and 11-of-12 FT and added 9 boards. It's hard to believe he only had 1 assist. As a team, they had 9 on 25 buckets, which seems a little bit stingy on the part of the scorekeeper. Andrews added 19 on 7-of-11 shooting. Christensen also scored 19 with 5-of-7 3s and 7 boards.
Park Center had a tough time generating any offense until late and made just 3-of-20 3s. They got no penetration and had just 5 assists on 25 buckets. Dainja finished with 22 points but was stuck on 10 for the first half of the second half. Still, he made 10-of-16 FG with 9 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Detavius Frierson added 15 points and Joshua Brown 12.
East Ridge 64 Rochester Mayo 63
Mayo was just cruising along, executing, making shots, getting defensive stops, and they led by 11 points inside of 10 minutes. And, then East Ridge got things clicking a little bit. Kendall Blue made 3 straight mid-range jumpers off of dribble penetration, and Ben Carlson got a Ben Carlson-dunk and suddenly it was 60-58 East Ridge.
East Ridge made Mayo's 6-5 guard Gabe Madsen work for everything, but he made 5-of-11 shots and had 5 boards and 4 assists and 16 points. His brother Mason made 4-of-11 for 8 points and had 6 boards and 3 assists. But, after executing pretty flawlessly for 35 minutes, suddenly there were a couple-3 untimely turnovers down the stretch and, then, once Mayo got behind, the 3-pointer wouldn't fall.
The big eye-opener for the night was Mayo's 6-2 guard Michael Sharp who scored 17 points, 3 2-pointers mostly on back cuts into the lane, but also 3-of-3 3-pointers.
Meanwhile, East Ridge was essentially the Blue and Carlson show. They scored 2/3 of their team's points, got 2/3 of the rebounds and both (!) of their assists. (Yup, 2 assists for East Ridge on 25 buckets!) East Ridge had a 38-23 edge on the boards including 12-2 on the O-boards and outscored Mayo 15-2 on 2nd chancers. And, down the stretch, Blue and Carlson were not going to be denied.
Hopkins 90 Hibbing 58
First off, it was closer than that. Not to say that Hopkins wasn't in control 49-30 at the half, 55-40 at 13 minutes, 79-58 at 2 minutes, but then 11-0 inside of 2 minutes for the 90-58 final.
For those who are wondering how a Hopkins-Hopkins matchup came to be, Hibbing is a junior team, plus 6-3 sophomore guard Ayden McDonald, who scored his 1,000th point last week. So, the Bluejackets, a AAA team from the Iron Range, as you know, are playing a monster schedule with at least 7 AAAA's on it plus a game at Minnehaha in February.
Here, Hibbing got down 14-6 and 33-15. It was pretty obvious that Hopkins was stronger and more athletic and a lot deeper. Hibbing's starters actually outscored Hopkins' 55-48, and that was playing just 4 minutes more per man. The Hopkins bench played twice as many minutes as Hibbing's bench and outscored them 42-3.
Mainly, the game plan seemed to be that Hopkins was not gonna let Ayden McDonald beat them, and they leaned on him all night and held him to 4-of-15 shooting. McDonald's 3-of-8 3s was not bad, but 1-of-7 2s was indicative of the physical Hopkins defense. Junior guard Mayson Brown filled the gap with 25 points including 7-of-15 3s.
But Hopkins won the battle in the paint 34-6, and points off turnovers 28-2 though the turnovers themselves were just 17-13. But, you know Hopkins. Defend-and-go is what they do. They're not as good in the half court set as Hopkins teams of yore, what with their lack of a big fellow, but turn it over and they're gonna convert.
Kerwin Walton led Hopkins with a quiet 17 and was picked as the game MVP. Jaelen Treml and Regan Merritt each added 15, both off the bench.
The Hall of Fame All-Stars
The top players of the day:
C- Ben Carlson, East Ridge 16 pts, 14 reb
F- Connor Christensen, Eden Prairie 19 pts, 7 reb
PG- Drake Dobbs, Eden Prairie 31 pts, 9 reb
G- Kendall Blue, East Ridge 25 pts, 5 reb
G- Kerwin Walton, Hopkins 17 pts, 6 reb
2nd Team
C- Dain Dainja, Park Center 22 pts, 9 reb
F- Austin Andrews, Eden Prairie 19 pts, 4 reb
PG- Ayden McDonald, Hibbing 15 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast
G- Gabe Madsen, Mayo 16 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast
G- Mayson Brown, Hibbing 25 pts
3rd Team
C- Riek Riek, Mayo 8 pts, 5 reb
F- Detavius Frierson, Park Center 15 pts, 5 reb
PG- Cornell Richardson, Hopkins 9 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast
G- Michael Sharp, Mayo 17 pts
G- Joshua Brown, Park Center 12 pts, 5 reb
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Monday, January 20, 2020
Como girls edge Cretin 62-56 to celebrate MLK
Cretin-Derham Hall had a great doubleheader to celebrate MLK Day, and the Raiders split the 2 games. The boys beat 12-1 Mounds View handily while in the girls game it was visiting St. Paul Como Park coming back from a 43-42 deficit at 8:30 to win 62-56.
That means that Como won those final 8-and-a-half minutes 20-13 as Ronnie Porter scored 7 points and Kaylynn Asbury 6. Como shot 8-of-18 FG down the stretch (45%) after making just 16-of-70 shots (23%) over the game's first 27 minutes. Cretin, meanwhile, shot 38% percent in taking that 43-42 lead (17-of-45) but made just 4-of-17 (23%) down the stretch.
The difference in the game was Como's 26 offensive rebounds leading to 17 2nd chance points, 7 in the first half and 10 more in the 2nd. On Como's offensive end, there were 51 rebounds available. Como grabbed 26, Cretin just 25. Total rebounding was Como 55 Cretin 40 as the two teams missed more than 100 shots. But, if you're wondering how Como got off 88 shots, well, 26 offensive rebounds is the answer.
Ronnie Porter was also the difference in the game, scoring 31 points while none of her teammates managed to get into double figures. Porter shot 12-of-29 (42%) including 4-of-12 from long range (4-of-7 in the 1st half) and 8-of-17 2s. She added 8 rebounds, 3 steals, an assist and a block, plus 5 turnovers. Nevaeh Moeschter scored 19 points for Cretin while Takara Mason added 17.
That means that Como won those final 8-and-a-half minutes 20-13 as Ronnie Porter scored 7 points and Kaylynn Asbury 6. Como shot 8-of-18 FG down the stretch (45%) after making just 16-of-70 shots (23%) over the game's first 27 minutes. Cretin, meanwhile, shot 38% percent in taking that 43-42 lead (17-of-45) but made just 4-of-17 (23%) down the stretch.
The difference in the game was Como's 26 offensive rebounds leading to 17 2nd chance points, 7 in the first half and 10 more in the 2nd. On Como's offensive end, there were 51 rebounds available. Como grabbed 26, Cretin just 25. Total rebounding was Como 55 Cretin 40 as the two teams missed more than 100 shots. But, if you're wondering how Como got off 88 shots, well, 26 offensive rebounds is the answer.
Ronnie Porter was also the difference in the game, scoring 31 points while none of her teammates managed to get into double figures. Porter shot 12-of-29 (42%) including 4-of-12 from long range (4-of-7 in the 1st half) and 8-of-17 2s. She added 8 rebounds, 3 steals, an assist and a block, plus 5 turnovers. Nevaeh Moeschter scored 19 points for Cretin while Takara Mason added 17.
Friday, January 17, 2020
Eden Prairie boys beat Hopkins and the snow 82-68 to stay undefeated
The Eden Prairie boys showed why they're unbeaten and rated #1 among the Class AAAA boys, swooping into Hopkins Lindbergh Center and leaving several hours later with an 82-68 win. It was closer than that, but whenever Kenny Novak's Royals made a run, the Eagles had the weapons and the answers. They closed the game on an 11-2 run for the 14-point final margin.
Like I said, the Eagles have a lot of weapons and the ability to feed the hot hand. Tonight it was senior wing John Henry making 7-of-12 3-pointers, mostly from deep in the corners and with a hand in his face. And, as always, senior point guard Drake Dobbs controlled the ball and the tempo and got the ball to the guy with the hot hand, and made 3-of-4 3s of his own. Henry and Dobbs combined for 52 points on 16-of-27 shooting.
For Hopkins, of course, 6-5 senior guard Kerwin Walton was the story with 26 points on 9-of-17 including 4-of-8 from long range. And Hopkins was deeper with 9 players scoring to 6 for the Eagles. But none of the other Royals could get into double figures and as a group they shot just 16-of-41, including 7-of-19 in the 2nd half. There was just too much one-on-one for the Royals and so my unofficial stats show just 4 assists on 25 Hopkins buckets. And, as strong and athletic as Hopkins is, I had Eden Prairie with a 37-22 edge on the boards.
Eden Prairie took an early 11-7 as their first 6 shots were all 3s and they made half of them. But, Hopkins ripped off an 18-7 run to lead 26-18 at the 7 minute mark of the first half. 9 of those points came on 5 Eden Prairie turnovers, half of their total for the whole night. Now it was the Eagles turn and they closed the half on a 20-4 run. Dobbs and Henry each hit a pair of 3s in the run.
The Eagles kept it going in the 2nd half, opening with an 18-8 advantage (a total of 38-12), again making 3-of-4 3s in the first 4 minutes of the half. At the 14 minute mark it was 56-38. But Hopkins made its run, a 28-15 run over 14 minutes to get within 71-66 with 4 minutes remaining. Walton scored 15 of the 28 points but Sawyer Shrake and Regan Merritt each chipped in a 3 as well. But, now it was Will Foster and Connor Christianson scoring 7 points down the stretch for the final score.
What makes the Eagles the Eagles, I think, is their movement and their ball movement on offense. They always have 5 great passers on the court so they're hard to trap and hard to slow down. Hopkins did both but only in small spurts. In fact, they did a nice job of doubling down low but the Eagles more than answered with the 3-ball. But don't underestimate Hopkins or overestimate the Eagles. This was not a 14 point game but more like 6 or 8. But for now Eden Prairie is the best team in the state of Minnesota, no matter what you may read elsewhere.
Like I said, the Eagles have a lot of weapons and the ability to feed the hot hand. Tonight it was senior wing John Henry making 7-of-12 3-pointers, mostly from deep in the corners and with a hand in his face. And, as always, senior point guard Drake Dobbs controlled the ball and the tempo and got the ball to the guy with the hot hand, and made 3-of-4 3s of his own. Henry and Dobbs combined for 52 points on 16-of-27 shooting.
For Hopkins, of course, 6-5 senior guard Kerwin Walton was the story with 26 points on 9-of-17 including 4-of-8 from long range. And Hopkins was deeper with 9 players scoring to 6 for the Eagles. But none of the other Royals could get into double figures and as a group they shot just 16-of-41, including 7-of-19 in the 2nd half. There was just too much one-on-one for the Royals and so my unofficial stats show just 4 assists on 25 Hopkins buckets. And, as strong and athletic as Hopkins is, I had Eden Prairie with a 37-22 edge on the boards.
Eden Prairie took an early 11-7 as their first 6 shots were all 3s and they made half of them. But, Hopkins ripped off an 18-7 run to lead 26-18 at the 7 minute mark of the first half. 9 of those points came on 5 Eden Prairie turnovers, half of their total for the whole night. Now it was the Eagles turn and they closed the half on a 20-4 run. Dobbs and Henry each hit a pair of 3s in the run.
The Eagles kept it going in the 2nd half, opening with an 18-8 advantage (a total of 38-12), again making 3-of-4 3s in the first 4 minutes of the half. At the 14 minute mark it was 56-38. But Hopkins made its run, a 28-15 run over 14 minutes to get within 71-66 with 4 minutes remaining. Walton scored 15 of the 28 points but Sawyer Shrake and Regan Merritt each chipped in a 3 as well. But, now it was Will Foster and Connor Christianson scoring 7 points down the stretch for the final score.
What makes the Eagles the Eagles, I think, is their movement and their ball movement on offense. They always have 5 great passers on the court so they're hard to trap and hard to slow down. Hopkins did both but only in small spurts. In fact, they did a nice job of doubling down low but the Eagles more than answered with the 3-ball. But don't underestimate Hopkins or overestimate the Eagles. This was not a 14 point game but more like 6 or 8. But for now Eden Prairie is the best team in the state of Minnesota, no matter what you may read elsewhere.
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
The 1/3 Report: The Surprises and Most Improved Among the Girls
Well, we're at the 1/3 point in the season. The "pre-season" is behind us. Now comes the "regular season," sometimes known as "the grind," and we don't mean Starbuck's. Then comes the "post-season." So what have we learned in the 1st 1/3 of the season that sheds light on what might happen in the 3rd 1/3?
Class AAAA
At the 1/3 point in Class AAAA the surprise teams (in a good way) are Blaine, Centennial, Elk River and Shakopee. Blaine, which has enjoyed precious little success over the past 6-8 years, has in fact moved into the favorite's role in Section 7. Centennial, Elk and Shakopee remain underdogs in their sections but have moved up to #7, #12 and #13 in the rankings after not being ranked in the pre-season.
The 5th mover is Rosemount though they've done almost exactly what was expected, in fact dropping marginally in the rankings from #10 to #11. But, at the same time, they're now the favorite in Section 3 ahead of Lakeville North.
The other section favorites remain the same--Farmington, Chaska, Stllwater, Park Center, Hopkins and St. Michael. Right now I would expect to see Hopkins vs. Stillwater and Farmington vs. Park Center in the state semis, and those are the same 4 that I had in the pre-season. In the final, I'm thinking Hopkins 72 Farmington 61. Paige Bueckers of Hopkins remains the favorite for PoY and for Ms. Basketball, while Blaine's Kayla Bohr is the breakout player right now.
Class AAA
Believe it or not, I don't have a single change in any of the 8 section favorites. I'm picking Como to surprise DeLaSalle in one semi and Red Wing edge Marshall in the other, after Marshall edges Becker 60-59 in the 1st round.
The surprise teams are Mahtomedi and Richfield at #9 and #10 after not being ranked in the pre-season. Coach Danny Woods of Holy Angels told me, "Watch out for Richfield," and I'm like "yeah, yeah." That's why he gets paid the big bucks.
Class AA
OK, here's where it gets interesting right from Section 1. Stewartville lost Erin Lamb to volleyball and they've dropped from #2 statewide out of the top 15. Goodhue, just up from Class A, has already become the favorite with a win at Lake City. Rochester Lourdes is more highly rated in that other poll but I like Goodhue.
In 2AA, Waseca replaces Norwood Young America. NYA has some injuries, while Waseca has a road win at previously unbeaten Winona Cotter.
New London-Spicer and Minnehaha remain favorites in 4 and 5, and Sauk Centre and Fergus up north. But in Section 7AA, Proctor drops from #3 in the state to #3 in the section despite just 1 loss. But the 2018 section champs, Mesabi East, have no losses and Duluth Marshall also has just 1.
Some other movers include unbeaten Holdingford and Pelican Rapids, though neither is a section fave.
At state, I'm seeing right now Fergus over Goodhue and Sauk over Minnehaha in the semis, and Sauk 57 Fergus 56 in the final.
Class A
There are a few changes here. Unbeaten Waterville-Elysian-Morristown takes over from BOLD in 2A, Mayer Lutheran is the new fave over Heritage in 4A, and Warren-Alvarado-Oslo takes over from Red Lake in 8A. Park Christian moves up, though it's not a section favorite, with a win over Ada.
Right now I see Minneota over Walker-HA and WEM over MIB in the state semis, and Minneota 51 WEM 49 to repeat was state champ.
Summary--the biggest surprise teams so far:
1. Richfield--unbeaten after winning just 5 games a year ago.
2. Blaine--hard to believe it, but the Bengals will challenge for a state tournament berth. Kayla Bohr is the breakout player.
3. Waterville-EM--they know how to win in volleyball, why not hoops?
4. Mayer Lutheran--will they be better than Heritage come March?
5. Goodhue--1st year in AA but more than ready to compete.
6. Mahtomedi--deep, young, talented team but they are still in DeLaSalle's section.
7. Holdingford--unheralded and unbeaten.
8. Waseca--they've been good but still have just 1 state tournament berth ever.
9. Mesabi East--you knew they were good but can they beat Proctor and Duluth Marshall in March?
10. Rosemount--now favored to get by both Eastview and Lakeville North in Section 3AAAA.
Class AAAA
At the 1/3 point in Class AAAA the surprise teams (in a good way) are Blaine, Centennial, Elk River and Shakopee. Blaine, which has enjoyed precious little success over the past 6-8 years, has in fact moved into the favorite's role in Section 7. Centennial, Elk and Shakopee remain underdogs in their sections but have moved up to #7, #12 and #13 in the rankings after not being ranked in the pre-season.
The 5th mover is Rosemount though they've done almost exactly what was expected, in fact dropping marginally in the rankings from #10 to #11. But, at the same time, they're now the favorite in Section 3 ahead of Lakeville North.
The other section favorites remain the same--Farmington, Chaska, Stllwater, Park Center, Hopkins and St. Michael. Right now I would expect to see Hopkins vs. Stillwater and Farmington vs. Park Center in the state semis, and those are the same 4 that I had in the pre-season. In the final, I'm thinking Hopkins 72 Farmington 61. Paige Bueckers of Hopkins remains the favorite for PoY and for Ms. Basketball, while Blaine's Kayla Bohr is the breakout player right now.
Class AAA
Believe it or not, I don't have a single change in any of the 8 section favorites. I'm picking Como to surprise DeLaSalle in one semi and Red Wing edge Marshall in the other, after Marshall edges Becker 60-59 in the 1st round.
The surprise teams are Mahtomedi and Richfield at #9 and #10 after not being ranked in the pre-season. Coach Danny Woods of Holy Angels told me, "Watch out for Richfield," and I'm like "yeah, yeah." That's why he gets paid the big bucks.
Class AA
OK, here's where it gets interesting right from Section 1. Stewartville lost Erin Lamb to volleyball and they've dropped from #2 statewide out of the top 15. Goodhue, just up from Class A, has already become the favorite with a win at Lake City. Rochester Lourdes is more highly rated in that other poll but I like Goodhue.
In 2AA, Waseca replaces Norwood Young America. NYA has some injuries, while Waseca has a road win at previously unbeaten Winona Cotter.
New London-Spicer and Minnehaha remain favorites in 4 and 5, and Sauk Centre and Fergus up north. But in Section 7AA, Proctor drops from #3 in the state to #3 in the section despite just 1 loss. But the 2018 section champs, Mesabi East, have no losses and Duluth Marshall also has just 1.
Some other movers include unbeaten Holdingford and Pelican Rapids, though neither is a section fave.
At state, I'm seeing right now Fergus over Goodhue and Sauk over Minnehaha in the semis, and Sauk 57 Fergus 56 in the final.
Class A
There are a few changes here. Unbeaten Waterville-Elysian-Morristown takes over from BOLD in 2A, Mayer Lutheran is the new fave over Heritage in 4A, and Warren-Alvarado-Oslo takes over from Red Lake in 8A. Park Christian moves up, though it's not a section favorite, with a win over Ada.
Right now I see Minneota over Walker-HA and WEM over MIB in the state semis, and Minneota 51 WEM 49 to repeat was state champ.
Summary--the biggest surprise teams so far:
1. Richfield--unbeaten after winning just 5 games a year ago.
2. Blaine--hard to believe it, but the Bengals will challenge for a state tournament berth. Kayla Bohr is the breakout player.
3. Waterville-EM--they know how to win in volleyball, why not hoops?
4. Mayer Lutheran--will they be better than Heritage come March?
5. Goodhue--1st year in AA but more than ready to compete.
6. Mahtomedi--deep, young, talented team but they are still in DeLaSalle's section.
7. Holdingford--unheralded and unbeaten.
8. Waseca--they've been good but still have just 1 state tournament berth ever.
9. Mesabi East--you knew they were good but can they beat Proctor and Duluth Marshall in March?
10. Rosemount--now favored to get by both Eastview and Lakeville North in Section 3AAAA.
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