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.
No comments:
Post a Comment