MN Pump n Run 15U easily took 1st place in the Denver Mile High Classic over this past weekend, while the 16U got to the final before losing 60-58 to Utah Hoops. The 15s beat Colorado Elite, Colorado Hawks and Colorado Miners Cooper.
The 17U were upset by the Texas D-1 Ambassadors Morse in the semis. Ambassadors Morse went on to another upset, 85-60 over Danny Granger Select, in the final.
Pump n Run players who were highlighted in daily reports coming out of the Classic include, listed roughly in order of how effusive the reports were:
1. Henry Ellenson, 15U, 6-8, 2015, SF/PF, Rice Lake, WI. "Likely to be a national recruit.... Deadly 3 point shooter, can get out on the break and finish above the rim."
2. Alex Herink, 15U, 6-6, 2014, WF, Hudson, WI. "May be (15U) best player... Savvy."
3. Jarvis Johnson, 16U, 6-1, 2015, PG, DeLaSalle. "Consummate point guard," "quick, athletic, tightened up his shot." Playing up a year.
4. Amir Coffey, 15U, 6-6, 2016, SF, Hopkins. I had to laugh at the comment, "Reportedly the son of a former Minnesota hoopster." "Lefty wing F can consistently hit the outside shot, capable of runners and off the dribble, terrific prospect." Playing up a year.
5. Ian Theisen, 17U, 6-9, 2014, C, Osseo. Could have a "Big 10 future," "nice stroke," "a 4 or 5." Playing up a year.
6. Reid Travis, 17U, 6-7, 2014, SF, DeLaSalle. "Improved all around offensive game, more consistent range to 3 point line, able to get off a decent shot off the dribble, nailed some mid-range shots...adequate defense." Playing up a year.
7. Marshawn Wilson, 15U, 6-2, 2015, PG, Tartan. "Notable inside-outside offense, versatile, athletic."
8. Jordan Demblay, Holy Angels, and Dejon Davis, Mpls. Washburn, 16U guards.
10. Paul Friendshuh, 16U, 6-9, C, New Prague.
11. J.P. Macura, Lakeville North, and Dennis Austin, Apple Valley, more 16U guards.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
T-Wolves in the Draft After All
The T-Wolves have no 1st round draft pick of their own, but now with the Utah Jazz sneaking into the playoffs the final weekend, the Wolves get the Jazz' pick at #15. So what I wrote a month ago in my mock draft becomes pretty interesting. I speculated that maybe a #15 choice could be had in a trade. Here's what I said.
"Still I suppose they could move up with a trade. What do they need? Oh, yes, somebody that won't get hurt. Good luck with that. But seriously, if they could package Beasley and Wesley, well, that surely doesn't get you a lottery pick, but say a #15, even, is there any way you make that trade? Well, sure, because you can't use Beasley and Wesley. But if you just end up with another guy you can't use.... But, is there a gem of a guy hidden at #15 or thereabouts? Well, you know, maybe Terrence Ross. Maybe is the guy that Johnson and Ellington and Webster isn't, a guy who brings a little instant offense off the bench and picks up the tempo a little bit. But seriously, who the hell is going to take Beasley off our hands? Once upon a time you could call the Clippers. Now I don't think so. Joisey? N'awlins? I dunno. But the one opportunity worth watching for is Terrence Ross at somewhere around #15, give or take a couple. But it's addition by subtraction. Dumping some dead wood is as much or more a rationale for such a deal as the draft pick himself."
I also had John Henson as the Jazz' pick at #15, and Austin Rivers at #16 though most people think Rivers will go much higher than that.
"Still I suppose they could move up with a trade. What do they need? Oh, yes, somebody that won't get hurt. Good luck with that. But seriously, if they could package Beasley and Wesley, well, that surely doesn't get you a lottery pick, but say a #15, even, is there any way you make that trade? Well, sure, because you can't use Beasley and Wesley. But if you just end up with another guy you can't use.... But, is there a gem of a guy hidden at #15 or thereabouts? Well, you know, maybe Terrence Ross. Maybe is the guy that Johnson and Ellington and Webster isn't, a guy who brings a little instant offense off the bench and picks up the tempo a little bit. But seriously, who the hell is going to take Beasley off our hands? Once upon a time you could call the Clippers. Now I don't think so. Joisey? N'awlins? I dunno. But the one opportunity worth watching for is Terrence Ross at somewhere around #15, give or take a couple. But it's addition by subtraction. Dumping some dead wood is as much or more a rationale for such a deal as the draft pick himself."
I also had John Henson as the Jazz' pick at #15, and Austin Rivers at #16 though most people think Rivers will go much higher than that.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Blue Surprises in Girls All-Star Series
I said it would come down to guards and I said the best guards were:
1. Maroon--Mullaney, Biewen, Retterath
2. Green--Bailey, Adanane, Scherber, Cichy
3. Gold--Janning, W. Olson, Mehus
4. Blue--Foley, Thorn, Zeller
Well, wouldn't you know. Blue knocked off Green by 5 on Friday night, then edged Maroon 79-77 on Saturday to "win" the MGBCA all-star series.
I don't have any stats for Friday but on Saturday Alexis Foley scored 16 points for the Blue, Ellie Zeller and Whitney Tinjum added 14, Courtney Hulstein (also a guard) 12 and Christine Thorn 11. Tinjum, Zeller and Kionda Nicks pounded the boards and also excelled on defense, while it was Zeller, Foley, Nicks and Thorn who most moved the ball. Deb Williams of St. Paul Highland coached the Blue.
The other finalist was Maroon, coached by Brian Cosgriff of Hopkins. They defeated Gold on Friday as Marissa Grossfeld scored 15, AnneMarie Healy 13, Heather Strese 12, Kadidjah Shumpert 11 and Shayne Mullaney 11. Katybeth Biewen scored just 4 points but led Maroon with 10 boards.
On Saturday Mullaney scored 28 but only Strese joined her in double figures with 10. Otherwise Blue did a terrific job of inside defense, holding Grossfeld, Healy and Shumpert to 8, 8 and 5 points. Mullaney and Shumpert each had 8 boards.
Gold beat Green 73-63 for 3rd place. Marissa Janning may have led all scorers with 40 points in 2 games. The only other 20 point games I'm aware of are Mullaney's 28, Jackie Johnson with 22, Janning with 24 for Gold on Saturday, and Mikayla Bailey with 20, also on Saturday. Johnson probably led everybody off the boards with 14 and 8 rebounds for a total of 22. She also led all players in Kevin Anderson's stats defensive stops (24, 5 more than Grossfeld) and distributions (18, 1 more than Janning).
Perhaps the top 5 players would be:
C- Jackie Johnson, Eden Prairie and Gold
F- Marissa Grossfeld, Wayzata and Maroon
F- Whitney Tinjum, Chisago Lakes and Blue
G- Marissa Janning, Watertown-Mayer and Gold
G- Shayne Mullaney, Eden Prairie and Maroon
Second 5
C- Kadidjah Shumpert, Benilde-SM and Maroon
F- Kionda Nicks, St.Paul Highland Park and Blue
F- Heather Strese, Brandon-Evansville and Maroon
G- Alexis Foley, White Bear Lake and Blue
G- Ellie Zeller, St. Anthony and Blue
Third 5
C- Mariah Monke, Fergus Falls and Green
F- AnneMarie Healy, Providence and Maroon
G- Richell Mehus, Spring Grove and Gold
G- Mikayla Bailey, Osseo and Green
G- Christine Thorn, St. Michael-Albertville and Blue
1. Maroon--Mullaney, Biewen, Retterath
2. Green--Bailey, Adanane, Scherber, Cichy
3. Gold--Janning, W. Olson, Mehus
4. Blue--Foley, Thorn, Zeller
Well, wouldn't you know. Blue knocked off Green by 5 on Friday night, then edged Maroon 79-77 on Saturday to "win" the MGBCA all-star series.
I don't have any stats for Friday but on Saturday Alexis Foley scored 16 points for the Blue, Ellie Zeller and Whitney Tinjum added 14, Courtney Hulstein (also a guard) 12 and Christine Thorn 11. Tinjum, Zeller and Kionda Nicks pounded the boards and also excelled on defense, while it was Zeller, Foley, Nicks and Thorn who most moved the ball. Deb Williams of St. Paul Highland coached the Blue.
The other finalist was Maroon, coached by Brian Cosgriff of Hopkins. They defeated Gold on Friday as Marissa Grossfeld scored 15, AnneMarie Healy 13, Heather Strese 12, Kadidjah Shumpert 11 and Shayne Mullaney 11. Katybeth Biewen scored just 4 points but led Maroon with 10 boards.
On Saturday Mullaney scored 28 but only Strese joined her in double figures with 10. Otherwise Blue did a terrific job of inside defense, holding Grossfeld, Healy and Shumpert to 8, 8 and 5 points. Mullaney and Shumpert each had 8 boards.
Gold beat Green 73-63 for 3rd place. Marissa Janning may have led all scorers with 40 points in 2 games. The only other 20 point games I'm aware of are Mullaney's 28, Jackie Johnson with 22, Janning with 24 for Gold on Saturday, and Mikayla Bailey with 20, also on Saturday. Johnson probably led everybody off the boards with 14 and 8 rebounds for a total of 22. She also led all players in Kevin Anderson's stats defensive stops (24, 5 more than Grossfeld) and distributions (18, 1 more than Janning).
Perhaps the top 5 players would be:
C- Jackie Johnson, Eden Prairie and Gold
F- Marissa Grossfeld, Wayzata and Maroon
F- Whitney Tinjum, Chisago Lakes and Blue
G- Marissa Janning, Watertown-Mayer and Gold
G- Shayne Mullaney, Eden Prairie and Maroon
Second 5
C- Kadidjah Shumpert, Benilde-SM and Maroon
F- Kionda Nicks, St.Paul Highland Park and Blue
F- Heather Strese, Brandon-Evansville and Maroon
G- Alexis Foley, White Bear Lake and Blue
G- Ellie Zeller, St. Anthony and Blue
Third 5
C- Mariah Monke, Fergus Falls and Green
F- AnneMarie Healy, Providence and Maroon
G- Richell Mehus, Spring Grove and Gold
G- Mikayla Bailey, Osseo and Green
G- Christine Thorn, St. Michael-Albertville and Blue
Friday, April 20, 2012
Girls All-Star Games Set for April 20-21 EDIT ROSTERS NOW SET, TOO
EDIT
As we reported earlier, the MGBCA all-star game is going to a new format. Players have now been drafted by the four teams--Gold, Green, Blue, Maroon.
Gold, led by Marissa Janning and Jackie Johnson, would have to be regarded as a contender. Richell Mehus, Josie Dillon and Whitney Olson are also potential difference-makers. Coaches are Rick Koivisto and Nick Furnstahl of Red Lake County Central, whose Michaela Casavan is also a Goldie.
Blue has Abbie Whitney, Whitney Tinjum and a bevy of guards including Alexis Foley. Coaches are Deb Williams and Francene Lee of St. Paul Highland, whose Kionda Nicks is also Blue.
Green looks like a contender with Mariah Monke, Kali Peschel and guards Brittney Scherber, Mikayla Bailey, Mariah Adanane, Tessa Cichy and others. Scott Bergman and Don Peschel of Sauk are coaches.
Maroon is loaded with Schumpert and Healy inside and Mullaney, Biewen and Sydney Coffey outside.
In the end the winner will be the team with the best guards and that looks like 1) Maroon, 2) Green, 3) Gold and 4) Blue.
Sydney Coffey 6’0 W Hopkins
ORIGINAL POST
The MGBCA all-star games will be Friday night and Saturday afternoon, April 20-21 at the Leonard Center at Macalester College. 6 and 7:30 p.m. on Friday, and 1:30 and 3 p.m. on Saturday.
The 39 participants have been identified by Class (as follows). But my understanding is that the teams will be redistributed, lottery style and, like the Boys, you will end up with Gold, Maroon, Blue and Green or some such. With the games just one week away, maybe we'll only find out who is who on game night?
As we reported earlier, the MGBCA all-star game is going to a new format. Players have now been drafted by the four teams--Gold, Green, Blue, Maroon.
Gold, led by Marissa Janning and Jackie Johnson, would have to be regarded as a contender. Richell Mehus, Josie Dillon and Whitney Olson are also potential difference-makers. Coaches are Rick Koivisto and Nick Furnstahl of Red Lake County Central, whose Michaela Casavan is also a Goldie.
Blue has Abbie Whitney, Whitney Tinjum and a bevy of guards including Alexis Foley. Coaches are Deb Williams and Francene Lee of St. Paul Highland, whose Kionda Nicks is also Blue.
Green looks like a contender with Mariah Monke, Kali Peschel and guards Brittney Scherber, Mikayla Bailey, Mariah Adanane, Tessa Cichy and others. Scott Bergman and Don Peschel of Sauk are coaches.
Maroon is loaded with Schumpert and Healy inside and Mullaney, Biewen and Sydney Coffey outside.
In the end the winner will be the team with the best guards and that looks like 1) Maroon, 2) Green, 3) Gold and 4) Blue.
Gold Team
Josie Dillon 6’1 W Benilde -Margaret
Whitney Olson 5’7 PG Cambridge Isanti
Jackie Johnson 6’2 P Eden Prairie
Jessy Noreen 5’7 PG Hawley
Whitney Burmeister 5’10 W Jackson County Central
Mattie Lueck 6’0 P Pequot Lakes
Michaela Casavan 5’10 W Red Lake County
Richell Mehus 5’7 W Spring Grove
Katy Kuiper 5’9 PG St. Peter
Marissa Janning 5’8 PG Watertown-Mayer
Coaches:
Rick Koivisto—Red Lake County
Nick Furnstahl—Red Lake County
Blue Team
Katie Myhre 5’8 W Barnum
Whitney Tinjum 6’2 W Chisago Lakes
Courtney Hulstein 5’7 PG Fulda
Gabbi Steinstra 5’11 PG Minnehaha Academy
Abbie Whitney 6’5 P Sartell-St Stephen
Ellie Zeller 5’8 PG St. Anthony Village
Christine Thorn 5’7 W St. Michael-Albertville
Kionda Nicks 6’1 P St. Paul Highland Park
Alexis Foley 5’10 PG White Bear Lake
Coaches:
Deb Williams—St. Paul Highland Park
Francene Lee—St. Paul Highland Park
Green Team
Britney Scherber 5’9 PG Bloomington Jefferson
Riley Nordgaard 5’11 PG Canby
Mariah Adenane 5’10 W DeLaSalle
Mariah Monke 6’2 P Fergus Falls
Tessa Cichy 6’0 W Hill-Murray
Lindsey Lahr 5’6 PG Isle
Tara Roelofs 5’9 G Lake Crystal-Welcome Memorial
Mikayla Bailey 5’9 G Osseo
Katrina Moenkedick 5’10 P Perham
Kali Peschel 6’1 G Sauk Centre
Coaches:
Scott Bergman—Sauke Centre
Don Peschel—Sauk Centre
Maroon Team
Khadijah Shumpert 6’1 P Benilde-St. Margaret
Heather Strese 6’0 P Brandon-Evansville
Shayne Mullaney 5’8 PG Eden Prairie
Katybeth Biewen 5’9 PG Edina
Alissa Retterath G Hutchinson
Alexis Long 5’6 PG Maranatha
AnnMarie Healey 6’1 P Providence Academy
Jess Lillquist 5’11 P Sebeka
ORIGINAL POST
The MGBCA all-star games will be Friday night and Saturday afternoon, April 20-21 at the Leonard Center at Macalester College. 6 and 7:30 p.m. on Friday, and 1:30 and 3 p.m. on Saturday.
The 39 participants have been identified by Class (as follows). But my understanding is that the teams will be redistributed, lottery style and, like the Boys, you will end up with Gold, Maroon, Blue and Green or some such. With the games just one week away, maybe we'll only find out who is who on game night?
Class A
|
Class AA
|
Richell Mehus
Spring Grove
|
Katy Kuiper
St. Peter
|
Riley Nordgaard
Canby
|
Tara Roelofs
LCWM Knights
|
Courtney Hulstein
Fulda
|
Whitney Burmeister
Jackson County Central
|
Alexis Long
Marantha Christian Academy
|
Gabbi Stienstra
Minnehaha Academy
|
Lindsey Lahr
Isle
|
AnnMarie Healy
Providence Academy
|
Jesica Lillquist
Sebeka
|
Marissa Janning
Watertown-Mayer
|
Michaela Casavan
Red Lake County Central
|
Kali Peschel
Sauk Centre
|
Heather Strese
Brandon-Evansville
|
Jessy Noreen
Hawley
|
Katie Myhre
Barnum
|
Mattie Lueck
Pequot Lakes
|
Katrina Moenkedick
Perham
|
Class AAA
|
Class AAAA
|
Alissa Retterath
Hutchinson
|
Britney Scherber
Bloomington Jefferson
|
Mariah Adanene
DeLaSalle
|
Jackie Johnson
Eden Prairie
|
Ellie Zeller
St. Anthony Village
|
Shayne Mullaney
Eden Prairie
|
Tessa Cichy
Hill-Murray
|
Katybeth Biewen
Edina
|
Kiondra Nicks
St. Paul Highland Park
|
Alexis Foley
White Bear Lake
|
Khadijah Shumpert
Benilde-St. Margarets
|
Mikayla Bailey
Osseo
|
Josie Dillon
Benilde-St. Margarets
|
Sydney Coffey
Hopkins
|
Whitney Tinjum
Chisago Lakes
|
Marissa Grossfeld
Wayzata
|
Abbie Whitney
Sartell-St. Stephen
|
Whitney Olson
Cambridge-Isanti
|
Mariah Monke
Fergus Falls
|
Christine Thorn
St. Michael-Albertville
|
2011-2012 Minnesota Hoops Player(s) of the Year
Congrats to Taylor Young and her many fans, who apparently got the word out, and found their way to Minnesota Hoops to vote for her in our 2nd annual Player of the Year vote. Young won the fan balloting with 73 of 254 ballots (28 percent).
Last year's PoY based on the fan balloting, Kevin Love, was this year's runner-up with 62 votes (24 percent).
3rd was Lindsay Whalen with 29 votes (11 percent), followed by:
Rachel Banham was 4th with 23 votes (9 percent)
Tyus Jones was 5th with 20 votes (7 percent).
Seimone Augustus with 19 votes (7 percent)
Ricky Rubio with 13 (5 percent)
James Ellisor with 10 (3 percent)
Nia Coffey with 3 votes (1 percent)
Siyani Chambers with 2 votes (0 percent)
Last year I wrote after the balloting was complete that I was within an eyelash of picking Tyler Nicolai, point guard for St. Thomas' national champions, as my PoY. But Love won the reader poll by a landslide, and so I decided to go with the consensus and pick Love as my PoY.
Keep in mind that I have picked a Minnesota PoY for every season going back to 1900. Check out the list on the post entitled Minnesota Player of the Year. (As of today it is the next post down.)
This year I'm going in a different direction:
Taylor Young is the MnHoops Readers Poll PoY. God bless all of you who made the effort to give her your support in the poll.
But Lindsay Whalen is the official Minnesota PoY and goes on that list of Minnesota PoYs that stretches all the way back to 1900.
Thanks to all who cast 254 ballots this year. Last year we had about 120.
Last year's PoY based on the fan balloting, Kevin Love, was this year's runner-up with 62 votes (24 percent).
3rd was Lindsay Whalen with 29 votes (11 percent), followed by:
Rachel Banham was 4th with 23 votes (9 percent)
Tyus Jones was 5th with 20 votes (7 percent).
Seimone Augustus with 19 votes (7 percent)
Ricky Rubio with 13 (5 percent)
James Ellisor with 10 (3 percent)
Nia Coffey with 3 votes (1 percent)
Siyani Chambers with 2 votes (0 percent)
Last year I wrote after the balloting was complete that I was within an eyelash of picking Tyler Nicolai, point guard for St. Thomas' national champions, as my PoY. But Love won the reader poll by a landslide, and so I decided to go with the consensus and pick Love as my PoY.
Keep in mind that I have picked a Minnesota PoY for every season going back to 1900. Check out the list on the post entitled Minnesota Player of the Year. (As of today it is the next post down.)
This year I'm going in a different direction:
Taylor Young is the MnHoops Readers Poll PoY. God bless all of you who made the effort to give her your support in the poll.
But Lindsay Whalen is the official Minnesota PoY and goes on that list of Minnesota PoYs that stretches all the way back to 1900.
Thanks to all who cast 254 ballots this year. Last year we had about 120.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
This Weekend (April 20-22) It's the Boys' Turn
OK, the girls coaches all-star games are at 6 and 7:30 Friday night and 1:30 and 3 Saturday afternoon at Macalester.
But otherwise this is a week for the boys to take the spotlight, after the girls Midwest Kickoff tournament last weekend.
Thanks to Gopher Warrior over at the GopherHole.com, by the way, for alerting me to these events. They are not 1, not 2, but 3 in number, and without making an actual count I would estimate we're talking about almost 500 games of basketball to be played Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
NIKE EYBL
The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League consists of 40 elite traveling teams that will play in 3 events in the Twin Cities, Hampton, VA, and Dallas. This week's games are at the High Performance Academy, 2950 Lexington Avenue South, Eagan.
Friday night 4-20--15 games at 6, 7:30 and 9 p.m. The local entry, Howard Pulley, plays the Georgia Stars at 7:30 on Court 3.
Saturday 4-21--40 games from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pulley plays Albany City Rocks at 2 p.m again on Court 3. If you just plop yourself down on Court 3 you'll see Pulley, Albany, Indy Spiece, Boo Williams, NY Lightning, Georgia Stars, Team Texas Titans, Wisconsin Playground, Mean Streets (IL), CP3 (NC) and All Iowa Attack.
Sunday 4-22--25 games from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pulley plays NJ Playaz at 9:30 a.m. on Court 1.
The Pulley 17U features Dion Bradley, St. Paul Highland; Anders Broman, Lakeview Christian; Kamali Chambers and Jamal Davis, Hopkins; Gage Deis, Prairie Seeds; Quinton Hooker, Park Center; Wayland Johnson, St. Paul Johnson; Tyus Jones, Apple Valley; Sam Neumann, Cretin; Henry Sonie, Apple Valley; Renard Suggs, Woodbury; Kyle Washington; and others.
Pump n Run's Best Buy Spring Classic
April 20-22 in Bloomington at Jefferson, Kennedy and Olson Middle School. This is all 17U with 48 teams, 24 from MN and the same number from elsewhere. Elsewhere means Wisconsin (7 teams), Kansas City (4), Nebraska, Illinois and Iowa (3 each), and 1 each from North Dakota, Arkansas, Michigan, Florida and Texas.
Games are at 7:10, 8:20 and 9:30 Friday night, all day Saturday, and 10:15 through 2:45 (the 3 championship games) on Sunday.
Pump n Run does not appear to have up to date rosters on its Web site yet, but last year's 16U (2013s) included Graham Woodward of Edina, Ian Theisen of Osseo, and Elwood Ellenson of Rice Lake. Whether these fellows are returning to this year's 17U I don't know. Jamal Davis, who has jumped to Pulley, was on Pump n Run's 16U a year ago. Some of its 15U last year were Marshawn Wilson of Tartan, Jarvis Johnson and Reid Travis of DeLaSalle, and Henry Ellenson.
NY2LA Sports
The Spring Extravaganza will be at Hopkins Lindbergh and Minnetonka. Play opens at 6 p.m. Friday, and 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. There is play all the way from 9U to 17U, with 15U-16U and 17U somewhat featured. There are 36 17Us, 32 16Us and 24 15Us. Like the Best Buy Classic, the older teams are predominantly from the upper midwest but with some coming from elsewhere all over the country. The younger brackets feature anywhere from 6 to 12 teams.
The 15-16-17U finals are at 12:40 and 1:50 Sunday at Hopkins. The other finals follow at 3:30 at Hopkins.
Minnesotans in the 17U division are MN Select White, MN Comets Elite Hanson, 43 Hoops, MN Select Blue and MN Comets Elite Stock.
Select White, coached by Mitch Ohnstad, features Carson Shanks of Prior Lake, Kebu Johnson of Blake, Brady Wohler of Orono, Logan Brown of Roseville, and others. Select Blue is coached by Patrick Boughton.
Comets Stock, coached by Jordan Stock, is a greater MN team with kids from Lac Qui Parle Valley, Long Prairie, Willmar, Fergus, Melrose, Braham, New London-Spicer, etc. Comets Hanson, coached by Josh Hanson, is also greater MN based featuring Aaron Lien of Moorhead, Jonah Eisenschenk of Rocori, 6-11 Conor Voss of St. Cloud Cathedral, and more.
43 Hoops, coached by Chris Carr, hasn't published a 17U roster yet.
Summary
The caliber of play is in the order given. I would probably think of NY2LA on Friday night, EYBL on Saturday, and Pump n Run/Best Buy on Sunday, assuming I wanted to see as much MN talent as possible plus a smattering of the best of the rest. If I just wanted the best of the best I'd be at the High Performance Academy for 3 days.
But otherwise this is a week for the boys to take the spotlight, after the girls Midwest Kickoff tournament last weekend.
Thanks to Gopher Warrior over at the GopherHole.com, by the way, for alerting me to these events. They are not 1, not 2, but 3 in number, and without making an actual count I would estimate we're talking about almost 500 games of basketball to be played Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
NIKE EYBL
The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League consists of 40 elite traveling teams that will play in 3 events in the Twin Cities, Hampton, VA, and Dallas. This week's games are at the High Performance Academy, 2950 Lexington Avenue South, Eagan.
Friday night 4-20--15 games at 6, 7:30 and 9 p.m. The local entry, Howard Pulley, plays the Georgia Stars at 7:30 on Court 3.
Saturday 4-21--40 games from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pulley plays Albany City Rocks at 2 p.m again on Court 3. If you just plop yourself down on Court 3 you'll see Pulley, Albany, Indy Spiece, Boo Williams, NY Lightning, Georgia Stars, Team Texas Titans, Wisconsin Playground, Mean Streets (IL), CP3 (NC) and All Iowa Attack.
Sunday 4-22--25 games from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pulley plays NJ Playaz at 9:30 a.m. on Court 1.
The Pulley 17U features Dion Bradley, St. Paul Highland; Anders Broman, Lakeview Christian; Kamali Chambers and Jamal Davis, Hopkins; Gage Deis, Prairie Seeds; Quinton Hooker, Park Center; Wayland Johnson, St. Paul Johnson; Tyus Jones, Apple Valley; Sam Neumann, Cretin; Henry Sonie, Apple Valley; Renard Suggs, Woodbury; Kyle Washington; and others.
Pump n Run's Best Buy Spring Classic
April 20-22 in Bloomington at Jefferson, Kennedy and Olson Middle School. This is all 17U with 48 teams, 24 from MN and the same number from elsewhere. Elsewhere means Wisconsin (7 teams), Kansas City (4), Nebraska, Illinois and Iowa (3 each), and 1 each from North Dakota, Arkansas, Michigan, Florida and Texas.
Games are at 7:10, 8:20 and 9:30 Friday night, all day Saturday, and 10:15 through 2:45 (the 3 championship games) on Sunday.
Pump n Run does not appear to have up to date rosters on its Web site yet, but last year's 16U (2013s) included Graham Woodward of Edina, Ian Theisen of Osseo, and Elwood Ellenson of Rice Lake. Whether these fellows are returning to this year's 17U I don't know. Jamal Davis, who has jumped to Pulley, was on Pump n Run's 16U a year ago. Some of its 15U last year were Marshawn Wilson of Tartan, Jarvis Johnson and Reid Travis of DeLaSalle, and Henry Ellenson.
NY2LA Sports
The Spring Extravaganza will be at Hopkins Lindbergh and Minnetonka. Play opens at 6 p.m. Friday, and 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. There is play all the way from 9U to 17U, with 15U-16U and 17U somewhat featured. There are 36 17Us, 32 16Us and 24 15Us. Like the Best Buy Classic, the older teams are predominantly from the upper midwest but with some coming from elsewhere all over the country. The younger brackets feature anywhere from 6 to 12 teams.
The 15-16-17U finals are at 12:40 and 1:50 Sunday at Hopkins. The other finals follow at 3:30 at Hopkins.
Minnesotans in the 17U division are MN Select White, MN Comets Elite Hanson, 43 Hoops, MN Select Blue and MN Comets Elite Stock.
Select White, coached by Mitch Ohnstad, features Carson Shanks of Prior Lake, Kebu Johnson of Blake, Brady Wohler of Orono, Logan Brown of Roseville, and others. Select Blue is coached by Patrick Boughton.
Comets Stock, coached by Jordan Stock, is a greater MN team with kids from Lac Qui Parle Valley, Long Prairie, Willmar, Fergus, Melrose, Braham, New London-Spicer, etc. Comets Hanson, coached by Josh Hanson, is also greater MN based featuring Aaron Lien of Moorhead, Jonah Eisenschenk of Rocori, 6-11 Conor Voss of St. Cloud Cathedral, and more.
43 Hoops, coached by Chris Carr, hasn't published a 17U roster yet.
Summary
The caliber of play is in the order given. I would probably think of NY2LA on Friday night, EYBL on Saturday, and Pump n Run/Best Buy on Sunday, assuming I wanted to see as much MN talent as possible plus a smattering of the best of the rest. If I just wanted the best of the best I'd be at the High Performance Academy for 3 days.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Lynx Pick Deveraux Peters
The Lynx have 6 picks in this year's WNBA draft, but being the defending champs, it is thought to be very doubtful that anybody after the #3 pick in the 1st round would stick with the club.
So the only name you probably have to get accustomed to is Deveraux Peters, a 6-2 power forward from Notre Dame. She scored career highs of 12 points with 9 boards and 2 assists as a 5th year senior this past year, when she helped the Irish to 2nd place in the NCAA. You might recall they defeated UConn in OT in the semi, then got blowed out by Baylor in the final.
The draft went according to Hoyle for exactly one pick, Nnemkadi Obumwike of Stanford, at #1. #2 was expected to be Shenise Johnson of Miami Florida but instead it was Shekinne Stricklen of Tennessee. The Lynx had been expected to take Stricklen, but now the reached down past Stricklen's college teammate, Glory Johnson, who was projected at #4, and grabbed Peters instead. Glory Johnson went 4th and Shenise Johnson 5th, and Lynx fans will be following the trio for years to come to evaluate how the Lynx did with their #3 pick.
They Also Ran
At #12 the Lynx grabbed perhaps the top 19 year old in the world, Damaris Dantas of Brazil. She's a 6-4 center who was the #1 scorer at the 2011 FIBA 19 & Under worlds at 21 ppg (plus 12.5 rebounds and 2 steals). Her upside would seem to be greater than current Lynx back-up post Jessica Adair but Adair performed well enough in last summer's playoffs that her position ought to be pretty solid. Perhaps the point of picking Dantas, aside from her upside potential, is that she can stay with and in Brazil for a couple of years and then the Lynx can harvest her when she is more mature and perhaps the Lynx' need will be "enhanced."
At #18 it was Julie Wojta, 6-footer from Wisconsin-Green Bay. Her senior numbers are 20 ppg, 10 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals. She would be a keeper under anything other than the Lynx' "loaded" status. Hopefully she can be flipped for some future draft choices when the Lynx need them.
Ditto #19 Kayla Standish of Gonzaga, another tall one at 6-2, but clearly behind Wojta with 16 ppg, 8 boards and a .473 shooting percentage to Wojta's .501 (career) and .522 (senior).
And ditto #20 Nika Baric of Slovenia, a 5-7 point guard who scored 14 ppg with 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
5 down and 1 to go.
So the only name you probably have to get accustomed to is Deveraux Peters, a 6-2 power forward from Notre Dame. She scored career highs of 12 points with 9 boards and 2 assists as a 5th year senior this past year, when she helped the Irish to 2nd place in the NCAA. You might recall they defeated UConn in OT in the semi, then got blowed out by Baylor in the final.
The draft went according to Hoyle for exactly one pick, Nnemkadi Obumwike of Stanford, at #1. #2 was expected to be Shenise Johnson of Miami Florida but instead it was Shekinne Stricklen of Tennessee. The Lynx had been expected to take Stricklen, but now the reached down past Stricklen's college teammate, Glory Johnson, who was projected at #4, and grabbed Peters instead. Glory Johnson went 4th and Shenise Johnson 5th, and Lynx fans will be following the trio for years to come to evaluate how the Lynx did with their #3 pick.
They Also Ran
At #12 the Lynx grabbed perhaps the top 19 year old in the world, Damaris Dantas of Brazil. She's a 6-4 center who was the #1 scorer at the 2011 FIBA 19 & Under worlds at 21 ppg (plus 12.5 rebounds and 2 steals). Her upside would seem to be greater than current Lynx back-up post Jessica Adair but Adair performed well enough in last summer's playoffs that her position ought to be pretty solid. Perhaps the point of picking Dantas, aside from her upside potential, is that she can stay with and in Brazil for a couple of years and then the Lynx can harvest her when she is more mature and perhaps the Lynx' need will be "enhanced."
At #18 it was Julie Wojta, 6-footer from Wisconsin-Green Bay. Her senior numbers are 20 ppg, 10 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals. She would be a keeper under anything other than the Lynx' "loaded" status. Hopefully she can be flipped for some future draft choices when the Lynx need them.
Ditto #19 Kayla Standish of Gonzaga, another tall one at 6-2, but clearly behind Wojta with 16 ppg, 8 boards and a .473 shooting percentage to Wojta's .501 (career) and .522 (senior).
And ditto #20 Nika Baric of Slovenia, a 5-7 point guard who scored 14 ppg with 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
5 down and 1 to go.
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