In the absence of official MSHSL all-tournament teams, here are mine. My choices for the other 6 tournaments, boys and girls, can be found elsewhere on this blog.
Class AAAA
AAAA Tournament MVP--Camden Heide, Wayzata, 6-6, junior, forward. This was a tough choice. For Wayzata, you could make a pretty good case for 3 or even 4 players as MVP. Heide didn't lead Wayzata in scoring in any of the 3 games, but he is the only Wayzata player to score in double figures all three times. He also led Wayzata in rebounding in the 2 TV games and had 6 steals. He's a solid 6-6 athlete with good mobility, but he's a better basketball player than athlete with just impeccable skills in every aspect of the game.
Tre Holloman, Cretin, 6-3, junior, point guard. Either Holloman or Heide is gonna be Mr. Basketball next year. Holloman is a vastly better athlete, wiry, quicker than quick, a great ball handler and a good scorer. He tied Wayzata's Eddie Beeninga for the scoring lead in AAAA at 51 points. His decision making with the ball could get better, he had 11 assists and 9 turnovers in the 2 TV games.
Eddie Beeninga, Wayzata, 6-1, senior, point guard. Tied Holloman for scoring lead in AAAA, and when he scored just 9 points in the semi-final vs. Shakopee, he added 6 assists. Typical Wayzata kid--fearless, plays fast, plays hard.
Jack Plum, Cretin, 6-4, senior, power forward. The surprise player in AAAA. I had no idea how good and how tough Plum is. Scored 23 points with 31 rebounds and 4 steals. Opposing big men had to earn everything they got in the paint against Cretin and Plum.
Francis Nwaokorie, Champlin Park, 6-7, senior, post. Led Champlin to an unbeaten regular season but they lost to Maple Grove in OT to miss out on the TV portion of the tournament. Not his fault, however, as his 31 points were the most by any player in AAAA.
2nd Team
Jon Haakenson, Maple Grove, 6-1, junior, point guard. Outplayed Champlin's Mr. Basketball finalist guard Joshua Strong with 20 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals.
Drew Berkeland, Wayzata, 5-11, junior, shooting guard. Led Wayzata with a total of 36 points in both TV games after scoring just 3 in the 1st round.
Carter Bjerke, Wayzata, 6-9, junior, power forward. Another excellent all-around player. Of course he's big and strong, but also a nice shooter and scorer from the perimeter.
Kody Williams, Wayzata, 6-1, senior, combo guard. Only 2 teams have ever placed all 5 starters on the all-tournament team--Rochester in 1917 and Mpls. Marshall-U in 1976. The 1917 all-tournament team was definitely an "official" team named by the tournament organizers. There is some disagreement about who picked the 1976 team. The MSHSL abandoned picking all-tournament teams for awhile after going to 2 classes. There is no question whatsoever that Wayzata's 5-pack is unofficial. They're my picks, and who the hell am I, Nobody, that's who. But, hey, Kody was the low scorer among Wayzata's 5 starters yet even he scored in double figures twice and had 7 assists in the final.
Mick Wherley, Shakopee, 6-6, senior, power forward. Led the Sabres with 26 points in 2 games and added 10 boards against Wayzata's behemoths.
Class AAA
AAA Tournament MVP--Chet Holmgren, Minnehaha, 7-1, senior, center. The biggest non-surprise of these all-star teams. Led AAA with 64 points and had 29 rebounds in the 2 TV games. Apparently nobody bothered to chart blocked shots because the Hub shows him with like 2 or 3. 2 or 3 per half more like it. Nobody could score in the lane with Chet down there. Even more than his scoring and rebounding, this was the one thing that totally demoralized his opponents.
Hercy Miller, Minnehaha, 6-3, senior, wing. Also unstoppable, at least among AAA competition. Scored at will inside and out for a total of 49 points.
Lamar Grayson, Richfield, 6-1, senior, combo guard. Great athlete with nice scoring skills. Scored 51 points in 2 games.
Cade Haskins, DeLaSalle, 6-6, senior, forward. One of the great 3-point shooters in the state, scored 32 against Hibbing in the 1st round but could manage just 13 against Minnehaha's athletes.
Colton Roderick, Alexandria, 6-4, senior, wing. Big, strong, athletic, does a little bit of everything for the Cardinals. Forget whatever happened against Minnehaha. 33 points in his first 2 games, 7 assists in the semis.
2nd Team
Jake Braaten, Byron, 6-1, senior, combo guard. Byron was a revelation, beating Big 9 champion Austin the the section final, then losing to Minnehaha by just 12. Braaten scored 29 against Minnehaha. How does that happen?
Mercy Miller, Minnehaha, 6-3, freshman, shooting guard. The little brother scored in double digits 3 times.
Mitchell January, Richfield, 6-0, junior, shooting guard. 32 points in 2 games.
Erik Hedstrom, Alexandria, 6-5, senior, power forward. Again, forget the Minnehaha game. Not a fair test for ordinary mortals. But, in fact, he led Alex with 10 points and 7 boards against the RedHawks.
Ayden McDonald, Hibbing, 6-4, junior, shooting guard. Scored 26 points in the 1st round vs. DeLaSalle.
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