MN Magic 15U May 18th, 2008 games

Today takes the Czar to North (St. Paul) High for MYAS action with the MN Magic 15U Elite squad. No Kyle Noreen or Brandon Siefert for the Magic and Jason Perkins DNP in the 2nd game due to injury so a depleted Magic roster. Mike Yahnke (Delano) played well with double figures in both games. Delano looks in good shape the next 2 years with him and Darius Clare (Magic 16U Elites) on the roster. Jonah Travis with his usual solid performances. But it was Ethan Petrill who put the Magic over the top with a big 2nd half vs 43 Hoops (their 15U B squad I think) and a big 1st half vs a Stillwater based team in the 2nd game. He had 6 triples and a total of 32 points in the 2 games I saw. Magic win 45-39 vs 43 Hoops and 54-47 in the 2nd game.

MN Wrath 15U action

I had the chance to take a couple of MN Wrath 15U games today at BSM. It was my 1st opportunity to see one of the top freshmen in the state in Shelby Moats of Waconia. A nice roster of kids from the SW metro as the entire roster is Eden Prairie, Chaska and Waconia. Moats didn't disappoint in the 2 games. In the 1st game vs BSM coach John Moore's EOTO squad, he finished with 14 pts and 8 rebs. This included the 2 icing free throws with 20 seconds to go in a 45-43 win. In the 2nd game vs a St. Paul Raiders 8th grade team, he scored the 1st 5 points of the game on the way to a 48-13 win. 10 pts and 8 rebs for him in that game. STP with only 1 basket in the 2nd half of that game. Moats reminds me of Raef LaFrentz as he's a lefty who has the ability to step out and knock down shots. Obviously he's not LaFrentz yet, but if he grows to 6'9 with his range and soft touch, he'll be a nice player for somebody at the next level. I also liked his agility as demonstrated by jumping a pass to the wing and taking it the other way. The future also looks bright for Eden Prairie as Jack Klukas and Blake Wragge are both good players. Blake isn't the lights out shooter that Ethan is right now, but you can see the similarity in their games. Evan Koehler of Chaska also productive for the Wrath. I also need to mention Isiah Zierdan of BSM. Nice point guard with good vision. It wouldn't surprise me to see him take the PG reins at BSM as a junior.

Facebook pages for local players

It has come to my attention that Facebook pages for local players were created by someone other than the players themselves and linked to this site. Those pages gave the impression that I created them for purposes of promotion this site. I did not create, support, request or have any involvement with those pages. I do not use Facebook or any other social networking site. If I did, you would already see the links on the site. The only way I actively promote this site is on the Minnesota Preps boys basketball forum. I have their consent to do that, but even then I don't always use it because of the ethical questions. Other than that, the only promotion I do is when I talk to fans at games. So if you see any other instances of issues like this, please bring them to my attention. Those pages were a violation of the Facebook Terms of Use and have been removed. I fully support the removal of those pages. I also offer my apologies to the players affected by this.

MN and WI stars move up in new Rivals 150

Rivals.com released their new top 150 today. I wrote previously that Royce White dropped out of the Scout.com top 100, but not the case with Rivals. Royce White moves up to #18, Rodney Williams to #28, Trent Lockett stays at #98, Sam Dower moves in at #139, Mike Bruesewitz in at #144. Some Wisconsin names of note. Jeronne Maymon continues to move up with a big spring as he comes in at #60 only 2 spots behind Jamil Wilson. Johnny Lacy is the other Wisconsin player in the list at #99. Players from last weekend Sabes Invititational are included as follows. DJ Richardson who played for the champion Illinois Warriors last weekend came in at #57 and teammate Darius Smith is #62. Michael Dixon of KC Pump N Run is #75.

The only Scout.com ranked player in MN is Rodney Williams Jr at #87. Wilson (#9), Maymon(#72) and Lacy (#91) are the Wisconsin ranked players. Richardson and Smith are unranked. Dixon came in at #47.

Sabes Invitational Sunday Action 2008

Sunday at the Sabes Invitational gives us a full 6 game slate of 17U and 16U final 8 action.

Session 1 (16U Quarterfinals): HP 16 White came back from 5 down with with 43.8 seconds to play to tie the game on a Martin Wind triple with 10 seconds left. After giving 2 fouls to kill time, KC Pump N Run 16s got a turnaround buzzer beating 3 from in front of their bench to win it 55-52. Aaron Anderson with 17 points and was a thief on defense. The Mpls Redhawks had the final possession in regulation vs the powerful Illinois Warriors, but couldn't convert. The Warriors got a tipin with 1 second left in overtime to win 74-72. In repeats of pool action, HP Black 16s beat KC Pump N Run 15s and ECI Elite beat Madison Spartans.

Session 2 (17U Quarterfinals): Jesse Pritchard of All Iowa Attack 17U went off for 24 pts in the 1st half (6 3s) vs KC Pump N Run 17s and Michael Dixon with only 6 for KC. That allowed the Attack to take a 40-34 halftime lead. But Pritchard was cold in the 2nd half (Dixon guarding him mostly) and Dixon got 18 of his own in the 2nd half. With a 3 pt lead with 2 minutes to go, KC hits their FTs and wins 69-60. The Howard Pulley White 17s got down big early to the Illinois Warriors (43-22 at half) and never got close as the Warriors won 84-55. In the biggest upset of the entire tournament, the HP 17 Black squad got beat 65-62 by a Chicago Demons team that they blew out by 30+ yesterday. HP had the ball down 1 with 8 seconds left to go full court, but full court pressure from the Demons forced a turnover for the final layup to seal the upset. The Grassroots squad won the other quarterfinal over the RBS All-Stars.

Session 3 (16U Semis): A nice setup on courts 2 and 4 in the Jefferson Activity Center. Great way to follow both games. HP 16 Black once again blew out ECI Elites 77-48 after a 45-28 halftime lead. For as much as their 17U combo team struggled, the ECI 16s were a very solid team despite their results vs HP. The KC Pump N Run squad took on the Illinois Warriors in a very good game in the other semi. KC was up 6 with 12 minutes left, but this game was back and forth the whole way. The Warriors took a 55-54 lead on a deep 3 with 3:20 to play. Rodney Givens put KC up 56-55 with a steal and deuce with 1:44 to play. After a Warriors airball, KC blows a layup with 55 seconds to play. The Warriors miss again with 30 seconds to go, but KC turns the ball over with 16 seconds left. The Warriors have a shot to win it at the horn (after KC gave 3 fouls to kill time like HP did to them in their earlier game of the day), but its no good and KC moves on 56-55.

Session 4 (17U Semis): Semi #1 was Grassroots (Jordair Jett, John Bright et al) vs the upset minded Chicago Demons. After the Demons took a 24-23 lead with 7:10 left in the 1st half, a 16-0 run put the game away for Grassroots. They led 45-34 at half and poured in on in the 2nd half to win 99-70. KC Pump N Run vs Illinois Warriors in the other semi. KC down 7 early but they use a 9-0 run over 2 minutes to get the lead and they hold it for a 40-39 halftime lead. Down 48-46 with 10:45 to go, the Warriors go on a 15-2 run over 2 and a half minutes with hot 3 pt shooting vs the KC 2-3 zone to open up a 60-51 lead with 8:14 to play. KC gets the next 4 points but they don't get any closer. Illinois Warriors win 74-64.

Session 5 (16U Championship): KC Pump N Run vs the HP Black 16 team that they beat in the semis last weekend in the Jayhawk Invite. Trevor Releford with 8 of the 1st 10 KC pts and they lead 10-5 after 3 minutes. He goes quiet momentarily but gets back to back 3s and KC leads 27-23 with 5:30 to play in the half. HP goes on a 16-3 run before KC gets the last 4 of the half to make it 39-34 HP at the break. Releford continues his hot streak as he gets the 1st 8 KC pts of the 2nd half. 5 of those points are part of a 8-0 KC run that gives them a 49-42 lead at 12:52 and HP gets no closer. KC Pump N Run defeats Howard Pulley Black 16U 76-61 for the 2008 Sabes Invitational 16U Championship. Trevor Releford with 26 points and was terrific. All of this playing with some sort in injury from the quarterfinal game. He was not 100% for the 2nd half of that game or the last 2 games of the day. Great performance. Steve Tecker moved over from the 16 White squad for this game and the semifinal and was a valuable addition. Marvin Singleton with 14 pts and 7 rebounds. DJ Peterson with 16 pts and 5 assists. I was surprised that coach Jared Nuness didn't move DJ onto Releford during the game to try and slow Releford down with Peterson's long arms and size advantage.

Session 6 (17U Championship): Grassroots vs Illinois Warriors. Seeing a local team in the game is no surprise, but Grassroots is not the one people thought. Dion Suggs hit a 3 to give them a 7-6 lead 2 and a half minutes in, but hot shooting was the story. The Warriors hit everything they attempted so it seemed and ran out to a 58-38 lead at halftime. 2nd half was no contest, Illinois Warriors defeat Grassroots 107-72 for the 2008 Sabes Invitational 17U Championship.

Sabes Invitational Saturday action

Session 1: Illinois Warriors vs HP White 17 DJ Richardson, very smooth and reminded me a lot of Jrue Holiday. AJ Barker leading the Panthers with 12 pts. This was a 5 pt game with 11 minutes to go before a Warriors run put it away. 74-59 was the final score. HP tried to play 1-2-2 zone to slow the Warriors down, but had trouble rebounding out of it.

All Iowa Attack Red held on to beat Team Missouri 51-47 as Jesse Pritchard hit 2 late FTs to seal it. The Dakota Schoolers gave KC Pump N Run everything they could handle as the Schoolers led 56-52 with 2:23 to play but a pair of triples tied the game at 58 with 1:20 go. After Schoolers steal for a basket with 30 seconds to go, Michael Dixon comes back with a triple to win it 61-60. The Schoolers had 2 final chances to win that they couldn’t convert in the last 10 seconds.

Session 2: Howard Pulley 17 Black rolls over ECI Elite 78-50. Kurt Mickelson (Ashby)for ECI is absolutely huge and a force to be reckoned with inside. Rodney Williams Jr with a highlight posterizing dunk to end the 1st half of that game. HP Black continuing to struggle from the foul line and it brings back a thought I had during the regular season and that's hack-a-shaq on Seantrell Henderson. HP Black 15s fell to Playground Elite.

Session 3: HP 16 Black vs KC Pump N Run 15s. Brett Comer with a big game for KC and he looks amazingly like Adam Morrison and even wears #3. He finished with 16 pts. DJ Peterson with 15, Marcus Alipate with 14 for HP Black 16s. This was a 6 pt game with 12 minutes left before HP pulled away to win 70-51.

Session 4: Harrison Barnes on display for the All Iowa Attack 16s vs ECI. He had a big 1st half and a couple of important hoops late to finish with 26 pts, 11 rebs, 4 stls and 4 blks. ECI kept hanging around as this game was close all the way, but ultimately they were outmanned. Zach McCabe with 16 and 7 for the Attack as well.

Session 5: Royce White huge again vs the Chicago Demons. Carrington Tankson with 5 triples in the 1st half and was on fire. A 21-3 HP run to finish the 1st half makes it 40-17 at the break and the Panthers don’t look back.

Session 6: A Danny Manning siting was a pleasant surprise. I took in a couple of games of 16U action. The best game that almost nobody saw was the Playground Elite vs the Illinois Warriors, best 2 16 teams I’ve seen here. 65-55 final and back and forth the entire way. HP Black 16s blew out the Madison Spartans in the other game I was paying attention to.

During the morning and day sessions, I also saw some of STP Grassroots with Jordair Jett, John Bright, Chamar Wilson et al. Scary team to defend off the dribble. Tough to deal with their ability to break you down and get to the basket. Saw a little of the MSB win over the Dakota Schoolers. That surprised me. Tyler Bredow doing a nice job at the point for the Roadrunners.

Session 7: In round of 16 playoff action, the KC Pump N Run knocked out Team Missouri 75-65 behind 18 points from star Michael Dixon. KC played with only 7 guys, including the other major stars out. The wear and tear showed as KC led by 19 in the 2nd half before seeing the lead dwindle. RBS All Stars knocked out the All Iowa Attack 16U squad 68-60 so Harrison Barnes is out. A 2 pt game with 1:14 to go before RBS made foul shots down the stretch. All Iowa Attack 17U held on over MSB 57-55 behind a late 3 from Jesse Pritchard. Josh Zitzman with a chance to win it at the end that was no good. And finally, the Dakota Schoolers saw a 5 point lead vanish to DJ Richardson and the Illinois Warriors in the final minute. Richardson with a 4 pt play with 1:05 to go, 1 of 2 FTs after a Schoolers turnover tied it at 72. After 1 Schooler FT and a Warriors layup with 20 seconds left, the Schoolers turned it over again for a Richardson layup for the final 76-73 Warriors margin in a major scare for a tournament favorite against a team that was last in pool D.

Session 8: HP White 17 squad vs MN Comets. Nate Wolters for the Comets big again with 18 pts. This was a 5 point game with 7:35 to play before a HP 10-0 run put it away. 72-59 HP White 17s win. Moses Sundufu with 5 triples on the way to 19 pts. Marques Johnson productive off the bench with 12 pts. Jordan Hughes vs Wolters was a really fun matchup to watch in this game and both guys held their own. Though Hughes had success running side pick and roll with Johnson. HP 16 Black were up 30-4 in their game on the way to a 69-26 win.

Session 9: HP 16 White vs Playground Elite 16s. HP struggling on the glass in the 1st half but having lots of success with high/low action for easy post buckets. 29-28 HP at the break. A Martin Wind triple starts a 10-0 Pulley run that makes it 55-46 Pulley with 6 minutes to play. 9 big Dyami Starks pts (2 triples and a 3 pt play) in the next 3 minutes keep HP ahead and they pull the upset 73-65.

Tournament brackets for Sunday.

17U

HP 17 Black vs Chicago Demons (a team they blew out today)
Grassroots (Jordair Jett etc) vs RBS All-Stars
Illinois Warriors vs HP 17 White
KC Pump N Run vs All Iowa Attack 17U

Fun brackets as there are really fun semis. HP 17 Black vs Grassroots in local rivalry and the Illinois Warriors vs KC Pump N Run game is really high level.

16U
HP 16 Black vs KC Pump N Run 15s
Madison Spartans vs ECI Elite
KC Pump N Run 16s vs HP 16 White
Illinois Warriors vs Mpls Redhawks

3 rematchs as HP 16 Black took out the KC 15s but the KC 16s beat the HP 16 White team in pool play. ECI Elite beat Madison Spartans in pool play as well. I'll take Madison Spartans in revenge, but stay with HP 16 Black and KC 16s along with Illinois Warriors to move on.

Sabes Invitational Friday Action

An interesting Friday night at the Sabes Invitational. No programs at the event so we'll see how good my research turns out to be.

Game 1 of the night was the MN Comets Elite vs Dakota Schoolers. Out of the gate, Nate Wolters (St. Cloud Tech) vs Mike Felt (Redwood Valley). Felt and the Schoolers struggling vs the Comets pressure man. Wolters getting his hands on everything. Schoolers take their 1st lead 22-21 with 6:30 to go in the 1st half, but the Comets stretch it out to 41-30 at the half. Wolters with 17 pts, 4 stls and at least a half dozen other deflections. Felt with just 3 FTs (3-3 FTs when fouled on a 3) in the 1st half. Cody Larson of the Schoolers with 11 in the 1st half.

Felt starts out the 2nd half hot with back to back 3s and its a 11-0 Schoolers run over the 1st 3:40 of the 2nd half to tie it at 41 . Wolters with nothing in the half so far but with 8 minutes to go in the half he gets 2 buckets, kicks to Alex Hanks for 3 and then scores 2 more to be a part of 9 straight Comets points. The Schoolers are matching him and after that 2 minute Wolters spurt, its 54-50 Comets. 2 Larson FTs and a stl to a 3 from Chad White tie it at 58 with 2:47 to play. Larson continuing to play well in the 2nd half as he gets a 3 pt play with 1:46 left to make it 63-60 Schoolers. Wolters misses a triple, but Larson inexplicably takes and misses a triple with 1 minute left. This leads to Wolters knocking down a clutch 3 to tie at 63 with 47 seconds left. Both teams miss chances late and we go to overtime.

In the 1st overtime, the Comets lead by 1 with 40 seconds left and have the ball. But the Schoolers get a steal and recover a Larson miss. Tony Fiegen makes 1 of 2 FTs with 6.7 left and we go to double overtime tied at 69. Trevor Gruis (Ellsworth) gets a deuce to tie it at 73 with 1:30 left in the2nd OT. Larson misses a chance to tie the game with 35 seconds left and Wolters knocks down 2 FTs with 31.2 left to ice it. Final Score 78-73 MN Comets win in 2 OT. Nate Wolters with 30 pts for the winners and was a force on the defensive end vs Mike Felt. Felt with a quiet 11 for the Schoolers. Cody Larson with 22, including 3 triples for the Schoolers.

Game 2 was the HP White 16U squad vs All Iowa Attack. Pulley led 42-31 at the break but did not do a good job getting out to shooters as the Attack were staying the game with triples and outworking Pulley. Pulley finally stretches it out late as it was 65-54 with 4:30 to go, but Evan McMillan (SPA) puts the icing on the cake with a big throwdown late and Pulley wins 75-57.

Game 3 was suppossed to be the showcase of the evening with the All Iowa Attack 16U squad taking on the HP Black 17U squad. Come to find out, no Harrison Barnes, no AJ Derby and 2 other players missing from a limited roster so there were low expectations. But Jake Sullivan had his squad ready to play and the Attack were hot from 3. 14-13 Attack with 8:49 left in the 1st half when the Pulley stars finally come in (White, Williams Jr, Tankson, M. Williams). But the 3s rain down all half. Michael Weber with a couple of 3s to make it 24-17 Attack with 6:20 left in the half. HP trying some 3/4 quarter 1-2-2 pressure, but the Attack are taking care of the ball and they lead 39-30 at the break. Riley Stuve with 8 pts and 6 rebs. Zach McCabe with just 3 pts. Trevor Hook with 10 pts. Royce White 5 pts and 5 rbs for HP. Mike Broghammer with a nice half of 8 pts and 4 rebs.

To the 2nd half, a couple of Rodney Williams dunks make it 42-34 Attack. Then a White triple, a pretty ball fake and layin by Marcus Williams and a stl and dunk by White start a 27-7 Pulley run to make it 61-49 Pulley with 7 minutes to play. Stuve hits a 3 to make it a 9 pt game with 3 and half to play but the big run has the 2nd half never in doubt. Pulley wins 86-71 over an undermanned and very game All Iowa Attack 16U squad. Royce White with 14 and 10, Seantrel Henderson was a manchild inside with 12 pts and the rest of HP squad very balanced. Zach McCabe with 13 and Riley Stuve with 19 and 8 for the Attack.

The Attack are definitely a team I'll be checking out again tomorrow to see if they have their full roster. Harrison Barnes definitely sounds like a player I don't want to miss. Also looking forward to seeing the KC Pump N Run 16 and 17 squads with Michael Dixon and company.

Team Coverage of the 2008 Sabes Invitational

I'm proud to announce that I'll be teaming up with the Twin Cities Hoops Insider for coverage of this weekend's 8th annual Sabes Invitational Tournament. You can check out Steven's Sports Report as he'll be blogging live from the games at Bloomington Jefferson so check that out often for updates. I'll be doing in-depth reports here after each day and an update on pool play before the playoff games on Saturday night.