Pre Season WCN Teams

1st team- I'm going to give the nod to some seniors on the preseason, but their are a couple juniors and at least one soph, that were hard to leave off.

G- Erik Tengwall, New London Spicer(sr)- For my money the best player in the league.
G- Nick Jansen, Foley(sr)- It's his spot to lose, he will have a big year.
F- Luke Januschka, SCC(sr)- Lights out shooter, great test tonight versus Apollo.
F- Zach Noreen, Albany(sr)- Matchup nightmare, poised for monster season
C- Andrew Good, Mora(sr)- He will need to be good all year for Mora to challenge

2nd team

G- Jayme Moten, New London Spicer(jr)- Hard kid to leave off the top team, he could have BREAKOUT yr.
G- Joe Burt, SCC(So) - at worst he is 4th best guard overall in the league, love his potential.
F- Tyler Berling Sauk Centre(sr)- If he's healthy, he is the engine for them.
F- Jason Niemann, Foley(Sr)- One of the leagues best shooters.
C- Aaron Johnson, NLS(SR) - Big strong, moves his feet well, with great touch.


3rd Team

G- Sam Conrad, Albany(sr)- Too athletic/experienced not to have a great yr.
G- Aaron Jenny NLS, (SR)- This kid is way too good to be 3rd team, would be best player on half the conference teams, and is arguably NLS 5th starter.
F- Cam Atkinson, Melrose(Sr)- Very solid player on an always well coached Melrose team.
F- Justin Zylstra, NLS(SR) - So athletic, and long, I think he is NLS X factor because he's going to roam free alot with Moose drawing best post defender.
C- Aaron Zimmer, Foley(jr) - He's grown, he's skilled, and he's hungry to prove himself, love that combo.


HM


NLS- Sam Schmid, Brandon Zylstra
AL- BJ Bueckers, Ben Tamm
MO- Jake Oslin
MI- Branon Kiel
SCC- Peter Coborn, Greg Holton, Will Ellenbecker, Mike Reisdorf, Bjorn Bjorklund
LPGE Cody Sprenger, Jake Kingston, Mitch Kingston
Me- Jordan Primus, Carter Sawyer, Brandon Sawyer
F- Erik Oines, Keith Roehl
SC- Isaac Winters, Bryan Jenson, Emmitt Messer

Midwest Basketball Online This Saturday!!!

From 9am until 2pm at Henry Sibley HS. The Cost is 25 dollars and is open to any HS boy or girl in grades 9-12.

Here is their mission statement.

"Unlike some of the nationally based recruiting websites, we take a>regional, hands-on approach. We are focused on Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota. We do not try to be everythingto everybody. Our focus is boys and girls basketball, that’s it. We will be hosting regional basketball combine events in each of these states. At each of these events, measurements and physicaltesting will take place. We will measure height, weight, wingspan, andstanding reach. We will also test vertical leap, short area agility, and ¾court>sprints. We borrow many of our tests from the NBA pre-draft combine.> Players can create profiles with full contact information,verified physical test scores, video comments on profiles, and video highlights. College coaches will be contacted personally, not justin> email blasts. It is a one-stop shop for recruiting information and a valuable time saving tool for college coaches. We connect with college basketball coaches at all levels from Junior College all the way to high major Division I. This site is for everyone interested in playing collegiate basketball at any level,not just the top 150 kids in the country. "

I know coach Tom Dasovich well, and I can tell you that this will be well worth the time, money and effort, for kids. I love the online profile creation as well. For more information you can go to MidwestBasketballonline.com or check the MN Comets Website www.mncomets.com as we have linked the registration form. Walk ups are not only welcomed but encouraged!

Congratulations Taylor Filipek

On his commitment to the University of Eastern Kentucky. Coach Nuebauer, and assistant coach Ted Hotaling did an amazing job of recruiting Taylor away from more local programs like South Dakota and Mankato State. Eastern Kentucky is a division 1 school, located in Richmond Kentucky, roughly 20 miles south of Lexington. They compete in the Ohio Valley Conference. Murray State is predicted to be the conference favorite, and represent the league in the "Big Dance." Former Rocori Standout Justin Stommes is a starting guard on that team.

Fun fact about coach Hotaling, he loves the Yankees and also Jeff Van Gundy.

Recruiting updates

UWRF has been up to see Noreen, Tengwall, already this fall. Look for Jamestown to offer Mark Hoge of Crosby Ironton( a Comet miss) and also Brett Hungerholt of Lanesboro.

On the girls side, action has heated up for the services of all Willmar girls, as well as Tess Rahto of Brainerd. Look for that team to continue to draw a ton of interest from recruiters because of it's size. Kerri Hughes of Pine City had a great summer as well, I would guess St. Thomas for her.

Eastern Kentucky, Samford, Both coming

To watch MN Comet and 2011 Standout Simon Krych of St. Cloud Apollo HS next week, before heading off to be seen at the Willmar football game by Taylor Filipek.

Wayne State is involved with Erik Tengwall, Andrew Good, and Danny Kornbaum now.
Look for Jordan Riewer to visit Moorhead State, Jamestown, and possibly one other D2 before making a decision.

Alex Hanks and Taylor Filipek will be visiting Mankato State together on the 10th of October.

Zach Noreen lists Central Lakes in Brainerd as the favorite to land him.

Luke Januschka is being coveted by most every MIAC/WIAC/UMAC school, but some D2's have been asking about him.

Scott Nystrom could end up in the Dac 10.
Ben Bucholz was recently offered by Moorhead, but Idaho State is charging.

Those are my recruiting insights.

Comets Fall Showcase Camp

I would call it a total success.

94 kids

42 college coaches(from 26 different schools)

Everyone had a really good time, I know some kids recruitment will pick up from coming to this event, a big thank you to everyone who made it possible.

MN Comets Fall Exposure Camp

Registration is filling quickly. We expect a fantastic turnout for college coaches. Registrations can be downloaded at www.mncomets.com. We have over 50 registrations to date.

MN Comets boys with offers

Taylor Filipek- Eastern Kentucky(d1)South Dakota(d1) Mankato (d2) St. Cloud(d2)

Alex Hanks- Southwest St(d2) Crookston(d2) he'd have a Bemidji too if he ever went up there and visited...

Ben Bucholz- UMD(d2) SCSU(D2)

Shaun Condon Mary(d2) Crookston(d2)

Mike Johnson Mary(d2)

I expect 4-5 more Comets kids to get d2s soon!!!

Delay???

Just not sure I am a blogger... I post stuff, but sometimes it's hard to hold your tongue in a HS game, and then theres bad feelings, and I don't want that, and it's not good for my AAU program.

I think I will try and update things, as they come and go. Maybe get it to weekly, but we are done with hoops, August is an off month, even though we do more AAU planning this month than any other...

Well Let's hope I can get back to a weekly blog if nothing else.

16U Elite Season recap to date

We are 18-7. Provided you count the 3 games in the Comets Clash, otherwise we are 16-6. By the end of next weekend my kids will have played a full HS season in less than two months.

We have wins over

ECI East,Heat Select, Comets White, Heat Elite, Terry Porter Elite(WI), ECI South Dakota(SD), SD Heat Red(SD), SD Heat White(SD),SD Heat Red (SD), ECI West(ND), KC Legacy(KS), ECI GOLD(ND), Pulley White, Comets North 17 Comets White 17, MPLS Gators, SW MN Heat, and Heat Select

Losses to KC Pump N Run(KS), Colorado Chaos(CO), Wedman Pumas(MO), SYF Players(IN), Playground Elite(WI), KC Pump N Run(KS) and Comets Elite 17.

My last blog was on my 30th BDay???

Man what was I thinking? Why wasn't I doing something more fun then blogging?
So I am not sure how much longer I will blog, I have some mixed emotions about it, and it's help/hindrance to my basketball life.

I didn't start this blog, to promote myself, and I have done very little self promotion of it. I am just not sure, I have the time, literary skills, or continued interest in it. I don't get any credit for blogging for grad school, and I certainly don't get paid, so maybe I should find something else? I also find myself not doing it nearly as much as I did in the winter(This directly correlates to me having much less free time now).

So I am not sure, I see myself sooner than later getting into college coaching, I feel like I have some great college connections, and I have been offered a couple low level college assistant jobs already in my day, but the "RIGHT JOB" hasn't been offered to me yet. When it is, my bags will be packed, and I will be ready to go. So I don't know if part time blogger is a great resume builder.

Comets Clash tonight

Here are some matchups/predictions for the second annual Comets Clash tonight.

Quarters

Comets Elite Hanson vs. Comets 15 Blue- Big advantage to Hanson, even without stars like Bucholz and possibly Riewer, 17s Elite should cruise. Biggest question will be how many dunks do they get. Outside chance of an upset if a lot of zone get's played and the 15s can rebound.

Comets 17North vs. Comets Blue- Should be a war in the 4/5 game. I am going to take the North by a basket because I think they will have a little fresher legs, as Blue just got back from Iowa last weekend. I also think Eric Stark is best kid on either tm.

Comets 16U Elite vs. Comets 17 White- 16 Elites are big and strong and fast, but most of all shoot it really well. I think our inside game helps as we win a tight one by 12.

Comets Elite Seevers vs. Comets 16 White- Could be an upset special, as coach Meyer is front runner for coach of the year. But with Scott Nystrom, martin Wind, etc...unless they look ahead, I see them winning.

Semis

I'll take Hanson again, and bigger even. They are like a well oiled machine and they will be ready to purrr by game 2. This will be good for Kurt's kids to see this type of athleiticism/skill/size.

In the GOTN us vs Seevers. I think it will be close throughout, if we can limit them in transition, and go inside for baskets we have a chance, but Seevers team has looked a lot better in the past 3 weeks than it did in the first 3 weeks. I will take us, to set up a rematch of last yrs title game.

Finals
We have no business winning, but had no business last year and still won. I think We keep it close and with 4/5 minutes to go, we make a run, is it enough, not sure, but I know we have one big run in us, just hope it comes at the right time!!!

Sabes this weekend

It's a fun tournament, there is something like 6 of the top 50 players in the country coming into minneapolis this weekend.

Our pool is aggressive, Wi Playground Elite, SYF Players, Mac Irvin Fire...3 of the top 15 teams in the midwest. I love it, you have to want to play the best.

Comets have really kept the ball moving forward, and now have probably a top 5 AAU organization in Minnesota. Our 17s our really really good, and I think our 16's have a chance to get to that level too.

I will blog the whole tournament, and maybe the Jayhawk too after the weekend.

Final Comets Shootout thoughts

It's nearly 10 days since the Shootout. I apologize for this coming so few and far between. I will give you some quick thoughts on each division, and see what I thought.

14U boys- Didn't see a single game, although Midtown Kings vs. PRIDE was supposed to be a good game.

15Uboys- 43 Hoops vs. Comets Elite was as good of a final as we've had. Comets foul 4 times in the last 25 seconds, and 43 goes 1 for 6 from the line, but the one was all they needed. 61 Comets 60 43 Hoops.

16U Boys- My Comets Elite struggled to get 2 wins in pool play, then won the quarters by 25 over Comets White(who did great to get to the elite 8) then by 5 in the semis, and rallied from 10 down in the final. Fun group of guys, we got our 1st title, hopefully there is more to come.

17U- what a field, seriously what a field. FINAL 4 of Comets Elite, Pump N Run, 43 Harris, Fury Elite. 4 of the best 7 or 8 teams in MN, all in final 4. Pump over 43 Harris in Final. Comets Elite vs. Pump N Run was game of the tournament.

Girls

Silver-
Lady Monarchs, run through division, Comets Blue take 4th

Gold- Comets Blue 15's go 2-2 and lose in the semis, lost to both teams who made finals, good warmup for them.

Platinum- Fure vs 43 Hoops in final. Very close, last second win for the Fury.

I thought it was a good weekend for everyone.

2.5 weeks

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while, I expect to a lot this AAU season, but with girls tryouts then boys tryouts, it get's hectic.

I agreed 100 percent with the all area team this year,and once again all 5 guys play for the MN Comets, that is 3 out of the last 4 years with the other year us getting 4/5.

With Hanks/Kornbaum returning and guys like Noreen, Januschka, Nystrom, Abukar, Willenbring all in Comets Unis again this spring, I would imagine we go 3 straight years.

Notes...

My dog wouldn't sleep, the four best days of the year are coming, and I can't sleep. Hence the 4:30 AM post.

1. I am in so many pools and drafts, I feel like no matter who wins, I am good...I hate that.

2. I have tickets to the friday night session, 65 dollar face value, I would sell for 50. Lower bowl seats.

3. Dick Lewis and I will be watching his alma mater KU destroy NDSU on Friday.

4. My final 4 includes Memphis, and Gonzaga.


HS Hoops

1. Braham is still alive, and the fact that they might go to another state tourney is crazy. Bob is a good friend and a great guy, but he's an even better coach.

2. Rooting hard for Apollo tonight, 9:00 start that is late.

3. NLS girls and HLWW girls both to state semis.

4. Like to see an upset or two in the metro tonight or tomorrow.

5. HLWW vs. NY-A???Who would of predicted that section final. I really thought it was Sibley Easts to lose. I guess I thought HLWW had a 50/50 chance to get there, but N-YA?



AAU Hoops

1. It's a weird time of year as people try and fill rosters, but I think the Comets will field 5 really competitive 17s.

2. Love that people are posting their schedules, and their rosters, I think it makes some sense.

3. Could use a couple more girls teams for the Comet Shootout, but boys are jammed packed.

4. Girls tryouts sunday and my wifes team is loaded.

5. top seeds for Comet shootout will include Comets, P N R, Net Gain, 43 Hoops, TNL, Select, and a couple more.

LASTLY,

Congrats to Isaac Pelzer who is going to Morris to play hoops. Isaac played on our MN Comets North team this past spring.summer.



3.

Notes

Tourney time, and March madness has arrived. I love it, from Ben Woodside's shot to send NDSU dancing, to the HS boys playoffs beginning, with a bang, as an 8 beat a 1 and a 7 beat a 2 last night.

Here are some things I am rooting for tonight.

No upsets for any of the St. Cloud school, just take care of business @ home.

Sauk Rapids to pull the slight upset, so Jordan C get's one more crack @ a rival team.

Foley to take care of EV-W and make the semis, something we were unable to do last year versus Zimmerman. One of the worst days of my life. I certainly feel for Pat Hayes tonight and as the same thing happened to me last year. For him though he has two years remaining of Shelby Moats, who is the best sophomore big in the state.

All my other favorite teams to watch, Pelican, Staples, and NLS to also win.

Good Luck to all teams.

Section Predictions- Boys

Let's start in 3A

Apollo over Sartell
Rocori over DL
LF over TRF
FF over SR

Apollo over FF
LF over Rocori

Apollo over LF(revenge game)


2AA few sub sections

6AA East
NLS over ACGC
Albany over SC
Melrose over Paynesville
BBE over Holdingford

NLS over Albany(even though Albany won 2x during yr)
BBE over Melrose

NLS over BBE

6AA west

Staples over Morris in final


5AA

Pierz over SJP
Zimmerman over SCC
Foley over EVW
HLWW over Kimball

Pierz over Zimmerman
Foley over HLWW( I changed this to go with my heart)

Pierz over Foley(in 2 OTs)

Sibley East over HLWW in section final

Mens league

Well the most competitive mens league around St. Cloud takes place Wednesday nights in Sauk Rapids, and our team has once again stumbled into the finals(4th yr in a row) we are the Buffalo Bills of mens league because we never can win the league outright. We are runners up every yr. I think wednesday night we have a good chance. It's fun to play at such a competitive level, I never expected to be as big of a contributor to our team in my late 20's, but it's great exercise, and I am excited for the SHIP. We play the Rocori boys plus Zach Witt, Nate Miller and Bryan Berg(Three of the best guards in the league) they can't handle us down low, and we can't chase them very well. Should be fun.

New Blogs

Saw a few games this past weekend, and hadn't had a chance to blog about them.

Thursday Night Foley @ Pierz girls- I was really impressed and proud of the way Foley, and specifically their 5 seniors played in this game. This was the best game of the year for Beth G. Bry S, and Brook K. I like Pierz youth, as their sophomore class seems loaded. It will take a lot though because they lose the production of Gabby Boser, and the toughness of Kaari Jensen.
It's too bad the winner got EV-W as Foley got crushed 69-27 Saturday Night.

I also saw Albany vs. Sauk Centre. I am a big believer in fouling with a 3 point lead under 10 seconds, and Albany had a chance to do it 2x and didn't either time, 2 SC bombs as time expired, and some cold FT shooting and now SC get's NLS and not Albany. Great game though, the girls left it on the floor.

Forgot my top 5 seniors

Here you go...

My top 5 Mr Basketball finalists

Wolter- SCT
Lockett- Hopkins
White- Hopkins
Williams- Cooper
Bruesewitz- HS

My top 5 seniors to coach

Nelson- Foley
Feuling-Foley
Wolters- SCT
Christensen- SR
Storrenstun- Pelican Rapids

top 5 girls my wife has coached in 2009 class during AAU

Carlson-KMS
Herbst- Foley
Stanfield- C-I
Opatz- Annandale
McDonald C-I

3 games in three nights...top 5 seniors

WOW. 3 games in 3 nights for me this weekend.

Friday I went and saw the rescheduled Foley vs Litch game. I think 5AA is pretty lopsided with 5 of the 7 best teams being in the South half, and this game helped prove that. Litch will be the 8 seed in the South and Foley no worse than the 4 in the North, and Litch could have easily won this game. It was good to see Laine Nelson hitting some jumpers again, and Nick Jansen is starting to play with the confidence I had hoped to see all year. Litch's best kid fouled out with 13 minutes to go, and still fought to get the game to OT. Foley too much in the OT and prevails in a 2 point win.

Saturday drove 2 plus hours with my father in law to go see Pelican Rapids vs. Staples Motley. Pelican Rapids is the best team in 2A, and much like I said mid January last year that NLS would win 2A, I am saying it about Pelican this year. Ty Storrenstun and Eric Shulstad are two of the top 15 players in all of 2A, and their role guys( I call them the 3 name guys) Michael Skaj Anderson, and Erik arland olsen are very good as well. It's 16-3 Pelican before I blinked, and it never really got closer. Staples is a year away. Ty with 32 and 12 and Eric with 33 and 8. We also had to stand in line for tickets, and sit through the whole JV game.

Sunday- Wolves and Rockets 200 dollar seats, the wife and I went, and the TC has no atmosphere, it was like being at a bad state tournament game. It was awful, and Mchale let that game get away from him. I know they are grown men, but you give up layup after layup, and take bad shot after bad shot, you need to sit them down or tell them about it. I still love the Wolves.

How close was I

On my Tech/Apollo call? Dre get's that last one on the rim, and Timmy goes and get's it, win for Apollo. Nate Wolters is officially the best player I have ever coached, incase you were checking.

Few thoughts/notes and then out, but probably back with another blog late in the week.



1. I officiated 16 games this past weekend. Too many. Best team I saw was a team of Staples Motley 8th graders.

2. I can't believe the season is almost over, and teams literally have 4 games left before playoffs max.

3. If anyone is looking for the link. www.mncomets.com


4. I am so impressed with the staff we've put together for this upcoming Comets season.

5. Going out on a limb Tech/ Hopkins 4A final. Probably isn't very close, because it will take a lot out of Tech just to beat Sibley.

6. 5AA is so wide open, HLWW/ Sibley/Pierz/Watertown would seem the favorites, don't count out Foley, SCC, N-YA.

7. ready to coach some basketball in 5 weeks.

Tech Apollo

Thought I'd have to sneak in with a keys to the game and a prediction...It's nights like these that make you nuts not still coaching, I've had a twinkle in my eye all day and it's just from knowing I was going to watch this game. Getting to coach in a game like this, in an atmosphere like this, those nights you never forget.


Keys for Apollo
1. Keep Wolters out of rhythym
2. Keep Hanks and Eurhle off the O Glass
3. Pound Bergstrasser inside, no Tech kid can handle him


Keys for Tech
1. Continue to make perimeter jump shots(not the night to go cold)
2. Defend Dre off the dribble
3. Control Mas and Berggy inside.


I think it's tight throughout, Apollo maybe jumps out early because they are at home, there will be a great pace and flow to this game, this is a prize fight, this isn't a small school welterweight matchup, this is for punchers and big boys only, This is Ali/Frazier. I am pretty jacked up, for this game, makes the day go very slow. I expect It to be 3 points or less at the half, and this time with 4 minutes to go Apollo makes a little run, and pulls ahead 6 or 8 and now Tech has to play from behind, which they do well, and close, but Apollo's up 2 with 30 seconds left, Wolters attacks and scores to tie it at 76, but there is still time on the clock, and a missed Apollo shot is cleaned up by Tim B and stuck back as the buzzer sounds. Apollo 78 Tech 76 in an instant classic.

Love the kids on both sides, and I think there is great mutual respect for their teamates and opponents, it's a shame they won't meet again in a section final, but maybe this is the year they both go to state...

Big Tuesday Night- Bigger end of week

Ten things from last night.

10. Congrats to Taylor Filipek on going over 1000 pts last night.

9. Zach Noreen blocked 5 shots? Good for him, I love his game but having him block 5 shots makes me smile. What if he was still at Apollo and gave them the outside shooting stroke they needed?

8. How inconsistent is the WCN? I think it's actually almost that even of a conference, it's crazy, save Albany and NL-S, teams 3-7 are about even.

7. Pierz hasn't lost a section game.

6. BBE won last night even though they didn't guard. You let a team shoot 11 for 19 from 3, you should lose a lot of games.

5. Sauk Centre girls won again with mostly 9th and 10th graders, wouldn't want to be a WCN girls coach for next 2-3 yrs.

4. MACCRAY boys are undefeated. Seth Hinrichs with 20 last night, you'll see him w/ Comets Elite 16's.

3. Apollo girls lose to Willmar and only shoot 5 FT's while Willmar shoots 20???

2. Annandale beats Litchfield in boys but Litch returns the favor for girls.

1. Foley boys 2 in a row. I like it. Matt Feuling with 20 again.




Two Huge games @ end of the week.
Thursday @ Apollo

TECH vs. APOLLO- I think it will be tight throughout, but I do expect the Tigers to prevail. If not we'd look at a split CLC, which has happened before. Assuming Apollo then wins out. Willmar with 3 conf losses is stuck for 3rd I think.





Friday @ Albany

ALBANY @ NLS- Could go either way Albany needs this one badly, if they have any chance to win conference. It will be hard not to go to his game. I think NLS guard superiority will win out. NLS close.

2/3 season awards

I will be back with full season awards before playoffs. This is purely if the season ended today.


1st team all CLC

Nate Wolters- And conference MVP
Alex Hanks- tough,but if tech runs it they have to get two
Andre Garth- has been second best player in conference so far
Taylor Filipek- 3rd best player in conference so far
Dan Kornbaum- 4th best player in conference so far

2nd team

Jordan Christensen
Tim Bergstrasser
Adam Backes
Ron Kornbaum
Tyson Eurhle


1st team all CMC

Davis Stommes- EV-W
Breck Webber-Pierz
John Hammer- HLWW
Nash Faulk- HLWW
Mike Rodgers- BBE

2nd team
Simon Krych- Holdingford
Antone Nelson-Rockford
Tyler Monson-Pierz
Shane Weller-BBE
Scott Nystrom- Kimball



1st team West Central
Eric Tengwall(Conf MVP) NLS
Luke Januschka SCC
Zach Noreen Albany
Andrew Good Mora
Nathan Korfe LPGE

2nd team
Matt Feuling Foley
Laine Nelson Foley
Matt Skorheim Sauk Centre
Jay Moten NLS
Logan Orazem Mora

Scoreboard Wed morning

1. One note from Monday, Cathedral's Luke Januschka had 31 and Kimball's Scott Nystrom had 39 Monday night. Luke hit the game winning three to lead SCC over Kimball.


Last night

1. Little Falls stopped their losing streak by going to Rocori and winning.

2. Tech remains undefeated as Nate Wolters pours in 31 points.

3. Apollo still just has two losses as they defeat Brainerd. 31 for Garth and 17 for Bergstrasser.

4. NLS has 11 guys score in win over SCC.

5. Foley loses their 7th in a row, to Sauk Centre by 24... stay tuned I guess

6. Zach Noreen has 27 as Albany wins again


Girls

HLWW only beats Holdingford by 6?

Foley loses to the Erickson's who combined for 40 last night.

Tech vs. MPLS Edison??? Edison by 7

Little Falls over SCC

Scoreboard watching

Not a bad night for my AAU team from last year.

1.Dan Kornbaum- 28 for Little Falls in a loss to Tech
Zach Noreen -18 for Albany in a win over Foley(on only 8 shots per the SCT)
Alex Hanks had 9 in a win over Little Falls, but held Ron Kornbaum scoreless.
Those were just the ones in the local paper, I haven't checked the rest.

2. Foley girls at home tied with Sauk Centre with 3 minutes left(per SCT) wow. There are no such things as moral victory this time of year, but this one comes as close as you can get. That is a great defensive effort by the Falcon girls. They have a good PG, two double doubles waiting to happen in the post, and some shooters, if they can hold teams like SC to 47 points I think they can be in every game.

3. How great of a seson is Allison Gray having at Apollo? Another 8 threes in her last two games, scoring 24 and 16. She will make a small college basketball coach very happy should she choose to continue on. Congrats to cthe Apollo staff for really developing her over the past 4 years.

4. SCT girls continue to stay competitve while essentially playing all underclassmen(6 of their top 9 are 9/10th graders) SCT will be back sooner than later.

5. Congrats past due to Stephen Woods a former 3 on 3 camper of mine who went over 1000 points at SJ Prep.

6. LPGE Boys beat Melrose?

7. How freakin good is Nate Wolters? He is the most clutch MN basketball player since Blake Hoffarber.

8. I saw Holdingford/Howard Lake the other night(tuesday) Great game by Simon Krych of Holdingford(Had 23 last night too) but HLWW is legit, they are huge and in Nash Faulk they have one of the best guards in the CMC(I would take Nystrom 1st).

9. St. Bernard's vs. St. Cloud Tech saturday 2:30 @ Tech. Get their early, should be a great one. Jordair Jett vs. Nate Wolters is the billing, but to me it will be the role guys on either team that decide the game, Nate and Jordair will get theirs.

10. Mora vs. SCC tonight @ SCC. I will take the Mustangs on the road by 4. I bet it's a really good game.

Who I am rooting for

Ten things I am rooting for


10. Foley boys to win a big game tonight on the road @ Albany. I know they can do it

9. Nate Wolters to make the final 5 of the Mr. Basketball(I think he deserves it)

8. All this bullshit AAU people going behind other peoples backs to try and grab players, a lot of these guys are my friends, and they don't do it to me, but they do it to eachother. I root for it to stop.

7. A great playoff run by a lot of teams, but I would love Apollo to finally get to state.

6. KU to get a top 5 NCAA seed, and make the sweet 16.

5. My mens league team to be less selfish and win the playoffs.

4. Tyler Wruck to hit a big 3 Sat night and go off in front of the coaches that should have recruited him.

3. John Williams to get back into the Gophers Rotation.

2. a Pelican Rapids/ St. Bernards state final in 2AA.

1. The Timberwolves to get Thabeet in the draft.

Scoreboard watching

Looking just quickly through the SCTimes this morning.


SCC 55-Foley 54 Four straight losses for the Falcons after opening with 9 straight wins. Everyone knew the schedule would toughen, but this is 3 losses at home in a row. Blowing a ten point half time lead, and once again struggling to get off a solid shot at the end of the game(per st times, I wasn't there) means they have some work still left to do.


Mora 68- Albany 55- Albany had won 7 in a row, Mora is a very talented team, that put 6 kids in double figures last night. Weird that Mora went 1:40 minutes west and played so well. Oslin is proving to be one of the best shooters in the conference.

Girls

SCC 93 Zimmerman 65- Both Cathedral boys and girls were down at the half last night before rallying to win. Cathedral didn't just rally they smoked. Forcing 25 second half turnovers. Coach Travis Brown and I argue all the time that his press allows too many easy baskets and let's marginal teams hang around, but in games like this, Travis is right, sounds like they just wore them down.

Mora 42 Foley 36- No Katie Kotsmith in the box score, I hope she isn't hurt, I will be attending the Foley/NLS girls game tonight. Looking for a great effort from the falcons.




predictiond for tonight. All 3 St. Cloud boys teams @ home tonight, and all three win. I will take the NL-S girls in a close one.

Weekly notes

MN Comets teams and tryouts are starting to take shape. I think our 17's will all be very good, and play deep into tournaments, and be very recruitable to college coaches at all levels. I am also extremely excited about my 16's, who I think will also be very good.

There is already trash talk from some 17's that my 16's won't win the "Comet Clash" again, but I have to say I like my chances. The trophy is still at my house.

Say Foley/NL-S saturday night, and it was a great game, tied with under 4 minutes to go. I get the feeling Foley could have won that one, as that wasn't NL-S best game. Now Foley goes on the road to Braham. You would think Braham is a small favorite, but I will stay with the falcons. Although should they lose this one, it would be 3 in a row.

It's monday and I have no games scheduled to attend yet this week after watching 6 last week. Deep breath night tonight. Probably be back with a blog later in the week.

I have seen a couple of games

I have been to two Foley games 1 boys and 1 girls in the past 3 days. I left feeling disapointed both times.

The Falcon boys have started this season right where we left off last year. Cruising and beating a lot of teams they are supposed to. They ran into an EV-W team the other night that isn't as talented, so I expected a 15 point win. Saying Eden Valley's guards aren't very good is like saying the Minnesota Timberwolves aren't very good. So I expected some run and jump, and full court play. The one thing EV-W has is big Dave Stommes who is a house down low.


Game starts off slow, no ball pressure from the falcons, allowing EV-W to run their sets like they woul din their shoot arounds. EV-W leads the whole 1st half. Bright spot for the falcons this year has been the play of Eric Oiness who has increased confidence and range on his jump shot. Oiness and Sr Matt Feuling keep it close.

Second half EV-W opens up by 10 midway through the half, but that's when the Falcons come with their pressure against EV-W bad guards, layups by Laine Nelson, and Nick Jansen cut the Eagles lead to 2. We go back and forth from there, until 27 seconds remain, falcons down 2, they dribble the clock down disorganized until the 11 second mark, and then call a TO. Mercifully putting Feuling back in the game at the TO(two coaches asked me after the game how Feuling wasn't on the floor for the crucial last few possesions, I couldn't honestly answer the question). Sr Laine Nelson who has been on fire, attacks the lane out of a TO off a brush screen from Feuling, finds Feuling on the roll, and as the shot goes up, big Stommes goes for the block. Maybe there was contact maybe not, but no call is made(as it should be at the end of games) and the Falcons lose their 1st game if the year.

My thoughts were that I hope that game doesn't affect the falcons seed for playoffs, and also that it might have been the best thing for the kids, staff, etc...Foley up until now hasn't really played anyone, and only one team with a winning record, and they were class 1A. Almost all of their games have been at home, and now the kids will listen better at practice, and be prepared for what will be a stiff test Friday night versus NL-S. They are a very dangerous team, who like I predicted will challenge for the conference and section titles.

I saw Foley/Albany girls last night and for a half it was a good game. if not for A couple ill advised possesions late in the first half including a 17 footer from Katie Kotsmith with 15 seconds left in the half, which led to a 3 pt play the other way, and a 13 point defecit and possibly not an 8 point defecit, and we really could of had a battle. Katie had a great scoring half, as did Hannah Hylla of Albany who had 15 at the break. 40-27 Huskies at the half.

Second half was as hard of a half to watch as I have seen in awhile. Albany comes out in their stapled 1-3-1 zone and promptly scores the next 21 points. Now we are in blowout mode, and to be honest I checked out. Foley has a nice team, and more talent this year then they project to have in awhile. I root for them to get better in practice and give Albany a better game at home.

Apollo vs. Willmar

An interesting night in St. Cloud last night as coaches Dick Lewis, Josh Hanson and I headed off to Apollo to watch them take on Willmar. In what in my estimation was the "second place" game for the conference.

First half all Willmar, Taylor Filipek had a 6 or 7 possesion stretch where he either got a dunk, hit a 3, or got an assist, as Willmar blew open a close game. Apollo down 15 at the break, and Willmar looking like the better team.

Second half goes much the same way as Apollo turns it over, Willmar goes zone with a big lead and they stretch it to 19. I called my wife at the 10:36 mark and Willmar was up 46-31. From then on it was all Apollo. Coach Kesler puts Andre Garth on Taylor Filipek, and they start to press. Turnovers, and layups Apollo creates, and soon it's down to 9, TO Willmar. Apollo steadily closes the gap and takes the lead at 59-58. Hassan Adukar hit a couple of big 3's down the stretch for Apollo and Andre Garth had 21 too. Fun game, awful crowd, and in the end Apollo won by 3.

Loved Filipek, both of them last night, and thought the 5 sophomores who saw the floor for both teams last night are all very nice players.

Tech vs. Apollo boys and girls

I saw both the boys play last night and the girls play on tuesday. Here are my thoughts on both games.

Tuesday Night- Lady Tigers travel to visit the Lady Eagles. Apollo comes out in a press, but doesn't trap out of it. Freshman guard Anessa Roesch slices through it and drops off a lot of nice passes or take the layups herself. Apollo hangs around with some nice play from Alison Gray. It's 28 all before Tech goes on a 6-0 run to end the half. Second half is Zweiner time as both sisters hit early shots and Apollo goes down 13. Apollo still in the press with no traps, and Roesch still slicing it, lead gets to 18 with 4 minutes to play when Maddox Lewis tosses his popcorn bag under the bleachers and we decide it's time to leave. Gray with 20, Courtney Lynch with 18. For the Tigers Roesch had 17, Zweiners both in double figures.

Thursday Night- What a game, fantastic crowd, Mike Much from MN Preps in the stands and by my count 9 college coaches as well. Neither student section got as rowdy as they have in the past but they cheered loudly throughout the night, sometimes you forget what a great crowd can do for the atmosphere at a HS game.

Starting the game Tigers are all over the Eagles, Wolters is getting wherever he wants, and Apollo seems content to settle for a lot of jumpers. A Banked 3 by Alex Hanks puts them up 11 at 24-13. Apollo battles back as Bergstrasser get's an and 1, and Garth steals the missed Ft and lays it back in. Back and forth we go and it's 40-33 at the half. The second half is where one of the best shootout's between two players, I have ever seen happened. 4 minutes into the half, Andre Garth and Nate Wolters go bananas, Each of them scoring at will, on the other defense. It's 52-51 Tech when Apollo commits a turnover, and on the fast break back Ibrahim Abukar get's called for an intentional foul as he and a Tech kid collided and on their way to the floor, Abukar grabs his jersey. He did grab a jersey but no intent to injure at all, it was a very soft call. Down the stretch Apollo is gassed and Wolters goes for the throat, getting to the rack at will. The game comes too easy for Nate, he is really good. I posted alot of my thoughts on mnpreps already, so I will keep this brief. Mark Kaczor was Co MVP for Tech. Great game by him.

Wolters 39 Eurhle 17 Hanks 15 for Tech

Garth 39 Maslonkowski 15 Bergstrasser 14 Abukar 12 for Apollo