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.