The Breakdown, Minnesota Sports Preview

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BOYS BASKETBALL
Ryan James' Desk
From player profiles to tournament recaps, Ryan digs deep into the boys basketball scene in Minnesota.

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Girls Basketball Recruit
You want the scoop on girls basketball in Minnesota? Kevin's the man with the information for you.

FOOTBALL
From the Gridiron
The Breakdown staff will be under the Friday Night Lights all fall long. Check out our take on the Minnesota gridiron.

HOCKEY
Red Light Special
Hockey knowledge from someone who grew up playing and loving the game...and still plays to this day.

VOLLEYBALL
Girls Volleyball Recruit
Kevin's a busy man, as he spends his fall (and the rest of the year) tracking down the best of Minnesota high school volleyball.

VOLLEYBALL
The Volleyball Donkey
As he says, Karl's blogging about volleyball, solving world hunger and everything in between.

BOYS BASKETBALL
(updated every Sunday)

GIRLS BASKETBALL
(updated every Sunday)

HOCKEY
(updated every Sunday)

FOOTBALL
(updated every Sunday)

VOLLEYBALL
(updated every Sunday)

Check out Ryan James'
Player Profile archive

Click Here for List...

Dave Hill - His 2007-2008 high school and youth basketball photos are now available online.

Over 80 High School & 100 Youth Teams Available !!

Ben Stewart - The Breakdown's newest photographer has his online portfolio's available now.

Tim Kolehmainen - He's been away for a few years, but check out his site for older photos.

Breaking News...
(posted 5/6/2008)The BREAKDOWN has announced its dates for the 2008 Fall Leagues! Get all the information in the link below. Registration forms will be available in a few weeks.
Click here for the story.

On Campus:
Minnesotans at North Dakota

by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
(updated 5/14/2008)

The Fighting Sioux of North Dakota will be a division one basketball program shortly and like NDSU before them, UND will be doing so with a touch of Minnesota flavor. North Dakota coach Brian Jones signed a three-year extension a couple months back so he should lead this program well into the division one era.

The top returning scorer of the Fighting Sioux is junior to be Travis Bledsoe who played his high school basketball at DeLaSalle in Minneapolis. This past year the 5-foot-11 guard shot over 44 percent from beyond the arc, which was just behind the percentage of graduating senior Ervin Youmans. Bledsoe played 23 minutes a game and averaged 9.7 points a game for the season.

Playing a bench role for UND was former Winona big man Ben Lehnertz who at 6-foot-9 provided size and rebounding and then there was juco transfer Dustin Monsebroten who likely sat out the season as a red-shirt. Monsebroten is a Marshall Country Central grad from Newfolden, Minnesota who came to UND by way of Fergus Falls Community College.

These three Minnesotans will be joined by a top pair from the 2008 class of Minnesota high school athletes in Rockford's Nick Haugen and Warroad's Mitch Wilmer. Wilmer, a 6-10 center, averaged 14.1 points and 8.8 rebounds for Warroad last season and he went under the radar statewide but not to northern basketball programs. It's tough to go unnoticed by schools at 6-foot-10 when you block 95 shots in 27 games, an average of 3.5 per game. This is why North Dakota and Bemidji State were all over him.

"Mitch came so far from last season to this season," Warroad coach Lance Sage said to the Grand Forks Herald. "Defensively, he changed the way teams played. Defense was the best part of his game.

"Mitch also has a nice shot," Sage continued. "He can face up to the basket or he can play with his back to the basket. He's raw and has a lot of potential. He made a few 3-pointers, and I felt comfortable with him taking that shot."

While Mitch Wilmer slid somewhat under the radar the top player at Rockford for the last half decade did not. Six-foot-2 guard Nick Haugen has been a statewide name all his years at Rockford and he made his name taking Rockford to state on two separate occasions.

Haugen picked North Dakota over Denver, Wofford, and Winona State. "Nick is a special kid who has earned it," said Rockford coach Michael Tauber. "He had patience to work through the ups and downs of starting in eighth grade. He also has made his coach look pretty good the last five years." Nick averaged 18.5 points a game this year playing point for a very balanced up-tempo basketball team.

Haugen knew North Dakota was the spot for him immediately after his trip to UND. "It felt right when I was there," Haugen said. "The coaches are great people. The players are good guys to be around. I really wanted to be a part of that program."

To our knowledge North Dakota has Haugen and Wilmer coming into their program next year along with Doug Archer of Conception Junction, Missouri and Spencer Goodman of Jackson, Missouri.

Williams AAU Quick Capsule:
The Howard Pulley Panthers-Black

by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
(updated 5/6/2008)

This group has represented Minnesota extremely well nationally with a 15-2 record and those loses came to prominent programs from Kansas City (KC Pump N Run) and Boston (BABC). Wins over big name programs like The Family, the Miami Tropics, Louisiana Select, Team Texas Elite, and Indiana Select have placed the Panthers as an elite program in this country. Without a doubt the highlight of the season was the 7-0 record, and tournament championship at the Kingwood Classic in Houston, Texas.

Thus far Royce White has solidified himself as a top 25 player in the nation as he is consistently putting up near double-double numbers. White is finding different ways of scoring with each game. He's
attacking the basket from the high post and wing beating opponents with strong dribble moves. He's also playing some out of the block with his back to the basket in the low post and this is also producing
points in bunches. Royce is also shooting the mid-range jumper extremely well from the baseline.

While Royce has solidified himself as a near five star recruit, Rodney Williams Jr. is arguably the most exciting player in the nation and various dunk highlight reels are popping up all over the Internet.
The kid is simply flying all over the court making plays high above the rim and gyms are overflowing with on-lookers to see the explosion.

This team has been more then Royce and Rodney. Seantrell Henderson has exploded around the block playing like a beast. We all know that he is the elite 2010 offensive lineman in the nation but he also looking like a four star player on the basketball court as well.

Mike Broghammer has been a model of consistency. Every game the Panthers are able to get about eight points, five or six boards and a great defensive effort from the Hopkins forward.

The wing combination of Dylan Hale, Cedric Martin, and Mike Fitzgerald has also contributed importantly to the 15-2 record after three events. Fitzgerald's game is really evolving plus he's a lights out shooter. Martin made a big name for himself at the first tournament in Maryland called the Boo Williams Invitational and mid-majors schools have called on him. Then there is the athletic Dylan Hale who has had a handful of scoring outbursts already this year.

THE PULLEY PANTHER BLACK 17s ROSTER

Mike Broghammer, PF, Hopkins
Mike Fitzgerald, SF, St Thomas Academy
Dylan Hale, SG, St Paul Central
Seantrell Henderson, PF, Cretin Derham Hall (2010)
Cedric Martin, SG, Washburn
Carrington Tankson, SG, Osseo (2008)
Zach Towle , PG, Concordia Academy
Royce White , SF, Hopkins
Marcus Williams, PG, Hopkins
Rodney Williams Jr. , PG, Cooper


Taylor and Wahlin named Breakdown players of the year The BREAKDOWN (updated 4/12/2008) We've named our players of the year in both boys and girls hoops, as well as All-State individuals, our team of the year, coach of the year and so much more! Looking ahead to 2008-09: Top juniors The BREAKDOWN by Ryan James (updated 3/20/2008) Today we are getting an edge on next year's Breakdown Boys Preview by listing our top 30 juniors. Of course this list can change with the state tournament coming up and a spring and summer of AAU basketball right around the corner, but we thought we'd put up the top 30 right now. State freshman class looks exciting by Ryan James The BREAKDOWN (updated 3/6/2008) This year's Minnesota class of freshman has really excited several people in the basketball world. There is a solid group of 2011 players who are bringing game on a nightly basis and its happening at several different levels. Sponsor Article: "Continued Development for Continued Success" By Midwest Elite Basketball	Super Saturday: Hill-Murray and St. Thomas Academy win titles By Tim Kolehmainen The BREAKDOWN (posted 3/10/2008) It was a good day for the St. Paul area private schools at the state boys' hockey tournament... No upset this time: Ness is Mr. Hockey By Tim Kolehmainen The BREAKDOWN (posted 3/10/2008) Roseau junior Aaron Ness was named Mr. Hockey Sunday, just after the Rams lost their final two games of the state tournament... Day 4 action: Alex and Eden Prairie win titles By Tim Kolehmainen The BREAKDOWN New girls hockey state champions have been crowned in Class A (Alexandria) and Class AA (Eden Prairie).

The Breakdown Football Preview is coming for 2008-09... "The MFCA is pleased to endorse The Breakdown's "Pigskin Preview" as the consummate reference guide to high school football in Minnesota. We give it our highest marks as the one publication that capsules the recent past and profiles the immediate future of Minnesota's game. We are proud to encourage our membership to cooperate with, and make use of, this invaluable resource. It's great reading!" -- Ron Stolski, Executive Director, Minnesota Football Coaches Association	The Breakdown Volleyball Preview is coming for 2008-09... “I am very excited for The Breakdown to begin coverage on volleyball. I have seen their other publications and nobody does a more thorough job. It will be the most comprehensive book available on Minnesota high school volleyball. The Breakdown staff go out of their way to ensure schools and players get the recognition they deserve. This will be a major boost towards promoting volleyball in Minnesota.” - Lonnie Morken of Mabel-Canton, President of the Volleyball Coaches Association The Inbox by Karl Katzenberger The BREAKDOWN (updated 5/6/2008) Greetings again from the land of perpetual cloud cover, Tacoma, Washing - er... St. Paul, Minnesota! Let's all do our part to keep pumping those greenhouse gases into the atmosphere! I mean what actual evidence do we have that weather patterns can possibly be affected by a constant barrage of fossil fuel flatus upon our landscape... The Golden Rule(s) by Karl Katzenberger The BREAKDOWN (updated 4/29/2008) This year the MSHSL has changed a couple of rules as to volleyball competition that will certainly affect us in Minnesota during the course of our season. Both are changes for the positive... The Suggestion Box by Karl Katzenberger The BREAKDOWN (updated 4/23/2008) This is awesome! I am actually going to be writing a column about volleyball!! I can't stop using exclamation points!!!! ...