by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
posted 08-15-2009
The word transfer is taboo in Minnesota but fact is they happen and they will make an impact this year. Several teams added some key pieces to the puzzle with new talent moving to town and make sure you grab a program when heading to the Minneapolis City Conference, keeping all those moves straight in the Breakdown book was impossible. Read more here...
by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
posted 08-05-2009
The year was 2003 and Henry Sibley High School was continuing on with being an average high school basketball program. And then Trevor Mbakwe showed up in Mendota Heights from Atlanta, Georgia. That moment was the momentous first that got Sibley basketball rolling. And things didn’t stop from there.
A year later a hungry basketball coach by the name of Tom Dasovich came over from Columbia Heights to direct the Warriors. Also, a pair of basketball families was also in the program that helped ignite the team and they were the Halvorsens and the Leslies. Dasovich would then hire assistant coach Lernell James and this core group set things in motion and now the Sibley Warriors are one of the top programs in the state of Minnesota. Read more here...
by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
posted 08-04-2009
The buzz about the Breakdown Tip-Off Classic has begun. The 11 game event at Minnetonka High School may even grow to 12 contests, as teams just want to be involved with this fantastic one-day extravaganza. This IS the best collection of Minnesota talent under one roof all year long and over 15 division one college coaches have asked about the event because there is no better way to see more local talent then the Tip-Off Classic.
There are several contests that are catching the attention of our basketball community but Tartan versus Hopkins has moved to the top of the list. After the Royals defeated Tartan at the Pacesetter Sweet 16 in the finals Drew Preiner of the Titans walked off the floor and said “we want them again now”. Read more here...
by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
posted 08-04-2009
When the 2009-10 class AA rankings come out from the Breakdown there is a strong chance that New London-Spicer will be the number one ranked team. The backcourts from Minnehaha Academy and Staples-Motley are good but what the Wildcats have taking care of the ball is second to none in this class. Plus they have talent up front that can also dominate games.
These Wildcats have been to state three of the last four seasons (winning it all in 2008) and it would be an upset if they didn’t arrive for the fourth time in five seasons. Directing the talent is Matt Cordes who is respected as one of the top head coaches in all of Minnesota. In six years at New London-Spicer, Cordes has put together a record of 136-39 with a winning percentage of 77 and those numbers will be even more impressive after this season. . Read more here..
by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
(updated 7/27/2009)
You have to believe that this is going to be quite a bounce back year for the Minnetonka Skippers. After winning the 2008 state championship the Skippers fell below .500 despite have some quality players. No doubt they played a tough schedule and the fact is there was some talent getting time on the floor. But I don’t think anybody expected that Tonka would lose by 34 to Mounds View, 44 to Hopkins, 23 to Apple Valley, 34 to Armstrong, 24 to Edina, and then to Minneapolis North in the first round of sections. Read more here...
by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
(updated 7/20/2009)
The last of the Breakdown Summer Showcases took place this weekend with several varsity and junior varsity divisions being played at St. Michael-Albertville High School and Middle School. Some new talent was on display yesterday although the results were fairly similar as once again Spring Lake Park and Champlin Park walked away victorious. The following are player and team notes taken from yesterday’s action. Read more here...
by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
(updated 7/17/2009)
As the defending state champions and a team that has another handful of division one players the Hopkins Royals will remain number one entering the season and with good reason. They have lost only seven games in the past five seasons and despite losing five starters to graduation (four of them to division one basketball) there is still enough left in the cupboard to consider a repeat.
D.J. Peterson will now step into the spotlight as the senior star for Hopkins and with good reason. Peterson is a versatile player with a high level of skill who can do just about anything on the floor that coach Ken Novak Jr. will ask. It’s not out of the question to say that D.J could play at every position on the floor this year. All spring and summer college coaches have raved about what they have seen from Peterson who has looked greatly improved and ready to step into the spotlight. Read more here...
by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
(updated 7/16/2009)
I've had numerous requests this week to get this blog back on a regular basis so every weekday here we go. I was also thinking of taking a new approach with some sports thoughts expansion but Ill worry about that later. Here is the Fab 50 Sophomores for 2012.
The 2012 class in Minnesota is making a major name for itself. Several players have competed with many AAU teams this spring and summer to make names for themselves and here is our top group of 50 so far. Remember there is a lot of talent out there that still hasn’t been seen so this is an initial Breakdown list.
by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
(posted 06-29-2009)
Read about our Summer Showcases with Ryan James. Also, check out his take on the recent Rogers event, which featured some of the top teams and players in the state.
When it comes to high school basketball programs in the state of Minnesota the Tartan Titans rank amongst the best. Tartan is a 20 plus win program year after year and one of the most important factors in their success is team continuity. To conform as a unit a basketball team needs game experience playing not only during the winter but also in the off-season. Mark Klingsporn’s Titans get that time together playing in several Breakdown Summer Showcases.
“We attend several of the Breakdown events for many different reasons,” said Klingsporn. “The biggest reason is the quality of the event and the quality of the competition. We always seem to find great teams to play here (at the Breakdown Summer Showcase).” Read more....
The Breakdown Summer Showcase is held in Rogers twice during the year because of the outstanding facilities and location. This year the demand for teams was so big that one community could not hold everyone for one day and the towns of St. Michael and Albertville were called upon for help. In all nine divisions were put together this weekend so junior varsity and varsity teams could get time on the floor. Read more....
by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
(posted 04-30-2009)
Our post-season Fab 40 Prospects for the class of 2009
!
1.) Royce White, Hopkins, SF/PF (Minnesota)
2.) Rodney Williams, Cooper, SF (Minnesota)
3.) Mike Bruesewitz, Henry Sibley, SF/PF (Wisconsin)
4.) Sam Dower, Osseo, PF (Gonzaga)
5.) Trent Lockett, Hopkins, SF (Arizona State)
6.) Jordair Jett, St. Bernards, PG, (Prep School)
7.) Mike Broghammer, Hopkins, PF (Notre Dame)
8.) Raymond Cowels, Hopkins, SG (Santa Clara)
9.) Nate Wolters, St. Cloud Tech, PG (Col St, NDSU, SDSU, or Aug)
10.) Marc Sonnen, Tartan, PG (Northern Iowa)
11.) Mike Muscala, Roseville, PF, (Bucknell)
12.) Carlos Emmory, Bloomington Jefferson, SF (Prep or Juco)
13.) Ethan Wragge, Eden Prairie, SG, (Creighton)
14.) Chris Halvorsen, Henry Sibley, SF, (Valparaiso)
15.) Cedric Martin, Minneapolis Washburn, SG (Lee CC)
17.) Marcus Williams, Hopkins, PG (Several mid and low major D1 offers)
17.) Emmanuel Addo, Northfield, PF, (Northern Colorado)
18.) Mike Fitzgerald, St. Thomas, SG (Air Force)
19.) Jordan Aaberg, Rothsay, PF (North Dakota State)
20.) Mike Felt, Redwood Valley, SG (North Dakota State)
21.) Dylan Hale, Minneapolis Washburn, SG (Texas State)
22.) Josh Figini, Chisago Lakes, PF (Cornell)
23.) Shaun Jensen, Spring Lake Park, PG
24.) Caleb Palkert, SW Christian, PF (SC-Upstate)
25.) Brandon Brekke, East Grand Forks, PF (North Dakota)
26.) Tydan Storrusten, PG, Pelican Rapids
27.) Isaiah Thomas, SG, Fridley
28.) Dylan Rodriguez, Blaine, SF (UMD)
29.) Damarius Cruz, Armstrong, SG (UM-Crookston)
30.) Kenquane Brown, SF, Cooper
31.) Matt Zager, Shakopee, SG (Southwest State)
32.) Kellen Taylor, SF, Wayzata (Winona State)
33.) Taylor Steinabuer, PF, Owatonna
34.) Billy Giddings, Blaine, SF (Southwest State)
35.) Andre Garth, SG, St. Cloud Apollo (N. Iowa Area CC)
36.) Tommy Sawatzke, Monticello, PG (Carelton College)
37.) Conner O'Brien, New Prague, PF
38.) Josh Pedretti, Maple Grove, SF/PF
39.) Tyler Goetz, SF, Chaska (Carelton College)
40.) Maurice Hernandez, Henry Sibley, SG
by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
(posted 04-07-2009)
This weekend at the Minnesota Comets Invitational one thing that stuck out to me more than just about anything was the level of coaching. A big fear of high school coaches and parents is the level of coaching that is received from AAU programs and I think it’s safe to say that often in the past several high school coaches have had a right to be worried. But if the 17s level of play was any indication this weekend I think there are less and less worries around. It’s not a total cure but there has been much improvement.
I think I have to give the first nod to Al Harris of 43 Hoops who also coaches at St. Paul Johnson as an assistant. Al has done a tremendous job with these players in getting them to play hard on both ends and getting them to work together. When it comes to 43 Hoops I have honestly never heard a complaint about the level of improvement from their training. And I don’t think you will hear much about the effort that coach Harris puts into getting his kids to play defense and getting them to play together. All of his kids worked hard on defense and the guys on the floor gave their best effort. If they didn’t Al sits them no question. His team went all the way to the final before falling to Pump N Run and I will count myself as one of several that were impressed.
Lots of credit must go to Mitch Ohnstad as well. His team went 4-2 for the weekend and I don’t think its going out on a limb to say that four of those six teams had more talent than Mitch’s MSB Roadrunners but Mitch got his kids to fight together on both ends. The Roadrunners played hard defensively and Mitch got his group to move the basketball and wear down defenses with team play. That is why they were able to beat more talented bunches from Grassroots and the Minnesota Comets (2nd team), its why Mitch’s team stayed with the top Minnesota Comets squad as long as they did, and its why they had little problem with the Xplosion and the Select group they played. Parents and high school coaches from all over the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota, when it comes to improving the skill level of players there is nobody better than Mitch. You are missing the boat if don’t at least give Mitch and his MSB Roadrunner program a look.
Also deserving credit is coach Hansen from the Comets top group. I think what Josh has done is led this team with a little bit of a swagger which is needed playing the other top teams in state. This team had no fear at all against the Minnesota Pump N Run team and that started with their head guy. Also, Josh did a strong job of mixing and matching line-ups to demolish some teams and to push the tournament champs to the final buzzer.
Speaking of the Pump N Run, they won this weekend’s event going 6-0 and I’ll tell you what, there was not a more frustrated coach than Jerry Robertson of the Pump N Run after the event was over. Jerry is a perfectionist and he knows his team’s defensive effort and shot selection was not where it needed to be for future tournaments. There are some AAU coaches that would have been totally elated with themselves with a tournament title like this one. Not Jerry, he knows he needs to get some improvements out of players if they are to get to that ultimate goal of improvement for the summer. I’m sure he was happy with the wins but more important to him is improvement.
There were other coaches who also did a good job this weekend. Lernell James from the Select, I heard the TNL Express looked solid, and it was either Hoops Training or Triple Threat that everybody was saying was so tough. I didn’t get enough time to see enough of everybody to have a great opinion so we’ll just stop with the names above. We are not all the way there yet in terms of AAU coaches though. To many guys still show that this is more about themselves than it should be and some have to learn to control their antics and mouths on the sidelines. Parents trust these coaches with their kids for four months and in most cases have put down a financial deposit that goes to helping their child improve as a player and get some recognition from schools wherever. Bad habits and behavior is not what these players should be subjected to.
The first in a series of articles by Ryan James, previewing the upcoming section tournaments -- including a look back at his predictions from the preseason.
This weekend’s Border Battle in Owatonna matched five Minnesota programs against five teams from Wisconsin and it was one of the most incredible days of basketball that I have seen in a long time. In these five games you had two overtimes games including one that went through four extra sessions, a heroic late game jumper from a current Minnesota star and future Wisconsin star, a sensational shooting performance in the opener, and a crazy crowd cheering on the host school to a victory in the matinee. This year’s Border Battle created memories as the basketball action was full of dramatic performances.
by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
(updated 12/15/2008)
The Saturday games were highlighted by tails of a Tech vs. Tartan classic, injuries to a pair of the better players at the event, and the depth of strong programs in Blaine and DeLaSalle.
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.
(posted 6/26/2008)
(posted 1/27/2007)
(posted 12/16/2007)
(posted 12/10/2007)
(posted 12/2/2007)
(posted 7/25/2007)
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Katrina Newman,
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Previewing the sections: Class AA
Previewing the sections: Class AAA
Looking ahead to 2008-09: Top juniors
Section Selection begins with favorites in AAAA
