Strib All Metro Team and State Tourney preview

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JohnnyGopher

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First Team All Metro
http://www.startribune.com/sports/p...8cyaiUo8cyaiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

Kevin Noreen player of the year
http://www.startribune.com/sports/p...r=KArksi8cyaiUeyD8_o8cyaiUiacyKUnciaec8O7EyUs

1st Team
Kevin Noreen, senior, Minnesota Transitions, 6-10 forward. Has the skills to step outside. The Boston College recruit has 4,023 career points.

Jacob Thomas, senior, Columbia Heights. Explosive when driving to the basket and has NBA range. Commited to Long Beach State.

Estan Tyler, junior, St. Paul Johnson. Floor general who runs the show for what's arguably the state's best team. Gopher offer

Marshall Bjorklund, senior, Sibley East. The 6-7 center has a high basketball IQ and will play at North Dakota State.

Joe Coleman, junior, Hopkins. Young brother of former Gopher Dan Coleman blossomed this season. Averaged 24.2 points per game. Gopher offer


2nd Team
Forwards/centers
• Zach Riedeman, Forest Lake, sr.: Led the Rangers to the Suburban East and Class 4A, Section 7 titles.

• Marvin Singleton, Hopkins, jr.: Averaged 18.4 points for the Royals, No. 1 in 4A.

• Tom Schalk, Apple Valley, jr.: Set the school single-season scoring mark with 630 points.

Guards
• Tyus Jones, Apple Valley, eighth grade: College coaches are beating a path to AV to see the phenom point guard.

• Jordan Smith, Orono, jr.: Perhaps the best pure shooter in the metro averaged 22.5 points.
 

Is Estan Tyler flying under the national radar?
 

With all of the pro teams/college teams in this market, it's too bad that the high school boys basketball tourney is getting little coverage. In years past, there would have been a bracket easily found for the boys tourney - now it's hard to find. What teams are playing where and when, what TV coverage is available..... Yes if you 'dig' into the Star Trib and PP websites, you'll find it, but it's not like it used to be. It's also too bad that St Paul Johnson is now in 3A instead of 4A. The game that I want to see on TV is St Paul Johnson vs Hopkins - aint going to happen - and that's a shame. The boys basketball tourney has been ruined.
 

Regardless of any kind of argument about style of play, quality of opponents, etc., what Noreen has accomplished in his career is incredible. It would take me forever to score 4,000 points just shooting alone at the hoop in my driveway, much less with 5 guys playing defense.

Congratulations to all the players honored.
 

freshtrout said:
With all of the pro teams/college teams in this market, it's too bad that the high school boys basketball tourney is getting little coverage. In years past, there would have been a bracket easily found for the boys tourney - now it's hard to find. What teams are playing where and when, what TV coverage is available..... Yes if you 'dig' into the Star Trib and PP websites, you'll find it, but it's not like it used to be. It's also too bad that St Paul Johnson is now in 3A instead of 4A. The game that I want to see on TV is St Paul Johnson vs Hopkins - aint going to happen - and that's a shame. The boys basketball tourney has been ruined.
Click to expand...

IMO they ruined it when they went to 4 classes. The two classes with the Championship game at the end was by far the best. They never should have gotten rid of it. That Staples-Minneapolis North game in 96? might be the most exciting HS game I've ever seen. And Staples was our bitter rival. I was still rooting for them. If I remember correctly that game crushed the NCAA tournament in the TV ratings too.
 


State Tournament starts Wednesday at Target Center and Williams Arena

4A Target Center

10am Hopkins vs. Forest Lake
12pm Henry Sibley vs. Eastview
2 pm Eden Prairie vs. Owatonna
4 pm Champlin Park vs. St. Cloud Tech

3A Williams Arena

10 am St. Paul Jophnson vs. Hutchinson
12 pm Winona vs. Orono
2 pm Mpls. De La Salle vs. Little Falls
4 pm Benilde St. Margarets vs. Grand Rapids

For Gopher fans, Hopkins with jr. Joe Coleman and so. Syani Chambers are of interest. Sibley has two d1 kids in Rostampour and Krueser. Eastview is one for Gopher fans to watch with Top Sopmomore Joey King plus they have Carson Shanks, a 7 foot freshman. Overall, not a real strong group and not alot for gopher fans to keep an eye.

In 3A, Johnson is the team to watch with Gopher target Estan Tyler plus junior guard Roosevelt Scott is a kid some schools are closely watching. Winona has 7 footer Alec Brown against Orono's junior sharpshooter Jordan Smith. DeLaSalle has 6'7 PF Jonah Travis, a ltttle undersized for the Gophers right now, but like his cousin Ross at Chaska, a kid still on the radar in a deep junior class. Benilde is led by seniors Peter Crawford and Darren Glover but they also have alot of young talent. Sophomore Isiah Zierdon is a dead eye shooter and a coaches son but his size and athleticism may hold him back from major college basketball, Sanjay Lumpkin is another sophomore with alot of potential and 6'6 sophomore forward Kyle Washington may end up being the one who is the most coveted recruit, raw but talented.
 

Estan Tyler - flying under the radar - true? Or not Johnny? Can you comment on his size - play? Thanks.
Jordan Smith - same deal Johnny - What can you tell us?
 

Is it true that only the semi-final and final games are on TV, 45 non-HD??
 




Well, the high school league and it's sponsors can do better.... for the fans. How long will it take, and why don't they get it?
 

the first round is not on tv.

Estan Tyler - flying under the radar - true? Or not Johnny? Can you comment on his size - play? Thanks.
Jordan Smith - same deal Johnny - What can you tell us


Jordan is a kid who is a very, very good high school player but his limitations will hurt him come college recruitment. Great shooter, good passer, very good handles, but doesn't have the size or quickness to play B10. Could be a kid who goes to a Summit/MVC school and has a solid career.

Played on Chris Carr's loaded 43 Hoops AAU team with top juniors, Ross Travis, Jake White, Freddie Young, Thomas Schalk, Marquel Curtis, Roosevelt Scott.

Tyler may be under the national radar because of the team he plays on has alot of talent and he's not asked to do as much plus they don't play in all of the big tournaments and he's not a flashy, standout player. Tyler is quick, streaky shooter, very good handle.

If you have the time, here is a complete game video of Johnson against St. paul Central earlier this year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t16LYM2pYaY. some into stuff on Tyler at about the 15 minute mark. Tyler is #3
 

howeda7 said:
IMO they ruined it when they went to 4 classes. The two classes with the Championship game at the end was by far the best. They never should have gotten rid of it. That Staples-Minneapolis North game in 96? might be the most exciting HS game I've ever seen. And Staples was our bitter rival. I was still rooting for them. If I remember correctly that game crushed the NCAA tournament in the TV ratings too.
Click to expand...

As it stands now, I believe this is how they break down the 4 classes:
4A - top 64 schools with largest enrollment
3A - next 64 schools
2A - next 128 schools
1A - everyone else which usually ends up being about 165-170 schools

For some reason, there are only 62 4A schools this year. Owatonna and Eden Prairie only had to win two games to get to state. That is ridiculous if you ask me. I think they should combine 3A and 4A so there are only three classes.
 

GophersInIowa said:
As it stands now, I believe this is how they break down the 4 classes:
4A - top 64 schools with largest enrollment
3A - next 64 schools
2A - next 128 schools
1A - everyone else which usually ends up being about 165-170 schools

For some reason, there are only 62 4A schools this year. Owatonna and Eden Prairie only had to win two games to get to state. That is ridiculous if you ask me. I think they should combine 3A and 4A so there are only three classes.
Click to expand...

Agree 100% with all of the bashing going on here. The boys state tourney was ruined when they wen to 4 classes. How can you even keep track of when games are on anymore? Teams only have to win 2 games to get to state. The first round can't even be on TV. The best teams often don't get a chance to play each other because they're in different classes. But hey - everyone is a winner, right?
 



Another big complaint alot of people have is why play the 4A and 3A games, the ones most people want to watch, in the afternoon when the majority of people can't go.
I know the politically correct answer is because they want to give the smaller schools a chance to play in primetime, blah, blah, blah, but reality is there are very few prospects playing in the smaller classes that gopher and college basketball fans would be interested in seeing. I can't go in the afternoon and have no interest in the night games. if they reversed the schedules, i think alot more people would go down there.
 

gopher7 said:
Agree 100% with all of the bashing going on here. The boys state tourney was ruined when they wen to 4 classes. How can you even keep track of when games are on anymore? Teams only have to win 2 games to get to state. The first round can't even be on TV. The best teams often don't get a chance to play each other because they're in different classes. But hey - everyone is a winner, right?
Click to expand...

everyone but the fans.
 

JohnnyGopher said:
Another big complaint alot of people have is why play the 4A and 3A games, the ones most people want to watch, in the afternoon when the majority of people can't go.
I know the politically correct answer is because they want to give the smaller schools a chance to play in primetime, blah, blah, blah, but reality is there are very few prospects playing in the smaller classes that gopher and college basketball fans would be interested in seeing. I can't go in the afternoon and have no interest in the night games. if they reversed the schedules, i think alot more people would go down there.
Click to expand...

I read somewhere the reason is so that Tubby can attend the 3A and 4A games.

He's interviewing for other jobs at night.
 

IMHO, what the MSHSL did to basketball was worse than what they did to hockey. I can understand doing six classes for football, but four classes for basketball is too many. Only needing to win two games to get to the state tournament is indeed a bad idea.

At least we're not the same as Washington. They have SIX state tournaments with 16 teams per state tournament. Plus, you can lose twice after the end of the regular season and still get to state. Plus their boys and girls tournaments are held at the same time on opposite ends of the Tacoma Dome. It's a really lousy setup, IMHO.

As for the TV contract, I think the high school tournament TV contract is a package deal with the hockey tournament being the gem, and having to do girls hockey, football, and basketball to get the contract.

The kicker is that if you watch it on TV, you have to suffer with Dave Lee doing play by play. Yech.
 

So FOT, do you have anything to add to the discussion about the Minnesota tournament? Didn't think so.
 

GophersInIowa said:
As it stands now, I believe this is how they break down the 4 classes:
4A - top 64 schools with largest enrollment
3A - next 64 schools
2A - next 128 schools
1A - everyone else which usually ends up being about 165-170 schools

For some reason, there are only 62 4A schools this year. Owatonna and Eden Prairie only had to win two games to get to state. That is ridiculous if you ask me. I think they should combine 3A and 4A so there are only three classes.
Click to expand...

It could be worse. SD has at least 4 classes too with about 1/4 of the schools. The large class has all of 10 schools or so. It's a joke. Even moreso then MN. I grew up in a very small school. I can appreciate the intent to give the small schools a chance. But they have a chance even in a two class system. We made state once under the old system. It was the biggest triumph in school history. The whole town shut down and went to the game. We've made it 3-4 times since it went to 4 classes. It's no big deal anymore.
 

howeda7 said:
It could be worse. SD has at least 4 classes too with about 1/4 of the schools. The large class has all of 10 schools or so. It's a joke. Even moreso then MN. I grew up in a very small school. I can appreciate the intent to give the small schools a chance. But they have a chance even in a two class system. We made state once under the old system. It was the biggest triumph in school history. The whole town shut down and went to the game. We've made it 3-4 times since it went to 4 classes. It's no big deal anymore.
Click to expand...


north dakota is a joke as well. it has two classes with class A having 16 teams. half of those teams make state. fargo south made state with a 10-14 record. they also lost to staples-motley by 30 points.
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
I read somewhere the reason is so that Tubby can attend the 3A and 4A games.

He's interviewing for other jobs at night.
Click to expand...


Hey give FOT a break here.

Turns out, he actually understands sarcasm. Hell, he even used it in this instance.

FOT, I am so proud of you. Keep up the good work.
 

will coleman become a top recruit in the country? And does Tyler have any d1 offers?
 

Well, I like it when I end up in ND on business or for hockey at the right time of year because it's fun to watch the Class B tournament. It's classic out there and has been the subject of at least two PBS documentaries I've caught over the years.

In Minnesota, we used to pack Williams Arena for the state tournament. It was electric. Every bit the show hockey ended up being years later. Pick the Prep Champ bracket contest would appear in the Sunday newspapers the week before. Don't remember what kind of prizes they had, but a lot of people cut out the brackets and played with them just like we do now with the NCAA. I started watching in 1957 and from memory here are the champs from that year until 1970, which concluded single class competition:

1957 - Mpls Roosevelt
1958 - Austin
1959 - Wayzata (small school at that time and beat Carlton, even smaller school, in title game)
1960 - Edgerton (classic david / goliath title game with Austin, which was a perennial powerhouse)
1961 - Duluth Central
1962 - St. Lous Park
1963 - Marshall (beat Cloquet, which if playing today would include kids from Carlton)
1964 - Luverne (believe the Gophers' Del Jessen played on this team)
1965 - Minnetonka
1966, 67, 68 - Edina (thanks to Bob Zender en route to his time with Kansas)
1969 - Rochester John Marshall
1970 - Sherburn (at least the final year was another classic david / goliath matchup)

We continued to follow the tournament for about another ten years, perhaps a bit longer, but interest quickly waned at the onset of the expanded class system. Frankly, I can't remember the last complete state tournament bb game I watched and I've never gone back in person. Unless I'm mistaken, the original split class system of having a playoff game between the two champions ended about even for the big and small schools.

In the past the high school league addressed issues like the ones raised in this thread by stating that tournaments are sponsored for student athletes and their schoolmates, not for the purpose of general fan interest. They may not have used those exact words, but it was pretty close and meant the same thing. So don't hold your breath expecting MSHSL administrators to care much about whether or not the current system makes sense for fans.
 


howeda7 said:
It could be worse. SD has at least 4 classes too with about 1/4 of the schools. The large class has all of 10 schools or so. It's a joke. Even moreso then MN. I grew up in a very small school. I can appreciate the intent to give the small schools a chance. But they have a chance even in a two class system. We made state once under the old system. It was the biggest triumph in school history. The whole town shut down and went to the game. We've made it 3-4 times since it went to 4 classes. It's no big deal anymore.
Click to expand...

If by "at least 4 classes" you mean 3 classes then you would be correct. There is AA, A and B and has been that way since the mid-80's.

You're right that there are not many teams in AA because there just aren't that many larger cities. But those schools are huge compared to the other classes. The AA tournament has never been very popular because it's pretty easy to make the state tournament. In Class B you still have to win about 5 games to make the state tournament. Now, as smaller schools fold up and there are more and more co-ops, even that is becoming easier unfortunately. The B tourney is still pretty popular. A bar in Aberdeen just got busted for running numbers on the Class B tournament.
 

I grew up in a small town during the two class system. My high school was in back to back championship games and could have competed with most any of the big schools. I liked the two class system. There was nothing worng with it. Every game was on TV over three days. And there was still a definite sense of accomplishment. You had to win at least 3 district/sub-section games, followed by two region/section games.

I also liked the one class tourney just fine. I think the best was maybe what they did when they first went to two classes. There was a championship between the two winners after the tourneys.

All these options were good. The four class system is a travesty. My high school won two 1A championships this decade and it was fun, but nothing like the previous trips. Worse yet, I teach in Burnsville now and making the state tournament doesn't even feel like a big deal for the big schools. You win three section games and you're in. Then once there, you're generally playing against teams from the same conference who you've played all year. When half the teams are from the Lake Conference, that doesn't even feel like a state tournament. It's just not the same.
 


Brew_recruit said:
will coleman become a top recruit in the country? And does Tyler have any d1 offers?
Click to expand...


I do not think Coleman will be a top recruit unless he has a big growth spurt. I went to the Hopkins-Tonka game, and to me, the most impressive player on the court was Siyani Chambers. He was doing everything out there. Played great D, ran the offense, wonderful passer, knocked down shots, and is only a sophomore. HIGHLY recommend going to see him play.

Coleman did some damage around the basket and had a couple nice dunks. I don't know if it was just an off day or something. The main issue with him is his size. He is listed at 6'3. If he grew a couple more inches he could be a top prospect. If he stays where he is at, he is pretty much a SF in SG's body. He needs a ton of work on his jump shot/handles. He is talented and athletic, but too raw right now to be considered a "top prospect".

JMHO....
 



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