Smith MN Miss Basketball

#2 posting 4.30.2006

MISS BASKETBALL
Jenna Smith, Bloomington Kennedy was named Miss Basketball tonight at the annual banquet. She will be attending Illinois next fall. She becomes the 15th AAAA player, and sixth Lake Conference player to win the award. She is the 12th of the last 16 players to come from the Metro area. She is the 6th straight winner to go to a Big 10 school.

BITS AND PIECES
Ken Lien, the man that developed the Mr. and Miss Basketball award, will be stepping aside after 30 years of running the event.

Kiara Allums, who played at St. Paul Highland Park this past season, is now enrolled in her home district of Centennial.

AAU NEWS
Coach Willie Taylor's 19u Minnesota Stars defeated the Metro Stars in the Prior Lake tournament today. Jenna Smith and Cory Montgomery, Cannon Falls had solid games according to coach Taylor. The Metro Stars have Miss Basketball finalists Kelly Mullaney, Jillian Schurle, and Jessie Miller on their squad along with Gopher recruit Breanna Salley.

COACHING NEWS
Tanya Haave will be the new coach at San Francisco. She previously has been an assistant at Colorado and Denver. Here is the Rocky Mountain News on the move http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/ncaa/article/0,2777,DRMN_23932_4660309,00.html
and from the San Francisco Chronicle there is more http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2006/04/29/SPGOIIHMHD1.DTL
And we would be remiss if we didn't include the USF press release http://usfdons.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/042806aac.html
Haave recruited in the MN area when she was at Colorado

PLANS FOR THIS SITE
I will be adding some features in the next month such as links for:
1. job openings/updates
2. AAU Rosters
3. the Numbers explained (from the Dean Oliver book Basketball on Paper) I know many have requested this last one. Now that I have more time to polish this site I will get to it.
If you have questions, news, or ideas drop me an email. Go to my profile and email away.

Next up tomorrow: with Thorpe on the Soap Box

Miss Basketball Preview

#1 posting 4.30.2006

MISS BASKETBALL
Tonight a new Miss Basketball will be named in Minnesota. Here are the five candidates in alphabetical order

1. Anna Bjorlin, Hermantown
2. Jessica Miller, Holy Angels
3. Kelly Mullaney, Breck
4. Jillian Schurle, Hopkins
5. Jenna Smith, Bloomington Kennedy

This is the 28th time they will name a Miss Basketball. In that time some trends can be noticed. I do have to point out from 1985 through 1989 there were two Miss Basketballs, one for Class A and one for AA. That means there were 32 awards, but wait--Kelly and Coco Miller won in 1997 so there have technically been 33 Miss Basketball winners. Tonight will be #34.

First let us look at which class produces the most. AAAA has 14 winners, AAA 7, AA 6, A 6. This year there are 2 AAAA, 2 AAA, and 1 AA up for the award.

As far as the conference break down goes: The Lake has five winners; The Hiawatha Valley Gold has three (twice for Laurie Decker, the only underclass player to win in 1986, she also won her senior year in 1987). Six conferences have two winners including St. Paul, Minneapolis, Classic Lake and Suburban East along with the smaller independents and Three Rivers.

Denise Holm (Duluth East 1985) and Annie Adamczak (Moose Lake 1982) are the only northern players that have won the honor. 17 have come from the metro area, with 11 in the last 16 years.

18 of these Miss Basketball have been State Champions. Mullaney, Schurle and Smith fit that requirement.

29 winners have made it to the state tournament. All candidates this year have been in the state tournament. Only 4 past winners never made it to state: 1983-Angela Kuehn, MN Deaf; 1990-Carol Ann Shudlick, Apple Valley; 1993-Kasey Morlock, Stewartville; 2000-Susan King, Holy Angels.

As for post high school---my records only go back until 1990 on this and since that time 14 have gone on to DI programs in basketball, 2 have played at the DII level, and one (1995-Linda Shudlick) played volleyball at the DI level. This year four are headed for DI scholarships, Bjorlin will play softball at the DII level for Concordia St. Paul.

Here is a list of past winners http://www.mshsca.org/girlsbasketball/index.htm

Now let us look at my numbers from throughout the year, and also how the "Basketball on Paper" numbers stack up. It must be understood that the BoP #s are only a fragment of the entire season. I will be using the All Star Game numbers in the mix for the BoP as well. name, games, Anderson #s, Oliver #s: pp100, Floor %

1. Anna Bjorlin, 3, 79.2, 52.9, .235
2. Jessica Miller 3, 67.53, 135.0, .575
3. Kelly Mullaney 4, 72.33, 97.4, .455
4. Jillian Schurle 10, 102.16, 132.71, .660
5. Jenna Smith 8, 96.44, 120.91, .609

As you can see some numbers widely differ, some are quite consistent. Bjorlin did not have a great state tournament or all star series. Those are the three games on which her Oliver BoP #s are based. Miller only had the Orono game besides the all star series. Mullaney had the Marshall, and Mpls South games plus the all star series. I did see Miller against St. Paul Central early in the year prior to when I started the BoP #s. Same with Mullaney vs Champlin Park.

I saw last year's Miss Basketball Katie Ohm and fellow candidate and now teammate Ashley Ellis-Milan heading into Coffman Memorial Union on the University of Minnesota campus as I was heading out to the West Bank and Wilson library yesterday.

AAU

IA

Here is another site for rosters, these are the Iowa basketbal coaches association 17 and 16 teams http://www.iowabca.org/index.html go to the 2006 select rosters for more information.

Next up: tomorrow with Thorpe on a soap box, a rehash of the Miss Basketball event

Class Differences

#1 posting 4.29.2006

POINT PARADE
D1
Shanadee Canon, Kalaheo 22 vs Moanalua 45-34
Sharde Pratt, Kaiser 21 vs Kahuku 43-60
Artevia Wily, Kahuku 20 vs Kaiser 60-43
D2
Jodi Kamemoto, Hawai'i Baptist 36 vs Punahou II 84-87, 3ot
Courtney Gaddis, La Pietra 29 vs St. Francis 55-58
Arielle Daniels, Punahou II 26 vs Hawai'i Baptist 87-84, 3ot
Krissaundra Noga, Waipahu 25 vs Waianae 47-41, ot

HAWAIIAN STATE TOURNAMENT
Here is the site that will cover the details. It is the official site for the Hawaii HS Athletic Association http://www.sportshigh.com/page_server//Sports/Basketball-Girls/Tournament/D35269A9B454EA3F20020616205213214464000000.html
The tournament will be May 16-20 on Oahu

Each Island will hold a tournament to get into the state. Those begin next weekend. Here is the link to check on who is playing and where. Each abbreviation (BIIF) stands for the league or island. BIIF=Big Island Interscholatstic Federation. Click on the League and scroll down to May for the sites and times.
http://www.sportshigh.com/page_server//Sports/Basketball-Girls/4F16F8EA3F9708A8EE38E33FA4.html

A LOOK AT THE MN STATE RESULTS
I have finished the number crunching on the MN State tournament, including the games I didn't get to (ie 3rd place games). I was able to do this thanks to the play by play account put out by the MSHSL. Today I am looking at Class differences.
STATE TOURNAMENT
Class, pp100, Floor %
AAAA 89.28, .431
AAA 75.37, .373
AA 86.62, .420
A 80.84, .393
According to this listing the AAAA division has the most skilled teams coming in just under 90. I have no explanation on why the AAA drops to 75.37, the lowest among the four classes. It may be a matter of strong defense. It is odd because in the All Star games held last weekend the AAA squad was the tops. compare
ALL STAR GAMES
AAAA 87.66, .422
AAA 97.55, .460
AA 83.66, .405
A 73.5, .327
There is some disconnect going on with AAA.
OVERALL SEASON
AAAA 84.01, .409 (100 teams measured, or some more than one game ie Armstrong 3 times)
AAA 80.55, .396 (48 teams)
AA 83.59, .403 (33 teams)
A 80.82, .393 (42 teams)
Obviously AAAA teams have more players to choose from. They tend to be bigger, and more skilled as a class.


AAU NEWS
MICH
The Midland 13u and 10u teams have been winning some games in the regional. The 13u Fast Break finished 5th in the Michigan State last year. Here is more detail from the Midland Daily News http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16555311&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472541&rfi=6
The state AAU finals are next weekend in Grand Rapids for the 13s and 10s

COACHING NEWS
IA
Boone has hired Brent Walker. Here is the details from the Boone Republican http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab3.cfm?newsid=16546588&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554372&rfi=6

SIGNINGS
ND
Kia Herbel, a 6-1 post from New Town, has signed with Williston State. She avereaged 13.5 points per game last year.

Next Up: Tomorrow--a look at MN Miss Basketball

Coaching Exits; Crowd Pleasers

#1 posting 4.28.2006

POINT PARADE
HAWAII
D1
Samantha Saito, Sacred Hearts 21 vs Maryknoll 54-40
Nicole Fu, Maryknoll 20 vs Sachred Hearts 40-54
D2
Minna Watanbe, St. Andrew's 24 vs Kamehameha 68-60
Brandi Kohatsu, Kamehameha 20 vs St. Andrew's 60-68
Lili Laloulo-Saleimoa, Maui 20 vs Kameha-meha Maui 49-26

COACHING NEWS
MICH
Bob Schichtel has left Grand Rapids Catholic Central. He coached for 27 years with a 389 wins. Here is more in the Grand Rapids http://www.mlive.com/preps/grpress/index.ssf?/base/sports-3/1146231308125770.xml&coll=6
MN
More Exits
Here are some more coaching changes brought to my attention from the readers:
Tim Mayclin Bemidji, he has been president of the MN GBB Coaches Assocition and has coached at Breckenridge prior to Bemidji; Bold; Farmington, Moose Lake-Willow River; Orono; Richfield; Two Harbors;
So in a nutshell these are open:
AAAA
Bemidji
Eden Prairie (this may have been filled by the EP's Football Defensive Coordinator)
Farmington
Minneapolis Southwest
Richfield
St. Paul Como Park
White Bear Lake
AAA
Mankato East
Minneapolis Washburn
Orono
Spring Lake Park
AA
BOLD
DGF
MLWR
St. Cloud Cathedral
Two Harbors
ND
A
Fargo Shanley
WI
D1
Kaukauna

HOW TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE
HAWAII
Here is one way to get the crowds up. Darold Imanaka is the coach at Kalani and has increased attendance. How? read on in the Honolulu advertiser http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060428/COLUMNISTS02/604280365/1120/NEWS

PACESETTER TOURNAMENT
MN
Nashwauk-Keewatin has advanced to the state tournament in June.

SIGNINGS
MORNINGSIDE
Seven players have signed for Morningside: Katie Sponder, LeMars 3rd team on the state 3A squad; Kayla Miller, South Sioux City, NEB; Mackenzi Mendlik, Denison-Schleswig; Roni Miller, Lawton-Bronson; Laura Nelson, Jefferson-Scranton; Chelsea Powell, Missouri Valley; Alisha Wheat, Sioux City East. For more on the numbers and bios of the players check out the Sioux City Journal story http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2006/04/28/sports/sports/ddfa4058ffe5b5fb8625715e000222db.txt


I want to thank all those that have been feeding me coaching vacancy news and other news. You feeders make this site a must see destination.
Next up: Tomorrow with a look at MN Miss basketball the Oliver way; and the differences in classes at the MN state tournament.

More Coaching Exits

#1 posting 4.27.2006

COACHING NEWS
IA
Pleasant Valley has hired Craig Clark to replace Gary Altman. Clark has been the freshman boys basketball coach prior to the hire. The Quad City Times has more on this hire as well as Jason McEwen taking over at Clinton. http://www.qctimes.net/articles/2006/04/27/sports/varsity/doc44504635449f1674064352.txt

MICH
Brianne Day has been hired to coach at Ottawa Hills. She played college ball at Western Michigan. She takes over for Camilla Carter, coach for 23 years. Here is more from the Grand Rapids Press http://www.mlive.com/preps/grpress/index.ssf?/base/sports-11/114614988466770.xml&coll=6
Holland is still searching for a coach.
Travis Hyde has resigned from Gaylord St. Mary. He lasted a year and had a 22-2 record. Here is the Gaylord Herald Times with more http://www.gaylordheraldtimes.com/articles/2006/04/27/news/sports/sports02.txt


MN
Lyle Jones, Mankato East, has resigned. He coached three years at East with a 26-52 record. Previous to that he coached at Bethany in Mankato. At that time it was a Junior College. Here is the Mankato Free Press with more details: http://www.mankatofreepress.com/sports/local_story_117011237.html?keyword=topstory
Roger Safranski, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton has resigned. He also coached for three years. His record was 58-21. Here is more detail from the Fargo Forum http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=124952&section=Sports
With DGF & Mankato East open that makes at least 10 positions unfilled. Here they are in no order:
Spring Lake Park; Mpls SW; Mpls Washburn; White Bear Lake; St. Paul Como Park; Apple Valley; Eden Prairie; St. Cloud Cathedral.
Elk River has filled it's job with Reed Caouette.

TRANSFERS
WI
More on the public vs private debate going on in Wisconsin. It looks as if some changes will be made like allowing a team to play up if it chooses. Now all the school's sports need to move together. Not many move as a group. Here is the Capital Times with Dennis Semrau on the issue http://www.madison.com/tct/sports/preps/index.php?ntid=81756&ntpid=1

Next up: tomorrow afternoon. Coming this weekend a look at Miss Basketball in MN and also a look at the differences between the classes.

Meet the Parents, USA Today Team

#1 posting 4.26.2006

POINT PARADE
HAWAII
D1
Iwalani Rodrigues, Roosevelt 28 vs McKinley 67-41
Shanadee Canon, Kalaheo 23 vs Farrington 61-55
D2
Chelsey Keola, Iolani 24 vs Lutheran 48-46
Kellee Tom, St. Andrew's 24 vs Word of Life 44-56
Janelle Fetui, Hanalani 22 vvs La Pietra 39-55
Courtney Gaddis, LaPietra 21 vs Hanalani 55-39

MEET THE PARENTS
Yesterday we looked at the different types of recruiters. Today we meet the parents. You may have faced a Robert DeNiro character, but here are some other parental units.

The Halos: They think their kid is holy and can do no wrong. If they do wrong it is someone else's fault (i.e. the coach)

The Pusher: Even thought their kid is NOT on the radar they keep sending emails and other tidbits of information althougth no one requested it.

The Inquisitor: 20 questions are too few for this curious mind.

The Status Symbol: Looking to go DI at any level just to be DI even if their kid is DIII. They have invested big money in all the AAUs, camps and leagues and want to see the payoff. Only NCAA playoff contenders need apply. (as if)

The Suggestor: Has millions of plays and ideas on how to run your program (most feature his daughter).

The invisbles: Not to be seen or heard. Other problems may be prevelant here.

The Driven Mom: Actually, from my experience, these players have fewer problems than if they have the driven dad. A goal oriented, achievement oriented mother has positive rub offs on the daughter, and usually they are better adjusted, and successful. If dad is the driven one...I have seen problems with that.

The Wonders: Supportive, Stays clear of your turf, hunted to extinction.

USA TODAY BASKETBALL TEAM
Today the USA Today named their team. Looking at the breakdown of who and where these kids are:
the smallest is Dymond Simon of Phoenix St. Mary's at 5-4. Only two others out of the 15 players were under 6-0. In the future classes, out of 23, only 5 were under 6-0.
The tallest: Ta'Shia Phillips of Indianapolis Brebeuf Jesuit. She is 6-6.
Biggest Undecided: Amber Harris of Indianapolis North Central at 6-5. She was headed to Purdue, but now is the biggest fish in the meat market without a home.
Geographic breakdown: 3 from NYC area including player of the year Tina Charles; 2 from California; 2 from Indianapolis; 2 from Georgia.
MISTAKE
They also listed the tops in other classes, but they goofed on the height of Tayler Hill from South. She is 5-9, not 5-4. Well she was 5-9 last time I saw her play, I don't think she has lost five inches since then. She is the only player listed on any of the teams from my coverage area---so far (MN, ND, SD, IA, WI, MI, HI)

COACHING NEWS
IA
Clinton has decided that Jason McEwen, a boys assistant at Clinton, will be the next girls coach.
If approved by the school board he will replace Bill Misiewicz. here is the Clinton Herald story http://www.clintonherald.com/sports/local_story_116104211.html
MN
Jeri Dirth, Apple Valley has decided not to return next year. She had a 18-10 record this year. AV lost to Minneapolis South in the Section 6 finals in AAAA 84-72.
White Bear Lake will have a new coach next year
St. Paul Como Park is looking for a new coach
WI
Mike Hintz's contract will not be renewed at Kaukauna. He had a 22-23 record in two years. Here is the Appleton Post Crescent with the details. http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060426/APC02/60426002

SIGNINGS
SD
Jena Kristensen, Plankinton is headed to the College of St. Mary in Omaha. Her sister Angie is the head coach there. Here is the story form the Mitchell Republic via the Duluth News Tribune http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/sports/14426684.htm

SUMMER LEAGUES
There is news of a college league being formed that can include division I players. If you want more information go to http://www.whatshoopin.com/ More information will be available on May 1st.

Next up: Tomorrow afternoon

Recruiting Types

#1 posting 4.25.2006

Here is your unofficial guide to:

COLLEGE RECRUITING TYPES
The Missionary: They take a kid that is a project in the hope of saving them and making them a player. My take is that you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

The Twofer: Taking one player in the hopes of luring another (the more important) player.

The Instinctual: Taking players based on gut feel. Warning: could leave you queasy as inconsistency develop.

The Winner: only takes kids that have won and know how to win. Losers need not apply.

The Body Type: The frame is the name of the game. Those that have it are in, those that don't are out.

The Kid in the Candy Store: So many choices, they all look delicious. They all will lead to tooth decay.

The Loose Lips: Let's everyone in on the plans and torpedoes chances.

The Magnet: Has charm and charisma, style and class. Smiles often.

The Back Stabber: Has nothing but bad things to say about any program that may be in contention for a player.

The Smiling BackStabber: Smiles as they put a knife in your program through slander or inuendo. Kind of a wierd synthesis of the above two.

The Paranoid: Worried about potential recruits bolting due to Back Stabbers. If that coast is clear then the problem is injury, or sickness, or change of heart, or.....

The Critic: Nobody is any good. Everyone has flaws.

The Number Cruncher: Analyzes stats coming up with players. Uses computers quite a bit. This sounds a bit like me.

SIGNINGS
ND
Kayla Miller, Kenmare to Williston State

TRANSFERS
WI
Wisconsin is thinking about changing their transfer policy. There the problem seems to be the private school angle, compared to the MN issue of open enrollment. Here is Rob Fernandez of the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison with why the WIAA needs to pass the amendment http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/column/index.php?ntid=81385&ntpid=2


If you have news or comments let me know. go to my profile and email me.
Next up: tomorrow afternoon The AAU/High school coach types.

Monday, Thorpe, and AAU

#1 posting 4.24.2006

Today Thorpe looks at the AAU Scene

POINT PARADE
HAWAII
D2
Jodi Kamemoto, Hawaii Baptist 28 vs Kamehameha 47-49
Siutiti Takai, St. Francis 20 vs Hanalani 60-46
Yacine Meyer, Seabury Hall 20 vs St. Anthony 43-40

#1s
Iolani is still in the top spot despite losing to Kamehameha. Iolani is 17-1. Here is the top 10 as the Honolulu Star Bulletin sees it http://starbulletin.com/2006/04/24/sports/story04.html

THORPE ON A SOAP BOX

Kevin, I see that last week was AAU roster week.

I remember when AAU started and Minnesota had 1 or 2 teams. It served a good purpose . It was an opportunity to get the top level players exposure at the college level. As AAU grew there were more and more teams. Now there are mega teams at every age level .
Is there really that many top level players in the State? The original goal has changed. I see the time, money etc and can’t help wonder if that’s the best choice for most players. I still remember Division 1 colleges sending letters to some of my JV players or even players that were or might be cut. These kids were thrilled to hear from a Division 1 school. I know colleges are just playing the odds but what a disappointment for that kid that is thinking she is a college scholarship player and struggles to play at the high school level. It also makes it hard on the coach.

For a few, I think AAU serves a good purpose and kids can benefit. For the majority I think time and money might be put to better use. How about open gym?? How about some good skill camps? Open gym and skill camps are out and AAU is in. Why?? AAU will continue to attract kids at all levels because most parents think their kids are in that elite category and patiently wait for that call offering them a college scholarship. Unfortunately only a few ever get that call. I read somewhere about 1%.

Kevin you are a numbers man. How close is that ?

Pretty darn close.

Have a good week
Dave Thorpe

UPDATES ON MN ALL STARS
where are they headed?
Erica Cleveland, Menahga to UM Duluth
Kylea Seboe, Barnum to St. Benedict's
Abby Thom, Meadow Creek to Bethel
Chelsea Lundgren, Crosby-Ironton to Northland, WI
Jenna Tammel, Kingsland to Iowa Lakes
Tessa Gronli, Princeton to UW Stout

Next up: tomorrow afternoon

Out & About: MN All Star Championship

#3 posting 4.23.2006

MN All Star Championship
4A 73, 3A 71

The 4s won the class championship for the fourth time, but for the first time since 2002, on Jillian Schurle's put back as the horn went off capping an exciting finish to all star weekend. It was the closest all star game final since 1988 when the Metros beat the Outstate 53-51.
The series began back in 1984 when the Metros beat the Outstates 51-50.

The 3s led from the start starting with Jessica Miller's 3. They opened an 11-2 lead with Anna Bjorlin closing out the first run with her own 3. The 4s took over and took the lead 12-11 on a 10-0 run. Jenna Smith had four points during this run. The 3s at this time were in hibernation on a 0/9 siesta. The 4s lead was not going to last that long however. After being tied at 15 the 3s regained the lead for the rest of the half on Amy Storer's drive to the hoop. The 3s eventually pushed that lead out to 38-30 to close the half. Tressa Beckel of Waseca had 10 points by half time. Jenna Smith did her one better with 11 for the 4s.

The 3s were hot out of the locker room with three straight scoring possessions and pushing their lead out to 46-32 the largest of the game. In that sequence Storer and Miller hit back to back 3s. The 4s started the slow road back with Amy Beggin scoring off of Jamie Jones pass. With about 10 minutes to go the 3s lead 55-48. The 4s cut it to 57-51 on Schurle's three point play off a baseline drive. Next 4 possession Beggin scored again off of a Jones pass. Storer went deep downtown to put the lead back to 60-53. With 5:43 to go Mindy Schmidt hit a 3 to give the 4s their first lead since the first half 62-60. After a Even free throw, Maria Boever returned the lead back to the 3s 63-62. Breanna Salley put the 4s back in front on a steal and lay up 64-63. Bjorlin drove past three players and made the lay up to return the lead back to the 3s. Megan Mileusnic scored on a missed shot by Miller to put the lead back to three 67-64. Schurle was fouled and canned both shots to cut the lead to one. Laura Nielsen answered for the 3s with a shot in the paint as Miller passed her the ball. Salley tied the game with her 3 from up top. With 45.8 seconds to go Salley scored again for the 4s 71-69. Jenny Van Kirk was fouled and she canned both of her tosses with 27.3 seconds left. The 4s worked it around and took a time out with 7.2 seconds to go. After inbounding the ball Abby Greene launched a shot from the right corner. In shades of the NC State/Houston NCAA game from 1983, Schurle was there to score the put back on the weak side as time expired.

Both games were down to the wire and the brand of ball was better today, maybe because the players had a tad better feel for what their teammates could or could not do.

player, team, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
4A PLAYER EVALUATIONS
STARTERS
Amber Connor, Rosemount 0, 2, 0.0, .000
Abby Greene, Hopkins 8, 4, 200.0, .750
Breanna Salley, St. Francis 14, 19, 73.7, .368
Mindy Schmidt, Champlin Park 5, 7, 71.4, .286
Lindsay Laur, Cretin-Derham Hall 4, 10, 40.0, .200
BENCH
Amy Beggin, Roseville 6, 7, 85.6, .429
Katie DeWitt, Centennial 5, 6, 83.3, .333
Jamie Jones, Irondale 6, 5, 120.0, .600
Jillian Schurle, Hopkins 10, 6, 166.7, .833
Jenna Smith, Bloomington Kennedy 15, 14, 107.1, .571

3A PLAYER EVALUATIONS
STARTERS
Tressa Beckel, Waseca 10, 14, 71.4, .429
Anna Bjorlin, Hermantown 5, 10, 50.0, .200
Maria Boever, Worthington 11, 8, 137.5, .625
Jordan Evan, Detroit Lakes 5, 6, 83.3, .500
Jessica Miller, Holy Angels 10, 9, 111.1, .444
BENCH
Jenny Van Kirk, Waconia 4, 8, 50.0, .250
Amy Storer, Hill-Murray 13, 9, 144.4, .556
Megan Mileusnic, Orono 6, 3, 200.0, 1.000
Tessa Gronli, Princeton 0, 4, 0.0, .000
Laura Nielsen, Willmar 4, 11, 36.4, .182

Trench Player: I may sound like a broken record, but Schurle gets the nod, not only for cashing in the money put back, but there is no wasted motion in her play, she plays within herself and gets plenty of results.

BY THE NUMBERS
4A 73, 81, 90.1, .432
3A 71, 81, 87.7, .395

All and all a great day for spectators watching the best players in the state. Everyone gave it their best shot and it mattered to these players. They were playing for pride and respect. The bigger the class this year the deeper the talent pool. Both games decided on the last possession and last shot. What a fitting way to end the "clash of the classes"

Next up: tomorrow with Thorpe, also a recap of the weekend--should post in the afternoon.

Out & About: MN All Star 3rd Place

#2 posting 4.23.2006

All Star 3rd Place
2A 76, 1A 74 OT

The 2A squad eeked out a two point win in an overtime thriller against a revitalized 1A team 76-74. 1A hung with the 2As on the strength of 12 3s on the day. Five different 1s hit for the trey led by Kylie Smith, Cromwell with four.

The 2As led early at 8-2 and it looked like the 1s were going to suffer the same fate as they did the night before, but they turned it on and went on a 12-0 run to take a 14-8 lead. Abby Thom opened the run with a 3, and, the state record holder for made 3s in a career, Kali Olstad ended the run with a 3. The contest was tied at 17, 19, 22, and 26. Then the 2s closed out the half with a 9-0 run to lead 33-26 at the break (they trailed 24-26 at the time). The 1s were cold heading into the locker room finishing 0/8 on their possessions.

The early portion of the second half saw both teams ripping the nets. The 1s started the half 6/9 on their possessions, and the 2s were 7/9. With all the scoring going on the 2s pushed the lead out to 49-40. The 2s biggest lead came at 52-40 on an old fashioned three point play by Chelsea Lundgren. The 2s had another sequence where they had a 7/9 possession run. They seemingly had the game in command at 63-52, but the 1s had more fight in them. With about 8 minutes to go Kylea Seboe started the comeback off with a rebound basket, but missed the chance for the three point play. Smith cashed in one of her 3s to cut the lead to 65-57. Erica Cleveland scored on two free throws and then had a steal and lay up to cut the lead to 65-61 with 4:56 to go. The 2s were mired in a 0/7 slump at the time. Jenna Tammel snapped the 2s out of their funk with a basket to give them a six point cushion at 67-61. One free throw by Kelly Landsverk, and a basket by Rachel Christiansen on a pass from Landsverk on an out of bounds play put the score at 67-64 with 2:12 to go. Olstad tied the game at 67 with a 3 with 1:30 to go. Neither team did well down the stretch. Ingison turned the ball over, and then Olstad picked up an offensive foul. Waytashek turned it over for the 2s. The 1s worked the ball around but Olstad lost the ball on the drive. Kelly Mullaney had a chance to end it in regulation, but it went to overtime.

The 1s took the lead on Smith's 3 in the extra session and then added two more on Cleveland's drive 72-67. After that the 2s scored on every possession with Montgomery scoring in the paint and Mullaney hitting a 3 from up top to tie it at 72. Seboe scored on the 1s next possession, but Mullaney answered right back. On the 1s final possession Olstad missed a front end of a one and one. The last possession for the 2s came down to the last shot and Montgomery finished it off in one overtime with her basket as the buzzer sounded 76-74.

player, team, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
2A PLAYER EVALUATIONS
STARTERS
Karissa Kramer, MN Valley Lutheran 4, 6, 66.7, .333
Chelsea Lundgren, Crosby-Ironton 7, 5, 140.0, .600
Kaitlynn Gottenborg, Hawley 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Jenna Tammel, Kingsland 6, 9, 66.7, .333
Sarah Ingison, Concordia Roseville 12, 17, 70.6, .294
BENCH
Kelly Mullaney, Breck 19, 15, 126.7, .533
Alison Anderson, NRHEG 7, 9, 77.8, .444
Mel Waytashek, Pierz 4, 4, 100.0, .750
Cory Montgomery, Cannon Falls 18, 15, 120.0, .600

1A PLAYER EVALUTIONS
STARTERS
Andrea Millerbernd, Littlefork-Big Falls 2, 6, 33.3, .167
Kylee Smith, Cromwell 14, 12, 116.7, .417
Abby Thom, Meadow Creek 8, 9, 88.9, .333
Kylea Seboe, Barnum 12, 9, 133.3, .667
Nikki Washek, Battle Lake 4, 8, 50.0, .250
BENCH
Kali Olstad, Elgin-Millville 10, 8, 125.0, .500
Brittany Quistorff, Osakis 6, 7, 85.6, .286
Kelly Landsverk, Fosston 6, 9, 66.7, .444
Rachel Christiansen, Murray Co Central 4, 8, 50.0, .250
Erica Cleveland, Menahga 6, 4, 150.0, .750

Trench Player: Kelly Mullaney for the clutch shots down the stretch in overtime

BY THE NUMBERS
2A: 76, 81, 93.8, .457
1A: 74, 80, 92.5, .400

As you can see the 1s floor % was a bit down, but they were in the game thanks to their 3 attack.
Next up: the championship

Out & About: MN All Star Game #2

#1 posting 4.23.2006

3A 88, 1A 45

What a difference a year makes. Last year 1A won the whole series going away, but 1A was brought to earth by 3A this year in a 88-45 drubbing. 3A came out on fire and 1A didn't have a fire extinguisher. Jessica Miller started off the scoring with a three. 3A scored the next two possesions and opened up with a 7-0 lead. The game was fairly tight early with a 14-12 lead by 3A. The bottom fell out for 1A when 3A scored 12 out of 14 possessions including nine straight. It was a 24-4 run Tressa Beckel had 8 points for the 3As during the run. The athletic ability, speed, spring, height, and quickness was too much for the 1A team. 1A had a extremely dry patch with a 2 for 23 scoring possession sequence. 3A finished the half with another 5/6 scoring run. At the half it was 49-24 3A in command.

It didn't change at all in the second half. 3A opened with four straight scoring possessions. 1A continued to struggle from the floor. The only question was whether 3A could reach 90. They couldn't. They won 88-45.

This sets up the clash between the top two classes tomorrow at St. Cloud State's Hallenbeck Hall at 3:30 with the 2A vs 1A battle for third at 1:30. If 4A starts sluggishly tomorrow it will be over quick. 3A is athletic. 4A still is favored, but the margin drops to five points.

player, school, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
3A PLAYER EVALUATIONS
STARTERS
Jessica Miller, Holy Angels 11, 9, 122.2, .556
Tessa Gronli, Princeton (10, 7, 142.9, .714) late add on
Amy Storer, Hill-Murray 7, 9, 77.8, .444
Laura Nielsen, Willmar 4, 5, 80.0, .400
Megan Mileusnic, Orono 2, 1, 200.0, 1.000
BENCH
Jordanne Evan, Detroit Lakes (12, 9, 133.3, .556) late add on
Jenny Van Kirk, Waconia 6, 8, 75.0, .375
Tressa Beckel, Waseca 14, 16, 87.5, .438
Anna Bjorlin, Hermantown 7, 9, 77.8, .333
Maria Boever, Worthington 15, 10, 150.0, .800
You might be wondering why Gronli and Evan don't have numbers. It is because they both wore the number 33 and I didn't distinguish between the two like I did for Mileusnic and Storer (both wore #30) I am going to try to sort it out later.

1A PLAYER EVALUATIONS
STARTERS
Andrea Millerbernd, Littlefork-Big Falls 4, 5, 80.0, .400
Brittany Quistorff, Osakis 7, 11, 63.4, .273
Kelly Landsverk, Fosston 2, 7, 28.6, .143
Erica Cleveland, Menahga 6, 8, 75.0, .375
Rachel Christiansen, Murray Co Central 8, 8, 100.0, .500
BENCH
Kali Olstad, Elgin-Millville 4, 13, 30.8, .231
Kylee Smith, Cromwell 3, 8, 37.5, .125
Abby Thom, Meadowcreek, 3, 6, 50.0, .167
Nikki Washek, Battle Lake 6, 8, 75.0, .250
Kylea Seboe, Barnum 2, 8, 25.0, .125
Trench player: Boever, athletic, efficient among many worthy candidates.

BY THE NUMBERS
3A 88, 82, 107.3, .524
1A 45, 82, 54.9, .256

Next up: tomorrow with the third place and championship games.

Out & About: MN All Star Game #1

#2 posting 4.22.2006

AAAA 62, AA 53

The opening game of the MN All Star Series started off slowly for AAAA. Very Slowly. The AA squad led 12-0 before the AAAA team found the bottom of the basket. Kelly Mullaney of Breck started off hot and scored the first four points for 2A. 2A scored three possessions in a row early on, but 4A just couldn't get it together. The first 11 possession went for naught. The first four were missed shots, but then the next three were turnovers. I understand it was an all star game, but 4A didn't look like they had the energy. It also is hard to mesh into a team after a practice or two. But 2A looked better as the first five times they scored were off assists. 2A enjoyed their biggest lead at 17-4. 4A had another 8 possession drought. Then something clicked for the quad As. In the last 11 possessions they scored 8 times. Jenna Smith, Bloomington Kennedy had 7 points during this 14-8 run. 2A led 25-20 at half.

Amber Connor, Rosemount on the first possession scored on a drive and was fouled to cut the 2A lead to 25-23. But then 2A went on a 15-6 run and a 40-29 lead. Cory Montgomery, Cannon Falls had 6 points during this stretch. They finished this stretch with five straight scoring possessions. At 13:20 the game switched to 4A in a major way. 4A went on a 16-0 run capped off with a Jamie Jones, Irondale three to give the lead to 4A for keeps 42-40. 2A rushed their shots, sometimes two touches and up. 2A went on a 10 possession drought during this stretch. The quicker pace played right into the deeper 4A plans. 4A had three straight lay ups in this stretch. Jones had all seven her points in the burst. After Jones' 3, 4A had four non scoring possessions. They kicked in with two more 3s on the next two possessions with Breanna Salley and Amber Connor contributing from behind the arc. Lindsay Laur, Cretin-Derham Hall got hot in the lane as she scored seven straight points for 4A including an old fashioned three to push the lead right back to 53-45 after Jenna Trammel had cut it to 50-45 on her three for 2A. The game hung around the 8-10 range the rest of the game and 4A advanced to the championship game in the "clash of the classes."

name, school, points, possessions, pp100, floor %
4A Player Evaluations
STARTERS
Amy Beggin, Roseville 3, 9, 33.3, .222
Katie DeWitt, Centennial 2, 5, 40.0, .200
Jamie Jones, Irondale 7, 7, 100.0, .429
Breanna Salley, St. Francis 12, 12, 100.0, .500
Jenna Smith, Bloomington Kennedy 13, 12, 108.3, .583
BENCH
Amber Connor, Rosemount 12, 10, 120.0, .500
Abby Greene, Hopkins 0, 0
Mindy Schmidt, Champlin Park 6, 7, 85.6, .429
Lindsay Laur, Cretin-Derham Hall 7, 11, 63.6, .273
Jillian Schurle, Hopkins did not play. She had a fever. Another side note three players had prom for 4A: Schurle and Greene came to the games in their gowns, also DeWitt had prom.

2A Player Evaluations
STARTERS
Kelly Mullaney, Breck 7, 14, 50.0, .214
Alison Anderson, NRHEG 6, 5, 120.0, .600
Mel Waytashek, Pierz 11, 11, 100.0, .545
Cory Montgomery, Cannon Falls 12, 15, 80.0, .400
Sarah Ingison, Concordia Roseville 4, 8, 50.0, .250
BENCH
Karissa Kramer, MN Valley Lutheran 1, 3, 33.3, .333
Chelsea Lundgren, Crosby-Ironton 4, 4, 100.0, .500
Kaitylnn Gottenborg, Hawley 2, 1, 200.0, 1.000
Jenna Trammel, Kingsland 6, 11, 54.5, .182
Krista Opheim, Eden Valley-Watkins did not play due to an injured knee.
Trench Player: Jamie Jones for providing the spark during the 15-0 run.

BY THE NUMBERS
4A: 62, 73, 84.9, .411
2A: 52, 72, 72.2, .347
Looking at the second half only
4A: 42, 38, 110.5, .500
2A: 27, 37, 73.0, .351
Odd fact: 2A actually scored 2 more points in the second half than they did in the first half

Next up: one hour from now with the 3A/1A game

Bjorlin for Softball

#1 posting 4.22.2006

Tonight at 6 pm the MN All star series begins at St. Thomas in St. Paul.

POINT PARADE
HAWAII
D1
Nichole Fu, Maryknoll 29 vs Kamehameha 61-56
D2
Courtney Gaddis, LaPietra 25 vs Punahou 66-61

AAU
MN
I will continue to put up team rosters if I run across them, or if someone alerts me to them. This is from the MN Summit http://www.minnesotasummit.org/2006_Teams.htm One of the players I coached in the past Jill Kalvik is coach of the 11u team for the Summit. Kalvik played at Minneapolis North and also Concordia St. Paul. She was just named head volleyball coach at Minneapolis Roosevelt yesterday. (she played both sports at CSPU) Another player I have coached, Erica Haugen, is a coach for the MN Lady Suns 12u team. Erica played at Osseo and Iowa State. As a matter of fact I attended her practice on Thursday night and saw the troops in action. They should be making an impact in two years.

COACHING NEWS
IL
Laura Sellers was named coach at University High in Bloomington. Here is the details from the Pantagraph http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2006/04/21/sports/doc44499b0d9ac04415011658.txt
MICH
Rob Sauter will be back on the bench, this time coaching at Wyandotte Roosevelt. He was released from coaching at Riverview a few years ago with some controversy. Here is the Wyandotte News Herald with further details http://www.times-online.com/articles/2006/04/21/sports/02bcn.txt

SIGNINGS
MN
Anna Bjorlin, Hermantown, a Miss Basketball finalist is headed to Concordia St. Paul to play softball.
Abby Nielsen, Tartan and Valparaiso is headed back home and will play basketball at Concordia St. Paul. Here is the CSPU press release http://www.csp.edu/athletics/Articles/04-18-06_-_Nielsen_C.html

TRANSFERS/RETIREMENTS
PURDUE
Here are a few more details on top recruits Harris and Jernigan and their decision not to attend Purdue since Coach Kristy Curry left. This is from the Boiler Station from the Lafayette Journal Courrier http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060421/SPORTS02010202/604210319
IOWA
Lindsay Richards has hung up her sneakers. The Iowa player has suffered three knee surgeries and has decided enough is enough. Here is the story from the Iowa City Press Citizen http://www.hawkcentral.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060421/HAWKS0201/604210318/1053/HAWKS

TOURNAMENT NEWS
ND
Barnes County North won the Wimbledon-Courtney Tournament held on April 15. BCN beat PBK 44-34 in the first game, beat Midkota 57-25 in the second, and took out Maple Valley in the championship 71-62. BCN was 1-20 this past season. and were hammered by Maple Valley twice during the season 71-32 and 94-51. I don't know how much weight to put in off season games like this, but BCN did win it all. Here are more details from teh Valley City Times http://www.times-online.com/articles/2006/04/21/sports/02bcn.txt

NEXT UP: Later tonight after the MN All Star games

MN All Stars Ratings

#1 posting 4.21.2006

POINT PARADE
HAWAII
D2
Ashley Medcalf, Christian Academy 37 vs Iolani 55-53

MINNESOTA ALL STAR RATINGS
These are the ratings for the 2006 class for the past season. These would be updated versions of what you see in your 2005-06 books. If you are interested in a player that isn't listed drop me an email.
The 2007s to 2011s will be updated, rated and published in the fall when the MN Girls Basketball Convention is held (usually first weekend in October). I hope to have other 2006 players rated in other states when their all star series are being held.
AAAA
Jillian Schurle, Hopkins (Princeton) 102.16
Jenna Smith, Bloomington Kennedy (Illinois) 96.44
Breanna Salley, St. Francis (Minnesota) 90.89
Katie DeWitt, Centennial (Drake) 77.82
Amy Beggin, Roseville (New Mexico) 77.24
Lindsey Lauer, Cretin-Derham Hall (Colorado State) 72.85
Jaimie Jones, Irondale (Concordia St. Paul) 60.55
Mindy Schmidt, Champlin Park (St. Benedict's) 58.36
Amber Connor, Rosemount (Carleton) 45.87
Abby Greene, Hopkins (Maine) 38.9

AAA
Anna Bjorlin, Hermantown (??) 79.2
Maria Boever, Worthington (South Dakota State) 68.44
Jessica Miller, Holy Angels (Illinois Chicago) 67.53
Amy Storer, Hill-Murray (Michigan Tech) 64
Laura Nielsen, Willmar (South Dakota State) 63.09
Jenny Van Kirk, Waconia (Bradley) 56.93
Tressa Beckel, Waseca (UW Green Bay) 56.36
Jordanne Even, Detroit Lakes (UM Duluth) 54.74
Megan Mileusinc, Orono (Carleton) 52.42
Tessa Gronli, Princeton (??) 36.37

AA
Cory Montgomery, Cannon Falls (Nebraska) 74.36
Kelly Mullaney, Breck (Colorado State) 72.33
Karissa Kramer, MN Valley Lutheran (??) 59.35
Chelsea Lundgren, Crosby-Ironton (??) 47.95
Sarah Ingison, Concordia Roseville (Wisconsin) 47.43
Alison Anderson, NRHEG (South Dakota State) 44.84
Jenna Trammel, Kingsland (??) 39.39
Krista Opheim, Eden Valley-Watkins (MSU Moorhead) 39.21
Mel Waytashek, Pierz (??) 34.20
Katilynn Gottenborg, Hawley (??) 24.42

A
Kali Olstad, Elgin-Millville (Concordia St. Paul) 64.54
Brittany Quistorff, Osakis (??) 59.67
Rachel Christiansen, Murray Co Central (Augustana SD) 48.35
Abby Thom, Meadow Creek (??) 45.52
Kylea Seboe, Barnum (??) 40.73
Kelly Landsverk, Fosston (Bemidji State) 43.03
Erica Cleveland, Menahga (??) 40.44
Kylee Smith, Cromwell (UM Duluth) 35.28
Nikki Washek, Battle Lake (??) 34.77
Andrea Millerbernd, Little Fork-Big Falls 34.73

The averages for each team is as follows:
AAAA 71.81
AAA 59.91
AA 48.35
A 44.71

DI Breakdown AAAA--7; AAA--5; AA--4; A--0
D2 Breakdown AAAA--1; AAA--2; AA--1; A--4
D3 Breakdown AAAA--2; AAA--1; AA--0; A--0
Unknown AAAA--0; AAA--2; AA--5; A--6

Last year A won the whole series. That won't happen this year. Look for AAAA to beat AA on Saturday by over 20 points and then face AAA in the finals on Sunday in St. Cloud. AAA should also beat A by 20 points on Saturday. AAAA will be the Champs this year. The final margin should be in the neighborhood of 13 points.

As far as this class goes---My prediction is that Jillian Schurle will be the first all conference performer from this class at the DI level.

AAU NEWS
MN
The North Tartan 17u team won the Bronze division at the Boo Williams Tournament in Virginia. They beat Essance FL in the championship 63-53. Janessa Wolf of Park Rapids had 17 points in the win.
In pool play to open the tournament they finished 1-2 with a 71-68 win over Indiana Nike, then a 79-40 loss to Fencor-Alegro and a 61-56 loss to Alabama Lasers.
That put them in the bronze level where they won all three games. In the quarters they beat Orinda Magic 53-41, and in the semis they beat Lina, GA 49-44.
Fencor-Alegro got beat in the Gold quarters 55-41 to BWSL.
In the 15u level MN NC Heat beat North Tartan 49-42. They then beat James River 55-30 and Philadelphia Comets 28-26 before losing to Philadelphia Belles 61-21 in the semis.
I have not found a roster for the NC Heat, but the team was coached last year by Paul Hill, father of Tayler Hill.

COACHING NEWS
MICH
Brown City is looking for a girls basketball coach

CONFERENCE NEWS
Chicago State is leaving the Mid Continent Conference. That will put the league at 8 teams. The door may be opening for North Dakota State and South Dakota State to join that league. Chicago State will be an indenpendent next year (2006-07). Here is some tidbits from the NW Indiana Times trying to sort the whole thing out http://nwitimes.com/articles/2006/04/21/sports/college_sports/b046741ecfbfb16286257157000d55ad.txt
Here is what the Fargo Forum has to say on the matter http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=124308&section=Sports
Chicago State was home to two players from Minnesota: Renada Blackburn and Faith Buchanan both from Minneapolis North. Blackburn was a senior and averaged 8 ppg. Buchanan was a junior and averaged 6.5 ppg. She started 19 games.
Two Michigan players also were on the roster this year: Jasmin Dixon a freshman from Detroit King, and Akliah Coston a junior from Detroit Dominican. Dixon averaged 3.5 ppg and Coston came in with 2 ppg.

POLICE BLOTTER
WI
David Janssen, former coach at Hortonville, has been released on a $100, 000 signature bond. He has been accused of sexually assaulting a student. Here is more from the Appleton Post Crescent http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060421/APC0101/604210594/1003

Next up Tomorrow afternoon, plus the results from the MN All Star game later that night

Leaving the Big 10

#2 posting 4.20.2006

PURDUE SIGNEES BACK OUT
Amber Harris and Dee-Dee Jernigan have both decided to keep their options open since former coach Kristy Curry left for Texas Tech. Harris is a 6-5 center from North Central. Her teams won the State title the last two years and she was named Miss Basketball in Indiana. Jernigan attended East Chicago Central. Here is the report from the Lafayette Courier and Journal http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060420/NEWS0901/604200360/1152

TRANSFERS
WI
Akiya Alexander has been released from her scholarship at Wisconsin. She is headed for Southern Indiana, a DII school in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. She is the second player to leave this season. Sheri' Welton is headed to Northern Illinois. Here is the story from the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports/index.php?ntid=80805&ntpid=3

COACHING NEWS
MN
Orono will have a new coach next year. Doug Erickson has resigned.

MORE MN AAU ROSTERS
Here is the MN Lady Suns home page. You can find the rosters on that site. http://www.mnsuns.com/index.html

Thanks for all my readers for pointing out these stories
Next up Tomorrow afternoon with the 2006 MN All Stars with updated ratings after their senior seasons

Iolani's Revenge, AAU Rosters, Indiana Coach

#1 posting 4.20.2006

POINT PARADE
HAWAII
Kimberly Meyerowitz, Waialua 20 vs Wai'anae 41-40

IOLANI STRIKES BACK
HAWAII
Iolani wasted no time in getting back on track as they defeated Kamehameha 42-28 a day after getting bumped off by the same squad. Here is the Honolulu Advertiser with the details of this match up and other games as well http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060420/SPORTS0303/604200332/1045/SPORTS

AAU NEWS
MI
The Northeastern Cats 15U won the state title and will be headed to Orlando. Here is the story from the Gaylord Herald Times http://www.gaylordheraldtimes.com/articles/2006/04/19/news/sports/sports07.txt
MN
Here are some sites for rosters
Metro Stars http://www.mnmetrostars.com/roster.cfm
North Tartan http://www.northtartan.com/teams.htm
MN Stars http://www.minnesotastars.org/2006%20Minnesota%20Stars%20Rosters.htm
I will get more rosters up if I am sent them. I will link these as well. I hope to get my links really humming this summer.

ALL STAR GAMES
MN
The all star game is Saturday at St. Thomas in St. Paul at 6 and 8; and St. Cloud State on Sunday afternoon.
WI
The Wisconsin Basketball Coaches All Star games will be held June 17th at the UW Field House in Madison. The series is North vs South by class. D1 plays at noon followed by D3 at 1:45; D2 at 3:30 and D4 at 5:15. Here is more on the series in the Dennis Semrau column in the Capital Times http://www.madison.com/tct/sports/preps/index.php?ntid=80863&ntpid=2

COACHING NEWS
COLLEGE
Indiana has hired a new coach: Felisha Legette-Jack, recently the Hofstra coach. Here is the Indianapolis Star on the new hire http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060420/SPORTS0601/604200445/1069 Here is the same story, but from the Hofstra perspective http://www.hofstra.edu/Athletics/WBasketball/ath_wbb_gameresult.cfm?gameID=B3B03239-65B3-F1F2-664328316EBF608F and back to Indiana University with their press release and transcripts of the press conference for much more detail http://iuhoosiers.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/041906aaa.html
MI
Gaylord St. Mary's is looking for a new girls basketball coach.
Tracy Iciek, Hopkins resigned due to Health reasons. Iciek coached for two seasons at Hopkins.
SD
Jeff Dvorak, Dell Rapids has been named coach of the year by the South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association

SIGNINGS
MI
Emily Woodruff, Chelsea is headed for Tiffin which is a DII school in Ohio. Here is more about the choice from the Chelsea Standard http://www.chelseastandard.com/stories/042006/spo_20060420010.shtml
SD
Michelle Amundson, Dell Rapids is headed to Mount Marty

TRANSFERS
WI
Wisconsin is considering changing their transfer rule to this: if you transfer after your sophomore year you will be ineligible for one year. There will be an appeal process and if the family moves and it is legitimate, they will be allowed to play. Here is Art Kabelowsky's column in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel with more on the hot issue http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=417171

Next up: Tomorrow afternoon. I will be giving out scores/ratings to the 2006 class that is involved in the MN all star games.

Hawaiian #1 Goes Down

#1 posting 4.19.2006

POINT PARADE
HAWAII
D1
Sharde Pratt, Kaiser 26 vs Farrington 51-50 OT
Iwalani Rodrigues, Roosevelt 20 vs Kahuku 55-50
D2
Ashley Medcalf, Christian Academy 31 vs Hanalani 47-43
Natalie Mata, Waimea 25 vs Kapa'a 56-38
Careena Onasai, Word of Life 20 vs University High 33-28

HAWAIIAN ACTION
#1 IOLANI BEAT
Kamehameha handed #1 Iolani its first loss of the year 41-33. The Honolulu Star Bulletin takes it from there http://starbulletin.com/2006/04/19/sports/story06.html

COACHING NEWS
MN
Mike Jewett has wasted no time in taking the reins at SW MN State. Here is the Marshall Independent on his first few days on the job and the reaction from the players http://www.marshallindependent.com/sports/articles.asp?articleID=2343

SEEDINGS
WI
Wisconsin may seed the entire state in their tournament next year. That is one proposal on the table made by the basketball coaches association. Here is the story from the Green Bay Press Gazette http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060419/GPG0205/604190613/1238/GPGsports

SIGNINGS
ND
Misti Olson, Central Valley has signed on at Mayville State. She will be joining two transfers from Williston State who have made verbals: Jamie Wheeler who attended Grand Forks Red River, and Laura Big Crow from Pine Ridge, SD. Here is more on the Olson signing.
http://www.masu.nodak.edu/about_msu/news.cfm?story=536

SD
This trio played basketball this winter, but will be on scholarship for track next year.
Kayla Hiltner, Monticello, MN to South Dakota State for track
Christa Landmark, International Falls, MN to South Dakota State for track
Michelle Schuch, Bon Homme to South Dakota State for track

Got news? information? a good story? let me know. email me from the profile link.
Next up: tomorrow afternoon, plus Friday a look at the MN allstars with 2006 numbers.

Thorpe, God, and a Soap Box

#1 posting 4.18.2006

Thorpe is back. Today it is about sports & religion.

AAU ACTION
MN
At 10 am this Saturday at Eden Prairie two high powered teams will battle it out. North Tartan 16/17s will be facing the Metro Stars Black. Both rosters feature 07s and 08s.

COLLEGE COACHING NEWS
HAWAII
BYU Hawaii has named Wendy Anae as the coach for the new women's basketball program. The Pacific West schools are adding women's baskteball for the 2006-07 season. Here is the press release from BYU Hawaii http://w2.byuh.edu/sports/Athletics/releases/04-17-06Women%27s%20bb%20coach.htm
MN
As reported SW MN State has name Mike Jewett coach. Here is the Marshall Indpendent's story on the selection. http://www.marshallindependent.com/sports/articles.asp?articleID=2312

ALL STAR NEWS
MICH
The first Blue Water Area All Star game will be at Richmond, June 17th with girls games at 2 pm featuring C/D players, and 5:30 featuring A/B players. Here is the Port Huron Times-Herald with more details http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060418/SPORTS/604180333/1006

CONFERENCE NEWS
WI
Southern Wisconsin is sorting out its conferences. The Southern Lakes conference is on the way out, and its members are being dispersed to other conferences around the area. Here is the Wisconsin State Journal article describing who is going where http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports/index.php?ntid=80504&ntpid=3

THORPE ON A SOAP BOX

We found Thorpe. He was on the 6th hole of Glenview.

I am trying to figure out why Kevin has asked me to contribute to his website. I guess its because when you are finished coaching and retired in another state you don’t worry about being politically correct anymore and just get up on a soapbox and talk. I need to re negotiate my contract.

You know being Easter Sunday and watching athletes bring God into athletics got me thinking. When I see athletes thanking God for their success or pointing to the sky after a home run or a touchdown it got me thinking: I hope God doesn’t spend his time watching golf or football. I hope God cares less about who wins or who makes the big play. I hope he is spending his time caring about the poor, making life more livable for the people living in pain, helping people find cures for diseases that cause suffering, helping people get along and understand just because people are different doesn’t mean they are wrong, helping people work toward peace and not glorify war.

Sports are a game and lets not make it bigger or more important than it really is . I remember one of my players getting ready to score her 1000th point. The TV was there. Her family and relatives were there. Before the game she said what if I don’t get it. She was feeling a lot of pressure, I remember telling her to go up to the 4th floor of the hospital and find someone with tubes in them fighting to stay alive. Bend down and tell them that you have a big problem. You might not score your 1000th point tonight and TV and your entire family is here. If that’s the most stress she ever has in life she will probably be OK.

Lets keep things in perspective. I like the quote " I felt sorry for the man with no shoes until I saw the man with no feet". I hope everyone had a nice Easter holiday.

Dave Thorpe

Next up: tomorrow afternoon

SW MN State Names Jewett Coach

#2 posting 4.17.2006

SW MN STATE NAMES JEWETT COACH
Mike Jewett has been named coach at SW MN State. He is the third coach in three years at the Northern Sun school. Here is the SW MN State press release http://smsumustangs.olinesports.com/basketball_w_news_details.php?sport=571&news_id=1004

HS COACHING NEWS
MN
The Eden Prairie head coaching position is open. The position was advertised in the StarTribune on Sunday, and the space is TBA on the MSHSL web site.

Next up: tomorrow, really.

Hawaiian Action, Soap Box Empty

#1 posting 4.17.2006

The word on the streets is pretty quiet right now, but action is taking place in Hawaii. Here is the Honolulu Star Bulletin's weekly ratings and scoring stats to keep you up to date in the Islands. Iolani is still #1 by the way after their 29-20 win over Punahou. http://starbulletin.com/2006/04/17/sports/story02.html

This weekend Minnesota holds its All Star game series. Saturday the games are at St. Thomas University in St. Paul. The As take on the AAAs at 6 pm, while AAs face AAAAs in the 8 pm game. The Sunday action takes place in the afternoon at St. Cloud State at 1:30 for the 3rd place game with the championship game to follow.

Thorpe did not get on the Soap Box today-maybe too many chocolate bunnies.

Got news? Let me and the rest of the world know. Email me at my profile.
Next up tomorrow afternoon.

No Easter Eggs

#1 posting 4.16.2006

The only eggs were found in Hawaii yesterday.

POINT PARADE
HAWAII
Shannon Miyashiro, Roosevelt 26 vs Kaiser 82-42
Tati Beasley, Roosevelt 20 vs Kaiser 82-42
D2
Minna Watanabe, St. Andrew's 26 vs Christian Academy 58-35
Janelle Fetui, Hanalani 24 vs Kamehameha 34-71
Jodi Kamemoto, Hawai'i Baptist 24 vs Iolani 40-34
Ashley Medcalf, Christian Academy 22 vs St. Andrew's 35-58

TOP BATTLE IN HAWAII
#1 Iolani beat #2 Punahou 29-20 yesterday in the big clash. Here is the Honolulu Advertiser's story on the big game http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060416/SPORTS0304/604160362/1046/SPORTS

HAPPY EASTER

Next up tomorrow afternoon

Minimalist + Plans

#1 posting 4.15.2006

Pretty brief today.
SIGNINGS
IL
Maggie McTeague, Oak Forest to Elmhurst

UPCOMING PLANS
I will have some updated ratings on the 06s, I hope within the month.
I also will have a rundown of all the recruits and which school graded out on top (for the coverage area).
This week I learned how to add photos. Now that the season is done, I am going to be going through a lot more education on how to get the blog to do what I want.

If you have suggestions, news, photos, go to my profile and e-mail me.
Thanks to all the readers who have fed me bits of information.

Next up tomorrow, probably in the afternoon.

SW Coaching Choices, Future Gopher?

#1 posting 4.14.2006

POINT PARADE
HAWAII
D1
Camilla Ah-Hoy, Kahuku 25 vs McKinley 63-52
Kaitlin Ikehara, McKinley 23 (7 3s) vs Kahuku 52-63
Chelsie Sato, McKinley 21 vs Kahuku 52-63
D2
Capri Hollana 'Aiea 23 vs Wai'anae 54-52
Tatriana Lorenzo, Kamehameha 22 vs Sacred Hearts 64-46
Natasha Welsham, 'Aiea 21 vs Wai'anae 54-52
Courtney Gaddis, LaPietra 20 vs St. Andrews 57-40

HAWAIIAN MILESTONES
Konawaena won its 60th consecutive Big Island game 50-22 over Hawaii Prep

COLLEGE COACHING NEWS
MN
Here are the articles from the Marshall Independent sizing up the candidates for the SW MN State job.
Dave Stromme former Gopher assistant: http://www.marshallindependent.com/sports/articles.asp?articleID=2192
Paula Krueger, coach at Colorado Mines http://www.marshallindependent.com/sports/articles.asp?articleID=2216
Carol Thelen-Richter who led DeLaSalle to its first State Tournament appearance
http://www.marshallindependent.com/sports/articles.asp?articleID=2215
Mike Jewett, currently an assistant at St. Cloud State http://www.marshallindependent.com/sports/articles.asp?articleID=2236
Geoff Lanier, last year an assistant at Akron http://www.marshallindependent.com/sports/articles.asp?articleID=2235

COLLEGE NEWS
HAWAII
Hawaii Pacific will be adding women's basketball to it's program next season, and Elizabeth O'Brien has been tapped to coach the team. Here is the article in the Honolulu Star Bulletin http://starbulletin.com/2006/04/14/sports/story05.html

SIGNINGS
IA
Brittany Norris of Cedar Rapids Jefferson joins Andrea Downs of Chicago Harlan, and Ashley Sanders, a transfer from Kansas City KS CC, in signing at Upper Iowa. Here is the UIU press release http://www.uiu.edu/athletics/teams/womens/basketball/three_more_sign%20(041206).htm
ND
North Dakota State went north of the border to get Georgia Popovici from Edmonton Jasper Place HS. She will join transfer Ashley Samuelson, and Emily Moran both of whom announced earlier this signing period. They will join Megan Shea of Armstrong, Jill Zaruba of Monticello and Inger Hodgson of Barneveld Wisconsin. Here is the NDSU press release http://www.gobison.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=11921&SPID=698&DB_OEM_ID=2400&ATCLID=267836

FUTURE GOPHER
MN
Jordan Barnes, Hopkins '03, may be wearing a Gopher uniform next season. She played for part of a year at Winthrop in the Big South before leaving that school for Minnesota in the 2003-04 season.

HS COACHING NEWS
MN
Mark Olson has resigned after seven years at BOLD. Here is the in depth details from the West Central Tribune. http://www.wctrib.com/articles/index.cfm?id=6510
Jerry Cool, Jr. has resigned from St. Cloud Cathedral again after seven years. Here are the details from the St. Cloud Times http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060411/SPORTS/104110003/1002

Next up tomorrow

Busy Signing Day

#1 posting 4.13.2006

COLLEGE COACHING NEWS
ND
Guy Fridley has been named the new coach at Dickinson State. Here is the DSU press release http://www.dickinsonstate.com/w_basketball.asp

COLLEGE SIGNINGS
AL
Candice Delane, Rock Island, IL to Alabama State
IL
Alicia Whitfield, and Melissa Morris from Rock Island will both attend Black Hawk
MN
Kelly Landsverk, Fosston will be headed to Bemidji State
Shayla Lange, Rock Valley Iowa has signed with St. Cloud State. Here is the SCSU press release http://www.stcloudstate.edu/athletics/sports/basketball-womens/story.asp?pubID=31&issueID=14275&storyID=18731
Crookston looked to Wisconsin and Illinois for players when they signed Jessica Brown, Janesville Craig 6-5; Doriane Davis of Milwaukee Vincent; and Aubrey Parsons of Newman Central HS, IL. Here is the Crookston Daily Times with much more detail http://www.crookstontimes.com/articles/2006/04/13/sports/17roux.txt
NEB
Alyssa Green, Cedar Rapids Washington will be headed to Nebraska-Omaha. Green was 1st team on the 4A Coaches team, and 2nd team on the 4A Newspaper team. Here is the press release from UNO. http://gomavs.unomaha.edu/full_headline.php?headline_id=2133
Wayne State has named it's recruiting class. Kati Jo Christiansen of Audubon Iowa is among the five named as is Megan Wittkop of Ankeny. Wittkop is transfering from SW MN State. Jennifer Yee from Millard West Nebraska and Janna Schrieber from Campbell County, Wyoming round out the five. Here is their press release from Wayne State http://www.wsc.edu/athletics/wbb/press_releases/index.php#06recruits
Chadron State will be adding Sunni Busch of Todd County SD. Busch was 1st team AP All State. Trysta Gruber of Loup County, Nebraska will also sign. Here is the Chadron State press release. http://www2.csc.edu/athletics/news/list.pl?article=1550
ND
Nicole Munneke, Centennial, MN is headed to Mayville State after one season at South Florida. Here is the Mayville State press release. http://www.masu.nodak.edu/about_msu/news.cfm?story=525
Minot State annonced their recruiting class: Whitney Loftesness of Velva, ND; Heidi Rosenbaum, Sioux City North, IA; and Samantha Medcalf, Andover, MN. Here is the MSU press release http://www.minotstateu.edu/wbasketball/recruits.html
SD
NORTHERN STATE NINE
No, this isn't a softball story, it is about the nine recruits headed for Aberdeen and Northern State. It was reported in the StarTribune that Krissy O'Toole of Wayzata was headed to St. Cloud State and I put it up yesterday too, but she is one of the Northern State nine. Two St. Michael-Albertville players: Marla Arns, and Jodi Reinschmidt are headed that way. STMA finished 4th in the MN AAA Tournament. Ashely Genske, Mayer Lutheran also will travel west. Krista Rabenberg of Mobridge, SD. Her team finished second in the SD A tournament. She made the AP A Second team all state as did Alison Johnson of Stickney-Mt. Vernon. Lenea Mueller of Custer was on the 3rd team. The other players I believe I have listed already. Check out the details from the Northern State site http://www.northern.edu/athletics/Depthome/wbb/home.html the Aberdeen American News takes up the recruits http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/sports/14331952.htm
SOUTH DAKOTA GAINS TWO MORE
With three transfers coming in (The Hoffman sisters from Mitchell via Texas State and Natalie Carda from Beresford via South Dakota State) USD added some more players: Jasmine Mosley of Bellevue, Nebraska and Kendra Schomer, Madison, Nebraska. Here is the details in the South Dakota press release http://www.usdcoyotes.com/sports/wbball/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=3129 The Yankton Press & Dakotan also tells the tale http://www.yankton.net/stories/041306/sports_20060413013.shtml
Brittany Fuhrman, Mobridge and Danielle Bauer, Dell Rapids are off to Black Hills State University. Fuhrman's team was second in the SD A Tournament and she was named to the AP All State 3rd team. Bauer's team beat Mobridge in the championship. Here is the BHSU press release http://www.bhsu.edu/bh/athletics/womenbb/recruit/newrecruits2004-05.htm
Kayla Goshhorn of Rapid City Central is headed to SD Tech
TN
Toia McGowan, Davenport West IA is headed south to Lipscomb in Nashville, TN

HS COACHING NEWS
IL
Scott Harding will be named coach at United Township pending approval by the school board. Here is the details from the Quad City Times http://www.qctimes.net/articles/2006/04/13/sports/varsity/doc443dd70ecbbd9600611671.txt
MN
As expected Reed Caoutte has been named coach at Elk River replacing Larry Krieg who retired after leading the Elks to the state this season. Here is the Elk River Star News story by Bruce Strand, a hall of fame writer in the MN Girls basketball coaches Hall of fame http://www.erstarnews.com/2006/April/134-12coach.html

POLICE BLOTTER
IA
A fan has been banned from attending games after attacking a ref. Here is the Waterloo Courier account http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2006/04/12/news/regional/3e420445764b3df68625714e003fd418.txt
WI
David Janssen, former Hortonville coach was charged Wednesday with one count of sexual assault of a student under 16 and two counts of sexual assault after the student turned 16. Here is the AP story from the Duluth News Tribune http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/14334490.htm

TOURNAMENT NEWS
IA
The Sacajawea Tournament in Sioux City Iowa has five teams filled out for next years tournament: Sioux City North, the defending champions; Phoenix St. Mary's, the second place finisher; South Sioux City, Nebraska; Battle Creek-Ida Grove, IA; and Crofton, Nebraska.

Next up tomorrow afternoon.

Williams to DePaul

#1 posting 4.12.2006

POINT PARADE
HAWAII
D1
Nicole Fu, Maryknoll 44 vs Sacred Hearts 65-58, 2OT
Artevia Wily, Kahuku 23 vs Kalaheo 71-62
Kendra Fischer, Kalaheo 22 vs Kahuku 62-71
Shanadee Canon, Kalaheo 20 vs Kakuku 62-71
D2
Ashley Medcalf, Christian Academy 38 vs LeJardin 61-41
Jodi Kamemoto, Hawai'i Baptist 24 vs Word of Life 56-54

ALL STAR GAMES
MN
The Minnesota all star games will take place on April 22 at 6 pm and 8 pm at St. Thomas in St. Paul, and the championship games will take place on April 23 at 3:30 with the third place game at 1:30 at St. Cloud State. It is again in the class vs class system. Last year A beat AA and AAAA to win the top honor.

COLLEGE COACHING
HAWAII
Eric Sanchez has been named interim coach for the new Hawaii Hilo program. UH Hilo is in the process of adding women's basketball and will be a division II program. They will belong to the Pacific West Conference along with five other schools. Here is more from the UH Hilo site http://vulcans.uhh.hawaii.edu/news.php?n=827&s=aa also from the West Hawaii Today paper (you may have to register, but it is free) http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/articles/2006/04/11/sports/local_sports/sports03.txt

WILLIAMS HEADED TO DE PAUL
MN/IL
Natasha Williams, who left Minnesota last week, apparently will be headed back to Chicago. She looks like she will be at DePaul. Here is the information from the We Are DePaul site under latest stories http://www.wearedepaul.com/

VERBALS/SIGNINGS
IL
Maggie Kloak, Fenwick to Eastern Illinois
Laxavia Toney, Chicago Hope to Lamar
IA
Carolyn Evans, West Burlington to William Penn
Jessica Goode, Pleasantville to William Penn
MN
Krissy O'Toole, Wayzata to St. Cloud State
Jennifer Waletzko, St. Cloud Cathedral to St. Cloud State with more details from the St. Cloud State site http://www.stcloudstate.edu/athletics/story.asp?pubID=27&issueID=14262&storyID=18718

Got News? Let me know. email me. go to the profile and feed me. If you have pictures I can get them up to now.
Next Up: tomorrow afternoon.

Samuelson Decides, SW MN State Deciding

#1 posting 4.11.2006

SIGNINGS
ND/MN
Ashley Samuelson, Underwood MN HS, Colorado State, has decided on North Dakota State. Here is the Fargo Forum article http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=123269&section=Sports
Kari Virkus, Grand Rapids HS, Itasca CC will sign with Valley City State. Virkus was first team all state last season in the MCCC. Here is the VCSU press release http://vikings.vcsu.edu/php/details.php?id=2791

MN
These players wil be headed to St. Catherine's
Amy Battey, Rochester Lourdes
Ann Schmitz, Rockford
Emily Wakefield, North St. Paul
Shawnell Vincent, Minneapolis Henry

NAISMITH WINNER TO U CONN
Maya Moore, Collins Hill, GA junior has verballed Connectiucut here is the AP wire from the Duluth News Tribune http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/sports/colleges/14311704.htm

COLLEGE COACHING NEWS
MN
Southwest MN State has announced the five finalists for the women's basketball position. Included are recently released Minnesota assistant David Stromme, Carol Thelen-Richter who led DeLaSalle to a third place finish in the MN AAA State Tournament, Mike Jewett assistant at St. Cloud State, Geoff Lanier who recently was an assistant at Akron, and Paula Krueger a coach at Colorado Mines. Here is the Marshall Independent story with much more detail http://www.marshallindependent.com/sports/articles.asp?articleID=2167

Dan Messman has resigned at St. Mary's in Winona. He had a record of 56-47 in four years. Here is the SMU article http://sports.smumn.edu/general/messmann.html

Gary Rufsvold has replaced Tim Kjar as coach at St. Catherine's. His record was 52-122 in seven years. Here are the details from the St. Catherine site http://minerva.stkate.edu/athletics.nsf/pages/bb_rufsvold

HS COACHING NEWS
MICH
Jason Lawson will be the new head girls coach at Ishpeming. He is currently the boys coach as well. The girls in Michigan play in the fall. Here is the article from the Marquette Mining Journal http://www.miningjournal.net/stories/articles.asp?articleID=2827
Amy Gall will be the new head girls coach at Davison. Here is the Flint Journal with more details. http://www.mlive.com/preps/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/sports-2/1144767007267260.xml&coll=5

ALL STAR GAMES
SD
The AA team beat the A team 76-71 in the Three Class Shootout in Salem. Kara Iverson of Yankton was the MVP for AA and scored 14 points. Abby Kratovil of Bennett County was the MVP of the A team and had 11 points.

JUCO AWARDS
ND
Rebecca Mercer, Lake Region State was named second team all American

Thanks for all the tips. Keep me posted readers. Go to the profile to email me the latest news
Next up: tomorrow afternoon

Photos, Signings & Thorpe's Soap Box

#1 posting 4.10.2006

Today Thorpe takes a look at single sport athletes in the heart of springtime. Check out the Soap Box down below. As you can see I figured out how to add photos. This is the first of many I hope.

SIGNINGS
MN/ND
Here is the press release for Jessica Tykwinski, Lincoln HI, MN signing with Valley City State
http://vikings.vcsu.edu/php/details.php?id=2790

Tiana Wilkinson of state AAAA champion Hopkins will sign with the University of Mary on April 12. Mary is in the process of moving up and will be in the Northern Sun conference next season. Here is a photo of Wilkinson in action in the state tournament. Thanks for the information
ND
Emily Moran of Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska has made a verbal to North Dakota State. Here is the Fargo Forum with the details http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=122527&section=Sports

COLLEGE COACHING NEWS
Bobbi Endress has been named the new coach at Augustana in Illinois. She was the coach at Edgewood College in Madison, WI. Here is the Quad City Times article.
http://www.qctimes.net/articles/2006/04/07/sports/doc4436010b3f65f119205037.txt

NUMBER 1s
HAWAII
Here is the poll in the Honolulu Star Bulletin. Iolani is still number one. Check out the other #s and stats http://starbulletin.com/2006/04/10/sports/story02.html

PROFESSIONAL NEWS
Here is a story on a book about the first attempt at women's professional basketball. It is called "Mad Seasons" by Karra Porter. This article is from the Sioux City Journal http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2006/04/10/sports/steve_allspach/9791becef783c5b38625714b007d9d8d.txt

THORPE ON A SOAP BOX

Basketball season is over . Or is it?? I see coaches working to form teams for AAU and kids trying out almost immediately after the high school State Tournament. AAU and summer leagues provide a purpose and have done some good things for Minnesota basketball.

However, sorry folks, I still believe in allowing kids to play other sports. It’s softball, track, golf, etc. season and I think it’s healthy for athletes to have a variety of experiences in high school. I know all the arguments: “You need to play year around if you are going to go division 1“. I don’t agree. In fact, I think a break is healthy. Sometimes I think it’s good to get away from hoops for awhile. That doesn’t mean you can’t go to open gym and shoot or play pick up games.That is different from being organized and being committed to a schedule and games on a regular basis. After all, who knows what sport you might play.

I remember Jessica Fiebelkorn (Miss Basketball) was recruited for basketball 1 by many schools and decided to accept a volleyball scholarship at Notre Dame. If you are a division 1 talent coaches will find you. Liz Podominak is now concentrating on track at the U. I wouldn’t be shocked if Kelly Roysland decided to play volleyball (she still has 2 years eligibility left). I would encourage her to keep hooping. I would hope high school coaches would work together and support other programs.

Just some thoughts.
Dave Thorpe

Remember if you have any news, go to my profile down below and e-mail me. I will get it up as soon as I can. Pictures are welcomed.
next up tomorrow afternoon.

Who Is Left?

#1 posting 4.9.2006

Sorry this was a bit late, I had quite a few players to track down.

POINT PARADE
HAWAII
D2
Ashley Medcalf, Christian Academy 26 vs Kamehameha 43-50

AAU
MICH
Here is a report on three players from St. Clair that are on strong AAU teams. Stacy Farrel and Brittany Carnago are on the 16U Michigan Pistons, while Gina Vito is on the 14U Michigan Shock. Here is the story from Port Huron Times-Herald http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060406/SPORTS/604060330/1006

ALL STAR GAMES
IA
Briar Cliff
South 73, North 62. Chelsea Bruening, Carroll Kuemper 22 led the south; Candace Harrell, Sioux City North had 11 for the North.

SIGNINGS
IA
Shayla Lange, Rock Valley to St. Cloud State
Brittany Williamson, Emmetsburg to Morningside
Randa Hulstein, Sioux Center to Northwestern IA
Jessica Christians, George-Little Rock to Northwestern IA
Rachel Gosselink, Iowa Christian to Northwestern IA for Volleyball
Tricia Trotter, Treynor to Dana
MN
Liz Grider, Chaska to Southwest MN State
Megan Mileusnic, Orono to Carleton
Amber Connor, Rosemount to Carleton
ND
Hatti Ternes, Bismarck Century to Jamestown
Ali Edwards, West Fargo to Jamestown
Janell Huber, Linton to Jamestown
SD
Ruth Nelson, Huron to Dakota Wesleyan
Ashley Johnson, Stickney-Mount Vernon to Dakota Wesleyan
Andrea Wedel, James Valley Christian to Northwestern IA

WHO IS LEFT?
Here is what I have gathered. Crack open your code book, these are the players that are left:
IA: 8, 10, 12, 13, 18, 17, 48, 55
MICH: 1, 2, 3, 32, 15, 26, 5, 14 (this is how I would rate them now, so 32 is the 4th best player available). Remember these players are only rated from the Detroit Area.
MN: 16, 8, 10, 36, 41, 40, 21, 23, 24, 29, 30
ND: 7, 5, 6, 9, 12, 20, 26, Page 66 team 1 player 6; page 69 team 12 player 3
SD: 4, 3, 2, 7, 1, 18, 8, 12, page 86 team 12 player 5
WI: 8, 12, 17, 20, 35, 5, 9, 35, 50, page 119 team 2 player 5
I rated these players in the fall in my October publication. If you have questions go to my profile at the bottom of the page and e-mail me.

Next up tomorrow afternoon, I hope Thorpe will mount the Soap Box

WNBA Draft, & Coaches out in Seattle Recruiting Mess

#1 posting 4.8.2006

Today I take a closer look at the top 10 picks in the WNBA draft. I normally don't track the college players, but I have spent some time crunching the numbers. Here are the results. These numbers are raw and unfiltered.
#, Player college pro team rating
1 Simone Augustus LSU Minnesota G 121.58
2 Cappie Pondexter Rutgers Phoenix G 113.47
3 Monique Curry Duke Charlotte G 88.40
4 Sophia Young Baylor San Antonio F 110.84
5 Lisa Willis UCLA Los Angeles G 83.81
6 Candice Dupree Temple Chicago F 83.77
7 Shona Thorburn Utah Minnesota G 69.69
8 Tamara James Miami FL Washington G 90.33
9 La'Tangela Atkinson North Carolina Indiana F 50.31
10 Tye'sha Fluker Tennessee Charlotte C 46.18
Looking at the draft three players and their numbers stand out. I feel these players will make an impact right away. Fluker is 6-5 and I am assuming was drafted for her defense. These numbers measure offense more than anything. Defense is factored in, but scoring does count for quite a bit. If I had to categorize these players:
Franchise Player: Augustus (rookie of the year)
Potential All Stars: Pondexter, Young
Early Contributors: James, Curry
Eventual Starter in career: Willis, Dupree
Quality Backup: Thorburn
Deep Bench: Atkinson, Fluker
I may delve more into the WNBA as the summer goes on. I will also retrofit grades on the other player drafted this year.

POINT PARADE
HAWAII
Vicky Tagalicod, Hilo 26 vs Hawaii Prep 50-27
Shawna-Lei Kuehu, Punahou 23 vs Sacred Hearts 74-23
Mana Hopkins, Konawaena 21 vs Ka'u 59-10

COLLEGE COACHING NEWS
OH
Kelly Kennedy resigned as coach at Akron after four years. Angie Hutchinson of Mpls North and Krissy Marco of Middleton WI just finished their senior years there. Allison Schoff of Bloomington Kennedy (frosh) and Mandy Holzer of Jordan (soph) also play there. Here is the Akron Zip story http://gozips.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/040306aaa.html Here is Akron Beacon Journal story http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/sports/colleges/14258271.htm

HS COACHING NEWS
WASH
A few weeks ago I pointed out that Seattle was investigating a recruiting situation involving Chief Stealth HS. That investigation is wrapping up and it appears the coaches will be out. Seattle will fire the coaches involved. Read about how a school district handles recruiting players from neighboring schools. Here is the Seattle Times story with more links on the whole mess on that site. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002918503_sealth08.html Here is the other Seattle paper, the Post Intelligencer http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/preps/266030_sealth08.html Will other states take notice?
WI
Mark Olejniczak resigned from Green Bay Notre Dame. His 2001 team won the D2 state championship. Here is the account by the Green Bay Press-Gazette http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060408/GPG0205/604080521/1238/GPGsports
Two more coaches are retiring
John Pollock of Durand who coached 27 years with a 482-134 record including 2 state championships and
Arnie Skrukrud, Fall Creek who coached 25 years with a 465-123 record and 4 state championships. Jason Martzke will replace Skrukrud. Martzke coached Gilmanton to a state title in 2001.

SIGNINGS
MN
Casey Gifford, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton to Northern State
Chelsie Kurtenbach, Dawson-Boyd to St. Catherine's
Jessica Tykwinski, Lincoln HI to Valley City State
WI
Elle Bailey, Chetek to UW Eau Claire
Jodi Lindner, Neillsville to UW Eau Claire
Rachel Lubeck, Durand to UW Eau Claire
Krystal Parr, Bloomer to UW Stout
Kim Stokke, Menomonie to UW Stout
Karen Ellwanger, Flambeau to Milwaukee School of Enginering

Next up: Tomorrow about who is left. It will be by number, so get your books ready.