The Season That Was: HS 2007

#7 posting 3.25.2007
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THE SEASON THAT WAS
This is the end of the year observations, comments and awards from the 2006-07 year. It is all based on the games I saw this year in consultation with Tim Teas. Throughout the year I saw 140 games, covering an estimated 6,300 miles. From Park Rapids in the NW, to Barnum in the NE, to Glenwood City, WI in the East, to Rochester in the SE, to Mankato in the SW, to Litchfield in the W, we traveled anywhere there was a worthwhile game. I tried to keep within an hour radius, but had to stretch it a couple of times.

TRENDS
Which conference is the toughest? According to the pp100/floor% numbers in was the NW Suburban. They had 3 top 10 teams in the final AP poll and had two teams in the AAAA State Tournament. I only used conference where I saw a majority of the teams and there were more than 8 records, so that is why St. Paul is not on the list. I only saw Central and Johnson from that conference this season.
Conference pp100 /floor %
NW Suburban 87.89, .422
Missota 84.21, .410
Classic Lake 83.90, .419
Lake 83.85, .402
Minneapolis 80.80, .397
Suburban East 76.04, .378
North Suburban 73.98, .365
Big 9 73.93, .367

TURNING POINTS
1. Caitlin Rowland, Hopkins fouls out in the first game of they year in the Hamline Tournament with St. Paul Central. SPC trailed by as many as 10, but with Rowland sitting SPC sprung to life. They outscored Hopkins 13-3 down the stretch to tie it and win in overtime. After that game SPC refined and polished their game and didn't lose once during the season as they avoided the blemish in this one. Who knows what would have happened if SPC lost. They may have doubted themselves. Counting this game, Hopkins was 3-7 in games decided by five or less and/or overtime games.
2. Kachine Alexander, Benilde-St. Margaret's goes down with a foot injury against Chisago Lakes. BSM had already lost Sam Morgan to injury. With Alexander out their chances to defend their title became steeper.
3. St. Paul Central establishes dominance against Minneapolis South in the Twin City game. The game was at South on a snowy Saturday. Many questioned SPC's lack of beef in their January and February schedule. SPC made a statement that game that reverberated the rest of the playoffs.
4. Jenny Gilbertson, Winona Cotter gets in foul trouble and fouls out against Caledonia.

BEST LISTS
Best Rivalries: These games had give and take, ebb & flow. AAAA: Champlin Park vs Centennial (two games by 12 points, they split); AAA: Becker vs Rogers (two games decided by a total of 4 points, 1 ot); AA: Jordan vs Norwood-Young America (two games decided by 6 points, 1 ot). I did not see the AA 3rd place game.
Best Court: Lakeville North
Best Shooter: Maggie Slawson, Holy Angels
Best Playmaker/Passer: Angel Robinson, St. Paul Central
Most Versatile: Brianna Mastey, Becker
Best player under 5-5: Tyisha Smith, Mpls South
Best player over 6-5: Catherine Hintz, Hastings
Player you want to have the ball in her hands trailing by one late in the game: Tayler Hill, Mpls South. Tanya Dickey, White Bear Lake
Best Bench: St. Paul Central
Best 6th player: Ebony Black, St. Paul Central
Most Improved: Alyssa Benson, Minnetonka
Best Grunt player/Player that does the unsung jobs: Hannah Cheese, Mpls South; Brianna Olson, Osseo
Don't Foul: Jenny Theisen, Champlin Park
Best one-two puch: Brittany Chambers & Leah Dietel, Jordan
Best Shot Blocker: Casie Rochel, Lakeville North; Sarah Palenschat, CHOF
Best 3 shooter: Kelsey Jacobson, Moorhead
Best Hustle: Tyisha Smith, Mpls South; Ephesia Holmes, Mpls South
Best Taking Over a Game Late: Jenny Gilbertson, Winona Cotter (vs Hayfield); Brianna Mastey, Becker vs Rogers II
Best Taking Over Start to Finish: Colleen McKay, Barnum
Comeback Player: Maurika (Carlisle) Hickman, Mpls North
Underutilized Player: Catherine Hintz, Hastings
Intelligent Players: Caitlin Rowland, Hopkins; Kirsten Prunty, New Ulm Cathedral
Best Post up: Colleen McKay, Barnum
Smallest Player: Lindsie Cunningham, Hancock 4-11. She scored in the state among the trees in the lane.
Best College Prospects: Angel Robinson, St. Paul Central to Marquette (D1); Maggie Slawson, Holy Angels and Jenny Theisen, Champlin Park both to MSU Moorhead (D2); Colleen McKay, Barnum to St. Benedict (D3)
Overlooked/underated players: Kate Thompson, Wayzata; Kirsten Prunty, New Ulm Cathedral; Ephesia Holmes, Mpls South; Janey Ramey, New Life
Breakthrough Player: Faith Tinklenberg, Pipestone
Strangest Finish: White Bear Lake vs Park Cottage Grove. Questionable ref decisions.
Oddest Game: a Friday afternoon matinee between Amery, WI vs Askar, Norway. The gym was crammed.
Rule that needs to be changed: Force action when behind. Eagan held the ball for over 6 minutes in the first half against Eden Prairie. (EP trailed). No one came to watch statues.
Overused Moves: We need a no Spin Zone--I don't like Spin dribbles. others that make the list: outlets from the right side to the left side across the basket. soft entry passes into the post at poor passing angles.
Best Cheering section: Champlin Park, Amery
Best Cheering give and take: Champlin Park/Centennial
Best Cheer: "You got crackers, We got Cheese." from Mpls South
Best Crowds: Winona Cotter vs Hayfield, when they set up closed circuit in the cafeteria it is big time. Champlin Park at Centennial; Holy Angels at DeLaSalle; Mpls North at Mpls South; St. Paul Central at Mpls South; Askar, Norway at Amery, WI.
Worst Crowds: AAAA games in the metro area. You could fire a cannon off in the gym and no one would be hurt.
Best Back Rests: Rogers, Northfield, Brainerd
Worst Food: No Hot Dogs at Sartell
Smallest Bag of Popcorn: Osseo
Best Band: Glenwood City, WI
Best Uniforms: Pine Island
Toughest Gyms to Find: Northfield; Somerset, WI; Mahtomedi; Park Rapids
Easiest Gym to Find: Barnum, Go up I-35 to Duluth. Take the Barnum exit, turn left, cross the bridge and it is on the right.
Toughest place to locate a car: Gustavus Adolphus
Best game plan: Hancock Coach Jodi Holleman's plan vs Ada-Borup
Best Dressed coach: Lamar Detert, Rogers; Willie Taylor, St. Paul Central
Biggest coaching entourage: DeLaSalle (7)
Best comebacks, start of the game: down 16-0 Pipestone vs Caledonia
Best Comeback: Champlin Park vs Centennail I. CP trailed 39-22.
Dramatic Finish: Pipestone vs Albany 50-49. "the 3"
Program on the Rise: Lakeville North
Best team I didn't see: MaxPrep rated #56 Fairmont (although coach Teas did see them). #59 DGF wasn't watched by either of us.
Best pp100: Barnum 119.3 vs Moose Lake-Willow River
Best floor %: Benilde-St. Margaret's .597 vs Burnsville
Best pp100 & lost: Mpls South 107.04 vs Mpls North
Best floor% & lost: Champlin Park .519 vs Centennial
Best one day of games: Hopkins Tournament championship day. All games went down to the last minute: Tartan over Breck, Hopkins over Blaine, Benilde-St. Margaret's over Burnsville, and Champlin Park over Cretin-Derham Hall.
Best stretch of games: Jan 31 to Feb 3 with Mpls North beating South; Jordan rallying from over 10 down in the second half at Norwood-Young America in overtime; Minnetonka rallying from 7 down with 3 minutes to go against Hopkins; and Holy Angels beating DeLaSalle in a slug fest on the island.
Best State game (based on pp100): Minneapolis South vs Champlin Park 73-70.
Most intersting section game: New Ulm Cathedral vs Cedar Mt. Comfrey. It was quick. only one and a half pages for each half when most of the time it is 2 pages and about 4 lines. Also NUC trailed and came back to win.
Biggest Section shocker: Perham over Willmar in 8AAA.

NEW GYMS for me total; 18
WISCONSIN
Glenwood City
Amery
Somerset
MINNESOTA
LeSueur-Henderson (at Henderson)
Nicollet
Braham
Northfield
Park Rapids
Albany
Hinckley-Finlayson
Jordan
Norwood-Young America
Concordia Bloomington
Rocori
New Prague (the new gym)
Litchfield
Hayfield
Park-Cottage Grove

Now we get down to the nitty gritty. Player of the year; top 10 players of the year (that I saw 3+times over the year), Coach and Team of the year.
COACH OF THE YEAR:
Coach Willie Taylor, St. Paul Central took a bunch of players from different backgrounds, got them to play as a team and take a cut in time and points for the betterment of the whole. It is never easy with so many new faces come into a situation. Players that started last year saw limited minutes. Players that were the go-to player in their old school had to adjust. There is a lot of moving pieces involved and SPC was well greased.
TEAM OF THE YEAR
As you may have guessed St. Paul Central takes this honor too. They improved from a rough start to a juggernaut that steamrolled teams in the state tournament. SPC left their footprint and made statements late in the year. They are now the standard other great teams will be measured against. What made them so strong besides the talent, was the depth and defense. They really shut down power teams. They held Edina and Mpls South to 30 under their pp100 in the state tournament.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
It is a clean sweep for SPC as Angel Robinson takes the player of the year honor. The Best player on the best team. It was her team. She was the motor, the decider, the glue. She had statement games against South and Cretin-Derham Hall. Her top performance (that I saw) was against CDH with a pp100 of 150+. She made her teammates better with her vision and delivery. Defensively she caused plenty of headaches. She also was tough on the boards. All in all a complete package. She is the AP, Pioneer Press and StarTribune POY. Now she has her 4th award.

TRENCH PLAYERS those with more than one notice
Brianna Mastey, Becker 6
Angel Robinson, St. Paul Central 4
Tayler Hill, Mpls South 3
Alyssa Karel, Cretin-Derham Hall 3
Kachine Alexander, Benilde-St. Margaret's 2
Brittnye McSperron, Eastview 2
Hallie Hoganson, Detroit Lakes 2
Bri Zabel, Northfield 2
Maggie Slawson, Holy Angels 2
Jenny Ramey, New Life 2
Aaryn Booker, DeLaSalle 2
Laura Kramer, Fulda 2
Faith Tinklenberg, Pipestone 2

2007 GBB RECRUIT ALL STATE (3 games minimum)
This team was selected using the pp100 and floor % in GAMES I SAW during the year. Most of the games involved top teams against top teams. I added the points, possessions and times scored to come up with the numbers. If a player had a bad game, that was factored in. I also factored in Players of the Week and Trench Player totals. TOP TOTALS FOR THE YEAR: KACHINE ALEXANDER, in the two games I SAW 151.28 pp100, .744 floor %. No one else was that close. She didn't make the first team because of the 3 game minimum. Most of these players were slightly above the 115 mark on the first team, and dropped as you went down the list.
FIRST TEAM
Georgie Jones, St. Paul Central
Brianna Mastey, Becker
Angel Robinson, St. Paul Central
Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North
Jenny Theisen, Champlin Park
SECOND TEAM
Ashlynn Fuller, Champlin Park
Tayler Hill, Minneapolis South
Megan Nipe, Centennial
Maggie Slawson, Holy Angels
Tara Steinbauer, Bloomington Kennedy
THIRD TEAM
Brittany Chambers, Jordan
Natalie Gigler, Champlin Park
Jenny Gilbertson, Winona Cotter
Alyssa Karel, Cretin-Derham Hall
Brittnye McSperron, Eastview
SPECIAL MENTION (2 GAMES)
Kachine Alexander, Benilde-St. Margaret's
Laura Kramer, Fulda
Faith Tinklenberg, Pipestone
Bri Zabel, Northfield
SPECIAL MENTION (1 GAME)
Colleen McKay, Barnum
Janessa Wolff, Park Rapids

TOP 8TH GRADERS
Rachel Banham, Lakeville North, Captain
Cara Lutes, New Life
Rebekah Schmidt, New Life
Hannah Dahlman, Braham
Shannon O'Toole, Wayzata

TOP DEFENDERS
FIRST TEAM
Kachine Alexander, Benilde-St. Margaret's
Georgie Jones, St. Paul Central
Brianna Mastey, Becker
Megan Nipe, Centennial
Angel Robinson, St. Paul Central, Captain
SECOND TEAM
Brittany Chambers, Jordan
Jackie Hiebert, Hopkins
Chelsea Lyons, Coon Rapids
Elle Queen, Minnetonka
Bri Zabel, Northfield

PAST TEAMS & PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
1 Centennial---- Megan Nipe, Centennial
2 Mpls South---- Alyssa Karel, Cretin-Derham Hall
3 Osseo----Janessa Wolff, Park Rapids
4 St. Paul Central----Kachine Alexander, Benilde-St. Margaret's
5 Wayzata----Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North
6 Champlin Park----Kachine Alexander, Benilde-St. Margaret's
7 Bloomington Kennedy---Shakila Boler, Bloomington Kennedy
8 Albany----Sam Larsen, Albany
9 Braham----Bri Zabel, Northfield
10 Champlin Park----Jenny Theisen, Champlin Park
11 Mpls North-----Maurika Hickman, Mpls North
12 Mpls South----Tayler Hill, Mpls South
13 Winona Cotter----Brianna Mastey, Becker
14 St. Paul Central---Angel Robinson, St. Paul Central
15 Holy Angels----Tara Steinbauer, Bloomington Kennedy
16 St. Paul Central---Angel Robinson, St. Paul Central
17 St. Paul Central----Brianna Mastey, Becker
FOR THE YEAR
ST. PAUL CENTRAL----ANGEL ROBINSON, ST. PAUL CENTRAL

It was great fun this season watching the games. Again Thanks to Tim Teas for criss crossing the state. I hope to see more teams next season.
Now we move on the the AAU/Summer Camp/Summer League seasons. I will have more and be out & about soon.

Thanks for the great help from the readers of this site.

Next up: parade of states; college report; and The Season That Was later tonight.