The AAU Week That Was #1

#7 posting 4.6.2007
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE AAU WEEK THAT WAS #1
Already it is AAU spring season and Minnesota started their schedule, while Iowa jumed right in with their State tournement after only three weeks after their HS season. Here are some observations.
*One thing that struck us was that Iowa seemed to have better "catch and shoot" players. In Minnesota many of the players try to break the defense down and create off the dribble. Iowa players would spot up in their favorite area and be ready to let go once they received the ball.
* Teams, at least the better ones, are rolling already. It took a while last year for the summer ball to catch up with the pp100 list, but 2007 seems to have the teams already more polished than 2006.
* There is a clear distinction between class I (all star teams) and II (school based teams).
* Uniforms. I know that the IBCA team's uniforms have been ordered, but haven't been shipped yet. Iowa Elite has the best uniforms with plain simple numbers to read and actual names on the back of the jersey. If you haven't ordered your uniforms yet, make sure you get easy to read numbers, and names. That helps out more than you know. DO NOT GET UNIFORMS WITH NUMBERS ONLY ON ONE SIDE. That is just plain wrong.
* I am sure the IA tournament was moved up to avoid all the spring problems like prom, and other spring sporting events. In the MN All City Ballers AAU tournament on Saturday there were scheduling problems with two pools merging into one, and reshuffled schedules.

#TRENDS
Last year it took until mid June before a team cracked the 100 pp100 mark. It was done on March 31 this year. And it was done by a 13u team the Midtown Lady Monarchs. Even so by the end of the weekend 25% of the teams I have seen (16) had topped the mark with All Iowa Attack topping 123.x which would have put them fourth overall last year.
Here is how the MN HS teams did this winter with teams cracking the pp100 mark.
AAAA: 25/111---22.5%
AAA 3/67---4.5%
AA 2/41---4.8%
A 4/43----9.3%
So AAU ball is slightly ahead of AAAA execution at this early stage of the summer. Will teams be able to maintain that pace? We will keep tracking.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
For their championship performance in the Iowa State AAU tournament Junior Eligible it is IBCA Select I. They didn't have any close calls in the semis or finals with victory margins of 29 and 13. Their pp100 was 100 and floor % was .475 with only one real practice. And they were missing two players that will help with their depth.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The first award this spring/summer season goes to Indy Uhlenhopp of IBCA Select. She was consistent in both games I saw and was a threat both outside and inside. She also was extremely effective on the defensive side of the court. She is athletic, lean, rangy, competitive and finishes. She knows how to win too, or should I say doesn't know how to lose. Her North Butler HS team has won the last two Iowa 2A championships with a 28-1 record in 2006 and undefeated this year.

Here is how this team was selected. #1 I had to see the player during the week. #2. player had to have at least an average of seven possessions per game (AAU plays more people than HS so the possession number is lowered). #3 player had to average better than 100 pp100 and .500 to make the top list. If I saw two or more games, then that player's average is factored in. I am looking for consistency, and consistenly good top level performances. If a player didn't make one of the cut offs, they are probably on the second or third teams. Also this list will be top heavy with 16s, 15s. For the younger players I have a special mention section.
First Team
Kaisha Brown, IBCA Select I (Spirit Lake)
Jennie Kalbfell, MSB (Lakeville South)
Tia Mays, All Iowa Attack (Des Moines East)
Chelsea Poppens, All Iowa Attack (Applington-Parkersburg)
Indy Uhlenhopp, IBCA Select I (North Butler)
Second Team
Clare Duwelius, Iowa Elite I (Dowling Catholic)
Ally Jensen, All Iowa Attack (Ballard)
Kelly Krei, IBCA Select I (Iowa City)
Rachel Thune, Iowa Lady Gators (Des Moines Christian)
Amanda Zimmermanm, All Iowa Attack (Ballard)
Third Team
Alissa Clapper, Ankeny
Danielle Lang, Ankeny
Micha Mims, Iowa Elite I (Cedar Rapids Washington)
Whitney Ryan, Kenyon-Wanamingo
Stacey Schutjer, Iowa Lady Gators (WCLT)
SPECIAL MENTION
Marissa Janning, Midtown Lady Monarchs (Watertown-Mayer)
Ellie Zeller, Midtown Lady Monarchs (St. Anthony)

DEFENSIVE TEAM
Morgan Hamner, Iowa Elite I (Des Moines Roosevelt)
Kelly Krei, IBCA Select I (Iowa City)
Tia Mays, All Iowa Attack (Des Moines East)
Stacey Schutjer, Iowa Lady Gators (WCLT)
Indy Uhlenhopp, IBCA Select I (North Butler) captain
Special Mention
Ona Nicks, Midtown Lady Monarchs

RANKINGS (from Information delivered and games I have seen)
16s
1. IBCA Select I (4-0)
2. All Iowa Attack (3-1)
3. Iowa Elite I (3-1)
4. MN Stars Antl (3-0)
5. Iowa Lady Gators (2-2)
6. Ankeny (1-1)
7. Kenyon-Wanamingo (2-2)
15s
1. MSB (4-0)
2. Shox (1-3)
14s
1. Cambridge-Isanti (0-4)
13s
1. Midtown Lady Monarchs (3-1)


This week the games will be limited with only Saturday in play. I will not watch a team more than twice this week. But I will have a recap each week.

If you have information on your AAU team (from MN, WI, IA, and the Dakotas), the games and results-box scores, send them to me so it can be posted. I am always looking for news from the AAU scene.

next up: tomorrow morning.