The AAU Week That Was #11

#5 posting 6.15.2007
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information


SCHOOL IS OUT
The Summer League Season really kicked in this week, while the weekend tournaments stepped back an took a breather.

The week started with a wild goose chase to watch a game that was forfeited on Saturday in the 43 Hoops Tournament. Only two teams managed to show up and they had already faced each other twice.

Sunday there were more teams at Rogers. The Northern Lights MN stood tall as they beat Northern Storm (better known as Cambridge-Isanti).

Tuesday the action shifted to the summer league at Champlin Park with the first games. Three teams that made the state tournament last season were in the house: Osseo, Totino-Grace, and the hosts Champlin Park. Also high school coaches were able to coach their teams. Andover, Champlin Park and Totino-Grace all were coached by their varsity coaches, while Osseo and Maple Grove were player coached.

Now the calendar moves to a more regional based tournament structure over the next seven weeks. We will be watching which state produces.

NBA FINALS
I normally don't write about the NBA, but True Hoop has some interesting postings lately---if you are a numbers aficionado like I am.
True Hoop had a Stat Geek Smackdown. TH also looks at the end of game 3 with ProTrade and the probabilities of winning with an analysis of the last play in particular.

THIS WEEK
The Summer Jam will be in full swing on Saturday and Sunday at Kennedy. Already the 19s have had some attrition with Iowa Lighting Black dropping, the 16s have 30 teams ready.
Of the top 5 teams in the Minnesota 16 teams, only one team is playing at the 16 tournament---Metro Stars Black.
I was hoping to see the top teams knock heads, but they are divided into two different age levels. North Tartan Larson and Metro Stars Hested could meet in the finals of the 19s. IBCA Select I at this point is the favorite in the 16s.
This leads me to a complaint about the national AAU: They need to get rid of the antiquated, fossilized age requirements, join the 21st century and have these tournaments done by class. Guess what? the players will graduate in 2008, have a 2008 tournament, 2009 tournament. The players go on to college by grade, not by age. The players then would be playing against like players and it would make for much more realistic games. Because one player's birthday falls on one day on the calendar is not the way they go to college. They leave as the class of 2007, no matter what day they were born. This is reality.

Strangely enough there is another Summer Jam going on with the MYAS at Minnetonka. There is one Wisconsin team--Green Bay Metro--involved.

Minnesota Basketball Association is running a tournament at Hamline this weekend.

Also going on will be the Inner City All Star Classic at Arlington on Sunday with the girls game at 3 pm right during the heart of the finals of the Summer Jam.

photo: Spitfire Danielle Mangen, Osseo SL tries to get in front of Taylor House, Maple Grove SL in the Champlin Park Summer League game from Tuesday.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Since there weren't a lot of teams to choose from this week I added the summer league games I saw. As you know I am a big believer in crunching numbers and Totino-Grace was the only team that cracked the 100 pp100 mark therefore they are the team of the week. Summer Leagues have a different feel. TG did execute, showed good discipline on offense with no rushed shots, and defensively they did not permit very many easy shots. They are state tournament veterans and played like the cagey vets they are.
Does this mean TG can go out and beat the top AAU teams? That isn't what I am measuring. It is an apples & oranges comparison. TG thrived in this environment.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Standing at 6-7 Amber Dvorak is hard to miss. She is projected to go 6-9. She is definitely a difference maker on defense. Players avoid the lane with patrolling the middle. She is the owns the boards. On offense she draws plenty of attention. Her shot is soft and has good hands. She will get on the floor for a ball too.
Does she need polish? yes. I think she has the desire to improve and will get better over the next two years. She does need to ramp up the speed/quickness/competition. That will come.


FIRST TEAM (from left to right)
Allie Benham, Northern Lights, MN (Deer River)
Amber Dvorak, Northern Lights, MN (Hinckley-Finlayson)
Danielle Mangen, Osseo SL
Lizzie Naumann, Totino-Grace SL
Lauren Soukup, Totino-Grace SL
SECOND TEAM
Samantha Anderson, Northern Lights, MN (Wrenshall)
Marny Ferrara, Osseo SL
Kylie Gottsman, Osseo SL
Marie Hanson, Northern Storm (Cambridge-Isanti)
Shelby Slygh, Northern Lights, MN (Mesabi Range CC, Cotton)
*SL=Summer League


DEFENSIVE TEAM
Amber Dvorak, Northern Lights MN (Hinckley-Finlayson) captain
Lizzie Naumann, Totino-Grace SL
Chiamaka Okwonko, Osseo SL
Shelby Slygh, Northern Lights MN (Mesabi Range CC, Cotton)
Lauren Soukup, Totino-Grace SL


PAST WEEKLY WINNERS
Team...Player of the Week/D player
10: NC Heat.....Tayler Hill (Mpls South)/same
9: Team WI Select 17.…Val Schuster (Wausau Newman) Team WI Select 17/Nicole Griffin (Milwaukee Vincent) Team WI Select 15
8: MN Stars Borowicz.....Kiara Buford (St. Paul Central) North Tartan/Katya Leick (Park-Cottage Grove) NC Heat
7: MN Metro Stars Black....Courtney Boylan (Chaska) MN Metro Stars Black/Kayla Hirt (Bemidji) Gym Rats 14
6: MN Stars Hosted.....Teairra Taylor (St. Paul Central) MN Stars Hosted/Cassie Rochel (Lakeville North) Lakeville North 15
5: NC Heat....Tayler Hill (Mpls South) NC Heat/Katya Leick (Park-Cottage Grove) NC Heat
4: MN AAAA All Stars....Angel Robinson (St. Paul Central) AAAA/Janessa Wolf (Park Rapids) AAA
3: Team WI Select 17....Katie Bushman (Phillips) Team WI Select 17/same
2: Mpls Lady Cats..... Sarina Baker (DeLaSalle) Mpls Lady Cats/Aubrey Davis (Blm Kennedy) Mpls Lady Cats
1: IBCA Select I.....Indy Uhlenhopp (North Butler) IBCA Select I/same

POLLS
If you are looking for movement on this list you won't find it. No one was in action last weekend.
19
1. Metro Stars
2. Gym Rats
3. Southern Minne Magic

16/17-Junior Girls
1. IBCA Select I
2. NC Heat
3. All Iowa Attack
4. MN Stars Hosted
5. North Tartan Larson
6. Team WI Select 17
7. MN Stars Borowicz
8. MN Metro Stars Black
9. Iowa Elite I
10. Quest
11. Randolph
12. Total Package
13. MN Suns
14. North Tartan Crosby
15. ‘Stangs

15
1. MN Metro Stars2. MN Stars
3. North Tartan 15
4. Team WI Select 15
5. Lakeville North
6. WI Heat
7. Southern Stars
8. 43 Hoops
9. MN Fury
10. MSB

14
1. North Tartan 14
2. MN Metro Stars
3. 43 Hoops Williams
4. MN Suns Gold
5. MN Suns White
5. MN Fury
7. MN Stars Blue
8. Gym Rats
9. MN Stars Red

13
1. Mpls Lady Cats
2. Midtown Lady Monarchs
3. St. Paul Central
4. MN Suns
5. Olympic Ice
6. Metro Stars

Next up: tomorrow morning