The Week That Was #11: Hitting the Wall

#11 posting 1.27.2008
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THE WEEK THAT WAS #11: Hitting the Wall
The start of the week was electric with a standing room only crowd in the best atmosphere we have seen yet this season in the Barnum at Wrenshall class A game. You could not budge. Coach Teas asked a local youngster what was the reason Wrenshall was there. The kid answered "basketball." Teas was getting at the economic reason, but that reason summed up the night. That contrasted with games later in the week where I could sprawl out over the entire section of bleachers.
photo: here is one of the crowd shots at the Wrenshall/Barnum game from Monday. Notice the pillar in the middle of the seating sections. photo by Teas.

I now have fewer teams to see on my to do list. On the MaxPreps top 50 list I have 8 to see. On AAAA teams that have .500 records or better I have two to go.

The theme of the week could be upsets with Wrenshall and Holy Family beating higher ranked teams at home.

Also the theme of the week could be AA powers with Crookston and Holy Family picking up quality wins over strong AA competition.

But I also noticed a trend—the drop of pp100 in AAAA. I saw three games with AAAA teams and all games pulled down the pp100 to a 83.72. Last week at this time it was 86.1. So why did it drop faster than a cold front blowing across the Minnesota prairie? I think the dreaded Mid Season Blahs have arrived.

MID WINTER DOLDRUMS
The Mid Season blahs are here. Some players and teams look tired and have hit a rut with their wheels spinning. Some players aren't transitioning quickly to defense. Execution is sloppy. 13 travel calls in one game? Passes are thrown haphazardly. Players are waiting for the ball to bounce to them and not meeting the ball. The passion, the drive, the desire has flickered out on some dreams.
It is inevitable during the long season that players and teams will hit the proverbial wall. I remember it happened at Osseo with some regularity at this point in the season. It seems everyone goes through the motions on automatic pilot. Thorpe would say we just had to go through this and keep focused on the tournaments at the end of the year.
Some stagnation is to be expected, but not accepted. The fact is there is only 25 days before sections begin in Minnesota (Feb. 21). Other states it is even earlier. If you aren’t better after you cross the line to the showers after practice it was a waste of time. The players and teams that strive to better themselves every day will be playing deep in March. Those that coast now will pay a severe price later. The fact is this is the start of the home stretch. It will be over all too quickly. Don't count the days, make the days count.
As Wilson Pickett once said in song “99 and a half just won’t do.”

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Crookston seems like they are on a mission. "That run, that was some of best basketball I’ve ever seen played,” Cotter coach Pat Bowlin said (found in the Winona Daily News). Crookston put on a clinic in the first half in their revenge win over Winona Cotter. Crookston is a senior dominated team that has great depth. I view them as having eight starters. They all have played with each other for years and it shows. When this group was sophomores, they finished second to Cannon Falls in the State AA tournament. Their defensive intensity made life rough for Cotter. Crookston can score in a hurry. They added 15 points to their totals in 2:12. If they kept that pace for the entire game they would hit 120 points for the half (that is NOT pp100). Crookston is averaging 80.3, 6 more than Albany. Crookston has a bevy of three point shooters, a post that is unafraid, and point guard with great instincts. That is a good combination.
Last year they were bumped off by Barnesville in the sections. Crookston has unfinished business.
Photo: Crookston swarms Lauren Bowlin of Cotter. defenders include Molly Simmons, Kamille Wahlin, Sam Plooster. photo by Teas.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Lizzie Traxler of Holy Family works hard. Coach Thorpe said if that was the first description you had for a player they couldn’t be that good. This is not one of these cases. Traxler works extremely hard and has athletic skills, ability and fight. She was part of a one-two Holy Family punch that KO ed Jordan on Tuesday. To illustrate her work ethic she had 19 defensive wraps, a total work area in our estimation. She made a hustle play for a ball going out of bounds, turned and bounced the ball off a stationary Jordan player saving the possession for Holy Family. Something that doesn’t show up in stats or my numbers, but was admired for the competitive drive and intensity of play.
Another Teas photo of Traxler splitting the Jordan defense.

HOW TO MAKE THE LIST
#1. I need to see the player during the course of the week.
#2. player needs to have a minimum of 10 possessions
#3. player needs to be above 100 pp100
#4. player needs to be above .500 floor %.
Again there were only 7 players in the pool.

FIRST TEAM
Becca Friestleben (08) Holy Family
Emma Grover (08) Wrenshall
Hannah Iaizzo (09) White Bear Lake
Taylor Stippel (09) Stillwater
Lizzi Traxler (08) Holy Family
HONORABLE MENTION
Taylor Davis (08) Crookston
Jenny Gilbertson (08) Winona Cotter

Here is a list of players that didn’t make the cut due to:
*floor %
Leah Dietel (09) Jordan (.467)
Julia Dysthe (10) White Bear Lake (.462)
Kamille Wahlin (08) Crookston (.474)

DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Lizzie Traxler see above

Danielle Anderson (08) Wrenshall
Megan Lauck (10) Mounds View
Lizzie Traxler (08) Holy Family
Alyssa Van Klei (08) Stillwater
Kamille Wahlin (08) Crookston

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Taylor Stippel gets down the floor in a hurry and she finished the fast break and secondary breaks quickly for Stillwater against Henry Sibley. She set a new Stillwater record for points scored in a game that night with 33. Stippel is a junior and listed as a guard, but she was used in the low post.
This photo is by kja

PAST WINNERS
Week, Team
10 Centennial
9 New Life Academy
8 Long Beach Poly, CA
7 Hopkins
6 Forest Lake
5 Richfield
4 St. Paul Central
3 Mpls South
2 Hopkins
1 NDSCS CC

Player of the week
10 Becca Swalla, Riverland CC
9 Lauren Barber, Owatonna
8 Alison Johnson, St. Louis Park
7 Stephanie Sension, Hopkins
6 Hannah Linz, Eden Valley-Watkins
5 Brittnye McSparron, Eastview
4 Rachel Banham, Lakeville North
3 Courtney Boylan, Chaska
2 Megan Nipe, Centennial
1 Tanika Massey, NDSCS CC

Defender
10 Kiara Allums, Centennial
9 Charmaine Cross, Minneapolis CC
8 Jasmine Dixon, Long Beach Poly CA
7 Meme Hudnell, DeLaSalle
6 Anne Berner, Forest Lake
5 DaNae Moore, Eastview
4 Brianna Mastey, Becker
3 Sarah Hintz, Woodbury
2 Madelyn Houser, North Iowa Area CC
1 Whitney Glazier, Central Lakes CC

Newcomer
10 Becca Swalla, Riverland CC
9 Brittany Monio, Minneapolis CC
8 Hope Sevlie, Red Wing
7 Ruby Harvey, St. Paul Arlington
6 Erin Schmeling of St. Croix Lutheran
5 Yaasmiyn Salahu-Din, St. Paul Como Park
4 Hannah Frost, Mahtomedi

THE WEEK AHEAD
MONDAY, Jan. 28
Booming Prairie at Hayfield. The top two teams of 2AA East tangle.
Fairmont at MN Valley Lutheran. A 3AA match up between two teams that have been to the state the last two years.
Mpls Roosevelt at Jordan. Is this a preview of the 4AA finals?
TUESDAY, Jan. 29
Hermantown at Cloquet. Important for 7AAA seeding.
Fergus Falls at Detroit Lakes. 8AAA implications.
Armstrong at Hopkins. How much will Dooher’s absence make a difference for the Falcons.
New Life at Maranatha. 4A final preview? MCAA title on the line.
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 30
MN Transitions at Oh Day Aki. It is the only game listed in the state this day.
THURSDAY, Jan. 31
SW MN Christian at Adrian. Red Rock Conference and 3A South battle.
Rochester JM at Hopkins. The leader in 1AAAA travels to the leader in 6AAAA.
Caledonia at Kingsland. Three Rivers title on the line.
Fergus Falls at Sartell. Both trying to stay in the Central Lakes race. FF looking to lock up top seed in 8AAA.
FRIDAY, Feb. 1
Esko at Barnum. Two Polar powers collide.
Becker at Rogers. This is round 2 of a potential three round bout.
Chaska at Eastview. Will Boylan be ready for this contest? (She will be out a few games).
Winona Cotter at Rochester Lourdes. Each have one loss in the Hiawatha Valley.
SATURDAY, Feb. 2
Worthington at Adrian. AAA power travels 15 miles west.
St. Paul Central at Mpls South. A rerun of the AAAA State championship. A preview of the City championship.

SEEDING THE STATE
Since the top two classes seed the state I have listed who I see as the section front runners right now. This is NOT a top 10 list. It is who I think will win each section, hence only 8.
AAAA
1. Centennial (5)
2. Hopkins (6)
3. St. Paul Central (4)
4. Eastview (3)
5. Chaska (2)
6. Elk River (8)
7. St. Francis (7)
8. Rochester JM (1)

AAA
1 DeLaSalle (6)
2 Becker (5)
3 Minnehaha (4)
4 Totino-Grace (3)
5 Fergus Falls (8)
6 Worthington (2)
7 New Prague (1)
8 Grand Rapids (7)

Next up: Tomorrow morning. Also tomorrow a special Q&A session