The Week That Was #19: Sweet Endings

#4 posting 8.8.2008
Your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE WEEK THAT WAS #19: Sweet Ending
The summer officially wrapped up last weekend at the College of St. Benedict with surprising Bloomington Kennedy taking home the Sweet 16 title. No Boler, No Holt, No Problem for Kennedy as they used their tough nosed defense to win the title. The Eagles never really blew out any of their opponents. They did have enough grit and determination in the tank to get the job done. Kennedy’s margin of victories were 6-9-8-7, not one double digit win in the bunch. The Eagles, with hard hat, lunch bucket players like Brittany Zins, Aubrey Davis, and Bailey Lund, were able to squeeze out victories with disciplined half court offense, and multiple looks on defense. If the situation called for man defense to stop New London-Spicer’s 3 point snipers, or a 2/3 zone against athletic DeLaSalle and New Prague, Kennedy delivered. When Alexis Holt returns in November, and Shakila Boler returns in February Kennedy will be that much deeper.

But how does Kennedy and 2008 stack up with the recent years? (at least in games I charted).
First the years
Year, pp100, floor %
2006 85.44, .415
2007 84.12, .404
2008 77.24, .373
There was clear evidence that this year’s Sweet 16 was lacking scoring punch. A drop of nearly seven points is a big drop. My opinion is that pp100 measures offensive skill. This year’s group isn’t as polished—at least in Sweet 16 land.

Champions
2006 Champlin Park 104.5, .522
2007 Centennial 111.5, .533
2008 Bloomington Kennedy 79.44, .383
Here the drop is steep. A 32.1 pp100 drop is not easy to wash away. The floor % is another huge drop. But what about the defensive numbers?
2006 CP 87.5, .419
2007 Centennial 72.7, .355
2008 BK 69.3, .329
Here Kennedy shines. They had the best defense in the last three years.

Here are the classes that the teams beat
Champlin Park 2006 1-2-3-1
Centennial 3-2-3-4
Kennedy 2-3-3-3
It should be noted Champlin Park finished 4th in the 2007 AAAA state tournament. Centennial lost in the 5AAAA finals last season.

VERBALS
The rest of summer will be prime verballing season. By now most of you have been following the Ohio/Elofson saga. This case was more a failure of communication on the new Ohio staff.

If you look at the verbals across sports and genders you will find more problems when there is a change of administration. For example if you look at the girlsvolleyballrecruit.blogspot.com site I also run you will see players are deserting South Dakota State in volleyball. The former coach went to Washington State and two players and one verbal are now headed to Pullman, WA.

The fact is verbals don’t mean a thing. They are as good as the paper they are written on.

“Those are just a few things floating around my head at this point, but the truth is, verbal commitments mean nothing. Some people argue that they take pressure off the kids in the recruiting process, but that doesn't make a lot of sense to me (see Eric Gordon rescinding his commitment to Illinois to go to Indiana). Nothing is in stone until a written offer is made and signed. Until then, eighth graders should just be eighth graders”

The above was from the the official NCAA blog and the context was about a 13 year old boy making a verbal to a college basketball program.

But verbals are important in this regard---they indicate if a player, or coach, are good for their word. I have been surprised when players blow out their knee and the colleges stick by their player. I am thinking Jamie Printy of Linn-Mar, IA who hurt her knee as a sophomore. She is fine now, and had a strong summer. The fact was Iowa stood by Printy. Shakila Boler is in the same situation with the Gophers now. The Gophers are standing by Boler.

The big problem for Ohio was reassuring the family in April that everything was fine and then pulling the rug out from underneath their feet after the viewing period this summer.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
This should come as no surprise—Bloomington Kennedy. Coming into the tournament they weren’t considered the favorites. Some considered them #4 of the four AAAA teams at the event. This should be the main point of their win this week---They looked for ways to win and didn’t dwell on what they didn’t have and make excuses. They looked for ways to win and seized the opportunities before them. The key point came in the very first game when they trailed New London-Spicer 34-29 to start the fourth quarter.

Too often people, teams, players, and coaches look backward instead of forward, come to games already beat, and when adversity strikes throw in the towel instead of using what is before them. Kennedy will be stronger for this experience.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
First off this week doesn’t have an abundance of players that made the cut. I don’t fudge the numbers or grease players that are an inch from the finish line. The same rules that have held sway since the start of summer remain in place.
#1. I need to see the player during the week.
#2. Minimum of six possessions
#3. + 100 pp100
#4 +.500 floor %
#5 if I see a player multiple times the numbers are averaged out.
Players got sidelined for a variety of reasons this week. Some had +100 pp100, but sub .500 floor %. Any way the player of the week didn’t stumble on these stones. Bailey Lund of Bloomington Kennedy is a hard hat worker that is in the thick of battle all the time. Her main focus has been that of a defensive stopper during the high school year. She was playing on the inside in this tournament. In that role she drew plenty of fouls and went to the line plenty of times. All her damage was done in the paint. On top of her offensive consistency this week she provided the same gritty trench defense. Scraped knees are her trademark.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
FIRST TEAM
Sarah Hintz, Woodbury
Rena Kneeland, New Prague
Bailey Lund, Bloomington Kennedy
Megan Nipe, Centennial
Bridget Schuneman, Centennial
Honorable Mention
Jess Braaten, Lakeville North

DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
This was a bit easier to pick from. The pool of players was bigger. This is an effort area. Either a player works to get the ball, or they let others do the heavy lifting. Brittany Zins had the biggest rebound of the tournament when DeLaSalle had closed fast to a four point deficit. An Eagle missed a free throw with under 1:30 to go and she got the key offensive rebound to keep the possession alive. Technically not a defensive stop, but the results were the same. For the weekend Zins had 24.5 stops including 13 in one game.

FIRST TEAM
Adriana Ivanovic, Bigfork
Tori Rule, DeLaSalle
Bridget Schuneman, Centennial
Hannah Strop, New Prague
Brittany Zins, Bloomington Kennedy
SECOND TEAM
Aubrey Davis, Bloomington Kennedy
Bailey Lund, Bloomington Kennedy
Rey Robinson, Becker
Kaiya Sygulla, Lakeville North
Megan Waytashek, Centennial

DISTRIBUTOR OF THE WEEK
Aubrey Davis stepped into Shakila Boler’s role and did a strong job in running the offense for Kennedy. Usually a three point shooter on the receiving end of passes, Davis initiated the JFK offense and knew who to get the ball too.
Honorable Mention
Brit Rynda, New Prague
Holly Hofland, Centennial
Amanda Wagner, New Prague

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
It is hard to pick a newcomer of the week when I have seen players and teams for the umpteenth time. You can cross off any Kennedy, Centennial, Lakeville North …..you get the idea. The newcomer is a first sighting. It doesn’t matter if they are seniors or elementary players. This week the first timer is Brogen Lothert of New London-Spicer. She scored from behind the arc and crashed the offensive boards.

Here are the complete 2008 Summer Weekly winners from gbbrecruit.blogspot.com

FINAL POLL
HIGH SCHOOL
SUMMER LEAGUE/SUMMER TOURNEYS
School, Summer League
1. Centennial
2. Lakeville North, LNSL
3. Hopkins, LNSL
4. Bloomington Kennedy
5. New Prague
5. Minnetonka, CPSL
6. Minnehaha, CSPSL
7. Eastview, LNSL
8. Maple Grove, CPSL
9. Champlin Park, CPSL
10. White Bear Lake, CSPSL
11. Benilde-St. Margaret’s
12. Barnum
13. DeLaSalle

Next week will be the jumbo 2008 summer wrap. If you have nominees go to kja8067@gmail.com and email me.

next up: tomorrow, unless news breaks

The Week that Was #18: Fantasyland

#3 posting 8.1.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

The Week That Was #18: Fantasyland

The NCAA viewing window has shut for the summer. That means summer basketball is coming to a close. The summer leagues, the summer tournaments have wrapped up their seasons. The Minnesota Sweet 16 tournament this weekend marks the official end of tournaments in the upper Midwest. There may be a few stray tournaments that I don’t know, but the heavy hitters have packed up their gym bags for the summer season.

FANTASYLAND
The Olympics are just around the corner and this leads to my constant summer wish—to see an Olympic style event with all the states involved in a truly national tournament. I am sorry but there are about 1001 “national” champions running around after the summer is done. I look at the tournament fields and usually there is a whole section of the country missing in action. How can you claim to be national champ without a California team or Florida or Texas team?

I would have the American Olympics divided by high school graduating class. At this point I would run 2009s, 2010s, 2011s and 2012s. I would have this event the culminating event of the summer. Every state would have a team. You may play for AAU teams in the early part of the summer, but for this weekend it would be state, not club based. The best players in the state would be on one team. There would be no line jumping (Becky Hammon thinking she is a Russian). If you live in Minnesota and go to school somewhere in Minnesota, you play for Minnesota.

The games would all be in air conditioned comfort, with real seating for fans.

The tournament would run the course of a eight days. There would be 10 pools of 5. (50 states—DC would be in the Maryland orbit. There would only be one game per day for each team. Pool play would run from Saturday to Wednesday. The 10 winners would then move on to a single elimination round. There would be a play in round on Thursday. Quarters would be on Friday, Semis on Saturday, with the grand finale on Sunday.

An example of the pools
A
Alabama
California
Delaware
South Dakota
Wisconsin

B
Colorado
Maine
New Hampshire
Texas
Virginia

C
Alaska
Iowa
Nebraska
New York
North Carolina

D
Hawaii
Kentucky
Minnesota
New Mexico
Pennsylvania

E
Arizona
Kansas
Montana
Nevada
Ohio

F
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Mississippi
New Jersey
North Dakota

G
Georgia
Idaho
Maryland
Oklahoma
Vermont

H
Arkansas
Indiana
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Washington

I
Connecticut
Michigan
Tennessee
Utah
West Virginia

J
Florida
Illinois
Missouri
Oregon
Wyoming

If Canada and other nations can run similar national events, why can’t the USA? It is time for USA Basketball to get control of the summer and start making it work for all parties involved.

Right now the system is broken. It does not favor athletes, or coaches. It is not uncommon for a team to go from one “national” tournament to another “national” tournament the very next day. The thinking is “if X is good 10X is ten times as good.” It ain’t necessarily so. (Don’t send me the proper phrasing here, I know it). The pace of summer ball is not found at either the high school or college level. The NCAA tournament stretches out over a month, not over two days. Summer teams don’t prepare for games like college or high school teams. There is almost no advanced scouting (unless you are playing a team from your own area). You have almost no clue on your opponents, their tendencies, or their flaws. Decisions are being made on players in a false environment.

I know of a situation where a kid went to an “exposure” camp. She had a “supernova” experience, but reverted back to the plow horse when the high school season rolled a round. The college didn’t know the real player.

Players are NOT playing at peak performance at the end of summer from what I see. How can they be? They are tired. If it is Tuesday it must be Bardstown. Pace, space and balance are critical. I stumbled across an East German training book when I was at college dealing with training and peak performance. In a nutshell you trained to reach optimal performance at the end of the event cycle. You don’t get that with the current system.

The current system shows how a player competes against similar (you hope) athletes. Some times those athletes are players, sometime those athletes aren’t athletes. That is a roll of the dice. And this is when decisions are made. A lot of those decisions are wrong. At least 33% of all the 2007 players from Minnesota high schools have left D1 schools, and there is still three years left for that class to graduate. From the 2006 class the number is at least 38%.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
What happens when two All Americans from the Memphis tournament are missing? If you are NC Heat you win the North Tartan Meltdown. NCH was undefeated in the summer in Minnesota. For the fourth time this summer they beat a solid MN Stars Borowicz team for the title. How strong was MSB? They went on to win the Summer Slam in Cincinnati. The special ingredient in NCH’s success is they are quicker and their chemistry is good. They have core players and players that compliment others. The Heat executes and is aware of what is happening.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tayler Hill of NC Heat takes this honor to no one’s real surprise. In the championship game against MN Stars Borowicz she struck for 21 points in the first half. She also had five threes in the game showing off a consistency from behind the arc. Hill also involved her teammates in the offense. She doesn’t get the attention on her passing or defense, but she has skills just as sharp as her scoring prowess.

For those that don’t know or aren’t familiar with how to make this list.1. I need to see the player during the week.2. Player needs to have at least six possessions3. Player needs to be north of 100 pp100 and floor % north of .5004. If I see a player multiple times the average possessions need to crack six. Hot and cold performances are averaged out. I am searching for consistency.

FIRST TEAM
Bethany Doolittle, Midtown Lady Monarchs (Hill-Murray)
Tayler Hill, NC Heat (Minneapolis South)
Alyssa Kerkhoff, MN Stars Carlisle (New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva)
Katya Leick, NC Heat (Park-Cottage Grove)
Sam Mehr, Metro Stars Black (Eastview)
SECOND TEAM
Nicole Anderson, MN Stars Smith (Cannon Falls)
Kahla Becken, MN Stars Carlisle (Centennial)
DeAirra Goss, Indy Gym Rats (Indianapolis Ben Davis)
Janae Burich, North Tartan Crosby (Roseville)
Tempestt Wilson, NC Heat (Elk River)
THIRD TEAM
Lindsey Johnson, Dakota Schoolers (Harrisburg, SD)
Diamond Lane, Midtown Lady Monarchs (DeLaSalle)
Kirstee Rotty, Metro Stars Black (Farmington)
Devyn Smith, North Tartan Crosby (Roseville)
Brittany Thiesfeld, MN Stars Smith (Glencoe-Silver Lake)
FOURTH TEAM
Lindsey Fix, MN Stars Carlilse (Coon Rapids)
Lindsey Munger, Omaha Lakers (Omaha Marian)
Katie Pettit, MN Suns 16s (Howard Lake-W-W)
Hannah Strop, North Tartan 15 (New Prague)
Grace Veker, Metro Stars 15 (Edina)

If you look closely you will not see one MN Stars Borowicz player on the list, and only one North Tartan 15 player. It is all about the rules as listed above.

DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
With 16 defensive wraps in one game it is obvious that Tori Rule of the Midtown Lady Monarchs is the proper choice. Rule ruled on defense for the Monarchs and for everyone else that matter. She leaps up and snatches the ball like a comic book superhero. She has quick hands and has plenty of steals as well. She makes life miserable for offenses.

FIRST TEAM
Gabby Boever, North Tartan 15 (Worthington)
Erica Gress, Metro Stars 15 (Apple Valley)
Cassie Hooten, MN Stars Smith (Moorhead)
Katya Leick, NC Heat (Park-Cottage Grove)
Tori Rule, Midtown Lady Monarchs (DeLaSalle)
SECOND TEAM
Jes Bolgar, Omaha Lakers (Papillon-LaVista South)
Alyssa Cegelske, MN Stars Carlisle (GHEC)
Jasmine Mendes, MN Suns 16s (Hopkins)
Janay Morton, MN Stars Martin (Osseo)
Theairra Taylor, MN Stars Borowicz (St. Paul Central)

DISTRIBUTOR OF THE WEEK
Tayler Hill doesn’t get a lot of love in this category. Today she does. See above.
FIRST TEAM
Kahla Becken, MN Stars Carlisle (Centennial)
Tayler Hill, NC Heat (Mpls South)
Tori Rule, Midtown Lady Monarchs (DeLaSalle)
Morgan Van-Riper Rose, North Tartan 15 (Eden Prairie)
Katy Winge, North Tartan 15 (Minnetonka)

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
DeAirra Goss of the Indy Gym Rats played with the intensity coaches like to see. Goss in a perimeter type that is a battler. She has speed and quickness. Plus she plays without fear and doesn't back down from a challenge.

POLLS
19s
AAU
1. MN Stars
2. Metro Stars Black
3. Team WI Sr White
4. Team WI Sr Black
MYAS
1. Gym Rats
2. Minnesota Thunder
3. Wayzata AC
4. Southern Minne Magic

17u/16u/JR ELIGIBLE
AAU
1. NC Heat
2. Team WI Select Samuels
3. MN Stars Borowicz
4. Nebraska CSS Bison
5. IBCA Select Red
6. Metro Stars Black
7. North Tartan Larson
8. Nebraska Twisterz
9. Pinnacle Bank Nebraska
10. Sioux Falls Warriors
11. Metro Stars White
12. Fury
13. Iowa Elite
14. North Tartan Crosby
15. Kansas City Hustle
16. All Iowa Attack Red
17. MN Stars Smith
18. IBCA Select White
19. MN Suns
20. Team WI Select Doucette
16u/MYAS DIVISION
1. MN Dynamite
2. Chaska Gold
3. MN Thunder
4. Triple Threat

15u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. Nebraska Judds
3. Metro Stars
4. Fury
5. MN Suns Arbogast
6. All Iowa Attack Red
7. Team Iowa
8. MN Stars Jihad Lady Cats
9. MN Stars Carlisle
10. Team WI Select
11. PT Players
12. MN Suns Ellen
13. 43 Hoops
14. Team WI Red
15. MN Dynamite

14u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. Metro Stars
3. Midtown Lady Monarchs
4. Team WI Select
5. MN Stars Seter
6. MN Stars Collins
7. IBCA Select Blue
8. Fury Livers
9. Fury Haugen
10. MN Stars Hested

13u
AAU
1. Cornhusker Shooting Stars
2. North Tartan
3. All Iowa Attack
4. MN Stars Martin
5. MN Jazz
6. MN Fury
MYAS
1. Hopkins

12u AAU
1. Cornhusker Shooting Stars
2. All Iowa Attack
3. MN Stars Farview
4. MN Suns

HIGH SCHOOL
SUMMER LEAGUE/SUMMER TOURNEYS
School, Summer League
1. Centennial
2. Lakeville North, LNSL
3. Hopkins, LNSL
4. Minnetonka, CPSL
5. Minnehaha, CSPSL
6. Eastview, LNSL
7. Maple Grove, CPSL
8. Champlin Park, CPSL
9. White Bear Lake, CSPSL
10. Benilde-St. Margaret’s

Next up: tomorrow

The Week that Was #17: Differentiating

#6 posting 7.25.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE WEEK THAT WAS #17: DIFFERENTIATING
This was the second big week of the summer events around the nation. The power teams continued their strong showing throughout the country. NC Heat won the diamond bracket in the River City Classic before falling to the eventual champ Cal Swish Black. Nebraska’s CSS Bison took revenge on IBCA Select Red in the Battle of the Plains. North Tartan finished second in the Super Soph Invite in Orlando despite not being at full strength. In the best of the Midwest MN Stars Jihad (Lady Cats) took that title.

Next up is the final event week of July with the North Tartan Meltdown at Bloomington Kennedy and more tournaments in Chicago. Nike Nationals start Sunday. There are events in Las Vegas and in Cincinnati too. The MIT takes place this weekend. The summer ends next weekend with the Sweet 16.

DIFFERENTIATING
While watching a bazillion players over the course of a weekend, many times the players start to morph into one faceless mass. I am sure if after a contest I asked the players if they worked hard they all would say yes. However there are some players that out work the rest. They are the ones that snap my head, rivet my eyes, grab me by the throat and force me to pay attention to their game. I am not talking about wasted motion and energy. Those players are basically spazzes, basically shouting without saying anything worth remembering.
Earlier in the week I linked a couple of articles on talent evaluation. A couple points in case you missed it.
#1. in these events players are basically showing what they can NOT do. Players that are aware of their strengths, play to their strengths-- with great energy, will succeed. Those that experiment or don’t know their limitations will be washed upon the shores of broken dreams.
#2 A player may dominate at one level, but thrown into a new mix with athletes may struggle. It might be shyness, or trying to fit in. Whatever you want to call those players---the invisible, the ghosts, the phantoms-- they are usually the kind of players I have to double check to see if they really were on the floor. I remember one time at Osseo a player wanted to go 5-5 in some of the player evaluations. “5-5?” I said, “right now you disappear in 3-3. Are you in a witness protection program?” Carpe diem my friends.
#3. The higher you climb in the talent ladder, the better the athlete. There are many good athletes, but they may not be good basketball players. I can think of 21 off the top of my head. The thing that will separate a contender from a pretender is the grounding of the basics. It might not be glamorous, but the repetitive grounding of the fundamentals is where champions are forged.
#4. Enthusiasm, and joyful passion can be displayed, but rarely are. That kind of energy draws players. Once upon a time I had a player (Kate Townley) that had that certain Joie de vivre. It was contagious and we had players from other teams every year wanting to be part of that experience. Too often I see players trudge off to the mines like the workers in the movie Metropolis with their hands bowed, shuffling off to what seems to be their execution. Pure joy is rare. Enjoy the whole experience. You have your whole life to be grim.

HISTORY LESSON
The benefit of doing this blog for three years I can now look back and compare the past players and games. Here is what has happened at the Minnesota Elite All Star Game the last three years:
2006: Gold beat Maroon 49-43 in overtime. Angel Robinson was named the trench player of the game. Others that played in the contest—Kiara Buford, Cassie Rochel, Alex Montgomery, Leah Dietel, Bri Zabel
2007: Gold beat Maroon 58-47. Kelsey Jacobson was named the trench player of the game. Others that played in the contest—Cassie Rochel, Tyisha Smith, Kiara Strickland, Emily Becken, Shelly Stemper.
Earlier today the Gold won for at least the third year in a row 54-42. Erica Gress was the trench player of the game.

Here is the pp100 of the teams
2006 Gold 75.4
2006 Maroon 67.2
2007 Gold 89.2
2007 Maroon 71.2
2008 Gold 88.5
2008 Maroon 68.8
So you can see that 2008 is pretty close to the average only 0.7 behind last year's 89.2 for the winning gold.

FAST FACT:
Did you know that Abby Busch of GFW has played in the All Star game for the third straight year?
Players making their second straight appearance in the All Star game: Megan Waytashek, Annessa Hicks.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Centennial came out and dominated Princeton in the championship at Rogers. Centennial set the tempo and pace early and never looked back. At one point the Cougars led 32-4. Centennial used a deep bench. They also continued their transition game. They have a core group returning. I read in one of the preseason football magazines that New England had an unsuccessful 19-1 season last year. Centennial is looking to rectify their New England situation. This was a convincing step.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Megan Nipe was not at full strength last Saturday, but you would be hard pressed to point out where the flaws were. She had a pp100 of 211.1 and a floor % of .889. Not only a major force and gamer on the offensive end, she also made some hustle plays and used Princeton players to save balls a couple of times. Nipe is aware.

For those that don’t know or aren’t familiar with how to make this list.
1. I need to see the player during the week.
2. Player needs to have at least six possessions
3. Player needs to be north of 100 pp100 and floor % north of .500
4. If I see a player multiple times the average possessions need to crack six. Hot and cold performances are averaged out. I am searching for consistency.
FIRST TEAM
Rachel Banham, Lakeville North
Erica Gress, Liberty (Apple Valley)
Megan Nipe, Centennial
Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North
Jaime Rust, Esko
SECOND TEAM
Laura Bruce, Lynx (Hopkins)
Roz Chromy, Shock & Esko
Cara Lutes, Fever (New Life)
Megan Waytashek, Sparks & Centennial
Cassie Ziemer, New London-Spicer
THIRD TEAM
Alexa Clausen, Storm (Wayzata)
Sam Dengerud, New Ulm Cathedral
Josie Dillon, Benilde-St. Margaret’s
Jen Field, Maple Grove
Hannah Steele, Centennial

DEFENSIVE TEAM
This is truly a team of warriors and winners. They fought tooth and nail for every loose ball. They threw their bodies into the fray with abandon. They are willing to taste hardwood going for a ball. All that they get is another floor burn for their hustle. All these players are willing to go through the wall if it will help the team win.
If you want to know the defensive wraps, as I have looked at it, indicate which players are more aggressive. Wall flowers and mall girls need not apply. These are the True Trench players. They have your back.

The first among equals this week is Jade Geif of Lakeville South. She is lanky, long and can defend both in and out. She has good leaping ability. Constant effort is her tune. She deflects passes, making life miserable for perimeters. On the inside she is physical enough to play bigger than her listed 6-0.
FIRST TEAM
Abby Busch, Sun (GFW)
Mariah Clarin, Sparks & Princeton
Jade Geif, Fever (Lakeville South)
Chiamaka Okonkwo, Osseo
Bridget Schuneman, Lynx (Centennial)
SECOND TEAM
Ashley Allevan, Monarchs (Fairmont)
Sarah Bingea, Storm (Delano)
Stormy Nesbit, Lynx (Roseville)
Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North
Cassie Ziemer, New London-Spicer

DISTRIBUTOR
Kelli Rengo was the engine driving Esko. Last Saturday she had the Eskomos running on high octane. She got the ball to the posts and had 10 assists for the day. Rengo’s contributions to the 131.8 pp100 and .614 floor % need to be acknowledged.
FIRST TEAM
Justine Dammerman, New London-Spicer
Annessa Hicks, Mystics (St. Paul Humboldt)
Kelli Rengo, Esko
Hannah Steele, Centennial
Kaiya Sygulla, Lakeville North

NEWCOMER
Esko's Jaime Rust is another player that dominated on Saturday at Rogers. She too topped the 200 pp100 mark which doesn't happen too often when scoring 17 points. Rust was a well oiled scoring machine inside. She was able to score when hit and formed part of a dual post offense with Roz Chromy.

Remember to be a newcomer I need to see the player for the first time that week.

You can find the whole summer award winners here.

POLLS
19sAAU
1. MN Stars
2. Metro Stars Black
3. Team WI Sr White
4. Team WI Sr Black
MYAS
1. Gym Rats
2. Minnesota Thunder
3. Wayzata AC
4. Southern Minne Magic

17u/16u/JR ELIGIBLE
AAU
1. NC Heat
2. North Tartan Larson
3. Team WI Select Samuels
4. Nebraska CSS Bison
5. IBCA Select Red
6. MN Stars Borowicz
7. Metro Stars Black
8. Nebraska Twisterz
9. Pinnacle Bank Nebraska
10. Sioux Falls Warriors
11. Metro Stars White
12. Kansas City Hustle
13. All Iowa Attack Red
14. Fury15. Iowa Elite
16. MN Stars Smith
17. IBCA Select White
18. North Tartan Crosby
19. MN Suns
20. Team WI Select Doucette
16u/MYAS DIVISION
1. MN Dynamite
2. Chaska Gold
3. MN Thunder
4. Triple Threat

15u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. Nebraska Judds
3. MN Suns Arbogast
4. All Iowa Attack Red
5. Team Iowa
6. Metro Stars
7. MN Stars Jihad Lady Cats
8. Fury
9. MN Stars Carlisle
10. Team WI Select
11. PT Players
12. MN Suns Ellen
13. 43 Hoops
14. Team WI Red
15. MN Dynamite

14u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. Metro Stars
3. MN Stars Seter
4. Team WI Select
5. MN Stars Collins
6. IBCA Select Blue
7. Fury Livers
8. Fury Haugen
9. MN Stars Hested
10. Midtown Lady Monarchs

13u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. Cornhusker Shooting Stars
3. MN Jazz
4. All Iowa Attack
5. MN Stars Martin
6. MN Fury
MYAS
1. Hopkins

12u
AAU
1. Cornhusker Shooting Stars
2. All Iowa Attack
3. MN Stars Farview
4. MN Suns

SUMMER LEAGUE
School, Summer League
1. Lakeville North, LNSL
2. Hopkins, LNSL
3. Minnetonka, CPSL
4. Minnehaha, CSPSL
5. Eastview, LNSL
6. Maple Grove, CPSL
7. Champlin Park, CPSL
8. White Bear Lake, CSPSL

Next up: tomorrow

The Week That Was #16: Brief

#3 posting 7.18.2008
your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE WEEK THAT WAS #16: Brief
This was a busy, competitive week. NC Heat finished second in the AAU Junior Nationals in Orlando. CSS Bison won the CyFair Tournament in Houston. The MN Stars 15 team made the final four in the 14/15 Division of the Summer Showcase in Chicago. The Nebraska Twisterz took second in the Miss Basketball Tournament in Kearney, Nebraska.

Where was I?

I traveled to Menomonie at the Great Lakes Shootout on Sunday. So I only have three games charted for the week.

I was expecting to see some summer league games at Champlin Park on Tuesday, but there were power outages up in the north metro three times from 4:40 to 6 pm and they sent the players home. Luckily this wasn't a Kingsland incident where I traveled to Spring Valley, MN in a howling blizzard only to find the game cancelled. CP is only six minutes away, not two and a half hours.

WHERE IS TEAS?
Many have asked where is coach Teas these days? He is spending the summer going on trips (been to North Carolina, soon to go to Canada); fishing local lakes, and golfing every chance he can. That is why I am flying most of the summer. He may help out a couple more events. I have heard rumors he may blog about the joys of fishing.

BALANCE, SYNERGY, and DEFENSE
I have been linking stories and articles from Rethinking Basketball. Today the topic was player styles. One of the wheels on the spoke was the pure defensive player. This is not the defensive wraps I usually write about. The best player I had that was a pure defensive player was Rachel Rye. She was on a traveling team player, so I never got to coach her after 8th grade, but for pure lock down, misery creating, annoying, sticky defender Rachel was it. She could guard the quick guards on the perimeter or defend the posts inside. She had great length. Her only job was to make sure the other player didn't touch the ball. Always constant motion, she threw herself into the fray with relish. In high school she played soccer, basketball and track and went to state in the 400. She was essential to our state title in 8th grade traveling. I have coached high school varsity both boys and girls, and AAU, and never had a player that was a cellophane player like her. If you can find a air tight defender she is worth her weight in gold.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
With three winners to pick from in the Great Lakes Shootout the team this week is Dykstra Engineering out of Eastern Wisconsin. Dykstra has a veteran crew with some 2008 grads in the lineup. Dykstra took the lead and never relinquished it against the MN Finishers.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Amy Selk is one of the 2008 vets on Dykstra Engineering. She played with authority and confidence. She controlled the game, made key shots and key stops. Her eyes had the competitive fire that said "I want the ball." She played with a sense of urgency, yet never seemed hurried or rushed. Selk is headed to UW Parkside in the fall.

There will only be five players this week on the all week team
FIRST TEAM
Britta Dellger, Dykstra Engineering (Plymouth, WI)
Jenni Gust, Colfax and Team WI Select 14
Amy Selk, Dykstra Engineering (Sheboygan South)
Britta Syverson, MN Finishers (Minneapolis Southwest)
Taylor Thomas, Team WI Select 14 (Wausau Newman)

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Amy Selk takes this honor too. See above.
Alyssa Colla, Team WI Select 14 (Muskego, WI)
Josie Dillon, MN Stars Martin (Plymouth, MN)
Laura Mau, Colfax
Hannah Schonhardt, MN Stars Martin (Waconia)
Amy Selk, Dykstra Engineering (Sheboygan South)

DISTRIBUTOR OF THE WEEK
Alyssa Colla takes this honor. She was instrumental in getting the ball to Team WI Select 14 players in the win over MN Stars Martin 13u.

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Britta Dellger makes it four of five honors for Dykstra Engineering. Dellger is a perimeter shooter.

You can see the past winners on a link under gbbrecruit links (Summer Weekly Award Winners 2008)

POLLS
19s
AAU
1. MN Stars
2. Metro Stars Black
3. Team WI Sr White
4. Team WI Sr Black
MYAS
1. Gym Rats
2. Minnesota Thunder
3. Wayzata AC
4. Southern Minne Magic

17u/16u/JR ELIGIBLE
AAU
1. NC Heat
2. North Tartan Larson
3. IBCA Select Red
4. Team WI Select Samuels
5. Nebraska CSS Bison
4. MN Stars Borowicz
7. Metro Stars Black
8. Nebraska Twisterz
9. Pinnacle Bank Nebraska
10. Sioux Falls Warriors
11. Metro Stars White
12. Kansas City Hustle
13. All Iowa Attack Red
14. Fury
15. Iowa Elite
16. MN Stars Smith
17. IBCA Select White
18. North Tartan Crosby
19. MN Suns
20. Team WI Select Doucette

16u/
MYAS DIVISION
1. MN Dynamite
2. Chaska Gold
3. MN Thunder
4. Triple Threat

15u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. Nebraska Judds
3. MN Suns Arbogast
4. All Iowa Attack Red
5. Team Iowa
6. Fury
7. Metro Stars
8. MN Stars Jihad Lady Cats
9. MN Stars Carlisle
10. Team WI Select
11. PT Players
12. MN Suns Ellen
13. 43 Hoops
14. Team WI Red
15. MN Dynamite

14u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. Metro Stars
3. MN Stars Seter
4. Team WI Select
5. MN Stars Collins
6. IBCA Select Blue
7. Fury Livers
8. Fury Haugen
9. MN Stars Hested
10. Midtown Lady Monarchs

13u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. Cornhusker Shooting Stars
3. MN Jazz
4. All Iowa Attack
5. MN Stars Martin
6. MN Fury

MYAS
1. Hopkins

12u
AAU
1. Cornhusker Shooting Stars
2. All Iowa Attack
3. MN Stars Farview
4. MN Suns

SUMMER LEAGUE
School, Summer League
1. Lakeville North, LNSL
2. Hopkins, LNSL
3. Minnetonka, CPSL
4. Minnehaha, CSPSL
5. Eastview, LNSL
6. Champlin Park, CPSL

next up: tomorrow morning--unless news breaks

The Week That Was #15: Camping & Touring

#4 posting 7.10.2008
Your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE WEEK THAT WAS: CAMPING & TOURING
there were two power outages and then a lightning storm that prevented getting this posting up at a regular time. thanks for the patience.

This marked the first week of the rush of events. The window is now open for D1 schools. Tournaments abounded from Portland, Oregon to Atlanta, Georgia. Here is the problem. Teams are rushing to play every available slot during the July window. They go from one huge event to another. There is no down time or recovery time.

I remember watching Teresa LeCuyer of Anoka in the summer of 1996 look like a ghost at the end of July. She played in ever available camp or exposure event that July and was a walking zombie by the time everything was finished.

The second thing is now all the events hold the same weight. There is no national champion, because every event is a national event. With no culminating event, training and preparing become more problematic with no recovery time. Fatigue injuries become common and mental burnout is a danger. If it is Tuesday it must be Chicago...

THIS WEEK'S RESULTS
Team WI Select Samuels went undefeated in Cincinnati.
NC Heat finished second overall in the Tournament of Champions that wound up on Wednesday.
North Tartan 15s, playing up, lost in the Gold Bracket in the End of the Trail tournament.
Of course more teams were in action, but these were the highest finishes in the three tournaments from the local area.

In the Summer League division Lakeville North won their summer league beating Hopkins in the final. Minnehaha took the title in the Concordia St. Paul summer league. In every situation I charted this week teams were missing at least one player, if not more. I have added summer league rankings at the bottom of the polls.

THEN & NOW
Back in 1997 I took a team to 15U AAU Nationals in Shreveport, Louisiana. The gyms were tiny, cramped high school gyms with no air conditioning. The result was a sweltering sweat box sauna atmosphere. It was absolutely miserable. We had to rotate players out after two and a half minutes due to fluid loss. I had one player that ended up in the hospital due to dehydration.

Now (at least in Rochester) they play in swank arenas, on great floors, with great lights, in air conditioned comfort. The younger generation doesn't know how easy they have it.

CAMPING COMPARISONS
How did this year's Top 100 Expo Showcase compare to last year's. First off numbers were down. Last year teams had between 10 and 9 players. This year the teams had 8 players. I think rising fuel prices had a hand in the decline of players. That and the fact that the schedule was jammed with tournaments which took out a lot of AAU players.
Here are the numbers.
Year, pp100, floor %
2007, 89.8, .426
2008, 86.9, .411
The stat numbers were down slightly, but noticeable. The thing that remained the same was the tournament champ--UConn. Last year's UConn team scored 101 in the championship game.

UNIFORMS/PROGRAMS
I can’t for the life of me understand how a team/program doesn’t do everything to make it easy to identify their players. The MN Stars 12u team played in the AAU National tournament and in the program didn’t have two players listed. You will find in the players of the week (team 3) an unknown player. It wasn’t in the program, it wasn’t on the Stars website. I might have to build a statue to the unknown player. To bad no one (writers, coaches, fans) will know who the player is.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
This week’s team of the week doesn’t exist anymore. UConn, in the Top 100 Expo Showcase in St. Cloud was the dominant team there. They averaged close to 80 points a game. They had tremendous balance. Consider they had six players in double figures in the camp championship and two more with six each. UConn had outside shooting, inside muscle, defensive quickness.

front row: Jade Pelzl, Kyanna Jones, Danielle Mangen, Courtney Lynch

Back row: coach: Chris Stenzel, Amanda Johnson, Megan Larson, Ashley Kruse, Alison Gray

all photos by kja

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
I probably should list the methods I use in choosing the player and team of the week. It is all based on my viewing/charting during that week. Reputations are not factored in. Games that I don’t see aren’t factored in. I have certain bars the players have to hurdle in order to make the list.
#1 I have to see the player
#2 The player has to average 6 possessions in the game (during the summer)
#3 The player’s pp100 has to be above 100
#4 The player’s floor % has to be above .500
#5 If I see multiple games (which is the case here) the averages are used.
6-4 Cassie Rochel helped propel Lakeville North to the championship in their own summer league. LN trailed 21-19 to start the second half against Hopkins in the championship and she ignited 15-0 run that cement their title chances. Rochel runs the floor like a gazelle, has outstanding hands, and her defense makes it miserable for the opposition.

Keep in mind if you see a college name, it is the Top 100 Expo team name.
FIRST TEAM
Katie Ahlstrom, Henry Sibley
Jade Pelzl, UConn, Rushford-Peterson
Sarah Peterson, Minnehaha
Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North
Taylor Stippel, Stanford, Stillwater
SECOND TEAM
Kim Hovey, North Carolina, Red Wing
Ashley Kruse, UConn, Jackson County Central
Amanda Johnson, UConn, Ashby
Kyanna Jones, UConn, Osseo
Kristin Sahr, Stanford, Stillwater
THIRD TEAM
#22 (unknown player) MN Stars Farview
Bree Allen, Henry Sibley
Emily Klehr, Maryland, Belle Plaine
Hillary Peterson, Tennessee, Moose Lake-Willow River
Kayla Schmidt, MN Suns 12

DEFENSIVE TEAM
Amanda Johnson (UConn, Ashby) is a whirlwind. Everyone always chatters about how so and so “works hard.” She stood above the others this week with her work ethic. Not only does she put forth great effort, is appears her energy is contagious. Her UConn teammates at the Top 100 Showcase picked up on that energy too. Johnson is constant motion, relentless pursuit, and fearless determination. There would be no energy shortage if America could harness this dynamo.

FIRST TEAM
Amanda Johnson, UConn, Ashby
Sarah Peterson, Minnehaha
Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North
Allina Starr, MN Stars 12u Farview
Taylor Stippel, Stanford, Stillwater

DISTRIBUTOR
The distributor this week goes to Kaiya Sygulla of Lakeville North. Every team needs to have someone that can deliver the ball. She feeds Cassie Rochel and has a 6th sense for knowing where her 6-4 teammate is on the floor. The two names are linked.

FIRST TEAM
Stephanie Comer, LSU, Minnetonka
Angie Davison, MN Suns 12u, Maple Grove
Courtney Lynch, UConn, St. Cloud Apollo
Whitney Novak, Stanford, Stillwater
Kaiya Sygulla, Lakeville North

NEWCOMER
See Defensive team. (it is Amanda Johnson)

PAST WINNERS
Here are the past weekly winners
TEAM
14. IBCA Select Red (2)
13. Team WI Select Samuels (4)
12. North Tartan Larson
11. MN Suns Fassett
10. North Tartan 15s
9. Team WI Select Samuels (3)
8. Southern Minne Magic 17
7. NC Heat (2)
6. Team WI Select Samuels (2)
5. NC Heat
4. MN All Star 2A
3. Team WI Select Samuels
2. Minnesota Dynamite
1. IBCA Select Red

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
14. Kionna Kellogg, IBCA Select Red
13. Angela Christianson, Alexandria
12. Amanda Zimmerman, North Tartan Larson (Ballard, IA)
11. Pam January, MN Suns Fassett (Richfield)
10. Tayler Hill, NC Heat (Minneapolis South) (2)
9. Laura Petersen, Team WI Select Samuels (Osseo-Fairchild) (2)
8. Kiara Buford, Gym Rats 19 (St. Paul Central)
7. Tayler Hill, NC Heat (Minneapolis South)
6. Laura Petersen, Team WI Select Samuels (Osseo-Fairchild)
5. Megan Nipe, NC Heat (Centennial)
4. Brianna Mastey, MN All Star 3A, (Becker)
3. Sam Price, Team WI Select Samuels (Eau Claire North)
2. Haylie Darrington, Maroon South Central All Star (Blue Earth)
1. Trisha Nesbitt, IBCA Select Red (Ames)

DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
14. Ashley Eide, Sioux Falls Warriors (Sioux Falls Washington)
13. Kiah Stokes, Team Iowa (Linn-Mar, IA)
12. Chelsea Poppens, North Tartan Larson (Aplington-Parkersburg, IA)
11. Taylor Bare, Triple Threat (Anoka)
10. Katya Leick, NC Heat (Park-Cottage Grove)
9. Nicole Griffin, Team WI Select Samuels (Milwaukee Vincent) (3)
8. Yvonne Freese, Southern Minne Magic 17 (Lanesboro)
7. Shakila Boler, North Tartan Larson (Bloomington Kennedy)
6. Nicole Griffin, Team WI Select Samuels (Milwaukee Vincent) (2)
5. Tori Rule, Midtown Lady Monarchs (DeLaSalle)
4. Jackie Voigt, MN All Star 4A, (Park-Cottage Grove)
3. Nicole Griffin, Team WI Select Samuels (Milwaukee Vincent)
2. Kiara Strickland, Gold South Central All Star (Mpls Roosevelt)
1. Amber Kirschbaum, IBCA Select Red (Spirit Lake)

DISTRIBUTOR
14. KK Houser, CSS Bison (Lincoln Southeast, NE)
13. Marissa Kastanek, CSS Bison (Lincoln Southeast, NE)
12. Kate Thompson, MN Stars Borowicz (Wayzata)
11. Taylor Bare, Triple Threat (Anoka)
10. Shakila Boler, North Tartan Larson & Bloomington Kennedy
9. Katie Wolff, Team WI Select Doucette (Marshfield) (2)
8. Seraene Levine, Minnesota Thunder 19 (Eden Prairie)
7. Tayler Hill, NC Heat (Minneapolis South)
6. Katie Wolff, Team WI Select Doucette (Marshfield)

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
14. Ashley Eide, Sioux Falls Warriors (Sioux Falls Washington)
13. Alyssa Kamphaus, CSS Bison (Seward, NE)
12. Erin Haglund, Hastings11. Gracia Hutson, Hopkins
10. Kim Campbell, Bloomington Kennedy
9. Corrin Miles, Fridley8. Karli Meyer, Minnesota Lakers (Adrian)
7. Jackie Johnson, North Tartan 14 (Eden Prairie)
6. Cady Roedl, WI Hoops Select (Beaver Dam)
5. Alyssa Hagen, MN Stars Carlisle (NRHEG)
4. Hilary Friendshuh, Team WI Red 15s (Clear Lake, WI)
3. Jessica Waldvogel, Team Wisconsin Select 15s
2. Kara Hofschild, Minnesota Dynamite (Andover)
1. Kionna Kellogg, IBCA Select Red (Ames)

POLLS
19s
AAU
1. MN Stars
2. Metro Stars Black
3. Team WI Sr White
4. Team WI Sr Black

MYAS
1. Gym Rats
2. Minnesota Thunder
3. Wayzata AC
4. Southern Minne Magic

17u/16u/JR ELIGIBLE
AAU
1. NC Heat
2. North Tartan Larson
3. IBCA Select Red
4. MN Stars Borowicz
5. Team WI Select Samuels
6. Nebraska CSS Bison
7. Metro Stars Black
8. Pinnacle Bank Nebraska
9. Metro Stars White
10. Kansas City Hustle
11. Nebraska Twisterz
12. Sioux Falls Warriors
13. All Iowa Attack Red
14. Fury
15. Iowa Elite
16. MN Stars Smith
17. IBCA Select White
18. North Tartan Crosby
19. MN Suns
20. Team WI Select Doucette

16u/MYAS DIVISION
1. MN Dynamite
2. Chaska Gold
3. MN Thunder
4. Triple Threat

15u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. MN Suns Arbogast
3. All Iowa Attack Red
4. Nebraska Judds
5. Team Iowa
6. Fury
7. Metro Stars
8. MN Stars Jihad Lady Cats
9. MN Stars Carlisle
10. Team WI Select
11. PT Players
12. MN Suns Ellen
13. 43 Hoops
14. Team WI Red
15. MN Dynamite

14u AAU
1. North Tartan
2. Metro Stars
3. MN Stars Seter
4. Team WI Select
5. MN Stars Collins
6. IBCA Select Blue
7. Fury Livers
8. Fury Haugen
9. MN Stars Hested
10. Midtown Lady Monarchs

13u AAU
1. North Tartan
2. Cornhusker Shooting Stars
3. MN Jazz
4. All Iowa Attack
5. MN Fury
6. MN Stars Martin

MYAS
1. Hopkins

12u AAU
1. Cornhusker Shooting Stars
2. All Iowa Attack
3. MN Stars Farview
4. MN Suns

SOMETHING NEW
SUMMER LEAGUE
School, Summer League

1. Lakeville North, LNSL
2. Hopkins, LNSL
3. Minnetonka, CPSL
4. Minnehaha, CSPSL

5. Eastview, LNSL
6. Champlin Park, CPSL

next up: tomorrow morning--unless news breaks

The Week That Was #14: Deja Vu Too

#3 posting 7.3.2008
Your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE WEEK THAT WAS: DEJA VU TOO
This week it seemed I relived the same game over and over and over…It was déjà vu all over again. The main course for the week was the action at Augustana in Sioux Falls, site of the Dakota Showcase. Friday, the day I arrived, proved to be a day of massacres. Of the 13 games I saw over the two days only three games were decided by 10 or less. That meant 10 blow outs. Only one game (that I watched) had the nail biting quality that writers like. Metro Stars White won their pool with a two point win over the Nebraska Twisterz.

All the games had the familiar pattern of the early lead; points enough to win at half time (for a couple of games), and uneventful second halves.

NEBRASKA RISING
If you look at the team of the week down below you will notice six of the 15 players are Nebraskans, the most of any of the five states involved. It was also the first week five states made the list. On top of those six, three more Nebraskans made the defensive or distributor teams.

COMPARISONS
I have been to the Dakota Showcase for three years now. Here are the three champions and how they compare.
year, champion, pp100, floor %
2008 IBCA Select Red 128.73 .602
2007 Metro Stars Black 101.51 .492
2006 Daubert Pinnacle Nebraska 113.98 .527
As you can clearly see IBCA was in the stratosphere this season. Teams are doing very well when they are above .500 floor %. IBCA was smoking at an unheard of .602.

UNIFORMS
Why is it that Wisconsin and Nebraska teams feature their state’s main university colors as their own? Why is it I can’t think of one Minnesota team with maroon & gold?

The prize for worst uniforms goes to any team that has numbers on one side. That is one reason I can’t stand summer league games. Unfortunately the Dakota Lightning took home that title. On top of that the numbers didn’t match up with the program in the Dakota Showcase. Confusion reigned supreme.

Kudos to these programs---IBCA Select, CSS Bison/Judds, Twisters, Pinnacle Bank Nebraska, Montana Elite… I am probably forgetting some worthy team. All the above have their names on the back of the jersey. Obviously these programs are trying to make it easy to grab attention of the scouts. Anything done to help cement a name and a number will help a player. I can’t understand why more teams don’t do that simple task.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
The Dakota Showcase wrapped up last Saturday with IBCA Select Red rolling to victory over CSS Bison with a blazing 146 pp100, the highest I have charted in three years. In the three games I charted with IBCA in this tournament they averaged 128.73 pp100 and had a floor % of .602. IBCA played with the precision of a fine German Automobile cruising down the autobahn. Not only efficient and high octane, IBCA was balanced with five players rotation in wave substitutions. Their top scorer, and tournament MVP, Katie Schechinger averaged 10 ppg. 71% of the teams had at least one player that averaged more that. Their team chemistry is very good. They communicate well with each other and are genuinely happy when others on the team do well. This is IBCA Select Red's second team of the week honor. They opened the 2008 spring/summer season as team of the week.

photo--players left to right: Katie Gustafson, Trisha Nesbitt, Katelyn Sunde, Jaime Printy, Amber Kirschbaum, and Jessica McDowell. partially hidden in the back ground Brittany Peterson, Katie Schechinger, Kionna Kellogg, and Riley Norman.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
I probably should list the methods I use in choosing the player and team of the week. It is all based on my viewing/charting during that week. Reputations are not factored in. Games that I don’t see aren’t factored in. I have certain bars the players have to hurdle in order to make the list.
#1 I have to see the player
#2 The player has to average 6 possessions in the game (during the summer)
#3 The player’s pp100 has to be above 100
#4 The player’s floor % has to be above .500
#5 If I see multiple games (which is the case here) the averages are used.
Having explained all that the player of the week for gbbrecruit is Kionna Kellogg of IBCA Select Red. Kellogg is a 6-1 lean athletic post. She gets down the court fast and finishes. She is effective beating the defense down court in transition. On top of that she is persistent and resilient on the offensive boards. She isn’t afraid of contact. In the first week of the summer/spring year she was named gbbrecruit newcomer of the week.

FIRST TEAM
Ashley Eide, Sioux Falls Warriors (Sioux Falls Washington, SD)
Marissa Kastanek, CSS Bison (Lincoln Southeast, NE)
Kionna Kellogg, IBCA Select Red (Ames, IA)
Sarah Nelson, Pinnacle Bank Nebraska (Omaha Westside, NE)
Brittany Zins, Metro Stars Black (Bloomington Kennedy)
SECOND TEAM
Kate Edwards, Nebraska Twisterz (Crete, NE)
Alyssa Kamphaus, CSS Bison (Seward, NE)
McKayla Knudson, Pinnacle Bank Nebraska (South Sioux City, NE)
Trisha Nesbitt, IBCA Select Red (Ames, IA)
Katie Schechinger, IBCA Select Red (Ames, IA)
THIRD TEAM
Kelsey Evans, North Tartan Crosby (Willmar)
Tania Jackson, Kansas City Hustle (Lawrence, KS)
Shaunna Knife, ECI West (Bottineau, ND)
Sara Wilson, Team Runza (Perkins County, NE)
Lauren Wittman, Metro Stars White (Eden Prairie)

DEFENSIVE TEAM
Ashley Eide of the Sioux Falls Warriors was a whirlwind of activity. In the second half Eide went on a rampage, controlled and took over the game and bent it to her will. She was a dynamo on the defensive boards. She seemed to be everywhere making an impact and helping lead her squad to victory. In other time and place she may be a commando. She plays with the venom coaches like to see in a defender.

Emily Cade, CSS Bison (Seward, NE)
Jasmin Corbin, Pinnacle Bank Nebraska (Millard West, NE)
Ashley Eide, Sioux Falls Warriors (Sioux Falls Washington, SD)
Tania Jackson, Kansas City Hustle (Lawrence, KS)
Jessica McDowell, IBCA Select Red (AGWSR, IA)

DISTRIBUTOR
KK Houser is the second CSS Bison in a row to win this title, and the second from Lincoln Southeast. Last week it was Marissa Kastanek. This week her high school teammate Houser gets the nod. Houser has speed to go along with her snappy, deceptive passing.
Ashley Eide, Sioux Falls Warriors (Sioux Falls Washington, SD)
KK Houser, CSS Bison (Lincoln Southeast, NE)
Shaunna Knife, ECI West (Bottineau, ND)
Jaime Printy, IBCA Select Red (Linn-Mar, IA)
Freddie Sims, Kansas City Hustle (Raytown South, MO)

NEWCOMER
Ashley Eide made every list and therefore was a no brainer for this award. (This was my first viewing of Eide).

PAST WINNERS
Here are the past weekly winners
TEAM
13. Team WI Select Samuels (4)
12. North Tartan Larson
11. MN Suns Fassett
10. North Tartan 15s
9. Team WI Select Samuels (3)
8. Southern Minne Magic 17
7. NC Heat (2)
6. Team WI Select Samuels (2)
5. NC Heat
4. MN All Star 2A
3. Team WI Select Samuels
2. Minnesota Dynamite
1. IBCA Select Red

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
13. Angela Christianson, Alexandria
12. Amanda Zimmerman, North Tartan Larson (Ballard, IA)
11. Pam January, MN Suns Fassett (Richfield)
10. Tayler Hill, NC Heat (Minneapolis South) (2)
9. Laura Petersen, Team WI Select Samuels (Osseo-Fairchild) (2)
8. Kiara Buford, Gym Rats 19 (St. Paul Central)
7. Tayler Hill, NC Heat (Minneapolis South)
6. Laura Petersen, Team WI Select Samuels (Osseo-Fairchild)
5. Megan Nipe, NC Heat (Centennial)
4. Brianna Mastey, MN All Star 3A, (Becker)
3. Sam Price, Team WI Select Samuels (Eau Claire North)
2. Haylie Darrington, Maroon South Central All Star (Blue Earth)
1. Trisha Nesbitt, IBCA Select Red (Ames)

DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
13. Kiah Stokes, Team Iowa (Linn-Mar, IA)
12. Chelsea Poppens, North Tartan Larson (Aplington-Parkersburg, IA)
11. Taylor Bare, Triple Threat (Anoka)
10. Katya Leick, NC Heat (Park-Cottage Grove)
9. Nicole Griffin, Team WI Select Samuels (Milwaukee Vincent) (3)
8. Yvonne Freese, Southern Minne Magic 17 (Lanesboro)
7. Shakila Boler, North Tartan Larson (Bloomington Kennedy)
6. Nicole Griffin, Team WI Select Samuels (Milwaukee Vincent) (2)
5. Tori Rule, Midtown Lady Monarchs (DeLaSalle)
4. Jackie Voigt, MN All Star 4A, (Park-Cottage Grove)
3. Nicole Griffin, Team WI Select Samuels (Milwaukee Vincent)
2. Kiara Strickland, Gold South Central All Star (Mpls Roosevelt)
1. Amber Kirschbaum, IBCA Select Red (Spirit Lake, IA)

DISTRIBUTOR
13. Marissa Kastanek, CSS Bison (Lincoln Southeast, NE)
12. Kate Thompson, MN Stars Borowicz (Wayzata)
11. Taylor Bare, Triple Threat (Anoka)
10. Shakila Boler, North Tartan Larson & Bloomington Kennedy
9. Katie Wolff, Team WI Select Doucette (Marshfield) (2)
8. Seraene Levine, Minnesota Thunder 19 (Eden Prairie)
7. Tayler Hill, NC Heat (Minneapolis South)
6. Katie Wolff, Team WI Select Doucette (Marshfield)

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
13. Alyssa Kamphaus, CSS Bison (Seward, NE)
12. Erin Haglund, Hastings
11. Gracia Hutson, Hopkins
10. Kim Campbell, Bloomington Kennedy
9. Corrin Miles, Fridley
8. Karli Meyer, Minnesota Lakers (Adrian)
7. Jackie Johnson, North Tartan 14 (Eden Prairie)
6. Cady Roedl, WI Hoops Select (Beaver Dam)
5. Alyssa Hagen, MN Stars Carlisle (NRHEG)
4. Hilary Friendshuh, Team WI Red 15s (Clear Lake, WI)
3. Jessica Waldvogel, Team Wisconsin Select 15s
2. Kara Hofschild, Minnesota Dynamite (Andover)
1. Kionna Kellogg, IBCA Select Red (Ames, IA)

POLLS
19s
AAU
1. MN Stars
2. Metro Stars Black
3. Team WI Sr White
4. Team WI Sr Black
MYAS
1. Gym Rats
2. Minnesota Thunder
3. Wayzata AC
4. Southern Minne Magic

17u/16u/JR ELIGIBLE
AAU
1. NC Heat
2. North Tartan Larson
3. IBCA Select Red
4. MN Stars Borowicz
5. Team WI Select Samuels
6. Nebraska Bison
7. Metro Stars Black
8. Pinnacle Bank Nebraska
9. Metro Stars White
10. Kansas City Hustle
11. Sioux Falls Warriors
12. All Iowa Attack Red
13. Iowa Elite
14. Nebraska Twisterz
15. Fury
16. MN Stars Smith
17. IBCA Select White
18. North Tartan Crosby
19. MN Suns
20. Team WI Select Doucette

16u
MYAS DIVISION
1. MN Dynamite
2. Chaska Gold
3. MN Thunder
4. Triple Threat

15u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. MN Suns Arbogast
3. All Iowa Attack Red
4. Nebraska Judds
5. Team Iowa
6. Fury
7. Metro Stars
8. MN Stars Jihad Lady Cats
9. MN Stars Carlisle
10. Team WI Select
11. PT Players
12. MN Suns Ellen
13. 43 Hoops
14. Team WI Red
15. MN Dynamite

14u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. Metro Stars
3. MN Stars Seter
4. Team WI Select
5. MN Stars Collins
6. IBCA Select Blue
7. Fury Livers
8. Fury Haugen
9. MN Stars Hested
10. Midtown Lady Monarchs

13u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. Cornhusker Shooting Stars
3. MN Jazz
4. All Iowa Attack
5. MN Fury
6. MN Stars Martin

MYAS
1. Hopkins

12u
AAU
1. Cornhusker Shooting Stars
2. All Iowa Attack
3. MN Suns
4. MN Stars Farview

next up: tomorrow morning--unless news breaks

The Week That Was #13: Aiming High

#5 posting 6.26.2008
Your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE WEEK THAT WAS #13: AIMING HIGH
Last weekend the main event was in Ames, Iowa. Team WI Select Samuels upset the then #2 CSS Bison with gritty defense and clutch shooting. That sets up an interesting July.

For the next six weeks the basketball action really heats up. This is the home stretch. If anyone has saved any energy, now is the time to leave it on the floor. The scouts will be out in full force. Every move will be noticed. Scouts can get a feel for the athletic portion of the equation just by looking at a player. However, does this player make players around her better than they are? What is her basketball IQ? How does she lead/inspire? How does she interact with teammates/coaches? All good questions that will be answered in the home stretch.

The Dakota Showcase has already started playing some of their games today. With 32 teams it is one of the larger June tournaments. Last year at this time is when Metro Stars Black took off with Courtney Boylan behind the wheel. Until this weekend last year MSB was in the next tier of MN power teams. After a remarkable three week run MSB had won the Dakota Showcase, the MN Stars tournament in Hopkins, and placed well in the Chicago tournament. Which team will catch fire with a critical six weeks left in the summer season? Time will tell.

VERBAL SEASON
With the approach of July you can rest assured the verbals will start falling. Today Katya Leick of Park-Cottage Grove (and NC Heat) decided on Nebraska.
Right now here is the 2009 D1 verbal race:
Minnesota 7
Indiana 6
Iowa 5
Wisconsin 5
South Dakota 4
Michigan 3
Illinois 2
North Dakota 1

How does this compare with 2008?
Ohio led the parade with 55
Indiana 36
Illinois 35
Minnesota 27
Michigan 24
Iowa 13
Wisconsin 10
South Dakota 3
Already SD has one more D1 player than they did a year ago. Wisconsin is half way there. Minnesota is at about 26% of the total from last year.
With the addition of USD and UND to D1 status look for the South Dakota’s, North Dakota’s, and by extension, Minnesota’s D1 numbers to go up this year.

At the Dakota Showcase there are 9 players that have already verballed D1 schools. The team with the most D1 verbals: SD Lightning with three and IBCA Select Red with three.

OTHER EVENTS THIS WEEKEND
The Chicago Great American Showcase is also going on this weekend.

The Summer kick off is taking place in Menomonie, Wisconsin this weekend.

GOOD IDEAS
For teams and programs next year---It would be wise to put the names of your players on the back of the jersey. It helps players get noticed and remembered.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
For a record fourth time this year Team WI Select Samuels takes the top spot. A week a go TWSS left the Summer Jam at Bloomington Kennedy unhappy. Part of the unhappiness was the result of two losses. Part of the unhappiness was due to the fact that two main cogs of their team, point guard Sam Hoyt (at a camp at Central Michigan) and forward Heather Kessler (at a camp at UW Green Bay) were missing. Both were in Ames this past weekend. Both were named trench players of the game in the quarterfinals and finals respectively. TWSS is not a flashy team, but a reliable, steady group of players that put sweat equity into their defense. It doesn’t hurt to have a swatter in the middle like 6-6 Nicole Griffin. TWSS pp100 on defense is 62.95, against the top tier teams their defensive pp100 is 77. That compares with NC Heat’s base defense of 74.67. Their team defense against the CSS Bison perimeter game was the difference in the championship. They cut the Bison production in half.

photo: Top row l to r: Assistant Coach Hoyt, Heather Kessler, Nicole Griffin, Heather Byl, Whitney Rawdon, Sam Price, Coach Samuels
bottom row l to 4: Sam Hoyt, Kayla Windt, Hannah Betz, Laura Petersen, Brea Tinney. photo by kja

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Angela Christianson of Alexandria led the Cardinals to a 42-40 victory over Rogers in the Blue Division of the Rogers Breakdown tournament. She scored 24 of the 42 points (57% of the teams total) and had 12 of 29 (41% of the teams total) of the Alex defensive stops. Christianson knows how to score and came up with big baskets (and free throws) down the stretch to preserve the win.

To make the teams remember the rules:#1. I need to see the player#2. Player needs to have 6+ possessions#3. Player needs to be over 100 pp100#4. Player needs to be over .500 floor %#5. If I see a player in two games the numbers are added up and the average used.
These rules don’t bend. If a player has a .499 floor % they aren’t considered. If their pp100 is 99.9, they are cut.

FIRST TEAM
Emily Cady, CSS Bison, (Seward, Nebraska)
Angela Christianson, Alexandria
Jennifer Dowd, Rogers
Alyssa Kamphaus, CSS Bison (Seward, Nebraska)
Dani Mangen, Osseo
SECOND TEAM
Jessie Althoff, Becker
Tina Ewing, Osseo
Bailey Lund, MN Fury (Bloomington Kennedy)
Laura Petersen, Team WI Select Samuels (Osseo-Fairchild, WI)
Sam Price, Team WI Select Samuels (Eau Claire North)

DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Kiah Stokes of Team Iowa patrolled the middle and came up with 11 defensive stops against the Fury 15 squad. Stokes is lean, and lanky. She has a wide wing span so she is able to deflect a lot of passes, or intimidate the other side from even trying such an idea. In the paint she blocked shots and snagged plenty of rebounds.

FIRST TEAM
Emily Cady, CSS Bison (Seward, Nebraska)
Angela Christianson, Alexandria
Virginia Johnson, Team Iowa (Iowa City)
Chiamaka Okonkwo, Osseo
Kiah Stokes, Team Iowa (Linn-Mar, Iowa)

DISTRIBUTOR OF THE WEEK
Marissa Kastanek of CSS Bison is headed to North Carolina State, mainly to play the “2/shooting guard” spot. Kastanek can also pass the ball. In the two games I charted she had six against the Nebraska Twisterz and 7 in the loss to Team WI Select Samuels.
Honorable Mentions:
KK Hauser, CSS Bison
Sam Hoyt, Team WI Select Samuels
Dani Mangen, Osseo

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
In order to make this list I need to see the player for the first time.
Alyssa Kamphaus of CSS Bison is a physical, aggressive banger inside. She had no fear in going after Nicole Griffin of TWSS. Kamphaus established her space in the paint and made sure she presented a good target. She sets wicked screens and runs the floor.

PAST WINNERS
Here are the past weekly winners
TEAM
12. North Tartan Larson
11. MN Suns Fassett
10. North Tartan 15s
9. Team WI Select Samuels (3)
8. Southern Minne Magic 17
7. NC Heat (2)
6. Team WI Select Samuels (2)
5. NC Heat
4. MN All Star 2A
3. Team WI Select Samuels
2. Minnesota Dynamite
1. IBCA Select Red

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
12. Amanda Zimmerman, North Tartan Larson (Ballard, IA)
11. Pam January, MN Suns Fassett (Richfield)
10. Tayler Hill, NC Heat (Minneapolis South) (2)
9. Laura Petersen, Team WI Select Samuels (Osseo-Fairchild) (2)
8. Kiara Buford, Gym Rats 19 (St. Paul Central)
7. Tayler Hill, NC Heat (Minneapolis South)
6. Laura Petersen, Team WI Select Samuels (Osseo-Fairchild)
5. Megan Nipe, NC Heat (Centennial)
4. Brianna Mastey, MN All Star 3A, (Becker)
3. Sam Price, Team WI Select Samuels (Eau Claire North)
2. Haylie Darrington, Maroon South Central All Star (Blue Earth)
1. Trisha Nesbitt, IBCA Select Red (Ames)

DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
12. Chelsea Poppens, North Tartan Larson (Aplington-Parkersburg, IA)
11. Taylor Bare, Triple Threat (Anoka)
10. Katya Leick, NC Heat (Park-Cottage Grove)
9. Nicole Griffin, Team WI Select Samuels (Milwaukee Vincent) (3)
8. Yvonne Freese, Southern Minne Magic 17 (Lanesboro)
7. Shakila Boler, North Tartan Larson (Bloomington Kennedy)
6. Nicole Griffin, Team WI Select Samuels (Milwaukee Vincent) (2)
5. Tori Rule, Midtown Lady Monarchs (DeLaSalle)
4. Jackie Voigt, MN All Star 4A, (Park-Cottage Grove)
3. Nicole Griffin, Team WI Select Samuels (Milwaukee Vincent)
2. Kiara Strickland, Gold South Central All Star (Mpls Roosevelt)
1. Amber Kirschbaum, IBCA Select Red (Spirit Lake)

DISTRIBUTOR
12. Kate Thompson, MN Stars Borowicz (Wayzata)
11. Taylor Bare, Triple Threat (Anoka)
10. Shakila Boler, North Tartan Larson & Bloomington Kennedy
9. Katie Wolff, Team WI Select Doucette (Marshfield) (2)
8. Seraene Levine, Minnesota Thunder 19 (Eden Prairie)
7. Tayler Hill, NC Heat (Minneapolis South)
6. Katie Wolff, Team WI Select Doucette (Marshfield)

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
12. Erin Haglund, Hastings
11. Gracia Hutson, Hopkins
10. Kim Campbell, Bloomington Kennedy
9. Corrin Miles, Fridley
8. Karli Meyer, Minnesota Lakers (Adrian)
7. Jackie Johnson, North Tartan 14 (Eden Prairie)
6. Cady Roedl, WI Hoops Select (Beaver Dam)
5. Alyssa Hagen, MN Stars Carlisle (NRHEG)
4. Hilary Friendshuh, Team WI Red 15s (Clear Lake, WI)
3. Jessica Waldvogel, Team Wisconsin Select 15s
2. Kara Hofschild, Minnesota Dynamite (Andover)
1. Kionna Kellogg, IBCA Select Red (Ames)

POLLS
19s
AAU
1. MN Stars
2. Metro Stars Black
3. Team WI Sr White
4. Team WI Sr Black
MYAS
1. Gym Rats
2. Minnesota Thunder
3. Wayzata AC
4. Southern Minne Magic

17u/16u/JR ELIGIBLE
AAU1. NC Heat
2. North Tartan Larson
3. IBCA Select Red
4. MN Stars Borowicz
5. Team WI Select Samuels
6. Nebraska Bison
7. Metro Stars Black
8. Fury
9. Metro Stars White
10. North Tartan Crosby
11. All Iowa Attack Red
12. Iowa Elite
13. Nebraska Twisterz
14. Team WI Select Doucette
15. Southern Minne Magic
16. MN Stars Smith
17. IBCA Select White
18. MN Stars DeWitt
19. MN Suns
20. Stangs

16u/MYAS DIVISION
1. MN Dynamite
2. Chaska Gold
3. MN Thunder
4. Triple Threat

15u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. MN Suns Arbogast
3. All Iowa Attack Red
4. Nebraska Judds
5. Team Iowa
6. Fury
7. Metro Stars
8. MN Stars Jihad Lady Cats
9. MN Stars Carlisle
10. Team WI Select
11. PT Players
12. MN Suns Ellen
13. 43 Hoops
14. Team WI Red
15. MN Dynamite

14u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. Metro Stars
3. MN Stars Seter
4. Team WI Select
5. MN Stars Collins
6. IBCA Select Blue
7. Fury Livers
8. Fury Haugen
9. MN Stars Hested
10. Midtown Lady Monarchs

13u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. Cornhusker Shooting Stars
3. MN Jazz
4. All Iowa Attack
5. MN Fury
6. MN Stars Martin
MYAS
1. Hopkins

12u
AAU
1. Cornhusker Shooting Stars
2. All Iowa Attack
3. MN Suns
4. MN Stars Farview

next up: tomorrow morning--unless news breaks

The Summer Week That was #12: A to Z (Zimmerman)

#3 posting 6.20.2008
Your daily dose of girls basketball news & information

THE WEEK THAT WAS #12: A to Z
The Summer Jam was the big event this past weekend with teams from Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota battling it out. One of the themes of the tournament was comebacks. Metro Stars Black rallied from 10 down with under five minutes left to upend Wisconsin’s AAU State champion Team WI Select Samuels. Tina Fisher hit the game winner in that contest. On Sunday in the 16u semis North Tartan 15s rallied from a 14 point 2nd half deficit to beat the veteran Metro Stars 19s. Katy Winge provided NT15 with two free throws that proved to be the winning margin. The best game (that I charted) was the North Tartan Larson vs IBCA Select Red semifinal that went back and forth with seven lead changes the last five minutes. That game went right to the wire. Amanda Zimmerman delivered the shot that won the game.

The other theme of the week was bodies—the more bodies, the better. Not every team was at full strength. Those that were missing key components fell. Those that had thin benches fell.

And the other theme of the week was size—the bigger, the better. If you look at the team of the week only one player under 6-0 made the first team.

WHAT PROGRAMS FARED BEST?
How did the programs fare in last weeks Summer Jam? I am only using the top three classifications on this.
North Tartan took two titles with the 16s and 14s. However their 15 team proved that they could play with the big girls and the 13s stepped up and finished second in the 14 dviision.
The Fury won the 15 tournament.
Program, w-l pct. (1st to 4th finishes)
1. North Tartan 17-6 .739 (2 Championships, 1 4th place)
2. Metro Stars 17-6 .739 (2 3rd place)
3. IBCA 10-4 .714 (1 3rd place)
4. MN Stars 21-16 .568 (1 2nd place, 2 4th place)
5. MN Fury 9-7 .563 (1 championship)
6. All Iowa Attack 9-9 .500 (1 2nd place)
7. Viking Club/Team WI 15-16 .484
8. Southern Minne Magic 5-6 .455
9. MN Suns 5-6 .455
10. 43 Hoops (MN) 4-6 .400

TEAM OF THE WEEK
North Tartan Larson is playing at full strength for the first time in a while and they have adjusted to the changes in the line up. With the addition of two D1 verbals from Iowa, and a few players moving up from the 15 team, NTL had a period of adjustment. They had to develop an identity. They had to develop the chemistry. That appears to have been done as they withstood the IBCA challenge in the semis in an emotion packed game for the Iowa players (on both sides). Prior to this week NTL’s pp100 was at 80.7 and a floor % of .392. This past weekend it was 103.2, and .508. With the adjustment period over NTL is set for a strong summer.

photo: Top row l to r: Shakila Boler, Taylor Young, Kelsey Florian, Megan Lauck, Suriya McGuire, Coach Bill Larson
Bottom row l to r: Jennifer Dowd, Chelsea Poppens, Katie Loberg, Amanda Zimmerman. photo by kja

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Amanda Zimmerman of North Tartan Larson made a huge impact early in the semis vs IBCA and the finals against MN Stars Borowicz. The early bird did catch the worm in this situation. She erupted for 20 first half points in the finals and had 15 in the first half against IBCA. Everything she shot was smooth and not forced. As they say in the trade she was in the zone. She can drain 3s and go inside showing off her versatility. At 6-2 she definitely has size to play. I have charted Zimmerman for the past two summers and this she ranged from a low of 76 to 123 pp100 last year. This year in the few games I saw prior to this weekend she was 70-120. Her low score this weekend was 142.9.
She made a verbal to Iowa State before she played one second of varsity ball. She will be ready to play at this pace.

To make the teams remember the rules:
#1. I need to see the player
#2. Player needs to have 6+ possessions
#3. Player needs to be over 100 pp100
#4. Player needs to be over .500 floor %
#5. If I see a player in two games the numbers are added up and the average used.

What about the IBCA players? Or Metro Stars 19s? Or other players from the teams. Well if I just used the semifinal game players would be listed, however IBCA got off to a slow start in the first game I charted and the numbers dragged the semi numbers down so they didn’t make the bar. In the Metro Stars 19 situation, again the minimum standards were not met. There are very good players that didn’t make the list due to one of the criteria being off.

The size of the players on the first team is slanted to the posts this week.

FIRST TEAM
Amber Dvorak, MN Stars Borowicz (Hinckley-Finlayson) 6-7
Tina Fisher, Metro Stars Black (Park-Cottage Grove) 6-1
Laura Melquist, North Tartan 15 (Rochester Lourdes) 6-2
Amanda Zimmerman, North Tartan Larson (Ballard, IA) 6-2
Taylor Young, North Tartan Larson (Edina) 5-10
SECOND TEAM
Angela Christenson, North Tartan 15 (Alexandria) 6-0
Emily Kaus, MN Fury 16 (Eastview) 6-2
Katie Loberg, North Tartan Larson (Princeton) 6-4
Haley Thomforde, Metro Stars 15 (Eastview) 5-7
Katy Winge, North Tartan 15 & Minnetonka 5-10
THIRD TEAM
Steffi Comer, Minnetonka
Chanda Goedken, Iowa Elite (Cascade, IA)
Erin Haglund, Hastings 6-1
Ali Schmidt, Champlin Park 5-9
Michelle Tobin, MN Fury 16 (Eden Prairie) 6-0

DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Chelsea Poppens of North Tartan Larson survived the Parkersburg Iowa tornado and she plays like a tornado. A whirlwind of energy, force, athleticism and determination she cleaned up on the defensive boards. She is constantly on the move and not ready to back down from battle. Her eyes have the intense fire of a competitor. She too will be an appropriately named Cyclone at Iowa State in the fall of 2009.

DEFENSIVE TEAM
Amber Dvorak, MN Stars Borowicz (Hinckley-Finlayson)
Laura Melquist, North Tartan 15 (Rochester Lourdes)
Sarah Peterson, MN Fury 16 (Minnehaha)
Chelsea Poppens, North Tartan Larson (Aplington-Parkersburg, IA)
Hana Potter, Metro Stars 15 (Edina)

DISTRIBUTOR OF THE WEEK
Kate Thompson of MN Stars Borowicz is a 6-2 point guard. That is not a typo. With her height advantage she can see the floor and usually avoid trap situations. In the two games I charted she had 8 assists in each game including the championship when MSB only had 48 points. With her size and perimeter ability, and long wing span, she will be a highly sought after player.

DISTRIBUTOR TEAM
Shakila Boler, North Tartan Larson (Bloomington Kennedy)
Steffi Comer, Minnetonka
Kellie Ring, MN Stars Eckmann (Somerset, WI)
Kate Thompson, MN Stars Borowicz (Wayzata)
Ali Schmidt, Champlin Park

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Erin Haglund of Hastings keeps in the over 6-0 theme. Haglund is 6-1 and plays inside for the Raiders. She has the lean look and moves well. Haglund averaged 6.3 ppg last year for Hastings and should be able to get double digits this season.

PAST WINNERS
Here are the past weekly winners
TEAM
11. MN Suns Fassett
10. North Tartan 15s
9. Team WI Select Samuels (3)
8. Southern Minne Magic 17
7. NC Heat (2)
6. Team WI Select Samuels (2)
5. NC Heat
4. MN All Star 2A
3. Team WI Select Samuels
2. Minnesota Dynamite
1. IBCA Select Red

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
11. Pam January, MN Suns Fassett (Richfield)
10. Tayler Hill, NC Heat (Minneapolis South) (2)
9. Laura Petersen, Team WI Select Samuels (Osseo-Fairchild) (2)
8. Kiara Buford, Gym Rats 19 (St. Paul Central)
7. Tayler Hill, NC Heat (Minneapolis South)
6. Laura Petersen, Team WI Select Samuels (Osseo-Fairchild)
5. Megan Nipe, NC Heat (Centennial)
4. Brianna Mastey, MN All Star 3A, (Becker)
3. Sam Price, Team WI Select Samuels (Eau Claire North)
2. Haylie Darrington, Maroon South Central All Star (Blue Earth)
1. Trisha Nesbitt, IBCA Select Red (Ames)

DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
11. Taylor Bare, Triple Threat (Anoka)
10. Katya Leick, NC Heat (Park-Cottage Grove)
9. Nicole Griffin, Team WI Select Samuels (Milwaukee Vincent) (3)
8. Yvonne Freese, Southern Minne Magic 17 (Lanesboro)
7. Shakila Boler, North Tartan Larson (Bloomington Kennedy)
6. Nicole Griffin, Team WI Select Samuels (Milwaukee Vincent) (2)
5. Tori Rule, Midtown Lady Monarchs (DeLaSalle)
4. Jackie Voigt, MN All Star 4A, (Park-Cottage Grove)
3. Nicole Griffin, Team WI Select Samuels (Milwaukee Vincent)
2. Kiara Strickland, Gold South Central All Star (Mpls Roosevelt)
1. Amber Kirschbaum, IBCA Select Red (Spirit Lake)

DISTRIBUTOR
11. Taylor Bare, Triple Threat (Anoka)
10. Shakila Boler, North Tartan Larson & Bloomington Kennedy
9. Katie Wolff, Team WI Select Doucette (Marshfield) (2)
8. Seraene Levine, Minnesota Thunder 19 (Eden Prairie)
7. Tayler Hill, NC Heat (Minneapolis South)
6. Katie Wolff, Team WI Select Doucette (Marshfield)

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
11. Gracia Hutson, Hopkins
10. Kim Campbell, Bloomington Kennedy
9. Corrin Miles, Fridley
8. Karli Meyer, Minnesota Lakers (Adrian)
7. Jackie Johnson, North Tartan 14 (Eden Prairie)
6. Cady Roedl, WI Hoops Select (Beaver Dam)
5. Alyssa Hagen, MN Stars Carlisle (NRHEG)
4. Hilary Friendshuh, Team WI Red 15s (Clear Lake, WI)
3. Jessica Waldvogel, Team Wisconsin Select 15s
2. Kara Hofschild, Minnesota Dynamite (Andover)
1. Kionna Kellogg, IBCA Select Red (Ames)

POLLS
True to form there was a shake out in the polls after the Summer Jam.
19s
AAU
1. MN Stars
2. Metro Stars Black
3. Team WI Sr White
4. Team WI Sr Black
MYAS
1. Gym Rats
2. Minnesota Thunder
3. Wayzata AC
4. Southern Minne Magic

17u/16u/JR ELIGIBLE
AAU
1. NC Heat
2. Nebraska Bison
3. North Tartan Larson
4. IBCA Select Red
5. MN Stars Borowicz
6. Metro Stars Black
7. Fury
8. North Tartan Crosby
9. Metro Stars White
10. All Iowa Attack Red
11. Team WI Select Samuels
12. Iowa Elite
13. Team WI Select Doucette
14. Southern Minne Magic
15. MN Stars Smith
16. IBCA Select White
17. MN Stars DeWitt
18. MN Suns
19. Stangs
20. Minnesota Lakers
21. Finishers
22. 43 Hoops Olson
23. 43 Hoops Zuck
24. Southern Stars
25. Comets
26. MN Stars Eckmann
27. Southern Minny Elite
28. X Factor
16u/MYAS DIVISION
1. MN Dynamite
2. Chaska Gold
3. MN Thunder
4. Triple Threat

15u
AAU
1. North Tartan
2. MN Suns Arbogast
3. Nebraska Judds
4. Fury
5. All Iowa Attack Red
6. Metro Stars
7. MN Stars Carlisle
8. Team WI Select
9. MN Stars Jihad Lady Cats
10. Team Iowa
11. PT Players
12. MN Suns Ellen
13. 43 Hoops
14. Team WI Red
15. MN Dynamite
16. Southern Mini Magic
17. MN Gym Rats
18. MN Finishers

14u AAU
1. North Tartan
2. Metro Stars
3. MN Stars Seter
4. Team WI Select
5. MN Stars Collins
6. IBCA Select Blue
7. Fury Livers
8. Fury Haugen
9. MN Stars Hested
10. Midtown Lady Monarchs
11. MN Suns
12. Southern MN Heat

13u AAU
1. North Tartan
2. MN Jazz
3. All Iowa Attack
4. MN Fury
5. MN Stars Martin
MYAS
1. Hopkins

12u
AAU
1. MN Suns
2. MN Stars Farview

Thanks to all the great help from the best readers around. Your assists help make this site possible.Next up: tomorrow morning