Lindsay Whalen starred at We pick top 50 players in each ...quantumdatasystems-pacesettersports.townsquareinteractive.com/... · When we last saw the Hopkins girls basketball team,

WEEKLY ROUNDUP

*Lindsay Whalen starred at Hutchinson but fame came later*We pick top 50 players in each

class for girls*Transformed Timberwolves

Volume 24 Issue No. 1 November 24 2017-2018

Girls No. 1 picks: Hopkins, DLS, Sauk Centre, Goodhue

Goodhue, celebrating their 2017 title, is the only defending champion ranked No. 1.

Continued on Page 2

When we last saw the Hopkins girls basketball team, the Royals were battling Elk River in a rare clash of undefeated teams for the state Class 4A championship.

Elk River’s senior-dominated lineup won that fierce duel 64-60, but Hopkins was loaded with underclass-

men talent and looks like a good bet to cap-ture its seventh state title since 2004 next March.

The Minnesota Bas-ketball News pre-sea-son No. 1 teams in the four classes are Hop-kins, DeLaSalle, Sauk Centre, and Goodhue.

Sauk Centre is a three-time runner-up, including last year, looking to capture that first champion-

ship. Goodhue will be looking for its third consecutive title. DeLaSalle hopes to recapture the glory of their three-peat of 2011-12-13.

The MBBN girls rankings are formulated by Kevin Anderson, whose assessments of his picks for No. 1 are presented here. The complete rankings appear on Page 15. The first boys rankings, formulated by Bruce Strand, will appear next week.

Class 4ATraditional powerhouse Hopkins finds themselves in familiar territory as the program to beat in AAAA. The Royals return four starters from last year’s second-place finisher. Paige Bueckers made the USA 16U Na-tional team and traveled to Argentina for international action this past summer.

Senior veterans Angie Hammond and Raena Suggs along with junior Dlayla Chakolis are bound and deter-mined to finish the season with gold around their necks. Joining the Royals for her senior season is Kira Mosley.

Sophomore star Paige Bueckers is one of many

weapons for Hopkins.

Pacesetter Newsletter Minnesota Basketball News November 24 Page 2

MBBN preseason picks include one defending champContinued from Page 1

Kelsey Peschel of Sauk

Centre, a senior this

year, drives against

Watertown-Mayer at the

state tour-nament last

March.

By Bruce Strand

Brad King, the father of current two Caledonia stars and a budding third star, has become their head coach.

King was named in June to succeed Josh Diersen, whom he assisted for five years.

“It’s pretty exciting,” King told the LaCrosse Tribune. “I’ve been very fortunate to work with this group of seniors in different sports and I’m excited for the opportunity to continue to do that.”

King’s sons Owen and Noah each scored about 20 points per game last year as a junior and freshman, re-spectively, and son Eli saw significant action off the bench as a seventh grader. Owen has signed with South Dakota State for basketball.“Anytime you get to spend

Dad new head coach for Caledonia & talented King sibsmore time with your kids, it’s a blessing,” King said.

Diersen, point guard on Caledonia’s 1997 state Class 2A champion team, coached the Warriors for 12 years with a 264-81 record and state trips in 2013, 2014 (run-ner-up) and 2015 (third place).

Diersen, who helps his parents and brother run a dairy farm, and has two young children, told the Rochester Post-Bulletin it was his choice to step down: “This was my decision. There’s a time to be with family. They’re only young once.” Diersen said he’s “very happy” for King getting the job. “He’s a great guy.”

King owns and operates a construction company and a cabinetry shop. His sons and other players have worked for him in the summers, the LaCrosse Tribune noted.

The Warriors were ranked No. 2 last year but got upset in the section finals by Lake City 55-51.

Brad King

Class 3ADeLaSalle made it to state last year in an upset from Section 4. The Islanders ended up in fifth place at state. This year they enter the season as the team to beat. The Islanders did not have a senior on the 2017 roster. Senior guard Ayanna Gardner runs the high-powered offense. DLS has size inside with junior Mary Claire Francois, freshman sister Nora Francois along with se-nior Olivia Travis.

Class 2ASauk Centre was runner up to undefeated state champ Roseau last season. This year the Mainstreeters are looking to take the final step to the pinnacle. The Street-ers guards drive the engine. Maesyn Thiesen is in her fourth year of running the show. Sisters Kelsey Peschel (senior) and Tori Peschel (sophomore) bring valuable years of experience.

Class 1AGoodhue has won the last two Class A championships and senior Sydney Lodermeier would like nothing bet-

ter than to make it back to the top of the podium in March. She will be assisted by her 6-3 sister, junior Lexie Lodermeier, and senior Emily Benrud. The Wild-cats’ subsection will almost be a mini-state tournament with powerhouses Lyle-Pacelli and Hayfield looking to step in if Goodhue stumbles.


Whalen, great Gopher and pro, was under the radar at Hutch

By Bruce Strand

Lindsay Whalen is a the greatest female player Min-nesota ever produced, but her legend didn’t start taking hold until after high school.

The captivating point guard had a stellar prep career at Hutchinson but never reached a state tourna-ment, nor was she a first-team all-state pick or a Miss Basket-ball finalist. She missed half her senior year with an ankle injury.

“Hutch folks knew she was a spe-cial talent,” said Chad Urdahl, who covered the Tigers then for the Hutchinson Leader, “but I don’t think anyone could have predicted the career she’s had.”

If these were deep disappoint-ments for the teenage Whalen, she has certainly earned some consolation in the 17 years since. This summer, she captured her fourth WNBA championship with the Lynx. Her resume in-cludes leading the Gophers to their only Final Four while trans-forming U of M women’s hoops into a hot ticket; mak-ing first-team All-America; playing in the Olympics and collecting a gold medal; and winning more games than any player in WNBA history.

It’s fortunate that the Gophers saw something in Wha-len that was overlooked by the committees doling out high school honors at the time. (So did Iowa, but Wha-len turned down the Hawkeyes when she heard that they had Bears games on TV rather than the Vikings.)

Whalen’s high school stats are impressive, although

they don’t stand out in particular above a litany of other past stars in the state. She scored 1,996 points, hit dou-ble figures 82 straight games, posted 21 triple-doubles, and averaged 20.1 points through her career, with a high game of 35.

With the Tigers, her coach was Andy Rostberg, better known for football (all-state quarter-back on a state champ team for Hutch and now their football coach). Her most talented team-mate was Kelly Brinkman, a year older, who went on to Iowa State as a distance runner.

“Time and time again, he (Rost-berg) would just roll his eyes in disbelief over her athleticism,” recalls Urdahl, who now does public information for the state House of Representatives. “She and Brinkman just broke teams, and would put up 10 points in the blink of an eye.”

Just like she did later at the U of M, Whalen was great box office for the Tigers.“When we played boy/girl double headers,” Rost-

berg said, “we had to play the girls’ games later and set out chairs because of the crowds we would get.”

The Tigers’ problem was that they had no height and were vulnerable to tall teams like Worthington, who ended her last two seasons.

Whalen was a freshman sensation on a so-so team that lost in the section quarterfinals to Waseca 63-59. But she got within one game of “state” as a soph and junior.

Lindsay Whalen is shown here in a Hutchinson Leader photo, recovering a tipped ball in a section tournament.

Continued on Page 4

Whalen: no state trips, but 4 WNBA titlesPacesetter Newsletter Minnesota Basketball News November 24 Page 4

The Tigers were 22-2 her sophomore year with a 22-game streak that ended in the Section 2AA finals against No. 2 ranked Mankato East 69-56. Whalen had 26 points and Brinkman 15, but Manka-to East shot 22-for-36, led by Kristen Kachelmyer (27 points) and Jennifer Mitchell (26).

The Tigers got closer her junior year, los-ing to top-seeded Worthington 58-54 in the section finals. Twenty-five of those points came from Whalen. The Tigers took an 11-0 lead, but could not hold on, shooting just 28 percent.

Her senior season was anti-climatic. “She had a high ankle sprain,” said Rost-berg, “and missed 14 games.” With the graduation of Brinkman and others, the Tigers went 11-12 and fell in the section semifinals to Worthington 54-38. Wha-len got just 14 points in her prep finale and missed 2,000 by four points. Becky Schultz led Worthington with 19 points, and can tell her grandkids that she out-scored one of Minnesota’s greatest sports heroes in her last prep game.

Thus ended, with hardly a ripple, Phase One of Wha-len’s basketball odyssey. “Lindsay has a very laid-back demeanor, and I don’t ever recall her being emotional. Just frank,” said Urdahl. “Maybe it’s because she knew other opportunities would be there.”

With Whalen passed over by the Miss Basketball com-mittee, the award that year went to a player who had a brief (three games) tenure with the Lynx in 2005, when Whalen was starting her illustrious pro career at Con-necticut. That was Susan King, who poured in 34 points per game for Holy Angels Academy and rang up 3,037 in her career. King went on to play point guard for Stan-ford, averaging 7.7 points in 86 games.

Also picked ahead of Whalen as Miss BB finalists were Hana Peltjo of Osseo, who became a two-time Ivy League player of the year at Harvard (23.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game as a senior) and went on to three seasons of pro ball in Europe; Jenny Brenden, who scored 2,279 points for Sauk Rapids-Rice, then played for Penn State, where she was a 3-point threat off the bench; Randi Wirt, who tallied 1,793 points and 1,578 rebounds for New Prague, and went on to Colorado, not starting until her senior year, then becoming an assistant coach there; and Kate Town-ley, leader of Cretin-Derham Hall’s state champs, who went on to Bing-hamton. N.Y., a small D-I team, and currently serves the Minnesota Twins as manager of minor league adminis-tration.

As a big-name player who never got to state, Whalen is hardly alone. Some others are: King at Holy Angels; Norm Grow, whose 2,852 career points and 71-point game for Foley were state records for 31 years and 47 years, re-spectively; Megan Taylor, whose 3,300

points for Roseau was the state record at the time and starred at Iowa State; Sam Jacobson, whose 2,461 points for Park of Cottage Grove was the metro area record at the time; and Tracy Henderson, a dominant athlete at Minneapolis Henry who was recruited by ev-ery major college and wound up with Georgia.

Another hoops legend who did reach state (although such a late bloomer that he wasn’t even a 1,000-point-er) was Kevin McHale, who led Hibbing to a runner-up finish behind Bloomington Jefferson in 1976, on his way to the Gophers and a Hall of Fame career with the Boston Celtics.

That is the short list, McHale and Whalen, of Minneso-tans who became great pro players at the highest level.

Continued from Page 3

Lindsay Whalen is shown here in a Hutchin-son Leader photo during her senior year when she

missed 14 games.


Questions?? Call Pacesetter at 320-243-7460 oremail: [email protected] • Website: www.pacesettersports.netFollow our Facebook page: Pacesetter Basketball2018

M I NNESOTARegion Playoff Schedule

ALL GRADES REFER TO THE 2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR 4B = 4th grade boys Teams may register for more than one region. 4G = 4th grade girls See back for details Region 1 Site Date 4G, 6G, 8G, 5B, 7B, 9B RCTC (Rochester) March 24 5G, 7G, 9G, 4B, 6B, 8B RCTC (Rochester) March 25

Region 2 Site Date 5G, 7G, 9G, 4B, 6B, 8B MN State - Mankato April 21 4G, 6G, 8G, 5B, 7B, 9B MN State - Mankato April 22 Region 3 Site Date 5G, 7G, 9G, 4B, 6B, 8B Redwood Falls March 24 4G, 6G, 8G, 5B, 7B, 9B Redwood Falls March 25 Region 4 Site Date 6G, 8G, 5B *(UPDATED) Willow River April 7 5G, 7G, 4B *(UPDATED) Willow River April 8 4G, 7B, 9B Moose Lake April 7 9G, 6B, 8B Moose Lake April 8 Region 5 Site Date 4B, 6B, 8B Paynesville April 7 5B, 9B, 8G Paynesville April 8 5G, 7G, 9G Paynesville April 14 4G, 6G, 7B Paynesville April 15 Region 6 Site Date 5G, 7G, 9G, 4B, 6B, 8B Moorhead April 14 4G, 6G, 8G, 5B, 7B, 9B Moorhead April 15 Region 7 Site Date 6G Hibbing April 14 6B, 9B, 9G Hibbing April 15 4G, 8G, 5B, 7B Grand Rapids April 14 5G, 7G, 4B, 8B Grand Rapids April 15

Region 8 Site Date 4G, 6G, 8G, 5B, 7B, 9B Bemidji April 21 5G, 7G, 9G, 4B, 6B, 8B Bemidji April 22

Region Champions invited to the MN State Championship. Teams with one loss invited to the MIT.

Top two teams at STATE advance to Target Center in Minneapolis.

All grades refer to the 2017-2018 school year.“Hometown Team” guideline:

All players on a team must either be enrolled in the same school system or live or attend school in the same city, the same school district or the same tribal community. Smaller schools may combine to form one team if the combined enrollment of their high schools for grades 9-12 is 400 or fewer.

Schools that combine should be from neighboring schools.

pacesetter

Detroit Lakes5th Grade Girls

2017 Great Four-State Champs

Lake City7th Grade Girls


Team Entry Form - Minnesota Region Playoffs

___ All players are from one school district. School district______________________________________________________ (Check one)

___ Combined team. School districts ________________________________________________________________________ Site:____________________________ Grade______ Circle: Boys or Girls Team Rating: Strong Good Fair Weak (Circle one )

Team Contact______________________________________________Team Color/Name:______________________________ (needed if two teams from same school register)

Cell #________________________________________________Alt #_______________________________________________

Mailing address__________________________________________________________________________________________ (Street) (City) (State) (Zip)

Email address____________________________________________________________________________________________ (Email address required - Confirmation will be sent via email - Please write legibly)

Alternate Contact ________________________________________ Cell # __________________________________________

Send check and this form to PACESETTER, PO BOX 222, PAYNESVILLE, MN 56362 Registration also available online at www.pacesettersports.net

$170/team before Dec. 29 • $180/team after Dec. 29

Youth Basketball State Championship REGION PLAYOFFS

Sauk Centre9th Grade Girls


New London-Spicer8th Grade Girls


ML/WR5th Grade Boys


Minnesota State Championships • Maple Grove MS 4G, 6G, 5B, 8B MIT - MN Invitational June 9 4G, 6G, 5B, 8B State Championship June 10 5G, 8G, 4B, 6B MIT - MN Invitational June 16 5G, 8G, 4B, 6B State Championship June 17 7G, 9G, 7B, 9B MIT - MN Invitational June 23 7G, 9G, 7B, 9B State Championship June 24

ROADTO

TARGET CENTER!5 - state championship

Wisconsin is joining in 2018!

Minnesota won 5 of the 12

GREAT STATECHAMPIONSHIP

TITLES!

Wisconsin joining in 2018!MN - IA - ND - SD - WI

FREETimberwolves

Tickets(2018-2019 season)

All players will receive a free ticket offer!

The Minnesota State Champion and Runner-up in each grade are invited to the Great Five-State Championships in

Minneapolis.

(See back for details)

3-4 game guarantee


MBBN preseason top 50 players in each class

Class 4AANDOVERLizzy Karp, sr C

ANOKALily Schonecht, sr C

APPLE VALLEYMykel Parham, jr C BLAINETheresa Mbanefo, sr C CENTENNIAL Claire Orth, sr GSydney Stapleton, sr F

CHAMPLIN PARKAmanda Pollard, sr G CHANHASSENSidney Brastad, sr G

CRETIN-DERHAM HALLAutam Mendez, sr FFrannie Hottinger, jr FHaley Moore, sr F EASTVIEWMacy Guebert, jr GMegan Walstad, sr F EDINAOlivia Coughlin, sr G

FARMINGTONSydney Blandin, sr G FOREST LAKEAbigail Groeneweg, jr F HASTINGSKrystal Carlson, sr FMallory Brake, so F

HENRY SIBLEYTori Nelson, jr F

HOPKINSPaige Bueckers, so GAngie Hammond, sr CRaena Suggs, sr G

LAKEVILLE NORTHTaylor Brown, sr FKiara James, sr CLauren Jensen, so G

MAPLE GROVEKatrina Theis, sr F

MPLS SOUTHMorgan Hill, sr G MINNETONKAKayla Mershon, sr FMegan Walker, sr G

MOORHEAD Sam Haiby, sr G MOUNDS VIEWLindsey Becher, so F

NEW PRAGUE Emily Russo, so F OWATONNASydney Schultz, sr F

PARK CENTERSommer Blakemore, sr G PRIOR LAKEMcKenna Hofschild, jr G ROBBINSDALE ARMSTRONGCarly Krsul, jr FMasengo Mutanda, jr G

ROSEMOUNTHelen Staley, fr F ROSEVILLEKaylee Nelson, jr G

Sam Halbe, Moorhead

ST. FRANCISSydney Zgutowicz, sr F ST. LOUIS PARK Lindsey Olson, jr G ST. MICHAEL-ALBERTVILLEMackenzie Kramer, so G ST. PAUL CENTRALAliza Karlen, so F

STILLWATERSara Scalia, jr GAlexis Pratt, fr G

TARTANKendra Ekereke, jr F

WAYZATAKallie Theisen, jr FMimi Schrader, sr G

WHITE BEAR LAKEJordan Ferrand, sr C

WOODBURYRachel Hakes, sr G

Class 3AAUSTINAbby Lewis, jr F

BECKERMadi Kerzman, sr C

BEMIDJIRumer Flatness, jr G

BENILDE-ST. MARGARET’SAiana Whitfield, jr G

CHISAGO LAKESCarmen Backes, sr G

DASSEL-COKATOAnna Peterson, sr G

DELANOMorgan Frank, jr G

DELASALLEAyanna Gardner, sr G

FARIBAULTGrace Amacher, sr G

FERGUS FALLSKatelyn Strand, sr GLily Pearson, jr F

FRIDLEYPatience Williams, so F

GRAND RAPIDSHeaven Hamling, sr GHannah DeMars, jr F

HERMANTOWNTaylor Vold, sr F

HIBBINGAbbey McDonald, jr G

Continued on Page 7


MBBN top 50 players in each class

HILL-MURRAYDelaney Runyon, jr G

HOLY ANGELSRiley Thalhuber, sr GDestinee Oberg, jr C

HUTCHINSONMaKenzie Rensch, sr G

MAHTOMEDIEmma Grothuis, sr FAnnika Sougstad, sr F

MANKATO WESTAshley Gustavson, jr G

MONTICELLOAnna Olson, so F

MOUND-WESTONKAJennifer Schaible, jr C

NEW ULMJoey Batt, jr G

NORTH BRANCHCianna Selbitschka, so F

NORTHFIELDAnnika Hoff, sr C

ORONOMadeline Loder, sr G

PRINCETONJulia Bjurman, sr G

RED WINGTayzha Buck, sr G

ROBBINSDALECOOPERJu Gaston, sr GAja Wheeler, jr G

SARTELL-ST. STEPHENAlexis Winter, sr G

SAUK RAPIDS-RICEBailey Becker, sr G

SIMLEYTeTe Danso, so CRavyn Miles, so G

ST. ANTHONY VILLAGESamantha Sibbet, so G

ST. CLOUD APOLLOLariah Washington, jr F

ST. CROIX LUTHERANAudrey Gadison, sr G

ST. PAUL COMO PARKMakayla Van Nett, sr GRaiyne Adams, sr G

ST. PAUL HIGHLAND PARKKaylnn Asberry, 8th G

WACONIASidney Zieske, sr G

WASECAMadison Gehloff, jr G

WILLMARCayle Hovland, sr GHannah Johnson, jr G

WINONASelena Lor, sr G

ZIMMERMANNaomi Hagstrom, sr F

Class 2AANNANDALEHannah Purcell, jr FAllie Spaulding, sr C

ATWATER-COSMOS-GROVE CITYMadison Denton, sr F

BARNESVILLENicole Herbranson, sr G

BYRONAyoka Lee, sr C

CALEDONIAKatie Tornstrom, sr G

DILWORTH-GLYNDON-FELTONNatalie Steichen, sr G

EDEN VALLEY-WATKINSHalle Jansen, so G

ESKOBridget Yelin, jr C

GLENCOE-SILVER LAKEMckenna Monahan, sr G

HOLY FAMILYShea Thompson, sr G

JORDANPaige Johnson, sr G

LITCHFIELDLaney Huhner, jr G

MARANATHA Kylie Post, sr GJaclyn Jarnot, sr F

MPLS. EDISONShanice Vaughn, sr G

MPLS. NORTHMonique Wooten, sr G

MINNEHAHA ACADEMYMia Curtis, so GTaytum Rhoades, jr G

NEW LONDON-SPICERShea Oman, sr G

NORWOOD-YOUNG AMERICABren Fox, sr CKali Grimm, sr G

NEW RICHLAND-HARTLAND-ELLENDALE-GENEVABetsy Schoenrock, sr C

OSAKISLauren Savageau, sr G

PEQUOT LAKESOlivia Lane, jr F

PINE ISLANDEmilie Rucker, sr F

PLAINVIEW-ELGIN-MILLVILLEHayley Dessner, sr C

PROVIDENCE ACADEMYMaggie Murphy, jr F


Shea Oman,New London-Spicer

Continued on Page 7



MBBN top 50 players in each class

ROSEAUKacie Borowicz, jr G

RUSH CITYElena Herberg, jr GShawna Mell, jr F

SAUK CENTRETori Peschel, so GMaesyn Thiesen, sr GKelsey Peschel, sr G

SOUTHWEST CHRISTIANLauren Jones, jr G

ST. AGNESAdaya Sandifer, sr GK’Lynn Lewis, sr G

ST. CLOUDCATHEDRALKate Tomczik, sr GMegan Voit, jr G

STAPLES-MOTLEYClaire Wolhowe, sr F

ST. PETEROlivia McCabe, sr G

THIEF RIVER FALLSTiahna Nicholson, sr GKylea Praska, sr G

TRACY-MILROY-BALATONKaylee Kirk, sr G

WATERTOWN-MAYERMonika Czinano, sr C

WINONA COTTERJosie Huelskamp, sr G

ZUMBROTA-MAZEPPALauren Miller, sr C

Class 1AADA-BORUPMariah McKeever, jr GMaddie Smart, jr G

ALDEN-CONGERErika Bute, jr G

BADGER-GREENBUSH-MIDDLE RIVERCarly Mekash, sr FMaddi Janicke, sr G

BELGRADE-BROOTEN-ELROSAMorgan Gronli, sr G

BIGFORKHaley Grover, sr GLexi Becker, sr G

BOLDMakenna Steffel, jr G

CANBYNorah King, sr C

CEDAR MT.-COMFREYTaylor Rose, sr F

CLEVELANDCaitlin Brink, jr G

CROMWELL-WRIGHTTeana Hakamaki, sr GShaily Hakamaki, so G

DEER RIVERHope Schjenken, jr G

GOODHUESydney Lodermeier, sr F

GRAND MEADOWJordyn Glynn, jr GRiley Queensland, so G

HAYFIELDCarrie Rutledge, sr GMaggie Streightiff, sr F

HERITAGE CHRISTIANTaylie Scott, jr G

HOUSTONAlyssa Rostad, jr G

KINGSLANDLauren Buchholtz, jr G

LAC QUI PARLE VALLEYGrace Hegland, jr FKelsea Lund, sr G

LEROY-OSTRANDERHaley Hungerholt, jr G

LESTER PRAIRIE-HOLY TRINITYMarissa Radtke, fr G

LYLE-PACELLIKristi Fett, sr CBrooke Walter, sr G

MACCRAYPiper Asche, jr C

MINNEOTALydia Sussner, jr F

MT. IRON-BUHLMary Burke, sr C

NICOLLETBrooke Skrien, sr G

ORTONVILLEMadysen Stegner, sr G

PARK CHRISTIANKarley Motschenbacher, so G

RANDOLPHAlyssa Whitson, sr F

RED LAKEAlexis Desjarlait, sr G

RED ROCK CENTRALHaley Simonson, jr G

RUSSELL-TYLER-RUTHTONTina Haroldson, sr G

ST. CLAIRMegan Mettler, sr C

SLEEPY EYEMadi Heiderscheidt, sr GSarah Ibarra, sr G

SOUTHWEST MN CHRISTIANBrooklyn DeKam, sr FEmily Nerem, sr G

SPRING GROVELauryn Bohr, sr C

ST. CLAIRMegan Mettler, sr COlivia Drummer, sr G

WABASSOMadison Guetter, jr C

WEST CENTRALElla Van Kempen, jr F

WHEATON-HERMAN-NORCROSSEmma Schmidt, sr GBriona Edwards, sr C


Heaven Hamling,Grand Rapids


By Jeff McCarronPacesetter Sports director

Each year high school basketball teams, especially the girls’ teams, are losing players to burnout, injury, and specialization in one sport. Is “chasing the dream” a fantasy causing boys and girls to miss out on the “real dream” of playing for their high school? Let’s start with the girls. Many volleyball players who used to play basketball are opting out to play club vol-leyball, which seemingly has no set season. Many choose to specialize in volleyball because they feel they have a better chance for a college scholarship. Some feel pressure from parents to take this route. Some prefer a sport with less fatigue and chance for injury. Some enjoy the club’s travel experiences with families, and playing with like-minded girls dedicated full-time to one sport. For most, it is some combination of all those reasons. Metro areas, with school districts bordering each other and having less identity as home-towns than outstate schools, are moving rapidly toward a club mentality in which parents and players specialize in one sport through individualized training and club team participation in off-season competition. The club system is common in Europe and much of the world. The USA’s system of high school competition is rare in the rest of the word and in danger of shrinking here. With much influence from media promoting the pros and D-1 athletes on television, some starry-eyed parents and players set their dreams accordingly. The dream of winning high school championships is falling victim to that of playing for a major college and then the NBA/WNBA, the result of the regular brainwashing we re-ceive from TV, web pages, YouTube, Facebook, Insta-gram, etc. The lure of big money causes many top male college players to enter the NBA draft early. With play-ers sold on these fantasies, traveling to an AAU tourna-ment in Las Vegas trumps high school competition as the best path to being recruited for that higher level. Surprise, surprise. Many players who specialize are finding they are more prone to injuries since they are passing up the cross-

training exercise from playing a variety of sports. Also, studies have shown that players in multiple sports be-come BETTER at each than had they specialized in one. Many learn that specialization can burn them out sooner and they quit before making varsity or college level. Some who reach the pros are also finding that the life is not as glorious as they had expected and pine for the college experience they can never recapture. What price can be placed on missing out on college, playing for your school, your community and your col-lective teammates and families? When you play for Paynesville, for example, you play for the people of the towns and farmlands in the district who wear green to show their pride in you. You compete with team-mates who are neighbors. With the Minnesota Gophers, you may play for the university and the state, but your teammates could now be from Florida, New Mexico, or Montana. With the Timberwolves, you again play for the state, but your teammates could be from Bulgaria, Russia, or Australia. The connection thins out as the competition heightens. While players and parents may seek more money, fame, and travel, there is still “no place like home” when it comes to the quintessential experience of playing for your high school and community with friends and neigh-bors. The current team should never be undervalued. Why give up playing for your school basketball team in order to play in JO volleyball tournaments hoping it will help you get a college scholarship? Why leave your school teammates to play in an AAU tournament with non-teammates out of state? College coaches are experts at finding the best players -- wherever they play. College coaches and pro scouts -- and employers -- are also experts at recognizing character. Were you loyal to your school and your teammates? Through Pacesetter Sports, we seek to do our part by supporting “Hometown Team” culture – school teams with multiple-sport athletes – by providing off-season instruction and competition within a seasonal time-frame. We offer our youth team basketball 5-state playoff system as a big-time experience for hometown teams at the Target Center in Minneapolis to counter the allure of playing in AAU tournaments in distant cities. A “Hometown Team” culture is what we believe, in the end, is the best path for players, teams, families, schools, and communities.

Playing for home town still best way to go

Jeff McCarron


New Pacesetter event: girls and boys JAMboreesThree teams from Pacesetter girls preseason Top 20 were among the participants in the inaugural Pacesetter Varsity Girls Pacesetter JAMboree in Grand Rapids on Nov. 18.

Grand Rapids (No. 5, 3A), Bigfork (No. 5, 1A), and Walker-Hackensack-Akeley (No. 18, 1A), all partici-pated along with Greenway, Nashwauk-Keewatin, Pine River-Backus, Nevis, and Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City.

Each team started by scrimmaging three separate oppo-nents. Then in the afternoon, the teams matched up with a “like” opponent on the main court for a half game, preseason showcase in front of all the other teams.

The afternoon games started off with a bang. Grand Rapids was pitted against their District 318 sister school Bigfork. Bigfork took an early lead but were eventually edged out by Grand Rapids in the closing minutes 45-43. It was not a defensive struggle. Asked if they came away from the JAMboree with something to work on, Bigfork coach Greg Powell said, “Defense.”

The Pacesetter Boys Varsity JAMboree will be held Saturday, Nov. 25, showcasing Grand Rapids (No. 15, 3A), Bigfork, Cass Lake-Bena (No. 11, 1A), Crom-well-Wright, Blackduck, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, and Northome-Kelliher, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

By Bruce Strand

A pair of likely all-state boys basketball players left their schools a year early — Race Thompson of Cooper and Both Gach of Austin.

Thompson, a 6-foot-9 forward, is a freshman for the In-diana Hoosiers rather than a senior for the Cooper Hawks, having opted to simply forego his senior year and accept a scholarship early. Thomp-son averaged 19.6 points and 8.9 re-bounds last year.

That makes him, incidentally, the fourth child of former Gopher foot-ball great Darrell Thompson to en-ter college sports. Dominique was an All-American volleyball player for Wisconsin. Indigo is playing volleyball a San Diego State. True is playing football at Iowa Western Community College.

Armstrong was 18-9 last year and a probable Top Ten team this year before Thompson graduated early.

“Race left early to get prepared for his freshman year mentally and physically,” explained Armstrong coach Greg Miller. “No hard feelings, as I have been his coach since fourth grade and am happy to see him in college playing ball.”

Miller said his team is “not top 20 but we should be competitive.” His son, Isaiah Miller, along with Ben Inniger, grandson of former NDSU coach Irv Inniger, will be “two energy players who will be great leaders for us.”

Gach, a 6-foot-4 guard ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the state by 247sports.com, has cast his lot with Arizona Compass Prep School. Aus-

tin coach Kris Fadness told ABC 6 News on August 30 that Both, who

averaged 18 points last year, felt the move will help him develop more as a player.

Both and Duoth Gach, twin brothers, led Austin to the state Class 3A finals and a 29-3 record last year. Both made the all-tournament team. Douth stayed in Austin.

Leaving a year early

Race Thompson

Both Gach

Armstrong, Austin stars don’t return for senior seasons


The new TimberwolvesBy Terry KunzeMN Basketball News columnist

The Minnesota Timberwolves, always a playoff team in the summer, may finally have the talent to attain the lofty expectations of their followers.

The Wolves, coached by Tom Thibodeau, are predicted by the experts to be a playoff team and even picked as high as fourth or fifth in the tough Western Conference. Predictions are predictions, and as the season evolves, it will be interesting to see how they progress.

This is a team of talent and shortcomings, and I would like to give you my opinion of the pluses and minuses of this club.

First off, this is a team that has to outscore opponents to win games, not an easy task, especially on the road. With poor team defense, al-lowing opponents to shoot 50 per-cent or better, they must be very consistent on offense to win.

Team success starts with Andrew Wiggins. He is the go-to guy who demands a double team night in and night out. He is a nightmare matchup because he is too big at 6-8 for two guards and too quick for the three’s to handle.

Although criticized for being soft and not defending, he is well worth the max deal he signed with the Wolves. Not only is Andrew a great scorer (22-plus points per game), he is also durable, missing one game in three years due to injury. The coaching staff must be careful not to run him too many minutes per game which may cause fatigue in the late season. Although criticized by some fans, he should not be traded for any two or three in the NBA. He is a 22-year old blossoming superstar that all clubs would love to have on their roster.

Next is Karl Anthony-Towns, a 7-foot buzz saw causing great matchup problems for opponent centers. Towns has a fine low post game, but he can also face up and shoot the three. Like Wiggins, Towns is durable and has not missed a game due to injury. He, also like Wiggins, should become a superstar in this league, and although it is a slow process, the end result could be tremendous for the Wolves.

Terry Kunze

On the defensive end, Towns is a liability and there is no way to deny that. Strong, bulky posts kill him on the block due to his lack of strength. But he runs the court, scores and plays with great enthusiasm, and although his shot selection is shaky, he is blossoming into the real deal. Towns is a double-double machine that will only get better as the season progresses.

This brings us to Jimmy Butler – a 6-7, 225-pound two or three man with toughness. Butler, acquired from Chicago to rejoin Thibodeau, who relied on him great-ly with the Bulls, should get the Wolves 15 points, six rebounds per game and be a defensive stopper. He is searching for his place in this club and has spent the early season getting other players involved. He will have to score more,. Hopefully his defensive toughness will be adopted by his teammates. Again, the coaching staff must not wear him out by the time the fourth quar-ter comes around. They must watch his minutes.

One constructive criticism I would suggest for the staff is that they are playing the starters too many minutes and not allowing the second unit the opportunity to grow and become more effective and productive on the court.

With Jeff Teague, 6-2 point guard replacing fan favor-ite Ricky Rubio, the Wolves have a new look. Teague has great speed and quickness, but he does not pass or defend as well as Rubio. On the plus side, he is a bet-ter pick and roll guard and shooter. The Wolves will be running more and this will allow Wiggins to operate on a broken floor before help can come. At this moment, I really cannot say if this is a good move or not, but I do think that the staff felt they wanted to go in another di-rection because Teague will be a more consistent scorer especially in the last two minutes of a close game.

This brings us to the third new addition in Taj Gibson, a 6-9, 235-pound warrior. Taj, like Butler, is tough and durable. He rebounds, defends, and does all the dirty work. He has improved his shooting and though no plays are run for him, he will get ten points and ten rebounds and show up big in the plus minus categories. He is a good pickup and will give the Wolves better defending and consistent rebounding.

These first five are solid, and with better defense, they could be a nice playoff team.

The big question is whether the second unit can hold

Continued on Page 13


fort when they come in the game. In the early games, the second unit minutes have been sparse and must in-crease if they are going to be successful. This is kind of a Catch 22: Are the second unit minutes sparse because they have not earned them, or sparse because they have not had the opportunity to earn them?

Nemanja Bjelica, 6-10, 235-pound power forward, has greatly im-proved his game. An excellent three-point shooter, he is a face up nightmare for power forwards. He can put the ball on the floor and is a definite scoring threat. He leads the second unit in minutes and has been solid in his role.

Gorgui Dieng, 6-11 backup post, is struggling to find his role on this team. Being a starter for most of his career, coming off the bench and not having consistent minutes has brought him some struggles. Dieng rebounds, defends, takes charges, and has an adequate midrange shooting game. It has been difficult for him to develop a rhythm playing an average of 14 minutes a game.

Jamal Crawford, a 6-5 shooter, can change the complexity of the game. Being a streaky shooter, he can hit four or five in a row and is especial-ly dangerous on the broken floor shooting in transition. He does not do much on the defensive end, but he can score and is an overall valu-able addition for the Wolves.

Shabazz Muhammed is a real mys-tery. Although athletic and a night-mare for players his size, you never know what he will do in any game. His shot selection is unpredictable and at times he plays out of control. He does not seem to have the trust of the coaching staff and will be pulled after a couple of bad decisions on the offensive end. He has talent and may be able to adjust his play to conform to the coaches’ wishes. It would be unfortunate to lose him.

Tyus Jones is another mystery. He knows how to run a team and is a gifted passer and set up man. His strength and quickness have greatly improved as well as his de-

fensive ability. I wish he would look to score more be-cause he gives them no point production and at times needs an invitation to shoot the ball. He must score more or they will be looking for another backup at that position.

Any finish out of the playoffs is not acceptable for this team this season, barring key injuries. Too many excus-es have been offered for failure and if they want to win,

they must defend. And let’s face it, defending is 90 percent effort. It is the coaching staff’s responsibil-ity for defense. Too often I hear it was “not our day” or “we didn’t feel right” or other excuses.

You must win the battle between the top of the circles by getting up and down the court. You must cut harder in offensive schemes and move the ball. One of the first things a de-fensive coach tells a defender is to make the offensive player dribble. That is not hard to do when playing the Wolves.

Passing up a shot because a team-mate has a better shot is what good teams do. San Antonio is a great ex-ample of that. Decision-making is a growth ability, and if done correctly, it develops trust, which is mandato-ry to be successful as a team. Once you establish a pecking order, these things will happen. The Wolves have the pieces but still need better shot selection, better ball movement, and better energy on the defensive end.

They must not accept losses and must be self-accountable for them. We fans should not want the Wolves to succeed more than the players. Let’s hope they prove that the ingre-

dients they have allow them to reach new heights this season. We wish them a playoff season and look for-ward to supporting them.

Terry Kunze, leader of Duluth Central’s 1961 state champions, and former Gopher and European pro player, is a MN Basketball News analyst.

Continued from Page 12Kunze assesses transformed T-wolves

Jimmy Butler, rejoining his for-mer Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota, is the

team’s crucial addition.


Five coaches — Skip Dolan, Terry Knothe, Kerry Lin-bo, Ron Vorwald and the late Ray Ross — were in-ducted into the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame at the group’s meeting Oct. 28 in Minneapolis.

Don “Skip” Dolan, Annandale coach for 36 years, has ten conference titles and six state tournament appear-ances (one runner-up and two third-place finishes) and a record of 330-193. Dolan has also coached softball for 27 years with four state trips. He has coached confer-ence champions in four sports. Dolan was a 1,000-point scorer at Renville High School and made all-conference eight times in foot-ball, basketball and baseball.

Terry Knothe, St. Charles coach for 36 years, has nine conference and three sub-section titles and a record of 500-371. He has also coached 16 conference cham-pion teams in boys and girls golf. A na-tive of Richland Center, WI, he played college basket-ball at Winona State.

Kerry Linbo, Byron coach for 31 years, has six con-ference crowns and a state appearance in 2013, and an overall record of 517-308. He is also a longtime foot-ball assistant and got the Butch Nash Award in 2000. The Hayfield native played football, basketball and baseball at Rochester Community College and baseball at UW-Lacrosse.

Ron Vorwald, Worthington coach for 24 years (1989-2013), notched five conference championships, three state trips and an overall record of 364-212. Vorwald played for a state champion basketball team in Bloom-ington, WI, and helped the football team go 18-0 his last two years. A football player for Iowa State two years and Mankato State for two years, he was also a football assistant coach at Worthington.

Ray Ross was Min-neapolis Washburn’s coach from 1931 through 1956, cap-turing five Minneap-olis championships, five Twin Cities ti-tles, and three state trips in the one-class tournament, high-lighted by the 1954-55 team that had a 23-game winning streak and emerged as state champion. The former Gopher baseball and bas-ketball player also coached baseball for e30 years and won the state baseball title that same year, 1955. He died in

1976.

*The MBCA recognized coaches of the year for each class: Matt Halverson of Goodhue in 1A, Dave Galov-ich of Crosby-Ironton in 2A, Dave Thorson of DeLaS-alle in 3A and Bryan Schlettler of Wayzata in 4A.

*Named to MBCA’s Hall of Honor for service to bas-ketball were Frankie Bly, Wes Knutson, Dick Milinkov-ich, Rich Penick, Bruce Strand and Steve Winfield.

Holding their HOF plaques are (from left) Kerry Linbo of Byron, Skip Dolan of Annandale, Terry Knothe of St.

Charles and Ron Vorwald of Worthington. The other hon-oree was the late Ray Ross of Mpls. Washburn.

Hall of Fame adds coaches Linbo, Dolan, Knothe, Vorwald, Ross



Class 4A1. Hopkins2. Eastview3. Lakeville North4. Minnetonka5. Centennial6. Cretin- Derham Hall7. Wayzata8. Forest Lake9. St. Michael- Albertville10. Park Center11. White Bear Lake12. Moorhead13. Edina14. Champlin Park15. Roseville16. St. Francis17. Andover18. Stillwater19. Anoka20. Owatonna

MBBN Girls Preseason Top 20 Class 3A1. DeLaSalle2. Holy Angels3. Hutchinson4. Cooper5. Grand Rapids6. Mahtomedi 7. Simley8. Northfield9. Waseca10. Hill-Murray11. Chisago Lakes12. Willmar13. Zimmerman14. Orono15. Waconia16. St. Paul Como Park17. Hermantown18. Alexandria19. Big Lake20. Faribault

Class 2A1. Sauk Centre2. Minnehaha Academy3. Rochester Lourdes4. Norwood- Young America5. Roseau6. Eden Valley- Watkins7. Dilworth- Glyndon-Felton8. Byron9. Rush City10. Maranatha Christian11. New London- Spicer12. Annandale13. Thief River Falls14. St. Peter15. Tracy- Milroy-Balaton16. St. Cloud Cathedral17. Pequot Lakes18. Duluth Marshall19. Barnesville20. Jordan

Class 1A1. Goodhue2. Lyle-Pacelli3. Hayfield4. Mountain Iron-Buhl5. Bigfork6. Ada-Borup7. Lac qui Parle Valley8. Cromwell-Wright9. Southwest MN Christian10. Sleepy Eye11. Mayer Lutheran12. Wheaton- Herman-Norcross13. Badger- Greenbush- Middle River14. Red Lake15. Cedar Mount.- Comfrey16. Wabasso17. Stephen-Argyle18. Walker- Hackensack- Akeley19. Belgrade- Brooten-Elrosa20. Sacred Heart (East Grand Forks)

Roseau, state Class 2A champs last year, graduated a Ms. Basketball finan-list but are strong again, ranked No. 5.


2018 Pacesetter Youth Basketball Great Five-State Championships

Boys and girls teams from five states, in grades 4-9, will play in the 2018 Pacesetter Youth Basketball Great Five-State Championships, which will be returning to newly-renovated Target Center in Minneapolis after playing in the Xcel Energy Center last summer. Pacesetter Sports, which began in 1980, has now invited Wisconsin youth teams in grades 4-9 to join teams from Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota in the Pacesetter Great 5-State Championships for 2018. Over 1,000 teams are expected to play in Pacesetter state playoffs. The champion, and possibly the runner-up, from each state will advance to play in the Pacesetter Great Five-State Championships in Minneapolis at the Target Cen-ter, which has just undergone a $145 million renovation. This youth basketball playoff system supports school and community-based teams and is sponsored by the Minnesota Lynx and Timberwolves. The Pacesetter “Great State” games are scheduled to coincide with Lynx home games, so all players and families can at-tend a game. The Timberwolves support the Pacesetter playoff system by providing a free ticket offer to every participating player for the following season. In 2018 Minnesota teams will compete in an 8-region playoff system in Rochester/Stewartville, Mankato, Redwood Falls, Moose Lake/Willow River, Paynes-ville, Moorhead, Grand Rapids/Hibbing, and Bemidji. Iowa will hold regional playoffs in Cedar Falls/Water-loo and Pella. North Dakota will hold regional playoffs

Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin teams to vie for titles at Target Center

in Fargo and Mandan. South Dakota will hold a state championship in Yankton, and Wisconsin, in its first year in Pacesetter, will hold a state championship in Ripon.

All teams that qualify for the Great State games at the Target Center will play three games in an 8-team bracket, using three courts, with all teams guaranteed at least one game on the main Target Center floor. The champions of last year’s Great State games included the following teams: 4th grade girls — Bismarck En-ergy (ND)5th grade girls — Detroit Lakes (MN) 6th grade girls — Bismarck In-tensity (ND) 7th grade girls — Lake City

(MN)8th grade girls — New London-Spicer (MN)9th grade girls — Sauk Centre (MN)

4th grade boys — Thompson (ND) 5th grade boys — Moose Lake-Willow River (MN)6th grade boys — Sioux Falls (SD) Hurricanes7th grade boys — Cedar Rapids Jefferson (IA)8th grade boys — Cedar Falls Outlaws (IA)9th grade boys — Kindred-Richland (ND)

All playoff sites are limited to 16 teams in each gender/grade group. Teams may get further information and register online at www.pacesettersports.net.

Moose Lake-Willow River (blue jer-sey) defeated Williston (red) in the

2017 fourth-grade finals.

Documents

*Lindsay Whalen starred at *We pick top 50 players in each ...quantumdatasystems-pacesettersports.townsquareinteractive.com/... · When we last saw the Hopkins girls basketball team,

Lindsay Whalen starred at We pick top 50 players in each ...quantumdatasystems-pacesettersports.townsquareinteractive.com/... · When we last saw the Hopkins girls basketball team,