We kept eyes and ears on the 2008 Gatorade Timberwolves Shootout at Target Center from Saturday morning on, as some of the best H.S. players in the nation face off against MN squads.St. Paul Central vs. Long Beach Poly (California)
- Long Beach Poly opened the season ranked #1 in the USA Today preseason girl’s basketball poll and finished as the No. 2-ranked team in the final 2006-07 USA Today Super 25 girls rankings, and they showed why on Saturday morning in beating a solid St. Paul Central team 66-51. April Cook (heading to Washington State) led the California squad with 15 points, while Monique Oliver added 11. Forward Jasmine Dixon was terrific with nine points and 14 boards, in addition to eight assists.
- St. Paul Central won the 2007 girl’s state title as they went undefeated (32-0) and finished #18 in USA Today's final poll. They won their first Minnesota state title since 1979, beating Minneapolis South 81-63 in final and Edina 79-41 in semifinals. They are 7-1 this season with a 60-56 loss to Centennial. The Minutemen have four double-figure scorers in Kiara Buford (15.3 points per game), Theairra Taylor (13.5), Megan Howard (13.1) and Georgie Jones (11.1). Buford signed with Minnesota and Jones inked with Marquette. Central got 19 points from Buford ,with five boards, and Jones put up 13 and 11, but it wasn't enough to catch LBP.
- The Jackrabbits of LBP (good nickname, yeah?) have played in several of the country's top tournament such as the Nike Northwest Invitational, Dec. 6-8 in Beaverton, Ore.; the Nike Tournament of Champions, Dec. 18-21 in Phoenix; the T-Mobile Invitational, Dec. 28-29 in Albuquerque along with the Gatorade Timberwolves Shootout.
- St. Paul Central made just 14-of-52 shots (27 percent) while LBP converted 22-of-50 (44 percent). Central also turned the ball over 22 times and were beaten by 12 on the glass (42-30).LeFlore, Alabama vs. Princeton
- Apparently, LeFlore is called the "Rattlers" for a reason: Their ball pressure is both intense and incessant, with players covering every square inch of court, a tactic rendered more effective due to the length and athleticism of the kids from Alabama.
- Princeton's counter to LeFlore's rampant pressure and athleticism was to slow the game down and patiently look for backdoor cuts to the hoop, while taking advantage of open looks "resulting from the Rattlers overplaying of passing lanes. WCCO's Mike Max contends that Princeton has only three or four thousand people, but most seem to be here at Target Center.
- (From our Shootout preview contributed by scout.com:)Princeton is led by Wisconsin signee Jared Berggren, a 6-foot-10 center. Berggren is determined perhaps the top player in the state in the Class of 2008. Berggren shined in last Saturday's St. Thomas Jamboree, scoring 20 points and limiting Iowa signee Andrew Brommer to just four points. He is averaging 24.4 points per game this season as the Tigers are off to 7-2 start. Ryan Fay, a 6-foot-2 senior, is contributing 14.0 points per contest.
- Fans witnessing last year's Shootout saw Alabama's best team defeat Minnetonka 72-66. They went on to finish 32-3 last year to win the Class 6A title. The Rattlers won the White Division championship of the Iolani Classic as they finished 4-0 and defeated national powers Jacksonville (FL) Arlington Country Day, Los Angles (CA) Westchester, Rockville (MD) Montrose Christian. They lost to Milwaukee (WI) Vincent 69-66 in the WBY Shootout this past weekend to fall to 15-1, snapping their 22-game winning streak. LeFlore is currently ranked 14th nationally by USA Today, and we can see why.
- LeFlore has a stud center, 6-11 DeMarcus Cousins, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the White Division, and is ranked as the #2 junior by Hoopmasters.com. He is averaging 18.0 points per game, and introduced himself to Princeton's fans early with a monster one-handed jam in transition.
- Princeton head coach Eric Bjurman and LeFlore head man Otis Hughley have styles as different as their teams. Bjurman appears a calming director of traffic, while Hughley is very clearly the most animated person in the building.
- Game update: LeFlore's athleticism started to wear on Princeton as the first half came to an end, with the Rattlers getting far too man good looks in the paint. The Tigers scratched and clawed defensively, but struggled limiting Rattler penetration. The largest lead was 36-24 with 2:25 remaining, and the teams traded baskets down the stretch to make it 41-29 at half.Second Half
- Is Princeton running the Princeton offense? It certainly looks like it at times, with ball movement around the perimeter and frequent backdoor cuts. The latest resulted in a wide-open layup and got the lead back under double digits.
- In the underground at halftime, 'Bama big man Cousins asked me if he could have a bite of my pizza. Uh, sure? Then he declined, but asked for some after the game. OK, DeMarcus. Cousins had six points, five boards, a steal and a dime in the first half. LeFlore had NINE players score at least two points. Squad is deeper than a snippet of Confucius doctrine.
- LeFlore must be sponsored by Nike. They're wearing some slick matching orange and white Air Max bits that highlight Miami Hurricane-like kits.
- With its crowd roaring, Princeton really started to turn the tide at the ten-minute mark of the second half, reeling off a solid run that made it 51-47 with 7:46 remaining in the game. LeFlore had maintained a ten-point lead up to that point, but the Tigers were capitalizing on Rattler gambles as they had for moments in the first half.
- However, LeFlore responded with four-straight points, and a massive swat from Cousins on Berggren's one-handed slam attempt. Yikes. That was real, real aggressive, and Berggren looked like he came down awkwardly.
- The Rattlers trap even in their own defensive end, trying to catch a Tiger defender in the corner if possible, but Princeton's done well to move the ball quickly out of danger, and capitalize with easy hoops.
- Berggren checked out with 4:35 remaining in the game, and limped over to the end of the bench to stretch. His squad's trailing 58-51. He must be OK, because he checked in a minute later and immediately hit a baseline jumper.
- Not sure how we didn't see this before, but Princeton's hockey team is in the house. We know this because they're wearing their entire uniforms, helmets included.
- LeFlore sub Gerald Watkins was huge in the second half, hitting several shots from seemingly the same spot in the far corner for 10 points. His three with 2:35 remaining may have been the dagger, as it extended the lead to 65-53. A noble effort indeed by tiny Princeton against one of the nation's best teams, but it wasn't quite enough.
- Cousins finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and four steals (blocks weren't kept as a stat) while future Marquette guard Nick Williams led the way with 20 points. LeFlore shot a healthy 62 percent from the field and outrebounded Princeton 25-22. The Tigers were led by 20 points from Angelo Fraboni (9-of-11), and Berggren added 14 on 6-of-17 with 10 rebounds.
- Both teams made a statement before the laptop even came out: Run, run, run. That shouldn’t come as a huge surprise for those that follow Minnesota high school basketball. Cass Lake scored 100-plus points in its first four games of the season, an impressive feat given that games are only 36 minutes long.
- Cass Lake took their first lead, 13-12, five minutes in. Neither team is taking their time offensively, and early, good looks at the basket will fly today, it seems.
- The Panthers’ Nate Howard’s up-and-under move with 14:01 remaining displayed Cass Lake’s ability to get to the rim.
- Every defensive rebound, White Station looks to run. This time, a three-quarter court outlet pass resulted in an easy two, and if this fast pace is to continue, you wonder how it may affect conditioning, especially on a longer 94-foot NBA floor. White Station is clearly the more athletic team, but in the early going, Cass Lake looks like they are able to match at least some of it.
- An 11-1 White Station run thanks to a pair of Joe Jackson jumpers forces a Panther timeout. Out of the timeout, Cass Lake went to a 2-3 zone in an attempt to contain White Station’s considerable height advantage. However, after one minute of solid defense (where’s the shot clock when you need it?), White Station’s Andrew Hollins was able to penetrate and capitalized on a five-foot jumper. 25-16 White Station, 8:30 left.
- White Station’s full-court press is causing trouble for Cass Lake’s guards … another turnover and layup.
- A Martin Wind 3-pointer was just what the Panthers needed after going scoreless for two minutes. 27-19.
- White Station’s quickness, athleticism and ability to finish near the basket has them on a 14-6 run. Cass Lake chose to mix up their defenses mid-possessions (from a man-to-man to a 2-3 zone), which briefly created some confusion on the part of White Station. Ultimately, however, ball movement and transition basketball has White Station up by considerable margin at the half.
- Jackson leads White Station at the break with 15 points on 6-of-14 from the field and two assists. For the Panthers, Joel Salscheider has12 points on 3-of-6 shooting and 2-of-4 from three-point range.Second Half
- The Hopkins Royals have become, arguably, Minnesota's best program in the past several years, winning the big school title in 2005 and 2006 before getting upset in sections last year by Minnetonka. Though Hopkins lost three players to college programs, including current Gopher Blake Hoffarber (25.2 points a game), reloading hasn't been a problem.
- Hopkins is off to a 7-0 start this season, outscoring opponents by 24 points a game in the recent Joe Hutton Classic. The Royals feature forward Raymond Cowles, a 6-4 forward averaging 15.5 points a game that was the MVP of the Hutton tourney, and has received scholarship offers from several D1 schools. Mike Broghammer, a 6-8, 220-pound forward, also has several D1 offers, while Trent Lockett and Anthony Di Loreto have committed to Arizona State and Cal Poly, respectively.
- The Royals kept their lead at around 10 for most of the first half, with DeMatha getting as close as 32-27. Hopkins added a point to that margin to take a 34-28 lead into halftime. For a high school basketball team, it's hard to spot a weakness in Hopkins. They're huge, they can shoot, they attack the glass, they get back in transition, they're deep and they're athletic. Impressive group...
- Cowles was, without reservation, outstanding in the first half, scoring 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three. Broghammer added seven points and seven boards, and as a team the Royals shot 41 percent.
- DeMatha countered with 10 points from Selby, and got seven points and four rebounds from Hibbert.Second Half
- Hopkins head coach Ken Novak senior had his troops pressuring the ball heavily coming out of the break, resulting immediately in a DeMatha turnover as Broghammer (who begs comparison to Hopkins alum and current Toronto Raptor Kris Humphries) released to hound the wing.
- Wouldn't it be great to watch the Rhino play in this contest? I'd have to put him down for 50 and 25.
- On second thought, maybe it'd be more fun to watch Bassy Telfair dribble circles all over everybody with his old-school Coney Island game...
- Devin Harris has a nice stroke ... Oh wait, that's Hopkins forward Trent Lockett, the future Sun Devil whose looks and No. 34 jersey begs a comparison to the current Mav and former Badger.
- Wolves VP and local legend Jeff Munneke, the man responsible for the Shootout, sat down to catch a breather: "Obviously a great opportunity not only to showcase MN's top players and teams, but it's great to see teams from legendary programs across the country come in and show what they can do," said Munn. "The event is what we thought it would be - a lot of great basketball and high-level talent. As for a team like LeFlore, they're very athletic, and seriously talented. Picking them up at the airport, it's almost like snatching up an NBA team with how big they are."
- Sub Marvin Singleton, a talented 6-4 freshman for Hopkins, converted a nice leaner in the lane to put his squad up 49-39. Talent for days in the western 'burbs.
- Here's a quick point on high-school transfer rules, instituted just this year: Once you get into high school as a freshman, if you transfer to another school, you have to sit out a year ... Just like in college, where if you're a Golden Gopher as a freshman, you'd have to sit out a year to be able to play for the Badgers. Essentially, you have to declare what school you're going to as an eighth grader. An educated guess suggests that not all of the Royals grew up in Hopkins...
- The Royals controlled the flow of the second half much like they did the first, maintaining a lead of around 10-to-12 points for the first nine minutes (51-40 with 9:18 left).
- Hopkins wins the award for "Best Dressed Coaching Staff." Solid mix of suits and ties, indeed.
- With 5:50 left, it's 58-45 for the home team, whose fans almost seem to take strong play from the royal blue team for granted. For once, DeMatha might not have the guns to compete here. But to be fair, it's a "rebuilding" year if there ever was one in Maryland. All five starters from last year's squad are playing Division 1 basketball this year.
- Just as Hopkins seemed to have things well under control down the stretch, DeMatha went on a run to make it interesting, drawing within four (66-62) with under two minutes left, and stealing the ball on the next possession. Hopkins responded with a steal of its own, then got the ball into its 7-footer, who got fouled and converted one of two FTs.
This was a very impressive victory for BSM, as Memorial went into DeLaSalle on Friday night and won by 25 points.
"We were very pleased with this year's Shootout and have already been contacted by several teams in Minnesota and around the nation to be a part of the 2009 event," said Wolves youth coordinator Todd Landrum. "We were also very pleased at the tremendous support we received from so many people in the Timberwolves organization. "
Madison Memorial was led by Erick Blue's 23 points, and got 19 from Devonte Maymon. Matt Thomas added 13 for Benilde.FINAL SCORE: 71-57 Benilde. Minnesota teams finished 2-4 on the day against some of the nation's best high school squads.