MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Willy Wonka]

UST recruits

Drew Mathews, Bethlehem Academy
Wiry athlete with decent range likely co-leading the fourth-ranked Cards to state in Class A. A 6-4 cross between Kane Siv and Wittwer, though the competition level makes him a little hard to judge. I've got a BA buddy who loves him...and he single-handedly beat a solid Goodhue team last weekend. He plays with two other 1,000-pt scorers. Hard team to defend at the small school level.

Jake Lippert, Farmington
A poor man's Bobby Fong. He's a good athlete who had at least a couple MIAC schools were after pretty hard. However, I've seen him play twice and am NOT impressed. He's a forcer offensively, even if nothing is there. His high school career ended with a missed wide open 3 at the buzzer with his team down a pair in the section semis.

[piperinsider]

UST recruits

Drew Mathews, Bethlehem Academy
Wiry athlete with decent range likely co-leading the fourth-ranked Cards to state in Class A. A 6-4 cross between Kane Siv and Wittwer, though the competition level makes him a little hard to judge. I've got a BA buddy who loves him...and he single-handedly beat a solid Goodhue team last weekend. He plays with two other 1,000-pt scorers. Hard team to defend at the small school level.

Jake Lippert, Farmington
A poor man's Bobby Fong. He's a good athlete who had at least a couple MIAC schools were after pretty hard. However, I've seen him play twice and am NOT impressed. He's a forcer offensively, even if nothing is there. His high school career ended with a missed wide open 3 at the buzzer with his team down a pair in the section semis.

Unlike WW, I love Jake Lippert. Outside of Danny Geiger of New Prague, he was my favorite player in the Missota. He's like 6-4/6-5 with the ability to play in and out. A nice addition.

[columbianmaffia]

any word on any other commits any place else

[columbianmaffia]

today i am eating plain macaroni noodles that i put in the microwave...i was sad to realize that i have no butter, cheese, or sauce of any kind

or maybe since i was so unprepaired for this you could say i did have some weak sauce

[Gacman]

any word on any other commits any place else

GAC has two 6'5" wing/forwards coming in. At this moment I do not know names, but one is a transfer from GFW. He is currently going to the UofM as a freshman but will have four years of basketball eligiblity. From what I hear, the other wing is pretty good.

[piperinsider]

any word on any other commits any place else

GAC has two 6'5" wing/forwards coming in. At this moment I do not know names, but one is a transfer from GFW. He is currently going to the UofM as a freshman but will have four years of basketball eligiblity. From what I hear, the other wing is pretty good.

GFW has had some nice players the past couple of years...I'm guessing it is Sam Van Hon or Reed Sallstrom. Both were solid post players in high school in the very underrated Tomahawk Conference at the A/AA level.

[Willy Wonka]

Where's Drake? No expose on the Tommie loss and/or season?

[TommieFan2012]

In my opinion Ders and Alex Healy will both be starting next year.  Replacing Al?  Any opinions? Tuna?

[Drake Palmer]

I was sort of hoping Willy Jr.  - UST's Nick Lauer would post a blog for me so I wouldn't have to.     After this season came to an end, I had to hang out in the reflection room & it took a little longer than usual to remove the sackcloth & ashes, & wipe the what? sweat from my forehead.  sniff, sniff. 

I don't know about everybody else but when the basketball season ends, it sort of sucks all the air out of the room for me.  Fortunately there's still the high school state tourney coming up, the "Big Dance" & the Masters' so we can gradually began our transition to spring, & the great outdoors.

It was an absolutely incredible run by UST this season & the last couple of years. Saturday night they ran into a tremendously talented & poised team in defending national champion, Washington University.  It certainly wouldn't come as a shock to anyone if they were cutting down the nets again this weekend in Salem.

For the better part of two seasons the Tommies could count on their athleticism, quickness & opportunistic outside shooting, coupled with excellent team defense & hustle to beat most teams they encountered.  Last Saturday, they ran into a team that didn't collapse under the tremendous UST defensive pressure, made some half time adjustments & it was a totally different ball game.

The UST treys dried up in the 2nd half, the Tommies stubbornly refused the open 10-15 foot jumper which they've turned down all year & instead, tried to rely on their passing abilities to generate a better shot cutting to the basket. Unfortunately Wash U wised up to this & gave them the short jumper, & the taller Wash U defenders physically challenged every UST layup.  I'd bet UST easily missed 6-7 contested, but makeable layups.  The refs were letting them play & it always looked like the Tommies were coming up 3-4 inches short on their layups. 

As they started to fall further & further behind, rather than pressing on made UST baskets, the Tommies were forced to start pressing on defensive rebounds by Wash (WASH  40 rebs – UST 20 rebs), of which there were plenty as the Tomcats went stone cold.  This resulted in a ton of easy looks for Washington as Tyler Nading would leak out on the Tommie press & Sean Wallis, their outstanding PG would toss a strike down court for the easy assist & layup.  Game, set, & match.

But when all was said & done the Tommies could still stand tall:  In the words of their gruff, but loveable (highly respected is probably the better adjective  ) Coach Fritz:

"If it didn't mean anything, it wouldn't hurt so much," Coach Fritz told his players in the locker room. "There's a reason why guys like to hire former athletes, because they get knocked down and they pick themselves right back up and move forward. And we'll do that. To win 30 games in a row is something very few teams ever do. You have so much to be proud of and be grateful for."

"You don't have a thing to regret," he said. "This hurts, no question, but it's a part of sports. ... Thanks for everything. You guys are the best – no doubt about it."

Well said coach, well said.

[Drake Palmer]

Thanks for the ride and memories UST!!! A shout-out to the seniors!






Al "The Real" McMcCoy, Lonnie "All-Hair" Robinson, Brett "Terrry" Tuma, BJ "A Real" Viau 

[Gacman]

any word on any other commits any place else

GAC has two 6'5" wing/forwards coming in. At this moment I do not know names, but one is a transfer from GFW. He is currently going to the UofM as a freshman but will have four years of basketball eligiblity. From what I hear, the other wing is pretty good.

GFW has had some nice players the past couple of years...I'm guessing it is Sam Van Hon or Reed Sallstrom. Both were solid post players in high school in the very underrated Tomahawk Conference at the A/AA level.

I believe it's Sallstrom. Apparently he missed playing baskeball.

[basketballlover]

From d-3hoops
Men's All-West Region Team

Player of the Year: Jeff Skemp, C, UW-Platteville
Coach of the Year: Steve Fritz, St. Thomas
Rookie of the Year: Aaron Van Klaveren, F, Cal Lutheran

First team

Pos. Player School Yr. Hometown
G Myles McKay UW-Whitewater Sr. Menomonee Falls, Wis.
G Andre Wagner Buena Vista Sr. Omaha, Neb.
F D.J. Marsh UW-Oshkosh Jr. Bayside, Wis.
F Zach Johnson Carleton Sr. Apple Valley, Minn.
C Jeff Skemp UW-Platteville Sr. Hazel Green, Wis.

Second team

Pos. Player School Yr. Hometown
G Tim Madson Bethel Sr. Redwood Falls, Minn.
G Joe Scott St. Thomas Jr. St. Anthony, Minn.
F Jason Foster Puget Sound Sr. Spanaway, Wash.
F Chris Blees Claremont-Mudd-Scripps So. Carmichael, Calif.
C Cameron Mitchell Willamette Jr. Portland, Ore.

Third team

Pos. Player School Yr. Hometown
G Chris Faidley Whitman Sr. Shoreline, Wash.
G Ross Nakamura Whitworth Sr. Moraga, Calif.
F John Fraase Concordia-Moorhead So. Bismarck, N.D.
F Dane Seckar-Anderson UW-Oshkosh Sr. Oshkosh, Wis.
F Nate Alm Augsburg Sr. Eden Prairie, Minn.

[Drake Palmer]

From d-3hoops
Men's All-West Region Team

Player of the Year: Jeff Skemp, C, UW-Platteville
Coach of the Year: Steve Fritz, St. Thomas
Rookie of the Year: Aaron Van Klaveren, F, Cal Lutheran

First team

Pos. Player School Yr. Hometown
G Myles McKay UW-Whitewater Sr. Menomonee Falls, Wis.
G Andre Wagner Buena Vista Sr. Omaha, Neb.
F D.J. Marsh UW-Oshkosh Jr. Bayside, Wis.
F Zach Johnson Carleton Sr. Apple Valley, Minn.
C Jeff Skemp UW-Platteville Sr. Hazel Green, Wis.

Second team

Pos. Player School Yr. Hometown
G Tim Madson Bethel Sr. Redwood Falls, Minn.
G Joe Scott St. Thomas Jr. St. Anthony, Minn.
F Jason Foster Puget Sound Sr. Spanaway, Wash.
F Chris Blees Claremont-Mudd-Scripps So. Carmichael, Calif.
C Cameron Mitchell Willamette Jr. Portland, Ore.

Third team

Pos. Player School Yr. Hometown
G Chris Faidley Whitman Sr. Shoreline, Wash.
G Ross Nakamura Whitworth Sr. Moraga, Calif.
F John Fraase Concordia-Moorhead So. Bismarck, N.D.
F Dane Seckar-Anderson UW-Oshkosh Sr. Oshkosh, Wis.
F Nate Alm Augsburg Sr. Eden Prairie, Minn.

Thanks for posting this B-love. Interesting All Region picks from the MIAC.  I saw the All Region selections last night as I was returning from the  "reflection room" but until you posted it this morning I hadn't noticed the Cobbers' So. John Fraase also made the All Region team.  You were probably as surprised by this as I was, & you forgot to highlight his name as you did with the other MIAC selections.  I just  did it for you. Good job big man!

[columbianmaffia]

anyone goin to any high school games this week...state starts up on wednesday next week...should be good times

[piperinsider]

From d-3hoops
Men's All-West Region Team

Player of the Year: Jeff Skemp, C, UW-Platteville
Coach of the Year: Steve Fritz, St. Thomas
Rookie of the Year: Aaron Van Klaveren, F, Cal Lutheran

First team

Pos. Player School Yr. Hometown
G Myles McKay UW-Whitewater Sr. Menomonee Falls, Wis.
G Andre Wagner Buena Vista Sr. Omaha, Neb.
F D.J. Marsh UW-Oshkosh Jr. Bayside, Wis.
F Zach Johnson Carleton Sr. Apple Valley, Minn.
C Jeff Skemp UW-Platteville Sr. Hazel Green, Wis.

Second team

Pos. Player School Yr. Hometown
G Tim Madson Bethel Sr. Redwood Falls, Minn.
G Joe Scott St. Thomas Jr. St. Anthony, Minn.
F Jason Foster Puget Sound Sr. Spanaway, Wash.
F Chris Blees Claremont-Mudd-Scripps So. Carmichael, Calif.
C Cameron Mitchell Willamette Jr. Portland, Ore.

Third team

Pos. Player School Yr. Hometown
G Chris Faidley Whitman Sr. Shoreline, Wash.
G Ross Nakamura Whitworth Sr. Moraga, Calif.
F John Fraase Concordia-Moorhead So. Bismarck, N.D.
F Dane Seckar-Anderson UW-Oshkosh Sr. Oshkosh, Wis.
F Nate Alm Augsburg Sr. Eden Prairie, Minn.

Thanks for posting this B-love. Interesting All Region picks from the MIAC.  I saw the All Region selections last night as I was returning from the  "reflection room" but until you posted it this morning I hadn't noticed the Cobbers' So. John Fraase also made the All Region team.  You were probably as surprised by this as I was, & you forgot to highlight his name as you did with the other MIAC selections.  I just  did it for you. Good job big man!

You both forgot the big guy (COY)!

Sallstrom is a very solid all-state honorable mention type player. Good pick up for GAC. Then again, Tyler Grey wasn't as spectucular as I said he would be this year.