MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Titan Q]

Any scoop on the St. Paul big guy heading to Wash U?

http://bearsports.wustl.edu/releases/mbk5-20-10.html

[Drake Palmer]

Any scoop on the St. Paul big guy heading to Wash U?

http://bearsports.wustl.edu/releases/mbk5-20-10.html

Q- I didn't see any St. Thomas Academy games this winter so I can't tell you anything about Will Patt.   However, I did check the state Preps website & he was listed as the 63rd best player in the 2010 class rankings.

For what its' worth, the only other anecdotal information I could offer is that he's ranked about 20 spots lower than a player that I think would be solid, possible D3 star type player – 41st ranked Taylor Hanson of Minnehaha Academy.  Hanson may end up playing football instead of basketball in college.

But Patt is 6-8 so that could help in a couple of years as he develops & matures as a player.

[miacsuperfan]

And of course I almost forgot former Arizona coach, Lute Olson, another Mayville ND native, & LA Laker coach Phil Jackson. I believe Jackson was from western ND - Williston?  The Upper Midwest - the new cradle of coaches indeed!  

Little known fact, Lute actually coached high school BB at Mahnomen and Two Harbors!

Phil Jackson was a standout player for Bill Fitch at UND in the early sixties!

phil was good, a scoring machine.  but there were not enough o's in gooooofy to describe his look back then.      phil took his team to back to back d2 final fours at the end of  his career. the best player to watch during jackson's days at UND was a slasher named jim hester.  hester was so athletic, the football coach convinced him to play football his senior year.  hester was later drafted by the new orleans saints---playing four years in the NFL. 

From the "for what it's worth" department MSUM has named Chad Walthall it's men's BB coach.

congrats to chad walthal being named head bb coach at moorhead state.  he will have his work cut out.  the website at msu says he coached at redwood valley in the early nineties.  that would have been just before redwood's 10 year reign of terror on southwestern minnesota basketball
programs.   

[Buddo]

Updated list

SJU
#34 Luke Januschka, St. Cloud Cathedral, SF
#43 Erik Tengwall, New London-Spicer, PG/SG
#61 Scott Willenbring, ROCORI, SF
#66 Seth Marx, Benilde-SM, SG
#70 Jack Wittenborg, Bloomington Jefferson, SG
#81 Andrew Good, Mora, PF

St. Olaf
#47 Connor Gunderson, Austin, SG
#90 Mike Jensen, Zimmerman, PG
NR Charlie Aselen, St. Thomas Academy, SG

Concordia
#84 Brandon Host, Mound-Westonka, SG
#100 Alex Schmitt, Mound-Westonka, C

Hamline
#58 Josh Pratt, St. Anthony, SG

Augsburg
#35 Parker Hines, Minnehaha Academy, PG
#76 Andy Siedlitz, Robbinsdale Armstrong, SG

Bethel
#91 Derek Walhome, Staples-Motley, SF

Carleton
#41 Taylor Hanson, Minnehaha Academy, PF
#55 Danny Geiger, New Prague, SG

[jimhoops1234]

I know Buddo probably got his info from Minnesota Preps, and I believe they are reporting that Taylor Hanson of Minnehaha is going to Carleton.  Rumors 2 weeks ago were that he is headed east to Connecticut College I believe and will not be attending either school in Northfield despite a ton of time and effort on their parts.  I know things can change but it seemed to be a done deal.

[Titan Q]

Macalester's original list of recruits (link below) included 6-6 wing John Weinheimer.  I recently heard Weinheimer has changed his mind and is heading to Williams.

This is the text from the Macalester site on Weinheimer (which has since been removed)...


John Weinheimer, a 6-6 guard/forward from Oak Park-River Forest High School in Oak Park, Ill., was the team leader and catalyst on and off the floor. Weinheimer averaged 8 ppg, 4 rpg, 3 apg and 2 spg while shooting 40% from the floor and 65% from the free throw line as a senior after being injured most of his junior year. The Huskies finished the season 22-6. John was an Academic All-West Suburban Conference selection, a four-year Dean's List member and graduated cum laude. His parents are Eric and Tina Weinheimer.

http://athletics.macalester.edu/news/2010/6/9/MBB_0609105559.aspx

[Willy Wonka]

I was already planning to give a Star of the North report this week...but now I've been nudged by my editor with this gem in today's paper.

"Mayo grad Brett Boese took a weekend off from his duties as a Post-Bulletin sports and news reporter to play basketball in the Star of the North Games; his team, the Arrows, won the blue playoff of the B Division. Boese says he's fortunate that his shot has hung around longer than his hairline."

Two things can be drawn this. 1) I'm old. 2) Nothing you say is off the record, particularly if you work in a newsroom.

*****************************

In related news...

• A team of mostly current and former UST players won the A Division title by about 30. I was playing at the same time, but it sounded like Schnettler hit treys on 6 straight possessions to blow the game open. Plus, Keating was rocking an especially dirty mustache.

• That squad beat a psuedo Cretin-Durham Hall team of Sweeney, Anders Halvorson, Lukas Holland and a few others in the semis.

• A squad that had about four Luther players played in the B Division. The A Division only had 12 teams, and most featured at least one current or former Division I player.

And now my favorite...

• I've never had personal issues with refs...but I got a new taste this weekend with MIAC favorite Brad Panning. After hearing fresh complaints about him from Witter and Madson in Saturday's games, he reffed a game of mine on Sunday.

Panning called a technical less than two minutes into the game after missing two audible fouls, and got into it with my bench when the ball was back in play. He then wanted to give a technical to our volunteer scorekeeper after our buddy reminded him that the game was still going on. It might have been the most ridiculous display of misplaced power I've ever seen...and there were exactly zero fans in attendance Sunday morning to enjoy his reffing masterpiece

************************

In unrelated news, the Tommies have announced that they will host the Pointers, the defending national champ, on Dec. 22 in what might be the biggest nonconference game in D3 next winter. The two programs combined for 52 wins last year and return 7 of 10 starters for 2010-11. It won't be the first game at the new facility, but I expect it to be packed.

I'm also hearing good things about a Bethel recruit from South Dakota. Didn't catch a name tho...

[piperinsider]

Hopefully St. John's ordered numbers 61-69 for their basketball team next season:
Latest Frank the Tank story: http://www.sctimes.com/article/20100630/SPORTS/106300017/1002/SJU-basketball--Johnnies-add-more-recruits
Ben Rausch of Rocori High School.
Burnsville's Jack Ghizoni
Mora's Andy Good
St. Cloud Cathedral's Luke Januschka
Litchfield's Dominic Devine - lanky 6-5 guard/forward (needs to fill in)
Champlin Park's Kyle Zimmerman
Benilde-St. Margaret's Seth Marx
Winsted Holy Trinity's Brandon Schaust (weak conference, inflated numbers - see Chris Neumann, SJU sophomore)
Bloomington Jefferson's Jack Wittenborg
Mesabi East's Travis Whiting
St. Xavier (Kentucky's) Patrick Butcher
Notre Dame Academy (Wisconsin's) Kevin McKenzie - brother of assistant coach, Pat

[sumander]

Hopefully St. John's ordered numbers 61-69 for their basketball team next season:

PI, Same song (fill in the #)verse. It seems the J's philosphy for at least the last few years is bring in as many players as you can and see who sticks it out for 4 years.

WW, Thanks for the update, enjoyed the post!!

[miacsuperfan]

this morning i had a great laugh while reading willy wonka's account of BAD PANNING's officiating at a recent weekend star of the north tournament in rochester.   
unfortunately willy, BAD often works games where people ARE in attendance, leading to a hefty helping of angst for everyone present.  PANNING has always struggled trying to officiate, but it appears that recently his inferior judgement and glaring lack of integrity are continuing a further downward spiral.  hopefully, his days of working miac games are soon but a memory, and star of the north is able to find some leaner and better equipped younger men to run their show. 

and thanks for the heads up on the ust/stevens point game this winter.  know the date?

[Willy Wonka]

this morning i had a great laugh while reading willy wonka's account of BAD PANNING's officiating at a recent weekend star of the north tournament in rochester.   
unfortunately willy, BAD often works games where people ARE in attendance, leading to a hefty helping of angst for everyone present.  PANNING has always struggled trying to officiate, but it appears that recently his inferior judgement and glaring lack of integrity are continuing a further downward spiral.  hopefully, his days of working miac games are soon but a memory, and star of the north is able to find some leaner and better equipped younger men to run their show. 

and thanks for the heads up on the ust/stevens point game this winter.  know the date?

You must have missed it with all your giggling. It's Dec. 22, as I said above 

Did Drake head to South Africa on us for the Cup or what? This might be the longest silence we've ever seen from him...

[miacsuperfan]

this morning i had a great laugh while reading willy wonka's account of BAD PANNING's officiating at a recent weekend star of the north tournament in rochester.   
unfortunately willy, BAD often works games where people ARE in attendance, leading to a hefty helping of angst for everyone present.  PANNING has always struggled trying to officiate, but it appears that recently his inferior judgement and glaring lack of integrity are continuing a further downward spiral.  hopefully, his days of working miac games are soon but a memory, and star of the north is able to find some leaner and better equipped younger men to run their show. 

and thanks for the heads up on the ust/stevens point game this winter.  know the date?

You must have missed it with all your giggling. It's Dec. 22, as I said above 
Did Drake head to South Africa on us for the Cup or what? This might be the longest silence we've ever seen from him...

not sure if it was the giggling or the aging eyeballs.      probably a bit of each.  as for DRAKE PALMER, i've got a cliff lee trade that says your calling dp out will have him checking in before the week is up.  c'mon drake, make me look good.    
i will also say that VOJ's silence has been deafening as well.

[Drake Palmer]

What's up board?  Upcoming Triple play...


Things I did on my way to a mini-summer vacation.

Supe – at long last I finally made it to 4th of July weekend.   I was planning on posting a little something this week,Cliff Lee trade or not. 
 
Unofficially- the last 4 weeks at work have been an absolute monster!  In addition to normal, June, fiscal year-end craziness, the powers that be at my place of employment decided that last month would be a wonderful time for our department to move into new offices.  Are they crazy? – Certainly seemed that way to me. 

Officially- I recognized that World Cup would be a great sales opportunity, so I enlisted some cute Charles Dickens type grade school orphans to sell those godawful vuvuzelas outside the front door of some of the popular watering holes and restaurants in the twin cities the past 3 weeks – Pancho Villa, Midtown Global market, Brits, Nomad, Sweetwater Grill etc.  Sales have been absolutely outstanding.  I should be able to pack up my belongings & retire to the south of beautiful Belle Fourche, South Dakota in several weeks. 



(Actually, I only have a passing interest in soccer & only watch every 4 years for a bit during World Cup.)
Willy – I thought you and Papa Wonka were going to World Cup this summer, or is that scheduled for 2014?

[Drake Palmer]

In hoops news, a few weeks back I noticed in the Pioneer Press that Forest Lake's Zach Riedeman has apparently committed to UST.  Based on what a couple of friends told me who still closely follow high school hoops, he should be a real nice get for the Tommies.  Riedeman is an athletic, 6-5/6-6 small forward who's equally adept muscling inside, or stepping out to hit the jumper.

***
Construction news - I happened to drive by UST yesterday & noticed that they've begun the demo phase of the new student center in the old parking lot for the Shoe.  It's almost embarrassing the amount of new construction that's taking place at UST.  Is there any other noteworthy construction taking place at any of the other MIAC schools?  I believe I read someplace that Concordia is getting new artificial turf for their football & baseball fields. Wow.

Given the current economy & increasing tuition rates, it's going to be tough to compete with St. Thomas in this new facilities arms race.  It will be interesting to see if the new UST facilities translate into sustained success for the football program.  Certainly Coach Fritz & the basketball program have successfully reinvented themselves year after year.

From a student perspective, I think we'll continue to see more MN kids show up on the rosters of the WIAC schools.  Anecdotally, in the last couple of years I've already seen some real solid ball players from the metro area go to schools such as UW-River Falls, UW-Stout, UW-Eau Claire & to a lesser extent UW-Superior.  Jontae Koonkaew, Wade Guerin & Brady Hannigan at River Falls; Jerrel Einerson- Matthews & Eric Hostetter at Stout. It seems both River Falls & Stout have got a direct pipeline to TC area schools.

On a national level I think we'll continue to see the WIAC schools do quite well for themselves.  They've got solid schools, affordable tuition, plus an excellent, competitive league with successful basketball programs.  Unless our MIAC schools can make some type of adjustment in their recruiting & financial aid packages, & overall style of play, I think we'll continue to see this player exodus   & lose some of these student-athletes to the WIAC & in some cases, NAIA schools.

[Drake Palmer]

Part 3.

Summer reading/ movie recommendation:  If you're a fan of mystery novels, I would recommend The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. 

Against my wishes I was talked into seeing the movie earlier this spring.  I thought it was going to be a silly, foreign, "chick- flick" with sub titles, but this was one harrowing, intense, suspenseful, kick azz movie.  I ended up reading the book after I saw the movie & once I got past the first 50 pages I was hooked again.   The book & movie is part of a series, the "Millennium Trilogy." The 2nd movie, "The Girl who Played with Fire" is premiering in town this weekend.  My goal is to try & finish reading the 2nd novel this week before I see the 2nd film. 350 pages to go.
***
Sum - what's happening up in your part of the world August 5th-7th?  I was thinking of heading up to lakes country for a weekend getaway next month & all of the decent hotels seemed to be booked in Alex & Detroit Lakes.  The surrounding weekends seem to be relatively normal. Could it be that I go on vacation so infrequently that I didn't realize this is typical weekend traffic for resort type of towns?

Mebbe I will have to go to western SD, but that weekend is probably the  week for the Sturgis bike rally - no thank you.  :