2019-20 Week That Was, Seeding the State, Superlatives Weeks 15

STATE TRAJECTORY

Section championships will be held this week. Usually there are two or three non-#1 seeds that get to go to the big stage from each class. We already know that 7AAAA will be one of them. Either #3 Forest Lake or #4 Cambridge-Isanti will go (and be unseeded). If history is to be believed, expect two more #1s to fall by the wayside this week in AAAA. It is a rare blue moon indeed when all #1 sections seeds arrive at state unscathed. Right now AAA and AA could pull the trick. Don’t hold your breath.

A PROPOSAL PART 2

Last week I argued for relegation. So who would be in? looking at the QRF you would say the top 64. True but that is an after the fact measurement. This 64 would need to be decided prior to the start of the school year. Currently the numbers using the traditional flawed counting student noses method would have 36 AAAA, 20 AAA, and 8 AA. I think looking at it from a preseason viewing Eastview, Cretin-Derham Hall, and Rogers would all be up making it 39. So who would go down? Stewartville, New London-Spicer and Albany would have been my selections for the next 64 or “AAA.” If you were in the top 64 or “AAAA” you would not play a team in a lower class with one exception for “the neighborhood traditional rivalry” sake.

There could be eight “conferences” where teams play home and away. That would start the game total at 14 (7×2). This would keep the trappings of the traditional conferences with title races and all conference listings. Add a cross over conference a la NFL for 8 more contests (22 games) and then four more of your choosing which could include a “tournament.” The state tournament would be strictly seeded by 64—NO SECTIONS. So how would or could these conferences be constituted looking back at 2020?

The Big 9(8): Red Wing, Mayo, New Prague, Austin, Lourdes, JM, Mankato West, Waseca
The SW: Marshall, St. Peter, Hutchinson, Chaska, Shakopee, Waconia, Prior Lake, Eden Prairie
The Southside: Farmington, Rosemount, Simley, Lakeville North, Eastview, Burnsville, Apple Valley, St. Croix Lutheran
The Eastside: Stillwater, Roseville, East Ridge, Hill-Murray, White Bear Lake, Mahtomedi, Woodbury, Cretin-Derham Hall
The Urban Core: Park Center, DeLaSalle, Holy Angels, Minneapolis South, St. Louis Park, Cooper, Totino-Grace, St. Paul Como Park
The Westside: Hopkins, Wayzata, Maple Grove, STMA, Rogers, Minnetonka, Champlin Park, Edina
The NE: Andover, Forest Lake, Blaine, Proctor, Hermantown, Cambridge-Isanti, Centennial, Spring Lake Park
The NW: Becker, Moorhead, Fergus Falls, Sauk Centre, Alexandria, Bemidji, Big Lake, Elk River

This would make for competitive games—-I hope—every night out. I am sure there may be some running time games, but they would become more infrequent. Basketball would get better quickly. It would be the destination programs wanted to climb to. No more wasted games. No more bad habits that would fester. Late game situations, what I love watching, would blossom.

Of course all this could and would change in 2021 depending on returning starters, returning all conference, returning club players.

PROPOSAL #2

I am full of proposals. One way to get more involvement in the state tournament in the current format of sections and such, is to bring the second place section team in to play a 3v3 tournament in class. There would be some hard decisions by teams having to limit their roster to just four players. Tears would flow. If a team opted out the next highest seed in the section would be invited. The 3v3 game is a 10 minute game or up to 21, whatever comes first. Here are the official FIBA rules. Field goals are one or two points, and there would be a 12 second shot clock. You could run this event prior to the afternoon or evening sessions starting on Thursday. This would create a new buzz and bring in fans that would sit at home otherwise. Of course, the argument would be made that the teams in the 5v5 event would or could be 3v3 champs too. Perhaps. But to get it off the ground and to increase attendance this is a good option. I am sure television would pick up on this quickly. Oh and there is “nonstop” music.

QUEST FOR 100

Heartbreak for the 100. Mesabi East will not be charted this year. My guess is they will still be in the 100 when everything wraps up in March. I had the option to see them on Thursday. I chose Buffalo since it would be the last time I could safely see them. During the course of the year I had a few windows to see Mesabi East. The famous blizzard of the millennium on January 17 was one such day. ME played at Proctor early in the afternoon (5:45 instead of 7) in an effort to outrun the blizzard. Everything down in the metro was cancelled. I decided I did not want to negotiate 35 up and back during a storm. I am old and don’t need that stress. So Cromwell and Watertown-Mayer are all that is left on the 100 to do list. They should be charted this week on Monday and Wednesday. My wild card day looks like Friday at this point. I am booked for the rest of the week.

Level Seen %
1-10 10 100.00
1-25 25 100.00
1-50 50 100.00
1-75 75 100.00
1-100 97 97.00
1-125 117 93.60
1-150 133 88.67
1-175 145 82.86
1-200 156 78.00
1-225 160 71.11

 

SEEDING THE STATE

The changes, if there were any, came in 7AAAA, and 7AA where the favorites fell on Saturday. Nothing else moved the needle.

AAAA

1 Hopkins #6
2 Farmington #1
3 Chaska #2
4 Park Center #5
5 St. Michael-Albertville #8
6 Rosemount #3
7 Stillwater #4
8 Forest Lake #7

AAA

1 DeLaSalle #4
2 Becker #5
3 Simley #3
4 Marshall #2
5 Holy Angels #6
6 Red Wing #1
7 Alexandria #8
8 Hermantown #7

AA

1 Rochester Lourdes #1
2 Sauk Centre #6
3 Fergus Falls #8
4 New London-Spicer #3
5 Minnehaha #4
6 Waseca #2
7 Providence #5
8 Duluth Marshall #7

A

1 Minneota #3
2 Cromwell-Wright #7
3 Mayer Lutheran #4
4 Walker-Hackensack-Akeley #5
5 Henning #6
6 Blooming Prairie #1
7 Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s #2
8 Red Lake #8

UNBEATENS

The more things stay the same…..At this point next week we will be at one, possibly two.

AAAA: 1: Hopkins
AAA: 1: Marshall
AA: 1: Pelican Rapids
A: 0

STREAKING

And the days dwindle down…to a precious few.

AAAA: 59 Hopkins (32+27)
AAA 27: Marshall
AA 27: Pelican Rapids
A 16: Minneota

What about the secondary market?

Both A secondary leaders were bumped off over the weekend. A new leader emerges.

AAAA: 18 Rochester Mayo
AAA: 23 Simley
AA: 21 Albany
A: 14 Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s

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