In the past I have cranked out a review of the summer, “The Summer that Was.” Due to time constraints, and channel capacity overload, I am cranking out a Reader’s Digest condensed version. Thanks to my master’s coursework and writing requirements (assignments are due on Sundays) I have sharply curtailed my charting this year. I did not make any journeys outside the Twin Cities metro (excepting St. Ben’s). Part of the reason is I didn’t have six or more hours to spare on a day just in traveling this summer. I think I will be able to venture forth a bit more again in 2019. This was my first year I did not attend contests in Mankato, Sioux Falls, Ames or Stout. Luckily, I was still able to see quality teams and programs in the critical viewing periods of July. I believe you can add June to that list too as the Summer Jam brought in some heavy duty EYBL teams—-and the top programs all competed. That isn’t the case when July rolls around and everyone is tied to the shoes.
EYBL teams, over the course of the summer, outperformed everyone else. How can you say that? Simple. Numbers. Efficiency. Production. Six of the top 10 pp100 came from EYBL programs. And what is even more impressive is they are going against quality teams in that run up. There were no little sister’s of the poor in that mix. I can’t claim that for the other four top ten entries and their elevated numbers.
Over the course of the summer the pp100 for 2018 checked in at 79.61. It is up from last year and the second straight year of rising. It still trails the best year of 2008 by over two points. 2008 was the last year the summer was above 80 pp100. Here is a look at the pp100 through the years. (trend line is dashed).
VERBALS
Here is what we have at this stage:
| Iowa | Minnesota | Nebraska | ND | SD | Wisconsin | |
| 2007 | 11 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 20 |
| 2008 | 13 | 27 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| 2009 | 13 | 25 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 16 |
| 2010 | 10 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 11 |
| 2011 | 18 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| 2012 | 10 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 24 |
| 2013 | 12 | 30 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 18 |
| 2014 | 5 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 2015 | 6 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 2016 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 2017 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 2018 | 15 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 2019 | 9 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 |
2019 is down with Iowa and Minnesota missing out on six at this stage. 2018 had 47, 2019 42. North Dakota has zoomed up the list with three, all headed to UND. Minnesota’s high water mark was 2013 with 30 players landing at a D1 school. Generally, the average at this stage of the summer is 21. Of the 17, only four are headed to a top six conference (Big 10, Big 12, ACC, SEC, Big East, Pac 12).
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Paige Bueckers becomes the first player since I have been covering the summer scene to win back to back player of the year honors. I considered all area players—-that played in Minsk, Belorussia. Bueckers not only started with USA Basketball’s U17 team she reached the century mark in international competition, not to mention added a gold medal to her trophy case. When she was back in the states she shined. The only exception came in a first round game at the Summer Jam with a 70 pp100 mainly on the strength of 6/18 shooting (0/3 on 3s). She recovered sufficiently to get to a 127.8 pp100 vs Fairfax Stars & U17 teammate Azzi Fudd (she had a 112 in the game). Bueckers averaged xx in the 31 club with her last two games with Hopkins both in the 41 Club. Her travel junkets are not over for 2018. She will be repping the USA again as she is headed to Buenos Aires for the 3v3 Youth Olympics. Get ready to dust of more shelf space for that upcoming trophy.
2006: Jill Young, South Dakota Elite, Mitchell Christian (South Dakota State)
2007: Katelin Oney, IBCA Select, Cedar Rapids Washington (Northern Iowa)
2008: Tayler Hill, NC Heat, Minneapolis South (Ohio State)
2009: Stacia Robertson, NE Twisterz, Grand Island, NE (South Dakota & Liberty)
2010: Kiah Stokes, Team IA Silver, Linn-Mar (Connecticut)
2011: Rebekah Dahlman, North Tartan Coury (Vanderbilt)
2012: Jada Buckley, All IA Attack Jensen (Iowa State)
2013: Jessica Shepard, NE CSS Bison (Nebraska)
2014: Arike Ogunbowle, North Tartan Dietel (Notre Dame)
2015: Ashley Bates, MN Stars Martin (Hampton)
2016: Taylor Kissinger, All Iowa Attack 11 NIKE (Nebraska)
2017: Paige Bueckers, North Tartan 9 Starks, Hopkins
FIRST TEAM
To be considered for this listing you I had to see you for two tournaments (sorry Azzi Fudd, Breanna Beal, and Ashley Owusu), you had to average over 100 pp100 and had a floor % of .500 or better. That was the rules back in 2006 and I don’t ABC (alter, budge, or cave). Save your calls. The algorithm clarifies all.
Paige Bueckers, North Tartan 10 Starks, U17 USA, Hopkins
Kylie Feuerbach, All Iowa Attack 11 NIKE
Macy Guebert, North Tartan 11 Coury
Lauren Jensen, North Tartan 10 Starks
Taylor McAulay, MN Fury 2019 Gauntlet
RESERVE
Adalia McKenzie, MN Stars 9 Hersch
TEAM OF THE YEAR
Make it three years in a row. All Iowa Attack 11 NIKE won Nike Nationals with a three point shot by Kylie Feuerbach in Chicago. From a 1-4 April start to the top of the mountain is quite a turnaround. The Attack rolled up their sleeves and made it happen. They kept their nose to the grindstone, focused on their strengths and achieved a remarkable victory with Kevin Durant in the house. It is work ethic and attention to detail that helps lead this group of overachievers. During my opportunity to chart them they topped out with a 141 pp100 in the Meltdown semis. They fell short to Midwest Elite in that title game. In my charting of the Summer Jam I had them ahead of Essence, but the scoreboard, who had problems that game, did not. The scoreboard won out.
Of course, other teams were considered, but with a pp100 of 107.62 the beat out the closest rivals like North Tartan 10 Starks with a 96.14 and North Tartan 11 Coury with a 90.95.
2006: North Tartan Larson
2007: Centennial
2008: NC Heat
2009: North Tartan Coury
2010: All IA Attack Jensen 14s
2011: Hopkins
2012: All IA Attack Jensen 17s
2013: Eastview
2014: North Tartan Dietel
2015: MN Stars Martin
2016: All Iowa Attack 11 NIKE
2017: All Iowa Attack 11 NIKE
COACH OF THE YEAR
When a coach leads a team to five team of the year titles plus back to back Nike National appearances topped by a championship in 2018 it is more than time to recognize Dickson Jensen as coach of the year. He is overdue. He has led a band of overachievers. His players understand the game, space the floor, can obviously shoot, and play for each other. The result is better than the sum of the parts. At the end of April if you picked AIA to win Nike Nationals you would have made a fortune in Las Vegas as they headed out of Virginia with a 1-4 mark. The amount of improvement, the amount of stretching the talent can be found in the structure and expectations coach Jensen puts on his players. And they responded in a huge way. They also won the last tournament of the year in Ames, after missing out on a trifecta at the Meltdown.
Obviously, there were other great coaching jobs during the summer. Tara Starks with North Tartan 10 and Hopkins won a multitude of titles including Nike Nationals at the sophomore level. Starks by the way was kjasr coach of the winter in 2010 at Minneapolis North.
2007: Brian Frye, Metro Stars Black
2008: Royce Samuels, Team WI Samuels
2009: Randy Edwards, NE Twisterz
2010: Steve Reiter, Metro Stars Reiter
2011: Gerard Coury, North Tartan Coury
2012: Jon Herbrechtsmeyer, North Tartan Herbrechtsmeyer
2013: Ruth Sinn, MN Fury Sinn & Eastview
2014: Greg Dietel, North Tartan Dietel
2015: Tracy Martin, MN Stars Martin
2016: Ken Theisen, Crossfire 9 Theisen
2017: Dan Wolfe, MN Rise 10 Purple
PROGRAM OF THE YEAR:
Make it three awards in a row for All Iowa Attack as they capture their fourth program of the year title (now two behind North Tartan) and their second straight honor. This may sound like a broken record, but it bears repeating: the Attack understand the game; the players are overachievers; they play with & for each other and they understand how to shoot 3s. Darryl Morey of the Houston Rockets would be proud of his proteges. The Attack system is helped by the quality lieutenants coach Jensen has around the program. The whole program is singing out of the same hymnal. And they all are a thorn in the side of teams with more length, or more explosiveness, or more pedigree. During the Summer Jam in June the 9th grade team scored over half of their points from beyond the arc including a 67% of their totals against MN Suns Coley. Of the ten Attack games I charted in that tournament eight times they were better than 33% from 3s. Their “worst” was 27.8.
Their average pp100 for the entire program was a stellar 100.63. No one else even came close to the century mark for a program.
One other clear advantage for the Attack program is their facilities. No other club program can feature the state of the art practice and game options they have. They are a game changer both on the court and off the court.
2007: Metro Stars
2008: North Tartan
2009: North Tartan
2010: All Iowa Attack
2011: North Tartan
2012: North Tartan
2013: North Tartan
2014: All Iowa Attack
2015: MN Fury
2016: North Tartan
2017: All Iowa Attack