Who will be state champs?
Posted on March 24th, 2008 – 3:10 PMBy John Millea
Let’s hear your predictions for the boys’ state basketball tournament. The top seeds are Minnetonka in 4A and Benilde-St. Margaret’s in 3A (2A and 1A don’t seed).
Can ‘Tonka and Benilde go all the way? Can the only unbeaten teams in the state — Bertha-Hewitt in 1A and Crosby-Ironton in 2A — win championships?
Who could pull off major upsets?
16 Responses to "Who will be state champs?"
I believe that St. Cloud Tech will play very hard; I am not sure they can upset anybody. Tonka is not really Tonka-many tranfers. Kennedy may not have enough depth, but have three quality athletes. Sibley got through a difficult section, Cooper is too inexperienced, Unsure if Mayo has been tested much, C-I is going to be overmatched, and Burnsville is well-coached. Upsets? No true upsets forseen. Final Sibley 65 Tonka All Stars 80
C-I has not had a high strength rating on Maxx’s site but their balanced scoring and defense will not wither. They remember 1999 and this is a team who has worked for four solid years to be where they are now. Their state tournament motto is “3 more wins”.
I like Minnetonka’s chances…They were underrated in the polls the rest of the year after their crushing defeat against the California team [or whatever out-state team defeated them]. I think Cretin was overrated much of the season, and they would’ve been exposed had Henry Sibley not pulled the upset. Henry Sibley plays with a lot of intensity, and I like their style of play, and most importantly they play smart, cool and collected. I was impressed when I watched their win over Stillwater earlier in the year, down by 10 [If I remember right] at half, maybe it was 5, I don’t remember, but they remained focused, and ended up with a 10-11 point victory. I’m not sure if they have quite enough to go toe to toe with Minnetonka, but they’d give them a run for their money.
Just to comment about Mayo, I don’t think they have…They got beaten by Stillwater in the Holiday tourney which I think was their toughest non-con game…And to be honest, their conference probably isn’t. all that tough.
In Class 1A– It could be a replay of last years best tournament game between Cass Lake Bena and Ellsworth. Cody Schilling of Ellsworth should be MR Basketball after setting the state career scoring record, he already owns the state assist record and is sixth on the state rebounding list.
But Cass Lake Bena will have to upset their undefeated first round foe from Bertha. The best basketball games in the tourny will most likely come from the 1A games.
2A the best two teams Braham and Crosby-Ironton will be hard to beat
3A Benilde will coast to a championship
4A Tonka biggest game of the year was last week against Hopkins
GO CI and Elsworth
Tonka has three division I players in their starting lineup, ‘nough said…
I really like Minnetonka’s chances as well, however, they can’t get overconfident. There are a lot of tough teams out there. St. Cloud Tech will be tough, but CI has an amazing Junior that has really stepped up his game in playoffs , so they for sure have to keep a watch on him in order to win that game. Sibley I think will also have a good run at state. I guess time will tell.
When is the article coming out saying that BSM should be playing in 4A?
Watch out for Patrick Henry they have a balanced scoring attack and lightning quick guards Mandela Jackson and Jordan Hughes. They will give any team problems also strong play by Jerry Sweezy and Jerome Vaughn. Patrick Henry will be a tough out.
Minnetonka is obviously the favorite, but I cannot think of a team that more people will be cheering against than them. Burnsville is underrated and came out of a tough Lake Conference, as did Kennedy, so expect a lot of fight out of both of them. The northern teams won’t do anything, Tech played absolutley no one, and Camgridge will get rocked. Cooper is a one man team, they will live or die with Rodney Williams, and Sibley is legit. It all comes down to this, Saturday night, Burnsville will hold the AAAA title, in a shocking set of three wins, the final Burnsville 71 Tonka 67. Terell Clark MVP with over 30 points, call me a genius in 6 days
If Mayo can get by a tough Sibley team they can make a serious case. I know everyone thinks a team from the cities is going to be crowned but they have decent size, a good coach and are athletic and have 2 seniors that willing be playing D-1 next season.
FYI, Mayo played and lost to Tartan by 15 though it was much closer than that and Stillwater by 4.
You are correct that the Big Nine was down a bit this year however and traditionally Southeastern schools have not done great at state
A - Ellsworth
AA - Crosby Ironton
AAA - St. Thomas
AAAA - Minnetonka
what about maple river in 2a…..?? after loosing in the state championship game a year ago theyre back for another run at it. theyve had only one loss all season. ya theyre a little undersized but they make up for it with there physical play…..
C-I is the real deal I think. Bryce is amazing and can shoot the ball from anywhere.
Tonka is so good because they are coached so well and because their man to man Defense is so good.
Does anyone know why there is no consolation round? Lose once and go home? Hockey has it.
