Land Of A Thousand Hoops

Once again I got caught up in the March Madness of the WIAA boys state tournament even though there were no surefire Badgers competing this year. Therefore, it's safe to say I am interested in the results from the Minnesota (MSHSL) boys state tournament, which kicks into high gear over the next two weeks.

As you know, three prep standouts from our neighboring state have already committed to play their college hoops in Madison: Jordan Taylor, Jared Berggren and Mike Bruesewitz. The two seniors, Taylor and Berggren, are both leading teams playing at the 3A level. Bruiser and Co. play in the largest school division, Class 4A. Two lower classes began preliminary rounds last week, but the big boys started Tuesday.

Benilde-St. Margaret's (BSM) is the top seed in their Section and hosted a first-round game against Mound-Westonka last night. With 63 first-half points, the Red Knights (24-3) cruised to a 90-42 win. Taylor scored 16 points and Tulsa-bound Armond Battle added a game-high 25. BSM, which lost in the Class 3A championship game last season, plays Minneapolis Washburn on Thursday.

The Warriors of Henry Sibley HS feature Bruesewitz and several other key players in their lineup. The firepower will be needed as the team was awarded a 2-seed in probably the second-toughest 4A Section, next to the Section 6, featuring metro-area #1 Hopkins, #2 Minnetonka and #4 Wayzata. Bruesewitz, a junior forward, was held to five points in a 69-42 victory over White Bear Lake last night. Sibley (22-5) plays again Friday versus Woodbury, who pulled out a first-round upset.

On Thursday, Berggren's second-seeded Princeton Tigers (17-9) host their opener, versus Annandale (5-20).

All this out-of-state info and I haven't even mentioned a pair of junior forwards that were offered scholarships from Bo Ryan's staff. Royce White's former school, DeLaSalle in Minneapolis, opened with an upset win over Jon Leuer's old high school (Orono). It is tough for a young man to see his dreams start to circle the drain, but hopefully White can learn from the past few weeks and land on his feet somewhere after his dismissal. Unfortunately it will not be at Wisconsin. Likewise, Robbinsdale Cooper's Rodney Williams reportedly is in an academic quandry similar to Jeronne Maymon. If the Badgers are still going after Williams, it will not be for much longer. Cooper, a 3-seed, also advanced to the section semifinals last night behind Williams' 21 points.