Gopher recruits showcased at Breakdown Classic

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1 WEEKLY ROUNDUP *Mayo s new coach brings talented twins with him *State boys, girls top 20 s *Impressive wins by Hopkins, Mahtomedi at Breakdown Volume 24 Issue No. 3 December Gopher recruits showcased at Breakdown Classic By Bruce Strand Minnesota Gophers coach Rick Pittino and two assistants attended Saturday s Breakdown Classic in Hopkins to watch their three in-state recruits along with a sophomore they d love to get. There was one scary moment for the Gopher coaches, not to mention Cretin-Derham Hall coach Jerry Kline and his team, as Daniel Oturu went down in a heap after turning his ankle in the first half of the Raiders win over Hopkins and had to leave the game. Daniel Oturu, Gopher recruit from Cretin- Derham Hall, goes up for a dunk against Hopkins. However, the 6-foot-10 Oturu told Minnesota Basketball Hub after the game, I ll be fine. I feel a lot better now. Kline said they would play it by ear and not rush him back. Oturu had just blocked a shot by Hopkins 6-foot-11 Joe Hedstrom, a Wisconsin recruit, when he landed awkwardly on Hedsrom s foot, causing the injury. Oturu had six points and three blocks before his early exit. Gopher recruit Jarvis Omersa of Orono blocks a shot by Armstrong s Ben Inniger. Breakdown Classic photos by Bruce Strand Sy Chatman, 6-foot-8 forward signed by Sienna, moved to the center slot and poured in 33 points to lead the Raiders. Jaden King added 22 and Ryan Larson 19. DJ Davis and Zeke Nnaji tallied 16 each for Hopkins and Anthony Davis had 13. Gopher recruits Gabe Kalscheur of DeLaSalle and Jarvis Omersa of Orono, along with five-star sophomore Continued on Page 2

2 Pacesetter Newsletter Minnesota Basketball News December 8 Page 2 Breakdown: Pittino on hand to view recruits Continued on Page 2 Jalen Suggs of Minnehaha Academy, were the other stars being viewed by Pittino and assistants Ben Johnson and Kimani Young. Kalscheur, 6-foot-4 guard, nailed 31 points but the Islanders lost to Iowa City West Kalscheur missed a couple free shots late in the game and had a potential game-tying threepointer blocked at the buzzer. Iowa City West s slim, fluid 6-foot-10 Patrick McCaffrey, son of Hawkeye coach Fran, led with 23 points, including two free shots for the lead with 20 seconds left. Asked about senior year goals, Kalscheur said, Another state championship, and be dominant on the court and lead my team. I ve been working on my passing By Bruce Strand Scoring two thousand points would normally be at least a family record, if not a school record, but that s not the case for Morgan Hill. Still, the Minneapolis South senior is established as one of the metro area s premier players this season. The sister of former Miss Basketball and current WNBA player Tayler Hill, she tallied 23.9 points per game as a junior, leading a 23-6 team, including 39 against Lakeville South. She started this season with games of 26 and 33 points, pushing over 2,000 to a current 2,031. A future Gopher, Gabe Kalscheur of DeLaSalle, launched a 3-pointer on the way to 31 points in a loss to Iowa City West. and rebounding, and I take a lot of pride in my defense. About his next team, Kalscheur commented, Oh, yes, I ve been watching the Gophers. They look really good this year. Omersa, a superb athlete at 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds, racked up 18 points and 17 rebounds, shooting 7-for-9, as Orono turned back Armstrong Thomas Lecy also scored 18 points. Minnehaha Academy played in the late game, edging East Ridge East Ridge held Suggs to eight point Ja- Vonnie Bickham scored 19 and Kaden Johnson 10 for the Redhawks, Courtney Brown poured in 29 points for East Ridge and Zach Zebrowski 15, the latter missing a three for the win at the horn. Morgan Hill blazing own trail at South Morgan Hill, sister of Minneapolis South legend Tayler Hill, went over 2,000 points for the Tigers this week. One of seven kids in her family, Hill is likely to become the third sibling to play Division I. Both Tayler and her brother P.J. played for Ohio State. Morgan has not picked a college. And the next Hill, Jade, is a freshman guard for the Tigers. She averaged 13 points as an eighth-grader and 10 as a seventh-grader, and started this season with games of 14 and 19 for the Tigers (1-1). Morgan told the Star-Tribune last season that she s more of a relentless driver than Tayler, a brilliant outside shooter who could also penetrate. I drive, take it to the hole and try and get the foul, said Morgan, who also plays tenacious defense. Tayler Hill scored 3,888 points for South, including 47 in the 2009 state finals win over Centennial, then led the Big Ten in scoring twice with Ohio State. She s has played five WNBA seasons with the Washington Mystics.

3 Pacesetter Newsletter Minnesota Basketball News December 8 Page 3 No. 1 Hopkins impresses in win over Centennial By Bruce Strand The top-ranked Hopkins girls lived up to their billing as they scuttled No. 4 Centennial in the most highprofile duel of the Breakdown Classic last Saturday. Paige Bueckers, slippery, 6-foot sophomore guard regarded as probably the state s top player, led the Royals with 23 points Raena Suggs added 18 points and Jaide Presley 12. Raena Suggs of Hopkins scores on a fast break, trailed by Paige Bueckers and Centennial s Sydney Stapleton. I was impressed by Paige Bueckers most of all, said Jill Becken, Centennial coach. She is so unselfish and so strong a finisher at the rim. She is the real deal! Taylor McAuley pumped in 20 points, Claire Orth 16 and Sydney Stapleton 13 for Centennial, which had trouble at times with Hopkins full-court pressure. Becken praised Hopkins for its pressure, court awareness, and relentless defense. We would fight to get within seven points or so and then boom, they d get a couple quick buckets off some mistakes and be up by double figures. Becken said her team played well for the most part and added, I hope we get the opportunity to play this great opponent again. Class 2A s top-ranked Sauk Centre girls (4-0) also sparkled at the Breakdown with a conquest of Annandale. Julia Dammann hit 17 points, Kelsey Peschel 15 and Tori Peschel and Maesyn Theisen 10 each. Mahtomedi s Emma Grothaus scores after a steal against DeLaSalle, with Ayanna Gardner guarding her. Grothaus sank 32 points. Mahtomedi gets payback win vs. DeLaSalle When Mahtomedi was invited to play in the Breakdown Classic, coach Eric Prose was pleased to accept. And there was an extra perk. They asked, who would you like to play? Prose related. That was a no brainer. DeLaSalle, he answered immediately. Mahtomedi s excellent season (22-4) ended with a last-second, upset loss to DeLaSalle, 41-39, in the section semifinals. Given another shot at the Islanders, Mahtomedi beat them Saturday, all the more significant considering that DeLaSalle started the season ranked No. 1 in Class 3A. Emma Grothaus was a one-girl wrecking crew for Mahtomedi, scoring 32 of her team s 51 points. Annika Sougstad added nine. I was so excited this whole week, said Grothaus, a 6-foot-2 senior, who averaged 19 points last year. I couldn t wait for this game. Nurjei Weems had 16 points and Ayanna Gardner for the Islanders (2-1), who likely will get another shot at Mahtomedi in the sectionals.

4 Pacesetter Newsletter Minnesota Basketball News December 8 Page 4 Star-Trib picks top-5 Dream Teams By Bruce Strand The Star-Tribune has selected its preseason Metro Dream Teams for boys and girls basketball and the boys list includes three Gopher recruits. The boys are Apple Valley senior guard Tre Hones (signed by Duke), DeLaSalle senior guard Gabe Kalscheur (Minnesota), Cretin-Derham Hall senior center Daniel Oturu (Minnesota), Orono senior forward Jarvis Omersa (Minnesota), and Minnehaha Academy sophomore guard Jalen Suggs. The girls are Minnetonka senior guard Megan Walker (Lehigh), Eastview senior forward Megan Walstad (UW-Milwaukee), Hopkins sophomore guard Paige Bueckers, Minneapolis South senior guard Morgan Hill, and Wayzata junior forward Kallie Theisen. The No. 5 Wayzata girls pulled out a overtime win over No. 2 Lakeville North at the Breakdown Classic as Annika Stewart delivered the go-ahead basket with 18 seconds left in the extra session. Kallie Theisen scored 21 points for the Trojans (4-0) and made a key block in the final seconds of regulation. Stewart had 15 points, Mimi Schrader 12, and Jenna Johnson and Jasmine Smiley 11 each. For Lakeville North (2-1), Ke James has 24 points, Analiese Tschida 20, Kari Macura 14 and Taylor Brown 11. In a boys jamboree Nov. 25 at Grand Rapids, the host Thunderhawks outscored Cass Lake-Bena in a duel of ranked teams in their respective classes. Nate Seelye, senior guard, was relentless in his lane attacking and all Cass Lake-Bena could do was foul him. Cass Lake-Bena jumped ahead early but the Thunderhawks wore them down with superior size. In other matchups, Bigfork and its pair of thousand-pointers, Dalton and Wayzata s Kallie Theisen blocked a shot by Lakeville North s Kari Macura just before the buzzer, sending their Breakdown game to O.T. Carter Cook, topped Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 30-25, Blackduck nipped the Grand Rapids JV 28-24, and Cromwell-Wright finished strong to beat Northome- Kelliher (Submitted by David Olson) Section 3A has been well-represented at state tournaments in the past two decades, reports Josh Van Klombenburg of the Marshall Independent. This southwestern section has produced nine state champions since 1999 Southwest Christian five times and Russell-Tyler- Ruthtown and Ellsworth twice each along with four state runners-up and four third-place teams. Ellsworth has been second three times and SWC once. Central Minnesota Christian has placed third twice. Worthington sophomore Nyamer Diew scored 25 points and pulled down 21 rebounds to lead a win over St. Peter on Saturday. This was one of seven games in the Big South Conference Girls Basketball Showcase in Worthington. (Worthington Globe) Marshall freshman Jordyn Hilgemann delivered 29 points in her varsity debut, leading the Tigers past Southwest Minnesota Christian in overtime on Saturday in a duel of top-ten ranked teams. SWC s Brooklyn DeKam sank three free shots with 20 seconds left to knot the game Hilgemann scored Marshall s first five points in OT and they hung on. (Marshall Independent) New Ulm junior guard Joey Batt poured in 38 points and passed the 1,000 marker on Saturday in a win over Jackson County Central. She averaged 15.6 points last year on a 23-6 team. (New Ulm Journal)

5 Pacesetter Newsletter Minnesota Basketball News December 8 Page pacesetter MINNESOTA Youth Basketball State Championship REGION PLAYOFFS Region Champions invited to the MN State Championship. Teams with one loss invited to the MIT. Top two teams at STATE advance to Target Center in Minneapolis. Detroit Lakes 5th Grade Girls 2017 Great Four-State Champs Lake City 7th Grade Girls 2017 Great Four-State Champs Minnesota won 5 of the 12 GREAT STATE CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES! ML/WR 5th Grade Boys 2017 Great Four-State Champs Wisconsin joining in 2018! MN - IA - ND - SD - WI ROAD TO TARGET CENTER! 5 - state championship Wisconsin is joining in 2018! New London-Spicer 8th Grade Girls 2017 Great Four-State Champs Sauk Centre 9th Grade Girls 2017 Great Four-State Champs All grades refer to the school year. Hometown Team guideline: All players on a team must either be enrolled in the same school system or live or attend school in the same city, the same school district or the same tribal community. Smaller schools may combine to form one team if the combined enrollment of their high schools for grades 9-12 is 400 or fewer. Schools that combine should be from neighboring schools. Questions?? Call Pacesetter at or info@pacesetternet.com Website: Follow our Facebook page: Pacesetter Basketball Region Playoff Schedule ALL GRADES REFER TO THE SCHOOL YEAR 4B = 4th grade boys Teams may register for more than one region. 4G = 4th grade girls See back for details Region 1 Site Date 4G, 6G, 8G, 5B, 7B, 9B RCTC (Rochester) March 24 5G, 7G, 9G, 4B, 6B, 8B RCTC (Rochester) March 25 Region 2 Site Date 5G, 7G, 9G, 4B, 6B, 8B MN State - Mankato April 21 4G, 6G, 8G, 5B, 7B, 9B MN State - Mankato April 22 Region 3 Site Date 5G, 7G, 9G, 4B, 6B, 8B Redwood Falls March 24 4G, 6G, 8G, 5B, 7B, 9B Redwood Falls March 25 Region 4 Site Date 6G, 8G, 5B *(UPDATED) Willow River April 7 5G, 7G, 4B *(UPDATED) Willow River April 8 4G, 7B, 9B Moose Lake April 7 9G, 6B, 8B Moose Lake April 8 Region 5 Site Date 4B, 6B, 8B Paynesville April 7 5B, 9B, 8G Paynesville April 8 5G, 7G, 9G Paynesville April 14 4G, 6G, 7B Paynesville April 15 Region 6 Site Date 5G, 7G, 9G, 4B, 6B, 8B Moorhead April 14 4G, 6G, 8G, 5B, 7B, 9B Moorhead April 15 Region 7 Site Date 6G Hibbing April 14 6B, 9B, 9G Hibbing April 15 4G, 8G, 5B, 7B Grand Rapids April 14 5G, 7G, 4B, 8B Grand Rapids April 15 Region 8 Site Date 4G, 6G, 8G, 5B, 7B, 9B Bemidji April 21 5G, 7G, 9G, 4B, 6B, 8B Bemidji April 22 Minnesota State Championships Maple Grove MS 4G, 6G, 5B, 8B MIT - MN Invitational June 9 4G, 6G, 5B, 8B State Championship June 10 5G, 8G, 4B, 6B MIT - MN Invitational June 16 5G, 8G, 4B, 6B State Championship June 17 7G, 9G, 7B, 9B MIT - MN Invitational June 23 7G, 9G, 7B, 9B State Championship June 24 Team Entry Form - Minnesota Region Playoffs 3-4 game guarantee All players are from one school district. School district (Check one) Combined team. School districts (See back for details) Site: Grade Circle: Boys or Girls Team Rating: Strong Good Fair Weak (Circle one ) Team Contact Team Color/Name: (needed if two teams from same school register) Cell # Alt # Mailing address (Street) (City) (State) (Zip) address ( address required - Confirmation will be sent via - Please write legibly) Alternate Contact Cell # Send check and this form to PACESETTER, PO BOX 222, PAYNESVILLE, MN Registration also available online at $170/team before Dec. 29 $180/team after Dec. 29 The Minnesota State Champion and Runner-up in each grade are invited to the Great Five-State Championships in Minneapolis. FREE Timberwolves Tickets ( season) All players will receive a free ticket offer!

6 Pacesetter Newsletter Minnesota Basketball News December 8 Page 6 Double dose of talent Soph twin sons of new coach brighten Mayo s prospects By Bruce Strand Rochester Mayo s basketball prospects are boosted by sophomore twins who started learning the sport in China and arrived in town this year when their father became the Spartans head coach. Mason Madsen, 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, and Gabe Madsen, 6-foot- 5 and 187 pounds, had excellent seasons as freshmen last year in a small Wisconsin town, Bloomer. Mason averaged 17.8 points, five rebounds and four assists. Gabe averaged 18.2 points, five rebounds. Luke Madsen, their father, was their coach in Bloomer. After three years there with a record, he was hired by Mayo, where he will also teach Spanish. The former Wisconsin-River Falls player moved his family of five to China when the boys were in fifth grade. They stayed one year. We just made a decision to go, Madsen told the Rochester Post-Bulletin, in a feature by Guy Linbeck. I was always coaching and hadn t gotten to spend a lot of time with them. In China, where basketball is very popular, there were more than 20 outdoor basketball courts at their school. The boys spent two hours a day working on their game It s been an eventful first two weeks of the season for the Moorhead girls and senior star Sam Haiby. The 5-foot-6 guard who s committed to Nebraska scored her 2,000th point Tuesday evening while pouring in 41 to lead a win over Fargo Davies. Riley Polomny added 12 points and four assists. The Spuds, in their opener, beat section rival and defending state champion Elk River The Elks had won 32 straight games, all of them last senior with a Rochester Mayo sophomores Gabe (left) and Mason Madsen are both already getting D-1 offers. They played for Bloomer (WI) last season. in drills supervised by Luke. Before long they were too skilled for kids their own age and started playing five-on-five games against high school-age kids. The twins are both Division I prospects. Both received offers from Wisconsin-Green Bay and the University of Northern Iowa, the Post- Bulletin noted, and Gabe has also been offered by Marquette. The Big Ten is looking their way, too, including Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan State. Having a constant workout partner available is a big plus for the twins, who go after each other hard. (We are) probably too competitive, according to our mom, Mason told the Post-Bulletin. But we compete at everything. They are excited about playing in the Big Nine, a significant step up from their previous prep experience. It wasn t always that way at a small town, Gabe said, but night in and night out, you have to be ready to play here. The newcomers made their Mayo debut in a win over Farmington on Tuesday. Gabe supplied 14 points and eight rebounds. Mason had eight points, six rebounds and five assists. Adam Leary added 13 points and Calvin Dixon 11. Haiby hitting milestones, leading Spuds (4-1) senior-dominated lineup. Haiby then scored 19 points in a loss to Wayzata (ranked No. 3), and became Moorhead s top scorer for boys and girls. Aaron Lien, currently of Minnesota-Moorhead, had 1,886 points. The Spuds are 4-1 and ranked No. 11 in Class 4A. Looking for their first state trip since 2007, their likely top competition will be No. 9 St. Michael-Albertville. Last year, Moorhead upset STMA (led by Haiby s 31) in the Section 8AAAA semifinals, ending the Knights four-year reign, then lost to Elk River in the finals.

7 Pacesetter Newsletter Minnesota Basketball News December 8 Page PACESETTER YOUTH BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT 4th-5th-6th-7th-8th Grade Boys & Girls WINTER CLASSIC Sat & Sun, March 3 & 4 Sat. - Girls Grades 5, 7 & Boys Grades 4, 6, 8 Sun. - Girls Grades 4, 6, 8 & Boys Grades 5, 7 College of St. Benedict - St. Joseph, MN Limit 16 teams per grade/gender Registration Deadline: Feb. 19 Register Early! $10 off thru Dec. 29th The Winter Classic will be held at The College of St. Benedict on Saturday & Sunday, March 3 & 4. This tournament is open to all boys and girls teams in grades All players must either be enrolled in the same school system or live or attend school in the same city, the same school district or tribal community. A maximum of 48 teams can be accepted each day due to court space. Each tournament is a ONE-day tournament. All teams will play 3-4 games. Championship teams will receive a team plaque, and top finishers will receive individual medals with neck ribbons. Registration is also available at Follow our Facebook Page: Pacesetter Basketball 2018 Winter Classic Circle gender: Boys or Girls Circle grade: Team Entry Form Questions? info@pacesetternet.com Team rating: (confidential) Strong Good Fair Weak School Team Color/Name (needed if two teams from same school enter) Team Contact Address (required - confirmation will be sent via ) Cell # Alternate # Mailing Address (Street) (City) (State) (Zip) Alternate Contact Cell # Mail check payable to Pacesetter & send with form to Pacesetter, PO Box 222, Paynesville, MN Up to Dec. 29 $150/team After Dec. 29 $160/team Registration also available online at

8 Pacesetter Newsletter Minnesota Basketball News December 8 Page 8 Class 4A MBBN boys Top 20 Class 3A Class 2A Class 1A 1. Apple Valley Cretin- Derham Hall Park Center Hopkins Wayzata East Ridge Osseo Eden Prairie Woodbury Lakeville North Edina St. Cloud Tech North St. Paul Rochester John Marshall Forest Lake Champlin Park Prior Lake Andover Tartan Minnetonka DeLaSalle Orono St. Thomas Academy Columbia Heights Delano Mankato East Austin Totino-Grace Waconia Northfield Waseca Marshall Grand Rapids Robbinsdale Cooper St. Cloud Apollo Fergus Falls St. Anthony Village Willmar Minneapolis Roosevelt Alexandria Minnehaha Academy Minneapolis North Caledonia Annandale St. Cloud Cathedral Brooklyn Center Esko Lake City Perham Virginia Jordan St. Charles Kimball Eden Valley- Watkins Hawley Breckenridge Pine Island Minnewaska Area Holy Family Catholic Byron North Woods Springfield Nevis Cleveland Mayer Lutheran Westbrook- Walnut Grove Ada-Borup Cedar Mountain Comfrey Rushford- Peterson Cass Lake- Bena Russell-Tyler- Ruthton Hinckley- Finlayson Chisholm Braham Norman County East/Ulen- Hitterdal Goodhue Spring Grove Stephen- Argyle Minnesota Valley Lutheran Sacred Heart 2-0 DeLaSalle s Tyrell Terry was thwarted by Iowa City West s Patrick McCaffrey on this drive at the Breakdown. The Iowans beat the top-ranked 3A team at Hopkins.

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10 Pacesetter Newsletter Minnesota Basketball News December 8 Page 10 Class 4A 1. Hopkins Eastview Wayzata Lakeville North Centennial Cretin-Derham Hall Park Center Maple Grove St. Michael- Albertville White Bear Lake Moorhead Farmington Minnetonka Edina Champlin Park Roseville St. Francis Anoka Forest Lake St. Louis Park 4-0 MBBN Girls Top 20 Class 3A 1. Hutchinson Robbinsdale Cooper Holy Angels Mahtomedi Grand Rapids DeLaSalle Northfield Red Wing Willmar Alexandria Fergus Falls Simley Waseca Chisago Lakes Hermantown Waconia Faribault Hill-Murray Hibbing St. Cloud Apollo 2-0 Class 2A 1. Sauk Centre Norwood- Young America Dilworth-Glyndon- Felton Byron Rush City Maranatha Christian New London- Spicer Minnehaha Academy Roseau Duluth Marshall Rochester Lourdes Annandale Barnesville Jordan Glencoe- Silver Lake Eden Valley- Watkins St. Cloud Cathedral Zumbrota- Mazeppa Winona Cotter Caledonia 3-0 Class 1A 1. Lyle-Pacelli Goodhue Mountain Iron-Buhl Bigfork Hayfield Ada-Borup Lac qui Parle Valley Wheaton-Herman- Norcross St. Clair Southwest MN Christian Cromwell- Wright Badger- Greenbush- Middle River Red Lake Sacred Heart Wabasso Cedar Mountain- Comfrey Stephen- Argyle Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Grand Meadow Sleepy Eye 2-2 McKayla Christianson of Roseau goes up for a shot against Nevaeh Galloway (2) of Minnehaha Academy at the Breakdown. Minnehaha won