Latest / Hangin' Out with Bob / State tournament takeaways: Scott Black and Steve Durant look back on the 2026 Minnesota boys’ state prep basketball tournament—and look ahead to teams that might be playing in next year’s state tourney.

Transcript

State tournament takeaways: Scott Black and Steve Durant look back on the 2026 Minnesota boys’ state prep basketball tournament—and look ahead to teams that might be playing in next year’s state tourney. · Hangin' Out with Bob

0:08
Okay, welcome to hanging out with Bob, podcast
0:11
hosted by me, Bob at home. Thanks for joining
0:18
us and let's get started. Well, I have to believe
0:23
that the winter of 2026 is eventually coming
0:26
to an end in Minnesota. And not just because
0:28
spring is officially here, at least according
0:31
to the calendar, or that the Minnesota Twins
0:33
are actually playing baseball games that count.
0:36
No, the winter of 2026 in Minnesota is coming
0:39
to an end because the Boys State High School
0:41
basketball tournament came to an end on March
0:43
28th. By my unofficial count, it was the 113th
0:48
Boys State High School basketball tournament
0:49
in Minnesota. I might be off by a year or two
0:52
with that number, 113, but I do know it's Minnesota's
0:56
oldest state high school tournament. Now in this
0:59
episode, although there are four different classes
1:01
in the boys' state high school basketball tournament,
1:04
with eight teams in each class of the tournaments,
1:06
1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A, we're going to concentrate
1:09
mostly on the two largest classes, class 4A primarily,
1:13
but also 3A. And it won't be just about the state
1:17
tournament games that were played either at Target
1:19
Center in downtown Minneapolis or at Williams
1:21
Arena at the University of Minnesota campus.
1:24
And that's because sometimes some of the best
1:26
games are the postseason section games played
1:29
by teams just trying to get to the state tournament.
1:32
And here with me to talk about those key postseason
1:35
games and the state tournament of 2026 are Scott
1:39
Black and Steve Durant, two friends of mine who,
1:42
like me, grew up in Columbia Heights, Minnesota.
1:45
The Heights. Scott and Steve follow boys high
1:48
school basketball about as closely as anyone
1:50
in the state. Seriously. So Scotty, Stevie, welcome
1:53
back to Hanging Out with Bob. Thanks, Robert.
1:59
Thanks, Bobby. Just a little background on my
2:02
two guests. Their names are probably familiar
2:04
to many of our loyal listeners. Scott appeared
2:07
on a previous podcast episode with me to talk
2:09
about his decades of attending the Minnesota
2:11
Boys State High School Basketball Tournament
2:13
since 1972, which is just amazing. And Steve,
2:17
who is the most knowledgeable Rolling Stones
2:19
fan I've ever met, appeared on a previous podcast
2:22
episode to talk about his top five Stones albums.
2:26
I still remember those five albums, Steve. Beggar's
2:29
Banquet, Let It Bleed, Get Your Yah -Yahs Out,
2:32
Sticky fingers, and last but not least, exile
2:35
on Main Street. You got him, Bob. Both Scott
2:39
and Steve were fantastic in those previous podcast
2:41
appearances, so it's great to have you back,
2:43
guys. Thank you. Now, I said we're going to be
2:52
concentrating primarily on the Class 3A and 4A
2:55
tournaments. But just for the record, I do want
2:58
to list all four of the 2026 Minnesota Boys State
3:01
High School basketball champions. In Class 1A,
3:04
the smallest class based on enrollment, the number
3:07
five seed Hills Beaver Creek beat number two
3:11
seed Janesville Waldorf Pemberton, or thankfully
3:15
JWP for short, 64 to 33. And it wasn't even that
3:20
close. It was like 32 to 9 at the half, I think.
3:23
Just a blowout. It was the first boy state high
3:26
school basketball title for the winning Patriots,
3:28
although they also won the nine player state
3:30
football title in the prep bowl last fall, which
3:33
I didn't remember either, but they won two state
3:35
championships. Pretty cool. Very impressive.
3:37
You guys know where Hills Beaver Creek High School
3:39
is located? Southern Minnesota, I believe. That's
3:43
a good guess. It's in Hills, Minnesota, about
3:46
20 miles due east of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
3:49
So it's way down in that corner. And by the way,
3:52
the total secondary enrollment at the Hills Beaver
3:54
Creek High, that is grades seven to 12, is 199
3:59
students. So that averages out to about 33 students
4:02
per grade. So it's a tiny school. In class 2A,
4:06
number three seed, Minnehaha Academy, upset the
4:09
number one seed, Goodhue, 81 to 69. It was a
4:13
sixth boys state basketball title for the winning
4:15
Redhawks, and their first since 2021. Minnehaha
4:19
Academy, a Christian school with a total enrollment
4:22
of about 375 students in grades 9 through 12,
4:26
is located in Minneapolis, South Minneapolis,
4:29
not quite three miles due north of the stunning
4:32
Minnehaha Falls. I just biked by the school yesterday.
4:35
Oh, did you? Okay. Yeah, you lived south. Yeah,
4:37
okay, okay. In class 3A, number 1C, Totino Grace,
4:41
beat number 2C, De La Salle, in a close one,
4:44
72 to 70. It was the winning Eagles fourth Class
4:48
3A crown in the past five seasons. Titino Grace,
4:52
a Catholic high school with an enrollment of
4:54
close to 700 students in grades 9 through 12,
4:58
is located in the suburb of Fridley, about 10
5:00
miles north of downtown Minneapolis. And finally,
5:03
in Class 4A, the largest class based on enrollment,
5:07
number five seed, Chaska, beat number seven seed,
5:10
Apple Valley, 63 to 55. It was the winning Hawks
5:15
first boys state basketball title since 2004
5:18
and their second overall. Chaska High School,
5:21
with a total enrollment of about 1 ,500 students
5:24
in grades 9 through 12, is about a 30 -minute
5:26
drive southwest of downtown Minneapolis. Was
5:29
that Dave Dahlke? Did he play on that team or
5:31
was he before that? Yeah, I think Dahlke did
5:33
play. Spencer Tollexon was on Chaska's team in
5:37
2004. Yeah, he was before that. Probably in the
5:40
90s. Yeah, you're right. Spencer, I forgot about
5:43
Spencer Tollexon. 2004. So, congratulations to
5:47
all these state champions. guys, our high school,
5:50
the Columbia Heights Highlanders, had never won
5:52
a boys' state basketball title, unfortunately.
5:55
But do you guys remember when Heights won the
5:57
state football title in 1979? Of course. The
6:00
reason I ask is that was a huge deal for the
6:03
students, the alumni like us, even the whole
6:05
community. I remember going to Parade Stadium
6:07
and seeing that game and I was really happy for
6:09
those kids. I was there as well. Yeah, yeah.
6:11
And remember that, you know, it's a big celebration.
6:13
So all four of these schools got to do this.
6:16
this past week after winning. So it was great.
6:21
OK, guys, just for a brief moment, I want to
6:23
talk about your longtime interest in attending
6:26
high school basketball games, how that got started
6:28
and why you still enjoy going to watch high school
6:31
basketball games. Well, I don't think I go back
6:34
as far as Scott, but I've been watching it for
6:40
decades, I think. maybe in the 90s or the late
6:44
80s, I really started to pay attention. And then
6:48
the great North teams with Call it All Me really
6:51
got me going in the early 90s. And from that
6:55
point forward, I've really been. pretty interested
6:58
in high school hoop. Yep. Yeah, you and I have
7:02
been going to state tournament games for I don't
7:04
know how long, Steve. Decades. It's hard for
7:06
me to call him Steve because I know him as bony.
7:08
That's OK. I can call him either one. As long
7:12
as I don't call him late for dinner. Yeah. I've
7:18
got a drop I can put in there somewhere. All
7:21
right. Well, are you done there, Steve? I am.
7:25
OK. Well, as I stated on the podcast that you
7:29
and I did, Bobby, basketball has been kind of
7:33
part of our family life for a long time. My grandpa
7:35
took a team to the state tournament back in the
7:38
thirties. Trimont, Triumph Montgomery was the
7:43
two schools that merged. And then my dad's cousin,
7:49
Rod Black, was in the Hall of Fame. He also coached
7:53
at Danube. And then my dad was a coach before
7:57
he changed careers. He coached under... Jim Hastings
8:01
up at Duluth Central before I went to work for
8:03
IBM. And so my dad and I started going to state
8:05
tournaments back when they were... One class.
8:09
One class. We'd go to Williams Arena. We'd go
8:12
to the games. We'd go have dinner. And then we'd
8:13
go to the night games. So that's kind of how
8:16
we started. And then my son and I... carried
8:18
on the tradition and then Boney kind of horned
8:22
in on that as well. So the three of us have been
8:25
going for a while. Yeah, that's cool. I think
8:27
it's great that you kept that tradition going
8:29
since the early 70s. So I don't know if you guys
8:32
post this on your Instagram pages, but you know
8:35
approximately how many basketball games you actually
8:37
went and saw this past year? Did you go like
8:40
once a week or every few weeks or? I would imagine.
8:44
in the 20s. Wow, that's a lot. You know, because
8:48
early in the season, there is some there's some
8:51
great tournaments in December. And so you'll
8:53
be able to see maybe four games in one day. And
8:56
then Scott and I went to a holiday tournament
8:59
and saw a couple of games. So that really gets
9:02
it started. But probably averaging maybe a game
9:07
a week for sure. A game every two weeks. Yeah.
9:10
You know, we touch base. Okay, let's look at
9:13
the next week and what are some good matchups
9:16
and So we do that frequently and you know Totino
9:20
grace I live about six perhaps from Totino grace
9:23
and they they Even though they're 3a. I mean
9:27
they their schedule is filled Yeah, they're they're
9:33
definitely prepared when the state tournament
9:34
comes yeah, so yeah, you know and we talked about
9:39
we We hadn't seen, and we'll get on to this,
9:42
but Apple Valley and Chaska, neither one of us
9:45
had seen them all year. The teams on the southern
9:48
half of the town. It's always something that
9:53
I think the both of us try to do. I think early
9:55
in the season start... Tribune comes out with
9:58
a top team list and also a top player list. And
10:02
I think I really want to make sure that I see
10:04
all of the best teams and all of the best players,
10:08
you know, certainly before the regions and the
10:10
state tournament. And, you know, usually I accomplish
10:14
that. And that's kind of a fun little task. Yeah,
10:16
that's cool. That's cool. I'm curious about something
10:18
else, guys, besides the sports sections of the
10:21
local dailies like the Star Tribune and the Pioneer
10:23
Press. What other sources do you rely on to stay
10:26
up to date on which high school teams are the
10:28
best? Are those kind of the primary sources you
10:32
use? Minnesota Basketball Hub is where we go.
10:38
It's called, it's Star Tribune. Farsity. Farsity.
10:42
I think it's different. But that's it. That's
10:45
it. And the problem with that though is a lot
10:49
of times... there are no box scores. I think
10:53
it depends on the coaches. Now in the state tournament,
10:56
they always had the box scores, the full box
10:59
scores. Field goals attempted and field goals
11:02
made, free throws, all that stuff. But during
11:04
the regular season, I mean, it would be really
11:09
hard. Ever seen, I think Scott, you actually
11:14
pointed me out to the State High School League's
11:16
website, but they've got a kind of a newsletter
11:19
online. It's called the League Journal. They
11:23
do a really good job of covering sports every
11:26
tournament, like stories on the boys basketball.
11:29
Every game that was played in the subsections,
11:31
they have got brackets. I just found it really
11:33
helpful. And I don't know if they've got their
11:35
own staff or they're getting stuff from other
11:37
sources, but I found that to be a really helpful
11:40
one too. That's in the state high school league.
11:42
The Minnesota State High School League website.
11:45
there's a there's a link it just says news and
11:48
then it's called the the league journal and they've
11:50
got a lot of good articles like said all sports
11:52
and they cover stuff really well i found it really
11:54
helpful it was just one of the things i kind
11:56
of found by accident so there are ways to keep
11:59
track of high school sports besides the dailies.
12:02
Well one thing that you and I were talking about
12:04
before Bobby is this the first year that Star
12:08
Tribune has not put the box scores of the games
12:12
on you know Tuesday and Friday nights in the
12:14
paper and that's always a great way to you know
12:17
follow teams in individual performance and so
12:21
that that's made it more challenging. Yep, now
12:24
I can see that so. OK, and as I mentioned earlier,
12:30
we're going to focus primarily on the 4A and
12:32
3A basketball this year. We live in the Twin
12:36
Cities, and most of the games that you go to
12:39
are either 4A or 3A, unless you saw Minihan Academy
12:42
during the season. That'd be a 2A game, but just
12:45
demographically, I can see that's why we wanted
12:48
to stick primarily to those classes. And just
12:51
a short primer for our listeners on how this
12:53
postseason is actually set up for Minnesota boys
12:55
state high school basketball tournaments. Four
12:57
classes like I said each class has eight sections
13:00
and each section ideally has eight teams although
13:04
I found sometimes there's not eight there's only
13:07
seven and sometimes there's more than eight there
13:09
might be nine so then they have like a first
13:11
round play -in game and then that winner gets
13:13
the quarterfinals but that's primarily how it's
13:16
set up. So generally you have to win three games.
13:18
You have to win the quarterfinals, the semifinals,
13:21
then the final, and then you get to state. That's
13:23
how they set up Minnesota. And if you are a number
13:26
one seed and you're in a section with just seven
13:28
teams, then you've already advanced to semifinals.
13:32
You get like a, there's one less game you have
13:34
to play to get to state. Yeah. I mean, it's,
13:38
yeah. You play two, you win two games, you go
13:40
to state, which is way different than a long
13:43
time ago. The way it used to be when they had
13:45
one class, there were a lot of games. You had
13:47
to go through, jump through a lot of hoops to
13:48
get there. So, and as I mentioned earlier, just
13:51
getting to the boys state high school basketball
13:53
tournament, that's a significant accomplishment
13:55
because you've got three, well, two or three
13:58
games you have to win to get there. And there's
14:00
a lot of good teams that aren't even fortunate
14:02
enough to make it to State. So I can see why
14:04
there's a lot of interest in the postseason section
14:06
games because it's some great basketball. It's
14:08
akin to getting to the Final Four. Yeah, exactly,
14:11
exactly. All right, let's start with the Class
14:15
3A sections. By my unofficial count of the 63
14:19
schools that played postseason games in 3A last
14:22
year, 27 of the 63 teams are nearly 43 % were
14:27
actually from or near the Twin Cities metro area.
14:29
No, you said, Scott, you've gone to some 3A games,
14:33
Titino Gray specifically. Were there any others
14:35
in the Twin Cities you remember going to, like,
14:37
you know, Richfield or, I don't know, or were
14:40
they mostly 4A? Yeah, no, we, was that you and
14:43
I, we tried to get to a Richfield game. Was it
14:49
Richfield D? I can't remember. I don't think
14:51
so. Prior to that, I went to see Richfield in
14:55
D play at Richfield and De La Salle beat them
14:59
by one point in a really good game. And I think
15:02
that the three best teams in 3A were De La Salle,
15:07
Richfield and the eventual winner, TG. And so,
15:11
you know, they were good teams, evenly matched.
15:15
Well, yeah, and didn't D beat Richfield in the
15:18
semis? And that was a close game. That was a
15:22
great game. Exactly what you'd expect based on
15:25
what I'd said earlier. They were very evenly
15:28
matched. And then I kind of forgot, TG traveled
15:32
up to Alexandria and I was talking to a guy at
15:36
the club and he overheard me talking about the
15:39
game and his son was a senior guard for Totino.
15:43
So he was at the game. This was a great atmosphere,
15:45
but Totino was up by 20 points at one point,
15:50
but Alexandria came storming back. So then I'm
15:53
thinking, yeah, Alexandria will be another team
15:57
in 3A, but I had forgotten that Alexandria moved
16:01
up to four. And just to make sure I've got this
16:05
right, guys, the section seating, it's handled
16:08
by local coaches or representatives of the schools.
16:12
Or the Minnesota High School League? That's a
16:14
good question. Well, I thought maybe at the state
16:15
level they do, there's like a state high school
16:18
committee that would do the seating. Right, but
16:20
the sections, probably the coaches, who else
16:24
would they get? And I have to say, just by researching
16:28
this, they did a pretty good job because in class
16:31
3A, I believe every number one seed won their
16:35
section in 3 -8. It's always a chalk tournament
16:39
in the regions and in the state tournament. This
16:43
year was different, obviously. It always comes
16:47
down to the number one and number two for the
16:49
region finals. Although, yeah, to your point,
16:51
and we might differ on this a little bit, Steve
16:53
kind of thinks maybe at least in 4 -A seed the
16:59
teams before they play section play. So we're
17:02
assured of gaining the best teams in the state
17:05
tournament. Right. Well, is that because of like
17:08
travel and geography? I mean, if you had like
17:11
Duluth coming down, Duluth is coming down to
17:13
play. Yeah, I mean, I don't know. Historically,
17:17
there's some pretty weak sections. And so on
17:21
the quarterfinal day, you know, if you can, if
17:24
you can get a couple. Good games. That's all
17:27
you're hoping for. Yeah. Yeah. This year was
17:30
really, but this was, this was an exception to
17:33
the, and so, uh, yeah. I mean, with Chask and
17:36
Apple Valley, there's, there's always blowouts
17:39
on quarter five. Yeah. I was surprised by some
17:42
of the scores. I mean, they were doubled up a
17:44
lot of times that the teams were just that much
17:46
better. It just so mismatched. So, right. Okay.
17:52
Let's talk about 3A for section one. which was
17:56
the number one seed was Northfield. They were
17:58
rated fifth in the state in that final, they
18:01
call it the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association
18:03
poll, the final one of the season. They were
18:06
number five in 3A. They got a bye because they
18:09
were number one seed, but then they beat Byron
18:11
in the semifinals, and then they beat Austin
18:14
to win the championship. So they got to go to
18:17
the state, and which is cool because you probably
18:19
read about this too. You know how long it had
18:21
been since Northfield had been in the state tournament?
18:23
I think, yeah, refresh my memory. 1932. Wow.
18:28
Yeah. Obviously, it was a one class tournament
18:31
back then. Right. And you know who the president
18:33
was in 1932? Roosevelt. Grover Cleveland. He
18:36
got, he got elected in 32, but at the time of
18:39
the tournament, it was Herbert Hoover. Okay.
18:42
I just thought, man, that's so long ago. That's
18:43
my Heights education. And you knew who was on
18:45
that Northfield team? Jesse James before he got
18:48
shot. A lot of people don't know that. Okay,
18:57
so we got Northfield as one of the teams. Section
18:59
two, the number one seed, which also won, was
19:02
Mankato East. And the interesting thing about
19:05
that was they beat St. Peter to win it, but that
19:07
was their fifth straight year going to the state.
19:09
Yeah, they won it last year. They beat TG, didn't
19:14
they? No, that was Alexandria. Mankato had some
19:21
really good players the last couple of years,
19:23
but I didn't know anything about him this year.
19:25
No, no, it was hard because all those teams are
19:27
out, you know, they're in a part of the state
19:29
where we would never just drive down the road
19:31
and see a game. Now this was closer to home.
19:36
In section three, that was Minneapolis South.
19:39
They were the number one seed and they beat South
19:42
St. Paul. to go to state it was 76 to 65 so it
19:46
was a pretty good game as far as the section
19:48
championships go I want to talk about section
19:52
four for just a moment because it's closer to
19:54
home as you guys probably know in one of the
19:57
quarterfinal games there was an upset number
19:59
four seed St. Anthony village was upset by our
20:03
alma mater Columbia Heights the five seed It
20:10
was 83 to 66 at St. Anthony. Usually, I go to
20:14
see Heights play at least once a year. I did
20:17
not see them. I did not know about that game
20:19
either until I was just looking it up in the
20:21
high school league. But they won that game. But
20:22
then the bad news is they had to play De La Salle
20:25
in the semifinals. They went to D to play. And
20:28
D, of course, was second in the last regular
20:31
season poll in 3A. And they won that pretty hand.
20:34
It was 83 to 65. At least they got to the semifinals.
20:39
In the championship game, De La Salle beat the
20:43
two -seed Maramidae. It was 67 to 46. So they
20:46
won by 21 points pretty comfortably. And do you
20:49
know how many straight years De La Salle's gone
20:51
to state? This was their 15th straight state
20:54
tournament. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Well, the Thorson
20:57
years. Yeah. Really dominated. Yep. Yep. And
21:02
then the next one, the next seed, or next section,
21:06
is section five. The number one seed was Titino
21:08
Grace. They were rated first in the final season
21:12
bowl. They struggled to get through the section.
21:15
They just beat up on Big Lake. in the semifinal
21:20
because they got a bye first round and then they
21:23
beat Becker by, oh my god, 79 to 44. So what's
21:27
that, 35 points? And that's for the championship.
21:30
But they, by winning that they were going, they'd
21:32
be going for their fourth title in the last five
21:36
years. So pretty good run. Totino played Blaine
21:39
during the regular season at Totino and in the
21:42
second half they had, and Blaine made the state
21:44
tournament as an eighth seed. They had running
21:47
time in that game. Oh, that's right. They do
21:49
that in high school, don't they? If a team is
21:51
far enough ahead, that's like a mercy rule. Right.
21:55
Wow, wow. Section six, you talked about these
21:59
guys already, Scott. This was the number one
22:01
seed, Richfield. They also had an easy time.
22:05
They beat, now they had, they played West Tonka
22:07
in a quarterfinal because West Tonka played someone
22:10
else and I forget who it was. That was one of
22:12
those playing games. There was eight and nine.
22:14
And West Tonka, the nine, actually won the game.
22:17
But then the bad news, they had to play Richfield
22:19
and they just got blown out. But they had a need,
22:22
Richfield, they just owned that section because
22:23
then they played Holy Angels and beat them handily.
22:27
And then in the championship game, they beat
22:30
Orono, the two seed, 87 to 58. Orono must have
22:35
been down this year. Yeah. They have one thing
22:38
in common, a ritual in Orono. They got the same
22:40
nicknames. They're both called the Spartans.
22:44
That's all they had in common this year was their
22:46
nicknames. Section seven. that's way up north
22:51
that's uh that's grand rapids they were number
22:53
one seed you know what their nickname is now
22:55
they changed it sometime in the 90s uh i don't
22:59
they were the indians right now they're the thunder
23:02
hawks Thunderhawks? Thunderhawks. Thunderhawks.
23:07
I didn't know there was such a thing. Maybe there
23:08
is a Thunderhawk. They come out during a storm
23:11
or something. I don't know. But that's who they
23:13
won their section handily to. They beat North
23:18
Branch in the quarterfinals and Chisago Lake
23:20
in the semifinals. And then they beat Hibbing,
23:23
three seed, 60 -53. That was a close one. Boney,
23:25
I'm going to defer to you on that because I know
23:27
you followed that section. Six and seven. Drive
23:34
up to Grand Rapids, catch a game, come back home.
23:38
Sorry I turned you down on that trip. And then
23:44
finally, section eight. The number one seed was
23:47
Sartell. and they rolled over Little Falls in
23:50
the quarterfinals, St. Cloud Tech in the semifinals,
23:53
and then in the finals they played Fergus Falls,
23:56
who was a sixth seed, and they won that 72 to
23:58
48. So again, not even that close. Okay, now
24:04
we'll go to 4A, which we're more familiar with
24:06
here. By my unofficial count of the 62 teams
24:10
that played postseason games in 4A, 50 of them,
24:13
or nearly 81%, were from the greater Twin Cities
24:16
metro area. That's just where the population
24:19
is guessing. And by greater metropolitan area,
24:23
I mean the seven counties like Anoka, Carver,
24:25
Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington.
24:29
That's your greater Twin Cities area. And then
24:31
the final poll, the coaches poll, all 10 were
24:35
Twin Cities teams. They were all from the same
24:37
area. But unlike Class 3A, as we mentioned already,
24:41
not all of the number one seeds went to state.
24:47
Let's start with section one. That was Lakeville
24:50
South as the number one seed and they they did
24:52
go on to the state. They beat John Marshall in
24:56
the quarterfinals and Owatonna and then they
24:59
played Farmington the number two seed and won
25:01
there. But you know where they played their championship
25:03
game? Because of the southern schools. They played
25:05
it down in Rochester at the Mayo -Civic Arena.
25:07
That's where they played it. So they had to go
25:09
south to play all their games. Yeah, that's not
25:11
unusual. Yeah, yeah. Now, did you guys see, since
25:15
it's four, I'm just going to ask, did you ever
25:16
see Lakeville South play during the season? Nope,
25:19
did not. That was their first state tournament
25:21
since 2011. Yeah, North is kind of, Lakeville
25:26
North is kind of dominated. I think they're in
25:28
the same segment. Yeah, Lakeville North got upset,
25:30
I think, in the quarterfinals or something. They
25:32
didn't get to the finals to play them, Farmington
25:34
instead. Okay, we'll go to section two. That's
25:40
an interesting one because Prior Lake was the
25:42
number one seed. They got to the, they beat them,
25:44
they beat, oh they got a bye, I'm sorry. Chaska
25:48
was in that section. They were the two seed and
25:51
they were ninth in the top ten poll in the season.
25:55
They beat Shakopee, which was the seventh seed,
25:58
and then Prior Lake beat Chanhassen in the semifinals.
26:01
Chaska beat Eden Prairie. It was the number three
26:04
seed. And then in the championship game, Chaska
26:07
upset Prior Lake, 62 to 59. Close game, close
26:12
game. You didn't see Chaska or Pryor Lake this
26:15
year, did you? It's probably harder to get down
26:17
to the south. We were talking about when the
26:21
state tournament teams and the teams from the
26:24
south, we knew nothing about them. Well, in the
26:27
final coaches' poll, Chaska was number nine.
26:30
Yes, I forgot to mention that. fairly close to
26:37
where I live, but I didn't think there was any
26:40
reason to go down there. Let's go to section
26:44
three. The number one seed was Egan, and they
26:47
just steamrolled over Bloomington Jefferson in
26:49
the quarterfinals and Park. They used to be known
26:52
as Park of Cottage Grove, and they used to go
26:53
by Park. They just shortened it down. And then
26:56
the two seed Rosemount, they beat Burns from
26:58
the quarterfinals, but they got upset by... Apple
27:01
Valley in the semifinals, and then another upset
27:04
in the finals because then Apple Valley beat
27:06
Eagan, the number one seed. I had forgotten Apple
27:09
Valley was in the state tournament last year.
27:13
They looked really good in the state. We'll get
27:15
to that. They looked really good. Again, this
27:18
is the south end of town so you probably didn't
27:19
get a chance to see these guys, any of these
27:21
teams like Eagan or Apple Valley or Rosemont
27:23
either. It's out of my radius, too far from the
27:26
heights. Yeah, I understand. Okay, we'll go to
27:32
section four. And I'm sure you've heard of this
27:34
team, number one, Sivas Tartan. Not only were
27:38
they first in the poll, but they went through
27:39
the whole season in sections undefeated. They
27:42
didn't even lose the game until they got the
27:44
states. A heck of a team. Eastridge got knocked
27:47
off. They were the number two seed and they lost
27:49
to Creighton. Creighton Durham Hall, which is
27:51
the three seed. All three of those teams were
27:54
in the top 10 polls. So that was loaded for talent.
27:57
And then again in the final, that sounded like
28:01
it was a great one too. Tarton beat Creighton
28:04
69 to 61 in overtime. I was at that game. Oh,
28:07
you went to that one. Okay. Oh, so. As did I.
28:10
Okay. Did they play that at Tartan? Yes, it was
28:13
at Tartan. But that must have been a patch. Oh,
28:15
it was unbelievable. The atmosphere in there.
28:18
Yeah, yeah. I think we're lucky we got a ticket
28:21
because I talked to someone and he said, how'd
28:23
you get a ticket? Because they sold that out.
28:27
Oh, wow. It was a great game. Yeah, yeah. Creighton
28:29
had a great team. That's a loaded section. Section
28:35
five, okay, that was Maple Grove. They were the
28:37
number one seed and they were third in the top
28:39
ten poll. They rolled to wins over Park Center
28:42
and Mounds easily. And then the number two seed,
28:45
Osseo, they won their games handily as well.
28:47
And then when they got to the final, Maple Grove
28:49
beat Osseo 73 to 61. And if I'm not mistaken,
28:53
guys, aren't they in the same school district,
28:55
Maple Grove and Osseo? So that must be really
28:57
good. Is Park Center also in the Osseo district?
29:01
I think they are. I think so. They've got at
29:02
least three high schools. I think they are. But
29:05
that must be a heck of a rivalry, too, when they
29:07
get, you know, from the same district. Because
29:09
I know Brother Dave, he said whenever Anoka and
29:11
Andover were playing football and stuff like
29:13
that, it was always crowded because it was the
29:15
same school district. Okay, section six, another
29:20
loaded section for talent. I think some, referred
29:23
to by some as the Wyzetta Hopkins section. It
29:26
seems like every year they're playing for the
29:28
title, but, uh, yeah, YZ was the number one seed,
29:31
second in the state. Uh, they easily beat Edine
29:34
in the semifinals and then Hopkins had beaten
29:37
Armstrong, Robinson Armstrong and Buffalo, which
29:40
was a good team. I mean, they, they were also
29:42
state rated, but they, uh, they beat them by
29:44
like 18 points in their game. And then that Yeah,
29:48
maybe you guys can talk a little bit more about
29:50
this. The section championship between YZ and
29:53
Hopkins, I'm sure was anticipated to be a great
29:55
game and it was just a blowout. I wasn't like,
29:59
did you go that game Steve? We couldn't get tickets.
30:01
Oh, okay. Was that right at YZ High School? It
30:04
was the higher seed and we've seen it. I can't
30:08
remember if we've seen it together, but I've
30:10
seen the region final many years in a row and
30:12
it's always. Why is that a beating Hopkins? Yeah,
30:16
five years in a row. Is that what it is? Yeah,
30:18
I streamed it. Oh, that's right. I did as well.
30:22
They blew them up. They blew them up. I mean,
30:27
why is that? It was 11 for 15 from three in the
30:30
first round. They were amazing. It's tough to
30:32
come back from that. And we had kind of talked
30:35
about maybe this is the year that, you know,
30:37
this is Kenny Novak's last year. Yeah, he's probably
30:39
going to retire. Maybe Hopkins will upset why
30:42
is that? No, sir. Wow. Yeah, just a blow. It
30:45
was 105 to 70. Yeah. 35 points. Oh, it was unbelievable.
30:49
My son and I went to see Buffalo and Hopkins
30:52
in the cell. Oh, OK. OK. And Buffalo's going
30:55
to have a good team. Yeah. Yeah, they had like
30:57
two really good softwares. I think they have
30:58
everybody coming back. That's another thing.
31:00
Just a quick aside, I'm amazed at how developed.
31:03
Well. They even had ninth graders, but sophomores
31:05
that are playing regular varsity. It's amazing.
31:07
It is. I mean, we were half a century ago when
31:10
we were playing, but it was so unheard of to
31:11
have even sophomores playing. Yeah, I think Buffalo,
31:15
I think their two best players are sophomores
31:17
and their next four top players are juniors.
31:21
Everybody's back next year. But they're back.
31:23
They're not very big. No. But we'll talk about
31:26
that later about 2026. And then section seven,
31:32
that was Blaine. They were the number one seed,
31:35
and Andover was the number two seed. And again,
31:38
that's another inter -district rivalry, right?
31:42
Both Anoka, Hennepin School District. And that
31:44
was a good game, too. It was an overtime game,
31:46
where Blaine beat Andover 81 -74. Did you ever
31:50
see any of those teams play? I did not. Okay,
31:53
I just wondered, because it was in the North
31:55
End. Yeah, Andover had some good teams a couple
31:58
years ago. Couple of really good players, but
32:01
I did not see them this year And then finally
32:05
section eight that's kind of a northern section
32:09
I guess in the state The number two seed Bemidji
32:12
had lost at home to Elk River, which is I didn't
32:15
realize Elk River was in that section, but they
32:18
got beat by them in the semifinals. And Alexandria,
32:21
which moved up to 4A, right, from 3A, they had
32:24
easy wins against St. Michael Albertville and
32:27
Monticello in the first two rounds, and then
32:28
in the championship game, they beat Elk River.
32:31
And the closer game is 64 to 58, so. But gosh,
32:35
half the teams... from Section 8 were actually
32:38
outstate, so it would have been tough to go see
32:40
them, too, driving up to Alex or someplace they
32:44
had to watch the game. Although Alex, those guards
32:48
are worth the price of admission. Those two brothers
32:50
are really good players. And I think what we
32:54
often do, if there's a team like Alexandria,
32:57
we're not going to drive up there. But you look
32:58
at the schedule and they'll play in a tournament,
33:01
maybe a holiday tournament, or they'll come down
33:03
and play somebody. And that's the opportunity
33:06
to see them. Like I got to see Buffalo without
33:09
driving up there. They played right in my neighborhood
33:11
against Washburn. So I was able to see them.
33:14
So Scott and I utilized that. Okay, so once these
33:24
champions were determined in the sections, then
33:26
they seeded them. That's done at the state high
33:28
school level. The one seed in 3A was Titino Grace.
33:32
The two seed was D, D LaSalle. Three seed was
33:35
Richfield. Yeah, three schools, one, two, three.
33:39
Four seed was Northfield. The five seed was Mankato
33:42
East. The six seed was Sartell. And then the
33:45
seventh seed was Grand Rapids. And the eight,
33:48
I'm sorry, they were seven. And the eight seed
33:50
was South. I imagine it's going to be kind of
33:53
humbling though, right, to be the number one
33:55
seed in your section and then you go to the state
33:57
and you're the eighth seed and you're playing
33:59
against like Tatino Grace. It's like, oh okay,
34:02
well at least I got to stay. Right, right. And
34:04
then our four A seeds, one seed was Tartan, the
34:09
second seed was Wyzetta, three seed was Maple
34:12
Grove, four seed was Lakeville South, five seed
34:15
Chaska, six seed Alexandria area. Seven seed
34:20
Apple Valley and then blame was bringing up the
34:22
rear you might say So, okay so under the tournaments
34:27
and so now you didn't see any three of the state
34:30
tournament, right? You just go to for a correct.
34:32
I watched a little on TV, but I never I never
34:34
attended Okay. Okay. Okay. My wife wouldn't let
34:37
me go to any more games Yeah, I can understand
34:42
that so I'm going to start with 3 -8, even though
34:47
they started a day later. I'm going to save more
34:50
for 4 -8, because they were more upset. But the
34:52
first day of the three was on a Wednesday, and
34:54
they played at Williams at the barn. All their
34:56
games were played there. Tatino Grace just rolled
35:00
over south. It was like 90 to 56, almost double.
35:03
They had 18 steals. South shot just under 28%,
35:08
and just a long afternoon for them. The second
35:13
game, oh that first game started at 10 in the
35:15
morning. I didn't realize they started so soon.
35:17
You wake up and play basketball. Then the second
35:19
game, Northfield, it was kind of cool for them.
35:22
Like I said, it's been almost 100 years since
35:23
they played. They did win their game. They beat
35:25
Mankato East 56 -49. In the third game, De La
35:33
Salle just rolled over Grand Rapids to 87 -37,
35:38
50 points in the state tournament. Yikes. Oh,
35:43
it's tough. In the fourth game of the day, that
35:47
started at four o 'clock at Ridgefield. They
35:50
had a good game of Sartella with 72 to 62, so
35:54
it wasn't a major blowout like some of the others,
35:56
so. Did you see much of those games like on TV
36:00
or? I didn't. I just wasn't able to get to the
36:03
quarterfinals. Well, yeah, and the quarterfinals
36:06
aren't on TV. Oh, they don't even screen those?
36:08
They don't tell us any quarterfinals. They start
36:10
at the semis. Okay, okay. Thanks for clarifying.
36:15
And then we get to the semifinals. It was played
36:18
two days later on March 26th. Dino Grace. It
36:22
was a nice story for Northfield, but they were
36:23
no match for it. It was 89 to 61. They won that
36:27
pretty handily. In the second semifinal, De La
36:32
Salle, that was a good game. Richfield and De
36:35
La Salle was 73 to 70. I mean, that must have
36:37
been a real nail -biter just going back and forth.
36:40
It must have been a really fun game to watch,
36:42
a lot of quick players, and I'm sure it was exciting
36:45
to watch. Okay, then we'll get to the championship
36:50
game that was played on the Saturday afternoon
36:51
I actually saw all of that because it was on
36:53
45 and that was a good game because to do grades
36:57
one But they had a I think a 10 -point lead at
37:01
the half, but D came back It was 72 to 70 the
37:04
final so right excellent game. I I did not think
37:09
that D could play with with Totino. And they
37:13
did, they gave them, they could have won that
37:15
game. They could have won that game. I was very
37:17
surprised. Really close, really close game. That
37:19
was a very good game. And then do you guys, I
37:22
know you read the starts, I mean did you read
37:23
that article, I think that it listed five players
37:27
who stood out at the boys. Basketball tournament
37:29
and he included all the classes but one of those
37:32
five was from Totino grace and I apologize in
37:35
advance I'm gonna have trouble with this guy's
37:36
name. He's a 6 '6 senior guard Dothan Ijadim
37:40
Bola or something like that. Yeah, he's going
37:42
to he's going to Drake next year But he had a
37:45
really good game. He had a couple of double -doubles
37:46
during the tournament and He was he was one of
37:50
those five players on that all the five players
37:54
any difference TG they went ten deep They had
37:59
10 guys that could all play. And they lost some
38:03
seniors, but they're going to be good next year.
38:07
And you never know who might transfer. That's
38:10
part of the equation as well. That's true. I'll
38:13
tell you what, the truth of it, TG could have
38:15
easily beaten Chaska to win 4A. I mean, they
38:19
were as good as any 4A team. They were. They
38:23
were. Now onto the Class 4A state tournament.
38:29
While Class 3A featured the 1 and 2 seeds in
38:31
the finals, Totino Grace and De La Salle, the
38:34
2026 4A tournament featured underdogs in the
38:37
finals. Let's get to the quarterfinals of that
38:41
tournament. Now those games you guys saw, right?
38:44
Did you see all four? We did. Oh wow, okay. It
38:46
was kind of a long day, because to your point,
38:49
they started at 10 o 'clock, then 10, 12, 2,
38:51
and 4. And they played Tuesday, March 24th, and
38:54
that was at Target Center. Yes, Timberwolves
38:56
plays. Yes. And let's see. Let's just talk about
38:59
that first game. Tartin was playing. Was it Lane?
39:02
Oh, gosh. OK. 72 to 44. Did they let up on him?
39:06
Tartin? Or they just kept. I don't remember the
39:09
details, but Tartin was never in trouble. They
39:12
weren't. They won handily, which we expect. They
39:14
had four players in double figures. I mean, Bobby,
39:17
going into the tournament, I think you and I
39:19
agreed that we thought that Tartin, Maple Grove
39:23
or Waisetta all had a shot at winning this thing.
39:28
With maybe Alex as an outsider, but they had
39:32
a clear delineation with those top three. Okay,
39:38
so in the second game that was that was Chaska
39:41
and Lakeville South No, I guess you call it mild
39:43
upset because Chaska was the five seed and Lakeville
39:46
South was a four But they won 71 to 53. Yeah,
39:49
they were they must have looked really good.
39:51
They played really well Yeah, we had not seen
39:53
Chaska. We were we were very very stressed. Oh,
39:55
and I underclassmen too. Yes I've left this out,
39:59
but um, they started the season at three and
40:02
four That was their 23rd consecutive win. Yes,
40:05
exactly. I saw that. I was looking at their schedule.
40:08
They lost three in a row and then they won. That
40:13
was their 23rd win. But it kind of makes sense
40:17
because they were young kids and it takes a while
40:20
to find their stride and they certainly did.
40:25
And in the third game Tuesday, talk about upsets.
40:29
That was number seven, Apple Valley, beating
40:32
the number two seed, Wizetta. And I don't think
40:35
anybody was picking that one. The biggest upset
40:37
we've seen, I can't remember a bigger upset.
40:41
I agree. And especially, not only the seed difference,
40:44
but just Wizetta won it last year. They had every
40:48
guy back. pretty much. 2 -D -1 players. 2 -D
40:52
-1, although, you know, they didn't, you know,
40:55
as well as they shot from three in the region
40:59
final, they were poor. Anderson was five for
41:02
18 from the field in the gopher, and he was one
41:06
for 11 from three. And how did the other, the
41:10
player of the year, Mr. Basketball, Wiggins?
41:12
He played well. Yeah, he did play well. Christian
41:15
Wiggins, is that his name? Christian Wiggins.
41:17
Okay, okay. Yeah, Ben. Yeah, 75 to 73. But he
41:21
had his shot blocked. They had the ball underneath
41:24
the basket four seconds ago. They gave it to
41:27
Wiggins. He went the length of the floor, and
41:30
an Apple Valley guy, and I don't even think it
41:32
was a big guy. blocked his shot. I mentioned
41:38
the crowd must have been stunned. It was. Looking
41:42
at my notes, Wyzetta jumped out to an 18 -6 lead
41:46
and we thought, well, here we go. This is going
41:49
to play out. I think Scott mentioned that. Anderson
41:52
was 1 for 11, I think, why Zeta as a team from
41:56
3 were 4 for 22, so they shot very poorly from
42:01
3. Yeah, strange. Well, that's why they play
42:04
the games, you know, on paper you can say one
42:06
thing, but you still got to play the game, so
42:08
good credit to Apple Valley. It was 75 -73, that
42:11
was the final, so man, what a game. And then
42:15
the last game of the quarterfinals on that Tuesday,
42:18
it was a bit from Maple Grove, Max Iverson, that
42:21
name. He had a really good game, 15 for 23 from
42:25
the field overall. He had 41 points. 41 points.
42:28
They beat Alexandria, 82 to 65. I think Scott
42:32
and I were saying it's one of the best performances
42:34
we've ever seen in the state tournament. No question.
42:36
He was incredible. Six of his ten three -point
42:39
attempts 15 or 20 15 or 23 from the field overall
42:43
Yeah, it was an incredibly entertaining team.
42:46
I mean our game. Yeah, Maple Grove is Yeah to
42:51
see somebody score 41 against Alexandria with
42:54
really good players. Yeah, and both teams played
42:58
well. There was good flow It was a highly entertaining
43:00
game. Yeah, he's going to North Dakota State
43:05
The two Witt brothers were really good players.
43:11
The Witts were with Alexandria. They list the
43:15
All -State team in the Star Tribune. The one
43:20
Witt kid is undecided. Well, I hope he decides
43:25
to go to the U .S. It's too bad some of these
43:28
kids are going away though. Drake and North Dakota
43:31
State. We might get them on the second go -round.
43:34
Yeah, maybe. Once they go on the portal. Yeah,
43:36
maybe these days. And Wiggins is going to Iowa
43:38
State, right? Yes. Okay, we'll go to the semifinals
43:44
now. They were played on a Thursday. I noticed
43:47
that 4A was set up pretty nice. They got a day
43:50
off between each round, didn't they? They played
43:52
on a Tuesday, and then they didn't play again
43:54
until Thursday, and then they got a chance to
43:57
wrestle. Just a quick aside, the 1A class plays
44:01
it like the traditional one -class tournament
44:03
used to be played. They start on Thursday, they
44:06
play the next day on Friday, they play on Saturday.
44:07
So three days. It's only three days. They don't
44:10
have any days off. But 4A gets... a day off between
44:13
them. Right, yeah. So that's just the way it's
44:16
set up, I guess. And well, they've got so many
44:18
teams now. There's 32 teams and they have to
44:20
use two different arenas. And then the Constellation
44:23
games are played over in St. Paul, I think, at
44:25
Concordia, so. In the Class 4A semifinals then,
44:30
there are two games played on Thursday, March
44:32
26 at Williams, at the barn. And what a pair
44:35
of semifinals they were. In the first game, which
44:38
started at 6 p .m., another major upset, Chaska,
44:42
the number five seed. Well, this was also a huge
44:45
upset. I mean, I know the the Wayzata and Apple
44:48
Valley game was big, but, you know, Tartin was
44:50
number one and undefeated and they beat him.
44:53
Well, it was what, 60 to 51. I mean, it just
44:57
they started. They took it to him. So, yeah,
44:59
I mean, I think it's notable that. uh the best
45:03
player on tartan uh kevin wilson had a really
45:06
bad shooting game you know he's a three -point
45:09
bomber and i think he was four for 22 from the
45:13
field four for 18 from three and you know he's
45:17
their best player their leading score and he
45:21
just really struggled and uh Chaska I think they
45:24
got 17 points each from I don't know the names
45:28
the freshman and the junior They played really
45:32
really good games. Well, it's a good time to
45:35
play a really good game I think I think Chaska
45:37
is everyone coming back and we're gonna talk
45:39
about next year teams They do and in tartan talking
45:43
to mention kids transfer now tartan Two of their
45:47
starters this year were transfers from other
45:50
schools. One from Johnson. He was the leading
45:55
scorer on his team the year before. And then
45:58
the other kid, I can't remember where he's from.
46:00
So they were, you know, big parts of that team
46:03
also. And Tartin is going to be good next year
46:06
as we'll talk about, you know, their two best
46:08
players are coming back. Yes. Alright, and then
46:14
we'll get to the second game the second semifinal
46:16
that night again a huge game and started at eight
46:19
o 'clock Apple Valley the number seven seed knocked
46:22
off another higher seed opponent with a 73 63
46:26
win over number three Maple Grove, so Maple Grove
46:29
beat Wayzata twice during the year. Yeah, and
46:35
and so They've got two of the best forwards in
46:40
the state in a 7 -1 center. I mean, you know,
46:44
Maple Grove is certainly a good team. We saw
46:46
Maple Grove get beat by Tartin earlier in the
46:50
year, but Apple Valley, they played really well.
46:54
And their two best players, Parker and Young,
46:57
combined for 41 points. And for Maple Grove,
47:01
Iverson had another good game with 24. And Ann,
47:05
Got 15 and he's a good player being recruited
47:09
by the Gophers. I think they've offered him a
47:11
scholarship They have so it was it was a great
47:15
game, but Apple Valley played tremendous Yeah,
47:18
their two best players have great games. It's
47:20
amazing how well they played in the state tournament,
47:23
man Okay, and finally on to that four -way championship
47:29
game. It was a Saturday night, started at eight
47:31
o 'clock. Chaska, number five seed against the
47:33
number seven seed, Apple Valley. In that State
47:36
High School Leagues newsletter I was talking
47:37
about earlier, the League Journal, the lead sentence
47:41
of the story for that game read, score one for
47:43
the underdogs, because you had a five and a seven
47:45
playing. That had never happened, according to
47:48
my information. But it's going to be a game I
47:51
don't remember for a long time, because it was
47:52
great from beginning to end. Yeah, and I said,
47:56
Chaska, like I said, we mentioned, they started
47:57
out at three and four, three wins, four losses,
48:02
and then complete reverse where they won the
48:05
next 25 games, including that championship game
48:07
last Saturday, 63 to 55, Oprah Valley. That was
48:11
the first time since 2004, which I think I mentioned
48:14
earlier, that they'd won the state, but you were
48:16
talking about the young kids. the junior guard,
48:19
Kalen Jokum, is that his name? Yes, yes. And
48:22
then in ninth grade forward, Jed Keenan. Ninth
48:25
grade. Yeah, ninth grade. They each had 12 points.
48:28
And then Tyler Forrest, he's a junior guard.
48:31
He had 11 points for Jaska. You know what's interesting?
48:36
four of their players were in double figures
48:40
and game high was 12. I mean, it was well -rounded.
48:44
They were so impressive. They spread the floor
48:47
really well and they had at least four guys that
48:50
could shoot the three and they could also put
48:52
it on the floor. They made their free throws
48:54
drown the stretch. They're well -coached. I mean,
48:58
the freshman kid... He was in the semis. This
49:02
kid, the game was on the line. He stepped up
49:05
and hit two threes. I mean, as a freshman, to
49:08
be that good in that moment in the state tournament.
49:12
He just took over. He wanted the ball and he
49:14
didn't hesitate. He shot and he knocked it down.
49:16
And conversely, Apple Valley in that final, they
49:18
had the one kid, this young kid who was in all
49:22
conference. They're all state. He had four. The
49:26
other kid only had two. The other front line
49:29
guy. He's going to the U. I forget his name to
49:31
play baseball. The pitch. Oh. But so the one
49:34
kid, they just kept going to him. He had 25 shots.
49:38
His name is Trey Parker. Yeah. He had 33 points.
49:43
But it's not just the point total. It seems like
49:46
half of the shots he made were hero shots. They
49:49
were. They knew he was the only guy that was
49:51
going to hurt him. So they were thrown. and guys
49:53
at him and he would be beating the clock hitting
49:56
these fallaway threes it was yeah yeah tremendous
50:00
yeah tremendous performance but he didn't get
50:02
any help yeah young just he's a poor shooter
50:07
but he didn't get to the hoop like he did earlier
50:10
it seemed like he seemed like he was tenet he
50:13
was very tentative yeah You know, we mentioned
50:16
the young kids for Chaska coming through, that
50:19
Jokum, I hope I'm pronouncing this name correctly,
50:22
because Parker had made a three -pointer with
50:25
like a minute 37 to go or something. It was like
50:28
57 to 55. And then the Jokum hit like what? Six
50:32
free throws or something after that in the last
50:34
minute. That's the closest they could get they
50:36
couldn't get any closer Yeah, yeah, they kept
50:38
following him How many times in the past when
50:44
we watched like go for basketball would see Gophers
50:46
miss free throws. I know you got this junior
50:49
You know ice in his veins, you know, just not
50:53
to the so so it used to they always used to have
50:57
that The 3A, they'd have the 1A and the 2A championship
51:01
games in the afternoon. And then the 3A and the
51:05
4A at night. A few years ago, they changed it.
51:07
So the 2A and the 4A. We saw a really good 2A
51:11
championship game between Minnehaha and Goodyube.
51:15
And this Minnehaha team, I think they're all
51:20
coming back. And the one kid, remember Brian
51:24
Coupito? Kubito, who played quarterback. His
51:27
son starts as an eighth grader. He was an all
51:33
tournament team. He also is the quarterback in
51:37
the football team. He started as a seventh grader.
51:40
And they have everybody coming back. And they've
51:43
got that 6 '7 junior that is very athletic. And
51:49
he can shoot the three. I don't know if there's
51:53
a better junior in the state. We said, I think,
51:58
the 2A championship or champion, they'll be favored.
52:02
D will probably be heavily favored next year
52:05
in the 3A. I think so. And Chaska, one of the
52:08
teams will be favored next year. I think so,
52:10
yeah. We're going to have to get together next
52:12
year to talk about this. See how accurate we
52:15
were on the picks. Well, probably better than
52:17
this year. Well, right. Who would have picked
52:20
a five and a seven for 4A? Yeah, that was a great
52:26
ending. That was the last game of the term. It
52:28
was a great way to end it. I had dinner there.
52:31
I would not recommend a bratwurst there for dinner.
52:35
Almost took me down. Okay, two players from 4A
52:44
were among those. Remember earlier I mentioned
52:46
the kid from Totino Grace? Doutham that made
52:49
that one of those five players there were two
52:52
from four in it was a Junior guard Kailin Jokum.
52:56
He was named to that Tim. Mr. Free throws and
52:59
then Trey Parker that guard for Apple Valley
53:01
He's six to he was a senior. It's too bad. He
53:04
can't be back next year But they were also among
53:06
those five and the other two just for the record
53:10
the rest of there's five I've mentioned three
53:12
one of them was the kid. He was just a Hoosier
53:14
from that Hill Beaver Creek. I think he must
53:17
have been a football player. He's like 6 '5".
53:19
He's a forward. His name is Jamin Metzger. He
53:22
was one of those players. And then Kellen True,
53:25
that junior forward from Minnehaha. They made
53:28
those five outstanding players in that tournament.
53:31
Well, I mean, Max Iverson, was he not part of
53:34
that? I think they were just underclassmen, weren't
53:37
they just talking about? They'd come with five
53:40
standout players. He had to cut off somewhere,
53:42
I suppose. Made it six. They must have been talking
53:44
about underclassmen. Yeah, because Max Iverson
53:46
was the best player in the tournament. 41 points
53:48
in that first game. Well, also the kid from...
53:51
Is it Wasika? He's on the All -State team. He
53:54
had 51 in a loss. They lost. I saw him play in
53:58
the football championship against Annandale.
54:01
He was like a safety. Yeah, he's going to play
54:04
football in college, not basketball. Wow, yeah,
54:06
good athlete. For the record, because these kids
54:12
are kind of sorry for him that didn't get to
54:14
go to the state championship, but do you guys
54:16
remember who won the third place in the consolation
54:19
championships in both classes? I think Wyzetta.
54:22
And Anderson, I read that he came back, he had
54:26
32. Yeah, Nolan Anderson going to the Gophers,
54:29
he did not play well down the stretch. I saw
54:32
him play really well a couple times this year.
54:35
He's a good player, but he struggled in the biggest
54:38
moments, but he had 32 in the consolation game.
54:41
And we should probably mention, we both saw the
54:45
other kid going to the Gophers. Tombs. Tombs.
54:52
We probably both agree that neither one of those
54:55
guys are going to be like huge impact guys their
54:58
freshman year. You saw him when he got 50 against
55:02
Totino Grace. At Totino. At Totino. And then
55:04
I saw him. He had a poor game in the Regions
55:08
against Creighton Durham Hall. Right. They hosted
55:11
Creighton Durham Hall in the first round of the
55:14
Regions. And yeah, he did not play well. He took
55:17
a lot of bad shots, but I think he's forced to
55:19
because he's the only scorer on that team. What
55:21
school is he with again? Eastridge. Eastridge.
55:24
Okay, they got upset in the sections. But, you
55:26
know, I think the Gophers are looking at him
55:28
as kind of of a pure point guard, not the scorer
55:31
that he is in high school. Because he's 6 '1",
55:36
maybe, and he's not going to be a Big Ten number
55:40
two guard. He's going to have to be a distributor.
55:44
But he's a good ball handler, and if you leave
55:47
him alone, he can definitely shoot it. Big Ten
55:49
range. Oh, okay. In any case, you got the one
55:53
right on the consolation when I was wise out.
55:54
Do you know who won third place? It was Tartan.
55:57
Oh, yeah. They rolled. Well, they beat Maple
56:00
Grove 92 -85. Oh, that's right. In overtime,
56:03
I believe. OK. OK. I think it was. That would
56:06
have been a great game. Well, we saw them play
56:08
earlier. We did. Yeah. We did. 92 -85. That would
56:10
have been a really good game. And then in the
56:12
3A, the third place winner was, do you know?
56:16
It was Richfield. They beat Northfield 78 to
56:19
70. Yeah, and then the consolation when was Mankato
56:22
East, you know They got beaten the first round
56:25
by Northfield But they beat South in a close
56:27
game and then they beat Sartell in the championship.
56:30
Those games are all played at Ganglehoff Over
56:33
Concordia. I've never even been in there. I've
56:35
been to the football field. I have it's a nice
56:38
place to watch a game I think like they play
56:41
volleyball games there and that stuff. It must
56:43
be like a basketball volleyball arena or something.
56:45
I think so Okay, that's where they play. Like
56:47
I said, they've got so many teams playing now
56:49
they have to have venues more than just one.
56:51
Right. Like one class of Williams arenas. So
56:55
let's talk a little bit about 2026. I know it's
57:00
a whole year off, but you saw a lot of young
57:03
rising stars in the tournament. Tell us what
57:06
your thoughts are, like we think could happen
57:08
in 2026 from what you saw this year. Well, I'll
57:13
throw a couple of Teams up there and Scott you
57:16
can jump in. I mean tartan is gonna be good.
57:19
They're two best players are coming back So Kevin,
57:22
yeah, Kevin Wilson. The other kid is a sophomore.
57:26
He's what six? Mmm, and maybe a little taller
57:30
than that. Yeah, very athletic can't remember
57:32
his name and they're they're gonna be tough and
57:35
I don't think that they play a murderous schedule
57:38
over there Although they're going to have to
57:41
beat Cretin Durham Hall because Cretin Durham
57:44
Hall is going to be good. They're losing that
57:46
Jojo Mitchell, who's a terrific player, but they
57:49
have three very good players coming back. Any
57:53
other teams? Well, Chaska. Chaska's going to
57:57
be... They've got everybody coming back, I believe.
58:01
Yeah, they have four juniors and a freshman.
58:05
They're sure they're coming back. Yeah, and Maple
58:08
Grove with the seven footer and Ann. Yeah. So
58:12
that's a great nucleus. They're going to be very
58:14
good. I think Hopkins, they have the 6 '9 kid,
58:19
Nur, and then Moore, who is going to be, I think,
58:24
a junior or a sophomore. Right. He's a point
58:27
guard. He's really good. So those are two excellent
58:30
players. We talked a little bit about Buffalo,
58:34
you know, two sophomores and three juniors are
58:36
in their starting lineup. I think it's also notable
58:40
to talk about Wayzata. They've had an unbelievable
58:43
run that goes back almost 10 years of just excellent
58:47
teams and great players. I think they may have
58:50
finally run out. Cupboard might be bare. Yeah,
58:53
I mean, they were, you know, heavily seniors
58:56
and unless there's going to be people moving
58:59
in, I think that they're going to struggle. So
59:01
Hopkins, you know, might be the team to beat
59:04
next year. You never know if kids are going to
59:10
be transferring to schools. I mean, that happens.
59:13
It's the wild card. Someone said to me, oh yeah,
59:17
it's open enrollment now. It is open enrollment,
59:19
but you, the state high school league, and I
59:22
didn't go into the specific details of how it
59:25
works, but you're supposed to live in the district
59:29
in order to be eligible. To play. Now, somehow
59:34
they're getting around it. They're living in
59:36
their grandparents' house. Yeah, I don't know.
59:39
Well, it's certainly a big wild card. I mean,
59:41
going into the year, I thought Maple Grove might
59:44
be the team to beat because they have two really
59:47
good forwards and they had a 7 -1 kid coming
59:50
in. I mean, that's huge. Huge impact. Was there
59:58
anyone else from 4A? I was going to ask you about
1:00:00
3A too. You said De La Salle. De La Salle has
1:00:03
got to be favored. They're really good. But TG
1:00:06
is going to be right up there. Who's the kid?
1:00:09
Is it Carroll, the coach at TG? Yes. He's done
1:00:12
pretty well. one of those AAU programs. So that's
1:00:19
his main job. So he sees all these kids. He knows
1:00:24
all about them coming up. You know, TG, they
1:00:28
should think about moving up. I said the same
1:00:30
thing about De La Salle when Thorson was the
1:00:33
coach. They were in 3A. They would win handily
1:00:36
and they were probably the best team in the state
1:00:39
for most of those. you know they won what five
1:00:43
or six in a row they did yeah i think they did
1:00:46
and they they killed their opponent in the championship
1:00:49
game they probably should have moved up to tino
1:00:52
grace they've won it you know i mean they had
1:00:55
to struggle this year to win five years but four
1:00:57
and five years They probably won't, but they
1:01:01
should consider moving up. Now, I know I'm getting
1:01:03
a little bit off topic, but I remember the football
1:01:05
team did that about 10 years ago. Ferguson, the
1:01:07
coach, he got them to move up to that super big
1:01:09
class, like Eden Prairie -sized schools. They
1:01:12
did. And they won it that one year. Yes, they
1:01:13
did. But I know they've gone back since, because
1:01:16
I don't think they dominate. It's funny. Gone
1:01:19
from a football school to a basketball school
1:01:21
over the last 20 years. It's funny, TG, they
1:01:24
play a murderous schedule. I mean, during the
1:01:27
regular season, they play everybody. And then
1:01:30
once they get to, you know, into the three playoffs,
1:01:34
then it's just a cakewalk. Typically, it doesn't
1:01:36
seem to make a lot of sense to me. And you would
1:01:39
think it would be unsatisfying for the for the
1:01:42
players and the coaches, because, yeah, they
1:01:44
could have easily won the big tournament championship
1:01:48
this year. I wonder if schools like D and Tatino
1:01:52
Grades purposely stay in 3A, because they've
1:01:54
got the best of both worlds. They can play 4A
1:01:57
schools all year long and get the experience,
1:02:00
but then go to the state tournament, either win
1:02:03
it or get the finals, and maybe that helps them
1:02:06
recruit or draw interest to other kids. You want
1:02:09
to play for a school that plays a lot of good
1:02:12
teams, that usually gets to the state tournament
1:02:13
every year? I'm always rooting for the out -state
1:02:17
teams because, you know, in 2A, okay, so there's
1:02:21
2A and 3A. There are teams that are 1A that are
1:02:24
in the metropolitan area, right? So these teams,
1:02:28
they have an area, the metropolitan area that
1:02:33
they can recruit to go to their schools. Whereas
1:02:37
these out -state schools, They're limited to
1:02:40
the geographic right the way it used to be just
1:02:43
who lives in their town. Yeah Yeah, I feel the
1:02:46
same way about the city I mean, you know, I watched
1:02:50
for years, you know, Minneapolis North Patrick
1:02:53
Henry They were they were great for years. There's
1:02:56
still a lot of really good city players, but
1:02:58
they don't stay in I remember a couple years
1:03:01
ago. I went to see a regional game south at Wayzata.
1:03:06
I thought, wow, this is going to be a slaughter.
1:03:09
But I went to see the game and South had two
1:03:12
sophomores that were great and Wayzata ended
1:03:15
up pulling away at the end. But they gave them
1:03:18
a game and I thought, wow, I can't wait to see
1:03:20
South next year. both kids left. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
1:03:24
So, you know, I feel bad for those city teams
1:03:27
because you see a lot of these kids that we're
1:03:30
talking about, a lot of them city kids. Yeah.
1:03:32
So it's it's it's unfortunate. You know, we all
1:03:35
grew up playing with the same group of guys all
1:03:38
the way through. And I think there's something,
1:03:39
you know, special about that, even going back
1:03:42
to like teachers. Oh, for sure. And now AAU ball.
1:03:47
It's all about AAU. And I'm sure these kids are
1:03:51
playing with these guys and say, hey, let's get
1:03:53
together and let's play at this school next year.
1:03:56
That's probably exactly what's happening. No,
1:03:58
I think it is. I mean, it's not going to go back,
1:04:03
but it is what it is. Let me just wrap up with
1:04:08
a couple more questions. If you guys were in
1:04:12
charge... Can we get overtime, Bobby? If you
1:04:19
guys were in charge of the state high school
1:04:20
league, is there anything about the tournament
1:04:22
that you would want to change? Whether it's how
1:04:24
sections are aligned, or what's maybe the one
1:04:28
or two things that you probably do right away
1:04:30
that you don't see right now? Well, you touched
1:04:33
on it earlier, so. We probably differ on that.
1:04:36
You would probably, although this year it worked
1:04:39
out, you know, Steve has said before, let's see
1:04:41
the teams in 4A. prior to sections, that way
1:04:44
we make sure, or we have a better chance to get
1:04:47
the best eight teams in the state. You know,
1:04:50
I think about Hopkins. Five years in a row, they
1:04:53
got beat in the region final. They were easily
1:04:56
one of the best teams in the state. And the state
1:04:59
tournament would have been more fun with them
1:05:01
in it. Quarterfinals are almost always a blowout.
1:05:05
Yeah, true, true, that's true. But, you know,
1:05:08
I understand the other. other argument as well.
1:05:11
Yeah. I mean, I love the fact that the quarter,
1:05:15
the semis and the finals are at Williams Arena.
1:05:18
More intimate atmosphere. I mean, it is so much
1:05:22
better to watch those games in person. You don't
1:05:26
get the feel watching it on TV. You know, and
1:05:29
you don't have as much of an atmosphere and target
1:05:31
center, but I love having the games at Williams
1:05:34
Arena. And we didn't talk about it, the finals
1:05:36
at Williams Arena was really well attended. It
1:05:39
was a big crowd, and it was loud, and then...
1:05:43
The quarterfinals at Target Center, it was during
1:05:46
spring break. A couple schools hardly had anyone.
1:05:50
They didn't show up and we were shocked by it.
1:05:53
And one of the kids said, yes, spring break,
1:05:55
the buses aren't running so nobody went to the
1:05:57
games. Wow. Also, yeah, I think why Zeta didn't.
1:06:00
They kind of sat on their hands and all of a
1:06:04
sudden they're crowded and they didn't have a
1:06:06
very good crowd either I think they were just
1:06:08
Expecting to win and we'll go to the finals or
1:06:11
whatever. I think you're right Yeah, it's kind
1:06:14
of dead in there But the atmosphere was great
1:06:16
for the semis and the finals at Williams Arena
1:06:18
another lot of fun I remember watching the the
1:06:21
final game Saturday night Chaska and Apple Valley.
1:06:24
It looked like it was a big crowd it was and
1:06:27
I know they use the TV cameras to show the kids
1:06:29
they're looking to score, but it was just packed.
1:06:32
I mean, there were a lot of kids there, and they
1:06:34
were having a great time. And Steve paints his
1:06:37
face every year with his favorite school colors.
1:06:39
He starts to take his shirt off too. Occasionally.
1:06:45
But I tell you what, I think these kids at all
1:06:48
levels, 1 -8, 2 -3. There's so many kids that
1:06:51
are such good players. I know the talent is the
1:06:55
talent is and and and like the range their range
1:06:59
and their three -point shot They're not they
1:07:01
rarely just shoot it just past the three They're
1:07:04
past the NBA level. Yeah, they're shooting from
1:07:08
the logo almost And we and we talk about and
1:07:13
we've talked about and and the young players
1:07:15
who step up it's it's amazing yet. He's the ninth
1:07:19
graders that are Playing like seniors, it's amazing.
1:07:25
Well, Steve and Scott, this has been a blast.
1:07:28
Your love of and your enthusiasm for high school
1:07:30
basketball, it's inspiring. It's impressive just
1:07:33
to hear you talk about it. I know you guys love
1:07:35
what you're doing. I hope you can just keep doing
1:07:37
that for as long as you can, because then it
1:07:39
gives us something to talk about. Well, Scott
1:07:41
and I have talked about it for a number of years
1:07:44
now. We're kind of the last of the Mohicans.
1:07:46
There used to be a lot of people like us that
1:07:48
would show up to the games unaffiliated with
1:07:51
any of the teams just to watch basketball. We
1:07:55
don't see that anymore. It's all people that
1:07:57
have kids or grandkids. Yeah. I'll tell you a
1:08:00
story about that. We're in the championship game
1:08:01
and there was a woman sitting right in front
1:08:03
of us and she couldn't believe we were in the
1:08:07
Apple Valley section. She couldn't believe that
1:08:09
we weren't standing and cheering wildly for Apple
1:08:12
Valley because she would think, well, why are
1:08:16
they here if they're not cheering for Apple Valley?
1:08:20
Right? Yeah. But I think it's good that you go.
1:08:25
High school basketball is a great sport. It's
1:08:28
my favorite. I can see why you guys still love
1:08:31
to do that, just to see the talent that's out
1:08:33
there. You can have a lot of fun for six bucks
1:08:36
on a Tuesday night in the middle of the winter.
1:08:41
Sometimes in TG they let you in free as a senior.
1:08:43
Really? Yeah. Oh man. Well, I can certainly take
1:08:46
advantage of that. There's an advantage to getting
1:08:49
older. Yep. Well, anyway, guys, you did a great
1:08:53
job. I'm glad you came in for this and maybe
1:08:55
we can make this an annual thing. So thanks again
1:08:58
for coming in. Thank you, Bob. And to our listeners,
1:09:05
again, thanks for hanging out with me, Bob Edholm,
1:09:07
and my friends and fellow Heights guys, Scott
1:09:09
Black and Steve Durant. We hope you join us for
1:09:12
the next episode of Hanging Out with Bob wherever
1:09:14
you listen to your podcasts. And until then,
1:09:17
bye.