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Since the decade of the ‘00s is now over, it is indeed a good time to think about all-decade teams. Thx to Alan for getting me to be thinking about same. I don’t have Alan’s picks here so I don’t know how we differ, only that we probably do—and more on methodology than on the names ;-)
Boys High School Careers ending in the ‘00s
First Team
Cody Schilling, Ellsworth, wing—a tough choice, I mean, he only played class A. Still, he got his team to 3 state title games and he is not only the #1 all-time boys scorer, he is #1 in assists and #6 in rebounds. He may have gone to Augustana and he may not have had a bunch of D1 offers. But I saw him play 7-8 games and he is a better all-around basketball player than Dahlman or Hoffarber. IOW he did it all for his team, while the other perimeter guys near the top of this list were a bit more one-dimensional.
Jake Sullivan, Tartan, guard—like Schilling, didn’t win Mr. Basketball, and like Schilling he wasn’t the greatest athlete of his cohort. Just the best basketball player. A lights-out shooter who set a national HS FT pct record, and just one of the smartest players I’ve ever seen. Incredible court sense that enabled him to compensate for not being the quickest guy around.
Kris Humphries, Hopkins, forward-center—it is tempting to have him #1. He is the only guy on this list in the NBA today, I think. But he was a pretty dysfunctional player in his day and probably the one and only MN HS basketball team of the decade that could have played with Hopkins ‘09—and I mean, obviously, Humphries senior team at Hopkins in ‘03—couldn’t even win the state title that year. One of the most selfish teams ever, and Humphries was as bad if not worse than any of them. So he’s only the #3 player of the decade. Sigh. Mr. Basketball ‘03.
Isaiah Dahlman, Braham, wing—well, the guy could score. It was obvious (to me, if not to Tom Izzo ;-) in high school that his skills wouldn’t translate. His whole game was getting to the rim, you would let him take the outside shot every time. And he is too slight to get to the rim in the Big Ten. I always said Noah would be a better college player, right, Paul? Still, the guy could score. His coach said, Shoot, and told his teammates, Get the ball to Isaiah, and he set the all-time record since broken by Schilling and they won 3 state titles. Mr. Basketball ‘06.
Rick Rickert, Duluth East, forward-center—this is a tough choice for reasons I’ll get to below. But the kid could score, and he carried a pretty iffy team to the state championship game in AAAA. But his game, of course, is scoring and he’s closer to Dahlman than to Humphries when it comes to having the muscle to score around the rim as a pro. Mr. Basketball ‘01.
Second Team
Blake Hoffarber, Hopkins, guard—a great great basketball player, a great high school shooter, but not terribly athletic, his release is a tad slow for the Big Ten. But between Hopkins ‘02-’03 and Hopkins ‘09, the best MN HS teams were Hopkins ‘05-’06, and while they had a lot of other great talent, this was the guy that took them from very good to great. I give you “the butt shot.” Mr. Basketball ‘07.
Cole Aldrich, Bloomington Jefferson, center—while I have him behind Hoffarber, Aldrich is why it was so tough to spring for Rickert on the 1st team. I mean, we can see what kind of athletic specimen and basketball player Aldrich is, and you could see it then. It’s just that the game nowadays doesn’t lend itself to great pivot players. They’re just not the go-to guys anymore. And as such, Aldrich wasn’t nearly the difference-maker for his team that these other guys were. Didn’t even get Mr. Basketball, after all (finished behind Hoffarber, and deservedly so).
Adam Boone, Minnetonka, guard—hard to believe he won Mr. Basketball ahead of Jake Sullivan. Hard to believe he was recruited to North Carolina. But he was pretty darn athletic and I guess we thought that was enough. Mr. Basketball 2000.
Noah Dahlman, Braham, center-forward—as underrated as a boy could be.
Cory Johnson, Duluth East, forward—I’m not super-committed to this pick, there are a half-dozen guys who were just as good. It’s more a question of positional balance. But the fact is that, like Rickert, he carried a pretty so-so team to the state title game—though by 2006, East was in AAA and still got creamed.
Third Team
Jordan Taylor, Benilde, guard
Anthony Tucker, Minnetonka, guard—both from 2009, I don’t know how you pick Taylor over Tucker for Mr. Basketball, nor do I know how you would pick Tucker over Taylor. Two very different players, but by state tournament time of their senior years, Tucker was the best outside shooter I ever saw (MN HS)—better than Jake Sullivan, better than Blake Hoffarber—and Taylor is probably the quickest guard I’ve ever seen (MN HS)--quicker than Al Nolen, well maybe about as quick as Terry Kunze.
David Zellmann, Lewiston, forward—led the state tournament in scoring in 2002, when he carried a nothing team to the state final where they gave Litchfield the toughest battle of any of their three victims.
Spencer Tollackson, Chaska, center—a grinder who ground his way to the state AAAA title in ‘04. Also Mr. Basketball ‘04 but, frankly, that must have been a fairly weak year.
Johnnie Gilbert, Mpls. Henry, center-forward—an awesome shot blocker. Granted it was Henry’s full-court pressure that made them one of the greatest teams of the decade, perhaps the best not called Hopkins, but Gilbert was clearly their single dominant player, the guy the rest of the team revolved around. He was the goalie who allowed all the other guys to be the rambling gambling men that they were on defense.
Honorable Mention
Bret Brielmaier, Mankato Loyola; Lawrence Mackenzie, Mpls. Henry; Zach Kiekow, Osseo; Kammron Taylor, Mpls. North; Steven King, Holy Angels (Mr. Basketball 2002)
Royce White, DeLaSalle and Hopkins; Jamal Abu-Shamala, Shakopee; David Johnson, Hayfield; Travis Busch, Mounds View (Mr. Basketball ‘05); John Carlson, Litchfield
Not by design particularly, but it turns out I’ve got either 2 or 3 kids from each year of the decade. There are 7 who played in AAAA, 6 in AAA, 5 in AA and 2 in A (Schilling and Brielmaier).
The List
Other kids that I had on my initial list were Amoroso, Berggren, Dan Coleman, Brusewitz, Mbakwe, Cam Rundles, Alex Carlson, Eric Webb and Bryce Tesdahl. I’m sure I missed a couple guys, maybe even who shoulda been on the 2nd or 3rd team, but I doubt if I missed anybody worth thinking about for the 1st team. I checked Pryzbilla and Ben Johnson and Jared Nuness and Schilling and Horvath and Ohnstad, at least, and they were in the last century.
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marc hugunin <marc@...>
marchugunin
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