Stew and I have a coouple questions for everybody.
ONE
In our book, each chapter has a little feature called “the big game, “ and we need to pick and write up "the big game" for the period from 1984-1996. The overall theme is that this was a down period because Minnesota basketball really wasn't very good. The gopher women weren’t good except the Shudlick years, the men were kind of up and down, the Minnesota high schools weren’t producing much in the way of D-I talent either boys or girls, the Timbies came to town but were a laughinstock. The one bright spot was the women's small colleges where there were 7 NCAA III Final Four teams in 12 years and six NJCAA champs in a row 1994-1999.
Anyway, here are some contenders for “the big game.”
• I couldn't find a girls high school game that meant much to me, nothing like the New York Mills game from the previous era or like a Coco and Kelly Miller game in the next.
• The best boys' game to me is pretty clearly North over Staples in the first Sweet Sixteen final.
• Among the small colleges there's the Concordia or St. Thomas national championship games in 1988 or 1991. If forced to choose, St. Thomas won more easily but it would be nice to write something about their star Laurie Trow and coach Ted Riverso.
• Gopher women mostly down, but the win at Notre Dame by the Shudlick crew is pretty good. Nothing like Lindsay Whalen and crew beating Duke to get to the final four, however.
• Gopher men--obviously you've got some big wins like the Syracuse game in '90 and maybe UCLA or the Indiana comeback in '97. But as for the '97 team, we are generally being thematically down on them....
• Timbies big win over the Celtics? Hey, I saw that game. It was exciting, but let's be honest, it didn't mean diddley in the grand scheme of things.
In context, we've now had "the big game" in each chapter: first high school tournament (1913), Gophers (1937), the Lakers stall game (1951?), Edgerton (1960), the basketbrawl (1972), Karvonen's coming-out (1979 or 1980, I forget which).
And in 1997 to the present, it has to be the Gopher women over Duke, right?
From that perspective, the Gopher men and high school boys have had their shot(s) (been in "the big game" twice). And the high school girls and Gopher women come just before and after. So eliminate those 4, and what's left?
• St. Thomas women, though then we get three in a row of girls and women
• Timbies-Celtics
What do you think? 1) About 1983-1996, and 2) 1997-present (is it Gopher women over Duke?)
TWO
Oh yeah, we also have a sidebar in each chapter concerning a myth or mystery—a misconception or a question that demands an answer. Is there some misconception people have about basketball in the '80s and '90s that would make a fun little sidebar? Anything you hear people say that you think is wrong and it really bugs you when they do?
Some examples--
1. Claude Hunt founded the high school basektball tournament in 1913. MYTH.
2. What’s the truth about the Gophers and John Wooden? MYSTERY.
3. Was Jim McIntyre really not that good? MYTH.
4. State tournament blizzard. Only happened a few times—not every year!
5. Strenuous physical exercise for girls would make them unable to have babies. MYTH.
6. Mpls. Roosevelt was singled out for punishment in 1961. MYTH.
7. The first girls’ state tournament was in 1976. MYTH.
8. The first “Class B” tournament was held in 1971. MYTH.
You get the idea. What happened or what do people say about the ‘80s or ‘90s that might qualify as a myth or mystery? Thanks for your ideas.
I picked some all decade teams, and would be interested in hearing your reactions. I put together teams with at least two players who could legitimately be ...
Holst, Alan R
holstar@...
Jun 20, 2005 5:06 pm
Hi, Stew and I have a coouple questions for everybody. ONE In our book, each chapter has a little feature called ³the big game, ³ and we need to pick and...
The blizzards were not myth. I assumed they were as a rebellious teen in the 60's, then kept track and gave up after a solid decade of blizzards. How did you...
Holst, Alan R
holstar@...
Oct 30, 2005 11:50 pm
... Re: [mnbuckets] All Decade Teams On 10/30/05 5:50 PM, "Holst, Alan R" <holstar@...> wrote: The blizzards were not myth. The myth was simply that they...
Oh yeah, sorry, here is ther est of the story. Marc ... James R. Speed v. State of Iowa, 240 N.W.2d 901 (1976), changed medical malpractice law in the state of...
A couple of weeks ago I commented to Marc that I would be interested in all decade teams by category. This weekend I sat down and came up with some. I picked...
I¹ve been meaning to comment here but there¹s too much to address all of it. I¹ll start with just the girls high school team of the decade, and I¹m going ...
I just realized I missed Kamille Wahlin, I was debating where she would go and just left her out by way of oversight. I love Kamille Wahlin. My opinion is she...
I'm quite open to the idea that I am wrong on the girls, as I have not had a chance to see them play except for a few state tournament videos. But I...
Still, the question is how you know who was better in high school. Take Kevin McHale. Most people thought Steve Lingenfelter was better high school player at...
Then if we had all that evidence of play and knew how to rate them with a high degree of confidence, why didn't we know that McHale would be a much better pro...
... Re: [mnbuckets] Re: All Decade Teams On 4/7/09 11:07 AM, "Alan Holst" <alanholst@...> wrote: Then if we had all that evidence of play and knew how...
Well, unlike the NCAA selection committee, I don't think the very end is more important than everything that preceded it, so even if McHale was as good or even...
I will add this apropos of the girls and women. I put together the following ALL-TIME teams, which in this case means since about 1975. Minnesota High School...
Alan, you will get a lot of response on these lists for sure. One name that is missing is Jonte Flowers. ... From: Alan Holst To: mnbuckets@yahoogroups.com ...
He was the last guy I cut from the current decade. But who would you drop? The other honorable mention college players were either D2 or D3 All Americans or...
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