THE FIVE FINALISTS FOR THE MINNESOTA MR. BASKETBALL HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED

According to Ken Lien, chairman of the Minnesota Mr. Basketball committee, the five finalists for this year’s award in alphabetical order are:

 

Wheeler Baker 6-2 Osseo

 

Brian Goodwin 6-4 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa

 

Tyus Jones 6-1 Apple Valley

 

J.P. Macura 6-6 Lakeville North

 

Reid Travis 6-8 DeLaSalle   

 

APPLE VALLEY’S TYUS JONES AND LAKEVILLE NORTH’S J.P. MACURA SPLIT AP PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD

According to the Associated Press: “Apple Valley's Tyus Jones and Lakeville North's J.P. Macura are the co-winners of the 2014 Minnesota Associated Press Player of the Year award for boys basketball.

 

Joining Jones and Macura on the AP's first team are DeLaSalle's Reid Travis, Osseo's Wheeler Baker and Alex Illikainen of Grand Rapids. Illikainen is the only junior; the rest are seniors.”

 

Both Macura and Travis won state Basketball championships this year. Osseo was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the state tournament this year. Both Grand Rapids and Apple Valley were eliminated in the region tournament. 

MINNESOTA GETS THREE PLAYERS NAMED TO THE 2014 MCDONALDS ALL-AMERICAN BOYS BASKETBALL GAME

McDonald’s has put out a list of this year’s high school all-American boys basketball team. This year’s roster features three players from the state of Minnesota. Tyus Jones who plays basketball at Apple Valley high school and has signed to Duke University. Reid Travis from Minneapolis De La Salle High School and who will be attending Stanford University and Rashad Vaughn who went to Robbinsdale Cooper high school and is presently attending Findlay College Prep. Vaughn is the only recruit from Minnesota who is currently undecided on where he will be attending college.

 

The McDonald’s All American game will be Apr. 2 on ESPNU.

 

This is this year’s roster for the game:

 

EAST

 

Name Pos Hgt High School (Hometown) College

 

Cliff Alexander PF 6-9 Curie High School (Chicago, IL) Kansas

 

James Blackmon, Jr. SG 6-2 Marion High School (Marion, IN) Indiana

 

Justin Jackson SF 6-7 Homeschool Christian (Tomball, TX) North Carolina

 

Tyus Jones PG 6-1 Apple Valley High School (Apple Valley, MN) Duke

 

Kevon Looney PF 6-8 Milwaukee Hamilton High School (Milwaukee, WI) UCLA

 

Theo Pinson SF 6-6 Wesleyan Christian (Greensboro, NC) North Carolina

 

D’Angelo Russell SG 6-4 Montverde Academy (Louisville, KY) Ohio State

 

Karl Towns, Jr. C 6-11 St. Joseph High School (Metuchen, NJ) Kentucky

 

Romelo Trimble PG 6-2 O’Connell High School (Upper Marlboro, MD) Maryland

 

Myles Turner C 6-11 Trinity High School (Bedford, TX) Undecided

 

Isaiah Whitehead SG 6-4 Lincoln High School (Brooklyn, NY) Seton Hall

 

Justise Winslow SF 6-6 Saint John’s High School (Houston, TX) Duke    

WEST TEAM  

Name Pos Hgt High School (Hometown) College

 

Grayson Allen SG 6-4 Providence School of Jacksonville (Jacksonville, FL) Duke

 

Joel Berry PG 6-0 Lake Highland Prep (Apopka, FL) North Carolina

 

Devin Booker SG 6-5 Moss Point High School (Moss Point, MS) Kentucky

 

Stanley Johnson SF 6-6 Mater Dei High School (Fullerton, CA) Arizona

 

Trey Lyles PF 6-10 Arsenal Technical (Indianapolis, IN) Kentucky

 

Emmanuel Mudiay PG 6-5 Prime Prep Academy (Dallas, TX) Southern Methodist

 

Jahlil Okafor C 6-10 Whitney Young Magnet High School (Chicago, IL) Duke

 

Oubre SF 6-7 Findlay College Prep (Richmond, TX) Kansas

 

Reid Travis PF 6-8 De La Salle High School (Minneapolis, MN) Stanford

 

Tyler Ulis PG 5-9 Marian Catholic High School (Matteson, IL) Kentucky

 

Rashad Vaughn SG 6-6 Findlay College Prep (Golden Valley, MN) Undecided

 

Thomas Welsh C 6-11 Loyola High School (Los Angeles, CA) UCLA

REID TRAVIS IS HEADED TO STANFORD UNIVEVRSITY

Reid Travis from Minneapolis DeLaSalle will be attending Stanford University.

 

Travis held a press conference at DeLaSalle High School on Nov. 8. Travis is a senior and will graduate in 2014.  

 

Travis read from a prepared statement. Travis said, “Thank you all for coming this afternoon.  I greatly appreciate your time and attention.

 

First, I would like to thank all of the people that have helped me to get to this point in my life. I owe a great thanks to my family, Mom, Dad, Jonah, Jalen, Olivia, Grace, my grandma and many others. I would also like to give a special thanks to Coach Thorson. I cannot begin to express how thankful I am for his help throughout this process. Also, I would like to thank my friends, teammates, coaches, teachers, faculty, and everyone in the DeLaSalle community for the constant support. We put in a lot of work together, and without all of you, I would not be in this position today.

 

This is a special day for me as I make a decision that will greatly impact the rest of my life.  I gave much thought, time, attention, and consideration on my college decision.  This was arguably the toughest decision I have had to make in my life.  

 

I visited some great universities and programs and had the opportunity to get to know a lot of great people. But in the end, I need a school that is a good fit for me.

 

This fit became present to me with my bond with the coaching staff and an instant connection with the team. I cherish the opportunities this university will provide me to receive a great education and to set myself up for success in the future, on and off the court.

 

Given those needs and desires I have for my future, I feel Stanford University is the best option I could choose to start this new chapter in my life.  

 

I would like to thank all of the coaches and administrators that spent time with me on the various campuses I visited.  All were very gracious hosts and friendly people. I chose Stanford because in addition to fitting my aforementioned wants and needs, they were one of the earliest schools to take interest in my future and have been following my progress since I was a sophomore. This is a well thought out decision that I am very excited and comfortable with making.

 

Again, I would again like to thank all of you for your support and thanks for coming.”

 

After he gave his prepared speech there was a time for questions and answers from the media. Travis spoke to the media about making his decision and what it was like going through the whole process.  

Howard Pulley wins ESPN's AAU title behind 27 from Travis

By JASON GONZALEZ, Minneapolis Star Tribune:

"Tyus Jones, Reid Travis and the Minneapolis-based Howard Pulley Panthers won eight games in five days to win the 2013 Champion ESPN Games AAU Boys’ Basketball 11th Grade Super Showcase Gold Division in Orlando.

Travis (DeLaSalle) scored a game-high 27 points in Sunday’s championship to lead Howard Pulley past Each 1 Teach 1 of Florida 79-72. The Panthers beat four teams from Florida, two from Ohio, one from Massachusetts and one from Virginia to finish undefeated.

 

“We’ve played tough teams like this one today all summer and played hard,” Howard Pulley coach Antwan Harris said in a press release. “We held them to one shot in the last minute and hit our free throws.”

 

The Gophers have offered scholarships to Jones (Apple Valley), Travis, and the Panthers’ Class of 2015 guard Jarvis Johnson (DeLaSalle)."

 

HPA TOOK ON PAT MADISON IN THE HOWARD PULLEY PRO CITY SUMMER LEAGUE

On July 22, HPA took on Pat Madison in a basketball game in the Howard Pulley Pro City Summer League. Both teams looked excited to play as this game as it was the first game in the Pro City Summer League Playoffs.

 

The game got off to a quick start as each team raced up and down the court trading baskets.

 

Both teams were able to score layups at will in the first quarter.

 

Tyus Jones and Reid Travis had good communication skills on the floor. They knew where their teammates were and they were able to get each other the ball in spots where the other one could hit his shot.

 

There were many ties and lead changes throughout the first quarter.

 

Jarvis Johnson played well for HPA he knew where to shoot the ball from and he let the game come to him. Johnson did a good job of making his layups in traffic. He was not afraid to shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor.

 

Jones was all over the floor. He was able to get his teammates involved in the offense. Jones was also able to set the tempo of the game to his style.

 

Malik Smith for Pat Madison was all over the floor his team. He dove on the floor for loose balls and went after rebounds on both ends of the floor.

 

After a quarter of play the score was HPA 34, Pat Madison 27.

 

Pat Madison looked to push the ball down the floor as they looked to get fast break baskets. HPA did all they could to try to slow down Pat Madison on offense but they had trouble doing that.

 

Terry Campbell for Pat Madison took the ball hard to the basket as he was able to hit shots throughout the first half.

 

Antonio Tate for HPA did a good job of beating his defender off the dribble and taking the ball hard to the basket for layups.

 

Bjorn Broman for HPA came up with some nice baskets as he was able to weave his way past his defenders and get to the basket and make contested layups.

 

The score at halftime was HPA 52, Pat Madison 49.

 

As the third quarter got underway both teams continued to attack the basket.

 

Pat Madison swung the ball around the three-point line as they wanted to take time off of the shot clock. They were able to do that.

 

The score continued to go back and forth throughout the third quarter. There were many ties and lead changes in the third quarter.

 

After three quarters of play the score was HPA 79, Pat Madison 76.

 

Both teams continued to battle in the third quarter. Neither team gave up any easy shots.

 

The score went back and forth throughout the fourth quarter. Everyone went hard after loose balls and rebounds on both teams.

 

There were many fast break chances in the fourth quarter. Both teams were able to score on the fast breaks as the game came down to the wire.

 

The play got sloppy late in the contest. Both teams were getting tired but they didn’t panic.

Both teams got a little chippy late in the game as the intensity rose.

 

In a very intense game and a good game that came down to the wire Pat Madison came away with the thrilling 108-104 victory over HPA.

 

The leading scorers for Pat Madison were Michael Campbell with 27 points, Troy Bell and Jefferson Mason each with 20 points and Malik Smith with 14 points.

 

The leading scorers for HPA were Reid Travis with 40 points, Tyus Jones with 24 points and Jarvis Johnson with 9 points.

GOPHERS IN THE HOWARD PULLEY PRO CITY SUMMER LEAGUE

According to Marcus Fuller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the following University of Minnesota Gophers will be playing in the Howard Pulley Pro City Summer League: Maverick Ahanmisi, Mo Walker, Wally Ellenson, Joey King, Andre Hollins, Charles Buggs, Austin Hollins, Elliott Eliason, Malik Smith, Daquein McNeal, Dre Mathieu, Kendal Shell, and Oto Osenieks.

 

Also Fuller said, “The three newcomers (Smith, McNeal and Mathieu) are expected to be on former NBA player Troy Bell’s team in the Pulley league this summer. But Mathieu probably won’t be joining the Gophers until August because he has to finish summer school at Central Arizona Community College.”

Pulley said that his top AAU team led by Apple Valley’s Tyus Jones and DeLaSalle’s Reid Travis would be participating in the Pro-Am to prepare for the Nike Peach Jam championships next month.

 

“The Pulley League might be the last opportunity for fans to see Jones and Travis playing locally on the same team.” Fuller said.

Games are free of charge and will be played at the High Performance Academy in Eagan, Minnesota.

SMF'S THOUGHTS ON RASHAD VAUGHN MOVE TO PREP SCHOOL

When I read that Minnesota basketball player Rashad Vaughn was leaving Robinsdale Cooper High School it surprised me a little bit initially, but then again, it didn't really surprise me.

To me, all of the three top recruits in the class of 2014 Tyus Jones, Reid Travis and Vaughn. Vaughn is a good player. Don't give get me wrong. I think that all of these players are very good player.

What I think that Travis and Jones have in common are they both play on the same AAU team, the Howard Pulley Panthers. Vaughn decided to play the 2013 summer circuit away from both Jones and Travis. I think that he did that  because he wanted to distance himself from the other two.

It will be inserting to see where Vaughn attends prep school at. We will be hearing a lot more about these three players in the near future. They all three have very good futures ahead of them.

RASHAD VAUGHN TO DEPART FROM COOPER, HEAD TO PREP SCHOOL

According to Marcus Fuller of the Pioneer Press, "Gophers recruiting target Rashad Vaughn decided with his family to attend a prep school and not finish his senior year at Cooper High School. Vaughn will decide in the next couple weeks among four prep schools, including Huntington Prep (W.Va.) and Findlay Prep (Las Vegas). "

Vaughn is considered one of the three big national recruits from Minnesota, along with Tyus Jones (Apple Valley) and Reid Travis (DeLaSalle).

MN PUMP VS Dream Vision 2012 Reid Travis 4 Star Recruit Class 2014 BALLE...

Reid Travis: "I would always consider the “U” on the top of my list, no matter what." | GopherHole.com

 According to By Chris Monter, "Reid Travis, a 2014 forward from Minneapolis DeLaSalle, recently added a Minnesota scholarship basketball offer. Travis, who is one of the state’s top two-sport athletes, had an outstanding season as the quarterback for the Islanders and is one of the state’s top basketball players in the loaded Class of 2014. GopherHole.com recently caught up with Travis to learn the latest on his recruitment and the appeal of playing for the hometown team."

Check out the link below for the full report. 

Reid Travis: "I would always consider the “U” on the top of my list, no matter what." | GopherHole.com

REID TRAVIS GETS A BASKETBALL OFFER FROM NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

According to Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Northwestern University has offered a basketball tender to Minneapolis DeLaSalle sophomore Reid Travis.