2014 GRASSROOTS NATION ALL STAR GAME

On June 22, Concordia University in St. Paul, Minn. was the spot for the 2014 Grassroots Nation All Star basketball game. There were four different teams. The games were 16 minutes.

HUSTLER NATIONS VS EASTSIDAZ

 

Both teams pushed the ball down the floor looking to score baskets in transition.  Eastsidaz' Quinton Jackson hit deep three-point shots. His teammates got the ball to him behind the three-point line.

Both teams looked to make ally-oop slam dunks.

 

Each team looked to go one-on-one as both teams played man-to-man defense.

 

Hustler Nations' Cam Rundles and Jamar Diggs both came up with some nice mid-range jump shots.  Diggs was also not afraid to pass to teammate Stephon Williams who knocked down big shots throughout the game.

Eastidaz won the game by the final score of 50-44. 

AND1 VS SAM’S CLUB

Both teams got into a shooting rhythm early. Sam’s Club's Troy Bell shot the ball well from mid-range as he was able to get baskets on pull up mid-range jump shots. If Bell didn’t think that he could make a shot he passed it.

Bell and Sam’s Club was able to slow down And 1’s offensive productivity by guarding them.

Sam’s Club came up with fast-break layups. They did a good job of getting by the And1 defenders.

Sam’s Club came up with the 43-26 victory over And1.

CARTER NATION VS NEW JACK CITY

Carter Nation went up against New Jack City. New Jack City’s Renard Suggs stepped up and knocked down deep three-point shots early and often. Not to be outdone, Carter Nation was not afraid to take long distance shots.

 

New Jack City was able to push the ball down the floor, but they missed some key shots early.

 

Carter Nation came away with the 35-32 victory over New Jack City.

 

GOON SQUAD VS SAM'S CLUB

 

Goon Squad and Sam's Club went up against each other. Goon Squad came out on fire as they stepped up and knocked down three-point baskets.

 

The score went back and forth as neither team went on a run. Neither team was afraid to take deep three-point shots as the other team's defense would allow them to take deep shots.

 

Bell came up with some deep three-point baskets to keep his team in the game.

 

Williams kept his team in the game as he stepped up and continued to hit three-point baskets.

 

Neither team went on a run as the game remained close throughout.

 

Sam Club's David Hicks found the basket on wide-open layups.

 

The game was tied at 44 after regulation. There was a one minute over time period.

 

Bell came up with a layups in the overtime period and Goon Squad's Deanthony Taylor hit a deep three-point shot.

 

Goon Squad came way with the 49-47 victory over Sam's Club. 

 

GOON SQUAD VS HUSTLER NATION

 

Williams came out hot as he knocked down deep three-point shots. There were many long cross court passes as each team came up with fast break baskets.

 

There were many slam dunks as both teams had fast breaks.

 

The score went back and forth throughout the game. Neither team went on a run.

 

Goon Squad came up with some big baskets late in the game.

 

Both of these teams were having fun as they rested on the defensive end.

 

The score went back and forth late in the game and Hustler Nation came away with the 39-37 victory over Goon Squad.

 

AND 1 VS NEW JACK CITY 

 

The score went back and forth early in the contest. Neither team went on a run. New Jack City's Ben Glover came up with a one handed slam dunk that got his team energy.

 

Both teams showed off their dunking skills as both teams mostly shot open court layups and slam dunks.

 

In a game that had a lot of fast breaks and slam dunks and was close throughout New Jack City came away with the 36-31 victory over And 1.

 

EASTSIDAZ VS CARTER NATION

 

Eastsidaz went up against Carter Nation. Both teams came out launching deep three-point baskets. Both teams also looked to push the floor and make layups.

 

Eastsidaz came up with some big shots midway through the contest. Carter Nation kept shooting the ball even though they had trouble hitting shots.

 

Carter Nation had a difficult time scoring baskets as they were not able to hit shots they put up.

 

Eastsidaz cruised to an easy 43-21 victory over Carter Nation.  

 
Over all I thought it was a very fun event. The players enjoyed themselves and the fans did also.
 

EDEN PRAIRIE TOOK ON WOODBURY IN THE QUARTERFINALS OF THE 2013 MINNESOTA STATE HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE BOYS' BASKETBALL STATE TOURNAMENT

Eden Prairie went up against Woodbury in the state quarterfinals of the 2013 Minnesota State High School League state tournament.

The score went back and forth throughout the first half. Both teams traded baskets for a good portion of the half.

Woodbury looked to get the ball into the hands of Renard Suggs. Suggs was all over the floor for the Royals.

Eden Prairie was plagued by foul trouble early on in the contest. Andre Wallace had good court awareness as he was able to get everyone involved in the offense and he stepped up and knocked down shots to keep his team in the game.

Eden Prairie went on a little run late in the first half. Woodbury didn't break down as they were able to hold their composure.

The game was close throughout the first half.

At halftime the score was Eden Prairie 33 and Woodbury 28.

Andre Wallace and Alex Ihrke for Eden Prairie did a good job of keeping their team in the game throughout the contest .

Woodbury didn't give up any easy shots. They were not able to slow down the Eden Prairie offense in the second half.

Woodbury made a run late in the game.

Both teams played hard throughout the contest.

Eden Prarie was able to hang on and come away with the 70-59 victory over Woodbury. 

 

ERROL CARLSTROM PLAYAZ TOOK ON HIGH PERFORMANCE ACADEMY IN THE HOWARD PULLEY PRO CITY SUMMER LEAGUE

The Errol Carlstrom Playaz went up against the High Performance Academy the Howard Pulley Pro City Summer League. 

The game got off to a quick start as each team traded baskets.  

Tyus Robert Jones ran the High Performance Academy offense. He was able to run the offense and get everyone involved in the plays. Jones had very good court awareness and he knew where everyone was supposed to be on the floor. 

Errol Carlstrom Playaz went to a zone defense because they had a hard time guarding High Performance Academy. 

Cameron Rundles did a good job of guarding Jones. Those two Jones and Rundles battled each other on both ends of the floor. They made it hard for the other guy to shoot the ball. 

At the end of the first quarter the score was High Performance Academy 27 and Errol Carlstrom Playaz 23.

Errol Carlstrom Playaz swung the ball around the three-point line until everyone was in place and then they ran their offense. 

The score remand close throughout the second quarter. Neither team went on a run. 

Jones was able to make some nice lay-ups in the second quarter. If Jones didn't think that he had a good shot he would pass it to one of his teammates so they could make a good shot.  

At halftime the score was Errol Carlstrom Playaz 48 and High Performance Academy 44. 

As the third quarter got underway both teams came out on fire. They were jacking up shots from everywhere on the floor.  

The game was close and hard fought throughout the third quarter. Neither team went on a run. 

Quinton Lee Hooker came up with some nice moves as he and Jones had good chemistry when they were both on the floor at the same time.  They knew where they were on the floor at the same time.

Jefferson Mason came up with some good plays around the basket as he used his length to his advantage as he was taller then everyone so he was able to come up with the rebounds.

At the end of the third quarter the score was High Performance Academy 74 and Errol Carlstrom Playaz 76.

Renard Suggs played hard on both ends of the floor. He took the ball hard to the basket and on the defensive end was able to slow down his man.  

The game came down to the wire as each team traded baskets late in the contest.  

Suggs was able to shoot the ball from anywhere he wanted to on the floor. The other team had a hard time finding him and slowing him down.

Both teams dove on the floor after loose balls and both went after rebounds on both ends. Neither team gave up easy shots. 

The game was played with high intensity and emotion all throughout the game. 

Errol Carlstrom Playaz came away with the 95-94 victory. 

The leading scorers for Errol Carlstrom Playaz were Cameron Rundles with 25 points, Mitch Ohnsted with 18 points and Jefferson Mason with 15 points.  

The leading scorers for High Performance Center were Tyus Robert Jones with 18 points, Jamal Davis and Jake Wright each with 14 points and Renard Suggs with 11 points.  

IT WAS A BATTLE OF THE ROYALS AS WOODBURY TOOK ON HOPKINS IN THE QUARTERFINALS OF THE BOYS' STATE TOURNAMENT

Woodbury and Hopkins took to the Target Center in the quarterfinals of the Minnesota State High School State boys' basketball tournament. Woodbury had a record of 24-5 and Hopkins had a record of 28-1 and was the number 1 seed in the tournament.

Both teams got off to a quick start as each team raced up and down the floor. Woodbury looked to get the ball into the hands of Jordan Voit and Rick Suggs. They both were able to look for their shots.

Woodbury started the game in a zone defense. Woodbury wanted to slow down the Hopkins offense and didn’t want them to get open shots.

The score went back and forth in the first half. Neither team gave up easy shots and the defense was quite intense.

Suggs was able to get in the lane and get jump shots within the lane. The Hopkins defenders were not able to get to him before he shot it.

Hopkins tried to throw mutable defenses at Woodbury but Woodbury was able to figure out what defense that they were in and was able to counter that.

Hopkins called a timeout with 8:25 left in the first half. The score was Woodbury 22 and Hopkins 15.

The score went back and forth throughout the first half. Neither team gave up easy shots. When one team would try to go on a run the other team would step up their defensive pressure to try to make it difficult for them to shoot it.

Hopkins Demetrius Martin was all over the floor. His teammates did a good job of getting him the ball in spots that they knew that he could shoot the ball from. Martin was able o get a few wide open lay-ups.

At halftime the score was Hopkins 42 and Woodbury 34. Woodbury shot 14-33 from the field in the first half that included going 2-11 from behind the three line. Hopkins shot 13-27 in the first half. That included going 2-11 from behind the three-point line.

As the second half got underway. Suggs got hot again in the second half as he hit shots and was an emotional leader for his team.

Woodbury continued to look to the basket for their shots. They were not able to the three-point shots but they must felt that they wanted to shoot them.

Hopkins took a timeout with 13:06 left in regulation. The score was Hopkins 47 and Woodbury 44.

Both teams continued to go after loose balls and rebounds late in the game. The score was tied at 54 with 9:00 left in the regulation.

Hopkins called a timeout with 8:55 left in regulation. The score was tied up at 54.

The score went back and forth late in the game. The game came down to the wire. Hopkins called a timeout with 1:29 left in regulation the score was Woodbury 65 and Hopkins 61.

The score went back and forth late in the contest. Both of these teams left everything they hand on the floor in this game.

This is one of the better games that I have seen this season. The game was played at a high level and both fans and teams were into the game from the get go.

The game was tied at 65 with 1.5 seconds to go in regulation. There was a timeout on the floor.

The game was tied at 65 the end of regulation. There was a 4:00 overtime period.

The intensity continued in the overtime period. Neither tea gave up as they each played hard throughout the game.

Hopkins was able to string baskets together in the overtime period. Hopkins came away with the 82-75 victory over Woodbury.

The leading scorers for Woodbury were Renard Suggs with 21 points, Connor Mckeen with 15 points and Rickey Suggs with 10 points. Woodbury shot 30-68 from the field. That included going 6-24 from behind the three-point line. They were 9-18 from the free-throw line. Woodbury brought down a total of 47 rebounds including 31 from the defensive end.

The leading scorers for Hopkins were Siyani Chambers with 25 points and Demetrius Martin with 21 points. Hopkins shot 21-55 from the field including going 8-25 from behind the three-point line. Hopkins was 32-39 from the free-throw line. Hopkins brought down a total of 33 rebounds including 25 on the defensive end.