Previewing the AAU State Tournament
Updated 8/6 at 11:30 p.m.
WARNING: Everything you are about to read may have changed by the time you read it! This is 2020, after all, and most aspects of life are subject to disruption depending on the whims of the ‘Rona virus and the administrators, insurance companies, attorneys, healthcare officials and politicians in charge of regulating everything around us. Nevertheless, it’s AAU State Tournament time as the annual quest for bragging rights in Minnesota’s uber-competitive girls grassroots basketball scene tips off Friday in Bloomington and Shakopee.
As we saw last weekend at the Summer Jam, the tournament schedule is subject to ongoing alterations before and during the event itself due to the super stringent regulations surrounding COVID-19. Forfeits are a very real possibility, as are last-minute adjustments. Basically if anyone connected to a particular team either shows symptoms of the virus or has a positive test the team is sidelined for a couple of weeks. Last week that led to the absence of half a dozen teams by the time the tournament ended on Sunday. This week some of those units return while others have dropped out.
As of this writing (Thursday at noon), Fury 2023 UAA are expected to participate in defense of their state title. North Tartan 2022 EYBL is also planning a return to action. Dropping out of the competition is Crossfire 2022 Bluestar and Minnesota Elite 2023 while Minnesota Stars 2022 Fleming remains sidelined. There could be others fall by the wayside, too. To stay on top of the latest schedule please go to tournamentdepot.com.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
In a normal year – anyone remember what that’s like?! – the tournament is divided into two parts: the State Prelims and the State Championships. The Prelims (sometimes called ‘Qualifiers’) are used to determine the tournament seeding as well as who will contest the D1 and D2 titles. The State Championship is normally played two weeks later. This time around both events are scrunched into a single weekend. The Prelims will be played on Friday as each team will have two games to determine where they’ll start the State Championships on Saturday. Each squad will play a minimum of three games Saturday and Sunday.
The revised format could lead to some interesting outcomes. A team could get hot over a three-day period and score some upsets. Conversely, one of the favorites might not play up to par, especially if they haven’t been able to compete or practice as much as they might like. Metro Stars 2022 Starks, for example, played its first event of the year just last weekend but has a really strong roster. North Tartan 2022 EYBL wasn’t able to play last weekend, which could affect their performance now. Anything is possible!
Most weekends our previews are focused around players to watch and the top games to see. During the AAU State Championships, however, it’s all about the teams and the clubs and the rivalries. With the Minnesota Fury having pulled off a clean sweep in 2019, and a delay of nearly three months in playing the event, the tournament feels even more meaningful this time around. Here’s a reminder of who finished where last year and how things might look now.
Class of 2021
Last year’s results:
- 1st – Fury 2021 UAA
- 2nd – North Tartan 2021 EYBL
- 3rd – Comets 2021 Elite
- 4th – North Tartan 2021 Elite
- 5th – Stars 2021 Hersch
- 6th – UVA 2021 Coley (now FBC North)
- 7th – Tayler Hill Elite 2021
- 8th – MN/WI Force 2021
The Fury scored a dramatic 56-52 win over North Tartan last year. Once again the two teams appear to be headed for a showdown. The North Tartan lineup features a #1-ranked player, a #2, five additional D1 commits and two very strong players from neighboring states, both of whom have already committed, as well. The Fury have four players in the 2021 top 10 rankings and eight who have already made a D1 commitment. In other words, these squads are loaded! Can Stars Hersch get hot and pull off an upset? Could the Comets do likewise? Or perhaps FBC North or North Tartan Elite will get on a roll. We shall see, but North Tartan EYBL’s impressive win Sunday over the Fury in the Summer Jam title game certainly adds a layer of intrigue.
*FBC North has now withdrawn from the tournament along with MN/WI Force.
Class of 2022
Last year’s results:
- 1st – Fury 2022 UAA
- 2nd – North Tartan 2022 EYBL
- 3rd – DTA Academy Blue
- 4th – Stars 2022 Nilsen
- 5th – MN P.R.E.P 2022
- 6th – UVA Ware 2022
- 7th – North Tartan 2022 Scalia (now Elite)
- 8th – So. Minnesota Fury 2022
2022 should be the most competitive class of all. The defending champion Fury UAA team is very, very good, but they haven’t played their best basketball over the past couple of weeks. That could change this weekend just in time for a repeat performance. They will face stiff competition from Metro Stars 2022 Starks, a new team whose core includes seven players who wore the uniforms of North Tartan in last year’s tournament. This year’s North Tartan 2022 EYBL squad is built around five players who migrated from DTA Academy, whose team is no more. The MN P.R.E.P team that finished 5th a year ago has also moved on. The most interesting twist in the class is the makeover of Stars Nilsen, which has added five Division 1-caliber prospects to its roster. The Stars scored an impressive championship win over the Metro Stars at Summer Jam. Whatever the outcome, the 2022 division is sure to be entertaining.
Class of 2023
Last year’s results:
- 1st – Fury 2023 UAA
- 2nd – Stars 2023 Hersch
- 3rd – North Tartan 2023 Milan (now Nike)
- 4th – Minnesota Elite Cade
- 5th – Suns 2023 Bluestar
- 6th – 43 Hoops Martin
- 7th – North Tartan 2023 Wolkow (now Elite)
- 8th – Stars 2023 Wolyniec (now Knight)
Fury 2023 UAA is loaded, but having been forced out of the tournament last weekend it’s difficult to speculate on how well they will play now. Chances are they’ll play very well, but Matt Froehle’s team is by no means a shoo-in to repeat. North Tartan 2023 Nike and Stars 2023 Hersch are both very strong teams, as well. Minnesota Elite Cade has withdrawn from the event. Thanks to the intricacies of the seeding process a very good FBC North 2023 squad will face a high quality Comets 2023 Elite team in the opening round on Friday at noon at Bloomington Jefferson. That should be a highly competitive contest and either one of those teams is capable of pulling off an upset or two if they make the D1 tournament on Saturday.
Class of 2024
Last year’s results:
- 1st – Tayler Hill Elite 2024
- 2nd – North Tartan 2024 Ohnstad (now Nike)
- 3rd – Fury 2024 UAA
- 4th – North Tartan Tinjum
- 5th – High Impact Savela
- 6th – MN P.R.E.P Reliford
- 7th – Suns 2024 Bluestar
- 8th – North Tartan Sutch (now Flies)
Since we have only really been watching the 2024s for the past couple of months we are not quite as familiar with this class as the other three. From what we have seen, however, the division would appear to be up for grabs. The transfer of Olivia Olson Olivia Olson 6'1" | CG Benilde-SM | 2024 State MN from North Tartan to the Fury could be a factor, although she had a cast on her thumb last weekend which was a hindrance. The Tayler Hill Elite lineup doesn’t appear to be quite as strong as it was. High Impact is not playing, and Crossfire Robertson has to be taken seriously, don’t they? And then there is Dre Jefferson’s Suns Bluestar squad which, in our opinion, is good enough to knock off a favorite. It’s going to be fun for sure.