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Minnesota: not just a hockey state anymore
 Bobby Hart
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I have enjoyed the game of basketball for as long as I can remember, but I would be lying if I said that I have loved it the whole time.
That love for the game came to me in high school. I was a 2000 graduate of Maple Grove senior high and was fortunate to be a proud member of the Crimson Crazies. (The best fans ever!) I was also lucky enough to see our team take a crazy maze to the state 4A championship. Although we got our hearts ripped out by Jake Sullivan and Tartan I will forever stay in awe of the pool of talent that Minnesota Basketball produced that year along with the few years that lead up to that point.
Throughout the years Minnesota basketball has stepped up and the state tournament has always been a showcase of the great players this state has produced. I always here stories from my dad about how great Kevin McHale was and how he gave Minnesota basketball its name. I strongly agree. But I have my own memories.
I vaguely remember Totino Grace's Darius Lane leaping over Monticello's 7-foot giant Joel Przybilla for probably the biggest dunk in Minnesota history during the 1998 state tournament. Lane is now a star at Seton Hall and should be a first round pick in the NBA draft next year and Przybilla is enjoying an NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks.
I remember the dominance of the Holy Angels star Troy Bell. The same kid that former Gophers' basketball coach Clem Haskins said wasn't a Division One basketball player. The same kid that is now a star at Boston College and is arguably the best two guard in the NCAA.
I remember the classic battle in the 1999 4A championship between Minnetonka's Shane Schilling and Adam Boone against Mounds View's Nick Horvath. Minnesota's Mr. Basketball, Schilling fouled out in the fourth quarter. Boone, who transferred from Washburn that year to play for the nationally-ranked Skippers, then put on an offensive showcase. In the end, the 6-9 Horvath's size and touch was too overwhelming as Mounds View barely pulled off the upset. Horvath is now a Duke Blue Devil, Boone is the starting point guard for North Carolina (don't even try to blame that team's woes on him), and Schilling lived up to be Minnesota's biggest disappointment by transferring out of the University of Minnesota after a controversial scuffle at a party.
Then there was the year 2000. Minneapolis Patrick Henry provided Minnesota with something it had never seen. High flying, acrobatic, in your face dunks. With guards Greg Patton and Tony Travis and center Johnnie Gilbert, the crowd was guaranteed to see at least two alley oops, some of which came of the backboard. They dominated class 3A but was probably the best in the state, with a victory over No. 5 in the nation Gainesville, Fla. to back up their claim. Gilbert is now playing for the Oklahoma Sooners.
Hopkins was also hyped to have the most talented team the school has ever produced. Led by 6-9 posts Andrew Skoglund and Jeff Hagen, the Royals found themselves ranked in the nation's top 20 but failed to get into the state tournament by losing to Maple Grove in the section finals.
Although Adam Boone received Mr. Basketball honors, it was Tartan star Jake Sullivan who dominated the 2000 state tournament, averaging 27 points per game. Along the way, he scored his 3,000th point in the state championship, over Maple Grove. Sullivan is now the starting point guard for Iowa State and is possibly the deadliest shooter in the Big XII.
With all those memories, I thought it would be hard for this year's tournament to impress me.
But somewhere along the way of seeing Minneapolis Henry guard Terry Pettis dish the ball between his legs to a trailing Steven Neal for a tomahawk jam and watching the nationally recruited Hopkins junior Kris Humphries bring the Royals their first state title in 49 years, I realized that Minnesota is still producing premier players. To be honest I wasn't impressed with this year's senior class, but thanks to underclassmen like Minneapolis Henry's Lawrence McKenzie, Minneapolis North's Kammron Taylor (who are both already being recruited by the Gophers), and Hopkins' Darren Clarke, Dan Colman, and Humphries, next year will be scary.
The years, along with the players, come and go, but one thing has remained stable: Minnesota is producing some of the most talented young basketball players in America.
Bobby Hart can be reached at: [email protected]
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