JWulf

Claire Jansa talks state tourney, DQ

If you followed the Class AA girls state golf tournament at all on Monday or Tuesday, you were well aware of the controversy surrounding O’Gorman junior Claire Jansa and her incorrect scorecard issue from the first round that disqualified her from the individual title and scratched her score from Monday’s team scores.

The Knights overcame the eight-stroke deficit going into the second round, coming away with a third straight state championship, but it was pretty obvious that Monday’s miscue loomed over the second round.

Following the successful three-peat, I talked with Jansa about the tournament and her disqualification. Here’s the interview:

JW: Take me through the tournament from your perspective.

CJ: (laughs) This has been one of the most interesting tournaments I think I have ever played. I come in, I’m feeling great about the score (on Monday). I thought I had everything good. I walked out happy after I signed the card and my dad looks at me and was like, ’76?’

I was like, ‘Uh, 75?’

He said, ‘No, you had a double (bogey).’

I was furious. I was furious at myself because I knew I had made the mistake. I felt horrible because I knew my team needed that score. I went and blew off my steam – I had a lot of steam to blow off – and I came back and turned myself in. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I hadn’t turned myself in or if Griz (OG coach Rod Garrison) had turned me in or if my dad had turned me in. I had to be the one to do it, or else I wouldn’t have felt good about myself.

Then Griz tried to go through the whole appeal, and I knew the likelihood of anything happening wasn’t good. I kept my hopes up, but it ended up not going through. It was very emotional, very up-and-down. My team was pumping me up, but I knew I had messed up. I knew that I had screwed up and I felt horrible about it. The one tournament that matters and I screwed up.

I knew I had to come back today and I had to make it up to them. I had to play my heart out – for me and for them. I needed to show myself that it’s not going to hurt me. I have to overcome this. If I want to play college golf, I have to learn to overcome things.

So I come out today (Tuesday) and they (Jansa’s teammates) are all pumping me up. They’re like, ‘Hit 72.’

I was like, ‘OK (with a mix of sarcasm and ‘if-you-say-so’ attitude), I’ll try my best.’

That front nine started out good – I had a birdie. After that it was a little downhill. But I played for the team. I think that is what really pulled me through. I was out for individual – nothing I could do. But I was playing for the team. I had to do what I could to make my score.

I tripled 8, I was kind of down. I came back, parred 9 and I knew I could do stuff on the back. I showed that yesterday and I was going to do it. Even if it was just four shots better, I was going to come back on the back, and I did.

I came in and my teammate had shot her best round of the year. Even if we didn’t win, I felt good about how we did. We came in with 88, 86, 83, 84, 79 – even Kirsti (Skuza) had a rough day around 90, but we all played our hearts out and I was so happy for our team even if we had not won. But it feels really good to me to have that team win because, I know they wouldn’t have wanted me to, but I would have felt horrible if we had lost.

But, I mean the Pierre girls played their hearts out. (Hallie) Getz, she deserves that first place. She played really well and the Pierre girls played well. They had us playing hard because we knew they were good and I think this was one of the best state tournaments I probably could have had – even without the individual medal that I could have had. I feel like I’ve learned a lot and I’ve grown a lot because of it.

JW: How much did it hurt not being in the individual race?

CJ: It hurt in the beginning, and then there was nothing I could do about it. Really, the way that our team thinks, it’s all about the team. We play for the team and the individual is going to come. For me, it couldn’t come but I was still going to play. I was gonna do it.

And I have next year. I’m a junior. I’ve got so many years ahead of me.

Too Much TV debut

I didn’t get around to posting any second round thoughts or predictions (to be honest, the whole second round starting before the first round ended threw me off), but Terry Vandrovec was nice enough to invite me on to his Too Much TV podcast.

As for Round 2, here’s a quick forecast:

Spurs over Clippers in 5

Thunder over Lakers in 5

Heat over Indiana in 6

Celtics over Sixers in 6

NBA Playoffs: scratching the surface

The NBA playoffs start today. Given my affinity for the sport, one would assume this would be an optimal time for me to erupt with a long-winded manifesto of analysis, predictions and Blake Griffin slams (not talking dunks. I can’t stand that guy, which you know if you follow me on Twitter).

Didn’t happen.

I wanted to put together this huge, well-written preview, but it just didn’t happen. Not for a lack of motivation. Not for a fear of going out on a limb. No real excuse.

That said, we can still scratch the surface, right? Right.

EAST

(1) Chicago vs. (8) Philadelphia

Season series: Chicago won 2-1

Expect a low-scoring series as these are two of the top three teams in teams of scoring defense. Rose doesn’t need to be back in order for the Bulls to advance, but it would certainly shorten the series.

*Bulls in 5

(2) Miami vs. (7) New York

Season series: Heat won 3-0

One of the three first-round series you’ll really want to pay attention to. At one point, Miami looked unbeatable with an advantageous defense and great ball movement; and the Knicks were a mess. Over the final three weeks, Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks have be blistering on offense and capable on defense; and the Heat have reverted to ‘I go, then you go, then I go…’ basketball. Melo will certainly take over one game. LeBron should leave his mark on another. Steve Novak will likely shoot the Knicks to a win. And Chris Bosh will find his legs for a game or two. Should be a high-energy series.

*Heat in 6

(3) Indiana vs. (6) Orlando

Season series: Orlando won 3-1

Orlando won three of four against the Pacers this season…with Dwight Howard. That two-faced abomination to free throws is out for the year, meaning Roy Hibbert should own the paint and Indiana will only have to worry about the Magic’s barrage of 3-pointers and the ensuing long rebounds.

*Pacers in 5

(4) Boston vs. (5) Atlanta

Season series: Boston won 2-1

What you’ll come to know as the ‘NBA-TV’ series could be over in four games or seven. A month ago, Boston was my team in the East. Kevin Garnett looked rejuvenated once moved to the 5, Pierce was playing well and newcomers Greg Stiemsma and Avery Bradley gave the Celtics quality guys off the bench. Now Ray Allen is questionable and that’s a bigger issue that it might seem. For the Hawks, Al Horford teased the idea of returning for the playoffs, but that likely won’t happen. Joe Johnson and Josh Smith have done a commendable job of keeping Atlanta competitive, but there are nights when the team looks atrocious. The fact that the Hawks won home-court could lengthen then series, but it’s simply prolonging the inevitable.

*Celtics in 7

 ———

WEST

(1) San Antonio vs. (8) Utah

Season series: San Antonio won 3-1

How bout them Spurs? Left for dead to start the season and now they’re a viable championship team. And these aren’t even the same old boring Spurs that won with lockdown defense. These Spurs are the second-highest scoring team in the league! Utah made a nice push to get into the playoffs (and secure a first-round pick for the Timberwolves), but this one will be over quick – even if Al Jefferson plays out of his mind.

*Spurs in 4

(2) Oklahoma City vs. (7) Dallas

Season series: OKC won 3-1

No. 2 on the ‘Series To Watch’ list. No two players get their shots off as easily as Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki. However, if Dirk draws Serge Ibaka, who led the league in blocks, it could mean a couple ugly shooting nights for last year’s Finals MVP. Unlike last year, Dallas won’t be able to buckle down on defense and could have a hard time going point-for-point with the Thunder.

*Thunder in 6

(3) L.A. Lakers vs. (6) Denver

Season series: L.A won 3-1

The Lakers have size; the Nuggets have speed. The Lakers have Kobe Bryant; the Nuggets have no one who can shut him down. The Lakers have better starters; the Nuggets have better depth. Depending on how bad Kobe’s ‘off’ nights are, the Lakers might not miss not having Metta Macho Man Savage on the court.

*Lakers in 6

(4) Memphis vs. (5) L.A. Clippers

Season series: L.A. won 2-1

The third leg of the Series to Watch trifecta. Memphis opened eyes last year with a first-round upset of San Antonio, but Zach Randolph was a guaranteed 20-10 guy during that stretch – something he hasn’t been over the final six weeks. The Grizzlies do have Rudy Gay this postseason, though, and Marc Gasol was the better Gasol at times this season. In order to beat the Clippers, the blueprint comes down to disrupting Chris Paul. Yes, Griffin dazzles with his dunks, but make no mistake, this is Paul’s team and he’s the cornerstone to its success. Not this guy.

*Memphis in 7

Looking for a Finals prediction? San Antonio over Miami in 6.

Timberwolves: A positive season in review

The Timberwolves playoff push ended Thursday night with a 95-82 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. It’s odd (or maybe fate) that the team to mathematically eliminate the Wolves was a boisterous Clipper team that was 0-3 against Minnesota coming in. But I think we can all agree that the Wolves’ season was over weeks ago.

What seemed like a turnaround season really ended on March 9 when rookie point guard Ricky Rubio collided with Kobe Bryant in the final seconds of a loss to the Lakers, which resulted in a torn ACL for the Spaniard and a shot through the heart for Wolves fan. At the time, Minnesota was a ½ game back of eighth place and Rubio was enjoying a very nice rookie season. In fact, if not for Kyrie Irving’s stellar campaign, Rubio would have likely been the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year.

Unfortunately, Rubio suffered what has become an all-too-common injury for athletes today and was the first blow to Minnesota’s postseason hopes. Meanwhile, the injuries piled up, culminating in Kevin Love’s concussion, which was the final defeat as the likely season-ending injury finished off any hope Love had of garnering significant MVP votes.

But let’s not dwell on the negative. The (albeit shortened) 2011-12 season was a solid stride in the right direction for the Wolves. Some had an idea it was coming. Some didn’t.

Here’s what I wrote for a First Pitch column before the season:

Dec. 23, 2011

Bear with me, but the Minnesota Timberwolves have a legitimate chance of making the playoffs this season.

Yes, the same Timberwolves who finished with the worst record (17-65) in the NBA last season and the second-worst mark (15-67) the previous season.

Yes, the same Timberwolves who were 6-33 last season in games decided by single digits, including 4-16 in games decided by five points or less.

Yes, those Minnesota Timberwolves.

Granted, it would be absurd to think that Minnesota could make a push for a top seed. The level of talent and depth simply isn’t there right now for a team of this caliber to be mentioned in the same sentence as Oklahoma City, Dallas or Los Angeles.

But it’s not out of the question to expect a young, athletic team like the Wolves to take advantage of a rapid, 66-game schedule and make a bid for an 8-seed – even if it does take a perfect storm of events.

The schedule itself does not favor older teams with journeyman or oft-injured players that typically see significant minutes. High profile teams like Boston, San Antonio and both Los Angeles squads are likely to hold back minutes on certain nights (namely those during the dreaded back-to-back-to-back stretches) to preserve players for a playoff run.

Now, nobody expects those same teams to not make the playoffs. However, a logjam schedule and long road trips certainly open the door for teams with young talent and a faster recovery time – teams like Indiana, Utah and, yes, Minnesota.

Aside from trying to outlast veteran teams throughout a grueling schedule, the Timberwolves have the talent to not just push teams on a nightly basis, but actually win games.

The long-awaited coming of Ricky Rubio gives Minnesota a seasoned and fully capable point guard to run the offense, which means a lot less of Luke Ridnour and that’s never a bad thing.

The addition of first-round draft pick Derrick Williams will likely cut into Michael Beasley’s minutes, but it gives Minnesota immediate scoring and rebounding off the bench.

Meanwhile, Beasley himself showed glimpses last season that he’s capable of being a leading scorer, although he’s still incredibly short of the lofty expectations when Miami drafted him in 2008.

And everyone has seen what Kevin Love is capable of.

It might be a lot to ask of the league’s worst team from a year ago to make a push for a playoff spot. But under the right circumstances, seeing the Wolves play meaningful games down the stretch isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

Look at that. A free article that you didn’t have to pay for. Moving on.

Let’s stick with the positives:

* With six games remaining the Wolves have already won 25 games – their best mark since 2006-07 when they won 32 games. Also, those 25 wins came during a 66-game season so if you want to dig a little deeper, Minnesota could account for it’s best win percentage (.424 so far) since 2004-05 (.537) when Kevin Garnett was in his prime.

* Rubio lived up to the hype and made David Kahn look a little smarter than what he probably is. Then again, when you have two picks in the top 10, it’s not hard to find a gem (paging Johnny Flynn). Regardless, Rubio dazzled this season and gave Wolves fans a glimpse of how a real point guard can make anyone look like a playoff team. Aside from the flare, Rubio worked well within Rick Adelman’s defense, helping the Wolves hold teams to 96.6 point per game prior to his season-ending injury. Since then, Minnesota is surrendering 112.8 points per contest during a 4-15 skid.

* Kevin Love was a legitimate MVP contender. I have a rule when it comes to guys who have breakout seasons like Love did in 2010-11 – show me you can do it again. Love did, which is why I’m sold on him. That sentence sounds silly now, I know, but it wasn’t at the beginning of the season. Admittedly, it’s hard to consider a guy on a losing team for MVP, but Love proved this season that he’s the best power forward in the league and a top-10 player in the league (somewhere after LeBron, Wade, Durant, Kobe and Rose and between Howard, Paul, Westbrook, and Deron Williams). I watched him drop 50 in Oklahoma City last month and was nothing short of amazed with everything he’s capable of. Oh yeah, and he won the 3-point contest.

* Rick Adelman was the right coach for this team. There’s plenty of potential with this group and Adelman was the best general to guide a young team that needed discipline in order to flourish. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of strides, if any, the Wolves make next season.

* Beasley, Williams, Pekovic and Ridnour were nice complements to the Love-Rubio combo. Pek was an especially pleasant surprise, finishing second on the team in ESPN’s Player Efficiency Rating. Minnesota still needs to find another weapon, though.

If nothing else, the Wolves hopefully piqued your basketball interest, which is saying something considering the season almost didn’t happen, and when it did there was so much distaste for the league that I was certain fringe followers would drop off.

Nevertheless, success is different for every team in the league. For some, it means championship or bust. For others, like the Wolves, it meant regaining some respect around the league, and there’s no doubt they’ll walk (or limp) away having done so.

State ‘A’ leftovers

A few leftovers from my weekend at the Class A boys state tourney…

No shot clock nonsense

At least once in nearly every game I covered, a team would inbound the ball with 45-60 seconds left in the quarter and hold for the last shot. Furthermore, when a team is holding a slim lead, its gameplan shouldn’t include holding the ball for the final two minutes of the game just to keep the ball out of its opponent’s hands. That’s not basketball. That’s ridiculous. I don’t fault a team for working within the framework of the rules. But the rules themselves are broken and a shot clock absence kills the game more than it helps it.

Press conferences

The powers that be instituted a postgame press conference for the media to do their interviews rather than us chasing down players and coaches and interrupting parental photo sessions. Coaches and players were ushered in a timely fashion and everything was fairly organized. Two players might be a little much for first-round and semifinal games, but it also serves as a fail-safe for not getting good quotes from a player (believe it or not, players aren’t always great interviews) so no real complaint. However, the media should be able to request which players they want for postgame. It was up to the coaches this weekend, and one coach brought in two bench players for an interview. Overall, the new format was a positive change, though.

BIG Sioux

The Big Sioux Conference had a nice showing this weekend with three teams (Dakota Valley, Dell Rapids, Tri-Valley) making the state tournament. Including consolation games, each team went 2-1 in the tournament and each pushed eventual champion St. Thomas More into the fourth quarter. Which brings me to…

TV in OT

I’m not sure any team showed more gut this weekend than Tri-Valley. The Mustangs gave St. Thomas More all it could handle, pushing to Cavs to double-overtime in the opening round. If not for a decision not to foul in the final seconds of regulation with a three-point lead, the Mustangs could have been the most dangerous team for the remainder of the tournament. Following the 2OT loss to STM, Tri-Valley pulled out a double-overtime victory against Winner on Friday and an overtime win against Clark/Willow Lake on Saturday to earn fifth place. In my opinion, the marathon weekend was what helped Mustang senior Trae Bergh earn the Spirit of Su award.

My picks

Of the 21 championship bracket games over the three tournaments, I predicted the correct winner in 17 (81%), including a perfect bracket in Class B (thank you White River). But I only had one of the three state champions correct.

Quotes that didn’t make it into the preview/game stories

“Are we afraid of Tommy More? Hell no. We’re not afraid of Tommy More. Our kids are confident. (But) could we lose to Tommy More? Yeah. Hell yeah we could lose to Tommy More. Could we lose to this team (pointing to Dakota Valley)? Hell yeah – we already did once.” ~ Dell Rapids coach Mark Shriver when asked before the tournament if everyone was chasing St. Thomas More.

“The state ‘A’ tournament doesn’t have any weak sisters.” ~ Aberdeen Roncalli coach Todd Neuendorf following a semifinal loss to St. Thomas More.

“For some crazy reason that I can’t figure out, it’s tough to get teenagers to understand that the 8-seed is not the 8-seed. That sounds goofy, but we’ve had some tough draws.” ~ St. Thomas More coach Dave Hollenbeck when asked how the double-overtime game against 8-seed Tri-Valley refocused his team.

Brackets (NCAA and high school)

Here’s a brief look at my brackets (both NCAA and high school):

NCAA:

12 over 5: Long Beach State over New Mexico

Upset Alert: (13) Ohio over (4) Michigan; (14) Belmont over (3) Georgetown

Deep(er) runs: Ohio, Belmont, (5) Wichita St. to Sweet 16; (6) Murray St. to Elite Eight

South Dakota State: Losing to Baylor in first round

How Fab Melo affected Syracuse for me: Orange went from losing in the title game to losing to Vanderbilt in the Sweet 16

Final Four: (1) Kentucky, (1) Michigan St, (2) Ohio State, (2) Kansas

Cutting down the nets: Kentucky over Kansas

High school:

Class AA

First round

O’Gorman over RC Central

Brookings over Washington

Mitchell over Roosevelt

Pierre over Huron

Semifinals

O’Gorman over Brookings (Knights find redemption for Cats snapping streak)

Mitchell over Pierre (despite the Govs topping the Kernels twice already)

Finals

Mitchell over O’Gorman (Kernels send Munsen out on top)

Class A

First round

St. Thomas More over Tri-Valley

Dell Rapids over Winner

Chamberlain over Aberdeen Roncalli

Dakota Valley over Clark/Willow Lake

Semifinals

Dell Rapids over St. Thomas More (second time this season)

Dakota Valley over Chamberlain

Finals

Dell Rapids over Dakota Valley (Quarriers claim Big Sioux Showdown)

Class B

First round

White River over Castlewood

Sully Buttes over Dupree

Langford over Hanson

Viborg/Hurley over Wolsey-Wessington

Semifinals

White River over Sully Buttes (Tigers makes fifth straight title game)

Viborg/Hurley over Langford

Finals

White River over Viborg/Hurley

A follow-up to ‘For club or for high school?’

My story in last Friday’s Argus Leader, For club or for high school?, has generated quite a bit of talk – mostly good, some bad. Although some may read between the lines and add information that was not intended, the basis for the story revolved around looking at why Sioux Falls is not as competitive in high school gymnastics as towns such as Watertown, Mitchell and Rapid City.

Upon research from a non-biased perspective, I noticed that opinions from all sides seemed to conflict and that communication didn’t seem clear between all sides represented in the story. That is still my belief for the story, regardless of public reaction.

Unfortunately, some voices aren’t always heard from or sought out. More often than not, this is the case because of constraints on time, resources or simply space in a newspaper that doesn’t allow for stories to be as detailed as possible. In this case, two of the three gymnastics club owners were heard.

Dennis Champoux, owner of Power and Grace – a club that was briefly mentioned in the story, offered his perspective on the story along with how his club is involved with supporting high school gymnastics and what can be done to strengthen high school gymnastics moving forward.

Among the schools that P&G is involved with locally, O’Gorman appears to have benefitted the most. The Knights, who have trained at P&G since 2006, finished third at state last weekend. Champoux also said that he and Roosevelt coach Lori Warne have a good relationship and that she has sent girls to P&G to work on certain skills. Other schools Chanpoux and his coaches have worked with at one time or another include West Central, Madison, Huron, Pierre and a couple teams from Minnesota.

* * *

In terms of why high school gymnastics in Sioux Falls, Champoux offered a few ideas not presented by others in the original story.

“I think everything comes in cycles. It’s sad to say, but we’re in a down cycle right now. We all wish it was different,” he said. “I think it will cycle back and I think Sioux Falls will become very strong in the near future.”

Champoux added that the difference in coaching and time could also be a factor with towns like Watertown and Mitchell having full-time coaches and many Sioux Falls schools having coaches also fill full-time roles, such as teachers.

“If Lori (Warne) was a full-time coach and training here as her regular job and then we let her loose for the high school season, I think the Roosevelt team would have a different situation,” Champoux said. “(Lincoln coach) Les (Frederick) is in the same situation. It’s a small difference, but how can you overlook the things that they’re doing (in Watertown and Mitchell)?

“They’re kind of forced into that situation whereas we (in Sioux Falls) aren’t feeling that urgency of ‘We’ve got to come together,’” Champoux added. “It’s just been left to lie a little too long, but I think it can come around.”

* * *

As for how to turns things around, Champoux echoed the main point of the original story in that, coaches (both club and high school) working together is the best option.

“The part that I think is always necessary – and this is something I would like to see happen – is they do a high school clinic where they bring the coaches together and usually put a judge in there once in a while and they talk back and forth, but it’s very limited,” he said. “When they do this, I would like to see them ask the clubs if they could host a clinic, could they borrow some staff, could they do things more and integrate more with them. I’d like to see some clinics being done where the kids are getting the benefit because they’re all getting trained together, they’re getting the ideas shared.

“We as club owners, we get a lot of opportunity to go out and get more information. We can go to camps, we can go to conferences. It feels like the high schools only get it once a year. I think that would help out a lot. I think that would create bridges and open up more communication. I know the communication is out there. Some of it just isn’t in the front.”

* * *

Jeff Dunn, who started Dakota Gold in Watertown, described how he formed a relationship with then-Watertown coach Mark Bellum and how it lifted the sport to where it is now.

“At that time, I got in touch with the high school coach (Bellum) and he was all-in,” Dunn said. “He’d been coaching for 10 years and he could see that he wasn’t going to have that kind of program without kids going through the USA Gymnastics system. What made our relationship work was A) Mark was very excited and B) he was willing to work.”

Although Bellum wasn’t at Dakota Gold so much during the high school season, Dunn said the Watertown coach would return once the season was over to coach high school classes and help with lower lever classes. It was this time where Bellum would also get to know younger, upcoming gymnasts and form a working relationship before they were able to join the high school team.

Dunn added that what also helped the club-high school relationship was recognition for helping build success – an element that can often fall by the wayside.

“It’s frustrating for these clubs that they’re the ones busting their butts and doing all these things and don’t get any recognition for it,” Dunn said. “Mark was good about recognizing our club. When he would speak at a ceremony, he would mention our club. Our team knows that Dakota Gold is a reason that we’ve had so much success.

“Mark and I were really in it together. He supported me and I supported him. That’s why it worked so well for us.”

Like fans, coaches miss on All-Stars

Last week, I gave a look at the All-Star starters and did my best to project who I thought should make the reserves, which were announced Thursday. I still don’t think Blake Griffin should be a starter and I’ve eased up on Chris Paul because, as I mentioned, the voting is done by fans. And the fans want to see CP3.

The reserves are voted on by the coaches, but that doesn’t make their choices any better. Granted it’s a lot easier to make decisions like Kevin Durant and LeBron James than it is to pull the trigger on a Roy Hibbert or a LaMarcus Aldridge. And I understand that they’re building a team to some degree and not just taking the top scorers at each position. Still, there are a few eye sores on this list of reserves.

In case you haven’t seen them, here they are (*my projections):

Eastern Conference reserves:

Guards – *Joe Johnson, *Deron Williams

Forwards – *Chris Bosh, Luol Deng, Andre Iguodala, Paul Pierce

Center – Roy Hibbert

Western Conference reserves:

Guards – Tony Parker, *Russell Westbrook, Steve Nash

Forwards – *LaMarcus Aldridge, *Kevin Love, Dirk Nowitzki

Center – *Marc Gasol

First, I can’t tell you how happy I am to see LaMarcus Alrdige and Marc Gasol on this list and how happy I am to not see Tim Duncan on the list. Aldridge was last year’s biggest snub while Gasol is quietly having a solid season. It’s also good to see Iguodala get the nod and I was certain that Tyson Chandler would be selected over Hibbert at center.

And there’s no real gripe with Nash or Pierce making the cut once again either. Although, Amare Stoudemire might have been a better choice considering there isn’t a true power forward on the East team. Bosh is soft. Never gets old.

Now back to the hate.

Hate: Luol Deng

I’ve gone back and forth with myself on whether Deng is All-Star worthy. He rides that fine line between All-Star and spectator, but ultimately, he’s teetered away from deserving the call. At 16.0 ppg (20^th in the East, 5^th at his position), Deng just doesn’t have enough. And although a guy like Danny Granger is only firing at a 37 percent clip, but averaging more points, Grander would be a better fit.

An even better fit, though? Josh Smith. As a Hawks fan, I cringe at the thought, but J-Smoove is scoring roughly the same, but is also in the top 8 in the East in rebounds (8.9) and is behind only JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard in blocks (again, in the East). He’s also picked up the slack since the Al Horford injury. How did Smith respond to the snub? He dropped 23/19/5/3 on Orlando Friday night.

Hate: Tony Parker

Parker is averaging a career-best in assists (7.7 apg) this season. His scoring (18.9 ppg) is the best it’s been since 2008-09 and is tied for the second best of his career. The Spurs are leading their division and are third in the conference.

You know who else is having a great year? Monte Ellis. The Golden State guard is averaging 22 points and 6.1 assists per game. Plus, if coaches are building a team, do we really need three point guards? If so, Ricky Rubio would be an even better watch since we all agree that we’d rather see flair than fundamentals. Why else would Blake Griffin be starting?

Hate: Dirk Nowitzki

That was some postseason performance Dirk put on last year. It was so good that we’re overlooking the fact that he’s easily having his worst season since his rookie year and are calling him an All-Star. I’ve heard some grumbling about Pau Gasol not making the All-Star team, but he’s also putting up career-low numbers.

To me, there’s really only one guy that complements the West team in a way that Dirk normally could and that’s Danilo Gallanari. This season, Gallanari is pouring in about as many points as Dirk while shooting a solid 31 percent from 3-point range. With the remainder of the West’s reserves and starters, the one thing missing is a sharpshooter. But still, how good was Dirk last postseason?

One other thing while I’m spreading the hate…

Can we cool it with the Jeremy Lin hype? I can acknowledge that he had a great game on Friday, touching up the Lakers for 38 points and seven assists. I can admit that he’s a big reason for New York creeping back into the playoff picture.

What I can’t do is buy in to this Linsanity garbage. Friday’s game was impressive, but it also came against a Laker team playing the night after an 88-87 overtime win against rival Boston. And two six-turnover games in four starts isn’t anything to go crazy over.

Tonight’s game against Minnesota will be the first time Lin has started back-to-back games this season, so it’ll be interesting to see how much he has in the tank. Besides, what do New York fans think is going to happen when Melo comes back? And are they still holding out for Baron Davis’ triumphant return?

—-Quick hits—-

*In nine of the last 11 games, the Philadelphia 76ers haven’t had a player score at least 20 points – and they won five of those nine.

*LeBron can drop the “everyone blames me” routine. Shut up and play. You’re the best player in the league. It doesn’t matter if people hate you. Jordan didn’t care. Larry didn’t care. Kobe doesn’t care.

*I covered the Skyforce on Tuesday and it wasn’t pretty. Zero chemistry and everyone seems content with an “I’m gonna get mine” mentality. Roster changes are a big factor, but it’s still sad to see for a team that looked good on paper before the season.

*Austin Rivers’ game-winning 3-point dagger against North Carolina on Wednesday might have been the No. 1 moment for me as a Duke fan during a Duke-UNC game.

*I whiffed on the Super Bowl. Brady was good. Manning was better. Mannigham’s catch was great. Over their respective careers, Eli is not better than Peyton…yet.

NBA All-Star starters named

I’ve been fairly quiet (at least on this blog) about the NBA this season so I figured with the announcement of the All-Star starters, now’s as good as time as any to break my silence.

In case you haven’t seen the list (or can’t believe that it’s already that time of year), here it is:

EAST

Guards: Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose

Forwards: LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony

Center: Dwight Howard

WEST

Guards: Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul

Forwards: Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin

Center: Andrew Bynum

As with any All-Star selections, there are no-doubt, no-question locks. The East is about as spot-on as you can get. Howard is easy if only because the center position is about as thin as any in sports. Rose, Wade, LeBron and Melo are also no-brainers (at least this year) as are Kobe and Durant.

The others, well, there are arguments to be made.

*This is the point where I should clarify that allowing fans to vote for an All-Star game muddles any real resemblance of true All-Star recognition. But that’s another problem altogether.

**Also, reserves don’t come out until Feb. 9, so there’s a strong possibility that guys I think should be starters will at least make the All-Star roster.

Fail #1: Blake Griffin

Look, Griffin is an electrifying player. He’s fun to watch. He’s a dunk master. You know who else was fun to watch above the rim? This guy. Is Griffin All-Star worthy? Absolutely. Is he better or more deserving than Kevin Love as a starter? Absolutely not. Love is averaging more points and rebounds (shocker, right?) and is essentially a better player than Griffin. Now there are some who argue that the All-Star game is more about sizzle than steak, which leads me to…

Fail #2: Chris Paul

Yes, Paul is averaging more points and more assists than, say, Ricky Rubio. BUT, Rubio has more double-digit assist games this season (10) than Paul (6) – albeit in eight more games played because Paul has missed time this season with injury – and is much more exciting watch at this point. With Griffin winning the fan campaign, the logic behind selecting Paul over Rubio is likely based on the assumption that Griffin-Paul is a package deal, which is a mistake. Nevertheless, Rubio has already shown his incredible court vision and, if you choose Griffin over Love because of flare, the same rule should apply to Rubio.

Fail #3: Andrew Bynum

This might be nitpicking, and maybe it’s a longstanding prejudice I have against Bynum, but you could make just as good a case for Marc Gasol as a starter. Again, with fan voting it’s difficult to expect a guy form Memphis to garner more votes than a guy from Los Angeles. And to be honest, Bynum is probably the most deserving center in the West. I just hope that Gasol and/or Marcin Gortat at least get the recognition they deserve.

While the reserves won’t come out until next week, here’s who should round out the rosters:

EAST

Guards: Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Kyrie Irving

Forwards: Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Ryan Anderson

Center: Andrea Bargnani is out indefinitely, so Tyson Chandler or Joakim Noah slide in

WEST

Guards: Russell Westbrook, Monta Ellis, Kevin Martin

Forwards: Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gay

Center: Marc Gasol

—-Quick hits—-

* Good to see that Ricky Rubio has been as good as advertised. A guy like that makes Minnesota a more attractive place for free agents.

* I was also happy to see that the Wolves didn’t sign Love to a max deal – partly because Love is not a max contract guy and partly because it didn’t take a max deal to keep him in Minny. And good for Love to ensure a chance to opt-out.

* Rank the following in terms of dirtiness: how LeBron left Cleveland, how Carmelo left Denver and the fashion in which Dwight Howard is trying to leave Orlando.

* The Knicks are easily the most disappointing team in the NBA this season.

* Philadelphia is the most surprising team in the NBA this season.

* My Hawks are looking solid despite losing their All-Star center.

* My Hawks also allowed Marc Gasol to finish plus-40 Thursday night. Plus. 40.

* I was high on Denver and Indiana (combined 30-13) before the season started.

* New Orleans and Charlotte are making strong cases for contraction.

* My fantasy basketball team is currently in 2^nd place.

* I like New England over New York on Sunday. Patriots 28, Giants 24.

Mr. Baseball

It’s hard to justify leaving a program at its peak – especially when it has just gotten there – but that’s exactly what Sioux Falls Post 15 East coach Brandon Hunt is doing.

The former Rapid City Post 22 player resigned from his head coaching position on Monday so that he and his wife, Kelli, can move to Denver, Colo. (The move won’t take place until after the school year is over in May as he is also a social studies teacher at Washington High School.)

After coming on as an assistant coach in 2007, Hunt took over as the head coach for East in 2009, compiling a mediocre 24-21 record with a team that, at the time, had ‘no identity’.

“We didn’t know what we were based on. We didn’t have a culture,” said Hunt, who finished with a three-year record of 101-50 (.669). “That’s the No. 1 thing I wanted to try to build was a culture around the program where that ‘No shortcuts, no excuses’ mentality became not our battle cry, but something we rallied around.”

* * *

While Hunt came up through the prestigious Post 22 organization, (which coincidentally also lost its legendary skipper, Dave Ploof, to retirement on Monday) the task of building a competitive team, let alone a contender, meant delving into a process that wouldn’t happen overnight.

For starters, Sioux Falls isn’t exactly a baseball-driven community. Football takes priority over all sports and the gridiron certainly would never take a back seat to the diamond.

With that in mind, Hunt set his sights on finding players who could serve as leaders on the field and targeted those with leadership capabilities in the heat of the moment: quarterbacks.

“When you’re accustomed to playing in front of big crowds – like in the Dakota Bowl and the President’s Bowl – you know what it takes to calm those nerves and know what to do,” Hunt said. “When I took over at East, I didn’t want to recruit, but I wanted to get those multi-sport athletes because I think there’s something to be said about being in a competitive atmosphere all year round.”

Signal callers Alex Schultz (Lincoln) and Conner Schaefbauer (O’Gorman), both of whom joined the team in 2010 created a 1-2 tandem of stability and focus on the field, allowing Hunt’s direction to trickle down through the team, by the team.

Along with key players such as Brooks Cross and Jack Gordon (who also started with East in ’10) as well as 2009 carry-overs Cole Halgerson, Jordan Schievelbein and Michael Hout, Hunt had a team destined for success, as evident by a 2010 run that ended with a loss to Post 22 in the state title game.

“He told us, ‘Play the game the right way and good things will happen,’” said Schultz. “We’ve got a good group of guys and he led us the right way.”

* * *

At one time, Hunt had been on the field amid a Post 22 celebration – only he was the one celebrating at the time. In fact, he did it twice as the Hardhats earned back-to-back titles during his playing days in 2001-02.

At that time, though, state championships fell from the sky for Post 22, which had racked up a total of 28 in 33 years from 1970-2002.

“We were very, very good. My senior year we had five or six Division I guys,” Hunt said. “We went 85-14 so winning a state championship, while it was a big deal, was one of those scenarios where it’s business as usual. We knew we were going to win it, we went out and took care of business. It was a sense of accomplishment, but we knew that there were much brighter things ahead of us.”

On top of that, Post 22 never thought much of the competition in South Dakota during Hunt’s time with the Hardhats. The abundance of titles certainly backed up Rapid City’s utter dominance of the state and simply beating inferior teams wasn’t enough for the oft-defending champions.

“Back when I played for Post 22, we really kind of looked down on South Dakota competition to a certain extent,” Hunt said. “Anytime we played a South Dakota team our goal was to 10-run rule them. That was something we really tried to do.”

* * *

After emerging from the dogpile in 2002, Hunt ventured east to play for Augustana College, where he was a catcher and infielder for the Vikings. While the location had changed, the championship fever followed Hunt as Augie earned its first and only North Central Conference championship in 2003.

Granted, his numbers weren’t anywhere near great (.220 with 13 RBI and a .561 OPS in 82 plate appearances in ‘03), Hunt found a way to leave his mark, coming up with a pair of RBI in the top of the tenth inning in the title game as the Vikes downed Northern Colorado 6-3 for the championship.

Hunt would struggle at the plate for two more years before pounding out a .271 average in 2006 – the year before he would begin a two-year run as an assistant coach with Post 15 East.

Following a trial-by-error inaugural season at the helm in ’09 and significantly improved campaign in 2010, East had gone from a team without identity to a club on the verge of truly breaking out.

Although East’s third season under Hunt got off to fine start – 19-11 over the first 30 games – the Gopher Classic (which East won five of six games against elite competition) would give the coach all the assurance he would need that the purple and black was ready for a run.

“I came home and told Kelli, ‘I really think this is the team to do it,’” said Hunt.

East would go on to surge through the rest of the regular season and the region tournament as well as dominate the first three game of the state tournament in Yankton before meeting Post 22 with a championship game berth on the line.

After outlasting Rapid City, Post 15 finished off the last of the state’s competition with a win over Yankton in the title game, giving East its first state championship since 2004 and Hunt a different perspective of being on a championship team.

“Seeing my guys dogpile from East this year almost brought tears to my eyes,” Hunt said. “It was such a cool thing to see where we’ve come over the past four or five years. To see these kids buy into a team concept and get a chance to dogpile was an absolute blast. I would truly say that it was more enjoyable from a coaching standpoint than from a playing standpoint.”

* * *

Hunt admitted that the decision to leave was a difficult one and that his future with baseball at this point is unknown. The coach shrugged off questions regarding attempts by his former team to bring him on to coach – at any level of the Post 22 hierarchy – describing talks as ‘informal’.

As for East’s future, a coach won’t likely be named until baseball nears the forefront in the spring. First-year assistant coach Alex Sommers, who is also the head coach at Lincoln, seems like a reasonable choice, but that decision will come from the SEBA Board.

“We’ll find out as soon as you guys do,” said Hunt, who has no skepticism regarding East’s ability to keeps things rolling after his departure.

“Yes, a coach plays an important role in the team concept, but these guys are leaders on their own,” Hunt said. “A lot of the guys they’ll have coming back are leaders – leaders in their schools, on their football teams and just in the community. They’ve got the leadership capabilities to go out and win another state championship.

“I told the guys, ‘No, I won’t be in Sioux Falls, but I’ll be watching you and I expect you to win another state championship.’”