Minn. High School Summer Basketball Has A New Look
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- They come from all over the state for a one day basketball bonanza -- a tournament where you play for your high school team. It explains why this state keeps making strides on the court.
They are here because they are some of the best teams in Minnesota.
"Eight teams in each class. We say that they're the top eight, but there's some teams that couldn't make it because of summer plans," said Justin Hegna. "But it was 32 teams, we filled it right away. This kind of ends our so-called summer season."
Hegna knows. He's been organizing summer and winter tournaments like this for his company, Breakdown Sports, for the past several years.
This weekend he gets a glimpse into the winter and you bring basketball together in July.
"This is absolutely awesome, because you get to see 32 of the best programs all at once. It's nice to see their face," Hegna said.
It's different these days, as the restrictions have been lifted. Teams are allowed to work with their high school coaching staffs in the summer.
"When I first started coaching high school basketball you could only play three kids together on one team in the summer, so it's evolved obviously a lot. It gives us a chance to work with our kids a little bit more which we really all liked," said Tartan basketball coach Mark Klingsporn.
"I think it's great for our game overall. As long as we don't put too much on the kids' plate and they play too much and sometimes it borderlines that."
For players, some who have been on AAU teams and at camps, this is a welcome time to play with their high school teammates.
"It's good to be back with the guys," said Apple Valley guard Trey Jones. "You're playing with guys from all over the state during the summer. It's just kind of getting you back into school ball again,"
It is the new state of high school basketball and high school sports. A bit taxing, but it seems to be working.
"I think their assessment is, 'Hey, can we compete at the highest level?' and then by the time they get to the season then they start putting pieces together," Hegna said. "But really the objective for most teams is to see if they can compete so they know that they have a chance to win that state title."