First Look: The D1 Summer Classic
Roughly half of the top 25 17u teams in Minnesota as well as good programs from Iowa and North Dakota will be competing in the D1 Summer Classic this week in Shakopee. Today we take our first look at the D1 Summer Classic.
17U. Minnesota teams traveled all around the country during week one of the open period and will again hit the road for the third open period. In between those weekends D1 Minnesota has offered a nice local tournament so kids can spend a week sleeping in their own bed and cut back on the travel costs/hassles.
The Summer Classic has 12 of the top 25 17u teams in the state of Minnesota including 6th ranked Wear Out the Net and 7th ranked Heat Nelson. Those two – along with #11 Comets K and the Iowa Barnstormers second team – are expected to be the squads playing in the final four. However, this event is balanced and we expect that a couple of those programs will get upset along the way.
By who? 13th ranked Crossfire Belle, 14th ranked Comets DLR, 19th ranked D1 MN Rise, 18th ranked Fury Kaupa, 20th ranked Select Leafblad, 21st ranked D1 Minnesota Prospects, 24th ranked Each 1 Teach 1, and 25th ranked Select Ellis. Comets DLR is coming off a nice run in the NY2LA Basketball tournament, E1T1 played well in South Dakota, and Select Ellis played well in the SPBL.
From North Dakota there is the Attack and the Phenom, both of which are teams that have defeated squads with more talent than they have but the North Dakota teams played better team basketball. The Wisconsin Blizzard are traditionally tough, Iowa Prep has some good players, and the top Iowa Pump N Run team has played well in Minnesota in both April and May so July shouldn’t be different.
16U. The 16u level has 24 teams: 16 from Minnesota, 5 from Iowa, 2 from North Dakota, and one from Wisconsin. From Minnesota there are ten ranked teams including one of the top 15 and Under squads in Minnesota (D1 Minnesota), two of the top five 16s in the state (WOTN Davis and Fury Kline), and another top ten squad (the Matrix). Add in the Blizzard from Wisconsin, Iowa Prep, Iowa Barnstormers, and a couple squads from Iowa Prep. Who should be in the final four? D1 Minnesota 15s, WOTN Davis, Fury Kline, Matrix, Select Cave, and the Barnstormers sound like the top six candidates.
15U. At the 15u level there are 28 teams overall. There are six ranked teams from Minnesota playing in the 15u event including one of the elite squads in the state (Minnesota Select Ohnstad) as well as Comets Servary, WOTN Erickson, and Fury Syverson. The ECI Prospects are one of the better teams in North Dakota and they will compete for the weekend championship as will the Iowa Barnstormers.