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Boys' basketball holiday tournaments preview

By Star Tribune, 12/26/14, 6:52PM CST

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A look at the top holiday tournaments: through the state, as some of the state's basketball teams take on bigger challenges than they may get in conference play.


Evan Hagen and his Shakopee teammates celebrated their victory during Class 4A quarterfinal action between Osseo and Shakopee at Target Center on March 12, 2014. Shakopee beat Osseo 54-51.

GRANITE CITY CLASSIC

When, where: Friday and Saturday, St. Cloud State University

Teams: Fourteen teams including Class 4A, No. 1 Apple Valley, No. 2 Champlin Park, No. 5 Maple Grove and No. 8 Roseville.

Of note: For the second consecutive year, the home of the Huskies comes out the winner. The event gets underway at 11 a.m. and concludes about 12 hours later each day. Once again, they’ve saved the best for last. Apple Valley and Maple Grove, two teams that should be even better a year from now, meet in the final game Friday. Then the Eagles and Champlin Park square off in the last game on the final day. Roseville and Champlin Park will play in a matinee game on Friday afternoon.

AUGSBURG TOURNAMENT

When, where: Monday through Wednesday, Augsburg College in Minneapolis

Teams: There will be plenty of energy in the building for this eight-team battle. The field includes Class 4A, No. 11 Hopkins, No. 12 Wayzata, No. 13 Eastview, Class 3A, No. 2 St. Paul Johnson and Class 1A, No. 1 Minneapolis North. The only ranked teams that meet in the opening round are Johnson and Wayzata. Four top-20 teams could reach the semifinals.

Of note: The Royals will be without junior standout Amir Coffey, who is sidelined for the rest of the season because of a knee injury. That makes the chase for this title wide open.

EDEN PRAIRIE INVITATIONAL

When, where: Monday and Tuesday, Eden Prairie High School

Teams: A solid four-team field including host and Class 4A, No. 6 Eden Prairie, No. 9 Shakopee, No. 18 Chaska and Class 3A, No. 5 Waconia.

Of note: Predetermined opponents in the two-day event take away a little bit of the luster that it would have with a four-team bracket format.

ROCHESTER ROTARY CLASSIC

When, where: Monday and Tuesday, Rochester Civic Center

Teams: The 27th annual tournament will take on a much different look this year, expanding from eight to 16 teams. The event is broken down into four small four-team brackets. The best in the field include Class 4A, No. 10 East Ridge, Class 1A, No. 4 Rushford-Peterson and No. 13 Goodhue.

Of note: A good stop to see two of the state’s best players not from the Twin Cities area. They are Rochester Century senior Dan Jech and Rochester John Marshall junior Michael Hurt. The 6-9 Jech and 6-7 Hurt are both forwards.

RON HAGGSTROM

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