2026 Boys State Tournament

How about making private schools play up a level?
Perhaps. Looked at Totino Grace's schedule and they played 1 game vs another AAA school the entire regular season. Would moving them to AAAA be so terrible? I realize that there has to be criteria and I'm just an old man screaming at the clouds this morning. But I for one am always going to cheer for the public school team.
 


Anyone else sick of Private schools dominating in Class 3.

It seems almost every year just give the champ to Totino (3 of the last 4) or DeLaSalle (8 times in the 2000's). Can't they be made to play up to 4A, where they won't be blowing out all the public schools. Same with Minnehaha Academy in 2A, play in 4A. Or have a private school championship and a public school championship, then have 1 more game where the two meet for fun? Yes I know there is open enrollment and some public school recruit also, but it's a different level in these private schools.
For the playoffs (not regular season), private schools should have their own class and not compete with public schools. Kudo's to Shattuck for doing the right thing.
 

How about making private schools play up a level?
This seems logical, but a lot of teams would be collateral damage. My son used to work as an EMT at HS ball games. He saw some tiny private schools that he said were mind blowingly bad, 7th grade Rec league bad . Making teams like that play AA because they were dragnetted in a rule designed for TG and DLS seems cruel. There would need to be some carve-outs in such a rule.
 

Ratings for high school teams can be way overrated. Chaska and The Valley clearly looked to be the better squads. Great coaching, too!
Can be touch with common opponents or lack of common opponents. Also teams can start slow, especially if they have football players that need to get into basketball shape and form.

Hopkins/Maple Grove/Wayzata/Buffalo all played each other multiple times and everyone thought they were the teams.

Tartan has been good and beat Maple Grove back at Christmas, but really didn't play anyone else other than Alexandria who they beat by 7

Chaska lost to Lakeville South, Wayzata, Eden Prairie and Prior Lake, but now win 24 straight, but those 24 straight were against lesson opponents including avenging 3 of their 4 losses.

Apple Valley has 10 losses including a team that had 7 wins on the year and losing three of last five before the start of the playoffs.

Then you look at D1 offers and people forget that a good team game will beat some D1 talent that doesn't share the ball. Maple Grove has a 7 footer who was 5-8 from the field and 2-2 on FT's, but the two D1 commits decided going 13-32 was the better option to win.
 


Dave Lee is BRUTAL! First 2 possessions of the game for each team was like he just got the roster put in front of him 1 second before tip off!
 

Can be touch with common opponents or lack of common opponents. Also teams can start slow, especially if they have football players that need to get into basketball shape and form.

Hopkins/Maple Grove/Wayzata/Buffalo all played each other multiple times and everyone thought they were the teams.

Tartan has been good and beat Maple Grove back at Christmas, but really didn't play anyone else other than Alexandria who they beat by 7

Chaska lost to Lakeville South, Wayzata, Eden Prairie and Prior Lake, but now win 24 straight, but those 24 straight were against lesson opponents including avenging 3 of their 4 losses.

Apple Valley has 10 losses including a team that had 7 wins on the year and losing three of last five before the start of the playoffs.

Then you look at D1 offers and people forget that a good team game will beat some D1 talent that doesn't share the ball. Maple Grove has a 7 footer who was 5-8 from the field and 2-2 on FT's, but the two D1 commits decided going 13-32 was the better option to win.

Only watched a little bit Ann didn't look that great, neither did Iversen. The game plan was focused on taking those two out and looked like AV did a great job.

Was Niko at the game?
 

This seems logical, but a lot of teams would be collateral damage. My son used to work as an EMT at HS ball games. He saw some tiny private schools that he said were mind blowingly bad, 7th grade Rec league bad . Making teams like that play AA because they were dragnetted in a rule designed for TG and DLS seems cruel. There would need to be some carve-outs in such a rule.
Yeah but Bethlehem academy losing in the playoffs while playing the exact same regular season schedule is hardly what I would call
“Collateral damage”

Is the world really a worse world if Hmong college academy loses to Camden instead of lakes international academy in their last game? (Lakes international may move up two and they make lose to the exact same team anyways 😂)
It’s one game. For a bad team the playoffs are one game. If you could fix many issues by swapping out who a team loses to isn’t that worth it?
Bethlehem loses to red wing instead of southland?
That’s some collateral damage I don’t really care about
 

DeLasalle, Totino, CDH, Minnehaha, Providence, and Benilde all need to move up a class
 



This seems logical, but a lot of teams would be collateral damage. My son used to work as an EMT at HS ball games. He saw some tiny private schools that he said were mind blowingly bad, 7th grade Rec league bad . Making teams like that play AA because they were dragnetted in a rule designed for TG and DLS seems cruel. There would need to be some carve-outs in such a rule.
Perhaps it's only AA and AAA that have to move up a class automatically. Then set up some kind of performance metric that determines if each small school has to move up or not.
 

Ratings for high school teams can be way overrated. Chaska and The Valley clearly looked to be the better squads. Great coaching, too!
You are just witnessing a pretty good anomally. Most years it's at least one of the top 2 seeds in the final. Enjoy this year, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
 


I’m sure in the 50s and 60’s we should have made the northern schools have their own class in hockey because they dominated the championships. These things cycle over time but only seem to be an issue if some private schools are in the dominant position. Like previous poster indicated, the handful of private schools that dominate championships in some sports isn’t the reality of most and a wide net of a rule for the few harms the many. I’m not familiar with high school league rules now but back in the day it was much more complicated changing classes than most people think and would impact all sports not just the ones they are really good at, most for a pretty brief time. It’s not like it could be done for the brief window that they knew they would be way above the current competition.

The arguments against private schools get weaker with open enrollment beefing up rosters with players out of geographic boundaries.
 





I agree it looked like a travel. They showed a different angle in the post game highlights and it was a jump stop. It just looked really strange from the live angle.
 
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Hills-beaver trying to blow it missing four free throws in a row
 


How about making private schools play up a level?
This debate occurred throughout the 60s and into 70s. They let them in, and they did the same as everyone else. Wining 15% of basketball championships while being 11% of the schools.

Then came open enrollment in 1988. This gave public schools an advantage. Free education drawing from wherever they could.

Things didn’t change through the 90s. That is Until they did At the turn of the century, private schools started dominating.

Instead of leveling the playing field; How about public schools, figure out what private schools have been doing to kick the shit out public schools for so long? The same happens in academics too.

The answer is: the private schools do the same they always have done.

My theory, is public schools policy became hyper political. Driven by guys like Bill Ayers. You can hear it him constantly echoed in politics too. They worked to dumb down schools to make everything level.

The privates continue relying on rigor, self discipline, and other empirical successful principles they have employed since John De La Salle started his first La Sallian Brothers schools for the poor, in the 1680s.
 

This debate occurred throughout the 60s and into 70s. They let them in, and they did the same as everyone else. Wining 15% of basketball championships while being 11% of the schools.

Then came open enrollment in 1988. This gave public schools an advantage. Free education drawing from wherever they could.

Things didn’t change through the 90s. That is Until they did At the turn of the century, private schools started dominating.

Instead of leveling the playing field; How about public schools, figure out what private schools have been doing to kick the shit out public schools for so long? The same happens in academics too.

The answer is: the private schools do the same they always have done.

My theory, is public schools policy became hyper political. Driven by guys like Bill Ayers. You can hear it him constantly echoed in politics too. They worked to dumb down schools to make everything level.

The privates continue relying on rigor, self discipline, and other empirical successful principles they have employed since John De La Salle started his first La Sallian Brothers schools for the poor, in the 1680s.
To be fair, private schools can kick out any student that brings them down or requires a lot of non-educational care while public schools have to try figure out some way to help. Just check out the number of IEPs (individual education plans) and special ed plans public schools have to develop. That is something privates can simply refuse to take on. It is also why parents who want an excellent education for their children often go private. The bar is set much higher. It is also why public schools have countered with schools with a school in the form of AP or IB programs.
 

Can be touch with common opponents or lack of common opponents. Also teams can start slow, especially if they have football players that need to get into basketball shape and form.

Hopkins/Maple Grove/Wayzata/Buffalo all played each other multiple times and everyone thought they were the teams.

Tartan has been good and beat Maple Grove back at Christmas, but really didn't play anyone else other than Alexandria who they beat by 7

Chaska lost to Lakeville South, Wayzata, Eden Prairie and Prior Lake, but now win 24 straight, but those 24 straight were against lesson opponents including avenging 3 of their 4 losses.

Apple Valley has 10 losses including a team that had 7 wins on the year and losing three of last five before the start of the playoffs.

Then you look at D1 offers and people forget that a good team game will beat some D1 talent that doesn't share the ball. Maple Grove has a 7 footer who was 5-8 from the field and 2-2 on FT's, but the two D1 commits decided going 13-32 was the better option to win.
Tartan beat Hopkins, Richfield, Woodbury, East Ridge and Cretin Derham Hall. They also are very young. They will be back.
 

Cupito for Minnehaha Academy seems to be a pretty good player, and he's only in 8th grade? Anyone have recon on if he'll be a major recruit?
 

Cupito for Minnehaha Academy seems to be a pretty good player, and he's only in 8th grade? Anyone have recon on if he'll be a major recruit?
He’s their starting varsity QB as well. Will be interesting to see if he stays at Minnehaha. Sister plays at Hopkins.
 

Cupito for Minnehaha Academy seems to be a pretty good player, and he's only in 8th grade? Anyone have recon on if he'll be a major recruit?

I heard he could drive to school.. Troup is their stud player..
 



So is Dave Lee retiring? We were flipping between the 4a and NCAA game but it seemed like tollackson was implying this was his last game.
 

Can be touch with common opponents or lack of common opponents. Also teams can start slow, especially if they have football players that need to get into basketball shape and form.

Hopkins/Maple Grove/Wayzata/Buffalo all played each other multiple times and everyone thought they were the teams.

Tartan has been good and beat Maple Grove back at Christmas, but really didn't play anyone else other than Alexandria who they beat by 7

Chaska lost to Lakeville South, Wayzata, Eden Prairie and Prior Lake, but now win 24 straight, but those 24 straight were against lesson opponents including avenging 3 of their 4 losses.

Apple Valley has 10 losses including a team that had 7 wins on the year and losing three of last five before the start of the playoffs.

Then you look at D1 offers and people forget that a good team game will beat some D1 talent that doesn't share the ball. Maple Grove has a 7 footer who was 5-8 from the field and 2-2 on FT's, but the two D1 commits decided going 13-32 was the better option to win.
Tartan played Hopkins, Richfield, Cretin Derham Ham and Woodbury some pretty good teams i don't know where u r getting that they okayed nobody!
 

Apple Valley and Chaska having themselves an amazing tournament. Congratulations to both teams. That's March Madness at its finest.
What a great year for exciting games in hs and college! Starters for me with AV edging out Eagan…
 





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