John's Journal
It’s More Than A Game, It’s The Breakdown 1/29/2017
What started in the 2003-04 season as little more than a randomly scheduled boys basketball game in Becker between two teams that had little in common – great big Hopkins and teeny tiny Ulen-Hitterdal – has become a dominant force in the Minnesota game. Say “Breakdown” to anyone connected to basketball and they will more than likely nod their head.

Officially, the entity is now known as Breakdown Sports USA. The people behind it put together all-day basketball events such as Saturday’s 12th annual Border Battle at Apple Valley High School, which pitted seven teams from Minnesota against seven teams from Wisconsin. Other boys and girls basketball events are held each year and the Breakdown works in promoting other sports as well as producing full-color yearbooks for several sports.

It’s an amazing story, built on a desire by coaches and teachers to support their games. Breakdown founder Justin Hegna coached the Becker girls basketball team to a Class 3A state championship in 2007. His side job was creating publications geared toward high school sports, and that work resulted in relationships with coaches all over the state.

Before the 2003-04 basketball season, he learned that the boys teams from Hopkins and Ulen-Hitterdal had empty slots on their schedules. Since he was coaching in Becker, and as he put it, “I had keys to the building,” the two teams agreed to play there, which made geographic sense. Hegna then added a girls game on the same day between Annandale and Pelican Rapids.

That little afternoon of basketball grew and grew. For years now the Breakdown has hosted an early-season Tip-Off Classic for girls teams and another for boys. This year both were held at Hopkins High School, with 16 games on two courts each day.

Other Breakdown events this basketball season include the Granite City Classic in St. Cloud, the MLK Classic in Duluth, the Winter Lakes Classic in Alexandria and the Community Clash at Hopkins. They also host basketball events in the summer and fall.

The Breakdown’s biggest claim to basketball fame are the matchups they put together. Saturday’s Border Battle, for instance, included the five-time defending state champion among Minnesota’s Class 3A boys teams (DeLaSalle), the two-time defending state champion of Wisconsin’s largest class (Stevens Point), and eight players who have committed to Division I colleges. The capacity crowd inside the Apple Valley gym was testament to the event’s drawing power. The Border Battle is held in Minnesota during odd-numbered years and in Wisconsin during even-numbered years.

“It surely has made some of the teams that are really good get some really good games,” Tartan boys basketball coach Mark Klingsporn said of the Breakdown events. “It’s provided opportunities to play different teams in different settings, really good competition. Sometimes it’s hard for the top-tier teams to line up those great games.”

When Hegna envisioned the concept of a Border Battle, he called Klingsporn. They met in Maple Grove and talked for several hours.

“He had some really good ideas and I had some things I thought might work and that the high school coaches might like,” Klingsporn said.

Minnetonka High School hosted Tip-Off Classics for several years; a local fire marshall made an appearance in 2015 to assess an overflow crowd. That site was the first to use two courts at the same time.

“People thought I was crazy,” Hegna said. “I met with (then-Minnetonka activities director John Hedstrom) because they had two gyms. John should get as much credit as anybody because Minnetonka was one of the few schools with two gyms that could hold high school games. You didn’t see that in high school, two games at once, live real games.

“I think the popularity of it comes from our culture and society. People like options. They like to get more bang for their buck. We market to college coaches, too, and they’re restricted to how many times they can watch a kid. Now they can fly in and see 32 teams in one day.”

There have been plenty of memorable moments, not all of them on the basketball court. For instance, back when Hegna was still coaching as well as running events, he was called for a technical foul during a game. Afterwards, one of his duties was handing the officials their paychecks.

“Probably never before has a coach gotten a technical foul and then had to pay the official who gave him the technical foul,” he said. “I had to deliver the envelope to pay the official who gave me the technical, and I deserved it.”

Saturday’s Border Battle was well-run, with all seven games starting on time and fans moving easily in and out of the gym.

“I’m delighted and I’m surprised by the growth of it,” Hegna said. “We’re very passionate and we’re basketball junkies.”

BY THE NUMBERS
*Schools/teams John has seen/visited: 342
*Miles John has driven in the Toyota Camry in 2016-17: 7,230
*Follow John on Twitter: @MSHSLjohn
Class 3A Wrestling Rankings1/27/2017
From The Guillotine.

1. Shakopee (2)
2. Apple Valley (2)
3. Anoka (7)
4. St. Francis (7)
5. St. Michael-Albertville (5)
6. Owatonna (1)
7. Prior Lake (2)
8. Hastings (3)
9. Willmar (8)
10. Eagan (3)
11. Eastview (2)
12. Cambridge-Isanti (7)
Lean and Mean
Coon Rapids (7), Woodbury (3), Centennial (4), Stillwater Area (4), Little Falls (8), St. Cloud Tech (8), Faribault (1), Brainerd/Pillager (8)
Class 2A Wrestling Rankings1/27/2017
From The Guillotine.

1. Kasson-Mantorville (1)
2. Scott West (2)
3. Simley (4)
4. Foley (6)
5. Albert Lea Area (1)
6. Perham (8)
7. Wabasso/Red Rock Central (3)
8. Hutchinson (2)
9. Waconia (2)
10. Totino-Grace (5)
11. Thief River Falls (8)
12. Litchfield (6)
Lean and Mean
Annandale/Maple Lake (6), Bemidji (8), Grand Rapids (7), Fairmont/Martin County West (3), Delano (6), Hibbing (7), New Prague (2), Mora (7), Plainview-Elgin-Millville (1), Watertown-Mayer/Mayer Lutheran (2), Worthington (3)
Class 1A Wrestling Rankings1/27/2017
From The Guillotine.

1. Pierz (7)
2. Frazee (8)
3. Zumbrota-Mazeppa (1)
4. West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville (6)
5. Kenyon-Wanamingo (2)
6. Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (5)
7. Minneota (3)
8. Pipestone Area (3)
9. Park Rapids Area (8)
10. Blue Earth Area (2)
11. Sibley East (4)
12. Staples-Motley (6)
Lean and Mean
Blackduck/Cass Lake-Bena (7), Goodhue (1), Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (5), Westfield (2), Maple River (2), Caledonia (1), Royalton/Upsala (5), LPGE-Browerville (5), Paynesville Area (5)
Class 4A Girls Basketball Rankings1/27/2017
From Minnesota Basketball News.

1. Hopkins 18-0
2. Elk River 16-0
3. Apple Valley 15-2
4. Lakeville North 15-2
5. Eastview 14-3
6. Centennial 14-3
7. Roseville 15-2
8. East Ridge 14-3
9. St. Michael-Albertville 11-4
10. Minnetonka 10-4
11. Wayzata 12-4
12. Park Center 12-5
13. White Bear Lake 10-7
14. Edina 13-5
15. Champlin Park 12-5
16. Woodbury 9-6
17 Cretin-Derham Hall 9-6
18. Forest Lake 11-6
19. Andover 11-5
20. New Prague 11-7