Minneapolis/St. Paul The 16th annual Timberwolves Shootout will be held at Target Center on Saturday, Jan. 7 with six games featuring top-ranked high school teams. The Shootout will feature seven of Minnesota's top boys basketball programs along with five elite entries from outside of the state.

The Timberwolves Shootout has attracted some of the best basketball talent from all over the country. Through the years, 23 future NBA players have participated in the Shootout, including Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love along with recent top draftees DeMarcus Cousins, Jrue Holiday and All-Star Josh Smith. In addition, more than 200 participants proceeded to play Division I college basketball. This year's Timberwolves Shootout will bring in many players expected to play in Division I college basketball programs.

The Shootout's first game (11:00 a.m.) features the St. Thomas More (Rapid City, S.D.) Cavaliers against Minnesota's Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights. St. Thomas More has won the South Dakota Class A title three times in the past six years (2006, 2007 and 2011) and was runner-up in 2010. The Cavaliers, who finished 25-1 last season, return two starters, led by guard Skye Warwick who signed with Division II's Northern State this fall. Benilde St. Margaret's is ranked No. 1 in Class AAA. The Red Knights are led by three Division I signees, who are combining for more than 50 points per game this season. Isaiah Zierden, who is headed to Creighton, is one of the states top outside shooters. He is averaging a team-best 19.1 points per game. Sanjay Lumpkin, who signed with Northwestern, adds 18.9 points and Will Dunn, a strong outside threat who will play at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne next year, is averaging 12.6 points per game.

The Rice Lake (Wisc.) Warriors and Duluth East Greyhounds will face off in the second game at 12:30 p.m. Rice Lake, currently No. 2 in Wisconsins Division 2 rankings, returns four starters, including Minnesota signee Wally Ellenson, who is averaging 18.6 points per game. His brothers join him in the starting five. Junior forward Ellwood Ellenson is averaging 7.6 points and Henry Ellenson, a freshman, adds 12.3 points. Alex Cuskey, a 6-foot-4 forward, was a first team All-conference selection last year and averages 14.2 points per game. Duluth East is a high-scoring team that is playing without its top player, senior Johnny Woodward, who is sidelined with a shoulder injury. Point guard Taylor Stafford is averaging 30.5 ppg and scored a tournament record 114 points in three games at the Best Buy Holiday Classic. Six-foot junior guard Shaq Coleman is averaging 16.1 points per game.

An interstate matchup will take place at 2:00p.m. as the Pelican Rapids Vikings take on the Minnetonka Skippers in a small school vs. big school tilt. Pelican Rapids won the 2009 Class 2A state title on the Target Center floor with a perfect 33-0 mark. The Vikings finished 23-5 last season and are ranked second in the state this year. They are led by seniors Luke Halbakken and Casey Bruggeman, who are averaging 18.4 and 17.2 points per game, respectively. The Vikings have good size with four players 6-foot-5 or taller. Minnetonka is arguably the states most improved team this season. The Skippers were just 4-23 last year, but added three transfers, including two starters. The Skippers are getting excellent scoring balance with four players averaging double figures. Senior guard Tommy McDermott is averaging a team-best 16.2 points per game. Junior Riley Dearring, who played at Minneapolis DeLaSalle last season, is scoring 16.1 points per contest. Patrick Henry transfer Latrell Love adds 15.9 points and senior Joe Risinger is contributing 11.9 points per game.

The fourth game of the day (3:30 p.m.) will feature an Iowa-Minnesota border battle, pitting Iowa's Cedar Falls Tigers against Minnesota's Prior Lake Lakers. Cedar Falls returns eight letter winners from a team that won the Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division last season. The Tigers are led by outstanding athlete James Harrington, who also excels at football and track -- he has signed with Alabama for track. Harrington is averaging 22.8 points per game. Caleb Konieczny is adding 15.0 points per game for the Tigers. Prior Lake is a young team that has made strong strides from a 6-21 season last year. Sophomore point guard Jon Sobaski is one of the top playmakers in the state and is averaging 17.1 points per game. Seven-foot junior center Carson Shanks has already committed to Utah State and is averaging 10.1 points per contest for the Lakers.

Another Iowa-Minnesota border battle follows at 5:00 p.m. as Iowa's Sioux City East Black Raiders takes on Minnesota's defending Class AAAA champion Hopkins Royals. Sioux City East is led by Iowa signee Adam Woodbury. The 7-foot-1 center led the Black Raiders to the Iowa State Tournament last season, averaging 18.5 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. He is contributing 17.4 points and 11.0 rebounds this year. J.C. Fuller, a 6-foot-3 senior point guard, is an experienced playmaker and scorer and is averaging 16.8 points per game. Hopkins won its second straight Best Buy Holiday Classic this past week, defeating its opponents by an average of 28.7 points in the three games. The Royals have won three straight Class 4A titles and are going for an unprecedented fourth consecutive crown. Senior Zach Stahl was named the Best Buy Holiday Classic MVP after scoring 22.7 points per game. He is averaging 21.8 points on the season. Senior shooter Demitrius Martin has more than doubled his scoring from last season as he is contributing 15.0 points per game. Point guard Siyani Chambers, who is headed to Harvard, is adding 14.8 points. Andre McDonald, who is the states top wide receiver, has shown off his skills on the hardwood by averaging 10.0 points. The Vanderbilt commit is an outstanding athlete and leaper.

The final game of the day (6:30 p.m.) will feature the second Wisconsin-Minnesota border battle of the day as Wisconsin's Onalaska Hilltoppers takes on Minnesota's Apple Valley Eagles. Onalaska is currently ranked No. 1 in Wisconsins Division 2. The Hilltoppers are led by 6-foot-4 shooting guard Matt Thomas, who is one of the top juniors in the state of Wisconsin. Thomas, who is drawing scholarship offers from most of the top Midwest schools, including Minnesota, is averaging 21.4 points per game. Nick Arenz, a 6-foot-8 big man, signed with Wisconsin Green Bay in the fall. Arenz, who suffered an ACL tear last year, is averaging 12.4 points per game. Apple Valley is led by standout sophomore point guard Tyus Jones, who is ranked fifth in the Class of 2014 by ESPN. He helped lead the USA 16-and-under team to the gold medal this past summer in Mexico. Jones is averaging 27.4 points per game and has three games of 30 or more points this season. Junior guard Dustin Fronk is one of the state's top outside threats and adds 18.1 points per game.

Tickets for all six contests are available for $10 at the Target Center box office on the day of the Shootout. The ticket is good for the entire day and also includes a free ticket to a future Timberwolves game.

Timberwolves Shootout Director Jeff Munneke can be reached at 612-673-1639.

2012 Timberwolves Shootout Schedule

11:00 p.m. St. Thomas More (S.D.) vs. Benilde-St. Margaret's

12:30 p.m. Rice Lake (WI) vs. Duluth East

2:00 p.m. Pelican Rapids vs. Minnetonka

3:30 p.m. Cedar Falls (IA) vs. Prior Lake

5:00 p.m. Sioux City East (IA) vs. Hopkins

6:30 p.m. Onalaska (WI) vs. Apple Valley

Contact information:

Mike Cristaldi, Minnesota Timberwolves, (612) 673-8405, cristaldi@timberwolves.com

Aaron Seehusen Minnesota Timberwolves, (612) 673-1602, seehusen@timberwolves.com

Dan Bell, Minnesota Timberwolves, (612) 673-1603, bell@timberwolves.com

www.timberwolves.com

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