Continued: Hopkins is here, but trophy's not engraved yet

Choose your favorite term. The Class 4A boys' basketball teams not named Hopkins are: seven underdogs, seven Davids, seven dark horses, seven long shots, seven probable bridesmaids.

When the state tournament begins today at Target Center and Williams Arena, all eyes -- and all championship expectations -- will be on the unbeaten Goliath, top-ranked Hopkins. Meanwhile, the other teams are viewed by many as the seven dwarfs, with little or no chance of winning a state title.

It's no surprise that Hopkins is the prohibitive favorite to capture its fourth championship since 2002. The Royals, who are No. 4 in one national ranking of high school teams, have built a 28-0 record with an average winning margin of 32 points. Four starters have signed Division I basketball letters of intent and the fifth is expected to do so soon.

Hopkins is being touted as the best high school basketball team in Minnesota history, and that's before the state tournament.

"They're definitely the favorite," said Randy Jordan, coach of fourth-seeded St. Cloud Tech, the only other undefeated 4A team. "Everybody else is definitely an underdog."

The Hopkins lineup is well-known. Forward Royce White has signed with the Gophers, center Mike Broghammer with Notre Dame, guard Raymond Cowels with Santa Clara and forward Trent Lockett with Arizona State. The other starter, guard Marcus Williams, was entertaining football as well as basketball offers but has decided to play college basketball; Iowa State and Penn State are among the schools showing interest in him.

That means the Royals will put five future Division I players on the court when they meet unseeded Blaine in the quarterfinals today at 10 a.m.

"Hopkins is favored and they're No. 1 and they absolutely should be," said Henry Sibley coach Tom Dasovich, a former Hopkins player whose team is seeded second. "I think a lot of people are making it a foregone conclusion that Hopkins is going to win it, and they might win it."

One area, however, in which Hopkins trails some of the other teams is postseason experience. Henry Sibley was the state runner-up last year, losing to Minnetonka in the title game and returning three starters this season, including forward Mike Bruesewitz, the Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year. St. Cloud Tech finished third at state last year, and Apple Valley and Winona both played in the state tournament in 2007.

Hopkins has not been to state since 2006, when the current seniors were in ninth grade. One of those seniors, White, scored six points for DeLaSalle in the title game when the Islanders won the Class 3A crown in White's freshman year.

Henry Sibley lost to Hopkins 77-66 on Jan. 9. The Warriors' only other defeat was 67-64 against Madison Memorial, which won the Wisconsin big-school state championship last weekend.

Henry Sibley will meet Bloomington Jefferson in today's 2 p.m. game.

"We have three, four guys that played key roles last year, when we went all the way to the last game," Dasovich said. "There are always nerves, especially in the first round, but I don't think we'll be wide-eyed this year."

For all the teams other than Hopkins, there is less pressure this week than there might be at most state tournaments.

"I think a lot of teams kind of like that underdog story and use that as motivation," said Tim Theisen, coach of third-seeded Osseo, which will play Apple Valley at 4 p.m. today. "For any team that gets a chance to play Hopkins, they look at it as a big challenge. It's an opportunity to knock off what's potentially the best team in Minnesota history.

"And it's not just Hopkins. I think with a lot of people it's a foregone conclusion that it will be Hopkins vs. Henry Sibley in the championship game. They're not mentioning the Apple Valleys or the Osseos or the St. Cloud Techs. They're thinking it will be an easy road for Hopkins and Henry Sibley.

"Why not Osseo? Why not St. Cloud Tech? Why not Apple Valley? These teams are all good teams. And you've only got to beat Hopkins once."

Henry Sibley's Bruesewitz stated it another way.

"I know all those [Hopkins] guys real well, and all of them are great guys," he said. "They go nine, 10 deep with D-I talent behind five D-I starters. But they're still human."