For a lot of people, it would be the experience of a lifetime.

Sunday, August 19, 2001

For a lot of people, it would be the experience of a lifetime.

For Corey Dieser, it was a chance to swim in the ocean – and make more memories that will last a lifetime.

Dieser was a member of the Minnesota Magic, which won the 12-and-under AAU state championship and earned the right to represent the state for the second year in a row at the 2001 national basketball tournament.

The team traveled to Virginia Beach, Va., where it was one of 106 squads competing for the title. The highlight was an upset of the 2000 national champions from Charlotte, N.C. as the Magic finished in 12th place.

The rest of the all-star squad included Marcus Hill, Brooklyn Park; Scott Kaitz, Plymouth; Alex Rubin, Plymouth; James Thelemann, Hopkins; Carter Biewen, Golden Valley; Blake Hoffarber, Hopkins; Marty Gregor, Chaska; and Jimmy Johnson, Andover. The coaches were Bob Kaitz and Bruce Hoffarber.

Dieser, who will be a seventh-grader at Southwest Junior High School, is the son of Dennis and Doreen Dieser of Albert Lea. He was asked to keep a journal for the Tribune during this year’s national tournament. Here’s his day-by-day account:

Thursday, July 12

Getting There

When I got up at our hotel, we ate breakfast and went to the airport. We were the first ones there from my team. All except three of us were on the same flight. I sat with Scott and Blake.

When we landed, we rented a car and drove three and a half hours to our hotel. After we unpacked, we went swimming in the ocean. The water was warm.

We saw Alex when we got out and asked, &uot;Why weren’t you here earlier?&uot;

Said Alex, &uot;First we were supposed to leave Minneapolis at 10 a.m. and didn’t leave until noon. When we got to Detroit it was 3:30, and we didn’t leave there until 5 p.m. Then we got here at 7:15.&uot;

Friday, July 13

Registration

Opening Ceremony

Team Meeting

When we got to registration we waited in a room for about five minutes. When our team name was called, we went into another room where they checked to make sure we were who we said we were.

Then we got our goodie bags and left for practice. It was our normal, hard working practice.

Later in the day was the opening ceremony. All 106 teams were introduced. Then there were four speakers, which I thought were all pretty boring. At the end they had fireworks and sparklers. I caught two balls that they were throwing out to us. There was a dinner for the players and coaches. We were the first team there. We hustled to get back to the hotel to go swimming. The waves were awesome. After that we had a team meeting about our game tomorrow.

Saturday, July 14

Game Time

Before scouting upcoming opponents we went to the Complete Athlete Class. It was boring.

At 3:30 p.m. our whole team went to scout the other two teams we play in our pool. They were Maine and Florida Gold Coast. We think both of those games will be blowouts. While we were watching we were all nervous. Josh was the most nervous because it was his first national tournament game.

Then it was our game vs. Roanoke. Nobody scored in the first three minutes. The game wasn’t even close. We beat them by 30.

After the game, we went to the beach.

Sunday, July 15

Second Round

In the morning I went swimming in the ocean.

At 3:30, we went to the Mt. Trashmore YMCA for practice. When practice ended at 4:30 we went to Subway as a team. When we were all done eating we played sports trivia for 45 minutes.

We got to the gym at 6 to watch the Blue Heat vs. Roanoke. This time nobody was nervous because we had a game played.

Against Maine there was never a question of who was going to win. Since they only had six players, they were all sucking air after the first quarter because of the up-and-down tempo of the game.

Monday, July 16

Family Outing

I went with my family to Fort Story. We got to climb an old lighthouse. It had 97 stairs.

When we got back, I went mini-golfing. After quiet time we left for shootaround at Kempsville High School. At 10 to 7, we left for our game. We won again. I had a great game – six rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block. We started to get back our outside shooting.

Tuesday, July 17

Another Victory

In the morning I went to the beach for the hour that coach gave us. Then I went mini-golfing with Scott and Blake. We got in two rounds.

After that, we went to shootaround. I worked on shooting. Then we had an hour of quiet time before our game.

At the start of the game I took a charge that turned the game in our favor. We won by 10 or so.

My mom and I got a pizza from Calz. It was good.

Wednesday, July 18

Defeat

At 10:45 a.m. we had a practice to work on some things. Right after that we went to our game at Bayside High School. We had a lead in the first half but lost it in the third quarter. The Vipers beat us by five. They were good.

It was rainy so we stayed at the hotel.

Thursday, July 19

Upset Special

End Of The Line

In the morning everyone just stayed around the hotel. At 12:15 we left for our game against the Charlotte Stars.

We were down three with 20 seconds left in the game. Blake made a three with a foul; he made the free throw. Then they came down and scored to put them up by one. Then Marcus had a nice pass to Carter for three. We beat last year’s champs.

Then at 7:30 we played Kentucky. They couldn’t believe we beat the Stars. We ended up losing that game by three. Their coach couldn’t stop complimenting us. That was our last game of the year.