Metro clubs get ready for some northern exposure

 The Metro is going to the Great White North this weekend, and a little of the Great White North is coming to the Metro.Linn-Mar and Cedar Rapids Washington's boys' basketball teams will take part Saturday in the Timberwolves Shootout at Target Center in Minneapolis. Washington plays Chaska (Minn.) at 5 at the home of the

NBA's

Minnesota Timberwolves with Linn-Mar and Apple Valley (Minn.) meeting at 7.Friday night, Minnetonka (Minn.) travels south for a unique cross-state encounter at Washington."They needed a game," Washington Coach Brad Metzger said, explaining the Minnetonka matchup. "It just came around to us, they got a hold of us. We needed a game (too), so we set it up. Same with the Timberwolves thing. They called us. They try and set up key matchups with Division I recruits and stuff. We're fortunate to have some of those. So does every other team playing there."The 15th Shootout features four games between Twin Cities opponents and schools from neighboring states that have Division I recruits, as Metzger said. Schools from South Dakota and Wisconsin play the first two games Saturday.Linn-Mar, of course, has three D-I players in Matt Bohnannon (Northern Iowa), Shane Benton (North Dakota) and junior point guard Marcus Paige. Washington has a pair in Josh Oglesby (Iowa) and Wes Washpun.Chaska came into the week 7-2 and ranked ninth in Class 4A (the largest in Minnesota). Senior 6-foot-7 forward Ross Travis has signed with Penn State and could be a particularly tough matchup for Wash.Apple Valley is 4-3 and will apparently play without point guard Tyus Jones, considered one of the best freshmen in the nation and already offered a scholarship by Iowa. He suffered an injury to his kidney in an early season game.Minnetonka has a 2-7 record."Any time you can play in an arena, it's good," Metzger said. "Because at the end of the year, if you want to win big games, like at the state tournament, you've got to do it in an arena. Shooting in an arena (is important), as is the travel and being able to focus. Discipline yourself to get that far outside your normal environment, yet focus on the game. An experience like this is always going to help."This is actually the fourth time Linn-Mar has been involved in the Shootout, winning its three previous games in 2006, 2007 and last season."When we first looked at it, it was a tough decision to make because it affects your (postseason) seeding," Lions Coach Chris Robertson said. "When you win, it counts as a win against a 4A team. If you lose, that counts, too ... But the main thing is that it's a great experience. That's first and foremost."The games will be played in two 18-minute halves instead of four eight-minute quarters. There's also no seatbelt rule for the coaches, so Robertson and Metzger can roam their sideline as much as they want without fear of being given a technical foul."Hopefully, we'll both go up there and represent the city well," Robertson said.Cedar Rapids Kennedy also is doing some traveling this weekend, playing Friday night at Sioux City North and Saturday night at Sioux City West. Last season, those schools played at Kennedy.