Wishoops Preseason Tournament

I was able to make it to the wishoops preseason tournament today to watch some preseason basketball at Madison Lafollette. I was able to watch four and a half games featuring six of the top teams in Wisconsin. I say four and a half because I was watching two games at once so neither game got my full attention, so between the two games I got a game and a half of watching.

Here is a list of the players that stuck out the most too me (I did not have rosters for teams so I apologize if I call someone the wrong name)....

Marvin Fitzgerald Mil Vincent Sr- At 6'4 this kid can do so many things playing all five positions on the court. He is at his best in the post when facing the hoop but, can just as easily go outside and knock down the outside shot and blow by the bigger players that are typically guarding him. At times he was even running the point.
Michael Weems Vincent Jr- Easily one of the best three point shooters in the state. When he shoots a three your surprised when it doesn't go down. Has a very very smooth shot. The thing I like the best is he always follows his shot and battles on the boards on offense and defense.
Larry Bradley Vincent Fr- One of the best freshmen I have ever seen. Runs the point very well, whether it be dropping a three or finding the open teammate. Bradley already plays with the confidence and leadership of a senior, he will be something special to watch in years to come.
Cashton Craig Mad Lafollette Sr- Struggled a bit today but, kept shooting and made some big shots against Vincent. Along with his great shooting handles the ball very well and does a great job of moving without the ball coming off screens or cutting to the hoop.
Deonte Thompson? #30 Lafollette Jr- Not sure if I have the right name but, #30 at 6'5 is the only real height that Lafollette has. He did a great job of getting offensive rebounds for easily put back points and grabbing defensive rebounds while also altering the opposing teams shots on defense.
#21 Lafollette- Shot the three incredibly well today which was huge in getting Lafollette back in the game against Vincent. Unsure on this players actual name.
Matt Coenen App East Sr- One of the few true pass first point guards in high school basketball. I always looking to find his open teammates and handles the ball very well against bigger opponents the majority of the time. The only thing holding him back is his size at only 5'8.
Matt Clarke App East Sr- Another kid that can really do everything. Usually guarded the other teams top big man while also being the teams big scorer on offense. He can block shots, rebound, and score inside as well as outside.
Johnny Mielke App East Jr- Did a great job on grabbing offensive and defensive boards and was also able to drop the 15 foot jump shots on a consistent bases. Also brought the ball up at times.
JD Wise Dominican Sr- Was his usually self guarding Laconia's top perimeter player while scoring points of the offensive end in a variety of ways. Wise was able to drive to the hoop, pull up for the mid range jumper, and drop the three point shot. Any he was also playing point guard with Mitchell being out.
Jerrel Harris Dominican Jr- Dropped numerous three point shots that kept Domincan in the game, as well as being able to drive past his defender to get to the hoop where he was typically fouled and then would connect on his free throws
Kieran Weed Laconia Sr- Was Laconias leading scorer. Does a great job of scoring in the post with his back to the basket and running the court for easy scores.
Derek Semenas Laconia Jr- Very good offensive player. Was able to get to the hoop with ease, could shoot the three point shot at any time, and handled the ball very very well for a kid that's 6'3.

Tourny Highlights

Milwaukee Vincent over Plymouth
Vincent was able to press Plymouth right away and force them to turn the ball over giving Vincent an early lead. Plymouth was able to keep it close though with their height advantage allowing them to have second and third chances at scoring well they got the ball past half court and being able to alter Vincent's shots and holding Vincent to one and done. In the end Vincents athleticism was too much for Plymout as Vincent ran away with this one.

Appleton East over Madison Lafollette
Was able to catch this one at the same time as the Vincent vs Plymouth game. East defense was really the difference in this game. East forced Lafollette to turn the ball over numerous times while also forcing the much smaller Lafollette team in to difficult shots. On the offensive end East moved the ball very well find the open man for easy layups and when they did miss a shot they were able to get the offensive rebound and score. Big lost in the game as Appleton East 6'8 forward Alex Dietzen went down with a knee injury.

Laconia over Dominican
The story of this game was that Domincan's big men were unable to stay with the big men of Laconia which allowed for a lot of easy layups. Dominican tried to come back with a full court press late in the game. Dominicans effort came up just short after a couple threes hit by Wise and Harris right at the end of the game. Highlight of the game was an ally oop dunk by Kieran Weed.

Milwaukee Vincent over Madison Lafollette
Probably the most entertaining game of the tournament. This was a track meet from the get go with Vincent having the game in hand for most of the game. Lafollette made a big comeback late in the game behind a barrage of three points from DJ Fuller, Craig, and company. Vincent ended up winning by six highlighted by dunks from Fitzgerald and Bradley.

Appleton East over Milwaukee Vincent
Probably the best game of the tournament as East was able to beat Vincent by about eight points in a back and forth game. Both teams were matching each other three for three throughout much of the game. The big difference was Matt Clarke, not in the scoring column but, on the defensive side of the ball. Clarke registered six blocks in the game and forced Fitzgerald to do the majority of his scoring from the outside. Matt Coenen really struggled with the length of the Vincent defenders but, was able to make some things happen from the three point line to help push East over Vincent.

Final Thoughts
Milwaukee Vincent- As usual after losing a ton of seniors Milwaukee Vincent reloads for another state title run. This Vincent team probably has more shooters then last years team had and will be simply able to outscore a lot of teams. Come March this Vincent team will for sure be there.
Appleton East- This team rightfully deserves their preseason #1 ranking. They move the ball exceptionally well until they find the player with the wide open shot. They have two guys that can really knock down the three(don't know their names but they were #12 and #14), a steady pg in Coenen, a go to guy in Clarke, and a guy that does a little bit of everything in Mielke(if that is his real name). Only really question is how long the 6'8 Dietzen will be out. He is a guy that they will really need when they meet Oshkosh West and all their height. East will be making a long tourney run.
Madison Lafollette- This team will have a roller coaster season. They have a ton of guards so they will look to push the ball a lot and rely heavily on the three point shot, this will lead to a lot of turnovers and a poor field goal percentage. Along with their lack of height they will have a tough time rebounding and defending specially against some of the top teams in the Big Eight. I see Lafollette as a team that will make it to sectionals. If this team does get hot they could beat anyone in the state or they could lose to nearly anyone in the state if those threes aren't dropping.
Plymouth- I'll admit that I really didn't pay much attention to this team but, they should be a fairly tough team. They have good overall team height and a sure handed pg leading them. They should do fairly well in conference play but, will have a tough time in the tourney being in the eastern part of the state.
Dominican- Despite struggling a bit today I still see Dominican as one of the two favorites in Division three along with Racine St Cats. They will have three very good guards in Harris, Wise, and Mitchell. As long as the don't play teams with a really good big man then they should easily make it to state.
Laconia- A team I knew nothing, other then some talk, prior to today, I was very impressed by. They have a very solid team where everyone knows there role and follows it. They have two very good players that they can look to in tight games, played good defense, and move the ball very well on offense in the half court or on the fast break.

Well this concludes my recap of the Wishoop Preseason Tourney and concludes one of the longer post you will ever see from me. Later in this week I will be posting my preseason rankings from each division.