Look Back at Preseason Rankings

I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at my preseason rankings and see how good I actually did on predicting the season. The rankings shown are my preseason rankings, whats in bold is my post season thoughts on my preseason picks.

Division 1
1. Milwauke Pius XI- The #1 ranked player in the state 5'11 Korie Lucious teams with 6'0 Tyrone Gordon to form the states top back court. A state title will hinge on the play of big men 6'5 Matt Chrnelich and 6'4 Anthony Kuenzi. Never really got things going as lack of chemistry really hurt them. Won their conference but couldn't win the big games and lost in the second round of the tournament and finished 15-7 and unranked.
2. Appleton East- A one loss team a year ago returns four starters and is lead by top 50 seniors 5'8 Matt Coenen and 6'5 Matt Clarke. Finished the regular season 7th but, never really lived up to their hype and ended up losing sectional final game.
3. Milwaukee King- Generals lose only 2 players from last years state team. I'd put Kings top 12 against any in the state. Had a pretty good year only losing to good teams but, weren't able to beat any of the good teams. Finished the regular season ranked 11th.
4. Oshkosh West- Two time defending champs may be the tallest team in the state with 5 players at 6'5 or taller. Big question mark at the guard positions though. Struggled early on and had to overcome that slow start but, were able to make it to state once again and lose in semifinal game so I guess you can say they finished in top four. Unranked final ranking.
5. Milwaukee Vincent- Vikings reload once again behind 6'4 senior Marvin Fitzgerald, 6'3 junior sharpshooter Michael Weems, and sensational freshmen 6'2 Larry Bradley. Had a ton of talent and had a good year but, were upended by Germantown in the sectional final by one point. Final ranking 10th.
6. Janesville Craig- Very strong senior class led by 6'6 sharpshooter senior Lucas Burns. Another team that never lived up to their hype and had a slow start with a strong finished but, lost in the sectional semifinals. Finished the year unranked.
7. Verona- Wildcats return 4 starters from a state tournament team from a year ago. Basically had the same year they had last year. Did great in their conference losing twice only to Monroe and had a strong tournament run losing in the sectional final. The lose of Sky Waters really hurt them on the offensive end.
8. Wauwatosa East- Raiders lose only one significant player from last years team. Tosa has 8 very good guards but lack a true big man and may have difficulty spreading out the minutes. Tosa reached their full potential and more as they were able to win state behind those top eight players, who really worked well together. Lost only one game all year and really deserved their championship.
9. Wausau East- East returns 5 players from state team from a year ago. Expecting huge year from 6'3 senior Jordan Fischer. Struggle a lot this year to even win within their conference, probably one of the biggest dissapointments for me.
10. Eau Claire North- #1 ranked Sophmore 6'11 Evan Anderson teams with top 10 6'7 Junior Tyler Brown to for the states top front line. Also have a pretty solid point guard in 5'8 senior Paul Hahn. Thought the height would be huge for them and it was as North was able to get to state before their season came to an end. Lost only three games all year.
HM
Madison Memorial- 6'6 junior Jeronne Maymon is a first team all state player but, the rest of the team remains a question mark. Over achieved most peoples predictions as they dominated the Big Eight Conference once again and were the favorite coming into the state tournament and ended up losing in the championship game. Jeronne Maymon showed he's the most dominating player in the state and Memorial is the early favorite for next year.
Milwaukee Bradley Tech- #5 ranked senior 5'11 Chris McHenry joins 5'10 senior Rashad Carrington and 5'11 senior Marcus Jenkins to form one of the best back courts in the state. Probably the second biggest dissapointment in the state. A year ago Tech lost in the sectional final and this year finished middle of the pack and lost second round of playoffs.
Germantown- Warhawks nearly beat state runners up Milwaukee Vincent in sectionals and return top junior big man 6'6 Ben Averkamp and 6'5 senior Zack Neumann along with ultra quick point guard 6'1 senior Rick Bowers. Met the expectations and even more as they finally defeated Milwaukee Vincent and made it to state before losing to Oshkosh West in OT.
Milwaukee Washington- Last years second place team in the city conference returns first team all city player 6'2 senior DeMarcus Phillips and 6'8 senior Patrick Davis. Had a great year undefeated regular season that nobody saw coming but, unfortunatly lost in the sectional semifinals.
Racine Horlick- Any team with a top 10 nationally ranked player like 6'6 junior Jamil Wilson deserves to be at least honorable mention. Wilson really carried this team to a respectable finish but wasn't enough as Horlick lost in the sectional final.
Ashwaubenon- 6'2 senior Jeremy Paprocki is already a big time scorer and if 6'8 Jacob Koch can have the senior season like older brother Adam had a few years ago, Jaguars will have a good shot at state. Had a pretty solid regular season but, in the playoffs just couldn't get it done as the lost in the sectional semifinals.

Division 2
1. Monroe- Defending state champs return four starters including star guards 6'0 senior Brett Stangel and 5'11 junior Mitch Tordoff. Had another great regular season but, their hot shooting left them in the state semifinal game and they lost to New Berlin Eisenhower.
2. Wisconsin Lutheran- Little Ten champs return top 50 senior 5'11 Brandon Whiteside along with #2 ranked sophmore 6'5 Flavian Davis. Had a good regular season but, kind of laid an egg losing in the regional final.
3. Waupun- Warriors return two 20 point scorers in seniors 6'1 Ryan Rasmussen and 6'4 Aris Wurtz. Would of had a great great year but, just couldn't beat Plymouth who gave them all three of their losses.
4. Waukesha Catholic Memorial- Crusaders will be well prepared for tournament play after playing in one of the toughest D1 conferences. Senior starters 6'6 Tom Neary and 6'5 Dayton Young and super soph 6'3 TJ Bray should be fully recovered from last seasons injury. Another team with a great year but, laid an egg in the playoffs losing second round.
5. East Troy- Trojans return everyone from last years 18-3 team including 6'8 senior Alex Bondar Were as good as expected and ended up losing to Monroe by one in the sectional final.
6. New Richmond- Middle Boarder runner ups return 6'6 seniors Brett Anderson and Dan Stovall along with returning starter 6'0 senior Hayden Zimmerman. Had another solid year but, Spooner was able to take them down once again.
7. Rice Lake- Warriors return elite junior 6'0 Alex Culy and top big man 6'5 senior Andrew Lochmann. Another team that fell apart in the playoffs and lost second round.
8. Seymour- Seymour has to be in the top 10 every year after so many state appearances its just expected. This team was top 10 only in name and showed it in the playoffs as they lost second round.
9. Adams Friendship- 1-3-1 defense always gives AF chance to make a big tourney run. 6'4 junior Tommie Gaston is one of the most exciting players in Division two. Didn't have a great regular season but, should their toughness as they were able to get to the state championship game before losing.
10. Port Washington- State runner ups return their top two players in 6'5 senior Chris Prom and 6'2 sophmore Josh Gasser. Last years state runners up had about the same regular season but, weren't able to turn in on the playoffs like last year.
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Wisconsin Dells- State tournament Chiefs are led by a strong back court in 5'11 senior Ryan Wenkman and 5'10 junior Jade Royston Good regular season but, never could beat the top tier teams and it showed in their lose to Monroe in sectiona semifinals.
Madison Edgewood- Crusaders always get the most out of their talent. Played hard and disciplined but, didn't have the talent of years past.
Spooner- Rails return three starters from last years sectional finals team. Made it as far as last year losing in sectional finals in the northwest, so HM was about the right place for them.

Divsion 3
1. Whitefish Bay Dominican- Knights have the top back court in division 3 with 5'10 junior Jerrel Harris, JD Wise, #2 ranked senior, 6'0 Kwamain Mitchell(when he returns from injury). Big question mark is lack of big men. Where a great team but, the lack of a big man kept them from winning a championship.
2. Racine St. Cats- The lost of big man 6'6 James Haarsma will be significantly felt but, the loss will be eased by the return of 4 key players. Lightning quick senior point guard 6'0 Patrick Souter returns in the back court along with sharpshooter junior 6'3 James Thomas. In the post juniors Javar and Jarvis Lawson at 6'4 and 6'3 return. Souter missed the season with an injury which basically sealed St. Cats season.
3. Laconia- Veteran team is led by 6'5 senior Kieran Weed and 6'3 junior Serek Semenas, both returning first team all-conference players. Had a great great regular season going undefeated and then lost to a very hot Iola Scandinavia team in the playoffs.
4. Iola Scandinavia- One loss team a year ago returns everyone including high scoring 6'2 senior Mike Griffin. Everyone knew they could score, this year they finally played defense and made it to the D3 championship game before losing.
5. Arcadia- Defending Coulee champs bring everyone back including 11 seniors and are led by 6'5 senior Jordan Rumpel. Another great regular season but, appeared over matched in the regional final game against Aquinas who dominated them.
6.Cuba City- Cubans have one of the all time great coaches in Jerry Petitgue and are led by super soph 6'2 Evan Richard. Very scrappy team that made it to the sectional final game before getting dominated by Aquinas so 6th was about right.
7. Colby- Horneys lose only 2 players from last year, neither were starters. Are led by a strong junior class that features 6'5 Wade Sebold and 6'2 Jordan Rahm. Colby was a good team but, maybe not 7th as they lost to Fall Creek in regional final.
8. Lacrosse Aquinas- Last years runner ups return 6'3 seniors Lucas Morrissey and Zach Rickaway. Along with JV call up 6'1 junior Jimmy Whitehead to form a solid nucleus. Obviously much better then this 8th ranking as they won state dominating everyone up until the state games.
9. Manitowoc Roncalli- May run the best offense in the state. Look to continue their recent great success. Roncalli had another Roncalli year but, this year belonged to Iola Scandinavia for the northeast.
10. Weyauwega-Fremont- 19-3 a year ago lose only one player and are led by high scoring senior 6'1 Zach Alix. Weyauwega had another great year and once again one of their few losses come in the playoffs.
HM
Marshall- Defending Capitol South champs have strong tradition. HM is probably right for Marshall as they were an extremely talented team but, never lived up to their potential and then had a strong tournament run.
Stratford- Coming off a strong football season returning everyone to the court. Good football players doesn't mean good basketball players as Stratford finished with a .500 record.
Oostburg- Another team with a strong tradition that will be looking to make another strong title run. The strong traidtion continued as Oostburg once again lost to a private school in the playoffs.

Division 4
1. Eleva Strum- Last years defending champs return three starters led by Mr. Everything 6'2 senior Lance Rongstad. Eleva was everything that was predicted as they won state and Rongstad was even more.
2. Randolph- Surprising not to see Rockets at #1 but, lack of experience and loss of big time player Dan Tillema is going to hurt. Defending champs to return three big time starters in 6'3 senior sharpshooter Bryan Johnson, 6'9 sophmore bigman Kyle Kelm, and the last of the Tillema brothers in 6'1 junior Tyler Tillema. Dominating year as usual until they were dominated by Eleva Strum in the state semifinal game.
3. Suring- A return trip to state is likely behind 5'10 senior point guard Josh Regal. Regal dominated like last year and carried this team to the state championship game and really gave ES a very good game before going down.
4. Barneveld- New coach brings in a ton of experience. Expect big seasons from 6'1 senior point guard Trent Sullivan and 5'7 senior three point shooter Kyle Thompson. Both will step out of Nick Allen's shadow and have big years. Didn't meet the 4th ranking spot. Their defense was pretty solid but, their offense just wasn't there.
5. Benton- Pushed Randolph to the limit in sectionals last year and are led by 6'1 junior twins Connor and Jordan Hendricks. Five was just about right as Benton was undefeated until they met up with Randolph in the sectional final.
6. Elmwood- One loss team a year ago returns three big time players in 6'4 senior Michael Brunner and 6'1 senior Cody Maves, along with leading scorer 6'0 junior Steve Pax. After going undefeated last year struggled a bit going 19-4 and losing to Eleva in the regional final.
7. Hillsboro- Scenic Bluffs favorites are led by strong junior class highlighted by 6'5 Pat Alexander and 6'0 Justin Thompson. Dominated their conference but, just couldn't make it happen on the state level.
8. Clayton- Rich tradition Bears return four players that averaged double figures, led by high scorer 6'0 senior Jordan LaBlanc. Rich tradition doesn't carry Clayton to a great year.
9. Clear Lake- Warriors are in one of the toughest D4 conferences with Clayton. Return high scoring seniors 6'0 Josh Wickboldt and 6'5 Vance Friendshuh. Good year but, were taken down by Clayton alittle to early.
10. Oshkosh Lourdes- Always tough knights should compete for a state tournament berth. Good year, still no match for the top D4 teams.

HM
Black Hawk- Warriors lose only one player from last years team. Very good start that cooled off as the year went on.
Gillet- Always tough Tigers return high scorers in 6'7 senior Tyler Tietyen and 5'10 sophmore Nick Krause. Good regular season but, moved up to D3 for playoffs where they lost second round.

Well I think I did fairly well for my preseason picks. I missed a team here and there like Lacrosse Aquinas and New Berlin Eisenhower. Overrated a few teams like Milwaukee Pius and Appleton East. All in all I give myself a B on my rankings, ok maybe a B- but, I still did decent in my eyes. Spell check still isn't working.