WBBY Shootout

Saturday I went down to watch the WBBY Shootout in Milwaukee. Nine games spread out over only 14 hours and only a one hour break makes for a very long day of basketball and you can't always remember everything from each game but, I'll try to do my best. I was able to see 18 teams for the first time and the majority of them I will never see play again this year.

Brookfield Academy 49 Shorewood 47
Shorewood was able to jump out early behind the hot shooting of 6'5 junior forward Chase Miller who notched 14 first half points. I game into the game expecting to see Brookfield Academy 6'2 junior guard Troy Huff have a big game but, Huff was basically non-existent in the game and was benched late in the third quarter and never saw the floor in the fourth. In the end Brookfield Academy's height wore down the smaller Shorewood team and BA won by two.

Menomonee Falls 67 Monroe 47
Height was the difference in this game as well as Falls had a huge height advantage. Monroe was unable to get the ball inside and just like years past relied heavily on the three point shot which just wasn't falling for them. Falls 6'8 senior center Luke Russell controlled the inside and 6'0 senior guard Connor Beaudoin put the game away scoring the majority of his 17 points in the second half. Monroe star 6'0 senior guard Mitch Tordoff did all he could scoring 24 points but, he was alone in the effort. What really hurt Monroe offensively was 6'0 sophomore guard Bryan Tordoff being in foul trouble throughout the majority of the game and finished with only five minutes.

I really like this Menomonee Falls team. The have nice height with Russell, 6'5 freshmen JP Tokoto, and 6'6 junior Jonathan Phillips in the starting lineup. Their point guard John Cording 6'1 junior is very solid. He runs the offense well, handling the ball, knocking down the long jumper, or finding the open teammate. Connor Beaudin looked like the weakest starter but, he did lead the team in scoring. Falls also has a nice bench with 6'3 senior Peter Henningsen, 5'11 junior Adam Rubatt, and 6'0 junior Conor Cassidy who all come off the bench and can contribute.

Waukesha Catholic Memorial 59 Oshkosh North 53
6'4 senior Tank Johnson of Oshkosh North stood out the most in this one but, in the end Catholic Memorial's TJ Bray was huge and outscored Johnson 25 to 22. This was a game of quarters as Memorial dominated the first quarter, the North went to a 1-3-1 zone defense and Memorial was lost and North dominated the second. Memorial came out in the second half and jumped out to the early lead but, North stormed back to tie it only to have Memorial squeak out the win in the end.

Eau Claire Regis 51 Burlington Catholic Central 44
This game was very ugly throughout as neither team seemed like they wanted to win. There was lots and lots of easy baskets that were missed. The game stayed very close throughout and Regis was finally able to break away when they went to an offensive play that looked like an out of bounds play where Regis could set up for an open three shot, set a double pick for their point guard and let him decide whether to drive the ball or look for the big man that would roll to the hoop, or just simply have the point guard go one on one and take his man to the hoop. The player that finally stood out was 6'3 junior forward Adam Ganske who was unstoppable when he got the ball in the post and led all scorers with 18. If Ganske was about three to five inches taller he would be getting D1 looks.

Fond du Lac 60 Appleton Xavier 58
Xavier could never really get their two big guns going, senior guards 5'10 Dan Klister and 6'0 Jonathan Burns. On the other side Fond du Lac's starting senior guards led the way. 6'0 Stephan Bauer had 21 while 5'9 Nicholas Ford had 25. Luckily for Xavier their bench came up big and really carried the Hawks early on. This game was extremely fast passed which suited Fond du Lac very well as they are an extremely undersized team exspecially for division one.

Ford is the most impressive point guard that I have seen this year. He really is a rarity. Ford is a pass first point guard who looks to score as a second option. Ford had a bunch of assists but, also got himself 25 points.

Wisconsin Lutheran 42 Racine St. Catherines 37
A defensive struggle where neither team could get their outside shooting going. For St. Cats 6'3 senior Jake Thomas could get nothing going and turned the ball over a bunch of times and the Lawson twins, 6'2 Jarvis and 6'4 Javar, were non-factors in the game as they each only notched two points. On the Wisconsin Lutheran side it was all Flavian Davis who led all scorers with 16 points.

Wauwatosa East 53 Milwaukee Pius 48
I expected Tosa East to dominate this game but, they never could really run away from Pius. Pius is not an impressive team but, they just play fundamentally sound. They don't take bad shots, take care of the ball, and play pretty solid team defense, they just don't have the talent to do much this year though. Once again Tosa East has a ton of bench as they have a first and second string which each team just splitting time half and half. The only player that stands out for them is 6'3 senior Eric Williams who just does all the little things right. Williams can knock down the three and posts up extremely well. The entire team is solid but, the obviously leader of the team is Williams.

Humble Texas Christian Life 69 Whitefish Bay Dominican 47
Dominican is a great team and was probably the most impressive division three school that I saw but, Christian Life's height was just too much. Christian life starts 6'9, 6'7, 6'7,6'5, and 6'1, four of which will be playing D1 college with the exception of a 6'5 sophomore that starts. Meanwhile Dominican's tallest player is 6'4 who prefers to play on the perimeter. Dominican did their best as they really limited Christian Life's second chance points and even got a few offensive rebounds themselves but, in the end Christian's height and athleticism was too much. Dominican's 5'10 senior Jerrel Harris may not play D1 college but, he was the most impressive player on the court as he was able to get past his defender every time down the court and into the paint where he was typically fouled.

Hamiliton Sussex 60 Milwaukee Bay View 41
These two teams are exact opposites. Hamiliton is very patient on offense and works for good shots and on defense they lay back and pack in the middle. On the other hand Bay View takes very quick shots and play in your face defense. Bay View's aggressive style led to lots of missed threes and lots of fouls. Hamiliton was able to back door Bay View all night. Bay View is very undisciplined and take a lot of bad shots and don't look inside enough. Hamiliton also took a lot of three point shots but, most of those threes were wide open shots that were dropping.

All Shootout team from the day I watched.
1st Team
Nicholas Ford 5'9 senior guard Fond du Lac- Best point guard seen. Great pass first lead guard that can also score.
Jerrel Harris 5'10 senior guard Dominican- Great ball handler that's nearly impossible to stay in front of.
T.J. Bray 6'4 junior guard Waukasha Catholic Memorial- College size guard that is a great three point shooter and handles the ball very well.
Flavian Davis 6'4 junior forward Wisconsin Lutheran- College size guard that has a very nice 15 foot jump shot.
Tank Johnson 6'4 senior center Oshkosh North- A beast on the inside with very very soft hands.

2nd Team
Junior Cadougan 6'1 senior guard Christian Life- Big time player with an amazing cross over. Another great pass first lead guard.
Mitch Tordoff 6'0 senior guard Monroe- Big time scorer that can knock down the three and isn't afraid to go inside and score.
Adam Ganske 6'3 junior forward Eau Claire Regis- Very solid in the post and can score with a wide array of moves.
Latavious Williams 6'7 senior forward Christian Life- Has a college body already. Very explosive when going to the hoop.
Luke Russell 6'8 senior center Menomonee Falls- Big man with a very soft touch around the rim. Runs the floor pretty well.

3rd Team
Stephen Bauer 6'0 senior guard Fond du Lac- Goes to the hoop very hard and can score with contact.
Brett Meinecke 6'1 guard junior Hamiliton Sussex- Great spot up shooter and handles the ball really well.
Eric Williams 6'3 senior forward Wauwatosa East- Does all the little things, can shoot, and play in the post.
Antoine Howard 6'4 senior forward Milwaukee Bay View- Big time scorer that can shoot the three or drive to the hoop.
Antoine Carlisle 6'4 senior forward Milwaukee Bay View- Very strong with the ball in the post. can score at will in the post.

HM
Danial Ricci 5'11 junior guard Brookfield Academy- Solid point guard that does a great job of penetrating and knowing whether to pass the ball or take it himself.
Brian Gryszkiewicz 6'0 junior guard Hamiliton Sussex- Very good defender that can also handle the ball and get to the hoop and score.
Connor Beaudoin 6'0 senior guard Menomonee Falls- Good shooter that can shoot the ball from anywhere on the court.
Reese Hartlage 6'3 senior guard Catholic Central- Great three point shooter that can also score in the post.
Chase Miller 6'5 junior forward Shorewood- Great shooter but, is a little streaky.

Well their are my thoughts on the WBBY Shootout. Tomorrow I'll be going to the WBCA Classic which will be followed by another write up and then new player and team rankings.