Since I had my team rankings a few days ago it seemed time to do my player rankings as well. I've waited longer then normal to do the player rankings so I'm bound to forget someone I saw play or rank players that I have seen recently higher then the players that I saw earlier in the year. Again my rankings will be based solely on the games that I saw the particular player play despite the fact that I may of seen the player play a year ago. I prefer to rank players on their current performance and not on past. Class rankings will be based solely on the state of Wisconsin but, overall rankings will include out of state players. Well here are my rankings.
Overall Rankings
1. Austin Armga 6'3 senior Waupun- Most impressive scorer I've seen this year. Nearly impossible to stay in front of and when he gets inside the free throw line he's going to score.
2. Nimrod Hillard 6'0 junior Madison East- One of the best ball handlers in the state and can get where ever he wants with the dribble and can finish in a variety of ways at the rim. Doesn't miss free throws and can knock down the three.
3. Tre Edwards 6'1 senior Racine Park- Another guard that finishes at the rim extremely well and in a variety of ways. Also has very very quick hands and uses them effectively to pick off passes.
4. Vander Blue 6'3 senior Madison Memorial- Can absolutely take over a game at any time. Handles the ball exceptionally well, makes the big three point shots, hits his free throws, and can jump out of the gym.
5. Jordan Noskowiak 6'3 junior Sun Prairie- If he gets his feet set the shot is going to go down. Along with his shooting is a great athlete and does a little bit of everything.
6. Marquis Mason 6'4 senior Madison East- One of the few guys on the list that can take over a game without even taking a shot. Great rebounder and dunker and may be the best shot blocker in the state.
7. Keith Sconiers 6'3 senior Oak Lawn Richards IL- Is very good with the ball in his hands. Loves to get out and run and can stop on a dime and hit the jumper or the three point shot.
8. Josh Gasser 6'4 senior Port Washington- Another kid that can do a little bit of everything and can take over a game without scoring. Runs the point, is one of the top rebounders on the team, and does average 20 plus points a game when he does score.
9. Tre Creamer 6'2 senior Madison Memorial- Has really formed a great 1 2 punch with Vander Blue. Can slash to the rim and score anytime he wants and this year he is finally starting to knock down the three point shot. Is the vocal leader for this team.
10. Trevor Jorgenson 6'7 junior Lacrosse Logan- Big man with an extremely soft touch around the rim. Very solid get that uses his size to dominate the boards.
11. Brett Meinecke 6'2 senior Sussex Hamiliton- Very heading point guard that really looks for his teammates and keeps the offense balanced. Knocks down the three and can get to the rim and score.
12. Sam Karls 6'4 senior Verona- Great defender that guards some of the best players in the state night in and night out. Loves to get physical on the inside and battle for rebounds. Good jumper and can knock down the three if given the open look.
13. Ryan Solberg 6'6 senior Waukesha West- Tall long player with a very nice outside shot and runs the court very well.
14. Justin Ward 6'4 senior Wisconsin Dells- Long lanky player that shoots the three very well but, also handles the ball pretty well and can driver to the hoop and score.
15. Johnny Coenen 5'8 junior Appleton East- Ultimate pass first point guard and I love these type of players. Despite his size is able to get his shot at anytime and does a great job of setting up his teammates.
16. Andrew Schwoerer 6'4 senior Valders- Big man that controls the offensive and defensive boards. He runs the court very well and has soft hands and very nice footwork for a big man.
17. Derrick Cook 6'0 senior Milwaukee South- Big time scorer that doesn't dominate the ball and picks his time to score. Despite being only six foot does a great job of battling on the inside with far bigger players.
18. Nate Gibson 6'9 senior Wisconsin Dells- Another big man with a soft touch around the rim and can finish with his left or right hand and shoots free throws very well.
19. Isaih Bridges 5'8 senior Racine Park- Another undersized guard that can get his shot off at any time and is a big time scorer.
20. Adonis Bailey 6'3 senior Oak Lawn Richards- Superior athlete that can jump out of the gym. Was in foul trouble much of the game I saw but, could tell the skills and ability is all there.
21. Matt Ropel 6'2 senior Verona- Great spot up shorter that when given the open look the shot is gonna drop and is automatic from the free throw line.
22. Ian Joyce 6'6 junior Middleton- Gets position on the inside at will and is able to get the easy buckets and score. Also runs the court very well.
23. Brian Krohn 6'2 senior Sussex Hamiliton- Undersized guy that isn't afraid to go to the inside and score and knocked down the three from the outside.
24. Mark Kowalke 6'6 junior Baraboo- Great rebounder and can hit the outside shot when given room.
25. Derek Madson 6'3 senior Valders- Guy that can do it all. Run the point or play of the inside.
Senior Rankings
1. Austin Armga 6'3 Waupun
2. Tre Edwards 6'1 Racine Park
3. Vander Blue 6'3 Madison Memorial
4. Marquis Mason 6'4 Madison East
5. Josh Gasser 6'4 Port Washington
6. Tre Creamer 6'2 Madison Memorial
7. Brett Meinecke 6'2 Sussex Hamiliton
8. Sam Karls 6'4 Verona
9. Ryan Solberg 6'6 Waukesha West
10. Justin Ward 6'4 Wisconsin Dells
HM
Andrew Schroewer 6'4 Valders
Derrick Cook 6'0 Milwaukee South
Nate Gibson 6'9 Wisconsin Dells
Junior Rankings
1. Nimrod Hillard 6'0 Madison East
2. Jordan Noskowiak 6'3 Sun Prairie
3. Trevor Jorgenson 6'7 Lacrosse Logan
4. Johnny Coenen 5'8 Appleton East
5. Ian Joyce 6'6 Middleton
6. Mark Kowalke 6'6 Baraboo
7. Shane Kenndey 6'2 Port Washington- Great defender that does all the little things to make his team go.
8. Caleb Zeegers 6'2 Appleton East- Good three point shooter that is very tough when he gets hot.
9. Chris Hawkins 6'4 Sun Prairie- Athletic big man that rebounds well and can go to the outside and knock down the shots.
10. Tre Burnette 6'4 Madison Memorial- Athletic freak that can really go to the rim and rebound. Handles the ball fairly well and can knock down the three.
Sophomore Rankings
1.Sean McGann 6'3 Baraboo- Great athlete that can get to the rim and score. Also handles the ball very nicely.
2.Sam Mader 6'7 Appleton East- Big man that prefers to play like a guard handling the ball and shooting three but, can go to the inside and rebound.
3. Jamar Morris 6'4 Madison Memorial- Jumps out of the gym and absolutely dominates the inside at times.
4.Taron Edwards 5'10 Racine Park- Very ugly shot but, never seems to miss.
5. Vince Kube 6'2 Lacrosse Logan- Another athletic player that can shoot the mid range jump shot or get to the rim.
6. Sawyer Mosely 5'10 Port Washington- Handles the ball very well and is always looking for his teammates.
7. Rudy Bentley JR 5'7 Madison East- Another guy with great handles that can get anywhere he wants and isn't afraid to go up against bigger defenders.
8. Deion Jackson Body 5'8 Shorewood- Is a pretty solid outside shooter and handles the ball fairly well.
9.Brandon Hagenow 5'10 Sussex Hamiliton- Just a solid all around player that doesn't do much wrong and is a pretty good shooter.
10. Ryan Gerritson 6'3 Waupun- Long kid that can shoot and battle for the boards on the inside.
HM
Deonte Tidmore 5'2 Milwaukee South
Freshmen Rankings
1. Brendan Ortiz 5'11 Madison Memorial- Heady point guard that runs the Spartans offensive really well and has a very nice shooting touch from the outside.
2. Nick Fuller 6'4 Sun Prairie- Guy that rebounds really well for a freshmen and shoots the spot up three pointer very well.
3. Austin Malone-Mitchell 5'8 Shorewood- Plays with lots of confidence and has a nice midrange game and can really put the ball in the hoop.
4. Shane Wimann 6'2 Wisconsin Dells- Looks like an upper classmen and plays like one too. Great rebounder and shoots the three well.
5. MJ Delmore 5'8 Wisconsin Dells- Very good point guard that does a nice job running the show, really looks to set teammates up, and shoots the three real well.
6. Alex Najeib 5'9 Shorewood- Really athletic kid that can do what he wants on the court. Does take some bad shots at times.
7. Brad Kenote 6'0 Rhinelander- Right now a hustler that doesn't look to shoot much but, has a nice shot and some pretty good ball handling.
There are my rankings about a third of the way through the season. They will probably change a bit before the end of the year and I can guarantee that a few of those guys will be moving up the more that I see them play.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
First Round Team Rankings
I haven't had the opportunity to get to as many games as I have in the past but, still have seen about 25 teams play this year which lays a pretty good foundation for my first round of team rankings. As in the past I rank only teams that I have seen play and only rank teams based on the game that I have actually seen them play in. I feel it unfair to base a teams rankings based on here say or stats alone. I understand that a team may have a bad game when I see them play or be missing a player but, I still feel it is better to base my assessments on what I see not on what I have heard or read. Head to head match ups are taken in to account the most even though a team may lose to a team that they may beat 8 of 10 match ups but, lose the one game I'm at I'm still placing the team that won in the match up because I can not understand ranking a team ahead of another second team, when the second team has defeated the first team. I will rank teams on a whole and then will break down each by division and leaving out of state teams out of the division rankings. Well here are my first rankings.......
1. Madison East- Run the court extremely well and have a solid starting five that is as good as anyones in the state. Big man Marquis Mason is a difference maker on the inside whether he's scoring or not. Mason and Nimrod Hillard are one of the top combos in the state.
2. Racine Park- Another team that runs the court very well. There top five guards really carry this team have seven guys that could probably average double figures.
3. Sun Prairie- Have a lot of guys that can knock down the three point shot and handle themselves very well and have a lot of experience.
4. Madison Memorial- Probably have more talent then any team in the state. The question mark is whether then can "click" by the end of the year.
5. Milwaukee King- Another team with loads of talent that can go 12 deep and not lose a thing. Probably a year away from doing real damage.
6. Oak Lawn Richards Ill- Run the court very very well and can score in a hurry. Knock down the three very well in transition.
7. Port Washington- Very disciplined team that has a star in Josh Gasser but, they don't need to rely on him every game to get the win.
8. Waupun- Solid team overall that has the most impressive scorer that I've seen in Austin Armga.
9. Hamiliton Sussex- Another team that is extremely deep. Can go 12 deep with out losing much and every guy on the deep can hit the three point shot.
10. Verona- Fundamentally sound team that plays great defense and rebounds very well.
11. Appleton East- Live and die by the three and they shoot the three very well. Have some nice size with the 6'7 Mader brothers down low.
12. Valders- Great rebounding team that looks like a bunch of football players playing basketball, which is a good thing in this case. Pound the glass and run their offense very well.
13. Lacrosse Logan- Big man Trevor Jorgenson is the thing that makes this team good. Very soft touch on the inside.
14. Middleton- Great height and when they don't turn the ball over they do a good job of getting the ball to the inside.
15. Wisconsin Dells- Shoot the three very well and big man Nate Gibson is a difference maker.
16. Baraboo- Have a couple stars but, just don't have the ball handlers to compete with the tough teams.
17. Waukesha West- Big man Ryan Solberg is a good player but, the rest of the team is a year away from really doing something.
18. Milwauke South- Very athletic team but, doesn't shoot real great and don't run much of an offense.
19. West DePere- Very nice high low game but, lack overall athletic ability.
20. Shorewood- Lots of problems with this team. Take bad shots and don't rebound very well.
21. Rhinelander- Take lots of bad shots and don't have the size to compete with a lot of shots.
22. New Lisbon- Not much to say about this team. Not a good team.
I've decided to not due the rankings for each division since the 22 teams that I have ranked are the only 22 teams that I've seen. I figure most people can figure out where each team would be ranked in their individual divisions.
1. Madison East- Run the court extremely well and have a solid starting five that is as good as anyones in the state. Big man Marquis Mason is a difference maker on the inside whether he's scoring or not. Mason and Nimrod Hillard are one of the top combos in the state.
2. Racine Park- Another team that runs the court very well. There top five guards really carry this team have seven guys that could probably average double figures.
3. Sun Prairie- Have a lot of guys that can knock down the three point shot and handle themselves very well and have a lot of experience.
4. Madison Memorial- Probably have more talent then any team in the state. The question mark is whether then can "click" by the end of the year.
5. Milwaukee King- Another team with loads of talent that can go 12 deep and not lose a thing. Probably a year away from doing real damage.
6. Oak Lawn Richards Ill- Run the court very very well and can score in a hurry. Knock down the three very well in transition.
7. Port Washington- Very disciplined team that has a star in Josh Gasser but, they don't need to rely on him every game to get the win.
8. Waupun- Solid team overall that has the most impressive scorer that I've seen in Austin Armga.
9. Hamiliton Sussex- Another team that is extremely deep. Can go 12 deep with out losing much and every guy on the deep can hit the three point shot.
10. Verona- Fundamentally sound team that plays great defense and rebounds very well.
11. Appleton East- Live and die by the three and they shoot the three very well. Have some nice size with the 6'7 Mader brothers down low.
12. Valders- Great rebounding team that looks like a bunch of football players playing basketball, which is a good thing in this case. Pound the glass and run their offense very well.
13. Lacrosse Logan- Big man Trevor Jorgenson is the thing that makes this team good. Very soft touch on the inside.
14. Middleton- Great height and when they don't turn the ball over they do a good job of getting the ball to the inside.
15. Wisconsin Dells- Shoot the three very well and big man Nate Gibson is a difference maker.
16. Baraboo- Have a couple stars but, just don't have the ball handlers to compete with the tough teams.
17. Waukesha West- Big man Ryan Solberg is a good player but, the rest of the team is a year away from really doing something.
18. Milwauke South- Very athletic team but, doesn't shoot real great and don't run much of an offense.
19. West DePere- Very nice high low game but, lack overall athletic ability.
20. Shorewood- Lots of problems with this team. Take bad shots and don't rebound very well.
21. Rhinelander- Take lots of bad shots and don't have the size to compete with a lot of shots.
22. New Lisbon- Not much to say about this team. Not a good team.
I've decided to not due the rankings for each division since the 22 teams that I have ranked are the only 22 teams that I've seen. I figure most people can figure out where each team would be ranked in their individual divisions.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Converse Eastbay Classic
The Converse Eastbay Classic is slowly becoming one of the most popular in season tournaments in Wisconsin High School Basketball. While the WBBY tournament is still the number one tournament in the state the Converse Eastbay Classic is right there with the WBBY. Both tournaments have been able to attract teams outside of the state of Wisconsin which has brought in not only fans of the schools that are participating in the tournament but, fans that are just fans of basketball as a whole. After attending the WBBY a year ago and the Converse Eastbay Classic this year, there are more fans in attendance of the WBBY then the Converse but, the games are just as good. Typically about half the games end up being good games and you get a wide array of teams from throughout the state.
Valders 69 Shorewood 44
In the opening game of the tournament Valders was able to take down Shorewood in dominating fashion. Valders was the much more disciplined team and ran their offense much better and it showed. The Valders players appeared to be thicker then the Shorewood players which allowed Valders to completely dominate the game. Shorewood on the other hand didn't appear to be running an offense at all and relied on going one on one which didn't seem to work. These things all led to an easy Valders win.
Top Scorers
Shorewood- Austin Malone-Mitchell 14 Chase Miller 10
Valders- Andrew Schwoerer 19 Derek Madson 13 Derek Buck 11 Steven Baur 10
Waukesha West 42 Milwaukee South 41
This game may of been an extremely close game but, it didn't feel like it with the lack of fan support in this game. South was similar to Shorewood in that South didn't run much of an offense and seemed to pass the ball once and shoot and didn't look to get the ball on the inside at all and for the most part the threes were not falling. This may of been because Waukesha West had superior size at nearly every position. Waukesha West wasn't that impressive but, South was even less impressive.
Top Scorers
West- Ryan Solberg 23
South- Derrick Cook 13
Appleton East 49 LaCrosse Logan 37
In a battle of inside verse outside game Appleton East took down Lacrosse Logan using their superior three point shooting which led to the victory. Logan looked to get the ball inside to their big man 6'7 senior Trevor Jorgenson but, East did a very good job of defending the post though. On the other side East was knocking down the threes in the first half and took a huge lead but, in the second half they did go cold from the outside which allowed Logan to at least make the game some what close in the end.
Top Scorers
East- Caleb Zeegers 13 Johnny Coenen 11
Logan- Jorgenson 15
Oak Lawn Richards 70 Sussex Hamiliton 61
This game really started out the way that I expected as Oak Lawn looked to pressure Hamiliton into turning the ball over and allowing Oak Lawn to push the tempo. Like I expected Hamiliton handled the pressure very well and were able to get wide open jump shots and they dropped them. Throughout the first three quarters Hamiliton completely controlled the game but, in the fourth quarter things completely changed. For whatever reason Hamiliton begain turning the ball over and Oak Lawn really got things going with the up tempo game and were able to knock down the threes in the transition game. Some huge calls went against Hamiliton at the end and a technical which gave Oak Lawn a cushion and a nice win in the end.
Top Scorers
Hamiliton- Brett Meinecke 22 Brian Krohn 20
No box score available for Oak Lawn.
Port Washington 73 Waupun 67
This game lived up to the hype as the number one and two ranked teams in division two went head to head. The biggest difference in this game was Port Washington's height and that they had a team effort while Waupun relied too much on one player. That one player was 6'3 senior Austin Armga who was nearly unstoppable in the first half and in the second half just seemed to run out of gas as he played nearly the entire game.
Top Scorers
PW- Josh Gasser 25 Shane Kennedy 14 Cory Steinmetz 11 Zach Schultz 11
Waupun- Austin Armga 31 Cory Nickel 14
Madison Memorial 56 Milwaukee King 43
In the markee match up of the tournament Madison Memorial was able to take down Milwaukee King. The game went back and forth throughout much of the first three and a half quarters before Memorial finally grabbed the lead for good and hung on for the win. Early on King did a great job of taking Memorial star 6'4 senior Vander Blue out of the game. With Blue struggling 6'2 senior Tre Creamer took over and carried Memorial through the first half. King on the other side just couldn't get any going at all offensively, the only time they could was when they were able to get Memorial to turn the ball over and getting easy transition buckets. For as much as I dissed 6'5 senior Ed Kluender in my last post he really showed me something in this game and I take back nearly everything I said. Kluender ended up with a handful of rebounds and blocks, had 12 points, and dove on a couple loose balls on the floor. Kluender was the biggest reason that Memorial won this game. In the end Blue finally found himself hitting a couple threes and knocking down the free throws to help complete the win.
Top Scorers
Memorial- Vander Blue 22 Tre Creamer 21 Ed Kluender 12
King- Courtilin Scott-Johnson 14
Top Players of the Tournament
Ander Schwoerer 6'4 junior Valders- Completely controlled the inside in this game and showed some very good foot work and soft hands on the fast break.
Derek Madson 6'3 senior Valders- Does a little bit of everything from grabbing rebounds to helping bring the ball up the court.
Austin Malone-Mitchell 5'8 freshmen Shorewood- Probably the most impressive player for a not so impressive team but, was able to free himself and knock down some shots.
Derrick Cook 6'0 senior Milwaukee South- Did a nice job of letting the game come to him and was able to go inside and score against bigger defenders.
Ryan Solberg 6'6 senior Waukesha West- Runs the court very well for a big man and has a nice mid range jump shot.
Trevor Jorgenson 6'7 junior Lacrosse Logan- Very soft touch around the rim. Very solid in the post on both ends of the court.
Johnny Coenen 5'8 junior Appleton East- Really liked his game running the point for East and despite his size can get his shot off at any time. Has a wide array of moves and can knock down the three.
Dean Danos 6'0 sophomore Oak Lawn Richards- Another point guard that I really liked. Has great handles and shoots the three very well.
Keith Sconiers 6'3 senior Oak Lawn Richards- Really took the game over in the second half. Rebound extremely well and was great in transition knocking down threes or getting to the hoop.
Brett Meinecke 6'2 senior Hamiliton Sussex- Does a nice job of running the team and for the most part handled the pressure defense really well. Knocks down the outside shot when its there and can get to the rim.
Brian Krohn 6'2 senior Hamiliton Sussex- Guy that is not afraid to go inside and battle for the rebounds and can hit the spot up three point shot.
Austin Armga 6'3 senior Waupun- Probably the most impressive player of the entire tournament. Armga could get anywhere he wanted at any time. Nearly impossible to stop until he got tired.
Josh Gasser 6'4 senior Port Washington- Another guy that does a little bit of everything from running the point to grabbing rebounds and was the teams leading scorer.
Zach Schultz 6'7 senior Port Washington- Big man that controlled the inside with his scoring and rebounding.
Courtlin Scott-Johnson 5'11 senior Milwaukee King- Only King player that could get things going has a very nice outside shot.
Ed Kluender 6'5 senior Madison Memorial- Pretty much said it all earlier in the post. Was the reason that Memorial won the game.
Vander Blue 6'3 senior Madison Memorial- Didn't have a great game but, really stepped up when the game was on the line. Showed some great handles with the ball and hit a pair of threes late in the game.
Tre Creamer 6'2 senior Madison Memorial- Completely carried this team in the first half of the game by knocking down the outside shot and hitting the floaters.
This was a great tournament to attend and I would recommend making a trip to this tournament if your a fan of high school basketball or even just a fan of basketball.
Valders 69 Shorewood 44
In the opening game of the tournament Valders was able to take down Shorewood in dominating fashion. Valders was the much more disciplined team and ran their offense much better and it showed. The Valders players appeared to be thicker then the Shorewood players which allowed Valders to completely dominate the game. Shorewood on the other hand didn't appear to be running an offense at all and relied on going one on one which didn't seem to work. These things all led to an easy Valders win.
Top Scorers
Shorewood- Austin Malone-Mitchell 14 Chase Miller 10
Valders- Andrew Schwoerer 19 Derek Madson 13 Derek Buck 11 Steven Baur 10
Waukesha West 42 Milwaukee South 41
This game may of been an extremely close game but, it didn't feel like it with the lack of fan support in this game. South was similar to Shorewood in that South didn't run much of an offense and seemed to pass the ball once and shoot and didn't look to get the ball on the inside at all and for the most part the threes were not falling. This may of been because Waukesha West had superior size at nearly every position. Waukesha West wasn't that impressive but, South was even less impressive.
Top Scorers
West- Ryan Solberg 23
South- Derrick Cook 13
Appleton East 49 LaCrosse Logan 37
In a battle of inside verse outside game Appleton East took down Lacrosse Logan using their superior three point shooting which led to the victory. Logan looked to get the ball inside to their big man 6'7 senior Trevor Jorgenson but, East did a very good job of defending the post though. On the other side East was knocking down the threes in the first half and took a huge lead but, in the second half they did go cold from the outside which allowed Logan to at least make the game some what close in the end.
Top Scorers
East- Caleb Zeegers 13 Johnny Coenen 11
Logan- Jorgenson 15
Oak Lawn Richards 70 Sussex Hamiliton 61
This game really started out the way that I expected as Oak Lawn looked to pressure Hamiliton into turning the ball over and allowing Oak Lawn to push the tempo. Like I expected Hamiliton handled the pressure very well and were able to get wide open jump shots and they dropped them. Throughout the first three quarters Hamiliton completely controlled the game but, in the fourth quarter things completely changed. For whatever reason Hamiliton begain turning the ball over and Oak Lawn really got things going with the up tempo game and were able to knock down the threes in the transition game. Some huge calls went against Hamiliton at the end and a technical which gave Oak Lawn a cushion and a nice win in the end.
Top Scorers
Hamiliton- Brett Meinecke 22 Brian Krohn 20
No box score available for Oak Lawn.
Port Washington 73 Waupun 67
This game lived up to the hype as the number one and two ranked teams in division two went head to head. The biggest difference in this game was Port Washington's height and that they had a team effort while Waupun relied too much on one player. That one player was 6'3 senior Austin Armga who was nearly unstoppable in the first half and in the second half just seemed to run out of gas as he played nearly the entire game.
Top Scorers
PW- Josh Gasser 25 Shane Kennedy 14 Cory Steinmetz 11 Zach Schultz 11
Waupun- Austin Armga 31 Cory Nickel 14
Madison Memorial 56 Milwaukee King 43
In the markee match up of the tournament Madison Memorial was able to take down Milwaukee King. The game went back and forth throughout much of the first three and a half quarters before Memorial finally grabbed the lead for good and hung on for the win. Early on King did a great job of taking Memorial star 6'4 senior Vander Blue out of the game. With Blue struggling 6'2 senior Tre Creamer took over and carried Memorial through the first half. King on the other side just couldn't get any going at all offensively, the only time they could was when they were able to get Memorial to turn the ball over and getting easy transition buckets. For as much as I dissed 6'5 senior Ed Kluender in my last post he really showed me something in this game and I take back nearly everything I said. Kluender ended up with a handful of rebounds and blocks, had 12 points, and dove on a couple loose balls on the floor. Kluender was the biggest reason that Memorial won this game. In the end Blue finally found himself hitting a couple threes and knocking down the free throws to help complete the win.
Top Scorers
Memorial- Vander Blue 22 Tre Creamer 21 Ed Kluender 12
King- Courtilin Scott-Johnson 14
Top Players of the Tournament
Ander Schwoerer 6'4 junior Valders- Completely controlled the inside in this game and showed some very good foot work and soft hands on the fast break.
Derek Madson 6'3 senior Valders- Does a little bit of everything from grabbing rebounds to helping bring the ball up the court.
Austin Malone-Mitchell 5'8 freshmen Shorewood- Probably the most impressive player for a not so impressive team but, was able to free himself and knock down some shots.
Derrick Cook 6'0 senior Milwaukee South- Did a nice job of letting the game come to him and was able to go inside and score against bigger defenders.
Ryan Solberg 6'6 senior Waukesha West- Runs the court very well for a big man and has a nice mid range jump shot.
Trevor Jorgenson 6'7 junior Lacrosse Logan- Very soft touch around the rim. Very solid in the post on both ends of the court.
Johnny Coenen 5'8 junior Appleton East- Really liked his game running the point for East and despite his size can get his shot off at any time. Has a wide array of moves and can knock down the three.
Dean Danos 6'0 sophomore Oak Lawn Richards- Another point guard that I really liked. Has great handles and shoots the three very well.
Keith Sconiers 6'3 senior Oak Lawn Richards- Really took the game over in the second half. Rebound extremely well and was great in transition knocking down threes or getting to the hoop.
Brett Meinecke 6'2 senior Hamiliton Sussex- Does a nice job of running the team and for the most part handled the pressure defense really well. Knocks down the outside shot when its there and can get to the rim.
Brian Krohn 6'2 senior Hamiliton Sussex- Guy that is not afraid to go inside and battle for the rebounds and can hit the spot up three point shot.
Austin Armga 6'3 senior Waupun- Probably the most impressive player of the entire tournament. Armga could get anywhere he wanted at any time. Nearly impossible to stop until he got tired.
Josh Gasser 6'4 senior Port Washington- Another guy that does a little bit of everything from running the point to grabbing rebounds and was the teams leading scorer.
Zach Schultz 6'7 senior Port Washington- Big man that controlled the inside with his scoring and rebounding.
Courtlin Scott-Johnson 5'11 senior Milwaukee King- Only King player that could get things going has a very nice outside shot.
Ed Kluender 6'5 senior Madison Memorial- Pretty much said it all earlier in the post. Was the reason that Memorial won the game.
Vander Blue 6'3 senior Madison Memorial- Didn't have a great game but, really stepped up when the game was on the line. Showed some great handles with the ball and hit a pair of threes late in the game.
Tre Creamer 6'2 senior Madison Memorial- Completely carried this team in the first half of the game by knocking down the outside shot and hitting the floaters.
This was a great tournament to attend and I would recommend making a trip to this tournament if your a fan of high school basketball or even just a fan of basketball.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Madison Memorial narrowly avoids second straight loss
In a fairly ugly game verse Verona, Madison Memorial was able to avoid their second straight loss of the young season. After seeing Memorial struggle in two straight games it has become very evident that this Memorial team is no where near as good as the teams as previous years and lack that Memorial swagger that past teams have had. In recent years Memorial has always been able to step up the pressure a notch and basically take total control of the game and put the other team away. This year and Memorial looks to apply the pressure it just results in easy baskets for their opponents and put themselves into foul trouble. Whats the difference in this years team? No true dominate big man. In the past they have had Jeronne Maymon, Keaton Nankivil, and Kori Vernon and a slew of college athletes on that team that have been able to sit back and protect the hoop while their teammates were applying the pressure. With all due respect to 6'6 senior Ed Kluender he seems more suited to be a football player then basketball player. He is a very big body that disrupts things on the inside but, doesn't block shots or move well and opponents have no fear of him and take the ball right to the rim. This may be a small problem in the end once the team gels together and figures out their identity that may be slightly different then the former Memorial teams.
Verona was able to get the early first quarter lead of 14-13 behind their ability to get to the rim and draw fouls on the over aggressive Memorial defenders. 6'2 senior Matt Ropel was able to benefit from this the most as he seemed to always be open around the rim and then get fouled and I believe the guy shot 100% from the foul line in the first quarter. In the second quarter Memorial was finally able to push the tempo a little bit in the second quarter and were able to get their main guy 6'4 senior Vander Blue going, which lead to a Memorial lead of 31-28 at half.
In the third quarter Blue kept it going as he scored on three consecutive trips down the court to really get the Memorial fans going but, Verona always counter punched him with wide open lay ups that were a result of Memorials pressing defense. Memorial continued to lead after three quarters with a score of 50-42. In the final quarter a Verona player finally stepped up to challenge Blue and this player was 6'4 senior Sam Karls. Karls had been battling Blue all night long and through most of the game Blue had gotten the better of him but, in the fourth quarter this changed. Karls was able to out hustle Blue, who seemed extremely tired in the fourth quarter, and get lots of second chance buckets while on the other end he seemed to frustrate Blue which led to a push off foul on Blue late in the game. With Blue struggling a bit 6'3 senior Tre Creamer emerged as a fourth quarter hero again and was able to get to the rim and score at will. In the end though Blue was the biggest hero as he was able to draw an offensive foul on Karls which basically sealed the game. Big props to both Creamer and Blue who combined on 7-8 shooting from the foul line in the final minute of the game. Memorial got the 66-60 win.
Top Players
Vadner Blue 6'4 senior Madison Memorial- Blue was his normal solid self a had a good overall game despite seemed extremely fatigued at the end and apparently battling some stomach cramps according to two different sources.
Tre Creamer 6'3 senior Madison Memorial- Like expected Creamer and Blue have stepped up to be Memorial's top go to players and Creamer has seemed ready to meet the expectations and more.
Tre Burnette 6'4 junior Madison Memorial- A superior athlete that needs to be more aggressive when he's in the game and showed some aggression in the game. Burnette was a terror on the boards and that is something Memorial will need all year long.
Matt Ropel 6'2 senior Verona- Unorthodox looking shot but, he can really drop the shots if he's left open.
Sam Karls 6'4 senior Verona- One of the best defenders in the Big Eight and always comes to battle no matter who the opponent is.
Taylor Peterson 6'5 senior Verona- Did a great job of patrolling the offensive baseline which led to easy baskets when his teammates found him.
Box Score (starters in italics)
Madison Memorial- Blue 27 Creamer 20 Burnette 11 Jamar Morris 3 Brendan Ortiz 3 Eric Fruhling 2 Kluender 0 Jordan Fredrick 0 Brian Nkemnji 0 Miles Chamberlain 0
Verona- Ropel 20 Karls 16 Peterson 12 Kaden Nauman 8 Danny Burns 2 Klayton Brandt 2 Adam Wadzinski 0 Nvida Malafa 0 Nate Ray 0
Well Memorial got the win no matter how ugly it was and despite what everyone says that they've lost their luster, including me earlier in this post, they will probably find their way by tournament time. They will probably finish the season with about five losses due to the fact that the Big Eight is that tough and that they are playing in a very tough tournament in Detroit over Christmas break.
Verona was able to get the early first quarter lead of 14-13 behind their ability to get to the rim and draw fouls on the over aggressive Memorial defenders. 6'2 senior Matt Ropel was able to benefit from this the most as he seemed to always be open around the rim and then get fouled and I believe the guy shot 100% from the foul line in the first quarter. In the second quarter Memorial was finally able to push the tempo a little bit in the second quarter and were able to get their main guy 6'4 senior Vander Blue going, which lead to a Memorial lead of 31-28 at half.
In the third quarter Blue kept it going as he scored on three consecutive trips down the court to really get the Memorial fans going but, Verona always counter punched him with wide open lay ups that were a result of Memorials pressing defense. Memorial continued to lead after three quarters with a score of 50-42. In the final quarter a Verona player finally stepped up to challenge Blue and this player was 6'4 senior Sam Karls. Karls had been battling Blue all night long and through most of the game Blue had gotten the better of him but, in the fourth quarter this changed. Karls was able to out hustle Blue, who seemed extremely tired in the fourth quarter, and get lots of second chance buckets while on the other end he seemed to frustrate Blue which led to a push off foul on Blue late in the game. With Blue struggling a bit 6'3 senior Tre Creamer emerged as a fourth quarter hero again and was able to get to the rim and score at will. In the end though Blue was the biggest hero as he was able to draw an offensive foul on Karls which basically sealed the game. Big props to both Creamer and Blue who combined on 7-8 shooting from the foul line in the final minute of the game. Memorial got the 66-60 win.
Top Players
Vadner Blue 6'4 senior Madison Memorial- Blue was his normal solid self a had a good overall game despite seemed extremely fatigued at the end and apparently battling some stomach cramps according to two different sources.
Tre Creamer 6'3 senior Madison Memorial- Like expected Creamer and Blue have stepped up to be Memorial's top go to players and Creamer has seemed ready to meet the expectations and more.
Tre Burnette 6'4 junior Madison Memorial- A superior athlete that needs to be more aggressive when he's in the game and showed some aggression in the game. Burnette was a terror on the boards and that is something Memorial will need all year long.
Matt Ropel 6'2 senior Verona- Unorthodox looking shot but, he can really drop the shots if he's left open.
Sam Karls 6'4 senior Verona- One of the best defenders in the Big Eight and always comes to battle no matter who the opponent is.
Taylor Peterson 6'5 senior Verona- Did a great job of patrolling the offensive baseline which led to easy baskets when his teammates found him.
Box Score (starters in italics)
Madison Memorial- Blue 27 Creamer 20 Burnette 11 Jamar Morris 3 Brendan Ortiz 3 Eric Fruhling 2 Kluender 0 Jordan Fredrick 0 Brian Nkemnji 0 Miles Chamberlain 0
Verona- Ropel 20 Karls 16 Peterson 12 Kaden Nauman 8 Danny Burns 2 Klayton Brandt 2 Adam Wadzinski 0 Nvida Malafa 0 Nate Ray 0
Well Memorial got the win no matter how ugly it was and despite what everyone says that they've lost their luster, including me earlier in this post, they will probably find their way by tournament time. They will probably finish the season with about five losses due to the fact that the Big Eight is that tough and that they are playing in a very tough tournament in Detroit over Christmas break.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Sun Prairie upsets Madison Memorial
In possibly the biggest upset of the year Sun Prairie was able to take down Madison Memorial in overtime on a buzzer shot from a freshmen. Many people look at this game as showing that Memorial is not the team they were a year ago or what they were in years past and that they may no longer be the power they once were. On the other hand some people think that it just shows how tough the Big Eight conference actually is and this is the side that I find myself on. In the game Sun Prairie was very impressive and handle the Memorial pressure very well and looked confident throughout much of the game. Memorial is still a young team looking to find their way and are missing their second best player in 6'4 sophomore Junior Lomomba who will probably miss the entire regular season and may make it back come playoff time. Despite Sun Prairie winning this game I can't help but, think that when these two teams match up for a second time that Memorial will probably come out on top and it won't be by a buzzer shot or in overtime.
Early on in the game Memorial came out in their typical intense trapping defense but, Sun Prairie didn't falter and used the aggressive defense to their favor which led to some easy two on one layups. Memorial was headlined on the offensive end by a very impressive freshmen in 5'11 Brendan Ortiz who seemed to be knocking everything down with the mid range jump shot. When Ortiz did finally cool off Memorial went to their star 6'4 senior Vander Blue who seemed to get where ever he wanted on the court and out jump defenders to get second and third chances. Throughout the entire first half the Memorial defensive ended up giving the Sun Prairie open shots and it didn't seem to matter who it was shooting but, they were going to knock the shot down. One of the most impressive players of the first half and the game was 6'5 sophomore Jamar Morris who absolutely dominated the boards both on the defensive and offensive end. Half time score was Memorial 38 Sun Prairie 33.
The third quarter belonged to Sun Prairie junior 6'3 Jordan Noskowiak. He seemed to be knocking everything down whether it was spotting up for the outside or coming off the screen it didn't matter. For Memorial Blue cooled off and they continued to depend on the rebounding of Morris who seemed to have a handful of offensive rebounds just in the third quarter alone. At the end of three Memorial was still clinging to a 54-51 lead. In the fourth quarter Memorial senior 6'2 Tre Creamer finally showed up and was able to slash to the hoop and score. Despite Creamers best efforts Sun Prairie was able to tie the game up behind freshmen 6'4 Nick Fuller who hit a three from the top of the key midway through the fourth and then hit another from the corner to tie the game up with six seconds left in regulation. Blue took a contested three at the buzzer but, the shot fell short. Overtime didn't have a lot of scoring but, Jamar Morris emerged again as the hero grabbing an offensive rebound and getting fouled and went to the line with Memorial down by one. Morris had spent a lot of time throughout the night and struggled at the line which led to the Sun Prairie's students starting a "You Can't Shoot" chant but, Morris calmly knocked both down to give Memorial a one point lead. Sun Prairie senior point guard 6'1 Michael Boos drove the length of the court and pulled up for a jumper with a foot on the three point line. The shot didn't grab rim but, the rebound bounced off Morris's hands and right to Nick Fuller who layed in the game winning shot as the buzzer sounded. Sun Prairie got the W with a 79-78 final.
Top Players
Vander Blue 6'4 senior Madison Memorial- As I said earlier seemed to get anywhere he wanted on the court and was just the most athletic player on the court.
Jamar Morris 6'5 sophomore Madison Memorial- I can see now why they call him "Popcorn" kid can jump outta the gym and knocked down the free throws when they really mattered.
Brendan Ortiz 5'11 freshmen Madison Memorial- Did a great job of running the point for the team and when given the open shot knocked it down.
Tre Creamer 6'3 senior Madison Memorial- Could go to his left at will and get to the rim.
Jordan Noskowiak 6'3 junior Sun Prairie- Was on fire in the game and everything he put up was dropping.
Nick Fuller 6'4 freshmen Sun Prairie- Was the hero of the night and basically said everything that was needed earlier.
Chris Hawkins 6'4 junior Sun Prairie- Did a nice job of battling on the inside Memorial just had more depth on the inside.
Box Score (starters in italics)
Memorial- Blue 21 Creamer 16 Morris 15 Ortiz 15 Tre Burnette 6 Eric Fruhling 3 Miles Chamberlain 2 Ed Kluender 0
SP- Noskowiak 26 Fuller 19 Hawkins 10 Boos 9 Jaron Schaffner 5 Daniel Mifflin 5 William Thiel 4 Reggie Williams 0
Should really be a great year in the Big Eight conference as it appears to be a four horse race after Friday night. Sun Prairie took down the favorite Madison Memorial and the other favorite Madison East was pushed to the limit by Beloit winning by only two, and Verona is always a team that can play with anyone. I'll get my first look at Verona Tuesday night when I head down to watch Memorial take on Verona.
Early on in the game Memorial came out in their typical intense trapping defense but, Sun Prairie didn't falter and used the aggressive defense to their favor which led to some easy two on one layups. Memorial was headlined on the offensive end by a very impressive freshmen in 5'11 Brendan Ortiz who seemed to be knocking everything down with the mid range jump shot. When Ortiz did finally cool off Memorial went to their star 6'4 senior Vander Blue who seemed to get where ever he wanted on the court and out jump defenders to get second and third chances. Throughout the entire first half the Memorial defensive ended up giving the Sun Prairie open shots and it didn't seem to matter who it was shooting but, they were going to knock the shot down. One of the most impressive players of the first half and the game was 6'5 sophomore Jamar Morris who absolutely dominated the boards both on the defensive and offensive end. Half time score was Memorial 38 Sun Prairie 33.
The third quarter belonged to Sun Prairie junior 6'3 Jordan Noskowiak. He seemed to be knocking everything down whether it was spotting up for the outside or coming off the screen it didn't matter. For Memorial Blue cooled off and they continued to depend on the rebounding of Morris who seemed to have a handful of offensive rebounds just in the third quarter alone. At the end of three Memorial was still clinging to a 54-51 lead. In the fourth quarter Memorial senior 6'2 Tre Creamer finally showed up and was able to slash to the hoop and score. Despite Creamers best efforts Sun Prairie was able to tie the game up behind freshmen 6'4 Nick Fuller who hit a three from the top of the key midway through the fourth and then hit another from the corner to tie the game up with six seconds left in regulation. Blue took a contested three at the buzzer but, the shot fell short. Overtime didn't have a lot of scoring but, Jamar Morris emerged again as the hero grabbing an offensive rebound and getting fouled and went to the line with Memorial down by one. Morris had spent a lot of time throughout the night and struggled at the line which led to the Sun Prairie's students starting a "You Can't Shoot" chant but, Morris calmly knocked both down to give Memorial a one point lead. Sun Prairie senior point guard 6'1 Michael Boos drove the length of the court and pulled up for a jumper with a foot on the three point line. The shot didn't grab rim but, the rebound bounced off Morris's hands and right to Nick Fuller who layed in the game winning shot as the buzzer sounded. Sun Prairie got the W with a 79-78 final.
Top Players
Vander Blue 6'4 senior Madison Memorial- As I said earlier seemed to get anywhere he wanted on the court and was just the most athletic player on the court.
Jamar Morris 6'5 sophomore Madison Memorial- I can see now why they call him "Popcorn" kid can jump outta the gym and knocked down the free throws when they really mattered.
Brendan Ortiz 5'11 freshmen Madison Memorial- Did a great job of running the point for the team and when given the open shot knocked it down.
Tre Creamer 6'3 senior Madison Memorial- Could go to his left at will and get to the rim.
Jordan Noskowiak 6'3 junior Sun Prairie- Was on fire in the game and everything he put up was dropping.
Nick Fuller 6'4 freshmen Sun Prairie- Was the hero of the night and basically said everything that was needed earlier.
Chris Hawkins 6'4 junior Sun Prairie- Did a nice job of battling on the inside Memorial just had more depth on the inside.
Box Score (starters in italics)
Memorial- Blue 21 Creamer 16 Morris 15 Ortiz 15 Tre Burnette 6 Eric Fruhling 3 Miles Chamberlain 2 Ed Kluender 0
SP- Noskowiak 26 Fuller 19 Hawkins 10 Boos 9 Jaron Schaffner 5 Daniel Mifflin 5 William Thiel 4 Reggie Williams 0
Should really be a great year in the Big Eight conference as it appears to be a four horse race after Friday night. Sun Prairie took down the favorite Madison Memorial and the other favorite Madison East was pushed to the limit by Beloit winning by only two, and Verona is always a team that can play with anyone. I'll get my first look at Verona Tuesday night when I head down to watch Memorial take on Verona.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Wisconsin Dells dominates New Lisbon
A game that seemed lopsided from the beginning, lived up to the predictions with Wisconsin Dells basically dominating from the get go. Wisconsin Dells just seemed faster in every aspect of the game. By the time a New Lisbon player spotter an open teammate there was a Dells defender right there to steal the ball. On the offensive end the Chiefs were able to get any shot they wanted whether it was on the inside of settling for the three.
The Dells defense led to a very impressive 21-2 lead after the first quarter and then just put it in cruise control the rest of the game. NL was only able to get three shots up to the rim, as the Dells defense seemed to frustrate them and caused them to be timid with their passes. Early on Wisconsin Dells looked to the inside to their big man 6'9 senior Nate Gibson who was able to finish with either his left or right hand. Dells was always able to get second and third shots at the basket which typically led to fouls by the NL defenders. Half time score was WD 33 NL 13. The game remained at 20 for nearly the entire game as Wisconsin Dells seemed content to keep the game at this point and not really put the pedal down and make this one to embarrassing. Benches were cleared half way through the fourth quarter and the final score was 65-45.
Top Players
Justin Ward 6'4 senior Wisconsin Dells - Was a little bit of a ball hog but, had a strong game overrall as he was able to knock down the three point shot and used his length to get to the paint and score.
Nate Gibson 6'9 senior Wisconsin Dells- Big man that used his size to score in the inside. He was very impressive going to his left hand or right hand. I was very impressed with how his offensive game has improved since last year.
Chad Wyss 6'3 senior New Lisbon- The lone Rocket player that got things goings He was able to use his aggression to score on the inside or get to the foul line and get some freebie points.
Box Score (starters in italics)
Wisconsin Dells- Ward 20 Gibson 16 Kyle Stowers 9 MJ Delmore 8 Shane Wimann 5 Bobby Blaschke 5 Josh Elftmann 2 Ryan Davis 0 Sterling Greyhair 0 Alex Bernander 0 Bobby Sowls 0
New Lisbon- Wyss 13 John McCann 9 Cory Kalmerton 7 Landon Wilson 6 Matt Spaniol 3 Tyler Peterson 3 Trevor Gibbons 2 Ryan Jensen 2 Jaime Gollmar 0 Andy Heindl 0 Sean Frank 0
Wisconsin Dells is an interesting team to watch because they have a seven man rotation that they use which consists of five senior starters and two freshmen off the bench. The two freshmen are truly ready to contribute on the varsity level this year. MJ Delmore is a bit undersized but, does a very good job running the point finding open teammates and can knock down the open three pointer. The other freshmen Shane Wimann is probably even more ready for varsity then Delmore. Wimann looks like an upper class men size wise on the court and plays as aggressive one on the court. I will be very interested to see the progression of Wimann and Delmore throughout their four years of varsity along with a strong freshmen class that has five freshmen on JV.
The Dells defense led to a very impressive 21-2 lead after the first quarter and then just put it in cruise control the rest of the game. NL was only able to get three shots up to the rim, as the Dells defense seemed to frustrate them and caused them to be timid with their passes. Early on Wisconsin Dells looked to the inside to their big man 6'9 senior Nate Gibson who was able to finish with either his left or right hand. Dells was always able to get second and third shots at the basket which typically led to fouls by the NL defenders. Half time score was WD 33 NL 13. The game remained at 20 for nearly the entire game as Wisconsin Dells seemed content to keep the game at this point and not really put the pedal down and make this one to embarrassing. Benches were cleared half way through the fourth quarter and the final score was 65-45.
Top Players
Justin Ward 6'4 senior Wisconsin Dells - Was a little bit of a ball hog but, had a strong game overrall as he was able to knock down the three point shot and used his length to get to the paint and score.
Nate Gibson 6'9 senior Wisconsin Dells- Big man that used his size to score in the inside. He was very impressive going to his left hand or right hand. I was very impressed with how his offensive game has improved since last year.
Chad Wyss 6'3 senior New Lisbon- The lone Rocket player that got things goings He was able to use his aggression to score on the inside or get to the foul line and get some freebie points.
Box Score (starters in italics)
Wisconsin Dells- Ward 20 Gibson 16 Kyle Stowers 9 MJ Delmore 8 Shane Wimann 5 Bobby Blaschke 5 Josh Elftmann 2 Ryan Davis 0 Sterling Greyhair 0 Alex Bernander 0 Bobby Sowls 0
New Lisbon- Wyss 13 John McCann 9 Cory Kalmerton 7 Landon Wilson 6 Matt Spaniol 3 Tyler Peterson 3 Trevor Gibbons 2 Ryan Jensen 2 Jaime Gollmar 0 Andy Heindl 0 Sean Frank 0
Wisconsin Dells is an interesting team to watch because they have a seven man rotation that they use which consists of five senior starters and two freshmen off the bench. The two freshmen are truly ready to contribute on the varsity level this year. MJ Delmore is a bit undersized but, does a very good job running the point finding open teammates and can knock down the open three pointer. The other freshmen Shane Wimann is probably even more ready for varsity then Delmore. Wimann looks like an upper class men size wise on the court and plays as aggressive one on the court. I will be very interested to see the progression of Wimann and Delmore throughout their four years of varsity along with a strong freshmen class that has five freshmen on JV.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Madison East over Middleton
In the opening game of Big Eight play Madison East came out and dominated Middleton. East came out looking extremely confident playing very good basketball. On the other side Middleton came out a little timid and basically looked terrible. East game out of the gate looking to push the ball and play at a fast pace which worked to perfection as they were able to penetrate the lane and score. Middleton on the other hand looked timid going against East big man 6'4 senior Marquis Mason .
These things led to an East lead of 19-4 after one quarter and they never looked back from there. Throughout the entire game East point guard 6'0 junior Nimrod Hillard was able to get where ever he wanted. He got around the perimeter defenders with ease and then was able to score around the Middleton big men. When he wasn't able to get to the rim he would find wide open teammates for 15 foot jump shots and the typically knocked them down. In the second quarter Middleton finally figured some things out and had the guy that Mason was guarding feed the post to keep Mason out of the inside on the defense side. The benefactor of this was Middleton big man 6'6 junior Ian Joyce who scored 13 of the teams first 17 points. Despite the success of Joyce Middleton still trailed 33-13 at half and Joyce finished with 15 points for the game. Hillard led East to a 50-28 lead after three and then cruised to the 63-43 win.
Top Players
Nimrod Hillard 6'0 junior Madison East- As I said earlier pretty much got where ever he wanted and finished with a game high 24 points.
Marquis Mason 6'4 senior Madison East- Didn't score a ton but, made his presence felt on the defensive end as Middleton missed bunny after bunny shot.
Jeff Hull 6'4 senior Madison East- Did a nice job of dropping the 15 foot jumpers and battling on the inside for rebounds.
Drew Mc Adams 6'2 senior Madison East- Ran the court very well and in the half court was another guy that was able to knock down the 15 footers.
Ian Joyce 6'6 junior Middleton- The lone Middleton player to really do anything on the offensive end. Joyce was able to get position and score in the paint.
Box Score (starters in italics)
Madison East- Hillard 24 Hull 13 Mason 11 Mc Adams 10 Arthur Adams 3 Rudy Bentley 2 Kedrick Fowler 0 Steve Horn 0 Ylli Berisha 0 Malcolm Williams 0 Pete Strommen 0 Wi Hetzel 0
Middleton- Joyce 15 Shane Adler 7 Matt Everson 6 Seth Coyne 4 Michael Owen 4 Connor Wipfli 3 Charlie Optiz 3 Will O'Brien 1 Corey Nelson 0 Connor Stubbe 0 Skylar Yaktus 0 Sonny Bavery 0
Well opening night of the Big Eight showed the Madison East is truly a top 15 team in the state and it will be very interesting when they match up with Madison Memorial.
These things led to an East lead of 19-4 after one quarter and they never looked back from there. Throughout the entire game East point guard 6'0 junior Nimrod Hillard was able to get where ever he wanted. He got around the perimeter defenders with ease and then was able to score around the Middleton big men. When he wasn't able to get to the rim he would find wide open teammates for 15 foot jump shots and the typically knocked them down. In the second quarter Middleton finally figured some things out and had the guy that Mason was guarding feed the post to keep Mason out of the inside on the defense side. The benefactor of this was Middleton big man 6'6 junior Ian Joyce who scored 13 of the teams first 17 points. Despite the success of Joyce Middleton still trailed 33-13 at half and Joyce finished with 15 points for the game. Hillard led East to a 50-28 lead after three and then cruised to the 63-43 win.
Top Players
Nimrod Hillard 6'0 junior Madison East- As I said earlier pretty much got where ever he wanted and finished with a game high 24 points.
Marquis Mason 6'4 senior Madison East- Didn't score a ton but, made his presence felt on the defensive end as Middleton missed bunny after bunny shot.
Jeff Hull 6'4 senior Madison East- Did a nice job of dropping the 15 foot jumpers and battling on the inside for rebounds.
Drew Mc Adams 6'2 senior Madison East- Ran the court very well and in the half court was another guy that was able to knock down the 15 footers.
Ian Joyce 6'6 junior Middleton- The lone Middleton player to really do anything on the offensive end. Joyce was able to get position and score in the paint.
Box Score (starters in italics)
Madison East- Hillard 24 Hull 13 Mason 11 Mc Adams 10 Arthur Adams 3 Rudy Bentley 2 Kedrick Fowler 0 Steve Horn 0 Ylli Berisha 0 Malcolm Williams 0 Pete Strommen 0 Wi Hetzel 0
Middleton- Joyce 15 Shane Adler 7 Matt Everson 6 Seth Coyne 4 Michael Owen 4 Connor Wipfli 3 Charlie Optiz 3 Will O'Brien 1 Corey Nelson 0 Connor Stubbe 0 Skylar Yaktus 0 Sonny Bavery 0
Well opening night of the Big Eight showed the Madison East is truly a top 15 team in the state and it will be very interesting when they match up with Madison Memorial.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
South Central Preview
I'll be the first to admit that I don't follow the South Central Conference very closely but, it is my former conference so I do pay some attention to it. The fact is the conference has been fairly weak that past few years and this year should be no different. Yes, Wisconsin Dells and Adams Friendship have had some very good teams and have each made runs to state in the past five years but, typically either one of these teams or both have completely dominate the conference outside of a hiccup here or there. Last year Wisconsin Dells had a so so team that really hinged on one player and they went undefeated in the conference with relative ease. The bottom four teams just haven't come to play as of recent.
Once again the Dells and Adams will battle for the conference title but, I think that Mauston will be more then just another team in the conference. As I mentioned earlier the Dells won the conference a year ago and went undefeated. They do return three of their top six players from a year ago but, that is really their only experienced players coming back. The three senior that are back are 6'9 Nate Gibson, 6'2 Justin Ward and 6'1 Bobby Blaschke. Gibson is a huge body out there and seemed quicker then a year ago when I saw him play football but, he still needs to get the ball in a good position to score. I expect a big year from Ward but, last year he was primarily a spot up shooter and didn't do much else. Blaschke is that glue guy everyone talks about, does the dirty work rebounding and on defense. The team success will hinge on their young, inexperienced players and they already have a pair of freshmen listed on their preseason roster in 5'8 MJ Delmore, who I've heard through rumors may be the starting point guard, and 6'1 Shane Wimann.
Adams Friendship will be right there with the Dells after having a disappointing season a year ago but, bring back three starters including the best player in the conference in 6'5 senior Bryce Wormet who I am expecting to have a break out year in his third year on varsity. Wormet along with this being coach Klass's last year should mean success for the Green Devils.
Mauston is another team that returns three starters and should finally challenge the big dogs at the top of the conference. The Golden Eagles bring back a pair of double digit scoring seniors in 5'10 Jeff Erickson and 6'3 Dustin Manthe. I'm also starting big things by 6'0 freshmen Joel Heesch who I am assuming is the coaches son as they have the exact same name.
Wautoma apparantly had a very good JV team a year ago and that will hopefully lead to an alright varsity squad this year, while Nekoosa brings back a pair of starters, and Westfield is Westfield.
Predicted Standings
Wisconsin Dells 8-2
Adams Friendship 8-2
Mauston 7-3
Nekoosa 4-6
Wautoma 3-7
Westfield 0-10
All Conference Predictions
1st Team
6'5 Senior Adams Bryce Wormet
6'9 Senior Dells Nate Gibson
6'3 Senior Mauston Dustin Manthe
6'2 Senior Dells Justin Ward
5'10 Senior Mauston Jeff Erickson
2nd Team
6'2 Senior Nekoosa Ben Tenpas
6'0 Senior Adams Cody Paepke
5'10 Junior Adams Kincaid Hodkiewicz
6'2 Junior Wautoma Derek Szcewski
6'0 Freshmen Mauston Joel Heesch
HM
5'9 Senior Mauston Brady Nelson
5'8 Freshmen Dells MJ Delmore
6'1 Senior Dells Bobby Blaschke
I know that I spent more time on Wisconsin Dells then the other teams but, they are my alma mater and the team that I've seen the most. Thinking about it more and more this should be a pretty solid year for the South Central with three fairly solid teams that are all evenly matched and be an interesting year.
Once again the Dells and Adams will battle for the conference title but, I think that Mauston will be more then just another team in the conference. As I mentioned earlier the Dells won the conference a year ago and went undefeated. They do return three of their top six players from a year ago but, that is really their only experienced players coming back. The three senior that are back are 6'9 Nate Gibson, 6'2 Justin Ward and 6'1 Bobby Blaschke. Gibson is a huge body out there and seemed quicker then a year ago when I saw him play football but, he still needs to get the ball in a good position to score. I expect a big year from Ward but, last year he was primarily a spot up shooter and didn't do much else. Blaschke is that glue guy everyone talks about, does the dirty work rebounding and on defense. The team success will hinge on their young, inexperienced players and they already have a pair of freshmen listed on their preseason roster in 5'8 MJ Delmore, who I've heard through rumors may be the starting point guard, and 6'1 Shane Wimann.
Adams Friendship will be right there with the Dells after having a disappointing season a year ago but, bring back three starters including the best player in the conference in 6'5 senior Bryce Wormet who I am expecting to have a break out year in his third year on varsity. Wormet along with this being coach Klass's last year should mean success for the Green Devils.
Mauston is another team that returns three starters and should finally challenge the big dogs at the top of the conference. The Golden Eagles bring back a pair of double digit scoring seniors in 5'10 Jeff Erickson and 6'3 Dustin Manthe. I'm also starting big things by 6'0 freshmen Joel Heesch who I am assuming is the coaches son as they have the exact same name.
Wautoma apparantly had a very good JV team a year ago and that will hopefully lead to an alright varsity squad this year, while Nekoosa brings back a pair of starters, and Westfield is Westfield.
Predicted Standings
Wisconsin Dells 8-2
Adams Friendship 8-2
Mauston 7-3
Nekoosa 4-6
Wautoma 3-7
Westfield 0-10
All Conference Predictions
1st Team
6'5 Senior Adams Bryce Wormet
6'9 Senior Dells Nate Gibson
6'3 Senior Mauston Dustin Manthe
6'2 Senior Dells Justin Ward
5'10 Senior Mauston Jeff Erickson
2nd Team
6'2 Senior Nekoosa Ben Tenpas
6'0 Senior Adams Cody Paepke
5'10 Junior Adams Kincaid Hodkiewicz
6'2 Junior Wautoma Derek Szcewski
6'0 Freshmen Mauston Joel Heesch
HM
5'9 Senior Mauston Brady Nelson
5'8 Freshmen Dells MJ Delmore
6'1 Senior Dells Bobby Blaschke
I know that I spent more time on Wisconsin Dells then the other teams but, they are my alma mater and the team that I've seen the most. Thinking about it more and more this should be a pretty solid year for the South Central with three fairly solid teams that are all evenly matched and be an interesting year.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Racine Park outruns Baraboo
In my first games of the year I headed over to Baraboo to catch their very first Thanksgiving tournament. The first game was Rhinelander against West DePere which I got to a little late so I wasn't able to keep track of the scoring and never really got into the game and actually didn't even get the final score of the game but, West DePere easily defeated Rhinelander who was over matched in this game.
Some of the players that did stand out to me where 6'3 junior Dylan Smith for Rhinelander who despite being very undersized both in height and thickness did a very good job of battling on the inside. For West DePere it really was a team effort and they didn't seem to have any huge stars but, 6'4 senior Justin Hackl was very solid in the paint on the offensive end while 5'10 junior Shane Gulseth was dropping the threes from the outside.
In the marquee game Racine Park took on host Baraboo. Park had the advantage in nearly every aspect of the game but, the biggest thing that gave Park their victory was their team speed and pressing in your face defense. Park used their speed and athleticism to get a 78-54 victory over Baraboo. Numerous turnovers doomed Baraboo from the start and Park jumped out to the early lead and never looked back. Baraboo was able to climb back into the game and cut the lead to 43-31 at half but, in the third quarter Park turned up the pressure and after three where up 61-39 and midway through the fourth both teams cleared their benches. In the third quarter the game was pretty much sealed when Park 6'1 senior Tre Edwards had three straight steals and scored each time and then a fourth steal minutes later led to an ally oop dunk from Edwards to 6'5 senior JD Magruder. Only thing that kept the game within 20 points for much of the game was Park's fouling and Baraboo scoring with the clock stopped. Racine Park senior 6'1 Josh Cameron had lots of hype surrounding him prior to the season starting after averaging 22 points a game a year ago and then being dismissed from his previous school before the start of the season and ending up at Park. Cameron seemed to be out of it today as he only finished with nine points but, did a nice job of distributing the ball.
Top Players
Tre Edwards 6'1 senior Racine Park- Very quick hands which led to a ton of steals and easy buckets. Also did a great job of finishing at the rim around defenders outstretched arms.
Taron Edwards 5'10 sophomore Racine Park- Probably much taller then the listed height of 5'10 but, was a great shooter, that seemed to knock down every shoot where he was open.
Sean McGann 6'3 sophomore Baraboo- Very nice job of helping bringing the ball up the court and did a nice job of knifing through the Park defenders to score.
Box Score (as always starters are in italics)
Racine Park - Tr. Edwards 22 Ta. Edwards 13 Issaih Bridges 11 Cameron 9 Stan MacKenzie 9 Isaiah Scott 5 David Campbell 4 Shane St. Pierre 2 JD Magruder 2 Josh Beaton 2 Finest Marshall 0 John Harris 0 Frank Gutierrez 0 James Orth 0 Bryan Kelly 0
Baraboo- McGann 13 Josh Statz 12 Mark Kowalke 8 Jed Traxler 5 Ton Brandt 4 Tyler Fish 4 Emerson Halbach 2 Mike Weinke 2 Jake Meiller 2 Caleb Leonhardt 2 Ryan Baxter 0 Joe Becraft 0 Erik Anderson 0
Well it was an exciting first day of high school basketball, getting a chance to see the #10 ranked team in the state. Racine Park was a pretty impressive team but, I think I may of put them just outside of the top 10.
Some of the players that did stand out to me where 6'3 junior Dylan Smith for Rhinelander who despite being very undersized both in height and thickness did a very good job of battling on the inside. For West DePere it really was a team effort and they didn't seem to have any huge stars but, 6'4 senior Justin Hackl was very solid in the paint on the offensive end while 5'10 junior Shane Gulseth was dropping the threes from the outside.
In the marquee game Racine Park took on host Baraboo. Park had the advantage in nearly every aspect of the game but, the biggest thing that gave Park their victory was their team speed and pressing in your face defense. Park used their speed and athleticism to get a 78-54 victory over Baraboo. Numerous turnovers doomed Baraboo from the start and Park jumped out to the early lead and never looked back. Baraboo was able to climb back into the game and cut the lead to 43-31 at half but, in the third quarter Park turned up the pressure and after three where up 61-39 and midway through the fourth both teams cleared their benches. In the third quarter the game was pretty much sealed when Park 6'1 senior Tre Edwards had three straight steals and scored each time and then a fourth steal minutes later led to an ally oop dunk from Edwards to 6'5 senior JD Magruder. Only thing that kept the game within 20 points for much of the game was Park's fouling and Baraboo scoring with the clock stopped. Racine Park senior 6'1 Josh Cameron had lots of hype surrounding him prior to the season starting after averaging 22 points a game a year ago and then being dismissed from his previous school before the start of the season and ending up at Park. Cameron seemed to be out of it today as he only finished with nine points but, did a nice job of distributing the ball.
Top Players
Tre Edwards 6'1 senior Racine Park- Very quick hands which led to a ton of steals and easy buckets. Also did a great job of finishing at the rim around defenders outstretched arms.
Taron Edwards 5'10 sophomore Racine Park- Probably much taller then the listed height of 5'10 but, was a great shooter, that seemed to knock down every shoot where he was open.
Sean McGann 6'3 sophomore Baraboo- Very nice job of helping bringing the ball up the court and did a nice job of knifing through the Park defenders to score.
Box Score (as always starters are in italics)
Racine Park - Tr. Edwards 22 Ta. Edwards 13 Issaih Bridges 11 Cameron 9 Stan MacKenzie 9 Isaiah Scott 5 David Campbell 4 Shane St. Pierre 2 JD Magruder 2 Josh Beaton 2 Finest Marshall 0 John Harris 0 Frank Gutierrez 0 James Orth 0 Bryan Kelly 0
Baraboo- McGann 13 Josh Statz 12 Mark Kowalke 8 Jed Traxler 5 Ton Brandt 4 Tyler Fish 4 Emerson Halbach 2 Mike Weinke 2 Jake Meiller 2 Caleb Leonhardt 2 Ryan Baxter 0 Joe Becraft 0 Erik Anderson 0
Well it was an exciting first day of high school basketball, getting a chance to see the #10 ranked team in the state. Racine Park was a pretty impressive team but, I think I may of put them just outside of the top 10.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Big Eight Preview
The Big Eight is easily one of the top three conferences in Wisconsin, if not the best conference. This is fairly common year in and year out which makes the Big Eight a very fun conference to watch and follow. The conference is also much closer then a City Conference which allows me to catch a lot of games.
As last year this will be a two horse race between Madison Memorial and Madison East. After the top two, three through seven could finish in any order, and then the bottom three teams will be battling it out. My rankings will include my best guess at each teams record.
1. Madison Memorial- As always Memorial has the most talent in the conference and are led by the top player in the state in 6'4 senior Vander Blue.
2. Madison East- Best one two punch in the conference in 5'11 junior Nimrod Hillard and 6'4 senior Marquis Mason.
3. Verona- Yes they lost their Mr. Everything in Jason Ziemer but, this is a very disciplined team that plays hard the entire game. 6'4 senior Adam Wadzinski is a three year letter winner and 6'4 senior Sam Karls can do a little bit of everything.
4. Beloit- State team a year ago bring back two key starts in 6'2 senior KJ Evans and 5'10 senior Sharod Stone.
5. Sun Prairie- Their starting back court of Michael Boos and Michael Handel are on varsity for their fourth years and 6'3 junior Jordan Noskowiak will be in his second year of varsity.
6. Middleton- Matt Everson is a returning all conference preformer and they have lots of height on the team.
7. Madison Lafollette- This team hinges on one player in 5'11 senior DJ Fuller but, if Fuller misses some games they will be in trouble.
8. Madison West- This team always seems to have lots of athletes but, they will struggle with a first year coach.
9. Janesville Craig- Basically lost everything from a year ago and have a new coach.
10. Janesville Parker- Well Parker is always picked last in the conference year in and year out.
Conference Standings
Madison Memorial 17-1
Madison East 16-2
Verona 14-4
Beloit 11-7
Sun Prairie 9-9
Middleton 9-9
Madison Lafollette 7-11
Madison West 4-14
Janesville Craig 2-16
Janesville Paker 1-17
All Conference
1st Team
5'11 junior Nimrod Hillard Madison East
5'11 senior DJ Fuller Madison Lafollette
6'2 senior KJ Evans Beloit
6'4 senior Vander Blue Madison Memorial
6'4 senior Marquis Mason Madison East
6'4 Sophomore Junior Lomomba Madison Memorial out for most of the season
2nd Team
5'10 senior Sharrod Stone Beloit
6'1 senior Michael Boos Sun Prairie
6'2 senior Matt Everson Middleton
6'4 senior Tre Creamer Madison Memorial
6'4 senior Adam Wadzinski Verona
HM
6'2 junior Jordan Noskowiak Sun Prairie
6'3 senior Shane Adler Middleton
6'4 senior Matt Karls Verona
Those are my preseason thoughts on the Big Eight. I only added three players to the honorable mention list because those three guys could of just as easily be second team all conference players. South Central conference will follow with in the next day or two and then the season begins.
As last year this will be a two horse race between Madison Memorial and Madison East. After the top two, three through seven could finish in any order, and then the bottom three teams will be battling it out. My rankings will include my best guess at each teams record.
1. Madison Memorial- As always Memorial has the most talent in the conference and are led by the top player in the state in 6'4 senior Vander Blue.
2. Madison East- Best one two punch in the conference in 5'11 junior Nimrod Hillard and 6'4 senior Marquis Mason.
3. Verona- Yes they lost their Mr. Everything in Jason Ziemer but, this is a very disciplined team that plays hard the entire game. 6'4 senior Adam Wadzinski is a three year letter winner and 6'4 senior Sam Karls can do a little bit of everything.
4. Beloit- State team a year ago bring back two key starts in 6'2 senior KJ Evans and 5'10 senior Sharod Stone.
5. Sun Prairie- Their starting back court of Michael Boos and Michael Handel are on varsity for their fourth years and 6'3 junior Jordan Noskowiak will be in his second year of varsity.
6. Middleton- Matt Everson is a returning all conference preformer and they have lots of height on the team.
7. Madison Lafollette- This team hinges on one player in 5'11 senior DJ Fuller but, if Fuller misses some games they will be in trouble.
8. Madison West- This team always seems to have lots of athletes but, they will struggle with a first year coach.
9. Janesville Craig- Basically lost everything from a year ago and have a new coach.
10. Janesville Parker- Well Parker is always picked last in the conference year in and year out.
Conference Standings
Madison Memorial 17-1
Madison East 16-2
Verona 14-4
Beloit 11-7
Sun Prairie 9-9
Middleton 9-9
Madison Lafollette 7-11
Madison West 4-14
Janesville Craig 2-16
Janesville Paker 1-17
All Conference
1st Team
5'11 junior Nimrod Hillard Madison East
5'11 senior DJ Fuller Madison Lafollette
6'2 senior KJ Evans Beloit
6'4 senior Vander Blue Madison Memorial
6'4 senior Marquis Mason Madison East
6'4 Sophomore Junior Lomomba Madison Memorial out for most of the season
2nd Team
5'10 senior Sharrod Stone Beloit
6'1 senior Michael Boos Sun Prairie
6'2 senior Matt Everson Middleton
6'4 senior Tre Creamer Madison Memorial
6'4 senior Adam Wadzinski Verona
HM
6'2 junior Jordan Noskowiak Sun Prairie
6'3 senior Shane Adler Middleton
6'4 senior Matt Karls Verona
Those are my preseason thoughts on the Big Eight. I only added three players to the honorable mention list because those three guys could of just as easily be second team all conference players. South Central conference will follow with in the next day or two and then the season begins.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Division Four Preseason Rankings
I'll be the first to admit that I don't follow the D4 rankings as closely as the other three divisions and that's because there are typically not as many great athletes in the smallest division because they are drawing from the smallest populations. That being said I do my best to predict the division but, for the most part I'm making my judgements on the teams that I may of never seen play.
This year is no different then the past 10 years or so in the fact that Randolph is one of the top teams in D4. Unlike the past though Randolph isn't a clear cut favorite, there are two other teams that are right there with them. The other two teams are Benton who won the division a year ago and then Sheboygan Christian who actually defeated Randolph in the playoffs a year ago. All three teams bring back big contributors from a year ago and should be a great three team race. Outside of those three teams no one else really has a huge shot to win it all, at least as of right now. The one problem with this is that all three of these teams come out of the same sectional and only one of these three teams will make state. Randolph and Sheboygan Christian should meet in the fourth round, the sectional semi final, with the winner facing Benton in the next round, the sectional final.
1. Randolph- Coaching and 6'9 senior Kyle Kelm gives Randolph the edge here.
2. Sheboygan County Christian- Eagles bring back three starters from a team that beat Randolph in the playoffs a year ago.
3. Benton- Three of their top six players return for the defending state champs.
4. Luck- Should benefit greatly from dropping down a division this year.
5. Barneveld- 6'3 senior Logan Johnson who is the returning conference player of the year for the Six Rivers East.
6. McDonell Central- Should be battle tested after playing the likes of Fall Creek and Eau Claire Regis during conference play.
7. Catholic Central- Another private school that should benefit from a very tough conference schedule.
8. Wausau Newman- Privates always seem to have the edge come playoff time in the lower division and should be no different with Newman.
9. Green Lake- 6'5 senior Brad Brooks is a star and should be tested after getting a chance to play Randolph in the regular season.
10. Suring- Eagles look to return to state behind 6'4 junior Chad Strehlow who averaged 19 points a game a year ago.
HM
Seneca
Cochrane-Fountain City
Well that concludes my preseason division rankings. Next few days I'll be focusing on the Big Eight and South Central conference which are the two conferences that I follow closely. Prior to the start of the actual season, I'm not sure what other posts I might come up with. My first game will be next Saturday as I'm planning on heading over to Baraboo to watch their Thanksgiving tournament and get a chance to see Josh Cameron and Racine Park play.
This year is no different then the past 10 years or so in the fact that Randolph is one of the top teams in D4. Unlike the past though Randolph isn't a clear cut favorite, there are two other teams that are right there with them. The other two teams are Benton who won the division a year ago and then Sheboygan Christian who actually defeated Randolph in the playoffs a year ago. All three teams bring back big contributors from a year ago and should be a great three team race. Outside of those three teams no one else really has a huge shot to win it all, at least as of right now. The one problem with this is that all three of these teams come out of the same sectional and only one of these three teams will make state. Randolph and Sheboygan Christian should meet in the fourth round, the sectional semi final, with the winner facing Benton in the next round, the sectional final.
1. Randolph- Coaching and 6'9 senior Kyle Kelm gives Randolph the edge here.
2. Sheboygan County Christian- Eagles bring back three starters from a team that beat Randolph in the playoffs a year ago.
3. Benton- Three of their top six players return for the defending state champs.
4. Luck- Should benefit greatly from dropping down a division this year.
5. Barneveld- 6'3 senior Logan Johnson who is the returning conference player of the year for the Six Rivers East.
6. McDonell Central- Should be battle tested after playing the likes of Fall Creek and Eau Claire Regis during conference play.
7. Catholic Central- Another private school that should benefit from a very tough conference schedule.
8. Wausau Newman- Privates always seem to have the edge come playoff time in the lower division and should be no different with Newman.
9. Green Lake- 6'5 senior Brad Brooks is a star and should be tested after getting a chance to play Randolph in the regular season.
10. Suring- Eagles look to return to state behind 6'4 junior Chad Strehlow who averaged 19 points a game a year ago.
HM
Seneca
Cochrane-Fountain City
Well that concludes my preseason division rankings. Next few days I'll be focusing on the Big Eight and South Central conference which are the two conferences that I follow closely. Prior to the start of the actual season, I'm not sure what other posts I might come up with. My first game will be next Saturday as I'm planning on heading over to Baraboo to watch their Thanksgiving tournament and get a chance to see Josh Cameron and Racine Park play.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Division Three Preseason Rankings
While looking at the yearbook rankings for the two lower divisions I realized that I may of lied in my last post when I said that my rankings for the two lower divisions would show bigger difference between my rankings and the yearbook rankings but, unfortunately they are going to be fairly similar.
I personally consider D3 to be the most entertaining division outside of D1. The games in D3 just seem to be so competitive and fast paced, which always makes for more entertaining games. Not to mention you have the private schools which always have the great talent and also spark the hot button debate between private and public schools. This year though its finally a public school that appears to be the favorite to win the division three title.
1. Fall Creek- All five starters return from a final four finish a year ago.
2. Eau Claire Regis- Tons of experience and talent here with a pair of seniors in 6'3 Adams Ganske and 5'10 Jack Eaton. 6'2 junior Conor Miller is another returning starter and had a huge summer form what I've heard.
3. Whitefish Bay Dominican- Three starters are back for the knights including 6'5 senior Mikael Luter.
4. Cuba City- With 6'3 senior Evan Richard anything is possible.
5. Manitowoc Roncalli- With their ball movement and strong three point shooting the Jets should once again go far.
6. Brookfield Academy- BA brings back a lot of height and athleticism highlighted by 6'2 senior Troy Huff.
7. Racine St. Catherines- Angles always reload and the have a D1 athlete in 6'1 senior Steve McWhorter.
8. Blair-Taylor- Final four a year ago in division four and lose only one contributor from that team.
9. Hurley- Had a great football season and should carry that success over. 5'8 senior Daulton Levra could average 30 points a game.
10. Oostburg- Strong rich tradition makes Dutchman always a top team.
HM
Viroqua
Winnebago Lutheran
Brillion
Poynette
Should be another exciting year in division three to see if a public school can finally knock off the mighty private schools. This year should be one of their best chances in a long time.
I personally consider D3 to be the most entertaining division outside of D1. The games in D3 just seem to be so competitive and fast paced, which always makes for more entertaining games. Not to mention you have the private schools which always have the great talent and also spark the hot button debate between private and public schools. This year though its finally a public school that appears to be the favorite to win the division three title.
1. Fall Creek- All five starters return from a final four finish a year ago.
2. Eau Claire Regis- Tons of experience and talent here with a pair of seniors in 6'3 Adams Ganske and 5'10 Jack Eaton. 6'2 junior Conor Miller is another returning starter and had a huge summer form what I've heard.
3. Whitefish Bay Dominican- Three starters are back for the knights including 6'5 senior Mikael Luter.
4. Cuba City- With 6'3 senior Evan Richard anything is possible.
5. Manitowoc Roncalli- With their ball movement and strong three point shooting the Jets should once again go far.
6. Brookfield Academy- BA brings back a lot of height and athleticism highlighted by 6'2 senior Troy Huff.
7. Racine St. Catherines- Angles always reload and the have a D1 athlete in 6'1 senior Steve McWhorter.
8. Blair-Taylor- Final four a year ago in division four and lose only one contributor from that team.
9. Hurley- Had a great football season and should carry that success over. 5'8 senior Daulton Levra could average 30 points a game.
10. Oostburg- Strong rich tradition makes Dutchman always a top team.
HM
Viroqua
Winnebago Lutheran
Brillion
Poynette
Should be another exciting year in division three to see if a public school can finally knock off the mighty private schools. This year should be one of their best chances in a long time.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Division Two Preseason Rankings
In Division two nearly everyone, outside of the Wisconsin High School Yearbook, considers Northwestern to be the #1 team. The made it to the final four a year ago and return two of their top three players in 6'5 Steve Tecker and 6'8 Donnie Hissa. Tecker averaged 21 points a game a year ago while Hissa recorded a double double with 12 points and 10 boards a game. There are a ton of great players in the division two team but, not a lot of dominating teams so the state field is very wide open at the start of the year.
Division Two
1. Northwestern- Already stated the reasons above.
2. Wisconsin Lutheran- Defending state champs bring back there top player in 6'4 senior Flavian Davis.
3. Port Washington- Badger recruit 6'4 senior Josh Gasser is primed for a big year.
4. Catholic Memorial- Disciplined team that has one of the top backcourts in a pair of senior guards in 6'4 TJ Bray and 6'0 Derek Schell.
5. Seymour- Thunder appear to be returning to glory behind their strong junior class highlighted by 6'7 Phil Romback.
6. St. Johns Military- 5 of their top 7 players return and add a transfer that was a double digit scorer a year ago in a D1 conference.
7. River Valley- Should finally get over the hump and make it to state behind a pair of juniors in 6'1 Noah Baryenbruch and 6'4 Alex Richard who were both double digit scorers a year ago.
8. Waupun- High scoring team led by big time scoring 6'3 senior Austin Armga.
9. Reedsburg- Maybe not a real common pick but, I think the Beavers could be a team that could challenge some people with 6'3 junior Chad Mazur a sharpshooter and 6'2 senior Jordan Van Cleave who attacks the rim very hard and can jump outta the gym.
10. Monroe- Lost a lot but, have a great backcourt in a pair of 6'1 juniors in Bryan Tordoff and Michael Barrett.
HM
New Berlin Eisenhower
Prairie du Chien
There are my final picks. I'll admit that I had some trouble picking teams after eight so I was reaching a bit and couldn't really think of any teams that really stood out to me.
Division Two
1. Northwestern- Already stated the reasons above.
2. Wisconsin Lutheran- Defending state champs bring back there top player in 6'4 senior Flavian Davis.
3. Port Washington- Badger recruit 6'4 senior Josh Gasser is primed for a big year.
4. Catholic Memorial- Disciplined team that has one of the top backcourts in a pair of senior guards in 6'4 TJ Bray and 6'0 Derek Schell.
5. Seymour- Thunder appear to be returning to glory behind their strong junior class highlighted by 6'7 Phil Romback.
6. St. Johns Military- 5 of their top 7 players return and add a transfer that was a double digit scorer a year ago in a D1 conference.
7. River Valley- Should finally get over the hump and make it to state behind a pair of juniors in 6'1 Noah Baryenbruch and 6'4 Alex Richard who were both double digit scorers a year ago.
8. Waupun- High scoring team led by big time scoring 6'3 senior Austin Armga.
9. Reedsburg- Maybe not a real common pick but, I think the Beavers could be a team that could challenge some people with 6'3 junior Chad Mazur a sharpshooter and 6'2 senior Jordan Van Cleave who attacks the rim very hard and can jump outta the gym.
10. Monroe- Lost a lot but, have a great backcourt in a pair of 6'1 juniors in Bryan Tordoff and Michael Barrett.
HM
New Berlin Eisenhower
Prairie du Chien
There are my final picks. I'll admit that I had some trouble picking teams after eight so I was reaching a bit and couldn't really think of any teams that really stood out to me.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Division One Preaseason Rankings
High school basketball season is just around the corner in Wisconsin so the post on my blog will begin to pick up again. As usual I will start off the year with my preseason rankings for each of the division, predictions for the two conferences that I follow closely and possibly preseason all state teams for each division.
In just about everyone's mind it comes down to two teams Madison Memorial and Milwaukee Hamiliton. In the past six years Memorial has been a given to get to state and has won the title twice and has been the runner up three times. Memorial is also led by the top player in the state in Marquette recruit 6'4 senior Vander Blue. Hamiliton on the other hand hasn't had a lot of success in recent but, that has changed as they have benefited from a laundry list of top ranked players transfering to Hamiliton for various reasons. Both teams have great coaches in Steve Collins at Memorial and Tom Diener at Hamiliton, that are very well respected throughout the state and have proven track records.
1. Madison Memorial- Defending state champs bring back Blue and have tons of young talent. May be hampered by an injury to super soph 6'4 Junior Lomomba who will miss the majority of the year with an injury.
2. Milwaukee Hamiliton- Lots and lots of talent here with at least seven players ranked in the top 25 in their class and three for sure D1 college recruits.
3. Madison East- 6'4 senior Marquis Mason and 5'11 junior Nimrod Hillard form one of the eastside outside combos in the state. They also bring back their entire bench which got the fourth quarter minutes in a lot of close games including handing Memorial their only loss a year ago.
4. Arrowhead- Return all five starters from a year ago highlighted by high scoring guard 5'10 senior Russell Finco and big man 7'1 senior Ben Mills.
5. Milwaukee King- King is always one of the most talented teams in the state and will be ultra hungry after being suspended from post season play a year ago.
6. Milwaukee Washington- State qualifying team a year ago returned three very talented starters in 6'5 junior Quevyn Winters, 6'7 senior Jon Cathey-Macklin, and 5'10 senior Terry Taylor.
7. Kimberly- Papermakers bring back strong senior class led by 6'6 Matt Craggs.
8. Menomonee Falls- Nationally ranked sophomore 6'5 JP Tokoto is looking to have a breakout year.
9. Depere- Redbirds bring back lots of size and talent.
10. Eau Claire North- New coach and not a lot of returning players but, they do have Badger recruit 6'11 senior Evan Anderson.
HM (in no particular order)
Hamiliton Sussex
Racine Park
Lacrosse Logan
Milwaukee Vincent
There are my preseason rankings. I know that they don't differ much from the Wisconsin Yearbook but, in the coming rankings there will be some difference in the lower divisions. For me the season will begin in a week and a half when I will be attending my first of many games this year.
In just about everyone's mind it comes down to two teams Madison Memorial and Milwaukee Hamiliton. In the past six years Memorial has been a given to get to state and has won the title twice and has been the runner up three times. Memorial is also led by the top player in the state in Marquette recruit 6'4 senior Vander Blue. Hamiliton on the other hand hasn't had a lot of success in recent but, that has changed as they have benefited from a laundry list of top ranked players transfering to Hamiliton for various reasons. Both teams have great coaches in Steve Collins at Memorial and Tom Diener at Hamiliton, that are very well respected throughout the state and have proven track records.
1. Madison Memorial- Defending state champs bring back Blue and have tons of young talent. May be hampered by an injury to super soph 6'4 Junior Lomomba who will miss the majority of the year with an injury.
2. Milwaukee Hamiliton- Lots and lots of talent here with at least seven players ranked in the top 25 in their class and three for sure D1 college recruits.
3. Madison East- 6'4 senior Marquis Mason and 5'11 junior Nimrod Hillard form one of the eastside outside combos in the state. They also bring back their entire bench which got the fourth quarter minutes in a lot of close games including handing Memorial their only loss a year ago.
4. Arrowhead- Return all five starters from a year ago highlighted by high scoring guard 5'10 senior Russell Finco and big man 7'1 senior Ben Mills.
5. Milwaukee King- King is always one of the most talented teams in the state and will be ultra hungry after being suspended from post season play a year ago.
6. Milwaukee Washington- State qualifying team a year ago returned three very talented starters in 6'5 junior Quevyn Winters, 6'7 senior Jon Cathey-Macklin, and 5'10 senior Terry Taylor.
7. Kimberly- Papermakers bring back strong senior class led by 6'6 Matt Craggs.
8. Menomonee Falls- Nationally ranked sophomore 6'5 JP Tokoto is looking to have a breakout year.
9. Depere- Redbirds bring back lots of size and talent.
10. Eau Claire North- New coach and not a lot of returning players but, they do have Badger recruit 6'11 senior Evan Anderson.
HM (in no particular order)
Hamiliton Sussex
Racine Park
Lacrosse Logan
Milwaukee Vincent
There are my preseason rankings. I know that they don't differ much from the Wisconsin Yearbook but, in the coming rankings there will be some difference in the lower divisions. For me the season will begin in a week and a half when I will be attending my first of many games this year.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
BACK!!!
Well I will be back writing on the blog regularly in about a month. I apologize to anyone that has actually kept up with my blog and read what I've written in the past but, with all the softball I played this summer there just wasn't time to keep up and I felt that the few posts I did write weren't real good anyway and my true passion is writing about high school basketball anyway. With the high school season a little more then a month away my posting will really pick up then. Probably in about three weeks or so I'll be back to my regular posting with my high school basketball write ups. Until then just hang in there and I'll be back.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Softball Starts with Lone Rock Tournament
The basketball talk is officially over now as the first softball tournament of the year has started. My blog gets some what weak over the summer months as I play a lot of slow pitch softball and don't have a lot of free time to be on here typing. When I talk slow pitch softball I'm talking unlimited arc softball where your seeing 30 foot pitches not the 6-12 arc that a lot of people are playing around the state of Wisconsin. I will try to be on here as much as I can and will be talking about how the season is going each of my teams records and ranking the teams that I have seen play.
I currently play for Swagger Inn for tournaments on the weekend, Mt. Olympus in the Wisconsin Dells league, Anjeros in Mauston league, and seems that I will be playing in Portage league as well, as long as our sponsorship goes through. Swagger Inn was formally known as Harmony but, with Harmony burning down sponsorship has switched. We typically take somewhere from third to sixth place in most tournaments with a few exceptions of top finish or a two and out finishes. Mt. Olympus is a very young team which we played our first season last year and had great success finish second in the league before bowing out in the tournament semi final. Anjeros is a team that were co-champs in the Mauston league during regular season and then were able to take down Harmony in the championship game with only eight players.
The tournament year started off so so with Swagger Inn going 2-1 before the tournament was finally rained out. Friday night we arrived early to see Royal Bank, a team that I have some buddies play on, 10 run rule a team that I didn't catch the name of, they had some guys with Best Buds shirts on but, don't believe they were playing under this name. In our first game of the tournament we took on O'Finle from the Cazanovia, Richland Center area. Team we probably should of run rules we ended up beating 17-6 after giving up a couple runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. In the final game of the night Tri State was taking on tournament host Burnstads Miller. Try State jumped out to an early 18-5 lead after two innings and we figured the game was over so we headed out. Apparantly we left to early as Burnstads was able to come back and win 19-18.
Saturday I had to work so I missed our first game of the day. We ended up beating a pretty good Carpet Plus team 25-8. When I arrived Royal Bank was once again playing,this time getting beat by a run rule or close to it to Burnstads Miller. Our next game proved to be the toughest of the tournament against Sprint Print who dominated us in a 20-8 win or something close to that. We were then suppose to take on O'Finley's again but, tournament was rained out by this time. I did get a chance to watch parts of three games during this time. O'Finleys took on Tri State. I went to the car half way through this game and somehow O'Finleys was able to hang on for a close fought win. We left and went to eat and when we came back O'Finleys was playing again in one of the longest games ever seen. They were playing a team called Those Guys and neither team was to great in this one as the final score was O'Finleys winning 33-23 in a game where I don't believe there was an earned run as there was error after error in the game. The finally game of the night ended short as Carpet Plus was up 8 to 4 over a team that I didn't catch their name,and the other team forfeited because the rain was coming down so hard.
Rankings- In the rankings I will include where the team is from, if I know, where we saw them, and their record in games I've seen them play.
1. Sprint Print (Fitchburg) Lone Rock, 2-0 Have very good pitcher and hit the ball really well.
2. Burnstads Miller (Plain/Richland Center) Lone Rock 2-0 Hit the long ball very very well. Defense seemed to be a question mark.
3. Swagger Inn (Lyndon State/Mauston) US 2-1 Very good overall team speed, with streaky hitting, and solid defense.
4. Carpet Plus (Madison) Lone Rock 1-1 Hit the ball very hard and play pretty solid defense
5. Royal Bank (Elroy/Kendall) Lone Rock 2-1 Streaky hitting team and play good defense.
6. O'Finley's (Richland Center/Cazanovia) Lone Rock 2-1 Good team speed but, struggle when they get down.
7. Tri State (Kendall/Elroy/Richland Center) Lone Rock 0-2 A lot better then what their record shows.
8. Those Guys (Lone Rock/Spring Green) Lone Rock 0-2 Only on here because there the only other team that I actually saw.
Swagger Inn 2-1
Well one tournament down and a lot more to go. Should be another great summer.
I currently play for Swagger Inn for tournaments on the weekend, Mt. Olympus in the Wisconsin Dells league, Anjeros in Mauston league, and seems that I will be playing in Portage league as well, as long as our sponsorship goes through. Swagger Inn was formally known as Harmony but, with Harmony burning down sponsorship has switched. We typically take somewhere from third to sixth place in most tournaments with a few exceptions of top finish or a two and out finishes. Mt. Olympus is a very young team which we played our first season last year and had great success finish second in the league before bowing out in the tournament semi final. Anjeros is a team that were co-champs in the Mauston league during regular season and then were able to take down Harmony in the championship game with only eight players.
The tournament year started off so so with Swagger Inn going 2-1 before the tournament was finally rained out. Friday night we arrived early to see Royal Bank, a team that I have some buddies play on, 10 run rule a team that I didn't catch the name of, they had some guys with Best Buds shirts on but, don't believe they were playing under this name. In our first game of the tournament we took on O'Finle from the Cazanovia, Richland Center area. Team we probably should of run rules we ended up beating 17-6 after giving up a couple runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. In the final game of the night Tri State was taking on tournament host Burnstads Miller. Try State jumped out to an early 18-5 lead after two innings and we figured the game was over so we headed out. Apparantly we left to early as Burnstads was able to come back and win 19-18.
Saturday I had to work so I missed our first game of the day. We ended up beating a pretty good Carpet Plus team 25-8. When I arrived Royal Bank was once again playing,this time getting beat by a run rule or close to it to Burnstads Miller. Our next game proved to be the toughest of the tournament against Sprint Print who dominated us in a 20-8 win or something close to that. We were then suppose to take on O'Finley's again but, tournament was rained out by this time. I did get a chance to watch parts of three games during this time. O'Finleys took on Tri State. I went to the car half way through this game and somehow O'Finleys was able to hang on for a close fought win. We left and went to eat and when we came back O'Finleys was playing again in one of the longest games ever seen. They were playing a team called Those Guys and neither team was to great in this one as the final score was O'Finleys winning 33-23 in a game where I don't believe there was an earned run as there was error after error in the game. The finally game of the night ended short as Carpet Plus was up 8 to 4 over a team that I didn't catch their name,and the other team forfeited because the rain was coming down so hard.
Rankings- In the rankings I will include where the team is from, if I know, where we saw them, and their record in games I've seen them play.
1. Sprint Print (Fitchburg) Lone Rock, 2-0 Have very good pitcher and hit the ball really well.
2. Burnstads Miller (Plain/Richland Center) Lone Rock 2-0 Hit the long ball very very well. Defense seemed to be a question mark.
3. Swagger Inn (Lyndon State/Mauston) US 2-1 Very good overall team speed, with streaky hitting, and solid defense.
4. Carpet Plus (Madison) Lone Rock 1-1 Hit the ball very hard and play pretty solid defense
5. Royal Bank (Elroy/Kendall) Lone Rock 2-1 Streaky hitting team and play good defense.
6. O'Finley's (Richland Center/Cazanovia) Lone Rock 2-1 Good team speed but, struggle when they get down.
7. Tri State (Kendall/Elroy/Richland Center) Lone Rock 0-2 A lot better then what their record shows.
8. Those Guys (Lone Rock/Spring Green) Lone Rock 0-2 Only on here because there the only other team that I actually saw.
Swagger Inn 2-1
Well one tournament down and a lot more to go. Should be another great summer.
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