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.

Top Forwards

My forward rankings will be done similar to my guard rankings. I've broken them into two categories, wing forwards and post forwards. Wing forwards are guys that play primarily on the outside and don't handle the ball so much until their in their half court set. Power forwards are guys that hang around the rim and do most of their scoring with their back to the basket or getting put back buckets. I will not be doing center rankings because there really aren't very many true centers in high school basketball and the few that their might be I can easily just put with the post forwards. Like the guards there are some question marks as to which category a player should be ranked in like the likes of Jeronne Maymon, Antwon Oliver, and Marquis Mason who have the ability to play on the inside or the outside. When it came down to it I ranked the players by where they do most of the scoring so Maymon and Mason both went with the post guys, while Oliver went with the wing players.

Wing Forwards
1. Jamil Wilson 6'7 sr Racine Horlick- Extremely versatile player with great size. Shoots the three very and can guard anyone on the court.
2. Antwon Oliver 6'5 sr Racine Horlick- Very similar to Wilson and may shoot the three a little better.
3. Flavian Davis 6'4 jr Wisconsin Lutheran- Very strong player that can go inside or outside. Scores most of his points in the mid range area.
4. Steve Tecker 6'5 jr Northwestern- Another big strong player that can shoot the three or take the ball strong to the hoop.
5. Eric Williams 6'3 sr Wauwatosa East- Does a little bit of everything from shooting the three, posting up, or scoring in transition.
6. Tyler Mazur 6'3 sr Reedsburg- Great three point shooter with great leaping ability.
7. Antoine Howard 6'4 sr Milwaukee Bay View- Superior athlete that can score points in bunches.
8. Derek Braucht 6'6 sr Madison Edgewood- Very good shooter that moves very well without the ball and can handle the ball some.
9. Javar Lawson 6'4 sr Racine St. Catherines- Defensive stopper that can guard all five positions, great rebounder, can spot up and shoot.
10. Larentaz Daniels 6'4 jr Milwaukee Custer- Big time scorer that is a streaky shooter from the outside. Can score from anywhere on the court.
HM
Kyle Goike 6'3 sr Janesville Craig
Junior Lomomba 6'4 fr Madison Memorial
JP Tokoto 6'4 fr Menomonee Falls

Post Forwards
1. Jeronne Maymon 6'7 sr Madison Memorial- Unstoppable from 15 feet and in. Has a wide array of moves on the inside that he uses to score. Best rebounder in the state.
2. Marquis Mason 6'4 jr Madison East- One of the strongest kids in the state and the best leapers.
3. Ben Averkamp 6'8 sr Germantown- Just very fundamentally strong and very tough with his back to the basket and is also great shot blocker.
4. Tank Johnson 6'5 sr Oshkosh North- Beast is the only word that comes to mind to discribe Johnson. Just dominates the paint on both ends of the court.
5. Jason Ziemer 6'4 sr Verona- One of the best rebounders in the state and works the hardest.
6. Tyler Brown 6'7 sr Eau Claire North- Big kid that iss a great rebounder and has a very nice midrange shot.
7. Kyle Kelm 6'10 jr Randolph- Could of nearly been a wing forward but, height makes him a post. Shoots the three and moves extremely well for a kid his size.
8. JoJo Pregont 6'6 sr Janesville Craig- Defensive stopper in the post that jumps well, blocks shots, and rebounds. Runs the court extremely well.
9. Luke Russell 6'8 sr Menomonee Falls- Big guy with a very nice touch around the rim and very smooth.
10. Evan Anderson 6'11 jr Eau Claire North- Size gives him the advantage over everyone. Nice shot blocker with a soft touch around the rim.
HM
Adam Ganske 6'3 jr Eau Claire Regis
Michael Hanson 6'7 sr Lacrosse Aquinas
Donnie Hissa 6'8 jr Northwestern

Well there is my list for top forwards in the state. I still have a few my rankings that I have to talk about before I make the move to the softball season on my blog. Gotta get as much posting in now as I can because once the Summer is in full swing I don't have a lot of time to be posting.

Top Guards

With the season over I've decided to come up with some other ways to rank the top players that I saw this year. Today will be focusing on the guards. The two separate rankings will be point guard and combo guard. In high school there really isn't a big difference between the two guard positions. When I say point guard I'm thinking of guys that look to get their teammates involved and are leaders that are looking to run the offensive and not necessarily looking to get their own points. A combo guard is basically a shooting guard in my mind but, in many cases these guys are the point guard because there aren't other options to handle the ball. The two biggest combo guards that run the point are Jade Royston of Wisconsin Dells and Mitch Tordoff of Monroe. Both guys score most of their points on pick and rolls taking the shot and coming off of screens. Many times they get the ball past half court pass the ball right away and then the offense is initiated. Well anyway here are my top point guards and combo guards in my mind. I'm also only including players from Wisconsin in my rankings.

Point Guards
1.Nicholas Ford 5'9 sr Fond du Lac- Easily the best pass first point guard I saw this year. Very hardnosed player that seems to enjoy setting his teammates but, can get his own points when needed and knocks down the free throws.
2. Jerrel Harris 5'10 sr Whitefish Bay Dominican- Maybe not the best thing you want to hear but, AND One is the first thing to come to mind. Great ball handling skills and can get by anyway and find open teammates or has a nice little floater. Has nice three point shot also.
3. Tyler Tillema 6'3 sr Randolph- No doubt one of the most clutch players on the list. Knocks down the outside shots but, the part I love the most is his decision making in transition. Grabs the rebound and push it instantly and always seems to set up teammates in great positions.
4. Nimrod Hilliard 5'11 so Madison East- Killer cross over and always looking for his slashing and cutting teammates. Has a nice three point shot and great vision seeing the entire court.
5. Mitch Roelke 6'1 sr Waunakee- Very unselfish player that feeds the post very well. If a player out hustles their defender down the court Roelke will find them for the open lay up. Plays great defense and is a great leader.
6. Taylor Cameron 6'4 jr Oshkosh North- Loves to push the ball and keep an uptempo pace. Loves to penetrate and dish or hit the little floater.
7. Kane Hoffman 5'11 sr Benton- Just a great leader. Plays good defense and rebounds. Does a great job of "probing" the inside and coming back out, similar to Steve Nash.
8. Steve McWhorter 6'1 jr Racine St. Catherines- Always gives his teammates the ball when their in a good position to score. Doesn't force many shots but, will take them if its there.
9. Sharod Stone 5'10 jr Beloit- Handles the ball and the press extremely well. Best asset is his ability to penetrate and drop the ball off to a big man for a lay in or kicking it to a three point shooter.
10. Davonte Mullin 5'10 jr Racine Holick- Another guy that handles the press defense really and gets right into the offensive. Has a nice floater.
Hm
Matt Turba 5'10 sr Wisconsin Rapids Assumption
Dane Ricci 5'11 jr Brookfield Academy

Combo Guards
1. Vander Blue 6'4 jr Madison Memorial- I've said it all before. Could be a great point guard but, doesn't need to run it. Shoots the three, penetrates and throws down.
2. Antoine Byrd 6'3 sr Milwaukee Washington- Very tough to keep out of the lane. Knocks down the three and plays in your face defense.
3. TJ Bray 6'4 jr Waukesha Catholic Memorial- Has a very quick first step that allows him to get to the rim or open jumpers. Seriously considered listing him as a point.
4. Mitch Tordoff 6'0 sr Monroe- Big time scorer with a very quick shot and comes off the screen looking to shoot immediately.
5. Evan Richard 6'3 jr Cuba City- Can pretty much hit his shot from anywhere on the court. Also can get up and throw down.
6. Garrett Schwarz 6'2 Sauk Prairie- Very very nice jumper off the dribble. Very tough to stay in front of. (just ask Madison Memorial)
7. Jade Royston 6'0 sr Wisconsin Dells- Handles the ball very well and can get his shot at any time.
8.Jake Thomas 6'3 sr Racine St. Catherines- Gets off the ground very very well, whether its on his jump shot, rebounding, or dunking. Can shoot the threes with anyone.
9. Jimmy Whitehead 6'1 sr Lacrosse Aquinas- Not a great outside shooter but, can get to the rim at will and finish.
10. Chris Siebert 6'2 sr Baraboo- Can do it all on the offensive end and carry a team. Shoots the ball very well and when he gets hot look out.

Looking at my list you can basically say the distinguishing factor between the two list is that the combo guards score and the points look to pass more with the exception of a few guys. Also there may be some guys that are considered guards that should be on my list but, if they don't handle the ball very well I just have a hard time considering a player a guard if he doesn't handle the ball much or well. More will be released tomorrow with my rankings of wing players and post players. If someone isn't ranked as a combo guard that you think should be they will probably be on my list of top wing players.