State Recap

I know it has been a few days but, I've been recovering from a very long weekend of basketball and have just now back to my normal self. For the most part state went according to plan with a few exceptions. Milwaukee Hamiliton losing in the quarter finals and then the biggest shock with Madison Memorial falling apart in the championship game.

Division One
In the first quarterfinal game Antigo was very disappointing along with Jordan Mach who I was excited to see play. Mach seemed to take a ton of shots and no one else really wanted to shoot. Appleton East wasn't that solid in itself but, the three point shooting was out and about and the hot shooting of Caleb Zeegers saved them in this one. In game two it felt like Madison Memorial just coasted against Neenah. I don't remember much about this game but, the starters for Memorial didn't play a ton of minutes and seemed to wrap this game up early with their pressure defense. Milwaukee Marquette over Milwaukee Hamiliton was a big shocker and just didn't seem right as Hamiliton controlled this game throughout. I found myself guessing how Hamiliton would match up with Memorial, thinking their length would give Memorial some problems, and trying to guess who would guard who. Before I knew it Marquette had tied the game up and took the lead and Hamiliton couldn't hit the big shot at the end of any threes the entire game. Marvins Pain came up huge for Marquette going 3-4 from downtown. In the final game of the first day Arrowhead completely dominated Verona and I left midway through the fourth quarter. Verona had no one to guard the 7'1 Ben Mills or ultra quick point guard Andy Fox.

Semifinal
Madison Memorial put on an absolute clinic on running a trapping 1-3-1 zone defense against Appleton East. East just seemed overwhelmed by the speed and quickness of Memorial. Arrowhead vs Marquette was probably the best game of D1 and ended with a banked in three with only seconds remaining. There were some nice match ups between Ben Mills and John Kopriva despite Kopriva giving up some height and then the two lead guards in Andy Fox and Quentin Calloway but, the difference was the hot shooting of Charlie Fischer who hit five three point shots in this game.

Championship
Memorial seemed to have this game in hand and was one run away from completely taking this game over as they led by eight points at half time. Memorial was trapping and getting out and running. In the second half Memorial completely lost it and Arrowhead capitalized. Memorial had a tough time guarding Mills all night long due to the fact that the tallest player they play is listed at a generous 6'5. Vander Blue was completely taken out of his game by the Arrowhead crowd who taunted him all night long and Blue responded by playing out of control and really forcing things that weren't there. Arrowhead had numerous cheers against Blue "Mrs. Basketball" "Vander Who?" "Bray is better" and then finally "Thank you Vander". I truly believe Memorial was the better team but, just lost their composure in this one.

Divion two semifinal
I thought Waukesha Catholic Memorial would blow Sauk Prairie out but, Sauk really played hard and were a missed three away from winning this game. In the first half TJ Bray really dominated for Catholic Memorial but, then in the second half he began forcing shots and things weren't falling and Memorials offense cooled off. In the second game Northwestern played a very solid game against Kiel and got only a five point lead due to some hot shooting from Kiel that in the game. Northwestern was very impressive in this game, they have lots of height and really look to use their height and pound the ball inside. Donnie Hissa may be the most improved player I've seen this year and has a very soft touch around the rim, really fights for position, and can step out and hit the three. Kiels star Brandon Gries was battling an ankle injury the second half and was a non factor in the second half despite that fact the hot shooting from Joey Burris nearly won them the game. Anyone watching Northwestern's Steve Tecker play could of never guess that this was only his fourth game of the year. Tecker looked nearly as impressive as last year and plays nearly the entire game.

Championship
This was the best game of the weekend. TJ Bray and Steve Tecker went head to head for a great battle. Edge to Bray who was able to hit the outside shot and get to the rim while Tecker struggled to get to the rim and has never had a great outside shot. Hissa had another great game all around but, the difference was the play of Derek Schill who was able to catch fire from the outside and was the difference in the game.

Division Three
Racine St Catherines controlled game one nearly the entire way. Blair Taylor couldn't buy a basket early on and they weren't getting the offensive rebounds that I had seen them get the last time I saw them play. St Cats is just a very smooth team and very disciplined team. Whether missed or made shot the push the ball quicker then any other team and find their point guard Steve Mcwhorter right away. Mcwhorter is the best on the ball defender that I've seen all year. In game two height was the big difference. Brillion didn't have height and Eau Claire Regis did. Regis big man Steve Hofacker had 10 points 14 rebounds and 5 blocks. Brillion seems to be a team that relies on the outside shot and the outside shot wasn't falling and they weren't getting the second chances. Regis point guard Connor Miller is a star in the making and runs the show very well and can score on his own. Would like to see him go to the post more though.

Championship
This was a great match up between two great point guards in Miller and McWhorter. McWhorter did a great job on Miller and McWhorter received some help from Jordan Fouse who had a double double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. With Miller shut down Adam Ganske took over for Regis, so then McWhorter switched over to Ganske and shut him down. Meanwhile Miller went off scoring eight straight points which cause St. Cats to switch to a 1-3-1 zone defense and then get the title win.

Division four semifinal
Game one Randolph completely dominated Royal from start to finish. Royal couldn't hit the outside shots and didn't have the size to battle with Randolph. Kyle Kelm didn't have a good game but, TJ Huizenga came up big scoring 21 points in the game. In the second game Green Bay NEW Lutheran came out early gunning using their speed and hot outside shooting to jump out early but, the strong play from Blayton big man Taylor Dayton willed his team back into this game and ended with a one point lose.

Championship
In the final game Randolph against showed their dominance behind the great play of 6'10 Kyle Kelm. Kelm rebounded, scored, and passed. GBNL did their best to keep the game close with strong outside shooting but, in the end Kelm and company were just too much.

All Tournament team
6'4 senior Vander Blue Madison Memorial
6'4 junior Tre Burnette Madison Memorial
6'3 senior Marvins Paine Milwaukee Marquette
7'1 senior Ben Mills Arrowhead
6'0 senior Andy Fox Arrowhead
6'3 junior Charlie Fischer Arrowhead
6'4 senior TJ Bray Waukesha Catholic Memorial
6'1 senior Derek Schill Waukesha Catholic Memorial
6'8 senior Donnie Hissa Northwestern
6'5 senior Steve Tecker Northwestern
6'2 senior Steve McWhorter Racine St. Cats
6'3 senior Adam Ganske Eau Claire Regis
6'2 junior Connor Miller Eau Claire Regis
6'0 junior Kaylor Zimmerman Green Bay NEW Lutheran
6'10 senior Kyle Kelm Randolph
6'3 junior TJ Huizenga Randolph

If you are a person that likes the small quick point guards then this was a state tournament for you. Every game had at least one very good point guard who could score or pass. Andy Fox, Charles Lee, Quentin Calloway, Steve McWhorter, Connor Miller, and Klayton Zimmerman. Along with that you had your stars that are big scorers, D1 recruits, and highly ranked players.