The Big Eight conference is always the conference that I most closely follow. Reasons for this is that they play some of the best basketball in the state and they are fairly close to where I live. Year in and year out the Big Eight is a top notch conference and always sends one team to state and usually two, which will change this year now that D1 is only sending four teams to state. Usually you can go to at least two games a week and get some great basketball and typically the top five teams can all make runs at state and will provide entertaining games every single night. Well here are my preseason picks.
1. Madison Memorial- The talent at Memorial is never ending. They bring back seniors 6'4 Tre Burnette and 6'4 Miles Chamberlain who didn't start last year but, are both ranked in the top 50 seniors. Juniors 6'5 Junior Lomomba, ranked #2 in his class, 6'5 Jamar Morris a top 30 in the class, and transfer Iyad Assad whose 6'10 and also ranked in the top 30. Then their strong sophomore class highlighted by 5'11 Brendan Ortiz and 6'3 Jester Weah both top 30 players and haven't even mentioned Jordan Fredrick who was their defensive stopper a year ago. Memorial has the height and athleticism that is hard for any team to match up with.
2. Sun Prairie- Split with Memorial a year ago and bring back most of their team. They did lose a first team all conference performer in Michael Boos and they really played to their competition as they finished the season at .500 in conference. 6'5 senior Chris Hawkins is poised for a break out year if he can bring it every night and stay out of foul trouble, same can be said for fellow senior 6'3 Jordan Noskowiak who either seemed to be the best player on the court or completely disappeared. Their best player might just be 6'5 sophomore Nick Fuller who can do it all from running the point, shoot the three, battle on the inside, and defensively can guard anyone on the court. 6'0 senior Jaron Schaffner would probably be a star on a lot of teams.
3. Madison East- This pick may surprise a lot of people but, 6'0 senior Nimrod Hillard will be the top player in the conference this year and they also bring back backcourt mate 5'8 junior Rudy Bentley Jr. Through in another solid guard in 6'1 junior Demetrius Durley who looked very good after his midseason call up and they have 5'9 senior Arthur Adams and his great defense which adds lots of depth and East may have the best back court in the conference. Question will be how they will do on the glass with very little height and don't recall much on JV either.
4. Beloit- Always a very athletic team that plays hard but, not always the smartest. Lost their leader to graduation in KJ Evans but, bring back an all conference performer in 6'2 senior Leketreius Broomfield, who is one of three starters returning who started at least a portion of last year.
5. Middleton- Lost a lot to graduation but, Middleton always plays lots of players so their still return a lot as well. 6'6 senior Ian Joyce should step in as the go to player as well as their top five bench players from a year ago who all played decent minutes.
6. Verona- Lost all five starters and the majority of their scoring but, hard to imagine a Verona team falling that far. JV was pretty solid.
7. Madison Lafollette- Another team that lost all their starters from a very ago but, always seem to have some pretty good talent. Reggie Williams is a pretty good coach who gets the most out of his team.
8. Madison West- Another team that lost their five starters. Another team with lots of athletes but, doesn't always play the smartest.
9. Janesville Parker- Beat Craig twice last year only reason have them ahead of Craig.
10. Janesville Craig- Didn't win a game a year ago but, have already won two this year.
Predicted Conference Record
Madison Memorial 16-2
Sun Prairie 15-3
Madison East 13-5
Beloit 12-6
Middleton 11-7
Verona 10-8
Madison Lafollette 5-13
Madison West 4-14
Janesville Parker 2-16
Janesville Craig 2-16
1st Team All Conference
Nimrod Hillard 6'0 senior Madison East
Junior Lomomba 6'5 junior Madison Memorial
Chris Hawkins 6'5 senior Sun Prairie
Leketreius Broomfield 6'2 senior Beloit
Jamar Morris 6'5 junior Madison Memorial
2nd Team All Conference
Ian Joyce 6'6 senior Middleton
Nick Fuller 6'5 sophomore Sun Prairie
Jordan Noskowiak 6'3 senior Sun Prairie
Tre Burnette 6'4 senior Madison Memorial
Brendan Ortiz 5'11 sophomore Madison Memorial
Looking at my all conference you can see it's heavy on Madison Memorial and Sun Prairie but, I truly feel that these two teams talent wise will be above and beyond everyone else.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Baraboo Thanksgiving Results
My first game of the year started out on a bit of a down note. As I arrived at Baraboo high school and was greeted with the fact that they had apparently ran out of programs. This seemed strange to me for the fact that if your going to run a two day tournament don't you need to print off twice as many programs? When I asked if they would be printing off more programs I was told no, which shocked me again. I have been to a few other games where they have run out of programs but, usually someone makes a run to the office copy machine and starts running off copies. So I had to deal with no programs which cause me to not keep track of players scoring for the first game between Lacrosse Logan and West Depere. Finally during halftime I managed to go under the bleachers and find a program that had been disregarded by another fan. One thing I forgot to mention was that there was maybe 50 to 75 people at the game which led me to believe that they had only printed off maybe 50 programs for two days worth of games.
I had seen each team play once last year so I knew what to expect in the first game. Just like last year Lacrosse Logan looked to go to their star big man senior 6'7 Trevor Jorgenson and the guards, just like last year, were unable to get him the ball in a good position. Unlike last year though the rest of the Logan team came to play and they were able to knock down the outside shots and completely dominated the offensive glass throughout the first half. A pair of juniors 6'3 Ryan Koel and 6'2 Vincent Kube really carried Logan offensively. Koel was hot from the outside knocking down threes, Kube was able to slash to the hoop and score or pull up for the mid range jumper, and then 6'3 senior Hans Erickson chipped in knocking down a couple midrange shots.
West Depere on the other hand really struggled off the tip and shot brick after brick including some shots that missed the rim all together. Some threes kept them in the game but, at the end of one quarter Logan was up 33-19. In the second quarter West Depere really tightened up the defense and trimmed the half time lead to 36-25. In the second half the rebounds seemed to really evened out for both teams and Logan continued their hot shooting and West Depere seemed to settle in on the offensive end. In the fourth quarter West Depere finally broke through and were able to get a one point lead late in the game thanks to hustle play and some sloppy offensive play from Logan. In the end came down to West Depere missing a free throw and Logan coming down and looking to Koel in the post who was able to get the game winning bucket to go in and leaving West Depere with a half court heave at the end.
Top Players
Ryan Koel 6'3 junior Lacrosse Logan- Very smooth shot from the outside and connected on numerous three point shots and showed a nice post game despite not being able to score on the post. Did score the game winning basket on a post up.
Vincent Kube 6'2 junior Lacrosse Logan- Just a scorer that can score in a variety of ways. Can shoot the three, hit the midrange shot, or drive to the hoop. Also ran the point when Erickson was out of the game.
Alex Hooyman 5'11 senior West De Pere- Just the ultimate hustler that always seemed to be around the ball. Has a nice runner in the lane that he used and was able to bank in a couple of those runners.
Brad Ambrosius 6'4 sophomore West De Pere- Did a nice job of rebounding and battling the much bigger Jorgenson in the post.
Box Score courtesy of wishoops, starters in italics
Logan 66- Koel 20 Kube 19 Jorgenson 10 Erickson 8 Drew Escher 6 Jonah Waite 3 Joe Rank 0 Alex Stekel 0 Alex Collins 0
WDP- Hooyman 19 Shane Gulseth 16 Tanner Kackl 12 Brad Ambrosius 8 Jordan Forrest 7 Keagan Wirtz 2 Eric Pannier 0 Jake Kocken 0 Bruce Ward 0 Alex Ludwig 0
Game two saw host Baraboo taking on Racine Park. Last year Park's full court pressure defense was just too much for Baraboo to handle and figured Park would come out and do the same thing and the question was gonna be whether Baraboo could handle it.
Just as expected Park came out playing their pressure defense but, they got in foul trouble early on including their star point guard junior 5'11 Taron Edwards. Baraboo got in the double bonus very quickly which led to their 19-10 lead after the first quarter scoring most of their points from the free throw line. Parks halfcourt offense was terrible leading to numerous turnovers and contested outside shots which were not falling. Late in the second quarter Park turned up the pressure which led to five straight turnovers to end the first half and Park pulled within 12 with a 39-27 half time score.
Second half continued much of the same as Park had no offense outside of the fast break and Baraboo seemed to have the game in hand then Park up the defense a bit and Baraboo's guards fell apart again and began turning the ball over. Park got the game to 55-39 at the end of third. In the fourth Park's offense was just give the ball to Edwards and let him drive to the hoop. Park seemed to score every time they got the ball but, just couldn't stop Baraboo who was eventually able to break the Park press and get easy layups. In the end Baraboo cruised to the 78-63 win.
Top Players
Sean McGann 6'4 jr Baraboo- Did a great job of finishing in transition and was money from the free throw line. Also did a good job of helping the guards handle the Park pressure.
Mark Kowalke 6'7 sr Baraboo- Controlled the boards and was hitting the threes and the free throws.
Josh Statz 5'11 sr Baraboo- Did a nice job of taking the ball strong to the hoop and scoring. Another guy that was hitting his free throws.
Taron Edwards 5'11 jr Racine Park- Was able to drive to the hoop at will and finish with contact and get the end one where he'd make the free throw. Had very quick hands and was able to get steals and easy baskets.
Jordan Payne 6'2 jr Racine Park- Very tough in the post where he was able to score against smaller defenders.
Box Score
Baraboo 78- McGann 27 Kowalke 17 Statz 17 Tyler Fish 11 Mike Weinke 4 Corbin Lebo 2 Jesse Kink 0 Emerson Halbach 0 Joe Becraft 0 Erick Anderson 0 Zach Tower 0 Jed Traxler 0 Ryan Vorndran 0
Park 63- Edwards 21 Payne 15 Dominic Fumbanks 12 Frank Gutierrez 6 David Campbell 5 Darrias Lewis 4 Tucker Iverson 0 Devan Hall 0 Devon Hall 0 Rondell Brumby 0 James Orth 0 Kyle Spranger 0 #34 0
They weren't the greatest games but, it was nice to finally get to watch a little basketball. Will probably be going to a couple games this week so will probably be having a couple write ups coming.
I had seen each team play once last year so I knew what to expect in the first game. Just like last year Lacrosse Logan looked to go to their star big man senior 6'7 Trevor Jorgenson and the guards, just like last year, were unable to get him the ball in a good position. Unlike last year though the rest of the Logan team came to play and they were able to knock down the outside shots and completely dominated the offensive glass throughout the first half. A pair of juniors 6'3 Ryan Koel and 6'2 Vincent Kube really carried Logan offensively. Koel was hot from the outside knocking down threes, Kube was able to slash to the hoop and score or pull up for the mid range jumper, and then 6'3 senior Hans Erickson chipped in knocking down a couple midrange shots.
West Depere on the other hand really struggled off the tip and shot brick after brick including some shots that missed the rim all together. Some threes kept them in the game but, at the end of one quarter Logan was up 33-19. In the second quarter West Depere really tightened up the defense and trimmed the half time lead to 36-25. In the second half the rebounds seemed to really evened out for both teams and Logan continued their hot shooting and West Depere seemed to settle in on the offensive end. In the fourth quarter West Depere finally broke through and were able to get a one point lead late in the game thanks to hustle play and some sloppy offensive play from Logan. In the end came down to West Depere missing a free throw and Logan coming down and looking to Koel in the post who was able to get the game winning bucket to go in and leaving West Depere with a half court heave at the end.
Top Players
Ryan Koel 6'3 junior Lacrosse Logan- Very smooth shot from the outside and connected on numerous three point shots and showed a nice post game despite not being able to score on the post. Did score the game winning basket on a post up.
Vincent Kube 6'2 junior Lacrosse Logan- Just a scorer that can score in a variety of ways. Can shoot the three, hit the midrange shot, or drive to the hoop. Also ran the point when Erickson was out of the game.
Alex Hooyman 5'11 senior West De Pere- Just the ultimate hustler that always seemed to be around the ball. Has a nice runner in the lane that he used and was able to bank in a couple of those runners.
Brad Ambrosius 6'4 sophomore West De Pere- Did a nice job of rebounding and battling the much bigger Jorgenson in the post.
Box Score courtesy of wishoops, starters in italics
Logan 66- Koel 20 Kube 19 Jorgenson 10 Erickson 8 Drew Escher 6 Jonah Waite 3 Joe Rank 0 Alex Stekel 0 Alex Collins 0
WDP- Hooyman 19 Shane Gulseth 16 Tanner Kackl 12 Brad Ambrosius 8 Jordan Forrest 7 Keagan Wirtz 2 Eric Pannier 0 Jake Kocken 0 Bruce Ward 0 Alex Ludwig 0
Game two saw host Baraboo taking on Racine Park. Last year Park's full court pressure defense was just too much for Baraboo to handle and figured Park would come out and do the same thing and the question was gonna be whether Baraboo could handle it.
Just as expected Park came out playing their pressure defense but, they got in foul trouble early on including their star point guard junior 5'11 Taron Edwards. Baraboo got in the double bonus very quickly which led to their 19-10 lead after the first quarter scoring most of their points from the free throw line. Parks halfcourt offense was terrible leading to numerous turnovers and contested outside shots which were not falling. Late in the second quarter Park turned up the pressure which led to five straight turnovers to end the first half and Park pulled within 12 with a 39-27 half time score.
Second half continued much of the same as Park had no offense outside of the fast break and Baraboo seemed to have the game in hand then Park up the defense a bit and Baraboo's guards fell apart again and began turning the ball over. Park got the game to 55-39 at the end of third. In the fourth Park's offense was just give the ball to Edwards and let him drive to the hoop. Park seemed to score every time they got the ball but, just couldn't stop Baraboo who was eventually able to break the Park press and get easy layups. In the end Baraboo cruised to the 78-63 win.
Top Players
Sean McGann 6'4 jr Baraboo- Did a great job of finishing in transition and was money from the free throw line. Also did a good job of helping the guards handle the Park pressure.
Mark Kowalke 6'7 sr Baraboo- Controlled the boards and was hitting the threes and the free throws.
Josh Statz 5'11 sr Baraboo- Did a nice job of taking the ball strong to the hoop and scoring. Another guy that was hitting his free throws.
Taron Edwards 5'11 jr Racine Park- Was able to drive to the hoop at will and finish with contact and get the end one where he'd make the free throw. Had very quick hands and was able to get steals and easy baskets.
Jordan Payne 6'2 jr Racine Park- Very tough in the post where he was able to score against smaller defenders.
Box Score
Baraboo 78- McGann 27 Kowalke 17 Statz 17 Tyler Fish 11 Mike Weinke 4 Corbin Lebo 2 Jesse Kink 0 Emerson Halbach 0 Joe Becraft 0 Erick Anderson 0 Zach Tower 0 Jed Traxler 0 Ryan Vorndran 0
Park 63- Edwards 21 Payne 15 Dominic Fumbanks 12 Frank Gutierrez 6 David Campbell 5 Darrias Lewis 4 Tucker Iverson 0 Devan Hall 0 Devon Hall 0 Rondell Brumby 0 James Orth 0 Kyle Spranger 0 #34 0
They weren't the greatest games but, it was nice to finally get to watch a little basketball. Will probably be going to a couple games this week so will probably be having a couple write ups coming.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Division Five Preseason Rankings
Everyone says the fifth division is going to be watered down due to the five division change but, this coming year D5 will be just as strong as D4 has been in the past and may be even stronger then the past. In recent years you could just say Randolph for D4 and be done with your picks but, this year Randolph is not quite as tough and the rest of the smaller schools are beginning to catch up.
1. Green Bay New Lutheran- Lost to Randolph a year ago in the championship game and lost only one player off that team. Kaylor Zimmerman is a really fun to watch and could possible wind up a scholarship player. Despite my #1 ranking they lost their first game of the year to another team in my top 10.
2. Randolph- Yes they lost alot from last years team including 6'10 Kyle Kelm but, Randolph teams always carry on the tradition year in and year out. TJ Huizenga had a huge state tournament and should carry that on to this year.
3. Benton- Won a state title two years ago and David Neis and Matt Savatski are both coming into their third years on varsity. Should be battle tested playing larger schools throughout the regular season.
4. Sheboygan Lutheran- Sam Dekker is hands down the best player in division five and possibly a top 10 in the entire state. This kid could average 30 points a game and carry this team to state. Already beat New Lutheran in the first game of the year.
5. Luck- Mortel twins have had a lot of hype and have won alot of games and this year their senior year should come out with lots of success.
6. Suring- Always a very good team and have a high scorer in Chad Strehlow.
7. Royal- State team a year ago and bring back the Murphy brothers, 6'5 Matt Vaassen and the majority of their bench from a year ago.
8. Green Lake- Rumor has it that Matt Van Scyoc has grown to 6'7 and has had a much improved summer and he was a very good player last year.
9. Seneca- Always play very very good defense and have Ethan Grimsled leading the way.
10. Columbus Catholic- Always seem to have a very good team and play a very tough conference that will prepare them for tournament play.
HM
Clayton
Prentice
Mellen
Hillsboro
1st Team All State
Sam Dekker 6'7 Jr Sheboygan Lutheran
Matt Savatski 6'2 Sr Benton
Kaylor Zimmerman 5'11 Sr GB New Lutheran
Matt Van Scyoc 6'7 Jr Green Lake
David Neis 6'0 Jr Benton
2nd Team All State
Chad Strehlow 6'4 Sr Suring
Aaron Grosse 6'4 Sr GB New Lutheran
TJ Huizenga 6'2 Sr Randolph
Cole Mortel 6'5 Sr Luck
Alec Mortel 6'5 Sr Luck
Either tomorrow or Friday I'll be doing my Big Eight preview as that is the conference that I follow the closes and feel that it is one of the top conferences in the state, if not the best conference in the state. Then first game Saturday.
1. Green Bay New Lutheran- Lost to Randolph a year ago in the championship game and lost only one player off that team. Kaylor Zimmerman is a really fun to watch and could possible wind up a scholarship player. Despite my #1 ranking they lost their first game of the year to another team in my top 10.
2. Randolph- Yes they lost alot from last years team including 6'10 Kyle Kelm but, Randolph teams always carry on the tradition year in and year out. TJ Huizenga had a huge state tournament and should carry that on to this year.
3. Benton- Won a state title two years ago and David Neis and Matt Savatski are both coming into their third years on varsity. Should be battle tested playing larger schools throughout the regular season.
4. Sheboygan Lutheran- Sam Dekker is hands down the best player in division five and possibly a top 10 in the entire state. This kid could average 30 points a game and carry this team to state. Already beat New Lutheran in the first game of the year.
5. Luck- Mortel twins have had a lot of hype and have won alot of games and this year their senior year should come out with lots of success.
6. Suring- Always a very good team and have a high scorer in Chad Strehlow.
7. Royal- State team a year ago and bring back the Murphy brothers, 6'5 Matt Vaassen and the majority of their bench from a year ago.
8. Green Lake- Rumor has it that Matt Van Scyoc has grown to 6'7 and has had a much improved summer and he was a very good player last year.
9. Seneca- Always play very very good defense and have Ethan Grimsled leading the way.
10. Columbus Catholic- Always seem to have a very good team and play a very tough conference that will prepare them for tournament play.
HM
Clayton
Prentice
Mellen
Hillsboro
1st Team All State
Sam Dekker 6'7 Jr Sheboygan Lutheran
Matt Savatski 6'2 Sr Benton
Kaylor Zimmerman 5'11 Sr GB New Lutheran
Matt Van Scyoc 6'7 Jr Green Lake
David Neis 6'0 Jr Benton
2nd Team All State
Chad Strehlow 6'4 Sr Suring
Aaron Grosse 6'4 Sr GB New Lutheran
TJ Huizenga 6'2 Sr Randolph
Cole Mortel 6'5 Sr Luck
Alec Mortel 6'5 Sr Luck
Either tomorrow or Friday I'll be doing my Big Eight preview as that is the conference that I follow the closes and feel that it is one of the top conferences in the state, if not the best conference in the state. Then first game Saturday.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Division Four Preseason Rankings
Of the five new divisions it appears that division four has the fewest high power teams. Looking at the top teams it appears that the top D3 teams remaining in D3 while the top D4 teams moved down to D5. With the lack of high power teams I'll admit up front that my rankings will be based primarily on what the Wisconsin year book has to say. There is two front runners though in Blair-Taylor and Eau Claire Regis who were both at state a year ago for D3.
1. Blair Taylor- Have been to state the past two years and returned three starters from last year including double digit scorers Hank Kujak and Lucas Howe, as well as 6'6 big man Reggie Kujak who came off the bench a year ago.
2. Eau Claire Regis- Connor Miller is the best player in D4 hands down and 6'7 Steve Hofacker absolutely dominated the paint at state a year ago.
3. Racine Lutheran- Top team in D4 all last year and bring back four starters from that team including three all conference performers.
4. Darlington- Pushed Cuba City to the limit in beyond in every matchup last year and Alex Erickson maybe a scholarship player.
5. Oostburg- Strong rich tradition and were very close to state a year ago in D3.
6. Colfax- Finished 19-6 a year ago and bring back two first team all conference performers.
7. Laconia- Bring back all five starters from a 20 win team a year ago.
8. Amherst- 22 win team a year ago and bring back two all conference performers.
9. Marathon- Only lost one game a year ago and bring back a double double guy in Cody Hanke.
10. Wild Rose- Have two all conference players back.
HM
No possible way that I can list any HM teams.
1st team
Connor Miller 6'3 Sr Regis
Cody Hanke 6'4 Marathon
Hank Kujak 6'3 Sr Blair Taylor
Alex Ericksen 6'1 Sr Darlington
Jordan Lutz 6'4 Amherst
2nd team
Tom Wahl 6'4 Sr Colfax
Lewis Mau 6'2 Sr Colfax
Dylan Graf 6'3 Sr Racine Lutheran
Lucas Howe 6'2 Sr Blair Taylor
Steven Hofacker 6'7 Sr Regis
Well that was a rough pick for me as honestly really only know about the top five teams and those are even a stretch for me. Well D5 tomorrow which I promise will be better and then probably a Big Eight preview prior to my first games this weekend.
1. Blair Taylor- Have been to state the past two years and returned three starters from last year including double digit scorers Hank Kujak and Lucas Howe, as well as 6'6 big man Reggie Kujak who came off the bench a year ago.
2. Eau Claire Regis- Connor Miller is the best player in D4 hands down and 6'7 Steve Hofacker absolutely dominated the paint at state a year ago.
3. Racine Lutheran- Top team in D4 all last year and bring back four starters from that team including three all conference performers.
4. Darlington- Pushed Cuba City to the limit in beyond in every matchup last year and Alex Erickson maybe a scholarship player.
5. Oostburg- Strong rich tradition and were very close to state a year ago in D3.
6. Colfax- Finished 19-6 a year ago and bring back two first team all conference performers.
7. Laconia- Bring back all five starters from a 20 win team a year ago.
8. Amherst- 22 win team a year ago and bring back two all conference performers.
9. Marathon- Only lost one game a year ago and bring back a double double guy in Cody Hanke.
10. Wild Rose- Have two all conference players back.
HM
No possible way that I can list any HM teams.
1st team
Connor Miller 6'3 Sr Regis
Cody Hanke 6'4 Marathon
Hank Kujak 6'3 Sr Blair Taylor
Alex Ericksen 6'1 Sr Darlington
Jordan Lutz 6'4 Amherst
2nd team
Tom Wahl 6'4 Sr Colfax
Lewis Mau 6'2 Sr Colfax
Dylan Graf 6'3 Sr Racine Lutheran
Lucas Howe 6'2 Sr Blair Taylor
Steven Hofacker 6'7 Sr Regis
Well that was a rough pick for me as honestly really only know about the top five teams and those are even a stretch for me. Well D5 tomorrow which I promise will be better and then probably a Big Eight preview prior to my first games this weekend.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Division Three Preseason Rankings
Division three is always the division that provides the most controversy with the private schools basically dominating and there always being two or three privates at state. Despite the switch to five divisions this year will be no different with the private schools more then likely winning state as usual.
1. Racine St. Catherines- Return four of their five starters from their state championship team from a year ago and sounds like junior Jordan Fouse will have a big year.
2. St. John's Military- Always bring a very tough team and return their top player in Kevin Mays and looking at their roster appears they have three new players listed at 6'6 or 6'7.
3. Whitefish Bay Dominican- Have a top tier back court in Jamall Taylor and Duane Wilson and a guy that can jump out of the gym in Iman Johnson. Have a great coach as well.
4. Brillion- Lost only two players from their final four team from a year ago and were able to take down Roncalli before bowing out to the private school.
5. Manitowoc Roncalli- Great great coaching. Run their offense better then any team in the state and have a guy in Ben Stelzer that can average 20 points a game easily.
6. River Valley- Seems like Noah Baryenbruch and Alex Richard have been on varsity forever and should have a great year for their senior season.
7. La Crosse Aquinas- Bronson Koenig appears to be on the verge of a Korie Lucious or JP Tokoto level and has a good running mate in Evan Pederson.
8. East Troy- Always tough team very similar to their teams of the past in that they have good size and can shoot the long ball.
9. G-E-T- Very strong junior class paired with a solid senior class. Bring back four starters from last years team.
10. Valders- Very balanced so graduating three starters doesn't hurt them. Andrew Schwoerer is back after averaging 20 points a game a year ago.
HM
Little Chute
Brodhead
1st Team All State
Ben Stelzer 6'0 Sr Roncalli
Kevin Mays 6'4 Sr St. Johns
Bronson Koenis 6'2 So Aquinas
JJ Panoske 6'10 Sr Brodhead
Andrew Schwoerer 6'4 Sr Valders
2nd Team
Jordan Fouse 6'5 Jr St. Cats
Iman Johnson 6'3 Sr Dominican
Noah Baryenbruch 6'1 Sr River Valley
Duane Wilson 6'1 So Dominican
Riley Bambenek 6'3 Jr GET
Have two more divisions to go in the next couple days and will probably be going to my first games this coming weekend.
1. Racine St. Catherines- Return four of their five starters from their state championship team from a year ago and sounds like junior Jordan Fouse will have a big year.
2. St. John's Military- Always bring a very tough team and return their top player in Kevin Mays and looking at their roster appears they have three new players listed at 6'6 or 6'7.
3. Whitefish Bay Dominican- Have a top tier back court in Jamall Taylor and Duane Wilson and a guy that can jump out of the gym in Iman Johnson. Have a great coach as well.
4. Brillion- Lost only two players from their final four team from a year ago and were able to take down Roncalli before bowing out to the private school.
5. Manitowoc Roncalli- Great great coaching. Run their offense better then any team in the state and have a guy in Ben Stelzer that can average 20 points a game easily.
6. River Valley- Seems like Noah Baryenbruch and Alex Richard have been on varsity forever and should have a great year for their senior season.
7. La Crosse Aquinas- Bronson Koenig appears to be on the verge of a Korie Lucious or JP Tokoto level and has a good running mate in Evan Pederson.
8. East Troy- Always tough team very similar to their teams of the past in that they have good size and can shoot the long ball.
9. G-E-T- Very strong junior class paired with a solid senior class. Bring back four starters from last years team.
10. Valders- Very balanced so graduating three starters doesn't hurt them. Andrew Schwoerer is back after averaging 20 points a game a year ago.
HM
Little Chute
Brodhead
1st Team All State
Ben Stelzer 6'0 Sr Roncalli
Kevin Mays 6'4 Sr St. Johns
Bronson Koenis 6'2 So Aquinas
JJ Panoske 6'10 Sr Brodhead
Andrew Schwoerer 6'4 Sr Valders
2nd Team
Jordan Fouse 6'5 Jr St. Cats
Iman Johnson 6'3 Sr Dominican
Noah Baryenbruch 6'1 Sr River Valley
Duane Wilson 6'1 So Dominican
Riley Bambenek 6'3 Jr GET
Have two more divisions to go in the next couple days and will probably be going to my first games this coming weekend.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Division Two Preseason Rankings
Division two may see the biggest shake up in regards to the switch to five divisions. The majority of the top division two schools have remained in the division and meanwhile some pretty good small division ones have moved down. In the past D2 has always been one of the least entertaining games at state but, this year is shaping up to be a very interesting state. The questions comes down to will the old traditional powers continue to dominate D2 or will the new powers take control. Here are my preseason rankings...
1.Seymour- Always traditionally strong team have two true scholarship players in Phil Romback and Calahan Skogman as well as a very talented and experienced senior class.
2. Waunakee- Have had some very good teams in the past but, always had some very good Madison Memorial teams standing in their way. They will benefit from moving down a division and have one of the top backcourts in the state in Beau Murray and Jared Staege.
3. Onalska- Probably a year away from a state title but, they have a D1 college player in 6'8 junior Nick Arenz and a very good sophomore class they should help them push for a strong tournament run and possibly even state run.
4. Monroe- Have one of the best coaches and run their offense extremely well. Also have one of the best backcourts with Brian Tordoff and Michael Barret. Love to shoot the three ball and shoot it well.
5. Merrill- Honestly don't know much about this team but, they have the #1 ranked senior in the state in Paul Jesperson so, that should count for something.
6. Madison Edgewood- Strong junior class led by Austin Arians who should have a big year and solid point guard in Spencer Brink. Coach Zwettler always gets the most out of his team.
7. Rice Lake- Junior Wally Ellenson appears posed to be a real star and have some talented teammates Alex Cuskey and younger brother Ellwood Ellenson. Play bigger schools during the regular season which should benefit them.
8. Wisconsin Lutheran- Always have a tough team and are another team that should benefit from playing some very tough competition during the regular season. Haven't seen him but, sounds like Terry Nash is the real deal at the point.
9. Kaukauna- A very tough team out of the Fox Valley Association that has had some great teams in the past that haven't been able to reach state in D1 but, will benefit greatly with the drop down. Won the FVA a year ago.
10. Baraboo- Honestly could of gone to any of the HM teams but, they return four starters so went with them.
HM
Whitefish Bay
Waterford
New Berlin Eisenhower
Lacrosse Logan
Preason All State
Paul Jesperson 6'7 Sr Merrill
Phil Romback 6'7 Sr Seymour
Trevor jorgenson 6'6 Sr Lacrosse Logan
Nick Arenz 6'8 Jr Onalaska
Terry Nash 6'0 Sr Wisconsin Lutheran
2nd Team
Jamie Schneck 6'8 Sr Whitefish Bay
Wally Ellenson 6'4 Jr Rice Lake
Jared Staege 6'1 Sr Waunakee
Chad Mazur 6'3 Sr Reedsburg
Bryan Tordoff 6'0 Sr Monroe
Well those are my initial rankings for D2 and once again I have shown favoritism to teams and players that I have seen, particularly in the all-state department. Well hopefully will be getting my additional rankings in the next few days before I actually go and see any games.
1.Seymour- Always traditionally strong team have two true scholarship players in Phil Romback and Calahan Skogman as well as a very talented and experienced senior class.
2. Waunakee- Have had some very good teams in the past but, always had some very good Madison Memorial teams standing in their way. They will benefit from moving down a division and have one of the top backcourts in the state in Beau Murray and Jared Staege.
3. Onalska- Probably a year away from a state title but, they have a D1 college player in 6'8 junior Nick Arenz and a very good sophomore class they should help them push for a strong tournament run and possibly even state run.
4. Monroe- Have one of the best coaches and run their offense extremely well. Also have one of the best backcourts with Brian Tordoff and Michael Barret. Love to shoot the three ball and shoot it well.
5. Merrill- Honestly don't know much about this team but, they have the #1 ranked senior in the state in Paul Jesperson so, that should count for something.
6. Madison Edgewood- Strong junior class led by Austin Arians who should have a big year and solid point guard in Spencer Brink. Coach Zwettler always gets the most out of his team.
7. Rice Lake- Junior Wally Ellenson appears posed to be a real star and have some talented teammates Alex Cuskey and younger brother Ellwood Ellenson. Play bigger schools during the regular season which should benefit them.
8. Wisconsin Lutheran- Always have a tough team and are another team that should benefit from playing some very tough competition during the regular season. Haven't seen him but, sounds like Terry Nash is the real deal at the point.
9. Kaukauna- A very tough team out of the Fox Valley Association that has had some great teams in the past that haven't been able to reach state in D1 but, will benefit greatly with the drop down. Won the FVA a year ago.
10. Baraboo- Honestly could of gone to any of the HM teams but, they return four starters so went with them.
HM
Whitefish Bay
Waterford
New Berlin Eisenhower
Lacrosse Logan
Preason All State
Paul Jesperson 6'7 Sr Merrill
Phil Romback 6'7 Sr Seymour
Trevor jorgenson 6'6 Sr Lacrosse Logan
Nick Arenz 6'8 Jr Onalaska
Terry Nash 6'0 Sr Wisconsin Lutheran
2nd Team
Jamie Schneck 6'8 Sr Whitefish Bay
Wally Ellenson 6'4 Jr Rice Lake
Jared Staege 6'1 Sr Waunakee
Chad Mazur 6'3 Sr Reedsburg
Bryan Tordoff 6'0 Sr Monroe
Well those are my initial rankings for D2 and once again I have shown favoritism to teams and players that I have seen, particularly in the all-state department. Well hopefully will be getting my additional rankings in the next few days before I actually go and see any games.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Division One Preseason Rankings
The new state tournament format of five divisions effects no division more then division one who has their state participants cut in half this year. Yes there will be fewer teams in the division as a whole but, there will be much tougher games prior to state then there has been in the past. Tough sectional games are very evident in the matchup of the Madison regional winner and one of the Milwaukee regional winners matching up to go to state. Year in and year out when fans are making their preseason picks for who will capture the gold ball, you normally look to the Madison area or Milwaukee area. This year though we will not be seeing a team at state from one of these regions. Well I've previously had my five division rant last week so time to move on to my preseason rankings.
1. Madison Memorial- Almost a given every year to make it to state. Always seem to have the most talent and athleticism in the state. Junior Lomomba should have a huge year coming out of Vander Blue's shadow.
2. Appleton East- Bring back their top five scorers from their final four team a year ago. Johnny Coenen is a playmaker at the point and Sam Mader has had a big summer.
3. Milwaukee Hamiliton- Lost their second and third best players to prep schools but, bring back loads of talent and their best player in Elgin Cook.
4. Milwaukee King- Extremely talented team that has one of the best coaches in the state and add big man Cinmeon Bowers to team with Arroyo Edwards in the post.
5. Sun Prairie- Will battle Madison Memorial all year and have the athletes to compete with anyone in the state. Chris Hawkins is an athletic freak on the inside and have loads of outside sharpshooters.
6. Milwaukee Marquette- Final four team a year ago and bring back a solid inside out combo in John Kopriva and Quentin Calloway.
7. Depere- Always have very good teams and have some nice size and talent with Reece Zoelle and company.
8. Milwaukee Washington- Have lots of talent and athleticism, now the question is can they put it all together.
9. Germantown- Great backcourt and have a ton of experience and a pretty good coach.
10. Menomonee Falls- JP Tokoto is the best player in the state and one of the best in the country.
HM
Superior
Waukesha West
Marshfield
Preseason All State D1
JP Tokoto 6'6 Jr Menomonee Falls
Elgin Cook 6'6 Sr Milwaukee Hamiliton
Junior Lomomba 6'4 Jr Madison Memorial
John Kopriva 6'7 Sr Milwaukee Hamiliton
Nimrod Hillard 6'0 Sr Madison East
2nd Team
Joel Lindberg 6'2 Sr Superior
Sam Mader 6'8 Jr Appleton East
Cinmeon Bowers 6'7 Jr Milwaukee King
Chris Hawkins 6'4 Sr Sun Prairie
Zak Showalter 6'2 Jr Germantown
There are my preseason rankings. All admit that I favor players that I have seen play in the past over other players. Other division rankings to come in the near future.
1. Madison Memorial- Almost a given every year to make it to state. Always seem to have the most talent and athleticism in the state. Junior Lomomba should have a huge year coming out of Vander Blue's shadow.
2. Appleton East- Bring back their top five scorers from their final four team a year ago. Johnny Coenen is a playmaker at the point and Sam Mader has had a big summer.
3. Milwaukee Hamiliton- Lost their second and third best players to prep schools but, bring back loads of talent and their best player in Elgin Cook.
4. Milwaukee King- Extremely talented team that has one of the best coaches in the state and add big man Cinmeon Bowers to team with Arroyo Edwards in the post.
5. Sun Prairie- Will battle Madison Memorial all year and have the athletes to compete with anyone in the state. Chris Hawkins is an athletic freak on the inside and have loads of outside sharpshooters.
6. Milwaukee Marquette- Final four team a year ago and bring back a solid inside out combo in John Kopriva and Quentin Calloway.
7. Depere- Always have very good teams and have some nice size and talent with Reece Zoelle and company.
8. Milwaukee Washington- Have lots of talent and athleticism, now the question is can they put it all together.
9. Germantown- Great backcourt and have a ton of experience and a pretty good coach.
10. Menomonee Falls- JP Tokoto is the best player in the state and one of the best in the country.
HM
Superior
Waukesha West
Marshfield
Preseason All State D1
JP Tokoto 6'6 Jr Menomonee Falls
Elgin Cook 6'6 Sr Milwaukee Hamiliton
Junior Lomomba 6'4 Jr Madison Memorial
John Kopriva 6'7 Sr Milwaukee Hamiliton
Nimrod Hillard 6'0 Sr Madison East
2nd Team
Joel Lindberg 6'2 Sr Superior
Sam Mader 6'8 Jr Appleton East
Cinmeon Bowers 6'7 Jr Milwaukee King
Chris Hawkins 6'4 Sr Sun Prairie
Zak Showalter 6'2 Jr Germantown
There are my preseason rankings. All admit that I favor players that I have seen play in the past over other players. Other division rankings to come in the near future.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
The Exodus to Prep Schools
The exodus of Milwaukee City high school kids to prep schools, as referred to by wishoops.net Mark Miller, is easily the second biggest prior to the start of the high school basketball season. Within a two week period approximately seven or eight players from Milwaukee transferred to prep schools. These players were highlights by Quevyn Winters from Milwaukee Washington and Darnel Harris and Charles Lee from Milwaukee Hamiliton. This was a huge hit to both teams as both could of made state runs with these players returning for their senior season. A couple of those players actually went to the prep schools for just a few weeks and then ended up back in Milwaukee, obviously the prep school wasn't what they were looking for but, the state still had a big lose losing a handful of the top players to the "basketball factory" prep schools.
Reason to go to prep schools
There are many reasons for players to transfer to prep schools and they may be slightly different for everyone. A player may feel like their getting the opportunity to get the looks from the bigger colleges so they decide to go to the schools where they know that the scouts will be watching the games and you will get the opportunity to show your true potential in front of scouts and against the best competition. Another big reason is a player may not have the grades to get into the particular school that is recruiting them so, they go the prep route in order to focus more on school and get their grades up so they can get into the college that is looking at them. Many times a parent will be behind the push to a prep school to keep their kids out of trouble. So many times kids have the offers to go to a school and then make some kind of mistake and cost themselves the chance to move on to bigger and better things.
My thoughts
As far as the reasons that these particular kids have gone to prep schools, no one knows the real answers other then themselves and their parents but, everyone has their assumptions and speculations of the situation. Most of what I have heard may only be rumors but, this is my judgement of the situation. Both Harris and Lee seemed to have basically locked up their college situation and appear to be transferring to keep themselves out of trouble and prepare themselves for the college life. In Winters case I've merely heard rumors but, grades may of been the issue with him and he's hoping to get his grades up so that he is able to get into Baylor who appears to be his college he is planning to go to next fall. As far as the other transfers they were more then likely going to get the looks and the opportunity to play a the colleges and get the chance to better themselves in the long run.
Personally if a kid is going for the reason to better their grades or keep themselves out of trouble I am all for it. Like I had stated earlier too many kids, particularly in the Milwaukee area, have the opportunity to play a high level of college ball and end up with legal issues or don't have the grades and end up going the JUCO route and not going anywhere to play ball. I really don't believe that going to the prep school is really going to help a kid get noticed that much more. Unless its a top level prep school those same scouts will come to your local high school to watch you play or see you in AAU basketball. Kids moving away from home may have a tough time adapting to those changes and their grades and play may suffer and they may end up coming back home anyway. If you could enough to get a chance to play at the high level prep schools you are probably good enough to get the big time colleges to come watch you play up in Wisconsin particularly as of late. Roy Williams or his assistants have been up to Wisconsin numerous times to watch kids play in Milwaukee and even Lacrosse as of recently.
Well that is the end of my prep school rant and coming in the near future will be my preseason previews which will focus on the Big Eight conference and top 10 in each division.
Reason to go to prep schools
There are many reasons for players to transfer to prep schools and they may be slightly different for everyone. A player may feel like their getting the opportunity to get the looks from the bigger colleges so they decide to go to the schools where they know that the scouts will be watching the games and you will get the opportunity to show your true potential in front of scouts and against the best competition. Another big reason is a player may not have the grades to get into the particular school that is recruiting them so, they go the prep route in order to focus more on school and get their grades up so they can get into the college that is looking at them. Many times a parent will be behind the push to a prep school to keep their kids out of trouble. So many times kids have the offers to go to a school and then make some kind of mistake and cost themselves the chance to move on to bigger and better things.
My thoughts
As far as the reasons that these particular kids have gone to prep schools, no one knows the real answers other then themselves and their parents but, everyone has their assumptions and speculations of the situation. Most of what I have heard may only be rumors but, this is my judgement of the situation. Both Harris and Lee seemed to have basically locked up their college situation and appear to be transferring to keep themselves out of trouble and prepare themselves for the college life. In Winters case I've merely heard rumors but, grades may of been the issue with him and he's hoping to get his grades up so that he is able to get into Baylor who appears to be his college he is planning to go to next fall. As far as the other transfers they were more then likely going to get the looks and the opportunity to play a the colleges and get the chance to better themselves in the long run.
Personally if a kid is going for the reason to better their grades or keep themselves out of trouble I am all for it. Like I had stated earlier too many kids, particularly in the Milwaukee area, have the opportunity to play a high level of college ball and end up with legal issues or don't have the grades and end up going the JUCO route and not going anywhere to play ball. I really don't believe that going to the prep school is really going to help a kid get noticed that much more. Unless its a top level prep school those same scouts will come to your local high school to watch you play or see you in AAU basketball. Kids moving away from home may have a tough time adapting to those changes and their grades and play may suffer and they may end up coming back home anyway. If you could enough to get a chance to play at the high level prep schools you are probably good enough to get the big time colleges to come watch you play up in Wisconsin particularly as of late. Roy Williams or his assistants have been up to Wisconsin numerous times to watch kids play in Milwaukee and even Lacrosse as of recently.
Well that is the end of my prep school rant and coming in the near future will be my preseason previews which will focus on the Big Eight conference and top 10 in each division.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Finally back with 5 Division talk
With the calender finally turning over to November I figured that it was time to start my high school basketball talk back up on the blog. To start the season off you should always start with the biggest issues affecting the sport and the biggest issue this year is the new five division look of Wisconsin high school basketball. Like it or hate we will be watching a very different set up the state tournament down in Madison this year. There will now be the five divisions with only four teams for each division being at state.
Pros
Allows the smaller schools equal representation at state. Each division has four teams unlike in the past when D1 would have eight teams.
Each division will have to play at least four games to get to state where in the past D1 teams may only play three games to get to Madison.
The smaller D1s will not being playing schools that are twice their size.
Higher fan attendance from schools participating due to the fact that the larger inner city schools don't bring as many fans.
Cons
Talent level will be watered down being that the larger schools will have less representation and typical they are the schools that have more talent.
Get one less game overall moving from 16 games to 15 games.
Less general fan attendance as far as fans that go for the games and don't necessarily have an affiliation with any of the schools.
Just gives private schools another division to win.
Teams feel a high sense of accomplishment winning in a higher division or being that there would be only four state champions.
My thoughts
My initial thoughts on the five divisions is that I was against it primarily for the fact that I really enjoy watching the division one games and watching the two final D1's playing three games. Looking at it a little closer though it appears that there will be a decent amount of D2s that had recently been at state as D1s and probably would have a good shot to make it to state anyway. The D2s include Wauwatosa East who won state three years ago for D1. Losing those four games I'm kind of 50/50 on. Many times those quarterfinal games are blow outs and you usually know whose going to win but, it has also been games that have provided lots of excitement in upsets the last couple years with Milwaukee Hamiliton and Washington losing but, also missing some great match ups like Oshkosh West over Germantown in OT and then five years ago when Madison Memorial survived Beloit in OT. The biggest downfall is that you now will only one team from the southeast, one from Madison Area, one Fox Valley Area, and then one northern team from Green Bay or Wausau Area. This year in particular will probably see Madison Memorial or Sun Prairie play a team from Milwaukee prior to getting to Madison which will be very disappointing not to see that game played at the Kohl center. This game will still be at UW Whitewater but, the casual fan will probably not make the trip to Whitewater unless they live in the general area.
The lower division were much less affected with the change other then things getting easier for the top teams who will probably only play four games to get to state. Most of the returning D2 state teams remain in D2 and will now face some tougher competition with the new D1s dropping down. D3 appears to be pretty strong with many of the usual suspects remaining in D3. D4 appears to be similar to D3 with the usual privates and Blair Taylor at the top. Initially D5 would be seen as being very weak but, actually all four D4s from last years state move down to D5 this year so talent wise should be similar to last years D4.
My biggest disappointment is the WIAA did not address the private school issue which has been the hot button debate for the last five to seven years. Instead of having the privates win two divisions like last year we may be seeing the privates take three divisions. The previous two D2 state champions where privates and remain in D2 while a D1 Milwaukee Pius moves down and they where at state just a couple years ago in D1 and through in some other good D2 privates. D3 has basically become the private school division and next year should be no different. D4 now has Eau Claire Regis who was at state last year and a very interesting Young Coggs Prep team that is a vastly different private school then we have ever seen before. Finally in D5 if Green Bay New Lutheran, who appears to be the top team coming into the season, can make a return trip back to state and win this time that would give you four of five possible private school state champs. I didn't even mention in D1 Milwaukee Marquette who was a final four D1 team a year ago and gave state champ Arrowhead a great game and return their top two players, we could possibly looking at a clean sweep by the privates. In reality it will probably end up being two private champs and they WIAA will feel that they have reached there goal because there will now be three public champs as opposed to last year with two.
To be completely honest the private issue isn't a huge deal to myself but, would just like to see all the bickering end between the two sides. I would like to see a multiplier to settle things of 1.5 which would pump the bigger private schools up a division while allowing the smaller privates to remain in the same division. I would of also like to of seen the four divisions remain and allow eight teams to reach state but, probably wasn't a realistic goal with the time restraints and location restraints being that WIAA had no interest to have two locations for state and these games would not be shown on tv. Well I'll be back in the next few days to discuss the other big issue in the exodus of Milwaukee City kids leaving for prep schools and then will move on to my preseason rankings.
Pros
Allows the smaller schools equal representation at state. Each division has four teams unlike in the past when D1 would have eight teams.
Each division will have to play at least four games to get to state where in the past D1 teams may only play three games to get to Madison.
The smaller D1s will not being playing schools that are twice their size.
Higher fan attendance from schools participating due to the fact that the larger inner city schools don't bring as many fans.
Cons
Talent level will be watered down being that the larger schools will have less representation and typical they are the schools that have more talent.
Get one less game overall moving from 16 games to 15 games.
Less general fan attendance as far as fans that go for the games and don't necessarily have an affiliation with any of the schools.
Just gives private schools another division to win.
Teams feel a high sense of accomplishment winning in a higher division or being that there would be only four state champions.
My thoughts
My initial thoughts on the five divisions is that I was against it primarily for the fact that I really enjoy watching the division one games and watching the two final D1's playing three games. Looking at it a little closer though it appears that there will be a decent amount of D2s that had recently been at state as D1s and probably would have a good shot to make it to state anyway. The D2s include Wauwatosa East who won state three years ago for D1. Losing those four games I'm kind of 50/50 on. Many times those quarterfinal games are blow outs and you usually know whose going to win but, it has also been games that have provided lots of excitement in upsets the last couple years with Milwaukee Hamiliton and Washington losing but, also missing some great match ups like Oshkosh West over Germantown in OT and then five years ago when Madison Memorial survived Beloit in OT. The biggest downfall is that you now will only one team from the southeast, one from Madison Area, one Fox Valley Area, and then one northern team from Green Bay or Wausau Area. This year in particular will probably see Madison Memorial or Sun Prairie play a team from Milwaukee prior to getting to Madison which will be very disappointing not to see that game played at the Kohl center. This game will still be at UW Whitewater but, the casual fan will probably not make the trip to Whitewater unless they live in the general area.
The lower division were much less affected with the change other then things getting easier for the top teams who will probably only play four games to get to state. Most of the returning D2 state teams remain in D2 and will now face some tougher competition with the new D1s dropping down. D3 appears to be pretty strong with many of the usual suspects remaining in D3. D4 appears to be similar to D3 with the usual privates and Blair Taylor at the top. Initially D5 would be seen as being very weak but, actually all four D4s from last years state move down to D5 this year so talent wise should be similar to last years D4.
My biggest disappointment is the WIAA did not address the private school issue which has been the hot button debate for the last five to seven years. Instead of having the privates win two divisions like last year we may be seeing the privates take three divisions. The previous two D2 state champions where privates and remain in D2 while a D1 Milwaukee Pius moves down and they where at state just a couple years ago in D1 and through in some other good D2 privates. D3 has basically become the private school division and next year should be no different. D4 now has Eau Claire Regis who was at state last year and a very interesting Young Coggs Prep team that is a vastly different private school then we have ever seen before. Finally in D5 if Green Bay New Lutheran, who appears to be the top team coming into the season, can make a return trip back to state and win this time that would give you four of five possible private school state champs. I didn't even mention in D1 Milwaukee Marquette who was a final four D1 team a year ago and gave state champ Arrowhead a great game and return their top two players, we could possibly looking at a clean sweep by the privates. In reality it will probably end up being two private champs and they WIAA will feel that they have reached there goal because there will now be three public champs as opposed to last year with two.
To be completely honest the private issue isn't a huge deal to myself but, would just like to see all the bickering end between the two sides. I would like to see a multiplier to settle things of 1.5 which would pump the bigger private schools up a division while allowing the smaller privates to remain in the same division. I would of also like to of seen the four divisions remain and allow eight teams to reach state but, probably wasn't a realistic goal with the time restraints and location restraints being that WIAA had no interest to have two locations for state and these games would not be shown on tv. Well I'll be back in the next few days to discuss the other big issue in the exodus of Milwaukee City kids leaving for prep schools and then will move on to my preseason rankings.
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