Well it's Monday which means it's time for another round of team rankings for the state. Were about the half way point of conference play and more and more top teams falling from the undefeated ranks playing against conference opponents.
Division One
Appleton East and Riverside won out and remain number one and two in the rankings. King lost to Washington who recently fell out of the rankings and fall to #6. Bay Port has been neglected the past few weeks and defeated and undefeated Wisconsin Rapids team and moves to my #10. Rapids fall to HM despite only having lost one game all year but, I feel they have to be behind the team that just beat them. For HM Marshfield lost twice but, hangs on to HM while Marquette lost their fifth game of the year and fall out of the rankings. Sheboygan North reappear in the rankings.
1. Appleton East
2. Milwaukee Riverside
3. Germantown
4. Arrowhead
5. De Pere
6. Milwaukee King
7. Madison Memorial
8. Racine Case
9. Milwaukee Hamilton
10. Bay Port
HM
Wisconsin Rapids
Waukesha West
Kenosha Bradford
Beloit
Sheboygan North
Division Two
Seymour, Monroe, Tosa East, and Lacrosse Logan were the only top ten teams that lost in the top 10. Seymour lost to a tough Minnesota team and remain #3, Monroe lost a tough game to Stoughton and fall to #7. With East losing to Waunakee and Logan losing to Holmen they remain at the same spot. In HM Rice Lake lost to a good D1 team then beat a good team from Minnesota and stay same and New Berlin Eisenhower takes Pewaukee's spot after defeating them.
1. Waunakee
2. New Richmond
3. Seymour
4. Onalaska
5. Wisconsin Lutheran
6. Two Rivers
7. Monroe
8. Madison Edgewood
9. Wauwatosa East
10. Lacrosse Logan
HM
Rice Lake
New Berlin West
New Berlin Eisenhower
Division Three
Top 10 remains exactly the same as not one team lost. For HM only team that lost was Viroqua who falls out of the rankings and are replaced by Altoona, Lake Mills, and Clinton.
1. St. Johns Military
2. Manitowoc Roncalli
3. GET
4. Lacrosse Aquinas
5. Brillion
6. East Troy
7. Omro
8. Whitefish Bay Dominican
9. Racine St. Catherines
10. Northwestern
HM
Lakeside Lutheran
Ladysmith
River Valley
Kiel
Altoona
Lake Mills
Clinton
Division Four
Racine Lutheran and Colby were the only top 10 teams that lost and Lutheran drops to #5 and Colby falls to HM. Three Lakes lost twice and fall from the rankings.
1. Blair Taylor
2. Oostburg
3. Eau Claire Regis
4. Marathon
5. Racine Lutheran
6. Cuba City
7. Darlington
8. Laconia
9. Amherst
10. Aburndale
HM
Colby
Westby
Peshtigo
Grantsburg
Wild Rose
Colfax
Division Five
Only big stories here is the continued free fall of Sheboygan Lutheran who lost their fourth game of the year and fell to HM. Gilmanton is a team that lost their first game of the year and fell to #9. Marion was the only other ranked team that lost and fell out of the rankings.
1. Benton
2. Green Bay New Lutheran
3. Randolph
4. Clayton
5. Suring
6. Prentice
7. Seneca
8. Luck
9. Gilmanton
10. Hillsboro
HM
Sheboygan Lutheran
Wauzeka-Steuben
Eau Claire Immanuel
Laona
Barneveld
Wisconsin School for Deaf
As you can see as the rankings have gone on their are fewer and fewer comments to made because they are pretty self explanatory and there just aren't many movements in the rankings.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Waunakee over Wauwatosa East at Buzzer
This game truly was a game of runs, just like the NBA announcers always say on tv. Tosa East jumped out to the early 10-0 lead and Waunakee crawled back into it to make the score Tosa East up 18-17 after one quarter. Second quarter Tosa East only made one basket and Waunakee was up 29-20 at half. In the third quarter Waunakee was the team that couldn't score but, still clung to a 32-31 lead after three. Tosa East continued dominating up until the final three minutes of the game when they were up by 10 and then Waunakee finished on their final run and got the 51-48 win.
Wauwatosa East was able to jump out to their early lead by pushing the tempo in the fast break behind 6'1 sophomore Anthony Carroll and 6'6 junior Darrell Bowie who got easy layups and were able to hit the three pointers in transition. Waunakee was feeding the fire by turning the ball over time and time again as they looked to feed the post. Midway through the first quarter Waunakee turned things around by not turning the ball over and controlling the boards on the offensive and defensive side. Waunakee also benefited from some officiating that went their way and allowed them to spend most of their time scoring from the free throw line. I'm not sure if the Tosa East fans got to the officials or if it was coincidence by the first five fouls in the second quarter went against Waunakee but, not one of them were on shooting fouls so Tosa East couldn't take advantage of it. Tosa East went ice cold shooting and Waunakee continued to dominate the rebounding advantage behind their pair of 6'6 senior big men Austin Maly and Jacob Soper. On the offensive end 6'2 senior Beau Murray led them as he was able to drive the right side and pull up for the short jumpers which he was making without really being opened.
In the second half Waunakee was the team that went ice cold and their offensive was very stagnate as no one wanted to shoot besides Murray and fellow 6'2 senior guard Jared Staege. Waunakee only got three points in the third while Tosa East climbed within one point by the end of the third. Tosa East had only three players score through the first three quarters in Bowie, Caroll, and 6'4 senior Aaron Uden. Tosa East took the lead in the fourth and grew that lead to 10 behind their ability to get fouls on the Waunakee defenders and hitting their free throws. Tosa East was up by 10 with three minutes remaining in the game when Waunakee really turned up the pressure and Tosa East turned the ball over three straight trips and never got the ball past the half court line. East's struggles combined with Staege finally getting hot Waunakee was able to bring the game close. Staege had 10 points in the fourth quarter alone. In the end the turnovers and inability to break the full court press doomed East. With under a minute to go in the game the star of the game finally made his presence known. 6'4 sophomore Will Decorah made a three to tie the game with about 30 seconds left in the game. Tosa East came down the court and got a questionable travel call called on them where it appear Bowie was tripped by a Waunakee defender. Waunakee came back down the court and found Decorah in the exact same corner where he hit a three with two seconds left to give Waunakee the win.
Top Players
Anthony Carroll 6'1 sophomore Tosa East- Was great in transition and was very quick with the ball in his hand. Can hit the three point shot as well with great regularity.
Darrell Dowie 6'6 junior Tosa East- Got in foul trouble early that limited him but, another guy that show great ability in the transition game and could step back and hit the three point shot.
Beau Murray 6'2 senior Waunakee- Showed the ability to really elevate on his shot particularily when he was guarded. Very solid jump shooter from the 15 foot range.
Jared Staege 6'2 senior Waunakee- I've loved watching this kid play the last two years and does a great jump running the point and isn't afraid to take a crucial shot when the game is tight and has a real smooth shot from the outside.
Will Decorah 6'4 sophomore Waunakee- I believe he only took two shots in the game but, they were te biggest shots of the game so he gets the nod here having the ability two hit those two shots when he hadn't played many minutes throughout the game.
Box Score
Tosa East- Carroll 20 Bowie 13 Uden 8 Vince Cupertino 3 Walter Clark Jr 2 Kyle Vnuk 2 Jackson Orin 0 Diamontae McKinley 0 Marquise Carter 0 Ben Carpenter 0
Waunakee- Staege 15 Murray 13 Soper 8 Decorah 6 Joe Tagarelli 5 A Maly 2 Zak Hoglund 2 Ross Maly 0 Andrew Dorscheid 0
Waunakee my be ranked #1 in division two but, honestly would be very surprised to see them win state. They are a very disciplined team and rebound well but, they really only have the two scorers that they can go to in Staege and Murray so if either of those two have a bad game in the playoffs they will have a very hard time winning when they get deeper in the playoffs. Looking at Wauwatosa East's season they have been very up and down and they could just as easily go to state as lose in the first round. No matter what they do this year though they will be one of the top teams next year in division two as they play very few seniors and have lots of juniors and sophomores seeing action this year.
Wauwatosa East was able to jump out to their early lead by pushing the tempo in the fast break behind 6'1 sophomore Anthony Carroll and 6'6 junior Darrell Bowie who got easy layups and were able to hit the three pointers in transition. Waunakee was feeding the fire by turning the ball over time and time again as they looked to feed the post. Midway through the first quarter Waunakee turned things around by not turning the ball over and controlling the boards on the offensive and defensive side. Waunakee also benefited from some officiating that went their way and allowed them to spend most of their time scoring from the free throw line. I'm not sure if the Tosa East fans got to the officials or if it was coincidence by the first five fouls in the second quarter went against Waunakee but, not one of them were on shooting fouls so Tosa East couldn't take advantage of it. Tosa East went ice cold shooting and Waunakee continued to dominate the rebounding advantage behind their pair of 6'6 senior big men Austin Maly and Jacob Soper. On the offensive end 6'2 senior Beau Murray led them as he was able to drive the right side and pull up for the short jumpers which he was making without really being opened.
In the second half Waunakee was the team that went ice cold and their offensive was very stagnate as no one wanted to shoot besides Murray and fellow 6'2 senior guard Jared Staege. Waunakee only got three points in the third while Tosa East climbed within one point by the end of the third. Tosa East had only three players score through the first three quarters in Bowie, Caroll, and 6'4 senior Aaron Uden. Tosa East took the lead in the fourth and grew that lead to 10 behind their ability to get fouls on the Waunakee defenders and hitting their free throws. Tosa East was up by 10 with three minutes remaining in the game when Waunakee really turned up the pressure and Tosa East turned the ball over three straight trips and never got the ball past the half court line. East's struggles combined with Staege finally getting hot Waunakee was able to bring the game close. Staege had 10 points in the fourth quarter alone. In the end the turnovers and inability to break the full court press doomed East. With under a minute to go in the game the star of the game finally made his presence known. 6'4 sophomore Will Decorah made a three to tie the game with about 30 seconds left in the game. Tosa East came down the court and got a questionable travel call called on them where it appear Bowie was tripped by a Waunakee defender. Waunakee came back down the court and found Decorah in the exact same corner where he hit a three with two seconds left to give Waunakee the win.
Top Players
Anthony Carroll 6'1 sophomore Tosa East- Was great in transition and was very quick with the ball in his hand. Can hit the three point shot as well with great regularity.
Darrell Dowie 6'6 junior Tosa East- Got in foul trouble early that limited him but, another guy that show great ability in the transition game and could step back and hit the three point shot.
Beau Murray 6'2 senior Waunakee- Showed the ability to really elevate on his shot particularily when he was guarded. Very solid jump shooter from the 15 foot range.
Jared Staege 6'2 senior Waunakee- I've loved watching this kid play the last two years and does a great jump running the point and isn't afraid to take a crucial shot when the game is tight and has a real smooth shot from the outside.
Will Decorah 6'4 sophomore Waunakee- I believe he only took two shots in the game but, they were te biggest shots of the game so he gets the nod here having the ability two hit those two shots when he hadn't played many minutes throughout the game.
Box Score
Tosa East- Carroll 20 Bowie 13 Uden 8 Vince Cupertino 3 Walter Clark Jr 2 Kyle Vnuk 2 Jackson Orin 0 Diamontae McKinley 0 Marquise Carter 0 Ben Carpenter 0
Waunakee- Staege 15 Murray 13 Soper 8 Decorah 6 Joe Tagarelli 5 A Maly 2 Zak Hoglund 2 Ross Maly 0 Andrew Dorscheid 0
Waunakee my be ranked #1 in division two but, honestly would be very surprised to see them win state. They are a very disciplined team and rebound well but, they really only have the two scorers that they can go to in Staege and Murray so if either of those two have a bad game in the playoffs they will have a very hard time winning when they get deeper in the playoffs. Looking at Wauwatosa East's season they have been very up and down and they could just as easily go to state as lose in the first round. No matter what they do this year though they will be one of the top teams next year in division two as they play very few seniors and have lots of juniors and sophomores seeing action this year.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Sun Prairie over Middleton
After seeing Middleton play Germantown so closely I really expected this game to be much closer then it was the first time around but, I was wrong. Middleton looked just as rough as they did the first time around when these two teams matched up. They lacked the ability to get to the rim and turned the ball over. With the exception of some nice threes from 5'10 senior Sonny Bavery the game was nearly a carbon copy of the first one. After defeating Madison Memorial and the way that Sun Prairie looked in this game they really look to be a tough out come tourney time and will probably push Memorial too the limit in their third match up, that without a doubt will happen.
Sun Prairie jumped to the early lead and never looked back. After one quarter SP was up 20-8 behind some hot outside shooting. 6'5 sophomore Nick Fuller really appears to be taking the leadership roll in scoring by the horns and is carrying this team. All night long Fuller was able to score at will particularly from three point range where he was able to hit whether there was a hand in his face or not. The other SP player that had things going early was senior 6'2 Jordan Noskowiak. It was nice to Noskowiak being aggressive and looking to score, unlike the previous games I had seen him where he was the opposite and didn't put many points up. In the second quarter Middleton was able to get some scoring behind the shooting of Bavery and some nice play off the bench from 6'4 junior Antoine Buchanon. Watching warm ups you can see Buchanon has unlimited athletic ability but, in the first coupled games I saw him play he played alittle out of control at times and didn't appear to have the highest basketball IQ. This game Buchanon really appeared to have progressed from early in the year and played within the offense and kept himself under control without forcing those wild shots. Like the past Middleton looked to get the ball in to their big man 6'6 senior Ian Joyce. Joyce got the ball but, he always wants to go over his right shoulder with the fade away unlike most right handed post players who go over their left shoulder. Joyce could get open and make the moves but, because the shots he was taking were so difficult they weren't falling. Halftime Sun Prairie was up 39-29.
Second half really wasn't much to talk about as Middleton fell apart and turned the ball over time after time and read in the state journal that Sun Prairie had a 20-1 run to start the second half. Fuller continued to fire and was money all night. Only real scoring that I can recall prior to garbage time was a three by Bavery and the ability by senior 6'2 Seth Coyne to drive and draw contact and go to the line and make his free throws. Joyce did his best to keep Middleton in the game as well as he blocked a half full of shots in the second half alone but, he couldn't block all the outside shots Sun Prairie was hitting. Sun Prairie extended the lead to 54-34 after the third and the entire fourth quarter was really garbage time as Prairie just rotated their starters in and out until the final two or three minutes. Final score was 66-55 which really doesn't show how much of a domination Sun Prairie really put on in this game.
Top Players
Nick Fuller 6'5 sophomore Sun Prairie- Like I said earlier he pretty much dominated on the offensive end. Was shooting the three with ease and driving to the hoop, also showed the ability to run the point.
Jordan Noskowiak 6'2 senior Sun Prairie- Really showed some aggression looking to score in the game particularily shooting the long range shot. Also did a nice job guarding Coyne.
Seth Coyne 6'2 senior Middleton- Also does a great job of getting his points one way or another with much help. Got to the line any time he wanted were he usually connected.
Ian Joyce 6'6 senior Middleton- Didn't have a great game on the offensive end but, was very solid on the defensive end. Had between 5-10 blocks in the game and this game could of been alot worse without Joyce patrolling the middle.
Box Score
Sun Prairie 66- Fuller 21 Noskowiak 13 Jaron Schaffner 10 Chris Hawkins 6 Daniel Mifflin 5 Ryan Yentz 5 Bryce Opps 4 Andre Wallace 2 Paris Saffold 0 Nick Behrens 0 Opi Abeysekera 0 Rapheal Ragland 0 Jacob Oakley 0 Martin Cromwell 0 Andy Strueber 0 Kyle Nikolay 0
Middleton 55- Coyne 16 Bavery 12 Nick Schmidt 10 Joyce 9 Buchanon 6 Connor Wipfli 2 Will O'Brien 0 Jake Raffel 0 James Gardner 0 Bryan Mchmeier 0 Connor Stubbe 0 Robby Williams 0 Matt Meinholz 0 TJ Webber 0 Eric Hagstrom 0 Tony Wilson 0
Like I said earlier Sun Prairie appears to be as tough as anyone in the state while I have a hard time figuring Middleton out. Middleton looked very very good in one game and looked terrible both times against Sun Prairie. Tomorrow I will hopefully get a chance to see two teams play for the first time in Waunakee and Wauwatosa East.
Sun Prairie jumped to the early lead and never looked back. After one quarter SP was up 20-8 behind some hot outside shooting. 6'5 sophomore Nick Fuller really appears to be taking the leadership roll in scoring by the horns and is carrying this team. All night long Fuller was able to score at will particularly from three point range where he was able to hit whether there was a hand in his face or not. The other SP player that had things going early was senior 6'2 Jordan Noskowiak. It was nice to Noskowiak being aggressive and looking to score, unlike the previous games I had seen him where he was the opposite and didn't put many points up. In the second quarter Middleton was able to get some scoring behind the shooting of Bavery and some nice play off the bench from 6'4 junior Antoine Buchanon. Watching warm ups you can see Buchanon has unlimited athletic ability but, in the first coupled games I saw him play he played alittle out of control at times and didn't appear to have the highest basketball IQ. This game Buchanon really appeared to have progressed from early in the year and played within the offense and kept himself under control without forcing those wild shots. Like the past Middleton looked to get the ball in to their big man 6'6 senior Ian Joyce. Joyce got the ball but, he always wants to go over his right shoulder with the fade away unlike most right handed post players who go over their left shoulder. Joyce could get open and make the moves but, because the shots he was taking were so difficult they weren't falling. Halftime Sun Prairie was up 39-29.
Second half really wasn't much to talk about as Middleton fell apart and turned the ball over time after time and read in the state journal that Sun Prairie had a 20-1 run to start the second half. Fuller continued to fire and was money all night. Only real scoring that I can recall prior to garbage time was a three by Bavery and the ability by senior 6'2 Seth Coyne to drive and draw contact and go to the line and make his free throws. Joyce did his best to keep Middleton in the game as well as he blocked a half full of shots in the second half alone but, he couldn't block all the outside shots Sun Prairie was hitting. Sun Prairie extended the lead to 54-34 after the third and the entire fourth quarter was really garbage time as Prairie just rotated their starters in and out until the final two or three minutes. Final score was 66-55 which really doesn't show how much of a domination Sun Prairie really put on in this game.
Top Players
Nick Fuller 6'5 sophomore Sun Prairie- Like I said earlier he pretty much dominated on the offensive end. Was shooting the three with ease and driving to the hoop, also showed the ability to run the point.
Jordan Noskowiak 6'2 senior Sun Prairie- Really showed some aggression looking to score in the game particularily shooting the long range shot. Also did a nice job guarding Coyne.
Seth Coyne 6'2 senior Middleton- Also does a great job of getting his points one way or another with much help. Got to the line any time he wanted were he usually connected.
Ian Joyce 6'6 senior Middleton- Didn't have a great game on the offensive end but, was very solid on the defensive end. Had between 5-10 blocks in the game and this game could of been alot worse without Joyce patrolling the middle.
Box Score
Sun Prairie 66- Fuller 21 Noskowiak 13 Jaron Schaffner 10 Chris Hawkins 6 Daniel Mifflin 5 Ryan Yentz 5 Bryce Opps 4 Andre Wallace 2 Paris Saffold 0 Nick Behrens 0 Opi Abeysekera 0 Rapheal Ragland 0 Jacob Oakley 0 Martin Cromwell 0 Andy Strueber 0 Kyle Nikolay 0
Middleton 55- Coyne 16 Bavery 12 Nick Schmidt 10 Joyce 9 Buchanon 6 Connor Wipfli 2 Will O'Brien 0 Jake Raffel 0 James Gardner 0 Bryan Mchmeier 0 Connor Stubbe 0 Robby Williams 0 Matt Meinholz 0 TJ Webber 0 Eric Hagstrom 0 Tony Wilson 0
Like I said earlier Sun Prairie appears to be as tough as anyone in the state while I have a hard time figuring Middleton out. Middleton looked very very good in one game and looked terrible both times against Sun Prairie. Tomorrow I will hopefully get a chance to see two teams play for the first time in Waunakee and Wauwatosa East.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Springfield Tournament
This past weekend I was down visiting my brother in Springfield Illinois and I got to take in the Springfield City tournament, one of the best basketball experiences I've been to. The tournament is a round robin tournament between the four large schools in Springfield. All four schools have between 1000 to 1500 students. They seed the teams one through four and set it up so the top two seeds will meet on Saturday night. The event is held at the Springfield Center very similar to the Lacrosse Center and Alliant Energy Center. The games draw a huge crowd and field the arena about two thirds of the way full and guessing there was roughly six to eight thousand people at the event. For amount of people this was second to only Wisconsin state for what I have been to. I would love to see this event take place in a Madison, Lacrosse, or Green Bay.
Sacred Heart-Griffin 51 Springfield High 42
In the first game the only private school Sacred Heart-Griffin took on Springfield High. Springfield started out hot hitting from the outside which was primarily due to the fact that SHG was playing a zone defense. In the second quarter though SHG got hot while Springfield went cold and SHG took the lead and never looked back. Despite their lack of size SHG was able to control the glass throughout the entire game and was able to kick the ball out to open three point shooters where they hit the shot. Neither team was exceptionally tall with the exception of Springfield's 6'7 junior Willie Wiley who was able to take over the game in very short stints but, just didn't get enough help and his game is very limited away from the hoop. Springfield got the game close but SHG hit their free throws at the end to win.
Top Players
Jarrod Sergent 6'2 junior SHG- Thought he was the best player on the court. Shot the ball extremely well from the outside and also showed the ability get open off the dribble and hit the jumper.
Austin Eagleton 6'1 junior SHG- Nothing real special about his game but, always hustled and moved very well without the ball in his hands. When given the open three he would hit the shot.
Willie Wiley 6'7 junior Springfield- Was the one player on Springfield that was rebounding and showed some promise around the hoop but, is still alittle raw. Had a nice put back dunk and was able to score with his back to the hoop.
Mark Gilchrese 5'9 senior Springfield- Was hitting the three to start the game and did a nice job running the point and not turning the ball over.
Top Scorers
SHG- Sergent 16 Eagleton 14 Jake Williams 8
Springfield- Wiley 12 Gilchrese 10 Thalamus Alexander 8 Alex Kramer 8
Southeast 60 Lamphier 45
I actually left this game alittle early so the final was slightly different but, at that point the game was not in question. This game was the highlight of the night as my brother had student taught at Lamphier and had watched the team play of few times before and Southeast had beaten Whitney Young this year who I had seen play on ESPN earlier this year and looked very very good. I was very surprised that Southeast only played one player over 6 ft in their regular rotation because Whitney Young is a very tall team. Early one Lamphier was able to really push the tempo and take the early lead as both teams started out very sloppy and Southeast turned the ball over time after time. In the second quarter though Southeast really tightend things up controlling the ball and showing a lot of patients on the offensive end. It seemed Southeast always ended up with a wide open three point shot and more times then not they were able to bury the shot. At half Southeast was able to get the big lead then in the second half Lamphier was able to push the tempo again and get back into the game before Southeast was able to seal the game breaking the Lamphier trap and getting easy baskets before ending the game hitting their free throws.
Top Players
Herman Senor 5'10 sophomore Southeast- Was able to penetrate and get into the paint all night long and score or get fouled where he went to the line and scored.
Rodney Smith 5'11 senior Southeast- Had a huge game off the bench leading the team in scoring. Just seemed to always be in the right place at the right time, moving well without the ball and cleaning up on the offensive glass.
Jacobby Anderson 6'0 senior Southeast- Was money from the outside hitting every open three he was giving. Helped get the ball up the court against the pressure defense.
Larry Austin Jr 6'1 freshmen Lamphier- Very very tough to stop in the transition. Ranked in the top 10 in the country and showed some great skills.
Kendall Murdock 6'3 senior Lamphier- Used his size and skill to score in the post. Really looked good in this game scoring with his back to the basket. Most impressive player in the game scoring at will at times it seemed.
Top Scorers
Southeast- Senor 14 Smith 14 Anderson 13
Lamphier- Austin 15 Everett Clemons 10 Murdock 9
I know this wasn't the greatest post but, haven't felt the greatest tonight and don't have alot of energy. This really was one of the most entertaining events I have been to in regards to high school basketball and really showed some love for their high school basketball. Also retired two former NBA players and one current NBA player's jerseys in Ed Horton, Kevin Gamble, and Andrea Igudala.
Sacred Heart-Griffin 51 Springfield High 42
In the first game the only private school Sacred Heart-Griffin took on Springfield High. Springfield started out hot hitting from the outside which was primarily due to the fact that SHG was playing a zone defense. In the second quarter though SHG got hot while Springfield went cold and SHG took the lead and never looked back. Despite their lack of size SHG was able to control the glass throughout the entire game and was able to kick the ball out to open three point shooters where they hit the shot. Neither team was exceptionally tall with the exception of Springfield's 6'7 junior Willie Wiley who was able to take over the game in very short stints but, just didn't get enough help and his game is very limited away from the hoop. Springfield got the game close but SHG hit their free throws at the end to win.
Top Players
Jarrod Sergent 6'2 junior SHG- Thought he was the best player on the court. Shot the ball extremely well from the outside and also showed the ability get open off the dribble and hit the jumper.
Austin Eagleton 6'1 junior SHG- Nothing real special about his game but, always hustled and moved very well without the ball in his hands. When given the open three he would hit the shot.
Willie Wiley 6'7 junior Springfield- Was the one player on Springfield that was rebounding and showed some promise around the hoop but, is still alittle raw. Had a nice put back dunk and was able to score with his back to the hoop.
Mark Gilchrese 5'9 senior Springfield- Was hitting the three to start the game and did a nice job running the point and not turning the ball over.
Top Scorers
SHG- Sergent 16 Eagleton 14 Jake Williams 8
Springfield- Wiley 12 Gilchrese 10 Thalamus Alexander 8 Alex Kramer 8
Southeast 60 Lamphier 45
I actually left this game alittle early so the final was slightly different but, at that point the game was not in question. This game was the highlight of the night as my brother had student taught at Lamphier and had watched the team play of few times before and Southeast had beaten Whitney Young this year who I had seen play on ESPN earlier this year and looked very very good. I was very surprised that Southeast only played one player over 6 ft in their regular rotation because Whitney Young is a very tall team. Early one Lamphier was able to really push the tempo and take the early lead as both teams started out very sloppy and Southeast turned the ball over time after time. In the second quarter though Southeast really tightend things up controlling the ball and showing a lot of patients on the offensive end. It seemed Southeast always ended up with a wide open three point shot and more times then not they were able to bury the shot. At half Southeast was able to get the big lead then in the second half Lamphier was able to push the tempo again and get back into the game before Southeast was able to seal the game breaking the Lamphier trap and getting easy baskets before ending the game hitting their free throws.
Top Players
Herman Senor 5'10 sophomore Southeast- Was able to penetrate and get into the paint all night long and score or get fouled where he went to the line and scored.
Rodney Smith 5'11 senior Southeast- Had a huge game off the bench leading the team in scoring. Just seemed to always be in the right place at the right time, moving well without the ball and cleaning up on the offensive glass.
Jacobby Anderson 6'0 senior Southeast- Was money from the outside hitting every open three he was giving. Helped get the ball up the court against the pressure defense.
Larry Austin Jr 6'1 freshmen Lamphier- Very very tough to stop in the transition. Ranked in the top 10 in the country and showed some great skills.
Kendall Murdock 6'3 senior Lamphier- Used his size and skill to score in the post. Really looked good in this game scoring with his back to the basket. Most impressive player in the game scoring at will at times it seemed.
Top Scorers
Southeast- Senor 14 Smith 14 Anderson 13
Lamphier- Austin 15 Everett Clemons 10 Murdock 9
I know this wasn't the greatest post but, haven't felt the greatest tonight and don't have alot of energy. This really was one of the most entertaining events I have been to in regards to high school basketball and really showed some love for their high school basketball. Also retired two former NBA players and one current NBA player's jerseys in Ed Horton, Kevin Gamble, and Andrea Igudala.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Seventh Round State Rankings
Had alot of interesting match ups in the past week as top 10 teams matched up in nearly a dozen different match ups in the past week.
Division One
Appleton East remained undefeated and stays #1 followed by Riverside and King. Riverside lost two games losing to a top team from Chicago and one of the top teams in the country in Hopkins Minnesota. De Pere and Madison Memorial both lost and fall to #7 and #8, benefiting Germantown, Rapids, and Arrowhead who jump them. Racine Case and Marshfield flip flopped with Case winning out and Marshfield dropping their second game of the year. Hamilton lost a tough OT game to King and remain #10. Milwaukee Washington lost two games last year and fall out of HM along with Sheboygan North who lost their third game of the year. Kenosha Bradford and Beloit take their places.
1. Appleton East
2. Milwaukee Riverside
3. Milwaukee King
4. Germantown
5. Wisconsin Rapids
6. Arrowhead
7. De Pere
8. Madison Memorial
9. Racine Case
10. Milwaukee Hamilton
HM
Waukesha West
Marshfield
Milwaukee Marquette
Kenosha Bradford
Beloit
Division Two
Little bit of a shake up at the top of D2 with Monroe and Onalaska both getting their first lose of the season with Monroe falling to my #1 Waunakee and Onalaska to a top 10 team in D3 in Lacrosse Aquinas. Falling to 4 and 5 in the rankings. Rice Lake was the only other top 10 team to lose and they fell to HM while Lacrosse Logan moves to #10.
1. Waunakee
2. New Richmond
3. Seymour
4. Monroe
5. Onalaska
6. Wisconsin Lutheran
7. Two Rivers
8. Madison Edgewood
9. Wauwatosa East
10. Lacrosse Logan
HM
Rice Lake
New Berlin West
Pewaukee
Division Three
St. Johns lost to an out of state team and remain #1. Everyone else won out in the top 10 and remain the same. In HM Prairie du Chien and Hope School both lost twice and fall out of the rankings. Viroqua lost last week but, hangs on to HM as Kiel makes their first appearance in the rankings.
1. St. Johns Military
2. Manitowoc Roncalli
3. GET
4. Lacrosse Aquinas
5. Brilllion
6. East Troy
7. Omro
8. Whitefish Bay Dominican
9. Racine St. Catherines
10. Northwestern
HM
Lakeside Lutheran
Ladysmith
River Valley
Kiel
Viroqua
Division Four
Once again the top 10 was very successful with the only losses coming from Darlington, who lost to Cuba City, and Amherst. Darlington falls to #8 and Amherst to #10. Bonduel and Ozaukee each lost last week and fall out of HM and are replaced by Westby, Wild Rose, Three Lakes, and Colfax. Grantsburg also lost but, hangs on to their HM spot.
1. Blair Taylor
2. Oostburg
3. Racine Lutheran
4. Eau Claire Regis
5. Marathon
6. Colby
7. Cuba City
8. Darlington
9. Laconia
10. Amherst
HM
Auburndale
Peshtigo
Westby
Grantsburg
Wild Rose
Three Lakes
Colfax
Division Five
Top ten all won out with the exception of EC Immanuel who lost twice and falls to HM and Sheboygan Lutheran who lost to a top D4 team and fall to #9. Luck benefits and jumps to #10. Bayfield and Royal were both HM teams that lost and fall out of the rankings. Laona and Gillmanton take their spots in HM.
1. Benton
2. Green Bay NEW Lutheran
3. Randolph
4. Clayton
5. Suring
6. Prentice
7. Gilmanton
8. Seneca
9. Sheboygan Lutheran
10. Luck
HM
Hillsboro
Wauzeka-Steuben
Barneveld
Eau Claire Immanuel
Laona
Marion
Wisconsin School for the Deaf
Saw some excitement in the two larger divisions with some of the top teams loosing and should continue to some of the same as some of the top teams are in the same division particularly in D1 with the City teams. Should be a fun rest of the season and we are at about the half way point of conference play where you typically see more upsets between common opponents.
Division One
Appleton East remained undefeated and stays #1 followed by Riverside and King. Riverside lost two games losing to a top team from Chicago and one of the top teams in the country in Hopkins Minnesota. De Pere and Madison Memorial both lost and fall to #7 and #8, benefiting Germantown, Rapids, and Arrowhead who jump them. Racine Case and Marshfield flip flopped with Case winning out and Marshfield dropping their second game of the year. Hamilton lost a tough OT game to King and remain #10. Milwaukee Washington lost two games last year and fall out of HM along with Sheboygan North who lost their third game of the year. Kenosha Bradford and Beloit take their places.
1. Appleton East
2. Milwaukee Riverside
3. Milwaukee King
4. Germantown
5. Wisconsin Rapids
6. Arrowhead
7. De Pere
8. Madison Memorial
9. Racine Case
10. Milwaukee Hamilton
HM
Waukesha West
Marshfield
Milwaukee Marquette
Kenosha Bradford
Beloit
Division Two
Little bit of a shake up at the top of D2 with Monroe and Onalaska both getting their first lose of the season with Monroe falling to my #1 Waunakee and Onalaska to a top 10 team in D3 in Lacrosse Aquinas. Falling to 4 and 5 in the rankings. Rice Lake was the only other top 10 team to lose and they fell to HM while Lacrosse Logan moves to #10.
1. Waunakee
2. New Richmond
3. Seymour
4. Monroe
5. Onalaska
6. Wisconsin Lutheran
7. Two Rivers
8. Madison Edgewood
9. Wauwatosa East
10. Lacrosse Logan
HM
Rice Lake
New Berlin West
Pewaukee
Division Three
St. Johns lost to an out of state team and remain #1. Everyone else won out in the top 10 and remain the same. In HM Prairie du Chien and Hope School both lost twice and fall out of the rankings. Viroqua lost last week but, hangs on to HM as Kiel makes their first appearance in the rankings.
1. St. Johns Military
2. Manitowoc Roncalli
3. GET
4. Lacrosse Aquinas
5. Brilllion
6. East Troy
7. Omro
8. Whitefish Bay Dominican
9. Racine St. Catherines
10. Northwestern
HM
Lakeside Lutheran
Ladysmith
River Valley
Kiel
Viroqua
Division Four
Once again the top 10 was very successful with the only losses coming from Darlington, who lost to Cuba City, and Amherst. Darlington falls to #8 and Amherst to #10. Bonduel and Ozaukee each lost last week and fall out of HM and are replaced by Westby, Wild Rose, Three Lakes, and Colfax. Grantsburg also lost but, hangs on to their HM spot.
1. Blair Taylor
2. Oostburg
3. Racine Lutheran
4. Eau Claire Regis
5. Marathon
6. Colby
7. Cuba City
8. Darlington
9. Laconia
10. Amherst
HM
Auburndale
Peshtigo
Westby
Grantsburg
Wild Rose
Three Lakes
Colfax
Division Five
Top ten all won out with the exception of EC Immanuel who lost twice and falls to HM and Sheboygan Lutheran who lost to a top D4 team and fall to #9. Luck benefits and jumps to #10. Bayfield and Royal were both HM teams that lost and fall out of the rankings. Laona and Gillmanton take their spots in HM.
1. Benton
2. Green Bay NEW Lutheran
3. Randolph
4. Clayton
5. Suring
6. Prentice
7. Gilmanton
8. Seneca
9. Sheboygan Lutheran
10. Luck
HM
Hillsboro
Wauzeka-Steuben
Barneveld
Eau Claire Immanuel
Laona
Marion
Wisconsin School for the Deaf
Saw some excitement in the two larger divisions with some of the top teams loosing and should continue to some of the same as some of the top teams are in the same division particularly in D1 with the City teams. Should be a fun rest of the season and we are at about the half way point of conference play where you typically see more upsets between common opponents.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Second Round My Team Rankings
I have been doing mostly rankings of the entire state but, I am still ranking only teams that I have actually seen as well. These rankings will only be based on games that I have actually seen, even if teams have actually played each other head to head I only take into the games that I actually saw. I will also be putting in ( ) how many times I have seen each team play. In my overall rankings I will include out of state teams but, for divisions I will only include teams from Wisconsin.
1. Linn-Marr Iowa (1)- Easily the best team I have seen play. Lightning quick point guard that can take over the game without having to take a shot with his defense and play making and have a big man that can score inside or out with ease.
2. Madison Memorial (4)- Getting some of their top tear talent back and have the best eight man rotation in the state. Lots of athletic freaks between 6'4 to 6'6. Junior Lomomba can take the game over at any time and he has lots of help.
3. Milwaukee King (1)- Very athletic team that loves to run but, they are always playing under control. Have a very solid top nine rotation with lots of guards and will have a premier inside man in Cimmeon Bowers come playoff time. Lots of guys that can shoot and handle the ball.
4. Lacrosse Aquinas (1)- Really like this team as the play very under control and don't seem to get flustered. Have lots of guys between 6'2 to 6'5 that can move well. Can play slow tempo or fast and do very well in either setting.
5. Germantown (1)- Have a star in Showalter that really makes them go but, have the size and outside shooting to really complement him.
6. Sun Prairie (2)- Have four players that could score 20 plus points on any given night. As Nick Fuller gets stronger and better game to game this team will rise with him. Have the size to battle with Memorial.
7. St. Paul Johnson (1)- Another team with lots of athletes that loves to push the tempo. Have four different players that have the ability to score at will from the outside or driving to the hoop.
8. Marshfield (1)- Probably overall the tallest team in the state and their 1-3-1 defense is nearly impossible to score against. Run a very slow patient offense and really take good shots.
9. Onalaska (1)- Shoot the outside shot very very well and love to push the tempo. Play a pretty solid man to man defense.
10. Minneapolis South (1)- Love to push the tempo and shoot the long ball. Play a good pressure defense and can take the ball to the hoop strong.
11. Beloit (1)- Another athletic team that likes to push the tempo. Play to their opponents ability so if their playing a good team they look very good.
12. Monroe (2)- Move very well without the ball and another team that is very patient on the offensive end and only take good shots. Bryan Tordoff and Michael Barrett are stars that have both been on varsity forever.
13. Middleton (2)- Ian Joyce is really coming into his own and controls the inside and has a nice game around the hoop. Have a deep team but, not alot of stars.
14. Madison Edgewood (2)- Have one of the best coach's in the state and their team plays as hard as anyone in the state. Run their offense very well which always seems to give them an open shot. Go 12 deep and don't lose anything.
15. Randolph (1)- Typical Randolph team. Moves the ball well on offense and always get good shots and play very good man to man defense. Have a handful of very good players that can really score.
16. Baraboo (3)- Have some very good seniors and a pair of legit stars in Mark Kowalke and Sean McGann. Overall size is a concern though.
17. Madison East (2)- Nimrod Hillard is one of the best players in the state and the team plays really hard. Lack height though.
18. Racine Park (1)- Extremely quick and athletic team. Lack outside shooting though and ballhandlers.
19. Lacrosse Logan (1)- Trevor Jorgenson is as tough as any big man in the state and have some good outside shooters. Finding Jorgenson and handling pressure defense could be a problem though.
20. Monona Grove (1)- Need some more scorers but, Zach Zweifel can score 20 points a night. Could probably carry them a decent way in playoffs.
21. Whitefish Bay Dominican (1)- Lots of athletes but, not much size and not much outside shooting.
22. Green Lake (1)- So so team but, have a great talent in Matt Von Syoc.
23. West Depere (1)- Have nice size and rebound well but, another team without consistent guard play with the shooting and ball handling.
24. Milwaukee Bay View (1)- Honestly just the only other team that I have seen this year.
Well decided that I won't be doing ranking by each division since I ranked all the teams that I have actually seen play so I would only be restating the exact same teams. This weekend I'm going to visit my brother in Springfield and will be getting a chance to see some Illinois high school basketball.
1. Linn-Marr Iowa (1)- Easily the best team I have seen play. Lightning quick point guard that can take over the game without having to take a shot with his defense and play making and have a big man that can score inside or out with ease.
2. Madison Memorial (4)- Getting some of their top tear talent back and have the best eight man rotation in the state. Lots of athletic freaks between 6'4 to 6'6. Junior Lomomba can take the game over at any time and he has lots of help.
3. Milwaukee King (1)- Very athletic team that loves to run but, they are always playing under control. Have a very solid top nine rotation with lots of guards and will have a premier inside man in Cimmeon Bowers come playoff time. Lots of guys that can shoot and handle the ball.
4. Lacrosse Aquinas (1)- Really like this team as the play very under control and don't seem to get flustered. Have lots of guys between 6'2 to 6'5 that can move well. Can play slow tempo or fast and do very well in either setting.
5. Germantown (1)- Have a star in Showalter that really makes them go but, have the size and outside shooting to really complement him.
6. Sun Prairie (2)- Have four players that could score 20 plus points on any given night. As Nick Fuller gets stronger and better game to game this team will rise with him. Have the size to battle with Memorial.
7. St. Paul Johnson (1)- Another team with lots of athletes that loves to push the tempo. Have four different players that have the ability to score at will from the outside or driving to the hoop.
8. Marshfield (1)- Probably overall the tallest team in the state and their 1-3-1 defense is nearly impossible to score against. Run a very slow patient offense and really take good shots.
9. Onalaska (1)- Shoot the outside shot very very well and love to push the tempo. Play a pretty solid man to man defense.
10. Minneapolis South (1)- Love to push the tempo and shoot the long ball. Play a good pressure defense and can take the ball to the hoop strong.
11. Beloit (1)- Another athletic team that likes to push the tempo. Play to their opponents ability so if their playing a good team they look very good.
12. Monroe (2)- Move very well without the ball and another team that is very patient on the offensive end and only take good shots. Bryan Tordoff and Michael Barrett are stars that have both been on varsity forever.
13. Middleton (2)- Ian Joyce is really coming into his own and controls the inside and has a nice game around the hoop. Have a deep team but, not alot of stars.
14. Madison Edgewood (2)- Have one of the best coach's in the state and their team plays as hard as anyone in the state. Run their offense very well which always seems to give them an open shot. Go 12 deep and don't lose anything.
15. Randolph (1)- Typical Randolph team. Moves the ball well on offense and always get good shots and play very good man to man defense. Have a handful of very good players that can really score.
16. Baraboo (3)- Have some very good seniors and a pair of legit stars in Mark Kowalke and Sean McGann. Overall size is a concern though.
17. Madison East (2)- Nimrod Hillard is one of the best players in the state and the team plays really hard. Lack height though.
18. Racine Park (1)- Extremely quick and athletic team. Lack outside shooting though and ballhandlers.
19. Lacrosse Logan (1)- Trevor Jorgenson is as tough as any big man in the state and have some good outside shooters. Finding Jorgenson and handling pressure defense could be a problem though.
20. Monona Grove (1)- Need some more scorers but, Zach Zweifel can score 20 points a night. Could probably carry them a decent way in playoffs.
21. Whitefish Bay Dominican (1)- Lots of athletes but, not much size and not much outside shooting.
22. Green Lake (1)- So so team but, have a great talent in Matt Von Syoc.
23. West Depere (1)- Have nice size and rebound well but, another team without consistent guard play with the shooting and ball handling.
24. Milwaukee Bay View (1)- Honestly just the only other team that I have seen this year.
Well decided that I won't be doing ranking by each division since I ranked all the teams that I have actually seen play so I would only be restating the exact same teams. This weekend I'm going to visit my brother in Springfield and will be getting a chance to see some Illinois high school basketball.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Baraboo over Madison East
Once again Madison East's height hurt them again, which I'm sure it does every single game. Baraboo isn't the biggest team but, their two best players are 6'4 and 6'7 which really caused problems for East. In most peoples eyes this game was probably an upset by knowing how short East is Baraboo was my favorite going in. The other big factor outside of the height was that East's star player 6'0 senior Nimrod Hillard had the worst game I have ever seen him play. Hillard couldn't get the pull up three to fall and his floaters in the lane weren't falling.
Early in the game Baraboo really took advantage of their height going to the 6'4 junior Sean McGann in the post against the much smaller Hillard. McGann was able to score with his back to the basket all night long. When the junior wasn't scoring he was able to kick the ball out to open teammates who would hit the three. On the other side 5'9 junior Rudy Bentley was able to get to the hoop and score or find his open teammates. Bentley really picked up his game with his back court mate Hillard struggling. Bentley did a great job of getting into the big man, 6'7 senior Mark Kowalk, chest and scoring around him and not letting him block the shot. After one quarter Baraboo was up 19-14. In the second quarter Baraboo continued to get easy baskets and East finally got alittle something going driving to the hoop with Hillard, Bentley, or another guy, drawing Kowalke on the help and finding an open teammate for the wide open teammate. The guy that benefitted the most from the driving guards was 6'1 junior Stephen Williams Jr, who got wide open layup after wide open layup. Though it felt like East cut the lead Baraboo actually extended it to a 35-27 lead.
In the second half Hillard's struggles continued and the frustration really started to show in his facial expressions and his play. Hillard really started to force some shots and committed some bad fouls. Hillard still got a handful of assists driving and finding a wide open Williams under the hoop. The good news for Baraboo was that Kowalke finally got hot from the outside and started draining three pointers from the outside that kept Baraboo was the nice cushion throughout the second half. After three quarters Baraboo was up 53-43. In the fourth East was able to press Baraboo into turnovers and cut the lead to four at one point but, in the end Baraboo's strong free throw shooting and East's inability to hit the three led to a 67-60 win for Baraboo.
Top Players
Mark Kowalke 6'7 senior Baraboo- Was able to post up and score in the post early in the game and then was money from the outside in the second half.
Sean McGann 6'4 junior Baraboo- Could do whatever he wanted in the post, either score or get the assists.
Rudy Bentley 5'9 junior East- Stated it already. Was able to drive and get into the body of Kowalke which allowed him to score against the bigger defender.
Stephen Williams 6'1 junior East- Once again battled very well against much taller opponents and benefitted from his teammates getting him open.
Baraboo 67- Kowalke 22 McGann 18 Josh Statz 8 Tyler Fish 6 Jesse Kling 4 Jed Traxler 4 Caleb Leonhardt 3 Erik Anderson 2 Joe Becraft 0 Zach Trower 0 Mike Weinke 0
East 60- Williams Jr 16 Bentley 12 Jermel McLin 10 Hillard 9 Tyron Galvin 5 Speedy Amara 3 Emani Brathwaite 3 Darius Kelly 2 Alex Redd 0
Like I had mentioned the last time I saw Madison East play, they will beat the ok teams with their talent but, the better teams will beat them simply because of their height. Baraboo has struggled as of late but, hopefully this game will help them turn the corner and get back to their winning ways.
Early in the game Baraboo really took advantage of their height going to the 6'4 junior Sean McGann in the post against the much smaller Hillard. McGann was able to score with his back to the basket all night long. When the junior wasn't scoring he was able to kick the ball out to open teammates who would hit the three. On the other side 5'9 junior Rudy Bentley was able to get to the hoop and score or find his open teammates. Bentley really picked up his game with his back court mate Hillard struggling. Bentley did a great job of getting into the big man, 6'7 senior Mark Kowalk, chest and scoring around him and not letting him block the shot. After one quarter Baraboo was up 19-14. In the second quarter Baraboo continued to get easy baskets and East finally got alittle something going driving to the hoop with Hillard, Bentley, or another guy, drawing Kowalke on the help and finding an open teammate for the wide open teammate. The guy that benefitted the most from the driving guards was 6'1 junior Stephen Williams Jr, who got wide open layup after wide open layup. Though it felt like East cut the lead Baraboo actually extended it to a 35-27 lead.
In the second half Hillard's struggles continued and the frustration really started to show in his facial expressions and his play. Hillard really started to force some shots and committed some bad fouls. Hillard still got a handful of assists driving and finding a wide open Williams under the hoop. The good news for Baraboo was that Kowalke finally got hot from the outside and started draining three pointers from the outside that kept Baraboo was the nice cushion throughout the second half. After three quarters Baraboo was up 53-43. In the fourth East was able to press Baraboo into turnovers and cut the lead to four at one point but, in the end Baraboo's strong free throw shooting and East's inability to hit the three led to a 67-60 win for Baraboo.
Top Players
Mark Kowalke 6'7 senior Baraboo- Was able to post up and score in the post early in the game and then was money from the outside in the second half.
Sean McGann 6'4 junior Baraboo- Could do whatever he wanted in the post, either score or get the assists.
Rudy Bentley 5'9 junior East- Stated it already. Was able to drive and get into the body of Kowalke which allowed him to score against the bigger defender.
Stephen Williams 6'1 junior East- Once again battled very well against much taller opponents and benefitted from his teammates getting him open.
Baraboo 67- Kowalke 22 McGann 18 Josh Statz 8 Tyler Fish 6 Jesse Kling 4 Jed Traxler 4 Caleb Leonhardt 3 Erik Anderson 2 Joe Becraft 0 Zach Trower 0 Mike Weinke 0
East 60- Williams Jr 16 Bentley 12 Jermel McLin 10 Hillard 9 Tyron Galvin 5 Speedy Amara 3 Emani Brathwaite 3 Darius Kelly 2 Alex Redd 0
Like I had mentioned the last time I saw Madison East play, they will beat the ok teams with their talent but, the better teams will beat them simply because of their height. Baraboo has struggled as of late but, hopefully this game will help them turn the corner and get back to their winning ways.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Sixth Round State Rankings
A bit of an interesting week as two of my #1 ranked teams lost their first game of the year so there will be some shakeups at the top.
Division One
Milwaukee King lost to Milwaukee Riverside dropping them to #3 and Appleton East moved to the one spot. I normally don't jump teams if they haven't lost but, when a team is undefeated and beats the #1 team they can, so Riverside moves to the #2 spot. Depere and Germantown won out and remain the same. Madison Memorial lost last week to an out of state team and I didn't even notice it and now lost again to out of state so they fall to #6. Seven through nine remain the same but, Kenosha Bradford lost to Racine Case and fall to HM while Hamilton takes their spot. Marquette and Washington both lost but, still hang on to HM while Sheboygan North returns to the rankings.
1. Appleton East
2. Milwaukee Riverside
3. Milwaukee King
4. Depere
5. Germantown
6. Madison Memorial
7. Wisconsin Rapids
8. Arrowhead
9. Marshfield
10. Milwaukee Hamilton
HM
Racine Case
Waukesha West
Milwaukee Marquette
Milwaukee Washington
Shegoygan North
Division Two
Not much changed in D2 as the only top 10 team that lost was Rice Lake who falls to #9 while everyone else won and moved up a spot. The final two HM teams won out as well.
1. Waunakee
2. Onalaska
3. Monroe
4. New Richmond
5. Seymour
6. Wisconsin Lutheran
7. Two Rivers
8. Madison Edgewood
9. Rice Lake
10. Wauwatosa East
HM
Pewaukee
Lacrosse Logan
Division Three
D3 is an interesting one because St. Cats lost to Dominican so in my mind I feel that they should be ranked behind Dominican but, that would mean dropping St. Cats to #9 but, I feel that they are better then that but, I will put them in the nine spot. River Valley and Viroqua were the only other top 10 teams that lost and both fall to HM. I misread Omro's record last week and they still are undefeated and will be ranked #7. With two teams falling out Northwestern moves back into the top 10. Winneconne, Mauston, and Ellsworth all lost this past week and fall out of the rankings. Lakeside Lutheran and Ladysmith both move into the rankings having only lost one game each.
1. St. Johns Military
2. Manitowoc Roncalli
3. GET
4. Lacrosse Aquinas
5. Billion
6. East Troy
7. Omro
8. Whitefish Bay Dominican
9. Racine St. Catherines
10. Northwestern
HM
Prairie du Chien
Hope School
Lakeside Lutheran
Ladysmith
River Valley
Viroqua
Division Four
Everyone in the top 10 won out so the top 10 remain the same. Cameron lost twice and Rosholt lost once causing both teams to fall from the rankings and were replaced by Ozaukee and Peshtigo.
1. Blair Taylor
2. Oostburg
3. Racine Lutheran
4. Darlington
5. Eau Claire Regis
6. Marathon
7. Amherst
8. Colby
9. Cubay City
10. Laconia
HM
Grantsburg
Auburndal
Bonduel
Ozaukee
Peshtigo
Division Five
Sheboygan Lutheran was the only team in the top 10 that lost and they lost to a pretty good D4 team and fall to #5 while the next three teams moved up and everyone else remained the same. Barneveld was the only other team even ranked that lost and they still hang on to HM. Wauzeka-Steuben is the only new team to appear in the rankings.
1. Benton
2. Green Bay NEW Lutheran
3. Randolph
4. Clayton
5. Sheboygan Lutheran
6. Suring
7. Prentice
8. Gilmanton
9. Seneca
10. Eau Claire Immanuel
HM
Luck
Hillsboro
Royal
Bayfield
Wauzeka-Steuben
Barneveld
Wisconsin School for the Deaf
My personal rankings for teams that I have actually seen will be following in the next few days along with my player rankings now that I have seen a few more teams over the weekend.
Division One
Milwaukee King lost to Milwaukee Riverside dropping them to #3 and Appleton East moved to the one spot. I normally don't jump teams if they haven't lost but, when a team is undefeated and beats the #1 team they can, so Riverside moves to the #2 spot. Depere and Germantown won out and remain the same. Madison Memorial lost last week to an out of state team and I didn't even notice it and now lost again to out of state so they fall to #6. Seven through nine remain the same but, Kenosha Bradford lost to Racine Case and fall to HM while Hamilton takes their spot. Marquette and Washington both lost but, still hang on to HM while Sheboygan North returns to the rankings.
1. Appleton East
2. Milwaukee Riverside
3. Milwaukee King
4. Depere
5. Germantown
6. Madison Memorial
7. Wisconsin Rapids
8. Arrowhead
9. Marshfield
10. Milwaukee Hamilton
HM
Racine Case
Waukesha West
Milwaukee Marquette
Milwaukee Washington
Shegoygan North
Division Two
Not much changed in D2 as the only top 10 team that lost was Rice Lake who falls to #9 while everyone else won and moved up a spot. The final two HM teams won out as well.
1. Waunakee
2. Onalaska
3. Monroe
4. New Richmond
5. Seymour
6. Wisconsin Lutheran
7. Two Rivers
8. Madison Edgewood
9. Rice Lake
10. Wauwatosa East
HM
Pewaukee
Lacrosse Logan
Division Three
D3 is an interesting one because St. Cats lost to Dominican so in my mind I feel that they should be ranked behind Dominican but, that would mean dropping St. Cats to #9 but, I feel that they are better then that but, I will put them in the nine spot. River Valley and Viroqua were the only other top 10 teams that lost and both fall to HM. I misread Omro's record last week and they still are undefeated and will be ranked #7. With two teams falling out Northwestern moves back into the top 10. Winneconne, Mauston, and Ellsworth all lost this past week and fall out of the rankings. Lakeside Lutheran and Ladysmith both move into the rankings having only lost one game each.
1. St. Johns Military
2. Manitowoc Roncalli
3. GET
4. Lacrosse Aquinas
5. Billion
6. East Troy
7. Omro
8. Whitefish Bay Dominican
9. Racine St. Catherines
10. Northwestern
HM
Prairie du Chien
Hope School
Lakeside Lutheran
Ladysmith
River Valley
Viroqua
Division Four
Everyone in the top 10 won out so the top 10 remain the same. Cameron lost twice and Rosholt lost once causing both teams to fall from the rankings and were replaced by Ozaukee and Peshtigo.
1. Blair Taylor
2. Oostburg
3. Racine Lutheran
4. Darlington
5. Eau Claire Regis
6. Marathon
7. Amherst
8. Colby
9. Cubay City
10. Laconia
HM
Grantsburg
Auburndal
Bonduel
Ozaukee
Peshtigo
Division Five
Sheboygan Lutheran was the only team in the top 10 that lost and they lost to a pretty good D4 team and fall to #5 while the next three teams moved up and everyone else remained the same. Barneveld was the only other team even ranked that lost and they still hang on to HM. Wauzeka-Steuben is the only new team to appear in the rankings.
1. Benton
2. Green Bay NEW Lutheran
3. Randolph
4. Clayton
5. Sheboygan Lutheran
6. Suring
7. Prentice
8. Gilmanton
9. Seneca
10. Eau Claire Immanuel
HM
Luck
Hillsboro
Royal
Bayfield
Wauzeka-Steuben
Barneveld
Wisconsin School for the Deaf
My personal rankings for teams that I have actually seen will be following in the next few days along with my player rankings now that I have seen a few more teams over the weekend.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Midwest Players Classic
Saturday got to take in one of the best tournaments for high school basketball in Wisconsin, in the Midwest Players Classic in Lacrosse. This was a great tournament featuring seven teams from Wisconsin, four from Minnesota, and a top team from Iowa. The tournament was held at the Lacrosse Center which really is a great venue for this type of tournament. It is very similar to the Alliant Energy Center but, may be slightly smaller. I'm not sure why they don't play sectional games here but, this would be a great location as would the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. I worked Saturday morning so missed the first two games and then arrived midway through the first quarter on the Lacrosse Aquinas verse Minneapolis South.
Lacrosse Aquinas 62 Minneapolis South 55
Aquinas was in the lead throughout this entire game and was never really threatened by South throughout. Aquinas had the height advantage and had the advantage of playing with the lead which allowed them to take their time running their offense which gave them good possessions every time down the court. South kept getting down double digits and would claw their way back into the game only to see Aquinas pull back away. South's offense was reallying just let their top players go one on one and create their own shot. Bronson Koenig was the guy I was really excited to see and though he didn't have a great but, still was fairly impressive as he really showed a very nice pull up shot off the dribble and was able to get into the middle of the South defense at will.
Top Players
Bronson Koenig 6'2 sophomore Aquinas- Pretty much stated his game already. No doubt is a D1 athlete.
Quinn McCaartney 6'4 junior Aquinas- Just a hustle player that does all the little things. Rebounded well and had a pair of nice dunks.
Carnell Sheppard 5'10 junior South- Could score at will it seemed either driving to the hoop or shooting the outside shot. Showed unlimited range.
Mahari Wilson 5'10 junior South- Did a nice job of shadowing Koenig all game long and was also able to drive to the hoop.
Didn't keep score in this one as I arrived late.
Milwaukee King 67 St. Paul Johnson 52
Was excited to see this game as St. Paul Johnson recently defeated Milwaukee Hamiliton so I believed this was going to be a good game. The game was a very fast pace as expected but, was very sloppy throughout the early going. Game went back and forth throughout the first half. Then in the second half King got things under control and limited their turnovers and finally started dropping their three point shots while Johnson continued to turn the ball over and never really ran much of an offense. This game really dragged on as Johnson fouled throughout the final four minutes of the game.
Top Players
Dominique Borom 5'10 junior King- Was the one King player that was hitting the three all game long.
Arroyo Edwards 6'5 junior King- Was the calming force for King coming out top and controlling the ball in the guard spot. Was able to get the ball at about the free throw line and drive to the hoop and score. Hit his free throw shots at the end too.
Austin Malone-Mitchell 5'11 sophomore King- Did most of his scoring from the free throw line but, also did a nice job of running the point against Johnson's full court press.
Roosevelt Scott 6'3 senior Johnson- Really loved how he'd grab the rebound and turn and push the ball right up the court. Went end to end a couple times which led to buckets for him.
Marcus Marshall 6'2 junior Johnson- Leading scorer and was able to hit the three and drive to the hoop and get fouled and score.
Estan Tyler 6'0 senior Johnson- Made some very nice passes throughout the game and hit some big threes late in the game to pull Johnson close.
Top Scorers
King- Edwards 18 Malone-Mitchell 17 Borom 13
Johnson- Marshall 18 Tyler 11 Scott 10 Anthony Lee 10
Linn-Marr 74 Madison Memorial 64
Prime matchup of the tournament, with both teams traditions and Linn-Marr currently ranked #1 in Iowa. My brother had seen Linn-Marr play in the past when former Badger Jason Bohannon was playing for them and he told me don't underestimate them even if they don't look good in warm ups because they will be good. He was right, watching warm ups I thought this would be Memorial's game but, I was wrong. Memorial tried to pressure Linn-Marr all game but, it didn't faze them and only led to wide open threes for them which they seemed to hit every time. Memorial probably one the rebounding battle but, they missed a ton of bunnies while Linn-Marr seemed to never miss particularly in the first half. Linn-Marr was led by a pair of D1 recruits point guard Marcus Paige who is apparently a top 50 player in the country for his class and big man Josh Montague who had 19 points in the first half and was money from three point range. Junior Lomomba wasn't his normal self and just couldn't get things going and Paige had his way with Brendan Ortiz much of the game.
Top Players
Tre Burnette 6'5 senior Memorial- Seems to be excepting that scoring load as he can go inside and outside and score. Looking pretty good in the post on the offensive end.
Junior Lomomba 6'5 junior Memorial- Showed flashes of his normal self when he was able to get the ball at the free throw line and score.
Miles Chamberlain 6'5 senior Memorial- Finally looking like the player I have seen in his AAU highlights. Did a nice job of setting up the offense and finding open teammates in good positions to score.
Marcus Paige 6'1 junior Linn-Marr- Was extremely impressive. Really controlled the game without having to score then in the second half he took the game over and could score at will. Picked Ortiz's pocket a few times.
Josh Montague 6'7 senior Linn-Marr- Just on fire in the first half but, went quiet in the second half but, didn't matter at that point.
Matt Bohannon 6'4 senior Linn-Marr- Just a glue guy that does all the little things. Did most of his scoring from the free throw line.
Top Scorers
Memorial- Burnette 17 Lomomba 13 Brendan Ortiz 13
Linn-Marr- Paige 21 Montague 21 Bohannon 16 Shane Benton 12
Onalaska 68 Milwaukee Bay View 47
Honestly not much to say about this game. Onalaska is a pretty good team and Bay View just isn't that good. After three quarters Onalaska was up 30 and only played their starters the first five minutes of the second half and just cruised to the win. Bay View didn't run much of an offense and just played playground ball going one on one and throwing up some wild shots. For Onalaska the story was the Thomas brothers who appear to really carry them on the offensive end.
Top Players
Tony Thomas 6'6 senior Onalaska- Shoots the three very very well and runs the court well. Can also take his defender in the post.
Matt Thomas 6'2 sophomore Onalaska- Just a great shooter. Can hit the three or pull up for the mid range jumper. Flat out scorer.
Juvonta Leach 6'0 senior Bay View- Got almost all his points in the fourth quarter when the game was over but, was able to drive to the hoop and score while also drawing the foul.
Top Scorers
Onalaska- T. Thomas 17 M. Thomas 17 Nick Klos 11
Bay View- Leach 16 Tory Marson Jr 8 De'arlo Berkhalter 5
Conclusion on Wisconsin teams
After seeing Aquinas play for the first time I have to say that they are my pick to make it to state for D3. I'm not sure that they will win state but, they will for sure make it their. They are athletic, tall, and have a star to lead them in Koenig and will probably be the same for the next two years. Milwaukee King wasn't all that impressive but, the second half they looked more like the team I expected. They have a very good top nine players and still don't have Bowers back yet which will add a solid post player for them. Is a sectional team but, coming out of a tough Milwaukee/Madison sectional it will be tough to get to state. Madison Memorial was less then impressive and if they play this way they will probably get beat by Sun Prairie or a Milwaukee team before state but, if they play like they truly can I think they can still win state. Onalaska is a really good D2 team but, with the loss of their top player 6'8 Nick Arenz it will be tough to win state but, coming out of the north they can still probably get to state. As for Milwaukee Bay View it's going to be a long season.
Lacrosse Aquinas 62 Minneapolis South 55
Aquinas was in the lead throughout this entire game and was never really threatened by South throughout. Aquinas had the height advantage and had the advantage of playing with the lead which allowed them to take their time running their offense which gave them good possessions every time down the court. South kept getting down double digits and would claw their way back into the game only to see Aquinas pull back away. South's offense was reallying just let their top players go one on one and create their own shot. Bronson Koenig was the guy I was really excited to see and though he didn't have a great but, still was fairly impressive as he really showed a very nice pull up shot off the dribble and was able to get into the middle of the South defense at will.
Top Players
Bronson Koenig 6'2 sophomore Aquinas- Pretty much stated his game already. No doubt is a D1 athlete.
Quinn McCaartney 6'4 junior Aquinas- Just a hustle player that does all the little things. Rebounded well and had a pair of nice dunks.
Carnell Sheppard 5'10 junior South- Could score at will it seemed either driving to the hoop or shooting the outside shot. Showed unlimited range.
Mahari Wilson 5'10 junior South- Did a nice job of shadowing Koenig all game long and was also able to drive to the hoop.
Didn't keep score in this one as I arrived late.
Milwaukee King 67 St. Paul Johnson 52
Was excited to see this game as St. Paul Johnson recently defeated Milwaukee Hamiliton so I believed this was going to be a good game. The game was a very fast pace as expected but, was very sloppy throughout the early going. Game went back and forth throughout the first half. Then in the second half King got things under control and limited their turnovers and finally started dropping their three point shots while Johnson continued to turn the ball over and never really ran much of an offense. This game really dragged on as Johnson fouled throughout the final four minutes of the game.
Top Players
Dominique Borom 5'10 junior King- Was the one King player that was hitting the three all game long.
Arroyo Edwards 6'5 junior King- Was the calming force for King coming out top and controlling the ball in the guard spot. Was able to get the ball at about the free throw line and drive to the hoop and score. Hit his free throw shots at the end too.
Austin Malone-Mitchell 5'11 sophomore King- Did most of his scoring from the free throw line but, also did a nice job of running the point against Johnson's full court press.
Roosevelt Scott 6'3 senior Johnson- Really loved how he'd grab the rebound and turn and push the ball right up the court. Went end to end a couple times which led to buckets for him.
Marcus Marshall 6'2 junior Johnson- Leading scorer and was able to hit the three and drive to the hoop and get fouled and score.
Estan Tyler 6'0 senior Johnson- Made some very nice passes throughout the game and hit some big threes late in the game to pull Johnson close.
Top Scorers
King- Edwards 18 Malone-Mitchell 17 Borom 13
Johnson- Marshall 18 Tyler 11 Scott 10 Anthony Lee 10
Linn-Marr 74 Madison Memorial 64
Prime matchup of the tournament, with both teams traditions and Linn-Marr currently ranked #1 in Iowa. My brother had seen Linn-Marr play in the past when former Badger Jason Bohannon was playing for them and he told me don't underestimate them even if they don't look good in warm ups because they will be good. He was right, watching warm ups I thought this would be Memorial's game but, I was wrong. Memorial tried to pressure Linn-Marr all game but, it didn't faze them and only led to wide open threes for them which they seemed to hit every time. Memorial probably one the rebounding battle but, they missed a ton of bunnies while Linn-Marr seemed to never miss particularly in the first half. Linn-Marr was led by a pair of D1 recruits point guard Marcus Paige who is apparently a top 50 player in the country for his class and big man Josh Montague who had 19 points in the first half and was money from three point range. Junior Lomomba wasn't his normal self and just couldn't get things going and Paige had his way with Brendan Ortiz much of the game.
Top Players
Tre Burnette 6'5 senior Memorial- Seems to be excepting that scoring load as he can go inside and outside and score. Looking pretty good in the post on the offensive end.
Junior Lomomba 6'5 junior Memorial- Showed flashes of his normal self when he was able to get the ball at the free throw line and score.
Miles Chamberlain 6'5 senior Memorial- Finally looking like the player I have seen in his AAU highlights. Did a nice job of setting up the offense and finding open teammates in good positions to score.
Marcus Paige 6'1 junior Linn-Marr- Was extremely impressive. Really controlled the game without having to score then in the second half he took the game over and could score at will. Picked Ortiz's pocket a few times.
Josh Montague 6'7 senior Linn-Marr- Just on fire in the first half but, went quiet in the second half but, didn't matter at that point.
Matt Bohannon 6'4 senior Linn-Marr- Just a glue guy that does all the little things. Did most of his scoring from the free throw line.
Top Scorers
Memorial- Burnette 17 Lomomba 13 Brendan Ortiz 13
Linn-Marr- Paige 21 Montague 21 Bohannon 16 Shane Benton 12
Onalaska 68 Milwaukee Bay View 47
Honestly not much to say about this game. Onalaska is a pretty good team and Bay View just isn't that good. After three quarters Onalaska was up 30 and only played their starters the first five minutes of the second half and just cruised to the win. Bay View didn't run much of an offense and just played playground ball going one on one and throwing up some wild shots. For Onalaska the story was the Thomas brothers who appear to really carry them on the offensive end.
Top Players
Tony Thomas 6'6 senior Onalaska- Shoots the three very very well and runs the court well. Can also take his defender in the post.
Matt Thomas 6'2 sophomore Onalaska- Just a great shooter. Can hit the three or pull up for the mid range jumper. Flat out scorer.
Juvonta Leach 6'0 senior Bay View- Got almost all his points in the fourth quarter when the game was over but, was able to drive to the hoop and score while also drawing the foul.
Top Scorers
Onalaska- T. Thomas 17 M. Thomas 17 Nick Klos 11
Bay View- Leach 16 Tory Marson Jr 8 De'arlo Berkhalter 5
Conclusion on Wisconsin teams
After seeing Aquinas play for the first time I have to say that they are my pick to make it to state for D3. I'm not sure that they will win state but, they will for sure make it their. They are athletic, tall, and have a star to lead them in Koenig and will probably be the same for the next two years. Milwaukee King wasn't all that impressive but, the second half they looked more like the team I expected. They have a very good top nine players and still don't have Bowers back yet which will add a solid post player for them. Is a sectional team but, coming out of a tough Milwaukee/Madison sectional it will be tough to get to state. Madison Memorial was less then impressive and if they play this way they will probably get beat by Sun Prairie or a Milwaukee team before state but, if they play like they truly can I think they can still win state. Onalaska is a really good D2 team but, with the loss of their top player 6'8 Nick Arenz it will be tough to win state but, coming out of the north they can still probably get to state. As for Milwaukee Bay View it's going to be a long season.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Madison Memorial outheights Madison East
I know outheights really isn't a word but, it was the best way to describe how Memorial was able to defeat East. Coming in a knew that East had a short team but, when they came out for warm ups I realized how short they actually are. On their active roster East's tallest players were 6'3 and a three 6'1 players and two of those 6'1 players didn't see the court. At all times East almost always had three 5'9 players on the court and typically their second tallest player was senior Nimrod Hilliard who is listed at a very generous 6'0 and plays point guard and rarely goes inside unless he is driving. Memorial starts four players that are 6'4 or taller and had a 6'4 and 6'6 player off the bench.
From the beginning Memorials height advantage was evident as they looked to get the ball to the inside. Memorial seemed to missed alot of easy shots early on but, it didn't matter and it seemed they were going to score every time they got the ball. The biggest benefactor of this was 6'5 senior Miles Chamberlain, who was sporting the protective goggles after being out with an eye injury the past few weeks. Chamberlain was able to post up much smaller defenders and score at will. The other player that really benefited from his height advantage was 6'5 junior Junior Lomomba who had things going from the get go and kept it going throughout the entire game. Madison East was able to keep the game close by giving a 100% effort on both ends of the court and knocking down some three point shots head lined by Hillard and 5'9 junior Rudy Bentley. After one quarter Memorial was up 23-17. Second quarter Hillard started to get things going driving to the hoop. Every time Hillard drove it seemed that he was able to score or get fouled and go to the line. Hillard was the only one keeping East in the game and on the other side Memorial was able to expand their lead by hitting some threes. Lomomba and 6'5 senior Tre Burnette which each able to hit at least one three point shot in the second. At halftime Memorial was able to extend their lead to 47-32.
In the second half things really started to cool off as East scored only nine points in the third quarter while Memorial had 14 going into a bit of cruise control in this one. I believe Hillard took maybe one shot in the third quarter and East went ice cold from the outside. Memorial was having fun looking to throw some ally oops to each other and looking to make the spectacular play. After three Memorial was up 61-41. Memorial seemed to lax a bit in the fourth quarter and East put the pressure on forcing turnovers and cut the lead to 13 in the fourth before Lomomba and company finally put the peddle down and clear the bench as they got the 79-61 lead. Memorial probably doubled if not tripled East on the glass.
Top Players
Junior Lomomba 6'5 junior Memorial- Has played great this year but, probably had his best game of the year as he was hitting from the outside, scoring on the offensive glass, scoring driving to the hoop, and throw in a couple dunks.
Miles Chamberlain 6'5 senior Memorial- Nice to see him back after being out so long with injury. Really looks much more assertive on the offensive end. Seems to be alittle bit quicker and did a really nice job posting up smaller defenders.
Tre Burnette 6'5 senior Memorial- Finally appears to have his shot back from a year ago. His was a huge clutch shooter a year ago and is showing that again this year. Hit a pair of nice threes in this game and his free throw shooting actually resembled the Burnette of a year ago.
Nimrod Hillard 6'0 senior East- Always a fun guy to watch play. Plays with an extremely high energy level and don't think their is a defender out there that can consistently stay in front of him. Gets to the hoop at will where he can finish over and around bigger defenders.
Stephen Williams Jr 6'1 junior East- Did a nice job battling against players that were at least three inches taller them him but, was able to get most of his points on the offensive glass scoring against the bigger defenders.
Box Score
Memorial 79- Lomomba 32 Burnertte 19 Chamberlain 15 Weah 5 Brendan Ortiz 3 Ngijol Songolo 2 Thomas Parkman 2 Trevell Scurlock 1 Adam Cooley 0 Cameron Nankivil 0
East 61- Hillard 26 Williams Jr 9 Jermel McLin 8 Bentley 7 Emani Brathwaite 3 Darius Kelly 3 Alex Redd 3 Tyrone Galvin 2 Speedy Amara 0 Austin Knorr 0
Memorial appears to be hitting their stride now and are only missing one starter with the return of Chamberlain. East is always going to struggle in games where their threes aren't falling and they can't push the tempo.
From the beginning Memorials height advantage was evident as they looked to get the ball to the inside. Memorial seemed to missed alot of easy shots early on but, it didn't matter and it seemed they were going to score every time they got the ball. The biggest benefactor of this was 6'5 senior Miles Chamberlain, who was sporting the protective goggles after being out with an eye injury the past few weeks. Chamberlain was able to post up much smaller defenders and score at will. The other player that really benefited from his height advantage was 6'5 junior Junior Lomomba who had things going from the get go and kept it going throughout the entire game. Madison East was able to keep the game close by giving a 100% effort on both ends of the court and knocking down some three point shots head lined by Hillard and 5'9 junior Rudy Bentley. After one quarter Memorial was up 23-17. Second quarter Hillard started to get things going driving to the hoop. Every time Hillard drove it seemed that he was able to score or get fouled and go to the line. Hillard was the only one keeping East in the game and on the other side Memorial was able to expand their lead by hitting some threes. Lomomba and 6'5 senior Tre Burnette which each able to hit at least one three point shot in the second. At halftime Memorial was able to extend their lead to 47-32.
In the second half things really started to cool off as East scored only nine points in the third quarter while Memorial had 14 going into a bit of cruise control in this one. I believe Hillard took maybe one shot in the third quarter and East went ice cold from the outside. Memorial was having fun looking to throw some ally oops to each other and looking to make the spectacular play. After three Memorial was up 61-41. Memorial seemed to lax a bit in the fourth quarter and East put the pressure on forcing turnovers and cut the lead to 13 in the fourth before Lomomba and company finally put the peddle down and clear the bench as they got the 79-61 lead. Memorial probably doubled if not tripled East on the glass.
Top Players
Junior Lomomba 6'5 junior Memorial- Has played great this year but, probably had his best game of the year as he was hitting from the outside, scoring on the offensive glass, scoring driving to the hoop, and throw in a couple dunks.
Miles Chamberlain 6'5 senior Memorial- Nice to see him back after being out so long with injury. Really looks much more assertive on the offensive end. Seems to be alittle bit quicker and did a really nice job posting up smaller defenders.
Tre Burnette 6'5 senior Memorial- Finally appears to have his shot back from a year ago. His was a huge clutch shooter a year ago and is showing that again this year. Hit a pair of nice threes in this game and his free throw shooting actually resembled the Burnette of a year ago.
Nimrod Hillard 6'0 senior East- Always a fun guy to watch play. Plays with an extremely high energy level and don't think their is a defender out there that can consistently stay in front of him. Gets to the hoop at will where he can finish over and around bigger defenders.
Stephen Williams Jr 6'1 junior East- Did a nice job battling against players that were at least three inches taller them him but, was able to get most of his points on the offensive glass scoring against the bigger defenders.
Box Score
Memorial 79- Lomomba 32 Burnertte 19 Chamberlain 15 Weah 5 Brendan Ortiz 3 Ngijol Songolo 2 Thomas Parkman 2 Trevell Scurlock 1 Adam Cooley 0 Cameron Nankivil 0
East 61- Hillard 26 Williams Jr 9 Jermel McLin 8 Bentley 7 Emani Brathwaite 3 Darius Kelly 3 Alex Redd 3 Tyrone Galvin 2 Speedy Amara 0 Austin Knorr 0
Memorial appears to be hitting their stride now and are only missing one starter with the return of Chamberlain. East is always going to struggle in games where their threes aren't falling and they can't push the tempo.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Fifth Round State Team Rankings
Another week has ended which means that it is time for another round of rankings for the state. The last rankings saw alot of changes while this round doesn't seem to show as many.
Division One
Top three remain the same with no one losing this week. Marshfield and Superior were both big losers this week as Marshfield dropped their first game of the year and fall to #9 while Superior lost their second and third games of the year both to out of state teams and drop to HM. Everyone else won out this week and move up. Pulaski lost twice last week and fall out of the rankings all together. Everyone else remains the same
1. Milwaukee King
2. Appleton East
3. Madison Memorial
4. Depere
5. Germantown
6. Milwaukee Riverside
7. Wisconsin Rapids
8. Arrowhead
9. Marshfield
10. Kenosha Bradford
HM
Milwaukee Hamilton
Milwaukee Marquette
Racine Case
Milwaukee Washington
Waukesha West
Division Two
Outside of the top four teams in division two their has been alot of shakeups but, this week things have remained fairly similar with one through six all remaining the same. Pewaukee lost their second game of the year and fall to HM while Lacrosse Logan lost their third game of the year and also fall to HM and New Berlin West lost their fourth game and fall out of the rankings as well. Madison Edgewood was missed last week on a mistake by my part being that I thought that they lost to Port Washington a week ago but, in reality they beat Port and then defeated D1 Middleton, so they take the #9 spot as everyone else moves up. Tosa East remains in the top 10 despite having lost four games but, all those games with the exception of one has been to a top 10 team. Honestly there really isn't anyone else that sticks out that could even be ranked HM in D2.
1. Waunakee
2. Onalaska
3. Monroe
4. New Richmond
5. Seymour
6. Rice Lake
7. Wisconsin Lutheran
8. Two Rivers
9. Madison Edgewood
10. Wauwatosa East
HM
Pewaukee
Lacrosse Logan
Division Three
Only big change towards the top was Brillion losing a tough game to Ronaclli which drops them to #6 with everyone else moving up and East Troy is at #7 because I just missed them last week. Platteville lost twice last week and fall to HM as does Omro who lost one game last week. Viroqua lost to River Valley but, still hang on to #10 while Dominican leaps them to #9. Mauston lost once and fall further on the HM while Lodi lost twice falling out of the rankings. Spooner is another team to fall out of the rankings after losing twice last week and Ellsworth lost to top 10 D2 New Richmond and fall further in HM. Milwaukee Northwest lost as well and fall out of the rankings.
1. Racine St. Catherines
2. St. Johns Military
3. Manitowoc Roncalli
4. GET
5. Lacrosse Aquinas
6. Brillion
7. East Troy
8. River Valley
9. Whitefish Bay Dominican
10. Viroqua
HM
Northwestern
Prairie du Chien
Omro
Winneconne
Mauston
Hope School
Ellsworth
Division Four
Top seven remained the same with no one losing. Granstburg lost their second game of the year allowing everyone to move up as they fell to HM. Rosholt lost to Amherst and flip flops with Bonduel in HM but, that was about the only changes.
1. Blair Taylor
2. Oostburg
3. Racine Lutheran
4. Darlington
5. Eau Claire Regis
6. Marathon
7. Amherst
8. Colby
9. Cuba City
10. Laconia
HM
Cameron
Grantsburg
Aburndale
Bonduel
Rosholt
Divison Five
Everyone in the top 10 won out this week with the exception of Luck who lost their second game and fall to HM and Seneca who falls to #9. Everything else remains the same.
1. Benton
2. Sheboygan Lutheran
3. Green Bay NEW Luthern
4. Randolph
5. Clayton
6. Suring
7. Prentice
8. Gilmanton
9. Seneca
10. Eau Claire Immanuel
HM
Luck
Hillsboro
Barneveld
Royal
Bayfield
Wisconsin School for the Deaf
Well those are my rankings for the fifth round. As you'll noticed the rankings are changing less and less and will probably not change a whole lot more as the season goes on. Debating for next week of adding all one lose teams to the rankings since most of them are ranked already. Particularly with divisions like D2 where all these teams are already ranked.
Division One
Top three remain the same with no one losing this week. Marshfield and Superior were both big losers this week as Marshfield dropped their first game of the year and fall to #9 while Superior lost their second and third games of the year both to out of state teams and drop to HM. Everyone else won out this week and move up. Pulaski lost twice last week and fall out of the rankings all together. Everyone else remains the same
1. Milwaukee King
2. Appleton East
3. Madison Memorial
4. Depere
5. Germantown
6. Milwaukee Riverside
7. Wisconsin Rapids
8. Arrowhead
9. Marshfield
10. Kenosha Bradford
HM
Milwaukee Hamilton
Milwaukee Marquette
Racine Case
Milwaukee Washington
Waukesha West
Division Two
Outside of the top four teams in division two their has been alot of shakeups but, this week things have remained fairly similar with one through six all remaining the same. Pewaukee lost their second game of the year and fall to HM while Lacrosse Logan lost their third game of the year and also fall to HM and New Berlin West lost their fourth game and fall out of the rankings as well. Madison Edgewood was missed last week on a mistake by my part being that I thought that they lost to Port Washington a week ago but, in reality they beat Port and then defeated D1 Middleton, so they take the #9 spot as everyone else moves up. Tosa East remains in the top 10 despite having lost four games but, all those games with the exception of one has been to a top 10 team. Honestly there really isn't anyone else that sticks out that could even be ranked HM in D2.
1. Waunakee
2. Onalaska
3. Monroe
4. New Richmond
5. Seymour
6. Rice Lake
7. Wisconsin Lutheran
8. Two Rivers
9. Madison Edgewood
10. Wauwatosa East
HM
Pewaukee
Lacrosse Logan
Division Three
Only big change towards the top was Brillion losing a tough game to Ronaclli which drops them to #6 with everyone else moving up and East Troy is at #7 because I just missed them last week. Platteville lost twice last week and fall to HM as does Omro who lost one game last week. Viroqua lost to River Valley but, still hang on to #10 while Dominican leaps them to #9. Mauston lost once and fall further on the HM while Lodi lost twice falling out of the rankings. Spooner is another team to fall out of the rankings after losing twice last week and Ellsworth lost to top 10 D2 New Richmond and fall further in HM. Milwaukee Northwest lost as well and fall out of the rankings.
1. Racine St. Catherines
2. St. Johns Military
3. Manitowoc Roncalli
4. GET
5. Lacrosse Aquinas
6. Brillion
7. East Troy
8. River Valley
9. Whitefish Bay Dominican
10. Viroqua
HM
Northwestern
Prairie du Chien
Omro
Winneconne
Mauston
Hope School
Ellsworth
Division Four
Top seven remained the same with no one losing. Granstburg lost their second game of the year allowing everyone to move up as they fell to HM. Rosholt lost to Amherst and flip flops with Bonduel in HM but, that was about the only changes.
1. Blair Taylor
2. Oostburg
3. Racine Lutheran
4. Darlington
5. Eau Claire Regis
6. Marathon
7. Amherst
8. Colby
9. Cuba City
10. Laconia
HM
Cameron
Grantsburg
Aburndale
Bonduel
Rosholt
Divison Five
Everyone in the top 10 won out this week with the exception of Luck who lost their second game and fall to HM and Seneca who falls to #9. Everything else remains the same.
1. Benton
2. Sheboygan Lutheran
3. Green Bay NEW Luthern
4. Randolph
5. Clayton
6. Suring
7. Prentice
8. Gilmanton
9. Seneca
10. Eau Claire Immanuel
HM
Luck
Hillsboro
Barneveld
Royal
Bayfield
Wisconsin School for the Deaf
Well those are my rankings for the fifth round. As you'll noticed the rankings are changing less and less and will probably not change a whole lot more as the season goes on. Debating for next week of adding all one lose teams to the rankings since most of them are ranked already. Particularly with divisions like D2 where all these teams are already ranked.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Back with Randolph over Green Lake
Finally back with the some game action after being off for almost two weeks. Checked out a top division five matchup between Green Lake and Randolph. Randolph is always a perennial power and Green Lake has 6'6 junior Matt Van Scyoc. In researching some information I found that Green Lake has an enrollment of under 100 students so I figured it would be a small school and gym and Green Lake didn't disappoint. The gym was smaller then my middle school gym as they only had bleachers on one half of the gym with very limited seating.
After watching the JV game where Green Lake lost 50-9 and went about eight minutes without even getting a shot off I was alittle nervous that the Varsity game would have a similar result. Luckly though Green Lake had Van Scyoc who really carried Green Lake and wouldn't allow them to be blown out. Coming out Randolph played their normal man to man defense and had 6'3 sophomore Aaron Retzlaff guarding Van Scyoc. Retzlaff did a very good job guarding Van Scyoc and made things difficult early for him. Van Scyoc preferred to play on the perimeter and I felt that he would of been better off trying to post the smaller defender. The few times though he did go in the post Randolph did a very good job of defending him as a team bringing over weak side help over the top. Luckly for Green Lake 5'10 senior Curtis Morgan got his shot going early to carry them but, after one they were down 14-13. On the other side Randolph ran their offense very deliberately against the Green Lake 2-3 zone defense. They would typically find Retzlaff or 6'4 senior TJ Huizenga around the free throw line and they would then find the other one cutting on the baseline for the easy layup or in Huizenga's case take one dribble to the hoop and score on some nice up and under layups. Randolph was also able to get the transition game going primarily when Huizenga would get the steal or rebound. Huizenga really looks to push the ball every opportunity he gets. When Retzlaff went to the bench Van Scyoc was able to get things going and got Green Lake a 21-20 halftime lead.
In the second half though Randolph really got things going controlling the glass on both ends of the court and playing some solid defense forcing Green Lake to turn the ball over. Randolph went up 34-29 after three quarters behind a pair of threes from 6'2 senior Brian Kampstra. The game appeared to be going to blow out stage when once again Retzlaff went to the bench and Van Scyoc got hot hitting a pair of threes from the outside. In the end though Green Lake was forced to foul and Randolph got the 52-40 win. Depth was probably a big issue though as Green Lake played only six players the entire game and three of which never sat the entire game. On the other side Randoloph played eight players in their rotation and each player knows their job so well and run their stuff so well one through eight.
Top Players
Matt Van Scyoc 6'6 junior Green Lake- Has really improved from a year ago. When he gets the ball is ready to shoot immediately and can shoot over most defenders. Has a very nice shot from 15 foot out to the three point line.
Curtis Morgan 5'10 senior Green Lake- Has a very nice step back shot that he seemed to be able to get off at any time even when he really wasn't open and over taller defenders.
TJ Huizenga 6'4 senior Randolph- Still has the great defense that he came to be known for a year ago but, has really improved on the offensive side. Does a nice job of using his length to finish at the rim in a variety of ways, solid rebounder as well.
Aaron Retzlaff 6'3 sophomore Randolph- Didn't do much scoring but, just looks like a great player and is pretty built for a sophomore. Did a very nice job of finding open teammates in good positions and as mention earlier did a great job of guarding the bigger Van Scoyc.
Box Score
Green Lake 40- Van Scyoc 23 Noah Polcyn 8 Morgan 7 Nate Andrews 2 Zane Manning 0 Kuba Tordoff 0
Randolph 52- Huizenga 24 Kampstra 8 Cody Reuter 7 Retzlaff 4 Mike Thoreson 4 Jay Peters 2 Brandon Zimmerman 2 Jon Roberts 1 Miles Taylor 0
Green Lake will only go as far as Matt Van Scyoc will carry them but, being in D5 that will carry them pretty far and as long as he is hot they will win their regional and find their way to sectionals. Randolph is maybe not as strong as years past but, they still are a pretty good team and will probably only get challenged by the likes of Benton, Green Bay NEW Lutheran, and Sheboygan Lutheran, unless they have a terrible terrible game or someone gets extremely hot, which can happen any give game. Randolph will again make it to state but, I don't know if they will be my pick to win it.
After watching the JV game where Green Lake lost 50-9 and went about eight minutes without even getting a shot off I was alittle nervous that the Varsity game would have a similar result. Luckly though Green Lake had Van Scyoc who really carried Green Lake and wouldn't allow them to be blown out. Coming out Randolph played their normal man to man defense and had 6'3 sophomore Aaron Retzlaff guarding Van Scyoc. Retzlaff did a very good job guarding Van Scyoc and made things difficult early for him. Van Scyoc preferred to play on the perimeter and I felt that he would of been better off trying to post the smaller defender. The few times though he did go in the post Randolph did a very good job of defending him as a team bringing over weak side help over the top. Luckly for Green Lake 5'10 senior Curtis Morgan got his shot going early to carry them but, after one they were down 14-13. On the other side Randolph ran their offense very deliberately against the Green Lake 2-3 zone defense. They would typically find Retzlaff or 6'4 senior TJ Huizenga around the free throw line and they would then find the other one cutting on the baseline for the easy layup or in Huizenga's case take one dribble to the hoop and score on some nice up and under layups. Randolph was also able to get the transition game going primarily when Huizenga would get the steal or rebound. Huizenga really looks to push the ball every opportunity he gets. When Retzlaff went to the bench Van Scyoc was able to get things going and got Green Lake a 21-20 halftime lead.
In the second half though Randolph really got things going controlling the glass on both ends of the court and playing some solid defense forcing Green Lake to turn the ball over. Randolph went up 34-29 after three quarters behind a pair of threes from 6'2 senior Brian Kampstra. The game appeared to be going to blow out stage when once again Retzlaff went to the bench and Van Scyoc got hot hitting a pair of threes from the outside. In the end though Green Lake was forced to foul and Randolph got the 52-40 win. Depth was probably a big issue though as Green Lake played only six players the entire game and three of which never sat the entire game. On the other side Randoloph played eight players in their rotation and each player knows their job so well and run their stuff so well one through eight.
Top Players
Matt Van Scyoc 6'6 junior Green Lake- Has really improved from a year ago. When he gets the ball is ready to shoot immediately and can shoot over most defenders. Has a very nice shot from 15 foot out to the three point line.
Curtis Morgan 5'10 senior Green Lake- Has a very nice step back shot that he seemed to be able to get off at any time even when he really wasn't open and over taller defenders.
TJ Huizenga 6'4 senior Randolph- Still has the great defense that he came to be known for a year ago but, has really improved on the offensive side. Does a nice job of using his length to finish at the rim in a variety of ways, solid rebounder as well.
Aaron Retzlaff 6'3 sophomore Randolph- Didn't do much scoring but, just looks like a great player and is pretty built for a sophomore. Did a very nice job of finding open teammates in good positions and as mention earlier did a great job of guarding the bigger Van Scoyc.
Box Score
Green Lake 40- Van Scyoc 23 Noah Polcyn 8 Morgan 7 Nate Andrews 2 Zane Manning 0 Kuba Tordoff 0
Randolph 52- Huizenga 24 Kampstra 8 Cody Reuter 7 Retzlaff 4 Mike Thoreson 4 Jay Peters 2 Brandon Zimmerman 2 Jon Roberts 1 Miles Taylor 0
Green Lake will only go as far as Matt Van Scyoc will carry them but, being in D5 that will carry them pretty far and as long as he is hot they will win their regional and find their way to sectionals. Randolph is maybe not as strong as years past but, they still are a pretty good team and will probably only get challenged by the likes of Benton, Green Bay NEW Lutheran, and Sheboygan Lutheran, unless they have a terrible terrible game or someone gets extremely hot, which can happen any give game. Randolph will again make it to state but, I don't know if they will be my pick to win it.
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