Final State Rankings

The season is coming to an end and here are my final rankings of the year for the State. Looking are my rankings I can truly say that they are just for fun as some of my #1 rank teams I don't even have winning state.

Division One
Really not any changes for D1 as only three teams lost. Arrowhead fell to #8, Milwaukee Hamilton lost to Riverside and dropped one spot to #9, and Madison Memorial lost to Madison East and fall to #15. Pulaski, Kenosha Bradford, Waukesha West, and Sun Prairie are all right on the edge of being ranked.

1.Appleton East
2. Milwaukee Riverside
3. Germantown
4. De Pere
5. Milwaukee King
6. Wisconsin Rapids
7. Racine Case
8. Arrowhead
9. Milwaukee Hamilton
10. Bay Port
11. Beloit
12. Sheboygan North
13. Burlington
14. Franklin
15. Madison Memorial

Division Two
Top half of D2 stayed pretty much the same as usual and the bottom half changed quite a bit as usual. Onalaska lost their second game of the year and fell to #5. Madison Edgewood and Rice Lake both lost and fell to #13 and #15, while Lacrosse Logan fell out of the rankings all together. River Falls makes their first appearance after defeating Rice Lake and winning the Big Rivers Conference. Milwaukee Pius, Whitefish Bay, and Monona Grove are just on the outside looking in.

1. Waunakee
2. Wisconsin Lutheran
3. New Richmond
4. Two Rivers
5. Onalaska
6. Seymour
7. Monroe
8. New Berlin West
9. Mcfarland
10. Wauwatosa East
11. New Berlin Eisenhower
12. Antigo
13. Madison Edgewood
14. River Falls
15. Rice Lake

Division Three
Not a lot of changes this week. GET lost to the new #1 Aquinas and fall to #5. The only other team that lost was Northwestern and they were replaced by Altoona. Northwestern, Lake Mills, and Clinton were the ones just outside of the top 15.

1. Lacrosse Aquinas
2. Brillion
3. East Troy
4. Manitowoc Roncalli
5. GET
6. Whitefish Bay Dominican
7. Lakeside Lutheran
8. Ladysmith
9. Omro
10. Racine St. Catherines
11. St Johns Military
12. River Valley
13. Kiel
14. Hope School
15. Altoona

Division Four
Racine Lutheran lost to a top D3 team in Dominican and fall to #6. Cuba City lost to Darlington and fell to #11. Bangor lost twice and are replaced by Young Coggs Prep in the rankings. Grantsburg and Crandon find themselves just outside the rankings.

1. Blair Taylor
2. Oostburg
3. Eau Claire Regis
4. Darlington
5. Laconia
6. Racine Lutheran
7. Amherst
8. Aburndale
9. Marathon
10. Peshtigo
11. Cuba City
12. Wild Rose
13. Colfax
14. Colby
15. Young Coggs Prep


Division Four
Prentice and Gilmanton both lost but, both loses were to teams ranked in D4 so they each only dropped a spot to #5 and #6. Sheboygan Area Lutheran lost to a pair of top D4 teams which allows them to stay in the rankings in #14. Both Barneveld and Columbus Catholic lost but hang on to their spots at #13 and #15.
1. Benton
2. Randolph
3. Clayton
4. Seneca
5. Suring
6. Prentice
7. Gilmanton
8. Wauzeka Steuben
9. Hillsboro
10. Green Bay NEW Lutheran
11. Mellen
12. Luck
13. Barneveld
14. Sheboygan Area Lutheran
15. Columbus Catholic


Those are my final state rankings to conclude the regular season of 2010-2011. Post season starts tomorrow!

State Predictions

With the state tournament starting in just two days here are my predictions for state. I will only go into D1 deeper while just making mention of the other four divisions.


Division One
UW Whitewater Sectional

My Pick
Milwaukee King

Top Contenders
Milwaukee Riverside
Madison Memorial

Long Shots
Sun Prairie
Milwaukee Marquette

All year long I had Madison Memorial going to state and possibly even winning state but, they just have struggled against teams that they should be beating easily all year long. In the end my common sense over took my gut and I went with Milwaukee King. King has the coaching and the history of going to state and have a talent team and have already beaten Memorial handily. Riverside has the best record and will probably be alot of people's picks but, I'm just not sure this is their year and might lose to King in a rematch. Sun Prairie has the talent to get to state but, just haven't brought it night in and night out. Marquette was at state a year ago and state last year and still have their top two players back.

Al Mcquire Sectional
My Pick
Milwaukee Hamilton

Top Contenders
Burlington
Beloit
Kenosha Bradford
Franklin
Racine Case

Hamilton was hurt hard when Elgin Cook but, I think they have a coach that will pull them together and have the most talent. This is the one sectional that doesn't have a clear cut winner and anyone of the top six teams could win this sectional.

UW Oshkosh Sectional
My Pick
Appleton East

Top Contenders
Germantown
Arrowhead

Long Shots
Waukesha West
Wisconsin Rapids
Oshkosh North

East has been number one nearly the entire season and they are undefeated. Germantown has lost only one game and Arrowhead only two and they both have very tough schedules. Waukesha West has been a top 15 team most of the year and Rapids has only lost one game but, I just don't think they see the same competition night in and night out that the other teams see. Oshkosh North is an athletic team that has beaten some very good teams.

UW Stevens Point Sectional
My Pick
Bay Port

Top Contenders
Depere

Long Shots
DC Everest
Marshfield
Superior
Sheboygan North
Pulaski

Really comes down to Bay Port and De Pere but, there are a handful of other teams that have been in the top 15 all year long but, they have play the competition of the top two teams.

State
King over Hamilton
Appleton East over Bay Port

Appleton East over King

Division Two
Marshfield Sectional
Onalaska over Antigo

Top Contenders
New Richmond
Rice Lake
River Falls

Janesville Sectional
Waunakee over Waterford

Top Contenders
Monroe
Madison Edgewood

Brown County Sectional
Seymour over Beaver Dam

Top Contenders
Two Rivers

Al Mcguire Sectional
Wisconsin Lutheran over Wauwatosa East

Top Contenders
Whitefish Bay
New Berlin West
New Berlin Eisenhower

State
Waunakee over Onalaska
Seymour over Wisconsin Lutheran

Seymour over Waunakee

Division Three
Somerset Sectional
Lacrosse Aquinas over Ladysmith

Top Contenders
GET
Northwestern
Altoona

Middleton Sectional
River Valley over Lakeside Lutheran

Top Contenders
Lodi
Prairie du Chien

Menasha Sectional
Manitowoc Roncalli over Little Chute

Top Contenders
Omro
Brillion
Kiel

Al Mcguire Sectional
Dominican over Kettle Moraine Lutheran

Top Contenders
St. Johns Military
Racine St. Catherines
East Troy
Hope School

State
Aquinas over River Valley
Dominican over Roncalli

Aquinas over Dominican

Division Four
Chippewa Falls Sectional
Eau Claire Regis over Grantsburg

Top Contenders
Colfax
Colby

Baraboo Sectional
Blair Taylor over Cuba City

Top Contenders
Darlington
Westby
Bangor

Stevens Point Sectional
Aburndale over Peshtigo

Top Contenders
Amherst
Marathon

Whitefish Bay Sectional
Racine Lutheran over Oostburg

Top Contenders
Laconia
Ozaukee
Young Coggs Prep

State
Blair Taylor over Regis
Racine Lutheran over Auburndale

Blair Taylor over Racine Lutheran

Division Five
Spooner Sectional
Clayton over Luck

Top Contenders
Mellen
Prentice

Lacrosse Central Sectional
Benton over Hillsboro

Top Contenders
Royal
Seneca
Gilmanton

Waupaca Sectional
Green Bay NEW Lutheran over Laona

Top Contenders
Suring

Watertown Sectional
Randolph over Barneveld

Top Contenders
Green Lake
Sheboygan Area Lutheran

State
Benton over Clayton
Randolph over GB NEW Lutheran

Randolph over Benton

There are my picks for state.

Waunakee over Madison Edgewood

On Thursday night took in a matchup of two of the top teams in division two. Waunakee the current #1 team in D2 and Edgewood who has been in the top 15 for most of the year and have had an up and down season. Waunakee had already defeated Monroe earlier in the year who is the top contender in their regional and this was their chance to get a big win over the number two contender in the regional. Waunakee came away with a pretty impressive 61-48 win in this game, without one of their best players and starting point guard 6'2 senior Jared Staege. For whatever reason he wasn't suited up for the game but, Waunakee didn't miss a beat, with the exception of a couple early turnovers against Edgewood's full court press.



Waunakee was their normal selves to start the game. Very patient on the offensive end and looking to get the ball to the inside, playing great defense, and rebounding extremely well. Early on it was 6'0 senior Zak Hougland that looked to take the ball to the hoop and score and then it went to their regular scorer 6'2 senior Beau Murray who was hot as ever from mid range from the right side of the court. I'm not sure if it's the offense Waunakee runs, the fact that Murray is right handed and drives right more, or simply that he's more comfortable from the right side but, Murray takes the fast majority of his shots from the right side and normally from about 15 foot and in. I've never seen a kid love to settle for the 15 footer from the baseline like Murray does and hits the shot more times then not. Edgewood's outside shots weren't falling early and normally the can get the second and third shot attempts because they rebound so well but, against Waunakee that wasn't happening. The biggest reason for that was 6'5 senior Austin Maly who dominated the boards on both ends from the tip. This was the most impressive overall game I have seen Maly play and the only thing that stopped him was a small cut or scratch on his leg, that required some care. Edgewood was looking very flat and appeared to be in some danger of getting blown out when they got a huge lift off their bench from 6'2 sophomore Matt Ripple who came in and twice had back door cuts that led to easy layups for himself. After the first quarter Waunakee was up 20-9 and at the half they were up 38-24.



In the second half Edgewood's star 6'5 junior Austin Arians finally got going. In the first half Waunakee did a good job of finding Arians but, in the second half he found some openings and started knocking down some shots. Arians is tall enough that if he does get the ball he can shoot over most of the defenders that guard him and when he's in the zone nearly impossible to stop. For Waunakee Murray continue to stay hot and Maly continued to control the glass. Edgewood once again got a big lift from Ripple who hit a three early in the fourth to give the Crusaders some life but, in the end Waunakee was just too much as a team. Final score 61-48, forgot to write down what the score was after the third.

Top Players
Austin Arians 6'5 junior Edgewood- Really carried Edgewood tonight as his teammates just couldn't get the shots to fall. Second half he just didn't miss.
Matt Ripple 6'2 sophomore Edgewood- Was big off the bench. Only made three baskets but, everyone was big and saw some big minutes late in the game.
Beau Murray 6'2 senior Waunakee- Was his usual solid self. Not sure if he missed in the second half also did a nice job of helping bring the ball up the court at times.
Austin Maly 6'5 senior Waunakee- Absolute beast on the inside and really controlled things on both ends.
Andrew Dorscheid 5'10 senior Waunakee- Really stepped up big starting for Staege. Was really fearless driving to the lane and scoring. Only had a couple of turnovers early on but, was solid overall with the ball.

Box Score
Edgewood- Arians 21 Ripple 7 Brock Pavlik 5 Bruin Armwald 4 Jack Zwettler 3 Spencer Brink 2 Hans Meixelsperger 2 Austin Papenthien 2 Chris Wells 2 Dan Drabik 0 Jay Kinzel 0
Waunakee- Murray 21 A Maly 11 Dorscheid 7 Hougland 7 Jacob Soper 7 Ben Cable 5 Will Decorah 3 Ross Maly 0 Joe Tagarelli 0 Justin Block 0

Waunakee appears to be as solid as ever and appear poised to make a deep playoff run and should make it to state they only real contender that I haven't seen is Lakeside Lutheran and I just don't think they've seen a team like Waunakee playing in the Capitol Conference. Edgewood on the other side has the chance to go as far as Waunakee before they'll bow out. Edgewood does have Monroe which should be a very very good game just like their two previous meetings with the winner more then likely getting their second shot at Waunakee but, I just don't see either team beating them.

Wisconsin Dells over Monona Grove

Before I start my talk about this game just had a couple quick follow ups from some recent post. I had mentioned that TJ Huizenga for Randolph didn't look good in their game against Waunakee and just didn't seem right and it turns out that he has been pretty sick as of late with bronchitis. Hopefully he will be back to full strength come playoff time. The other update was a mistake on my part. I had said that Jaron Schaffner for Sun Prairie was out for eligibility reasons but, in reality he was out with an injury and actually had to have surgery earlier this month. This is good news because you hate to see a talented kid sitting for a mistake that they made off the court but, also bad news obviously because the kid was hurt. I'm really hoping that he will be back to full strength and in the rotation for the playoffs because Sun Prairie needs all their players at full strength for them to make a deep run in the playoffs.

Now on to the recent game that I went to. I finally got a chance to see my alma mater Wisconsin Dells play this year for the first time. I knew the Dells had a very young team and that they were pretty good, had just recently clinched a conference title, and didn't have a senior on the roster. Their current sophomore class had been talked up for a very long time since they were in junior high. This sophomore class truly live and breath basketball. During the summer you can always find them playing basketball at Bowman Park or at the Just a Game fieldhouse. They have been playing pickup basketball with high schoolers and grown men since they were in seventh grade so seeing their success at such young age is no surprise.

Coming into the game I knew it would hinge on the Wisconsin Dells ability to stop Monona Grove's star 6'0 senior Zach Zweifel. Surprisingly enough Wisconsin Dells came out in a 1-2-2 zone defense which the stayed in the entire game and ultimately won them the game. I don't know if they have played this all year or not but, in the past the Dells has relied on a man to man defense and occasionally gone to a 1-3-1 zone defense. Dells is a very undersized team so it makes sense that they would play a zone defense that would allow them to trap the ball out top and negate some of their size disadvantage underneath. The zone defense really frustrated MG all night long and forced them into turnovers where they simply just threw the ball away. MG rarely got the ball inside to take advantage of their height but, I do recall a couple times where they did get second and third opportunities at the hoop when they got rebound after rebound but, were still unable to put the ball in the hoop. I kept waiting for Zweifel to take over but, he never really did and didn't seem to demand the ball as much as he did when I saw Monona Grove earlier in the year.

On the other side Wisconsin Dells didn't really look to get the ball inside at all. The really just penetrated and dished throughout most of the game and took a lot of three point shots or drove to the hoop. They appeared to be running some form of the dribble drive motion offense. It seemed everyone hit a three point shot as four or their five starters hit a three point shot including 6'3 junior Trevor Hirst who hit a pair of three pointers from the corner in the first half and then hit a third in the second half. 5'10 sophomore MJ Delmore is the guy that runs the offense and he did a great job of penetrating and finding open teammates and had some very nice passes in the transition game to set up open teammates. When he does shot the ball though he has a very smooth shot that is just pretty to watch and seems to usually fall which makes his penetration game even more difficult to defense because your worried his going to knock down the outside shot. 6'3 sophomore Shane Wimann is one of the team's captions and is there go to player on the offensive end. Wimann is usually one of the more solid kids on the court as he could easily pass for a senior and uses his strength to penetrate to the hoop, grab rebounds, or post up. He really has a completely game. His only down side is his ball handling skills and he is quick for a kid his size but, could probably use some more quickness too. If Wimann can grow another two or three inches he would no doubt be a scholarship player and that is with the fact that he could be a scholarship player even if he doesn't grow. Wimann showed a very nice post game when he did post up. He has a very nice fade away shot on the baseline or can take the ball strong to the hoop. Wimann did most of his scoring driving on the taller, slower defensive players. Wisconsin Dells got the impressive 57-43 win.

Top Players
Max Gehrmann 5'8 senior Monona Grove- With Zweifel not having a big scoring night Gehrmann stepped up and was able to find openings in the Dells zone and knock down some mid range shots.
Drew Bauer 6'3 senior Monona Grove- Battled underneath all night and did a great job of getting offensive rebounds and scoring on put backs.
Shane Wimann 6'3 sophomore Wisconsin Dells- Did it all tonight. Was the high scorer and seemed that he grabbed every rebound that the Dells got.
Trevor Hirst 6'3 junior Wisconsin Dells- Was the hot guy from the outside early and gave the Chiefs some big momentum.
MJ Delmore 5'10 sophomore Wisconsin Dells- Really a solid point guard that seems to be more of a pass first lead guard that can score when he needs to which you love to see at the high school level.

Box Score
MG- Zweifel 11 Gehrman 10 Bauer 8 Matt Welsch 6 Kevin Korntved 2 Mitch Geiger 2 Ben Crawford 2 Ian Kirkpatrick 2 Aaron Cotter 0 Graham Schroeder-Gasser 0 Zachary Dolan 0 Xavier Robinson 0 Austin Klute 0 Alex Nagorsen 0
Dells- Wimann 24 Hirst 13 Delmore 12 Mike Dickman 5 Bryce Buesing 2 Colyn Buss 0 Cody Buss 0 Sean Kendall 0 Fabian Houghton 0 Logan Georgeson 0

Kind of a quick wrap up here of the game as I'm hoping to get another post later tonight on the Waunakee vs Edgewood game so I can have a day to do my rankings and then a day for some playoff predictions before the playoffs actually start on Tuesday. One final note on Wisconsin Dells is that in their eight man rotation they play five sophomores and three juniors, so the future looks bright and wouldn't be surprised to see these guys make a run at a state title in the next two years.

Waunakee over Randolph

The matchup of the top D2 team and the top D5 team was an appealing matchup that never really lived up to the hype. Randolph came out extremely flat and never really got into the game. Waunakee rely on there tough defense whether they use their 1-3-1 zone or man to man defense and strong rebounding. that was never more evident in this game. Randolph struggled to penetrate the defense and never really could get the ball near the hoop and Waunakee's size and strength were just too much for them on both ends. The finally score was 51-31 so there wasn't much to talk about but, just a few key factors to look at.

This years Randolph team really doesn't have a guy that they go to that can score at will but, rely on ball movement to score. Last time I saw Randolph play was against a zone defense and they were able to get the ball to the middle of the zone and find wide open teammates cutting to the the hoop. Against Waunakee they weren't able to find those openings against the man to man defense and had to settle for outside shots that just weren't falling for them until late in the game, when the game was already over. Randolph's top scorer is 6'4 senior TJ Huizenga who appeared very exhausted in the game and it really showed in his play and his limited time on the court. I'm not sure if he was sick or what but, normally he seems to have great endurance and rarely comes out of the game but, in this game he appeared to be pulling on his shorts all night long and even saw him take a puff from an inhaler. As far as the outside shooting 6'2 senior Brian Kampstra is normally their top shooter but, he was way off in the game as he air balled a shot and had a shot that hit the backboard and didn't even catch rim. The lone bright stop was 6'7 junior Cody Reuter who actually showed some offensive game outside of put backs on rebounds. Twice Reuter got the ball in the post and made some nice moves and score with his back to the basket.

For Waunakee they were the same as always like I said earlier. They had their usual strong play from their two stars 6'2 seniors Jared Staege and Beau Murray. Staege was his normal stuff running the point and finding open teammates and Murray was able to penetrate and score or get fouled. The one difference in this game was the play of 6'5 senior Austin Maly. Maly really looked good on the offensive end with the ball in his hand especially with his back to the basket where he made some nice moves to score.

Honestly not much to say more I already mentioned all the top players of the game so not much else to say. Both these teams will make a push for state and despite losing Randolph is still the odds on favorite to win D5 and they probably won't see a team with Waunakee's size and strength in the D5 playoffs.

Box Score
Waunakee- Murray 16 Staege 10 A Maly 9 Jacob Soper 4 Zak Hougland 3 Ben Cable 3 Justin Block 3 Andrew Dorscheid 2 Joe Tagarelli 1 Ross Maly 0 Dylan DesRochers 0 Will Decorah 0 Brett Richgels 0 Jake Heitland 0 Tim Keenan 0
Randolph- Huizenga 6 Jay Peters 6 Mike Thoreson 5 Aaron Retzlaff 4 Cody Reuter 4 Brandon Zimmerman 3 Brian Kampstra 3 Miles Taylor 0 Jacob Brandt 0 Jaspreet Singh 0 Jon Roberts 0 Hunter Verhulst 0 Cody Katsma 0

11th Round State Team Rankings

Another week another round of rankings. There will only be one more round of rankings as the season comes to an end after this week and playoffs start, which at that point the rankings truly are meaningless. The seeding meetings were this past weekend so the coaches have already stated who they think is better where teams have matching records.

Division One
One through six remained exactly the same as everyone won out. Racine Case lost to Kenosha Bradford and dropped to #9 while Bradford lost their next game and fell out of the rankings. Bay Port and Beloit both lost and fall to #11 and #12. Sheboygan North lost to Bay Port but, remain at 13, as Waukesha West lost along with Bradford and are replaced in the rankings by Burlington and Franklin, while Pulaski remains just outside the rankings.

1. Appleton East
2. Milwaukee Riverside
3. Germantown
4. Arrowhead
5. De Pere
6. Milwaukee King
7. Wisconsin Rapids
8. Milwaukee Hamilton
9. Racine Case
10. Madison Memorial
11. Bay Port
12. Beloit
13. Sheboygan North
14. Burlington
15. Franklin

Division Two
The top half of D2 has remained very similar while the bottom half has been very volatile and ever changing. Seymour was the one top team that did lose and fell to #6. In the bottom half Madison Edgewood and Rice Lake were the only teams that won out and move up to #9 and #11. Mcfarland lost to a very good East Troy team and remain in the exact same spot, while Wauwatosa East and Lacrosse Logan both dropped a spot. Monona Grove and Mount Horeb both lost twice and fall out of the rankings and are replaced by New Berlin Eisenhower and Antigo.

1. Waunakee
2. Onalaska
3. Wisconsin Lutheran
4. New Richmond
5. Two Rivers
6. Seymour
7. Monroe
8. New Berlin West
9. Madison Edgewood
10. Mcfarland
11. Rice Lake
12. Wauwatosa East
13. Lacrosse Logan
14. New Berlin Eisenhower
15. Antigo


Division Three
Big news was Roncalli lost to Brillion and Roncalli dropped to #5. GET is my new #1 which alot of people might disagree on but, GET is undefeated. Racine St. Catherines lost twice last week and fall to #10 while St. Johns lost again and fall to #11. Northwestern lost again and fall to #15 while Altoon fell out of the rankings completely and are replaced by Hope School at #14 who is coming off a victory over St. Johns.

1. GET
2. Lacrosse Aquinas
3. Brillion
4. East Troy
5. Manitowoc Roncalli
6. Whitefish Bay Dominican
7. Lakeside Lutheran
8. Ladysmith
9. Omro
10. Racine St. Catherines
11. St. Johns Military
12. River Valley
13. Kiel
14. Hope School
15. Northwestern


Division Four
D4 remained fairly stable with only two exceptions Marathon lost their first game of the year and drop to #10 because #9 Aburndale is the team that beat them. Grantsburg was the other loser and fall out of the rankings and are replaced by Bangor.

1. Blair Taylor
2. Oostburg
3. Eau Claire Regis
4. Racine Lutheran
5. Darlington
6. Laconia
7. Cuba City
8. Amherst
9. Aburndale
10. Marathon
11. Peshtigo
12. Wild Rose
13. Colfax
14. Colby
15. Bangor


Division Five
Randolph lost again but, once again it was to a D2 team and the #1 D2 in Waunakee so they don't drop at all. Green Bay NEW Lutheran lost to Suring and fall to #11 while Luck lost and fall to #14. Columbus Catholic join the rankings for the first time for the fact that I realized that Wisconsin School for the Deaf is not in the state tournament and therefore I feel they shouldn't be in my rankings. They are still undefeated though so big props to them.

1. Benton
2. Randolph
3. Clayton
4. Prentice
5. Seneca
6. Gilmanton
7. Suring
8. Sheboygan Area Lutheran
9. Wauzeka-Steuben
10. Hillsboro
11. Green Bay NEW Lutheran
12. Barneveld
13. Mellen
14. Luck
15. Columbus Catholic


The truth of the rankings will come out in the next week or two when the playoff games begin. That being said I only have one of the #1 ranked teams winning state, so rankings don't mean a lot just are fun to look at and discuss.

Sun Prairie over Beloit

In my mind this game was billed to be a huge game. Sun Prairie was back at full strength and Beloit was currently tied for first place in the conference and was a long shot to win the conference outright if Madison Memorial got upset in one of their last two games. I should of known though because Beloit just recently dropped a game to Verona that they never should of lost. The last time I saw Beloit their leading scorer 6'1 senior Leketreius Broomfield wasn't playing so I was excited to see him play this time around but, was a bit disappointed when the starting lineups were announced and Broomfield wasn't starting. I'm not sure the reasons behind it but, Broomfield seems to have a hard time staying eligible and has missed a decent amount of games and hopefully this won't affect the team in the playoffs. Another player that wasn't starting was Sun Prairie's 6'0 senior Jaron Schaffner. Schaffner is another guy that has some great talent but, has had a hard time keeping himself eligible and has missed a lot of games and I don't believe that he has started the second half of the year. Schaffner is a double digit scorer that Sun Prairie will need to make a deep run in the playoffs and have a chance of beating Memorial and the Milwaukee teams.

Once the game started Sun Prairie really showed their dominance on the inside as the were able to work their offense from the inside out looking to 6'5 senior Chris Hawkins right away or kicking out to his open teammate 6'2 senior Jordan Noskowiak who was hot from the outside from the tip. Beloit looked much the way I recall every time I see them. They have a ton of athletes but, just lack discipline and an offense and prefer to just "Run n Gun" and don't run much of a set offense and are at their best in the fast past game. Broomfield did get in the game fairly early and he looked good but, he really didn't get the results in the stats. Broomfield seemed to be able to get where ever he wanted but, settled to often and took a lot of tough shots. The same could probably be said about the entire Beloit team. It felt like an NBA game with guys just going one on one without the post game. Beloit isn't a small team but, they just don't have many guys that like playing in the post. At the end of two quarters it was Sun Prairie 24 Beloit 13.

In the second quarter Beloit started to play some good defense and force turnovers which allowed them to get out and run and score 21 points in the second quarter and cut the lead to 42-34. Unfortunately the faster pass and pressure defense gave Sun Prairie some easy baskets. I've said before I believe 6'5 sophomore Nick Fuller might be the best player on Sun Prairie but, he struggled in this game particularly from the outside which he also did the last time I saw him against Madison East. Fuller's struggles from the outside were just plan bad shooting but, on the rest of the court the problem was the defender 6'3 junior Jon Winston. Winston used his physical strength to push Fuller away from the hoop and keep Fuller from getting around him. In the end though it was Winston's physical game that had him foul out guarding Fuller away from the ball early in the fourth quarter.

In the second half finally started looking to the post as they went to 6'3 senior Mike Weston who used his quickness and finesse game to score around the bigger defenders. Weston was the one guy that played a strong game throughout. Nick Fuller did have big highlight play in this quarter as he posterized Broomfield, when Broomfield went to block Fuller and Fuller threw down the dunk in his face. Sun Prairie did increase their lead though as Beloit decided to jack up a lot of threes which they did hit a lot but, missed a lot as well. The two guys taking the threes were a pair of seniors 5'11 Dennis Crosby and 6'7 Cameron Roegner. Fourth quarter continued much the same as Beloit jacked threes and Sun Prairie got the easy buckets and got the big 76-59 win and both benches were cleared.

Top Players
Chris Hawkins 6'5 senior Sun Prairie- Has been a beast in the paint the last two games as he appears to be peaking at the right time. Can flat out jump out of the gym, when he jumps it's him and the rim and there is no one else out there. Had a nice put back dunk.
Jordan Noskowiak 6'2 senior Sun Prairie- Another guy who appears to be playing his best basketball at the right time. He's knocking down the three anytime he gets the chance to set his feet and as always is playing great defense.
Mike Weston 6'3 senior Beloit- Has an engine that never stops and gets all the hustle baskets and always runs the court. Showed a nice post game in this game as well.
Cameron Roegner 6'7 senior Beloit- Is money from the outside when he's left open. Moves very well without the ball.
Dennis Crosby 5'11 senior Beloit- Doesn't have the prettiest shot but, can really score the ball. Comes off screens very hard and is looking to shoot and can get his shot off at any time over taller defenders.

Box Score
Sun Prairie- Noskowiak 23 Hawkins 23 Fuller 18 Daniel Mifflin 8 Ryan Yentz 4 Paris Saffold 3 Bryce Opps 2 Schaffner 0 Rapheal Ragland 0 Andre Wallace 0
Beloit- Weston 21 Roegner 11 Crosby 9 Winston 8 Broomfield 8 Trevea Ross 2 Matt Zibert 0 Dalton Davies 0 Tevin Gamble 0

This game didn't have much to do with the seedings since the teams were in different regionals and both teams ended up with two seeds. You have to wonder though if Beloit had one this game they would of remained co-champs in the always tough Big Eight and if Beloit wouldn't of gotten the one seed. One of two seed isn't a huge deal because those two teams won't meet up until sectionals where they would be on a neutral court. Sun Prairie could lose first game of playoffs or get to state their a team that has been up and down all year and they play Watertown who isn't a push over by any means. For Beloit they will probably win their first game but, have three other very good teams that are in their sectional that could cause them problems and then they have the super sectional to worry about. It will be tough but, wouldn't be completely shocked to see Beloit at state even though they are a long shot.

D2 Top Half of Janesville Craig Sectional Preview

Is a very interesting and tough sectional to come out of. The sectional has the entire Badger North Conference, the top three teams from the Badger South, and then Mcfarland who is second in the Rock River Conference. Should be a very competitive sectional that will probably have at least one big upset with many teams that are familiar with each other which leads to the possibility of upsets.

1. Waunakee- Won the Badger North conference and they are undefeated in the state of Wisconsin. Have already beat Monroe.
2. Monroe- Guessing they will win the Badger South but, do still have a game against Monona Grove that could give MG the two seed.
3. Monona Grove- Like I said could even jump to the two seed. Have the next best record and are currently a game behind Monroe in the standings.
4. Madison Edgewood- Mcfarland does have a better record but, Edgewood beat them head to head which will be given more value.
5. Mcfarland- Next best record, easy pick here.
6. Mt Horeb- Chances are will end up tied with Deforest in conference and they split their regular season games. Mt Horeb will have the better overall record and will get the nod.
7. Deforest- Next best overall record at least when the seeding meeting takes place.
8. Sauk Prairie- Next best record.
9. Reedsburg- Split with Baraboo during the regular season but, I'm guessing they will win the last game before seeding while Baraboo will probably lose giving Reedsburg the better record.
10. Baraboo- Basically said it above. If Baraboo happens to win their last game though I think they will get the nine seed but, I think they'll lose.
11. Portage- Haven't won a game in conference and have won only three games on the season.

With the exception of Portage I really think that any team could beat anyone on any given night. To start the year I had Baraboo in my top 10 teams but, have really disappointed me this year and haven't played up to their abilities. Probably won't have another post until this weekend after I get a chance to see Beloit vs Sun Prairie and Randolph vs Waunakee.

Division One Sun Prairie Sectional Seeding Prediction

With the seeding meeting less then a week away I figured it was a good time to look at some of the sectionals that I follow closely and take a stab at what the seeding might look like. This sectional is really only half of bracket that will go to state but, technically this is the sectional with a super sectional to follow. The sectional is made up of most of the Big Eight conference and a couple teams from the Little Ten. For the most part the seeding will fall exactly how the teams finished during the regular season, the only question is will the Big Eight favor each other or give the Little Ten teams some respect. Wishoops feel that they will favor the conference peers and rank teams with worse records over the Little Ten teams while I think there will be some favoritism but, not that much.

1. Madison Memorial- Will probably win the Big Eight and have the best record.
2. Sun Prairie- Beat Memorial once this year and will have the next best record.
3. Madison East- Next best Big eight team and split with Sun Prairie this year.
4. Oconomowoc- This is wear I disagree. Wishoops has Oconomowoc as a 6 seed but, I think the fact that they took second in the Little Ten will get them a nod here.
5. Middleton- Big Eight team gets the conference vote of Watertown. .500 record in the conference and have beaten Madison East already.
6. Watertown- A winning record gives them the nod over Verona in my mind.
7. Verona- Big Eight vote may get them higher but, think the under .500 record in conference and overall will get them here.
8. Madison West- Record wise there here.
9. Madison Lafollette- Have the worst record.

I see three through seven there could be a lot of different scenarios and could finish any way. I see Memorial coming out of this sectional with Sun Prairie have a small chance and really no one else. East could beat Memorial or Sun Prairie but, I don't see them going through both. More then likely the sectional will play out with the higher seed winning throughout. My next post will be taking a look at the top half of the D2 Janesville Craig sectional which features the Badger North and top three teams from the Badger South.

10th Round Team Rankings

Well another week is over and another round of rankings is upon us. Things are really getting exciting and games are meaning more and more as the seeding meetings are only a week away and every game means that much more the closer we get just like it does in NCAAs. The games
played late in the year always mean more then early season games.


Division One
Top seven remain exactly the same as no one lost after that though things got very messy as four of the next five teams lost. Wisconsin Rapids was the one team that won out and move up to #8. Bay Port lost to the best team so by virtue stay at #9 while Hamilton dropped to #10. Beloit lost a bad game but, because they did just beat Madison Memorial the prior week they remain ahead of them. The last team that lost was Waukesha West lost and fall to #15, while the final three teams move up a spot. Pulaski and Burlington are knocking on the door if anyone slips up in front of them.

1. Appleton East
2. Milwaukee Riverside
3. Germantown
4. Arrowhead
5. De Pere
6. Milwaukee King
7. Racine Case
8. Wisconsin Rapids
9. Bay Port
10. Milwaukee Hamilton
11. Beloit
12. Madison Memorial
13. Sheboygan North
14. Kenosha Bradford
15. Waukesha West

Division Two
One through four remain the same. New Richmond and Two Rivers flip flop as Two Rivers lost their first game of the year to a very good Kiel team. Monroe moves up to #7 after Madison Edgewood lost twice one of which to Monroe, Tosa East lost to a good Marquette team, and Logan lost to Onalaska and Aquinas. Edgewood falls all the way to 13, while Tosa East fell to 11, and Logan went to 12. New Berlin West, Monona Grove, and Mcfarland jumped them all as well as jumped Rice Lake who lost to a good D3 Northwestern. Whitefish Bay lost and are replaced by Mount Horeb.

1. Waunakee
2. Seymour
3. Onalaska
4. Wisconsin Lutheran
5. New Richmond
6. Two Rivers
7. Monroe
8. New Berlin West
9. Monona Grove
10. Mcfarland
11. Wauwotosa East
12. Lacrosse Logan
13. Madison Edgewood
14. Rice Lake
15. Mount Horeb

Division Three
D3 once again proves to be the toughest ranking to break in to as the top 15 remain the same and only two charges as two teams lost their first games of the year, to Wisconsin teams anyway. St. Johns was #1 but, lost to the Hope School who is on the verge of being ranked, and fall all the way to #8. Omro lost their first game of the year and drop to #11. Everyone else won out and D3 looks as tough as ever. One game I did forget was Ladysmith edged out Northwestern for the second time this year and Northwestern goes to #12.

1. Manitowoc Roncalli
2. GET
3. Lacrosse Aquinas
4. Brillion
5. East Troy
6. Whitefish Bay Dominican
7. Racine St. Catherines
8. St. Johns Military
9. Lakeside Lutheran
10. Ladysmtih
11. Omro
12. Northwestern
13. River Valley
14. Kiel
15. Altoona

Division Four
D4 once again looks much the same as Cuba City and Colby were the only teams that lost. Cuba City falls to #8, while Colby falls to #15. Young Coggs Prep and Bangor are right on the heels of the top 15.

1. Blair Taylor
2. Oostburg
3. Eau Claire Regis
4. Marathon
5. Racine Lutheran
6. Darlington
7. Laconia
8. Cuba City
9. Amherst
10. Aburndale
11. Peshtigo
12. Grantsburg
13. Wild Rose
14. Colfax
15. Colby

Division Five
Green Bay NEW Lutheran lost twice and fall to #9 while Suring lost to ranked D4 team in Peshtigo and go to #7. Laona and Eau Claire Immanuel both lost and are on the outside looking in as they are replaced by Barneveld and Mellen. Hillsboro also lost by hang in there at #12.

1. Benton
2. Randolph
3. Clayton
4. Prentice
5. Seneca
6. Gilmanton
7. Suring
8. Sheboygan Area Lutheran
9. Green Bay NEW Lutheran
10. Wauzeka-Steuben
11. Luck
12. Hillsboro
13. Barneveld
14. Mellen
15. Wisconsin School for the Deaf

As the weeks go by I get more exciting for the playoffs. Every week I do my rankings I'm thinking about who I'm going to pick to get to state and it might switch week to week. From the start of the year I had Green Bay NEW Lutheran winning D5 but, now after these two loses I'm not so sure and am leaning towards Randolph but, then I think back to last year and NEW Lutheran pushed Randolph to the limit in the title game and they were barely over .500. Another team I had liked is Madison Memorial but, their recent struggles and I have them barely hanging on to a top 15 spot, I'll admit partly because I watch them a lot and am showing some favoritism. With Onalaska losing two of their top three players I thought Rice Lake was a shoe in to make state but, Rice Lake continues to struggle while Onalaska remains as hot as ever. I could go on and on with different thoughts I've had but, these are just a couple to come to mind quickly. I didn't even mention D3 which is easily the deepest division and it's really anyones title to win. Another week of basketball is right around the corner and I think you can tell I'm excited as ever.

Minneapolis DeLasalle over Waunakee

On Saturday Waunakee faced easily their biggest test of the year going against a great team from Minnesota in Minneapolis DeLasalle. You could say that Waunakee really hadn't been tested up until this point with the exception of Wauwatosa East and this was a chance for them to really show themselves. Yes Waunakee did lose this game but, they showed they are a top team and can play with anyone in the state. DeLasalle is a team that always has a shot to make it to state in Minnesota, are ranked top 10 in the largest division, and believe they have been to state twice recently.

Waunakee came out in their 1-3-1 zone defense which they played nearly the entire game with the exception of a few possessions which really seemed to cause DeLasalle some trouble. Athletically DeLasalle was far superior and it showed early on as DeLasalle jumped out to the early lead but, Waunakee came back with good defense, rebounding, and their typical patients. With DeLasalle's athletic advante I thought that it was a mistake for Waunakee to use their full court pressure but, I was wrong as the pressure forced DeLasalle into some turnovers and they only got a couple baskets on the fast break. After one quarter Waunakee was up 13-12 but, that was the only quarter they ended with the lead. In the second quarter DeLasalle got something going on the offensive end behind the three point shooting of 6'3 sophomore Riley Dearring who seemed to have unlimited range hitting some very deep threes as he appeared to be the only DeLasalle player that could really shoot. Waunakee couldn't get the scoring going throughout the entire game as I've said before they really only have two big scorers in their pair of 6'2 seniors Beau Murray and Jared Staege. With Staege struggling it was up to Murray who really struggled with DeLasalle's height and athleticism. Normally Murray can rise up over defenders and hit the mid range shot but, in this game he had at least a handful of shots that got swatted back in his face. At the half DeLasalle was up 21-19.

In the second half it was all Murray for Waunakee as it seemed he took 75% of their shots and got fouled a good portion of the time and it seemed he spent the entire second half at the free throw line. For DeLasalle everything seemed to be a struggle for them against the zone defense but, luckily Waunakee was having just as much trouble scoring. Right around the beginning of the fourth quarter DeLasalle finally was able to penetrate the Waunakee zone and drive to the hoop which allowed them to jump out and get a small lead on Waunakee, who kept clawing back in the game behind Murray scoring with the clock stopped. In the end though Murray couldn't do it himself and Waunakee lost their first game of the year in a low scoring game 42-37.

Top Players
Riley Dearing 6'3 sophomore DeLasalle- Sharpshooter from the outside and just realized that he is a sophomore which I never would of guessed watching him. Also showed a nice 15 foot jumper.
Jonah Travis 6'6 senior DeLasalle- Moves very well without the ball. Showed a knack for finding openings in the Waunakee zone and was able to score on the inside. Also was a shot blocker on the defense end and showed the ability to get off the floor very quickly.
Bretson McNeal 6'0 senior DeLasalle- Really showed himself late in the game as he was money from the free throw line to seal the game and had a couple nice drives to the hoop and scored late in the game.
Beau Murray 6'2 senior Waunakee- Love his mid range jumper and is able to get defenders off their feet on the shot fake and then is able to draw the foul. Scored 10 points from the free throw line alone.

Box Score
DeLasalle- Riley 13 McNeal 10 Travis 7 Melvin Collins 5 Robert Ndondo-Lay 4 Marcas Dorsey 2 Tyler Moore 1 Sam Menzel 0 Jacob Dickson 0 LaMonte Hall 0
Waunakee- Murray 20 Joe Tagarelli 7 Staege 5 Jacob Soper 2 Austin Maly 2 Zak Hougland 1 Ross Maly 0 Andrew Dorscheid 0 Ben Cable 0 Dylan DesRochers 0 Will Decorah 0 Tim Keenan 0

Like I said earlier despite losing this game I felt that Waunakee really showed themselves against a team that would probably win state in D2 for Wisconsin and would have a shot at D1. Waunakee continued to reaffirm their #1 ranking in D2.

9th Round State Rankings

Once again it is Monday and time for my state rankings again. Before I get to the rankings just a quick note which I'm sure many of you heard but, in a recent incident in Milwaukee to stars found themselves in some bad situations. Cimeon Bowers of Milwaukee King and Elgin Cook of Milwaukee Hamilton was in a car that was shot up and Bowers was wounded and will miss the remainder of the season while Cook has now left the state of Wisconsin. Very disappointing to see this happen and you have to wonder if they would of been better off going to the prep schools like many of their peers did prior to the start of the season. My rankings I have decided to follow the coaches rankings and now go to ranking top 15 and not have HM anymore.

Division One
Appleton East remains undefeated and in the #1 spot and following by the exact same teams 2 through 6. Madison Memorial lost another game and fall to #13 while the team that beat them Beloit moves up to #11. Everyone else moved up as only Memorial lost in the top 15 teams. Bradford moves down to #15 as I missed that they lost to Racine Case by 20 two weeks ago.

1. Appleton East
2. Milwaukee Riverside
3. Germantown
4. Arrowhead
5. De Pere
6. Milwaukee King
7. Racine Case
8. Milwaukee Hamilton
9. Bay Port
10. Wisconsin Rapids
11. Beloit
12. Waukesha West
13. Madison Memorial
14. Sheboygan North
15. Kenosha Bradford

Division Two
Waunakee lost their first game of the year but, they lost to one of the best teams in Minnesota and remains #1. New Richmond lost their first game of the year and fall to #6 while everyone below moved ahead of the. Monroe lost for the second straight week to a conference bottom dweller and drops to #10. Monona Grove, Mcfarland, and Whitefish Bay make their first appearance in the rankings after being just outside the rankings all year long.

1. Waunakee
2. Seymour
3. Onalaska
4. Wisconsin Lutheran
5. Two Rivers
6. New Richmond
7. Madison Edgewood
8. Wauwatosa East
9. Lacrosse Logan
10. Monroe
11. Rice Lake
12. New Berlin West
13. Monona Grove
14. Mcfarland
15. Whitefish Bay

Division Three
Once again D3 shows how deep it is with the top 15 remaining the same and the only two teams that fell off were because I trimmed my list to get to 15. Two teams remain undefeated while another eight have lost only one game.

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
11. Lakeside Lutheran
12. Ladysmith
13. River Valley
14. Kiel
15. Altoona

Division Four
Everyone won out in the top 15 except Westby and Peshtigo who both lost and fall out of the rankings well everyone else remains the same.

1. Blair Taylor
2. Oostburg
3. Eau Claire Regis
4. Marathon
5. Racine Lutheran
6. Cuba City
7. Darlington
8. Laconia
9. Amherst
1o. Aburndale
11. Colby
12. Peshtigo
13. Grantsburg
14. Wild Rose
15. Colfax

Division Five
Another divisions with little no no action in the rankings. Luck was the lone team that lost and they fell to #14. I thought about remove the School for the Deaf off my rankings but, they are still undefeated and that's good enough to be ranked in my book and Barnveld fell off the rankings simply because there wasn't room.

1. Benton
2. Green Bay New Lutheran
3. Randolph
4. Clayton
5. Suring
6. Prentice
7. Seneca
8. Gilmanton
9. Hillsboro
10. Sheboygan Lutheran
11. Wauzeka-Steuben
12. Eau Claire Immanuel
13. Laona
14. Luck
15. Wisconsin School for Deaf

Tomorrow I will finally get the chance to talk about my Saturday game where Waunakee lost to Minneapolis DeLasalle a very good team with lots of tradition from Minnesota. Rankings seems to get easier the further we get in the season because it appears that the top teams are rounding in to form and just don't lose much.

Madison East over Sun Prairie

In a mini upset Madison East was able to defeat Sun Prairie. Madison East appears to have gotten even shorter in the past couple weeks as one of the few players over 6 foot on the team, Stephen Williams, is no longer on the team and one of their other taller players DJ Bell has not seen the court or even suited up the three games I have seen East play. East has called up 6'2 sophomore Mile Kietzer to give them at least two players on the roster over 6 foot but, he played maybe 30 seconds in the game so, therefore East's only player over 6 foot that actually plays is 6'3 sophomore Emani Brathwaite. Sun Prairie was missing two of their top scorers in seniors 6'2 Jordan Noskowiak and 6'0 Jaron Schaffner this really hurt Sun Prairie on the offensive end in the scoring area and bringing the ball up the court because these two players handle the ball alot for the Cardinals.

As I alluded to earlier the absence of Noskowiak and Schaffner was obvious early and often. Madison East had the full court press on the entire game and Sun Prairie turned it over and over time and again and led to some easy buckets. When Sun Prairie did break the press there were only two guys that wanted to take shots in their two 6'5 guys in senior Chris Hawkins and sophomore Nick Fuller. Hawkins and Fuller really seemed to wear down as they had to do the balk of the ball handling against the pressure and then had to work very hard to get shots off against the East 3-2 zone which was focused on stopping the two of them. East came out firing with lots of energy with their full court defense and hot outside shooting. East was up 17-8 after one quarter. Normally a great outside shooter Fuller couldn't get anything to fall for him outside of five foot. Nearly a dozen times Fuller got a wide open shot from the corner and just couldn't get the shot to go. Prairie did finally get something going looking to either Hawkins or 6'5 senior Daniel Mifflin in the high post and cutting to an open teammate, usually Fuller for the easy buckets. East's shooting cooled off in the second quarter and Sun Prairie cut the lead to three and were down 27-24 at the half.

Sun Prairie played a 1-3-1 the entire game but, in the second half they really made a conscience effort to pack in the zone and not let East penetrate and dish to open teammates and East had to settle for just passing the ball around the perimeter normally three feet behind the three point line which kept the game low scoring. Both teams only score six points in the third quarter and the lead remained at three after three quarters. Throughout the entire game no one really stood out for East and it really was a team effort but, then in the fourth quarter and overtime they finally had someone step out and assert themselves on the offensive end. For once in wasn't their star though, 6'0 senior Nimrod Hillard. This time it was the #2 man 5'9 junior Rudy Bentley. Bently was able to score in the transition, hit a huge three to tie the game late, and then was money from the line in sealing it. In the fourth Sun Prairie made the adjustment of putting Fuller at the top of the zone which created a lot of problems for East and they turned the ball over and the tie game and sent the game to OT. Throughout the entire second half Sun Prairie's game was give the ball to Hawkins and let him score using his size and strength to score over the smaller defenders. Hawkins was a beast throughout the second half and had the best game I've seen him play this year but, in OT Sun Prairie looked to drive the ball to the hoop inside of looking to Hawkins when they got down and East used their quick hands to knock the ball away on three straigh possessions last in OT. Final score was 61-56.

Top Players
Rudy Bentley 5'9 junior East- Said it all already. Really did step up and carried his team late to victory.
Nimrod Hillard 6'0 senior East- Second game in a row where he struggled scoring but, did a nice job of penetrating and dishing out to his teammates who were hitting from the outside.
Chris Hawkins 6'5 senior Sun Prairie- Despite losing he was the best player in this game. Was a beast on the inside and the only time he seemed he wasn't scoring was when he was getting fouled where he went to the line and made the shots.
Nick Fuller 6'5 sophomore Sun Prairie- Really struggled from the outside shooting but, did get down on himself and still moved well without the ball and got his points.

Box Score
East- Bentley 19 Hillard 14 Jermel McLin 8 Demetrius Durley 6 Speedy Amara 5 Emani Brathwaite 5 Alex Redd 3 Darius Kelly 1 Mile Kietzer 0
Sun Prairie- Hawkins 25 Fuller 19 Mifflin 7 Rapheal Ragland 0 Paris Saffold 1 Martin Cromwell 1 Bryce Opps 0 Jacob Oakley 0 Ryan Yentz 0 Andre Wallace 0

Sun Prairie is a team that always seems to be on the edge of being great but, then they lose a game like this that they never should of lost but, have to give them a bit of a benefit of the doubt because they were missing two of their double digit scorers. Madison East is a team that will give 110% but, as I've said over and over their height will hold them back but, their hustle and intensity will get them some wins against some very good teams.