State Tournament

I'm assuming most people already know how state turned out by this time so I won't waste your time by going over what happened at state and just focusing on some final thoughts for each of the divisions.

Division Five
For the most part this division played out how I predicted. Randolph played their usual great team basketball and got the job done without much of a challenge. I was hoping to see Green Bay NEW Lutheran really push Randolph but, they just didn't come to play early in the game. NEW Lutheran had a great second half and made the game close late. It would of been nice to see GBNL play a solid game from start to finish and play to their potential. The other game wasn't too exciting. Clayton had the edge throughout and Wauzeka-Steuben just seemed to hang around and never gave up and at times looked like they were going to come back but, never could get over the hump. In the championship game Randolph's leader TJ Huzienga didn't have a great game but, still played his typical solid defense game guarding Clayton's best player Tyler Kertz, who hit some shots but, just wasn't his normal self. Randolph cruised to the win number nine for them.

Division Four
This was a surprising division as the two undefeated teams lost in the semis and Marathon was extremely impressive in defeating Grantsburg and Cody Hanke was about the most impressive player on the weekend. Marathon's 1-3-1 zone defense was just too tough for Oostburg and they cruised to the big win. In the other semi final Blair Taylor really chocked away a game they should of win. BT was up by double digits late in the game and then Grantsburg put on the full court pressure and Blair Taylor fell apart. Hank Kujak had the chance to seal the game late but, couldn't get the free throws to foul and in OT it was all Grantsburg. Big credit to Trevor Thompson and Brent Meyers who carried Granstburg. In the championship Thompson and Meyers were just as impressive but, they just didn't have the size to match up with Hanke and company. Marathon got the title and they are the second team at state to credit their 1-3-1 defense to former Adams Friendship Coach Klass, the first being Wisconsin Rapids Assumption a few years ago. It truly is amazing to see how much some coaches affect the game.

Division Three
The all private school division plus Little Chute also played out as expected. Lakeside Lutheran came out looking to run and that played right into the hands of Lacrosse Aquinas who seemed to be able to run just as good if not better then Lakeside and ran them right out of the gym. Evan Pederson was the real star, as he was able to drive past the defenders and set up the big men with two foot layups all game long. In game two Racine St Cats won by outlasting Little Chute. St. Cats wasn't overly impressive but, just kept playing their game and worn down Little Chute and got the win. In the championship St. Cats did their best to hang with Lacrosse Aquinas but, Aquinas just had too much talent for them.

Division Two
Another shocker in this division. Waunakee and Seymour came into state as the overwhelming favorites and both teams lost. Waunakee is a team that I had followed for most of the year and was really pulling for them unfortunately they just couldn't hold on to the win and unfortunately their leading scoring Beau Murray didn't play very well and really struggled to find his shot. Despite Murray's struggles though Waunakee led most of the game but, just couldn't put Merrill and Paul Jesperson away. A very tough break for Waunakee was Jesperson on a break away and was fouled by Ryan Staege. Jesperson made the shot and Staege got called for the intential. Jesperson ended up making the foul shots and Merrill got the ball back to seal the game. In the other game Seymour and Whitefish Bay was a game of runs that just went back and forth all game long. Whitefish Bay weathered Seymour's hot three point shooting in the first half and got a huge play from Jamie Schneck who barely played in the game but, had the game winning tip in at the buzzer to win. In the championship game Jesperson played his heart out but, in the end it was Whitefish Bay's Ron Patten who stole the show and basically out played everyone on the floor and carried his team to the victory and state title.

Division One
Game one Madison Memorial outlasted Milwaukee Hamilton in a fairly ugly game that wasn't real exciting. Everyone had to be impressed with the three freshmen that played the entire game, their long and athletic and can do alittle bit of everything will be a fairly interesting team to follow in the next three years. In game two everyone thought it would be Appleton East but, De Pere came out extremely impressive and they matched eachother shot for shot all game long. I loved watching Reece Zoelle move without the ball and getting open and hit big shot after big shot. I'm not sure if I have to say much more about the championship game. It was probably the greatest Wisconsin State championship game ever. The game went to three overtimes and four seperate occasions Brendan Ortiz was the hero and was without a questions the MVP of the state tournament games. Madison Memorial has really cemented itself as a dynasty within the state and can nearly be penciled in at state every year. This team was up and down and wasn't as strong as some of the previous teams but, they pulled off the huge win that some of those previous teams didn't.

I a bit of a time crunch right now so I'll be doing my all tournament team tomorrow.