Thursday, January 26, 2012

Week in Review

I have four games to write about and I just don't think that I will have the time to do a separate post for each game and ever catch up to the point where I have only one game to write about at a time so figured I would just do a write up from the past week. I have gone to four games and will just do what I can do from memory for each game.

Wisconsin Dells 60 Lodi 40

This was a Saturday afternoon game in the Dells at the Just a Game Fieldhouse's new "Court of Champions". I really like arena as it has about the same seating as a typical high school gym but, has a bigger feel to it as their is seating all around the court and even in the corners.

I'm not sure what the exact reason was but, Lodi just didn't show up for this game. I knew they were missing their point guard 6'0 junior Kris Seffrood which I thought would hurt them but, after seeing them play Dominican so close I figured they could handle the Dells. Lodi wasn't able to get to the middle of the zone to find open team mates and settled for the outside shot more often then not and the shots weren't falling. The poor shooting may of been because of the different background but, with the shots not falling they made no attempt to get the ball to the inside and use their height advantage. Leading scorer 6'3 sophomore Jordan Shea never got himself going as he had 11 points most of which in the first half but, then spent a good portion of the second half on the bench in foul trouble.

On the other side the Dells was moving the ball exceptionally well, which led to open shots. The Dells hit eight three point shots in the game and I believe six of those were in the first half. Dells sharpshooter 5'8 junior Mike Dickman got himself going a little bit as he hit two three pointers in the game and  6'4 junior Shane Wimann was his normal self getting in the lane of the offensive end and dominated the glass on D. The star of the day was MJ Delmore a 5'10 junior who is as smooth as the come. Delmore was able to drive to the hoop and score and hit three three point shots in the game.

Madison Memorial 75 Madison East 44

Not much to say about this game. Memorial got up early things just go uglier from there. Memorial was up 6-0 before East even got the ball across half court and they were up 10-0 before East took a shot. I really don't know what more to say about this game. East turned the ball over and over again and Memorial took advantage. 6'5 senior Junior Lomomba was his normal solid self scoring 24 points and fellow senior 6'4 Ngijol Songolo displayed a very nice outside shot which should really help Memorial out come playoff time when they seem to struggle from the outside and teams pack it in on them in the half court setting. Honestly this is all I can say, East struggled with Memorial's size and length all night long and couldn't overcome it or even challenge it.

Randolph 45 Green Lake 31

This game was to see D1 recruit 6'6 senior Matt Van Scyoc take on the mighty Randolph. Van Scyoc ended with 17 points but, he really had to earn them because Randolph's 6'4 junior Aaron Retzlaff was in his face all night long forcing him further and further away from the hoop. 12 of Van Scyoc's came from behind the arc which with a hand in his face and one five feet behind the three point line. Van Scyoc took a ton of shots and Retzlaff was right with him and I'd guess Van Scyoc probably shot 30% or lower on the game. Randolph had a very solid night as a team as they had eight different players score and no player over 10 points. Randolph's top eight players and could easily compete for a state title in D4 and D3 and possibly D2 but, that may be a stretch but, its pretty good for a school that has less than 200 kids in their school. Randolph is once again my pick to win the D5 title.


Madison Memorial 72 Madison West 44

Another very ugly game involving Memorial. Memorial was up by at least 20 for much of the game. I was highly disappointed as West is currently tied for third in the conference with Sun Prairie who is a very good team and I expected this game to be at least somewhat close for most of the way. Lomomba was unstoppable in the first quarter as he scored 14 of his 25 points in the first quarter. Songolo once again showed his nice outside touch. Junior 6'1 Brendan Ortiz seems to have truly embraced the point guard position as he appears to get more joy setting up his team mates then scoring himself, every time I see him play I think this more and more. They also have a pair of dunk hunters in 6'6 senior Jamar Morris and 6'5 junior Jester Weah who two or three times ran into each other going after loose balls that probably would of resulted in break away dunks and every time the go to the rim or a rebound they are thinking dunk. Both Morris and Weah did eventually get one dunk each.

Well it has been a great week of basketball and still have about another two months left and I can't wait for state.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Size Kills Madison East Again

On Tuesday night I was originally going to go to the Oshkosh West verse Verona game because it would give me a change to see Oshkosh West's star Brandon Marquardt and knew that Verona had a high scorer in Bryan Dalton. When I looked at the game a little more I found a better choice as Verona has only won one game this year and Oshkosh West is only a .500 team. I found a better game a little closer to home and took in the Madison East verse Waunakee game. I knew what to expect in this game being that East would be vastly undersized and Waunakee would control the boards which would give them the easy win.

For the most part the game started and went as expected. Waunakee had their star back in 6'6 senior Joe Tagarelli back, who didn't start but, did play a vast majority of the game. Waunakee really struggled from the outside which kept the game close but, as I expected they were able to get second and third opportunities at the rim and that's all they needed to score. Tagarelli was unstoppable once he got the ball within 10 feet of the rim as East had no one over 6'3 to put on him. Waunakee's number two man 6'4 junior Will Decorah had a pretty solid game despite the fact that he couldn't buy a jumper or even a free throw throughout the entire game.

For Madison East it was all penetration that they relied on with their lack of height. They had some success drive to the hoop and finding open teammates around the rim but, they were unable to get those easy shots to fall. I'm not sure if it was the fear of getting blocked, since their always vastly undersized, or that they were just so excited that they actually were open but, they just didn't have the touch around the rim. East was able to get passed the initial defender but, there was always a long armed defender that would come over to help out and stop the penetration. This defense really seemed to frustrate East top player 5'8 senior Rudy Bentley. Bentley was the primary player doing the driving but, just couldn't find himself an opening the defense and just further frustrated him when his teammates were missing easy shots. The one bright spot for East was Jermel McLin a 6'0 junior who hit four threes in the game and really kept his team somewhat in the game before the final result was obvious. The final score was Waunakee 68 and Madison East 50.

Top Players
Joe Tagarelli 6'6 senior Waunakee- Heard he was just offered a walk on spot with UW Milwaukee which surprised me a little but, the kid is a very solid player in the post. Very smooth touch around the rim and almost impossible to stop when he gets in the lane.
Will Decorah 6'4 junior Waunakee- Moves very well without the ball and when one aspect of his game isn't working goes to another part of his game to get the job done. Did a nice job getting second chance buckets and just finding openings on the inside against the East defense.
Tim Keenan 6'3 senior Waunakee- I think he really gets over looked because of the two guys I just listed ahead of him but, he just does everything well. Tonight he wasn't hitting the threes but, did a great job rebounding and scoring in the paint.
Jermel McLin 6'0 junior Madison East- Very good scorer shooting the three or going to the hoop. Took some wild shots going to the rim but, overall played a solid game finding opening teammates and getting his own in the scoring column.

Box Score
Waunakee- Tagarelli 26 Decorah 16 Keenan 10 Ben Cable 6 Max Chamberlin 3 Dylan DesRochers 2  Ryan Kruser 2 Jakub Bollant-Ulvilden 2 Alex Cole 1 Justin Block 0  Patrick O'Connell 0 Michael Meffert 0 Brett Richgels 0
Madison East- McLin 17 Emani Brathwaite 9 Bentley 7 De'Shawn Burks 6 Eric Aikens 3 Daniel Karlin-Kamin 3 Miles Kietzer 2 Alex Redd 1 Treveon Wright 0 Tim Moses 0 Stavon Staples 0

I came away just reaffirming to me that Waunakee is just a solid team overall, have some great coaching, and the players are really a product of their system. Madison East the story continues to be the same, NO HEIGHT. East will be able to beat the less talented teams but, in the end their height is going to hurt them.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Wisconsin Dells over Mauston

Once again it has been about a week since I actually watched this game but, I just didn't have the time to post. I choose this game because its a five minute walk from home but, also because the Dells is ranked top 10 in state and have an extremely talent junior class and Mauston was their biggest challenge in the conference and have 6'3 junior Joel Heesch who is one of the top scorers in the state.

Early on this game was alittle out of control as it seemed the primary ball handlers for each team just tried to be alittle to fancy and caught their teammates off guard and led to numerous turnovers. Dells has a very nice two man game with 6'4 junior Shane Wimann and 5'10 junior M.J. Delmore who worked great together but, just couldn't get any of their teammates going. On the other side it was Heesch trying to do everything for his team and the Dells defense was focused on this. Dells played a 3-2 or 1-2-2 zone whatever you want to call which allowed Mauston to penetrate and find open teammates in the gaps but, they just weren't able to capitalize as they missed numerous easy layups early on. The entire first half was a bit of a slug fest, in that the game was sluggish and was a struggle for both teams. At half time Dells was up 24-20 at the half.

In the second half it was the Delmore show as he came out firing and I believe hit three three pointers to open up the second half and the Dells jumped out to a big lead and never looked back. For Mauston Heesch was a one man team as he did his best to keep the game from getting to a blow out but, in the end two players always beat one as the Chiefs got the 62-44 win.

Top Players
Joel Heesch 6'3 junior Mauston- Is a flat out scorer but, at times takes too many shots and takes some bad shots. He's a great athlete and I would love to see him with a team that didn't force him to be such a scorer.
M.J. Delmore 5'10 junior Wisconsin Dells- Just a great great point guard. Early in the game tried to force things a little bit but, in the second half he settled in and ran the show and get his in the scoring column. Very smooth player with a pretty shot and knocks down the three.
Shane Wimann 6'4 junior Wisconsin Dells- Just a beast on the court. Very very solid kid but, still has a nice all around game away from the rim. Has a very nice post game with his back to the basket but, also can step out and hit the three.

Box Score
Mauston- Heesch 17 Jack Orton 10 Taylor Ingraham 7 Ross Thompson 5 Dale Osthoff 3 Skylar Ricks 2 Hunter Nelson 0 Brock Huebner 0 Andy Thrams 0 AJ Butts 0 Jake Gamble 0
Dells- Delmore 27 Wimann 21 Colyn Buss 5 Mike Dickman 3 Bryce Buesing 23 Trevor Hirst 2 Logan Georgeson 1 Cody Buss 0 Dylan Moore 0 Sean Kendall 0 Hunter Hintze 0

Well Mauston will win their share of games because of Heesch but, they probably won't go very far come playoff time and will probably be at least third in the conference come the end of the season. Things have really fallen into place for the Chiefs who have a very good chance to win out the rest of their games as they will be the favorite, in my eyes, with the exception being their game against a Minnesota team. They play Lodi on Saturday who is without their top two players and then Lacrosse Aquinas who is without one of the best players in the state in Bronson Koenig.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Third Round Team Rankings

Well once again I have been neglecting my blog. I have two games to write about but, I have decided that I will try to keep my rankings updated weekly so it isn't so difficult for me to keep up with.

Division One
Germantown remains at the top as Madison Memorial lost to a very good team from Minnesota and falls to #3. Riverside lost to King but, that was a given so they only drop to #7 while in a mini upset Hamilton dropped a game to South and fall to #8. Milwaukee South was a tough one as the obviously beat Hamilton but, they dropped two games in the past week, one to Vincent which isn't bad but, one to a not so good Bradley Tech team which takes them out of the rankings. Kimberly is the new team to the rankings as they had an impressive win over a previously ranked Oshkosh North team and have the highest RPI of any team not ranked.

1. Germantown
2. Milwaukee King
3. Madison Memorial
4. De Pere
5. Homestead
6. Brookfield Central
7. Milwaukee Riverside
8. Milwaukee Hamilton
9. D.C. Everest
10. Bay Port
11. Sheboygan North
12. Racine Park
13. Milwaukee Vincent
14. Middleton
15. Kimberly

Division Two
Onalaska and Rice Lake both lost to some very good teams from Minnesota but, in my mind that doesn't hurt them and they both stay and #1 and #2. Tosa East lost to a very good D1 team in Brookfield Central and fall a couple spots to #5. Beaver Dam was upset and drop to #7. Pulaski lost to a very good D1 De Pere team and don't fall but, get jumped by Stoughton who won out the past week while Kaukana lost to a so so Lacrosse Aquinas team and fall to #10. Luxemburg-Casco lost twice and fall to #13, while Eisenhower and Oregon each lost and fall to #14 and #15.

1. Onalaska
2. Rice Lake
3. Whitnall
4. Antigo
5. Wauwatosa East
6. Milwaukee Pius
7. Beaver Dam
8. Stoughton
9. Pulaski
10. Kaukana
11. Waunakee
12. Milwaukee Messmer
13. Luxemburg-Casco
14. New Berlin Eisenhower
15. Oregon

Division Three
Nobody lost in D3 with the exception of Lake Mills who lost twice to two other ranked teams and fall from the rankings and they are replaced by Westby at #15.

1. GET
2. East Troy
3. Little Chute
4. Lodi
5. Omro
6. Clinton
7. Wrightstown
8. Oostburg
9. Wisconsin Dells
10. Brillion
11. Valders
12. Racine St. Cats
13. Marshall
14. Watertown Luther Prep
15. Westby


Division Four
Thorp lost twice and falls to #11. Shoreland Lutheran lost a game but, it was to a very good Racine St. Cats team and hang on to their exact same spot. Amherst, Grantsburg, and Stratford all lost but, still check in at 13 through 15. Destiny and Unity are two teams that are knocking at the door to get in.

1. Dominican
2. Aburndale
3. Cuba City
4. Bonduel
5. Elk Mound
6. Wild Rose
7. Colfax
8. Oshkosh Lourdes
9. Laconia
10. Shoreland Lutheran
11. Thorp
12. Howards Grove
13. Amherst
14. Grantsburg
15. Stratford


Division Five
Randolph lost to an exceptionally good Stoughton team but, still manage to move up as Benton lost and fall to #7.  Royal and Gilmanton also lost and check in at #8 and #9. Marshfield Columbus lost and dropped to #12.

1. Racine Lutheran
2. Randolph
3. Siren
4. Clayton
5. Prentice
6. McDonnel Central
7. Benton
8. Royal
9. Gilmanton
10. Barneveld
11. Augusta
12. Marshfield Columbus
13. Suring
14. Sheboygan Lutheran
15. Green Bay NEW Lutheran

Well there are my new ranking. Not a lot of subtractions from the rankings just some moving around of the teams but, no big changes.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Second Round Team Rankings

It has been a long time since I last did my team rankings. In fact I have only done one team ranking since my preseason rankings. So here is an updated rankings for each division.

Division One
Germantown and Madison Memorial both had some very impressive Christmas Breaks and come in at #1 and #2. Milwaukee King lost their first game of the year but, it was in a championship game of a tournament down in Texas and are #3 while Hamiliton hasn't lost since the last rankings. De Pere an Riverside both lost but, don't fall much as De Pere lost to Germantown and Riverside lost to East Troy a top D3 team. Homestead is next having lost only one game followed by Brookfield Central who have only lost to Germantown and Milwaukee King. Bay Port is next being that the just defeated Sheboygan North who comes in just behind them. Oshkosh North has now lost four games and Superior three games and they each fall from my rankings. Milwaukee South has only lost to Brookfield Central and an out of state team and step in at #12 followed by Racine Park who had a couple of not so good losses. Milwaukee Vincent showcases the talent that the City Conference has this year and they just beat Milwaukee Washington and took King to the wire. Middleton is the final team to fill out the rankings.

1. Germantown
2. Madison Memorial
3. Milwaukee King
4. Milwaukee Hamilton
5. De Pere
6. Milwaukee Riverside
7. Homestead
8. Brookfield Central
9. D.C. Everest
10. Bay Port
11. Sheboygan North
12. Milwaukee South
13. Racine Park
14. Milwaukee Vincent
15. Middleton

Division Two
Onalaska and Rice lake remain uindefeated and stay 1 and 2 in the rankings. Wauwatosa East lost a game to Germantown but, you can't let that pull them down. Whitnall and Antigo each only lost one game and stay the same while Beaver Dam is the big winner as they remain undefeated and ranked #4. Pius lost to Milwaukee Vincent but, that won't hurt them as they move up one spot to 7. Kaukana, Pulaski, and Stoughton have all won out since the last rankings and follow in that order.  Luxemburg-Casco is an undefeated team that has been overlooked and they move in to the rankings at #11. Waunkaee and Eisenhower suffered some bad losses in the past week and fall to 12 and 13. Waterford, Milwaukee Washington and Fort Atkinson had some struggles and are replaced by Oregon and Milwaukee Messmer.

1. Onalaska
2. Rice Lake
3. Wauwatosa East
4. Beaver Dam
5. Whitnall
6. Antigo
7. Milwaukee Pius
8. Kaukana
9. Pulaski
10. Stoughton
11. Luxemburg-Casco
12. Waunakee
13. New Berlin Eisenhower
14. Oregon
15. Milwaukee Messmer.

Division Three
Lots of very good records in D3 which makes the rankings very tough. Aquinas appears to of totally fallen apart, so GET, East Troy, and Little Chute benefit from winning out since the last rankings and move up. Lodi lost to a top D4 team in Dominican and actually move up while, Omro has only lost to Little Chute, and Clinton only to East Troy, which allows each team to move up. Wrightstown and Oostburg follow who are both undefeated since the last rankings. Lake Mills beat Wisconsin Dells and appear in the rankings at #9 while Dells falls to #10. Brillion lost in a three overtime game and Valders fell dropping them to 11 and 12. Racine St. Cats hangs in at #13 followed by Marshall and Watertown Luther Prep.

1. GET
2. East Troy
3. Little Chute
4. Lodi
5. Omro
6. Clinton
7. Wrightstown
8. Oostburg
9. Lake Mills
10. Wisconsin Dells
11. Brillion
12. Valders
13. Racine St. Cats
14. Marshall
15. Watertown Luther Prep

Division Four
Top three teams have won out since the last time so they stay they same. Bondual, Elk Mound, Colfax, and Thorp have all won out since the last rankings and move up while Wild Rose is right behind them having lost one game. Followed by Oshkosh Lourdes who has only lost two games both to some very tough teams in Oshkosh North and Racine Lutheran. Shoreland Lutheran is a new team to the rankings as they are undefeated. Laconia, Amherst, and Grantsburg have each lost two games and come in 11 through 13, while Howards Grove and Stratford are new to the rankings with Stanley-Boyd and Cameron falling out of the rankings.

1. Dominican
2. Aburndale
3. Cuba City
4. Bonduel
5. Elk Mound
6. Colfax
7. Thorp
8. Wild Rose
9. Oshkosh Lourdes
10. Shoreland Lutheran
11. Laconia
12. Amherst
13. Grantsburg
14. Howards Grove
15. Stratford

Division Five
Randolph lost to two good D1 team and fall to #3 in the rankings with Benton and Racine Lutheran jumping them, followed by an undefeated Royal team. Siren is another undefeated team right on Royal's heels. Young Coggs Prep, Marion, Hilbert, and Drummond all lost at least two games since the last rankings and fall out of the rankings. Gilmanton and McDonell Central move into the rankings for the first time and both are undefeated. Columbus Catholic, Barneveld, and Augusta are teams that are new to the rankings and have only lost one game. Sheboygan Lutheran and Green Bay NEW Lutheran hang in there having played one of the tougher schedules around.

1. Benton
2. Racine Lutheran
3. Randolph
4. Royal
5. Siren
6. Clayton
7. Prentice
8. Gilmanton
9. McDonnel Central
10. Marshfield Columbus
11. Barneveld
12. Augusta
13. Suring
14. Sheboygan Lutheran
15. Green Bay NEW Lutheran

Thursday, January 5, 2012

WBBY Shootout

Another post that has been long overdue, as I was at the WBBY shootout over a week ago. This tournament is one of the premiere tournaments of the year and is a must see for any high school basketball fans in the state of Wisconsin.

Ended up getting to the game alittle late and missed the first quarter of the first game, so I never really got into the game and it wasn't the greatest game to begin with. In a minor upset Waukesha Catholic Memorial beat Milwaukee Thomas More 64-58.

Game two was another private school match up as Racine St. Catherine's defeated Manitowoc Roncalli 55-47. Roncalli is their normal self moving the ball very well with little dribbling and moving incredibly well without the ball. St. Cats once again played great man to man defense and did very little dribbling on the offensive end but, moved the ball well. Roncalli jumped out early behind their three point shooting but, cooled off late and St. Cats methodically won this game going away late. 6'6 senior Jordan Fouse may help this team the most when he's running the point. Fouse passes the ball extremely well and draws the defense and finds open teammates.

The next game appeared to be the main attraction in everyones eyes as the gym was packed for the Cuba City verse Sheboygan Lutheran. Everyone was their to see the 6'8 Lutheran senior Sam Dekker a Badger recruit but, it was 6'3 senior Cory Vaassen that stole the show. The Cubans ran a very impressive 1-3-1 zone defense which really focused on stopping Dekker which worked as Dekker never really got any good looks outside of the fast break. This game would of been a blow out if it hadn't been for Luthern sophomore Tyler Zastrow who at only 5'9 is all heart and plays as hard as anyone on the court. The final score was 73-64 Cuba City with the W.

The next game was alittle bit of a disappointment. Sun Prairie stormed out early over Oconomowoc and never looked back. After one quarter Prairie was up 27 to 11 and at halftime they were up 51 to 22 before coasting to a 66-43 victory. The show in this game was 6'6 junior Nick Fuller and 6'1 freshmen Nick Noskowiak who combined for 40 of the teams first half points before sitting midway through the third quarter. Oconomowoc never played a starter in the second half which obviously showed some frustration from their coach.

The battle between Oshkosh North and Onalaska was a great back and forth battle and in the end it was Onalaska coming out on top behind the strong second half play of 6'4 junior Matt Thomas who was on fire throughout and could get his shot at anytime. Oshkosh North had some great post play from 6'5 senior Izaiah Anderson who can use either hand to finish with his back to the basket. Both teams played a strong zone defense which at times allowed their opponent some open looks. Onalaska got a huge 59-51 win.

The final game I watched was the game of the day by far. Whitefish Bay Dominican was able to out last Lodi 79-68 in double overtime. This game was full of lots of excitement and back and forth action. Lodi led the majority of the game behind some strong outside shooting and never seemed to miss a shot. In the end Dominican's athleticism and quickness one out and took over in the second overtime. Dominican had four players score 16 or 17 points which each took a turn carry the team. 6'3 senior Jamall Taylor was on fire in the first half, 6'3 junior Duane Wilson ad 6'9 freshmen Diamond Stone were a great two man team, and in the overtime it was 6'3 senior Breon Jordan who came up big. Highlight of the game was a put back dunk by Wilson followed up by a transition dunk by Stone.

All Tournament Team (I know it was only day but, I broke it up into three teams to groups of five)
1st Team
Matt Thomas 6'4 junior Onalaska- Like I said earlier he just couldn't miss and could get his shot anytime he wanted. Late in the game he was able to post a smaller defender and score and will and wanted the ball in his hands late in the game to hit the clutch free throws.
Nick Fuller 6'6 junior Sun Prairie- Another guy that just couldn't miss. His shot was just so smoothed today and got his hands on numerous passes on the top of the 1-3-1 zone.
Cory Vaassen 6'3 senior Cuba City- Stole the show from Dekker. Drove right at Dekker and scored on him, hit the three point shot, helped bring the ball up, and did a pretty good job defending Dekker out op.
Tyler Zastrow 5'9 sophomore Sheboygan Lutheran- Nothing real pretty about his game but, was a big time scorer and was money from the outside.
Duane Wilson 6'3 junior Dominican- Showed his superior athleticism throughout the game. Had a pair of very nice dunks and hit a clutch three pointer late in regulation to send the game to overtime.

2nd Team
Jordan Fouse 6'6 senior St. Cats- Does alittle bit of everything from scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals. Shows that he is a true D1 college player.
Izaiah Anderson 6'5 senior Oshkosh North- Just a very smooth player in the post. Can finish with either hand with his back to the hoop.
Jamall Taylor 6'3 senior Dominican- Carried this team in the first half and if he was open he'd knock down the shot.
Diamond Stone 6'9 freshmen Dominican- Has a very nice touch around the rim and runs the court extremely well.
Nate Lassila 6'1 junior Roncalli- Moves very well without the ball and when he's hot shoots the ball as good as anyone in the state.

3rd Team
Jordan Shea 6'3 sophomore Lodi- Honestly didn't notice him much but, he did score 20 points in the game.
Breon Jordan 6'3 senior Dominican- Money player late in the game as he hit three, three point shots in the overtime sessions.
Nick Noskowiak 6'1 freshmen Sun Prairie- A great sidekick to Fuller. Hits the open shot when he's given it and does a nice job helping run the offense.
Brady Moses 6'1 junior Lodi- Got the team going with his outside shooting and it carried throughout.
Nick Arenz 6'8 senior Onalaska- Seems to be alittle slowed by last years injury but, still has a very nice post game and rebounds very well.

Was a great day of basketball and was a great chance to see a wide range of teams from all over the state.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Waunakee over Providence St. Mel

I know it has been over a week since this game was played but, I just haven't had the time to post about this game. I headed to this game knowing nothing about the St. Mel team but, a team traveling up to the middle of Wisconsin from Illinois, I figured they must be a good team. Arriving at the game I immediately noticed that Providence St. Mel was an extremely young team and they really lacked height, which I figured it was a bad thing for them considering they were playing Waunakee who is one of the better rebounding teams I have seen play. The other thing I noticed was that Waunakee was without their star player and leading scorer 6'6 senior Joe Tagarelli.

Starting out the game Waunakee seemed very out of sorts as they were without their leading scorer and their go to player in the post. Waunakee continually settled for the three point shot, which just wasn't falling to start the game. The Warriors were able to take advantage of their height and get second and third opportunities and in addition St. Mel's continued to foul the Warriors over and over. These two things led to numerous easy buckets around the rim and free throws which Waunakee was able to convert on. In the second quarter St. Mel's full court press was finally provided some success as they were able to run and gun their way to a one point lead at half time.

In the second half Waunakee's experience took over. St. Mel's continued to foul Waunakee and the Warriors continued to convert on their free throws. Waunakee was also able to find a new go to player in 6'4 junior Will Decorah. Decorah was able to use his strength to score over smaller defenders time and time again. Waunakee's lead grew to 11 at the end of the third quarter. With St. Mel's top two scorers in foul trouble Waunakee seemed destined to break this game open but, St. Mel's kept coming back with their run and gun offense and their ability to hit the three ball. In the end the Warriors were able to get a 68 to 61 win.

Top Players
Khalil Small 6'1 junior St. Mels- Was able to score at will throughout the entire game. Would of scored a lot more points but, was in foul trouble most of the game.
Tevin King 6'1 sophomore St. Mels- Really carried the teams at times, typically when Small was sitting on the bench in foul trouble. Was able to get to the rim and score in a variety of ways.
Donald Morgan 6'1 junior St. Mels- Didn't do a ton of scoring but, did a great job battling in the post against much taller defenders, to grag rebounds.
Will Decorah 6'4 junior Waunakee- Just a beast in the post where he used his superior strength to score over smaller defenders. Was able to get to the free throw line time and again where he was able to convert.
Tim Keenan 6'3 senior Waunakee- Honestly didn't notice him much but, he did score 13 points. Keenan has become a very solid third option for this team.
Ryan Kruser 5'11 junior Waunakee- Did very solid job running the point off the bench and handling the full court press.

Box Score
St. Mels- Small 21 King 18 Bernard Lilly Jr 11 Morgan 5 Teadlic Anderson 4 Vesper Young 2 Dayvion Barnett 0 Justin McGee 0 William Browns 0 William Spain 0
Waunakee- Decorah 21 Keenan 13 Ben Cable 12 Kruser 8 Justin Block 7 Dylan DesRochers 5 Brett Richgels 2 Jake Heitland 0 Max Chamberlin 0

St. Mel's has a lot of talent but, I'm guessing will be in for a long year against taller teams and better teams because of their inexperience. Next year their a team that I would be worried about if I had to play them because they will return the majority of their major scorers and add a little height and they will be very good. Waunakee is a team that will just be a very solid team that can play with everyone because of their defense and rebounding ability. Without Tagarelli though this team won't go far. I heard through the grapevine that he has a wrist injury but, it didn't appear to be too bad and hopefully will be back in the near future. With Tagarelli back this team is easily a sectional team and until they meet a power from the north in Onalaska or Rice Lake they should be just fine.