Thursday, March 29, 2012

Top Teams

I figured I would do my rankings of all the teams I have seen this year for Wisconsin no matter what division each team plays in.

1. Germantown- Easily the best team in the state. They were only really challenged a handful of games all year and won the D1 title.

2. Milwaukee King- Only lost two games all year. A three point game to Germantown in the title game and a team from Arkansas in a national tournament.

3. Whitefish Bay Dominican- Pushed Germantown to the limit and their only lose of the year was to them. Have the size of any team in the state and have three D1 college level players.

4. Madison Memorial- Lost very badly to Germantown but, I just think Germantown was just that much better then everyone. Their five are as athletic as any team in the state.

5. Onalaska- Play a very solid defense and have a 6'8 big in the middle and Matt Thomas on the outside, who just might be the best shooter in the state.

6. Cuba City- Have size and strength everywhere and a very tough 1-3-1 zone defense. Add in one of the top coaches in the state and a legit star.

7. Milwaukee Washington- A very quick athletic team that can battle with anyone.

8. East Troy- Have the tallest front line in the state. Even though they didn't make it to state they were still one of the more impressive teams I saw this year. Can light it up from downtown.

9. Brillion- Love how this team really works as a team to get it done. Play in one of the best conferences in the state for their size and came out of a tough sectional.

10. Waunakee- Have scoring droughts at times but, they can really defend and rebound which really keeps them in games.

There is a quick run down of my rankings. It is getting alittle late and I'm kind of tired so hopefully I didn't miss any teams that should be in there. I have about a handful of posts that I will do before my blogging will probably come to an end for the year as softball gets into swing.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

State All Tournament Team

I know it has been a long time since I last post but, I have been on vacation and had family visiting so this has been the first time I could actually get on to post. Was a very interesting and entertaining state and now that I have had some time to think about it here are my final thoughts and then my tournament team from the games at the Kohl Center.

In Division One Germantown did what every one was calling from the start of the season and took state. They dominated Madison Memorial and just was able to out last Milwaukee King in the championship. In D2 Onalaska defeated Milwaukee Pius in a defensive struggle and then took it too Kaukana in the championship. D3 Brillion dominated Lodi and then hung on to get the win against GET. Division Four Dominican just out ran and out gunned everyone. Division Five was the biggest shocker with Sam Dekker just carry his team to a state title, making a big comeback against McDonell Central and then beating Racine Lutheran on a buzzer shot.

1st Team
Sam Dekker 6'8 senior Sheboygan Lutheran- No doubt on this one. Dekker just carried his team all year long and continued to do it in their final two games. 12 points in the final 55 seconds of championship game says it all. Oh and the game winner at the buzzer.

Matt Thomas 6'4 junior Onalaska- The purest shooter that there is in the state. Had a tough game against Pius but, was still the top scorer and then put on a shooting display in the title game.

Duane Wilson 6'3 junior Dominican- Loved watching this guy play. Quickest player at state with the ball in his hands and was on fire from the outside in the title game.

Zak Showalter 6'3 senior Germantown- Put on a dunk contest against Memorial and then showed his outside shooting against King. Doesn't have to be a great scorer just does all the little things.

Arroyo Edwards 6'5 senior King- Was the best player in the title game but, just didn't have enough height on his side to combat the size of King.

2nd Team
Diamond Stone 6'9 freshmen Dominican- Had a triple double in the semi final game and that's about all you need to know about him. A great shot blocker and a soft touch around the rim.

Austin Malone-Mitchell 5'11 junior King- Did a great job of handling the pressure on his own and then was money from three point range.

Jake Showalter 6'2 sophomore Germantown- I don't think he missed from three point range against Memorial and then had another strong showing against King.

Cory Vaassen 6'3 senior Cuba City- Really struggled in the title game but, had a great semi final game where he carried the team in the scoring column.

Peter Drummond 5'11 senior Racine Lutheran- Really did a nice job moving the ball and finding wide open teammates for open threes, while also hitting some wide open threes of his own.

3rd Team
Luke Fischer 6'10 junior Germantown- Just a dominate force on the inside throughout both games. Whether it was scoring in the paint, rebounding, or blocking shots.

Ryan Reinke 6'4 senior Brillion- Didn't really have a stand out star but, Reinke was the guy that did all the little things and stood out the most.

Riley Bambenek 6'4 senior GET- Mr. Everything on the offensive end. Ran the point, did the scoring, rebounded, and was the guy on top of the 1-3-1 zone defense.

Cam Ward 6'1 sophomore Marshall- When he steps on the court he's in his range. Nearly single handily took Marshall to the championship game.

Ty Demuth 6'3 senior Racine Lutheran- Was RaLu's leading scorer at state and also led the team in assists in the championship game.

Looking at this list you can see a lot of underclassmen, which means we may be seeing some of these teams at state next year. No matter what is expected though, things never play out the way you expect.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Regional Games

Well this past weekend are the last games that I will see before state, as I am going on vacation and will miss the sectional games but, will be back in  a week and ready for state. I did get to go to a pair of regional final games this weekend. Saturday night I took in Madison Lafollette and Madison Memorial and Monday night took in the home town Wisconsin Dells vs Dodgeville.

Madison Memorial 69 Madison Lafollette 52

This game really turned into a one of five game as Lafollette really only got one player in this game going. 6'6 junior Trevon Ampe came out guns blazing as he scored all 10 of Lafollette's first quarter scoring and finished with 26 points for the game but, never got any help from his outside scorers. Early on Memorial was able to get the ball inside and score against the smaller Lafollette team and they were able to get second and third opportunities to score. Then in the second half Memorial was able to push the tempo a bit but, then foul trouble caught up to them and free throws allowed Lafollette to get back in the game somewhat but, the strong outside shooting of 6'5 senior Junior Lomomba and the solid play of fellow senior 6'4 Ngijol Songolo allowed Memorial to maintain a solid lead and then cruise to victory late.

Wisconsin Dells 50 Dodgeville 36

Shane Wimann a 6'4 junior for the Dells is about all that needed to be said about this game. Wimann came out with a higher energy then anyone on the court and took this game over. No one for the Dells could hit anything from the outside but, Wimann was able to clean up the garbage on the inside. Nick Crowley a junior for Dodgeville tried to match his intensity but, just got himself in foul trouble. The other determining fact was the Dells 1-2-2 zone defense. Dodgeville just passed the ball around the outside and when they looked to get the ball inside they would turn the ball over. The one player that didn't seem to be bothered by the Dells zone was senior Jake Bechen who with his height and high release was able to shoot over the zone and knock down the threes from the outside. The Dells D is going to be the key to them making it to state. If they can force teams to shoot over the zone then they can negate their lack of size and keep Wimann on the inside to go most of the rebounding.

I know this was a short post but, I didn't have a ton of time to write and it's late at night.