Weekend Review

Had a great two days of basketball last Thursday taking in the Sun Prairie vs Madison Memorial game and then on Saturday going to the NY2LA event at Homestead and took in four more great games.

Madison Memorial 75 Sun Prairie 74

This was a game that reminded me why I love high school basketball so much. It was a back and forth game that could of gone to either team and with one team needed a huge crucial play late in the game to get the victory. This was suppose to finally be the year that Sun Prairie would over take Memorial and be the elite team in the conference and then make it to state down the road. Memorial was without their top player in 6'1 senior point guard Brendan Ortiz as well which led most people to believe Memorial to have no shot. Through the first half this seemed to be the case as Sun Prairie was able to get a 14 point halftime lead behind the sharp shooting of their two stats 6'7 senior Nick Fuller and 6'3 sophomore Nick Noskowiak.

In the third quarter Fuller really seemed to be forcing things and he threw up some wild shots. For Memorial 6'4 senior Jester Weah finally had a big game scoring 19 second half points the majority of them occurring on second chance buckets. I've said it before and I continue to believe that Weah is the best rebounder in the state and one of the best leapers. Many times he tipped the put back, miss the shot and then jump back up and get the second rebound and score the basket. The other thing that helped Weah out in this game was that he was finally making his foul shots which he had struggled on this year. Weah was countered on the by Sun Prairie's mountain 6'3 junior Craig Evans who goes 350 and is being recruited to play football at Wisconsin. Evans doesn't jump like Weah but, he is able to use his size and strength to score and at one point had three straight buckets.

Late in the game Noskowiak was knocking down everything but, Memorial was able to counter everything he made with a bucket of their own. Memorial senior 5'11 Julian Walters hit a pair of back to back three pointers to pull Memorial within two and a Memorial foul and missed free throw by Prairie set the stage. Walters raced down the court penetrated and dished to a wide open 5'10 sophomore Shareef Smith who hit the wide open three and of course when Sun Prairie brought the ball back up the court Smith stole the ball and sealed the upset victory for Memorial.

Top Players
Jester Weah 6'4 senior Memorial- Basically said it all already just dominated the glass early on and carried his team throughout.
Julian Walters 5'11 senior Memorial- Not a great night but, had two huge three point shots late in the game.
Reggie Roemer 5'9 junior Memorial- Usually doesn't play much but, came off the bench and gave his team a nice spark hitting the mid range jumper and knocking down a three.
Nick Fuller 6'7 senior SP- Was high scorer in the game and was hot from the outside knocking down threes and was able to hit some of those wild shots he was throwing up.
Nick Noskowiak 6'3 sophomore SP- Was hitting everything he put up and seemed to hit all the big shots.
Craig Evans 6'3 junior SP- Just a force on the inside creating space and scoring.



NY2LA
Little Chute 53 West Allis Central 29
This game was over before I got to the game and didn't get a chance to really see Little Chute play as they were up 30 when I arrived and the starters played maybe a minute of the time I was there.

Wauwatosa East 70 Milwaukee Washington 64
Washington didn't show up at the start of the game and were working from behind throughout. They applied the pressure and actually took the lead at one point but, the solid guard play of Tosa's Nate Moore and Anthony Carroll kept things under control and Washington couldn't knock down the big shot late when they were fouling. Part of Washington's problem seemed to be because Washington sub players so much their guys just couldn't get in the flow of the game and when they finally did get the game close is when they stayed with a solid group of five out there.

Milwaukee Marquette 61 Homestead 59
Homestead just seemed a step slow in this one and Marquette just ran their offense until they found the open guy to score. Marquette really showed that they are a smart well coached team and very unselfish. Homestead tried to run the slow post up game but, they just couldn't get the ball inside and when they finally made their run to get back in the game they went small and applied the pressure. Marquette struggled late but, hung on to the one point win.

Milwaukee Hamilton 59 Onalaska 45
Onalaska's Matt Thomas was the top player in this game but, he just didn't have enough help and his shots just weren't falling.  Kevin Looney for Hamilton was the player everyone game to watch but, Onalaska was determined not to let him beat them and he had only two points in the first half but, it was Hamilton's guards that really carried them early before Looney got something going late in the game.

Milwaukee Vincent 74 Whitefish Bay Dominican 59
Once again the top player was on the losing as Duane Wilson put on one of the most impressive games I've seen anyone have. Wilson was unguardable in the first half as he had 23 points and was hitting everything he put up. In the second half he tired out and just didn't have any gas left in the tank. For Vincent they really played a horrible first half but, their overall number of athletes allowed them to win this game and the strong play of Deonte Burton, who didn't force things as much as he had in the first half.


Top Players
Nate Moore 6'2 senior Wauwatosa East- A real smooth player that never seems to be expending a lot of energy but, can get anywhere he wants and knocks down the three point shot.
Anthony Carroll 6'1 senior Wauwatosa East- Similar player to Moore in that he is real smooth and never out of control.
Jamaar McKay 6'4 senior Milwaukee Washington- Didn't have a great game but, still got his points maybe from taking a lot of shots. Really showed the variety of ways he could score.
Tom Beres 5'11 senior Milwaukee Marquette- Ultra quick guard that could get anywhere he wanted and had a very smooth touch.
Jake Laihinen 6'2 senior Homestead- A heady player that was on fire from the outside and scoring in transition.
Matt Thomas 6'4 senior Onalaska- No one could stay in front of him and can get his shot off anytime that he wants. The shots just weren't falling today.
Jeff Hickman 5'8 senior Milwaukee Hamilton- Hit the threes and was able to drive to the rim and score.
Kevin Looney 6'8 junior Milwaukee Hamilton- Really controlled the game without having to score much. Blocked shots and rebounding, late in the game he was finally able to score though.
Duane Wilson jr 6'3 senior Dominican- Another guy that no one could stay in front of and couldn't miss. Is an ultra athlete that blocks shots, rebounds, and throw down some amazing dunks.
Diamond Stone 6'9 sophomore Dominican- Really showed an impressive game with his back to the basket and of coursed rebounded great and blocked shots.
Deonte Burton 6'6 senior Milwaukee Vincent- A man child on the court that can rebound with the best of them and get to the hoop using his strength. Was able to knock down the mid range jump shot and hit the occasional three.

Was a nice chance to see some of the elite players in the state play against each other and see some of the elite teams play as well.