State Recap

Well now that state has been over a week ago and the girls have already started I figured I would do a quick write up of the summary of each division and my "All Tournament Team" (top five players) of each division and just some of my thoughts.

Division Five
Once again like always this division was Randoph's too lose. Randolph has a tough semi-final game against Elmwood and if not for some foul trouble Elmwood may of been able to knock Randolph off. With Randolph really struggling early one sophomore point guard Duke Vander Galien really took over and controlled the game and was able to get to the rim and score and was always pushing the tempo. On the other side Drummond was back and it was nice to see them play well after basically getting embarrassed last year and pushed Green Bay NEW Lutheran too the limit before bowing out in overtime. Travis Voigt for GBNL really caught my attention in this one I always love the true point guards and Voigt is exactly that. He can score but, looks for his team mates first it seems. The championship game was a great match up of point guards with Voigt and Vander Galien going head to head. Honestly they kind of cancelled each other out but, it was the interior play particularly for Aaron Retzlaff who used an array of moves to score in the paint. Have to say it was very different seeing Randolph push the tempo when they have been so slow paced in the past.

All Tournament
Aaron Retzlaff 6'4 senior Randolph- Just was a beast in the paint on the offensive end. Wasn't the biggest player but, used a variety of skills to score around and the rim and also did all the little things rebounding and finding open team mates cutting to the hoop. Ran the court well as well which allowed him to finish with a nice dunk.
Ben Best 6'6 senior Drummond- Gives a 100% at all times and grabs every rebound. Can see why he is an automatic double double every time he is on the court.
Travis Voigt 5'8 senior GBNL- I've pretty much said it already above. Ultimate point guard in being a pass first leader but, can also score as well.
Duke Vander Galien 5'7 sophomore Randolph- Really controlled the tempo in both games they played and was the reason that Randolph is playing different then they have in the past.
Logan Wolf 6'2 senior Elmwood- Battled foul trouble throughout the entire game but, still really showed the ability to shoot the ball from the outside and didn't need a lot of room.

Division Four
As expected it was Whitefish Bay Dominican that came out on top but, it wasn't nearly as easy as the majority of people thought it would be. Dominican was in a battle with both Cuba City and Aburndale but, in the end Duane Wilson and Diamond Stone were just too much for anyone else at state. I don't remember much about the first game but, Aburndale was able to defeat Amherst fairly easily as Amherst just wasn't able to get anything to fall. Aburndale really worked the high post to low post game using their size advantage. Cuba City didn't back down one bit and actually had a much better showing this year against Dominican then last year. Dominican really struggled to make anything early but, in the second half Wilson took over and he wasn't going to be denied. Cuba City bombed the threes but, just didn't hit enough to win this one. In the championship game Aburndale played close tell Wilson went on one of his runs and he and Stone had some dunks and they were able to run away. Wilson and Stone had the highlights but, it was Aurndale's Austin Hawkins that was the top player in the game as he had 31 points and he just couldn't miss in either state game and Dominican had no one to guard him even when the 6'9 Stone was on him.

All Tournament
Austin Hawkins 6'4 senior Aburndale- Just couldn't miss in either game and I thought he was the most impressive player in the division. Showed the ability to hit the deep jumper as well as get in the post as score. Will be a really good division three player.
Duane Wilson 6'2 senior Dominican- Has got to be the quickest player in the state when the ball is in his hands. Showed the full arsenal this weekend. Hit the deep deep threes, showed the floater in the land, mid range jumper, the ball handling, and of course the power dunks.
Diamond Stone 6'9 sophomore Dominican- Looked awkward at times but, have to remember that he is only a sophomore and a big man. Showed some very nice moves with his back to the basket. Blocked a ton of shots and had a ton of rebounds.
Caleb Glennon 6'1 senior Amherst- His team didn't have a great game but, Glennon played extremely hard. Moves very well without the ball and showed the ability to cut and get to the rim and score.
Jake Jelacic 6'6 junior Dominican- Probably catch a little flack for not having a Cuba City guy but, I really liked how Jelacic did all the little things for Dominican. Played great defense and was the teams leading rebounder  I believe. (At least it seemed)

Division Three
This was the most hyped up division and they really lived up to it. Game one saw a ton of talent with Little Chute and Lacrosse Aquinas. Both teams had the size and talent. I thought the bigs of Little Chute would have their way but, the less heralded big man of Aquinas really stuck with them. The biggest difference in this game was Bronson Koenig who was the best player on the court and really showed that he makes his team mates better and that was probably why they won. In game two Lodi came out firing to avenge their embarrassing performance last year and nearly ran East Troy out of the gym but, East Troy fought back and made this one close late before Lodi clinched it with free throws. Lodi did a great job of limiting the 6'9 Prahl twins but, basically collapsing on them and triple teaming them anytime that they touched the ball. Throughout the Lodi D in with the struggles of Nate Dodge, makes them extremely hard. In the title game Aquinas had too much fire power and if not for some hot shooting from Kris Seffrood this game would of been over very early.

All Tournament
Bronson Koenig 6'3 senior Aquinas- He is the perfect point guard.Might be the best scorer in the state but, seems to get as much enjoyment watching his team mates score as he does scoring himself. Just makes his team so much better.
Parker Weber 6'7 junior Aquinas- Really benefits from playing with Koenig but, really showed me something against Little Chute scoring over defenders that were his size and staying with the much more athletic Little Chute big men.
Turner Botz 6'6 senior Little Chute- Struggled in the first half but, played twice as hard in the second half and didn't settle just sitting outside and cut to the hoop to score and grabbed offensive rebounds.
Kenneth Lowe 6'7 senior Little Chute- Showed his wide array of post moves in the game and also showed that he was an extremely athletic big man and can score in a wide variety of ways.
Jordan Shea 6'4 junior Lodi- Thought about picking team mate Seffrood but, Shea did such a great job of guarding Nate Dodge against East Troy and did a solid job on Koenig in the championship. Oh yea was Lodi's top scorer as well.

Division Two

This division always seems too be the least exciting and also the most unpredictable. Onalaska had a lot of hype and had the top player in Matt Thomas but, Pulaski really impressed me with the ability so slow things down and always seemed to be under control playing their game. Pulaski did a nice job of limiting Matt Thomas and company by switching between a man to man to a zone throughout the game. Yea Thomas got his but, no one else looked good. In the other game Wisconsin Lutheran just pressed and pressured Stoughton and ran them out of the gym very very quickly. Just seemed like Lutheran was playing with seven guys on the court as every pass Stoughton through was picked off. In the second game Pulaski still played their slow down game and just seemed unaffected by the Lutheran pressure. Lutheran on the other side looked very uncomfortable in the half court setting and in particular against the Pulaski zone. Patients out lasted the speed in the end.

All Tournament
Cody Wichmann 6'4 senior Pulaski- Was the teams leading scorer throughout and also helped control the tempo and was their number two ball handler.
Deiondre Cunningham 6'0 senior Lutheran- Was one of the few Lutheran players that was actually able to hit the three point shot. Whenever Lutheran needed a big shot or was trying to get back in the game against Pulaski, Cunningham was the guy that would hit the shot.
Jordan Stiede 5'10 senior Pulaski- Wasn't a huge scorer but, did hit the open three when it was given. What he did do was control the overall team tempo and did a great great job of running the point against Lutheran's pressure and didn't turn the ball over.
Matt Thomas 6'4 senior Onalaska- Was his usual self scoring at will and moving without the ball. I also think he may of reached double digit rebounds as well.
Nick McGlynn 6'7 sophomore Stoughton- Was the one Stoughton player that had a very good game. He dominated the glass on both sides and was able to score in the paint.

Division One

The first game was a entertaining up and down game. Germantown wanted to run and Oshkosh North ran right with them. Unfortunately for North, Germantown just had a lot more guns. North couldn't go inside to their big man Cooper Radtke with the size of Germantown inside so they had to rely on their outside play and they just didn't have enough. Game two was the biggest shocker of state as Mukwonago defeated Milwaukee King, when King tried to press Mukwonago and speed up the game they were unable to and Mukwonago was just too big and strong on the inside. If you have seen Mukwonago they really looked like men playing against boys. In the championship though it was just too much Germantown and their entire team talent and size was too much.

All Tournament
Dominic Cizauskas 6'1 junior Mukwonago- Just have to say wow. This kid is huge. Looks like a nfl middle linebacker but, may of been the most athletic player at state. Handles the ball, rebounds, shots, and can really jump.
Luke Fisher 7'0 senior Germantown- Just solid guy that will always have a good game. Rebounds, blocks shots, and of course scores at will.
Nathan Neveau 5'11 junior Oshkosh North- Really had a smooth game and looked like he loved playing the uptempo game. Has a very nice mid range jump shot.
Jake Showalter 6'3 junior Germantown- This kid just loves shooting at state and he really bombs away from the outside. If he's open shot is going to go down.
Nate Tanguay 6'4 senior Mukwonago- Does alittle bit of everything. Scores in the post, rebounds, shoots the three, and helped bring the ball up the court against the pressure defenses.

I would say that it was a so so state tournament this year and I'm already looking towards next year to pick who the top teams will be and who will be able to make the trip back to Madison and repeat. Germantown maybe a three peat? Well I will leave that for my next post.