Swingfam Showcase

Saturday took in the the Swingfam Showcase at the Just a Game field house in the Dells here. I really love the idea of having teams come that have players that play with the Swing AAU, all in one place The only real complaint I have is that there was no roster or program available at the door. It really isn't a big deal but, caused me not to be able to keep my normal scoring and is it really a big deal to get a list of the players from each team and print a bunch of copies on a page? It was a minor thing but, just hurt my keeping score.

Columbus 56 Cuba City 51
Didn't get to this game until after half time so not really sure what happened in the first half. Columbus is always a mystery to me. Every time I see them play they look pretty good and I could see them making a nice playoff run and finishing towards the top of their conference but, when I look at their record later on there like a .500 team and finish down towards the bottom of the conference. Now the last few years the Capital North has been a very good conference but, I really think Columbus could be better. From what I saw in this one Cuba City really pounded the ball inside to use their height advantage and on the defensive end they played a 2-3 zone defense. The zone led to Columbus shooting lots of threes which allowed them take the lead in this one led by 6'2 senior Kevin Hussey who hit three threes in the second half. For Cuba City for whatever reason late in the game they stopped looking inside and when they got down decided to start shooting threes rather then sticking with there game. In the end Columbus hit the free throws while Cuba City missed the threes.

Top Players
Kevin Hussey 6'2 senior Columbus- Really did a nice job hitting the outside shot against the zone defense in this one.
Benjamin Burkholder 6'4 senior Cuba City- Did a nice job of holding off his defender in the post and using his size to score on the inside.

Madison Edgewood 69 Lake Mills 67
This was the reason that I went to the showcase. Two D3 teams that are both ranked in the top five. Early on Lake Mills was hitting the threes and jumped out to the early lead but, Edgewood just hung around all game long. The game went back and forth but, Edgewood really made their move when 6'4 sophomore Mandela Deang came into the game. Deang honestly doesn't look like the greatest athlete or the most talented but, he can really shoot the ball and comes in looking to score. Edgewood had a pretty nice lead late in this one but, Lake Mills made a run late behind the strong play of 6'0 junior guard Alex Ranney who hit the threes, ran the offense, and was able to use his strength to score in paint. At the end of this one Lake Mills had their shot as they missed a pair of threes and a pair of put backs as the ball went out of bounce as time expired.

Top Players
Mandela Deang 6'4 sophomore Edgewood- Pretty much said it all earlier. Just a scorer off the bench and can really shoot the three.
Sam Noyce 6'1 senior Edgewood- Really attacked the rim hard and almost reckless at times. Was able to knock down the spot up three pointer from outside.
Alex Ranney 6'0 junior Lake Mills- Extremely improved over last year. He shot the ball off the dribble extremely well, used his strength on the inside to score in the post, and ran the offense.
Simon Linsmire 6'6 senior Lake Mills- Rebounded extremely well and can be a one man fast break when he grabs those rebounds. Can really handle the ball well in transition and runs like a deer.

Waunakee 63 Beaver Dam 61
After looking at both teams records I thought Waunakee would run away with this one but, was surprised when Beaver Dam made this game and played a really good game. Waunakee didn't do anything extravagant but, just played a solid overall game throughout not turning the ball over and scoring around the rim. Every time Waunakee took a big lead Beaver Dam would storm back with their three point shooting. This game was tied late and I thought for sure I was gonna see a repeat of Waunakee 6'3 sophomore Mitch Listau hitting a game winning shot. Unfortunately Listau did hit a game winner but, it was from the free throw line after a touch foul. With 4.4 seconds left Beaver Dam had a chance and more then I thought as 6'0 junior Garrett Nelson drove the length of the court and had his running layup bounce off the back of the rim and out.

Top Players
Riley Freeman 6'4 senior Waunakee- Just a real calming force in this game rebounding and scoring on the inside.
Mitch Listau 6'3 sophomore Waunakee- Nothing spectacular this game but, did a nice job of controlling things on the perimeter and made his free throws.
Garrett Nelson 5'11 junior Beaver Dam- Doesn't look like much but, was probably the most impressive player in this game. Used his quickness to get to the rim and create space from three point range where he was able to knock the shots down.
Sam Wiersma 6'0 senior Beaver Dam- Did a good job of picking up the scoring burden when Nelson was saddled with foul trouble. Was able to hit the deep threes or get out in transition and score.

I know I didn't have the greatest write ups here but, I'm alttle worn out from all the basketball this past week. Should be back to normal this week with just games here and there like before.