WBBY Shootout

Was a good day of basketball but, a very long day that took it's tole on me. It was also two days ago now so I will do my best to do a recap on the long day of basketball where I watched seven straight games and then two halves of two other games. Were some good games, some lopsided games, and some games that were just a little boring which is pretty rare for me to say about a high school game.

Martin Luther 79 Brookfield Academy 49
I got to this game just before half time and this game was basically over before it started. Brookfield Academy is an extremely young team and their big man 6'10 senior Alex Setzer didn't play in the game. Martin Luther really pushed the tempo and looked for their three point shooters after they pushed that tempo and they were hitting their threes.

Kettle Moraine Lutheran 66 St. Thomas More 58
Thinking back now I really don't remember much of this game Lutheran was their typical team with no real star and just a very solid top eight players that they could rotate in. 6'2 senior Joey Behm is one of the few seniors on the team and he made his presence known from the outside hitting threes. For St Thomas More their star 5'10 senior Jason Klatt could never get himself going and really forced a lot.

Beaver Dam 63 Wausau West 61 
I watched this game and I was still surprised that this game went to over time. Beaver Dam clearly was the better team in my eyes but, Wausau West played extremely hard and fought to the bitter end and could of just as well as won this game. I don't know much about Nate Lemmons the coach of West but, he really impressed me and really got his players to play extremely hard for him. I will be curious to watch West in coming years. For Beaver Dam 5'11 senior Garrett Nelson was the best player in the game but, late in the game he forced things a bit too much an was out of control at times.

Wauwatosa East 62 Whitefish Bay Dominican 49
Tosa East may of won the game but, I have more to say about Dominican. East doesn't have any stars just a ton of good players and they are very balanced. Dominican has really took a step back and will probably take a year under Coach Gosz before he can put his stamp on this team. 6'1 junior Gacoby Jones seems a little lost right now in the offense. Last year the point guard dominated the ball and his primary offense was to drive to the rim and finish or dish off to a team mate. This year Jones is playing off the ball a good amount of time and was taking a lot more jumpers from the outside then he did in the past. Domincan overall is a young team with very little experience.

Milwaukee Pius 57 La Crosse Central 56
I think everyone came to watch Badger recruit 6'5 senior Kobe King and Central play and everyone had to come away very impressed by Pius. King did his thing whenever he touched the ball and looked very impressive and 6'0 senior Baily Kale struggled in the first half but, got it going late to bring Central back into this game. Pius came out like gang busters off the bat and jumped Central and Central had to claw back all game long. Pius is long and athletic and can shoot the three very well. Pius's starting lineup consists of five guys between 6'3 and 6'6 and they all move very well and can shoot.

Brookfield Central 59 Homestead 41
This was one of the more boring games as Central jumped out early and Homestead never really threatened to come back at all. Central moved the ball extremely well and have a solid point guard in 5'9 sophomore Gage Malensek and 6'2 junior Andres Peralta-Werns was draining threes from the outside in route to 27 points. Homestead had no offense what so ever other then a few dump downs to their big man but, other then that they settled for outside jumpers that just weren't falling.

Oshkosh North 94 Milwaukee Riverside 84
In a battle of top five teams North really showed that they are the top team in the state right now. Riverside just had nothing of a consistent offensive basis other then their star 6'6 senior Terrence Lewis. Lewis was the most impressive player in the game as he had 29 points in the first half and finished with 43. Lewis was hitting everything from the outside and was able to score on the inside and just seemed to have a nose for the ball. For North it was really a three headed monster that got it done and each took their turn doing it. 6'2 senior Brett Ellestad came off the bench with a monster first half knocking down the three point shot and saved one highlight for the second half with a nice breakaway dunk. 6'5 senior Philip Flory took his turn early in the second half scoring in transition and knocking down some outside shots and 6'5 junior Tyrese Haliburton finished it off when Riverside had to extend their defense and Haliburton was able to drive to the rim and score at will it seemed.

Kaukauna 84 Whitnall 57
This was probably deemed the game of the day but, unfortunately this game didn't live up to it. Whitnall couldn't do anything at all and Badger recruit 6'5 junior Tyler Herro probably had one of the worst games of his life scoring nine points and zero in the second half. Their number two guy 6'6 Kevon Taylor didn't even look to shoot it seemed and he hit a pair of shots late in the game. One thing that made this game interesting though was that it was the Jordan McCabe show. The 6'0 junior put on a And One like performance and was playing to the crowd who was oohing and awing all game long and McCabe was loving every second of it and was playing to the crowd. McCabe did it all knocking down NBA threes, scoring in the lane, rebounding, and of course his passing with no looks and behind the backs.

Personal All Showcase Team (from Day 3 anyway)
1st team
Jordan McCabe 6'0 junior Kaukauna
Terrence Lewis 6'6 senior Milwaukee Riverside
Kobe King 6'4 senior La Crosse Central
Garrett Nelson 5'11 senior Beaver Dam
Bailey Kale 6'0 senior La Crosse Central

2nd Team
Tyrese Haliburton 6'5 junior Oshkosh North
Michael Pitrof 6'3 senior Milwaukee Pius
Brett Ellestad 6'2 senior Oshkosh North
Andres Peralta-Werns 6'2 junior Brookfield Central
Carlos Curtis 6'3 junior Milwaukee Riverside

3rd Team
Victor Nwagbaraocha 6'4 senior Milwaukee Pius
Philip Flory 6'5 senior Oshkosh North
Joey Behm 6'2 senior Kettle Moraine Lutheran
Tommy Borta 6'7 senior Wausau West
Gage Malensek 5'9 sophomore Brookfield Central

This tournament always has some great story lines and this one was no different. D2 was the biggest story with Lax Central handling Kaukauna and then going and getting beat by Pius, while Kaukauna dominated Whitnall. Oshkosh North showed their dominance which a huge win over Riverside as did Ripon winning both of their games. Potentially their may of been three state champions here and maybe even four if you count the Prairie School who I didn't get an opportunity to watch.