State Review

Just a quick recap of state this past weekend. Just some of my thoughts of state and lasting impressions.

Division One
Well Stevens Point surprised everyone by getting to state but, they really didn't surprise winning state when they got there. Most people thought they were the favorite but, they way they beat Arrowhead in the championship was very impressive. Arrowhead had no one to guard 6'8 junior Joey Hauser. For Arrowhead 5'11 senior Trevell Cunningham really opened up some eyes I think. I've always loved watching him play the past two years and I think they rest of the state saw what I've been seeing. With how impressive Point was in the final really led me to be impressed with Madison Memorial, at least their defense. Everyone said how physical the Memorial vs Point game was but, honestly it just looked like every other Memorial game I've seen this year. 6'8 senior Chris Knight out played Hauser in this game and nearly gave Memorial a chance to win and I'd rate Memorial as the #2 team at state. Brookfield Central kind of gave a game away to Arrowhead after being up the majority of the game and Arrowhead won in an epic battle. Appears Stevens Point will be the early favorite going into next year.

Division Two
In game one it was just a replay of the La Crosse Central vs Waunakee game of January. Central was just too quick and athletic for Waunakee. 6'4 senior Kobe King did an exceptional defensive job on Waunakee star 6'3 junior Mitch Listau. Listau just wasn't quick enough to get around King or athletic enough to shoot over. 6'0 senior Bailey Kale had a monster game as well to go along with King's solid game. Game two was the 6'4 junior John Diener show. Diener hit every shot he took and really carried his team until late when 6'5 senior Jordan Johnson finally showed up a little bit. Milwaukee  Washington star 6'5 sophomore Deontay Longhad a very rough game but, thankfully Washington had enough talent to stay close and force this game into two overtimes before Cedarburg got the win.

What a final in this one,. Diener did his thing and Johnson hit some shots to keep Cedarburg in this game but, in the second half King completely took over. King was hitting everything from mid range out to three point range. Cedarburg had their shot at a full court shot to win and they just missed.

Division Three
Ripon came in with all the hype and were picked to take state but, it was another undefeated team that stole the show. Xaviers 6'0 junior Hunter Plaman and 5'7 junior Sam Ferris stole the show. They were hitting everything they took and used their speed and quickness to run and gun their way past Ripon who turned the ball over a little took much, and then ran right past Prescott whose big man 7'1 senior Owen Hamilton just look a little to slow for this game. Prescott defeated Lake Mills in game one because of the size of Hamilton. I love 6'1 senior Alex Ranney from Lake Mills and his bull dog mentality and I think Lake Mills was the more talented team. Ripon came in a little to confident and turned the ball over a little too much.

Division Four
This was Destiny's state to win from the get go. They were just too big and quick for anyone else in D4. 6'7 senior Sarion McGee was great to watch and he was a real team player and didn't care about his individual stats with his rebounding and passing. McGee might be the best passing big man in the state. 6'6 Terrance Banyard did it all and huge props to their bench players 5'7 Romaine Robinson and 6'0 Diovonte Caldwell. The two of the bench were immediate scoring impact when they came in the game. Darlington was a tremendous team that seemed to be very well coach and played with a ton of heart. Probably a once in a generation team for Darlington. Roncalli made a great run considering their regular season but, their shooting ran out against the power team of Destiny. Cameron had a ton of height but, Darlington was the quicker and smarter team.

Division Five
Wow this game did not go the way I thought at all. The two public schools beat the privates and Shullsburg basically disappeared in the final against Barneveld. Not sure if McDonell Central wasn't used to see a team with the same size of them or what because Central had a tough time getting the ball inside to their big men and turned the ball over time and again when trying to get the ball inside. In the other game Columbus Catholic relied on their outside shooting too much and always see the teams that rely on their outside shooting struggle when they get to the Kohl Center. Barneveld just seemed to be a team destined to win.