Week 5 Rankings

Another week has come so time for my new rankings. 

Division One

Eau Claire North dropped a game to River Falls which was a bad loss and they fell to 13. Madison Memorial lost a game to Janesville Craig which wasn't a huge upset and they had just beaten Sun Prairie so they stay at seven. Oshkosh West lost to Appleton West and fall from the rankings replaced by Kimberly. 

1. Oshkosh North

2. Waunakee

3. Bay Port

4. Brookfield East

5. Franklin

6. Racine Park

7. Madison Memorial

8. Sun Prairie

9. Brookfield Central

10. Stevens Point

11. Madison La Follette

12. Sussex Hamilton

13. Eau Claire North

14. Arrowhead

15. Kimberly

Division Two

Kaukauna lost to a team from out of state so I don't hold it against them. Wisconsin Lutheran lost to Whitnall and Wauwatosa East and fell from the rankings. Wauwatosa West lost to Sussex Hamilton and Brookfield Central and also fell from the rankings. Union Grove lost to the Prairie School and fell to 15. Marshfield lost to Eau Claire North and with their record I just couldn't see keeping in the rankings. 

1. Pewaukee

2. Whitnall

3. Kaukauna

4. Milwaukee Washington

5. La Crosse Central

6. Cedarburg

7. Stoughton

8. Monona Grove

9. Pulaski

10. Onalaska

11. Burlington

12. Westosha Central

13. Mount Horeb

14. Milwaukee North

15. Union Grove

Division Three

GET was beaten by a very good Onalaska team and drop just a couple spots to five. East Troy lost to Martin Luther which is to be expected so they fall only to 15. Lake Mills lost to Sauk Prairie and fall from the rankings and their replaced by Lakeside Lutheran which I've completely overlooked so far in the rankings. . 

1. Appleton Xavier 

2. Waupun

3. Dominican

4. Brown Deer

5. GET

6. Wrightstown

7. Prescott

8. Martin Luther

9. Wisconsin Dells

10. Racine St Catherines

11. Lakeside Lutheran

12. Brookfield Academy

13. Valders

14. Arcadia

15. East Troy

Division Four

Marathon was upset by Auburndale and fall to seven. Shiocton lost to a bigger school in Omro as did Darlingont who lost to Platteville because of this fact both teams hang on to the rankings at 14 and 15. 

1. New Glarus

2. Destiny

3. The Prairie School

4. Howards Grove

5. Clear Lake

6. Roncalli

7. Marathon

8. Mineral Point

9. Manitowoc Lutheran

10. Melrose Mindoro

11. Webster

12. Cuba City

13. Fennimore

14. Shiocton

15. Darlington

Division Five

Solon Springs lost to South Shore, Royal lost to Necedah and Almond Bancroft lost to Pacelli dropping them all to five, six, and seven.. Mcdonald Central lost to Clear Lake and Osseo Fairchild and fall from the rankings as did Black Hawk who lost to Platteville. Auburndale lost to Edgar and dropped a couple spots to 12. Pecatonica and Southewestern are new to the rankings. 

1. Bangor

2. Sheboygan Lutheran

3. Wauzeka Steuben

4. Seneca

5. Columbus Catholic

6. Solon Springs

7. Royal

8. Almond Bancroft

9. Amherst

10. Port Edwards

11. Potosi

12. Auburndale

13. Wild Rose

14. Pecatonica

15. Southwestern

Top Dunks and Top Scoring

Like last year I'm going to track the top 10 dunks that I've seen and in addition I'll be tracking the top 10 scoring nights that I've seen throughout the year.

Top Dunks 
1. Jalen Johnson 6'8 sophomore Sun Prairie vs Madison East December 21
Johnson caught the ball in transition one dribble to cut back to the middle to the court from the left side and threw it down over an East defender. This was very much a Giannis type dunk.

2. Jalen Johnson 6'8 sophomore Sun Prairie vs Madison East December 21
Dunk came 30 seconds after the previous one. Was your normal break away dunk but, he cupped it with his right hand and threw it down right handed. This was also right after the crowd was riding him.

3. Marlon Ruffin 6'4 senior Sun Prairie vs Madison Memorial December 16
Ruffin straight up picked the pocket of the Memorial ball handler and took the ball the length of the court and threw it down hard one handed.

4. Marlon Ruffin 6'4 senior Sun Prairie vs Madison East December 21
Was basically the same dunk as the other but, it this one the ball just found him in the open and threw it down hard again.

Top Scorers
1. 26 points Keshawn Justice 6'6 senior Madison East vs Sun Prairie December 21 

26 points Mason Peterson 6'3 senior Baraboo vs Wisconsin Dells December 5

3. 24 points Mitch Listau 6'5 senior Waunakee vs Milwaukee Riverside December 16

4. 22 points Mason Steffen 6'4 senior Waunakee vs Milwaukee Riverside December 16 

5. 20 points Marlon Ruffin 6'4 senior Sun Prairie vs Madison East December 21

6. 18 points Datril Thompson 5'8 senior Madison East vs Madison Memorial December 14 

7. 18 points Marlon Ruffin 6'4 senior Sun Prairie vs Madison Memorial December 16 

8. 17 points Jalen Johnson 6'8 sophomore Sun Prairie vs Madison East December 21

9. 16 points Jason Webb Jr 6'0 senior Milwaukee Riverside vs Waunakee December 16

10. 15 points Earl Lewis 6'0 senior Madison East vs Sun Prairie December 21

15 points Jackson Sveum 6'5 senior Wisconsin Dells vs Baraboo December 5 

Sun Prairie over Madison East

Took in an extremely intense basketball game at Madison East last night. I swear it's just the overall atmosphere of playing at East but, the games there are always intense. I will stand by the fact that I believe that East has the best atmosphere for watching a game in the entire state. The small gym and the students behind the hoops just can't be beat. East is also I team that thrives on the energy and I think they love to play in these games. This game was full of a ton of jawing going back and forth, had a technical, in my opinion could of been three or four called, and I believe even a student being escorted out by school security.

Early on East came out and really threw the first punch taking the lead throughout much of the first half. East senior 6'6 Keshawn Justice has now climbed to the top of my player rankings after not even making an appearance in my initial rankings. Justice hit some monster threes in the first half, some of which were extremely tough shots falling away, and did a little jawing with the Sun Prairie bench. Early on East did a fairly solid job on the defensive side in particular on Sun Prairie's senior 6'4 Marlon Ruffin. East did a lot of switching on the defensive end but, in particular it was 6'3 sophomore Keonte Jones guarding Ruffin. Jones did a good job of just pestering Ruffin from the time he stepped in from the end line and was just a constant nuisance. Fellow senior 6'2 Taylor Jansen did a nice job of getting to the rim and scoring early on. 6'8 sophomore phenom Jalen Johnson played tonight for I think the first time of the season and from the moment he stepped on the court things change. Johnson took the focus off Ruffin which allowed Ruffin to just work man to man where he was able to get to the rim. Johnson looked a little rough early on and Justice did a nice job of guarding Johnson and getting in his head a bit. East took the half time lead of one.

In the second half though Johnson got himself with a couple nice dunks in the transition but, it seemed like Justice was always there to match him with a big three for East. Ruffin was able to knock a pair of threes down for Sun Prairie and 6'3 senior Marty Strey is a just a warrior on the inside and was able to score a little bit in the paint. Justice got some second half help from 6'0 senior Earl Lewis who hit some huge threes and had a couple nice drives to the rim. His size hurt him a bit as he found himself throwing up some wild shots and getting blocked. Sun Prairie may of sealed the deal by double teaming Justice and late in the game he was just too tired to do anything against the double team.

Top Players
Keshawn Justice 6'6 senior Madison East- Really impressive this game. He played the entire game and he finally was hitting the threes which was nice to see. Also really impressed with his defense in particularirly guarding Johnson. Could get his shot at any time and could hit any shot.

Earl Lewis 6'0 senior Madison East- Helped out Justice a lot in the scoring column. Hitting the spot up threes and was able to drive the lane and hit some tough floaters.

Jalen Johnson 6'8 sophomore Sun Prairie- Didn't start the game but, from the moment he stepped on the court he was the best player on the court and he isn't even at full strength. Has really filled out and is just a smart player to go along with his skill. Shooting was a little off but, he plays like a big time guard with his passing ability and driving to the lane. Really showed off his skill with a transition dunk in traffic.

Marlon Ruffin 6'4 senior Sun Prairie- Hit a pair of big threes, one of which was a very nice step back three. He's usually the best athlete on the court. Did a nice job of battling on the glass and scoring second chance buckets. Used his strength and leaping ability to get to the rim and score.

Box Score
Sun Prairie 64- Ruffin 20 Johnson 17 Jansen 12 Strey 9 Caden White 4 Colin Schaefer 2 Rajai Williams 0 Alex Schaefer 0 Cooper Nelson 0
Madison East 56- Justice 26 Lewis 15 Jones 8 Datril Thompson 3 Davion Washington 2 Anthony Washington 2 Damontae Thompson 0 Marcus Justice 0

All I have to say is when Johnson is at full strength this Sun Prairie team will be extremely extremely scary. Ruffin is really good but, I think Johnson is really really good. Sun Prairie did struggle a bit against East quickness at times but, they should be just fine with those two guys I previously mentioned. East needs to get Justice some consistent help and they'll have some up and downs because they are very quick but, lack size. When East hits their shots and get out and run they can beat anyone.

Player Rankings

These are my just for fun player rankings of the players that I have actually seen play and solely based on the game that I saw them play in. Example in the fact that the best player I've seen this year would cleary be Keshawn Justice but, he played a terrible game and therefore won't be in my initial rankings. Now I will see Justice play again so hopefully he will play better and get back into my rankings. Again the rankings will only be based on the games I saw so if I haven't seen them they won't be ranked or if they played a bad game. I will ranked my overall players and then by class.

Overall
1. Mitch Listau 6'5 senior Waunakee- Very smooth three point shooter that can get really hot and just won't miss. Also a very solid lead guard that can just flat out score.
2. Datrill Thompson 5'7 senior Madison East- Ultra quick guard that can really handle the ball. In the game I saw there was no one that could stay in front of him. Really does a nice job of driving the lane and finishing over bigger defenders.
3. Mason Steffen 6'4 senior Waunakee- Solidly built kid that can get out in transition and finish. Also has a nice little mid range shot.
4. Marlon Ruffin 6'4 senior Sun Prairie- Just a superior athlete on the court and can get his shot at any time. Can really jump out of the gym. Does a little bit of everything and when he wants to can be a shut down defender.
5. Mason Peterson 6'3 senior Baraboo- Another flat out scorer that can get to the rim and finish. Can knock down the spot up three as well.
6. Rajai Williams 6'1 junior Sun Prairie- A solid point guard that handles the ball well and doesn't seem to feel the pressure. Can really hit the spot up three.
7. Keonte Jones 6'3 sophomore Madison East- Another scorer that I look forward to watching mature. Relishes the pressure and the opposing fans attention. Does a nice job of driving and drawing contact.
8. Jason Webb Jr senior Milwaukee Riverside- Just a solid heady lead guard. Can get to the rim and finish with either hand.
9. Cade Ellingson 6'2 junior Madison Memorial- A smart heady player that moves without the ball really well and always seems to be at the right place at the right time.
10. Tanner Brandt 6'8 senior Wisconsin Dells- Smooth big man that can get his shot at any time and can stop out and shoot the three point shot.  

Seniors
1. Mitch Listau 6'5 Waunakee
2. Datrill Thompson 5'7 Madison East
3. Mason Steffen 6'4 Waunakee
4. Mason Peterson 6'3 Baraboo
5. Marlon Ruffin 6'4 Sun Prairie 
6. Jason Webb Jr 6'0 Milwaukee Riverside
7. Tanner Brandt 6'8 Wisconsin Dells

Juniors
1. Rajai Williams 6'1 Sun Prairie
2. Cade Ellingson 6'2 Madison Memorial
3. Nick Caropreso 6'5 junior Madison Memorial- Big man that really moves well without the ball in his hands. Knocks down his free throws and rebounds well.
4. Ian Brown 6'5 Madison Memorial- Big man that moves really well and can help with the ball handling or take the outside shots.

Sophomores
1. Keonte Jones 6'3 Madison East
2. Anthony Washington 6'3 Madison East- Really an exceptional leaper that can really rebound the ball against bigger players.
3. Brett Hirst 6'3 Wisconsin Dells- Can really finish in transition and just a really solid heady player.
4. Bryson Funmaker 5'8 Wisconsin Dells- Very quick point guard that really likes to push the tempo. Can make the outside three if it's there.
5. Marcus Justice 6'4 Madison East- A big body in the post and can rebound and has a nice touch around the rim.
6. Riley Eck 6'1 Wisconsin Dells- Seemed like a solid player in limited time can finish with his back to the basket or dropping the spot up three.
7. Calvin Peterson 6'0 Baraboo- Just a solid point guard.
8. Trayvon Smith 6'1 Milwaukee Riverside- Undersized post player that does a nice job battling.
9. Yacouba Traore Jr 6'6 Madison Memorial- Big body that can move but, unfortunately didn't see enough of him.
10. Delware Hale 6'5 Sun Prairie- Same thing as Traore here.


Freshmen

Well there are my initial rankings. I just didn't feel I've seen enough players that deserved to be ranked for seniors and juniors so I didn't do a full 10 and for sophomores just ranked everyone I saw play.

Week 3 & 4 Rankings

With my minor health issues I wasn't able to do rankings last week I'm doing two weeks worth of rankings this week.

Division One
Racine Park lost to Franklin dropping Park to eight and allowing Franklin to come in at seven. Sun Prairie lost to Madison Memorial, as did Madison La Follette and Madison East, jumping Memorial to number six, Sun Prairie at nine La Follette at 12, and then East fell out of the rankings. Brookfield Central lost to Brookfield East dropping to 10 while East got to five. Stevens Point lost to La Crosse Central a top D2 team and drop to 11. Oshkosh West lost to Kaukauna and Oshkosh North two very good teams but, hang on to the rankings at 15. Arrowhead lost to Oconomowoc and fall to 14. Vincent lost to Madison East and Riverside lost to Waunakee dropping both teams from the rankings. Hamilton Sussex lost to Brookfield Central to be expected so they moved up to 13.

1. Oshkosh North
2. Waunakee
3. Bay Port
4. Eau Claire North
5. Brookfield East
6. Madison Memorial
7. Franklin
8. Racine Park
9. Sun Prairie
10. Brookfield Central
11. Stevens Point
12. Madison La Follette
13. Sussex Hamilton
14. Arrowhead
15. Oshkosh West

Division Two
Kaukauna lost to Kimberly a very good D1 team and drop just two spots to three. La Crosse Logan lost to Brown Deer and Tomah and fall from the rankings. Wisconsin Lutheran lost to Pewaukee and New Berlin Eisenhower but, they've had some big wins so stay at 10. Wauwatosa West lost to Brookfield Central and Sussex Hamilton both ranked D1 teams and drop to 11. Marshfield lost to La Crosse Central and Stevens Point both elite teams in the state and drop to 13. Pius lost three more games and fall out of the rankings. Onalaska lost to De Forest and Burlington lost to Union Grove but, both sat put as I didn't see anyone knew to replace them.

1. Pewaukee
2. Whitnall
3. Kaukauna
4. Milwaukee Washington
5. La Crosse Central
6. Cedarburg
7. Stoughton
8. Monona Grove
9. Pulaski
10. Wisconsin Lutheran
11. Wauwatosa West
12.Union Grove
13. Marshfield
14. Onalaska
15. Burlington

Division Three
Brown Deer lost to a very good D2 team in Whitnall and drop just a bit to five. Racine St Catherines lost to Marin Luther and drop to 10. East Troy lost to Madison East and Lake Mills lost to Wisconsin Dells and Sauk Prairie but, both hang on to the rankings at 14 and 15.

1. Appleton Xavier
2. Waupun
3. GET
4. Dominican
5. Brown Deer
6. Wrightstown
7. Prescott
8. Martin Luther
9. Wisconsin Dells
10. Racine St Catherines
11. Brookfield Academy
12. Valders
13. Arcadia
14. East Troy
15. Lake Mills

Division Four
The Prairie School lost to top ranked D3 team in Martin Luther and fall just a couple to three. Roncalli lost to New Holstein and drop to seven. Markesan lost three games and fall from the rankings. Mineral Point lost to Darlington and drop to eight and Darlington get into the rankings at 12. Fennimore lost badly to Mineral Point but hang on at 15. Oconto lost to Southern Door and Marinette and drop from the rankings.

1. New Glarus
2. Destiny
3. The Prairie School
4. Howards Grove
5. Marathon
6. Clear Lake
7. Roncalli
8. Mineral Point
9. Manitowoc Lutheran
10. Shiocton
11. Melrose Mindoro
12. Darlington
13. Webster
14. Cuba City
15. Fennimore

Division Five
Black Hawk lost to Barneveld and Pecatonica and drop all the way to 14. Mcdonald Central lost to Prescott and Marathon both ranked bigger schools and fall just to five. Deerfield lost to Palmyra-Eagle and drop from the rankigs. Seneca lost to Wauzeka-Steuben, while they lost to Desoto checking in at seven and eight. Assumption lost to Auburndale and fall from the rankings. Wild Rose lost to Port Edwards and drop to 15 while Port Edwards makes it at 12. Amherst and Potosi are also new to the rankings.

1. Bangor
2. Solon Springs
3. Royal
4. Almond Bancroft
5. Mcdonald Central
6. Sheboygan Lutheran
7. Wauzeka-Steuben
8. Seneca
9. Columbus Catholic
10. Auburndale
11. Amherst
12. Port Edwards
13. Potosi
14. Black Hawk
15. Wild Rose

Waunakee and Memorial get big wins.

Had the chance to take in a pair of very good games that could affect the state rankings. It's pretty rare that two big games work out perfect for me to get to both without much difficulty. In Waunakee I saw a top 10 team playing a team that was in my top 10 prior to the season and then a pair of top 10 teams and top Big Eight teams in the night cap in Sun Prairie.

Waunakee 62 Milwaukee Riverside 51
To be honest I was surprised this game was as close as it was.Riverside was with out their D1 recruit in 6'3 senior Carlos Curtis, didn't appear to have much depth, and didn't have much size at all. Riverside only subbed when they ran into foul trouble and had a pair of players play the entire game. Waunakee was without their big man in 6'6 senior Nate Carter but, they are a very solid team full of guys that play football so they could make up for missing one big man.

Early on Riverside took the lead as Waunakee struggled to hit their shots and gave up offensive rebounds to the smaller Riverside team. Riverside was able to penetrate the defense and score with some acrobatic shots. Waunakee was led early on by 6'4 senior Mason Steffen who was able to score in transition until fellow senior 6'5 Mitch Listau got going from the outside hitting three straight threes at one point. In the second half Riverside just wore down and their inability to hit an outside shot allowed Waunakee to really pack the paint and protect the rim.

Madison Memorial 54 Sun Prairie 51
Another game that I really thought that Madison Memorial would lose but, once again they proved me wrong. Yes Memorial doesn't shoot the three and don't penetrate much but, they do move the ball well and move well without the ball which leads to easy buckets around the rim and of course size is always a huge factor in basketball. Sun Prairie really struggled to get their offense going in the first half outside of the occasional fast break.

In the second half Sun Prairie came out trapping and double teaming just like East did the other night and once again Memorial turned the ball over. This gave Sun Prairie every chance to get back in the game and they took advantage behind the outside shooting of 6'1 junior Rajai Williams and the penetrating of 6'4 senior Marlon Ruffin. Memorial did shoot their free throws well late though to seal the game.

Top Players
Mitch Listau 6'5 senior Waunakee- Really shot the three extremely well in this one and carried his team at times. Struggled a bit early but, when he got hot he got hot. He's always going to score because he gets to the line and hits open shots.

Mason Steffen 6'4 senior Waunakee- Really did a nice job of scoring in transition and getting out and running while keeping himself under control. While most of the team looked uncomfortable in the uptempo game he thrived.

Jason Webb Jr 6'0 senior Riverside- Calming influence for the team running the point. Even though Waunakee sat on his left hand he was able to drive right and finish with his off hand.

Cade Ellingson 6'2 junior Memorial- I'm really coming to like this guy, just does all the little things. Doesn't shoot a ton but,two games now has led the team in scoring, always seems to be in the right place.

Rajaio Williams 6'1 junior Sun Prairie- Did a nice job of running the point but, where he really made his impact felt hitting some clutch threes late to bring Sun Prairie back into striking distance.

Marlon Ruffin 6'4 senior Sun Prairie- Superior athlete that can really get to the rim and finish over defenders. Also played some pretty good defense in this game.

Top Scorers
Waunakee- Listau 24 Steffen 22 Josh Cash 8
Riverside- Webb 16 Montrell Jacobs 9 Deandrea Algee 7
Sun Prairie- Ruffin 18 Williams 13 Marty Strey 7
Memorial- Ellingson 14 Nick Caropreso 13 Elliot Grays 11

Some final thoughts of day. Waunakee will have a tremendous record as always but, I really question how they will do in the D1 playoffs. Riverside will only go as far as Carlos Curtis will take them after seeing what I saw today. Sun Prairie will have a tough time against the likes of Memorial and Madison East until Jalen Johnson returns but, when he does they will be the cream of the crop in the Big Eight. Memorial will probably go undefeated for quite a while as they have already defeated the top three teams in the conference and should roll until they play those three again. They have to limit those turnovers though.

Memorial wins at buzzer

Due to a thrown out back I hadn't been able to do any posting or go to any games. Next week I will do two weeks worth of rankings to catch up. 

I was in some serious need of basketball so I caught the Madison Memorial verse Madison East game. Memorial lost everything from last year but, they have won 15 conference titles in a row for a reason and Madison East had a tremendously successful playoff run a year ago and brought back a large amount of last years team and they are one of the favorites in the conference. I have to say that Madison East is one of my favorite places to watch a game because of the energy. The gym is small and the fans are right on the court and the student sections sit behind the hoops which gives it a college feel. 

Despite the ever changing lineups of high school ball I feel like I've been watching the same two teams play for the past six or sevens years. Memorial has a ton of overall size and lack much for guard play and Madison East has a ton of good guards and just never seem to have any height. Memorial will also play a slow determined pace and won't shoot many threes while East has no problem pushing the tempo and allowing their players to jack threes or go one on one. Memorial started four players at 6'4 or taller and had 6'5 and 6'6 off the bench. East on the other hand nearly always had three guards on the court. 

The first half was relatively ugly as the halftime score was only 16 to 14 in Memorial's favor. Memorial couldn't get anything to fall but, their size allowed them to get second chance baskets and many times third chances which led to long possessions. East did a good job of packing things in and Memorial didn't have the shooter to pull them out or the guy that could break down the defense. Just as Memorial shot terrible so did East in particular their star 6'6 senior Keishawn Justice. Justice really forced things and didn't make a three all night and I think he really settled at times taking threes that he could get at any time and even when he drove the lane the shots just weren't falling. Yes Justice forced some shots but, it was just some bad luck as he had some bunnies just go in and out and a few times he missed two close shots. Justice went 0 for the night from three and ended up hitting just one shot on his way to just four points. Memorial was really a team effort as everyone chipped in the scoring column. 

The second half is when things got interesting. Memorial came out gunning early in the second half and were up by nine of 10 points much of the second half using their size to score on the inside and on second chance points. East continued to struggle through the half way point of the second half as Memorial built a 40-25 lead with about eight or nine minutes left in the game. The Memorial crowd seemed to really be getting on the East players but, that just seemed to feed them as they played with a ton of energy down the stretch. East started to press Memorial and their lack of guard played showed as they force Memorial into turnover after turnover and then a jump ball and next thing you knew it was 44-41 game and east was shooting for a tie. After a possession where they missed three threes, 6'0 senior Earl Lewis hit his lone three of the game and his teams lone three, to tie the game. After each team scored to tie the game at 46 it set the stage for the Memorial win. Memorial ran the clock down and on the drive to the rim lost the ball and the loose ball found 6'5 junior Ian Brown under the hoop who laid in the shot at the buzzer to win.  

Top Players

Cade Ellingson 6'2 junior Memorial- Honestly didn't do anything extravagant in the game but, he's just a heady player that always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Did a nice job of cutting to the rim and his team mates would find him from the opposite block. 

Amare Howard 6'5 senior Memorial- Big energy boast off the bench. Really crashed the glass and had some big offensive rebounds. 

Datril Thompson 5'8 senior East- For whatever reason he didn't start but, was clearly the best player on the court tonight. No one from Memorial could stay in front of him and could get to the rim at well. Did a nice job of challenging the bigger East defenders getting into their bodies and forcing the action. 

Keonte Jones 6'3 sophomore East- Another big boast off the bench as he drove to the lane fearlessly and was able to score or get fouled where he made his free throws. 

Anthony Washington 6'3 sophomore East- Didn't even score in the game but, his rebounding really jumped out to me. He can real jump and did a great job of battling the bigger Memorial players.

Box Score

Memorial 48- Ellingson 12 Brown 12 Nick Caropreso 10 Howard 6 Elliot Gray 5 Dryden Schaefer 2 Tyshawn Caldwell 1 Jack Krumbach 0 Yacouba Traore Jr 0

East 46- Datril Thompson 16 Jones 11 Lewis 11 K Justice 4 Marcus Justice 4 Damontae Thompson 0 Washington 0 Davion Washington 0 Nick Wilcox 0 

I'm gonna be honest I think Madison East is the better team but, just didn't play well and Memorial got a little lucky in the end. I really can see these two teams being the two teams to challenge Sun Prairie for the conference title. 

Wisconsin Dells over Baraboo

Had to get my basketball fix tonight. This wasn't the greatest game but, it was my alma mater playing four blocks away from my house. Dells was sitting at 3-0 and were picked to win the South Central conference while Baraboo was 0-2 and picked to take last in the Badger North. Despite the predictions I wanted to see a game and figured with Baraboo being a bigger school that they would keep it close and I had seen them last year and knew they had a couple decent players.

From the tip you could see that the Dells had an advantage in height and talent and thought it might be a blow out but, Baraboo fought throughout the game and Dells didn't sub a whole lot which led to some tired legs as the game progressed. Dells starts 6'8 6'5 6'4 6'3 and 5'8 while Baraboo started no one taller then 6'3. Dells played a 1-2-2 zone press and then fell back into a 3-2 in the half court. Baraboo really didn't seem to know how to attack the zone very on and settled for threes and contested mid range jumpers. On the other side the Dells really tried to push the tempo which isn't normal for a Dells team not to mention there height and the lack of bench play. Dells pushed the tempo though to get quick feeds to the post and worked from there. Dells really tried to feed their big men 6'8 senior Tanner Brandt and 6'5 senior Jack Sveum. Brandt was the guy I was looking to watch and he didn't have the greatest night as he forced things a bit and his shot just wasn't falling. Brandt does more extremely well for a big guy, has good body control, and can handle the ball a little bit.

Dells took the lead early on dominating the glass and getting easy buckets and looked as if they were going to blow Baraboo out but, Baraboo finally got the offense going by feeding their star 6'3 senior Mason Peterson who is there point guard and top player. Peterson got the ball out of his hands and moved without the ball and his team mates found him in the middle of the zone and late in the first half he score three straight buckets catching it at the free throw line and then just driving the lane. Baraboo got a little help from 6'0 senior Justus Neuman who hit a pair of threes to keep the game close. Dells had a six point lead at the half.

In the second half Dells just couldn't put Baraboo away and a pair of threes from Neuman and Peterson gave Baraboo the lead before Brandt and company settled down and worked the ball into the inside. Dells seemed to like shooting the threes and the threes weren't falling and I feel like that was part of what kept Baraboo in the game. Late in the game Dells missed there free throws and Baraboo had their chances but, some wild shots just wouldn't fall for them. In the end Wisconsin Dells won 61-55.

Top Players
Jackson Sveum 6'5 senior Wisconsin Dells- Most improved player for the Dells . Has a nice back to the basket game going and did a nice job of shot faking and getting the foul and basket. Battled on the glass all game long and could hit the spot up three.

Brett Hirst 6'3 sophomore Wisconsin Dells- Really does all the little things. Plays good D, helps run the point at times, can score driving, or hit the three. Tonight did a nice job of scoring in transition and just flat out hustling and making little plays.

Bryson Funmaker 5'8 sophomore Wisconsin Dells- Maybe I'm just partial to the little guy but, I liked his game. I like how he pushes the tempo and is a willing passer. May try to be to fancy at times but, he'll get better with that. I believe he took four charges in the game, had a couple steals and numerous long rebounds.

Mason Peterson 6'3 senior Baraboo- Was the best player on the court tonight. When he got to the middle of the Dells zone he was going to score. Had 26 points and I thought he could of been more aggressive. Hit a pair of big threes from the corner late.

Justice Neuman 6'0 senior Baraboo- Doesn't look like a basketball player one bit, but shot the lights out tonight. Hit four big threes and kept his team around.

Box Score (starters in italics)
Dells 61- Sveum 15 Brandt 13 Hirst 12 Riley Eck 5 Dyland Musiedlak 5 Alex Weiss 4 John Pikula 4 Funmaker 3 Darius Mackinnis 0
Baraboo 55- M. Peterson 26 Neuman 13 Connor Grogan 10 Caden Blum 4 Ryan Gehin 2 Calvin Peterson 0 Joe Stout 0 Caden Carpenter 0 Joe White Eagle 0

To be honest I don't think that Wisconsin Dells is that good but, looking at their schedule they should have a pretty good record that will be alittle over inflated. Baraboo on the other side is in for a long season but, Peterson may win them some games on his own.

Week 1 & 2 Rankings

Since the first week was a short week I combined the first two weeks together. Also I haven't had the chance to go to any games mostly because there wasn't any good games in my area to start the year and I was gone over Thanksgiving weekend. Well here are my new rankings. Seems to have been a lot of upsets early on but, that has come to be a common thing early on because you just don't know things earl on.

Division 1
Stevens Point lost to Bay Port without their top player in Joey Hauser which factored into my dropping them to eight.. Brookfield Central lost to Milwaukee Washington a very good D2 team but, I did drop them to six because the top six are just so close. Riverside dropped games to Arrowhead, Oshkosh West, and Whitnall al tough games and I kept them in the rankings at 13 because I want to get to 15 ranked teams. Oshkosh West and Arrowhead were able to jump into the rankings because of that win and La Follette had a lot of hype early on from Mark Miller and a 4-0 start puts them at 10. Madison East was upset on a buzzer shot by Janesville Craig so they hang on at 12.

1. Oshkosh North
2. Racine Park
3. Sun Prairie
4. Waunakee
5. Bay Port
6. Brookfield Central
7. Eau Claire North
8. Stevens Point
9. Oshkosh West
10. Madison La Follette
11. Arrowhead
12. Madison East
13. Milwaukee Vincent
14. Milwaukee Riverside
15. Sussex Hamilton

Division 2 Rankings
Washington lost to Brown Deer a very good D3 team and fall to four followed by La Crosse Central whodropped a game to D1 ranked Eau Claire North. Cedarburg lost to Wauwatosa West and fall just behind them at nine. Whitnall lost to a team from Illinois which I don't hold against them. Stoughton lost to Beaver Dam and fall to 10. Pius lost to Racine Case and Martin Luther while Marshfield lost to Oshkosh North and West dropping them to 11 and 12.

1. Kaukauna
2. Pewaukee
3. Whitnall
4. Milwaukee Washington
5. La Crosse Central
6. La Crosse Logan
7. Wisconsin Lutheran
8. Wauwatosa West
9. Cedarburg
10. Stoughton
11. Marshfield
12. Milwaukee Pius
13. Monona Grove
14. Onalaska
15. Burlington

Division 3 Rankings
Martin Luther lost to Destiny a top D4 team. East Troy lost to Madison Memorial a D1 team and fell to 10.

1. Appleton Xavier
2. Waupun
3. GET
4. Brown Deer
5. Dominican
6. Racine St Catherines
7. Wrightstown
8. Prescott
9. Martin Luther
10. East Troy
11. Lake Mills

Division 4 Rankings
Destiny lost to a top D2 team in Whitnall which led to me not dropping them at all. Milwaukee Academy of Science lost three games early and fall from the rankings and Fennimore comes in at 10.

1. The Prairie School
2. New Glarus
3. Roncalli
4. Markesan
5. Destiny
6. Mineral Point
7. Howards Grove
8. Marathon
9.  Clear Lake
10. Fennimore
11. Oconto

Division 5 Rankings
Deerfield lost to a ranked D3 team in Lake Mills and drop just a bit to five. Lourdes lost to bigger schools in Dominican and Omro and still hang on to rankings at 14. Barneveld has already lost three games and fall from the rankings. Sheboygan Luthern lost to Howards Grove a ranked D4 team and drop a bit to 12. Columbus Catholic lost to Assumption and fall to 15 and Assumption jumps to 11. Hilbert lost three already and drop out.

1. Bangor
2. Black Hawk
3. Solon Springs
4. Mcdonell Central
5. Deerfield
6. Seneca
7. Wauzeka
8. Assumption
9. Royal
10. Almond Bancroft
11. Assumption
12. Sheboygan Lutheran
13. Wild Rose
14. Oshkosh Lourdes
15. Columbus Catholic