John Chekoursa Classic

Went down to Homestead yesterday to check out some teams I hadn't had the chance to see this year. This was my first chance to see Brown Deer, Racine Park, and Brookfield East, I actually hadn't seen any of these teams play in the past five years. I didn't go into the day with very high expectations but, game away with some very good games.


Winnebago Lutheran 73 Kewaskum 42
Well this game was not real enjoyable as Winnebago jumped out early and never looked back. Winnebago is a very tall team and Kewaskum is a very small team. Winnebago started 6'7 and 6'8 and had 6'7 off the bench and one point had all three in the game at the same time while Kewaskum rarely played anyone over six foot. I was really impressed with the outside shooting of Winnebago senior 6'2 Mason Herkstroeter who just couldn't miss in the first half and misses just a couple in the second half before finishing with 22 points.

Sturgeon Bay 40 Milwaukee South 38
Wasn't the most impressive or exciting game but, it was close. Early on it seemed like the size of Sturgeon Bay was going to be too much for the undersized South team. I was really impressed by South coach Ty Moseler despite his teams lack of talent. Moseler forced his team to play slow and be extremely patient. Moseler seemed to completely control his team from the sideline. His coaching and style led to the low scoring game. Sturgeon Bay had the big lead and South clawed there way back and when they put the pressure on they got back into the game and tied it at 38. With 10 seconds left though South lost the Sturgeon Bay player for the wide open layup.

New Berlin West 88 Milwaukee Messmer 78
This was the game I knew the least about but, it ended up being the most exciting. Messmer is full of extremely talented guards and they really pushed the tempo. West had one of the most unknown talented players in 6'3 sophomore Desmond Polk. Polk was extremely extremely impressive. Off the dribble Polk was tough to stop and he loved shooting the three of the dribble which he did on a consistent basis. On the other side Messmer had multiple guards but, the most impressive was 6'0 senior Keyron Gouvela who was coming off an injury. Gouvela didn't start due to the injury and he took a while to heat up but, in the second half he came live. Gouvela didn't demand the ball and just played within the offense he got his fair share of shots and he couldn't miss in the second half and allowed Messmer to cut into a 25 point deficit and get within six before West sealed the deal. I have to mention the other impressive guard 6'0 junior Jalen Brown-Morrow. Brown-Morrow is a kid that physical is really put together and his lightning quick and has some real bounce but, forced things a bit too much. In the end Messmer just played too fast.

Brown Deer 70 Stoughton 65
What a heart breaker for Stoughton as they led this one for roughly 32 of the 36 minutes of the game. In the first half Stoughton was playing great defense and they were hitting all their threes and led at the half by 11. Brown Deer looked a little shell shocked and just couldn't get good lucks. Stoughton senior 6'4 Tommy McClain played the best game I've seen him play this year hitting a pair of threes and leading his team with 19 points. In the second half Brown Deer star 6'1 senior Jay Gentry started using his strength to come alive. Gentry used his strength to get into the post. It felt like every possession ended with Gentry in the post with and one baskets leading to 30 points.

Racine Park 65 Muskego 53
Muskego was never really in this game. Like much of the early game Park is long and athletic and Muskego is very small. Muskego seem content with just shooting threes and Park seems to love to get out and run. Park has 6'9 junior Nobal Parks getting the boards and starting the fast break and junior guard 6'2 Larry Canady does the finishing at the rim. This kind of play leads to Parks not scoring a ton because he ignites the break doesn't finish it. This really wasn't a great game so not a whole lot else to say.

Brookfield East 74 Homestead 63
East is a good solid team but, Homestead fought hard. East really battle on the glass and I can see why 6'7 senior Patrick Cartier is considered one of the top post players in the state. Cartier does a great job of getting position in the post and putting the defender in a bad position. Cartier seemed nearly automatic in the post. Also a big props to bench player 6'2 junior Riley Le Tourneau. Tourneau battled on the offensive glass all night long getting second and third chance baskets and spending a lot of time at the free throw line. For Homestead 6'0 junior Ryan Waddell just wouldn't give up. Each time it seemed the East was in control Waddell was able to drive the lane and get the and one baskets and three point play the old fashion way. Waddell ended up 28 points in this one. Cartier did have the play of the day with a steal behind the back dribble and then finished with the monster one handed dunk.

Was a pretty good day of basketball but, I'm not sure I saw state championship team. Probably the team that would be the mostly likely is Brown Deer but, they had a very rough first half. East and Park could make some noise but, they'd knock each other out and they come out of the always tough southeastern sectional. Winnebago Lutheran is another team that could potentially do something in D4 as they were fairly impressive but, I don't know much about their sectional.