In probably the best game I have watched this year, Duke was able to outlast Marquette. This game was really a battle right down to the end. The game was extremely physical filled with very aggressive defense and was really a test of stamina as each team was playing their third game in three days. Duke went on to win and freshmen Kyle Singler won MVP of the tournament. Singler was my pre tournament pick to win MVP but, was a bit of a surprise after his lackluster performance in the game against Illinois.
As impressive of James's and McNeal's outside shooting was in the previous game it was back to last seasons shooting tonight. Both players struggled greatly from outside and at times there was no passing just settling for the outside shot which were not falling.
With the struggles of James and McNeal the other players on Marquette each took turns making big plays. Mathews having a strong drive and finish and knocking down a big three in the corner. Hayward hitting a big three and then having a nice put back dunk. Cubillan knocking down a tying three pointer and then playing pressure defense and forcing a turnover. Ackers also knocked down a three and had a couple big penetration and dishes for assists late in the game. As can be seen from the big plays that I remember this game was really a team effort, which is something I really like about Marquette is that it always seems to be a different guy that comes up with a big play to help the Golden Eagles win.
The biggest reason that Duke was able to win is that Marquette had no one to guard Singler, who was able to score inside and out with ease. Also Demarcus Nelson, who in my opinion should of been MVP, could not be stopped from getting inside and finishing strong.
Now that the high school season has started my summaries of college basketball will probably diminish and be few and far between as I will be focusing the majority of my thoughts on high school basketball.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Marquette wins in Maui
I prefer watching Wisconsin play simply because I have seen more of their players in college but, I also enjoy watching interstate rival Marquette play whenever I can get the chance. I don't see as many Marquette games because Marquette is obviously not on the Big Ten Network like all of Wisconsin's lower markee games are.
Marquette really got a big win tonight beating a fairly good Oklahoma State team by 30 points. I wasn't sure if Marquette warranted the preseason ranking that they got but, after this game I firmly believe that they are a top 15 team. You can't find a better top 5 guards in the country then in Marquette's Dominic James, Wes Mathews, Jerel Mcneal, David Cubillan, and Maurice Acker.
Marquette, like last year, will once again be perimeter oriented team that will rely heavily on the penetration and dish and playing good defense and forcing turnovers which related to easy baskets. Both of these things were very evident in tonight's game. Anyone of the five guards previously mentioned were able to get into the lane and dish to wide open teammates and played very strong aggressive defense that led to many OK State turnovers which allowed the Golder Eagles to get out and run for some easy buckets.
Dominic James was just as impressive as last year. One thing I did notice though he was able to knock down the outside shots, which has always been a knock on James. If James can continue to knock down those outside shots I really believe that Marquette can win the Big East and will make a big run tournament time and will also make himself a lottery pick next year, which means he won't be around for his senior year.
Jerel McNeal was probably just as impressive as James in this game. As everyone knows McNeal goes to the hoop as hard as anyone and he was doing just that tonight. He took some wild shots but, that's something that I can live with because if he keeps himself under control when driving no one can stop him. McNeal also displayed the ability to knock down some outside shots. He hit at least one three point shot and pulled up for a couple mid range jumpers. It will be huge if these two guys continue to shoot it well because that has always been one of the weak spots for this perimeter oriented team.
One guy that I did follow in high school is Wes Mathews or Wesley as he seems to prefer now, so I really watch what he is doing. I would really like to see Mathews be more aggressive on the offensive end but, if McNeal and James continue to play like they have been he really doesn't need to, also his foul trouble has also limited his minutes. When Mathews was in the game I can only recall one time where he really looked to score, where he penetrated and pulled up for the mid range jumper which he dropped. Mathews did play some pretty good defense hustling for loose balls and getting his hands in on everything.
A guy that may not of been that impressive tonight but, I really do like is Lazar Hayward. He's only 6'6 but, really goes inside and battles and may be their best rebounder on the team. Hayward is also a hustle player giving it all going after loose balls and getting out and running on fast breaks. I expect him to continue to improve this year and next year he will probably have his breakout year. He may never be a big scorer but, he will be significant to this teams success in the next two seasons.
Marquette plays the winner of Illinois and Duke, which either one should really be a great game. Both teams have very good big man with Brian Randle and Shaun Pruitt for the Illini and Kyle Singler and Lance Thomas. The Golden Eagles should be able to beat the Illini because their guards are so much better but, Duke is probably just as good as Marquette at the guard position and better in the post so I will take Duke over Marquette if that match up occurs.
If I had to choose I'd take Duke over Illinois and then beating Marquette with Demarcus Nelson taking the MVP. I was going to say Singler but, right now against Illinois he is really struggling while Nelson continues to be able to get into the lane and finish with some monster dunks. If Marquette wins its a toss up for MVP between James and McNeal. If Illinois wins it will easily be Randle who is Mr. Everything for Illinois right now.
On side note tonight is the start of the high school season. Unfortunately there are not any good games in my area, so my season will start Friday night when I will head down to Madison to watch Madison Lafollette play Milwaukee Bay View, which should really be a fun fast paced game to watch.
Marquette really got a big win tonight beating a fairly good Oklahoma State team by 30 points. I wasn't sure if Marquette warranted the preseason ranking that they got but, after this game I firmly believe that they are a top 15 team. You can't find a better top 5 guards in the country then in Marquette's Dominic James, Wes Mathews, Jerel Mcneal, David Cubillan, and Maurice Acker.
Marquette, like last year, will once again be perimeter oriented team that will rely heavily on the penetration and dish and playing good defense and forcing turnovers which related to easy baskets. Both of these things were very evident in tonight's game. Anyone of the five guards previously mentioned were able to get into the lane and dish to wide open teammates and played very strong aggressive defense that led to many OK State turnovers which allowed the Golder Eagles to get out and run for some easy buckets.
Dominic James was just as impressive as last year. One thing I did notice though he was able to knock down the outside shots, which has always been a knock on James. If James can continue to knock down those outside shots I really believe that Marquette can win the Big East and will make a big run tournament time and will also make himself a lottery pick next year, which means he won't be around for his senior year.
Jerel McNeal was probably just as impressive as James in this game. As everyone knows McNeal goes to the hoop as hard as anyone and he was doing just that tonight. He took some wild shots but, that's something that I can live with because if he keeps himself under control when driving no one can stop him. McNeal also displayed the ability to knock down some outside shots. He hit at least one three point shot and pulled up for a couple mid range jumpers. It will be huge if these two guys continue to shoot it well because that has always been one of the weak spots for this perimeter oriented team.
One guy that I did follow in high school is Wes Mathews or Wesley as he seems to prefer now, so I really watch what he is doing. I would really like to see Mathews be more aggressive on the offensive end but, if McNeal and James continue to play like they have been he really doesn't need to, also his foul trouble has also limited his minutes. When Mathews was in the game I can only recall one time where he really looked to score, where he penetrated and pulled up for the mid range jumper which he dropped. Mathews did play some pretty good defense hustling for loose balls and getting his hands in on everything.
A guy that may not of been that impressive tonight but, I really do like is Lazar Hayward. He's only 6'6 but, really goes inside and battles and may be their best rebounder on the team. Hayward is also a hustle player giving it all going after loose balls and getting out and running on fast breaks. I expect him to continue to improve this year and next year he will probably have his breakout year. He may never be a big scorer but, he will be significant to this teams success in the next two seasons.
Marquette plays the winner of Illinois and Duke, which either one should really be a great game. Both teams have very good big man with Brian Randle and Shaun Pruitt for the Illini and Kyle Singler and Lance Thomas. The Golden Eagles should be able to beat the Illini because their guards are so much better but, Duke is probably just as good as Marquette at the guard position and better in the post so I will take Duke over Marquette if that match up occurs.
If I had to choose I'd take Duke over Illinois and then beating Marquette with Demarcus Nelson taking the MVP. I was going to say Singler but, right now against Illinois he is really struggling while Nelson continues to be able to get into the lane and finish with some monster dunks. If Marquette wins its a toss up for MVP between James and McNeal. If Illinois wins it will easily be Randle who is Mr. Everything for Illinois right now.
On side note tonight is the start of the high school season. Unfortunately there are not any good games in my area, so my season will start Friday night when I will head down to Madison to watch Madison Lafollette play Milwaukee Bay View, which should really be a fun fast paced game to watch.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Wisconsin Wins America's Youth Classic
As expected the Wisconsin mens basketball team won their own tournament The America's Youth Classic, by defeated Savannah State, Florida A&M, and Colorado. None of these teams are basketball powerhouses but, it does get them closer to be ready for the Big Ten season and is a step up from playing the Division 3 schools they were playing in preseason.
The Badgers were able to beat Colorado tonight by using their height to get offensive rebounds and get the ball inside, along with dropping the three point shot. Trevon Hughes was not as impressive as past games but, he was able to drop four three point shots which is really a good sign. If he can team a consistent three point shot with his ability to get by defenders and into the lane, he could really be a scary guy. Michael Flowers finally showed up big in the scoring column getting over the 10 point mark which was led by a couple three pointers and some easy fast break points. Brian Butch was his same self that he has been in the last couple games, being one of the Badgers leading scorers and scoring the bulk of his points on the inside, which I am really liking over him hovering around the perimeter as in years past. Butch still missed some of those easy shots but, he is getting stronger as he is getting used to playing inside. Greg Stiemsma though not being the offensive threat had a big game on the defensive end blocking four shots. Marcus Landry appears to not be the big time scorer I was expecting this year but, he is going to be a very good player for the Badgers. Landry will be a guy that will score 10 points, grab 5 boards, and have 3 to 5 assists per game which will be just what the Badgers will need as long as Butch and Hughes keep up their scoring. Freshmen Jon Leuer continues to look good as he went 4 for 4 from the field tonight and appears to be the top big man off the bench. Not so much tonight but, last night against Florida A&M Jason Bohannon seemed to break out of his recent funk and seemed to be hitting every open three he was given and playing a much better all around game. Hopefully Bohannon can be his old self and help stretch opposing teams defense to allow Butch and Landry to have room inside to score. Unfortunately there was no sign of fellow WD alum JP Gavinski on the court, so there will be no comments on his improvements. He did score last night against Florida A&M on a tip in though. First points of the year which is a good start.
One thing that will continue to bother me all year is the non redshirting of freshmen Keaton Nankivil and Tim Jarmusz. These guys will only be playing in garbage time which just seems to be a waste of a year for them. Why not redshirt these guys and give them a full four years of player time, specially will the departure of big men Butch and Stiemsma at the end of this year.
I had stated in my last post that I was interested to see how former Milwaukee King player Jermyl Jackson-Wilson has developed in college. Well he appears to be the same player that I remembered from high school. At only 6'5 he did a pretty good job of battling with the 7 footers of the Badgers. Not a big time scorer but, he makes up for that by being active on the defensive end and being an extremely active rebounder. Jackson-Wilson is really a fun kid to watch play.
I didn't post yesterday do to the fact that the Badger game just wasn't that interesting last night, which resulted in me not really watching it. Along with the fact that I was extremely tired and wasn't in much of a thinking mood at the time either. I should be back tomorrow with some kind of post if I'm not too tired. It may be about football or possibly one of the college basketball games that are on.
The Badgers were able to beat Colorado tonight by using their height to get offensive rebounds and get the ball inside, along with dropping the three point shot. Trevon Hughes was not as impressive as past games but, he was able to drop four three point shots which is really a good sign. If he can team a consistent three point shot with his ability to get by defenders and into the lane, he could really be a scary guy. Michael Flowers finally showed up big in the scoring column getting over the 10 point mark which was led by a couple three pointers and some easy fast break points. Brian Butch was his same self that he has been in the last couple games, being one of the Badgers leading scorers and scoring the bulk of his points on the inside, which I am really liking over him hovering around the perimeter as in years past. Butch still missed some of those easy shots but, he is getting stronger as he is getting used to playing inside. Greg Stiemsma though not being the offensive threat had a big game on the defensive end blocking four shots. Marcus Landry appears to not be the big time scorer I was expecting this year but, he is going to be a very good player for the Badgers. Landry will be a guy that will score 10 points, grab 5 boards, and have 3 to 5 assists per game which will be just what the Badgers will need as long as Butch and Hughes keep up their scoring. Freshmen Jon Leuer continues to look good as he went 4 for 4 from the field tonight and appears to be the top big man off the bench. Not so much tonight but, last night against Florida A&M Jason Bohannon seemed to break out of his recent funk and seemed to be hitting every open three he was given and playing a much better all around game. Hopefully Bohannon can be his old self and help stretch opposing teams defense to allow Butch and Landry to have room inside to score. Unfortunately there was no sign of fellow WD alum JP Gavinski on the court, so there will be no comments on his improvements. He did score last night against Florida A&M on a tip in though. First points of the year which is a good start.
One thing that will continue to bother me all year is the non redshirting of freshmen Keaton Nankivil and Tim Jarmusz. These guys will only be playing in garbage time which just seems to be a waste of a year for them. Why not redshirt these guys and give them a full four years of player time, specially will the departure of big men Butch and Stiemsma at the end of this year.
I had stated in my last post that I was interested to see how former Milwaukee King player Jermyl Jackson-Wilson has developed in college. Well he appears to be the same player that I remembered from high school. At only 6'5 he did a pretty good job of battling with the 7 footers of the Badgers. Not a big time scorer but, he makes up for that by being active on the defensive end and being an extremely active rebounder. Jackson-Wilson is really a fun kid to watch play.
I didn't post yesterday do to the fact that the Badger game just wasn't that interesting last night, which resulted in me not really watching it. Along with the fact that I was extremely tired and wasn't in much of a thinking mood at the time either. I should be back tomorrow with some kind of post if I'm not too tired. It may be about football or possibly one of the college basketball games that are on.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Badgers blow out Tigers
Not much to say about tonights Wisconsin vs Savannah State game. The Bagers dominated every part of the game and Savannah was never really in the game. Once again Hughes was the leading scorer and continues to impress, I'm really interested to see how he does once the Big Ten season starts. The few positives that I did see in the game was Stiemsma began to assert himself on the offensive end and scored 10 points. Krabbenhoft also played his best game of the four games counting exhibition games. He was able to get out on the fast break and score in a variety of ways.
With the game not being very interesting I was switching between about four other games so, I really don't have much else to say (the Big Ten Network does really give me a lot more options for games to watch. Hopefully the next couple days I'll be back with recaps on the Badgers games against Florida A&M and Colorado which they should defeat both rather easily. I am interested to see Jermyl Jackson Wilson play who I haven't seen play since he helped Milwaukee King make their first of back to back state title runs.
With the game not being very interesting I was switching between about four other games so, I really don't have much else to say (the Big Ten Network does really give me a lot more options for games to watch. Hopefully the next couple days I'll be back with recaps on the Badgers games against Florida A&M and Colorado which they should defeat both rather easily. I am interested to see Jermyl Jackson Wilson play who I haven't seen play since he helped Milwaukee King make their first of back to back state title runs.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Big Eight Preview
In the past four years Madison Memorial has dominated the Big Eight conference winning four straight conference titles, losing only one conference game in that time period. This year thought there is one thing missing from the Memorial teams of the past, Keaton Nankivil, who is now playing with the Wisconsin Badgers. Nankivil had been a four year varsity player for the Spartans and provided an inside force that not many teams have had. This year the pressure to continue that dominates falls on the back of 6'6 junior Jeronne Maymon. The question is not whether Maymon can handle the pressure because being in his third year and averaging double digits in scoring that question has already been answered but, the question remains with the rest of the team which has very little experience on the varsity level. With Memorial only have one big time player returning the team to beat in the conference seems to be Janesville Craig. Craig returns seven varsity players led by returning first team all conference 6'6 senior Lucas Burns. Craig will also have lots of height with all five starters standing at 6'3 or taller. Here are my predicted standings....
Janesville Craig 15-1
Madison Memorial 14-2
Madison Lafollette 10-6
Madison East 8-8
Middleton 8-8
Madison West 6-10
Sun Praire 5-11
Beloit 4-12
Janesville Parker 2-14
Janesville Craig- As stated earlier Craig is very tall and experienced which is why they are expected to win conference. Cougars may drop a game at Madison Memorial just because it is so tough to play at the small gym at Memorial with their very loud crowd.
Madison Memorial- Pretty much stated all my thoughts earlier. Maymon is the best player in the conference but, besides him there is a bunch of unknowns. Will probably split with Craig and may lose to a high scoring Lafollette team if the Lancers get hot from outside.
Madison Lafollette- Lancers will once again be a very undersized team which will cost them some games. They will rely heavily on pushing the tempo and shooting a lot of three pointers. As everyone knows "You live by the three, you die by the three".
Madison East- 6'5 sophomore Marquis Mason is one of the top players in his class and provide the Purgolders with solid post player but, who will get him the ball and help him to score? Look for fellow sophomore 6'3 Jeff Hull to help score inside but, lack of outside scoring will keep East from jumping to the top tier of teams.
Middleton- Lose more then any other team in the conference but, Cardinals coach and program are just to good for them to fall to far. Will probably rely on solid defense to keep games low scoring.
Madison West- Return four players that saw significant time last year and 6'4 senior, brother to Reese Gains, Corvonn Gaines just keeps getting better and better every time I see him. I just can't see pick this team in the top half of the conference. Every year they haven't the talent and seem like they should be in the upper half of the conference and challenge for the conference title but, they always seem to disappoint, so this year I'm picking them towards the bottom half and hoping that they prove me wrong.
Sun Praire- Sophomores 6'0 Michael Boos and 6'1 Michael Handel are a year older and should be much better their second year on varsity and 6'0 Andrew Cobb has been starting for at least three years. Won't make a huge jump but, will be better then last year.
Beloit- Loses all five starters from last year and have very little experience coming back. This should be a rebuilding year for the Knights and remaining competitive in all games would be a plus.
Janesville Parker- As usual Parker will once again picked last in the conference. They have 6'10 senior Riley Grafft who is a good player but, he is really on his own. I expect Vikings to surprise a team or two and will be better then in years past.
I will kinda be on cruise control for the next week or two until the actual high school season starts right after Thanksgiving. I will probably give some short posts on my thoughts of basketball games I have watched of football games.
Janesville Craig 15-1
Madison Memorial 14-2
Madison Lafollette 10-6
Madison East 8-8
Middleton 8-8
Madison West 6-10
Sun Praire 5-11
Beloit 4-12
Janesville Parker 2-14
Janesville Craig- As stated earlier Craig is very tall and experienced which is why they are expected to win conference. Cougars may drop a game at Madison Memorial just because it is so tough to play at the small gym at Memorial with their very loud crowd.
Madison Memorial- Pretty much stated all my thoughts earlier. Maymon is the best player in the conference but, besides him there is a bunch of unknowns. Will probably split with Craig and may lose to a high scoring Lafollette team if the Lancers get hot from outside.
Madison Lafollette- Lancers will once again be a very undersized team which will cost them some games. They will rely heavily on pushing the tempo and shooting a lot of three pointers. As everyone knows "You live by the three, you die by the three".
Madison East- 6'5 sophomore Marquis Mason is one of the top players in his class and provide the Purgolders with solid post player but, who will get him the ball and help him to score? Look for fellow sophomore 6'3 Jeff Hull to help score inside but, lack of outside scoring will keep East from jumping to the top tier of teams.
Middleton- Lose more then any other team in the conference but, Cardinals coach and program are just to good for them to fall to far. Will probably rely on solid defense to keep games low scoring.
Madison West- Return four players that saw significant time last year and 6'4 senior, brother to Reese Gains, Corvonn Gaines just keeps getting better and better every time I see him. I just can't see pick this team in the top half of the conference. Every year they haven't the talent and seem like they should be in the upper half of the conference and challenge for the conference title but, they always seem to disappoint, so this year I'm picking them towards the bottom half and hoping that they prove me wrong.
Sun Praire- Sophomores 6'0 Michael Boos and 6'1 Michael Handel are a year older and should be much better their second year on varsity and 6'0 Andrew Cobb has been starting for at least three years. Won't make a huge jump but, will be better then last year.
Beloit- Loses all five starters from last year and have very little experience coming back. This should be a rebuilding year for the Knights and remaining competitive in all games would be a plus.
Janesville Parker- As usual Parker will once again picked last in the conference. They have 6'10 senior Riley Grafft who is a good player but, he is really on his own. I expect Vikings to surprise a team or two and will be better then in years past.
I will kinda be on cruise control for the next week or two until the actual high school season starts right after Thanksgiving. I will probably give some short posts on my thoughts of basketball games I have watched of football games.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
South Central Preview
In my high school basketball watching, I follow two conferences very closely. The South Central conference since my alma mater and the town I live in Wisconsin Dells is in it and the Big Eight because it is the best conference around that is close enough for me to drive to. I will be making predictions for the outcome of both of these conferences and will be trying to predict each teams final conference record. I will be predicting the South Central first and the Big Eight will follow within the next couple days.
As always the South Central will come down to two teams, Wisconsin Dells and Adams Friendship. The past 10 years one of these two teams has won the conference, with Adams winning early and the Dells starting to win conference as of recent. Last year Adams won the conference beating Wisconsin Dells twice but, the Dells got the last laugh as the upended Adams in the regional final, on their way to state. Both Dells and Adams Friendship are head and shoulders about the rest of the conference and should handle the rest of the conference fairly easily as long as they don't over look anyone. After Adams and the Dells it will really be a mess, as any of the four remaining teams can beat any of the other four teams. Conference predictions to follow . . .
1. Wisconsin Dells 9-1
Adams Friendship 9-1
3. Nekoosa 4-6
Wautoma 4-6
5. Mauston 3-7
6. Westfield 1-9
Wisconsin Dells- Is led by a very good back court in 5'11 senior Ryan Wenkman, who was huge in the Chiefs run to state, and junior 5'10 Jade Royston who is top 50 in his class. The Chiefs have always been a very balanced team that also plays great man to man defense. This year should be no different. Everyone will score their share of points and should keep games fairly low scoring with their defense. When the games are in clutch situations the ball will be in the experienced back courts hand. A big lift for the Chiefs may be the presents of 6'9 sophmore Nate Gibson. Gibson doesn't need to score a ton but, just needs to make his presents felt on defense and on the glass on both offensive and defensive side. Chiefs will probably split will Adams Friendship. Theres no telling if each team will win at home or on the road both scenarios have happened in the past.
Adams Friendship- The Green Devils have hands down the best player in the conference in 6'4 junior Tommie Gaston. Gaston is a top 20 junior in the state and is one of the most athletic players in the state. The one question mark is who will step up in the scoring if Gaston is struggling. AF should limit their turnovers with the return of Gaston and four year varsity player 5'11 senior Ben Pease. Pease isn't a big scorer but, does a good job of bringing the ball up the court and setting the offense and should provide senior leader ship. As always Adams will be running their 1-3-1 defense which always gives teams problems and should keep games low scoring which is what the Devils want. Team all this up with on of the top coaches in the state Steve Klass who is in his 17th year of coaching.
Nekoosa- Honestly I don't know much about the Papermakers but, they return seven players that made some impact last year which gives them the experience over the rest of the conference. Nekoosa will more then likely beat Westfield twice and then split with Mauston and Wautoma.
Wautoma- Wautoma also brings back lots of experience like but, will be greatly hurt though with the loss of star player Jeremiah Grothe. Like Nekoosa the Hornets will probably play about .500 ball against the bottom four teams in the conference.
Mauston- The Golden Eagles return only two players that played significant minutes last year. They have one true star in Trevor Hannes but, without much help Mauston will remain towards the bottom of the conference.
Westfield- Pioneers return four year starter Justin Hess but, outside of him they really don't have much. They may surprise a team or two but, it will be another long season for Westfield.
That's my run down of the SCC, the Big Eight will follow within the next couple days.
As always the South Central will come down to two teams, Wisconsin Dells and Adams Friendship. The past 10 years one of these two teams has won the conference, with Adams winning early and the Dells starting to win conference as of recent. Last year Adams won the conference beating Wisconsin Dells twice but, the Dells got the last laugh as the upended Adams in the regional final, on their way to state. Both Dells and Adams Friendship are head and shoulders about the rest of the conference and should handle the rest of the conference fairly easily as long as they don't over look anyone. After Adams and the Dells it will really be a mess, as any of the four remaining teams can beat any of the other four teams. Conference predictions to follow . . .
1. Wisconsin Dells 9-1
Adams Friendship 9-1
3. Nekoosa 4-6
Wautoma 4-6
5. Mauston 3-7
6. Westfield 1-9
Wisconsin Dells- Is led by a very good back court in 5'11 senior Ryan Wenkman, who was huge in the Chiefs run to state, and junior 5'10 Jade Royston who is top 50 in his class. The Chiefs have always been a very balanced team that also plays great man to man defense. This year should be no different. Everyone will score their share of points and should keep games fairly low scoring with their defense. When the games are in clutch situations the ball will be in the experienced back courts hand. A big lift for the Chiefs may be the presents of 6'9 sophmore Nate Gibson. Gibson doesn't need to score a ton but, just needs to make his presents felt on defense and on the glass on both offensive and defensive side. Chiefs will probably split will Adams Friendship. Theres no telling if each team will win at home or on the road both scenarios have happened in the past.
Adams Friendship- The Green Devils have hands down the best player in the conference in 6'4 junior Tommie Gaston. Gaston is a top 20 junior in the state and is one of the most athletic players in the state. The one question mark is who will step up in the scoring if Gaston is struggling. AF should limit their turnovers with the return of Gaston and four year varsity player 5'11 senior Ben Pease. Pease isn't a big scorer but, does a good job of bringing the ball up the court and setting the offense and should provide senior leader ship. As always Adams will be running their 1-3-1 defense which always gives teams problems and should keep games low scoring which is what the Devils want. Team all this up with on of the top coaches in the state Steve Klass who is in his 17th year of coaching.
Nekoosa- Honestly I don't know much about the Papermakers but, they return seven players that made some impact last year which gives them the experience over the rest of the conference. Nekoosa will more then likely beat Westfield twice and then split with Mauston and Wautoma.
Wautoma- Wautoma also brings back lots of experience like but, will be greatly hurt though with the loss of star player Jeremiah Grothe. Like Nekoosa the Hornets will probably play about .500 ball against the bottom four teams in the conference.
Mauston- The Golden Eagles return only two players that played significant minutes last year. They have one true star in Trevor Hannes but, without much help Mauston will remain towards the bottom of the conference.
Westfield- Pioneers return four year starter Justin Hess but, outside of him they really don't have much. They may surprise a team or two but, it will be another long season for Westfield.
That's my run down of the SCC, the Big Eight will follow within the next couple days.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Badgers Win Opener
The Badgers won their opener despite not playing a very good game. This was a big wake up call that the Badgers may not be as good as what everyone in the Big Ten and Wisconsin think. Trailing most of the first half, Wisconsin was able to get the lead late in the first half and pull away late in the game to end up winning by 20 plus. In the second half the defense of guards Michael Flowers and Trevon Hughes allowed Wisconsin to get the big lead.
As of right now the Badgers are really lacking that go to guy that Alando Tucker was last year. At times last night, specially in the first half, no one wanted to shoot the ball they were just passing it around the perimeter. One guy that was willing to attack the rim and take the shoot was Trevon Hughes. I had question his great play in preseason due to the fact that they were against division three teams but, in his first start against a division one team he was the most impressive player of the game. Hughes had 25 points to lead everyone and as in preseason was able to get to the rim at will. Hughes also displayed some great pressure defense that caused turnovers and led to some easy buckets. Hughes is really not the prototypical point guard at Wisconsin. Usually Bo Ryan point guards just bring the ball up past half court and pass it but, Hughes is more of street ball player being that he likes to keep the ball in his hand and try to penetrate to the lane for the layup or dish off to a teammate. The only trouble spots of his game that I see is that he takes some wild shots at times which I can live with cause no one else is looking to score and he takes some bad threes which do bother me a bit. With some more game experience and some work on his outside shooting Trevon will easily be one of the top guards in the Big Ten if not country.
Brian Butch also impressed me a lot in the fact that he did most of his scoring on the inside and not standing at the three point line. He did miss some bunnies but, worked hard to get second and third chances to score. Butch really looks like he's ready to except the leadership roll. Michael Flowers seems to be his same self he was last year. Playing great great defense and scoring from time to time. I would like to see him become more aggressive on the offensive end which I believe he will become more aggressive once he gets back into the flow of things after missing much of spring practice.
In a game where Wisconsin didn't play well there was a lot of things that disliked about the game of course. It looks like Greg Stiesma looks like he'll do nothing on offense like years past and will just be the big man defensive stopper. Joe Krabbenhoft only played 16 minutes which kinda bothered me. This kid needs to be playing 20 plus in every game. He's a high energy guy that does a little bit of everything and they need him on the court. Marcus Landry really needs to be more aggressive. In my opinion I believe Marcus is the best player on the team and needs to except that position and try to score more. Jason Bohannon struggled in preseason and continues to struggle now that the regular season has started. He's not dropping the threes and he's turning the ball over. Their going to need Bohannon to step up being that Wisconsin really only has three guards in the rotation. The only coaching move that really bothered me is the fact that Keaton Nankivil hasn't been redshirted and is probably not going to play significant minutes. Last night be played about two or three minutes in garbage time. If this is going to be the only minutes he's going to see then why not redshirt him and give those garbage minutes to Gavinski or Gullickson instead of wasting a season for Nankivil.
I'm really looking forward to this season because I have seen the majority of these players play in high school and am curious to see if these guys live up to their high school expectations.
As a side note I just watched the last 15 minutes of the UW Green Bay game against Ohio State. GB really looked bad. There point guards were really struggling against OSU's height and turning the ball over, they were settling for three point shots and they were not dropping, and the Buckeyes were able to pound the ball inside for easy baskets at will. That all said I still think the Phoenix will have a very good season in Horizon League play. They will not see teams with this height or athleticism and should be just fine for the rest of the year.
Things may be a little slow on the blog for the next few weeks until the high school basketball season actually starts. I will try to post every other day with thoughts about some game or team though which may be a Wisconsin team or not.
As of right now the Badgers are really lacking that go to guy that Alando Tucker was last year. At times last night, specially in the first half, no one wanted to shoot the ball they were just passing it around the perimeter. One guy that was willing to attack the rim and take the shoot was Trevon Hughes. I had question his great play in preseason due to the fact that they were against division three teams but, in his first start against a division one team he was the most impressive player of the game. Hughes had 25 points to lead everyone and as in preseason was able to get to the rim at will. Hughes also displayed some great pressure defense that caused turnovers and led to some easy buckets. Hughes is really not the prototypical point guard at Wisconsin. Usually Bo Ryan point guards just bring the ball up past half court and pass it but, Hughes is more of street ball player being that he likes to keep the ball in his hand and try to penetrate to the lane for the layup or dish off to a teammate. The only trouble spots of his game that I see is that he takes some wild shots at times which I can live with cause no one else is looking to score and he takes some bad threes which do bother me a bit. With some more game experience and some work on his outside shooting Trevon will easily be one of the top guards in the Big Ten if not country.
Brian Butch also impressed me a lot in the fact that he did most of his scoring on the inside and not standing at the three point line. He did miss some bunnies but, worked hard to get second and third chances to score. Butch really looks like he's ready to except the leadership roll. Michael Flowers seems to be his same self he was last year. Playing great great defense and scoring from time to time. I would like to see him become more aggressive on the offensive end which I believe he will become more aggressive once he gets back into the flow of things after missing much of spring practice.
In a game where Wisconsin didn't play well there was a lot of things that disliked about the game of course. It looks like Greg Stiesma looks like he'll do nothing on offense like years past and will just be the big man defensive stopper. Joe Krabbenhoft only played 16 minutes which kinda bothered me. This kid needs to be playing 20 plus in every game. He's a high energy guy that does a little bit of everything and they need him on the court. Marcus Landry really needs to be more aggressive. In my opinion I believe Marcus is the best player on the team and needs to except that position and try to score more. Jason Bohannon struggled in preseason and continues to struggle now that the regular season has started. He's not dropping the threes and he's turning the ball over. Their going to need Bohannon to step up being that Wisconsin really only has three guards in the rotation. The only coaching move that really bothered me is the fact that Keaton Nankivil hasn't been redshirted and is probably not going to play significant minutes. Last night be played about two or three minutes in garbage time. If this is going to be the only minutes he's going to see then why not redshirt him and give those garbage minutes to Gavinski or Gullickson instead of wasting a season for Nankivil.
I'm really looking forward to this season because I have seen the majority of these players play in high school and am curious to see if these guys live up to their high school expectations.
As a side note I just watched the last 15 minutes of the UW Green Bay game against Ohio State. GB really looked bad. There point guards were really struggling against OSU's height and turning the ball over, they were settling for three point shots and they were not dropping, and the Buckeyes were able to pound the ball inside for easy baskets at will. That all said I still think the Phoenix will have a very good season in Horizon League play. They will not see teams with this height or athleticism and should be just fine for the rest of the year.
Things may be a little slow on the blog for the next few weeks until the high school basketball season actually starts. I will try to post every other day with thoughts about some game or team though which may be a Wisconsin team or not.
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