With the season having ended it's time to look towards next season and who might be next years state champs and are the favorites to make it to state. Taking into account which teams return the most and which teams also seem to be tough year in and year out.
Division One
Milwaukee Hamiliton- Have to be every ones favorite heading into next year as they bring back everyone from there state team and have six players that are ranked in the top 50 junior for the state.
Madison Memorial- The talent just keeps coming and coming. Junior Junior Lomomba should have a huge year and junior Jamar Morris will be greatly improved. Juniors Tre Burnette, Miles Chamberlain, and freshmen Brendan Ortiz are the other regulars that return along with the addition of freshmen Jester Weah from JV.
Appleton East- Only lose two players from this years state team and return their top five scorers. Sophomre Sam Mader appears to be on the rise talent wise and the juniors of this year will all be going into their third year on varsity.
Milwaukee Marquette- Return their top two players in juniors Quinten Calloway and John Kopriva. Calloway is the point and Kopriva the big man on the inside.
Milwaukee King- Arroyo Edwards leads a very very talented sophomore class. Not to mention Gosz is one of the best coaches around.
Milwaukee Vincent- Another very talented city team that has 6'9 sophomore Phillip Nolan coming back as well as a talented group of underclassmen.
Sun Prairie- Boos is the only player gone from this years team and junior Chris Hawkins and Jordan Noskowiak should be poised for break out years.
Germantown- Have a very good back court in sophomores Zak Showalter and Josh Mongan along with 6'6 Daniel Studer.
As you can see by my predictions next year should be a comeback year for the City Conference after having a bit of down year this past year. Hamiliton is the favorite as I said and Vincent and King should have very strong teams. I also wouldn't be surprised to see South or Riverside make a strong run at state. The Big Eight will be strong once again but, will be down a bit from this year as Madison East, Verona, and Madison Lafollette will fall off a bit next year.
Division Two
Seymour- Have a very strong junior class and were only a game away from state this year. Have a very good coach as well obviously which can be seen by there great success in the past 10 years.
Rice Lake- Play in a tough conference and have a strong junior class led by Wally Elleson.
Onalaska- Were every ones favorite to make state this year and return their top player in 6'8 sophomore Nick Arenz along with a strong junior class and some very promising freshmen.
Monroe- Have one of the best back courts in the state with the return of juniors Bryan Tordoff and Michael Barrett. Also have a great coach and some nice sophomores and freshmen coming up.
River Valley- Bring back their top two players in juniors Noah Baryenbruch and Alex Richard.
In D2 in looks like it's back to the old standbys. D2 had been the most consistent in the same years making it back year after year but, the last couple years that has changed with some surprises. I'm betting that the old standbys will be back next year.
Division Three
Racine St. Catherines- Lose only one player from this years team in Steve McWhorter who was a huge asset to the team obviously being a D1 recruit but, they bring everyone back and I think Chris Souter should be able to step into the point guard position next year.
Whitefish Bay Dominican- Always strong tradition at Dominican and always seem to have great talent. Freshmen Duane Wilson and sophomore Jamall Taylor will form one of the top back courts in D3.
Manitowoc Roncalli- Bring back nearly everyone from this years team and shoot the ball extremely well. Ben Stelzer there star is back for his fourth year of varsity.
Lacrosse Aquinas- They are a year older and Bronson Koenig will be a sophomore and Evan Pederson a senior.
Brillion- Lose only two seniors that actually played this year and bring back three of their top five scorers.
As you can see like always D3 is going to be the private school championship, which will upset all the small public school backers as always.
Division Four
Green Bay NEW Lutheran- State runner ups lose only one senior that played from this years team and bring back their top two scorers. Should be front runners to win state.
Benton- Sophomore David Neis and junior Matt Savatski who were both starters when Benton won state two years ago.
Randolph- Can you ever count Randolph out? They are a contender every year no matter what they've lost from the year before. Juniors Brian Kampstra and TJ Huizenga should have big years next year and rumors are there is some nice height in the eighth grade class.
Next year should be a year where the top teams will be fairly obvious all year long and will more then likely meet at state. At least next year GBNL will be coming out of a different sectional unlike this year when all the top teams were in the same sectional.
With the season coming to an end my posts will be few and far between. I will have a few more conclusion posts in the next month or so.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
State Recap
I know it has been a few days but, I've been recovering from a very long weekend of basketball and have just now back to my normal self. For the most part state went according to plan with a few exceptions. Milwaukee Hamiliton losing in the quarter finals and then the biggest shock with Madison Memorial falling apart in the championship game.
Division One
In the first quarterfinal game Antigo was very disappointing along with Jordan Mach who I was excited to see play. Mach seemed to take a ton of shots and no one else really wanted to shoot. Appleton East wasn't that solid in itself but, the three point shooting was out and about and the hot shooting of Caleb Zeegers saved them in this one. In game two it felt like Madison Memorial just coasted against Neenah. I don't remember much about this game but, the starters for Memorial didn't play a ton of minutes and seemed to wrap this game up early with their pressure defense. Milwaukee Marquette over Milwaukee Hamiliton was a big shocker and just didn't seem right as Hamiliton controlled this game throughout. I found myself guessing how Hamiliton would match up with Memorial, thinking their length would give Memorial some problems, and trying to guess who would guard who. Before I knew it Marquette had tied the game up and took the lead and Hamiliton couldn't hit the big shot at the end of any threes the entire game. Marvins Pain came up huge for Marquette going 3-4 from downtown. In the final game of the first day Arrowhead completely dominated Verona and I left midway through the fourth quarter. Verona had no one to guard the 7'1 Ben Mills or ultra quick point guard Andy Fox.
Semifinal
Madison Memorial put on an absolute clinic on running a trapping 1-3-1 zone defense against Appleton East. East just seemed overwhelmed by the speed and quickness of Memorial. Arrowhead vs Marquette was probably the best game of D1 and ended with a banked in three with only seconds remaining. There were some nice match ups between Ben Mills and John Kopriva despite Kopriva giving up some height and then the two lead guards in Andy Fox and Quentin Calloway but, the difference was the hot shooting of Charlie Fischer who hit five three point shots in this game.
Championship
Memorial seemed to have this game in hand and was one run away from completely taking this game over as they led by eight points at half time. Memorial was trapping and getting out and running. In the second half Memorial completely lost it and Arrowhead capitalized. Memorial had a tough time guarding Mills all night long due to the fact that the tallest player they play is listed at a generous 6'5. Vander Blue was completely taken out of his game by the Arrowhead crowd who taunted him all night long and Blue responded by playing out of control and really forcing things that weren't there. Arrowhead had numerous cheers against Blue "Mrs. Basketball" "Vander Who?" "Bray is better" and then finally "Thank you Vander". I truly believe Memorial was the better team but, just lost their composure in this one.
Divion two semifinal
I thought Waukesha Catholic Memorial would blow Sauk Prairie out but, Sauk really played hard and were a missed three away from winning this game. In the first half TJ Bray really dominated for Catholic Memorial but, then in the second half he began forcing shots and things weren't falling and Memorials offense cooled off. In the second game Northwestern played a very solid game against Kiel and got only a five point lead due to some hot shooting from Kiel that in the game. Northwestern was very impressive in this game, they have lots of height and really look to use their height and pound the ball inside. Donnie Hissa may be the most improved player I've seen this year and has a very soft touch around the rim, really fights for position, and can step out and hit the three. Kiels star Brandon Gries was battling an ankle injury the second half and was a non factor in the second half despite that fact the hot shooting from Joey Burris nearly won them the game. Anyone watching Northwestern's Steve Tecker play could of never guess that this was only his fourth game of the year. Tecker looked nearly as impressive as last year and plays nearly the entire game.
Championship
This was the best game of the weekend. TJ Bray and Steve Tecker went head to head for a great battle. Edge to Bray who was able to hit the outside shot and get to the rim while Tecker struggled to get to the rim and has never had a great outside shot. Hissa had another great game all around but, the difference was the play of Derek Schill who was able to catch fire from the outside and was the difference in the game.
Division Three
Racine St Catherines controlled game one nearly the entire way. Blair Taylor couldn't buy a basket early on and they weren't getting the offensive rebounds that I had seen them get the last time I saw them play. St Cats is just a very smooth team and very disciplined team. Whether missed or made shot the push the ball quicker then any other team and find their point guard Steve Mcwhorter right away. Mcwhorter is the best on the ball defender that I've seen all year. In game two height was the big difference. Brillion didn't have height and Eau Claire Regis did. Regis big man Steve Hofacker had 10 points 14 rebounds and 5 blocks. Brillion seems to be a team that relies on the outside shot and the outside shot wasn't falling and they weren't getting the second chances. Regis point guard Connor Miller is a star in the making and runs the show very well and can score on his own. Would like to see him go to the post more though.
Championship
This was a great match up between two great point guards in Miller and McWhorter. McWhorter did a great job on Miller and McWhorter received some help from Jordan Fouse who had a double double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. With Miller shut down Adam Ganske took over for Regis, so then McWhorter switched over to Ganske and shut him down. Meanwhile Miller went off scoring eight straight points which cause St. Cats to switch to a 1-3-1 zone defense and then get the title win.
Division four semifinal
Game one Randolph completely dominated Royal from start to finish. Royal couldn't hit the outside shots and didn't have the size to battle with Randolph. Kyle Kelm didn't have a good game but, TJ Huizenga came up big scoring 21 points in the game. In the second game Green Bay NEW Lutheran came out early gunning using their speed and hot outside shooting to jump out early but, the strong play from Blayton big man Taylor Dayton willed his team back into this game and ended with a one point lose.
Championship
In the final game Randolph against showed their dominance behind the great play of 6'10 Kyle Kelm. Kelm rebounded, scored, and passed. GBNL did their best to keep the game close with strong outside shooting but, in the end Kelm and company were just too much.
All Tournament team
6'4 senior Vander Blue Madison Memorial
6'4 junior Tre Burnette Madison Memorial
6'3 senior Marvins Paine Milwaukee Marquette
7'1 senior Ben Mills Arrowhead
6'0 senior Andy Fox Arrowhead
6'3 junior Charlie Fischer Arrowhead
6'4 senior TJ Bray Waukesha Catholic Memorial
6'1 senior Derek Schill Waukesha Catholic Memorial
6'8 senior Donnie Hissa Northwestern
6'5 senior Steve Tecker Northwestern
6'2 senior Steve McWhorter Racine St. Cats
6'3 senior Adam Ganske Eau Claire Regis
6'2 junior Connor Miller Eau Claire Regis
6'0 junior Kaylor Zimmerman Green Bay NEW Lutheran
6'10 senior Kyle Kelm Randolph
6'3 junior TJ Huizenga Randolph
If you are a person that likes the small quick point guards then this was a state tournament for you. Every game had at least one very good point guard who could score or pass. Andy Fox, Charles Lee, Quentin Calloway, Steve McWhorter, Connor Miller, and Klayton Zimmerman. Along with that you had your stars that are big scorers, D1 recruits, and highly ranked players.
Division One
In the first quarterfinal game Antigo was very disappointing along with Jordan Mach who I was excited to see play. Mach seemed to take a ton of shots and no one else really wanted to shoot. Appleton East wasn't that solid in itself but, the three point shooting was out and about and the hot shooting of Caleb Zeegers saved them in this one. In game two it felt like Madison Memorial just coasted against Neenah. I don't remember much about this game but, the starters for Memorial didn't play a ton of minutes and seemed to wrap this game up early with their pressure defense. Milwaukee Marquette over Milwaukee Hamiliton was a big shocker and just didn't seem right as Hamiliton controlled this game throughout. I found myself guessing how Hamiliton would match up with Memorial, thinking their length would give Memorial some problems, and trying to guess who would guard who. Before I knew it Marquette had tied the game up and took the lead and Hamiliton couldn't hit the big shot at the end of any threes the entire game. Marvins Pain came up huge for Marquette going 3-4 from downtown. In the final game of the first day Arrowhead completely dominated Verona and I left midway through the fourth quarter. Verona had no one to guard the 7'1 Ben Mills or ultra quick point guard Andy Fox.
Semifinal
Madison Memorial put on an absolute clinic on running a trapping 1-3-1 zone defense against Appleton East. East just seemed overwhelmed by the speed and quickness of Memorial. Arrowhead vs Marquette was probably the best game of D1 and ended with a banked in three with only seconds remaining. There were some nice match ups between Ben Mills and John Kopriva despite Kopriva giving up some height and then the two lead guards in Andy Fox and Quentin Calloway but, the difference was the hot shooting of Charlie Fischer who hit five three point shots in this game.
Championship
Memorial seemed to have this game in hand and was one run away from completely taking this game over as they led by eight points at half time. Memorial was trapping and getting out and running. In the second half Memorial completely lost it and Arrowhead capitalized. Memorial had a tough time guarding Mills all night long due to the fact that the tallest player they play is listed at a generous 6'5. Vander Blue was completely taken out of his game by the Arrowhead crowd who taunted him all night long and Blue responded by playing out of control and really forcing things that weren't there. Arrowhead had numerous cheers against Blue "Mrs. Basketball" "Vander Who?" "Bray is better" and then finally "Thank you Vander". I truly believe Memorial was the better team but, just lost their composure in this one.
Divion two semifinal
I thought Waukesha Catholic Memorial would blow Sauk Prairie out but, Sauk really played hard and were a missed three away from winning this game. In the first half TJ Bray really dominated for Catholic Memorial but, then in the second half he began forcing shots and things weren't falling and Memorials offense cooled off. In the second game Northwestern played a very solid game against Kiel and got only a five point lead due to some hot shooting from Kiel that in the game. Northwestern was very impressive in this game, they have lots of height and really look to use their height and pound the ball inside. Donnie Hissa may be the most improved player I've seen this year and has a very soft touch around the rim, really fights for position, and can step out and hit the three. Kiels star Brandon Gries was battling an ankle injury the second half and was a non factor in the second half despite that fact the hot shooting from Joey Burris nearly won them the game. Anyone watching Northwestern's Steve Tecker play could of never guess that this was only his fourth game of the year. Tecker looked nearly as impressive as last year and plays nearly the entire game.
Championship
This was the best game of the weekend. TJ Bray and Steve Tecker went head to head for a great battle. Edge to Bray who was able to hit the outside shot and get to the rim while Tecker struggled to get to the rim and has never had a great outside shot. Hissa had another great game all around but, the difference was the play of Derek Schill who was able to catch fire from the outside and was the difference in the game.
Division Three
Racine St Catherines controlled game one nearly the entire way. Blair Taylor couldn't buy a basket early on and they weren't getting the offensive rebounds that I had seen them get the last time I saw them play. St Cats is just a very smooth team and very disciplined team. Whether missed or made shot the push the ball quicker then any other team and find their point guard Steve Mcwhorter right away. Mcwhorter is the best on the ball defender that I've seen all year. In game two height was the big difference. Brillion didn't have height and Eau Claire Regis did. Regis big man Steve Hofacker had 10 points 14 rebounds and 5 blocks. Brillion seems to be a team that relies on the outside shot and the outside shot wasn't falling and they weren't getting the second chances. Regis point guard Connor Miller is a star in the making and runs the show very well and can score on his own. Would like to see him go to the post more though.
Championship
This was a great match up between two great point guards in Miller and McWhorter. McWhorter did a great job on Miller and McWhorter received some help from Jordan Fouse who had a double double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. With Miller shut down Adam Ganske took over for Regis, so then McWhorter switched over to Ganske and shut him down. Meanwhile Miller went off scoring eight straight points which cause St. Cats to switch to a 1-3-1 zone defense and then get the title win.
Division four semifinal
Game one Randolph completely dominated Royal from start to finish. Royal couldn't hit the outside shots and didn't have the size to battle with Randolph. Kyle Kelm didn't have a good game but, TJ Huizenga came up big scoring 21 points in the game. In the second game Green Bay NEW Lutheran came out early gunning using their speed and hot outside shooting to jump out early but, the strong play from Blayton big man Taylor Dayton willed his team back into this game and ended with a one point lose.
Championship
In the final game Randolph against showed their dominance behind the great play of 6'10 Kyle Kelm. Kelm rebounded, scored, and passed. GBNL did their best to keep the game close with strong outside shooting but, in the end Kelm and company were just too much.
All Tournament team
6'4 senior Vander Blue Madison Memorial
6'4 junior Tre Burnette Madison Memorial
6'3 senior Marvins Paine Milwaukee Marquette
7'1 senior Ben Mills Arrowhead
6'0 senior Andy Fox Arrowhead
6'3 junior Charlie Fischer Arrowhead
6'4 senior TJ Bray Waukesha Catholic Memorial
6'1 senior Derek Schill Waukesha Catholic Memorial
6'8 senior Donnie Hissa Northwestern
6'5 senior Steve Tecker Northwestern
6'2 senior Steve McWhorter Racine St. Cats
6'3 senior Adam Ganske Eau Claire Regis
6'2 junior Connor Miller Eau Claire Regis
6'0 junior Kaylor Zimmerman Green Bay NEW Lutheran
6'10 senior Kyle Kelm Randolph
6'3 junior TJ Huizenga Randolph
If you are a person that likes the small quick point guards then this was a state tournament for you. Every game had at least one very good point guard who could score or pass. Andy Fox, Charles Lee, Quentin Calloway, Steve McWhorter, Connor Miller, and Klayton Zimmerman. Along with that you had your stars that are big scorers, D1 recruits, and highly ranked players.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Division Four state predictions
As always the story in division four is Randolph. They have the height advantage with 6'10 Kyle Kelm and have an undefeated team. Randolph is the clear cut favorite and are expected to win state by at least double digit point margin. The two teams that may challenge Randolph are Clayton who has only lost one game and Green Bay New Lutheran who has benefited from playing against larger schools during the regular season and hasn't had many problems defeated D4 teams. The long shot and thats a huge long shot is Royal who is making their first ever appearance at state and didn't have a great season but, are peaking at the right time.
Clayton vs Green Bay New Lutheran I don't know anything about either team and this game is really a coin flip. Clayton has only lost one game while GBNL has lost 10 games but, has been playing against D3 and D2 teams all year long. I'm taking GBNL for the simple fact that Clayton doesn't play the toughest competition and comes out of weaker sectional and Clayton doesn't have much for height.
Randolph vs Royal Randolph has 6'10 Kelm whose a D1 recruit and lots of depth specially for a D4 team. Royal is a team with a handful of good players but, don't have that great player and don't have the height. Just way way too much Randolph in this one.
Randolph over Green Bay New Lutheran Randolph is just too good. They have played D1 schools all year long and should have no problem with these D4 schools. Have probably played their toughest games already in their sectional.
Clayton vs Green Bay New Lutheran I don't know anything about either team and this game is really a coin flip. Clayton has only lost one game while GBNL has lost 10 games but, has been playing against D3 and D2 teams all year long. I'm taking GBNL for the simple fact that Clayton doesn't play the toughest competition and comes out of weaker sectional and Clayton doesn't have much for height.
Randolph vs Royal Randolph has 6'10 Kelm whose a D1 recruit and lots of depth specially for a D4 team. Royal is a team with a handful of good players but, don't have that great player and don't have the height. Just way way too much Randolph in this one.
Randolph over Green Bay New Lutheran Randolph is just too good. They have played D1 schools all year long and should have no problem with these D4 schools. Have probably played their toughest games already in their sectional.
Division Three state predictions
Ever since the private schools have joined the WIAA private schools have dominated division three. This year everyone thought that could be changed as Fall Creek and Cuba City appeared to be two of the favorites but, both those teams were upset and now it appears a private school will win D3 again. The favorite, like every year it seems, in Racine St Catherines who has a D1 recruit in Steve McWhorter and have come out of one of the toughest sectionals and conferences. The other big favorite, in my eyes anyway is another private school, Eau Claire Regis who has replaced Fall Creek in the northwest sectional. Regis has three stars in their starting lineup in Adam Ganske, Jack Eaton, and Connor Miller along with a 6'7 center Steve Hofacker. Brillon is probably team number three after taking down perennial power Manitowoc Roncalli and the long shot in the field is Blair Taylor.
Brillon vs Eau Clair Regis Brillon has proven themselves taking down Roncalli and have only lost four games all year, losing twice to Roncalli and twice to Valders, who was a top 10 D2 team. On the other side Regis lost only five games losing twice to Fall Creek, getting upset by Thorp, who ultimately ended FC's season, and losing two two very good teams from Minnesota. Regis has the experience and talent edge and should get the win.
Blair Taylor vs Racine St Catherines Blair Taylor lost only three games this year splitting with conference rival Whitehall, a good team from Minnesota, and then losing to a non conference game to Arcadia. Blair Taylor rebounds very very well and have the experience factor after losing only one senior from last years D4 state team. St. Cats has proven itself time and again all season long and have one of the best coaches in the state. St Cats plays in one of the toughest D3 conferences in the state and stamped their tournament run with an exclamation point dominating Dominican who was my pick to win D3. St Cats too much talent and speed in this one.
Racine St Catherines over Eau Claire Regis- St. Cats just has too much speed for Regis but, there could be a great point guard match up between Mcwhorter and Miller.
Brillon vs Eau Clair Regis Brillon has proven themselves taking down Roncalli and have only lost four games all year, losing twice to Roncalli and twice to Valders, who was a top 10 D2 team. On the other side Regis lost only five games losing twice to Fall Creek, getting upset by Thorp, who ultimately ended FC's season, and losing two two very good teams from Minnesota. Regis has the experience and talent edge and should get the win.
Blair Taylor vs Racine St Catherines Blair Taylor lost only three games this year splitting with conference rival Whitehall, a good team from Minnesota, and then losing to a non conference game to Arcadia. Blair Taylor rebounds very very well and have the experience factor after losing only one senior from last years D4 state team. St. Cats has proven itself time and again all season long and have one of the best coaches in the state. St Cats plays in one of the toughest D3 conferences in the state and stamped their tournament run with an exclamation point dominating Dominican who was my pick to win D3. St Cats too much talent and speed in this one.
Racine St Catherines over Eau Claire Regis- St. Cats just has too much speed for Regis but, there could be a great point guard match up between Mcwhorter and Miller.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Division Two state predictions
All year long everyone has said that the division two state champion was going to come out of the southeastern sectional and I'm going to stay with the preseason pick and stay with Waukesha Catholic Memorial. The other early preseason pick was Northwestern but, that was before their star Steve Tecker was lost for the season due to hip surgery but, Tecker has returned for sectionals and is back for state. Tecker isn't anywhere near 100% but, has been an emotional spark for Northwestern and has become the top six man in the state. Kiel has proven themselves throughout the playoffs defeating three top ten teams in Valders, Waupun, and Seymour on their way to state and appear to be as hot as anyone in the state right now. Sauk Prairie probably had the easiest road to state but, did come out of a tough regional where the defeated top teams in River Valley and Prairie du Chien.
Sauk Prairie vs Waukesha Catholic Memorial Sauk plays in one of the toughest conferences in the state and should be battle tested and has already taken down a pair of state favorites in River Valley and Prairie du Chien. Catholic Memorial comes out of an even tougher conference and has the best player in D2 left in TJ Bray who is a D1 recruit. Catholic Memorial gets the big edge in this one.
Kiel vs Northwestern This game could go either way. Before the season I would of taken Northwestern easily but, with Tecker not at 100% I'm not sure. Kiel appears to be the hottest of the four teams at state and I seriously considered picking them in this game but, Northwestern has the 6'8 Donnie Hissa who has a huge height advantage over anything Kiel has on their roster so I'm going with Northwestern.
Waukesha Catholic Memorial over Northwestern Catholic Memorial has more talent with Derek Schill and TJ Bray who are big time college recruits. Northwestern has Tecker who isn't at 100% and Catholic Memorial has the bigs to match up with Hissa.
Sauk Prairie vs Waukesha Catholic Memorial Sauk plays in one of the toughest conferences in the state and should be battle tested and has already taken down a pair of state favorites in River Valley and Prairie du Chien. Catholic Memorial comes out of an even tougher conference and has the best player in D2 left in TJ Bray who is a D1 recruit. Catholic Memorial gets the big edge in this one.
Kiel vs Northwestern This game could go either way. Before the season I would of taken Northwestern easily but, with Tecker not at 100% I'm not sure. Kiel appears to be the hottest of the four teams at state and I seriously considered picking them in this game but, Northwestern has the 6'8 Donnie Hissa who has a huge height advantage over anything Kiel has on their roster so I'm going with Northwestern.
Waukesha Catholic Memorial over Northwestern Catholic Memorial has more talent with Derek Schill and TJ Bray who are big time college recruits. Northwestern has Tecker who isn't at 100% and Catholic Memorial has the bigs to match up with Hissa.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Division One state predictions
With state being only three days away its time for a little state talk. Start off by focusing on division one. The two huge favorites are Milwaukee Hamiliton and Madison Memorial, they have the most talent and are the most athletic teams left. The darkhorses are Antigo and Arrowhead. Antigo has the highest scoring player left in the tournament and Arrowhead has 7'0 foot Ben Mills. The other four teams remaining are all considered long shots.
Antigo vs Appleton East Antigo has the high scoring Jordan Mach and a very high scoring team as a whole. They are undefeated at 25-0. East is a team that relies on a strong defense and their offense is centered around the three point shot. They come out of the traditionally strong Fox Valley conference. East takes lots of threes and teams typically struggle from the outside at the Kohl Center so I'm taking Antigo in this one.
Madison Memorial vs Neenah Memorial was a preseason favorite but, haven't been very consistant all year. Memorial seems to be peaking at the right time. Memorial has ton of top 30 talent in the state and Vander Blue the top player in the state. Don't know much about Neenah but, they seemed to be peaking just like Memorial. They are another team coming out of the tough Fox Valley Coneference and will look to slow the pace while Memorial looks to push the tempo. Madison Memorial's talent will be too much for Neenah.
Milwaukee Hamiliton vs Milwaukee Marquette Hamiliton is another team that was a preseason favorite and have lived up to the hype all year long not losing to one Wisconsin team all year long. They have a no less then seven players in the top 50 juniors and at least three D1 recruits. Marquette seems to have peaked at the right time and has benefited from a weak sectional eight this year and have taken down four city schools already in the playoffs. Seem to have the height to battle anyone in the state. Hamiliton just has too much talent and size and should get the win.
Arrowhead vs Verona Arrowhead was the preseason #1 team. They are without their top guard who is out due to grades but, still have 7'1 senior Ben Mills who is a huge difference maker. Verona comes out of the toughest conference in the state in the Big Eight and also comes to play hard and will make this game very close. Mills will just be too much for Verona on the inside and gives Arrowhead the win.
State SemiFinal
Madison Memorial over Antigo- Memorial can score with anyone in the state and should be able to keep Antigo lower scoring with their intense defense.
Milwaukee Hamiliton over Arrowhead- Hamiliton and has the bigs that are athletic to battle with Mills on the inside who will get pushed around in this one.
Championship
Milwaukee Hamiliton over Madison Memorial- Should be a game for the ages. Both teams have D1 college talent, a ton of ranked players, and have matched up against some of the nations best teams. The height advantage and the more consistent play should give Milwaukee Hamiliton the state title.
Antigo vs Appleton East Antigo has the high scoring Jordan Mach and a very high scoring team as a whole. They are undefeated at 25-0. East is a team that relies on a strong defense and their offense is centered around the three point shot. They come out of the traditionally strong Fox Valley conference. East takes lots of threes and teams typically struggle from the outside at the Kohl Center so I'm taking Antigo in this one.
Madison Memorial vs Neenah Memorial was a preseason favorite but, haven't been very consistant all year. Memorial seems to be peaking at the right time. Memorial has ton of top 30 talent in the state and Vander Blue the top player in the state. Don't know much about Neenah but, they seemed to be peaking just like Memorial. They are another team coming out of the tough Fox Valley Coneference and will look to slow the pace while Memorial looks to push the tempo. Madison Memorial's talent will be too much for Neenah.
Milwaukee Hamiliton vs Milwaukee Marquette Hamiliton is another team that was a preseason favorite and have lived up to the hype all year long not losing to one Wisconsin team all year long. They have a no less then seven players in the top 50 juniors and at least three D1 recruits. Marquette seems to have peaked at the right time and has benefited from a weak sectional eight this year and have taken down four city schools already in the playoffs. Seem to have the height to battle anyone in the state. Hamiliton just has too much talent and size and should get the win.
Arrowhead vs Verona Arrowhead was the preseason #1 team. They are without their top guard who is out due to grades but, still have 7'1 senior Ben Mills who is a huge difference maker. Verona comes out of the toughest conference in the state in the Big Eight and also comes to play hard and will make this game very close. Mills will just be too much for Verona on the inside and gives Arrowhead the win.
State SemiFinal
Madison Memorial over Antigo- Memorial can score with anyone in the state and should be able to keep Antigo lower scoring with their intense defense.
Milwaukee Hamiliton over Arrowhead- Hamiliton and has the bigs that are athletic to battle with Mills on the inside who will get pushed around in this one.
Championship
Milwaukee Hamiliton over Madison Memorial- Should be a game for the ages. Both teams have D1 college talent, a ton of ranked players, and have matched up against some of the nations best teams. The height advantage and the more consistent play should give Milwaukee Hamiliton the state title.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Blair Taylor defeats Poynette to get to state
In a division three sectional final Blair Taylor was able to take down Poynette in overtime to get their shot at state. Blair Taylor was there a year ago in D4 and now will get their shot in D3. Last year they had to face the favorite in Benton in the semi final and now this year they get the favorite Racine St. Catherines. Coming into this game I was taking Blair Taylor by a 6-8 scoring margin but, then watching warm ups I got a little nervous because Poynette looked like the better team. Poynette looked more athletic and was making more shots in the warm ups.
Blair Taylor may of been the favorite but, Poynette game out gunning jumping out to a 6-0 lead right away behind the hotting shooting of 6'2 senior Cody Odegaard and 6'2 junior Adam Ray. Odegaard was the first option and when they weren't able to get to him they went to Ray who was just as hot. Blair Taylor was playing a box and one on Odegaard but, it didn't seem to work. They switch to a zone defense some 2-3 and 1-3-1 and it just seemed like they just lost track of Odegaard and he was money they entire first half. Poynette had the first quarter lead 19-14. On the other end Blair Taylor was ice cold and couldn't knock anything down. The only thing keeping Blair Taylor in the game was their offensive rebounding as they absolutely dominated the offensive glass which typically led to second chance buckets or fouls. 6'2 junior Lucas Howe did a great job giving his team second and third chances at the hoop. Other then Howe the player that really kept BT in the game was 6'0 senior Cody Cartrette who was the only BT player to hit a three in the first half and did a great job of driving to the hoop and drawing the contact and getting fouled. Both Cartrette and Howe were nearly automatics at the free throw lines. Poynette was up 36-24 at halftime.
It took Blair Taylor tell about midway through the third quarter to finally getting things going their way. I don't know if it was the fact that he was getting tired or what but, Odegaard went alittle cold in the second half and BT really didn't change their defensive strategy. For BT Cartrette continued his aggressive play and 6'2 junior Hank Kujak stepped up hitting three huge threes in the second half and was able to get into the lane and score and if he was fouled knocked down the free throws. Blair Taylor trimmed Poynette's lead to 58-55 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter Odegaard continued to struggle missing numerous difficult lay ups going to his left. Ray tried to take over for Poynette which led to him getting numerous trips to the line where he really struggled. H. Kujak and Cartrette continued to dominate for BT and carried the team. In the end Poynette couldn't hit the free throws and BT tied the game up at 69-69. In overtime Poynette couldn't do anything and only scored three points falling to BT 81-72 who continued their strong play.
There were a couple things that won this game for Blair Taylor. The biggest factor was foul trouble as Poynette ended up having four players foul out, while BT didn't have anyone. The reason for this wasn't because the refs favored BT, as some fans would lead you to believe, but it was because the refs were calling a fairly tight game and Poynette was settling for the outside shots while BT was taking the ball to the hoop and drawing the contact. When Poynette finally did go to the hoop they weren't hitting their free throws. The second thing was the lack of scoring for the rest of Poynette outside of the big two players. Poynette only got eight points from anyone not names Cody Odegaard or Adam Ray. The final thing that was probably alittle unnoticed was 6'6 sophomore Reggie Kujak for Blair Taylor. R. Kujak didn't score in the game or grab a ton of rebounds but, his size cause Poynette to stay on the outside and not drive the ball to the hoop.
Top Players
Cody Odegaard 6'2 senior Poynette- Had one of the best games I've seen all year. It didn't matter if there was a player in his face or not he was gonna knock down the shot, just ran out of gas late in the game.
Adam Ray 6'2 junior Poynette- When given the open outside shot Ray knocked it down and also took the ball to the hoop strong in 2 on 1 breakaways.
Hank Kujak 6'2 junior Blair Taylor- Was very very cold in the first half but, didn't stop shooting and hit three big threes in the second half and was able to carry his team late in the game.
Cody Cartrette 6'0 senior Blair Taylor- Did a nice job of taking the ball to the hoop all game long and drawing the contact. Also was able to hit the three when he was spotted up.
Lucas Howe 6'2 junior Blair Taylor- Just a beast on the offensive glass. Was able to get second chance buckets and knock down the free throws.
Box Score
Poynette- C. Odegaard 34 Ray 30 Shawn Lenius 4 Travis Maciosek 2 Asa Odegaard 2 Taylor Blumstein 0 Adam Rodger 0 Brett Severson 0 Jordan Branton 0 Dylan Tomlinson 0 Dakota Wiltrout
Blair Taylor- H. Kujak 31 Cartrette 30 Howe 12 Isaiah Paulson 6 Shay Benedict 2 AJ Loken 0 R. Kujak 0
Blair Taylor didn't play a very good game but, they got the win in the end. At state they will have to play their A game all game long and are a big underdog. I'm guessing they will probably lose by 15-20 points.
Blair Taylor may of been the favorite but, Poynette game out gunning jumping out to a 6-0 lead right away behind the hotting shooting of 6'2 senior Cody Odegaard and 6'2 junior Adam Ray. Odegaard was the first option and when they weren't able to get to him they went to Ray who was just as hot. Blair Taylor was playing a box and one on Odegaard but, it didn't seem to work. They switch to a zone defense some 2-3 and 1-3-1 and it just seemed like they just lost track of Odegaard and he was money they entire first half. Poynette had the first quarter lead 19-14. On the other end Blair Taylor was ice cold and couldn't knock anything down. The only thing keeping Blair Taylor in the game was their offensive rebounding as they absolutely dominated the offensive glass which typically led to second chance buckets or fouls. 6'2 junior Lucas Howe did a great job giving his team second and third chances at the hoop. Other then Howe the player that really kept BT in the game was 6'0 senior Cody Cartrette who was the only BT player to hit a three in the first half and did a great job of driving to the hoop and drawing the contact and getting fouled. Both Cartrette and Howe were nearly automatics at the free throw lines. Poynette was up 36-24 at halftime.
It took Blair Taylor tell about midway through the third quarter to finally getting things going their way. I don't know if it was the fact that he was getting tired or what but, Odegaard went alittle cold in the second half and BT really didn't change their defensive strategy. For BT Cartrette continued his aggressive play and 6'2 junior Hank Kujak stepped up hitting three huge threes in the second half and was able to get into the lane and score and if he was fouled knocked down the free throws. Blair Taylor trimmed Poynette's lead to 58-55 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter Odegaard continued to struggle missing numerous difficult lay ups going to his left. Ray tried to take over for Poynette which led to him getting numerous trips to the line where he really struggled. H. Kujak and Cartrette continued to dominate for BT and carried the team. In the end Poynette couldn't hit the free throws and BT tied the game up at 69-69. In overtime Poynette couldn't do anything and only scored three points falling to BT 81-72 who continued their strong play.
There were a couple things that won this game for Blair Taylor. The biggest factor was foul trouble as Poynette ended up having four players foul out, while BT didn't have anyone. The reason for this wasn't because the refs favored BT, as some fans would lead you to believe, but it was because the refs were calling a fairly tight game and Poynette was settling for the outside shots while BT was taking the ball to the hoop and drawing the contact. When Poynette finally did go to the hoop they weren't hitting their free throws. The second thing was the lack of scoring for the rest of Poynette outside of the big two players. Poynette only got eight points from anyone not names Cody Odegaard or Adam Ray. The final thing that was probably alittle unnoticed was 6'6 sophomore Reggie Kujak for Blair Taylor. R. Kujak didn't score in the game or grab a ton of rebounds but, his size cause Poynette to stay on the outside and not drive the ball to the hoop.
Top Players
Cody Odegaard 6'2 senior Poynette- Had one of the best games I've seen all year. It didn't matter if there was a player in his face or not he was gonna knock down the shot, just ran out of gas late in the game.
Adam Ray 6'2 junior Poynette- When given the open outside shot Ray knocked it down and also took the ball to the hoop strong in 2 on 1 breakaways.
Hank Kujak 6'2 junior Blair Taylor- Was very very cold in the first half but, didn't stop shooting and hit three big threes in the second half and was able to carry his team late in the game.
Cody Cartrette 6'0 senior Blair Taylor- Did a nice job of taking the ball to the hoop all game long and drawing the contact. Also was able to hit the three when he was spotted up.
Lucas Howe 6'2 junior Blair Taylor- Just a beast on the offensive glass. Was able to get second chance buckets and knock down the free throws.
Box Score
Poynette- C. Odegaard 34 Ray 30 Shawn Lenius 4 Travis Maciosek 2 Asa Odegaard 2 Taylor Blumstein 0 Adam Rodger 0 Brett Severson 0 Jordan Branton 0 Dylan Tomlinson 0 Dakota Wiltrout
Blair Taylor- H. Kujak 31 Cartrette 30 Howe 12 Isaiah Paulson 6 Shay Benedict 2 AJ Loken 0 R. Kujak 0
Blair Taylor didn't play a very good game but, they got the win in the end. At state they will have to play their A game all game long and are a big underdog. I'm guessing they will probably lose by 15-20 points.
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