Big Eight Conference Preview

The Big Eight Conference is far away the conference that I pay the most attention and I feel that I can actually make an accurate prediction with how the conference will play out. The reason that I follow this conference so closely is because it is a conference that is fairly close to where I live and has had some great basketball being played throughout the past seven years I've been following basketball closely. There have been numerous D1 college players that have come through this conference as well as the perennial state power house Madison Memorial. Speaking of Madison Memorial this may actually be the year that Sun Prairie is able to over take Memorial as the top team and to make it to state where a Big Eight school is nearly guaranteed to make it. Sun Prairie and Memorial are easily the one and two teams in the conference but, after that there is really a mishmash of teams in the second tear where four different teams could end up in third place. The bottom four teams are a mishmash as where those four teams could finish in any order. Here are my preseason Big Eight thoughts.

1. Sun Prairie- 6'6 senior Nick Fuller is the top player in the conference and should carry his team to first place and has a very solid sidekick in fellow D1 recruit 6'2 sophomore Nick Noskowiak. Pair these guys with a strong JV team from last year and 6'2 senior Donnel Thompson who is a transfer from Madison Memorial.

2. Madison Memorial- Memorial doesn't have as many big name stars as the past and they aren't one of the favorites to win state but, they do have a pair of very good seniors in 6'1 Brendan Ortiz, a four year starter, and 6'4 Jester Weah, a three year starter.

3. Madison Lafollette- They bring back three starters from last years fourth place team including 6'6 senior Trevon Ampe who I really liked when I saw them play last year and 6'4 senior Nygel Drury who Mark Miller picked as a preseason all city pick.

4. Madison West- Like the past few years West has a ton of talented players but, the question is can they put that talent together. 6'3 junior Malik Clement has had a great summer and seem to be some rumors that he may be a D1 recruit.

5. Middleton- They lost a lot from last year but, they have such a solid program going that it shouldn't be a huge problem and they play so many players they really don't need to count on one player too much. Wouldn't surprise me one bit to see Middleton jump to the three spot in the rankings.

6. Beloit- Don't have a lot coming back but, do have all conference performer 6'5 junior Andre Neal back. Usually have a lot of athletes but, just need to put it all together.

7. Madison East- Bring back four starters from last years team that really counted on departed senior Rudy Bentley to carry them. They also have a pair of three year starters in seniors 5'11 Jermel McLin and 6'3 Emani Brathwaite.

8. Janesville Craig- Honestly only here because they return a little more then the bottom two teams.

9. Verona- Honestly was going to have them slightly higher but, then I looked at last years standings and saw that they actually took last in conference and lost their Mr. Everything Bryan Dalton.

10. Janesville Parker- Well tied for last, last year and only bring back one starter and had a JV team that really struggled last year.

Predicted Conference Standings

Sun Prairie 18-0
Madison Memorial 16-2
Madison Lafollette 12-6
Madison West 11-7
Middleton 11-7
Beloit 9-9
Madison East 5-13
Janesville Craig 3-15
Verona 3-15
Janesville Parker 2-16

Preseason All Conference
1st Team
Nick Fuller 6'6 senior Sun Prairie
Brendan Ortiz 6'1 senior Madison Memorial
Malik Clement 6'3 junior Madison West
Jester Weah 6'4 senior Madison Memorial
Andre Neal 6'5 junior Beloit

2nd Team
Nick Noskowiak 6'2 sophomore Sun Prairie
Trevon Ampe 6'6 senior Madison Lafollette
Nygel Drury 6'4 senior Madison Lafollette
Derek Rongstad 6'5 junior Middleton
Jermel McLin 5'11 senior Madison East

HM
Emani Brathwaite 6'3 senior Madison East
Darold Thomas 6'1 sophomore Madison Lafollette
Julian Walters 5'11 senior Madison Lafollette

I will be getting my first Big Eight look on Tuesday night going to watch Madison Memorial and Middleton play and then on Saturday watch the other three Madison teams take on three teams from the Milwaukee area.

Division Five Preseason Rankings

For about the past 15 years the most popular choice to win the smallest division was Randolph, whether we are talking D4 or the new D5. This year is no different and Randolph will once again be #1 when they think about division five. Smaller schools you can usually go by tradition in picking teams with the occasional team that may have a strong class come through that will give them some short term success. I will admit after the top five I am a little shaky and will be looking at the yearbook for help.

Division Five

1. Randolph- 6'4 seniors Aaron Retzlaff and Jay Peters have been around a while and do all the little things to make this team go.

2. Drummond- No one seems to want to rank them high after the beating they took at state but, they were at state last year and return their top player in double double machine Ben Best a 6'6 senior.

3. Blair-Taylor- Have a very strong tradition and a great coach. They also have two big time scores in 6'5 junior Dalton Soto and 6'1 sophomore Brett Ladsten.

4. Clayton- Tons of success in recent years and have three starters back.

5. Royal- Bring back a ton of players from last years team including four year starer 6'4 senior Sam Murphy.

6. Suring- Won 20 games a year ago and have all five starters back.

7. Fall River- Another 20 win team a year ago and bring back seven of their top players.

8. Potosi- Five starters back from 16 win team.

9. Green Bay NEW Lutheran- Play in a very tough conference and they are always battle tested come playoff time.

10. Barneveld- Strong tradition showed carry them far.

11. Central Wisconsin Christian- A good team a year ago and one of a few teams that actually gave Randolph a challenge during the regular season.

12. North Crawford- A bit of a hunch here but, they have the tradition there.

13. Cochrane-Fountain City- Should build on strong season they had last year.

14. Gilmanton- Always seem to produce strong teams and are near the top of the rankings.

15. Prentice- Thinking that history will repeat itself with past success.

Well the season is now upon us and should be another fun and exciting season.

Division Four Preseason Rankings

For most people Division Four rankings begin and end with Whitefish Bay Dominican. Unfortunately I'm in that boat and will be the first to admit that outside of Dominican  don't really have much of a clue and will rely heavily on the High School basketball year book. So here are my rankings the best I can come up with anyway.

Division Four
1. Dominican- 6'3 senior Duane Wilson is one of the best players in the state and 6'9 sophomore Diamond Stone is one of the top sophomores in the country.

2. Pacelli- Yearbook has them number two and they bring back four starters and have a talent transfer in 6'2 sophomore James Gollon.

3. Aburndale- Always have a very strong team and a guy that does it all in 6'4 Austin Hawkins who seems like he's been on varsity forever.

4. Brookfield Academy- Have two players that nearly averaged 20 points a game in 5'11 senior Domonique Criss and 6'3 junior Sean Clarey.

5. Southwestern- Have three guys back that averaged double digit scoring a year ago.

6. Eau Claire Regis- Have a pair of 6'4 stars in senior Nick Stanke and sophomore Billy Wampler.

7. Colfax- State team a year ago. Have three double digit scores and a star in 6'6 senior Lane Olson.

8. St Mary's Springs- Won 18 games a year ago and play in an ultra competitive conference.

9. Fall Creek- Mark Miller had them ranked fourth so that's good enough for me.

10. Cuba City- State runner up a year ago and have the all time winnest coach on their sideline. Senior point guard 5'10 Brandon Slaats is back and is coming off a successful football season.

11. Algoma- Return a pair of first team all conference performers in 6'1 junior Sam Koss and 6'6 senior Travis Kostichka.

12. Laconia- 6'4 senior Tyler Semenas is poised for a monster year after the extremely impressive summer season.

13. Marathon- Have a pair of 6'2 seniors back that were both all-conference players and have lots of experience in Vince Dinkel and Collin Seubert.

14. Shiocton- Bring back five players that averaged at least eights points, two of which were all conference performers.

15. Cameron- Have four starters back from a team that took second in their conference a year ago.

There are my rankings and I have to credit the yearbook with a lot of help with them.

Division Three Preseason Rankings

Division three always seems to be one of the most highely competitive divisions with the highest amount of elite teams. Outside of D1, D3 is always the most entertaining division to watch. I've been thinking about D3 for awhile and my rankings ended up being fairly similar to Mark Miller's in the year book. Well here are my rankings.

Division Three

1. Little Chute- Bring back everyone from last years team that was suppose to win state, including a pair of D1 recuirts in 6'7 senior Kenny Lowe and 6'6 senior Turner Bortz.

2. Lacrosse Aquinas- Badger recruit 6'3 senior Bronson Koenig is back as well as 6'6 senior Michael Conway who missed all of last year with an injury. This team should be very experienced and battle tested after spending a good portion of last year without their top two players.

3. Lodi- Bring back four of their five starters from last years state team.

4. East Troy- Have three D1 recruits in 6'3 senior Nathan Dodg and the 6'9 senior twin towers Alex and Brett Pahl.

5. Wisconsin Dells- Bring back their top three scorers from a year ago, two of which are entering their fourth year on varsity.

6. Marshall- A state team a year ago have their star D1 recruit 6'1 junior Cam Ward back leading the way.

7. Roncalli- The strong tradition continues with 6'0 Nate Lassila returning as well as the bulk of their team.

8. Brown Deer- Ultra talented team that bring back a first team all conference player in 6'4 senior Trayvon Palmer who averaged a near double double a year ago.

9. Clinton- Challenged East Troy a year ago and should be even better this year.

10. GET- State runner ups bring back 6'3 senior Tim Wagner who should have a monster season.

11. Prairie du Chien- Going purely from their strong tradition.

12. Prescott- Mark Miller has them at 10 so I figure why not.

13. Wrightstown- A team that had a very good record a year ago and probably will continue this year.

14. Peshtigo- Another team that had a strong run last year but, every year they seem to have a strong regular season and just can't put it together come playoff time.

15. Oostburg- Another team that shows up here mostly because of their strong tradition.

There are my rankings for D3. I'm very confident in my top seven to nine with the remainder being a little questionable.

Division Two Preseason Rankings

Every year it seems that Division Two is the division that has the fewest high profile teams and I always have the most trouble making their rankings. Usually I have a solid top three to five teams but after that it just seems like its a crap shoot. More then likely this is because many of the top D2 teams are playing in D1 conferences and usually don't go undefeated and take their lumps during the regular season and then put things together come playoff time. Here are my D2 rankings . . .

Division Two Preseason Rankings

1. Onalaska- Defending state champs returning arguably the top player in D2 in 6'4 senior Matt Thomas who will be heading to Iowa State on scholarship next year. Thomas teams with another three year starter 6'1 senior Clint Rihn to form a very solid back court.

2. Rice Lake- The Ellenson brothers 6'7 senior Ellwood and 6'8 junior Henry should finally step out of the shadows of older brother Wally and have a huge year.,

3. Milwaukee Washington- Will be battle tested coming out of the Milwaukee City conference and are led by high flying scorer 6'4 senior Jamaar McKay.

4. Seymour- Return four starers and have the height and a pair of top scoring juniors in 6'5 Sandy Cohen and 6'3 Dakota Oskey.

5. Wisconin Lutheran- Well I'm about at the limit of my rankings and Wisco always seems to be tough come the end of the regular season.

6. Pulaski- D1 recruit 6'4 senior Cody Wichmann leads a talented team.

7. Whitefish Bay- Should be battled tested in the always tough North Short conference.

8. Waunakee- Exctremely strong program has been built in Waunakee and are led by 6'4 senior Will Decorah who has been a varsity player the past two years.

9. Milwaukee Morse-Marshall- Ultra talented and athletic team that should be battle tested in the City Conference.

10. Plymouth- Made it to sectionals a year ago and should be poised to challenge for a state run this year.

11. Rhinelander- Mark Miller had them ranked 10 so they must be deserving of this ranking.

12. Milwaukee Pius- State team a year ago have built a strong tradition and have 6'6 sophomore Levi Bradley back.

13. New Berlin Eisenhower- Return a pair of all conference award winners in 6'1 junior Reed Timmer and 6'1 senior Sandro Pesqueira.

14. Wauwatosa East- Bring back four key players including 6'2 senior Anthony Carroll who has tons of experience.

15. Whitnall- Had a lot of success last year and should carry into this year.

There are my D2 preseason rankings. Can say that I'm super impressed with my rankings I came up with but, it is just a start and by Christmas time the rankings should look a lot better.

Division One Preview

Well I'm finally back after a very long summer break. The new basketball season is only weeks a way so figured it was time to bring back the blog for another year. Hopefully I didn't lose too many followers (if I have any) but, now that the season is upon us I will be hopefully posting at least three to four times a week. As always my season will start with my preseason rankings of each division and probably a prediction on the two conferences that I follow very closely in the Big Eight and South Central Conference. Typically my rankings are similar to the Wisconsin High School Basketball yearbook but, this year Division One has some differences. Here are my rankings . . .


Division One

1. Germantown- Easily the top team in most people's eyes. The defending state champs bring back their Indiana recruit 6'10 senior Luke Fischer and have incoming transfer 6'1 junior Lamonte Beardon. From the highlights I've seen Beardon should be a huge boast with his scoring and passing. Prior to Beardon joining the team I wasn't so sure on them being number one but, now they are no doubt my number one.

2. Milwaukee Hamiliton- This one where I differ from the yearbook as they have Hamiliton as a honorable mention team while I have them here. 6'8 junior Kevin Looney has blossomed into one of the elite players in the country and he teams with 6'5 junior David Burrell. If the Milwaukee Northwest transfers ever get eligible they could challenge Germantown.

3. Milwaukee Vincent- 6'5 senior Deonte Burton is just a man child on the court and they bring back five of their top six scorers and also have a 6'7 and 6'6 players that are along side Burton. Also have a talented transfer in 6'0 sophomore Malik Brown who averaged 12 a game last year in the City Conference.

4. De Pere- Have had a very impressive summer and spring season to follow up their impressive regular season last year where the only team they lost to was Germantown. Have lots of height that is also athletic.

5. Homestead- Bring back five starters from last years team that lost only two games and 6'9 senior Luke Worthington recently excepted his D1 scholarship and should be poised for a huge season.

6. Sun Prairie- Every year seems like it will be Sun Prairie's chance to over take Madison Memorial and make it to state and they always fall short. This year though 6'6 senior Nick Fuller and 6'2 sophomore Nick Noskowiak are both D1 talents and should carry the Cardinals to state.

7. Brookfield Central- 6'1 junior Riley LaChance has torn up the summer circuit and an impressive junior class should carry them to success.

8. Milwaukee King- Well it's Milwaukee King, that's about all you need to know. The state runner ups bring back 5'11 senior Austin Malone-Mitchell and at King the talent will fill in around him. Also have to factor in that they have one of the top coaches in the state.

9. Madison Memorial- The tradition goes on at Memorial but, this year the team may be lacking some talent. 6'1 senior Brendan Ortiz is a four year starter and is well known around the state and football star 6'5 senior Jester Weah is a three year varsity performer but, who will fill in around them. Ortiz and Weah will get them to sectionals but, help is needed to get back to state.

10. Appleton West- Honestly don't know much about them but, Mark Miller put them in his top 10 and looking at their team they have five or their top six players taller then 6'4.

11. Milwaukee Riverside- Lots of experience and lots of height. Have had the same things the past few years but, haven't been able to put them together maybe this will be the year.

12. Racine Case- Bring back all five starters from a team that took second in conference and won 15 games.

13. Mukwonago- Conference champs a year ago and pushed Madison Memorial to the limit last year.

14.Oshkosh North- State team a year ago bring back three starters including their entire back court.

15. Neenah- Have really instilled a strong tradition and have talented 6'9 sophomore transfer Matt Heldt leading the way.

2012-2013 preview

With the season over, it's time to take a look at next years early favorites. This certain teams that you can always pencil in to make a run at the title and then theres the teams that may just have a very strong class.

Division One

Madison Memorial- They may of had an ugly finish to the year and lost a lot of scoring from this team but, Memorial just reloads year after year and Brendan Ortiz is a four year starter and Jester Weah is a three year starter.

Germantown- The defending state champs bring back the 6'10 Luke Fischer, the younger Showalter, and a pair of 6'6 to be juniors.

Milwaukee King- Always a very tough team and bring back a lot of guards. Coach Grosz will always have his team prepared.

Milwaukee Hamilton- Have an extremely talented sophomore class headlined by Kevin Looney. This is probably my #1 coming into next year.

Milwaukee Vincent- Strong junior class led by Deonte Burton.

Oshkosh North- A bit of a long shot but, they do return their starting back court from last years state team.

Homestead- Lost two games this past year and only had one senior.

Depere- Have a very strong junior class.

West Allis Central- Jarvis Garrett is back for his senior year.

Sun Prairie- Jordan Noskowiak will be a year older and Nick Fuller is a star and is poised to finally make it to state as a senior.

Division Two

Onalaska- Bring back their starting back court from their title team including their leading scorer Matt Thomas.

Rice Lake- The two younger Ellenson brothers should have a strong showing.

Waunakee- Will Decorah should be a huge scorer next year and they are another program that should reload every year.

Milwaukee Washington- Have leading scorer Jamaar Mckay back.

Beaver Dam- RJ Shelton is back along with big man 6'6 Owen Salzwedel.

Division Three

Little Chute- Bring back everyone from last years team that lost three games all year.

East Troy- Nate Dodge is deadly from the outside and the 6'9 twins on the inside are super tough.

Wisconsin Dells- Bring back their top three scorers from this years team.

Lodi- Lose only one senior off this years state team.

Marshall- With Cam Ward I would never count Marshall out.

Brillion- State champs don't rely on one player and return enough from this years team to make another run.

Division Four

Dominican- Diamond Stone is the premier big man and Duane Wilson is the premier point guard in the state.

Aburndale- Have a strong tradition and return a large chunk of their team.

Colfax- Bring back just about everyone from their state team.

Division Five

Randolph- Have a strong junior class and won't run into another Racine Lutheran next year.

Drummond- The majority of their state team returns.

Young Coggs Prep- With the talent they get, you can never count them out.

It may be the fact that I don't follow the divisions as closely or their just aren't as many talented teams in the lower divisions but, it appears D1 is the most wide open and D3 has the most legitimate state title contenders.