Thursday, January 2, 2020

WBBY Shootout

Well I've kind of been slacking on the posting this year. Actually got a few games last week as I got down to the WBBY Shootout which is a must see stop for any high school basketball fans out there. You get non stop games for a solid 12 hours and typically you will see two state champions playing and numerous top 10 teams playing. I did get there a little late and missed the first game.

Lake County Lutheran 88 Milwaukee St Thomas More 35
Lake County was a decent team and St Thomas More didn't have much to offer. Lake County runs and runs and runs and with St Thomas More not making many shots it gave Lake County tons of opportunities. 6'3 sophomore Luke Haertle has really put on some good solid weight after his sensational football season. Haertle can still really shoot the ball like last year and 6'3 senior Joey Braatz has really improved his overall game as last year he seemed like he was purely an athlete now he's a complete player. For St Thomas More 5'7 sophomore Micah Causey is a good player but, his lack of size and help just kills him.

Milwaukee Academy of Science 75 Martin Luther 72
This was a fun game that went back and forth. I felt like the more talented team was Academy and Martin Luther just played so hard and was the most disciplined team but, in the end Academy's top players won out. For Martin Luther 6'1 junior Tre Burris plays so hard and really battled all game long and I really liked him. 5'10 senior Ryan Scholfield doesn't look like much but, he can really really shoot the ball and also had the ability to drive the lane and score. 6'2 senior Joey Immekus the lone returning starter struggled with the athleticism of Academy. 6'3 senior Kaleim Taylor screams high level college player watching him play for Academy. Taylor just looks so smooth at times and can do a little bit of everything offensively. 6'0 junior Donald McHenry is a scoring machine and 6'9 senior Darius Hannah had a tough first half but, took over in the second half scoring in transition and creating havoc on the defensive end.

Cuba City 100 Brookfield Academy 82
Wow Cuba City is a good team for division four. There pair of starting senior guards 6'0 Brady Olson and 5'11 Jackson Noll are tough. They are so quick and strong with the ball and they both can shoot the three. 6'4 junior Jackson Miskey can just flat out score and can make shots from anywhere on the court. 6'6 junior Brayden Dailey is out of this world and will be a D1 college player. Brookfield has a very nice team as well. 6'9 junior Logan Landers can score anywhere on the court and blocked a handful of shots in the game and 6'2 senior Aidan Clarey is a flat out scorer that can really shoot the ball. 6'6 senior Alex Leach really struggled with the speed of Cuba City and was a non factor. I really like 6'3 junior Max Kunnert. Kunnert is not overally athletic or quick or anything that sticks out. Kunnert just does all the little things and just is a guy you want to have on his team.

River Falls 80 Appleton Xavier 76 
This was a battle of size verse quickness and shooting. Xavier really shot the ball well and looked to get out and run. 6'4 senior John Bunks really competed throughout and used his quickness to score in the post. River Falls had the huge height advantage but it was their point guard 6'3 junior Zac Johnson that was the difference. Johnson was able to hit the shots when he was covered and his range seemed limitless.

Brown Deer 58 Mineral Point 55
Mineral Point was without their star 6'4 Isaac Lindsay but, they played extremely hard but, Brown Deer's quickness was just too much. Brown Deer has a nice athletic team with lots of talent but, 5'8 sophomore Armani Jones stood out hitting some huge threes in the game. Jones did struggle late turning the ball over a bit late but, he was still probably the reason that they won.

Onalaska 79 Kaukauna 57
The most entertaining game of the day. Onalaska is probably the second best team in D2, unfortunately for them they are in the same region as La Crosse Central. A pair of 6'5 seniors Carson Arenz and Tyrel Stuttley are extremely good and can do a little bit of everything, 6'11 junior Gavin McGrath is a game charger on the defensive end, and 6'2 junior Sam Kick is a bit underrated but, I really like his game a lot and he's a solid guard. Kaukauna really is a fun team to watch as well. 6'0 senior Keaton Ferris is a a big time scorer that can really shoot the ball as does fellow senior 6'3 Logan Jedwabny who can get hot and take over the game. 6'6 senior Jacob Newhouse is a solid post player and 6'1 sophomore Chris Morgan is just a really solid point guard who apparently has some D1 college offers.


Kimberly 79 Waukesha West 57
I was getting a little tired at this point and it seemed that Kimberly just ran West out of the gym right away. West's 6'5 junior Cam Palesse really struggled and their lone bright spot was the outside shooting of 6'5 senior Peter Skogman who hit six threes in the game. For Kimberly the guards were real tough. 6'0 senior Jake Buchanan loves to push the tempo and get out and score and 6'1 sophomore Jackson Paveletzke can really shoot the ball and is a heading player that can do a little bit of everything.

Oshkosh West 77 Eau Claire Memorial 71
For West 6'0 senior Karter Thomas really struggled in the first half but, in the second half he got himself going hitting threes and getting to the lane and scoring. I also really like 6'3 senior Caleb Fuller who impressive every time I see him play. Fuller can hit threes and moves very well without the ball. For Memorial 6'8 senior Caden Boser could do it all. Boser got out in transition and scored and showed the ability to hit the outside shot. I do worry that Boser might be a little slow for the D1 level which is where he will be next year.

Overall was a pretty good day. It seemed that the talent this year might of been down a bit but, there was some very good talent at Concordia that day.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Division Three Rankings

Still trying to catch up on the rankings. As this point time to move on to the division three rankings.

1. Racine St Catherines- Have the top back court in juniors Kamari McGee and Tyrse Hunter. Both are big time college recruits.
2. East Troy- AJ Vukovich is one of the top players in D3 and they bring back four starters from a team that won 21 games.
3. Oostburg- Five starters back from an 18 win team.
4. Prescott- Parker Nielsen is a four year starter and averaged 26 points a game a year ago and also returning is Jacob Doffing who averaged 16 last year.
5. Brown Deer- Have a ton of talent and early in the year seem to be putting it all together this year. Have had some pretty nice wins early on in the season.
6. Dominican- Alex Antetokounmpo is really having a monster season early on and could carry this team far and be the best player in the division.
7. Wisconsin Dells- 20 win team last year and bring back four starters. Brett Hirst and Bryson Funmaker have been around forever and 6'8 Sam Millard seems to be set to have a huge season.
8. Lake County Lutheran- Four starters back led by double double man Luke Haertle leading the way and this team should have momentum off winning the football title.
9. Wrightstown- Started the year undefeated and have a strong tradition built there.
10. St Johns Military- Have a pair of big time scorers returning in Gerald Gittens and Brandin Podziemski.


Sunday, December 15, 2019

Wisconsin Dells dominated Adams

Friday took in the home town team taking on Adams. Unfortunately this wasn't much of a game as Dells cruised to a 42 point victory and honestly there isn't much to say about this game. Dells jumped out early in this one and never looked back.

It was really the Dells defense that set the tone in this game. Adams had a very tough time getting a shot off let alone making the shots. Dells played their typical zone, which has become their standard in recent history and continually trapped the ball which led to turnovers as Adams just didn't seem ready to handle that pressure at this point in the year. I think if Adams could of composed themselves a little bit they would of found some wide open layups under the hoop as all Dells defenders were above the free throw line, allowing two Adams players to be wide open under the hoop. The Dells defenders just assumed that they could cut off the long cross court passes. On the other end of the court Adams was playing zone as well which led to Wisconsin Dells doing nothing but, shooting threes which has become the norm for them in the last few years. Dells didn't shoot great but, they dominated the glass as Adams struggled boxing out of the zone. Well that was basically the entire story of the game.

Top Players
Bryson Funmaker 5'9 senior Wisconsin Dells- Played tremendous in your face defense and had numerous steals in this game which led to run out buckets and also hit some big threes in the game.
Brett Hirst 6'3 senior Wisconsin Dells- Didn't do much offensively but, did a great job of getting in the passing lanes and picking off the long passes.
Silas Greendeer 6'1 junior Wisconsin Dells- Was huge coming off the bench hitting three huge threes in the game.

Box Score
Dells 71- Funmaker 14 Greendeer 13 Sam Millard 9 Jacob Rockwell 8 Dylan Nevar 8 Riley Eck 6 Barrett Witt 4 Jace Knetter 3 Brett Hirst 2 Jack Steinhaus 2 Jake Hale 2 Ben Koenig 0 Brennen Tofson 0 Brett Weiss 0 Colin Kaiser 0
Adams 29- Caleb Hamilton 9 Blaine Wahlen 5 Chrystian Quinnell 5 Ty Roseberry 4 Carson Klause 3 Jonah Van Ert 2 Jordan Jossart 0 Dalton Pollex 0 Dylan Parr 0 Keyvon Holloway 0 Jayme Rubeck 0 Tony Scurto 0 Magnus Moore 0

To be honest I really couldn't say much about this game as Dells dominated so thoroughly there wasn't anything to say. I really don't believe it was because Dells was so good, but really the lack of the talent on Adams.

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Division Two Rankings

Well today is division two rankings. Unfortunately it appears that I won't be making a game until after Christmas unless some things change. Looking at the rankings it seems like nearly everyone has lost already.

1. La Crosse Central- With the transfers at Nicolet and Milwaukee Washington, Central has become the clear cut #1. The senior 6'5 Davis twins are as good as anyone in the state outside of Patrick Baldwin and 6'7 senior Terrance Thompson is also a D1 college player. Tons of experience here and if they can find a point guard they will be set. Johnny Davis could very well be that point guard.
2. Onalaska- Conference rival with Central they bring back all five starters from a team that won 20 games a year ago. They have three scholarship level players in 6'5 senior Carson Arenz, 6'5 senior Tyrell Stuttley, and 6'11 junior Gavin McGrath.
3. Hortonville- Honestly don't know a ton about them but, the way they handled Kaukauna really opened up my eyes. They have five starters back.
4. Stoughton- Four guys back that have started at times including 6'4 senior Adam Hobson who averaged 17 a game a year ago and 6'1 junior Cael McGee who is an elite athlete and averaged double digits himself.
5. Kaukauna- I really like this team. 6'3 senior Logan Jedwabny can absolutely shoot the lights out, 6'5 senior Jacobd Newhouse controls the inside, and 6'0 senior Keaton Ferris has been there forever and can really control this team.
6. Whitefish Bay- Took down Nicolet already this year and they are a very solid disciplined team. 6'3 junior Jayden Jackson will show he's one of the best in the state.
7. Pewaukee- Have a very good sophomore class that should carry them. 6'3 Josh Terrian, 6'1 Ashton Janowski, and 6'6 Logan Dobberstein.
8. Milwaukee Lutheran- Have a pair of big time senior scorers in 6'2 Jourdan Weddle and 6'0 Javeon Tolliver.
9. Nicolet- Yes they lost a ton in transfers but, they still have some elite talent in 6'5 junior Kobe Johnson and 6'6 junior James Graham.
10. Milwaukee Madison- A very good team that pushed a Nicolet team to the limit last night and that Nicolet team was one of the best teams to ever come through the state of Wisconsin.

HM
River Falls 
Reedsburg

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Division One Rankings

I know I'm a little late on this but, since the coaches just came out with their first rankings figured I should come out with my own. Again these rankings mean nothing other then my own thoughts. These aren't preseason rankings but, take into effect all games played up until 12/9.

1. Sussex Hamilton- They have the best player in the state in 6'9 junior Patrick Baldwin Jr and returned four starters from a team that lost only five games a year ago.
2. Madison East- Yes they lost a game already but, to a team from Georgia. Can you really count that? Four starters back from a team that lost only two games including a pair of D1 college guys in 6'3 seniors Anthony Washington and Keonte Jones.
3. Brookfield Central- Defending state champs bring back three starters including a pair of scholarship players in 6'6 junior David Joplin and 6'0 junior Ben Nau. Throw in 6'5 senior Malik Abdul-Wahid who had a huge summer and seems to be much improved.
4. Sun Prairie- State runner ups from last year return their two top players in 6'6 senior Delaware Hale and 6'0 senior Collin Schaefer.  
5. Arrowhead- They are led by future Badger 6'7 Carter Gilmore who is poised for a break out season and success has become the norm with Arrowhead.
6. Kimberly- The beat goes on for Kimberly which is led by Jake Buchanan who had a huge summer.
7. Eau Claire North- 6'2 senior Dalton Banks is poised for a break out senior season and should led North to success.
8. Milwaukee King- They've started the year with three huge wins and it seems that King might be back on track.
9. Brookfield East- They've really built something at East and they have three guys back with a ton of experience.
10. Racine Case- A team that's back with a ton of guys returning. Lost to East already this year.


Monday, December 9, 2019

La Follette over Vincent to start the year

Well I'm back again for another year. Not sure how much I'll be posting but, I've gotten the itch to start posting again and I find myself sitting at games thinking about posting. There isn't a lot of early season good games this year so I've only been to the one game so far. I took in the upstart La Follette team, which seems to really be building some things behind their coach Curtrel Robinson. An La Follette alum really seems to have this program moving in the right direction and you can usually figure they will bring a good team. On the other side you have Milwaukee Vincent who has been a power team since the mid 90s.

Unfortunately this isn't the 90s for Vincent and there wasn't a lot of positives to say about Vincent in this one. La Follette came out and played an in your face defense and La Follette could never get anything going. 6'3 junior Brionne Williams should some flashes in the first half for Vincent but, in the second half Williams sat much of it with foul trouble. With that being said I'm going to keep this write up to the La Follette side of things.

This La Follette team really reminds me of past Madison East teams that were pretty talented but, just didn't have much size and the same could be said for this La Follette team. La Follette basically plays four guards at all times if not five. There starting five is very good but, I think the question all year will be can they get anything off their bench. They have the Gray twins 6'0 Derek Gray and 6'1 David Gray seem to have really come into their own a seniors. The Gray's do most of the ball handling bringing the ball up the court, are tenacious defenders, and are probably the best athletes on the team. They looked good the last two years of JV and varsity but, just looked out of control at times, this year they seem to really be in full control of their games. 6'0 senior Isaiah Stewart had a big summer and from what I've read is poised for a huge senior year. Stewart isn't a great athlete but, just does everything well and seems to be a very smart guy. Hits the spot up three, plays defense, and pass the ball well. In the post they have 6'3 senior Dakovin Prather who seems to have really worked on his elevation since last year. Prather is a high energy guy that can jump out of the gym and seems to know his roll and his going to have to play big and crash the glass. Last but, not least is 6'1 senor Ben Probst. Probst is not super athletic either and is just smart guy. Probst can really shoot the ball which opens up the rest of his game for him. When he's not hitting the three he can pump fake it which always seems to get the defender of their feet and he drives to the lane where he can hit the mid range jumper or get to the hoop and score. Probst is also a pretty solid kid which will allow him to play against bigger players which he will have to in this lineup. La Follette didn't get much off the bench but, there is some promise in a pair of sophomores in 6'1 K'Shawn Gibbs and 6'6 Juok Riak. Gibbs is a high energy guy that really hustles and showed the ability to hit the spot up three. Riak is very raw at this point but, did show a nice little post game and really likes to play with his back to the basket.

Box Score
La Follette 87- Probst 21 Stewart 12 De Gray 11 Da Gray 11 Prather 11 Gibbs 8 Riak 4 Kavell Sims 3 Cyrus Lashore 2 Jordan Schlough 2 Trevon Cloud 2 Grady Roth 0 George Onyefulumno 0
Vincent 52- Willliams 11 Justin Brunley 11 Elijah Banks 9 Thomas 6 Jordan Lawrence 5 Kymare Johnson 4 Kishon Barnes 2 Raje Woods 2 Patton 2 Dijon Salandich-Jackson 0 Quincy Moore 0

Well La Follette will have a pretty successful season but, will interesting to see how they will handle a team with good size and should be between them, Madison East, and Sun Prairie for the conference title. On the other side Vincent will struggle and there two returning starters are not on the roster as well as a pair of their top two transfers.

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Top Returning Teams

It's been awhile because I just haven't had the chance to post in a while but, thought I would just do a quick run down of the top teams to watch for next year in no particular order.

Division One
Brookfield Central- The defending state champs bring back a pair of D1 college players in 6'1 sophomore Ben Nau and 6'6 sophomore David Joplin.

Sun Prairie- Lost a lot but, bring back 6'0 junior Colin Schaefer and 6'6 Delaware Hale who had seasons that were limited for a variety of reasons. With a full season from those two things should be very much the same as this year.

Madison East- Team that lost only one real rotation player from a team that lost only one guy. 6'3 junior Anthony Washington is a D1 player and I fully believe that 6'3 junior Keonte Jones could get there as well.

Sussex Hamilton- 6'9 sophomore Patrick Baldwin may be the best player in the state and they bring back just about everyone.

Arrowhead- 6'8 Carter Gilmore is one of the best juniors in the state.

Division Two
Nicolet- One of the best teams in the country headlined by two elite 6'9 juniors in Jalen Johnson and Jamari Sibley. Throw in another pair of D1 college players in juniors 6'3 Kobe Johnson and 6'6 James Graham.

La Crosse Central- They have three D1 recruits in the 6'5 junior Davis twins and 6'7 Terrence Thompson.

Milwaukee Washington- 6'9 sophomore Michael Foster is one of the elite players in the state and 6'5 freshmen Tre White is one of the best in his class in the state.

Onalaska-Have a loaded junior class and they bring back everyone and then have 6'9 sophomore Gavin McGrath manning the middle.

Division Three 
Racine St. Catherines-Pushed Martin Luther to the limit this past year and they bring back Tyrese Hunter one of the best players in the state.

St Johns Military Academy- Honestly don't know much but, lost only two games this past year and they just seem to load up every year.

Brookfield Academy- Had a very impressive team the past year and Aiden Clary is back and he can go off at any time and get 30 points. They had the size with 6'6 Alex Leach and 6'9 Logan Landers.

Dominican- The greek freaks little brother Alex is poised for a monster year and if he can get a little help he might make a deep run. 

Division Four
Cuba City- Braden Dailey coming in to a very good team puts them over the top. Throw in the coach and the tradition that they always have.

Mineral Point- Isaac Lindsey is a talented D1 college recruit and they have a very good team and bring back a lot of players from this years team.

Darlington- A very talented team that I don't know a ton about but, they had a very good record this past year.

Division Five When in doubt go with the private schools right?
Sheboygan Lutheran- Not sure anyone will be able to touch them next year as they bring back three starters from the state champion team. Casey Verhagen might be the top point guard in D5 and Jacob Ognacevic is probably the best player in D5.

Mcdonell Central- Have a rich tradition Eion Kressin is a three year starter.