WIAA State Hoops Underway

Wisconsin boys basketball tournament action tipped off tonight with a handful of opening round games. The Division 1 UW-Whitewater sectional is loaded, featuring tops schools from Milwaukee (Riverside, King, Marquette) and Madison (Memorial, East, Sun Prairie).

For the record, I did not like the move to five divisions at all. Being a championship-level basketball program is not an inalienable right. There's no question that cutting the Division 1 state finalist field down from eight teams to four is a net decrease in the quality of the games played at the Kohl Center each year. That deprives college basketball fans like myself the pleasure of watching more of the very talented players that the state of Wisconsin is producing more of each year. And the same private schools will still dominate Division 3, so that's kind of funny. (I'll admit, Division 2 could be interesting ... we'll see.)

Milwaukee Vincent and Janesville Craig playing opening round games?! A lot has changed since I was a youngster. At least both of those teams won tonight.

http://wiaawi.org/results/basketballboys/2011/d1bracket.pdf

Recruit Review: April '10

With Mundelein's Ben Brust almost certainly out of the picture, Wisconsin's 2010 class size might be set at three players. That leaves another scholarship to possibly add to the 2011 class, which has two important pieces already starting another summer travel season. Here's how each Badger recruit finished up the high school portion of the year ...

2010

:: Though Duje Dukan could conceivably arrive in Madison as the lowest-rated prospect in Wisconsin's 2010 class, he is undoubtedly the incoming freshman about whom Badger fans are most excited. Dukan averaged 22.9 pts and 9.3 rebs this season to lead Deerfield (Ill.) High School to a share of the Central Suburban League title.

Deerfield's Dukan led the Warriors (25-4) on an remarkable 18-game winning streak that peaked when Dukan scored 19 straight second-half points to beat Riverside-Brookfield on Valentine's Day. The very next game, Glenbrook North basically had to throw the Jordan Rules at Dukan to halt the streak. Fresh off scoring 32 points against Conant, Dukan next capped a furious rally with a game-tying 3-pointer to send the Waukegan game to overtime, but Illinios recruit Jereme Richmond's squad prevailed, 93-87.

There was more. Deerfield's second round state tournament opponent, Libertyville, got "Dukan-ed" when the senior scored the final 12 points of the opening quarter. He finished with 28 of Deerfield's 56 points in an easy win. However, Schaumburg ended Dukan's senior season unexpectedly in the sectional semis despite his 22-point, 12-rebound effort.

In addition to earning Second Team All-State laurels, Dukan was invited to the Nike Hoop Summit on April 10 as a part of the World Select team. Though he struggled in the team's loss [box score], Dukan was honored to participate [practice video]:

"Any time you are mentioned as one of the better players in the world, in your age group, it's just incredible. Being able to represent Croatia is very special. As a whole, being able to compete with the top players in America will help prepare me for the Big Ten."

:: Port Washington's Josh Gasser piled up plenty of honors of his own at the conclusion of his prep career. The 6'4" combo guard just missed his third straight season averaging a double-double, posting career high averages in scoring (23.9) and assists (4.8) to go along with 9.8 rebs and 2.7 stls per game. Following in the footsteps of Ben Averkamp, Kwamain Mitchell and Tim Jarmusz, Gasser was named Wisconsin's 2010 Gatorade Player of the Year for his contributions on and off the court.

The Pirates (19-5) went 6-2 in February to clinch a share of the mighty North Shore Conference crown, as Gasser continued to make a killing from the charity stripe. The team won its final regular season game with Gasser on the sidelines nursing an ankle injury and set out to return to the state tournament. After a bye, Gasser returned to score 33 points as Port advanced to the regional finals, but his state title dream ended with 26-point showing in a tough loss to Whitefish Bay.

:: The jump in Evan Anderson's production never really materialized under the new coaching regime at Eau Claire North, but Anderson did set a personal best in averaging 10 ppg (up from 8 ppg last season). Anderson, who was Honorable Mention All-State, has become a capable passer out of double-teams but needs to work on keeping the ball high and away from smaller guards.

His Huskies began February with a loss before winning eight in a row, including two games to win their WIAA tournament regional as the #5 seed. North (18-7) bowed out to top-seeded Antigo as Anderson was held to two points.

Anderson headlines the recently announced North roster for the WBCA All-Star game to be held June 19 at the UW Fieldhouse, where he will go head-to-head with state champion seven-footer Ben Mills of Arrowhead.

2011

:: February and March were not kind to Bolingbrook. The Raiders started off well, winning two games to extend its streak to four wins in a row. Junior forward Devon Hodges used a big second quarter to power the 'Brook into a tie for the conference lead on Feb. 5, but the team would get no closer to the Southwest Suburban Conference title.

The following game Hodges put together a monster game with 25 pts, 9 rebs and 2 blks. But Bolingbrook was unable to take advantage and was upset by Kankakee. The loss started a season-ending six-game losing streak from that point on culminated in a crushing defeat in the Class 4A regional semifinal. Hodges did lead the team in scoring that game with 10 points, adding a couple rebounds.

Bolingbrook posted a 13-13 record this year. Hodges was named Third Team All-Area by the Chicago Sun-Times and head coach Rob Brust called him "a walking double-double." Hodges will play some AAU tournaments with the Full Package Elite 17U team this summer.

:: After regaining his health at the end of January, George Marshall helped Brooks Prep to six straight blowout wins spanning the city playoffs and the start of the state tournament, including revenge against Carver. But Marshall managed only two free throws as the Eagles (24-8) fell to Crete-Monee to end the high school season.

Once the travel team season began, Marshall started making headlines along with his new teammates on the Mac Irvin Fire. The Fire list Marshall at 6'2" and 190 lbs. but that's probably a result of the standard "program height" boost.

Where Are They Now: 2009-10

After pulling a mild upset when he was named Wisconsin's Mr. Basketball last week, Catholic Memorial senior T.J. Bray added another player of the year award to his list of accolades Tuesday when the AP announced its 2009-10 All-State teams.

Bray, who will play ball for Princeton next year, is just another example of Wisconsin's high school talent spreading across the college landscape. Every year I like to look back at how those who have left the state to play NCAA Division 1 basketball performed on the court.

Jump to: [2008-09] :: [2007-08 Pt. 1] [2007-08 Pt. 2]

This year the exercise might be more relevant than ever, as a few players from the Badger State have landed in the national spotlight at tournament time. Exhibit A is Korie Lucious, who calmly buried the game-winning 3-pointer that sent ailing Michigan State into the Sweet 16 last Sunday. The Spartans next opponent, Northern Iowa, just so happens to include Exhibits B and C. Ashwaubenon's own Koch brothers have each played a significant role in the Panthers' ascension to Cinderella media darling after toppling No. 1 Kansas.

: : : Seniors
Some persevering and accomplished seniors are finishing up their careers this year. Another, Mitchell Carter, sat out the year after transferring back home to UW-Milwaukee from South Carolina.

30+ min/g:
Andy Polka, F, Loyola (Horizon) [stats]
Polka was nothing short of a warrior on the glass. He averaged about 9 rebs/g this season and finished in Loyola's top ten all-time with 765 rebounds despite missing 20 games as junior with an ankle injury. Though Loyola (14-16, 5-13) struggled as a team, Polka enjoyed perhaps his finest season individually. The former state champ from Oshkosh West solidified the now-established Wisconsin-to-Loyola pipeline.

20+ min/g:
Jerry Smith, G, Louisville (Big East) [stats]
Many have wondered whether Smith would have developed better as a Badger, but he still was a part of 102 wins at Louisville. Smith's numbers were remarkably similar as a senior as his freshman year statistics. Unfortunately, his calling card (3-point shooting) fell off this season (28%) in a down year for the Cardinals (20-13, 11-7).

Adam Koch, F, Northern Iowa (Missouri Valley) [stats]
The eldest Koch on the UNI roster has improved his three-point (35%) and free throw (84%) shooting this season, but overall has sacrificed personal glory for team success. Yet, he was still the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. This former first team all-stater had several higher scoring games earlier in the season, but was actually blanked when Northern Iowa (30-4, 15-3) clinched The Valley tourney title.

10+ min/g:
Steve Gruber, G, Brown (Ivy) [stats]
A Whitefish Bay native, Gruber toughed it out in previous years and was rewarded with increased minutes for Brown (11-20, 5-9). He scored a career-high 14 points in a three-point loss at St. John's in November, then met or surpassed that total twice more by February.

Under 10 min/g:
Devron Bostick, G, Minnesota (Big 10) [stats]
Bostick was coming on of late, but never really found his niche in his two years at Minnesota. He started off the year with a suspension for violating team rules, but averaged nearly 15 minutes and almost 6 ppg in the final six games as Minnesota (21-14, 9-9) snuck into the NCAA tourney.

: : : Juniors
Bo Ryan and the Badgers grabbed two state players from this weaker class (2007) that has gotten even smaller as certain guys have redshirted.

30+ min/g:
Diante Garrett, G, Iowa St. (Big XII) [stats]
Garrett logged a lot of minutes again for Iowa State (15-17, 4-12) this year and took a big step forward in a couple areas statistically. He notched a career-best 164 assists as a junior, upping his assist-to-turnover ratio to 2:1. His shooting percentage went up noticeably since he worked on his long-stance shooting (up to 35% from 22% last season). If you remember him from Milwaukee Vincent, you know there aren't too many guys quicker than Garrett.

20+ min/g:
Will Hudson, F, Oakland (Summit) [stats]
The Golden Grizzlies (26-9, 17-1) blitzed through the Summit League and took a step up into the NCAA Tournament this year. Hudson remained steady with 6 pts and 5 rebs per game. This power forward from Middleton, played a season-high 28 minutes in his homecoming loss to Wisconsin on Nov. 18.

Under 10 min/g:
Matt Dorlack, C, Eastern Illinois (Ohio Valley) [stats]
Dorlack hails from New Berlin and appeared in 27 of 31 games for the improved Panthers (19-12, 11-7).

: : : Sophomores
Kwamain Mitchell remains the star of the Class of 2008, but some familiar names are showing signs of life. A number of players are seizing the opportunities in front of them as sophomores.

30+ min/g:
Kwamain Mitchell, G, St. Louis (Atlantic 10) [stats]
The Billikens (23-11, 11-5) just missed the NCAA Tournament in Mitchell's second season, but he came out firing with 17 first-half points against Princeton to lead his team to the finals of the College Basketball Invitational. Building on his postseason success from last season, Mitchell's statline was impressive in 2009-10: 16.3 pts, 3 rebs and 3 assts, not to mention respectable 3-point shooting. Coach Rick Majerus' leading scorer failed to reach double-digits in only five games, dominating Missouri-Kansas City with 33 points on Dec. 22.

20+ min/g:
Korie Lucious, G, Michigan St. (Big Ten) [stats]
Lucious came to the Spartans from Milwaukee Pius XI, made a trip to the championship last season and is now forced into the driver's seat of another Sweet 16 team with the injury to Kalin Lucas. His 3-pointer to beat Maryland was priceless, though on average, he's still a streaky shooter. If Lucious does not improve, he could find himself being a four-year backup. While his minutes more than doubled, so too did his assist totals -- but he hasn't totaled five dimes since Michigan State (26-8, 14-4) lost in Madison.

James Haarsma, F, Evansville (Missouri Valley) [stats]
As expected, Haarsma had to shoulder a much larger burden for the Purple Aces this season after the team graduated it's three top scorers. Unfortunately, lowly Evansville (9-21, 3-15) suffered through a 14-game losing streak, snapped only when Haarsma went for 18 pts and 7 rebs against Wichita State. He followed that up with 12 and 8 in an upset of Northern Iowa a few games later. Haarsma was the Valley's fourth-leading rebounder this season, including four double-doubles. Key an eye on this one ...

Scott Christopherson, G, Iowa State (Big XII) [stats]
After sitting out his transfer year, I would consider Christopherson's season quite a success. Like the Cyclones, Christopherson started strong with five straight double-digit scoring games. Unlike Iowa State, however, this Mr. Basketball (shared award with Keaton Nankivil three years ago) finished well too, averaging 12.5 pts, 2 treys and over 1 steals per game over the final six contests. The former LaCrosse Aquinas star has lived up to his billing as a sharpshooter in Amesso far and seized the starting role in January.

10+ min/g:
Andrew Zimmerman, F, Stanford (Pac-10) [stats]
The pride of Oostburg played over 17 min/g after transferring in to a pretty poor Stanford team (14-18, 7-11) this year. Zimmerman was a reliable rebounding presence until a stress fracture caused him to miss six games in the middle of the Pac-10 slate.

Under 10 min/g:
John Benkoske, C, Loyola (Horizon) [stats]
With the return of Polka, Benkoske struggled to find playing time this season. His most important role to Loyola might be keeping its Wisconsin connections thriving, which landed Flavien Davis for next year.

Conor Smith, F, Richmond (Atlantic 10) [stats]
Other than a close loss to Xavier, the excellent Spiders (26-9, 13-3) didn't put Smith in the game unless it was a giant blow out.

Jake Gollon, F, Mercer (Atlantic Sun) [stats]
The Stevens Point native did indeed take a redshirt last season and appeared in nine games this year for the Bears (16-17, 10-10).

*2008 Mr. Basketball DeMarcus Phillips signed with Iowa State in November and was named Honorable Mention All-Region XI this season at Marshalltown Community College. He will have two years of eligibility remaining in the fall.

: : : Freshmen
This large, heralded class had a great buzz last year, headlined by some star power that drew national recruiting attention. So far it's been a bear market for the biggest names, but a nice start for the three Jakes.

30+ min/g:
Jake Barnett, G, Toledo (MAC) [stats]
Toledo is in a world of hurt. After being tarnished in a gambling probe last year, the basketball team suffered through it's worst season ever, leading to the head coach's resignation this month. The bright ray of hope is Barnett, a 6'5" graduate of Devin Harris' alma mater (Wauwatosa East). After spending a year at prep school, Barnett led the Rockets in scoring, minutes and FT% this past season, earning him a spot on the MAC All-Freshman Team.

Jake Thomas, G, South Dakota (Great West) [stats]
Jake Thomas was accustomed to winning at St. Catherine's HS back in Racine and those winning ways have carried over so far at South Dakota, which won the Great West Conference with an 11-1 record (22-10 overall). Thomas averaged 13.3 ppg on an incredible 44% shooting from 3-point land as a freshman. He was named an honorable mention all-conference selection in addition to earning a spot on the All-Newcomer team. Thomas already holds the single-game school record for 3-pointers (9).

10+ min/g:
Jamil Wilson, F, Oregon (Pac-10) [stats]
One of the more hyped recruits ever out of Wisconsin, Wilson failed to make a splash as a Pac-10 rookie. He played significant minutes for a young squad until the end of the year, when he failed to make an appearance in six of the last nine games, mostly due to a tweaked ankle. Wilson's season highs were 12 pts, 7 rebs and 4 assts. Oregon also fired head coach Ernie Kent recently, so there is speculation that Wilson might get "home sick."

Ben Averkamp, F, Loyola (Horizon) [stats]
Averkamp used his length at 6'8" to record 1.5 blocks-per-game in his freshmen campaign, good for second among all Horizon League players. Pretty impressive for a guy playing less than 20 mins per contest. He almost logged a double-double before Christmas, posting 17 pts and 9 rebs in a Loyola (14-16, 5-13) win.

Jeronne Maymon, F, Marquette (Big East) Tennessee (SEC) [stats]
The sorted saga of this Madison Memorial grad took the most bizarre turn yet after a loss to Wisconsin, when Maymon's dad announced that his son would be leaving Marquette immediately. Maymon (or his dad, rather) was apparently sick of Maymon playing out of position in the post. J-May was averaging a respectable 4 rebs in about 16 min/g, but did pick up quite a few fouls.

Jake Koch, F, Northern Iowa (Missouri Valley) [stats]
Jake is the at least as big (6'9", 255) as his older brother after taking a freshman redshirt. Adam's younger brother is a threat from deep (40.5%) too. Jake exploded for 22 pts and 10 rebs in a rare February loss to Evansville, and more recently, helped beat Kansas with 7-of-8 clutch free throws.

Nate Zastrow, G, North Dakota State (Summit) [stats]
Manitowoc Lincoln's Zastrow played a key role off the bench for the Bison as a true freshman. He showed a nice glimpse of things to come in a two-game, 58-min. stretch last month when he hit 7-of-13 treys for 36 points. What's more is he only committed one turnover and got to the charity stripe.

Under 10 min/g:
Johnnie Lacy, G, Providence (Big East) [stats]
Lacy was not the happiest camper this season. I wouldn't have been happy shooting that percentage either. Lacy's playing dwindled in the latter portion of the year with the senior starting PG and fellow freshman guard Vincent Council playing minutes ahead of him. Better luck next year to this Milwaukee Bay View product, via Notre Dame Prep.

Tyler Brown, F, C. Michigan (MAC) UW-Green Bay (Horizon) [stats]
Brown tore his ACL and MCL in January and then left Central Michigan to enroll at UW-Green Bay. Evan Anderson's former teammate at Eau Claire North averaged started against Alcorn State and averaged almost 10 min/g in his 11 appearances before the injury.

Jimmy Sherburne, G, Princeton (Ivy) [stats]
Bray future teammate hails from Whitefish Bay and scored one basket in six appearances.

Dan Stockdale, F, North Dakota (Great West) [stats]
An under-the-radar player from Sheboygan North remained under the radar.

*The rail-thin Antwon Oliver, a Racine Horlick grad, played it smart and took a redshirt.
**Andrew Windler, a forward/center at Samford from South Milwaukee, appears to be redshirting also.

Down To The Wire With Wofford

In Friday's opening round action, #4 seed Wisconsin survived the 13th-seeded Terriers rather than tame them.

The Badgers set themselves up for a tight finish in the first half, failing to pull away from Wofford when the Terriers went over nine minutes without a field goal. An eight-point halftime lead evaporated in a hurry when Wofford went unconscious to start the second half to lead 38-37. Give the Terriers credit: they were confident and hit some tough shots. But they didn't have to face UW's A-game by any stretch.

Wisconsin's perimeter defense was lackadaisical pretty much all game. The Wisconsin guards appeared slow of foot, allowing Wofford to get into the lane at will. This opened up a bevy of pull-up jumpers in the paint. Even when they didn't go in, defensive rotations allowed the Terriers to pick up tons of easy second-chance hoops around the basket. Maybe the Badgers were looking ahead to the kind of defense they want to extend to Cornell's 3-point shooters?? Okay, maybe not ...

Jon Leuer (20 pts, 8 rebs) was the star of the day, as he was impossible for Wofford to stop defensively. It was almost criminal that Wisconsin didn't force feed Leuer in the post during the stretch run. Instead UW tried to hang him out high running a fruitless pick-and-roll routine.

Luckily Leuer kept his touch in tact. After hitting the go-ahead jumper with 20 seconds remaining, Leuer also came up with the defensive play of the game by moving his feet against the smaller Cameron Rundles and forcing a ball handling mistake out-of-bounds. He also hit two clutch free throws in a game where neither team seemed to want the freebies. [box score]

It was refreshing to see Trevon Hughes get out to a hot start in this one, which allowed UW to overcome Jason Bohannon's goose egg. Thankfully Hughes also avoided going into full-on "Bad Pop" mode and was able to find Leuer for the winning shot rather than force up a ridiculous shot.

Hughes finished with 19 points, many of them on early drives to the hoop. Amazingly, the Badgers attempted only nine 3-pointers, their lowest total of the entire season.

Bohannon really seems like an all-or-nothing guy. I liked running a specific play for him coming out of halftime. You could tell by that play that Bo knew he needed a third scorer to get things going from the outside to make life easier. I wish they had made more of an effort to get him the ball earlier.

As for J-Bo's defense, what does it say about Bo's respect for Rob Wilson's defense to not put him in at all? I cannot wait until Bo is forced to play Wilson next year. He should have gotten at least a brief audition yesterday and it's hard to believe it's the end of the season and Wilson hasn't earned Bo's confidence yet.

Oh, and props to Jordan Taylor for hustling to poke the ball out of Jamar Diggs's control from behind to a waiting Hughes, whose ensuing lay in gave UW a 49-48 lead. For that, Taylor, you earned bragging rights.

: : :

In high school hoops, the Madison Memorial Spartans will go for back-to-back Division 1 state championships tomorrow night after blowing away Appleton East, 68-48. Their opponent will be 7'1" Boise State recruit Ben Mills and his Arrowhead cronies. Arrowhead narrowly survived a comeback bid by Milwaukee Marquette by hitting a banked 3-pointer in the final seconds. Marquette had upset powerhouse Milwaukee Hamilton the night before. That's March Madness folks.

Mills has looked pretty mobile at the state tournament and might be the best prep big man in Wisconsin. Of course, it's easy for him to move fluidly when he weighs, what, about 190 pounds?! Regardless of his build, he's scored 42 points in two games and has one more to play.

In Division 3 -- you guessed it -- Racine St. Catherine's is back to face another private school in the title game. Meanwhile, Randolph looks capable of moving to 29-0 and taking home yet another gold ball, led by UW-Milwaukee recruit Kyle Kelm.

Tournaments Launch Today

Getting work done gets a little harder starting today when both the NCAA and WIAA state high school tournaments get underway.

The small high schools kick things off early with the Division 4 semifinals. I saw a video clip on the news the other night about Royall's first trip to state. Unfortunately those kids face perennial powerhouse Randolph. From the glimpse I got, let's just say if high school games had point spreads, they couldn't set this one high enough.

The Division 1 quarterfinals follow. Though it lacks the overall star power of some previous seasons, there are good story lines even though there are no Wisconsin recruits among the eight teams. The state's second-leading scorer leads undefeated Antigo (24-0) against Dave Mader's nephew Sam of Appleton East. Madison Memorial (21-4) and Milwaukee Hamilton (20-3), with their respective sets of collegiate prospects, appear to be on a title game collision course and face over-matched squads in the quarters. Hartland Arrowhead topped J.P. Tokoto's Menomonee Falls team and takes on local underdog Verona.

I'd pick Hamilton, starting five talented juniors and led by former Vincent coach Tom Diener, if I were a betting man ...

: : :

With all five Big Ten teams playing on Friday, I am looking forward to the (5)Butler-(12)UTEP game tonight. If these two teams weren't matched up together, I might have made both of them my sleeper picks in my bracket. The 6-11 tilt between Marquette and Washington ought to be good as well.

The pendulum has swung back in Wisconsin's favor at some outlets, becoming a somewhat trendy pick to knock off top-seeded Kentucky out East. Statistically, the Badgers have the best chance of surviving to the Final 4 out of that region, according to Ken Pomeroy (via John Gasaway). That's pretty lofty expectations for a team that has beaten only one NCAA tournament team in the last two months. It is a sign of hard-earned respect nonetheless.

: : :

Following in the foot steps of Marcus Landry's burgeoning family, the most clichéd human interest story for Wisconsin's 2009-10 basketball team undoubtedly became Trevon Hughes' path from troubled Queens teen to a Wisconsin military school. Here's the latest piece (from the New York Daily News) to add to the collection.

No Burger Love For Cheeseheads

Update: Four 2010 McDonald's All-Americans will be heading to the Big Ten next season, two to Ohio State and one each to Michigan State and Illinois.

The 2010 McDonald's All-Americans will be announced this afternoon at 4:30 CT. While the value of such a designation is clearly overblown, it is nevertheless a prestigious honor for those chosen to be a "Burger Boy."

Out of the scores of nominees for the honor, 19 players were nominated from the state of Wisconsin. Many figured that former UW recruit Vander Blue had a remote (if not better) shot at making it to the McDonald's All-American Game heading into the season. But Blue's season has been merely very good, rather than spectacular, so Wisconsin will likely once again have no representation.

Badger freshman-to-be Duje Dukan was nominated from the state of Illinois.

Nominees from Wisconsin:

Name	High School	City
Evan Anderson	Eau Claire North HS	Eau Claire
Vander Blue	James Madison Memorial HS	Madison
T.J. Bray	Catholic Memorial HS	Waukesha
Rashaad Brown	Milwaukee Riverside University HS	Milwaukee
Josh Gasser	Port Washington HS	Port Washington
Troy Huff	Brookfield Academy	Brookfield
Chimankinda Kadima-Kalombo	Milwaukee Lutheran HS	Milwaukee
Kyle Kelm	Randolph HS	Randolph
Reid Koenen	The Prairie School	Racine
Mikael Luter	Dominican HS	Whitefish Bay
Marquis Mason	Madison East HS	Madison
Steve McWhorter	St. Catherines HS	Racine
Jacob Merk	Greendale HS	Greendale
Ben Mills	Arrowhead HS	Hartland
Silas Mills	Rufus King HS	Milwaukee
Justin Newell	Rufus King HS	Milwaukee
Chip Rank	Cedarburg HS	Cedarburg
Evan Richard	Cuba City HS	Cuba City
Steve Tecker	Northwestern HS	Maple

Recruit Review: Jan '10

Since the month of January is officially in the books, what better time to post the first Recruit Review of the season? Wisconsin has a total of five committed players (three signed, two verballed) coming to Madison in the next two classes, and they stack up nicely position-wise.

Two of the seniors look particularly strong and all the players are enjoying some level of team success coming into the home stretch of the high school season.

2010

:: You could put the senior season Duje Dukan has had so far up against any one in Illinois right now. Deerfield (18-1) finished the month of January on a 14-game winning streak, aided by Dukan's 33 points -- 16 in the third quarter -- against Hershey recently. The 6'8" Dukan averaged over 24 points and 10 rebounds for the month.

"We told him before the season, 'You're going to be a marked man in every game,' " Deerfield coach Bret Just said. "But he likes challenges, comes up big. Always. He causes problems for defenses, doesn't he? He can handle the ball, post up, hit three-pointers. We're lucky to have him."

Dukan has come up big in a few crucial games for the Warriors. He pulled down 25 rebounds in Deerfield's sweep of rival Highland Park this season and his 22 points, 11 rebounds and clutch free throws helped beat Central Suburban League powerhouse Glenbrook North, 56-52, on Jan. 14. Needless to say Dukan is the biggest reason Deerfield now sits atop CSLs' North division standings. The senior has thrown his hat into the ring for Illinois' Mr. Basketball as well as proving he can be a serious scorer down the road for Bo Ryan's Badgers.

:: Josh Gasser is averaging nearly 24 ppg this season for Port Washington (12-2), which is clinging to a one-game lead in the North Shore conference after Friday night's two-point setback at Germantown. The loss snapped an 8-game winning streak. Just a week prior, Gasser scored 28 pts in three quarters of play against Grafton, part of a four-game stretch last month when averaged over 30 ppg.

Gasser projects as a combo guard at the next level. He still loves getting to the line and remains one of the state's top free throw shooters. Gasser has posted three 30-point nights this year. He has positioned himself to make a run at Wisconsin's Mr. Basketball award if the Pirates play deep into the state tournament, despite playing in Division 2.

:: The Eau Claire North Huskies (10-5) have struggled through a mediocre start to the new year, dropping four of their last eight games. Evan Anderson is averaging around 10 ppg so far, with his season-high of 19 points coming way back in the first game of the season. The Huskies already trail Eau Claire Memorial by several games in the Big Rivers Conference. Returning to the state tournament will be a tall task.

By now everyone has given up on Anderson dominating high school force. He dropped off the Rivals150 list last fall and you would probably get 1:1 odds for Anderson redshirting next fall at Wisconsin. The big man continues to block shots on defense, but still struggles to produce against the junk defenses thrown at him on offense. Still, he will likely finish with the highest scoring average of his career. New head coach Aric Carpenter has slowly opened up North's offense and his team exploded for a 76-46 win over Rice Lake last week. Anderson scored the game's first eight points.

2011

:: Wisconsin's most recent commitment came from point guard George Marshall, who has been compared to VCU great Eric Maynor. You usually find Marshall scoring in the teens and playing some pressure defense. The junior has missed all but two minutes of his squad's last three Chicago Public League Red-South games with a hip injury. He returned to action with nine points on Saturday to lead his Brooks Prep mates to a 23-point drubbing of Von Steuben.

Facing high preseason expectations, Brooks (18-7) stumbled out of the gates this year and the team struggled with turnovers at times. Two weeks ago, Brooks beat Nicolet in the NY2LAsports.com Extravaganza thanks to the Marshall's own game-winner in the final 20 seconds. After a 12-game January, the Eagles now prepare for the tough CPL playoffs.

:: After transferring from Romeoville to nearby Bolingbrook this season, Devon Hodges sat out a few of his team's early games. He helped push the 'Brook past his former teammates in his second game even though he was not starting yet. Since then, Badger fans should be happy to hear that Hodges has made some steady improvement in his game, not the least of which is some consistency.

Hodges has had good games in defeat (19 pts, 12 rebs vs. Hales) before, but lately has picked up his scoring to help the Raiders snap a 4-game skid. In back-to-back wins against Hillcrest and Joliet, Hodges averaged 18 pts and 10 rebs for Bolingbrook. The wins put the Raiders (11-7, 4-2) back in the Southwest Suburban Conference Blue division race.

Sign of Things to Come?

Eau Claire North opened its 2009-10 season with an 11-point victory over undersized New Richmond. Wisconsin recruit Evan Anderson scored 19 pts and grabbed 6 rebs in the win, the first for the Huskies under new head coach Aric Carpenter.

The program has been notorious for winning in a very deliberate manner under Pat Hammond for the past few decades. Badger fans have been interested to see what effect the coaching change will have on Anderson -- in particular what defense the team runs. I have not heard yet if Carpenter abandoned the trademark zone defense, but hopefully Anderson's good outing is the first of many this year.

Links:
- Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reviewed the increased viewership of the Big Ten Network during football season. Expect this trend to continue through the basketball season too.
- The New York Knicks had pinned 100 points on Phoenix by the end of the third quarter on Tuesday, which meant plenty of 4Q PT (12 mins) for Alando Tucker. And he put the biscuit in the basket to the tune of 12 pts.

Wisconsin State AAU Tournament

Unfortunately I was not able to scout any Badger prospects in person this past high school season, so when I heard the Wisconsin State AAU Tournament was going to be held in Stoughton, I knew I had to check it out.

So I traveled down to the Impact Sports Enhancement Academy on Saturday to take in a few games. Unfortunately a couple of teams did not show up for the event, leading to some of forfeits. Despite the cancellation of a few games, I was still able to see one each for the likes of Vander Blue, J.P. Tokoto, Wally Ellenson, Marquis Mason, Chip Rank, Kyle Kelm, Nimrod Hilliard and Jamar "Popcorn" Morris.

Outside of Blue and Mason, I had never seen any of these guys play live before. Needless to say, watching Tokoto was my main objective.

However, the first game I caught was in the 17U division, between Blue's Madison Spartans and the Wisconsin Force. Unlike the Spiece tourney last week or day 1 in Stoughton, Blue did not quite have his touch this time. He struggled from the field and subsequently, the Spartans lost by a few points to the Force, led by Josh Cameron and Sam Gage. But Blue continues to have his way getting to the basket at this level and had quite a few free throw attempts down the stretch. The Badger commit also tried a ridiculous dunk over his defender from outside the free throw lane on the baseline -- the gym would have erupted if it had stayed down. He still got the star treatment afterwards with a Channel 3 interview.

Playing on the court next to Blue around noon was the stacked Wisconsin Swing-Selk team, who completely ran away from the Wisconsin Blaze. I was pretty impressed by Chip Rank. He slammed the boards (knew how to box out well) and played with intensity all game long. His handle and shot were decent too. Mason's footwork inside stood out to me. Pretty nimble guy that should make a good receiver for the football team. He was the one guy I saw who able to actually put down his dunks, although he seemed a little lazy when it came to getting rebounding position.

Sadly, nothing Kelm did shouted "prime-time player" to me. He seemed more fatigued than others (didn't get the ball over the rim on a dunk) and just hung out by the 3-point line all game long.

Madison East's Hilliard found his rhythm behind the arc in the second half to fuel a big comeback for the 16U Madison Spartans against the Wisconsin Playmakers club. Miles Chamberlain's bucket at the buzzer gave the Spartans the win after being down as many as 16 points. Hilliard was fun to watch, very smooth.

After that I caught the first half of the 15U Wisconsin Force against one of the Wisconsin Swing teams. Junior Lomomba was not playing for some reason and was hanging out with the Madison Spartan kids. That left Popcorn Morris to handle business for the Force. He reminded me a bit of Flavien Davis -- 6'4" or 6'5", can lead a fast break, do work under the basket and get up for alley oops. I wanted to watch more, but the 15U Wisconsin Playground Warriors finally were ready to tip off.

Like Blue, Tokoto did not set the world on fire with his shooting touch, but he did get a few more buckets to drop in the second half as the Warriors kept the pesky Northwest WI All-Stars at bay. It must be hard to judge Tokoto when he plays down at this level because he is so much bigger and more athletic than any of the opposing players. He played up a lot in the full-court pressure the Warriors played and made several hustle plays that coaches love.

I tried to take a couple of videos with a weak Canon PowerShot, but they leave a lot to be desired. The first one shows Tokoto (#24) posting up and the second, blurry one shows him skying to retrieve what looked like an alley oop pass gone awry.





Ellenson was an interesting player to watch. He was quick enough to take any defender to the rack. Even though he was predictable in that way, his strength and aggressiveness earned him at least 10-12 points on those drives alone.

Links:
- There will be a rule change in 2009-10 regarding taking charges while under the basket -- it is now a blocking foul every time. There are a couple other rule tweaks and points of emphasis too.
- The Daily Cardinal checks in with Rashard Griffith.
- Many of Wisconsin's recruits and/or recruiting targets played well in last weekend's big Spiece AAU tournament (ie: Bill Hensley Memorial Run 'N Slam) in Indiana, including Blue, Tokoto, Evan Anderson, Chasson Randle, Nnana Egwu, Jacob Williams and J.D. Weatherspoon.

On the Stove Top: 3/26

Six members of the Wisconsin men's basketball team were named Academic All-Big Ten this week: Joe Krabbenhoft, Jon Leuer, Tim Jarmusz, Kevin Gullikson, Morris Cain and Brett Valentyn. That's four rotation players and three non-walkons. Nice job.

Only days earlier, the wide range of graduation rates among this year's NCAA tournament participants was also released. Connecticut came in at a sterling 33 percent. Ouch. On average, though, the Academic Progress Rates are up across the board, which are the statistics that dictate the loss of scholarships for programs who are not graduating players.

: : :

After only two seasons, Iowa's rebuilding project under coach Todd Lickliter is collapsing from within. As many as four players may transfer in the offseason, in addition to 2010 recruit Chanse Creekmur decommitting. The fans who still care are calling for Lickliter's head.

Losing Jake Kelly would be a huge blow. Kelly nearly single-handedly kept the Hawkeyes competitive when he switched over to point guard. He was one of the Big Ten's rising stars and if/when he winds up at Indiana State, the conference as a whole suffers. The possible defection of two more guards and a fourth big body makes Iowa the new conference doormat for the foreseeable future. Good for opponents' records? Yes. Good for league quality? No.

I would argue that Creekmur changing his mind ranks as the second biggest loss. Iowa needs to bring in a higher level of talent to be more competitive and this is a huge red flag to all potential recruits.

: : :

With Iowa City devolving into a madhouse, Indiana moves up half a notch by default. Since coach Tom Crean had already signed more new players (6) for next season than he had room for, apparently it was time to convince one of his existing players to transfer. Again.

The winner was Malik Story, a freshman guard who played in all 31 games this year, averaging 6 pts & 2 rebs in 18 min/g. Story shot a horrible percentage and was the fifth guard in a rotation that will be adding two or three more Top 100 prospects to the backcourt.

Just in case Story did not accept his new mission, two possible backup plans may have been for Georgetown transfer Jeremiah Rivers to pay his own way or to strip big man project Tijan Jobe of his free ride after one year. See, that's why taking away J.P. Gavinski's scholarship would be a bad idea, image-wise. Bo Ryan would be copying Crean.

Thad Matta always has the opposite problem at Ohio State. Now that frosh B.J. Mullens has officially thrown his hat into the NBA Draft ring, Matta will need to scramble to find a big body to comprise his previously empty 2009 recruiting class. Until now, the Buckeyes had no available scholarships. Although Matta has the ability to pull it off, the pickins' are slim these days. So Ohio State may bank it for 2010 and continue to load up one of the greatest recruiting classes in history: a Buckeye six-pack?

Though Ohio State will lack depth in the frontcourt, their powerful perimeter game should keep them in the upper half of the Big Ten next season. Evan Turner, William Buford, Jon Diebler all have one more season under their belts and David Lighty will return from injury.

: : :

Wisconsin recruit Mike Bruesewitz saw his prep career come to an unexpected end on Wednesday as Bloomington Jefferson upset Henry Sibley in the Class 4A quarterfinals, 60-56. Though Bruiser had another nice game (21 pts, 16 rebs), he was tied up by a defender with a chance to tie the game in the final minute and deferred to his cold-shooting guards on the final meaningful possession.

The Warrior's only outside threat, Maurice Hernandez, played on a badly injured ankle and shot only 1-of-11 behind the arc, making the shocking loss a bit more understandable. Even Bruesewitz was not quite 100% physically, according to his father. It seemed like a foregone conclusion to everyone that Sibley would earn that anticipated rematch with Hopkins. Welcome to the real world kids ... I feel for ya.

Though Bruesewitz will not take any consolation in his individual accolades, he was named the Star Tribune's Metro Player of the Year and also succeeded Jordan Taylor as Minnesota's Gatorade Player of the Year. Germantown's Ben Averkamp won the Gatorade award for Wisconsin.

Vander Blue's Coming Out Party

The energy surrounding Wisconsin's short run in the NCAA tournament was nearly matched by the buzz surrounding Vander Blue's dominance in the WIAA state tournament this weekend.

The Madison Memorial junior guard who has already verballed to play for Wisconsin averaged 22.6 pts, 6 rebs, 1.3 blks & 2.6 stls per game in three wins en route to the Division 1 state title. Blue exploded right away for 35 points (24 in the second half) in a semifinal win over Germantown. He continued to erase memories of his subpar championship game last season as Memorial rolled over Racine Horlick on Saturday night for its second gold ball.

In addition to being a unanimous all-tournament team selection, Blue was named to the Division 1 All-State team by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. Teammate and soon-to-be Marquette freshman Jeronne Maymon was named Mr. Basketball and was a unanimous selection to join Blue on the All-State team.

Badger fans have already gone through one round of rumors regarding the stability of Blue's verbal commitment. It appears those rumors are only going to resurface and intensify. After a similar tourney run last season, Maymon saw his recruiting stock explode, which he then validated with a solid AAU session. I expect the same to happen with Blue.

I suspect Wisconsin's staff knows this and believe they will remain vigilant in keeping close ties with the 6'4" prospect. The recruiting scene is ruthless, so no one can rest on their laurels. Personally, I subscribe to the "where there's smoke, there's fire" mantra, but there still has not been any substance to the whispers yet. About the only thing you can know for sure with all the rumors going around is that Blue says he is very close to Maymon:

"That’s my boy. I love him to death. Blood could make us no closer.”

Beyond that, it is not worth worrying about unless an official announcement is made.

Another unanimous WBCA all-state selection was Horlick's Oregon-bound senior Jamil Wilson, who struggled in the championship game. Wilson was bottled up by Memorial freshman Junior Lomomba in the early going and then got into terrible foul trouble, picking up number four in the second quarter. It will be fun to see Lomomba develop over the next few years, provided he stays enrolled at Memorial rather than going the prep school route. I am sure the Badgers will be knocking on his door if he keeps his academics in order.

As for Wilson, he still looks like an extremely talented wing player who I've mentioned could develop into a Scottie Pippen-type player. He had strong performances before running into Memorial, showing off nice range on his pull-up jumper and a special knack for blocking shots. Though any athletic leaper in high school with a wingspan approaching seven feet should be pretty decent in that department.

Links:
- I missed this before, but the Wisconsin State Journal's George Hesselberg did a humorous video breakdown on how to pick a team to root for in the state tournament if you lack any ingrained allegiances. A classic in my book.
- Mike Bruesewitz and Henry Sibley play Wednesday in the Minnesota Class 4A quarterfinals. The Warriors are fighting to earn a rematch with No. 1 Hopkins. The Twin Cities Hoops Czar thinks he might have a plan of attack.

Where Are They Now Revisited: 2008-09

As the season has wrapped up for multitudes of teams across the country, it is an ideal time to see how the recent high school standouts from Wisconsin that have gone outside the state for college basketball have been doing.

When the WIAA boys basketball tournament comes to Madison this week, we will be reminded again that the state is churning out more good players each year. Some are excelling beyond the prep scene, while others still are finding their niche. You will find a wide range in the level of competition these guys face but all of the following players snared Division I scholarships, which is an accomplishment in and of itself.

: : : Seniors
This year's seniors include a couple of fifth-year players originally from the high school class of 2004. As you will see, I grouped the players into four categories of success based solely on the average amount of minutes they logged.

30+ min/g:
Mike Nelson, G, North Dakota St. (Summit) [stats]
Though Nelson's numbers have plateaued or dipped slightly since his breakout sophomore campaign, his team's star has continued to rise. North Dakota State (26-6, 16-2) clinched an NCAA tournament bid in it's first year of Division I eligibility by winning the Summit League championship game. Along with three other redshirt seniors, Nelson led the Bison to the outright regular season league title as well. Nelson posted averages of 12 ppg, 4 rpg and 2.5 apg this season, good for second or third on the team in each category.

David DuBois, G, Western Illinois (Summit) [stats]
The Madison LaFollette grad found a home in his third and final collegiate stop, winding up opposite Nelson in the Summit League. He has transformed himself into a quality guard and the unquestioned leader for the Leathernecks. Despite enduring a tough season with Western Illinois (9-20, 6-12), Dubois averaged just about 18 ppg and 6 rpg as a senior to earn a second-team all-conference nod.

J.R. Blount, G, Loyola (Horizon) [stats]
Blount left Whitefish Bay Dominican a champion and will leave Loyola four years later as the ninth-leading scorer in Ramblers history, just two points shy of #8. He led Loyola (14-18, 6-12) in scoring and assists yet again as a senior. Blount's 42 points against Rockhurst (who?!) set a Loyola record for season openers ... but his team still lost!

20+ min/g:
Jermyl Jackson-Wilson, F, Colorado (Big XII) [stats]
Jackson-Wilson rebounded from a sub par junior year to finish with improved shooting percentages from the field and free throw line in his final season. The same 6'6" player who was a force inside for Milwaukee King some six years ago was a bit small to thrive as a mere shot blocker in a BCS conference. Jackson-Wilson just missed cracking the top 15 for career blocked shots at Colorado (9-22, 1-15) even though he began his career at Ohio State.

John Rybak, F, Texas State (Southland) [stats]
After sitting out the 2007-08 season due to transfer rules, the 6'5" Rybak has made an instant impact from the wing for the Bobcats. The sharpshooter hit threes at a 39.5% clip and scored 10 ppg for Texas State (7-9, 14-16) this season.

10+ min/g:
Jacob Baryenbruch, G, Drake (Missouri Valley) [stats]
A Spring Green native, Baryenbruch suffered through a pretty dreadful shooting year for the Bulldogs (17-15, 7-11) with numbers pretty similar to his junior season across the board.

: : : Juniors
The best players to escape the state might be from the Class of 2006, where three guys in particular are playing either at a very high level, in a very tough conference, or both.

20+ min/g:
Jerry Smith, G, Louisville (Big East) [stats]
This Wauwautosa East product has regressed statistically in his third year, but is still deadly from deep (39.6%) and boasts an impressive effective field goal percentage overall (59.5). Let's keep in mind that Louisville (28-5, 16-2) is the top overall seed in this year's NCAA Tournament, so a drop in production is not a big surprise.

Adam Koch, F, Northern Iowa (Missouri Valley) [stats]
Koch's impressive season continues after holding off Illinois State in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament's classic overtime final. Koch leads a balanced scoring attack at just over 12 ppg while chipping in 5 rpg. Thanks to Koch's improvement, Northern Iowa (23-10, 14-4) shared the regular season conference title with perennial MVC powerhouse Creighton also. Koch was selected First-Team All-Conference in addition to being named to the 2009 all-tournament team.

Andy Polka, F, Loyola (Horizon) [stats]
The former Oshkosh West standout had been a rebounding force in the Horizon League throughout his first two seasons, but suffered a severely sprained ankle on December 13 which basically wiped out his junior campaign. Polka tried to return eight games later, but only manages to play four minutes before the dreaded "out indefinitely" tag. It's a shame he played in enough games that a redshirt season is not a possibility. Even so, Polka currently sits two rebounds shy of 500 for his career.

10+ min/g:
Devron Bostick, G, Minnesota (Big 10) [stats]
After playing a couple of great years of junior college ball, Bostick is back on the radar with Tubby Smith's Gophers. Bostick, a product of the Racine St. Catherine's machine, has battled inconsistency in his first season of power conference hoops with Minnesota (22-10, 9-9), but did explode for a season-high 19 points in 16 minutes against Penn State in January.

Under 10 min/g:
Mitchell Carter, C, South Carolina (SEC) [stats]
Though he is playing for a pretty good South Carolina team (21-8, 10-6), Mitchell still does not get his huge frame off the pine much. Mitchell has played in more games (19) than before, but clearly the highlight for him will be the NCAA tournament experience if the Gamecocks squeeze into the field of 64.

Steve Gruber, G, Brown (Ivy) [stats]
The junior from Whitefish Bay is sticking with it at Brown (9-19, 3-11) and playing some ball, though he appears to reside in Scrub City.

: : : Sophomores
It is interesting to see where some people who dropped off the radar actually wind up and this current group of sophomores is a great example of that.

30+ min/g:
Diante Garrett, G, Iowa St. (Big XII) [stats]
Garrett earned a dramatic increase in playing time at Iowa State as a full-time starter. Accordingly, the skinny soph also improved on his assist-to-turnover ratio (1.71) and his rebounding, much to the team's delight. Garrett averaged almost 10 ppg, 5 apg, over 3 rpg and 1 spg in over 1,000 minutes for the young Cyclones (15-16, 4-12); he still prefers to drive and dish than pop 3-pointers.

20+ min/g:
Will Hudson, F, Oakland (Summit) [stats]
The Golden Grizzlies fell to Nelson's North Dakota State Bison in a nail biter and but still will be dancing in the new CIT postseason tournament. Hudson has progressed nicely and starts for Oakland (22-12, 13-5) while posting just over 21 min/g. The Middleton grad is still 6'9" and a bit more chiseled at 225 lbs. He made 100-of-147 shot attempts this season, good for over 68%. Hudson appears to be headed toward a fine career.

10+ min/g:
James Haarsma, F, Evansville (Missouri Valley) [stats]
It has been almost a year since Haarsma was offered a free ride by Evansville, but two since he led Racine St. Catherine's to a WIAA state title as a high school senior. Haarsma did not play ball last year. He is entrenched in the Aces' rotation already in his first season, however, and sports some fairly robust shooting percentages (.542/.691/.444). The top three scorers for Evansville (17-13, 8-10) are all seniors, so Haarsma will have every chance to step up even more next season.

Alex Davis, F, Tennessee Tech (Ohio Valley) [stats]
After finishing his high school career at Milwaukee Lutheran in 2005, Davis spent a year at a prep school and popped up as a sophomore at Tennessee Tech (12-18, 6-12). He sat out the entire 2007-08 season after playing sparingly the year before. Davis was averaging about 20 min/g until February when he missed two in a row and struggled to get back after that. Though the Golden Eagles were not very good, Davis' two best games (13 pts, 10 rebs versus Eastern Illinois & a 21-pt outburst against Tennessee State) both resulted in wins.

Under 10 min/g:
Matt Dorlack, C, Eastern Illinois (Ohio Valley) [stats]
The 6'11" established a career-high back in December, but is still fighting to contribute for Eastern Illinois (12-18, 8-10).

Scott Christopherson, G, Iowa State (Big XII) [stats]
This former Wisconsin Mr. Basketball (2007) sat out the 2008-09 season upon transferring from Marquette, where he appeared in 18 games as a freshman reserve.

*Former Bay View star Dwight Buycks is returning to Milwaukee. He signed with Marquette after dominating the JUCO circuit the past two seasons at Indian Hills Community College. Buycks was named First-Team All-Region XI for the second straight season.

**Andrew Zimmerman, a 6'9" forward out of Oostburg, will presumably end up at Stanford at some point. He left Santa Clara in February 2008 after some shuffling in the coaching staff, despite some promising play as a freshman.

: : : Freshmen
This year's freshman class has a chance to produce a couple stars, even though it is tough for nearly all of them to get much court time right away.

30+ min/g:
Kwamain Mitchell, G, St. Louis (Atlantic 10) [stats]
Another Whitefish Bay Dominican player who has made a major impact for his team from day one. First of all, Mitchell kept his assist-to-turnover ratio above 1:1 right off the bat while scoring nearly 11 ppg as a freshman starter. Secondly, he leads St. Louis (18-13, 8-8) with 3.7 apg and adds over 3 rpg too as a freshman starter. Lastly, the former all-state selection laid in the winning basket in the Billikens' opening round victory in the conference tournament last Wednesday.

Under 10 min/g:
Korie Lucious, G, Michigan St. (Big Ten) [stats]
Michigan State did not need Lucious much as the Spartans (26-6, 15-3) romped through the Big Ten. The rookie didn't look half bad though. His first-year highlights included handing out 12 assists against Alcorn State and scoring 12 points on four 3-pointers against Iowa.

John Benkoske, C, Loyola (Horizon) [stats]
Benkoske is the latest Rambler from the Oshkosh West program. He played in 25 games this season but still needs to build a lot more muscle. Benkoske did averaged 12 min/g over the final seven games of the year.

Conor Smith, F, Richmond (Atlantic 10) [stats]
Smith wisely redshirted last season and began the year logging over 17 min/g. However, he did not play in many games during the conference season for the Spiders (17-14, 9-7). He has good length for his position at 6'9" and can step out to hit the trey.

Jake Gollon, F, Mercer (Atlantic Sun) [stats]
Stevens Point native Jake Gollon is a 6'6" wing who appeared in only two games this season for Mercer (17-15, 11-9). Hopefully he takes the redshirt since the Bears are a young team that loses only one senior.

*Last year's Mr. Basketball, DeMarcus Phillips, was also named First-Team All-Region XI as a freshman at Marshalltown Community College. Marshalltown plays in the same conference as Indian Hills and Buycks: the ICCAC.

**Meanwhile, two other top-rated Wisconsin players from the Class of 2008 -- Jake Barnett and Johnny Lacy -- are holding their own out east at famed Notre Dame Prep, which also features Class of 2009 prospect Calvin Godfrey. EDIT: Barnett will attend Toledo next fall.