Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook

With a day of rest to recharge the batteries, its time to reveal our unofficial award winners from the fifth annual Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook Shootout, held Sunday and Monday at the Al McGuire Center on the campus of Marquette University: 

The Rick Barry Free-Throw Shooting Accuracy Award Winner T.J. Bray of Catholic Memorial. The smooth, smart and skilled 6-foot-4 senior point guard who is headed to Princeton calmly sank 14-of-16 free throw attempts in leading the Crusaders to a 68-63 victory over Menomonee Falls. Bray finished the game with 27 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two turnovers. Not sure there is a more valuable player to his team in the state than Bray. 

The Karl Malone Ironman Award Winner  Several strong candidates, but Ill go with Ben Stelzer of Manitowoc Roncalli. The 6-1 combination guard played 62 of 64 minutes over two games for the Jets and was as efficient as any other player in the event. In a 60-46 victory over Milwaukee Pulaski, Stelzer made 8-of-13 shots from the floor and 11-of-16 from the foul line on the way to 31 points. He also grabbed six rebounds and handed out four assists. In a 50-51 loss to Whitefish Bay Dominican, Stelzer went 5-of-9 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the line en route to 18 points. He also had five rebounds and four assists. Stelzer went 8-of-14 from three-point range during his two games.

The World B. Free Hunt-A-Shot Award Winner No contest here. Russ Finco of Arrowhead is the runaway winner. His quickness and burst of speed allow him to shed almost any defender and give him looks at the basket. And he isnt shy about letting it fly. He took 19 field-goal attempts and scored 15 points in a 56-52 loss to Wisconsin Lutheran, and a night earlier, he had 20 field-goal tries and scored 21 points in a 67-66 overtime victory over Menomonee Falls.

The Jack Nicholson Famous Face In The Crowd Award Winner Again, a no brainer. The buzz in the McGuire Center when North Carolina coach Roy Williams walked in to watch Jean-Pierre Tokoto of Menomonee Falls was audible throughout the building. With more than 3,000 in attendance, many flocked to Williams seeking autographs. And to Williams credit, he was more than accommodating to all the requests.

The Ray Allen Three-Point Shooting Award Winner Relatively unknown Ryan Prom of Oconomowoc stepped up big time for his team in their thrilling 52-51 victory over Kimberly, nailing 5-of-7 shots from beyond the arc and finishing with a game-high 19 points. The 6-0 junior guard missed just two shots in the game as he made 6-of-8 from the floor and both of his foul shots.

The Moses Malone Rebound Award Winner Ben Mills of Arrowhead set a WBY Shootout record with his 18 rebounds in the Warhawks four-point loss to Wisconsin Lutheran. Mills had 22 points and 18 rebounds in that contest. A night earlier, Mills had 19 points and 16 rebounds in the one-point victory over Menomonee Falls. Mills just may be the most improved player in Wisconsin and could prove to be a steal for Boise State. He showed a very effective and remarkably consistent jump hook shot while also cleaning the glass for Arrowhead.

The John Stockton Assist Award Winner Terry Taylor of Milwaukee Washington dished out six assists in the Purgolders victory over Kimberly and then added five more in their one-point loss to Wauwatosa East. Taylor has blazing quickness and the uncanny ability of finding passing angles in the lane for his teammates. He can also score as he had 22 against Kimberly and 13 against Wauwatosa East.

The Christian Laettner Last-Second Shot Award Winner Dan Sayles played a tremendous all-around game for Wauwatosa East in its 57-56 upset of Milwaukee Washington. He scored 20 points and had four steals while playing all 32 minutes. He also had a dunk and, of course, the game-winner, a soft three-pointer from the leftside that hit nothing but net as the horn sounded, setting off a wild celebration of Tosa East players. Sayles caught the ball in the backcourt and weaved around a couple of defenders before planting his feet and letting go with one of the most memorable shots in WBY Shootout history.

The Scottie Pippen Steals Award Winner Iman Johnson of Whitefish Bay Dominican turned in a monster performance for the Knights in their 50-35 victory over Merrill. The 6-3 junior scored 18 points, had a couple of nice dunks, grabbed seven rebounds and tied a WBY Shootout record for steals with six. He followed up that strong showing with seven points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals while playing all 32 minutes in Dominicans victory over Manitowoc Roncalli.

The Mr. Unknown No More Award Winner Word is slowly but surely getting out about Milwaukee Pulaski senior Roy Marshall. The ultra talented and athletic 6-4 wing guard is a sight to behold on the basketball court because of the ways he moves, jumps and competes.Though he went just 7-of-23 from the field and fouled out in Pulaskis loss to Roncalli, he still managed to score 16 points and grab 11 rebounds. A little more than 24 hours later, he had 24 points in a 56-44 victory over Milwaukee Pius XI. Marshall is a high-major NCAA Division I talent and with some refining of his skills and a better grasp of the game, hell develop into a very, very solid collegiate player.

The Word Is Out Award Winner Unlike Marshall, it seems many collegiate programs know about Paul Jesperson, the highly skilled 6-7 junior guard/forward from Merrill. Buzz Williams of Marquette, Greg McDermott of Iowa State and Bill Carmody of Northwestern each watched Jesperson in the WBY Shootout along with assistant coaches from Wisconsin, Bradley, Colorado State, North Dakota State and South Dakota State, among others. Jesperson struggled a bit with his shot, going a combined 13-of-37 in a loss to Dominican and a double-overtime victory over Kettle Moraine Lutheran, but his ability to make shots from beyond the arc combined with his size and basketball I.Q. make him perhaps the most recruitable player in Wisconsins class of 2011.

The Lets Get It Started Now Award Winner Steve McWhorter of Racine St. Catherines spent a lot of time sitting next to coach Bob Letsch during the first half of the Angels 55-52 victory over Milwaukee Marquette because of foul problems. But with his team trailing 28-20 at intermission, McWhorter came out like a house a fire in the second half, scoring the vast majority of his 20 points in the second 16 minutes while leading the Angels to a stirring come-from-behind victory. The 6-2 point guard and Indiana State recruit weaved his way around defenders and continually got into the lane while also knocking down a three-point shot and making some free throws.

The Mr. Highlight Reel Award Winner When Jean-Pierre Tokoto of Menomonee Falls takes the floor, you never want to leave for a bag of popcorn or visit the restroom. The 6-5 wing player and highly coveted sophomore can at any time make a play youll be talking about for weeks. Such was the case in the best game of the WBY Shootout ? Arrowheads thrilling 67-66 overtime victory over Menomonee Falls Sunday night.

In the play that had the entire McGuire Center buzzing, Tokoto grabbed an offensive rebound and in one motion threw down a windmill dunk. It was one of several dunks Tokoto had for Falls at the event, but it was definitely the most memorable.



The Michael Jordan Most Valuable Player Award Winner Flavien Davis of Wisconsin Lutheran battled the flu while leading his team to victories over Catholic Memorial and Arrowhead. A four-year starter who is headed to Loyola University next season, Davis was especially impressive in the Vikings 56-52 victory over previously unbeaten and top-ranked Arrowhead. He had 22 points, seven rebounds and five steals in that game. More importantly, he made all the big plays down the stretch while also being the vocal leader for coach Ryan Walz. Davis led Wisconsin Lutheran to the WIAA Division 2 state title a year ago and is definitely among the early candidates for the 2009-10 Mr. Basketball award in the state.

The Climbing The Charts Of The WisSports.Net Player Rankings Award Winner Calahan Skogman of Seymour has gained a strong reputation as a solid player for the Thunder over the past couple of seasons. But the 6-4 wing guard appears to be elevating his game to another level this season. He had 20 points and four rebounds in Seymours 53-35 victory over Maple Northwestern, and a night earlier he pumped in 21 points in a 58-45 victory over Oconomowoc. Skogman is a terrific perimeter shooter who can also get to the foul line and find open teammates. Honorable mention in this category goes to Darrell Bowie of Wauwatosa East. The rangy, athletic 6-6 lefty had 14 points and six rebounds for the Red Raiders in their upset victory over Milwaukee Washington.

The 12-Team WBY Shootout All-Tournament Team Award Winners MVP: Flavien Davis, 6-4, Sr., Wisconsin Lutheran T.J. Bray, 6-4, Sr., Catholic Memorial Paul Jesperson, 6-7, Jr., Merrill Iman Johnson, 6-3, Jr., Whitefish Bay Dominican Roy Marshall, 6-4, Sr., Milwaukee Pulaski Steve McWhorter, 6-2, Sr., Racine St. Catherines Ben Mills, 7-0, Sr., Arrowhead Dan Sayles, 6-4, Sr., Wauwatosa East Calahan Skogman, 6-4, Jr., Seymour Ben Stelzer, 6-1, Jr., Manitowoc Roncalli Terry Taylor, 5-10, Sr., Milwaukee Washington Jean-Pierre Tokoto, 6-5, Soph., Menomonee Falls 

Final Note: Thanks to the host school and the working parents from Dominican High School along with all of the players, coaches, fans, officials, media members, family members and Marquette University officials for again helping put together a great event. Looking forward to next year already.