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Observations from the fourth annual WBY Shootout

12/29/2008, 10:55am CST
By Mark Miller

Observations and thoughts from the 18 games played by 23 teams at the fourth annual Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook Shootout Friday and Saturday at the Al McGuire Center on the campus of Marquette University: 

Cuba Citys Richard sets tournament record with 50-point outburst 

Cuba City junior Evan Richard turned in by far the most impressive individual performance of the WBY Shootout. The sharpshooting 6-foot-3 junior guard pumped in a tournament-record 50 points to lead unbeaten Cuba City to a hard-earned 75-73 victory over a quickly improving Brookfield Academy squad. 

Richard was on fire throughout the contest, especially from three-point range, connecting on 9-of-13 shots from beyond the arc. He also did a great job of getting to the foul line, using his quick first step and his physical strength to continually get past defenders en route to sinking 9-of-11 foul shots. 

A three-year varsity performer for coach Jerry Petitgoue, Richard has toned his body over the past several months and appears in much better shape. He played 31 minutes against Brookfield Academy and was as strong at the end of the game as he was in the beginning while playing on a collegiate floor. 

Collegiate programs are always on the lookout for perimeter shooters with size and if Richard can continue to improve his quickness, he most definitely has a shot of playing scholarship basketball at the next level. 

Marquette recruit Cadougan has great feel for the game 

Marquette University recruit Junior Cadougan of Humble, Texas, Christian Life Center helped his team to victories over Wauwatosa East and Whitefish Bay Dominican by continually finding his teammates with the right pass at the right time. 

A rugged 6-1, 205-pound lead guard, Cadougan finished with 19 points and eight assists in the 63-51 victory over Wauwatosa East on Friday, and then had eight points and a tournament-record 11 assists in a 69-47 win over Dominican on Saturday. 

Cadougan probably needs to shed about 10-15 pounds to improve his quickness and stamina, but there is no doubt hell make an immediate impact at Marquette with his tremendous feel for the game and ability to run a team. 

Surrounding Cadougan with athletic wing players such as Jeronne Maymon of Madison Memorial and Erik Williams of Houston should only enhance Cadougans ability to quarterback a high-level collegiate basketball program. 

In addition to Richard and Cadougan, the talk of the tournament was Latavious Williams, an ultra-athletic 6-8 wing player from Christian Life Center. 

Williams, currently ranked No. 15 nationally by Rivals.com, threw down some highly impressive dunks off of excellent feeds from Cadougan in the victory over Wauwatosa East en route to a team-high 20 points. He added 17 points and eight rebounds in the win over Dominican. 

No player in the four-year history of the WBY Shootout turned on a crowd like Williams, who needs to improve his academic standing in order to qualify for a NCAA Division I program. Marquette is among a handful of schools recruiting Williams, and coach Buzz Williams was front and center for Christian Life Centers game against Dominican on Saturday. 

Wisconsin Lutheran registers pair of impressive victories 

Wisconsin Lutheran has emerged as the team to beat among WIAA Division 2 schools in the Wisconsin in the early portion of the 2008-09 season. 

The Vikings are playing outstanding defense and sharing the ball on offense, ingredients necessary for any team to achieve success. 

First-year coach Ryan Walz was especially pleased after watching his Vikings defeat Racine St. Catherines 42-37 in a matchup of unbeaten giants who could be playing at the Kohl Center in March. St. Catherines entered the contest with a 4-0 record and the No. 1 ranking among Division 3 schools in the state. 

Wisconsin Lutheran limited St. Catherines to just 29 percent shooting from the floor en route to its victory. 

Junior Flavien Davis, who has trimmed down and appears to be making great progress while making the switch from playing primarily along the baseline to playing out on the perimeter, gets most of the headlines for Wisconsin Lutheran and rightly so. He finished with a game-high 16 points while adding five rebounds, four steals and two blocks against St. Catherines. 

But senior point guard Cedquon Holmes is also a quality player for the Vikings, who improved to 8-0 with the victories over St. Catherines and Milwaukee Bay View. 

Menomonee Falls registers pair of impressive victories 

Menomonee Falls came into the WBY Shootout with just a 1-5 record, but coach Ben Siebert and his players left the event with a pair of victories over quality opponents in Oshkosh North and Monroe. 

The Indians most definitely experienced a few growing pains in the early season as they attempted to adjust to Siebert, who is in his first year as head coach at the school. A brutal schedule that included games against Racine Horlick, Germantown and Wauwatosa East also did not help the Indians won-loss record. 

But the ship appears to be righted and opponents in the Greater Metro Conference most definitely will not take the Indians lightly the remainder of the season. 

Menomonee Falls boasts an athletic and tall frontline with 6-8 senior Luke Russell (14 points and 12 rebounds against Monroe), 6-6 junior Jonathan Phillips (10 points and 8 rebounds against Oshkosh North) and 6-5 freshman J.P. Tokoto (8 points against Oshkosh North and 11 rebounds against Monroe). 

In addition, the Indians backcourt appears to be hitting its stride as senior Connor Beaudoin had 16 points and the game-winning three-pointer against Oshkosh North and followed that up with a 17-point showing against Monroe. 

Catholic Memorial runs winning streak to 7 games 

Like Menomonee Falls, Catholic Memorial came out of the WBY Shootout with a pair of quality victories by toppling Monroe and Oshkosh North. 

Junior guard T.J. Bray led the way for the young Crusaders, who have now won seven straight games since opening the year with losses to Port Washington and Dominican. 

The 6-4 Bray was simply outstanding in both of Catholic Memorials games. He finished with 17 points, six rebounds, two steals and two assists in a 54-43 victory over Monroe before scoring 25 points, grabbing five rebounds and handing out three assists in a 59-53 victory over Oshkosh North. 

Currently ranked No. 14 among state prospects in the class of 2010, Bray sees the floor as well as any other player in the class and is beginning to attract recruiting interest from a number of NCAA Division I schools. After registering a 30 on the ACT exam, Bray has started to receive recruiting interest from a number of schools from the Ivy and Patriot leagues. 

Fond du Lacs Ford proves toughness in two-point victory 

Though he stands just 5-9, Fond du Lac senior point guard Nick Ford proved to be the one of the toughest competitors among the 23 teams that took part in the WBY Shootout. 

The tough-as-nails Ford scored 25 points and helped Fond du Lac record an impressive 60-58 come-from-behind victory over Appleton Xavier. 

Ford tied WBY Shootout records for most free throws made (15) and attempted (16) while playing all 32 minutes against a quality Xavier team. 

Though he is currently not ranked among the top 50 prospects in the class of 2009 by Wishoops.net, Fords strong showing so far this season for the 4-2 Cardinals has been an eye opener for many collegiate scouts. 

One persons view of the top 12 players in the WBY Shootout 

T.J. Bray, 6-4, Jr., Catholic Memorial Junior Cadougan, 6-1, Sr., Humble, Texas, Christian Life Center Flavien Davis, 6-4, Jr., Wisconsin Lutheran Nick Ford, 5-9, Sr., Fond du Lac Jerrel Harris, 5-10, Sr., Whitefish Bay Dominican Antonie Howard, 6-4, Sr., Milwaukee Bay View Tank Johnson, 6-4, Sr., Oshkosh North Evan Richard, 6-4, Jr., Cuba City J.P. Tokoto, 6-5, Frosh., Menomonee Falls Eric Williams, 6-4, Sr., Wauwatosa East Latavious Williams, 6-8, Sr., Humble, Texas, Christian Life Center Paul Wojahn, 6-6, Sr., Oshkosh West

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Tag(s): WBY Shootout