Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook

Observations from the Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook Summer Tournament held in Kaukauna over the weekend:

Pools I-J-K
                                                   
Final Standings
 
Pool I – Pittsville 3-1, Brookfield Academy 3-1, St. Mary’s Springs 2-2, Sheboygan South 2-2, Hilbert 0-4.
 
Pool J – Kaukauna White 4-0, Markesan 3-1, Marshall White 2-2, Wild Rose 1-3, Three Lakes 0-4.
 
Pool K – Fall River 4-0, Columbus Catholic 3-1, Iola-Scandinavia 2-2, St. Mary Central 1-3, St. Thomas Aquinas 0-4.
 
Pool I vs. Pool J Championship Game – Kaukauna White 38, Pittsville 35.
 
Pool K vs. Pool I (Runner-up) Championship Game – Brookfield Academy 51, Fall River 45.
 
Most Valuable Player

Dominique Criss, 5-11, Sr., PG, Brookfield Academy
Criss is a penetrating, scoring point guard who is extremely difficult to keep out of the lane because of his shiftiness and cat-like quickness. He averaged 18.6 ppg and poured in 27 in a victory over Sheboygan South. Criss can also develop into a lock-down defender because of his competitiveness and lateral quickness.
 
All-Tournament Team (In alphabetical order)

Sean Clarey, 6-3, Jr., WG, Brookfield Academy
While Criss did a consistent job of getting to the basket, Clarey was superb from long-range, finishing the event with 19 three-point baskets. Clarey poured in six triples in the title-game victory over Fall River to help the Blue Knights rally from a huge first-half deficit.
 
Josh Erickson, 5-10, Jr., G, Wild Rose
It appears coach James Komp has a pretty significant rebuilding job on his hands as the Wildcats lost plenty to graduation. Erickson is the top returning player for Wild Rose and he played well at times in Kaukauna. He’ll have to provide some scoring and leadership in 2012-13 as several young players are expected to contribute at the varsity level.
 
Jared Fleischmann, 5-10, Jr., PG, Columbus Catholic
Fleischmann competes with a high basketball I.Q. and does a solid job of looking for his shot while also setting up his teammates.
 
Andrew Gibbons, 6-0, Jr., WG, Markesan
One of the premier shooters in the entire 55-team field, Gibbons has a sweet long-distance shooting stroke that he displayed throughout the event. New Markesan coach Mark Nagle, a fine shooter in his own right during his prep days at Newman Catholic in Wausau, figures to feature Gibbons’ considerable offensive skills next season.
 
Jake Grebe, 5-10, Sr., PG, Fall River
Grebe teams with junior wing guard Max Tramburg to give the Pirates a physically and mentally strong backcourt combination. Grebe is good off the dribble, finds his teammates and also can knock down perimeter shots.
 
Patrick Griffin, 6-3, Jr., PF, St. Mary Central
Griffin put forth tremendous effort in all four games for the Zephyrs. He was able to use his size, jumping ability and strength to score in the lane while also tossing the ball to the perimeter to shooters.
 
Jake Knuth, 6-3, Sr., PF, Sheboygan South
South figures to have an extremely young team under coach Tim Schultz next winter so Knuth’s leadership and maturity figure to be vital for the Red Wings. Though he is a bit undersized, Knuth was able to use his quickness and aggressiveness to score around the basket. 
 
Brent LaDuke, 6-0, Sr., G, Three Lakes
Three Lakes has a new coach in Jack Wales and they appear to be in a bit of a rebuilding mode after losing some outstanding players to graduation. LaDuke is one of the holdover players who figures to play a prominent role and he was the Bluejays’ top scorer in Kaukauna.
 
Connor Lodewegen, 6-2, Jr., WF, Iola-Scandinavia
Lodewegen excelled at what has sadly become a lost art form – consistently making the mid-range jump shot. He scored off of pull-up jump shots in the lane while also knocking down long-distance attempts for the Thunderbirds.
 
Trail Pierce, 6-10, Sr., C/PF, Pittsville
Pierce is an ever-improving big man who runs the floor, passes well out of the post and is developing a nice shooting touch around the basket. Defensively, Pierce blocked shots and rebounded at a fairly high level. His ability to move so well and the fact he is a fairly athletic 6-10 player figures to intrigue collegiate coaches in coming months.
 
Keifer Powers, 6-0, Jr., PG/WG, St. Thomas Aquinas
Powers had to do a bit of everything for the Cavaliers, who played without senior Landon Maccoux. He had some prolific scoring games and was able to connect on 11 three-point shots in the event. 
 
Jacob Puent, 6-4, Jr., F, Columbus Catholic
Coach Joe Konieczny has had to play without size for so long that it’s odd to see the Dons with an actual big man on the floor. Puent has improved at a steady rate over the past 12 months and his ability to score and rebound in the lane figures to be key for Columbus Catholic.
 
Spencer Schulz, 6-2, G, Hilbert
A physically imposing and skilled combination guard, Schulz was able to put up some huge scoring games for the Wolves. He had 32 points in a 54-48 loss to Brookfield Academy as he continually got to the basket off the dribble.
 
Max Tramburg, 6-0, Jr., WG, Fall River
A physically tough and skilled wing guard who made big shots, defended and got on the glass on a consistent basis for coach Arnie Oelke and the Pirates.
 
Darin Ward, 6-0, Sr., PG, St. Mary’s Springs
A quick, aggressive and strong lead guard who can get into the heart of a defense with his quickness while also applying intense ball pressure on the other end of the court, Ward will be a key player for a St. Mary’s Springs squad expected to challenge for the Flyway Conference championship.
 
Team Champions
 
Brookfield Academy (Pool I Runner-up vs. K winner)
Brookfield Academy figures to challenge Milwaukee Messmer, St. John’s Military Academy and University School of Milwaukee for the title in the revamped Midwest Classic Conference as coach Pat Clarey as a high-octane unit capable of putting huge points on the scoreboard. Criss and Sean Clarey are the leaders for the Blue Knights, but they also have other capable players, including freshmen Ryan Clarey.
 
Kaukauna White (Pools I vs. J winners)
Kaukauna White consisted of several sophomores and juniors who may figure into the playing rotation for the Ghosts in 2012-13. Sophomores Carter Belling and Derek Hansen were impressive for the Ghosts along with juniors Cole Hake and Nic Patterson. Kaukauna has emerged as one of the truly elite programs in the Fox Valley Association over the past decade and the intelligence and toughness displayed by the young players on the White team are a result of the culture in the program created by coach Mike Schalow.
 
Notes
 
Brookfield Academy freshman Ryan Clarey was named the MVP of the annual Padre Serra Tournament in Milwaukee last March as he led St. Dominic of Brookfield to the championship of the prestigious event … Look for sophomore T.J. Pitsch (5-10) to play major minutes for Sheboygan South in 2012-13 … Seniors David Joslyn (6-3) and Ryan Grandlic (6-1) turned in some solid performances for St. Mary’s Springs, which played without senior starters Evan Henderson (6-2) and Eric Feldner (6-1) … Freshman Kristian Welch (6-2) turned in several impressive performances for Iola-Scandinavia and figures to be a four-year varsity performer for coach Sam Bertsch … Freshman Brennan Bardowski (5-10) played with poise and knocked down shots for St. Thomas Aquinas.