Preseason All-Conference: North Shore

<p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Preseason POTY - Alex Huibregtse: Jalen Johnson and Jamari Sibley smothered most of the happenings from the North Shore conference, which, of course, is understandable. This upcoming season will brief the state (and likely college scouts) on what they missed last year with Alex Huibregste. </span></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">As the conference’s leading scorer, the Grafton guard took to the summer with an improvement mentality. Beginning on Phenom University’s (Team Herro) NY2LA squad, he quickly took low-hanging fruit and parlayed it onto the biggest grassroots team in the Midwest, making Phenom’s EYBL roster. He again started with limited minutes below Jalen and Co., but Huibregtse worked his way into the rotation for the final EYBL session, in turn, aiding them from beyond the arc throughout Peach Jam (that week ultimately gave him some mileage on the recruiting trail, as Wright State, UMBC, Air Force, South Dakota State, and Missouri-Kansas City all contacted him during Peach Jam).</span></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Preseason First-Team:</span></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Alex Huibregtse, G, Grafton: His success with Phenom was quick to gain traction though his junior year at Grafton was more impressive statistically. It wasn’t nearly as fruitful from a recruiting standpoint, but last year he averaged 21 points per game (north of Jalen and Jamari’s averages) on 43 percent shooting from outside and 67.2 percent from the field.</span></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Jayden Jackson, G - Whitefish Bay: The slasher averaged 14.3 points and 2.4 assists per game last season, but not before tearing up the Prep Hoops Circuit with the ABC Young Lions. His marquee moment arrived promptly in the final weekend of the circuit, as he captained the sixth seed Lions to a deep run in the Platinum bracket. </span></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">His driving and knack for engineering offense make him an elite prospect. Anticipate more of the same this upcoming season, along with burgeoning point totals and an increase in overall production.</span></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Drew Biber, W - Cedarburg: Biber’s current pace of improvements reads like a quintessential stock riser. As a sophomore, he averaged 18.2 points, miles ahead of the 7.9 points per game as a freshman. Following a summer with Phenom University-Team Herro, further improvements and a higher ranking will be expected.</span></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Kobe Johnson, G - Nicolet: Watching Johnson play, even on the biggest of stages, is like watching the word </span><em><span data-preserver-spaces="true">poise</span></em><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> play basketball. He embodies the term, playing like a veteran with an extensive skill set and a knack for resisting hiccups. As a lethal weapon from deep, savant at getting to the stripe, and a budding prospect physically, Kobe is in a position to capitalize on his brother’s departure. There’s a reason he was a key factor in the State tournament already as a sophomore and was featured on the 2019-20 edition of potential stock risers. </span></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">James Graham, F - Nicolet: Nicolet will need Graham’s size, rebounding, and scoring the ability to, at a bare minimum, cushion their tremendous loss. As a sophomore, he averaged just 7.4 points per game, but he’s physical enough to put up monster numbers with paint play. I can preemptively call him one of Wisconsin’s next top bigs, the only caveat being that he plays a bigger role this year (which I can almost guarantee will happen).</span></p> <p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Honorable Mentions: Declan Ciurlik, JP Benzschawel, Brad Brewer, Aaron Tennies, Donovan Sparks</span></p>