WIAA State Tournament: Day 3 Standouts

<p><strong>MADISON --  </strong> The 2021-22 WIAA boys basketball season came to a close on Sunday as state championships were awarded across all divisions...</p> <p>Travis Alvin - 2022 - PF - Randolph</p> <p>With Bangor sending so much attention to [player_tooltip player_id="1267682" first="Sam" last="Grieger"], Alvin was able to get Randolph going offensively. Taking advantage of a smaller frontcourt, the Wisconsin football commit had his way inside. Alvin used his size and power to finish with 21  points on 10-of-13 shooting. 17 of Alvin’s 21 points came from  inside the paint or at the free throw line.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="865837" first="Chevalier" last="Emery Jr"] . - 2022 - PG - Neenah</p> [caption id="attachment_1411032" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/D73Q1256.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1411032" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/D73Q1256-300x155.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="155" /></a> Photo: Megan Corcoran[/caption] <p>Emery had 19 points and five assists as Neenah took home the gold ball. The Merrimack commit hit a couple of tough pull-up 3-pointers that just sucked the life out of Brookfield Central after long, quality defensive possessions. They call him "Ice" because of his clutch nature, but Emery also knows how to ice away games. Neenah puts the ball in his hands to run clock and either get to the free throw line or get his team an easy bucket. Over the last 3:57, Emery scored five points and dished out an assist to leave no hope of a comeback for the Lancers.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="990740" first="Devon" last="Fielding"] - 2022 - PG - La Crosse Central</p> <p>Think Fielding is due for another rankings bump with how well he played this weekend. In the biggest test of his career, Fielding held his own against a Pewaukee team that’s one of the best to ever play in this state. Fielding scored 17 points and was 3-of-7 from 3-point range. He’s not a point guard that necessarily always takes a ton of shots, but tried to put Central on his back in the second half and was able to knock down some tough stuff against a strong defensive squad. When Central’s offense started to stall in the second half, Fielding scored 10 of 12 at one point to give them some life.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1089682" first="Nick" last="Janowski"] - 2024 - G - Pewaukee</p> [caption id="attachment_1411022" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/D73Q1029-crop-4445x2919-1647787366.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1411022" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/D73Q1029-crop-4445x2919-1647787366-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Photo: Megan Corcoran[/caption] <p>Pewaukee is a pretty darn good basketball team. When Janowski starts going off, they’re untouchable. Think the sophomore guard just enjoys lying in wait and picking his spots. Early in games, he’ll go long stretches without taking a shot or even looking at the rim. Like flipping a switch, Janowski can go off in an instant. Janowski finished with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range. After Central had put together some runs and appeared to knock down momentum-changing shots, Janowski came right down the other end of the floor and answered, silencing the opposing crowd.  Janowski has the ability to get 30 on any given night, but there’s also combo guard ability here. A prospect with vision and feel on the ball, Janowski also dished out three assists. The Pirates ended up being +24 with him on the floor in a 19-point win.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="761419" first="Ashton" last="Janowski"] - 2022 - PG - Pewaukee</p> <p>In his last high school game, Janowski went out on top. The senior guard scored a game-high 19 points in Pewaukee’s Division 2 state championship win over La Crosse Central. Janowski came out with the hot hand early, going toe-to-toe with a River Hawk squad that did not back down in the first half. Janowski had eight-straight points for the Pirates at one point as the game was going back and forth. The Hillsdale commit has done such a great job throughout his career of balancing between a scorer and floor general. He can knock down shots on the go as well as any point guard in the state, but if the offense is humming, Janowski will take a step back, move the ball, and distribute to the hot hands on time and on target.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1267654" first="Noah" last="Howard"] - 2022 - SG - Lake Country Lutheran<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/D73Q0795.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1410689" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/D73Q0795-300x155.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="155" /></a></p> <p>The Lightning didn’t have a great first half and went into the locker room down two. Howard came out of the break with a purpose and just made plays. With West Salem greatly focused on [player_tooltip player_id="761407" first="Luke" last="Haertle"], Howard  made it a point to get more aggressive and relieve some pressure.  Howard scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half and also dished out four assists.  The senior  was an impressive 3-of-4 from downtown, blowing the game open early in the final period with his outside shooting.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1409364" first="Peter" last="Lattos"] - 2023 - SF - West Salem</p> <p>This kid looks like a big hidden gem in the state right now. Lattos went for 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting. The shot making  for a kid this size is legit. The 6-foot-7 wing can put it on the deck and pull off the bounce or run off screens and it fly with a quick trigger. There’s also some versatility to take guys down into the post and score over the top.  Saw really good foot quickness and mobility. Lattos is also a sneaky athlete, drawing some ’Ooh’s’ from the crowd after a chase down block in transition. Interested to see what he does during the travel season as I think  Division 2 programs will be lining up to get a look. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1383350" first="Ben" last="Lubbers"] - 2022 - F - Lake Country Lutheran</p> <p>Lubbers came up with 22 points including the exclamation point with a slam dunk to cap off a Division 3 state championship for LCL. When West Salem turned up the pressure and sent double teams, Lubbers did a great job of sneaking his way behind the defense and making himself available for easy buckets. Lubbers went 11-of-17 from the field on Saturday. A mobile, lanky prospect, Lubbers has good hands in traffic, can bend down low for passes, and goes right up with the basketball, not giving defenders a chance to swipe or make a play on the ball.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="988975" first="J.J." last="Paider"] - 2022 - PF -    Neenah</p> <p>Of all the guys I thought Neenah could/would play through this season, I didn’t think it’d be Paider -- definitely not in the state tournament. This kid’s jump has been so substantial that he was essentially the go-to player  for the Rockets this weekend. If they needed a bucket or a quality possession, it was Paider who was touching the ball on the block. The senior  answered with 14 points (6-9) and 18 rebounds, including four offensive boards in Saturday’s Division 1 state title win over Brookfield Central. Paider (6-7) has gotten so good with his jump hook over his left shoulder. If you throw multiple bodies at him, Paider is an outstanding passer...in fact, that’s what he wants to do.  Recently moved Paider into the top 50. I’m thinking he might need to go higher after this weekend. WIAC schools are lining up. I’m not so sure he can’t play at the Division 2 level as there’s still a lot of untapped potential here.</p> <p><span style="font-size: 1rem;">[player_tooltip player_id="1134926" first="Luke" last="Pautz"] - 2022 - G/W - Roncalli</span></p> [caption id="attachment_1410601" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/D73Q0614.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1410601" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/D73Q0614-300x155.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="155" /></a> Photo: Megan Corcoran[/caption] <p>For the second-straight day, Pautz had a double-double and contributed across the board. The senior posted 17 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, four blocks, and two steals as Roncalli won the Division 4 state championship. It was a close game in the first half, but coming out of the locker room, Pautz took the game over. He scored six of the first eight points for the Jets and assisted on the other basket. A skilled, versatile, and blue collar prospect, there’s nothing flashy about the way Pautz conducts his business, but he’s effective. A lot of his success is predicated on outworking the guy across from him and setting up shop in high percentage areas. Throughout the weekend, Pautz killed opposing defenses by establishing deep post position, leaving his defender helpless at times. Also an extra ball handler, the 6-foot-4 wing surveys the floor at a high level and has a point guard’s feel for the game.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="801148" first="Andrew" last="Rohde"] - 2022 - SG - Brookfield Central</p> <p>Not sure what more you can say about Rohde’s performance.  You tell every player in their last game to leave it all on the floor with no regrets. Nobody did that more than Rohde on Saturday. The St. Thomas commit poured in 34 of Brookfield Central’s 52 points. At one point, Rohde had 30 of their 39. Rohde  ran out of gas in the last 10 minutes or so, but still shot an impressive 13-of-27 from the field, an incredible number considering the circumstances and the difficulty of shot he was having to attempt. Rohde also had eight rebounds and two  assists. The third-ranked player in Wisconsin’s 2022 class, Rohde is a phenomenal mid-major pickup. A 6-foot-7 shooting guard with length, handles, shot creation, a blue collar defensive mindset,  and all-around takeover ability, Rohde should have a fantastic career at the next level.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="950099" first="Carter" last="Thomas"] - 2022 - SF - Neenah</p> [caption id="attachment_1411034" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/D73Q1224.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1411034" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/D73Q1224-300x155.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="155" /></a> Photo: Megan Corcoran[/caption] <p>Just think Thomas gives Neenah such an extra boost at times. The senior forward can really catch teams off guard and provide a scoring punch. I don’t know if he’s at the top of many scouting reports or gets talked about that much in the Fox Valley, but I guarantee his opponents remember playing against him.  Thomas had 15 points in Saturday’s win over Brookfield Central. A terrific slasher and bruiser around the rim, Thomas really flustered the Lancers by knocking in three triples -- a shot opponents usually give him. Defensively, may not always make a ton of impact plays, but if you watch closely, Thomas is a right-place, right-time player --  a big reason why you don’t get many easy things against Neenah.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><b>RESULTS</b></p> <p><strong>Division 5 State Championship</strong>: Randolph 65 Bangor 51</p> <p><strong>Division 4 State Championship:</strong> Roncalli 60 Milwaukee Academy of Science 50</p> <p><strong>Division 3 State Championship:</strong>  Lake Country Lutheran 67 West Salem 56</p> <p><strong>Division 2 State Championship:</strong>  Pewaukee 67 La Crosse Central 48</p> <p><strong>Division 1 State Championship</strong>:  Neenah 64 Brookfield Central 52</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>