State Tournament: Championship Saturday Standouts
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MADISON — Gold balls were handed out across all divisions at the Kohl Center, marking the final day of the 2022-23 season. Here’s a look at who stepped up on championship Saturday. Logan Bahr Logan Bahr 6'7" | PF Luther…
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Continue ReadingMADISON — Gold balls were handed out across all divisions at the Kohl Center, marking the final day of the 2022-23 season. Here’s a look at who stepped up on championship Saturday.
Logan Bahr Logan Bahr 6'7" | PF Luther | 2024 State WI – 2024 – PF – Luther
Bahr has a really pretty stroke for a 6-foot-7 big man. Feels like he’s going to scrape the ceiling at times with his high-arcing shot that comes down and twinkles the twine. Luther had a unique defensive approach against Kenosha St. Joseph, playing zone while also running two defenders at their best player. Bahr was quarterbacking it from the paint, communicating where everyone needed to be. Offensively, Bahr has some versatility to attack off the dribble, but love how he scores in the post off one dribble, attacking the chest of the defender. Bahr finished with a game-high 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting. He hit two big 3-pointers late to all but put the game away. Bahr also grabbed seven rebounds in the win.
Austin Herro Austin Herro 6'2" | CG Whitnall | 2023 State WI – 2023 – G – Whitnall
Division 1 programs still in need of a guard, Herro showed his value at the next level. Facing the Pewaukee dynasty searching for its third-straight state title, Herro was as good as any player on the floor at times. The senior guard had a complete game, going for 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Getting Whitnall off to a strong start, Herro scored or assisted on nine of the first 11 points for his team. A savvy, smooth ball handler that can create for others and excels in the mid-range, Herro has been playing maybe the best ball of his life during the second half of the season. He’s got a lot of value as a bigger point guard that loves to play in the pick n’ roll and dictate the flow of the game. Battling injuries throughout the last four years, Herro has rarely been healthy and his development has been slowed. This weekend showed what he can be and given the amount of time he’s missed, there’s still a lot of upside left.
Canan Huss – 2023 – SF – Newman Catholic
For the second-straight day, Huss was very good. Knowing his team was probably outgunned a bit against the top overall seed, Huss got more aggressive offensively. The senior scored 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting, which included some chucks late as McDonell was in desperation mode. Huss also gathered 11 rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. It’s an overused cliche, but Huss really does give his team everything he has and leaves it all on the court.
Nick Janowski Nick Janowski 6'3" | SG Pewaukee | 2024 State #126 Nation WI – 2024 – G – Pewaukee
Janowski is known as a scorer. Still don’t think people realize how well-rounded the junior guard is. For the second-straight day, Janowski had an all-around effort, going for 20 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists as Pewaukee cruised past Whitnall in the Division 2 state title game. Janowski was 6-of-13 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. The 6-foot-2 combo guard has the exciting ability to float between being a lethal scorer and a facilitator. Whitnall threw a lot of pressure at Janowski on Saturday and he still had an 8:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. An emotional player that wears his heart on his sleeve on the floor, Janowski has cemented himself as one of the most competitive winners in this state’s history, garnering three state titles in three seasons. Don’t count him out for a fourth in 2023-24 even though the Pirates graduate a few starters.
Conner Krach – 2023 – F – Newman Catholic
McDonell Central Catholic spent a lot of time face-guarding Newman Catholic’s star players. They dared Krach and others to make plays. Well, the senior forward did just that. Averaging 11 points per game this season, Krach scored 16 in the first half alone, including two 3-pointers. A high-motor, bruising player that’s more known for his intensity below the rim, Krach still gave that effort plus the offensive explosion. He finished with 21 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks in the win.
John Kinziger John Kinziger 6'0" | CG De Pere | 2023 State #257 Nation WI – 2023 – G – De Pere
When the chips were down, Kinziger saved his best for last. Arrowhead made a strong run to get within a bucket in the Division 1 state title game. Out of a timeout, Kinziger answered with an assist that led to a dunk and a steal resulting in a transition layup. From there, that was all she wrote as the Redbirds ran away with a 20-point win. The Illinois State commit finished with a game-high 24 points (8-13) and three assists. Arrowhead really hounded Kinziger early and defended him about as well as I’ve ever seen. The opposing guards got physical and were able to hang through multiple screens without giving the sharpshooter comfortable, rhythm catches. However, it was only a matter of time before Kinziger wore them down and broke the defense. Given his shooting ability, you need to stay locked in with Kinziger, but he plays the game so fast and has blow-by ability on the ball, it puts defenders in a huge bind. You saw that come to fruition in the second half as Kinziger scored 16 of his 24 points after halftime.
Highlights
Jeremy Lorenz Jeremy Lorenz 6'8" | PF Brillion | 2023 State WI – 2023 – PF – Brillion
Lorenz powered Brillion to the Division 3 state championship. The Wofford commit tallied 26 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks, and three assists. His numbers were almost exactly similar between the two games at the Kohl Center, displaying a consistent dominance. With Brillion needing to salt the game away the foul line late, Lorenz went a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe in the last 28 seconds and 10-of-12 from the line overall. You love seeing players step up when the lights shine brightest. Arguably nobody did that more than Lorenz this weekend. Maybe the best part or most subtle takeaway? It didn’t take any super human effort on this part. What he did at state was well within his wheelhouse of what Lorenz is capable of game-to-game. In no way was that a fluke for a stolen title for Brillion. Wofford has been pumping out talent as of late, particularly from Wisconsin. Wouldn’t be surprised if Lorenz is up next.
Highlights
Jack Lutz Jack Lutz 6'0" | SG Whitnall | 2025 State WI – 2025 – SG – Whitnall
Lutz has been raising his stock all season. Whitnall was overmatched against Pewaukee, but the sophomore guard was able to hit some really tough shots with defenders draped all over him. Lutz posted 17 points and went 4-of-8 from 3-point range. A scoring-minded guard with a real knack for putting the ball in the hole, Lutz may not have ideal positional size, but he’s got the tools in the toolbox. It’s evident the amount of time Lutz puts into his game with the amount of counters he has if a defender is able to stop his first or second move. Whitnall uses Lutz in a lot of different ways. He’s able to initiate the fast break and score in transition, run off screens, and if the offense is stalling, go to work in isolation.
Highlights
Milan Momcilovic Milan Momcilovic 6'8" | SF Pewaukee | 2023 State #44 Nation WI – 2023 – F – Pewaukee
Capping off a phenomenal career, Momcilovic scored 29 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and dished out three assists in the Division 2 state title win over Whitnall. The Falcons defended Momcilovic really well in the first meeting last month. However, Momcilovic was able to get loose at the Kohl Center, going 10-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Facing a smaller team that was sending multiple bodies at him, Momcilovic picked his spots extremely well, remained unselfish, and dominated in stretches. The game was close at the half, but the Iowa State commit scored 10 of 12 points during a key stretch for Pewaukee to blow the game open. Whitnall wasn’t going to let Momcilovic set up on the block for the most part. A mismatch nightmare, Momcilovic was able to take his game to the perimeter a little more and get his buckets by initiating offense from the 3-point line, thus negating a lot of the double teams.
Mason Prey Mason Prey 6'4" | CG Newman Catholic | 2023 State WI – 2023 – G – Newman Catholic
Really thought McDonell Central was going to take Prey out of the game. Face guarding him while sagging another defender into the paint, MCC forced Prey into a very quiet first half. After halftime, the senior guard figured things out and led Newman Catholic to the Division 5 state title. Prey finished with 18 points (5-11), eight rebounds, and four assists. He scored 10 of those points in the second half and got to the foul line eight times, knowing he wasn’t going to get a clean look on Saturday. MCC might have been limiting Prey’s shot attempts, but he still found ways to impact the game and put his teammates into position to succeed, making the opposition pay for giving him so much attention as Newman Catholic ended up shooting 47 percent from the floor, including 45.5 percent from 3-point range.
Mac Wrecke Mac Wrecke 6'5" | SG Arrowhead | 2023 State #272 Nation WI – 2023 – W – Arrowhead
Nothing for this young man to hang his head about. Although the game got away from Arrowhead in the second half, Wrecke did his thing against undefeated De Pere, who capped off a perfect 30-0 season. Wrecke finished with a team-high 18 points. Not only did he help keep the Warhawks afloat when two starters sat a huge chunk of the first half with two fouls, but he spearheaded a run in the second half that saw Arrowhead get back within a bucket. During an 11-2 run, Wrecke had seven points, one assist, two rebounds, and drew two fouls. The 6-foot-4 senior has one of the best mid-range games in the state, able to use his strong, athletic frame to get deep in the paint, get his defender to give ground, then spin into a fallaway jumper. Headed to UW-Green Bay next season, Wrecke has a chance to be an early impact player given his two-way ability, athleticism, and knockdown shooting ability.