2023-24 Preview: Metro Classic

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Looking ahead to the 2023-24 season, Prep Hoops Wisconsin breaks down the race in the Metro Classic Conference...</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>PROJECTED STANDINGS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1. St. Thomas More</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2. Dominican</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>3. The Prairie School</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>4. Racine St. Catherine's</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5. Martin Luther</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>6. Kenosha St. Joseph</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>7. Racine Lutheran</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>8. Shoreland Lutheran</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>9. Catholic Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>THE FAVORITE - St. Thomas More</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Thomas More finished two games out of first place in 2022-23, going 23-5 overall and just missing a return trip to the state tournament. Arguably the best frontcourt in the state, the Cavaliers boast a pair of top 10 seniors in [player_tooltip player_id='1142118' first='Amari' last='McCottry'] (23.4 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id='1203602' first='Sekou' last='Konneh'] (16.6 ppg). There's depth here as well with sniper [player_tooltip player_id='1893314' first='Evan' last='Oleson'] (11.8 ppg) and point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1544732' first='Kenari' last='Parr'] (6.1 ppg).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DARK HORSE - Dominican</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Is this the year Dominican puts it all together? The Knights have had a really solid core for a few seasons now. Featuring an upperclassmen-led roster that's played a ton of ball together, Dominican can win a league title and make it to Madison. The Knights were 17-9 last season and reload behind junior [player_tooltip player_id='1351718' first='Aaron' last='Womack'] (19.3 ppg), senior Markell Webb (17.6 ppg), senior [player_tooltip player_id='1254365' first='Jaiden' last='Martin'] (16.4 ppg), and senior [player_tooltip player_id='1142141' first='Derrick' last='Johnson'] (14.6 ppg). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MOST IMPROVED - The Prairie School</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Hawks were 6-10 in league play last season, going 11-14 overall. It was somewhat of a rebuilding year for TPS, who also lost their best player to transfer heading into 2022-23. Coming off a breakout sophomore season, wing [player_tooltip player_id='1481179' first='LaTrevion' last='Fenderson'] (17.1 ppg) is one of the fastest rising players in the state. This group also hit a rough patch in late January and never recovered. Before their slump, TPS was 9-4 until the grueling Metro Classic Conference schedule just wore them down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>First Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>G [player_tooltip player_id='1412883' first='Perry' last='Dorris'] - Jr. (Martin Luther) </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>G [player_tooltip player_id='1852437' first='Eric' last='Kenesie'] - Sr. (St. Joseph)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>W [player_tooltip player_id='1351718' first='Aaron' last='Womack'] - Jr. - (Dominican)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>W [player_tooltip player_id='1481179' first='LaTrevion' last='Fenderson'] - Jr. (The Prairie School)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>F [player_tooltip player_id='1203602' first='Sekou' last='Konneh'] - Sr. (St. Thomas More)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>F [player_tooltip player_id='1142118' first='Amari' last='McCottry'] - Sr. (St. Thomas More)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Second Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>G [player_tooltip player_id='1959723' first='Lamont' last='Hamilton'] - So. (Racine St. Catherine's)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>G [player_tooltip player_id='1142141' first='Derrick' last='Johnson'] - Sr. (Dominican)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>G Justin Jones - Jr. (Racine Lutheran)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>G Markell Webb - Sr. (Dominican)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>G [player_tooltip player_id='1254365' first='Jaiden' last='Martin'] - Sr. (Dominican)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>G [player_tooltip player_id='1893314' first='Evan' last='Oleson'] - Sr. (St. Thomas More)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>F Alex Thomas - Jr. (Martin Luther)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>PLAYER OF THE YEAR - </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142118' first='Amari' last='McCottry']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McCottry led the league in scoring last season. The top ranked senior in the Metro Classic Conference, McCottry is a difficult matchup as a 6-foot-6 point wing/forward. He shot 54.2 percent from the field as a junior, also grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out 3.4 assists per game. Getting it done defensively, McCottry also generated a whopping three steals per contest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1142118"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64f207f5268ff"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><b>M</b><strong>OST IMPROVED - </strong>Alex Thomas</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Saw Martin Luther a few times last season and really liked the flashes Thomas was showing. The Spartans were loaded last season with college talent, which put Thomas is a secondary role, but he still averaged 7.2 ppg as a sophomore. At 6-foot-7, Thomas has an intriguing face-up game where he can slash or score off the dribble from the high post. Doing the dirty work for Martin Luther last season, he also grabbed six rebounds and averaged 1.2 blocks per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SLEEPER - </strong>Sam Pitrof</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's a lot of talent in the Metro Classic this season. Pitrof isn't the only talented player not on our preseason lists, but he's coming off a very strong freshman season for Racine Lutheran. Pitrof averaged 10.3 ppg on 49.5 percent shooting. Already 6-foot-1, Pitrof grabbed five rebounds per game as well. Turning a corner late in the season, Pitrof averaged 14.2 ppg over his last nine games, including a career-high 25 against Union Grove.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->