De Pere-Arrowhead Prospect Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>OSHKOSH -- </strong>In a rematch of the 2023 Division 1 state championship, 2-seed Arrowhead and 1-seed De Pere met in Saturday's sectional finals. This time, the Warhawks came out on top behind a special individual performance...</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1142119' first='Bennett' last='Basich'] - 2024 - SG - Arrowhead</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Basich came out early before pre game warm ups and just sat on the bench, locked in. I thought to myself, 'This kid is about to do so something.'</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Boy, did he ever.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Putting together one of the best individual performances I've ever seen, Basich dropped a game-high 43 points on Saturday. There was just nobody who wanted it as badly as Basich. Beyond the big time shots he hit, you could just see every ounce of him was left on that floor. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second half buckets where Basich just drilled highly contested 3-pointers will be talked about, but I was more impressed with the first half. De Pere came out and hit Arrowhead right in the mouth early. You've gotta remember, the Redbirds had their number and boasted a win in last season's title game. It would have been very easy for the Warhawks to get shellshocked in that environment.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>However, Basich calmed everything down and just kept chipping away at that lead. He scored or assisted on 23 of the first 28 points for Arrowhead, who had then stayed within striking distance despite a slow start. You could just see Arrowhead start to believe late in that first half and I'm not sure that happens if Basich doesn't rise to the occasion when things were in doubt.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1142119"],"_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-65ece7be2798b"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1364523' first='Jace' last='Gilbert'] - 2024 - PF - Arrowhead</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I've said it all season and for two years, Gilbert just changes the game for Arrowhead. Going up against a Division 1 post prospect, Gilbert won the head-to-head battle. An Iowa State lineman recruit, Gilbet is just really tough to displace down on the block and when he catches inside, has an intriguing blend of skill, physicality, and light feet to either score with finesse or just play bully ball. Gilbert scored 12 points, including six early in the second half where his run gave the Warhawks their biggest lead of the game. As stated, Gilbert did a phenomenal job of shutting down the paint and not letting De Pere get a lot of easy stuff, unless it was pick n' roll action related.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1364523"],"_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-65ece7be279f0"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1351717' first='Zach' last='Kinziger'] - 2025 - G - De Pere</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kinziger didn't have his best stuff. A lot of it was due to Arrowhead's defense, but there were a lot of shots he'd like to have back. Kinziger doesn't miss left or right of the rim very often and it seemed like he had a handful on Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Still, have to be impressed with Kinziger's ability to be effective when he's not making the shots he's accustomed to. Thought he and the Redbirds made a great adjustment in the second half, getting Kinziger going in the pick n' roll. After Kinziger dished out three assists almost consecutively, it got Arrowhead to change their coverage and open up some rhythm things for Kinziger inside the arc. The Wisconsin commit finished with 23 points and four assists in the loss. One of the state's top pure shooters, Kinziger continues to improve with his on-the-ball scoring ability. I don't think anyone would describe him as a plus athlete, but Kinziger can absolutely shake people 1-on-1 on the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1351717"],"_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-65ece7be27a3a"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sam Leoni - 2024 - G - Arrowhead</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thought Leoni was steady all game long. He came in averaging under 10 points per game for Arrowhead and finished with 15. A lot of Leoni's points came at the foul line, but he hit two huge ones to all but seal the deal in the second half. Leoni also had two three-point plays the old-fashioned way on Saturday. When De Pere started to get desperate and really pressure the ball, Leoni responded exactly how you want a senior to -- cool, calm, collected, and didn't put the basketball in jeopardy. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1238625' first='Ben' last='Willihnganz'] - 2024 - PF - De Pere</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Willihnganz had one of the best games I've seen out of him. The senior forward played some huge minutes early, getting on the offensive glass, controlling the boards defensively, and generating some second-chance points. When things were looking good for De Pere, it was because Willihnganz was active. Arrowhead can match up with one of De Pere's bigs, but not both. At 6-foot-8, Willihnganz also looked good on the perimeter. Hadn't really ever seen him be able to attack off the dribble and get all the way to the rim, but he had two nice drives on Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1238625"],"_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-65ece7be27a80"} /-->