WIAA State Tournament: D3 Prospects To Watch

Seven of the big names and potential x-factors to keep an eye on as the Division 3 state tournament gets underway tomorrow in Madison!    Seymour's tallest player is listed at 6'4. Grinnell? He comes in at a towering 6'9. St. Croix Central's big man had the game winning putback against Osceola, and has been a consistent contributor all season long. Grinnell moves pretty well at his size, and does a nice job of walling up to block/alter shots around the rim. Offensively he has soft touch around the basket, and can make you pay if you leave him open from three. SCC will look to make the most of his size advantage on Thursday.     Leading the charge for one-loss Seymour is [player_tooltip player_id='2391083' first='Kyler' last='Marks']. Listed at 6'4, Kyler has size, a strong frame, and a the athleticism to beat opposing wings to the basket. Kyler looks to use his length to pressure the ball and force mistakes on the defensive end, and is then a nightmare in the open floor. Strong finisher around the basket who can also catch fire from three. Such a versatile player who leads his team in points and rebounds while also dishing out 3 assists a game.     Xavier is the floor general for a talented Seymour team. He may not put up eye catching scoring numbers, but at 4.4 assists per game he's a talented facilitator. At the state tournament you love to have an experienced and poised point guard on your side, and that's what Xavier is. He's a trusted ball handler under pressure, and is someone who can be relied upon to make smart decisions in late game situations. Someone who's always looking to get his teammates involved offensively.     Though he's committed to play football at the University of Minnesota, Lamont very well could have been a D1 basketball player as well. The St. Cats guard is electric on the ball, with speed that is just about unmatched by anyone in the state. He can break defenders down off the dribble, is a blur in transition, and can put up points in a hurry when he gets going. Defensively he's a pest on the ball and plays with a lot of intensity. St. Cats certainly isn't an army of one, but Lamont can put the team on his back when needed.     Another multi-sport athlete, we could see [player_tooltip player_id='2346694' first='Tyler' last='Wollin'] suiting up at QB on Saturdays in a couple of years. On the hardwood Tyler is just as good of a facilitator as he is on the gridiron. Wollin dishes out an impressive 7.1 assists per game, and uses his 6'4 frame to see over the top of the defense. St. Cats is a very guard-heavy team, so it will be interesting to see how they match up with the long and versatile Wollin.     We mentioned St. Cats' lack of size, but they make up for it with suffocating ball pressure and quickness all over the floor. Antoine is one of those defensive specialists who you'll often see picking up difficult assignments on that end of the floor. He's one of those players who can impact a game without needing to score much as he's a gritty defender who fights to get over screens and moves well laterally to shut guys down off the dribble. St. Cats will look for him to be an impact player on Thursday afternoon.     Collin has been a key player in Lake Mills' run to state, scoring over 17 ppg in the last three games, all won by double-figures. Collin is an athletic guard who moves well without the ball, can finish strong inside, and is a reliable outside shooter. At 6'2 he can put some length on the St. Cats guards defensively as well. Collin has been to the state tournament before, and that experience could prove to be valuable as Lake Mills looks to make a run at the title.

Seven of the big names and potential x-factors to keep an eye on as the Division 3 state tournament gets underway tomorrow in Madison!