Key Takeaways from Deer District Prep Showcase

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Deer District Prep Showcase was a fantastic one day event that featured a good chunk of the state's top teams, players and coaches. Despite the cold weather, the event was well attended and there was great energy in the gym on Saturday. In total, six games were played and seven players are receiving division one interest or have already earned division one scholarship offers. Here are some takeaways from Saturday's action at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Takeaway #1- Seymour is the real deal. </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bay Conference team flexed its depth and talent against a solid Prairie School team in the early game. Seymour won the game 85-48 and dominated all 36 minutes on both sides of the floor. Bobby Kuchta's squad got major contributions from [player_tooltip player_id='2391083' first='Kyler' last='Marks'] who finished the game with 25 points without playing the last seven minutes of the game. Outside of Marks' performance [player_tooltip player_id='2615539' first='Jordan' last='Krause'] had 16 points, all in the first half, and was torching the nets from the outside. Seymour's Issac Feske also poured in 14 points and scored in a variety of ways using his physical frame and skillset. The Thunder are so versatile, deep, and physical and suffocated TPS on the defensive end with ball pressure in the half court. Seymour is absolutely a favorite to win the division three state title in March in Madison. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Takeaway #2- [player_tooltip player_id='2224532' first='Sam' last='Pitrof'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2398434' first='Bryce' last='Austin'] are a Dynamic Duo. </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Living in the Fox Valley, I do not get a chance outside of streaming, to see much of the further southeast part of the state. I was able to witness live for the first time how elite Racine Lutheran's backcourt duo is. [player_tooltip player_id='2224532' first='Sam' last='Pitrof'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2398434' first='Bryce' last='Austin'] are absolute stud playmakers for the Crusaders. In the first half against [program_tooltip program_id='2829078' first='West' last='De Pere'], [player_tooltip player_id='2398434' first='Bryce' last='Austin'] (6-3 Jr.) exploded for 17 points scoring at all three levels and making life difficult for the opposing Phantoms to get in any rhythm whatsoever offensively. Austin finished with 25 points for the game, and he is a name to watch this postseason and leading into the AAU season. [player_tooltip player_id='2224532' first='Sam' last='Pitrof'] was a force in this game as well. Pitrof does a little bit of everything for the Crusaders scoring, rebounding, and playing tenacious defense. Pitrof also had 25 points in this game and is one of the better left handed players in the state. If you live down in Racine, you might want to make plans to see the Cruasders play the rest of the year, especially when they play their second conference game versus Racine St. Catherine's. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Takeaway #3- Multi-sport Athletes can still hoop.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were several multi sport athletes throughout the day taking the floor for their respective teams. It is always great to see standouts on the baseball diamond, football field, and on the track standout during premier events like these. Of these multi sport athletes that had the most under the radar performances on Saturday were [player_tooltip player_id='3022868' first='Patrick' last='Greisen'] of [program_tooltip program_id='2829078' first='West' last='De Pere'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2641669' first='Hayden' last='Anderson'] of Mount Horeb. Greisen, who is headed to South Dakota to play quarterback, was efficient for [program_tooltip program_id='2829078' first='West' last='De Pere'] despite the final score for the phantoms. The 6'3 senior is able to score in a variety of ways and his having a very solid season for WDP on the court and especially shooting the basketball. [player_tooltip player_id='2641669' first='Hayden' last='Anderson'], who is headed to St. Thomas for football as a tight end, was ultra efficient around the basket for the Vikings in the absence of [player_tooltip player_id='1561888' first='Josh' last='Manchester']. Hayden can finish through contact and has an array of post moves to score with ease at the rim. Anderson finished with 15 points that led to his team to a 58-54 victory over Lodi. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Takeaway #4- Oregon, despite their record is a tough out.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Panthers have faced a lot adversity this season with [player_tooltip player_id='3021625' first='Vaughn' last='Karvala'] opting to an out of state prep school. Head Coach Chris Seibert has done a fantastic job in Karvala's absence of keeping his team together and competing against tough opponents on their schedule. Not too many times will I write about 6-8 teams, but Oregon nearly pulled off an upset on Saturday against a very talented Kaukuana team. Oregon has played in some premier events like the 608 tournament, Mark Miller's WBY shootout, and this event, and yet remains highly competitive in all of their games. Oregon's [player_tooltip player_id='2970569' first='Brayden' last='Hermsdorf'] was nothing short of sensational against a challenging matchup in [player_tooltip player_id='1561925' first='Andrew' last='Jensen']. The 6'6 senior had 24 points and scoring in a variety of ways for the Panthers. Oregon has won four out of their last six, and is one team I would not want to see in the playoffs if I was a coach in their sectional. Oregon is gritty, tough, and disciplined and should finish the year strong in the Badger Conference. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Takeaway #5- [player_tooltip player_id='1561925' first='Andrew' last='Jensen'] is still not talked about enough.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I know it is difficult to say a guy is underrated when he is ranked in the top five of a class. [player_tooltip player_id='1561925' first='Andrew' last='Jensen'] is the exception to that statement. Every time I see the 6'9 senior, he looks better and more confident in his game. Jensen was the key to slowing down Oregon in the second half, taking over on both sides of the ball. Jensen had 19 points in the second half and several big time swats in the paint that made things extremely difficult on the interior for Oregon. Andrew stands out with his athleticism, but his intangibles as a leader, the ability to get to loose balls with urgency, and his unselfishness to kick out and find his teammates is so refreshing to see from a top tier player. Jensen should be in the Mr. Basketball conversation with the year he is having with the Ghosts and their overall team success in the difficult Fox Valley Association conference. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Takeaway #6- Slinger is the top dog in Division 2.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Slinger absolutely dominated their matchup with Freedom from the tip. Alex Lavine and his staff put a well executed gameplan to limit one of the best prospects in the state, Donvoan Davis, just to four points. Every time Davis touched the ball, all five Owls were ready to collapse and rotate over to Davis. Quite frankly, it was the best defensive performance I have seen out of a team this season. Outside of their aggressiveness defensively, Joey and [player_tooltip player_id='2351190' first='Jack' last='Kohnen'] were so impressive offensively. The brother duo scored off the bounce, at the rim through contact, and were all over the Irish defensively in front of several Division 1 coaches (Iowa, Wisconsin, Marquette). Slinger has won five in a row, and has scored impressive victories over Whitefish Bay, Mount Horeb, Arrowhead, Oshkosh North, Nicolet, and now Freedom. Slinger is my pick to hoist the gold ball in Madison for Division 2. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Takeaway #7- WAC is one of the state's most exciting teams.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The final game on Saturday night featured West Allis Central and Arrowhead. West Allis Central was worth the price of admission alone on Saturday. The Bulldogs have so many explosive players on their roster with [player_tooltip player_id='2045256' first='Yusef' last='Gray Jr.'], [player_tooltip player_id='2194435' first='Max' last='Jones'], [player_tooltip player_id='2141478' first='Isaiah' last='Fox'], and big man [player_tooltip player_id='2411140' first='Kevin' last='Pittman']. [player_tooltip player_id='2045256' first='Yusef' last='Gray Jr.'] (Iowa State Commit) had an NBA poster dunk in the second half of this game that brought down the house at Fiserv. The 6'5 senior had 36 points and 11 rebounds and simply was impossible to stop in this game. [player_tooltip player_id='2194435' first='Max' last='Jones'] (6-4 Jr.) who is gaining some division one attention, was also very impressive in this game finishing with 18 points. I love the play of [player_tooltip player_id='2411140' first='Kevin' last='Pittman'] as well, who threw down a nasty reverse dunk on Arrowhead defender to start the second half. West Allis Central will look to avenge a 53-72 playoff loss to Wisconsin Lutheran last season this year in the upcoming WIAA Division 1 playoffs. WAC might be the only school in the state that can hang with Wisconsin Lutheran, and I would anticipate that the two teams will battle in the sectional to see who earns a trip to Madison. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->