Boys Basketball Alumni Round-up: March 6th

Many high school basketball standouts in Wisconsin go on to big things at the college level and in the pros, and this is our spot to recognize those athletes each week and help you keep up with what is going down on some of your favorite players from the past. If you have alumni news, please send it to Colton Wilson by 6 p.m. on Mondays.

Alumni Update

With the college basketball season winding down, this will be the last installment of the boys basketball alumni round-up for the 2018-19 season. Look forward to an awards recognition and all-conference special in the coming weeks.

Three WIAC teams made the D3 NCAA Tournament, UW-Platteville, UW-La Crosse, and UW-Oshkosh. Only UW-Oshkosh advanced past the opening round.

In the Titan’s 86-62 opening round win over Lake Forest College, Adam Fravert (Marshfield) had 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists. Jack Flynn (Appleton West) also recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Ben Boots (Kimberly) had 17 points. Oshkosh then beat University of Northwestern (Minn.) 108-86 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Boots had 25 points, while Brett Wittchow (Laconia) had 24. Fravert recorded another double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Flynn added 12 points, and in doing so, crossed the 1,000 point mark in his collegiate career.

Jordan McCabe has worked his way into the West Virginia starting lineup, and last week he had a career day as the Mountaineers beat TCU 104-96 in triple overtime. The 2018 Mr. Wisconsin and Kaukauna High School grad had a career and game high 24 points and 11 assists. He added 6 steals and 5 rebounds in the victory. In the three overtime periods, Jordan scored 13 of his points to lead his team to victory. McCabe added 18 points and 3 assists in a 92-80 loss to Oklahoma later in the week. For his breakout performance, Jordan was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week.

Kentucky freshman and fellow 2018 highly regarded recruit Tyler Herro has been steadily growing into a dominant scorer for the highly ranked Wildcats. In a 70-66 win over Arkansas, the Whitnall alum had a career high 29 points to carry the Wildcats down the stretch to a win. Herro shot 9 of 10 from the field and 5 of 5 from beyond the arc.

Winona State made it to the Northern Sun tournament championship before losing to Northern State behind the play of a pair of in-state recruits, one being a teammate of Herro at Whitnall. Kevion Taylor, formerly of Whitnall, and Muskego’s Caleb Wagner have been driving forces for Winona State all year. The duo combined for 34 points in a 62-56 win over Minnesota-Duluth despite Brandon Myer (Superior) having 21 points and 12 rebounds. The duo then combined for 40 points in an 80-67 win over Minnesota-Crookston. Harrison Cleary (Oak Creek) had a game high 36 points for Crookston. In the 77-76 loss to Northern State in the finals, Wagner and Taylor combined for 41 points.

Brevin Pritzl got things going for the University of Wisconsin as the Badgers beat Penn State 61-57. The De Pere grad has struggled to knock down shots consistently for the Badgers, but came up big as he had a team high 17 points off the bench. Pritzl was a perfect 5 of 5 from the field while knocking down all four three-point attempts.

Loyola Marymount secured two victories in the West Coast Conference this past week behind the strong play of former Milwaukee Riverside standout James Batemon. James had a team high 23 points in a 72-70 win over Santa Clara. He made seven free throws in the last 3 minutes to secure the victory. Batemon again led the team in scoring with 19 points in a 74-69 win over San Francisco.

All season, Lindenwood has been led by a trio of Wisconsin prep athletes and that continued into the last week of the season. Brookfield Central’s Brad Newman has been a prolific scorer all season and in a 78-72 win over Central Missouri, he had a game high 34 points on 10 of 13 shooting. West De Pere’s Chandler Diekvoss added 16 points while Neenah’s Adam Pohlman contributed 8 assists. In the following 82-68 win over Southwest Baptist, Newman and Diekvoss combined for 37 points, while Pohlman added another 6 assists.

Former Rice Lake standout Henry Ellenson is in his third season in the NBA and is now currently with the New York Knicks after being drafted by the Detroit Pistons. The change of team seems to have been a great change of pace as he his minutes have increased dramatically. Henry had a season best 13 points in back-to-back games for the Knicks. In a 108-103 win over the Orlando Magic, Henry had 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists in a season high 36 minutes of play.