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Boys Basketball Alumni Round-up: January 16th

01/16/2020, 2:45pm CST
By Colton Wilson

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

The talent in boys basketball that has been produced from the state of Wisconsin in the past few years has been absolutely outstanding. Hundreds of athletes from around the state are playing at various levels of college basketball, while a few play professionally; both in the states and abroad.

Division 2, 3 and the NAIA level of basketball make up the largest portion of athletes that have gone on to continue their careers at the next level.

In Division 3, the WIAC has been a major conference with high end talent for years; most recently with UW-Oshkosh winning the Division 3 crown last season.

In the most recent poll, UW-Platteville sits at seventh ranked in the entire country in Division 3. The Pioneers are 13-1 and a big reason to that has been the play of Kiel graduate Carter Voelker. Last week in a 74-70 win over defending champ UW-Oshkosh, Carter had a game high 21 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. He followed that up with 15 points and eight rebounds in a 60-53 win over UW-Eau Claire. Carter went on to be named the WIAC Player of the Week for the second time this season.

Like UW-Platteville, UW-La Crosse is ranked nationally in Division 3, sitting at fourteenth. The Eagles get contributions aplenty from many different alumni across the roster. In two wins over UW-River Falls and UW-Stevens Point, four different athletes reached double figure scoring. Wyatt Cook (Pewaukee), and Terek Nesheim (Mount Horeb) hit double figures twice, while Seth Anderson (Marshfield) and Zac Haese (Wrightstown) did once.

Speaking of highly ranked teams, West Virginia currently sits at twelfth in Division 1 in the latest poll. Kaukauna grad and former Mr. Wisconsin Jordan McCabe starts at point guard for the Mountaineers. A team predicated off of speed and length, McCabe has been a great floor general for his squad in his first two seasons.

A pair of alums crossed the 1,000 point mark in recent weeks and continue to excel on the hardwood for their respective programs.

Kevion Taylor of Whitnall High School came just one rebound short of recording a pair of double-doubles as Winona State split their two games last week. In a 102-97 triple overtime defeat to Wayne State, Kevion had 28 points and 10 rebounds. He then had 11 points and nine rebounds in a 79-65 win over Augustana. Earlier in the year, Kevion, just a junior, surpassed the 1,000 point mark in his collegiate career.

Concordia-Wisconsin’s Jordan Johnson joined Taylor in the 1,000 point club as the Falcons picked up a 68-63 win over Marian College. Johnson, a Cedarburg grad, scored 19 points in the win to cross that milestone.

In other NACC news, Andrew Bruggink continues to shine for Wisconsin Lutheran College. In an 116-113 overtime loss to Concordia-Chicago, the Brookfield Central alum had 28 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. He followed that up with another double-double, tallying 15 points and 16 rebounds, while adding six assists, in an 85-69 win over Dominican College. Andrew captured his second NACC Player of the Week award of the season.

Billy Wampler was nearly perfect as Wright State took down IUPUI 84-70 last week. The Regis High School grad had a game high 26 points on 10 of 11 shooting from the field, including going a perfect five of five from beyond the arc.

UT-Martin has gotten added production from Steve Wooten Jr. since his insertion into the starting lineup. Wooten Jr., a Madison East grad and Mineral Area College transfer, tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds in an 87-74 win over Tennessee State.

Calling back to those teams that receive multiple contributions from different in-state alumni, Ripon College may do so more than most. The team picked up a pair of Midwest Conference wins over Lawrence University and Grinnell College this past week due to the contributions of many.

Trent Jones (Dodgeville), Ryan Steffes (New Holstein), Owen Theune (Waupun), Jaylen Mahone (Laconia), Justin Bartol (Berlin), Seth Kostroski (Sauk Prairie) and David DeValk (Kimberly) all scored in double figures in one or both of the victories for the Red Hawks.

Lastly, Te’Jon Lucas was a floor general in his time at Illinois and since his transfer to UW-Milwaukee, has been a scoring machine. The Milwaukee Washington alum scored a season high 31 points as the Panthers took down in-state rival UW-Green Bay. Te’Jon made nine of thirteen shots from the field while connecting on nine of 10 from the free throw line. He added five assists, rebounds, and three steals in the win.

If you’re interested in reading about the success of the alumni from around the state on the football field, make sure to give this week’s Football Alumni Round-up a read. It highlights over 100 athletes that were named to All-Conference teams while also spotlighting those that received individual awards.

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