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WSN Basketball Playoff Coverage presented by the Buckle Up Phone Down Pledge

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All photos used this weekend are from Nate Beier of GX3 Media.

To view his entire work from this past weekend's tournament support him by purchasing those photographic memories, click on the link below.

State Tournament Pictures

Mr. Basketball's Historic Career
Zay Mitchell had one of the highest scoring seasons this year capping off an unbelievable four-year prep career at Oshkosh North. He willed his seven-seed Spartans to a state tournament, and nearly came away victorious over the eventual champs. Mitchell finished this season with 1,006 points, the fourth highest single season output in history. For his career he finished with 2,824 points, which is the third highest all-time. Mitchell is a two-time WBCA All-State selection and likely a third this year, and was named Mr. Basketball in the state this season.

Breakout Performance
Landon Lee. The senior Marshfield point guard came so close to willing his Tigers to a state championship, as he completely dominated in the state championship game. He demanded the ball consistently and scored 22 points in the title game, knocking down tough contested three-pointers as well as getting to the rim and finishing with relative ease.

Biggest Play
Josiah Rice's strip steal in the final seconds of the championship game. Rice had played very sparing minutes in the championship game before being tasked with coming in for defensive purposes down the stretch as Marshfield attempted to kill the clock with a lead. After Wisconsin Lutheran took a one-point lead with 36 seconds left, it appeared as if Marshfield would hold the ball for the final shot. Rice, a senior guard, thought differently. As Tigers point guard Landon Lee began his attack towards the rim, Rice swiped and stole the ball, which would in turn help seal the victory for the Vikings.

All-Role Team
Camden Kolstad, soph, Marshfield
Ben Langebartels, sr, Wisconsin Lutheran
Tylan Lister, jr, Oshkosh North
Josiah Rice, sr, Wisconsin Lutheran

All-Tournament Team
Jack Ellickson, sr, Waunakee
Alex Greene, sr, Wisconsin Lutheran
Brooks Hinson, sr, Marshfield
Kager Knueppel, soph, Wisconsin Lutheran
Landon Lee, sr, Marshfield
Xzavion Mitchell, sr, Oshkosh North
Zavier Zens, jr, Wisconsin Lutheran

Division 1 MVP
Alex Greene, Wisconsin Lutheran

Demon Defender
Isaiah Robinson. In the years I've played, coached, officiated, and watched basketball, I can confidently say I've never seen a better perimeter defender at the high school level than Racine Park's Robinson. The 6-1 senior guard's lateral quickness is unmatched as his hand speed. On top of that, Robinson has incredible instincts off the ball where he jumps passing lanes and digs on dribble penetration. The Southeast Player of the Year set a record for steals at the state tournament with 15 over the two games.

Breakout Performance
Matthew Kloskey. Calling what he did at the state tournament a breakout is a bit of a stretch. However, the junior forward came out to a statewide audience this past weekend. On a team with two other Division 1 recruits in senior Jake Hansen and sophomore Jalen Brown, Kloskey has been dominant over the last half of the year and continued that at the Kohl Center. He's relentless around the rim and extremely efficient where he shot 65% this season.

Biggest Moment
This isn't necessarily a singular moment, but at one point partway through the second half of the D2 championship game, Matthew Kloskey and Jalen Brown were both on the bench with four fouls. Sophomore Kason Mangum played some huge minutes for the Trojans during that six minute stretch. He scored a pair of buckets and hounded Jaxson Moss on the defensive side.  

All-Role Team
Cameron Betker, sr, Racine Park
Messiah Chambers, jr, Wauwatosa West
Kason Mangum, soph, Wauwatosa West

All-Tournament Team
Jalen Brown, soph, Wauwatosa West
Matthew Kloskey, jr, Wauwatosa West
Jaxson Moss, sr, Racine Park
Jesse Napgezek, sr, Wausau East
Isaiah Robinson, sr, Racine Park
Logan Zahour, sr, Cedarburg

Division 2 MVP
Matthew Kloskey, Wauwatosa West

Stars Showed Out
Division 3 had plenty of well-known players that took the stage and boy did those players deliver. AJ Bender of Lake Mills is headed to MSU-Mankato next season and was excellent in the semifinals, scoring a team high 22 points while also challenging the talented Novas team defensively. Both Devin Brown (Coastal Carolina) and Jamarion Batemon (Iowa State) of Milwaukee Academy of Science were incredible, especially when the Novas needed plays down the stretch of each game. Sophomore Donovan Davis of Freedom showed he's one of the top players in the state with his two-game output. His physicality and skillset are well ahead of his sophomore status.

Breakout Performance
Drew Kortz. Kortz is the senior leader for the Freedom Irish basketball team and currently not committed for next season. The 6-1 guard gets overshadowed at times by his sophomore teammate, but Kortz showed out on the Kohl Center floor this weekend. He scored 27 points in the semifinal win and followed that up with 29 in the state championship loss. Kortz drew plenty of attention from the talented Novas team, but nearly willed his team to gold. Kortz scored from deep and off the bounce, pouring in 14 of the Irish's 20 second half points.

Biggest Play
Though there was consternation around this play, there is no denying the importance. With 10 seconds left in the championship game and Science leading by three, Freedom's Drew Kortz drove the lane. Deuce Burkes of the Novas slid from the weak side and stepped in front, putting his body on the line for his team, and drawing a charge.

All-Role Team
Deuce Burkes, jr, Milwaukee Academy of Science
Tanner Wendorf, sr, Lake Mills
AJ Wesoloski, sr, Freedom

All-Tournament Team
Jamarion Batemon, sr, Milwaukee Academy of Science
AJ Bender, sr, Lake Mills
Devin Brown, sr, Milwaukee Academy of Science
Donovan Davis, soph, Freedom
Logan Jerome, sr, Elk Mound
Drew Kortz, sr, Freedom

Division 3 co-MVP
Jamarion Batemon, Milwaukee Academy of Science
Devin Brown, Milwaukee Academy of Science

Lovable Big Man
Ryan Westrich of Bonduel is an extremely likable student athlete. Watching him at the Kohl Center it's extremely apparent how hard of a worker he is. That is evidenced by the Division 1 interest he has on the football field. What's more was his approach during interviews over the weekend where he was humble, complimentary of his teammates and coaches, and simply likable. On top of that, myself and many other basketball junkies love it when a big man steps out and knocks down shots from deep, something Ryan did in both games he played in.

Best Role Performance
Finley Strom in the state semifinals. The Blugolds were in a battle with Mineral Point through the entirety of the Division 4 state semifinal match. Strom subbed in in the second half at the 15:30 mark with Aquinas down three. Over the final 15 minutes, he scored 13 points including a pair of three-point shots and going five of five from the free throw line. He scored seven of the final nine points, including a fast break three-point shot with 1:56 left to give Aquinas a one-point lead.

Biggest Play
It had to feel like Déjà vu for Aquinas head coach Brad Reinhart as the Blugolds held a lead but turned it over in the final seconds, something similar to what happened in last year's state semifinal matchup with Mineral Point. However, on the ensuing possession, Logan Becker stole the ball for Aquinas with eight seconds left, stymieing the Pointer's possesion.

All-Role Team
Vincent Bahr, sr, Aquinas
Keaton Dempsey, jr, Mineral Point
Finley Strom, jr, Aquinas

All-Tournament Team
Dalton Ahlensdorf, soph, The Prairie School
Drew Aschliman, jr, Mineral Point
Treyton Bahr, sr, Aquinas
Logan Becker, jr, Aquinas
Ryan Westrich, jr, Bonduel

Division 4 MVP
Treyton Bahr, sr, Aquinas

Strength on Strength
Marion Boyland of Sheboygan Lutheran is a very strong and put together sophomore. He was the Crusaders leading scorer on the season and had 23 points in the state semifinals. Enter Cochrane-Fountain City sophomore Aidan Lisowski. Equally strong, Lisowski was physical all game with Boyland, frustrating him and making looks extremely difficult to come by. Lisowski was a big reason why Boyland scored just six points in the championship game, as he neutralized the post area.

Breakout Performance
Cameron Lipinski. The senior guard from Cochrane-Fountain City showed that he could play at the next level this past weekend in Madison. To my knowledge, that is not his plans. At 6-4, he's got a great frame, is laterally and vertically explosive, and has the skillset to succeed at the next level. Lipinski finished above the rim a few times to the appeasement of the Kohl Center crowd. He also buried shots from deep, something he did at a 43% clip this season.

All-Hair Team
Cochrane-Fountain City. When the Pirates were in the gym, it felt like we were all extras in the 2000 music video of "The Real Slim Shady" by Eminem. A majority of the team and some students in the stands were sporting bleach blonde hairdos. The Kohl Center DJ must have picked up on this as well as during the Pirates warmups, he played back-to-back Eminem songs.

All-Role Team
Tucker Bambenek, jr, Cochrane-Fountain City
Oliver Leibham, soph, Sheboygan Lutheran
Aidan Lisowski, soph, Cochrane-Fountain City

All-Tournament Team
Marion Boyland, soph, Sheboygan Lutheran
Porter Ehrat, sr, Cochrane-Fountain City
Brennen Hackbarth, jr, Sheboygan Lutheran
Jonah Koon, sr, Abundant Life Christian
Cameron Lipinski, sr, Cochrane-Fountain City
Brandon Wagner, jr, Turtle Lake

Division 5 MVP
Cameron Lipinski, Cochrane-Fountain City