Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

By Mark Miller


Wishoops.net Editor





Weyauwega-Fremont senior Bryce Welch has decided to turn down scholarship offers from Winona State and Minnesota-Duluth in order to play for coach Ted Van Dellen at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.





Welch, a 6-foot-2 senior guard/forward, earned fourth-team all-state honors from the Associated Press after helping Weyauwega-Fremont to a 23-1 record. The Indians captured the Central Wisconsin Conference Large School championship before falling to Manitowoc Roncalli in the WIAA Division 3 sectional semifinals.





Welch completed a brilliant four-year varsity career at Weyauwega-Fremont with 1,987 points and a school-record 725 rebounds. He earned first-team all-league honors three times under veteran coach Mike Flanagan.





"Coach Van Dellen has always been very nice to me, and my family can attend every home game," Welch said. "I also like the fact Oshkosh tends to play up-and-down the floor.





"It was kind of tough turning down Winona State, especially after it won the (NCAA) Division II championship, but I just felt at home at Oshkosh. I know some of the players on the team and they made me feel comfortable."





Welch joins a pair of former Nicolet standouts in the Titans incoming freshman class.





Former Nicolet star D.J. Marsh, an athletic 6-3 wing, sat out the 2005-06 campaign with an injury, but is expected to make a major contribution to the Titans program next season as a freshman.





Senior guard/forward Ryan Thomas, a physical 6-3 defensive standout who earned honorable mention all-league laurels in the North Shore Conference, also is expected to join the Oshkosh program.





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Lake Michigan Conference champion Lakeland College recently received verbal commitments from Eleva-Strums Sean Walker and Bonduels Eric Gruenewald.





Walker is a 6-6 forward who led Eleva-Strum to a 24-2 record and a spot in the WIAA Division 4 State Tournament. Walker shot 70 percent from the floor while averaging 15.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest for coach Rich Roginski. He selected Lakeland over UW-Eau Claire, Viterbo and UW-River Falls.





Gruenewald earned all-conference honors for Bonduel in the Large School Division of the Central Wisconsin Conference.





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Milwaukee Vincent coach Tom Diener is close to finalizing his non-conference schedule for next season.





The Vikings will play four games at the prestigious Iolani Prep Classic in Hawaii against opponents to be determined. Vincent took part in the Iolani Prep Classic several years ago.





The Vikings, who figure to be one of the states elite WIAA Division 1 teams once again in 2006-07, will play one game at Loyola University in Chicago on Dec. 9 against an opponent to be determined from the Chicago area.





Vincent will host a thanksgiving tournament that will include Arrowhead and Green Bay Southwest.





Vincent is also scheduled to play Detroit Romulus at 7:15 p.m. on Dec. 26 in the second annual Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook Shootout at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee. The WBY Shootout, which will be hosted by Dominican High School, will feature eight games on Dec. 26 and eight games on Dec. 27. In addition to Detroit Romulus, Indianapolis Franklin Central will play two games at the McGuire Center. Following is a complete schedule for the WBY Shootout:





December 26, 2006


Session One


9 a.m. – Burlington Catholic Central vs. Manitowoc Roncalli (Game 1)


10:30 a.m. – Whitefish Bay Dominican vs. Oostburg (Game 2)


Noon – Catholic Memorial vs. Brookfield Central (Game 3)


1:30 p.m. – Milwaukee Wisconsin Lutheran vs. Indianapolis Franklin Central (Game 4)





Session Two


4:15 p.m. – Kaukauna vs. Milwaukee Bay View (Game 5)


5:45 p.m. – Wauwatosa East vs. Arrowhead (Game 6)


7:15 p.m. – Milwaukee Vincent vs. Detroit Romulus (Game 7)


8:45 p.m. – Milwaukee Marquette vs. Racine Case (Game 8)





December 27, 2006


Session Three


9 a.m. – Burlington Catholic Central vs. Oostburg (Game 9)


10:30 a.m. – Whitefish Bay Dominican vs. Roncalli (Game 10)


Noon – Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 (Game 11)


1:30 p.m. – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 (Game 12)





Session Four


4:15 p.m. – Loser of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6 (Game 13)


5:45 p.m. – Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 (Game 14)


7:15 p.m. – La Crosse Aquinas vs. Neenah (Game 15)


8:45 p.m. – Milwaukee Marquette vs. Wauwatosa West (Game 16)





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Vincent junior guard Diante Garrett, ranked No. 4 among players in the class of 2007 by Wishoops.net, is beginning to attract recruiting attention from a number of high-level NCAA Division I schools.





Diener said the University of Wisconsin, Virginia, Iowa State and Creighton have recently become active in the recruitment of Grarrett, a skilled 6-4 point guard who earned first-team all-conference honors in the Milwaukee City Conference as a junior.





Garretts father, Dick, played with the Milwaukee Bucks in the early 1970s.





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Dan Kunz is set to retire from teaching and coaching at Luther High School in Onalaska in the spring, ending a 24-year association with the school.





For the past 14 seasons, Kunz has served as the head coach of the Knights boys basketball program, guiding the team to 140 victories.





In 1995-96, Kunz guided Luther to a 21-1 record, including an 18-0 mark in the Dairyland Conference. Luther lost to Stevens Point Pacelli, 68-60, in the WISAA regional final.





"Ive really enjoyed the relationships Ive established with the guys who played for me," said Kunz, a Mishicot native who played high school basketball for Rich Winter at Manitowoc Lutheran. "Ive gotten e-mails from a lot of my former players since I announced my retirement in September. Its really neat to know you made a difference."





Long-time junior varsity and varsity assistant coach Mark Loersch is set to take over as the Knights new head coach.





"Ill have plenty of things to do," Kunz said. "I plan to step away from the game for a year or two to let Mark establish things a bit, but I may come back and help out in some capacity in the future."