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

By Mark Miller Wishoops.net Editor





Burlington Catholic Central senior Matt Smith plans to open up his recruitment in light of the fact Kyle Green is no longer the head coach at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill.





Smith, a 6-foot-9 post player ranked No. 11 among players in the class of 2006 by Wishoops.net, signed a letter of intent to play for Green at Lewis last fall.





However, when Green recently accepted an assistant coaching position under head coach Ben Jacobsen at the University of Northern Iowa, Smith asked for and received a waiver from the Lewis administration.





"I asked for my release from the letter of intent," Smith said. "I will begin my recruiting process all over again. I have made contact with several of the schools that were talking to me in the fall."





Minnesota-Duluth, St. Cloud State, North Dakota, Minnesota State and NCAA Division II national champion Winona State are among the schools showing interest in Smith, who played a key role in helping Catholic Central capture the WIAA Division 4 state championship two weeks ago.





Meanwhile, Ashwaubenon coach Jeff Vande Loo said this week senior Adam Koch, ranked third in the class of 2006 by Wishoops.net, plans to honor his commitment to Northern Iowa, despite the fact head coach Greg McDermott recently left the school to become the new head coach at Iowa State.





*****





Curtis Mitchell of Milwaukee Juneau and James Pruitt of Milwaukee King have given verbal commitments to play at Williston State Junior College next year.





Mitchell, a 5-foot-9 point guard, and Pruitt, a bruising 6-2 forward, each earned second-team all-league honors in the Milwaukee City Conference.





Williston State Junior College, located in Williston, North Dakota, qualified for the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I national tournament recently and features a pair of former state prep stars in Harry Boyce of Green Bay East and Matt Goodwin of Milwaukee Rufus King.





*****





Evan Anderson, the 6-11 eighth grade student from Stanley-Boyd, has been selected to take part in the inaugural 8th Grade McDonalds All-American game, which will be held May 14 at Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas.





The game features 24 of the top eighth grade players from across the country. In addition to the game, players will take part in a seminar on taking the required classes in high school to become a NCAA Division I-eligibile athlete as well as a discussion on proper behavior techniques on and off the court.





Anderson will spend his spring and summer competing for the Fox Valley Skillz 14U AAU squad before entering Stanley-Boyd High School in the fall.





"From what we were told, there were 317 players nominated for this game," Skillz coach Ritchie Davis said. "From that, a group of 50 finalists were chosen from a select group of individuals, including Flavian Davis of Garden Homes School in Milwaukee.





"The Final teams consisting of 12 players each were announced on March 15th. Evan does plan on attending with his mother as well as a member of the Skillz coaching staff."





*****





St. Norbert College is closing in on hiring a new mens basketball coach, sources say.





Three individuals will be interviewed for the position, including two high school head coaches and one collegiate assistant coach.





A new coach is expected to be hired soon, perhaps as early as next week.





St. Norbert fired former coach Paul DeNoble last month. The Green Knights finished 7-16 in 2005-06 and went 185-200 during DeNobles 17 years as head coach.





*****





Madison Memorial will take part in three out-of-state events during the 2006-07 season, coach Steve Collins announced this week.





The Spartans, who will feature 6-8 Keaton Nankivil and 6-5 Jeronne Maymon next season, will participate in the inaugural Border Battle on January 27, 2007 at Tartan High School near Minneapolis.





Memorial is scheduled to play Minnetonka High School at 6 p.m. in the event, which is co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook and The Minnesota Breakdown. Other games in the event include Randolph against Maranatha, Minn., at noon, La Crosse Aquinas vs. Rockford, Minn., at 2 p.m., Seymour vs. Minneapolis Patrick Henry at 4 p.m., and Wisconsin Rapids vs. Tartan, Minn., at 8 p.m.





In addition to the Border Battle, Memorial will play one game each in the Peoria Tournament of Champions over Thanksgiving weekend and the Highland Shootout in Highland, Ill.





The Spartans will also compete in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Asssociation Classic on Dec. 27 at the Kohl Center.





(Send comments to Wishoops.net editor Mark Miller at wbnews@pngusa.net)