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

By Dick Knapinski

For Wishoops.net

 

Eight is great

 

Randolph s final steps to its record eighth state championship took a few bumps on the way to the 58-40 win over Green Bay NEW Lutheran – most notably Rockets coach Bob Haffele spending a few minutes to yell at his team at halftime.



"It was the first time in a state championship I let my team have it," he said after watching the Blazers take the aggressiveness away from Randolph in the second quarter. "They responded. We were in foul trouble and it was difficult to get through it."



NEW Lutheran managed to cut the gap to six points in the second half before Randolph s depth and height put the game away.



"I just wanted to get the ball into our free throw shooters hands," said Rocket senior center Kyle Kelm, who finished with six assists to go with his 23 points and nine rebounds. "Not specifically mine, but we knew they were going to foul right away."



Even that was a chore, however, as the Rockets finished just 11-of-28 at the free throw line.

 

Not an easy road

 

Although most state basketball fans have come to see Randolph as power following eight state titles in 15 years, Haffele admitted that comes at a cost.



"Sometimes I think we ve created a monster when it comes to expectations," he said. "If you don t win a state title, somehow that s not being successful. We deal with that.



"But winning titles in a small school, and what people say sometimes deals with jealousy and whatever. We do it the right way."



Haffele admits that the Rockets success over the past two decades has made the bandwagon of support outside Randolph smaller than it once was.



"There would been just as many people who would have been happy for us to lose today," he said. "We understand that. That s their problem.



"We set a standard that I think we can be proud of. The way we look, the way we act, the way we play – we have nothing to apologize for."

 

Too big a hole

 

Randolph scored the Division 4 championship s first 10 points, leaving NEW Lutheran play a constant game of catch-up.



"We gotta get the bus moving," Blazers senior forward Ethan Derricks thought on the court when seeing his team down 10-0 three minutes into the game.



"That cold start just killed us. It showed on the scoreboard at the end but we gave it a good push."



The Blazers push cut the Rockets lead to 40-34 with 6:59 left before Randolph scored nine straight points.



"We had a great opportunity there," NEW Lutheran coach Mark Meerstein said. "But from there until the end the wheels fell off the bus."

 

Angels on the podium



For the fifth time in six years, Racine St. Catherine s was celebrating a state championship Saturday. After the Angels 66-52 win over Eau Claire Regis, St. Catherine s coach Bob Letsch could reflect on the continuing success of the program.



"Guys are willing to stay in the program, work hard, and when their time comes, they can step right in there," said Letsch, who is 549-210 in 31 years at the school.

 

Defensive switch

 

When Regis Connor Miller scored 14 straight second-half points to bring the Ramblers back to within 43-38 early in the fourth period, Letsch called for the Angels to switch to their "33" defense, the 1-3-1 zone trap.



Or least somebody called for it.



"When I decided to switch to it, I looked out to Steve (McWhorter) and he was already signaling three-three," Letsch said of his senior point guard. "I m glad I decided to agree."



That defense shut down Miller and the rest of the Ramblers, who never got closer than six points the rest of the way.



"It took us right out of our offense," said Miller, who finished with 17 points. "It spread us out on the floor and we really weren t in our range then."

 

Introducing the next one

 

As Steve McWhorter was making his final high school appearance for the Angels, Letsch had the chance to showcase his next probable go-to guy in sophomore Jordan Fouse.



After spending much of Friday s semifinal win on the bench in foul trouble, Fouse rallied for an 18-point, 11-rebound, five-assist outing against Regis.



"To be perfectly honest, Jordan is a better player than I was as a sophomore," said McWhorter, who had 17 points for the Angels on Saturday. "He has tremendous potential and had a great game today."



After playing only 15 minutes Friday, Fouse was on the floor for all but a few seconds of the state championship performance.



"I didn t want to sit on the bench anymore, man," Fouse said.

 

Quick cuts

 

Racine St. Catherine s made only three turnovers on Saturday and shot 55 percent in the second half. … Miller is now 6-foot-2, a long way from when he was brought up to the Regis varsity as a freshman in the fall of 2007. "He was probably 5-9, maybe 5-8 and 120 (pounds)? 110?" said Regis coach Bill Uelmen. … Marcus Boehm nailed a three-pointer for the Angels at the halftime buzzer, causing St. Catherine s assistant coach Mark Duckworth to tell Letsch, "It s Cordero Barkley all over again," referring to a similar shot in the 2005 Division 2 championship against Seymour. … Kelm s first points and last points Saturday came on what official scorers designated as dunks. "That last one wasn t a dunk," joked Haffele. "OK, maybe more of a finger roll," admitted the 6-foot-10 Kelm. … Randolph went to a 1-3-1 defense in the second half to eliminate NEW Lutheran penetrating game. "It was desperation," Haffele said. … As Letsch and Uelmen met in passing in the media room, there was a reminder that St. Catherine s and Regis are scheduled to face each other next year. "I want out of that," joked Letsch. "He s got us targeted now."