WBCA announces Division 5 Boys Basketball All-State Team

Senior Ben Heiligenthal of Catholic Central in Burlington is the lone unanimous selection on the Division 5 Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association All-State team, while Hillsboro senior Max Stockwell is the only repeat first-team pick from a year ago.

Heiligenthal, who also excels in football and baseball for the Hilltoppers, is a versatile 6-foot-3 forward who can attack the basket off the bounce and score with mid-range jump shots. He averaged 22.0 points and 9.1 rebounds while leading Catholic Central to an 18-9 record and a spot in the WIAA State Tournament. He was chosen Player of the Year in the Metro Classic and shot 54 percent from the field and 73 percent from the foul line.

Stockwell is a 6-foot-5 guard/forward who led Hillsboro to the title in the Scenic Bluffs Conference by averaging 20.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Voted the Player of the Year in the Scenic Bluffs, Stockwell played multiple positions for the Tigers and helped Hillsboro to a 24-2 record under coach Curt Hildreth.

Ben Retzlaff is a 6-2 senior wing guard for a McDonell Central squad that shared the title in the Western Division of the Cloverbelt Conference with Regis. Retzlaff led the team in three-point baskets – making an average of 3.5 triples per game – while also averaging 16.1 ppg as the Macks qualified for the WIAA Division 5 State Tournament under coach Archie Sherbinow.

Alex Ohde was a double-double player on most nights for McDonell Central. The mobile and athletic 6-7 junior led the team in scoring (17.5 ppg) and rebounding (10.2 rpg) while also recording a team-high 66 blocked shots. Ohde shot 63 percent from the floor and 75 percent from the free-throw line for the Macks.

Matthew Myers played a huge role in helping Barneveld to the title in the Eastern Division of the Six Rivers Conference and a spot in the WIAA State Tournament. The skilled and intelligent 6-0 junior point guard averaged 18.6 points and 3.7 assists per game while playing for his father and coach, Jim Myers. He led the team in three-point shooting, making 60 of 158 attempts for 38 percent.

Neal Cerveny put up huge numbers for a Gresham squad that finished 21-4 overall and 15-3 in the Central Wisconsin 10 Conference. The 6-2 junior averaged 27.1 ppg a year after averaging 12.5 ppg. He shot 44 percent (57 of 131) from three-point range, scored 30 or more points 10 times and poured in a career-best 48 points in a victory over Marion.

Tyler Dahl of Albany shared Player of the Year laurels in the Six Rivers East Conference with Pecatonica junior A.J. Hendrickson. The 5-10 senior guard averaged 24.8 ppg despite being a marked man by opposing defenses. He shot 53 percent from the field and 72 percent from the foul line and finished his four-year career with 1,376 points.

Jared Joslin of Port Edwards helped the Blackhawks to the championship of the Central Wisconsin 10 Conference by averaging 25.3 ppg and 9.4 rpg for coach Dave Gibbs. A physical and skilled 6-7 senior forward, Joslin was dominate in the paint for Port Edwards, which won 22 of 24 games, including a 17-1 league record.

Luke Reader of Bangor had an outstanding sophomore season for the Cardinals as he averaged 17.5 ppg and 3.6 apg for a club that went 23-4. He shot 56 percent from the field, 80 percent from the free throw line and 46 percent (57 of 122) from three-point range en route to earning first-team all-league honors in the Scenic Bluffs Conference.

Brant Schick of Washburn scored more than 1,000 points during his four-year varsity career with the Castle Guards. The 6-6 senior averaged 19.8 ppg as a senior and led Washburn to a share of the Indianhead Conference title with Solon Springs. The Minnesota-Duluth recruit scored a season-best 34 points in a victory over South Shore.

WBCA Division 5 All-State

Neal Cerveny, Jr., Gresham
Tyler Dahl, Sr., Albany
Ben Heiligenthal, Catholic Central *
Jared Joslin, Sr., Port Edwards
Matthew Myers, Jr., Barneveld
Alex Ohde, Jr., McDonell Central
Luke Reader, Soph., Bangor
Ben Retzlaff, Sr., McDonell Central
Brant Schick, Sr., Washburn
Max Stockwell, Sr., Hillsboro

Honorable Mention

Dylan Bunders, Jr., Almond-Bancroft
Trevor Cook, Jr., Washburn
Josiah Goerlitz, Jr., Owen-Withee
Ramson Jones Jr., Sr., Milwaukee Academy of Science
Noah Mortel, Sr., Luck
Jack Reader, Sr., Bangor
Ben Rode, Sr., Hustisford
Sawyer Rosner, Jr., Phelps
Adam Vandenberghe, Sr., Solon Springs
Spencer Wright, Sr., Abundant Life/St. Ambrose
Dillon Zinn, Sr., Blair-Taylor

* - Denotes unanimous selection

Voting Panel – Josh Hanson, Drummond; Jon Bussewitz, Turtle Lake; Mark Meerstein, Green Bay NEW Lutheran; Curt Lamb, Almond-Bancroft; Mark Lierman, Shullsburg; Curt Hildreth, Hillsboro; Arnie Oelke, Fall River; Nick Verhagen, Sheboygan Lutheran