Five Surprise Teams of 2018
The holiday break is just about over with most of the state resuming action on Thursday and Friday. While there’s still plenty to be decided over the next two months, here are five teams who have surprised us over the…
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Continue ReadingThe holiday break is just about over with most of the state resuming action on Thursday and Friday. While there’s still plenty to be decided over the next two months, here are five teams who have surprised us over the first half of the season…
Madison East (11-0)
We thought the Purgolders would be fighting for the 3rd or 4th spot in the Big Eight Conference. Not only is East currently sitting atop one of the state’s best leagues, they’re now No. 3 in our most recent Division 1 rankings.
Last season, the Purgolders won 19 games and reached the sectional finals, but lost leading scorer, rebounder, and facilitator Keshawn Justice, now at Santa Clara. Junior Anthony Washington (19.3 ppg) and senior Montae Thompson (14.6 ppg) are both enjoying breakout seasons for head coach Matt Miota.
Arrowhead (9-1)
We knew Arrowhead would be competitive with Carter Gilmore (19.9 ppg), but we didn’t see them leading the Classic Eight Conference and controlling their own destiny at this point in the season. We certainly didn’t seem them blasting favorite Waukesha West 88-60 like they did in December.
The biggest surprise has been senior guard Tyler Gouin. An unknown commodity in the state heading into the season, Gouin is averaging just shy of 21 ppg in 2018-19. After losing their season opener to Milwaukee King, the Warhawks have since won nine-straight.
Germantown (7-1)
Steve Martin has done one of the best coaching jobs in the state because this Germantown squad was not very competitive a year ago. Going 6-17 last season, the Warhawks are now sitting at 7-1 going into 2019 with their lone loss coming to Arrowhead by just eight points. Luke Taylor (16.5 ppg) has been good…as expected. However, senior guard Justin Thompson (17.0 ppg) has given Taylor some much needed and unexpected help this season.
Darlington (9-0)
The SWAL has been far more competitive than expected with four teams who are probably good enough to reach the state tournament. Mineral Point and maybe Fennimore or Cuba City were expected to be at the top, but it’s Darlington in control. Currently atop our Division 4 state rankings, the Redbirds don’t do a ton of special things — just run their stuff, play gritty, hard-nosed basketball, and don’t beat themselves.
Dominican (7-3)
The Knights lost Abe Scruggs to transfer and Gacoby Jones to graduation. Needless to say, Dominican wasn’t supposed to be able to just reload after winning 19 games last season. But that’s exactly what Alex Antetokounmpo (17.2 ppg) and company did. The Knights have a quality win over Lourdes Academy and haven’t been defeated by an in-state foe at this point. Dominican has yet to be challenged by Metro Classic favorites Racine St. Catherine’s and Martin Luther, but are looking like contenders through the first half of the season.