Five Takeaways from Neenah versus Oshkosh West
Oshkosh, WI – Neenah (15-7) secured win number 15 on the year, edging out Oshkosh West (8-13) with a late swing of momentum. Here are my five takeaways from a thrilling conference battle. Oshkosh West’s Luke Hassl can play at…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingOshkosh, WI – Neenah (15-7) secured win number 15 on the year, edging out Oshkosh West (8-13) with a late swing of momentum. Here are my five takeaways from a thrilling conference battle.
Oshkosh West’s Luke Hassl can play at the next level:
Hassl is the prototypical stretch five for the modern style of basketball. He has great shot mechanics for a player of his size, as he connected on two of three attempts from beyond the arc in this game. He’s added more weight since last season and can finish tough shots when defenders collapse in the paint. A little more conditioning could help him stay on the court longer, but he will be successful does he choose to play at the college level.
Karter Thomas barely beat Max Klesmit for FVA’s scoring title:
Though the outcome of this game didn’t change anything, it did decide who the FVA’s scoring champion would be, Neenah’s Max Klesmit or West’s Karter Thomas. Despite leaving with a knee injury, Thomas outscored Klesmit in this game, ultimately beating him by .01 ppg (Max: 24.09, Karter: 24.1). I’d like to think that they could share the title (you’d hate to go into the decimal places to decide a winner) but it was definitely an intriguing storyline to follow throughout the season.
Oshkosh West is a dangerous 11 seed:
West has a bevy of frustrating losses under their belt, but they pass the eye test. They’ve amassed wins over Kimberly and Neenah, and have the talent to do some serious damage in the playoffs. But…
Oshkosh West can’t win without Thomas:
As mentioned earlier, Thomas left the game with a non-contact knee injury. It looked serious, but nothing has been released on his status for the playoffs. Yes, Luke Hassl has come back from injury playing exceptional, and maybe that will give them enough juice to win one game in the tournament, but without Thomas this team falls into pieces, as West is 2-13 when the junior guard scores under 30 points. Without him altogether, there looking at a slim chance to win a game.
Previously postponed games should be rescheduled before playoff seeding is released, or canceled altogether:
This matchup had been canceled twice before they could eventually squeeze it in yesterday, which was after the playoff seeding became official. Then, we see West’s superstar guard Karter Thomas go down with a non-contact knee injury. You can’t predict a freak injury in any game, but for me, the fact that it went down in a meaningless game makes this a very bitter pill to swallow. Not to mention, if this win had been before the seeding was finalized, Neenah could have jumped Hudson and been the three seed instead of the fourth. This game either needed to happen before the seeding came out to give some meaning to the outcome, or if they couldn’t find time for it, just cancel it. the risk for injury to an elite prospect like Thomas is too great.