Polk to Nicolet Shakes Up D2 Race
Over the past few seasons, Division 2 has been the mostly hotly contested division, providing the biggest thrills at the WIAA State Tournament.
In 2017, Wisconsin bound Kobe King and La Crosse Central out-dueled future DePaul guard John Diener and Cedarburg in a down-to-the-wire finish. In 2018, West Virginia commit Jordan McCabe capped off an amazing career with one of the most clutch final minutes in state tournament history to rally Kaukauna past Milwaukee Washington.
Final three possessions for Jordan McCabe (@JordanMcCabe5). Legendary.@Kaukaunabball @WisconsinPGC #wisbb pic.twitter.com/Cys87ElCPn
— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) March 18, 2018
Each of the last two Division 2 tournament fields have been loaded with Division 1 and college talent.
2019 now has similar potential.
On Tuesday, 2020 guard Desmond Polk announced that he’d be transferring from New Berlin West to Nicolet for his junior season, giving the Knights two top six ranked prospects in the state of Wisconsin.
I’m currently enrolled in Nicolet high school and will be going forward into the 2018-19 school year.
— Desmond ♛ (@desmondpolk2020) May 21, 2018
Nicolet, who gave eventual state champ Kaukauna a run for their money in the a sectional finals, not only return Sibley (16.8 ppg), but three of their top five scorers, including soon-to-be seniors Sonny Phinisee and David Rosengarden. Factor in promising big man and rim protector Jarrett Henderson, and Polk could be the missing piece to a potential state championship contender for a team that finished tied for second in a strong and deep North Shore Conference last season.
Breaking out as a sophomore, Polk averaged 19.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game at New Berlin West en route to being named first-team All-Conference in the Woodland West. Polk scored 20 or more points in nine games, including two 30-point efforts, and dished out five or more assists six times. Carrying that momentum into the spring, Polk has received high major scholarship offers from Minnesota, Kansas State, and DePaul.
Part of Sectional 2 next season, Nicolet may be favored to survive and advance to Madison if they can potentially get past the McCabe-less Ghosts, who do return Keaton Ferris, Donovan Ivory, and others.
Other challengers in Division 2 include, but are not limited to, LaCrosse Central, Onalaska, Milwaukee Washington, Westosha Central, Mt. Horeb, Elhorn — creating what should be another intriguing finish en route to the Division 2 state championship game.