Why I love this week

This is one of the greatest non-state tournament prep sports weeks of the year. In fact, it might be the best week aside from opening week of prep football. I love it.

Need a reason? Take Thursday's game between Waupun and Brown Deer. Where else are you going to find action like that at 2:15 on a Thursday afternoon? Watching Waupun coach Lucky Wurtz do calisthenics on the sidelines would be worth it even if there wasn't a basketball game going on in front of him.

But there have been great games going on all over the state this week, and some more to come tomorrow, including the Laconia boys against Adams-Friendship in Portage.

If I were the coach of a basketball team, I'd do my darndest to get my squad at one of these tourneys. Provided it's the right fit, it provides quality competition and gives your team a chance to prepare for the tourney atmosphere in March.

What was your favorite tournament of the week?

Fondy girls make huge statement

The first area team to make a statement during Holiday Hoops week was without a doubt the Fond du Lac girls basketball team.

By virtue of its 35-22 victory over third-ranked Middleton, these Cardinals proved that early-season losses to Neenah and Appleton East may be abberations.

Fondy may be the best defensive girls team I've ever seen, and I covered the Oshkosh West girls team when it made it to state in 2005 despite shooting like it had one hand tied behind its back all season.

Although Middleton played without its leading scorer, nothing less than current University of Wisconsin superstar Jolene Anderson would have saved those Cardinals. Fondy can really get out and defend.

While the Cardinals do have a two-game deficit to make up in the Fox Valley Association, it has yet to play FVA-leading Appleton West. If this game is a sign of things to come, Fondy could be looking at a three-peat.

Now, if only it can figure out a way to get past Sheboygan North in the sectional.

Yep, they even make us vote on Christmas

Happy Holidays to all the FSI readers. Here's my latest ballot:

Division 1
1. Oshkosh West
2. Milwaukee Vincent
3. Madison Memorial
4. Milwaukee Tech
5. Milwaukee Pius
6. Milwaukee King
7. Milwaukee Washington
8. Wauwatosa East
9. Wausau East
10. Oshkosh North

Division 2
1. Catholic Memorial
2. Seymour
3. Waupun
4. Adams-Friendship
5. Altoona
6. New Berlin Eisenhower
7. Wisconsin Dells
8. Rice Lake
9. Evansville
10. Mayville

Division 3
1. La Crosse Acquinas
2. Manitowoc Roncalli
3. Whitefish Bay Dominican
4. Cuba City
5. Racine St. Catherine’s
6. Laconia
7. Eau Claire Regis
8. Kenosha St. Joe’s
9. Iola-Scandinavia
10. Oostburg

Division 4
1. Randolph
2. Barneveld
3. Burlington Catholic
4. Eleva-Strum
5. Abbotsford
6. Gilman
7. Suring
8. Columbus Catholic
9. Sheboygan Christian
10. Seneca

GIRLS
Division 1
1. De Pere
2. Janesville Parker
3. Milwaukee Vincent
4. Franklin
5. Sheboygan North
6. Middleton
7. Eau Claire North
8. Milwaukee King
9. Verona
10. West Bend East

Division 2
1. Grafton
2. Richland Center
3. Greendale
4. Jefferson
5. Rice Lake
6. New London
7. Elkhorn
8. Campbellsport
9. New Berlin Eisenhower
10. Monroe

Division 3
1. Cuba City
2. Oostburg
3. Markesan
4. Park Falls
5. Amherst
6. Osseo-Fairchild
7. Ozaukee
8. Lomira
9. North Fond du Lac
10. Mineral Point

Division 4
1. Rio
2. Wausau Newman
3. Flambeau
4. Clayton
5. Pecatonica
6. Barneveld
7. Niagara
8. Ithaca
9. De Soto
10. Burlington Catholic

Hear me on the radio today

Yep, that's right. KFIZ is letting me on the air once again. I'll be providing color commentary for the Fondy-West girls game tonight. I'm sure I'll say something stupid, so be sure to check in. The game starts at 6.

As for the boys game, I'm expecting Fondy to come out and give West all that it can handle. Obviously, West is a huge favorite in this game, but I think the Cards may have a trick or two up their sleeves.

Enjoy the game if you are going, and remember to check out www.fdlreporter.com for updates.

How I voted

Ah, your favorite feature returns. You'll see below how I voted in the AP state basketball poll. Again, don't take these too seriously.

Division 1
1. Oshkosh West
2. Milwaukee Vincent
3. Madison Memorial
4. Milwaukee Tech
5. Milwaukee Pius
6. Oshkosh North
7. Milwaukee King
8. Verona
9. Wauwatosa East
10. Milwaukee Washington

Division 2
1. Catholic Memorial
2. Altoona
3. Seymour
4. New Berlin Eisenhower
5. Waupun
6. Wisconsin Dells
7. Adams-Friendship
8. Rice Lake
9. Evansville
10. Dodgeville

Division 3
1. La Crosse Acquinas
2. Manitowoc Roncalli
3. Whitefish Bay Dominican
4. Racine St. Catherine’s
5. Cuba City
6. Oostburg
7. Laconia
8. Kenosha St. Joe’s
9. Iola-Scandinavia
10. Fennimore

Division 4
1. Randolph
2. Barneveld
3. Burlington Catholic
4. Eleva-Strum
5. Abbotsford
6. Gilman
7. Suring
8. Seneca
9. Columbus Catholic
10. Sheboygan Christian

GIRLS
Division 1
1. De Pere
2. Janesville Parker
3. Milwaukee Vincent
4. Franklin
5. Sheboygan North
6. Middleton
7. Ashwaubenon
8. Eau Claire North
9. Divine Savior Holy Angels
10. Milwaukee King

Division 2
1. Greendale
2. Jefferson
3. Grafton
4. Monroe
5. Richland Center
6. Elkhorn
7. Ripon
8. Rice Lake
9. New Berlin Eisenhower
10. Campbellsport

Division 3
1. Cuba City
2. Oostburg
3. Markesan
4. Park Falls
5. Amherst
6. Osseo-Fairchild
7. Ozaukee
8. Lomira
9. North Fond du Lac
10. Mineral Point

Division 4
1. Rio
2. Wausau Newman
3. Flambeau
4. Clayton
5. Pecatonica
6. Barneveld
7. Niagara
8. Ithaca
9. De Soto
10. Burlington Catholic

Travis Diener update

After spending most of the season on the bench, Fondy's own Travis Diener has seen more action as of late.

Unfortunately for all involved, it's mainly because of injuries. Hedo Turkoglu and Keith Bogans are both out, and apparently Jameer Nelson and Grant Hill will be out of action as well.

Diener tried to make the most of the situation, but only scored five points on Monday against the Suns and six against the Raptors on Wednesday. Still, for a guy that has spent most of the season on the bench, it's going to take a while to heat up.

One of the reasons that the Magic didn't deal Diener in the offseason was because of situations like this. He's a relatively cheap insurance policy and gives the Magic some shooting off the bench without having to rush the development of former Duke player J.J. Redick.

In case you are wondering, Diener and the Magic are scheduled to play the Bucks on Feb. 7. Last year's game at the Bradley Center was Diener's best of his career.

Student section patrol

I found this article in Tuesday's Journal Sentinel to be rather interesting.

If you think I'm playing a dirty trick on you, or you are too lazy to click a mouse, I'll give you the short version here:

A group of students at New Berlin West got into some hot water for cheers which the administration deemed were in poor taste. They also had sexually-suggestive sayings on T-shirts. As a result, the school's principal gave the students a somewhat demeaning quiz asking questions such as: True or False, When my kids grow up, I want them to be exactly like me after two were kicked out of a girls basketball game on Friday.

The article goes on to adress some of the questionable cheers the student section performs, such as chanting "air ball" at a player that, surprise, shot an air ball.

I go back and forth on the issue. One of the best aspects of covering high school sports is the crazed student section. I love it. It makes those long January games all the more interesting.

There has to be a line, however. You can keep it creative and positive at the same time. Don't be overly mean toward an individual or team and don't say anything you wouldn't want said to you in return.

With that being said, I think some administrators need to lighten up. Chanting "air ball" is something that has been going on at games for years. While it's not the most creative chant in the world, it certainly isn't as horrible as the administrators make it seem to be.

Student support should be cultivated at every opportunity, not thwarted. Administrators should work with students — not against them — to foster a positive and creative environment for everyone.

Now

Go watch the Campbellsport girls

I'm going to make this brief, because I'm already late for today's Marquette-Wisconsin game.

If you are prone to believing that girls basketball is boring, then do yourself a favor and go check out the Campbellsport girls team. The Cougars really like to get up and down the floor and man, can they shoot.

I always get ticked off at people that blindly say that girls basketball is inferior to boys hoops. I know that it isn't the same. The game is different, and in my opinion, no better or worse. But I have a feeling that if many of you go check out a Campbellsport game, you won't be disappointed.

Other quick thoughts ...

WiFly will be close again: Laconia missed a 3-pointer with 1 second left and fell at Horicon, 58-56. These two teams, along with a handful of others, battled it out until the final game of last season for the conference title, and judging from the opening game it will be a close race again.

Fondy getting better: The Cardinals boys fell by 8 on the road at Kimberly and definitely showed signs they are getting better. Fondy led after the first quarter and even when it fell behind in the second half, still managed to battle back to get within 4 before the Papermakers pulled away. Look for a couple of Fondy wins next week at home — finally — against Appleton East and Menasha.

Saturday coverage: Yeah, so we don't have a Saturday paper. That doesn't mean you have to wait until Sunday to get coverage of Friday night games. Log on to www.fdlreporter.com for what you need to know from last night's action.

Marquette 77, Wisconsin 71: While I think that Bo Ryan is a fantastic X's and O's coach, there is nothing in his bag of tricks that can stop Marquette's Dominic James, who will go off for 25 points and a big 3-pointer late that ices it for the Golden Warrior Chickens.

Hoops season starting to pick up steam

There still haven't been any huge surprises thus far concerning our area high school basketball teams, but tonight should tell a lot about some of them.

The best on the slate is Laconia at Horicon. The Marshmen return three all-conference players from last year's conference title team, but I'm very high on the Spartans this season. I'd look for Laconia to make a major statement with a victory on the road tonight.

Fondy hopes to get something positive going when it plays at Kimberly. When the schedule came out, I don't think anyone would have been surprised if the Cardinals started 0-3, but from what I've heard it's been a great week of practice at Fondy. I'm not saying the Cards can pull off the upset, but this one might be a bit closer than you think.

I'll be in Campbellsport tonight for what looks to be a great girls basketball matchup between the Cougars and Two Rivers. Campellsport's Kallie Benike and Two Rivers' Dianna Taddy are two of the top players in the state, and I'm looking forward to watching them go head-to-head.

Watch out for Lomira

A few posts down, someone was incredulous that I picked Lomira for seventh in the seven-team Wisconsin Flyway and claimed that the Lions would finish no lower than third.

While I respected the opinion, I thought to myself "three-win teams that return one starter usually don't do too well." That's why I felt the other six teams in the conference were going to have better seasons.

Not that it's a big surprise, although it happened a bit earlier than usual, it turns out I could be very wrong.

Lomira kicked off its season with a 70-65 victory at Fox Valley Lutheran on Monday night, and the Weninger brothers had a big night, combining for 51 points. According to the Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook, FVL is supposed to finish third in the Valley 8. No matter how you spin it, this is a nice win for Lomira and could mean it's one more team to look out for in a Wisconsin Flyway race that should be a dandy.

Keep up with basketball stories online

Just a reminder that in addition to our basketball preview issue, you can read every hoops-related story all season by logging onto our Prep Basketball '07 page.

I'll be sprucing it up over the next few days and adding more features and playing around with some other things, so check back often.

Waupun is pretty good, and other random thoughts

There are still plenty of games to be played, and I've only seem one team in person, but I was really impressed with Waupun in its 52-29 victory over Beaver Dam on Friday night.

Now, Beaver Dam is definitely not the same team that went 16-8 last year and almost knocked off Madison Memorial in a sectional final last year.

But Waupun couldn't get anything to fall from the outside last night, and while those shots will eventually find the net, the defensive effort I saw from the Warriors was incredible. And most of it started with Ryan Rasmussen, the Warriors' top offensive threat and Division I prospect at point guard. He had at least three steals in the first quarter, and I think all of them led to baskets at the other end.

I talked to coach Lucky Wurtz about his defense and asked if he charts deflections, which basically shows how often the defense gets its hands on the ball. He said that he does, and he went on to say he got the idea for this defense from George Mason coach Jim Larranaga, who took George Mason to the Final Four last year.

Waupun is going to have no problem scoring points. Along with Rasmussen, Aris Wurtz can make some shots and I was impressed with Tom Bresser's ability to step out and hit the 3. But for those nights where the shots aren't falling, Waupun can always rely on its D to keep it close.

Fondy off to a slow start: It's definitley not the start Fondy coach Adam Zakos envisioned when he took over the program this summer, but very few teams started off with a tougher schedule than the Cardinals. Both Cedarburg and Oshkosh North are capable of winning 15 or 16 games this year, and while Zakos would eventually like his team to reach that level, they aren't there yet. It's going to take a while for Fondy to get rolling, mainly because they've had a few guys out for various reasons. But they are going to be much better at the end of the season than they are right now.

What's up with these girls scores?: The only suspense in the Trailways-North, it seems, is what team will win by the most ridiculous margin. Randolph took it to Green Lake, 52-3, on Friday. Markesan beat Valley Christian, 89-16. Barring unforseen circumstances, Markesan is going to win the league (it beat top challenger Randolph by 27 on the road), but the possiblity of ridiculous scores is going to keep my interest for most of the year.

Odds and ends: Ripon's Scott Gillespie could very well have the highest scoring average in the state this year, but if he's scoring 30 points a game and everyone else on the team combines for less than 15, the Tigers aren't going anywhere. ... WLA's Jennifer Herrick had 30 points in the Vikings' loss to Kettle Moraine Lutheran on Friday, while Ripon's Taylor Wurtz had 29 in a win over Fox Valley Lutheran on Tuesday, proving that the East Central Flyway player of the year race will be a dandy. ... Remember that we are updating scores on game nights. Log on to www.fdlreporter.com for the updates.

Go read our section

In case you haven't picked up a copy of today's Reporter, we came out with our basketball section.

I'm sure most of you have been waiting on pins and needles. But the day is finally here.

While I encourage you all to actually buy the paper, you can also read it online for free. You can do that by clicking here.

As always, it was a lot of work, and a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy it.

I hate snow

Every year, during the first real big snowstorm, I curse the fact that I live in Wisconsin.

I love the state, I really do. But I hate snow. Can't stand it. It makes everything a hassle. The bottom of your pants are wet. The roads are slippery. Sure, it's nice to look at for a while, but wait until it turns into that grayish slop that stains your shoes.

The one good benefit of snow, I suppose, is that we get to see the TV stations completely overreact to the situation. I watched Channel 4 for about 45 minutes this morning and they kept saying the same thing, over and over. It's snowing. Roads are bad. This is what snow looks like.

ANYWAYS, there are some postponments in our area. I know that the Kewaskum girls game against Roncalli was postponned (Kewaskum didn't have school today). I just got off the phone with Waupun coach Lucky Wurtz, and while the girls game against Milwaukee South is off, the boys game against Beaver Dam is still on. And if I don't wuss out, I'll be in Beaver Dam tonight.

If you know of any postponments, feel free to leave comments here. Or, if you just want to make fun of TV reporters stuck in the snow, you can do that, too.