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.