Unsung heroes help state tournament teams
Chris Post needed some medical attention.
Only a couple of minutes had passed in Brookfield Central’s sectional final against Milwaukee Vincent last week when the 6-foot-2 senior forward found himself backed down in the post by a much taller player. When that player made a move to the basket, Post stood his ground and in the process was on the wrong end of what sometimes happens when a shorter guy is matched up against a bigger one in the paint. Elbow met face, and elbow won. “He had to come out of the game because he was bleeding, and that was 2 minutes into the game,” Central coach Dan Wandrey recalled. “And he goes right back in and there were no ill effects of that. He just kept battling and did everything he needed to do.”
Post finished with two points in the Lancers’ sectional final victory and for the season is averaging a modest 5.7 points per contest. When it comes to handling the dirty jobs that every winning team needs done, however, he is as important to that cause as super sophomore Gage Malensek is to scoring and running the team.
We all can’t get the glory. Basketball boils to scoring more points than the opponent and therefore the players who put the ball in the basket get the lion’s share of the attention. In order to
be a successful, however, you need players who buy into the idea of helping the team by doing things few are going to give them much recognition for.
In other words, you need guys like Post or fellow senior Sam Rohde, Central’s captains. The same can be said of Arrowhead’s Alec Hamilton, Destiny’s Zachary Markland, Cedarburg’s Clayton Van Tassel and Milwaukee Washington’s Johntae Martin and Akeir McKinney.
All their teams are playing in the state basketball tournament this week, but each squad could be home watching the games on TV were it not for what their unsung heroes brought to the floor.
Take, for instance, Van Tassel.
“Early on he showed how tough he is and a willingness to work hard and learn and exhibit all the things you need to do to win,” Cedarburg coach Tom Diener said. “He’s more of a leader by example. He’s a great person, great kid, great student. He’s really provided us that leadership that every team needs.”
Those traits made Van Tassel’s presence to carry weight even though he averages 5.8 points per game and plays in the shadows of a Division I recruit and another player who is getting Division III interest.
For Hamilton, it is his all-around game that is so valuable. For Martin and McKinney, it is the punch they provide off the bench. Markland hangs his hat on his defense.
When Destiny plays in the state semifinal Thursday night against defending Manitowoc Roncalli, the 6-5 Markland will likely be called upon to defend Jets’ leading scorers Mitchel Schneider and Chombi Lambert at some point.
It was Markland’s defense, particularly his ability to defend all five positions, that earned him a spot in the starting lineup.
“He’s always been the glue guy for our team in regard to guarding some of the team’s top players,” Destiny coach Branden Joseph said. “His length and versatility actually is a major aspect to what we do.”
Hamilton brings that aspect defensively for Arrowhead, but he is also a jack-of-all-trades on the offense. The 6-6 guard is third on the team in scoring with about 12 points per game but leads it in rebounding (6.4) and ranks second in blocks.
You have to go back to early February to find the last time he led the team in scoring.
“He just a lot of things very well,” Arrowhead coach Craig Haase said. “He’s maybe not the leading scorer every night, maybe not the leader in assists every night, maybe not the leading rebounder every night, but he’s definitely one of the top two or three in all those categories plus then defending the other team’s best player.”
When Washington was having a hard time containing Pius XI point guard Michael Pitrof in the sectional semifinal last week, coach Freddie Riley called upon McKinney, a 5-9 junior, and then Martin, a 6-2 sophomore, to try to make things difficult for the Popes senior. That night it was defense, but other times they might be called up to pick up the team’s tempo or score a little.
Martin, who averages 6.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, had his second-highest scoring total of the season (13 points) against Pius. McKinney, meanwhile, is tied for third on the team in assists (2.4) and averages 3.6 points per game.
“You see guys like Johntae Martin and Akeir McKinney supply that punch you need coming off the bench, especially late in the season,” Riley said. “Those guys have really risen to the occasion, wanted to step up, wanted to show the team they can help us.”
Those two helped Washington get back to state for the first time since 2009. It’s been a while for the other area program as well. Arrowhead hasn’t been since winning the 2010 title and Cedarburg last made it in 1999. Destiny will make its first appearance.
Central, meanwhile, will be making its first appearance since 2009 with a team’s whose top talents are sophomores and juniors. Good thing the Lancers have a couple of veterans leading the way.
“Those two seniors have really set an outstanding tone for our team,” Wandrey said of Post and Rohde. “I think it’s kind of been a little bit infectious in that they set example for the younger guys.”