WAUKEGAN, Ill. – If you have any connection to the Wisconsin Academy basketball program, you had plenty to celebrate at USJN’s 13th annual Summer Final in Chicagoland.
The Academy swept to victories in three championship games of the 151-team tournament, highlighted by a victory by the 17 Williams squad in the title matchup for Pools A-H.
“For me, I’m also the director, so I love to see it,” said Reggie Williams, coach of the top team. “It tells (you) the type of kids we have in our area. They are committed to hard work and improvement. They play the right way. They defend, they pass the ball, move it, and we share. The coaches at those levels are high school-experienced coaches who take time out of their summer. They’re committed to help kids and I think that’s a beautiful situation.”
For more information on the 2016 Summer Final, including, results, All-Stars and more, follow the link below to the USJN Post Event page.
http://www.usjn.com/xtm_post_event_new.php?which=388
Williams’ team pulled off a stunner in the top bracket, upending the Indy Magic 17 Blanding 67-64 in the finale. The Magic had defeated the Academy in the final of the Indy 100’s top bracket two weeks earlier.
“Every kid they have is able to create, defend, set up a shot for themselves or someone else,” Williams said. “And our girls do it by committee. There’s no superstars. They play together, they share the ball, they defend and do all the little things.”
The Magic is a talent-stocked team led by guard Madison Wise, an Indiana Junior All-Star last season who is being pursued heavily by Iowa State and Ball State. They also have highly regarded standouts in Rachel McLimore, Nia Clark, Destiny Perkins, Riley Blackwell, Katie Helgason and Tayra Breitbach. The Magic led nearly the entire game but couldn’t secure the win. Two free throws by Katie Van Sycoc with 18 seconds left put the Academy in front 65-64, and after Wise was called for a charge, Emily Kieck nailed two free throws for the final margin.
“This means a lot, especially since this is our last game together,” said Academy’s Alex Luehring. “It’s something we wanted. We had a teammate who tore an ACL earlier in this tournament (Payton Kahl), and I think there was just a ton of stuff contributing to us being able to push ourselves over the top.”
Luehring is one of four players who are committed, as she’s bound for Wisconsin-Green Bay. Forward Marissa Robson has verballed to Northern Iowa, Van Sycoc is going to Drake and Kieck will play at Winona State.
The victory capped a summer that couldn’t have been much better.
“I thought it was a great summer,” Williams said. “We just came from (Nike Nationals) where we went 4-1 and tied in our pool. We beat Boo Williams in DC, which is a great program. In Indy we lost in the championship and in Cincinnati I think we were probably in the toughest pool and we lost to the Comets, who went on to win it.”
17/16 FINALS (Pools I-P)
The Academy’s 15 Pickett squad won its bracket with a 63-53 victory against Wisconsin’s WisRAP 17.
The team had an entire squad of 2018 players with the exception of one 2019. Point guard Hannah Jones (5-foot-6, 2018) led the way as the Academy controlled the game from start to finish.
“For an AAU team I think they share the ball really well,” coach Brad Pickett said of his team. “(Jones) controls the game. She’s one of those point guards that doesn’t need to score to be successful. But she also knows when she needs to (score). Obviously her size holds her back maybe a little bit from being one of those big-time recruits, but the kid can play.”
The Academy also has effective posts in Sydney Mathiason (6-1), Ellen McCorkle (6-2) and Rachel Kostelnik (5-11).
“Our bigs are athletic, and that helps too,” Pickett said. “Ellen, Rachel and Sydney run the floor well. We have pretty good balance. I wouldn’t say we have a knock-down shooter by any means, but we have enough kids that can consistently knock it down.”
15/14 FINALS
What surely was the game of the tournament occurred in the title match of the 15/14 bracket. The Academy’s 14 Krueger squad needed triple overtime to subdue Wisconsin 1 on 1 Milwaukee 15 White 82-80.
Drama was not in short supply. Twice – at the end of regulation and at the end of the second overtime – the 1 on 1 squad hit three-pointers as the buzzer sounded to extend the game.
“That was a decent one to watch, huh?” said Academy coach Kristin Krueger, a bit wrung out from the experience.
Madelyn Fritz’s three at the buzzer saved 1 on 1 at the end of regulation, but that was only a precursor to the drama at the end of the second OT. The Academy’s Emily Benzschawel hit a three with :06 remaining to give her team a 71-71 lead, but 1 on 1’s Brianna Flayter responded with a three of her own at the horn to tie it again.
“The kids do a really good job of maintaining their composure and playing at a consistent level all the time,” Krueger said. “Our point guard, Sydney Hilliard, is a great floor leader and a pretty darn good player. She does a good job of getting those buckets when we need them to calm everybody down and get everything under control.”
Hilliard dominated on the offensive end, repeatedly driving to the lane for buckets herself or dishing to open teammates. Hilliard, like all of her teammates, is a 2019 product. At 5-9, she has solid ballhandling skills and a fearless nature.
It was a fitting end to the Academy’s summer.
“We were 40-4,” Krueger said. “We played in three tournaments in Wisconsin and we played ‘up’ in two of them. We won North Tartan, we won Indianapolis (USJN), we went 5-1 in Cincy (USJN). They can play basketball. They work really, really hard. The comment I get from college coaches is, ‘Your kids work as hard as any kids we’ve ever seen.’ Which, for a coach, is the most important thing for me.”
RUZEVICH TWINS ARE A PACKAGE DEAL
Kate and Julia Ruzevich of the Illinois Defenders 17 D’Apice team are identical twins from the Class of 2017 whose playing styles are as similar as their facial appearances.
Both can play several positions on the court. Each is fundamentally sound, featuring shooting mechanics that are as flawless as any you’ll find among prep players. And their attitudes don’t differ much, either.
“Great kids, work hard,” coach Mark D’Apice said. “If they’re going to holler at someone, it’s going to be their sister. They’re on each other, but they don’t get on the rest of the team.”
Both stand 6 feet, but Kate typically plays inside a bit more than Julia during their high school seasons at Marist in Chicago.
“Julia can step out and hit the three but so can Kate,” D’Apice said. “Julia is more in the flow of it; Kate’s strong underneath. They’re pretty similar. They’re the same player, almost – a 3 or a 4. If they have to guard a big, they’ll guard a big.”
As for their future, they plan to spend it together.
“We’re what we call ‘a package deal,’” Kate said. “We really want to play together. I think our game is better together. We’re comfortable together. We see each other when others don’t see us. We know what we’re going to do. We’re hopefully lucky enough to play together in college. We’re looking for Division I, but my sister plays Division II (Rachel, at Quincy University) and she loves it. Wherever the Lord takes us, we’ll go.”
BATTLE KEEPING FAMILY TRADITION ALIVE
Ty Battle of the Illinois Evolution 17 Teal has bloodlines that will be familiar to Illinois basketball fans. Her father, Kenny Battle, was a standout for the University of Illinois “Flyin’ Illini” squad that reached the Final Four under Lou Henson in 1990.
“He had a huge role (in my basketball) growing up,” said Ty Battle, a 6-1 2017 product. “He taught me everything I know right now.”
Battle played for her father at Joliet Catholic before transferring last year to Oswego East, where she’ll finish her career this winter. Her lanky, athletic frame is strikingly similar to her father’s, and when she stands at the top of a fullcourt press, she brings back memories of her father’s defensive style at Illinois. She has good instincts, possesses a nice midrange jumper and is an adept passer who is unselfish.
Ty Battle spent her summer focusing on being “more of a guard than a post player,” she said. “Working on ball handling and shooting. It will be way better for my future.”
Battle said she has received offers from regional Big Ten schools but is “really open right now. I’m going to make my decision at the end of September.”
PARRISH, SKY DIGG ELITE CLAIM TITLE
Led by one of the country’s top 2020 players, Indiana’s Sky Digg Elite 14 Parrish squad defeated Wisconsin Blizzard 14 Hawley 62-58 for the championship of the 14U bracket.
Sky Digg is led by Sydney Parrish, a 6-1 guard who participated in USA Basketball’s U17 Team trials earlier this year. Her coach and father, Shawn, was a key reserve on the 1990 Ball State team that came within two points of shocking eventual national champion UNLV in the Sweet 16.
“She’s had a good summer,” Shawn Parrish said. “She had a great coming-out (at the U17 trials). She’s shooting well, playing hard, and had a good summer.”
The same goes for her team, which has battled injuries. The point guard, Shelby Calhoun, was injured earlier in the summer, and the team’s power forward, Jasmine McWilliams, was playing with her high school team in Maryland and didn’t compete with the Elite in Chicago.
“We’re kind of disheveled,” Parrish said. “We haven’t had everyone together except for four games (this summer). That was at the Run for the Roses, and on our last possession of pool play, our point guard got hurt.”
There are more famous bloodlines on the team. Guard Lauren Morris’ mother, Lori Meinerding, was Indiana’s Miss Basketball in 1987.
