PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. – The Wisconsin ABC Knights 17 squad didn’t participate in the USJN Battle of the Programs last weekend, but what they accomplished in the accompanying Elite Oktoberfest provided a glimpse of what could be in store for their future.
The Knights capped a solid summer with an impressive win against the Illinois Dream Team 17 in Saturday’s Oktoberfest, played in front of more than 210 coaches at the RecPlex in Pleasant Prairie and the Waukegan (Ill.) Fieldhouse.
“It’s been an awesome summer for us,” Coach Dee Latt said. “This group of girls is special, not just in their talent but in who they are and how they play together. I’m really excited about where we’re going to go as they progress. We have four girls who have never even played varsity basketball.”
No matter. What they might lack in experience – the roster has one senior, two juniors, two sophomores, three freshmen and one eighth-grader – the Knights try to make up for with skill. And scrappiness. On Friday, the Knights competed in the Blue Star Fall College Showcase in Waukegan, taking on the Nebraska Cornhuskers Shooting Stars Bison. That’s the same Bison team that, on Saturday, was runner-up in the Battle of the Programs.
“We were within five of the Bison; I see how they played (Saturday) and we hung with them,” Latt said. “They have two really talented bigs on that team. We’re fighters, for sure.”
In their first game on Saturday, the Knights played what Latt called “the worst half of basketball we’ve played,” yet still managed to trim a 20-point deficit to four before falling to the Indiana TNBA 17.
“And then to come back (in our next) game, and bring it, I thought we played much more composed that what we have been,” Latt said.
That was a 65-57 victory against the Dream Team, a talent-rich squad comprised of players from the heralded Bolingbrook, Ill., prep program.
The Knights, with only one player taller than 6-foot, repeatedly broke the Dream Team’s fullcourt pressure to produce layups.
“I feel really good about the win because once again, they’re so young, and it’s really great to see them play composed,” Latt said. “That was a good team. With all the hoopla going around us, they stayed focused and did what we do. I’m very proud of them.”
MILE HI RESULTS
No club traveled farther to participate in the Battle of the Programs and Elite Oktoberfest than the Colorado Mile Hi Rockies, who brought four teams to the Midwest. It was a productive trip.
The Rockies’ 15 team finished off a strong event by cruising to a 49-28 victory against the Michigan Monarchs 16.
“This is a good gauge for the program, for what we want for them in the spring,” coach Kenny Vanryn said. “It’s good to know what they need to do when they come back. And in this tournament, they have a few coaches looking at them.”
The Rockies, a Blue Star travel team, are accustomed to hitting the road. They played in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Portland, Ore., during their summer schedule.
For his part, Vanryn prefers to come east.
“The competition is definitely tougher in the east,” he said. “Chicago and DC were tough.”
SHOWING OFF
The Michigan Monarchs 17 squad had a distinction of being the only team at the Elite Oktoberfest to field a team consisting solely of seniors. Coach Demetrius Hardy’s 11-player group does not have a player who is college-committed, but the Monarchs managed to keep their mind on the court – and not the coaches hovering above it – during the event.
“I thought they performed pretty good. We didn’t win our first game but we played well, and that’s what it’s all about,” Hardy said.
“I try to take away their focus on the college coaches and make them come out and play their style of basketball.”
