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MAST WATER TECHNOLOGY ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Sam Okey
Cassville star headlines Boys All-Dream Tournament Team
Okey
Sam Okey was named the SWNews4U.com Boys Dream Tournament Most Outstanding Player after leading the 1995 Cassville Comets to the championship with a 59–53 victory over fellow undefeated 1964 Dodgeville Dodgers. Okey was named Wisconsin’s Mr. Basketball and a McDonald’s All-American as a senior in 1995 after leading the Comets to a second straight 27–0 state championship season. He went on to earn Big 10 Freshman of the Year honors at Wisconsin and later finished his college career at Iowa.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year.

Sam Okey, C, Cassville boys basketball 1992–95

After nearly three months of research, more research and lots of writing, the SWNews4U.com Southwest Wisconsin Boys Basketball Dream Tournament concluded last week with the 1995 Cassville Comets winning the boys’ championship.

Coach Dennis Uppena’s undefeated back-to-back D4 state champions outlasted Hall of Fame coach John “Weenie” Wilson’s 1964 single-class state champion Dodgeville Dodgers 59–53 in the boys’ title game.

Legendary Cuba City boys’ coach Jerry Petitgoue’s l1981 Class B state champion Cubans and 1991 D3 state champion Cubans were the other two Final Four teams in the boys’ bracket. 

This week we wrap up the 11-part Dream Tournament series by naming boys and girls All-Tournament Teams, highlighting the top players in each tournament.

The All-Tournament teams were selected by a vote of tournament creators/authors Tom Gunnell (Republican Journal/Tri-County Press), A.J. Gates (Grant County Herald Independent/Tri-County Press) and myself (The Platteville Journal/Fennimore Times) taking into account a combination of real life performance in both high school and later college, as well as production in the Dream Tournament. 

Below is our 28-player Boys All-Dream Tournament team.


First Team

MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER

Sam Okey, 1995 Cassville (6’7”, Sr., Center/Forward)
... was named the SWNews4U.com SW Wisconsin Boys Dream Tournament Most Outstanding Player after leading the 1995 Comets to the championship of the boys’ Dream Tourney ... averaged 32 points, 14.8 rebounds, 5.8 blocks and 3.8 assists per game in six victories ... posted 30 points, 16 rebounds, 5 blocks and 3 assists to lead Hall of Fame coach Dennis Uppena’s Comets to a 59–53 victory over North Regional champion 1964 Dodgeville in the title game...led the real life Comets to four straight WIAA D4 state championship games, winning the 1994 and 1995 state titles with perfect 27–0 seasons ... was named Wisconsin’s 1995 Mr. Basketball and a McDonald’s All-American ... earned Big 10 Freshman of the Year honors at Wisconsin during the 1995-96 season ... finished his college career at Iowa before playing professionally overseas and later in the CBA.

Greg Timmerman, 1991 Cuba City (6’9”, Jr., Center)
... averaged 24.4 points, 14.6 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game to lead the 1991 D3 state champion Cubans to the Final Four of the Dream Tournament and was named the East Regional Most Outstanding Player ... had 27 points and 21 boards and scored the game-winning basket in a 50–48 victory over Phillips in the 1991 D3 state championship to lead Cuba City (24–3) ... helped 1989 Cuba City reach the D3 state tournament as a freshman ... led the Cubans to the sectional finals in 1990 and 1992 ... was a four-time conference champion, two-time SWAL 1 Player of the Year and two-time All-State selection ... was named Wisconsin’s 1992 Mr. Basketball a year later as a senior ... went on to play at Wisconsin and finished his career at D2 North Dakota.

Rick Brown, 1964 Dodgeville (6’5”, Sr., Center)
... averaged a team-high 17.8 points and 12 rebounds per game to lead the 1964 single class state champion Dodgers to the championship game of the Boys Dream Tournament where they fell to fellow undefeated 1995 D4 state champion Cassville 59–53 ... was named the West Regional Most Outstanding Player ... posted team-highs in scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounding (14 rpg) in three state tournament games to lead the unbeaten Dodgeville (26–0) to the 1964 state title, including 20 points and 9 rebounds in a stunning 59–45 championship game over highly regarded Milwaukee North ... was also a starter on Dodgeville’s 1963 team that went 25–1 and reached the single class state championship game a year earlier ... was recruited to play at D1 Arizona State and finished his college career at D3 Ripon College along with prep teammate Pat Flynn.

Aaron Lancaster, 1990 Darlington (6’4”, Sr., Forward/Guard)
... was named the South Regional Most Outstanding Player after posting 24.8 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in four Dream Tournament games to lead the 1990 Class C state champion Redbirds to the South Regional final, where they lost to 1981 Cuba City 74–68 ... was named the SWAL 2 Co-Player of the Year and third-team All-State by the Associated Press as a senior after leading Darlington (26–1) to the state title ... went on to play D1 football at Iowa State before transferring to UW–Platteville where he was a member of Bo Ryan’s 1994–95 D3 national championship team.

Travis Tuttle, 1992 Argyle (6’1”, Sr., Guard)
... averaged a tournament-best 43.5 points per game and made 18 3-pointers in two Dream Tournament contests ... made 10 3-pointers and scored a tournament-high 45 points in the 1992 Orioles’ 65–58 loss to 2000 D4 state champion Cassville in the opening round ... had 42 points in a 67–65 play-in game victory over 2011 Darlington ... was named the 1992 State Line League Player of the Year and AP All-State after leading 1992 Argyle to a 20–2 overall record ... averaged 41.8 ppg as a senior after averaging 40.8 ppg as a junior ... scored 60 points or more in four games during his prep career ... made 17 of 26 3-point attempts against Barneveld during his senior year ... finished his career with a school record 2,322 points which was second in state history (now 11th) ... went on to play at D2 North Dakota, where he was a three-time all-conference selection, earned D2 All-American honors as a senior and finished his college career with 1,935 points.

Second Team

Pat Murphy, 1988 Mineral Point (6’4”, Sr., Forward)
... led 1988 Mineral Point on the biggest Cinderella ride of the Boys Dream Tournament ... averaged 31.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in three games to lead the 11th-seeded Pointers to the Sweet 16 of the Dream Tourney before a 62–49 loss to No. 2 seed 2009 D4 state champion Benton ... erupted for a game-high 41 points in a 74–65 opening round upset of No. 6 1993 Pecatonica...led 1988 Mineral Point (21–4) to the Class C sectional final ... was a two-time SWAL 2 Player of the Year, three-time All-SWAL 2 and a WBCA All-Star ... finished his career with a school record 1,858 points ... went on to play at UW–Platteville where he won a D3 national title in 1991 under coach Bo Ryan.

Mike Uppena, 1991 Cassville (6’5”, Sr., Center)
... averaged 32 points, 17.5 rebounds and 4 blocks in a pair of games to help the 1991 Comets reach the second round of the Dream Tournament ... led 1991 Cassville (21–5) to state and was named to the WIAA All-Tournament team after posting 30 points and 15 rebounds in a D4 state semifinal loss to Spring Valley ... went on to play at UW–Platteville where he was a member of Bo Ryan’s 1994–95 D3 national championship team.

Jim Lawinger, 1967 Platteville (6’2”, Sr., Forward)
... led the 1967 Hillmen to the Sweet 16 of the Boys Dream Tournament averaging 23.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 steals per game before Platteville was knocked off by eventual champion 1995 Cassville in a West Regional semifinal ... was named the 1967 SWAL Player of the Year after leading the Hillmen (24–2) to the semifinals of the WIAA single class state tournament before suffering an 80–65 loss to eventual state champion Milwaukee Lincoln ... scored a tournament-high 76 points in three games at the 1967 state tournament ... finished his prep career with a school record 1,197 points ... went on to a Hall of Fame college career at D3 UW–Platteville where he competed in basketball, football and track and field for the Pioneers.

Kevin Larson, 1987 Fennimore (6’3”, Sr., Guard)
... averaged 30.5 points, 10 rebounds and 3.5 assists in two Dream Tournament games for the 1987 Golden Eagles ... had  a game-high 29 points in Fennimore’s 66–62 double OT victory over 1997 Kickapoo in the opening round of the Dream Tournament ... was named the 1987 Wisconsin State Journal All-Area Player of the Year and AP All-State after leading 1987 Fennimore (23–4) to the Class C state semifinals.  

Brayden Dailey, 2020 Cuba City (6’6”, Sr., Forward)
... averaged 20.8 points and 9.8 rebounds in four games to lead the 7th-seeded 2020 Cubans to the West Regional final, where they lost to eventual champion 1995 Cassville ... was named WBCA D4 first-team All-State after leading 2020 Cuba City to a perfect 25–0 record and berth in the D4 sectional finals before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic ... Dailey was also a freshman on the 2018 Mineral Point team in this tournament, but transferred to Cuba City prior to his junior year ... Dailey already had Division 1 scholarship offers from UW–Milwaukee, UW–Green Bay and Missouri State prior to his junior year.


Third Team

Bill Wagner, 1981 Cuba City (6’3”, Sr., Forward)
... averaged 15.8 points and a team-high 10 rebounds per game to lead the 1981 Class B state champion Cubans to the Final Four of the Boys Dream Tournament before a 67–53 loss to eventual champion 1995 Cassville ... Wagner was named the 1981 Southern 8 Player of the Year and the Wisconsin State Journal All-Area Player of the Year after leading Cuba City to a 24–1 record, including a perfect 14–0 conference mark, and the program’s first state title ... was a first-team All-Southern 8 pick a year earlier when Cuba City went 16–4 overall. 

Tom Uppena, 2000 Cassville (6’7”, Sr., Center)
... averaged 18.8 points and 10 rebounds in four games to lead the 2000 D4 state champion Comets to the East Regional final where they fell to No. 2 seed 1991 Cuba City 61–52 ... posted 25 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks in a Sweet 16 matchup against 2017 D4 state runner-up Darlington, a team he coached in real life ... was named honorable mention all-state after leading 2000 Cassville to the D4 state title and a 26–1 record ... went on to play at D3 UW–Platteville ... is the current coach of the Darlington boys.

Tom Martin, 1972 Bloomington (6’1”, Jr., Guard)
... averaged 23.3 points, 3.3 steals and 3 assists in three games to lead the 1972 Class B state champion Blue Jays to the Sweet 16 of the Boys Dream Tournament, where they were knocked off by undefeated 2020 Cuba City, 88–80 ... was named first-team All-Black Hawk and first-team Class B All-Tournament team after leading 1972 Bloomington to the state title, a 24–1 mark, including a perfect 16–0 in conference play ... scored 41 points in two state tourney games, including a team-high 23 in Bloomington’s 78–56 victory over Crivitz in the 1972 Class B title game.

Craig Meyer, 1990 Black Hawk (6’5”, Sr., Center/Forward)
... averaged 24.5 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks in two Dream Tournament games for 1990 Black Hawk ... poured in 29 points, 13 rebounds and 7 blocks to lead the Warriors to a 75–52 win over 2003 Riverdale in the West Regional 16-seed play-in game ... was named the State Line League Player of the Year in 1990 after leading Black Hawk (18–4, 17–1) to the SLL title ... finished his career was Black Hawk’s all-time leading scorer with 1,413 points ... went on to play D1 college basketball at Loyola (Ill.) and later UW–Milwaukee.

John Tranel, 1981 Cuba City (6’3”, Sr., Forward)
... posted a team-high 17.6 points and 7 rebounds per game to help the 1981 Class B state champion Cubans reach the Final Four of the Dream Tourney, before losing to 1995 Cassville 67–53 ... scored a team-best 42 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in two games to lead 1981 Cuba City to the program’s first state title ... was named the 1980 Southern 8 Player of the Year to lead the Cubans to a league title and a 16–4 overall record.


Honorable Mention

Emmett Terwilliger, 1962 Lancaster (6’3”, Sr., Forward)
... scored a team-high 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a 54–50 loss to 1986 Class B state runner-up Prairie du Chien in the first round of the Boys Dream Tournament ... led the 1962 Flying Arrows (21–2) to the program’s first conference title and a sectional berth in the single-class WIAA tournament, losing to La Crosse Central 63–60 in the sectional semifinals ... was recruited by Marquette and Michigan ... went on to play at Wisconsin and finished his career at D3 Carleton College (Minn.) where he had a Hall of Fame career averaging 16.6 points and 8.7 rebounds during his two seasons, was a two-time All-MCC selection and was the MVP of Carleton’s 1965–66 conference championship team.

Karl Clough, 1993 Dodgeville (6’2”, Sr., Guard)
... made 10 3-pointers in two games and averaged 23.5 points per game to lead the 1993 state qualifier Dodgers to the second round of the Boys Dream Tournament ... was named the 1993 SWAL 1 Player of the Year after lead the Dodgers to a 23–2 record and a league title ... finished his career as Dodgeville’s all-time leading scorer with 1,429 points (now 2nd all-time) ... tried out at Wisconsin and made it to the final 15 walk-ons before being cut.

Isaac Lindsey, 2018 Mineral Point (6’4”, So., Point Guard)
... scored 20 points and had five assists in a 76–74 East Regional opening round loss to No. 6 seed Southwestern...was the two-time SWAL Player of the Year and two-time WBCA D4 All-State ... led 2018 Pointers to a 21–5 record and a conference title ... finished career second on the Pointers’ all-time scoring list with 1,477 points despite missing most of his senior year with a hip injury ... is heading to Division 1 Nevada–Las Vegas (UNLV) next fall on a full scholarship.

Kevin Everson, 2006 Fennimore (6’3”, Sr., Guard)
... averaged 16.5 points, 6 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game in two Dream Tourney games ... posted 19 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in the 2006 Golden Eagles’ 57–51 upset of No. 6 1979 Class B state runner-up Prairie du Chien ... was named the 2006 SWAL 2 Player of the Year after leading Fennimore to a 24–1 record and a berth in the D3 sectional finals ... finished prep career with 993 points and a school record 289 career assists (now 2nd all-time). 

Justin Edge, 1991 Shullsburg (6’3”, Sr., Forward)
... scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a 72–59 opening round victory over 2000 Potosi ... averaged 20 points and 12.5 rebounds in two Dream Tourney games for the 1991 D4 state champion Miners ... had 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Miners (24–3) to a 63–58 victory over Spring Valley in the 1991 D4 state championship game.

Cory Vaassen, 2012 Cuba City (6’4”, Sr., Forward)
... averaged 20.7 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in three Dream Tournament games to help the 2012 D4 state runner-up Cubans reach the Boys Dream Tournament Sweet 16 ... was named SWAL Player of the Year and WBCA D4 first-team All-State after leading the 2012 Cubans (27–1) to the D4 state championship game ... went on to become a three-year starter at UW–Platteville, where he averaged 10.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as a senior in 2016–17.

Matt Schultz, 1998 Cuba City (6’2”, Sr., Point Guard)
... averaged 18.3 points, 6 assists and 4.7 rebounds in three Dream Tourney games for the 1998 Division 3 state champion Cubans, who reached the South Regional Sweet 16 before a 77–71 loss to No. 2 seed 1990 Darlington ... was named the 1998 SWAL 1 Player of the Year and honorable mention All-State by the Associated Press after leading 1998 Cuba City (24–2) to the D3 state title ... went on to become a three-year starter at D3 UW–La Crosse, where he was named first-team All-WIAC as a senior in 2002 and finished his career with 986 points, 345 assists.

Bob Rock, 1964 Dodgeville (6’2”, Sr., Guard)
... averaged 15 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in six games for the Boys Dream Tournament runner-up 1964 Dodgers ... averaged 13 points in three games to help the undefeated Dodgers (26–0) win the 1964 single-class ... was also a starter on Dodgeville’s 1963 single-class state runner-up team...went on to play at Division 3 St. Norbert College.

Greg Hermsen, 1972 Bloomington (6’3”, Sr., Forward)
... posted 19.7 points and 12 rebounds in three Dream Tournament games for the 1972 Class B state champion Blue Jays, who advanced to the Sweet 16 of the West Regional before an 88–80 upset loss to No. 7 seed Cuba City ... was named to the Class B State all-tournament teams after scoring 35 points and a team-high 29 rebounds in two state games for 1972 Bloomington (24–1)

Jeremy Leibfried, 2001 Potosi (6’3”, Sr., Guard/Forward)
... scored a team-high 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a 72–59 first-round loss to No. 3 1991 D4 state champion Shullsburg ... was named SRW Player of the Year and AP fourth team All-State as a senior after leading Potosi to a 20–3 record and conference and regional titles ... finished his career as the Chieftains’ all-time leading scorer with 1,642 points ... led the Potosi baseball team to back-to-back state tournaments...went on to play college baseball as a pitcher at Division 1 UW–Milwaukee.

Andy Banasik, 1986 Prairie du Chien (6’3”, Sr., Guard)
... averaged 19.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in two Dream Tourney games for the 1986 Class B state runner-up Blackhawks, who were knocked out in the second round of the East Regional with a 69–67 loss to No. 4 seed 2017 Darlington ... was named the 1986 Wisconsin State Journal All-Area Player of the Year and SWAL Player of the Year after leading 1986 Prairie du Chien (21–4) to the Class B state title game for a second straight year ... went on to play at D3 UW–Platteville under Bo Ryan.

Brady Olson, 2020 Cuba City (6’0”, Sr., Guard)
... averaged 20.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in four games to help the 2020 Cubans reach the West Regional final of the Boys Dream Tournament before an 89–67 loss to eventual champion 1995 Cassville ... earned first-team WBCA D4 All-State honors for the real life 2020 Cubans, who finished 25–0 and advanced to the D4 sectional finals before the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic ... finished his prep career with more than 1,400 points ... has committed to play at Division 2 UW–Parkside next season. 

Connor Hendricks, 2009 Benton (6’2”, Sr., Guard)
... posted a team-high 15 points and 6 rebounds in four games to lead the 2009 D4 state champion Zephyrs to the North Regional final, where they suffered a 59–48 loss to eventual Dream Tournament runner-up 1964 Dodgeville...was named WBCA D4 first-team All-State as a senior after leading the 2009 state champs in scoring ... helped the Zephyrs go 25–2 in 2009 and post a 73–5 overall record during his final three seasons ... went on to play at D3 UW–La Crosse

.

2020 SWNews4U.com Boys All-Dream Tournament Team
Most Outstanding Player 
Sam Okey, 1995 Cassville
First team  
C - Sam Okey, 1995 Cassville
C - Greg Timmerman, 1991 Cuba City
C - Rick Brown, 1964 Dodgeville
F - Aaron Lancaster, 1990 Darlington
G - Travis Tuttle, 1992 Argyle
Second team  
F - Pat Murphy, 1988 Mineral Point
C - Mike Uppena, 1991 Cassville
F - Jim Lawinger, 1967 Platteville
G - Kevin Larson, 1987 Fennimore
F - Brayden Dailey, 2020 Cuba City
Third team  
F - Bill Wagner, 1981 Cuba City
C - Tom Uppena, 2000 Cassville
G - Tom Martin, 1972 Bloomington
C - Craig Meyer, 1990 Black Hawk
F - John Tranel, 1981 Cuba City
Honorable Mention  
F - Emmett Terwilliger, 1962 Lancaster
G - Karl Clough, 1993 Dodgeville
G - Isaac Lindsey, 2018 Mineral Point
G - Kevin Everson, 2006 Fennimore
F - Justin Edge, 1991 Shullsburg
F - Cory Vaassen, 2012 Cuba City
G - Matt Schultz, 1998 Cuba City
G - Bob Rock, 1964 Dodgeville
F - Greg Hermsen, 1972 Bloomington
G - Andy Banasik, 1986 Prairie du Chien
F - Jeremy Leibfried, 2001 Potosi
G - Brady Olson, 2020 Cuba City
G - Connor Hendricks, 2009 Benton