EDITOR'S NOTE: The SWNews4U.com SW Wisconsin Dream Tournament is 68-team March Madness-style high school basketball tournament (for both boys and girls), consisting of the greatest teams in Southwest Wisconsin history, since 1960.
We introduced the boys' bracket and teams in our area newspapers April 8-9 and 15-16. We introduced the girls' bracket and teams April 22-23 and 29-30. Beginning this week (May 6-7), with the boys' first-round selections, we will pick the winners for each round in our newspapers, until we crown the All-Time champions for both tournaments. We will publish the girls' first-round winners next week (May 13-14).
Below are the team capsules for the boys teams in the East Regional.
1) 2000 Cassville
2000 Division 4 state championCoach: Dennis Uppena
Record: 26-1, 12-0 Six Rivers West champion
Tournament run: The Comets defeated Potosi 66-64, De Soto 60-44, and Highland 51-48 in regionals, then Cashton 51-37, and Greenwood 70-44 at sectionals to earn a second-straight trip to state. The Comets defeated Fall River 51-43, and Wausaukee 59-48 to win the D4 state championship.
Key Players:
Tom Uppena (Sr.) 16.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1st-team All-SRW, honorable mention All-State, son of coach Dennis Uppena, went on to play D3 college basketball at UW–Platteville, current Darlington boys basketball head coach
Andy Hulst (Sr.) 11.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1st-team All-SRW, went on to play D3 college football at UW–Platteville, current Westby head football coach
Jared Junk (Sr.) 4.2 ppg, 2nd-team All-SRW
Jeff Glass (Sr.) 7.0 ppg, honorable mention SRW
Clint Nemitz (Sr.) 5.5 ppg, honorable mention SRW, current Southwestern boys' basketball head coach
Ned Schauff (Jr.) 6.8 ppg, honorable mention SRW, went to play D1 college baseball at Illinois State
Dynasty Note: Coach Uppena, along with Tom Uppena, Hulst, Junk, Glass and Nemitz went 20-6, won a conference title and led Cassville to a D4 state runner-up finish in 1999.
2) 1991 Cuba City
1991 Division 3 state championCoach: Jerry Petitgoue
Record: 24-3, 12-0 SWAL I champion
Tournament run: The #6-ranked Cubans defeated Southwestern 78-38, Mineral Point 68-51 and Lancaster 41-39 at regionals, Fennimore 51-39 and Clinton 66-52 at sectionals, then edged Auburndale 36-35 in the state semifinals. Cuba City captured the D3 state title with a 50-48 win over Phillips when junior Greg Timmerman scored on a putback following a missed free throw with less than 40 seconds left to snap a 48-48 tie.
Key Players:
Greg Timmerman (Jr) 24.6 ppg, 12.9 rpg, 4 bpg, the 6’10” center had 27 points and 21 rebounds in the state championship, SWAL 1 Player of the Year, 1st-team All-SWAL 1, AP All-State, 1992 Wisconsin Mr. Basketball, 1992 WBCA All-State, averaged 21 ppg, 13 rpg and 4 bpg as a senior, went on to play D1 college basketball at Wisconsin and later at D2 North Dakota
Tom Laufenberg (Sr.) 10 ppg, 8 apg, 1st-team All-SWAL 1
Jamie Leifker (Jr.) 10 ppg, 12 rpg, honorable mention SWAL 1
Todd Kowalski (Jr.) 8 ppg, 7 rpg, honorable mention SWAL 1
Randy Palas (Sr.) 6 ppg, honorable mention SWAL 1
Josh Kuepers (So.) 6'7" forward off the bench
Dynasty Note: As a freshman Timmerman, along with older brother Brad Timmerman (24 ppg, 1989 SWAL I MVP) and seniors Chris Kern (17 ppg) and Jason Kiley (10 ppg), helped the Cubans to a 23-3 record and a berth in the 1989 Class B state semifinals. Greg Timmerman’s Cuban’s won four straight SWAL 1 titles from 1989-92, reached two state tournaments and made the sectional finals in both 1990 (21-4) and 1992 (22-3), losing to Columbus 56-53 in his final game.
3) 1981 Iowa-Grant
1981 Class C state championCoach: Steve Randall
Record: 23-3, 12-2 Southern 8 runner-up
Tournament run: The Panthers defeated Highland 109-35, Boscobel 81-65 and West Grant 55-47 to win the regional title, then beat North Crawford 83-64 and Cochrane-Fountain City 60-59 to win the sectional championship before beating Oostburg 68-46 and Wausaukee 59-51 at state to win the Class B state title.
Key Players:
Mark Place (Jr.) 17.8 ppg, 1st-team All-Southern 8, was named the 1982 Southern 8 MVP as a senior, went on to play at D3 UW–Platteville where he was a two-year starter and the team's leading score in 1985–86.
Mark Hagen (Sr.) 14.5 ppg, 1st-team All-Southern 8
Dean Pope (Jr.) 13.4 ppg, honorable mention Southern 8
Steve Weittenhiller (Jr.) honorable mention Southern 8
Steve Hagen (Jr.)
Ken Matthews (Jr.)
B.J. Bishop (Jr.)
Dynasty Note: Place was named 1982 Southern 8 MVP after leading the Panthers to a 21-2 mark, another conference title (13-1) and a trip to the Class C sectional semifinals, losing to North Crawford 45-38.
4) 2017 Darlington
2017 Division 4 state runner-upCoach: Tom Uppena
Record: 27-1, 14-0 SWAL champion
Tournament run: The #2-ranked Redbirds had a first-round bye, then defeated Cambridge 87-63 and Mineral Point 53-38 to win a D4 regional title, then New Glarus 73-59 and Cochrane-Fountain City 67-55 at sectionals to earn a trip to the WIAA state tournament. Darlington beat Cameron 63-53 in the state semifinals suffering a 76-55 loss to Destiny in the D4 state championship game.
Key Players:
Will Schwartz (Sr.) 15.7 ppg, 5 rpg, 3.5 apg, SWAL Player of the Year, 1st-team All-SWAL, WBCA D4 All-Star, went on to play DIII college basketball at Edgewood College
Trevor Johnson (Sr.) 13.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1st-team All-SWAL
Ryan Glendenning (Sr.) 11.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3 apg, 1st-team All-SWAL
Josh Soper (Jr.) 9 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1st-team All-SWAL
Hunter Johnson (Sr.) 7.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, honorable mention All-SWAL Cameron 63-53, went on to play DI college football at Wisconsin
Stryker Fitzsimons (So.) 4.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2019 WBCA D4 honorable mention All-State, 2019 WBCA All-Star, current member of D3 UW–Platteville men's basketball team
Dynasty Note: The 2015-16 Redbirds finished 20-6 overall and advanced to the D4 sectional final before a 50-49 loss to La Crosse Aquinas.
5) 1986 Prairie du Chien
1986 Class B state runner-upCoach: Mike Urbach
Record: 21-4, 13-1 SWAL champion
Tournament run: The #2-ranked Blackhawks defeated Cuba City 69-55, Platteville 58-55 and Richland Center 54-37 to win a WIAA Class B regional title, then defeated Monona Grove 63-44 and Ripon 56-39 to win the Baraboo sectional crown and earn Prairie du Chien’s seventh state tournament appearance. Prairie du Chien beat Phillips 82-60 in the Class B state semifinals, before suffering a 45-44 overtime loss to Chilton in the title game.
Key Players:
Andy Banasik (Sr.) 18.3 ppg, SWAL Player of the Year, 1st-team All-SWAL , Wisconsin State Journal Player of the Year, AP honorable mention All-State, WBCA All-Star, played at UW–Platteville under Bo Ryan
Steve Mergen (Sr.) 14 ppg, 1st-team All-SWAL
Don Steger (Sr.) 14.7 ppg, 12 rpg, 2nd-team All-SWAL
Mike Heisz (Sr.) 2nd-team All-SWAL
Tom Hinkel (Sr.) honorable mention All-SWAL
Dennis Esser (Sr.) honorable mention All-SWAL
Dynasty Note: The Blackhawks went 22-4, won the SWAL title and reached the Class B state title in 1985, losing to Denmark 63–59 under coach Urbach, with Banasik and Steger leading the way
6) 1988 Southwestern
1988 Class C state runner-upCoach: John Nedelcoff
Record: 21-7, 8-4 SWAL 3rd in SWAL 2
Tournament run: The Wildcats defeated Benton 62-51, Belmont 74-33, Cassville 58-47 and Iowa–Grant 76-68 to win the Class C regional title, then beat New Lisbon 79-70 and Bangor 65-47 to win the sectional crown. Southwestern then upset #1-ranked Randolph 71-70 in the state semifinals before losing to Glenwood 41-40 in overtime in the Class C state championship game
Key Players:
Glen Stangl (Jr.) 17 ppg, 8 rpg, 1st-team All-SWAL 2 played one year at UW-Platteville
Bill Morgan (Sr.) 12 ppg, 9 rpg, 1st-team All-SWAL 2, went on to play DIII college basketball at UW-Platteville, was on the 1991 national championship team coached by Bo Ryan
Max Rawson (Sr.) 15 ppg, 2nd-team All-SWAL 2
Kevin Patterson (Sr.) 2nd-team All-SWAL 2
John Pickel (Sr.)
Mike Lambe (So.) 1990 SWAL 2 co-Player of the Year, went on to play D3 college basketball at Loras College
7) 1993 Dodgeville
1993 Division 3 state qualifierCoach: Chuck Tank
Record: 23-2, 11-1 SWAL 1 co-champion
Tournament run: After a first-round bye, the Dodgers defeated Wisconsin Heights 84-62 and Mount Horeb 83-66 to win the regional, then Evansville 76-65 and Blair-Taylor 88-72 to win the sectional title. The Dodgers suffered a 75-51 loss to eventual D3 champion Auburndale in the state semifinals.
Key Players:
Karl Clough (Sr.) 24.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.6 apg, SWAL 1 Player of the Year, 1st-team All-SWAL 1, finished his career as Dodgeville’s all-time leading scorer with 1,429 points (now second), tried out for Wisconsin as a walk-on and made it to the final 15 walk-ons before being cut.
Rob Meudt (Jr.) 17.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1st-team All-SWAL 1, finished career with 1,276 career points, went on to play at UW–Platteville
Aaron Olson (Jr.) 12.3 ppg, 5.5 apg, 1st-team All-SWAL 1, went on to play at D3 UW–Platteville and was on UW–Platteville’s 1998 and 1999 D3 national championship teams
Eric Bradley (Sr.) 7.3 ppg, honorable mention All-SWAL 1
Brad Borne (So.) 6.3 ppg, honorable mention All-SWAL 1, went on to play at UW–Eau Claire
Brett Borne (So.) 5 ppg, went on to play at UW–Eau Claire
Mark Aurit (So.) 4 ppg,
Dynasty Note: Meudt and Olson (1994 co-SWAL 1 MVPs), Brett Borne (1995 SWAL 1 MVP), Brad Borne and Aurit led the 1994 Dodgers went 22-2 and lost in the D3 sectional finals to Blair-Taylor a year later. Then as seniors, the Borne twins and Aurit led the 1995 Dodgers to a 20-6 record, a third straight SWAL 1 title and a return trip to state before losing to Auburndale 66-56 in double overtime in the D3 semifinals.
8) 1976 North Crawford
1976 Class C state qualifierCoach: Bruce Kieser
Record: 22-2, 14-0 Scenic Central champion
Tournament run: The Trojans, ranked #2 in the smalls schools poll, defeated Wauzeka 61-27, Weston 30-22 and Wonewoc–Center 38-34 to win a Class C regional title, then West Salem 46-33 and Shullsburg 44-39 to win the sectional title. North Crawford then fell to Kohler and eventual North Carolina standout and future NBA player Joe Wolf in the Class C state semifinals, 30-27.
Key Players:
Jim Iverson (Sr.) 18 ppg, first-team All-SCC, AP 3rd-team All-State
Dick Iverson (Jr.) 9 ppg
Jerry Campbell (Sr.)
Bob Larson (Jr.)
Dave Lomas (Jr.)
Mike Walsh (Jr.)
Dynasty Note: The 1975 Trojans went 21-3, won the Scenic Central conference and advanced to the Class C state semifinals before a season-ending 31-30 loss to undefeated Pardeeville (25-0). In 1974, Iverson and the Trojans fell to eventual Class C state champion Mineral Point in double overtime in the sectional finals, 53-51.
9) 2011 Wauzeka–Steuben
2011 Division 5 state qualifierCoach: Matt Mezera
Record: 24-3, 12-2 2nd in the Ridge & Valley
Tournament run: The Hornets defeated Kickapoo 49-37 and Ithaca 66-43, then upset R&V champion Seneca 37-31 in regionals, then Benton 41-38 and Plum City/Elmwood 57-46 to win the sectional title. Wauzeka–Steuben fell to Clayton 48-37 in the D5 state semifinals.
Key Players:
Chris McCullick (Sr.) 17.5 ppg, 1st-team All-R&V, WBCA D5 All-State
Tyler Wagner (Sr.) 8.9 ppg, 1st-team All-R&V
Josh Emery (Sr.) 7.6 ppg, honorable mention All-R&V
Brett McCullick (Jr.) 7.1 ppg, honorable mention All-R&V
Dayton Folbrecht (Sr.) 6.8 ppg
Austin Mafilius (Jr.) 3.2 ppg
Daniel Molini (Jr.) 2.6 ppg
Dynasty Note: The 2010 Hornets went 16-7 overall and 12-2 to place 2nd in the Ridge & Valley a year earlier.
10) 2005 Cuba City
2005 Division 3 state qualifierCoach: Jerry Petitgoue
Record: 17-9, 8-4, tied for 2nd in SWAL 2
Tournament run: The Cubans entered the D3 playoffs with just a 12-8 record but made an incredible run all the way to state after beating Parkview 60-51, Brodhead 41-39 and New Glarus 54-52 in regional play, then Poynette 60-55 and Wild Rose 67-36 to win the sectional title. Cuba City’s run came to en end with a 59-36 loss to eventual state champion Whitefish Bay Dominican (27-0) in the state semifinals.
Key Players:
Andy Richard (Sr.) 14.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1st-team All-SWAL 2
Kory Kirk (Sr.) 12.9 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1st-team All-SWA 2, WBCA All-Star, went on to play at Madison College
Dustin Moor (Sr.) 11.5 ppg, 5 rpg, honorable mention SWAL 2
Tyler Timmerman (So.) 5.4 ppg, rpg
Tyson Droessler (Sr.) 2 ppg, 1.2 rpg
Jamie Schramm (Jr.) 4.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg
11) 2018 Mineral Point
2018 Division 4 sectional runner-upCoach: Dan Burreson
Record: 21-5, 13-1 SWAL champion
Tournament run: The top-seeded Pointers had a first-round bye, then defeated Necedah 64-52 and Darlington 75-50 to win the regional title, and beat La Crosse Aquinas 82-69 in a D4 sectional semifinal before falling to Pardeeville 62-61 in the Baraboo sectional final.
Key Players:
Isaac Lindsey (So.) 18.9 ppg, 4 apg SWAL Player of the Year, 1st-team All-SWAL, two-time WBCA D4 1st-team All-State, missed most of his senior year in 2000 with a groin injury, committed to play D1 for UNLV, finished his career with 1,477 points, son of 1988 Mineral Point’s Matt Lindsey.
Brayden Dailey (Fr.) 21.3 ppg, 5 rpg 1st-team All-SWAL, transferred to Cuba City after his sophomore year, has D1 scholarship offers from UW–Green Bay, UW–Milwaukee and Missouri State, son of 1988 Iowa–Grant’s Shawn Dailey.
Chance Wendhausen (Sr.) 11.2 ppg, first-team All-SWAL
Wes Berget (So.) 9 ppg, 5 rpg, 1st-team All-SWAL
Garrett Wendhausen (Jr.) 9 ppg, 4 rpg
Mason Dailey (Jr.) 5.3 ppg
Liam Stump (Fr.) 5 ppg
12) 1962 Lancaster
1962 WIAA single class sectional semifinalistCoach: John Paulin
Record: 21-2, 15-1 SWC champion, program’s first-ever conference tile
Tournament run: The Flying Arrows defeated Fennimore, 64-37, and Richland Center ,69-44, in sub-regional action and defeated Baraboo, 69-55, for the regional title. At the sectional tournament, lost to La Crosse Central, 63-60, then won the consolation championship over Iowa-Grant, 72-54.
Key Players:
Emmett Terwilliger (Sr.) 19.9 ppg, 1st-team All-SWC, was recruited by D1 Wisconsin, Marquette and Michigan. Played college basketball at Wisconsin and Carleton College.
Lloyd Smith (Jr.) 16.4 ppg, 1st-team All-SWC
Burke Oehrlein (Sr.) 9.9 ppg, honorable mention SWC
Tom Lind (Sr.) 7.8 ppg.
Terry Thorpe (Sr.) 7.8 ppg
Dynasty Note: The 1961 Flying Arrows finished 16-5 overall, 12-2 in the SWC (3rd place) and advanced to the single class regional finals.
13) 1984 Platteville
1984 Class B sectional qualifierCoach: Rich Reitzner
Record: 20-2, 13-1 Southern 8 champion
Tournament run: The Hillmen defeated Cuba City 52-44, Lancaster 58-36, and Richland Center 45-41 at UW–Platteville to win the Class B regional title, then fell to Monona Grove 43-42 in overtime in the sectional semifinal also at UW–Platteville.
Key Players:
Paul Chryst (Sr.) 10.7 ppg, 9 rpg, 4 apg, 1st-team All-Southern 8, played D1 football at Wisconsin, current head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers
Jace Martens (Sr.) 10.6, 1.4 rpg, 2 apg ppg, 1st-team All-Southern 8
Brian Donner (Jr.) 11.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1st-team All-Southern 8
Scott Bestor (Sr.) 5.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.3 apg, honorable mention All-Southern 8
Dave Runde (Sr.) 7.6 ppg, 5 rpg
Jim Jentz (Jr.) 3.5 ppg, 1.6 rpg
Dynasty Note: Reitzner’s Hillmen went on to win conference titles in 1985 with Donner and Jentz, and again in 1986. The Hillmen also won the Division 4 state football championship in the fall of 1983 with Chryst, Martens, Runde and Bestor as key contributors.
14) 2007 Barneveld
2007 Division 4 sectional qualifierCoach: Jack Cappelle
Record: 22-2, 12-0 Six Rivers East champion
Tournament run: Defeated Kickapoo 78-25, Ithaca 87-42, Wonewoc-Center 54-50 to win a D4 regional title before a heart-breaking 51-50 loss to River Ridge in the sectional semifinals.
Key Players:
Nick Allen (Sr.) 15.8 ppg, SRE Player of the Year, 1st-team All-SRE, WBCA D4 All-Star, went on to play D3 basketball at UW–Platteville and earned All-WIAC honors his senior year
Kyle Thompson (Sr.) 16.6 ppg, 1st-team All-SRE
Trent Sullivan (Jr.) 10.9 ppg, 1st-team All-SRE
Andrew Cory (Sr.) 5.7 ppg, honorable mention All-SRE
Patrick Clerkin (So.) 5.4 ppg
Dynasty Note: Barneveld went 19-2 in 2005, 19-5 in 2006 and won three straight conference titles from 05–07 with Allen leading the way.
15) 1989 Bloomington
1989 Class C regional runner-upCoach: Ron Benish
Record: 23-1, 16-0 Blackhawk champion
Tournament run: The #1-ranked Blue Jays defeated Fennimore 58-52 and Cassville 71-68 in overtime, before losing to #2-ranked Iowa-Grant 83-74 in the regional finals.
Key Players:
Pat Vorwald (Sr.) 17.3 ppg, 2.5 apg, 1st-team All-Blackhawk
Steve Moss (Sr.) 13.1 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1st-team All-Blackhawk,
Steve Benish (Sr.) 12.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1st-team All-Blackhawk, son of coach Benish
Jeff Wagner (Sr.) 10.1 ppg, 2.3 apg, honorable mention All-Blackhawk
Curt Bisarek (Sr.) 6 ppg, former boys' basketball head coach at Iowa–Grant
Dynasty Note: Benish and the 89 team’s four senior starters also went 19-2 and a perfect 14-0 in the Blackhawk Conference a year earlier and lost to Iowa-Grant 64-54 in the opening round of the 1988 playoffs.
16) 1992 Argyle
1992 Division 4 regional semifinalistCoach: Tom Tuttle
Record: 20-2, 17-1 State Line League champion
Tournament run: #3-ranked Argyle defeated Black Hawk 64-55, in the opening round of the D4 playoffs, then ended the season with an 86-76 regional semifinal loss to #1-ranked Highland in a game that had to be moved to Monroe due to the overflow crowd of 2,500.
Key Players:
Travis Tuttle (Sr.) 41.8 ppg, State Line League Player of the Year, 1st-team All-State Line, AP All-State, had games of 71 against Pecatonica, 70 against Barneveld, and 60 points during his senior year, made 17 out 26 3-pointer attempts in the Barneveld game, averaged 40.8 points per game as a junior and score 63 in a single game, finished his career with a school record 2,322 points, which was second in Wisconsin history when he graduated (11th all-time now), went on play D2 college basketball at North Dakota, where he was a three-time all-conference player and earned D2 All-American honors a senior, and finished his college career with 1,935 points, son of coach Tom Tuttle
Mike Godfrey (Sr.) 13 ppg, 10 rpg, 1st-team All-State LIne
Jimmy Flannery (Sr.)
Kreg Waage (Sr.)
Jason Matthys (Jr.)
Shane Johnson (Jr.)
Tim Isely (Jr.)
16) 2011 Darlington
2011 Division 4 regional runner-upCoach: Michael Hopkins
Record: 22-3, 13-1 SWAL co-champion
Tournament run: Defeated Iowa–Grant 56-34 and Mineral Point 52-38 in D4 regional play before suffering a 45-42 regional final loss to SWAL co-champion Cuba City
Key Players:
Alex Erickson (Sr.) 21.2 ppg, SWAL Player of the Year, 1st-team All-SWAL, WBCA D4 first-team All-State, WBCA All-Star, finished his career as Darlington’s all-time leading scorer with 1,713 points, went on to play D1 football at Wisconsin as a walk-on and eventually became a free agent signing of the NFL’s Cincinatti Bengals
Bryan Reichling (Sr.) 8 ppg, 1st-team All-SWAL
Tucker Wiegel (Sr.) 4.9 ppg, 1st-team All-SWAL
Zach Brown (Sr.) 7.5 ppg, honorable mention All-SWAL
Brandon Hardyman (Jr.) 8 ppg
Derek Larson (Sr.) 6.4 ppg
Mitchell Whalen (Jr.) 5.2 ppg
Dynasty Note: Erickson led the Redbirds to a 21-4, 11-1 record and a share of the 2010 SWAL title as a junior. The four-year 1st-team all-conference player was recruited to play basketball at DIII UW–Stevens Point.
