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 North Regional.
1) 1964 Dodgeville
1964 single class state championCoach: John “Weeine” Wilson
Record: 26-0, 13-0 SWAL champion
Tournament run: The Dodgers defeated Darlington 71-47, Fennimore 77-46 and Bloomington 88-46 to win the regional title, then defeated Soldiers Grove 85-42 and Monroe 59-48 in sectional play to advance to a second staight single class state tournament. The Dodgers opened the state tournament with a 48-43 win over Merrill, then beat Waukesha 60-40 in the semis before knocking off Milwaukee North 59-45 to win the single class state championship, Hoosiers style.
Key Players:
Rick Brown (Sr.) 15.7 ppg, 14 rpg in three state tourney games, 1st-team All-SWAL, team’s leading scorer, had 20 points, 9 rebounds in state championship game, went on to play at D1 Arizona State and later D3 Ripon College
Bob Rock (Sr.) 13 ppg at state, 1st-team All-SWAL, scored 14 in state title game, went on to play college basketball at D3 St. Norbert
Carlos “Corky” Evans (Sr.) 11 ppg at state, honorable mention All-SWAL, finished with 12 points in state championship,went on to play D1 college baseball at Dodgeville and was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the second round of the 1966 MLB draft
Pat Flynn (Sr.) 10 ppg at state, went on to play at Ripon College
Bruce Harrison (Sr.) 5.3 ppg at state
Dynasty Note: The 1963 Dodgers, with seniors Pat Reilly, Duane Honerbaum, Dennis Morgan and Bill Polkinghorn, along with Flynn, Evans, Brown, Harrison and Rock went 23-2 and advanced to the single class state championship game a year earlier, falling to Manitowoc 74-52. The 1963 Dodgers survived a triple-overtime scare from Lancaster 37-33 in the first regional playoff game.
2) 2009 Benton
2009 Division 4 state championCoach: Jim Blaine
Record: 25-2; 12-0 Six Rivers West champion
Tournament run: The Zephyrs defeated Abundant Life Christian 77-40, Shullsburg 57-34 and Monticello 68-46 at regionals, then Catholic Central, 62-51 and Sheboygan County Christian 62-49 at sectionals. Won the D4 state championship with wins over Blair-Taylor 61-49, and Wisconsin Rapids Assumption 55-43. Became the smallest school in tournament history ever to win a state title with a student enrollment of 86.
Key Players:
Connor Hendricks (Sr.) 13.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1st-team All-SRW, D4 1st-team All-State, played at D3 UW–La Crosse
Jordan Hendricks (Sr.) 11.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1st-team All-SRW
Kane Hoffman (Sr.) 7.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1st-team All-SRW, D4 1st-team All-State, played at UW–Platteville
Michael Droessler (Jr.) 10.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2nd-team All-SRW
Matt Savatski (So.) 9.9 ppg, 3.7 ppg, 1st-team All-SRW
David Neis (Fr.) 8.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1st-team All-SRW, played at Clarke College in Dubuque
Dynasty Note: Benton went 24-1 a year earlier and fell to Randolph in a D4 sectional final 49-47; also lost in the 2007 sectional finals to Randolph. Coach Blaine, Neis and Savatski led the 2010-11 Zephyrs to a 24-2 mark, a 12-0 SRW title and a trip to the D4 sectional semifinals before losing to Wauzeka–Steuben, 41-38.
3) 1991 Shullsburg
1991 Division 4 state championCoach: Bob Boettcher
Record: 24-3, 14-2 Blackhawk champion
Tournament run: The #9-ranked Miners defeated junior Travis Tuttle (43 ppg) and Argyle 77-59, Pecatonica 78-57 and Benton 73-51 to win D4 regional title, then survived New Glarus 70-68 in double OT and Fall River 77-75 in overtime to advance to state. Shullsburg then defeated sophomore Anthony Pieper (31 ppg, Wisconsin’s future all-time leading scorer) and Wausaukee 63-58 in the state semis and Spring Valley 61-57 in the title game to win the school’s only state championship.
Key Players:
Justin Edge (Sr.) 19 ppg, 12 rpg in the playoffs, 1st-team All-Blackhawk
Chad Boettcher (Sr.) 15 ppg, 4 apg, 1st-team All-Blackhawk, played DIII college basketball at UW–Platteville and won a D3 national championship under Bo Ryan, son of Bob Boettcher
Rick Woodworth (Sr.) 13 ppg, 8 rpg, 2nd-team All-Blackhawk
Brad Lutes (Jr.) 3 ppg, current Cuba City girls coach
Darrell Morrissey (Sr.) 5 ppg
Eric Wiegel (Sr.) coached the 2005 Kickapoo girls to the state tournament
Nick Paquette (Jr.)
Dynasty Note: The 1990 Miners went 20-3, (15-1 Black Hawk champion) and advanced to the regional finals before losing to eventual D4 champion Darlington 57-54.
4) 2012 Cuba City
2012 Division 4 state runner-upCoach: Jerry Petitgoue
Record: 27-1, 14-0 SWAL champion
Tournament run: The Cubans defeated Belleville 94-24 and New Glarus 89-41 in regional play, then Cambridge 56-46 and Onalaska Luther 85-44 in sectional play. Cuba City then routed Oshkosh Lourdes Academy 72-27 in the state semifinals contest. The Cubans then took #1-ranked Whitefish Bay Dominican, that featured future Maryland star and NBA player Diamond Stone along with future Marquette/Texas A&M guard Duane Wilson. The Knights prevailed 61-43 in the title game to win the first of five straight state titles (2012-2016).
Key Players:
Cory Vaassen (Sr.) 19.1 ppg, 5 rpg, SWAL Player of the Year, 1st-team All-SWAL, WBCA D4 1st-team All-State, WBCA All-Star, went on be become a three-year starter at D3 UW–Platteville.
Trent Denlinger (Sr.) 10.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1st-team All-SWAL, WBCA D5 All-State, WBCA ALl-Star, went on to play D1 college football for Wisconsin
Zach Adams (Sr.) 10.2 ppg, 1st-team All-SWAL
Nate Murray (Sr.) 8.8 ppg 1st-team All-SWAL
Brandon Slaats (Jr.) 5.1 ppg, 1st-team All-SWAL
Jason Derby (Jr.) 5.5 ppg
Einar Frimodt (Jr.) 4.5 ppg
Dynasty Note: Led by Slaats, Derby (2013 SWAL MVP) and Frimodt, the Cubans (26-1) again went undefeated in the regular season and back to the state tournament the following year and again fell to powerhouse Dominican 55-47 in a D4 state semifinal. It was the third straight year Cuba City ended the season with a loss to Dominican
5) 1977 Prairie du Chien
1977 Class B state runner-upCoach: James McGrath
Record: 21-3, 10-2 SWAL champion
Tournament run: The Blackhawks had a first-round bye, then defeated Boscobel 79-71 and Cuba City 81-70 to win the Class B regional title, then defeated Dodgeville 57-70 and Richland Center 74-70 in the sectionals to earn a third straight trip to state. All four games were played at UW–Platteville. The Blackhawks then defeated Slinger 74-72 in the state semifinals before a 91-70 loss to Clintonville
Key Players:
Jan Waller (Jr.) 16.7 ppg, 1st-team All-SWAL, AP 4th-team All-State 17.5 ppg in two state games, including 24 points in the title game
Scott Reilly (Sr.) 18 ppg, 2nd-team All-SWAL, UPI honorable mention All-State, 11 ppg in two state games
Brian Slaght (Sr.) 12 ppg, honorable mention All-SWAL, 16 ppg in two state games
Dave Weber (Sr.) 10 ppg, honorable mention All-SWAL
Todd Stevens (So.) 9.5 ppg
Dynasty Note: Coach McGrath, Reilly and Waller went 22-2, 12-0 in the SWAL and reached the Class B state tournament in 1976, losing to Clintonville, 73-71. McGrath and Reilly as a sophomore led PdC to a 21-2 mark, an 11-1 SWAL title and a berth in the 1975 state semifinals as well, losing to Sheboygan Falls 71-59.
6) 2001 Pecatonica
2001 Division 4 state runner-upCoach: Dana McKenzie
Record: 20-7, 10-4 3rd in the Six Rivers East
Tournament run: Defeated SRE foes Argyle 57-46, New Glarus 57-46 and Black Hawk 47-43 at regionals, then upset #2-ranked Potosi 66-56 before defeating Seneca 50-40 to win the Wisconsin Dells sectional title. Pec then edged Wisconsin Rapids Assumption 49-48 before falling to Burlington Catholic Central 56-52 in the D4 state championship.
Key Players:
Matthew Hirsch (Sr.) 11 ppg, 5 rpg at state, 1st-team All-SRE
Kendall Syse (So.) 5.5 ppg at state, 1st-team All-SRE, went on to play D3 college basketball at UW–Platteville
Wes Speer (Jr.) 13.5 ppg, 4 rpg at state, honorable mention All-SRE
Adam Hughes (Jr.) 5.5 ppg at state
Mike Paradis (Sr.)
Aaron Watrud (Jr.) 9.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg at state
Justin Leonard (Jr.) went to to play D3 football at UW–Platteville
Dynasty Note: The Vikings won the SRE league title in 2002.
7) 1983 Cuba City
1983 Class B state qualifierCoach: Jerry Petitgoue
Record: 23-1, 14-0 Southern 8 champion
Tournament run: The #2-ranked Cubans survived a 46-45 scare from Platteville in the opening round when a Platteville shot at the buzzer rolled off the rim, then beat Darlington 51-45 and Richland Center 48-25 in a regional final at UW–Platteville, then DeForest 48-38 and Viroqua 54-52 on Jeff Kaiser’s late basket in the sectional finals. Cuba City lost to #1-ranked Valders in the Class B state semifinals.
Key Players:
Jeff Wagner (Sr) 14 ppg, 7 apg, 1st-team All-Southern 8, scored 14 points in the Cubans’ state game.
Jim Wilberding (Sr) 1st-team All-Southern 8, scored 12 points at state
Gary Kirk (Jr) 1st-team All-Southern 8, scored 14 points at state
Jeff Kaiser (Sr) 16 ppg, 9 rpg, scored 11 points at state
Tim Foht (Jr) honorable mention All-Southern 8
Dynasty Note: The 1982 Cubans went 17-6 and lost in the Class B sectional final to Portage, 57-47.
8) 1997 Kickapoo
1997 Division 4 state qualifierCoach: Dennis Vinger
Record: 21-4, 12-2 Ridge & Valley champion
Tournament run: The #5-ranked Panthers defeated Brookwood 53-43 in a regional semifinal and Weston 61-39 to win the regional title, then defeated North Crawford 55-51 and Pepin 69-56 to win the sectional title. Kickapoo fell in the D4 state semifinals to Randolph 53-39 to end the season.
Key Players:
Mike Glass (Sr.) 20.7 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 4.4 apg, Ridge & Valley co-Player of the Year, 1st-team All-Ridge & Valley, finished his career with more than 1,200 career points
Nick Dobbins (Sr.) 17.4 ppg, 10.7 rpg, R&V co-Player of the Year
Mike Lieurance (Sr.) 13.7 ppg, 1st-team All-R&V
Wes Wilder (Sr.) 7.5 ppg, 5.8 apg,
Thomas Geary (Jr.) 2.2 ppg
Ben Smith (Sr.) 2.1 ppg
Dynasty Note: The Panthers won a 6th straight conference title in 1997. Kickapoo also went 22-4 and advanced to the D4 state semifinals a year earlier in 1996, before falling to Elmwood 74-54.
9) 1987 Fennimore
1987 Class C state qualifierCoach: Tom Downey
Record: 23-4, 11-1 SWAL co-champion
Tournament run: The Golden Eagles defeated West Grant 72-29, Iowa-Grant 63-54, Bloomington 50-48, and Benton 55-51 to win the regional title, then Boscobel 65-56, Cochrane-Fountain City 65-55 to earn Fennimore’s only trip to the boys’ state tournament. The season ended with a 60-50 loss to eventual Class C state champion Oostburg.
Key Players:
Kevin Larson (Sr.) 26 ppg, 12 rpg, 6 apg, Wisconsin State Journal Player of the Year, SWAL Player of the Year, AP All-State, finished his career as Fennimore’s all-time leading scorer with 1,547 points (now 2nd), went on to play at UW–Eau Claire
Chris Reed (Jr.) 12 ppg, 2nd-team All-SWAL
Tom Needham (Sr.) 12 ppg, honorable mention All-SWAL
Jasen Scanlan (Sr.) 8 ppg, honorable mention All-SWAL
Mike Whitish (Sr.) 7 ppg
10) 1992 Highland
1992 Division 4 sectional runner-upCoach: Rick Cardey
Record: 24-1, 16-0 Blackhawk champion
Tournament run: The #1-ranked Cardinals defeated Shullsburg 64-44, Argyle 86-76 and D1 North Dakota recruit Travis Tuttle in the regional semifinals neutral site game at Monroe, then Belmont 62-37 in the regional final. Highland defeated New Glarus 62-52 in the sectional semifinals before a 58-52 sectional final loss to eventual D4 state runner-up Marshall (23-2).
Key Players:
Josh Tarrell (Sr.) 14 ppg, 1st-team All-Blackhawk, played college football at UW–Oshkosh
Jamey Shemak (Sr.) 12.2 ppg, 1st-team All-Blackhawk
John Hebgen (Sr.) 12.1 ppg, 1st-team All-Blackhawk
Ty Thielorn (Sr.) 10.2 ppg, 1st-team All-Blackhawk
Tony Nondorf (Sr.)
Dynasty Note: The 1991 Cardinals finished 16-6 overall and 11-5, third in the Blackhawk conference behind D4 state champion Shullsburg and D4 state qualifier Cassville
11) 1988 Mineral Point
1988 Class C sectional runner-up
Coach: Jim Bennett
Record: 21-4, 10-2 SWAL 2 champion
Tournament run: The Pointers defeated Darlington 76-53, Black Hawk 83-81 and Wisconsin Heights 80-54 at regionals, then defeated Deerfield 69-44 before a season-ending 89-73 loss to Randolph in the Class C sectional finals.
Key Players:
Pat Murphy (Sr.) 25 ppg, 7.5 rpg, two-time SWAL 2 Player of the Year, three-time 1st-team All-SWAL 2, WBCA All-Star, Mineral Point’s all-time leading scorer with 1,858 points, played at UW–Platteville, winning a NCAA D3 national championship in 1991 under Bo Ryan
Jon Mitchell (Sr.) 13 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1st-team All-SWAL 2
Ron Griffiths (Sr.) 7.8 ppg
Mike Murphy (Jr.) 7 ppg,
Denny Schaff (Sr.) 5 ppg
Matt Lindsey (So.) 4.2 ppg
Dynasty Note: Coach Bennett and two-time SWAL 2 MVP Pat Murphy led the 1987 Pointers to a 20-6 record and a berth in the Class C sectional finals before losing a heartbreaker to 1986 and 1987 state champion Oostburg 95-94, in regulation!
12) 2000 Southwestern
2000 Division 4 sectional runner-upCoach: Tim Meyers
Record: 21-4, 10-2 SWAL 2 tri-champion
Tournament run: Southwestern defeated Belmont 61-40, Argyle 28-27 (after a made Argyle basket was waived off at the buzzer) and Black Hawk 66-63 in overtime to win a D4 regional title. The Wildcats then beat Monticello 61-56 before a 61-56 loss to Fall River the D4 sectional final ended the season.
Key Players:
Brandon Temperly (Sr.) 18 ppg, 9 rpg, SWAL 2 Player of the Year, 1st-team All-SWAL 2, 1,000-point career scorer, finished his career as Southwestern’s all-time leading scorer, went on to become a two-year starter at D3 UW–Platteville
Ron Means (Sr.) 12.5 ppg, 1st-team All-SWAL 2
Brandon Kuhl (Jr.) 13 ppg, 1st-team All-SWAL 2
Michael Skemp (Jr.) 11 ppg, honorable mention SWAL 2
Brian Kopp (So.) honorable mention SWAL 2
12) 2007 River Ridge
2007 Division 4 sectional runner-upCoach: Scott Plondke
Record: 18-6, 8-4 3rd in Six Rivers West
Tournament run: The Timberwolves defeated North Crawford 56-36, Seneca 30-28 and Cassville 49-40 in D4 regional action to win the program’s first and only regional title, then defeated Barneveld 51-50 before losing to Eleva-Strum 80-56 in the D4 sectional finals.
Key Players:
Mason Amundson (Sr.) 1st-team All-SRW, 11.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg
Jon Martin (Sr.) 1st-team All-SRW, 9.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg
Kyle Kaufman (Sr.) honorable mention SRW, 9.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg
Paul Mumm (Sr.) honorable mention SRW, 6.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg
Brad Mezera (Sr.) 6.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg
Dynasty Note: Martin and Amundson led the T’wolves to an 18-5 mark, a share of the conference title and a trip to the D3 regional finals in 2005-06 as juniors
13) 1997 Platteville
1997 Division 2 sectional qualifierCoach: Greg Quam
Record: 21-3, 11-1 SWAL 1 champion
Tournament run: The #6-ranked Hillmen defeated Monroe 66-55, Oregon 68-57 and Prairie du Chien 56-42 to win a D2 regional title, before a 57-39 sectional semifinal loss to eventual D2 runner-up Sauk Prairie (23-1) in the D2 sectional semifinals.
Key Players:
Will Ryan (Sr.) 14.5 ppg, 3 rpg, 2 apg, SWAL 1 Player of the Year, 1st-team All-SWAL 1, went on to play at D3 UW–Platteville and D1 UW–Milwaukee under father Bo Ryan, is now the current head coach at D2 Wheeling University (W.V.)
Ben Schambow (Sr.) 14 ppg, 8 rpg, 1st-team All-SWAL 1 played at UW–Platteville, current head boys basketball coach at Columbus
Tom Wunderlin (Sr.) 10 ppg, 5.5 rpg, honorable mention SWAL 1, former Wisconsin prep football’s all-time leadinger rusher, played one year of college football at Wisconsin
Brian Fritz (Sr.) 9.5 ppg, honorable mention SWAL 1
Aaron Bartels (Sr.) 4 ppg
Greg Boldt (Sr.) 4 ppg, honorable mention SWAL 1 in 1996
14) 2001 Potosi
2001 Division 4 sectional qualifierCoach: Brad Bierman
Record: 20-3, 14-0 Six Rivers West champion
Tournament run: The Chieftains entered postseason ranked #2 in D4 AP Poll. Following a first-round bye, Potosi defeated Southwestern, 67-53, and Highland, 60-50, before losing to Pecatonica, 66-56, in D4 sectional semifinal.
Key Players:
Jeremy Leibfried (Sr.) 22.0 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 2001 SRW Player of the Year; 4th-team All-State, averaged 29.6 ppg in three tournament games. Potosi’s all-time leading scorer with 1,642 points, played D1 baseball at UW–Milwaukee
Shane Stotmeister (Jr.) 11.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2nd-team All-SRW
Steven Nebel (Jr.) 10.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2nd-team All-SRW
Brent Flesch (Jr.) 6 ppg, 4 apg
Luke Steiner (Jr.) 5 ppg
Bobby Friederick (Jr.)
15) 1974 Richland Center
1974 Class B sectional qualifierCoach: Dennis Morgan
Record: 19-3, 11-1 SWAL champion
Tournament run: The Hornets defeated Cuba City 54-46 to win the regional title, then lost to Verona 58-56 in the Class B sectional semifinal.
Key Players:
Alden Ulrich (Sr.) SWAL Player of the Year, three-time 1st-team All-SWAL
Terry Knothe (Sr.) 2nd-team All-SWAL, went on to become a Hall of Fame prep basketball coach at St. Charles (Minn.)
Steve Tenney (Sr.) 2nd-team All-SWAL
Kelly Noble (Jr.) 2nd-team All-SWAL
Tom Anderson (Sr.)
David Saffell (Sr.)
Dynasty Note: Richland Center also won the 1973 SWAL title under coach Morgan, led my Ulrich and Knothe.
16) 2016 Iowa-Grant
2016 Division 4 regional finalistCoach: Toby Tripalin
Record: 22-2, 14-0 SWAL champion
Tournament run: After a first-round bye, the top-seeded Panthers defeated Belleville 62-33 in a D4 regional semifinal, but after senior star Isaac Anderson injured his knee, fell to SWAL rival Cuba City, 44-40 in the regional final. I–G swept the Cubans with a healthy Anderson during the regular season.
Key Players:
Isaac Anderson (Sr.) 20.8 ppg, 9 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.6 bpg, SWAL Player of the Year, 1st-team All-SWAL, WBCA D4 1st-team All-State, finished career as Iowa–Grant’s all-time leading scorer with ,1418 points, and WBCA All-Star, played at Lakeland College
Brayden Johnsen (Sr.) 15.5 ppg, 5 rpg, 4 apg, 1st-team All-SWAL
Collin Price (Sr.) 9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1st-team All-SWAL
Caleb Hill (Jr.) 8.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.2 apg, went on to play D3 college basketball at Edgewood College
Sawyer Stuckey (Sr.) 1.8 ppg, 2.8 apg
