Here are 5 breakout Milwaukee area boys basketball players this season
As high school boys basketball teams around the Milwaukee area come into their own in pursuit of conference titles and playoff pushes, several notable athletes are bursting on to the scene. Here are five breakout performers from the season.
Be on the lookout for stories later this week on breakout athletes in other WIAA winter sports.
Kristian Bartl, University School of Milwaukee
The future looks bright for University School due in no small part to the impact of the freshman Bartl. The 6-foot-6 forward leads the team in scoring average (14.3 points per game), field goal percentage (48.8), three-point field goal percentage (44.4), rebounding (8.1) and blocks (1.1). His season high of 24 points came in a 62-47 win over Messmer on Jan. 2, and he added 14 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. A Wildcats program coming off a 9-17 season a year ago is on a much better pace with Bartl leading the way to an 8-8 record through last week.
Demeir Hogans-Harris, Milwaukee Bradley Tech
Milwaukee Bradley Tech is putting together a turnaround campaign from a 10-14 season to a 13-4 record through last week, led by senior Hogans-Harris. The 6-2 forward has increased his scoring average from 9.3 a year ago to a team-leading 15.3 through last week. In addition to efficient shooting, Hogans-Harris has remained active on the boards, averaging a team-leading 10.2 rebounds. Opportunistic defense has been a hallmark for the Trojans, and another area the senior is contributing is his 2.1 steals per game.
Dooney Johnson, Milwaukee Juneau
Johnson came into high school as a highly touted freshman and has shown he was worth every bit of the hype with his performances thus far. The 6-4 guard leads a 9-3 Milwaukee Juneau squad with a scoring average of 24.5 points through his first 11 recorded games, highlighted by a 35-point debut in a 91-61 win over Messmer in the season opener Nov. 28. His season high was 38 points on Dec. 12 in a 96-82 win over Milwaukee Vincent. He averages just shy of a double-double with 9.0 rebounds through the 11 recorded games, and has shown propensity for assists (3.2) and steals (2.4). The freshman already reports NCAA Division I offers from Bryant, Grambling State, McNeese State, Nebraska and Western Illinois.
Sean Ladwig, Catholic Memorial
The Catholic Memorial Crusaders needed some reinforcements after losing 10 seniors to graduation from a program that went 18-8, and they have found support the senior Ladwig. The 6-4 wing missed his junior season last year while recovering from ACL surgery. Earning his first substantive varsity experience after coming off the bench as a sophomore, Ladwig has been a leader of an 8-8 Crusaders team with a 14.9 scoring average. The UW-La Crosse commit's leadership also has been pivotal in the first year of new head coach Kyle Johnson. Ladwig's highest-scoring game was a 28-point performance in a season-opening 78-43 win over Port Washington on Nov. 21.
Nathan Vuillaume, Kettle Moraine
Kettle Moraine saw an early blow to its hopes of returning to the WIAA state tournament when 2022-23 leading scorer and two-time first-team all-Classic 8 Conference player Drew Wagner was ruled out this season due to injury. Nevertheless, the Lasers have received valuable contributions and they have jumped to a 13-2 start, with few contributions perhaps less foreseen than from Vuillaume. The 6-3 French foreign exchange student has averaged 10.1 points in his debut season with the Lasers. First-year coach Brian Richert added that Vuillaume has been the team's best defender and a pivotal part of the team's success. His season high in scoring was a 21 points in a Dec. 27 win over Madison La Follette.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Here are 5 breakout Milwaukee area boys basketball players this season
