Prep chatter: Young talent, senior leadership has Appleton North boys basketball team off to a fast start
APPLETON − The Appleton North boys basketball team is a perfect example of a youthful group of athletes making "tremendous strides."
The Lightning is 3-0 this season and coming off a strong playoff run from last season that saw North reach the WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinals with a 13-14 overall record.
That momentum carried over to a summer where the players put in the work to raise expectations coming into this season, according to head coach Chris Kellett.
"We made some tremendous strides and could see growth from our young team last season and during our postseason run," Kellett said. "That continued in the summer as we competed in leagues and events.
"Culture, unselfish play was a focal point all summer and the more success we have, the more it grows."
North is tied atop the Fox Valley Association with a 2-0 mark with preseason favorite Oshkosh North. The teams meet Friday in a showdown at Appleton North.
The Lightning has balanced scoring with Grant Hardy (19.7 points per game), Abraham Tomori (14.0, 7.3 rebounds), Will Sweeney (14.0 ppg) and Nathan Ramus (14.0, 5.0 assists). Hardy, Sweeney and Ramus are sophomores and Tomori is a junior.
"We have short-term goals and long-term goals and we like to take it day-by-day and not focus on games down the road," Sweeney said. "But for sure win conference and making a deep playoff run are our goals this year."
Said Tomori: "I feel like we have a lot of talent and I trust in every single one of our players. I feel like we have to take it day-by-day. Doesn't matter who we play, we have to play to the best of our ability."
Ben Zdzieblowski, also a sophomore, is averaging 10.0 points a game with junior Sean Hansen averaging 5.3 points. Kellett also points to seniors Brayden Hechel, Will Guilbeault and Nathan Stanislawski as having important roles on the team, and all three have played in the first three games.
"We have some terrific young talent," Kellett said. "But our seniors are tremendous leaders who play a larger role than people know. Our focus as a team is to play as hard as we possibly can and leave no questions of effort."
Kaukauna lead area teams in rankings
Three-time defending WIAA Division 1 state wrestling champion Kaukauna is the top-ranked team in the state in D1 in the latest Wisconsin Grappler rankings.
Hortonville is No. 9 in D1 with Freedom No. 3 in D2. Weyauwega-Fremont and Shiocton are ranked No. 5 and No. 7, respectively, in D3.
Here are the complete rankings:
Division 1 - 1, Kaukauna; 2, Bay Port; 3, Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln; 4, Hartland Arrowhead; 5, Menomonie; 6, Hudson; 7, Marshfield; 8, Muskego; 9, Hortonville; 10, Beaver Dam.
Division 2 - 1, Luxemburg-Casco; 2, Prairie du Chien; 3, Freedom; 4, Lodi; 5, Kewaskum; 6, Medford; 7, Evansville; 8, St. Croix Falls.
Division 3 - 1, Fennimore; 2, Iowa-Grant/Highland; 3, La Crosse Aquinas; 4, Coleman; 5, Weyauwega-Fremont; 6, Stratford; 7, Shiocton; 8, Marathon.
Area basketball rankings
GIRLS
1, Neenah (6-1): Rockets suffered first loss of season last Tuesday in 69-68 defeat at undefeated Arrowhead. Next: Tuesday vs. Kaukauna.
2, St. Mary Catholic (5-0): Zephyrs move up spot in rankings after Kaukauna loss. Team is winning its games by an average of 22 points. Next: Tuesday vs. Mishicot.
3, Kaukauna (3-1): Ghosts dropped 63-54 decision to Appleton East on Friday. Team plays at Neenah on Tuesday before a home game with Hortonville on Friday. Next: Tuesday at Neenah.
4, New London (6-1): Bulldogs got two wins this past week, 63-51 over Wausau East and 52-25 over Wisconsin Rapids. Next: Tuesday vs. Medford.
5, Kimberly (4-1): Kate McGinnis is averaging 20.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists for the Papermakers, who are coming off a 71-63 victory over De Pere on Saturday. Next: Tuesday at Appleton West.
Also: Appleton East (6-1), Hortonville (2-3), Freedom (5-1), Xavier (5-2), Chilton (3-1), Menasha (4-2), Weyauwega-Fremont (5-3).
BOYS
1, Xavier (5-0): Hawks coming off 89-54 victory over Menasha on Friday and have surpassed 80 points three times this season. Next: Tuesday at West De Pere.
2, Appleton North (3-0): Lightning routed Appleton West 91-50 on Friday and is averaging 85 points a game. Next: Tuesday vs. Oshkosh West.
3, Brillion (6-0): Lions outlasted Wrightstown 63-62 on Saturday at Baird-Gustman Shootout. Team has three games over a five-day span this week. Next: Tuesday vs. Southern Door.
4, Kaukauna (2-1): Senior shooting guard Keegan Van Kauwenberg leads the team in points (23.3) and assists (5.7) and is averaging 3.0 steals. Next: Tuesday vs. Neenah.
5, Fox Valley Lutheran (4-0): Foxes break into rankings and have a pair of players averaging over 20 points a game in Adam Loberger (26.2) and Sam Ferge (21.2). Next: Tuesday at Clintonville.
Also: Clintonville (4-0), Kimberly (2-1), Hortonville (3-1), Freedom (3-1), Hilbert (3-1).
Kimberly girls basketball on Roundtable
Kate McGinnis, Raegan Krueger and Jadyn Dietrich from the Kimberly girls basketball team will be the featured guests on Varsity Roundtable on Wednesday. Showtime is 7 p.m. and is interactive with a live chat.
The Roundtable is the only live online high school talk show in the state and is live streamed on several formats including at postcrescent.com, on the Post-Crescent's Facebook page and on YouTube on the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin channel.
Livestream of the week: Oshkosh North at Appleton North
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin's livestream game of the week is a Fox Valley Association boys basketball showdown between Oshkosh North and Appleton North.
Tip is at 7 p.m. from Appleton North and the game can be seen on postcrescent.com, the Post-Crescent's Facebook page and on YouTube on the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin channel.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: North boys basketball off to fast start; wrestling, hoops rankings
