The 2008-2009 WEAU Sports Hoops Heroes team starts with the North High School Huskies' 6-foot, 7-inch senior forward Tyler Brown who was a dominant force for North this season. The Division 1 Central Michigan recruit who averaged more than 12 points and 6.5 rebounds per game was a steady presence for North on their road back to Madison. Tyler was a Big Rivers Conference first team selection as well as an Associated Press (AP) fourth team all-state pick.

"It feels good to be acknowledged for your hard work, but if you're not on a good team, you can't do it all yourself,” Brown says. “Obviously being on a good team helps everyone standout. It was nice that I played well at state but it wasn't just me, we played well, had some turnovers, but we hung in there with a great team."

The most dramatic moment during this year's post-season came on March 7 in Hudson. Eau Claire North trailed the Raiders by nine points to start the fourth quarter in the regional final, but the Huskies never quit. Down by 3 with 2.6 seconds left, senior Andy Kleist rebounded a free throw miss, brought the ball up the court, and let it fly. Kleist's 65-foot shot swished through the net, sending the game into overtime, and propelled the Huskies to an amazing regional final victory.

"That is the luckiest thing I've ever done in my life, still can't believe it happened, in that game if Sonsalla doesn't hit the "3" right before, if Robbie didn't play the defense he did, we wouldn't have even been in the situation to hit that,” Kleist says. “So it was lucky, but the team played great to get us in that situation in the first place."

Joining Kleist and Brown on our Hoop Heroes team is Big Rivers conference player of the year, is Rice Lake’s Alex Culy. The Warriors senior who will play his college ball at Division 2 Michigan Tech averaged more than 17 points per game in helping Rice Lake to the division two sectional semifinals.

“Big Rivers player of the year is the most meaningful,” Culy says. “I think the best thing about the past four years is the experience being around my teammates, the relationships we developed, the community support we've gotten. Rice Lake people love watching basketball, and we love having them."

The Chi Hi Cardinals were arguably the best team in the Big Rivers Conference during the second half of the regular season as coach Luke Madsen’s cards were a perfect 6-0 against the BRC. A major reason for Chi Hi's success was the sharp shooting from senior Dustin Kalien who posted impressive numbers, averaging more than 16 points and nearly 7 rebounds per game. Kalien who has narrowed his college choice to Eau Claire, River Falls, and Stevens Point says it's a thrill to be honored.

"It means a lot, it means people around the county, around the state, they recognize myself as a player and the rest of our Chippewa Falls team as a complete player and it's a great honor," Kalien says.

Hudson's Seth Stanchik is our next Hoop Heroes selection. The burly forward was a force for the Raiders this year, averaging 16 points per game in helping Hudson to the Big Rivers Conference title.

In Altoona, Tyler Schroyer was an electrifying scorer for the Rails, averaging nearly 17 points per game. Schroyer was a clutch performer for Altoona, hitting several big shots including the now legendary game-winning three-pointer against Fall Creek in the two schools 200th all-time meeting.

"It was the 200th game, I'll always remember that game because I felt like I couldn't miss, just having everyone here, the atmosphere, I'll remember that game forever,” Schroyer says. “I feel like I had a pretty successful year, but from the team aspect we finished with 17 wins which was pretty good, exceeded everyone's expectations for us."

While there were no shortage of great games and even better players in divisions one and two, some of this season's most memorable moments came from the small school ranks.

One example - the boys from Fall Creek. Any discussion of the Crickets run to the Division III state tournament certainly begins with junior forward Jordan Reetz.

Reetz's 18 points per game helped lead the Crickets to Madison for the first time in 24 seasons, and netted him all-state honors from the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and the AP.

"…I guess, hoping that we did well as a team, and we did,” he says. “We did really well making the state tournament. And then, coming along with it, all these awards ... it just, all the time I've put in the gym. This just shows that it's paying off for me finally."

Fall Creek wasn't just a one-man show this season. Fellow junior swingman Luke Tweed was the other half of the crickets one-two punch.
Tweed's 13.6 points per game and 41 percent shooting from three-point range helped him secure first-team Cloverbelt Conference honors, and the opportunity to play on the state's biggest stage.

"It's definitely been the greatest basketball experience of my life playing in the Kohl Center. The floor is great, the atmosphere is just amazing, and you have lots of adrenaline, and you're just excited to go play. It was a good time," Tweed says.

One of the season's best rivalries involved the Crickets and their Western Cloverbelt rival, Eau Claire Regis. The spark plug for the Ramblers was junior forward Adam Ganske, whose 15.7 points per game earned him WBCA all-state honorable mention recognition.

"It's a great honor to get all those awards,” Ganske says. “It's kind of like a reward for all the hard work that I've put in. I've got a good supporting cast, so it's kind of an award for all of us, I guess."

Powering the Ladysmith Lumberjacks was senior Joel Effertz, whose 18 points and 9 boards a game led Ladysmith to a 17-6 overall record. The trend of quality upperclassmen carries over to the Division IV level, and McDonell guard Jarrod Martell. A first-team all-conference pick in the Western Cloverbelt, Martell's 16 points per game helped carry the Macks to a regional championship.

"It's my first plaque on any team I've been on, so I was pretty proud for me and my team and our coach as well," Martell says.

Rounding out this year's squad is a member of the up-and coming stars - Blair-Taylor sophomore Hank Kujak. The Wildcats' guard helped send his team to state with a clutch shot in the sectional final against Prentice. Kujak's 13 points per game also guided him to WBCA Division IV all-state honors.

"One thing is probably in the sectional final, when we were playing Prentice,” Kujak says. “I looked over at Coach after they made the basket to go up, and he's looking at me, 'You got the ball and you know what to do.' Just basically making that game-winning shot, that's always something I'm going to remember."

Athletes often think of their team as a family, so it's only fitting an award would be shared among actual relatives. After leading their teams to the state tournament, Fall Creek Head Coach Rick Storlie and Blair-Taylor Head Coach Randy Storlie get the nod as our co-coaches of the year.