Celebrating A Life

January 16th seemed to be a practice like any other for the Grafton Blackhawks, until tragedy struck. Josh Davis-Joiner, a 6-2 guard, collapsed to the floor just as practice had began. All efforts to revive Josh failed, and he passed away a short time later at a local hospital.

He was only 17-years old.

There is no way to celebrate a tragedy, so in this case I do not want to focus on the tragedy, but instead on the celebration of Josh Davis-Joiner’s life and impact he had on his team.

I talked with Grafton’s Head Coach Kevin McKenna to find out more about Josh and the kind of player that he was, and even though I did not know Josh personally and had not heard of him before this tragedy, after talking with Coach McKenna I knew that Josh was a man I would have been privileged to call “teammate.”

Coach McKenna told me that he saw Josh was one of those students/kids who really went out of his way to look out for and help people.

“From the team aspect, he was a leader that we really didn't see until he was gone.  He always practiced hard, pushing others to do better but when they struggled he was there to help them up and give them a kind word to do better.”

That is why high school basketball is so great, because every single player is important, even those who's role may not be to score all the points, but who work hard in practice in order to make their teammates better.

“He always guarded the opponent’s best guard or player and did it with a passion. All of that is sorely and will be sorely missed. My lasting memory of Josh is his smile and outgoing personality.  He was always smiling and making friends with everyone.”
 

What a blessing Josh must have been to his team

I would also like to bring attention to the events that took place 4 days later in Grafton’s first game after the tragedy, at Port Washington High School. The game between Grafton and Port Washington was not one that mattered on the scoreboard, but instead it was an opportunity to show respect for what had happened.

Even though it was an away game, it felt like a home game for Grafton because of the support of the Port Washington Fans. The fans and cheerleaders of Port Washington all wore orange, Grafton’s colors, in support of the team after Josh’s death. Josh’s number, 32, was everywhere, and so was the color pink, Josh’s favorite color. Josh’s teammates wore warm-ups which had a poem that Josh had recently written in class:

"My adrenaline is skyrocketing. I'm in another world. The bond with my teammates carries us along, win or lose. We're all one big family."

After all he had been through, I asked Coach McKenna if there was anything he would say to coaches who may someday find themselves in the same situation.

“As far as to the coaches, that's the toughest question. As I have said there is no manual for this.  I would say to be comforting, talk to players and keep up with parents.  If they don't teach in the building keep up with teachers and other staff members. You don't always see how there doing just in practice. Practice seems to be a release, and a distraction.  I would rely on counselors they have a way of handling it well.  Lastly, I would say that your first concern is naturally for the kids, but you have the temptation to forget about your own feelings and emotions.  Don't forget to talk about it from your point of view as well.”

Josh Davis-Joiner’s death is very humbling, but his life is worth celebrating. My prayers go out to all those involved.  

WIAA Releases Boy's Tournament Brackets

WIAA has officially released this year's tournament brackets for high schools all across Wisconsin.


This will be the first year that the teams are seeded by the half-sectional instead regionals. Also the highest seeded team will host each game all the way through the regional, until the sectionals when games are played at neutral sites.


2012 Wisconsin High School's Basketball Brackets


Division 1


Division 2


Division 3


Division 4


Division 5

Interview With 1250's Mike "Big Time" McGivern

 Quick facts:

• Name: Mike McGivern
• Basketball History: Coached for 33 years including 15 in high school
• Where you may know him from: Host of 1250 WSSP's Varsity Blitz

I am honored to have had the chance to interview someone with as much high school basketball knowledge as Mike McGivern. Getting an interview with him was actually pretty simple considering he is also my father. But I realized I have never really sat down and just listened to his insights on the game of high school basketball. So this was actually a lot of fun.

I really wanted to get to the heart of high school and what makes it special, along with just reader's digest version of what to expect right now if you are new to the WI high school basketball arena. 

1) My Question: What makes high school basketball worth celebrating in your eyes?

1."I love the fact that these kids play for the love of the game. 99% of these kids play high school sports to represent their school, their family, and community. 

2.Players have to start to understand the term student/athlete and teamwork and all that goes a long way in their life. 

3.Lastly, the importance of learning how to win or lose with grace and dignity are such valuable lessons learned as young adults."

2) What do high school players need to know if they hope to one day play somewhere in college?

1."First and most important is that they have to take care of business in the classroom beginning in their freshman year. They cannot think that they can wait until their junior year to start focusing on their grades. 

2.As far as playing in college, I think that kids have to understand that on the college level, everyone was the star on their team at the HS level and they need to understand how much work they have to put into it to be able to compete."

3)  What are the greatest attributes a high school player needs to have if he wants to maximize his talents?     

      "Most importantly he needs to have strong drive, a passion for the game, and a humble spirit to accept direction."

4) What high school players in Wisconsin do fans need to know about? 

  

    1. "Three of the top players that most people are already talking about include Zak Showalter from Germantown, JP Tokoto from Menomonee Falls, and Sam Dekker from Sheboygan Lutheran."  

·         #3 Zak Showalter 6'3 Senior- 21.8 ppg (Germantown 20-0)

·         #10 Jean-Pierre Tokoto 6'6 Senior- 24.7 ppg (Menomonee Falls 11-8) 

·         #1 Sam Dekker 6'8 Senior- 31.2 ppg(Sheboygan Lutheran 15-4)

   

  2. "Another player is Diamond Stone from Dominican who is one of the best freshman players I have seen in a long time. I also really like Peter Drummond from Racine Lutheran. I love this kid's game but no one seems to talk about him as much as they should." 

·         #33 Diamond Stone 6'9 Fresman- 12.7 ppg (Dominican 18-1)

·         #21 Peter Drummond 5'11 Senior- 14.6 ppg (Racine Lutheran 16-2)

5) Which teams have positively surprised you this year?         

             "The teams that have surprised me with the success they've had this year are:

                           1.        West Allis Central (This Season 14-4, Last Season 8-16 ) 

                            2.     Milwaukee King (This Season16-1, Last Season 22-3)

                            3.       Milwaukee Vincent (This Season: 15-4, Last Season: 6-16)

                            4.       Watertown High School (This Season: 13-7, Last Season: 15-8)

        I really enjoyed this interview and I am sure you will be 
hearing from Mike McGivern again on this blog as we head into 
the State tournament.  

             BUT

    Just in case you can’t wait that long check out about Mike’s Wendy’s Varsity Blitz: 
            Basketball Edition 
oAnd the 1250 WSSP website at:

                           http://www.sportsradio1250.com/pages/10686868.php
      Or listen to his show directly 10am till Noon on Saturdays, only on AM 1250 WSSP. 

Building High School Success, Dominican High School

Quick facts:

• Name: Dominican High School
• Head Coach: Paul Wollersheim (17th season)
• Location: Whitefish Bay, WI
• Enrollment: 303
• Record: 17-1 (13-0)
• Ranking: 1st in Division 4
• Leading scorers: Jamall Taylor 20.1 ppg, Duane Wilson 18.7 ppg

Building a successful program at the high school level can be one of the more difficult tasks of a coach. You have only a couple years with each player, and not a lot of time to build chemistry usually needed for success.

That is why I am always impressed with those schools and coaches who are able to exemplify the heart of success by being competitive each and every year.

Dominican High School in Whitefish Bay is one of those schools.

The Knights are lead by head coach Paul Wollersheim and when I asked Coach Wollersheim exactly how he has been able to secure such a successful program, he had this to say

      "I think the biggest reason for our success at Dominican over the years has been our ability to get good players to understand the benefit of playing together and thinking team first"

Coach Wollersheim explained that this doesn't happen overnight, and can even take 2-3 years, because it can be difficult for players who may be used to receiving all the attention to grasp the team first concept. However, Coach has worked with his players to help them understand that personal attention comes with team success.

And Domincan sure has had success, with an 83% winning percentage over the previous 5 seasons

I asked Coach Wollersheim about this year's team and what contributes to their solid season thus far. 

He gave great credit to his team's veteran guard play of Jamall Taylor, Duane Wilson, and Breon Jordan who have a combined 10 years of varsity experience. 

• All three players are averaging in double figures and are shooting over 40% or better from the three point line.

What makes Dominican so dangerous is that teams cannot simply focus on their stopping their guards. Teams have to game plan to try and slow down 6'9 freshman Diamond Stone who controls the paint along side 6'8 senior Sam Starke. But I'm not done there, considering the Knights are also prepared with two 6'6 big men Jack Jelacic, and Patrick Fieldmeier.

One of the things I have seen first hand is the intensity Coach Wollersheim uses during practices to prepare his players for the games. That is why I asked him about his team's work ethic, and I gotta admit that I absolutely loved his answer:

"Overall our work ethic is solid"

Of course as a coach he always thinks that there should be more, but as the playoffs near he is confident that his team's intensity will rise even more. Which I know is a scary thought for any team having to face Domincan at any point during stretch run. 

All of this talent could go to waste without the proper fine tuning of the coach, and yet that is why Dominican shines. Coach Wollersheim knows how to fit the talent he is given each year and mold it into a successful team-first program. 

Congratulations to Dominican on their 71-47 victory tonight against Aquinas, and on yet another winning season!

For more information about Dominican High School visit their website at  http://www.dominicanhighschool.com/

The Celebration of High School Basketball

Celebrate

-To extol or praise

-To make widely known; display

Celebrating High School Basketball

The praise and display of the pure love of the game that is found in Wisconsin High School basketball.

This is NOT:

A blog for tearing down schools, players, or referees

THIS IS:

A blog for players who desire to learn from college coaches what it takes to play at the next level

A blog for high school coaches who desire to see their team publicly acknowledged for their hard work and accomplishments during the year

A blog for parents who want their kids to understand the importance of being a student athlete

A blog for all individuals who simply want to celebrate the game of high school basketball and appreciate the hard work done by players throughout Wisconsin

I truly believe that these players and coaches deserve to praised for their hard work on and off the basketball court!