Vukovich leads East Troy back to state
The future is bright for AJ Vukovich. The sophomore from East Troy is good enough on the baseball diamond to have already accepted a scholarship to Louisville. On the basketball court, the 6-foot-5 guard/forward is ahead of the game as well, having already claimed the conference player of the year award in the Rock Valley.
“For a sophomore kid, he plays with a lot of IQ and he plays so hard,” Trojans coach Darryl Rayfield said. “Usually when kids are younger, they don’t play as hard as that.”
A skilled wing who can shoot and make plays off the dribble, Vukovich is averaging 20.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.
His 34-point effort in a sectional final win over Edgerton Saturday was his second-highest point total of the season.
The victory capped a run to state filled with dramatic wins. East Troy won the regional title at Racine St. Catherine’s by four points. In the sectional semifinal, junior guard Michael Polakoski’s bucket at the buzzer was the difference in a twopoint win over top-seeded Martin Luther.
The Edgerton win came over a team that scored tournament victories over conference champions Lodi (Capitol North) and Platteville (SWC).
The playoff run helped earned East Troy its first trip to state since 2015. It earned the No. 2 seed at state in Division 3 behind Valders. Now Vukovich has a chance to show what he can do in front of a statewide audience.
“He’s got a great basketball feel,” Rayfield said. “We’re glad that he’s playing at a high level right now.”