Milwaukee Washington’s new Big 3 is dangerous
Standing mid-court at Milwaukee Bay View following his first game playing for Milwaukee Washington, Tre White was all smiles.
How could you not be after getting to throw lobs to the likes of sophomore forward Michael Foster Jr. in a game for the first time?
“I’ve never had that,” White said of a teammate with the athleticism of the 6-foot-9 Foster. “It’s great, though. He can go get it. Just throw it up and he’ll make big time plays.”
White, one of the nation’s top freshman prospects who enrolled at Washington just a few weeks ago after his family moved from Little Elm, Texas, added 21 points and helped to silence a raucous home crowd for the Redcats by night’s end.
Safe to say that the transition for White is going smoothly.
“It wasn’t hard at all,” White said of the move. “These guys are my family. I love all these guys. It’s like just moving basically, there were no hardships or anything. These guys, they brought me in, worked hard with me in practice and want the best for me. I love them.”
White was one of just Purgolders to score at least 20 points, coming in right behind senior guard Deontay Long (25 points) and Foster Jr. (24 points).
The win drew Washington even with Bay View atop the Milwaukee City Conference standings at 8-1, with another key game coming up for the Purgolders against 7-1 Milwaukee Riverside on Monday.
Here are more takeaways from the week in area boys basketball:
Washington is a force
The Division 2 race just heated up quite a bit.
No. 4 Washington already was one of the favorites to challenge Jalen Johnson, Jamari Sibley and No. 1 Nicolet for the state championship, but the addition of White adds a new dimension to the team.
The Purgolders played with pace on Friday night and a very good Redcats team just couldn’t keep up. With Foster Jr., Long and White all good athletes that can also handle the ball, it could cause problems for opponents.
White and Foster Jr. threw down three fastbreak dunks apiece and Long scored a handful of baskets in transition, as well. Their length on defense caused turnovers and, led by Foster Jr., they out-rebounded one of the state’s best rebounding teams, all of which led to multiple breakouts.
Add in a nine-man rotation of contributors on both ends and you see the potential Washington has.
At the Academy
St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy just keeps on making statements this month.
After already winning a pair of games over Brookfield Academy, the Lancers moved their number of wins over state-ranked teams in February to four with victories over Lake Country Lutheran and West Allis Central this week.
Add in a 73-59 win over St. Francis on Friday and SJNMA is now 19-1 and has clinched the Midwest Classic Conference title.
In an area full of teams with powerful Big 3 combinations, the Lancers have a seat at the table. Brandin Podziemski is a sharpshooter averaging 23.1 points per game with 79 made triples on the season, James Kelley is scoring just a shade under 20 points per game and surpassed 1,000 career points earlier this month and Gerald Gittens rounds out the trio with 15.7 points per game and should hit the 1,000-point mark for his career in the playoffs.