A crowning moment
Lancers win simulated tourney
We used NBA 2K to simulate the rest of the high school basketball season. Read what happened.
The cancellation of the remainder of the boys high school basketball playoffs March 12 brought with it the harsh reality that no team would be named a state championship in 2020.
Or so you thought.
Armed with social distance, the rosters of all remaining teams in the bracket and a copy of NBA 2K17 for the Xbox, I decided to take matters into my own (and artificial intelligence’s) hands.
Over three days last week, I spent countless hours creating the rosters of 40 high school teams and simulating the rest of the playoffs to determine state champs in all five boys divisions.
It’s fully scientific, trust me.
If your team won a 2020 Journal Sentinel/NBA 2K state championship, I endorse even hanging up a banner in the gym.
This took some serious work. Here’s how it went down.
The process
Last Sunday, I purchased a used copy of NBA 2K17 for $2.99 (it’s not the newest version, sure, but for simply creating rosters and watching as the computer plays games, it works just as well). Monday, I started to tackle the roster-creating monster. I initially made seven players for all of the Division 1 teams still alive, but faced a time crunch so I made the move to creating just the starting five for all 32 other teams. Once I had the state finals matchups set, I went back and created reserves for those teams to play in the title games.
My fingers were sore by the end of it, but sure enough, standing there on my TV screen were Jalen Johnson, David Joplin, Tyrese Hunter and 229 more of their virtual friends.
With that sheer volume of players being created, I quickly reached a point where I simply couldn’t put the effort into getting every player’s appearance, jersey number or other details like that. Every player’s size and ratings, though, were made as accurate as possible.
The highest-rated players, if you were wondering? Johnson was a 98 and Sussex Hamilton’s Patrick Baldwin Jr. was a 97.
There, sadly, is no option to create a new team with its own jerseys and nickname and arena in 2K17, so I ended up adding players to NBA teams and manually adjusting their rotations so that only the created high school players saw the floor. Sorry, Giannis, but you’re getting benched for Malik Abdul-Wahid.
Due to time constraints, to get this published during what would have been the state tournament, I used quick simulations on the sectional finals (with the exception of Brookfield Central vs. Sussex Hamilton) and state semifinals (except for in Division 1, which is when I realized I didn’t have the time to watch all the games). After seeing the results of the sectional finals, I made my best educated guess at how the coaches would have seeded the state qualifiers.
I set quarter lengths to nine minutes for a final result of a 36-minute game that matches high school’s total from 18minute halves.
Then the simulations took care of the rest.
Division 1
SECTIONAL FINALS
No. 2 Neenah 70, No. 1 Kimberly 59 This one went the way of the last matchup between these two teams. Neenah led nearly the entire way as Max Klesmit hit 5 three-pointers and scored 26 points. Kimberly shot just 36% from three.
No. 1 Madison La Follette 78, No. 2 Madison East 76
This was an all-time classic. Ben Probst scored six points in the final minute of what was a 72-72 game, including a three with 10 seconds left to make it a four-point game.
No. 1 Brookfield Central 91, No. 2 Sussex Hamilton 79
Hamilton came out firing and led nearly the entire first half with Carson Smith shooting lights-out from deep, but a late Lancers push cut the deficit to 4441 at the half.
It seemed early on that Baldwin Jr. could get whatever he wanted.
Ben Nau got hot in the third to help Central take a 71-61 lead into the fourth. A three by David Joplin with 6:16 left made it 81-63 and he later iced the game with his third triple of the half to make it a 14point game with 2:15 left. Joplin scored 24 points.
In what was maybe the head-scratcher of the tournament, it seemed everyone on the Chargers was content to shoot away but Baldwin Jr., who had just six field goal attempts (and five makes).
No. 1 Racine Case 62, No. 2 Tremper 52
A balanced attack moved Case to the state tournament for the first time since 2005. All-state guard JaKobe Thompson, Terryon Brumby and JJ Rankins each scored 15 points.
STATE SEMIFINALS
Madison La Follette 88, Racine Case 78
Both teams started hot – La Follette held a 50-49 lead at the half – before cooling off. La Follette shot 6 for 20 in the third but still built on its lead as Case shot just 4 for 25. Isaiah Stewart finished with 21 points for the Lancers and Juok Riak played every minute and had 18 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks.
Thompson did all he could, finishing with 23 points, 10 rebounds and six assists but only shot six of 19 from the field. Brookfield Central 74, Neenah 53
A rematch of a state semi last year went the Lancers’ way again. Abdul-Wahid had a huge day with 23 points and eight rebounds on 8-for-11 shooting. Eric Radisevic’s height was simply way too much as he posted a stat line of 19 points and 15 boards for the second straight game.
Neenah guard Max Klesmit, equipped with a 92 overall rating, was 2 for 16.
STATE FINAL
Brookfield Central 59, Madison La Follette 49
The gold ball heads to Brookfield again.
The defending champion Lancers got 12 points from both Joplin and Andrew Rohde, who didn’t miss a shot, and led by as many as 16. After the margin was cut to six with 1 minute 10 seconds left, Abdul-Wahid and Joplin each hit jumpers to put the game away. La Follette was actually the higher-rated team by 2K but shot just 35%.
Ben Nau had eight assists for Central.
Division 2
SECTIONAL FINALS
No. 2 La Crosse Central 69, No. 1 Hortonville 45
No. 1 Nicolet 74, No. 2 Kaukauna 59 No. 1 Elkhorn 54, No. 3 DeForest 49 No. 1 New Berlin Eisenhower 75, No. 4 Wauwatosa West 68
(Note: Because of the way these games were simulated, box scores were not available.)
STATE SEMIFINALS
(State semifinals from here on out were fast-simulated in a way that I could follow along and see box scores after.)
La Crosse Central 64, New Berlin Eisenhower 54
Zach Hietpas had 6 threes – all in the first half as Eisenhower led by five – and scored 23 points, but it was Central’s defense on the rest of the Lions that carried it to the state final after two straight years of state semifinal losses.
Mr. Basketball award recipient Johnny Davis was limited to 13 points, but Terrance Thompson had a big day on the boards with 15 rebounds and 14 points. Nicolet 81, Elkhorn 60
The Knights rolled past the Elks in the state semis for the second straight year. James Graham’s size mismatch proved to be too much as he accounted for 21 points and 10 rebounds. Jalen Johnson had a triple-double and Kobe Johnson limited Elkhorn standout Jordan Johnson to just 10 points on 3-for-14 shooting.
STATE FINAL
Nicolet 57, La Crosse Central 54 Another division, another repeat state champion.
There was plenty of hype around this one as Duke recruit Jalen Johnson faced Davis, a Wisconsin recruit.
It didn’t turn out to be the track meet that most around the state were expecting, though, as tough perimeter and interior defense forced both sides into tough shots.
Johnson kept the Knights afloat in the first half with 12 points and Davis went 0 for 5, but Central led by three at the half.
Johnson seemed to always make the right play, whether it was hitting a three with the shot clock nearing zero or making a tough pass to find a cutter in traffic.
Davis heated up at the end of the third quarter with back-to-back threes that pushed the lead to five.
Darrius Bolden, Nicolet’s fifth-leading scorer during the year, came up big with a jumper and an open three to take a 50-45 lead midway through the fourth.
James Graham had another critical performance with 18 points, 10 rebounds and three steals.
Devon Fielding was the surprise offensive star for the Red Raiders as Johnny and Jordan Davis went a combined 620 from the field. Fielding scored 16 points and gave Central a chance to send the game to overtime with his play in the final quarter.
The Red Raiders had one final chance to tie at the buzzer and they went with the hot hand, but Fielding’s three was no good.
Division 3
SECTIONAL FINALS
No. 1 Wisconsin Dells 76, No. 1 Prescott 75
No. 1 Wrightstown 68, No. 1 Sheboygan Falls 60
No. 1 Turner 55, No. 1 Waupun 47 No. 1 Racine St. Catherine’s 66, No. 2 Kettle Moraine Lutheran 50
STATE SEMIFINALS
Racine St. Catherine’s 72, Turner 55 This game went better for Turner than when the Trojans lost by 40 to the Angels in early January, but undefeated St. Catherine’s still proved to be the top dog. Hunter scored 21 points to lead the Angels.
Wrightstown 76, Wisconsin Dells 72
Wrightstown’s strength all year long was its three-point shooters. The Tigers finished the season with five players with more than 30 made triples each, led by leading scorer Sam Haese who made 73 at a 40% clip. That paid off against Dells, as the Tigers hit 13 threes.
STATE FINAL
Racine St. Catherine’s 56, Wrightstown 50
The Angels took a 25-24 lead into halftime as Hunter, their all-state guard, was held to just four points on six attempts.
Hunter began to heat up as the second half went on and midway through the fourth quarter he went on a 7-0 run to give St. Catherine’s a 42-36 lead.
Wrightstown responded with a 12-5 run over the next three minutes, however, and took a 48-47 lead with 1:30 to play on a pair of Haese free throws.
That’s when Hunter took matters into his own hands with a go-ahead jumper and a steal and fast break finish moments later.
After a Wrightstown bucket, Hunter found Elijah Lambert underneath the basket to extend the lead back to three.
Wrightstown still had a chance after Kamari McGee missed his second free throw up by four with 12.4 seconds left, but nobody boxed out the shooter and McGee grabbed his own rebound. He then sank the next two free throws to secure the first state title for St. Catherine’s since 2010.
The Tigers completely went away from their strength – shooting – as they attempted just five threes as a team, with Van Zeeland (with a team-high 14 points) making the only one.
Hunter scored 16 points and had three steals and Barker added 15 points.
Division 4
SECTIONAL FINALS
No. 4 Luther 70, No. 1 Unity 66 No. 1 Stratford 64, No. 1 Iola-Scandinavia 62
No. 1 Cuba City 75, No. 2 Markesan 50 No. 1 Roncalli 68, No. 1 Milwaukee Academy of Science 62
STATE SEMIFINALS
Cuba City 85, Luther 73
The Cubans simply couldn’t miss. They shot 64% from the field as standout wing Brayden Dailey had 33 points to send Cuba City to its first title game since 2012.
Stratford 67, Roncalli 64
A couple of teams that won difficult sectional finals to make it to state battled it out. In the end, it was Stratford’s size with Wisconsin football recruit Ben Barten (18 points) and Vaughn Breit (17 points) that put the Tigers over the top.
STATE FINAL
Stratford 62, Cuba City 57
The theme of lower-scoring championship games continued.
Barten’s size was again a problem for the opposition as he bullied a smaller Cuba City team for 16 points and 14 rebounds. But he fouled out on a threepoint play by Jackson Noll that cut the Tigers lead to three with 1:10 to play.
Noll, who had all 15 of his points in the second half, stole the ball and scored seconds later to draw within 58-57. Cuba City then had two possessions with a chance to take the lead after Stratford missed four consecutive free throws but couldn’t convert.
Max Vanderhoof, a reserve guard who replaced the fouled-out Barten, soared for a putback at all of 5-foot-10 to bump Stratford’s lead to 60-57 with 15 seconds to go.
Dailey, who finished with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists, had a relatively clean look from three to send the game to overtime but left the shot short.
The gold ball is Stratford’s first in its first trip to the state tournament.
Division 5
SECTIONAL FINALS
No. 2 McDonell Central 50, No. 1 Thorp 49
No. 3 Rib Lake 80, No. 2 Wabeno/Laona 69
No. 2 Blair-Taylor 76, No. 1 WauzekaSteuben 63
No. 1 Sheboygan Lutheran 75, No. 2 Randolph 58
STATE SEMIFINALS Sheboygan Lutheran 70, Rib Lake 51 The magic for Rib Lake, a three seed going into sectionals, ran out. Leading scorer Levi Ewan was held to just eight points as Lutheran rolled to the state title game behind 26 points and 18 rebounds from Jacob Ognacevic and 22 points and nine assists from Casey Verhagen.
McDonell Central 50, Blair-Taylor 46
Apparently 2K picked up on the Macks’ tendencies. They relied on defense as they scored 44 and 47 in regional final and sectional semi wins, respectively, in real life, and then scored 50 in each of their first two simulation wins.
STATE FINAL
Sheboygan Lutheran 64, McDonell Central 51
Ognacevic was all the Crusaders needed. Despite 9-for-36 shooting from starting guards Verhagen, Jonah Jurss and Robby Michael, Luther secured a second straight state title thanks to a dominant 29-point, 17-rebound, 4-assist performance from their star forward.
The Crusaders clearly knew what their bread and butter was, peppering Ognacevic in the post all game.
McDonell cut a deficit that was as big as 13 points in the third to just one early in the fourth, but Ognacevic then dished out of a double team to Verhagen for an open three. On the next possession, Ognacevic converted a three-point play to build the lead to seven.
It was smooth sailing from there. Online: See video simulations from the games at www.jsonline.com/sports/ preps-plus/
Contact Curt Hogg at chogg@ gannett.com and @CyrtHogg on Twitter.