Big Eight Preview

Going from conference to conference and looking through each team and their returners is a fun way to prepare for the high school season. Today, we're taking a peak at the Big East-South and Big 8. Both of those conferences have a clear favorite with aspirations to make a deep postseason run, so let's talk about it, starting with the Big East-South.   Verona   The Wildcats have the most talent in the Madison area, in my opinion, and this iteration of the Wildcats will be guard-heavy again. The Wildcats will rely on their two scholarship-level guards, future Iowa Hawkeye [player_tooltip player_id='209595' first='Taylor' last='Stremlow'] and future St. Cloud State Husky [player_tooltip player_id='209608' first='Reagan' last='Briggs']. Although Stremlow has unfortunately had some injuries that have cost her games and her sophomore season, when these two are healthy and clicking, they're good enough to get their team to the state tournament. Don't forget that Verona made the state tournament in 2021 after playing eight regular season games and not starting their season until January. Verona's class of 2024 has the talent to finish their careers notably this season. That said, they have talent behind them that will also help propel them. Fellow 2024 wing [player_tooltip player_id='444787' first='Maia' last='Ellis'] is one of the most well-rounded kids in her class and is one of the better defensive prospects in Wisconsin. [player_tooltip player_id='448288' first='Emily' last='Jensen'] and [player_tooltip player_id='533070' first='Allison' last='Jirsa'] are two other kids who could play more prominent roles this season due to the shooting Jensen brings and the athleticism Jirsa possesses. One wildcard for this season is Allison Bostley. She's a talented volleyball kid, but 6-2 size and mobility make her an intriguing piece to watch this season for the Wildcats.   Sun Prairie West   In year one, the Wolves started on the backfoot after not having now Colorado State freshman Avree Antony due to a knee injury suffered in the previous postseason. Even though they played without Antony, they were still a few possessions away from earning a split of the series against Verona, nearly defeating the Wildcats on the road early in the conference season. In year two of Sun Prairie West girls' basketball, there are opportunities for kids to earn prominent roles after first-team all-conference performers Marie Outlay and Antionique Austin graduated and will continue their playing careers elsewhere. A few names to watch are juniors, Allison Schmidt and [player_tooltip player_id='528123' first='Makenzie' last='Hawk']. Schmidt is more of an interior presence who scores around the rim and will likely be one of the leaders for this Wolves group in rebounding. [player_tooltip player_id='528123' first='Makenzie' last='Hawk'] is a player who could break out this season. She plays hard whenever she takes the floor, takes defensive matchups personally, and you won't find many athletes with her strength at 6-0 often. A big part of this group will be [player_tooltip player_id='329599' first='Ceanna' last='Froh'], who'll likely receive a significant load of lead guard duties and could be the barometer of this team. Lastly, keep an eye out for [player_tooltip player_id='329546' first='Payton' last='Beck'] because she's on the floor for her shooting, and if she keeps teams honest, that creates a balanced offensive attack.   Janesville Craig   Likely, and unfortunately, Craig will not have UNI commit and 1,000-point score [player_tooltip player_id='209609' first='Mya' last='Nicholson'] for her senior year due to a knee injury. That's not ideal for anyone in the program, conference, or state for that matter because we want to have the best players on the floor as much as possible, so I'll speak for everyone when I say we wish Mya the best and can't wait to see her play at UNI. However, looking at this group, kids will be playing roles they aren't used to, making this team hard to predict. Kids like Braelyn Bertocchi must take another step if the Cougars want to reach the levels they've hit over the past two years.   Madison La Follette   The Lancers are much like Reedsburg. Each has a kid who plays ridiculously hard and makes everyone around them better, and both were in the top two in scoring for the state last season. [player_tooltip player_id='388287' first='Alayna' last='West'] was arguably the most or second-most productive player in the high school season last year, and I don't expect that to change this season. She's an excellent athlete at 5-9 or 5-10 and rebounds at an elite level for a guard. The Lancers earned a few unexpected wins last year and probably will again this season.   Middleton   For whatever reason, things haven't seemed to click over the past few seasons at Middleton. The Cardinals lost Audrey Deptula, which hurts, but a reshuffle might be a good thing for the Cardinals. I'd expect Middleton to fall in the standings a bit this season with so much uncertainty, but I have a hard time believing they'll be out of the top four for long.   Madison East   The Purgolders lost a valuable piece in their backcourt in Kylah McCullers but have Kearra Jones back for her senior season. They've been the trap game in the Big Eight for the past few years because they have some talent over there and occasionally have beaten some of the suburban powers like Middleton two seasons ago on the road. I'll never count the Purgolders out, and they could end up middle of the pack again.   Sun Prairie East   A significant amount of production on the 2021-22 Cardinals team left for Sun Prairie West when that school opened up a year ago. However, this season, they may have the talent to knock off the Wolves for the first time in program history. Kaitlin Bindley and [player_tooltip player_id='624967' first='Kiya' last='Dixon'] are both back, and they'll add freshman [player_tooltip player_id='751243' first='Ava' last='Vogler'] to that group, who could help them leap the conference.   Vel Phillips Memorial   The Spartans had a young group last season and will again this season. Memorial has the potential to be much better than they were a year ago, but as of now, that's all it is. The backcourt will be a determining factor. How [player_tooltip player_id='533075' first='Avery' last='Blue'] and [player_tooltip player_id='751263' first='Kennedi' last='Harden'] coexist in the backcourt could be the difference between a top-four finish or a bottom-half finish. The talent is there with those two, Arianna Eubanks and [player_tooltip player_id='844208' first='Princess' last='Nwachukwu'], but the question will be if the pieces fit, and that's a question we won't know the answer to until December, but again the talent is there.   Janesville Parker   The Vikings over doubled their wins from 21-22 to 22-23, and some may see the five wins they got last season and not think anything of it, but the improvement is nothing to scoff at. Their top two scorers were seniors, but hopefully, they can continue to build off their 22-23 season.   Madison West   The Regents lose five seniors from last year, but Sophia Ynclan is back and, like Parker, looks to continue to build and improve from last season.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">My Predictions</h2>   <ol> <li>Verona</li>   <li>Sun Prairie West</li>   <li>Madison Memorial</li>   <li>Madison La Follette</li>   <li>Sun Prairie East</li>   <li>Middleton</li>   <li>Janesville Craig</li>   <li>Madison East</li>   <li>Janesville Parker</li>   <li>Madison West</li> </ol>

Going from conference to conference and looking through each team and their returners is a fun way to prepare for the high school season. Today, we're taking a peak at the Big East-South and Big 8. Both of those conferences have a clear favorite with aspirations to make a deep postseason run, so let's talk about it, starting with the Big East-South.