Ever wanted to watch lightning dance in a bottle? You'll get the chance to witness the closest thing to it if you make the trek to Waunakee for tonight's WIAA Division 2 boys basketball sectional semifinal battle between Monroe and Wisconsin Dells.
It's a matchup between squads that both got to show their steps on the UW-Madison Kohl Center's dance floor at last year's final four.
The Chiefs' moves were seen only for one round, as they stumbled against eventual runner-up Port Washington in the semifinals. But all the Cheesemakers' stylings came up gold as they drop-stepped their way to a title.
This year's reunion of sorts finds both clubs boasting incredible guard play. Sorry, Mr. Tony Cates. I know you've been on fire as of late. I must say, it's because of you that said perimeters are so dangerous, so don't think I've forgotten about the gentle giant that the Cheese can't win without.
When the 6-7 Cates is working inside, Monroe becomes a matchup monster with junior point man Mitch Tordoff and a rapidly-recovering Brett Stangel lurking around the arc and waiting to cut to the goal with precision when the time is right.
Monroe will need to be able to score in a variety of ways, whether using athleticism in full-court scenarios or executing in the half-court.
"We've never been a team that will shy away from any style of play," Monroe coach Pat Murphy said, "and we're going to need to be able to score points no matter what the style of play is."
What might make Monroe's guard play so startling is that the most eye-popping of the perimeters comes off the bench when freshman Bryan Tordoff enters play. His highlight reel from his debut season is compelling and rich with versatility. Burying bombs from 27 feet is strangely pedestrian when compared to the reaction the crowd offers after Tordoff spikes the opposition's biggest dude's shot into the third row of the stands.
Enter the Chiefs' dynamic duo of junior Jade Royston and senior point guard Ryan Wenkman. The pair combines to score 36 points per ballgame, with Royston accounting for 20.5 of them. They're also big enough at 6-0 and 5-11, respectively, to stave off Tordoff and Stangel's propensity to score down low.
Those heights match those of Tordoff and Stangel. To add to the familiarity factor, Tordoff and Royston played AAU ball together, as have Stangel and Cates along with Wenkman.
The Chiefs also use a similar blueprint for success, as they must go to the well with 6-9 sophomore center Nate Gibson early and often to force the defense to respect the inside threat.
When the Dells are executing and triggering transition, its potency is undeniable. The Chiefs have scored at least 64 points in 10 games, including last Saturday's 64-61 victory over River Valley in the regional finals. Royston, the South Central Conference's leading scorer, had all 16 of his points in the second half of that victory.
"There's no doubt they're in attack mode right now and those guys are the whole package," Murphy said. "They'll put it on the floor, catch and shoot in rhythm, do whatever it takes."
The Chiefs' conference shakedown was also eerily similar to that of Monroe's, as they were constantly in a two-dog, top-light race for the South Central title with Adams-Friendship. However, whereas the Chiefs shared their crown with the Green Devils, Monroe ground through great adversity in order to hold off Verona and finish 12-0 in the Badger South for an outright championship.
Coming on strong at the end of the season was Badger South rival Madison Edgewood, which slowed the Cheesemakers down to a chess-match pace in the teams' regular season meetings. Now the Crusaders loom on the opposite end of the sectional, matched up against East Troy in the other semifinal.
If Edgewood should prevail and the Cheese cover the Chiefs tonight, Murf will bust out the waders for his club to get down and dirty in a third matchup Saturday at Sun Prairie.
But, as was the key in last year's title saga, Murf isn't going to let his boys think about Saturday until they've put in their time under Friday night's lights.
- Christopher Heimerman is sports editor of The Monroe Times. He can be reached at
sportseditor@themonroetimes.com.
It's a matchup between squads that both got to show their steps on the UW-Madison Kohl Center's dance floor at last year's final four.
The Chiefs' moves were seen only for one round, as they stumbled against eventual runner-up Port Washington in the semifinals. But all the Cheesemakers' stylings came up gold as they drop-stepped their way to a title.
This year's reunion of sorts finds both clubs boasting incredible guard play. Sorry, Mr. Tony Cates. I know you've been on fire as of late. I must say, it's because of you that said perimeters are so dangerous, so don't think I've forgotten about the gentle giant that the Cheese can't win without.
When the 6-7 Cates is working inside, Monroe becomes a matchup monster with junior point man Mitch Tordoff and a rapidly-recovering Brett Stangel lurking around the arc and waiting to cut to the goal with precision when the time is right.
Monroe will need to be able to score in a variety of ways, whether using athleticism in full-court scenarios or executing in the half-court.
"We've never been a team that will shy away from any style of play," Monroe coach Pat Murphy said, "and we're going to need to be able to score points no matter what the style of play is."
What might make Monroe's guard play so startling is that the most eye-popping of the perimeters comes off the bench when freshman Bryan Tordoff enters play. His highlight reel from his debut season is compelling and rich with versatility. Burying bombs from 27 feet is strangely pedestrian when compared to the reaction the crowd offers after Tordoff spikes the opposition's biggest dude's shot into the third row of the stands.
Enter the Chiefs' dynamic duo of junior Jade Royston and senior point guard Ryan Wenkman. The pair combines to score 36 points per ballgame, with Royston accounting for 20.5 of them. They're also big enough at 6-0 and 5-11, respectively, to stave off Tordoff and Stangel's propensity to score down low.
Those heights match those of Tordoff and Stangel. To add to the familiarity factor, Tordoff and Royston played AAU ball together, as have Stangel and Cates along with Wenkman.
The Chiefs also use a similar blueprint for success, as they must go to the well with 6-9 sophomore center Nate Gibson early and often to force the defense to respect the inside threat.
When the Dells are executing and triggering transition, its potency is undeniable. The Chiefs have scored at least 64 points in 10 games, including last Saturday's 64-61 victory over River Valley in the regional finals. Royston, the South Central Conference's leading scorer, had all 16 of his points in the second half of that victory.
"There's no doubt they're in attack mode right now and those guys are the whole package," Murphy said. "They'll put it on the floor, catch and shoot in rhythm, do whatever it takes."
The Chiefs' conference shakedown was also eerily similar to that of Monroe's, as they were constantly in a two-dog, top-light race for the South Central title with Adams-Friendship. However, whereas the Chiefs shared their crown with the Green Devils, Monroe ground through great adversity in order to hold off Verona and finish 12-0 in the Badger South for an outright championship.
Coming on strong at the end of the season was Badger South rival Madison Edgewood, which slowed the Cheesemakers down to a chess-match pace in the teams' regular season meetings. Now the Crusaders loom on the opposite end of the sectional, matched up against East Troy in the other semifinal.
If Edgewood should prevail and the Cheese cover the Chiefs tonight, Murf will bust out the waders for his club to get down and dirty in a third matchup Saturday at Sun Prairie.
But, as was the key in last year's title saga, Murf isn't going to let his boys think about Saturday until they've put in their time under Friday night's lights.
- Christopher Heimerman is sports editor of The Monroe Times. He can be reached at
sportseditor@themonroetimes.com.
