Just because the calendar's finally flipped to April doesn't mean the middle to end of March isn't worth reflecting on one last time.
In the sports month dictated by madness, the Lady Cheesemakers were just nutty enough to pull out a state title.
I felt a bizarre sense of déjà vu when I watched the Badgers pursue NCAA greatness over the past couple weeks. But last Friday, all the faux comparisons halted as quickly as Wisconsin's sense of execution.
Neither ballclub was given any semblance of an endorsement to make a title push this season. And that's just regarding conference. The Badgers fell beneath Michigan State and Indiana in the Big Ten projections and Monroe's girls were mired in the middle of most prognosticators' packs.
Both teams hit substantial road blocks. The Badgers were out-everything'ed by Purdue twice. The Lady Cheesemakers were run off their own floor by Verona.
Both teams rebounded to become the untied cream of their conference's crop. Said feat came because the squads learned to win selflessly. The same way that several of Bo Ryan's boys were a threat to go off via the swing offense, Kevin Keen's club had seven players break into double digits in scoring this season.
But in the sled dog days of a long winter, Monroe's prep program found a way to get stronger as the pressure got more intense. Battling the sniffles and facing the fevered last gasps of some of the state's finest seniors, the Cheese kept their legs churning all the way through the WIAA tournament.
Poster child of Delavan-Darien hoops Kelly Supernaw headlines a list of many captains who couldn't keep the young Cheesemakers from seizing their opportunity early in most of their developmental curves.
Monroe just looked entitled. Focused. The Badgers, meanwhile, just looked doomed the moment they took the floor for the second half Friday night. Whereas Wisconsin confidently stroked its way past Kansas State to get to the Sweet 16, Davidson was the unconscious club Friday and it rapidly unraveled a team that this writer was beginning to deem unflappable.
On Sunday I admittedly pulled for the scintillating sophomore Stephen Curry to knock off Kansas. But, the same way Badgers senior Michael Flowers and his crew weren't ready for Curry and Co. on Friday, Davidson's floor general Jason Richards balked when Curry bought him a look at greatness.
So how did the Lady Cheese avoid such flinching? Maybe they were too young to fully grasp the pressure. Perhaps the Monroe youth hoops program has simply matured to the point that, upon arriving at MHS, athletes are simply more battle-tested than ever before.
I think it's just a perfect combination of a lot of things. Most importantly, it was a group of upcoming stars who never forgot that they could be more than the sum of their parts if they all pulled in the same direction.
One can only wonder what sort of curve the club will take toward the postseason next time around. Most of the parts will still be in place as the Monroe machine tries for the school's fourth hoops title in as many years. Right now, Cheesemaker nation would likely settle for clear skies tonight to get another paramount season underway.
In the sports month dictated by madness, the Lady Cheesemakers were just nutty enough to pull out a state title.
I felt a bizarre sense of déjà vu when I watched the Badgers pursue NCAA greatness over the past couple weeks. But last Friday, all the faux comparisons halted as quickly as Wisconsin's sense of execution.
Neither ballclub was given any semblance of an endorsement to make a title push this season. And that's just regarding conference. The Badgers fell beneath Michigan State and Indiana in the Big Ten projections and Monroe's girls were mired in the middle of most prognosticators' packs.
Both teams hit substantial road blocks. The Badgers were out-everything'ed by Purdue twice. The Lady Cheesemakers were run off their own floor by Verona.
Both teams rebounded to become the untied cream of their conference's crop. Said feat came because the squads learned to win selflessly. The same way that several of Bo Ryan's boys were a threat to go off via the swing offense, Kevin Keen's club had seven players break into double digits in scoring this season.
But in the sled dog days of a long winter, Monroe's prep program found a way to get stronger as the pressure got more intense. Battling the sniffles and facing the fevered last gasps of some of the state's finest seniors, the Cheese kept their legs churning all the way through the WIAA tournament.
Poster child of Delavan-Darien hoops Kelly Supernaw headlines a list of many captains who couldn't keep the young Cheesemakers from seizing their opportunity early in most of their developmental curves.
Monroe just looked entitled. Focused. The Badgers, meanwhile, just looked doomed the moment they took the floor for the second half Friday night. Whereas Wisconsin confidently stroked its way past Kansas State to get to the Sweet 16, Davidson was the unconscious club Friday and it rapidly unraveled a team that this writer was beginning to deem unflappable.
On Sunday I admittedly pulled for the scintillating sophomore Stephen Curry to knock off Kansas. But, the same way Badgers senior Michael Flowers and his crew weren't ready for Curry and Co. on Friday, Davidson's floor general Jason Richards balked when Curry bought him a look at greatness.
So how did the Lady Cheese avoid such flinching? Maybe they were too young to fully grasp the pressure. Perhaps the Monroe youth hoops program has simply matured to the point that, upon arriving at MHS, athletes are simply more battle-tested than ever before.
I think it's just a perfect combination of a lot of things. Most importantly, it was a group of upcoming stars who never forgot that they could be more than the sum of their parts if they all pulled in the same direction.
One can only wonder what sort of curve the club will take toward the postseason next time around. Most of the parts will still be in place as the Monroe machine tries for the school's fourth hoops title in as many years. Right now, Cheesemaker nation would likely settle for clear skies tonight to get another paramount season underway.
