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Hamilton shuts down Craig

JANESVILLE — The Milwaukee Hamilton boys basketball program won a grand total of 21 games in the last six years.

That was before Tom Diener arrived.

With the legendary Wisconsin high school boys basketball coach on board, the Wildcats have quickly gone from bad to good. Just ask Janesville Craig.

Hamilton shut out Craig in the first quarter and coasted to a 50-26 nonconference win Friday night in the Cougar gym.

Despite five sophomores in the starting lineup, the Wildcats, at times, seemed to do whatever they wanted, thanks to a lackluster Cougar effort.

“You play like you practice, and that’s exactly what we did tonight,” Craig coach Bob Suter said. “We went through the motions the last two weeks of practice, and that’s about what we did tonight, too.”

Hamilton improved to 4-1 and is one win away from matching the most wins the program has produced in a season for the last seven years.

Diener, who brought his deliberate style of offense and suffocating man-to-man defense with him from Milwaukee Vincent, is having the time of his life with his young but talented squad.

“To be honest with you, I’m having more fun coaching now than I’ve ever had in my life,” said Diener, who won five WIAA Division 1 state titles at Vincent. “There’s a lot of reasons for that, but a big part of it is because these kids have bought into what we’re trying to do, especially with the man-to-man defense.”

The man-to-man defense caused the Cougars fits. Craig (4-3) missed all 10 of its shots in the first quarter and finished just 2-of-21 from three-point range for the game. A.J. Fredricks made Craig’s first field goal with 7:40 left in the half to cut the lead to 10-2, but the Wildcats responded with a 10-0 run to push the lead to 18. The Cougars got no closer than 15 the rest of the way.

The Cougars had no players in double figures as Fredricks was the high-point man with six. Senior JoJo Pregont, who was averaging nearly a double-double a game, was held scoreless.

About the only highlight for Craig was Keith Wright’s three-quarter court heave at the halftime buzzer. It turned out to be one of only two three-point shots the Cougars made in the game.

Hamilton is loaded with star-studded potential. Sophomore point guard Charles Lee, a transfer from Milwaukee Bay View, scored only two points but had five assists and four steals. Haki Stampley and Elgin Cook, also sophomore transfers from Bay View, scored 10 points each to pace the Wildcats.

With the program on the rise, Diener is hoping that the Vincent mystique rubs off on the Wildcats.

“I’ve been coaching long enough that I’ve developed a system that I believe in, and these kids are really starting to understand it, as well,” Diener said. “I’ve always believed it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it.”

Friday night the Wildcats did it very well.

HAMILTON 50, CRAIG 26

Hamilton (50)—Lee, 1-0-2; Thompson, 3-1-7; Stampley, 5-0-10; Cook, 5-0-10; Crowder, 4-1-9; Harris, 2-2-6; Ware, 1-2-4; Potrykus, 1-0-2. Totals: 22-6-50.

Craig (26)—Cagney, 1-0-2; Kennedy, 1-1-3; Fredricks, 3-0-6; M. Pregont, 1-0-2; Goike, 2-1-5; Wright, 1-0-3; Johnson, 1-0-2; Lowe, 1-0-3. Totals: 11-2-26.

Milwaukee Hamilton 10 18 10 12—50

Janesville Craig 0 9 10 7—26

Three-point goals—Craig 2 (Wright, Lowe). Free throws missed—Hamilton 3, Craig 4. Total fouls—Hamilton 12, Craig 11.

Sophomores—Craig 53, Hamilton 45.