First, before getting to the boys, I wanted to add one more name to the "teams to watch" portion of the girls ratings which I sent out last week. I will throw in West Allis Central for going 3-0, including a victory over perennial power Slinger.
Now to the boys, and again, these are simple capsules. Complete season outlooks will be found in the Dec. 11 issues of the NOW newspapers.
GREENFIELD (1-1 as of Dec. 4): The Hustlin' Hawks are led by senior guards David Emanuele and Kyle McDaniel and junior center Alec Molter. When senior guard Will Humbles returns from injury in January, coach Jim Nowak will have a capable backcourt and the Hawks will be a team to watch in the Woodland Conference.
MUSKEGO (0-2): New coach Duane Mlachnik moves over from the girls head coaching spot, and his son, sophomore guard D.J. Mlachnik, is expected to be a key performer, along with senior guard Nick Brzozowski. The Warriors are young but could mature into a solid team as the season progresses.
NEW BERLIN EISENHOWER (2-0): The Lions return just one starter from their WIAA Division 2 championship team in senior forward Kevin Marr, but they have 11 players who made the trip to state last season, and they have some talent off a 20-0 junior varsity team. Seniors Austin Selvick and Patrick Drew have been among those looking solid so far this season.
NEW BERLIN WEST (1-1): The Vikings lost all their starters, including leading scorer Ben Wisniewski. They do have a number of players from a successful junior varsity squad and senior guard/forward Chris Prushiek tallied 27 points in a season-opening victory over Delavan-Darien.
WEST ALLIS CENTRAL (1-0): The Bulldogs lost leading scorer Oren Bloom but just about everyone else from last year's team is back, including seniors Ben Hart, Alex Kingsley and Derwin George.
WEST ALLIS HALE (0-0): The Huskies face a big rebuilding job after losing all five starters, but coach Scott Pritzl has some promising players he will work into the lineup as the season progresses.
A boys' top five guess:
1. Wauwatosa East. 2. Germantown. 3. Brookfield Central. 4.New Berlin Eisenhower. 5. Whitefish Bay
Others to watch: Whitnall, Nicolet, Menomonee Falls
