Six Questions: Verona Wildcats

Members of the Arrowhead basketball team head to Madison in a Wednesday-morning caravan (Photo: Scott Ash).

Matthew Goins, assistant sports editor of the Verona Press, was kind enough to answer some questions about Verona in the fall when the Arrowhead football team met the Wildcats in the Level 3 playoffs. Now that the two schools are meeting again in the first round of the WIAA Division 1 boys basketball tournament, I went back to that well, and Mr. Goins was kind enough to help out again.

Let's learn a little about the Verona Wildcats, shall we? Verona (18-7) faces Arrowhead (22-3) in the state quarterfinals at 8:15 p.m. Thursday.

It looks like the Big Eight has occasionally given Verona fits this year, but the Wildcats won eight of nine heading into state. Anything in particular change to allow the team such a strong finish?

MG: Guard play was a key factor down the stretch. Two seniors start at the position – Kaden Nauman and Klayton Brandt. It's Brandt's first year starting, and he has been stellar this season. Not a guy who is going to score a lot of points, but someone who will give solid minutes, strong defense, and will cut to the rim when needed. They also have another senior coming off the bench in Taylor Peterson, a forward who is a strong defender and good on the boards. He led the team in scoring in the sectional semifinal, and had a key block down the stretch in the sectional championship. Verona is without one senior, Matt Ropel, who was injured late in the season and won't play. He was their sharpshooter, a great 3-point threat.

It appears the team has a great deal of balance, fronted by leading scorer Sam Karls. Describe his game and value to the team.

MG: Sam Karls is a hard worker on the offensive end. He's not a very big outside shooter, though he will from time-to-time. He likes to get into the lane, get to the basket and get a shot off and possibly fouled. One thing that Verona has lacked this season has been a "go-to scorer," though Sam has at times tried to be the one to step into that role.

Madison East is one of the top five teams in the state, and yet Verona topped East in the teams' second meeting this season. What was that win like?

It was an amazing win, and one long in coming for the Verona team. They had played East close the first time, played Madison Memorial close both times they played, and played close to Beloit Memorial each of their two meetings. But the East win was like a breakthrough, a realization that the Wildcats actually can play with the teams that are highly-ranked in the state. The thing to note about that game is that it was when Klayton Brandt began his run of being a starter and he came up huge in the win, getting a steal and layup late that sort of iced the victory for them. He didn't find out he was starting until that day when Nauman was suspended for the game.

How will Verona match up with a 7-footer like Arrowhead's Ben Mills?

MG:  I've not seen Mills play, so I can't comment on his athleticism or skill. But playing in the Big Eight Conference makes a team ready for just about anything come playoff time. And Verona has survived taking a team's best player's "punch" so to speak, and been able to weather it – and in the Big Eight, that sometimes requires taking one or two "best player punches." Verona has a 6-7 kid in Scott Christensen who plays solid defense and can stretch a defense since he likes to shoot from the outside, and Taylor Peterson off the bench also plays strong defense at 6-5. My assumption is it will be a double- and triple-team situation, and the Wildcats will make someone else beat them.

If nothing else, the Wildcats certainly shouldn't be awed by seeing another great player standing in their way when the two teams take the court Thursday evening.

It sounds like Verona has turned it around at the free-throw line, yes?

MG: A season ago, free-throw shooting was arguably the greatest weakness Verona had, and I think it cost them in getting to the sectional championship last year in the loss to Elkhorn. This year, a complete turnaround. In the playoffs this season, Verona is 68 for 86 from the line while its opponents, combined, are 27 for 39. They are getting to the line with high frequency, and making those trips count (including 12-of-12 in the final minute against Burlington last Friday evening). They also got Bradford's big man in foul trouble early, and made him a non-factor in the game.

Care to venture a prediction?

MG: I'll say Verona by five points, in the neighborhood of 59-54.