Here is what I posted on the UW board about Onalaska/Apple Valley. I am sure you will notice, but it's obviously written from the UW perspective.
I made it over to the Target Center this evening for a couple games in this year’s Timberwolves Shootout. Most of the games today were blowouts, but the finale was a really fun game. That game had Apple Valley, which is a top 10 team among Minnesota’s big schools and is led by super sophomore Tyus Jones, facing Wisconsin D2 #1 Onalaska, which is led by 2013 SG Matt Thomas. Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody was in attendance to watch Thomas, whom NW offered recently, while Tubby Smith and an assistant were there to watch Thomas and Jones, both of whom have Gopher offers. The game was a little slow in the first half, with AV leading 29-27 at the break, but the pace picked up down the stretch as AV held on for a 66-64 win. With things tied at 64, Jones missed a floater in the lane, which was tipped in by a teammate with just under 2 seconds to go. After a timeout, Onalaska threw a long pass, which UWGB-signee Nick Arenz caught off a ricochet. He had wide open 3, but it hit back rim and AV escaped with a 2-point win. Good game between two very solid HS teams.
Jones did not have his best night shooting the ball, as he missed a number of floaters that I think he makes more often than not, but he still had 18 points and close to double digit assists. It is very easy to see why essentially every school in the country wants him. He has such a great feel for the game and makes such excellent passes, it must be a lot of fun to play with him. I know UW tried early on in his recruitment, but he has progressed beyond the Badgers at this point. I just hope UW doesn’t have to see him regularly in the Big 10, as Michigan St. and Ohio St. (along with Duke) are his rumored leaders. He is a special player who really plays the game the right way.
From UW’s perspective, the focus of this game would have been Thomas. Coach Gard was at Onalaska’s game last night, and reportedly spent time after the game inquiring further (with Onalaska’s head coach) about Matt. Their interest in Thomas seemed to wane over the past few months, but I hope Gard’s activities last night indicate that a push might be coming from the Badgers in Matt’s recruitment. I understand that Matt’s athleticism is a bit of a concern. He looks more explosive now that even this past summer, but he would still be pretty average athletically in the Big 10. However, he is close to 6’4” now and looks to have really put on some good weight/muscle in the last few months. For those who think UW should take a pass on Matt, if you could go back in time, would you also pass on Jason Bohannon? He was somewhat limited physically but still had a very productive career on some really good Badger teams. I have noted this before so I apologize if people are sick of reading this, but I believe Matt is too good of an overall player for UW to not take. He absolutely knows how to play the game, and is an elite shooter in his class. If I’m Bo, I go out and see him (instead of just sending Coach Gard) a time or two in the coming weeks and make an offer. He has a nice offer list now, and it’s only going to grow as we move into the next evaluation period this spring.
In tonight’s game, AV had a pretty rangy guard (probably 6’1” or 2”) who chased Matt everywhere and played him pretty physically. Matt seemed to be able to get by him without too much trouble, but he was relatively quiet in the first half. He still had 12 points, but only two of his buckets really stuck out. Tyus got a steal early on and ran out for a dunk. Not sure if he got his steps messed up or what happened, but he blew the dunk. Matt got a long rebound off that and went the other way. AV didn’t really come out to stop the ball very well, so he stopped and knocked down a 22 footer. Quick 5-point swing on that one. Later in the half, he got by his defender from the 3-point line and hit a leaner from the foul line as his man tried to catch up with him. Tough shot, but he made it look pretty easy.
AV was up 2 at the break, but pretty much had control of the second half. They got their lead to 10 with about 10 to go, then Thomas went nuts and almost got Onalaska back for the win. He got his first hoop of the second half (he made a pair of FTs earlier in the half) with about 9 minutes to go after getting past his man with a pump fake and knocking down an 18 footers after one dribble. Then he a steal from Tyus and went coast to coast for a hoop and the foul. The foul was a little ticky tacky, but it was a nice finish because he had a guy contesting him on each side as he went to the hoop. With about 4 to go, he drained a deep 3 with a hand in his face, which got Onalaska back to 55-51. After the teams traded some buckets, AV had a 63-58 lead. Thomas freed himself enough to hit a jumper from the FT line, which he was also fouled on. Very nice jumper thru the contact. He missed the free throw, but Onalaska got the rebound, immediately threw it to Thomas, who hit another jumper from the FT line. He then got a steal on the ensuing inbounds pass and converted a layup to give Onalaska a 64-63 lead with 90 seconds to go. AV made a FT to tie things up, giving Onalaska the ball with a little over a minute to go. This possession was one of the few things Matt did wrong (in my opinion) in this game. He is certainly confident in himself, but I didn’t like that he took an NBA-range 3 with Jones’ hand in his face with 60 seconds left. He missed it and Onalaska didn’t get the ball back until just under 2 seconds to go. For the game, I had him 11-20 from the floor (including 2-6 from deep) and 9-11 from the line for 33 points. He also had 8 boards. Onalaska played almost exclusively 2-3 zone, with a little 1-3-1 mixed in, so it’s tough to gauge his defensive abilities. I would guess he’s a solid defender at the HS level, and that his strength and smarts would allow him to be at least adequate defensively at the next level. Matt’s a very good player and Onalaska has a nice team. I’m hoping to see them next weekend in Lacrosse and then in two weeks in St. Paul. Sorry if I bored anyone with too many Matt Thomas details!
