A Wisconsin Big Man Battle

The gym at Concordia University was packed as Diamond Stone and Henry Ellenson, the top two junior big men in the state of Wisconsin went head to head in a long awaited match-up. While the two highly ranked players grabbed the crowd’s attention, it was the Rice Lake role players that made the difference in a 56-42 victory.

In a back and forth affair, the Rice Lake guards quickly turned a 25-20 halftime lead into a 44-25 third quarter lead thanks to a 11-2 run that included consecutive three pointers by senior guard Dan Schieffer. Led by Stone, Dominican made a run to start the fourth quarter but the closest they came was a nine point deficit before Lake Rice went on a game ending 10-1 run. 

Henry Ellenson:

Ellenson got the win and the versatile big man put up 18 points and 11 rebounds while taking primary responsibility for Stone on the defensive end. Playing in front of Bo Ryan and Buzz Williams, Ellenson struggled shooting the ball going 7-25 but did put together a few highlight worthy plays and forced Stone to pick up a few costly fouls on the perimeter. His top play came when he caught the ball off the rebound, went around his back and took the ball coast to coast for a basket. He also added in a three pointer from the right wing in the first half showing off his diverse skill-set. 

Diamond Stone:

The top junior big man in the country went for 20 points and 11 rebounds, but did not have one of his finer performances. “I shot the ball from the outside too much and made some dumb mistakes defensively on the perimeter,” Stone noted.

1st Half: 3-10 FG's

In the first half, Stone got off to a strong start scoring on two of his first three touches. The first touch came in a post-up with Ellenson guarding him and Stone banked in a hook shot from the right block and followed that up with a nifty up and under move from the left block.

“I was trying to use all of my different post moves throughout the game,” Stone noted. “I’ve been working hard on the variety of moves that I can use.”

Stone struggled in the third quarter going 2-6 but controlled the paint with two blocked shots. With Rice Lake staying outside of the lane, their guards started going off from the perimeter and quickly put the game out of reach. Stone scored four consecutive baskets in the fourth quarter as the lead was quickly cut to 44-35, but turnovers and defensive miscues quickly stopped the Dominican run. During his mini-run, Stone dominated the post with dunks and short hooks. His final basket came on a fast break where he avoided one defender with a crossover and another defender with a euro step before throwing down a two handed dunk.

2nd Half: 6-10 FG's

“I knew if I started scoring I knew my teammates would get some energy as well. The plan was for me to just get the ball in the low block and start to score.”

As noted the two main coaches in the state of Wisconsin were in attendance in Bo Ryan and Buzz Williams, along with Duke assistant Nate James. Stone noted that he doesn’t pay attention to what coaches are in attendance, but you can be sure the top coaches in the country will continue to make the trek to all parts of the Cheesehead state in order to get Stone’s attention.