Brookfield/Elm Grove Monthly
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/112093
SPORTS Page 8A ��� Freeman Brookfield & Elm Grove MARCH 2013 PREP BOYS BASKETBALL Improvement by LaChance, Goodman boosts Central By Daniel Mike Freeman Staff Robert F. Borkowski/Special to The Freeman Riley LaChance is among the top scorers in Brookfield Central High School history. BROOKFIELD ��� Mark Adams enjoys watching his players get better. The longtime coach of the Brookfield Central High School boys basketball team has watched a lot of players improve over the years. He���s watching two stellar examples of improvement this season in juniors Riley LaChance and Elijah Goodman, who helped lead the Lancers to a share of the Greater Metro Conference title. LaChance was an all-conference guard as a sophomore, but Adams challenged him to improve even more. ���At the end of the year, I sit down with all the players individually one on one, and with , the underclassmen I talk about the next step,��� Adams said. ���Each year, there���s one major thing I pick out for them to improve on. ���At the end of last year, I told him he needed to shoot the 3 more consistently He had to . make that a more consistent part of his game, which would assist him getting to the basket more. ���He worked on it, and this is his best 3-point field-goal percentage he���s had.��� The 6-foot-2 LaChance finished the regular season shooting 40 percent behind the 3-point arc and scored 460 points during the regular season (20.0 ppg). His regular-season total is 1,028 career points, passing 2012 graduate Seth Mortag (1,019) for third on the school���s all-time scoring list. Charlie Jack, who graduated in 1966, is No. 1 at 1,243. Early next season, LaChance is expected to reach No. 2, which is held by 1965 graduate Bob Wille with 1,049. ���He���s really developed his game,��� Adams said of LaChance. ���He can shoot the 3 consistently now, his inside game is outstanding, he can get to the basket and create, and in doing that he can get to the free-throw line. He���s shooting 78 percent there. ���He���s not dunking ��� but who knows?��� Adams believes he will add more strength when this season is over. ���The next offseason will be important for him, because I���m not sure how much more he can grow,��� Adams said. ���He���s 6-2 now, and he needs to gain even more strength than he���s got now. As he���s seen this year, people are sending one or two people at him, and sometimes that���s baseline to baseline.��� Goodman���s offseason work came with no prodding from Adams. ���Last year, a three-minute stretch was all we could have him out there for,��� Adams said of Goodman. ���He saw an opportunity this year where all our post men were graduating. He saw a real opportunity for him to get a lot of minutes. But to get those minutes, he���d have to come in in better shape. ���He���s down to probably 225, 220. Last year he played about 260 or 270. It was his choice. I didn���t tell him to lose the weight; he got tired of it and did it on his own.��� Goodman finished the regular season averaging 14 points and 15.3 rebounds per game. He had 19 double-doubles in 22 games ��� seeing more minutes thanks to his slimmer frame. ���To his credit, a lot of it is by watching what he eats,��� Adams said. ���For a high school kid, that���s hard. A teenager doesn���t want to hear about what he can���t eat and what he can. He usually waits until he���s older to worry about that.��� Goodman had the instincts to rebound last year, and he���s more agile this season in attacking the basket. That has also improved his offensive game. ���He���s very instinctive, his anticipation skills are good and he really follows the path of the ball,��� Adams said. ���His right- and lefthand ability is outstanding. If you didn���t know him, you wouldn���t know if he���s rightor left-handed. He has great hands, and they���re very soft. ���He has a wider body that helps him create space in the post area better than anyone we���ve had since Joe Thomas. He���s smart ��� he can use his body and his width to his advantage.��� Email: dmike@conleynet.com AROUND BROOKFIELD BROOKFIELD ��� Alec James is heading for Madison after all. James, the senior football star at Brookfield East High School who was The Freeman���s Player of the Year in 2012, originally committed to play for the University of Wisconsin last fall. But when UW head coach Bret Bielema took off for the Arkansas job, James reopened the recruiting. However, James wound up going with the Badgers on National Signing Day . James is one of the most decorated athletes in Brookfield East history and helped the football program to its greatest three-year run of success, including an undefeated Greater Metro Conference championship. James twice was the Greater Metro Conference Defensive Lineman of the Year and was all-state two consecutive years. He was selected the state coaches association���s Defensive Player of the Year. Other Brookfield East athletes signing with colleges were soccer player Jackie Wandt (Northern Illinois), track and field standouts Brad Johnson (Minnesota) and Trenton Daniels (Minnesota) and football player Brian Smith (Minnesota). Healthy legs are just a phone call away... Former East coach honored by UWM MILWAUKEE ��� Jerry Stern was inducted into the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Bud K. Haidet Athletics Hall of Fame last month. Stern, who coached at Brookfield East High School and eventually became the school���s principal, was part of three Wisconsin State University Conference track and field championships as a pole vaulter. Now is the time to stop the pain, discomfort & unsightly appearance associated with varicose veins. We invite you to call or visit us today for your free consultation. n. r Treatment may be covered by your insurance, Medicare included. 229438002 East���s James to become a Badger 262.349.9371 www.venainstitute.com Bruce W. Cardone, M.D. Board Certified Radiologist & Phlebologist 230897005