Burlington’s Berezowitz family sweeps top coach, player honors
By Mike Ramczyk
Correspondent
It was a basketball season like no other in 2020-21.
For the first time, players wore masks during games to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Spectators were limited to two guests per player in most instances. Some venues didn’t allow any spectators.
Heck, some games even had to be moved to other cities to accommodate local health regulations.
It was so unique, in fact, that it will probably never happen again.
But a constant is the 2021 Southern Lakes Newspapers All-Area Basketball team.
This week the boys teams take center stage.
What started in 2016 as a way to honor the 16 teams in the newspaper group’s coverage areas in Walworth, Racine and Kenosha counties has become an area staple for student-athletes.
If a player didn’t make the All-State, All-County or All-Conference, the SLN squad provides one final opportunity to validate all the blood, sweat and tears.
SLN correspondents Mike Ramczyk, Chris Bennett, Tim Wester, Mike Hoey and Dan Truttschel, along with Westosha editor Jason Arndt, attended quite a few games this season and had a chance to see the best players, coaches and games.
Without further adieu, we proudly present this year’s All-Area squad.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Joey Berezowitz, senior, Burlington
Not only a deadly 3-point shooter and scorer, the 5-foot-10 guard could facilitate the offense and pressure the basketball defensively.
Teams had to change entire defensive strategies and “run Joey off the line,” in order to stop him from going off for eight or nine triples, which he did on several occasions.
The Southern Lakes Conference Player of the Year, Berezowitz also earned first team All-Racine County and Honorable Mention All-State from the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association.
Berezowitz became Burlington High School’s all-time leading scorer with 1,156 points and his 504 points were the second-highest single season total in school history.
Berezowitz averaged 19.4 points per game, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals.
He shot 47 percent from the floor, including 42 from beyond the arc and 78 from the line.
Perhaps the highest form of respect, Berezowitz was lauded by area coaches.
East Troy head coach Daryl Rayfield, who coached current Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder and two-time SLN All-Area Basketball Player of the Year AJ Vukovich, former D1 college stud Nate Dodge and twin towers Brett and Alex Prahl (UWM), says Berezowitz is one of the best high school basketball players he has ever seen.
“I just love this kid’s basketball ability,” Rayfield said. “It’s just a treat to watch him. It has been a very long time since I have seen a really complete high school player as good as Joey.”
“His transition from defense to offense into secondary offense is at a very, very high level.”
Berezowitz led the Demons to a Division 1 sectional, though Burlington is a Division 2-sized school.
Joey’s father, Steve, was named the 2021 SLN Coach of the Year.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Steve Berezowitz, Burlington
Coach Berezowitz took the Demons to their first sectional since 2016 in his 25th season.
Burlington finished 19-7 overall and took third place in the top-heavy Southern Lakes Conference, which featured conference champion Westosha Central and second place Wilmot.
The Demons split with both the Falcons and Panthers.
Berezowitz added former Burlington Catholic Central head coach Kyle Scott to this year’s staff, which meant a total of three current or former varsity head coaches (Tom Dummer, former Badger head coach). Also, former Demon star Travis Crayton continued to prove his mettle as an assistant.
Coach Berezowitz led the Demons to comeback playoff victories against Muskego and Westosha Central.
In a sectional semifinal at Franklin, Burlington held a second-half lead before starter Dane Kornely suffered a sprained wrist and was forced to sit out the final 14 minutes.
FIRST TEAM
Jordan Johnson, senior, Elkhorn
It’s not easy to score 49 points in a pickup game, let alone a playoff game, but Johnson did just that last month against Mukwonago.
Despite a 77-73 loss, Johnson put the Elks on his back with 49 points in his final high school game.
The sharpshooting, 6-foot-4 guard was a key factor in two SLC title runs, including a WIAA Division 2 state tournament appearance in 2019.
In earning his second straight Janesville Gazette area player of the year honors, Johnson finished his season with a splash, scoring 38, 47, 31 and 49 points in the last four games.
The D2 Minnesota-Moorhead recruit averaged 28.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, with 1.8 steals.
Johnson shot 45 percent from the field and 35 percent from 3-point range.
The Elks stumbled to a middle-of-the-pack finish in the SLC, but they picked it up at the end of the season to finish strong.
A first team all-SLC pick, Johnson also earned honorable mention All-State.
Elkhorn coach Josh Skatrud said Johnson is a “first team lock and should be a strong candidate for SLN player of the year.”
Jake Martin, senior, Whitewater
The 7-foot man in the middle made opponents cringe at the thought of taking the ball to the rim, according to East Troy coach Rayfield.
As a junior, Martin scored 23 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and swatted eight shots against Rayfield’s Trojans.
And his senior year was even more menacing.
Martin finished his four-year varsity career with 1,143 points, 105 blocked shots and more than 700 rebounds.
He is No. 4 on the school’s all-time scoring list.
A first team all-Rock Valley selection, Martin averaged 18.1 points and 10 rebounds per game.
“Jake had a very solid season and career. His stats stack up with anyone in the area,” said Whitewater head coach Dan Gnatzig.
Kevin Sandman, senior, Wilmot
Enter Sandman.
No, not the 1990s Metallica song, but this guy is every bit as much of a nightmare to those trying to stop him on a basketball court.
Sandman beat the visiting Burlington Demons on a last-second, 17-foot buzzer beater to help the Panthers edge out the Demons by one game in the conference standings.
Also, Sandman scored more than 1,000 points for his illustrious career. He was named first team All-SLC and honorable mention All-State and will play along with Johnson and Berezowitz in the WBCA Division 2 All-Star game in June in the Wisconsin Dells.
Wilmot coach Jake Erbentraut sang the praises of Sandman and teammate London Glass.
“Both are seniors and led our team as captains,” Erbentraut said. “I also felt they had tremendous growth throughout the season which directly impacted our team’s success. We started out 0-3 and not playing well to evolve into a competitive team, finishing 3rd in our league, getting a playoff win on the road (we weren’t expected to win) and finishing 15-7.”
Sandman averaged a stunning 23.9 points per game, including 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals.
He shot a blistering 48.6 percent from the field, 35 percent from 3-point land and 83 percent from the line.
Jack Rose, junior, Westosha Central
A rare talent, Rose is garnering Division 1 college interest as a junior.
Kiss from a Rose, Every Rose Has its Thorn, Kenosha Kobe or whatever you choose to call him, all you have to know about Rose is his jump shot is lethal from just about anywhere on the court.
At 6-foot-5, Rose can put the ball on the floor and get by most defenders and can certainly shoot over guys.
Without a true big man, Rose was often the team’s tallest player and led the Falcons to a third straight SLC title.
A first team all-SLC, first team All-Kenosha County and honorable mention Associated Press and WBCA All-State selection, Rose averaged 21 points and 6 rebounds per game and often took over games down the stretch in helping Central to a 16-6 overall record and 13-1 mark in the SLC.
Rose averaged 25 points per contest over his final five games.
Rose has earned Division 1 college basketball interest since his sophomore season, including Marquette University and UW-Milwaukee.
“Jack is everything you want in a high school player,” Westosha Central head coach James Hyllberg said. “He’s a gifted scorer, rebounder and defender, a leader on and off the court, has a tremendous work ethic, is a great teammate and has a superb attitude. Jack is coachable and his desire and drive to win is evident through his daily practice habits.”
“Jack’s biggest games came against the best teams and was instrumental in leading Central to a conference title. He is fearless and is only going to get better.”
Ryan Nixon, senior, East Troy
The best player on the the basketball factory known as East Troy, Nixon stood out with 21.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3 assists per game.
He shot 56 percent from the floor and nabbed nearly 2 steals per game.
Nixon received the second-most votes for Rock Valley Conference player of the year.
Rayfield says Nixon is a “long, athletic wing who scores in bunches.”
Next season, he will play at Division 3 Knox College.
A first team all-RVC and honorable mention All-State pick, Nixon will play in the Division 3 WBCA All-Star game.
“Ryan was a big part of three conference championships,” Rayfield added.
Nixon scored 30 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in a 65-50 victory over Division 1 Sun Prairie, and he added 25 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in an 89-67 win over Division 2 state semifinalist Lake Mills.
SECOND TEAM
Gus Foster, junior, Walworth Big Foot
Stats, accolades: HM all-State, RVC 1st team, all-Janesville Gazette 1st team, 23 ppg, 11 rpg
Ben Venteicher, senior, Williams Bay
Stats: 2021 Trailways Conference player of the year, 1,088 career points, 19.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.6 steals per game
London Glass, senior, Wilmot
Stats: 1,000 career points, 18.2 ppg, 48% FG, 71% FT, 39% 3FG, 5.3 rpg, 1.9 spg, 2.8 apg, all conference 2nd team.
JR Lukenbill, sophomore, Burlington
Stats: 11.2 points per game, 16 ppg in 3 playoff games, 5 rpg, 2nd team all-SLC, HM all-Racine County
Neal McCourt, senior, Catholic Central
Stats: 11.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.5 steals per game in perhaps the toughest conference in the area…
“As our primary threat, Neal was often the focus of the other team’s defensive efforts. Neal was asked to do everything for our team beyond just scoring including handling the ball, being a defensive stopper and rebounding the ball.” – CC head coach Steve Smith
Chase Cummings, junior, East Troy
Stats: 18 ppg, 6 rpg, 4 assists, 48% field, 82% free throws
Greyton Gannon, junior, Mukwonago
Stats: 13.5 ppg, 7 rpg, 2nd team All-Classic 8
Aiden Calderon, senior, Palmyra-Eagle
Stats: 1st team all-Trailways, 22.1 points, 14 rebounds per game, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football recruit
HONORABLE MENTION
Union Grove: Tyson Skalecki
Badger: Ty McGreevy
Burlington: Ethan Safar, Dane Kornely.
Waterford: Gabe Riska.
Delavan-Darien: Erik Cesarz.
Elkhorn: Drew Davey.
Wilmot: Isaiah Hoyt.
Westosha Central: Kenny Garth, Devin Griffin.
Faith Christian: Tyler Jacob.
Williams Bay: Jaden Randall.
Catholic Central: Cal Miles.
East Troy: Colin Terpstra.
Mukwonago: Joey Jendusa
Palmyra-Eagle: Cameron Joyner.
Whitewater: Carter Brown.
Big Foot: Tyler Wilson.
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