Shootaround notes: Northwest Wisconsin takes over the Alliant

The four teams from northwestern Wisconsin at this weekend’s WIAA girls basketball tournament had the last four slots during Wednesday’s shootaround at the Alliant Energy Center.

Every team gets 25 minutes on the floor to explore the dead spots and get used to the rims. Most just go through pregame drills, others held a brief scrimmage and some, like Eleva-Strum, tried shooting halfcourt shots.

“It was really fun,” Eleva-Strum junior Brynn Salava said. “The last two minutes were kind of a joke, but it was fun.”

For the record, one Cardinals player made a shot. The others, including coach Kyle Kaufman, came up a bit short.

“I came pretty close,” Salava said.

Altoona junior Brittany Gregorich said the floor and the rims weren’t as bad as she was expecting. That’s the most important part of a shootaround, considering there aren’t too many teams that will run an actual practice or go through any offensive sets.

“It’s more just to get the feel for it so when we come out here it’s not like ‘Oh my gosh, this is so different,’” she said. “It’s more to just get the feeling, get out there and relax a little bit, feel how it is and get used to it.”

It’s a thrill, even if you’ve gone through it before. Flambeau’s Beth Alberson is playing in her third state tournament, the novelty hasn’t worn off.

“No, it’s a blast,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun. It can never get old.”

Other happenings:

*Three of the teams — Altoona, Colfax and Flambeau — played in a summer league on Wednesday nights at Altoona. To show solidarity, Chuck Gregorich, father of Altoona’s Brittany and Tiffany, said there were shirts that say “Go Big Red” on the front with the names of the three teams on the back. Those three schools, including Eleva-Strum, have red among their school colors.

*Gregorich also told me about T&C Wings, a brand he and Tom Reyzer perfected over the years. I had to find out more about these wings. Apparently, they are pretty good.

“Not only are Tommy and Chuck the best wing makers, they are also the best braggers of their wings,” Flambeau coach Ted Alberson said. “They do a better job of advertising their wings better than Buffalo Wild Wings does.”