By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
Having the chance to showcase your skills on a statewide stage can only help a young player.
And in the case of East Troy High School sophomore A.J. Vukovich, that opportunity led directly to a high honor last week.
Vukovich, who scored 17 points in the Trojans’ 65-53 loss to Prescott in a Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 3 state semifinal at the Kohl Center March 22, was named to the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association’s All-State Team last week.
East Troy coach Darryl Rayfield said Vukovich gained momentum as the season went along, and once coaches who voted for the honor saw him, it was clear he belonged.
“At the start of the year, we felt like he was a top-10 kid in his class,” Rayfield said. “Once we got to the second half of the and into the tournament, people were going, ‘Wow.’
“All the guys who voted on that team had high-level players. They were all coaches from high-level teams, so they knew (how good he was). That made it even more impressive.”
Vukovich joins a growing list of East Troy players to earn the honor, including Jake Nixon in 2016. Others who have earned that honor are Nate Dodge and Brett Prahl (2013) and Tanner Plomb (2012).
“He’s in really good company that way,” Rayfield said.
Unanimous selections were Prescott senior Peter Brookshaw, who hit the game-winning shot in the state title game Saturday; Waupun junior Marcus Domask; Brown Deer senior Jay Gentry; and Appleton Xavier senior Hunter Plamann.
Brookshaw, who scored 34 points against East Troy in the semifinal, averaged 30.3 points a game this season. Like Vukovich, who is committed to play NCAA Division I baseball at Louisville, Brookshaw will play baseball in college at North Dakota State.
The team was voted on by Prescott’s Nick Johnson, Westby’s Bob Constalie, Little Chute’s Mickey Martin; Kiel’s Jamie Arenz; Richland Center’s Brandon Ewing; Greendale Martin Luther’s Paul Wollersheim; Waupun’s Dam Domask; and St. Francis’ Lance Marifke.
Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association
Division 3 All-State
Boys Basketball
First team – Ethan Anderson (sr., Black River Falls), Tanner Brandt (sr., Wisconsin Dells), Peter Brookshaw (sr., Prescott), Marcus Domask (jr., Waupun), Jay Gentry (sr., Brown Deer), Gacoby Jones (sr., Whitefish Bay Dominican), Jaylen Mahone (sr., Laconia), Hunter Plamann (sr., Appleton Xavier), Kyle Tuma (sr., Valders), A.J. Vukovich (so., East Troy).
Honorable mention – Kyle Daoust (sr., Southern Door), Sam Ferris (sr., Appleton Xavier), Chris Thompson (sr., Gale-Ettrick-Trempeleau), Solomon Zarling (sr., Kettle Moraine Lutheran).
