In 2005, legendary state sports writer Cliff Christl — today, the Green Bay Packers historian — sent out a list of 175 nominees to consider for the best boys basketball players in Wisconsin history.
He mailed out 300 ballots to former and current coaches, along with a few other state basketball luminaries, and received 173 responses.
Christl himself wrote that he would have named Messmer’s John Johnson as the greatest all-time player, though Johnson wound up on the second team, according to the survey responses. Christl said he didn’t participate in the balloting process.
The all-time player selected was Kohler’s Joe Wolf, whose sudden death at age 59 came to light Thursday.
More: Reaction on social media to Joe Wolf’s death speaks to former player’s character, personality
Cubs City coach Jerry Petitgoue was named the all-time coach in Wisconsin history.
Here’s who else made the list, plus a smattering of names we’d have to consider today if we conducted a similar poll. Most of the original notes are Christl’s.
We’ll start with the five first-team selections:
Joe Wolf, 6-10, Kohler
- Played 1979-83. Scored 2,086 points, including a high of 804 as a junior. Played in the McDonald’s All-American Game.
- “He was legendary,” said Tom Desotell, coach at Sheboygan North. “Man! He could shoot from the perimeter. He could take it inside. You couldn’t stop him.”
- AP and UPI player of the year, and Mr. Basketball as a senior.
- AP and UPI all-state as a senior and junior.
- Played 11 years in the NBA after four years at North Carolina.
Fred Brown, 6-2, Milwaukee Lincoln
- Played 1964-67. Scored 1,108 points, including 604 as a senior.
- Averaged 21.2 points in six state tournament games as his team won back-to-back titles his junior and senior years.
- “Fred Brown was the best player that I’ve ever seen in high school,” said John Weinert, former coach at Milwaukee King and later coach at Bowling Green. “He could do everything. Low-key. But he had great range, great jumping ability. What he did best was, he was a great, great defensive player. He could play one-on-one defense as well as anybody that I’ve ever seen in high school.”
- AP all-state and UPI second team as a senior.
- Played 13 years in the NBA after two years at Iowa, when he was named AP third team All-American as a senior.
Jim Chones, 6-11, Racine Park and Racine St. Catherine’s
- Played 1966-69. Scored 1,073 points, including 630 as a senior.
- Led the WISAA state tournament with 94 points when his team won the title his senior year to finish 26-0.
- “He was super,” said Joe Buneta, former coach at Milwaukee Pius. “Big, tall, strong. He was a dominating high school player. Mostly jump shots, hook shots, rebounds. He had a nice build for a high school player.”
- UPI player of the year as a senior. AP and UPI all-state as a senior.
- Played two years in the ABA and eight in the NBA after two-plus years at Marquette. Was named AP All-American as a junior.
Tony Bennett, 6-0, Stevens Point/Green Bay Preble
- Played 1985-88. Scored 1,340 points, including 689 as a senior.
- “He was just so solid,” said Dick Diener, coach at Fond du Lac. “Tough all the way around. He was a guy who just never made mistakes with the ball. He was a good pull-up jump shooter. He made everybody around him better. Never anything real flashy, but a great all-around percentage player.”
- AP and UPI player of the year, and Mr. Basketball as a senior. AP and UPI all-state as a senior.
- AP third team and UPI second team as a junior.
- Played three years in the NBA after four years at UW-Green Bay and ranked first in all-time scoring.
Don Kojis, 6-5, Milwaukee Notre Dame
- Played 1954-57. Scored 1,398 points, including 689 as a senior. Averaged 31.3 points per game as a senior.
- “Great! Extremely tough on the boards, offensively and defensively,” said Bob Jaskulski, former coach at Milwaukee Tech. “He was a good perimeter shooter. But in high school, he was so strong inside that’s where he operated.”
- AP all-state as a senior.
- Played 12 years in the NBA after three years at Marquette.
These five made the second team:
Clarence Sherrod, 6-0, Milwaukee Lincoln
- Played 1964-67. Scored 1,021 points, including 548 as a senior.
- Averaged 19.7 points in six state tournament games as his team won back-to-back titles his junior and senior years.
- “He was better than (Fred) Brown in high school,” said Stan DuFrane, former coach at Janesville Craig. “So quick. He could do everything. There’d be two guys there and he’d go right between them. He was one of the first guys to bring the ball behind his back and dribble.”
- AP and UPI all-state as a senior.
- Played three years at Wisconsin.
Sam Okey, 6-7, Cassville
- Played 1991-95. Scored 2,539 points, including 844 as a senior.
- Played in the McDonald’s All-American Game.
- “Probably the best high school player I saw in Wisconsin up to that point,” said Jim Nedelcoff, former coach at Southwestern. “He could rebound. He could shoot. He was a tremendous passer. He could do everything.”
- AP and Milwaukee Journal player of the year as a senior and junior, and Mr. Basketball as a senior.
- AP and Milwaukee Journal all-state as a senior and junior. AP and Milwaukee Journal second team as a sophomore.
- Played two years at Wisconsin and named Big Ten freshman of the year. Played one year at Iowa.
John Johnson, 6-6, Milwaukee St. Benedict/Milwaukee Messmer
- Played 1963-66. Scored 1,493 points, including 680 as a senior.
- Scored 69 points and grabbed 64 rebounds in the WISAA state tournament when his team won the title his senior year.
- “He was tremendous,” said Tom Sager, former coach at Milwaukee Don Bosco. “He was a big forward who could really handle the ball, shoot well, rebound. Drive to the basket. Dominating rebounder. He was like a center who could play anywhere.”
- AP and UPI all-state as a senior. UPI Private-Parochial all-state as a junior.
- Played 12 years in the NBA after two years at Iowa.
Anthony Pieper, 6-3, Wausaukee
- Played 1989-93. Scored 3,391 points, including 1,063 as a senior.
- Still holds the state records for all-time and single-season scoring (as well as No. 2 single-season).
- “For a high school player, I thought he was as good as there was offensively,” said Tony Fiore, former coach at Crivitz. “He could shoot it. He could go to the hole. He could dunk it. He was an offensive machine. There was no way you could stop him.”
- AP and Milwaukee Journal player of the year, and Mr. Basketball as a senior.
- AP and Milwaukee Journal all-state as a senior. AP second team as a junior. AP fourth team as a sophomore.
- Played four years at Marquette.
Devin Harris, 6-3, Wauwatosa East
- Played 1998-2001. Scored 1,083 points, including 582 as a senior.
- “Liked him a lot,” said John Boyle, coach at Middleton. “He was a competitor. When the game was on the line, he was at his best. Outside, inside. He could put it on the floor and go to the hole. He was pretty versatile. He could make the pass, too.”
- AP player of the year and Mr. Basketball as a senior. AP and Journal Sentinel / WBCA all-state as a senior.
- Played 15 seasons in the NBA after three years at Wisconsin.
Who were the other Wisconsin boys basketball players mentioned?
- THIRD TEAM: Bill Hanzlik, 6-7, Beloit (1975-76); Nick Van Exel, 6-0, Kenosha St. Joseph (1987-89); Kurt Nimphius, 6-9, South Milwaukee (1973-76); Rick Olson, 6-1, Madison La Follette (1979-82); Travis Diener, 6-0, Fond du Lac (1997-01).
- FOURTH TEAM: John Kotz, 6-1, Rhinelander (1935-39); Brian Butch, 6-11, Appleton West (1999-2003); Max Walker, 6-1, Milwaukee Lincoln (1959-62); Ron Dibelius, 6-1, Menasha St. Mary (1952-56); Roy Birk, 6-1, Waukesha (1958-61).
- FIFTH TEAM: Tony Smith, 6-2, Wauwatosa East (1983-86); Mickey Crowe, 6-5, St. Nazianz JFK Prep (1971-75); Wayne Kreklow, 6-4, Neenah (1972-75); Marty Gharrity, 6-2, Shawano (1956-58); Bob Sullivan, 6-3, Manitowoc (1962-65).
Who else would we have to discuss if the poll were held today?
Obviously, there have been some impressive players to come through the Wisconsin high-school basketball ranks in the years since 2005. Here’s where the conversation would start, with graduating year in parenthesis. Who else would you put on this list?
- Wesley Matthews, Madison Memorial (2005)
- Vander Blue, Madison Memorial (2010)
- Sam Dekker, Sheboygan Lutheran (2012)
- J.P. Tokoto, Menomonee Falls (2012)
- Kevon Looney, Milwaukee Hamilton (2014)
- Henry Ellenson, Rice Lake (2015)
- Diamond Stone, Whitefish Bay Dominican (2015)
- Sam Hauser, Stevens Point (2016)
- Trevor Anderson, Stevens Point (2016)
- Kobe King, La Crosse Central (2017)
- Jordan McCabe, Kaukauna (2018)
- Tyler Herro, Whitnall (2018)
- Tyrese Haliburton, Oshkosh North (2018)
- Johnny Davis, La Crosse Central (2020)
- Brandin Podziemski, St. John’s NW Academies (2021)
- Kon Knueppel, Wisconsin Lutheran (2024)
