GLENDALE − For the second time in as many seasons, Slinger has a breakout freshman star on its hands with the last name of Kohnen. The points per game have been up and down for the 6-foot-4 Joey in the early going, but a flash certainly occurred Tuesday night in a big North Shore Conference […]
GLENDALE − For the second time in as many seasons, Slinger has a breakout freshman star on its hands with the last name of Kohnen.
The points per game have been up and down for the 6-foot-4 Joey in the early going, but a flash certainly occurred Tuesday night in a big North Shore Conference battle with fellow 6-0 team Nicolet. An early career high of 23 points, including 10-for-18 from the field and 3-for-6 from three, helped build a lead the Owls would hang on to in an 88-85 road victory.A year after older brother Jack averaged a team-high 18.8 points and 12.3 rebounds as a freshman frontcourt player, younger brother Joey is steadily finding his own role on an Owls team bursting with potential entering 2025. Slinger head coach Alex Lavine said he could tell based on Joey’s performance in eighth grade last year that another potential standout was on his way.
Joey describes himself as a “shoot-first” player, which was evident in stretches against Nicolet with his lack of hesitation in stroking deep threes or driving to the basket. He credits his teammates and coaches for encouraging that mindset as he continues to grow in the Owls’ offense.One impressive win to knock off a fellow undefeated team within their conference came from our reigning team of the week Racine Lutheran, which pulled out a late victory over Dominican on Friday. Trailing 76-75 with half a minute to play, a Justin Jones go-ahead 3-point attempt was rebounded by teammate Bryce Austin and fed back to Jones for a driving go-ahead layup. Defense preserved the advantage in what became a 77-76 win for the Crusaders on the road, as Racine Lutheran handed Dominican its first conference loss.
“Joey is a really good penetrator, he’s a good spot-up shooter. He plays primarily on the perimeter, plays off the ball right now,” Lavine said. “Jack has the ball in his hand, he’s playing in the post a little bit, so they complement each other pretty well in that regard.”Slinger’s lead in a competitive North Shore Conference is getting more comfortable by the game and as its young stars continue to grow, look for the Owls to make noise down the stretch of the 2024-2025 season.
“He’s guided me through every single game. At the end there (against Nicolet), he guides me through these pressure moments, because it’s obviously new to me,” Joey said.”My coach will say like, ‘I know you’re a freshman, but we think you can do so much more.’ My teammates, they know what I can do,” Joey said. “I think it’s just feeling more comfortable out there.”
Jack also knows what it’s like to have the expectations of being a freshman starter thrust upon him, and Joey said his older brother has been a resource in navigating that internally and externally.While Jack continues to build upon a resume that has already drawn NCAA Division I offers from Iowa State, Marquette and Western Illinois, Joey is helping stretch the floor offensively to provide both with scoring chances.
Racine Lutheran survives road test to highlight undefeated conference leaders
“We knew we had a nice player coming in,” Lavine said. “It’s always hard coaching a freshman, like you’re not sure what you’re going to get. The inconsistency sometimes exists. I think Joey is really steady, he’s mature beyond his years. The family amongst the brothers are really competitive and never too high, never too low, just continue to compete. We expect juniors and seniors to do that, but when you have sophomores and freshmen doing it, that’s when you know you can be special but still young at the same time.”This week several teams got in their fifth or sixth conference game of the season, which in many cases represented reaching the midway point in their respective conference slates. Most area conference title contenders have now had the chance to meet at least once, and most area conferences have an undefeated standalone leader now as well.Entering Saturday, Greenfield (5-0 in Woodland East), Kettle Moraine (6-0 in Classic 8), Milwaukee Juneau (6-0 in MCC Gold), Milwaukee South (6-0 in MCC Blue), Racine Lutheran (6-0 in Metro Classic), Racine Park (5-0 in Southeast), Salam (6-0 in Lake City), Slinger (8-0 in North Shore) and Waterford (5-0 in Southern Lakes) are the only area undefeated teams remaining in their respective conferences.A couple conferences lagging behind in their league schedules have multiple undefeated teams remaining, including in the Midwest Classic and Woodland West. Brookfield Academy, Living Word Lutheran and Lake Country Lutheran all entered Saturday at 4-0 in the Midwest Classic, and Pewaukee and Wisconsin Lutheran are 4-0 in the Woodland West.Obama SCTE hands Milwaukee Bay View first conference loss of 2024-2025Milwaukee Bay View had been rolling through the Milwaukee City Conference’s White Division to a 6-0 start but finally met its match Wednesday in a 57-51 loss to Obama SCTE. Demius Johnson paced scorers for Obama with 20 points, followed by Chanerion Mike with 16 points, Earrick Mike with 10 points, Oryan Matthews with nine and Damarius Lee with two.The win moved the Cougars to 4-1 in the White Division, tying them with Milwaukee Washington in the conference standings. The conference title race is quickly narrowing to Obama, Bay View and Washington, with the latter two set to meet for the second time this season Thursday. Bay View handed Washington its lone conference loss of the season to date on Dec. 10 in a 75-65 final.Obama and Bay View rematch on Jan. 28, with the Cougars hosting the second time around.
