Rosiak on Christopherson

[SoCalwarrior]

TUESDAY, March 20, 2007, 11:42 p.m.
2007 MU recruit: Scott Christopherson

Scott Christopherson went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, all in a day's time.

Last Friday, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior guard from La Crosse Aquinas was named the state's co-Mr. Basketball by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association, sharing the award with Madison Memorial's Keaton Nankivil.

The next night he saw his dream of winning a state title abruptly ended when he and the Blugolds lost to Racine St. Catherine's, 60-56, in the WIAA Division 3 championship game at the Kohl Center in Madison.

It was an outcome that Christopherson gladly would have given up his Mr. Basketball award to reverse.

"Yeah, definitely," he said. "Part of me was surprised I won it, just knowing how many great players there are in the state and being from a small town on the west side of the state, but another part of me was very proud. But it was still very disappointing not to be able to win the state championship."

Christopherson, who was also named first team all-state by the Associated Press, averaged 22.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists for Aquinas, which finished the season 26-1. He also shot 47.3% overall, 38.4% from three-point range and 86.1% from the free-throw line.

Christopherson played two seasons at Aquinas after transferring from Division 4 Melrose-Mindoro following his sophomore season. He committed to the Marquette Golden Eagles prior to coming to Aquinas, a move made largely to improve the level of competition he'd face at the high-school level.

It was a decision that paid off in the form of a 46-4 overall record and a trip to the state finals this year, not to mention continued individual improvement.

"I think one of the biggest things with Scott from last year to this year is I think he did a phenomenal job of getting his teammates involved," said coach Rick Schneider. "I think a lot of that came with him getting comfortable with being at a new school, new teammates, new coach, new gym, everything.

"But once he got acclimated to the new environment he learned what his teammates were good at, I really think he got his teammates involved and it expanded Scott’s game."

On the offensive end there might not have been a more explosive player in the state, Schneider said. The owner of a 33-inch vertical leap, Christopherson was just as comfortable driving the lane for a dunk as he was pulling up for a three-pointer.

It's that type of offensive arsenal that figures to serve him well once he arrives at MU, which emphasizes penetration but will welcome any player who can hit from the outside as well.

"He is so tough. You can’t stop him," said Schneider. "I don’t think there’s a player in the state at the high-school level that’s going to stop Scott Christopherson 1-on-1. There’s just no way. I think that defenses can try to come up with tactics to try and stop him but as he gets his teammates involved, that’s pretty tough to do. If you throw some tactics at Scott and he figures out what you’re doing, he gets his teammates layups and you’re in trouble."

While the guard situation has yet to completely shake itself out at MU heading into the off-season, Christopherson will enter a group long on both talent and experience.

Dominic James (assuming he returns as a junior), Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews are the unquestioned starters in the backcourt, while sophomores-to-be David Cubillan and Maurice Acker will likely factor into the Golden Eagles' plans coming off the bench.

Christopherson, who will probably be given the opportunity to play both point and shooting guard at MU, might be able to work himself into the mix for playing time if he's able to bring his ability to knock down three-pointers with him from Aquinas.

He knocked down 58 three-pointers with a game-high of six against Onalaska this season.

"The kid can flat-out shoot. He can shoot the rock," said Schneider. "The other thing that Marquette will see awful quickly is his range is amazing for a kid his age. He’s hit threes from 6-7 feet past the three-point line. Most high-school kids aren’t strong enough to do that and still maintain good form. With Scott, he’s so strong that he’s shooting from 6-7 feet beyond the three-point line and his form never changes. It’s the same form if he was shooting it from the elbow.

"He’s put a lot of time in on that shot. When you watch him shoot, watch his balance. His balance is absolutely amazing. He doesn’t move an inch. His balance is the same every time he shoots the ball."

Christopherson added: "I think I could be another guy that could come in and make plays, whether it be shooting the ball or getting to the basket, setting up my teammates. Whatever the team needs, I’m obviously going to do my best to give them that."

Having pegged both rebounding and defense as individual trouble spots heading into this past season, Christopherson improved on both -- especially the latter, according to Schneider.

His ability to guard will be just as crucial as his ability to shoot the basketball when it comes to earning minutes on a Tom Crean-coached team.

"He became a much better defender this year," Schneider said. "When he came to Aquinas a year ago, one of the biggest things he said to the coaching staff was, ‘I need to get better with my help-side defense. If I’m on the ball I can play defense. But once my man doesn’t have the ball I get lost.’ That’s an area he really got better at. Once he learned it and learned how to play defense that way, he got good at it."

Christopherson hasn't started relaxing now that his prep season is done, either. He began lifting weights again on Monday, just two days removed from the state title game, with the goal of getting closer to meeting the physical benchmarks needed to play Division I basketball before arriving on campus for good in the summer.

"I'm just looking to get better in all aspects of the game," he said. "Get a little bigger and stronger before I head down, and then obviously once I get to Marquette I’m sure they’ll have a lot of things for me to work on. I’m just looking forward to the opportunity."

Note: This is the first of four planned updates on MU's 2007-'08 recruiting class. It is my hope to follow this with updates on Patrick Hazel, Trevor Mbakwe and Damien Saunders over the next week to 10 days.

[1990Warrior]

Thanks for the update.  I have to wonder what impact any of the freshmen will have.  Christopheson might see 5 min a game if he is lucky and I have less hope for Hazel.  If Mbwake is good he should see some playing time.  If we are better next year it will definately be because the big three matured (especially D. James).

[77ncaachamps]

I'm mixed about his playing time as well.

I'll be happy if he redshirts because of the logjam at the G spot and we'll need him down the road.

But I'll be happy if he plays because of the possibility of injuries depleting the depth of the team, especially the shooting role.

[NavinRJohnson]

As unfair as it will be, the comparisons to Deiner are going to be inevitable. I will say this, if he can come in and play a role similar to what Deiner did his first year, that will be a very good thing for this team.

[DAtruth]

1 thing sticks out to me...86.1% free thrower..even if he only plays 5 mins... he can have huge impacts on games possibly

[mugoose]

Rosiak's blog is the best thing about the js

[Big Papi]

Thanks for the update.  I have to wonder what impact any of the freshmen will have.  Christopheson might see 5 min a game if he is lucky and I have less hope for Hazel.  If Mbwake is good he should see some playing time.  If we are better next year it will definately be because the big three matured (especially D. James).

I think Mbakwe is the only incoming freshmen who will receive any decent minutes on next year's team and I view that as a good thing.  Mbakwe has the potential to be a standout but the rest of the freshmen should be very good contributers over the course of their careers.  Anything the rest provide in their freshmen and soph years are a bonus due to the increase in talent level of the roster as a whole. 

Hazel is compared to Marcus Jackson with more offense by Coach Rab but I doubt we see that until his Junior year.  That is key expecially for bigs who take longer to develop.  Christopherson can work on his defense and rebounding.  Saunders can work on his offensive game and none are needed to step up immediately for us to be successful. 

[1990Warrior]

The thing that worries me about Mbakwe (sorry about my origional mis-spelling) is that it seems to me that he is a true college power forward.  If he is going to get minutes it is most likely going to be as a center.  Playing out of position can severly affect a players production.  An example was Scott Merrit who actually had good seasons when he played forward (his freshman and junior years) but struggled as a center.  I do not know enough about Mbakwe to say that he cant play center but I am worried that playing center would not be good for him.  I really dont see him stealing minutes from hayward/fitz next season.

[LastWarrior]

As unfair as it will be, the comparisons to Deiner are going to be inevitable. I will say this, if he can come in and play a role similar to what Deiner did his first year, that will be a very good thing for this team.

I don't know if Diener ever dunked.  Seems like Scott is a better athlete.

[Big Papi]

The thing that worries me about Mbakwe (sorry about my origional mis-spelling) is that it seems to me that he is a true college power forward.  If he is going to get minutes it is most likely going to be as a center.  Playing out of position can severly affect a players production.  An example was Scott Merrit who actually had good seasons when he played forward (his freshman and junior years) but struggled as a center.  I do not know enough about Mbakwe to say that he cant play center but I am worried that playing center would not be good for him.  I really dont see him stealing minutes from hayward/fitz next season.

Mbakwe has a 7 foot reach and has incredible jumping ability (If you have a subscription to Dodds' site you can take a look at a series of pics of Mbakwe where he goes from standing underneath the basket to jumping straight up in the air, doing a bit of an acrobatic dunk while his head looks to be touching the bottom of the backboard.) 

I know there is more to post defense than just reach or jumping ability but the same could be said for height.  So while, Mbakwe might be only 6-7, his 7-0 reach does make he play bigger than what he actually measures height wise. 

In the end, Mbakwe may be better suited for the power forward position but it really depends on how we matchup with the opposition and what type style we are going to play as a team.  Also, Mbakwe can provide the low post scoring that we currently don't have on the roster unless Barro improves a lot.