Remember the name
Diamond Stone, because he's going to shine on the basketball court for years to come.
The 6-foot-9 freshman helped
Dominican (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) defeat previously unbeaten Cuba City (Wis.) 61-43 today to win the Division 4 state championship. Cuba City entered the game with a 72-point average.
Junior guard
Duane Wilson Jr. paced the Knights (27-1) with 24 points and senior guard
Jamall Taylor added 18 points to go with five assists.
Though he played a supporting role in the finale, Stone finished with a tourney-record 20 blocked shots, including a one-game, all-class record of 14 during a 67-44 semifinal victory over Colfax (Wis.). He completed a triple-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Diamond, whose high game was 30 points, is the son of Robert Stone, who was a two-time All-American basketball player at UW-Whitewater.
Coach Paul Wollersheim told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "He had a lot of things going right for him right from the beginning. He had very good footwork and a great, soft touch. He was just very instinctive about the game. The biggest part of his development was getting up and down the floor quickly, playing at a faster pace. Going from eighth grade to varsity basketball, there's just a quicker pace to the game. We've been really happy how he developed his part of the game."
However, even though he is the state's top-rated freshman, Stone still had to spend his rookie year carrying the team stereo on the road and sometimes cleaning the locker room after practice.
