The number seven team in the country will take the Kohl Center floor Thursday and likely throughout the remainder of the weekend. No, not Gonzaga–that number seven team will have its hands full out in Albuquerque. In fact, we’re not even talking about college sports. While Wisconsin and Marquette have done their best to grab the basketball spotlight in the state this winter, there is one other team that has been doing some exceptional things.

The WIAA state boys basketball championships have come to town this weekend, and beyond the droves of high school kids walking State Street, the main feature of the tournament will be the 23-0 Milwaukee-Vincent Vikings. The Vikings have won the Division I title five of the last six years. Whispers that this team is the best in the history of Wisconsin high school basketball will only become louder with another championship.

So if you don’t have class Thursday or Friday, or if you’re already cutting class in order to watch the NCAA tournament and they put on a game between Duke and Winthrop, head over to the Kohl Center to see what should be a great tournament. Despite Vincent being called the best team in the history of the state, there are plenty of other teams to compete for the championship, so the games will be great.

If you only care about the college game, I’ll give you a heads-up that there will be players taking the court for their respective teams that will be meeting again on that court when Wisconsin takes on in-state rival Marquette.

Vincent has crushed opponents all season behind the play of point guard Maurice Wade, a.k.a. Boo Wade. Six-foot-three Wade, a speedy, athletic guard that will don the Wisconsin jersey next season, promises to impress in the tournament. He scored 23 points in the championship game last season. Wade will face Wauwatosa East’s Andy Freund in the opening game of the tournament. The 6-foot-8 Freund has been invited to walk on at both Wisconsin and Marquette next season and is a former teammate of Wisconsin’s Devin Harris. Another player of interest in the Division I tournament is Brian Butch of Madison West.

If you’ve ever seen the old tapes of superstars playing in high school, this might be the tournament for you. Future stars are sure to leave an impression on the crowd. Take Appleton West junior Brian Butch, 6 feet 11 inches tall and 215 pounds. He averages 23 points per game and scored 40 in West’s victory over Green Bay-Preble in the state tournament regional final. He is ranked 23rd nationally in the class of 2003. Butch has received scholarship offers from Arizona, Tennessee, Purdue and UW-Green Bay. Naturally, Marquette and Wisconsin also want him.

Still, Butch isn’t the most-hyped player in the tournament. That prestigious award goes to Brown Deer’s Steve Novak. Novak is committed to play at Marquette next season. When Marquette coach Crean took the head coaching position in 1999, he offered Novak, then just a freshman, a scholarship. Marquette had the inside track since that moment and was able to hold off other programs such as Illinois, Florida, Purdue, Southern California, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Ohio State, North Carolina State, Connecticut, Kentucky and Wisconsin. Quite a steal for Marquette if you ask me, but when Bennett stepped down at UW, the decision was easy.

While these players are the marquee players that will remain in the state’s eye once they travel on to Wisconsin’s two best college basketball programs, there are plenty of other great players to watch.

While Vincent is a high school, it also serves as this state’s version of a basketball academy. It is able to recruit players at will and win championships nearly as easily. So just kick back and enjoy watching its starting five that has at least four players with Division I college talent. Greg Brown (likely state player of the year) will likely play junior college next year along with Carl Landry. DeJuante Wade, cousin of Maurice, has signed to play at UW-GB.

Vincent may stake a claim as the best team in Wisconsin history. What’s more, the talent at this tournament may eventually prove itself to be the best that has ever been assembled as a whole in the WIAA State championship.

This may not be an inner-city Brooklyn league, but this tournament will definitely be worth watching. It is a shame that it couldn’t be played at a time that didn’t conflict with the premier college sporting event of the year, but you can’t win them all. So we’ll have to pick and choose some of each. For me, Vincent is a must see. I guess that means no class–oh, well.