Waukesha - The setting was small compared to what you might see at some of the higher-profile Amateur Athletic Union boys basketball tournaments.
Just as at any other tournament, there was the constant tune of bouncing balls, squeaking sneakers, horns and whistles along the five adjacent courts at the Center Court Sports Complex, which housed eight divisions of tournament play.
But it was the smaller setting in which the Milwaukee-based Stay in the Game Mustangs AAU team beat Fond du Lac's Higher Level Camp, 42-32, to win the four-team 16-and-under division championship of the Great Lakes Shootout.
And for coach Kerry Trotter, who played at Marquette University and for 11 pro seasons in Europe, it was just what he wanted to see.
"For the 16-and-under players, we're looking to identify the best players and prepare them for the following summer," Trotter said. "Mainly, we're striving to get them in a couple national tournaments and in a lot of local tournaments. It's kind of a grooming process."
Trotter said his team had played national tournaments in Indiana and Missouri and "a lot of tournaments in Wisconsin, too many to count."
All of this is done with hopes of having his players ready for the intense, ultra-competitive setting found at the major national tournaments next summer, the last chance for many to make their mark with college coaches.
"We have to get ready for this season and for next summer," said Anthony Wiggins, who is expected to play varsity at Milwaukee Madison this season and scored a team-high 12 points Sunday. "We just have to keep playing hard."
Although there were no college coaches in attendance this weekend in Waukesha, during the NCAA-mandated "dead period" for college recruiting, Wiggins had some impressive runs.
After both teams combined for eight field goals in the first half and the Mustangs led, 18-10, Wiggins opened the second half with a bang.
Within the first 4 minutes, he made a basket, converted a free throw after he was fouled to complete a three-point play and made two free throws to give Stay in the Game a 25-10 lead.
"A lot of times, 16-year-olds aren't as mentally prepared for a game as they should be," Trotter said. "Sometimes it's 5 minutes into a game before they get into it. Of course, you could lose a game in those 5 minutes."
Higher Level Camp later closed to within 10 points, at 37-27, with 2 minutes left. A pair of free throws by Milwaukee Marquette's Justin Trotter, Kerry's son, and three free throws by Wiggins in the final 1:20 kept the Mustangs well ahead.
Stay in the Game (fg ft-fta pts.): Anthony Wiggins 3 6-7 12; Justin Trotter 1 4-4 6; Patrick Bell 1 2-2 4; Jared Blevins-Perry 1 0-0 2; Ben Black-Owens 1 3-4 5; Carl Green 4 0-0 9; Craig Nichols 2 0-0 4. Totals - 13 15-17 42.
Higher Level Camp: Ben Rosenblatt 1 8-10 10; David Meissner 4 3-5 11; Andrew Windsor 1 1-2 4; Andrew Steward 0 1-2 1; Jake Herman 1 0-0 2; Nicolas Soucie 1 0-0 2; Mike Trotter 0 2-3 2. Totals - 8 15-22 32.