Blue Dukes Were Kings of the Court in the 1990s

Basketball fans in Whitefish Bay could refer to the period from 1996-98 as The Wonder Years.

And Jack Bleier had a front-row seat those three years. Bleier, now retired from teaching at Whitefish Bay, was the co-coach with Jeff Thielke during that period when the Blue Dukes made three consecutive state tournament appearances and won two WIAA Division 2 basketball titles.

This year's Blue Dukes hope to add to the legacy when they face Seymour about 3:30 p.m. Friday in the Division 2 semifinals at the Kohl Center in Madison.

The stars on those teams were twins Mario and Marius Boyd. Mario Boyd, a 6-foot-2 forward, went on to play for Coach Bo Ryan at Wisconsin-Platteville. Marius, a 6-4 forward, played collegiately at Northern Iowa and Central Florida.

“They were truly wonderful kids,” Bleier said “We preached teamwork and those kids really bought into that concept.”

In 1996, Blue Dukes defeated Seymour in the semifinals, 58-54, and beat Sauk Prairie, 57-46, in the title game.

 “We went 27-0 in 1996, people don’t know how special that is,” Bleier said. “A lot could have happened on any given night. We could have had an off night. And half the teams we played that year were Division 1.”

The Blue Dukes continued to play outstanding basketball the following year, but it was a difficult season. Freddie Roy Boyd, Sr., the father of Mario and Marius, died in January 1997.  The players wore black armbands that season to pay tribute to their teammate’s father, who had been a fixture at Whitefish Bay games for years.  The Boyd brothers played through their pain and led the Blue Dukes to another state tournament appearance.  The Blue Dukes’ season ended with a 38-31 loss to Sauk Prairie in the semifinals.

Jeff Frank recalls the frustration of playing the low-scoring games in the state tournament.

“We were one of the most athletic teams in the state,” Frank said.  “And a lot of teams liked to play zone against us. There were a lot of long possessions. They forced us into playing a Dick Bennett style of basketball.

But what really riled the Blue Dukes was a disputed charging call against Marius Boyd in the fourth quarter of that game.  On the play, Marius Boyd took a pass from teammate Brendan Gee. Marius Boyd collided with a player from Sauk Prairie. The official called an offensive foul. The Blue Dukes begged to differ.

“I thought the ref was going to call an intentional foul,” Frank told Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 1998. “He practically tackled Marius and they call a charge.”

That loss served as motivating factor for the Blue Dukes, who rolled through the regular season the following year and made a third consecutive trip to the state tournament. They defeated Spooner, 60-50, in the semifinals and topped New London, 40-35, in the title game.

The tournament star for the Blue Dukes that weekend was Jerry Reaves, who in the final seconds blocked a shot and hit two free throws to secure the victory in the title game. Reaves, a 6-3 forward, had 21 points and 10 rebounds in the semifinal game.

“It was an unbelievable experience,” said Peter Siesennop, a reserve for the Blue Dukes teams in ‘96 and ‘97.  “Then when we lost my senior year and that was really heartbreaking. But they won again the next year, so that was a bit of redemption.”

The one bond between the Blue Dukes of those championship seasons and today’s team is current coach Kevin Lazovik.

Lazovik played point guard for the Blue Dukes in '96 and '97. Today he prepares Whitefish Bay for its game Friday afternoon again Seymour. Lazovik received some sage advice from his former coach.

“I told Kevin, don’t get spoiled, this is special,” Bleier said. ”I told him to enjoy the moment. It’s a great feeling having 15,000 people watching you play. It took me 30 years of coaching before I got to the finals. It’s something you have to appreciate.”