White Bear Lake boys basketball in state tournament for first time since 2000

The White Bear Lake boys basketball team is in the state tournament for the first time since 2000. They take on 3-seed Wayzata on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Target Center.

We connected with senior guard Jack Janicki and coach Gregory Burke on Monday afternoon at practice.

***Click the video box above to watch interviews with Janicki and Burke***

White Bear Lake and Wayzata were supposed to play in late February, but snow prevented the match-up from happening and it was never rescheduled. So maybe it’s appropriate that they’ll connect in the state quarterfinals.

Janicki is still coming back from a labrum injury and isn’t 100-percent. But receiving treatment regularly has helped and he’s been playing the last two-plus months. He’ll be a walk-on next season in the Big Ten for Wisconsin.

The Bears are 21-7 and defeated top seed East Ridge for the section championship. They had lost twice to East Ridge in the regular season.

White Bear Lake has a 10-game winning streak. The Bears are led by Janicki (21.1 PPG) and senior forward Wyatt Hawks (14.7 PPG). Hawks will play at St. Cloud St.