How close were we with preseason basketball predictions?

We do a lot of guesswork at the beginning of the season with our basketball preview, and sometimes it's fun (and sometimes humbling) to go back and see how our initial impressions of each team shook out. As we head toward the final stages of the season, here's a sampling of what was written in the 2015-16 season preview:

1. The cover looks pretty good, with Taylor Klug (Sussex Hamilton), Abby Gerrits (Pewaukee) and Bre Cera (Mukwonago) all closing the season as their schools' all-time leading scorers, and all three made the sectional.

2. Our "Starting 5" segment didn't mention Mukwonago's Morgan Glatczak had arguably the best season of any girls player in our coverage area. She was listed in the "don't forget" postscript to the list of top-five players. The top five spots went to the aforementioned three, Waukesha West's Dani Rhodes (still possibly the Player of the Year in the Classic 8, if not Glatczak) and Arrowhead's Grace Gilmore (playing well late in the year after an injury slowed her). All in all, not a bad group of five. The boys "Starting 5" only makes a mention of Zach Clayton of Oconomowoc as a "don't forget" option and doesn't mention Jacob Hartung of Sussex Hamilton or Trevell Cunningham of Arrowhead, both first-team All Conference caliber players.

3. The Pewaukee boys outlook: "Even though he has a lot of holes to fill, (Pewaukee coach Mike) Basile hopes the many years of success in the program will produce a positive attitude and good results." We probably undersold that, making it sound like Pewaukee might be in for an iffy year. Instead, the Pirates went 18-3 and posted the second-best record in school history.

4. Pewaukee girls: "Last year, the Pirates lost just four league games, all four to powerhouses Milwaukee Pius and New Berlin Eisenhower. That could be the case again this year, though New Berlin West and newcomer Waukesha West will also provide major hurdles in the Division 2 sectional." Sure enough, that prediction rings true. Pewaukee went 0-4 against Ike and Pius in the regular season, but the Pirates got past Waukesha West in the playoffs and headed to the sectional needing wins over Ike and Pius to get to state.

5. Hamilton girls: "Even though the bench players have no varsity experience, Hamilton should be a top team in the league." True enough. The Chargers took third, splitting with second-place Brookfield Central and fourth-place Brookfield East.

6. Kettle Moraine girls: "The Lasers have everyone back but Lindsey Weber from last year, so this team will be long on experience. KM could be a sleeper in the run for the league title." Were they ever. The Lasers not only stayed in the hunt but won big games late in the year over Arrowhead and Waukesha West to claim a share of the league crown under first-year coach Jack Hervert.

7. Oconomowoc boys: "A good amount of varsity experience returns from last year's 17-win team that took second in the WLT. Wisconsin Lutheran will likely be the team to beat as it looks for an 11th straight league crown." That run for Wisco is over. Oconomowoc started slowly out of the gate in 2015 but finished 13-1 in conference and claimed its first conference title since 2003-04. Wisco struggled and would up eliminated on the first night of the regional play.

8. Waukesha West girls: "As has been the case in recent years, this is a team that can win the league and a state title." West was fine for most of the year but dropped five of eight to close the season, did not win the league title (finishing third) and did not even reach the sectional after falling to Pewaukee in a loaded bracket. One of the true surprises of 2015-16.

9. Waukesha West boys: "West should be expected to take a jump forward this season … there's a lot to like here." West finished 6-18 last year, but this prediction was way off. The Wolverines went 2-20 under first-year coach Todd Psyzora, though in fairness, two of the team's expected top players (DP Burt and Travon Love) did not play this season.

10. Waukesha North boys: "Adam Wiezcorek and Marquis Carter bring in seven years of varsity starting experience between them, and the program has some renewed confidence." It showed, as North staged a couple big wins this year and at times looked like a Classic 8 title contender before tying for third at 8-6 and finishing 13-9 overall.

11. Waukesha South girls: "It will be tough to rise from last place in the league with so many of the Classic 8's top performers returning." South went 4-10 in the league and took sixth, but the team was hurt by the transfer of Theresa Wichser, who had a huge sophomore year for Brookfield Academy.

12. Catholic Memorial boys: "The unavoidable curiosity is just how good the team will be with a healthy Alex Bray, who played in only three games last season but averaged 13 points in those contests." Bray scored close to 13 again in a healthy season, though Parker Carlsen remained the team's top weapon (18.3 points per game), and the Crusaders improved only a couple wins from 7-16 last year to 9-13 this year.

13. Arrowhead girls: "Arrowhead has been to the state tournament two of the last three years and has the potential to make it to Green Bay again this year. However, the Warhawks must find some girls to step up and be leaders after losing (Ally) May and (Augy) Jepsen to graduation." Arrowhead has hit its stride late in the year, and though it took a step back, record-wise (21-6 a year ago and 15-9 after reaching the sectional this year), the team was able to get leadership from the likes of Liz Erdmann, Katie Hinzey and Callie Lederman, along with some exciting prospects from its sophomore class. Senior Lexus Weigand was one of the area's top individual surprises, as she led the team with 10.2 points per game.

14. Arrowhead boys: "Without (Bryce) Nze, the Warhawks remain solid contenders for the league championship, with depth in both the frontcourt and backcourt." That's pretty much exactly how it has played out. With Nze sidelined all season by injury, the team's depth led Arrowhead (14-8 overall) to second place in the Classic 8, with a win over league-champion Muskego. It's hard not to wonder just how good the team could have been with Nze in the fold.

15. Mukwonago girls: "Mukwonago is a force that should contend to get back to state for a third time in four years. But the toughest competition MHS will see will likely be within the conference from Arrowhead and Waukesha West." At the time the preview section was created, we didn't know Mukwonago would be the preseason No. 1 team in the state. As they head into the sectional, the Indians are in the same place, even with Bre Cera sidelined for half the season, which allowed Morgan Glatczak to take a step forward. The emergence of freshman Grace Beyer, not to mention freshman Natalie Andersen off the bench, and a great supporting cast of Hannah Bricco, Alaina Nash, Julia Morelli, Amanda Brown and others, has made this team a state-title favorite.

16. Mukwonago boys: "In a wide-open conference, Mukwonago could be the sleeper title contender, with a talented junior class ready to fill some openings." The MHS boys never found their consistency, finishing 7-7 in conference and 10-10 overall. Jake Nixon, who transferred to East Troy, became one of the area's top scorers, but MHS still has a ton of promise for the future with a number of scheduled returnees for 2016-17. Jake Lange, who scored 3.7 points per game last year, surged forward to 15.6 per game as a senior for Mukwonago.

The All-Surprise Team

Top returning players who we didn't have mentioned as "key returnees."

Ethan Adler, Lake Country Lutheran boys

Alec Hamilton, Arrowhead boys

Hannah Ohm, Kettle Moraine girls

Megan Peterson, Arrowhead girls

Keaton Stremick, Waukesha South boys

Lexus Weigand, Arrowhead girls

Pictured: Kettle Moraine's Jack Hervert led the Lasers to a conference title -- their first since 2003 -- in his first year at the helm.