Benet can expect challenge at Proviso West
The brackets for the 50th annual Proviso West holiday boys basketball tournament were announced on Monday and, as expected, it won't be an easy road for Benet.
The Redwings (5-0) open play on at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 27 against Von Steuben. The 16-team tournament also features Hillcrest, Homewood-Flossmoor and both Proviso schools in a field that, as of Monday, had eight teams with a combined 31-4 record.
Hinsdale Central returns for a second straight season and opens against Proviso East.
“Obviously, we've got a tough road, but at Proviso West it's always going to be tough no matter what side of the bracket you're on,” said Northwestern-bound Benet guard Dave Sobolewski. “We're excited about it, and we'll start thinking about it after our Plainfield North tournament.”
Making its first Proviso West appearance in 24 years, Benet seeks its first semifinal berth in its 10th appearance. The Redwings, who hold a 20-9 record at Proviso West, finished fifth in 1985 and won four consolation titles.
“We're just excited to be playing there,” said Benet coach Gene Heidkamp. “I think I saw eight ranked teams out of the 16, and even some of the teams that aren't ranked are traditional powers. So you know every game is going to be tough.”
Mark the date: Naperville North senior forward Matt LaCosse is still recovering from a knee injury suffered in the Huskies' Class 8A quarterfinal football loss to Homewood-Flossmoor.
After Tuesday's loss to Benet, LaCosse estimated he'd be out another three weeks and said he's hoping to return for the cross-town game against Naperville Central on Jan. 7.
The Huskies (2-4) miss the physical inside presence of LaCosse, a 6-foot-6 three-year varsity member.
“You put a Matt LaCosse out there and you've got an athletic body, and then you can do a lot more things out there,” said Huskies coach Jeff Powers. “Then you've got someone you can throw into the paint.”
Six-five Jake DuPre and 6-4 Jon Mengel have done a nice job playing in the post in LaCosse's absence. His return will only bolster the Huskies' front line.
“We're going to be careful with him,” Powers said. “If his leg's not ready to go we'll give him another week or so.”
Cradle of coaches: Immaculate Conception coach Darren Howard was a student and basketball player at Weber High School, on Chicago's northwest side. He graduated with the Class of '83.
Howard was coached by Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Jim Harrington, who assembled a record of 112-72 at Weber before moving on to Elgin, where from 1985-2000 Harrington went 290-139.
Also on Harrington's staff with the Red Horde were Mike Bailey (St. Patrick), John Bonk (Weber, St. Rita, Nazareth) and the professor, Al Biancalana, who most recently coached at York before taking an assistant's position this year with the University of Illinois-Chicago. What a staff.
The Illinois High School Glory Days website reminds us that Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski graduated from Weber in 1965.
The school closed in 1999 and is now the Northwest Middle School, at 5252 Palmer St. It still has the old court, now known as Weber Memorial Gym.
Howard, in tandem with Gordon Tech boys coach Shay Boyle, Weber Class of '95, has lined up a soph-varsity boys basketball doubleheader at Weber Memorial Gym starting at 6 p.m. Dec. 22. Immaculate Conception actually has two games that day. A late entry into Waubonsie Valley's Matt Laurich Holiday Classic, the Knights play Plainfield Central at 2:30 p.m.
Howard has invited Harrington to be his honorary coach for the game at Weber Memorial. He's also hoping to draw a gym full of Weber alumni and has gotten good response thus far.
Tickets will be sold at the door, but alumni are encouraged to send an RSVP e-mail to Howard at dhoward@ichsknights.org. A list of alumni in attendance will be read as the games progress.
“Same colors, same scoreboard,” Howard said of the old gym. “I'm very excited to go back there.”
A century (mark) a decade: Metea Valley's 103-47 victory over Christ the King, Nov. 26 at the Joliet West Thanksgiving tournament, was one rare bird.
Helping the Mustangs break out to a 33-10 lead after one quarter, Kenny Obendorf finished with a game-high 22 points. All but one Mustang scored in the game.
Paging back through Daily Herald records, the last 100-point game recorded by a DuPage County team was Montini's 103-71 win over Aurora Central Catholic on Jan. 28, 2000.
The Broncos of 2000 were an explosive lot. Led by All-Area guard Ryan Neill, 3-point marksman Pete Mastandrea and big man Brandon Bartolucci, the Broncos beat Marian Central 96-62 earlier that season.
Coming the closest to 100 since then were Naperville Central, a 95-57 winner on Feb. 16, 2008; and Neuqua Valley, which beat Bolingbrook 95-61 on Dec. 1, 2001.
Also, dearly departed Driscoll Catholic beat Aurora Central 95-70 on Jan. 16, 2004. Coach Nick Latorre's Highlanders came back the next night to beat St. Edward 91-65.
Painful tradition: Another state football championship has forced Wheaton Warrenville South's basketball team to play short-handed in the early weeks of the season. While every football player missed playing at the Wheaton Academy Thanksgiving tournament, only a few made it back for last Friday's DuPage Valley Conference opening loss to Glenbard East.
Two-time All-Area point guard Reilly O'Toole and fellow guard Ryan Crowe were among the contributors last week. Jason Schuman, Caleb Bednarz and Zach Jadzak hope to return this week.
Guard Travis Kern, who broke his collarbone in the Tigers' state semifinal football win over Belleville East, may be out until February, according to coach Mike Healy. The Tigers will sorely miss Kern's perimeter contributions after he knocked down 39 3-pointers last season.
“It's a great group of kids and they believe in each other, so we'll get through this just fine,” Healy said. “These are a bunch of multisport athletes who compete hard.”