Wheaton Academylooking good

Wheaton Academy has the talent to occasionally be complacent. Warriors coach Paul Ferguson is making sure that doesn’t happen.

On Tuesday Wheaton Academy visited Aurora Central Catholic, its closest pursuer in the Suburban Christian Conference’s Gold Division. The Warriors won by 21 points.

Dating to last season, in which Wheaton Academy (20-1) went 12-0 to win the inaugural SCC Gold title, the Warriors have won 19 straight divisional games. Wheaton Academy rounds off its Gold slate with consecutive games against struggling Guerin and the Feb. 18 divisional finale against Aurora Christian, which pushed the hardest in a 55-52 Warriors win on Jan. 14.

What’s keeping Wheaton Academy from complacency?

“We’re constantly talking about it, and we’re reminding our players that they’re going to get everyone’s best shot,” Ferguson said.

“The other thing we talk about is trying to do the best we can with the gifts God’s given you, so the focus is not as much about the opponent, but are we doing the best we can in practice to prepare ourselves for a game. It’s not hard to get kids up for games. Kids want to play games. Where it can fall off is in practice.”

This group appears more balanced and varied than last year’s Tim Rusthoven-led unit that entered the playoffs 24-2 and promptly lost to St. Francis — another source of motivation.

Guard Wes Koral and center Luke Johnson deservedly get a lot of ink, but a couple key role players are Tate Fritz and Luke Thorson.

“Thorson is a very active defender, he creates a lot of our transition game with a lot of steals and keeps possessions alive with offensive rebounds. He’s a real energy guy,” Ferguson said.

Fritz has adapted his game from last season, when he’d camp in a corner and loft high-arching 3-pointers. He still has the shooter’s eye but has become more of a power forward, shooting 57 percent from the floor and averaging 5.6 rebounds, second on the team to Johnson’s 9.0.

“Both those guys kind of looked at the situation and said, ‘What can I contribute to the team,’” Ferguson said.

So far, 12 straight Gold wins.

Long week:

Last week’s blizzard knocked out the entire slate of DuPage Valley Conference boys basketball games on Feb. 1, forcing teams to cram a makeup game into their already busy schedules.

Glenbard North is particularly busy this week. After playing Schaumburg on Tuesday, the Panthers were slated to play Wheaton North on Thursday and Glenbard East on Friday.

With a JV game on Monday, that left only Wednesday as a full practice day for Glenbard North.

“You’d rather have some time in between, but this is the hand we’re dealt,” said Panthers coach Joe Larson. “The way we’re approaching it with the guys is that this is like a regional where you have to win three games in a short period of time.”

Larson said one factor that makes this week a little easier is familiarity with the opponents. Glenbard North beat Wheaton North in the first round of DuPage Valley Conference play, and Friday marks the Panthers’ third game this season against Glenbard East.

“We’ve seen these teams once and even twice, so that helps,” Larson said. “Also, the guys just want to play at this point of the season. Games are good for us right now.”

Neuqua depth:

One of the trademarks of Neuqua Valley’s run of success has been its depth.

Last season Jim Stocki came off the bench whenever someone like Dwayne Evans or Sam Johnson needed a rest. Now Stocki and Johnson start. They are definitely the Wildcats’ top scoring options, but there is a strong cast of role players, many nearly interchangeable with starters.

“We’ve got an all-around team, we’ve got guys who can step up for any position, and no drop in intensity whatsoever,” said one of them, Ryan McDermott, after he hit three key 3-pointers to help Neuqua (20-4) beat Lake Park last week.

Should starting center Alex Karkazis need a rest, in comes Pat Kenny for quality minutes. Starter Jabari Sandifer has basically shared the point guard position with Sean Pyritz this season with little dropoff, especially on the defensive end. Sweet-shooting 2-guard Tyler Sutton gets spelled by Peter Catchings.

Junior Darien Miskel, who wears the double-zero on his jersey, comes off the bench looking to take the ball hard to the rim. Another junior forward, Nate Boudreau, the last player coach Todd Sutton used against Lake Park, added to the Wildcats’ bounty of more than 20 bench points.

“We’ve got guys who just come in, make some 3s, make some shots, make sure we keep the lead and keep it going from there,” McDermott said.

Reaping rewards:

Glenbard East coach Scott Miller is being inducted into Plano High School’s athletic hall of fame. The induction ceremony takes place at the Reapers’ Saturday night Interstate Eight Conference game against Wilmington and a banquet follows on Sunday.

“I was only there three years as a head coach, so it’s nice to be recognized,” Miller said. “It was a very special time.”

Miller spent nine years as an assistant coach at Plano before becoming the head coach in 1996. After going 2-22 his first year — the Reapers lost their first 16 games — Miller’s second team went 17-10.

Then, in the 1998-99 season, standout Brad Korn led Plano to a 23-10 record. The Reapers won the sectional title and supersectional game, then claimed a 40-38 overtime win over Carmi-White County in the Class A quarterfinals.

The Reapers brought home the fourth-place trophy after a semifinal loss to Rock Falls and a consolation-game loss to Quincy Notre Dame. In addition to Miller’s induction, the 1999 team also will be inducted into the Plano hall of fame.

After that special season Miller was hired by Glenbard East. The Rams have since won four regional titles and three DuPage Valley Conference crowns. They hold a two-game lead atop the DVC standings.

“I don’t know if we’ll break out the purple gear,” Miller said of Plano’s primary color, “but we’ll make sure we don’t wear our red and black Glenbard East gear.”

On the cusp:

In three of its last five games Wheaton North led a quality opponent deep into the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately for the Falcons, they lost all three games against Glenbard East, Curie and West Aurora. The latest loss was last Friday’s 63-60 overtime defeat to the Blackhawks.

“If we play well we’re right there with good teams,” said Falcons coach Jim Nazos. “It’s probably 50 percent mental and 50 percent physical. You’ve just got to finish games when you have the chance.”

With games against quality opponents such as Neuqua Valley, Wheaton Academy, Rockford Auburn, West Aurora, Glenbard East and Curie, Nazos is hoping the stiff competition helps the Falcons turn around those close calls down the road.

“We’ve played some of the best competition out there,” he said. “You’ve just got to hope it pays off.”

Sad news:

The local boys basketball scene won’t be the same with the passing of veteran referee Rob Watson, who died Saturday at Edward Hospital in Naperville. He was 55 years old.

Watson, a Wheaton resident, was a fixture on DuPage County high school basketball courts. In 2009 he was honored by the IHSA as an official with 25 years of experience. Watson was a referee in the 2009 Class 4A title game and also officiated in the 2006 and 2007 Class AA state tournaments in Peoria.

Visitation and funeral services were held Wednesday and Thursday at Brust Funeral Home in Lombard. A moment of silence was observed at Tuesday’s DuPage Valley Conference game between Wheaton Warrenville South and Naperville Central, a tribute to Watson likely to occur throughout the area this weekend.