Scouting Aurora Central vs. Rock Island
Aurora Central Catholic (17-13) vs. Rock Island (27-3)
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb
Road to the supersectional: Aurora Central, the No. 3 seed at the Sycamore regional, beat No. 2 Kaneland, 63-53, and No. 1 Rochelle, 56-51. The Chargers advanced to the 3A Woodstock North sectional where they beat Marian Central, 41-38, and in the sectional final defeated, Rockford East, 85-82 in overtime. Rock Island, the top seed at its own regional, beat No. 4 LaSalle-Peru, 68-35, and No. 2 Sterling, 67-49. At the Peoria sectional, the Rocks beat Morris, 78-37, and Peoria, 54-52.
Starting lineups:
Aurora Central Catholic Rock Island
Name Ht. Yr. PPG Pos. Name Ht. Yr. PPG
Joe Medgyesi 6-0 So. 4.9. PG Royce Muskeyvalley 5-10 Sr. 4.8
Ryan Harreld 6-0 Sr. 15.6 G Devon Jones 5-11 Sr. 3.4
Joey McEachern 6-1 Jr. 6.4 G Chasson Randle 6-2 Sr. 22.4
Tim Fernandez 6-3 Sr. 8.7 F Keith Keesy 6-4 Sr. 5.0
Robert DeMyers 6-4 Jr. 13.0 F/C Denzel McCauley 6-8 Jr. 10.8
Outlook: Rock Island comes off its second sectional title in three seasons and seeks its first supersectional crown since 2000. ACC's last and only supersectional championship came back in 1977. What was Chargers coach Nathan Drye doing back then? “I was 2, so I was hanging out with my mom, I would imagine,” said Drye, whose parents, George and Lena, were on hand for Friday's win over Rockford East, ACC's first sectional crown since 1991. For better or worse, Rock Island is not unfamiliar to the Chargers. Rocks coach Thom Sigel's club beat ACC during the 2009-10 regular season, 75-60, and again this past Feb. 12, 82-66 in Aurora. “We're trying to get our guys to learn from the first time and forget about it,” Sigel said. “It's always about the present, not the past.” Randle, one of the smartest students in his class, has committed to Stanford despite earning between 20-25 other offers, he told Sigel. The do-it-all guard hit ACC with 35 points (2 below his career high of 37 as a sophomore) on 15 of 19 shooting from the floor, plus 11 rebounds and 3 steals. Harreld led the Chargers with 22 points and forward Paul Kaminski came off the bench to add 12. It was too much Randle, yes, but mainly too many early ACC turnovers and missed shots against a Rocks team that attacks both offensively and defensively, predominantly in a man-to-man defense. “By the time we adjusted,” Drye said, “the game was over.” Sigel favors an up-tempo game if he can get it, but the Chargers also pushed the tempo against Rockford East, launching 70 shots and often beating the E-Rabs downcourt. “The more we run,” Drye said, “I think the better we are.” The Chargers, forced to do something special to rally from a 69-64 deficit with less than two minutes to play against Rockford East, forced E-Rabs ballhandlers to the sideline then trapped them, but that is an iffy proposition against Muskeyvalley and particularly Randle, who has the height, the smarts and the composure to see over defenses and hit the open man. Randle's pass to sixth man Romal Davis, a 6-foot-3 senior wing forward, resulted in a dunk with six seconds left to beat Peoria in their sectional final. ACC's defensive goal will be to shut down Randle to the best of their ability and try to make the Rocks' other players beat them. The Chargers' bread-and-butter 2-3 zone defense will be employed, but other looks may be utilized to try to throw off Randle and his teammates. Like ACC, Rock Island only has two players averaging double-digit scoring, with the 6-8 center McCauley also averaging 7.6 rebounds, slightly trailing Randle's team-high 7.7 boards a game. (For comparison, DeMyers averages 7.4 rebounds to go with 4.2 blocks per game and McEachern grabs 5.1 rebounds.) Though Randle has made 50 3-pointers the Rocks shoot slightly less effectively from the arc than ACC, about 32 percent to 30 percent, and Drye said they like to attack the basket. That literally plays right into the hands of DeMyers, who has had an all-state type of a postseason, blocking 21 shots in the last three games and affecting Rockford East's close attempts even when he didn't touch them. “It's about trying to finish strong,” said Sigel, whose Rocks have lost only to Notre Dame, East St. Louis and Morgan Park. Sigel's goals are to again start the game strong particularly on the defensive end, contest the 3-point shooting of Harreld, who comes off a game of 24 points, four 3-pointers and 6 steals, and keep DeMyers, Fernandez and the wily McEachern off the glass. As ACC might try to confuse Randle with defense, Sigel may have any one of Randle, Muskeyvalley or Jones guard Harreld to shake things up and keep his players fresh. “If we get after it on defense,” Sigel said, “our quickness and athleticism can play to our advantage.” His Rocks, who finished the regular season ranked No. 3 in Class 3A, would be expected to win this one. Drye believes there's pressure on the Chargers as well, the pressure to perform and not come up one step short of a downstate berth. “We have to go out and win the game, because they're not going to lose it,” Drye said.
Advancement: Winner faces Tuesday's Joliet Central supersectional winner between Brooks (24-3) and Lindblom (22-8) at 12:15 p.m. Friday in a Class 3A state semifinal.