Bogumil enters final playoff run at Libertyville
Way back when, a high school sophomore caught the eye of Scott Bogumil at a Five-Star Basketball summer camp.
Bogumil had never seen a better player.
"I remember it like it was yesterday," Bogumil said. "I was having a conversation with him on the side and I said, 'What are you going to do when you get back home?' He said, 'Well, Coach, football camp starts in two weeks.' I go, 'Football?' He said, 'Yeah, I'm a receiver.' I said (laughing), 'I'd give that up pretty soon.' "
Turns out, "the kid from Akron" was LeBron James.
In Bogumil's 11 seasons at Libertyville, LeBron James has never walked through his door. Nor has a Division I recruit or two that could help the Wildcats experience success similar to what Bogumil enjoyed at Gordon Tech. Under Bogumil, the Rams won four regional championships and went downstate in 2000.
At 12-12, Libertyville doesn't figure to head downstate this season - which will be Bogumil's last as coach of the Wildcats.
He announced the news to his team last week.
"The only thing I regret - and I said it to my staff - is that I didn't feel like I brought the magic that I had at Gordon Tech," Bogumil said.
The decision is one that Bogumil had been considering for a while. He said he initially went to athletic director Briant Kelly last summer but chose to remain as coach for the 2014-15 season.
In December, tragedy struck the Libertyville program when former star guard Jack Lipp was injured in a fall at the University of Missouri and passed away on Christmas.
"When Jack Lipp passed, that just threw me for a loop," Bogumil said.
Lately, Bogumil started receiving more and more questions about next season and roles for players going forward. It was then that he decided to make his intentions public.
"I didn't want to let it out until the season was over," Bogumil said. "Briant Kelly made a great point. "He said, 'Usually when coaches decide after a season, the team's dissipated.' Trying to get everyone together (is difficult). ... Just trying to get kids to turn in their jerseys, you're always chasing 3-4 because they're all off to different things."
Bogumil brought to Libertyville an animated sideline demeanor and winning track record from Gordon Tech. He replaced Jim Goodwin as the Wildcats' coach in 2004, and the Wildcats won 17 games in his second season. They haven't been able to top that victory total since then, however.
If Libertyville can beat Zion-Benton tonight and Round Lake next Tuesday, it will secure the Wildcats' fifth winning season under Bogumil, whose tenure has coincided with a basketball boon in the North Suburban Conference, particularly in the Lake Division.
While Libertyville has not boasted a Division I recruit, other NSC Lake schools have. That formidable list includes Raffi Mantilla (Yale), Ben Brust (Wisconsin), Ryan Sawvell (Evansville), Sean O'Brien (Southern Illinois) and Robert Knar (Northern Iowa) of Mundelein, Lenzelle Smith (Ohio State), Milik Yarbrough (St. Louis) and Admiral Schofield (Tennessee) of Zion-Benton, Matt Vogrich (Michigan), Sam Downey (Yale) and Evan Boudreaux (Dartmouth) of Lake Forest, Jalen Brunson (Villanova) and Connor Cashaw (Rice) of Stevenson, and Ceola Clark (Western Illinois), Brandon Paul (Illinois), Darius Paul (Western Michigan) and Nathan Boothe (Western Michigan) of Warren.
"We've played some great competition," Bogumil said. "Our kids played hard. We went toe to toe with some of the best players this area has ever seen."
Now, it's time to move on for Bogumil, who will remain a counselor at LHS. He still works the Five-Star camp every year.
"Over the years, I've had friends reach out to me and say, 'Would you be willing to do this with me? Would you be willing to do that?' " Bogumil said. "I always felt like the timing was bad to make a commitment. Now (laughing), I feel like a free agent a little bit."