Some observations of early-season basketball

The high school basketball season tipped off this past week and tournament action was intense.

Here are a few things that caught my eye:

Girl power: After an errant shot hit the top of the backboard and dropped down, a basketball was stuck on the backside of the standard during last Monday's Ken Peddy Windmill City Classic game between host Batavia and Wheaton Warrenville South.

Batavia senior Canaan Coffey retrieved another ball and attempted to dislodge the first basketball from its position. On his first try, that ball also got stuck behind the backboard just below the original ball, leaving officials in a lurch.

While several people, including Bulldogs assistant coaches, went scurrying for a broomstick or some other piece of equipment, the Batavia cheerleaders relied on some good old-fashioned high school ingenuity.

Supported with the help of two cheerleaders and a spotter, another cheerleader hoisted into the air successfully dislodged both basketballs, receiving an ovation from the fans.

Sons of anarchy: High school basketball officials have been known to assess technical fouls on coaches from time to time. However, I can't remember the last time I saw two coaches' sons whistled for double technical fouls in the same game. Last Friday, Kaneland senior guard Ethan Conroy (son of Knights coach Joe) and Wheaton Warrenville South junior guard Drew Healy (son of Tigers coach Mike) were assessed double technicals following a second-quarter skirmish away from the ball. Ethan Conroy outscored Drew Healy, 5-1, but Healy's Tigers had the last laugh, defeating the Knights 61-36.

Coaches' wearhouse: I had to chuckle to myself when I first caught a glimpse of Kaneland coach Joe Conroy and St. Francis coach Erin Dwyer talking before last Tuesday's game at Batavia. I doubt the coaches discussed wardrobe plans prior to the game but there they stood - wearing similar attire. Both were wearing blue/black sweater vests over white long-sleeved shirts with ties and matching dark khaki dress pants. However, there was one major difference between the two - Dwyer is about 4-5 inches taller than Conroy.

S'no'w problem: There's nothing like a rare November snowstorm to hit the area during the first weekend of the high school girls basketball campaign. While it made local roads a bit more treacherous, it didn't stop many games from being played. Although I have to admit, I was glad not to be covering a high school state semifinal football game that afternoon.

Scary moment: It's a sound you really don't want to hear during a basketball game - thud. St. Charles East sophomore forward Justin Hardy literally flipped over backward attempting to battle for an offensive rebound during last Wednesday's opening quarter against Schaumburg at the 57th annual Ron Johnson Thanksgiving Tournament in St. Charles. Unfortunately, Hardy crashed hard to the floor on his head and was down face-first on the court for several minutes before being placed on a board by paramedics and taken to a hospital for observation. Hardy, who missed the final two games of the tournament due to IHSA concussion protocol, is hopeful of returning for the Saints' Upstate Eight Conference River Division debut against West Aurora Friday night. "It's the best of a worst-case scenario," said Saints coach Patrick Woods. "He was knocked out cold. It was very scary." Three nights later, another Saints starter took a big hit when junior guard Zach Mitchell suffered a broken left wrist after drawing an offensive foul just 19 seconds into their third-place game against Metea Valley.

Nice touch: Kudos to Burlington Central's boys basketball team for remembering the late T.J. Sportsman in fitting fashion prior to the Rockets' season-opening game against Sandwich in the annual Leland G. Strombom Tournament at Sycamore. All Rockets' players wore purple T-shirts with the letters T.J. and number 44 on their backs - the number Sportsman wore during his illustrious 4-year varsity basketball career at Burlington Central. Sportsman, who was a physical education teacher at Munhall School in St. Charles, died last June in an automobile accident. Having worked at Munhall for the past nine years myself, I know T.J. would have been proud and humbled by the classy gesture. Coach Brett Porto's Rockets captured the tournament title for the first time in 18 years, capping a 4-game sweep with a 55-47 victory over Rockford Jefferson last Saturday. Incidentally, Sportsman played a vital role the last time Burlington Central captured the tournament title at Sycamore in 1997, scoring 10 points as former coach Dave Gilliland's Rockets defeated Rochelle.

Craig Brueske can be reached via email at csb4k@hotmail.com.