Naperville North's Lewis toughs out another injury
As far as injuries are concerned, Naperville North's Mitch Lewis can't catch a break.
Actually, the junior forward did catch a break at last week's Jack Tosh Holiday Classic. It just wasn't the type he wanted.
Lewis broke a finger in Naperville North's second-round win over Stagg, an injury that initially appeared costly. After last Tuesday's upset quarterfinal win over Riverside-Brookfield, Huskies coach Jeff Powers said Lewis might not be back for three weeks.
But there was Lewis the next night, back on the court and playing through the pain to help the Huskies beat Hinsdale South and advance to the tournament title game.
"He's so darn competitive and he's so good," Powers said. "We didn't think he was going to play, but the doctor said he could play if he tapes it up. He's a tough kid."
The broken finger came on the heels of an ankle injury suffered during football season that kept Lewis out until the final three games. He didn't realize, though, that he also had broken bones in his foot.
Fully recovering from the foot/ankle issue took until the first round of the Tosh tournament when he saw his first action against Timothy Christian. Two days later, he broke the finger.
Despite the prognosis of missing a few weeks, Lewis returned two days later.
"I went to the doctor right after practice (last Wednesday morning), and he said, 'if you tape it and feel comfortable, then I'm giving you the go-ahead to play,'" Lewis said. "I'm not going to sit out. Just put the pain level behind me and keep on playing."
Mr. Consistent:
Though his name was spelled correctly in Plano's 53rd annual Christmas Classic program, in tournament reports thereafter Lisle's 6-foot-1 junior forward Mark McGrath was referred to as "McGarth."
There was no disguising his impact. As in football, McGrath did a lot of everything while helping Lisle slightly improve upon its No. 15 seed with a 12th-place finish. That was accomplished with starting post player Adalberto Gutierrez missing the first two games due to injury and playing sparingly the next three games, and without top Josh Jamison playing at all.
"Mark's first three games at Plano were legendary," said Lisle coach Mark LaScala, who compared McGrath's rebounding effort to that of Dennis Rodman. "He was shooting over 60 percent from the field while guarding opponents that were 6-foot-5 to 6-7 and outrebounding them."
McGrath led all players at the 24-team Plano tournament in offensive and defensive rebounds. Overall his 65 rebounds were 14 more than the next player. When it was over McGrath led all players in total PARS - points, assists, rebounds, steals - with 172 combined.
"If he continues to perform at this high level we will be very competitive down the stretch," LaScala said.
Lisle senior guard Ryan Gillen also had his name among the tourney leaders. Among other categories he tied for fourth in minutes played and ranked second overall with 90 points, 2 more than McGrath's 88.
Familiar face:
In his fourth year as a varsity starter, Hinsdale South's Barret Benson keeps getting better.
The evidence was clear in the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic as the 6-foot-10 senior center dominated the five-day event.
"He's nowhere close to where he's going to be in the next four years, but the steps he's taken in the three years I've been here are amazing," said Hornets coach Brett Moore. "He's just made some tremendous strides. The lower body strength is finally getting there. And the coordination to go with it."
Benson chose Northwestern over numerous other college offers, and it's looking like a steal for the Wildcats. In five games at the Jack Tosh tournament, he led the 32-team field with an average of 22.2 points and 11.6 rebounds while shooting 63 percent from the field.
Bigger, stronger and more fluid with his movement in the post, Benson's seen a bit of everything from opposing defenses this season. Little has worked.
"Big guys don't develop until they're a little bit older, and he's an exact example of that," Moore said. "He's always been good. He's taken it to another level now."
Bulking up in 2016:
Attending Tuesday's Metro Suburban West game at Glenbard South, IC Catholic Prep athletic director Tom Schergen described changes to the ICCP/Westmont Boys Christmas Tournament that will double the field to 16 teams in 2016.
To be a fully bracketed tourney with four guaranteed games for each team, the newcomers include Westminster Christian, Harvest Christian, Beecher, Perspectives Leadership Academy and Holy Trinity, which brings with it three of Chicago's Noble college prep teams from Holy Trinity's own tournament.
Each of the eight teams that competed this year at ICCP and Westmont will return, including Montini, St. Edward and Walther Christian. Schergen said five other teams also were interested in joining.
The tournament will run Dec. 26-29, 2016, with half the bracket competing at IC Catholic and the other half at Westmont. Each of the eight games on Dec. 29 will take place at ICCP.
"So between us and York (which hosts the boys Jack Tosh Holiday Classic) it looks like there'll be 48 basketball teams in Elmhurst," Schergen said.
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