Articles filed under Radtke, John

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Hampshire grad Dumoulin is one who definitely gets it Mar 8, 2013 12:00 AM
For someone who not only played most of the time on her previous teams, but who also starred on those teams, this has been a bit of a strange year of basketball for Hampshire graduate Cassie Dumoulin. That doesn't mean it's been all bad. To the contrary, Dumolulin had the time of her life wearing the orange and blue No. 10 uniform for the University of Illinois this season.
Bartlett's Gulczynski thriving at Wisconsin Mar 7, 2013 12:00 AM
Jacki Gulczynski has come a long way in one basketball season. Gulczynski, the Bartlett graduate who is now a sophomore at Wisconsin, had a rough start to the season. She struggled to find her shot, and in turn, her confidence. But continued hard work, a trademark of Gulczynski's during her years at Bartlett, and her Wisconsin coaches showing confidence in her, has led to a turnaround and now she's one of the top players for the Badgers and one of the top sophomores in the Big Ten. "At the beginning of the year if someone had told me I'd be where I am now I wouldn't have believed it," said Gulczynski Thursday after leading the 11th-seeded Badgers to a 58-57 upset win over No. 6 Illinois in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament at the Sears Centre.
Taking a final look at Fox Valley girls basketball for 2012-13 Mar 5, 2013 12:00 AM
The time has come to clean out the notebooks from a long weekend at the girls basketball state tournament, as well as from the 2012-13 season. The just-completed state tournament had its usual spills and thrills, but one of the overriding themes of the Class 3A and 4A Final Four was that youth was being served. In Class 4A, eight of the 10 starters in the championship game were non-seniors. Four of the five Huntley starters were non-seniors. Whitney Young only had three seniors on its roster, two of them starters. In Class 3A, 13 of the 20 starters were non-seniors.
Huntley girls leave with high hopes for the futureMar 2, 2013 12:00 AM
Don't think for one minute that the Huntley girls basketball team left Redbird Arena here Saturday night hanging their collective heads. Not a chance. OK, so the Red Raiders lost both their games in the Class 4A state tournament, falling in Saturday's third-place game to Whitney Young 60-27. But Red Raiders' coach Steve Raethz, one of the classiest guys to ever roam the sidelines of any state tournament, was quick to not only credit Corry Irvin's Dolphins for the team they are, but to also put into perspective what this first trip to state meant to his team, the girls basketball program as a whole at Huntley, Huntley High School and the Huntley community in general.
Huntley taking it all in, and having a blast Feb 28, 2013 12:00 AM
Haley Ream never figured on ending her Huntley girls basketball career playing in the state finals at Redbird Arena. The Red Raiders’ Andrews sisters, junior Sam and freshman Ali, may have figured on being here next year, but probably not this year. And Raiders’ head coach Steve Raethz? Well, he knows the experience could very well be a once in a lifetime thing. “You never know if you’ll get this opportunity,” Raethz said after his team’s 30-minute shootaround on Doug Collins Court Thursday afternoon. “It’s never a given and you have to make the most of it.”
Future looking bright for Burlington Central, Huntley Feb 22, 2013 12:00 AM
That surreal feeling became real for the girls basketball players, coaches and fans from Burlington Central and Huntley Friday morning. They may have waked up looking for someone to pinch them to make sure, but the reality is the Rockets and Red Raiders are playing in supersectionals Monday night. Man, how times have changed — at least for this year. We're not talking about two programs here that make a habit of playing basketball on the last Monday of February. To the contrary, this is just Central's second supersectional, and the last one came in 1984, when most of the current Rockets' parents were still in high school themselves. And for Huntley, well, this is totally uncharted waters for the Red Raiders.
Family, basketball, golf all a love affair for Streamwood’s Jones Feb 20, 2013 12:00 AM
Ask Tim Jones his priorities in life and today he might say family, basketball and golf. But tomorrow he might say basketball, golf and family, while yet another day it might be golf, family and basketball. But rest assured, it's going to be those three things. So closely intertwined with Jones for most of his life, let's just call it familybasketballgolf, or whatever order you might want to put them in. And don't think for a minute that will change a whole lot after Jones coaches his last Streamwood boys basketball game this season. Sure, he's retiring after 35 years as a physical education teacher in Elgin Area School District U-46, and there might be a few more Florida trips on the agenda than there are now, but Jones won't be going underground. His youngest son, Drew, will be a senior at Larkin next year and Jones plans to spend every minute of his last child's games in the stands cheering him on.
Time for UEC, FVC to make crossovers more meaningful Feb 7, 2013 12:00 AM
A sports writer I once worked with had a column called Some Things I Think I Think. Today is my version of Some Things I Think I Think, all related to the girls basketball season that will enter the state tournament series for Class 3A and Class 4A teams beginning Monday.
Revisiting the magic that was Hampshire girls basketball Jan 31, 2013 12:00 AM
Every once in a while, a team comes along that you just never forget. In this case it's three teams. Time may blur the memory a bit here and there and require searching the archives to be accurate, but what will never be forgotten is how special the Hampshire girls basketball teams of 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04 really were. For three years running the Whip-Purs played on the final weekend of the season at Redbird Arena. The only other basketball program in the Daily Herald's Fox Valley coverage area to do that was the Elgin boys from 1943-45.
Burlington Central’s kiddie corps has exceeded expectations Jan 28, 2013 12:00 AM
It's been well chronicled that Burlington Central girls basketball coach Mark Smith knew he had some talent coming in when he took the Rockets' head coaching job. And Smith knows talent. His daughter, Kelsey, plays at DePaul and as a boys baskeball coach for several seasons at St. Charles North, as well as a former high school and college player himself, Smith knows good players when he sees them. But even Smith admits being surprised at how well his freshman-laden team has done this season. At 19-4 overall and having secured their first Big Northern East championship since 2006-07, the Rockets also cracked the Daily Herald Top 20 this week for the first time this season, and they're the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Class 3A regional that they will host. Central has not won a girls basketball regional since 1990 and has only three regional banners in program history.
Legendary Dundee-Crown coach Curtright was one of a kind Jan 24, 2013 12:00 AM
Holy Cheese and Crackers! Now there's one you don't hear every day. But according to Jim Rumsa, who would certainly know, that was Jerry Curtright's famous line when he didn't agree with a call or something else went haywire in a football or baseball game. Curtright, the legendary former Dundee-Crown multi-sport coach and math teacher, passed away last Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colo., at the age of 76. He is survived by three sons, Jay, Todd and Toby, and two daughters, Tracy Reinhard and Terry Truett. A memorial service will be held in Colorado Springs this Saturday.
Smith, Schrader enjoying first season at Loyola Jan 22, 2013 12:00 AM
A year ago, Becca Smith was on her way to scoring more than 2,000 career points and leading the South Elgin girls basketball team to the program’s first regional championship. Lindsay Schrader had her first full-time coaching gig as an assistant at Longwood University in Richmond, Va. Today, the two former Daily Herald all-area captains are wearing the same colors.
City Classic showcases Elgin's girls' teams Jan 8, 2013 12:00 AM
Girls basketball fans in the city of Elgin will get to see five of the city's six high school teams play each other over the next two weeks, beginning tonight when the Elgin City Classic gets underway at Larkin. The round-robin tournament is the brainchild of Elgin coach Dr. Nick Bumbales, who thought it would be a good idea to have the city's teams play each other and each school be able to host a night of games.
Bartlett-Streamwood game has meaning for both teams Dec 17, 2012 12:00 AM
For the third straight year, the 2012-13 Upstate Eight Conference crossover girls basketball schedule did not have Elgin Area School District U-46 rivals Bartlett and Streamwood scheduled to play each other. But Hawks' coach Denise Sarna and Streamwood coach George Rosner, longtime friends and coaching rivals, were able to make room in their nonconference schedules for each other, and Wednesday night the Sabres will take the short trip down Illinois 59 to play the Hawks in Bartlett's gym. As nonconference games go, this one has some meaning for both teams.
In Sarna’s eyes, Bartlett is making progress Dec 5, 2012 12:00 AM
Denise Sarna will be the first to admit it's been a little different around the Bartlett gym this season for the Hawls' girls basketball program. Coming off a 32-2 season that culminated with a third-place finish at the Class 4A finals at Redbird Arena, Sarna knew this would be a rebuilding season. And it's not like she hasn't been there before. Despite th fact the veteran coach lived the luxury of a 98-25 record the past four years, not to mention the 30-5 state runner-up season of 2004-05, she's also been on the other end of the record in her career. Her Streamwood teams won 20 games in 5 years and her first Bartlett team was 1-27.
Huntley, Streamwood top the list of good starts Nov 26, 2012 12:00 AM
From the Fox Valley world of good starts, OK starts and, well, not so great starts to the girls basketball season. Topping the list of good starts is Huntley (5-1). Hearing about the Red Raiders this summer and then seeing them play two of their first six games has me convinced — this is a very good team. The blip on the record is a 27-point loss to Hononegah that Huntley coach Steve Raethz and his team would like to forget about but won’t anytime soon, if that makes sense.
Smith having fun with latest challenge at Burlington Central Nov 15, 2012 12:00 AM
Mark Smith has coached a lot of basketball in his career. Boys teams. College women's teams. Girls teams. A basketball junkie, Smith is a 1977 graduate of Elk Grove High School, where he played for Ken Grams. He went on to play at Beloit College before embarking on a coaching career that has spanned multiple schools and venues. And now, Smith is embarking on a new challenge as the head varsity girls coach at Burlington Central. He becomes the program's fifth coach in the last six years, taking over for Jenna Real, whose teaching job was downsized after she coached her alma mater to a 13-16 season a year ago.
A primer to the girls basketball season in the Fox Valley Nov 12, 2012 12:00 AM
The girls basketball season tips off around the Fox Valley area this week and any new season comes with questions, right? We'll try to give some insight to the questions with our season previews later this week but before the first jump ball of the season aroound our Fox Valley coverage area, a little primer, school-by-school, as we get ready for 2012-13.
Harrington ready to tackle challenge at media table Oct 31, 2012 12:00 AM
For the better part of his basketball career, Sean Harrington was reported on, reviewed and analyzed by the media. Now Harrington will become one of us. Harrington, the former Elgin High School and University of Illinois standout is, for the first time in his career, leaving the court and the bench for another seat at courtside, the one occupied by the Big Ten Network. He will call his first game as a BTN color analyst on Nov. 12 when Central Michigan plays at Iowa.
Sund to be honored by Elgin Sports Hall of Fame Oct 29, 2012 12:00 AM
When Rick Sund was playing basketball for Bill Chesbrough in the late 1960s, he never dreamed of ending up where he is today. "When I went to Ohio University to start my master's program I was thinking Elgin and Elgin High," Sund says. "I always respected Ches and he was the athletic director at that time. At that time I was thinking more about being an AD. I wasn't thinking pro basketball."