Building complete, Elgin ready to see profits of the work

After three years of remodeling, Elgin High's varsity boys basketball team can no longer be considered a fixer-upper.

Like any construction project, building the Maroons to their current competitive level required a blueprint, time and the right set of tools.

The foundation was poured three years ago, when then-freshman Armani Williams was elevated to the varsity three games into the 2004-05 season.

Williams proved right away he could handle pressure. On Jan. 7, 2005, in front of 1,500 fans, he scored a game-high 23 points, including 2 game-winning free throws with .5 seconds remaining, to upset a good Larkin team led by Dayvon Ellis and Carliss Henderson, 68-66.

A year later Elgin continued building for the future when three of Armani's sophomore classmates joined him on varsity: guard Jeremy Granger (6-1), forward Kenny Williams (6-0), and center/forward D'Angelo Stewart (6-5).

Together the foursome sharpened their skills for two seasons alongside all-area pick Brandon Grissette.

After a slow start last season, Elgin showed signs of coming together during a 5-game winning streak before finishing the season 17-12 with an overtime loss to St. Charles East in a regional final on the Saints' home court.

The last two Elgin teams scored plenty of points, yet neither challenged for an Upstate Eight Conference title or won a regional.

The combined experience of the four returning starters in 2007? Nine varsity seasons.

Nine seasons that have made them hungry.

Nine seasons that have honed their competitive instinct.

Nine seasons that have brought Elgin basketball to the precipice of the breakthrough Maroons fans have been anticipating ever since Armani Williams scored 24 points in his varsity debut against East Aurora on Dec. 3, 2004.

Elgin, a fixer-upper? Hardly.

This team is more like a luxury condo on the river with 4 bedrooms, 2½ baths and a hot tub on the deck -- priced to move.

"It's time to prove how good our team is and what we can do," Armani Williams said this week.

As so often is the case with major construction, this project experienced an unexpected glitch. Namely, Elgin was forced to switch contractors before the project was complete, naming Mike Sitter the new head coach after Rob Brault was removed five days before the season started.

Though no one wearing maroon and cream used that obvious distraction as an excuse for the team's season-opening 71-59 loss to Buffalo Grove at the Bison Thanksgiving Tournament, the Maroons were clearly off their game in the opener. Defensive lapses cost Elgin that contest, an unacceptable scenario to Sitter.

The new foreman demanded improvement.

The following night the Maroons delivered the most inspired victory of their 3-1 tournament showing: a 68-58 overtime victory against Stevenson, a team that returns its second- and third-leading scorers from last year's Class AA semifinal team.

"Against Stevenson we played half-court defense, we got in the passing lanes and we played fantastic," Sitter said. "If we play like that all year, we can beat anybody."

Another reason for improvement from Game 1 to Game 2 was the reinvigoration of Stewart, who Sitter challenged to play up to his potential at halftime of the disappointing season opener.

The new coach helped Stewart get into the offensive flow by directing Elgin's guards to get their big man a touch each time down the floor. The move simultaneously kept Stewart involved in the game and made the defense honor him.

Sitter this week compared it to the way Michael Jordan used to get Bulls center Bill Cartwright involved early in games, which increased the 7-footer's overall productivity. Stewart responded with 9 points and 9 rebounds against Stevenson.

Elgin went on to win 87-57 against Holy Trinity, led by Armani's 24 points, a total that included four 3-pointers.

The Maroons capped the tournament by beating Lakes 100-92 in overtime last Saturday. Trailing by 9 points with under three minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Elgin rallied to tie the game at 78, forcing an extra period.

Granger then scored the first 7 points of the overtime on the way to his second 31-point outing of the young season.

It marked the first time an Elgin team has reached triple digits since a 102-79 victory over Leyden on Nov. 24, 1989.

"As a team it's going well for us offensively," Granger said. "The main thing for us is playing defense. I mean, we can score points, but we can't keep giving up points."

Sitter, too, sees plenty of room for defensive improvement.

"We have so far to go," he said. "Someone told me if you want to play deep into March, you have to play defense. We've done it for one game so far this year. Stevenson was the only game we defended.

"The kids were so happy when we scored 100 points against Lakes but we gave up 92, so that's not as big an accomplishment as we want to make it out to be. Our biggest room for growth is on the defensive end. That's where we need to take the next step."

Sitter said 60 points will be the defensive benchmark for the rest of the season. "I don't think there's a team that can hold us below 65," he said. "If we can hold teams to 60 or lower, we're going to win."

These days Armani Williams is the team veteran, a mature, sure-of-himself senior who is playing well just 6½ months removed from surgery that repaired the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

In four games at the Bison Thanksgiving Tournament, Williams averaged 18.8 points per game and sank 13 3-pointers.

"I ain't gonna lie; It's sore," Williams said of the knee. "They said the pain should gradually go down as we approach a year (after surgery). The doctor said I'm fine.

"I'm ready. I'm basically going to pace myself. If I can't bear the pain, I'll stop. But that hasn't happened."

There's no letup in Armani Williams, who regularly wakes early to practice his shot before school.

He and Granger comprise one the most prolific-scoring backcourt tandems in the Chicago area. In the post, Kenny Williams and Stewart have become adept at running Elgin's T-game offense, which features a series of hi-low picks.

Any phase of the game that needs work will get it after tonight's conference opener against rival Larkin at Chesbrough Field House. After tonight the Maroons are off for two weeks before they play at Lake Park on Friday, Dec. 14 and host Cully Payne and Schaumburg a day later.

Elgin's new coach plans to use the time off for a mini-training camp.

"We'll go back to basics for 14 days," Sitter said. "I haven't put in any of my own stuff, so that might give us time to put in any special defensive looks we want to do or make any changes we want to make."

Thus the construction project continues, keeping the players cautiously optimistic.

"I'm real excited for this year, but I've been real excited for every other year," Granger said. "Last year we had high expectations and we didn't really live up to them. This year we have high expectations again, so hopefully we can keep rolling and live up to them this time."