Mundelein fastbreaks to Arizona

Talk about some hang time.

Mundelein is making plans to again take its show on the road ... via the air.

In just a few weeks, the Mustangs will jet off for another team trip. Last year, they went out to Washington D.C. to take advantage of a recent rule change by the IHSA that allows teams to play games anywhere in the country.

This year, a trip to Arizona is on the itinerary.

"It's just a really good, fun time," Mundelein coach Dick Knar said. "These kind of trips go beyond the normal high school experience and I've found that it's the experiences like these that kids remember the most about their time with the team."

There should be plenty to remember from Mundelein's upcoming seven-day journey, which will begin Dec. 30 and run through Jan. 5.

The Mustangs will be playing two games in Arizona -- against Boulder Creek and Desert Mountain High Schools, which are located in the greater Phoenix area.

Away from the court, the schedule is full.

The team is planning to attend the Insight Bowl college football game, tour the Grand Canyon and possibly go to a basketball game at the University of Arizona.

"And the great thing is that the kids don't have to spend their own money," Knar said. "They fundraised all of it themselves."

Arizona via Mundelein: It's no accident that Mundelein is making a trip out to Arizona.

There are plenty of Mundelein connections there to make the trip all the more worthwhile.

Former Mundelein standout Shawn Harlan, who graduated from the school in 1991, now lives in Arizona and is planning to have the Mustangs over for a meal prior to their game against Boulder Creek.

Harlan knows Mundelein coach Dick Knar from his college days at Northeastern Illinois. Knar used to be an assistant coach at Northeastern and Harlan played under him for two years before transferring to Illinois-Chicago.

"Shawn was a freshman all-American for us at Northeastern," Knar said. "He did a great job and then he went on to UIC and then played a little bit with the Bulls and then the Cleveland Cavaliers and then went overseas."

When Harlan was done playing, he joined Knar's staff in 2001 and 2002 when Knar was still the coach at Northridge Prep.

"It's funny because Shawn is the reason I'm at Mundelein," Knar said. "I was originally going to take a job at Boulder Creek in Arizona, one of the teams we're playing.

"My parents were out there, this job came up and I went out there to visit and really liked the town. But the salary was too low, so I couldn't take it. Well, at the same time, Shawn and his wife were out there visiting her parents and we got to talking and he told me that he had heard the Mundelein job was open.

"Well, before you knew it, I was interviewing at Mundelein and got the job. And in the meantime, Shawn liked Arizona so much that he decided to move out there. So the reverse of what was supposed to happen, happened. I was supposed to move to Arizona and ended up moving to Mundelein and Shawn, who was just visiting Arizona, left here and moved out to Arizona."

Knar says that Harlan also introduced him to his current assistant Corey Knigge.

"There are all kinds of connections," Knar said. "And now, we've got everyone coming together in Arizona. Corey's grandparents are out there. My parents are out there, I've got a niece out there. It should be a lot of fun."