Can't beat this weekend of basketball
High school basketball fans, get ready for one busy weekend.
The weekend venue includes rivalry games, a showdown at the Sears Centre, battles for top spots in the conference standings and Hall of Fame nights.
Wondering where to go and what to do? Here's a closer look at all the fun in perhaps the busiest weekend in the prep basketball season, starting with Saturday's fun. All records are through Wednesday's games.
Hall of Fame Day at St. Charles East: Not only will four former Saints be inducted in the Hall of Fame, but both the boys and girls basketball teams from St. Charles North and St. Charles East will battle for bragging rights in this Upstate Eight Conference and Cross-town Classic.
"It's a shining time," St. Charles East coach Brian Clodi said. "It's going to be a great day for anyone there."
The girls tip off first at 4:15 p.m. Following that will be the induction, then the boys battle after that.
Records aside, this rivalry is one of the fiercest around.
On the boys side, the Saints are 6-9, 2-2 and the North Stars are 9-9, 3-2 . Both teams have had their share of struggles, but see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"We feel we've been close all year," Clodi said. "We feel good about what we are doing."
The Saints are led by Northern State-bound Collin Pryor's 17.8 points per game along with Kevin Senechalle (11.1 ppg) and Zach Scott (8.1 ppg).
The North Stars' Jonathan DeMoss leads the way with his 10.1 ppg, followed by Zach Hirsch (9.6 ppg) and Tim Janeway (8.5 ppg).
"We are excited just thinking about the packed gym," St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin said. "It brings people out. It's definitely an exciting time."
On the girls side, the North Stars are 14-4 while the Saints stand at 12-7. Both teams are 5-0 in the conference.
Kelsey Smith is St. Charles North's leader at 14.7 points and 8.1 rebounds a game. Kiley Hackbarth is next with 9.3 ppg and Anna Conrad is at 7.9 ppg.
"I think it's going to be a good game," St. Charles North coach Katie Sauber said. "(We are playing) awesome. We are coming off a big win against Wheaton North and are really starting to put things together. I'm pleased with the way we are playing."
Lexi Baltes (8.6 ppg), Tasha Lalos (7.4 ppg) and Katie King (7 ppg) are the Saints' leaders.
"It's going to be a busy, busy day," Saints coach Lori Drumtra said. "Obviously, it's going to be a really big challenge. It'll be a benchmark, a measuring stick to see where we are at."
The Hall of Fame inductees are Richard Balla, Denny DeWitte, Sam Mele and Maggie Miller.
Balla (class of 1988) was the captain of the 1987 state champion golf team and a 4-year letterman at Iowa State. DeWitte (1971) was a 4-year basketball player and referee for 25 years. Mele (1985) was an all-state soccer team member in 1984 and helped the Saints to a 65-7 record. Miller (1992) was a player on two state soccer teams and 4-year letterman at George Washington.
The 11th annual Meijer High School Hoops showdown: Batavia must have made quite an impression last year here, because the Bulldogs were invited back.
This time, instead of playing West Aurora, the Bulldogs will take on Marshall in the third game of the night at 8:30 p.m. in Hoffman Estates in the battle between two state-ranked teams, Marshall in Class 3A and Batavia in Class 4A.
"We are very proud to be a part of this," Batavia coach Jim Roberts said. "It's a first-class experience for the kids."
Batavia, which is ranked No. 2 in the Daily Herald's Top 20, is 14-2 overall.
The Commandos are 11-3 and won their first 7 games of the season by an average of 26 points while playing one of the toughest schedules in the state.
"(Marshall is) extremely quick, aggressive to the basket and play tenacious defense," Roberts said.
Batavia is led by Northwestern-bound Nick Fruendt, who is averaging 20.6 points per game, despite sitting 8 games out with mono earlier this year. Other Bulldog leaders include Jordan Smith (11.6 ppg), David Bryant (10.9 ppg) and Phil Albrecht (6.7 ppg).
The other two games at the Sears Centre are the girls teams from Warren and Fenwick , which will tip off at 4:30 p.m., followed by the boys teams from Jacobs and Fenwick at 6:30 p.m.
Rivalry games in the Suburban Catholic Conference Friday: ŒThe Aurora Central Catholic boys basketball team has a perfect 8-0 conference record. The 18-1 overall Chargers take on St. Francis in Aurora. The Spartans have just one conference loss this year.
It's also Hall of Fame night at ACC for inductees Bart Reier (class of 1984), Margie (Padilla) Buchner (1989) and Pat Langan (1995). All three will be inducted right before the start of the varsity game.
On the girls side in the SCC, Rosary will travel to Montini to try to avenge an earlier-season loss to the Broncos. That was the Royals' lone loss in conference.
If Rosary wins, it will be tied with Montini at the top of the SCC standings.
cbolin@dailyherald.com