Scouting the Class 4A NIU supersectional

Class 4A NIU supersectional

Elgin (21-9) vs. Zion-Benton (30-3)

8 p.m. today (WRMN-AM 1410)

How they got here: Zion-Benton defeated Libertyville 60-34 and Mundelein 79-75 to win the Mundelein regional then Buffalo Grove 88-67 and Schaumburg 54-41 to win the Barrington sectional. Elgin defeated Larkin 74-43, St. Charles East 67-57 and St. Charles North 58-50 to win the Larkin regional, then Hononegah 79-77 and Rockford Boylan 70-67 to win the Jacobs sectional.

Postseason history: Zion-Benton won its fourth sectional and are seeking their first trip to a state final tournament. Elgin won the 21st sectional title in program history and is seeking the school's 19th state final qualification. The Maroons are seeking their first trip downstate since 1998 and if they win tonight, they will bring home a state trophy for the first time since finishing second in 1955 under the legendary Bill Chesbrough, whose 90th birthday is St. Patrick's Day.

Probable starters

ZION-BENTON ZEEBEES ELGIN MAROONS

Player Ht. Yr. PPG Player Ht. Yr. PPG

G Rodney Clinkscales 6-1 Sr. 10.8 Jeremy Granger 6-2 Sr. 16.5

G Ronald Steward 5-10 Jr. 10.9 Armani Williams 6-3 Sr. 20.1

F/G Antonio Stewart 6-4 Sr. 4.9 Derell Howse 5-11 Sr. 4.8

F Lenzelle Smith 6-3 So. 13.4 Kenny Williams 6-1 Sr. 5.1

C/F Markus Yarbrough 6-7 Jr. 10.7 D'Angelo Stewart 6-6 Sr. 8.4

Coach -- Donald Kloth (19 yrs., 393-166)Coach -- Mike Sitter (1st yr., 21-9)

Outlook: Is Elgin March Madness' new Cinderella? We'll find out tonight when the Maroons, in the Elite Eight for the first time in 10 years, try to take the next step and assure the school its first state boys basketball hardware since 1955. But to advance to the state semifinals in Peoria on Friday night, Elgin, which has won 8 straight, 11 of 12 and 16 of 18 since Christmas, will have to play possibly its best game of the season against a Zion-Benton team that has been highly regarded all year. That means little to the Maroons.

"They just don't think anybody can beat them right now," said Elgin coach Mike Sitter of his team. "The kids' confidence is real high right now and they like the big crowds. That's when some of these kids put forth their best effort."

In addition to having four starters averaging in double figures, the ZeeBees also bring 6-1 junior Quintrell Love (12.4 ppg) off the bench for support. Elgin has its own bench strength with emerging 6-4 junior Marcus Redburg, who scored 11 points in the sectional final, and senior guard Tom Roth (5.4 ppg). But what concerns Sitter the most is rebounding.

"(Zion-Benton) rebounds like someone stole something from them," he said. "We're very impressed on film with how they rebound. They're a little faster and a little bigger than us so we won't be able to take them off the dribble. We'll have to run our sets and create."

Z-B, which has won 12 straight, averages 36 rebounds per game, led by Yarbrough at 8.3, Smith with 7, Stewart at 6.9 and Love at 6.5. Elgin, on the other hand, averages just 25 boards per game, led by Stewart at 6.2 and Granger at 5.1. Z-B will need to hope Elgin's Armani Williams doesn't have a hot night. The four-year varsity star now has 112 3-pointers this season and 335 for his career, placing him seventh on the all-time IHSA record list. And Granger could be among the best in the state one-on-one.

There are some common opponents, although they were at different ends of the schedule Elgin beat Stevenson; Z-B split with Stevenson. Z-B beat Buffalo Grove; Elgin lost to BG; Z-B beat Schaumburg in the sectional final; Elgin lost to the Saxons just before Christmas. And, Elgin beat Hononegah in the sectional semifinals, a team Z-B lost to at Hononegah's MLK Day Shootout. The ZeeBees played stellar defense against Schaumburg in the sectional finals, holding the Saxons to 41 points.

"That was one of our better defensive efforts of the year," said Kloth, who has taken three other Z-B teams to a supersectional, the last in 2003. "We've played pretty good defense all year and that was one of our better ones."

The ZeeBees play mostly man-to-man defense but will trap out of it as well. "As the saying goes, offense wins games and defense wins championships," said Clinkscales after the Schaumburg win. "That's what we're trying to do. We do defensive plays all day in practice. That's all we do."

As much as Elgin appears ready to spend the weekend at Carver Arena, Peoria is not a word being spoken around Chesbrough Field House just yet. "We're not talking about the next step," Sitter said. "There's a big hurdle in front of us. When you look at our record compared to the reputation of the other teams, yeah, you could call us a Cinderella. But I've had high expectations all along and now the kids are living up to those expectations."

Advancement: The winner advances to Friday's 6:30 p.m. state semifinal at Carver Arena in Peoria against the winner of the Sears Centre supersectional between Evanston and Mt. Carmel.

-- John Radtke and Marty Maciaszek