Spartans' Weber likes potential of Warren's Paul

As the brother of University of Illinois head coach Bruce Weber, Glenbrook North coach David Weber bleeds orange and blue.

He follows the Illini closely and is always pulling for his brother and the players. He even keeps track of Illinois' recruits and roots for them, too.

Take Warren guard Brandon Paul, who will be going to Illinois next year. Weber is a huge fan.

"His athletic ability is incredible and he hasn't even come close to being the player he'll be in college," Weber said. "Knowing that he's going to Illinois, it's always fun to watch him and see him do well."

Of course, Weber wouldn't mind if Paul didn't do quite as well as usual on Saturday night. His Spartans will take on Warren in Game 1 (6:15 p.m.) of the McDonald's City-Suburban Showdown doubleheader at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston.

The second game pits two of the top teams in the state against each other, De La Salle and North Lawndale College Prep.

"Maybe Brandon can have one off night," Weber chuckled. "But we're looking forward to this, though. In the last 10 years, we've played Warren twice in the supersectional, so we've got a nice rivalry going with them.

"It's just going to be a great game that will definitely prepare us for the state tournament."

Playing in an arena like Welsh-Ryan only adds to the tournament atmosphere.

"Northwestern is a tremendous place to play," said Warren coach Chuck Ramsey, whose team won a supersectional at Northwestern in 1999 for the program's only trip downstate. "This will be a fun game and a great experience for our kids. It will be a challenge."

Dun-can't: When Warren guard David Duncan told coach Chuck Ramsey last week that his hands were so cold that he needed to wear gloves inside, it probably wasn't a good sign.

Since then, Duncan has been out of school with a nasty flu bug. He missed two games last weekend and had missed school both Monday and Tuesday.

Duncan, a starter and the Blue Devils' top 3-point threat, is questionable for Saturday's big game at Northwestern against Glenbrook North.

"I'm really not sure when he'll be back because it's one of those illnesses in which medication won't work," Ramsey said. "It just has to filter through your body in its own time."

Duncan's younger brother Jonny, a junior guard, has also been sick, but Ramsey wonders if a basketball injury may have contributed to Duncan's illness.

"He had an infected cut on his knee that had to be stitched up the last day he practiced with us," Ramsey said. "He had to leave the floor and have it wrapped up. Maybe that's a part of it."

Scouting the Spartans: Glenbrook North, which will face off against Warren on Saturday in the City-Suburban Showdown at Northwestern, would fit right in here in Lake County.

There have been a myriad crazy illnesses and injuries this season that have wreaked havoc on Lake County basketball: from intestinal infections that have warranted hospital stays to broken noses, broken feet, broken legs, torn-up knees and a finger injury that was a result of roughhousing with a little brother.

At Glenbrook North, the medical reports are similar. Only one player has started every game for the Spartans this season because there have been so many players missing games for one reason or another.

The Spartans have had two players come down with food poisoning - at different times. They've also been without their best player from last year for the entire season. Tyler Ponticelli, a 6-foot-7 center who averaged 15 points and 7 rebounds last season, injured his back in the preseason and had surgery for a herniated disc around Thanksgiving.

On top of all that, several players have missed games this season for funerals. In fact, sixth man Matt Merrigan will miss the Warren game to attend his grandfather's funeral.

"Every time I see that I have a message on my phone, I'm fully expecting that someone else won't be able to come to practice," said Glenbrook North coach David Weber. "This has been a crazy season with all the injuries and illnesses. We've done a lot of overachieving given our circumstances."

That's for sure.

Glenbrook North, which is led by versatile 6-foot-6 guard Alex Dragicevich (20 ppg), is 14-4 and 8-0 in the Central Suburban North.

Four of the Spartans' losses have been by 6 points or less, including a 3-point loss to Waukegan, which hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.