Can Fremd handle Waukegan's pressure defense?
There will be a lot of pressure on Fremd in tonight's Class 4A boys basketball regional championship game at Hoffman Estates.
Not the kind of pressure that goes with being a high-seeded favorite. That will belong to Waukegan (21-4), the second seed in its own sectional, when it faces No. 11 Fremd (12-14) at 7:30 p.m.
The kind of pressure defense that has the ability to make opponents wilt and can turn a game around in a hurry. The Vikings already experienced it in November when they lost 73-48 to the Bulldogs in their Thanksgiving tournament.
"Turnovers were the difference in the first game," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski. "We have to get past half court and execute.
"If you don't give them runouts you make it easier on yourself because they can score in bunches."
Especially with two of the state's premier finishers in 6-foot-7 junior Jereme Richmond and 6-4 senior Colin Nickerson.
Richmond, the Central Suburban South player of the year who is committed to Illinois, averages 21 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.5 blocks.
Nickerson, who has signed with Fairfield, averages 19 points, 4 steals, 4 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
"We know they're a really good team," said Fremd senior point guard Danny Bruno. "We just have to try to slow them down."
Fremd, which lost its first seven games against a rugged schedule, is also a different team. After the sixth game, guards Zach Monaghan and Quinton Brown were promoted from the sophomore team.
Monaghan scored a career-best 20 points with three consecutive 3-pointers in the third quarter in Wednesday's 59-47 win over No. 7 Hoffman Estates. Monaghan is averaging 10.5 points with 40 3s, and Brown provides a defensive spark off the bench.
"I feel if we take care of the ball we have a really good chance," Monaghan said.
Waukegan showed what it could do with a blizzard of miscues in its 102-71 win over Mundelein on Tuesday. It forced 31 turnovers, as junior point guard Mike Springs had 20 points, 7 steals and 6 assists and Nickerson scored 19 points.
The only time the Bulldogs have scored fewer than 60 points was in a 59-53 win over New Trier on Dec. 19.
"If we settle down on offense and play good defense, I think we have a shot at it," said junior Chris Klimek as the Vikings try for their first regional title since 2003.
The winner plays in Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. semifinal at Waukegan against the winner of No. 6 Conant at No. 3 Zion-Benton.
Welcome to the Underground: Loyola coach Bryan Tucker knows there is nothing neutral about a rematch of his team's 59-57 win over Prospect in the second round of Wheeling's Wildcat Hardwood Classic.
Loyola (17-11), the fifth seed in the Niles North sectional, has to visit No. 4 Prospect (20-7) and its raucous white-clad "Underground" student section at 7:30 p.m. today for a regional title.
"They're playing with a lot of confidence," Tucker said of the Knights, "and when you pair that with a lot of ability and its on their home court, it's a pretty rugged test.
"We know what we have staring us in the face."
But so does Prospect as Loyola executed to near-perfection in the last five minutes of the first meeting. Matt Sullivan, a 6-5 Brown University bound senior, had 24 points and 6 rebounds and 6-8 junior Rob Wennington, the son of former Bulls' player Bill Wennington, scored 10 of his 14 points in the final 6:58.
"Hopefully we learn from it," Prospect senior guard Jason Leblebijian said after the loss. "When we play better teams like that we have to step up and take charge of the game."
The loss sent Prospect into a four-game tailspin but it has responded by winning 10 of its last 12 to set up a chance for its first regional title since 2002 and third since 1985.
"That was a tough loss during the Wheeling tournament," said Prospect junior Jack Redding. "It was definitely depressing during that time we went into the losing streak, but we bounced back."
Loyola has had its share of obstacles en route to a shot for a fifth straight regional title. It ended the regular season with 3 straight losses, but they were to Mt. Carmel, DeLaSalle and Waukegan.
The Ramblers trailed DeLaSalle by 2 points after three quarters and Waukegan by 5 points with seven minutes left.
"We went into those games thinking it was a great way to get ready for the state tournament," Tucker said. "You're always disappointed when you don't win a game, but we weren't discouraged."
Sullivan leads the Ramblers at 19 points a game. Senior guard Brian Kucera and Wennington average 10 points apiece and 6-3 senior Conor Klusendorf averages nearly 9 points a game.
"Everyone tries to take Matt out of the equation but all year we felt we had good consistency," Tucker said. "Any given night a lot of guys can step up and shoot and score for us and share the load."
The same is true for Prospect with 6-7 senior Kevin Reed and long-range threats Leblebijian and Joe LaTulip averaging between 12 and 14 points a game. Redding is at 9 points a game after scoring 15 in Tuesday's 60-52 win over Hersey.
And Reed, Leblebijian and LaTulip have experienced playing in a regional final after last year's loss to Evanston, which went on to finish third in the state. That experience showed Tuesday when Prospect coach John Camardella didn't take a timeout after Hersey closed within 3 points in the final three minutes.
"I never felt like we completely needed to right the ship," Camardella said. "Part of this team is allowing these players to put things on track and they've done it well a lot of times this year.
"It's a matter of trusting them to know what to do."
The winner advances to Tuesday's 7:30 p.m. sectional semifinal in Skokie against No. 1 Glenbrook North or No. 8 Evanston.
No easy trip: It was a long, nearly two-hour haul for sixth-seed Conant (19-7) to get to Zion-Benton for its 49-43 regional semifinal win over Libertyville on Wednesday.
Now the Cougars face a more daunting challenge against the No. 3 Zee-Bees (24-6), last year's 4A state runner-up.
Zion has won 12 straight after a midseason lull behind 6-8 senior Markus Yarbrough, Ohio State-bound junior Lenzelle Smith, point guard Ronald Steward and Quintrell Love.
"It's very difficult to focus on any one thing," said Conant coach Tom McCormack. "The thing we're going to bank on is everything we do to prepare for a team like this. Hopefully that will serve us well.
"Undoubtedly it will be a big challenge playing a team of this caliber on their home floor."
The most similar opponent to Zion for the Cougars in terms of size and quickness was in a 71-63 loss to St. Joseph on Feb. 14.
One of the big issues for the guard-oriented crew of 6-5 Tony Rizzo, 6-3 Tim Gilhooly and 6-2 Cameron Leavitt will be on the boards. The return of 6-3 David Trinco the last three games after missing seven with mono helps.
"They're really, really a tremendous offensive rebounding team," McCormack said. "They do a great job of getting the ball in the low post and a great job of getting shots back."
Zion has had a couple of close calls lately as it ended the regular season with a 77-71 overtime win over Vernon Hills. It led Deerfield by just 5 points in Tuesday's regional opener after three quarters before pulling away 71-51.
Devil of a challenge: Last year Maine East won its first regional title in 36 years in the debut coaching season of former Rolling Meadows basketball and baseball standout Glenn Olson.
Now the Demons (19-8) have a chance to do something they haven't done in a half-century when the school was just Maine Township in 1958-59. They can win consecutive regional titles for only the second time in school history when the No. 2 seed in the Niles North sectional faces No. 7 Glenbrook South (16-11) at Elk Grove.
The two teams just met Feb. 24 and Glenbrook South won 80-71 as Notre Dame-bound 6-9 Jack Cooley returned from a thumb injury with 21 points and 15 rebounds and Ryan Hopkins had 23 points 6-for-8 shooting on 3s.
"Especially with our roster, it's tough to simulate anything like (Cooley)," Olson said. "It was nice the kids got to bang against him and they tried to rebound with him.
"Defensively we didn't execute what we wanted to do against them the last time."
The Demons' tallest player, 6-5 sophomore Abdul Nader, provided a big spark in Tuesday's 59-46 win over Elk Grove.
And it was what they needed after losing four of their last five regular-season games - including Glenbrook North and Hoffman Estates.
"We've had some adversity thrown at us down the stretch," Olson said. "But we see the kids on a daily basis and they're still confident and keep working at it and keep believing."
Unsung heroes: Prospect senior guard Bobby Reibel didn't take a shot Tuesday night against Hersey but had 2 steals in extended minutes.
"He really defended the perimeter well," said Prospect coach John Camardella.
Fremd junior guard Chris Vainisi didn't play Wednesday night against Hoffman but played a key role in simulating its dangerous guard duo of Luke Mead and Kemill Long.
"Vainisi really helped us out," said junior teammate Chris Klimek. "He gave us a great look and we were able to turn that into offensive points."
Did you know? The last time the Mid-Suburban League didn't have a team win a regional title was 1968.