Getting the lowdown on Dundee-Crown
Daily Herald sports writer Jerry Fitzpatrick has covered Dundee-Crown's boys basketball team all season. Fellow sports writer Dave Oberhelman has done likewise with Neuqua Valley. Heading into Tuesday night's Class 4A Northern Illinois University supersectional, they have some questions for each other about their respective teams.
Q: So, Jerry, what makes you think Dundee-Crown has a chance?
A: Because we're talking about high school basketball, Dave, so anything can happen.
Clearly, the Oswego East sectional won by Neuqua Valley was tougher top to bottom than the Elgin sectional won by Dundee-Crown. But the St. Charles North squad D-C beat 51-49 on Friday is the same team Neuqua Valley beat 68-64 on Dec. 11. Note those winning scores, my friend. The Wildcats and Chargers both beat talented St. Charles North in close games by playing at their respective preferred tempo.
The Chargers have the athleticism to run the break, but they don't seek a track meet. D-C doesn't intentionally slow the game down, but the Chargers are very patient offensively. They'll run the offense for a minute or more until they find a high-percentage shot, and coach Lance Huber's eight-man, all-senior rotation has demonstrated the poise and ballhandling ability to keep possession until such a shot presents itself. That offensive patience in tandem with its help-oriented man-to-man defense explains why the Chargers have won 4 playoff games by an average score of 48-42.8. If the Chargers can keep the score in the upper 40s, or low 50s, yes, they have a chance.
Q: Huh?
A: I'm saying you can't count out a team like Dundee-Crown that's usually out-sized, yet consistently rebounds and boxes out more aggressively than taller opponents. Senior guard Marcus Henry stands 6-feet tall, but his hustle and aggressiveness accounted for 11 rebounds in Dundee-Crown's sectional semifinal win over McHenry, including 5 offensive rebounds that translated to half of his game-high 16 points. Three D-C box-outs of the taller North Stars in the final minute of the sectional title game put the Chargers in position to win it on Jeff Beck's jumper in the final seconds.
Also, Dundee-Crown has a very bright coach in Lance Huber. In the 20 years after Dundee and Irving Crown High Schools merged in 1983-84, the basketball program won a total of 4 regional titles. In the six seasons since Huber, a product of downstate Tolono Unity High School, became coach in 2003-04, Dundee-Crown has won 3 regional titles, 2 titles in the Fox Valley Conference and, this year, the school's first sectional title since the merger. Huber's overall record to date is 99-66 in five-plus seasons. The Chargers won the Valley Division of the FVC outright (10-0) on a risky play. In the final seconds against Jacobs, Huber directed Marcus Henry to inbound the ball off the back of a Jacobs player whose back might be turned, then score. Unconventional? You bet. And effective. Henry bounced the ball off the player's hip, scored the layup and the Chargers celebrated. Few teams execute a game plan from start to finish as well as D-C.
Q: Wanta put some money on that?
A: Dave, 50 bucks says you slice a tee shot at Arrowhead No. 2 South into the woods this spring, but let's keep things wager-free at the preps level, OK?
Do I think Dundee-Crown is the underdog in this matchup? Yes, a substantial one. However, that doesn't mean the Chargers don't have a chance. I saw Neuqua Valley win 70-59 at South Elgin in January and came away impressed. The Wildcats are a deep team with multiple weapons, a ton of athleticism and they're very well coached. I did see South Elgin outplay the Wildcats for most of the third quarter of that game, however, a span in which Neuqua wasn't hitting shots, turned the ball over and had the tempo dictated to it. What's to say the Wildcats won't hit a shooting lull in the spacious background of the NIU Convocation Center while Dundee-Crown shooters like senior guard Rob Stupar - who I watched drain 10-of-15 attempts from 3-point range in a November game - happen to get hot?
I've seen the Chargers play about 10 times this year, and have yet to see all their scorers "on" in the same game. If that scenario develops, and they play solid defense and they rebound to a draw, D-C has a shot.
jfitzpatrick@dailyherald.com