Hogen grateful for chance to compete

Former Hersey girls basketball standout Brittany Hogen, a junior at Wisconsin-Parkside, is one of the top players in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

She is averaging a double-double this season (14 points and 14 rebounds) and has been named a conference Player of the Week.

Not bad for someone who did not exactly have a grand introduction to the sport many years ago.

"When I was younger, I never thought I would be where I am today," she said. "Being cut at numerous tryouts in elementary school was devastating. But the more I worked and put the time in, I got better each day."

And now she is helping a Division II college program to a 12-2 record and 4-1 in its conference.

"College basketball has been one of the best things that has happened to me," said Hogen, who is pursuing a degree in elementary education. "I would not trade it for the world. I honestly could not see my life without it. I am so privileged that I got the chance to play college basketball. Not many people get this chance."

Hogen said the transition from high school to college basketball has been a major change in every aspect. "Not only the rules, but how hard the conditioning is and how much time and effort is put in day-in and day-out," she said. "Although basketball takes most, if not all my time, I enjoy doing it so much because it is a sport I love to play.

"The thing I love most about college basketball would be the strong bonds that you make with your coaches as well as teammates. My teammates are like my family away from home. I love each and every one of them and wouldn't trade my team for any other team in the world."

Hogen would also like to coach basketball when she graduates.

Coaches of the year

Two Barrington coaches are among 21 high school coaches from across the country selected 2009 National Coaches of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Association Coaches Association.

Barrington girls tennis coach Tracy Waters Miller and girls golf coach Jodi Schoeck, were among the 10 coaches honored for girls sports.

The NFHS, which has been recognizing coaches through an awards program since 1982, honors coaches in the top 10 girls sports and top 10 boys sports (by participation numbers).

What are the odds?

Over the weekend, four former siblings who starred at Schaumburg High School went up against nationally-ranked No. 1, 2 or 3 teams in their respective divisions.

Mark Pancratz is an assistant coach at Tennessee, which upset NCAA Division No. 1 Kansas on Sunday.

Zach Pancratz is an assistant coach at Rollins College (Florida), which upset D-II No. 2 Florida Southern 91-88 on Saturday.

Jake Pancratz, a senior guard for the University of Chicago, collected 8 points and 6 rebounds in a 64-60 loss to D-III No. 3 ranked Washington University on Saturday.

And Drewann Pancratz, a sophomore guard at Carthage College, faced D-III No. 1 women's team Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday. The Titans won 76-48.

Hall of Fame

The 2010 class of the Southern Illinois University Saluki Hall of Fame was introduced last week in the Student Center.

Among the inductees is baseball standout Al Levine (Hoffman Estates), who was one of the most successful pitchers in school history.

After spending 1990 and 1991 at SIU, Levine went on to have a lasting professional career that spanned 10 seasons in the major leagues, including stops with the White Sox, Kansas City, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Texas, Anaheim, Detroit and San Francisco.

The White Sox drafted Levine in the 11th round of the 1991 draft.

At Southern, Levine led the Missouri Valley Conference in saves with 11 in 1990, and led the league in ERA with a 1.71 mark in 1991. He is the Salukis' career saves leader with 19 and was named first-team All-MVC in 1991.

Levine was a key member of SIU's last team to make an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1990. As a pro, the right-hander pitched in 416 games, primarily as a reliever, and recorded 24 wins and a 3.96 career ERA.

Yet it was the infamous crowds on "The Hill" that Levine remembers the most from his days at Abe Martin Field.

"They were very helpful supporting the team," Levine said. "Every game, 'The Hill' would be packed. There were guys out there with cones just screaming at guys. It was great. It really helped the team."

Throughout his long major league career, Levine faced several SIU alums while on the mound, including Steve Finley and Jerry Hairston, Jr.

Since retiring in 2005, Levine resides in Scottsdale, Ariz., and still treasures his time at SIU.

"It was a great time," said Levine. "I'm very happy that I chose SIU over some other schools."

• Wheeling High School has announced its Class of 2010 for the Wildcats Athletic Hall of Fame.

Inductees are Bill Daletski, Marilyn Kent, Sandy Rainey-Ernst and Jorge Torres.

The ceremony honoring this class will be on Saturday, Jan. 23 at approximately 8 p.m., during halftime of the boys varsity basketball game against Hersey.

Youth hockey

The Northwest Chargers Bantam AA Major Central States team from Rolling Meadows won the Paul Coffey Tournament in Toronto.

It was the only American team in the division. The Chargers went 6-0, outscoring their opponents 20-4.

Goalie DJ Miller of Rolling Meadows was the MVP of the tournament.

Women's basketball

No. 1-ranked Illinois Wesleyan won its 49th straight regular-season game and improved to 11-0 with an 87-58 victory over No. 13-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Junior Nikki Preston (Wheeling) scored a career-high 25 points with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.

She has played in 8 games and averages 11.7 points, second best on the team.

Preston scored a team-high 17 points when the Titans won their 51st straight with a 76-48 triumph over No. 8 Carthage.

• Purdue freshman Ashley Wilson (Wheeling) had 8 points coming off the bench in the Boilers' recent win.

Wilson has played in 15 games, starting two, and is averaging 5.1 points per game, sixth on the team.

She averages 17.6 minutes, which also is sixth. Wilson is 31-for-64 from the floor and 15-for-22 at the line. She is third on the team in rebounding, averaging 4.2 per game.

Men's basketball Loyola's Geoff McCammon (Conant) is averaging 10.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 0.9 steals while starting 13 games this season.The 6-foot-4 guard has a string of nine consecutive games where he had made at least one 3-pointer.He is shooting .472 (50-of-106) from the field, .412 (21-for-51) from 3-point range and .719 (23-for-32) from the free throw line.McCammon has scored in double figures eight times.bull; Please e-mail items to jleusch@dailyherald.com