Big weekend on tap in Fox Valley
The action sizzles this weekend as local teams delve into the meat of their respective conference schedules.
This weekend's slate of boys basketball games includes a pair of intriguing matchups between Upstate Eight Conference schools from District U-46 on Friday. On Saturday, Big Northern East rivals Burlington Central and Hampshire mix it up on Pack the Place night in Hampshire. Let's take a look at those matchups.
Larkin (7-7, 1-2) at Bartlett (9-5, 3-1): This game features two of the area's best 3-point shooters. Bartlett four-year starting guard Luke Labedzki became his school's all-time leading scorer earlier this season. Larkin senior guard Ryan Smith has more than 40 3-pointers already.
The Royals look to snap a 4-game losing skid that dates back to the Elgin Holiday Tournament. Larkin lost its only game since the break, 52-49, at home against Lake Park last Saturday.
"We played better last weekend, and getting better is what we're really concentrating on," Royals first-year coach Deryn Carter said. "(Bartlett) is not an easy opponent by any stretch of the imagination and it's not an easy place to play. I'm new, but I've been told that by plenty of people. We'll just try to do the things we do well and try to take away some of the things they do well and, hopefully, get back in the win column."
The Hawks have played once since they finished fourth at the Jacobs Holiday Tournament. Bartlett built a big early lead last Saturday at St. Charles East and went on to win 78-65. To beat the Royals, the Hawks will need to close out on Larkin's perimeter shooters.
"They live and die by that 3-point stripe," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "If you can get out on their shot and force them to drive or go inside, then you take away a major part of their game. We've got to find a way to get out on Smith and Drew (Simonini) and all the other guys. They can really put them up."
The Hawks play only Larkin this weekend, then a busy stretch begins with three games in six days against quality teams. Bartlett plays at UEC preseason favorite Neuqua Valley (12-1, 2-0) next Thursday. On Saturday, Jan. 23, the Hawks play Hyde Park in the inaugural Tomcats Hoopfest at East Aurora. Bartlett then hosts Naperville North (10-4) on Jan. 26.
"We'll have three really tough games in a row against Neuqua, Hyde Park and Naperville North with two of them on the road, but we don't want the kids looking past Larkin," Wolfsmith said. "We want to take care of business and, hopefully, play an all-around game against Larkin. We'll worry about Neuqua Valley on Saturday morning."
Elgin (4-11, 0-4) at South Elgin (11-4, 3-0): The Upstate Eight Conference-leading Storm would like to remain atop the league standing with a win over the Maroons, who played three tight games last week.
Elgin came from 8 points down to beat Cary-Grove on Tuesday, lost a Friday home game to Waubonsie Valley on a last-second shot and gave Western Sun Conference contender DeKalb a good game on Saturday at the Rock Falls shootout.
Elgin played as hard from start to finish against DeKalb as it has against any opponent this season. The Maroons trailed by 13 in the second half but hustled to cut it to 4 points with 37 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
"Early in the season in these same situations, we would have folded and lost by 20," Elgin coach Mike Sitter said afterward. "We didn't have that extra gear where we could dig down deep and play a little harder. We kind of do that now. We just need to get over that hump and finish games and beat teams instead of competing and losing close."
South Elgin has rebounded from a 1-3 holiday showing at York with victories over St. Charles North and Jacobs. The Storm are led by senior Tommy Childs. The shooting guard averages 18.9 points, 4.5 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 2 steals per game. Junior Sam Sutter is a designated 3-point shooter. The guard has connected on 41-of-101 attempts from long range and averages 11.3 points per game.
In three games last week, Elgin sophomore guard Dennis Moore and senior guard Mike Richard averaged double-digit points, and sophomore Kory Brown used his length to intercept several passes.
"They're tough. I like them," South Elgin coach Chaz Taft said of the Maroons. "That Kory Brown is going to be good. I think he's kind of a diamond in the rough. Some plays I've seen him make in the open court, taking the ball to the basket - wow. We saw them against Waubonsie and they're tough. They get after you defensively and try to take the one pass away. It's going to be a good game, I think."
South Elgin hosts Maine East in a nonconference game on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Elgin hosts Rockford Jefferson on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Burlington Central (6-8, 2-0) at Hampshire (8-5, 1-1): Pack the Place Night at Hampshire starts early in the afternoon. The girls sophomore game is at 2:30 p.m., the boys sophomore game at 4:15 p.m., the girls varsity game at 5:45 p.m. and the boys varsity game begins at approximately 7:15 p.m.
Burlington Central seems to be rounding into form under first-year coach Brett Porto. The Rockets opened the new year with 2 wins last weekend: a 21-point victory over North Boone and a surprisingly easy 65-51 win over visiting Kaneland (9-4).
"The one that was a shocker was the one at home because Kaneland is a good ballclub," Hampshire coach Bob Barnett said. "They want to press and play just like they did when (Porto) was playing. They're going to get the ball up and down the floor, they're going to run and jump. I had to go back into my files to see some of the things they did when he played.
"Their team is starting to jell a little bit and do what he wants done. It's a big change, changing coaches, it really is. It takes a little bit of time. I think he's done a good job."
The Rockets' style of play of late is more in line with what their young coach had in mind.
"It's finally starting to look like what I envisioned our team being," Porto said. "We're finally starting to put it all together. I'm asking these kids to do things they've never had to do before and we're starting to get the big picture and jell a little bit on the court."
What exactly did Porto envision?
"A team that uses its athleticism and speed in order to apply pressure," he said. "Not just in the full court but in the half court. Just as important when we are applying pressure is recovering and rotating out of it and limiting teams to one shot. That flows right into our offensive transition philosophy."
The Rockets possess a balanced scoring attack between sophomore guard Ray Hunnicutt (14.9 ppg.), senior forward Shane Larkin (10.6), 3-point shooter Zack Romando (9.8), junior Sam Klein (9.4) and senior Steve Hall (6.8).
The vast majority of Hampshire's 52.6 points per game are scored by three players: senior guard Justin Bieber (17.7), senior guard Shyler Ralphs (11.7) and sophomore post Tyler Watzlawick (10.8 ppg., 5.5 rpg.). Bieber is a 42 percent shooter from 3-point range.
"They're a very good team, always well coached," Porto said of the Whips. "They'll try to impose their will. They have some size and some guys who can really post up. And Bieber is an excellent guard."
On the mend: Just when Jacobs finally had its projected starting lineup back on the court, the injury bug bit. Junior guard Nick Hofman, who suspected something was wrong with his knee after he heard it pop twice during the Jacobs Holiday Tournament, underwent surgery last Friday.
"Nick's done for the year," Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle said last Saturday. "It was everything. When they went into surgery on his knee... they didn't know if it was cartilage, the meniscus or the ACL. When they went it there it was all the above. It's completely reconstructed, but his season is over.
"It'll be a long rehab. Hopefully, he'll comeback stronger next year."
Hello again: Larkin will rematch against Guilford in Rockford on Saturday at 6 p.m. Larkin agreed to the nonconference game long before it drew Guilford in the opening round of the Elgin Holiday Tournament. The Royals won that game 71-63 on Dec. 21.
"We didn't want to have to play them twice, especially with the second one on the road," Larkin coach Deryn Carter said. "But that's how it works out sometimes at Christmas tournaments."