Sifting through a holiday basketball blur

All of the names and games start to blend together at the end. Moments that happened a week earlier feel as if they occurred a month ago.

It's all part of the holiday hoop season where part of the challenge and fun is to see as many games and different teams as possible.

So here's our seventh annual look back at the most wonderful time of the year for hoops junkies.

Best team?

Yes, this year it comes with a question mark as the holidays were a reflection of the Mid-Suburban League and this area so far. No one showed any signs of repeating what Fremd did in last year's regular season when it was clearly at the head of the class.

Barrington had the best finish in third at Jacobs — losing a buzzer-beating heartbreaker to Crystal Lake South and falling by 2 points in the semifinals to Huntley. The Broncos have only played three games with their full lineup and No. 2 scorer Greg Gerrard missed the tourney with a sprained ankle.

Prospect was fifth at Wheeling's Wildcat Hardwood Classic and its only loss was a closer-than-it-appears 66-58 to eventual champion Notre Dame. Fremd took sixth at Elgin and its losses were to eventual champion Neuqua Valley and by 4 points to a talented Las Vegas Centennial team.

St. Viator's junior-dominated team took sixth at Wheeling with a loss in the finale to Prospect and a 3-point loss to Lake Park.

Conant went 2-2 at York but still is on top of the MSL West. Schaumburg acquitted itself well in a first-round loss to defending Class 4A champion Simeon at Pontiac and its other loss was to Public League power Curie.

While Notre Dame is just outside the Daily Herald circulation area, it continued to show it will be a team to be reckoned with after winning its first Wheeling title behind MVP Quinton Chievous and Rodney Pryor.

Best player

Prospect junior guard Mike LaTulip continued to handle the spotlight of being the focal point of defenses en route to all-tourney honors at Wheeling. In four games he averaged 21.3 points, 3.8 assists and 2.8 steals and rebounds, hit 10 3-pointers and was 23-for-25 from the free-throw line.

Best of the rest

Other all-tourney picks:

Quinton Brown (Fremd): The senior guard nearly doubled his season scoring and averaged 16.3 points at Elgin. Also showed leadership of a third-year varsity player.

Odera Eneogwe (Maine West): One of the area's most explosive players averaged 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds at Wheeling. Produced memorable third-round finish with game-winning lob dunk at overtime buzzer.

Tyler Gaedele (Rolling Meadows): Junior guard averaged 14.8 points and hit 17 3s at Elgin. Had 23 points and seven 3s in opening win over Glenbrook South.

Jack Konopka (Fremd): The 6-foot-5, 265-pound senior was a double-double scoring-rebounding force at Elgin. Averaged 17.3 points with two 20-point games after suffering an ankle injury.

D.J. Morris (St. Viator): Junior point guard continued a solid first varsity season. Averaged 15.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4 assists, was 12-for-20 on 3s and shot 46 percent at Wheeling.

Nick Prus (Buffalo Grove): Senior averaged 16.3 points and hit 13 3s at Elgin. Showed what can happen when he gets on a roll with 32 points and seven 3s in loss to Fremd.

Tyler Weathered (Barrington): Senior guard averaged 14.2 points and hit 10 3s in five games at Jacobs. His 17-for-21 free-throw shooting was instrumental in Barrington making semifinals on free-throw percentage tiebreaker.

Special mention

Every year there are players who missed out on all-tourney honors but had strong performances.

Rolling Meadows junior Brian Nelms averaged 13.5 points at Elgin, was a catalyst at both ends of the floor and hit a game-winning half-court shot in its opener.

Conant senior Dylan Bartuch averaged 15.3 points and hit six 3s in a second-round win at York.

Schaumburg senior Javon McDonald averaged 15.7 points in three games at Pontiac. Hit 12 3s and was 10-for-10 in the final two games.

Best story

It was great to see senior Zach Monaghan put on his protective plastic mask and check into Fremd's final game at Elgin late in the first quarter. This was just a week after Monaghan was injured in a serious car accident that forced him to miss four games.

Monaghan, who has signed with South Dakota State, added the Hollywood touch to the script when he nailed his first 3-point attempt. He finished with five 3s and scored 23 points.

Biggest shocker

Wheeling hadn't won an opener in its Wildcat Hardwood Classic since 1995 and was coming off a 49-point loss to Prospect when it faced unbeaten Vernon Hills.

Yes, Vernon Hills was missing standout DaVaris Daniels, who was stranded in an East Coast snowstorm. But it was still a stunner when the Wildcats won 49-44 behind the long-range shooting of Ricky Schwind.

It also sent Vernon Hills, expected to challenge for the tourney title, spiraling to an 0-4 finish.

Wardrobe malfunction

Another shocker to longtime observers of St. Viator was seeing Joe Majkowski and his coaching staff in golf shirts and khaki slacks for the final game at Wheeling instead of their traditional button-down shirts and ties.

Former Viator player and assistant Mike Manno couldn't recall seeing Majkowski not coaching in a tie before. The new look figures to be shelved since the Lions lost the fifth-place game 70-63 to Prospect.

Conversely, right before the consolation championship, longtime Stevenson assistant Paul Swan said, “I told them if the game is after 5 o'clock I'll wear a tie.”

Big boost for Elgin

Some of the rumors of the demise of the Elgin Holiday Tournament turned out to be unfounded. But it has suffered in recent years from lagging interest and defections of teams for other events.

The tourney got a big hometown boost when the Maroons won their semifinal as Dennis Moore hit a 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer and was mobbed by students who rushed the floor.

One of the best title-game turnouts in a while saw the young and talented Maroons nearly knock off unbeaten Neuqua Valley.

A slam-bang finish

Long-range bombs seem to produce most of the memorable buzzer-beaters. But Maine West's 44-42 overtime win over Carmel at Wheeling will long be remembered for Odera Eneogwe slamming home Kevin Garcia's lob off an inbound pass with 1.2 seconds left.

“It was a great way to end a game,” said Maine West coach Erik McNeill. “I don't know if I've ever seen anything like that.”

Big challenge

Finding someone to match up defensively with Niles North's 6-6 Abdul Nader isn't easy. Carmel coach Tim Bowen gave the assignment to 5-11 Doug Meyer in a 68-58 first-round loss at Wheeling.

“He did a super job,” Bowen said after Nader had a tournament low 13 points on 3-for-10 shooting. “If you have a guy who plays hard and four guys helping on defense you can do just about anything.”

Changing times

Playing for a championship in prime time for the first time at Wheeling was a marked departure from the past for Niles North and second-year coach Glenn Olson.

“This is about more than wins and losses for these boys, it's about the changing of a program,” Olson said after a 61-50 loss to Notre Dame. “Two years ago we played at 9 a.m. today (for 15th place).”

Departing shot

Moments after Las Vegas Centennial's fifth-place victory over Fremd, the Elgin public address announcer said: “Just remember, what happens in Elgin stays in Elgin.”