BG turns away Wheeling
Not too long ago, John Clancy was an outstanding point guard for Buffalo Grove.
Now he’s Wheeling’s first-year head coach, so Friday night’s game against the visiting Bison had to feel a little surreal for the BG grad.
“I can still remember coming to this gym as a player, wearing the uniform and sitting on the other bench,” said Clancy, who was a varsity standout for Bison coach Ryan O’Connor. “So I have to admit I was a little more fired up for this game than usual.”
And the Wildcats, playing a tough, physical defense, hung with BG until a barrage of 3-point shooting early in the second half lifted the Bison to a 52-33 Mid-Suburban East road victory.
“He’s one of what I call our ‘founding fathers,’” said O’Connor of the 2003 Bison graduate, who was a sophomore when O’Connor took over the coaching reins at Buffalo Grove. “We recognized his talent and leadership skills immediately and moved him right up to varsity.
“Even back then, I knew that someday he would be a head coach — I just didn’t think it would be so soon, and at a school right down the street.”
The teams traded baskets through most of the first two quarters, but 3s by sophomore Luke Potnick and Nick Prus (9 points) near the end of the half put the visitors up by 5.
BG (10-5, 3-1) was able to find some open shooting spots in the third quater to grab a double-digit lead, then senior Jeff Zabrin (game-high 17 points) broke the game wide open in the fourth with 3 long-range 3-pointers.
“We had a couple of blown coverages,” said Clancy, “and they (BG) did a nice job of hitting some big shots and turning the momentum around.”
“Buffalo Grove came in tonight averaging 62 points a game, so we felt pretty good when we had them at 20 with only a couple minutes left in the first half. We played hard and the kids executed well, but some mental lapses hurt us.”
Matt Hart had a big game for the Wildcats. The 6-foot-4 senior center scored a team-high 11 points and was a terror on the boards, grabbing 11 rebounds.
Senior forward Dan Recht added 10 points for BG, while 6-7 junior Sam Wacker was a force on defense, and scored 5 points to go along with 8 boards.
“I thought defensively, we played a strong, consistent game,” said O’Connor. “In the second half, we were able to find some shooting pockets, even though Wheeling was doing a nice job on defense.
“They have a way of getting you scattered and getting you out of your usual routine.”
Brandon Gray and Charlie Kirk each pitched in 5 points for Wheeling (4-10, 0-4).
“I was extremely proud of the way the guys played tonight,” said Clancy. “They’re out there giving everything they have. It’s going to take a while to change the culture around here, but it’s not because of any lack of effort.”