Abbott's key to Grayslake Central's success

Try explaining the Grayslake Central boys basketball team's second-half improvement, and you may as well start at the top with Tim Abbott.

And not just because one version of the Rams' roster features the players listed in alphabetical order.

A “B” team player as both a freshman and sophomore, the 6-foot-5 Abbott has brought his “A” game in recent weeks, helping Grayslake Central go from Point A (regular season) to Point B (regional championship), despite the absence of particular points.

When Grayslake Central (17-12) plays top-seeded North Chicago (14-13) in a semifinal of the Class 3A Ridgewood sectional in Norridge at 7:30 p.m. today, 6-6 C.J. Stempeck will miss his fifth straight game.

According to coach Brian Moe, whose team is 15-5 since starting the season 2-7, Stempeck has mono and is likely done for the season, regardless of how far Grayslake Central advances in the state tournament.

“He's really beat up,” Moe said of his two-year starting center, who was averaging around 12 points and 8 rebounds per game. “He's lost 30 pounds (since he became ill).”

Fortunately for the Rams, they've been able to replace one quality big with another one.

“Tim Abbott has stepped in and done a really nice job,” Moe said.

After Grayslake Central lost to Grayslake North on Feb. 7, Moe inserted Abbott into the starting lineup and moved 6-8 Casey Boyle to the bench. Two games later, Abbott put together a career night against Johnsburg, scoring 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Since that contest, Abbott has averaged 15.4 points a night.

Not bad for a guy who played JV as a junior and had never been an “A” player in high school.

“I've never seen him work as hard as he has this year,” said Moe, who calls Abbott bright.

When Stempeck went down, Moe put Boyle back in the starting lineup. Boyle, a junior, scored 19 points in the Rams' 67-64 loss to Elgin. In Grayslake Central's 50-39 win over host Vernon Hills in last Friday's regional final, Abbott and Boyle scored 15 and 12 points, respectively.

Stempeck's loss, nonetheless, has been a huge blow to the Rams. He serves as a team captain along with fellow senior Kyle Shepard and junior guard Jordan Taylor.

“He's definitely a calming force on the floor,” Moe said of Stempeck. “With him on the floor, our rebounding worries are put to rest. He just goes and gets the ball, blocks shots and has a good presence, offensively and defensively.”

Moe called the Rams' win over Vernon Hills a team effort. They held the Cougars to 11 first-half points, including a mere 1 by star DaVaris Daniels.

Taylor guarded the 6-3 Daniels, despite yielding eight inches in height.

“We played a great defensive game,” Moe said. “Jordan worked his butt off on DaVaris. When he got beat, our other kids stepped up and harassed DaVaris, and altered his shot.”

Grayslake Central has another tough guard to defend when it tips off against North Chicago, as Aaron Simpson is one of the top juniors in the state.

Simpson scored 25 points, and Maurice Gordon added 18, as the Warhawks topped host Gordon Tech 81-53 in the two teams' regional final.

“He can handle the ball, shoot, score, and he gets his teammates involved,” Moe said of Simpson. “He's probably as complete a package as you'll get in the high school game.”

Tonight's winner advances to Friday's 7:30 p.m. sectional final against the winner of Wednesday's game between host Ridgewood and Fenton.