Aurora Christian turns season around

A lot of people are surprised to see Aurora Christian with its 15-16 record taking the court against state favorite Hales Franciscan (25-4) Tuesday night in the Class 2A Joliet Central supersectional.

One of those is the Eagles coach himself, Steve Hanson.

"I'd be crazy to tell you at the end of January we'd be here," said Hanson, whose team dropped to 9-13 with a loss to Marmion on Jan. 29.

"We hit a low point against Marmion and had a heart-to-heart," Hanson said. "We said we're dysfunctional playing five guys by themselves. We said we need to be five guys as one unit. We are slowly getting better and better. I felt all along when the seeds came out we had a chance. The kids are resilient. These kids are good basketball players."

The problem was never talent with Aurora Christian. It's been more a process of playing as a team, incorporating Richards transfer and the team's leading scorer Dean Danos into a squad that already was returning nearly all its firepower from last year.

"We knew we had a lot of talent," Hanson said. "I think we are putting guys in position to succeed. We have learned each other's strengths and weaknesses. We're putting them in position where they are at their best."

Nobody has been better than Danos, averaging 20.3 points in his first year at Aurora Christian. The junior point guard scored 21 points in the Eagles' sectional semifinal win last Wednesday, then followed with a dazzling 36-point display leading his team to an 81-75 sectional championship win over Chicago Uplift.

It's one thing to know what's coming. It's another thing to stop it. Uplift coach David Taylor was quite aware of Danos coming into the game, yet said he had no answer.

"We knew he was going to be just as tough as he was," Taylor said. "We knew containing Danos would be a tough task. I knew we didn't have a defender who could stay in front of him."

Danos' 36-point night came on 12-of-14 shooting at the free-throw line, 10 of 19 of shooting from the field and four 3-pointers. He had 19 points in the first half and 17 in the second, including all the pressure free throws the Eagles needed in the closing minutes.

"He's been really good the last six games," Hanson said. "He's making everyone else better now. He gets 36 and Nick (Marema) gets 19. That's a big difference. He's playing at a really, really high level."

The Eagles will need Marema and the rest of the rotation to play their very best against Hales, third in the state last year.

Marema is the team's second leading scorer at 12.2 points a game. C.J. Schutt averages 10.2 points and Ryan McQuade 9.0 and Ryan Suttle 6.1.

"Nick is a big-time player and he's kind of under the radar," Hanson said. "He's been a double-double guy 10 games in a row. When he gets going we're really good. We have some kids that can play. We are not a one-man team by any means."

"Once Nick gets going in transition he's hard to stop," Danos said. "Same with Ryan. "The beginning of playoffs we were feeling it. We knew we were coming home for our sectional. I knew we had a great opportunity."

The Eagles have been rolling offensively in the playoffs with 73, 76, 75 and 81 points.

Keeping that going against Hales isn't going to be easy. After finishing second in Class 2A last year, many expect Hales to win it this year, adding to their 2003 state title.

The Eagles also have a rich history, now with six sectional titles. They finished second in state in 1995 in fourth in 1990.

Just a month ago, it probably didn't seem possible this year's squad would be adding to the school's trophy case. Now it's time to see if they have a true shocker in them against Hales.

Danos knows many of the Spartans' best players from his Mean Streets AAU team. That includes brothers Aaric Armstead and Aaron Armstead who combined for 27 points in a 67-43 sectional championship win over Seton. The Spartans had six dunks in the second half.

"I know a lot of guys on Hales," Danos said. "It's going to be real tough. They are an athletic group of guys. They are strong. They are all great guys. It's going to be a tough game. We just have to come out mentally prepared and we'll be all right."