Scouting Tuesday's Class 4A boys basketball sectional semifinals
At Barrington
No. 1 Warren (27-3) vs. No. 5 Fremd (19-9)
When: 7:30 p.m. today
How they got here: Warren beat No. 17 Highland Park 52-42 and No. 8 Hersey 65-49 to win the Wheeling regional. Fremd won its regional by beating No. 22 Round Lake 57-17 and No. 13 Lake Forest 44-38.
Outlook: Two defensive-minded programs will be challenged in different ways as 6-6 Darius Paul is Warren's only double-figure averager at 10.7 ppg. But 6-5 Jeremiah Jackson, 6-8 Nathan Boothe, 6-3 JoVaughn Gaines and 6-2 Brandon Ferguson are all between 8-10 points a game and coach Chuck Ramsey said "we have kids off the bench who can all score" in 6-5 Jon Geske, Tanner Erbach and Jameris Smith. Fremd does have some strength inside to match up with the Devils in 6-5 Jack Konopka and 6-7 Joe Leaf. "One of their biggest strengths is offensive rebounding," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski. "That has to be a priority for us no matter who we put on the floor. It's a high-level priority in the MSL, too, but they (Warren) are just bigger kids." The challenge for Warren is slowing South Dakota State-bound guard Zach Monaghan (22.2 ppg), Konopka (9.7) and PG Quinton Brown (9.8). "They're real sound at both ends of the floor and they aren't going to beat themselves," Ramsey said. "They're going to play tough 'D' and they're going to play physical." Fremd also had only 7 turnovers Friday against Lake Forest. "'Q' and Zach have done a real good job with that all year," Widlowski said. "They create their own matchup problems. They've been solid down the stretch taking care of the basketball."
What's next: Winner plays in Friday's 7:30 p.m. sectional championship against Wednesday's winner between No. 2 Mundelein (28-4) and No. 11 Deerfield (18-10).
At New Trier
No. 1 Notre Dame (23-6) vs. No. 4 Niles North (22-6)
When: 7:30 p.m. today
How they got here: Notre Dame beat No. 17 Taft 52-41 and No. 8 St. Patrick 33-30 to win the Conant regional. Niles North beat No. 13 Lake Park 57-51 and No. 5 Glenbrook North 69-65 to win the Glenbrook North regional.
Outlook: How much has changed since Notre Dame beat Niles North 61-50 for the title at Wheeling's Hardwood Classic? Niles North is 15-1 with its only loss to Hersey en route to its second regional title and tying the school record for wins. "They're extremely hot," said Notre Dame coach Tom Les. "They've beaten some good teams in their regional and I'm very impressed with their progress." Notre Dame was near the end of a 15-1 start and went 6-5 to end the regular season although the losses included unbeaten Peoria Notre Dame and Benet. "The first time (at Wheeling) was intense and aggressive and back and forth," said Niles North coach Glenn Olson. "They had one more run in them, but I think we're a different team and better team." Both teams feature big-time offensive threats in Niles North 6-7 senior Abdel Nader (26 ppg, 9 rpg) and Notre Dame 6-5 senior Quinton Chievous (21 ppg, 9 rpg) who can make something from nothing. "(Nader) is extremely explosive and can get extremely hot," Les said, "and when he does, as Glenbrook North found out Friday (36 points), he's a handful." But Nader has blended nicely with everyone else, particularly sophomore PG Malachi Nix, and the Vikings have taken their pressure defense to higher levels. Notre Dame also has 6-4 senior Rodney Pryor (16 ppg, 6 rpg) and junior Greg Leifel hit some big shots in Friday's regional victory. "They have a bunch of kids who can score and a couple of kids who can really score," Olson said. "Like Nader, if they get the ball in their hands they can find ways to score on their own."
What's next: Winner plays in Friday's 7:30 p.m. sectional championship against Wednesday's winner between No. 11 Niles West (18-11) and No. 15 Schaumburg (17-11).