Larkin hoping to derail No. 1 Elgin
The Elgin boys basketball team seeks to extend its string of success in the all-time series with Larkin when the crosstown rivals teams meet for the 118th time at Chesbrough Field House Wednesday at 7:15 p.m.
Elgin (13-1, 3-1), the top-ranked team in the Daily Herald Top 20, is riding a 9-game winning streak overall and a 6-game winning streak in the series with Larkin (8-6, 1-2). In fact, the Maroons have won 12 of the last 13 meetings to improve to 77-40 against the Royals since the series began in January of 1964.
But as Maroons coach Mike Sitter put it, “It’s Elgin and Larkin; you can throw out the records. Anything can happen.”
The Maroons have been defeated just once this season, a 66-64 overtime loss at Geneva on Dec. 2. They are led by seniors Kory Brown (15.8 ppg), Dennis Moore (6.4), Cortez Scott (9.4), Gerardo Mojica (4.4) and junior point guard Arie Williams (13.1).
Scott and Williams are the most accurate 3-point shooting duo in the area. Scott has connected on 29 of 50 attempts (58 percent) while Williams has made 29 of 57 (51 percent)
Brown has been a force on both ends of the floor. The uncommitted senior also averages 8.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. The Royals say they welcome the opportunity to square off with a player of Brown’s caliber.
“We want to play against good competition because we think we can compete with good competition,” Larkin captain Ian Fluhler said.
The young Royals are coming off their second straight defeat, a 69-50 home loss to Geneva last Friday. Larkin opened the season 6-0, a run capped by impressive wins at Bartlett and at St. Charles North, but the team has since dropped 5 of 7.
Turnovers have been part of the problem for the Royals of late. Their young guards have struggled to maintain possession against full-court pressure.
“I hate to say it but if you’re a guard-dominated team and your guards are turning it over, you’re going to lose games,” Larkin coach Deryn Carter said after his team committed 16 turnovers against Geneva. “When we were winning, we weren’t. When we’ve been losing, we have.
“We have a great opportunity to play Elgin, so we’ll see how much better we can get and see where we’re at Wednesday. We’ll prepare for it and see where we are as far as how bad our guys really want it.”
Junior guards Quantice Hunter (14.5 ppg) and Quentin Ruff (10.9) pace the Larkin offense.
Elgin’s work ethic in practices has not wavered during its winning streak. The Maroons aren’t satisfied with their 13-1 record, which includes an Elgin Holiday Tournament championship.
“Obviously, we want to get better,” Sitter said. “We watch film and we look at things we can still improve on. If we win by 10, we wish we would have won by 15. When we win by 15, we wish we would have won by 20.
“Our offensive execution has been kind of stagnant, so we’re trying to improve on that. That was our goal this week. We’ll work on that a couple of days in practice and see if that comes to fruition on Wednesday.”
The game will be broadcast on the radio at WRMN-AM 1410 and streamed live at wrmn1410.com, beginning at 7:05 p.m.
Whip-Purs surging: Hampshire has turned it around after a shaky start to the season.
The Whip-Purs dropped 7 of their first 9 games, but have righted the ship in the wake of a team meeting after a loss to Moline at the DeKalb Tournament on Dec. 22.
“Players got some things off their chests, the coaches voiced our opinions and what we wanted done,” Barnett said of the meeting. “I think a lot of it was just lack of communication, and it was my fault. I think I was expecting them to understand what I was saying without presenting it the correct way. We got that cleared up and we have them playing better.”
Hampshire (8-7, 1-1) won its sixth straight game Saturday, a 52-47 comeback victory against defending Fox Valley Conference Fox Division champion Crystal Lake Central (11-3, 0-1).
Hampshire gets the chance to avenge its only Fox Division loss Friday when Grayslake Central (8-4, 1-0) pays a visit. The Whip-Purs jumped to a 12-point lead in the first meeting on Dec. 9, but the Rams outscored them 18-3 at the free-throw line.
“We were up 16-4 in the second quarter and (Tyler) Watzlawick picked up his second foul, (Tyler) Crater picked up his second and Brock (Ralphs) picked up his second,” Barnett said. “Next thing you know at halftime it’s 26-16 and we never recovered from that. We cut it down to 3 at the end of the third and it was a 3-point game with a few minutes to go, and we did a few things wrong.
“But when you get outscored 18-3 at the line it makes it tough.”
A victory could lift Hampshire into a first-place tie with Grayslake Central, which hosts Woodstock today.
Holiday Tournament opening: Jacobs High School has one opening for its 16-team boys basketball tournament next December. Interested teams should contact coach Jim Hinkle at 847-532-6100 or via email at james.hinkle@d300.org.
Defending champion Huntley and Lake Zurich are leaving the tournament and will be replaced by South Elgin and Johnsburg, however, one opening remains.
Huntley (12-1) has instead accepted an invitation to compete next year at the State Farm Classic in downstate Bloomington.
“We got invited and I’ve never taken the team for an overnight stay, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to do some team bonding,” Manning said.
Deng out: Burlington Central’s depth took a hit last week when 6-foot-4 junior Moter Deng was injured in a 53-52 loss to North Boone. “I was falling backward and put my wrist down to break my fall,” the 16-year-old Elgin resident said Saturday as a classmate signed his cast. “The radius was displaced and broken and the ulna was broken. The doctor said there is a slight chance I could be back before the end of the season.”
Deng, the second-tallest player on the Central roster, was averaging 4.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.
High school hoops memorabilia wanted: Illinois Basketball Coaches Association hall-of-fame coach Bruce Firchau is seeking donations of memorabilia for the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame, scheduled to open at the David S. Palmer Arena in Danville in 2013.
Anyone with items to donate — old jerseys, programs, scoreboards, etc. — can contact Firchau at 312-501-5174 or via email at firchau@sbcglobal.net.