Defense sparking Benet resurgence

After graduating four starters from a team that finished second in the state in the Class 4A boys basketball tournament, Benet was expected to drift into rebuilding mode this season.

Then came the Pontiac Holiday Tournament.

A runner-up finish at one of the state's most prestigious holiday events put the Redwings back on the map. They beat Bloom and scored an impressive upset win over Curie before topping St. Charles North to advance to the Pontiac final.

Despite a 46-26 loss to recent nemesis Simeon in the title game, Benet (9-3) finds itself back in the conversation among teams capable of making a run from the East Aurora supersectional complex.

Benet coach Gene Heidkamp, however, believes his team has a tremendous amount of work to do between now and March.

"We're playing better, but we still have our challenges," Heidkamp said. "This is one of those seasons where we're going to have to grind out wins."

Strong defense is where it begins and ends with Benet. Colin Bonnett and Dan Sobolewski are the only players returning significant varsity experience, and while they have the ability to carry the offense, they're more important to a defense that's allowed 46 or fewer points nine times in 12 games.

"We were very poor defensively at Thanksgiving and we've been pretty solid since then," Heidkamp said. "The emphasis right now is to get better offensively."

Voices of experience:

Lake Park was more than ready for the Wheeling Hardwood Classic.

With seven seniors brimming with experience, the timing was perfect for the Lancers (15-2) to storm the field and claim their fourth Wheeling title and first since winning their second straight in 2004.

"From Day One our kids have played hard and they've been consistent with their effort," coach Josh Virostko said.

Five-foot-10 guard Marcus McDaniel is among the many seniors stepping up for Lake Park, and his effort earned him a spot on the all-tourney team at Wheeling. McDaniel leads the Lancers with 12 points a game, but he's also the team's top perimeter defender.

McDaniel's defense proved critical while guarding Notre Dame's Joe Mooney in the final. Connor Vance, who guarded 6-10 Libertyville center Joe Borcia, and others helped the Lancers hold their first three Wheeling opponents to an average of 37 points.

Now Lake Park continues its quest for the DuPage Valley Conference title. Upcoming DVC games against Naperville Central, Wheaton North and Naperville North will test the Lancers right off the bat.

"It's only going to get more difficult now," Virostko said. "No one's going to take us lightly."

Turning the corner:

No area team suffered more graduation losses than Glenbard North, which last season made a stunning run to a sectional championship.

It's taken time for a completely new group to gain its varsity legs, but the Panthers (3-8) may have turned the corner at the Glenbard West Holiday Classic.

"We're playing better," said Panthers coach Joe Larson. "We obviously have to continue to get a lot better, but guys are sticking with it and working at it."

A long opening few weeks saw the Panthers lose their first eight games, including a tough 54-50 loss to Hoffman Estates in the opening round at Glenbard West. Even in that loss, though, Larson saw how close his team was to getting over the hump.

The team finally notched that first victory the next night against Leyden, which went on to claim the tournament title. Victories over Montini and St. Francis followed to give Glenbard North a three-game winning streak heading into Saturday's nonconference game at St. Charles North.

Larson noted that point guard Michael Matkovic and Nick LaVere, both juniors, have developed rapidly while seniors Sam Ledbetter and Brett Miller have become potent perimeter shooters.

"For me it's all about improvement, and that's what I'm seeing," Larson said. "We're playing more consistent ball on both ends of the court."

A nice surprise:

Neuqua Valley coach Todd Sutton knew his team could score. The Wildcats' grit on the other end of the floor? Based on history he wasn't as confident.

"Defense was not a strength of this group," Sutton said. In fact, he said as underclassmen they didn't have an "interest" in it.

At 14-1 and with an East Aurora Holiday Tournament title under Neuqua's belt for the second time in three seasons, the Wildcats have answered Sutton's most pressing questions to start the season - defense and rebounding.

Neuqua's average of 53 points allowed is not stellar, but it's allowed more than 60 points only once, the 92-72 tourney title win over East Aurora, a game Neuqua had in the bag after three quarters.

Zach Lendino is the latest in a long line of undersized Neuqua post players. He gets plenty of help from teammates while joining Connor Raridon and Jacob Eminger to win the rebounding battle by more than 7 a game.

"They're great teammates right now, and they're willing to sacrifice for their teammates and a lot of good's going to come from that when you're willing to sacrifice for your fellow man," Sutton said.

The coach had enough confidence in Raridon's defense to put him on Geneva star Nate Navigato. The real stopper is point guard Demond George, averaging around 12 points, 4 assists, 2 steals and just 1 turnover a game.

Offensively, Raridon's 17.9 points heads the cast with George and Eminger also in double figures and Lendino and 3-shooter Joe Sieger both averaging more than 7 points.

"They surprise you all the time," Sutton said. "They're just doing the little things it takes to win the basketball games. It's a different person all the time, somebody else steps up all the time. They're meeting all the challenges."