The intersection of football and basketball a busy place

Here we go again.

Another sputtering start to a boys basketball campaign thanks to another stellar postseason by DuPage County football teams.

It's become a habit in these parts to bleed one season into the next. A handful of Wheaton Warrenville South athletes, in fact, quickly posed for basketball pictures earlier this week before changing into football pads for practice leading up to this weekend's Class 7A semifinals.

Those pictures are truly worth a thousand words.

"You never really get used to it, but you learn to deal with it in a positive way," said Tigers basketball coach Mike Healy. "You love seeing the school getting excited about the football team, and the kids being so successful. We all want the football team to do well."

Many schools face basketball shortages this preseason.

Glenbard West coach Tim Hoder's dealing with the delayed arrival of six players still competing for the Hilltoppers' Class 7A semifinal football team. The list includes quarterback Tyler Warden, Hoder's leading scorer last year.

Last season Hoder called Healy to get some advice on how to handle the situation. Bouncing back from a grueling football marathon isn't easy.

"I'm hoping we recover a little quicker this year," Hoder said. "It took us until February last season until we really started playing well."

Healy's opinion after years of experience? Leave it up to the players.

"You really have to let the individual kid decide when he comes back," he said. "Mentally they get over things so quickly, but physically they need some time. If they need a week off, then take a week off."

Unfortunately the physical toll already is affecting the basketball season.

Healy lost 6-foot-6 post player Dan Hohenstein in football to a knee injury. Glenbard South quarterback Trace Wanless, one of the few players on the basketball team with varsity experience, battled Achilles' and ankle injuries in the Raiders' last two football games.

At Hinsdale Central standout quarterback John Whitelaw, an All-Area guard as a junior, and linebacker Jason Rafferty chose not to play basketball this season. Clearly, football ramifications come in all shapes and sizes.

Healy notes the snowball effect. Start slow in November, and it'll hurt your holiday tournament seed. Struggle over the holidays and early in the new year as the football players round into shape, and your sectional seed suffers.

On the other hand, rushing football players back into the lineup isn't advised.

"Physically for those guys, it isn't worth it," Healy said. "That's where I've changed the most. As much as you want them back for those early conference games, you have to keep the big picture in mind.

"The way we play the first three weeks won't be the way we play later in the year," he added. "We'll be a lot better, we just need to keep that in mind early in the season."

While York didn't make the football playoffs this season, basketball coach Al Biancalana still has concerns about returning point guard Kevin Kahovec's sports hernia suffered in the fall. It'll keep him out early in the season, but hopefully not for long.

Like Healy, Biancalana lets the individual player determine his own timetable for return because, more than anything, he recognizes the importance of a successful football season.

"I think the most important season for your school is football," he said. "It sets the tone for your student body and the whole school year."

Biancalana said he knows basketball coaches at other programs who don't allow football players on their team. The stark separation between seasons benefits basketball, but it's a drastic policy.

For DuPage County programs that rely on multisport athletes nearly across the board, it's also pretty unrealistic.

Despite the repeated issue year after year, season after season, basketball coaches agree there is no definitive answer.

You just get used to patching together a team every November.

"We know we'll never get these two weeks of practice back, and that makes it tough," Healy said. "We want them back, but hopefully not until after they win a state football title."

kschmit@dailyherald.com