Cook boys basketball notes: Barrington, Meadows among teams with looking for strong finish
As the season heads into its final stretch, here is a quick look at the current statues of area teams and their look ahead to the end of the year. Records are through Jan. 17.
Barrington: The Broncos (13-3, 5-0) continue to lead the West at the halfway point in conference play. Barrington has been led all season by senior Nick Schmidts, who is averaging 16 points of game. But sophomore Oliver Gray, who is averaging 17 points, and Nick Piepert, who is averaging 10 points per game, have given Barrington the extra push. “The league is extremely talented and competitive,” Barrington coach Bryan Tucker said. “We will need to continue to get better on both ends of the court and continue to share the ball.”
Buffalo Grove: Connor Woodin is closing in on the 1,000-point mark and could accomplish that in the next week. Woodin, who is averaging 19.1 ppg, along with Lucas Anam-Ndu, who is at 12.6 ppg, have been leading the Bison (9-10, 3-2) all season. Freshman Alex Sirbu is getting used to varsity play and is now averaging 7 ppg and 7.5 rpg along with 1.5 blocks. “We are looking for competition in practice to push everyone to improve,” Buffalo Grove coach Kevin Geldon said. “The goal is that we are playing our best basketball come IHSA tournament time.”
Conant: The Cougars (10-9, 2-3) have been on an upswing in recent weeks with wins over Hinsdale Central and Schaumburg. Camden Lathos leads Conant with 15 points per game while Washington University of St. Louis commit Yusef Cisse is also playing well. “We have been improving throughout the season,” Conant coach Matt Walsh said. “We are looking forward to competing in the second half of the conference and into the state tournament.”
Elk Grove: The Grenadiers (2-14, 0-4) are the only MSL team that is not assigned to the Elgin sectional. Elk Grove will play in the Addison Trail sectional. The Grens have been getting some solid play from Amir Huussein, who is averaging 11.3 ppg and has knocked down 44 three-pointers. Devin Wildi, who came off the bench last season as a sophomore and is a co-captain this year, has continued his strong play. “I think if our younger guys can take the next step in how they defend and handle the basketball, then I would consider them having successful finishes to the season,” Elk Grove coach Nick Oraham said.
Fremd: The Vikings (12-6, 2-2) are fresh off their championship of the Lakes MLK tournament on Monday. Jordan Williams (13.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2.7 apg), Ryan Cox (11.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.3 spg) and Sam Hirsch (11.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg,) continue to lead the team in points. Ryan Brown, Dan Ko, James Moffett and Erik Stanson have all stepped up their play and contributions in the last three weeks according to Fremd coach Bob Widlowski. “We need to continue to play team defense and share the ball as we head to the last four weeks of the regular season,” Widlowski said.
Hersey: The Huskies (10-10, 2-2) have won six of their last seven. And with four home games in the next week, there is hope they can improve on that. “Our first 20 games have been riddled with injury and inexperience, but the boys continue to work hard and improve,” Hersey coach Dave Hess said. Jackson Hupp, who is averaging 18.4 ppg and Jared Ryg who is averaging 14.4 ppg lead the offense while Logan Luxem and Bobby Variano have stepped up in recent weeks.
Hoffman Estates: Torey Baskin has been a huge spark for the Hawks (12-8, 1-4). The sophomore is Hoffman’s sixth man. But he has been playing starter minutes and is averaging 11 ppg. Daiquan Daniels leads the Hawks with 15.5 ppg, while D’marion Dunn is at 10.5 ppg and Nate Cleveland is doing a little bit of everything with 8 ppg, 6 rpg and 4 apg. “We are focused on continuing to grow and remain healthy to ensure that we are playing our best basketball in February,” Hoffman Estates coach Peter McBride said.
Leyden: Tuesday was a momentous day for the Eagles (16-4, 4-2). They beat Proviso East for the first time since Dec. 14, 2020, and just the second time in the last 15 years. The teams play twice per season. It was also Leyden coach Bill Heisler’s 200th career victory. Leyden has been getting strong play from Drelyn Jones who is averaging 21 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Mike Medious (13 pgg, 8.5 rpg), Nick Gattuso (11.5 ppg) and Israel Rodriguez (9.5 ppg) have also been huge factors along with Szymon Wojtasik, who has been instrumental defensively. “For us going forward we need some additional scoring support,” Heisler said. “We believe we have a few guys capable of that. Our core group has proven they can score and defend at a high level. For us to take that next step forward we need some bench scoring down the stretch.”
Maine East: Sergio Muro and his Demons (12-8, 3-3) had an opportunity last Monday to play against St. Patrick, where Muro was an assistant under Shamrocks coach Mike Bailey. The master still was giving lessons as the Pats posted a convincing win. Still, Maine East is enjoying a very successful season with a quartet of players as huge contributors. Tristan Walton is averaging 16.7 points, 3 assists and 3.4 rebounds. JJ Alpshone is at 13.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg and 2.3 apg. Tre Hime is averaging 11.3 points while Sr. Jalan Moraga is at 8.7 ppg. “We need to continue to stay healthy, continue to play with high energy, continue with making shots and rebound,” Muro said. “We are small but scrappy.”
Maine West: When Maine West (3-13, 0-5) played last Tuesday, the Warriors had been off for a full week. But no matter as Maine West topped Grayslake North 46-44 in overtime.
Maine South: The Hawks (8-10, 0-5) are looking for their first CSL South win since the 2021-22 season. Despite that, Maine South has played well. They have been led by sophomore Panayiotis Sotos, who is averaging 12.5 ppg, and junior Tyler Sierra, who is averaging 9 ppg. “Both Sotos and Sierra are under the radar players in their class,” Maine South coach Colin Wehman said. “They have learned a lot this year and continue to get better. Bright future ahead for this backcourt duo.”
Palatine: The Pirates (15-5, 3-1) continue to play at a high level with Connor May, who is averaging 18.6 ppg, leading the way. Connor Monroe has also become a force, averaging 8 ppg. Tommy Elter has stepped up in the last weeks in all phases of the game. The senior is averaging 7.8 ppg, 6.7 apg, 2.8 steals and 3.5 deflections. “He does everything for us,” Palatine coach Eril Millstone said. “We have to be locked in mentally and understand why and how we do things. The why and how are the details that more often become the main determinant in winning and losing, even more so than the physical aspect of the game at this point of the season.”
Prospect: Defense and rebounding have helped carry the day for the Knights (14-5, 3-1). Prospect is allowing just 38 ppg and has outrebounded their opponents on an average of 30.9 to 19.8. Drew Terpins has stepped up to lead the team in scoring with 12 ppg while Cole Chapman and Jerry Drucker, who is subbing for the injured Ben Schneider, are both averaging 7 ppg. “I have been very pleased with how tough we have been.” Prospect coach Brad Rathe said. “We have struggled to score at times, but our consistency and effort on the defensive end has made us very successful thus far.”
Rolling Meadows: The Mustangs (14-4, 4-0) remain atop the MSL East thanks to solid play from their starting five of Ian Miletic (20 ppg), Jack Duffer (12 ppg), Lazar Lazarevic (10 ppg), Jaeden Warrener (7 ppg) and Gavin Escobedo (5 ppg). “Jack Duffer has been a steady hand for us all year on both ends of the court, and Lazar Lazarevic continues to get better and better,” Meadows coach Kevin Katovich said.
Schaumburg: The Saxons (13-9, 1-4) have had a stretch of injuries that have affected their play of late according to coach Jason Tucker. “We really have struggled as of late due to injuries,” Tucker said. “We are hoping to get back on track right before the state playoffs. This is a good group that needs to find their way again. Kids are bought in, and I need to make sure I give them every opportunity to succeed.” Jordan Tunis (14.3 ppg, 3.1 apg and 3.2 rpg) and Zion Young (11.2 ppg, 9.4 rpg and 2.1 bpg) have led the way for Schaumburg. Javonte McCoy (8.2 ppg, 3.2 apg and 4.1 rpg) along with James Shogren have been playing well in this recent stretch.
Schaumburg Christian: The Conquerors (1-8, 1-3) are hoping that the scoring duo of Irfan Khan and Lucas Bustamante will continue their strong play. Khan is averaging 26 ppg while Bustamante is averaging 16 ppg. “We need to defend better so guys are in a help position and inside position to secure rebounds,” Schaumburg Christian coach Addison Calley said. “Cleaning this up will take away second opportunities away from our opponents and lead to turning close games into wins.”
St. Viator: The Lions (11-8, 3-5) welcomed back Josiah Calvin on Tuesday. Calvin had been sidelined with an injury since Thanksgiving. Viator still has had great production from Henry Marshall (12 ppg), Brandyn Michaels (10 ppg), Joey Hernandez (8 ppg), Mitch Humphey (8 ppg) and Dayvion Ellis (7 ppg) in Calvin’s absence. “We should be fully healthy on Saturday at Morgan Park for the first time since Thanksgiving, which we are really looking forward to,” St. Viator coach Michael O’Keeffe said. “Additionally, boxing out and rebounding will be crucial to our success the rest of the season.”
Wheeling: The Wildcats have been getting solid play from Brent Collar (15 ppg), and Pawel Rakoczy (11 ppg). Meanwhile, point guard Zach Neukirch has been making a name for himself. The sophomore is leading the team in rebounding (7.1 rpg), assists (2.4), and steals (2) and the team’s third leading scorer, averaging 8 points per game. “One of the key components of our Wheeling basketball culture is stacking days and stacking weeks,” Wheeling coach Tom Antosz said. “I think our boys have done a good job with that. We have continued to get better throughout the season and will continue to do so. We are hoping to be playing our best basketball during the IHSA playoffs.”