UEC can stand proud with Elgin, Neuqua in supers
When boys basketball "experts" around the state start talking about the best conferences, rarely is the Upstate Eight a part of that discusson.
Until now.
With three UEC teams making the final 16 in Class 4A, and two of them winning sectional championships, the UEC has two teams in the state's final eight -- Elgin and Neuqua Valley -- for the first time since Elgin and West Aurora met each other in the 1973 Class AA quarterfinals in Champaign.
"We should have a lot of pride in our conference, with three teams in the final 16 tonight," said Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith, whose team lost to Neuqua Friday in the East Aurora sectional final.
The UEC has always impressed me as a conference that stands by its own in the postseason and that was evident Friday night after Bartlett's loss to Neuqua. While trying to listen to reporter's questions, Wolfsmith also kept an eye on me as I attempted to get the Elgin final. When I gave Wolfsmith the thumbs up that Elgin had won, he let out a resounding "Yes!" while pumping his fist in the air.
And this was a guy whose team has just lost.
"I think the Upstate Eight is on an upswing," he said
Proof of that is in the final eight pudding.
While UEC champion Neuqua Valley was only a sixth seed in the East Aurora field, you had to figure the Wildcats would make a run for the title and they did.
But Elgin? This is a team that was 6-7 after Christmas tournaments and was searching for ways to win.
"I thought we could win the regional and anything after that would be a bonus," said first-year Maroons coach Mike Sitter Saturday, less than 24 hours after his team had stunned perennial power Rockford Boylan 70-67 to win the Jacobs sectional and advance to Tuesday night's NIU supersectional against 30-3 Zion Benton.
"This has been so enjoyable. We've come a long way since Christmas and it's nice to see. The kids have worked hard."
So has Sitter and his staff, including varsity assistants Jeff Howard and Quintin Howard. Sitter took over this team just six days before the season opener after the unfortunate removal of Rob Brault, and it's been a whirlwind for the EHS grad ever since.
"There's really no time off," he said. "I told my wife I'd introduce myself to our kids after the season.
"The coaching is the easy part. Those two hours we're in the gym practicing … that's the easy part. But Armani (Williams) and Jeremy (Granger) are going to play college ball so you deal with the recruiters. And there's the scouting … it all takes a lot of time."
Not that Sitter is complaining. He, like Wolfsmith at Bartlett, is technically an interim coach but the assumption is he, like Wolfsmith, would like to keep the job beyond one season.
But that's a question for another day. For now, Sitter is readying his troops to play a 30-3 team that will be at least mildly favored to win Tuesday's game.
But that's OK with Sitter and the Maroons too. They've been an underdog since the regional title game, so don't think that's going to bother them come Tuesday.
This is not 1998, let's remember. That Elgin group was expected to make it to the final eight and it did. But while we've all known for a few years this Elgin group has talent, no one in their right mind would have suspected this kind of run back at Christmastime.
But that's what's so great about March Madness. Teams pop up out of nowhere and spark their communities. And Elgin is the latest in a long line of feel-good stories that makes high school sports what it is.
Think Elgin's the only success story at NIU Tuesday night? Not a chance. In fact, as programs go, the Maroons are the seasoned veterans of the four-team field that includes Sterling vs. Washington in the 6 p.m. Class 3A supersectional.
Consider this via e-mail from Elgin High grad and IHSA assistant executive director Scott Johnson:
Washington's last appearance in the state finals was 1962; Sterling's in 1950. Zion-Benton has never played in a state final tournament.
And if Elgin has it's way, the ZeeBees won't this year either.