What a difference a year makes for South Elgin girls

When Tim Prendergast took over the South Elgin girls basketball program, he had no idea what he was getting himself into.

"I got the job in June and when I got it I didn't know that much about the girls game," Prendergast said this week. "I never had any desire to coach girls. I had always coached boys."

But Prendergast knew basketball. He played at Forest View in Arlington Heights and then, after receiving his college education from Illinois State University, he coached at Elk Grove before landing at Elgin High for 6 years, where he was on Jim Harrington's staff.

"I had been coaching boys for 15 years, so coaching girls was a big adjustment for me," Prendergast said.

South Elgin's girls program had just completed its first varsity season with a record of 6-24. To say the Storm struggled would be like saying you believe Brittney Spears can stay out of the news for more than 24 hours. In its 30 games, South Elgin averaged under 35 points per game. Ten times, the Storm scored less than 30 points. Some of its losses were, well, just plain ugly.

But everyone around the Upstate Eight Conference knew there was talent. It was just young and inexperienced.

Then, coach Jason Schaal decided the rigors of coaching two varsity sports back-to-back -- he's also the Storm's softball coach -- didn't allow him time to do each program the justice it deserved so he let go of basketball.

Enter Prendergast, who had taken the 2006-07 season off from coaching.

He got his first real look at the girls game at the Maine West Observation Tournament, which always draws the top teams in the Chicago area over the summer.

"When I went to Maine West I couldn't believe how good these girls are," Prendergast said. "It's a little different game. The boys game is more physical. But I really enjoy coaching the girls and this group has been great. I'm having a lot of fun."

Senior Alexa Kruel says Prendergast needed a little education as well.

"The emotions girls and guys have are different so we've been teaching him about girls' emotions," she said.

Prendergast's first focus when he took over the job was to find a way for the Storm to score more.

The first thing I said to myself was 'We have to find a way to score more points,' " he said. "We did well in the summer, 14-8 or something like that. We were competitive and that gave the girls some confidence."

To increase the offensive productivity, Prendergast decided to turn the Storm loose. Run. Gun. Shoot 3s. Push the ball. Pressure the ball. Many of the things he learned about successful coaching from Harrington, who is now a teacher at South Elgin in the same department as Prendergast.

"I've been lucky," Prendergast said. "I've got Jim in the building and not a day goes by where I'm not picking his brain about something."

The change in offense was welcomed by the Storm's players, a roster that includes only three members of South Elgin's first senior class.

"Last year we were more of a halfcourt team but this year (Prendergast) has been pushing us to push the ball upcourt, said 6-foot-1 junior center Courtney Kumerow, whose 6-7 father Eric, an Oak Park-River Forest product, was a two-time all-Big Ten linebacker/defensive end at Ohio State before moving on to an NFL career that included a one-year stint with the Bears,

Junior guard Genevieve Johnson likes the new style as well.

"(Prendergast) likes to push the ball up the floor right away and we're pressing more on defense to create turnovers and that leads to points," she said. "In the summer leagues there's really not set up offense so we pushed the ball in transition and now that's working for us."

The turnaround has been obvious. The Storm sits at 12-12 for the season heading into tonight's UEC game at Streamwood, the team that knocked South Elgin out of the postseason in the first round of regionals last year. The offense has averaged over 50 points per game (the Storm scored a season-high of 81 against Elgin and has yet to be held under 30) and made 66 3-pointers for the season. Kumerow leads the balanced scoring attack at 10.2 ppg and averages 7.2 rebounds per game as well. Kruel -- who with Amanda Sieverding and Indra Williams make up the senior contingent on the team -- averages 9.8 points and Johnson 9.2. Kruel (31) and Johnson (20 lead the team in 3-pointers. The Storm, as girls teams go, is shooting a decent 37.8 percent.

"There's more trust on the team this year," said Kruel, whose father Roger, a former coach at Walther Lutheran, is a volunteer assistant for the Storm. "We know each other a lot better this year and we know everybody will do their part. Everybody's contributing. We're taking smart shots and pushing the ball up the floor and looking for shots."

Prendergast had a .500 season in mind from the get-go and with games remaining against Streamwood, Bartlett and Fremd before facing Elgin in the first round of the Class 4A Larkin regional, it's entirely possible the Storm could complete the season above .500.

"I figured all along we could be .500 or better," Prendergast said. "We're trying to learn to be consistent.

"I'm happy we've been competitive in about every game. We're pushing the ball up and trying to get the ball to our big players. We've been able to open things up offensively."

What that's meant is being in virtually every game. There have been just a couple of blowout losses, to UEC front-runners Lake Park, Waubonsie Valley and St. Charles North, But there have also been 7 losses by 10 points or less.

"With some of those games there was a sense of being too timid," said Prendergast. "I think they were still a little shell-shocked from some of the losses last year."

Said Kumerow: "The opponents know we were a halfcourt team last year and I think we've taken some of them by surprise this year. Our first year having seniors has given us a boost and we all have varsity experience."

As the postseason approaches, the Storm has a lofty goal -- a regional championship. It will take some upsets -- South Elgin is the No. 3 seed in the regional and would have to beat not only Elgin but then No. 2 St. Charles East and most likely top-seeded St. Charles North. South Elgin lost to those two teams by 16 and 19 points respectively this season.

But that doesn't deter the confidence the Storm has in its abilities as the season winds to a close.

"We really would love to win a regional," said Kumerow. "That's a big goal. And we want to be at least .500 or above at the end of the year."

Johnson thinks the team has a shot.

"I really think we can win regionals," she said. "If we stay together I really think we have a chance."

Regardless of the final outcome, Prendergast put it all in perspective, also showing he has the job of coaching high school sports in the right perspective.

"We want to win," he said. "But we want to have fun and I want this to be a good experience for the girls."

And on that, Prendergast and the Storm are certainly succeeding.