Red-hot Rams ride wave of popularity
As the Grayslake Central boys basketball team returned from Huntley after winning the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division championship last Friday, a fire truck met the bus near campus and provided an escort the rest of the way.
"That was pretty exciting," junior forward Alex Anderson said. "We didn't expect that."
This kind of season wasn't necessarily expected either. The Rams won just nine games last season.
"I'm in total amazement," sophomore forward Andrew Sipes said. "I didn't see this coming at all."
But somehow, the Rams are now conference champs. Plus, they're 21-6, the No. 2 seed in the Class 3A Antioch sectional and they're vying tonight for the program's second regional crown since 1999.
And to think that the best could be ahead of this group.
Three of the Rams' starters -- and their top three scorers -- will be back next year. Sipes is just a sophomore and Anderson and point guard Mike Brumm are juniors.
"There's definitely a lot to look forward to," Brumm said. "We've got three really good players to build off of and it's good that we all got the chance to play last year together."
Sipes, Brumm and Anderson were all up on varsity last season. And they all started.
Anderson, a 3-point shooter, led the team with about 14 points per game, while Brumm, the floor general, and Sipes, a slasher and banger in the paint, were at about 10 points per game.
They were rough around the edges, but together, they were formidable enough to be getting most of the teams points -- and headlines.
Surprisingly, the Rams didn't experience any turmoil because of that. Head coach Tim Bowen says that the older players immediately grasped the bigger picture.
"I think everyone on our team understood that those three guys were and are a big part of our program -- even for as young as they are," Bowen said. "There was never an issue with jealously or anything like that. In fact, whenever those guys would struggle last year, which happened since they had so much to learn, the older guys did a great job of encouraging them and supporting them. They really rallied around our young guys and that helped a lot."
What has also helped Sipes, Anderson and Brumm in their development is the weight room. The three spent hours there last summer.
Bowen said that at the beginning of this season he noticed immediately that the three were significantly bigger and stronger and much more equipped to withstand the physicality of varsity basketball.
All three are averaging between 10 and 12 points this season.
"Last year, teams would pressure us and get on us and it rattled us," said Brumm, whom Bowen says is the best point guard in the Fox Valley Conference this season. "But we've been able to handle it a lot better this year. We're stronger and we're more comfortable being out there on the floor. We've improved a lot."