Wolfsmith, seniors set new standard at Bartlett

Jim Wolfsmith is not a guy who has been getting a lot of sleep lately.

Ask him if he cares.

Wolfsmith's life has been turned upside down since he became the Bartlett boys basketball coach in September, a job he no longer has as of about 8:55 Friday night.

"I'm no longer the boys basketball coach at Bartlett," the energetic and personable Wolfsmith deadpanned shortly after his Hawks had lost to Neuqua Valley 69-53 in the championship game of the Class 4A East Aurora sectional.

Well, we'll see about that. Yes, the job has to be posted, by contract. And yes, Wolfsmith wants it.

There shouldn't and probably won't be any drama as to who is coaching the Hawks next season.

This is a guy who took the Bartlett softball program downstate this past spring, stepped into a basketball job at the last minute and had his team one win from the final eight.

Along the way, he nurtured a talented team into his system, with the capable help of the last guy to take Bartlett to the sectional finals -- Leo Szpejnowski. What the Hawks did by reaching the sectional finals was set the bar for all the young talent returning and coming up.

"The guys really raised that bar. I didn't have a lot to do with it," said Wolfsmith, who in a great show of class applauded each Neuqua Valley starter as his counterpart, Todd Sutton, took them out of the game.

"I'm hoping they set the tone for future Bartlett teams to strive for. These kids played their hearts out this year.

Friday also ended the stellar Bartlett careers of senior starters Kamil Janton and Cory Hrynyk, as well as their graduating teammates -- Jeremy Sanchez, Jaques Smith, Mike Selvaggi, Marcell Randell and Derrick Coleman.

What they leave behind is a talented returning group that includes junior starter Marc Little and sophomore Luke Labedzki, who will learn as he gets older that good shooting nights come as often as bad ones.

I wouldn't be surprised if they're back here next year," Hrynyk said.. "It's going to be a good couple of years coming up for Bartlett."

"I wish them luck," Janton said. "I hope they do good next year. They have some good sophomores coming up."

And, a darn good coach to boot. OK, so there is some red tape here, but the bottom line is Jim Wolfsmith should be back as the Hawks' coach.

"I'm proud to have been Bartlett's coach this season," Wolfsmith said. "I've coached basketball for 20 years and it's a big part of me. "When Tom (Lamberti) stepped down I was more than happy to step in.

"It's been awesome to be the coach at Bartlett,. The kids worked hard. And yes, I'd love to continue."

But that thought will now be put on the back burner for a little bit. By the time you read this, Wolfsmith will be in the gym at Bartlett The Hawks' softball team -- destined to be one of the top-ranked teams in the Chicago area has practice at 6 a.m. this morning.

And Wolfsmith will be there, sans sleep.