Boys basketball/Scouting Class 3-4A postseason
By David Oberhelman
doberhelman@dailyherald.com
Class 3A Sycamore sectional.
Regional hosts: Sandwich, Marengo, Johnsburg, Rochelle.
Top seeds (by regional): Yorkville, Rockford East, Johnsburg, Kaneland.
Outlook: Aurora Central, the No. 3 seed at Sandwich, is the recent beacon for 3A supersectional wannabes. The Chargers entered the 2011 playoffs with a sub-. 500 record and advanced to the supersectional, where they lost to eventual 3A champion Rock Island. This year the pieces are again in place for coach Nathan Drye's crew: a 9-17 record but at their healthiest, deepest and bringing the most potential since the start of the season. “I think we're finally ready, at the right time of the year,” said Drye, who most recently directed a 60-55 win over 17-7 St. Francis. (On the other hand, 2011 supersectional squad Aurora Christian was the area 2A standard-bearer, and this year the Eagles lost in the first round.) In a sectional seeded by individual regional, Aurora Central heads right into a semifinal against No. 2 Marmion (14-13), a fellow SCC Blue team that recently beat the Chargers 64-62 in overtime. “Our first-round game is going to be a very difficult struggle,” Drye said. “They beat us twice this year, so we've got to play well to even get out of that one. Then Yorkville (the regional's No. 1 seed, at 19-7) has had a terrific year.” Marmion coach Ryan Paradise has faced this scenario before, as a player at Naperville Central and Northern Illinois. “When you play the first time you never really know how a team is going to react or adjust, but playing multiple times both teams have the opportunity to make adjustments on both sides of the ball, where they're successful against you and where they weren't,” he said. “With film and all that stuff, to beat a team a third time takes a lot of mental strength.” The Sandwich gym will strain against the hordes of supporters of these Aurora teams. “It could be a squeeze,” Paradise said. The Sandwich regional winner would face the winner out of Johnsburg, where the host nabbed a top seed with a record well below .500. The sectional's strength is centered at Marengo with No. 1 seed Rockford East, No. 2 Belvidere and No. 3 Crystal Lake Central. “It's nice that only one team's coming out of that one,” Drye said. “I wouldn't want to be there. That's too much talent for one regional.” All three reached regional finals last season, with Rockford East beating Crystal Lake Central in a Woodstock North sectional semi before falling to ACC in the final. Whoever survives at Marengo will face the winner of the Rochelle regional, a familiar group. Kaneland (15-10) earned the top seed for the first time in coach Brian Johnson's three-year tenure and has played three of the other four teams there: No. 2 Rochelle (20-8), No. 4 Burlington Central (16-11) and No. 5 Sycamore (8-19). No. 3 Hampshire (17-10) is the outsider. Kaneland has defeated Burlington Central and split with Rochelle and Sycamore. “Looking at our sectional, you can look at any of our 1, 2 or 3 seeds and say that anyone can say, yeah, we could win the sectional,” Kaneland's Johnson said. “That's definitely what Aurora Central proved last year by the run they went on.”
Advancement: Winners of the Rochelle and Marengo regionals will meet in one sectional semifinal March 6; the Johnsburg and Sandwich regional champs meet March 7 with the sectional final on March 9. The Sycamore sectional champion advances to play the Bradley University sectional winner at the 3A Northern Illinois University supersectional March 13.
Class 4A Dundee-Crown sectional.
Regional hosts: Rockford Auburn, St. Charles North, Cary-Grove, Huntley.
Top seeds (by regional): Rockford Auburn, Elgin, McHenry, Huntley.
Outlook: Three of the four semifinalists from last year's Jacobs sectional are poised for a return trip: Elgin, Huntley and Rockford Auburn, The Associated Press' No. 6 team off a 25-2 record and led by Wichita State-bound point guard Fred Van Vleet. (South Elgin was the fourth semifinalist but the 11-15 Storm will be challenged to defeat one if not two superior opponents at the St. Charles North regional.) There are solid No. 2 seeds at the Rockford Auburn and Huntley (24-2) regionals in Rockton Hononegah (which dealt Auburn one of its losses, Proviso East the other) and Dundee-Crown, respectively. But it would be an upset should either Auburn or Huntley fail to make it out of their own regionals. At Cary-Grove, where No. 1 seed McHenry (10-15) heads sub-.500 clubs Jacobs, Cary-Grove, Prairie Ridge and Crystal Lake South, the winner will have its hands full against the survivor at St. Charles North, hosting its second boys basketball regional. “I think we have the toughest regional in the sectional,” said St. Charles East coach Patrick Woods, whose stretch run included a double-overtime loss to 25-1 Plainfield East, The Associated Press' No. 8 team in 4A. “It's kind of funny, it's almost like a mini-conference tournament when you look at it. But North and Elgin are two good teams, and obviously you can't fall asleep on a team like South Elgin.” The Nos. 4-5 seeds, South Elgin and 4-21 Streamwood, square off first to decide who gets to meet Elgin (23-3) in one regional semifinal. In the other, No. 2 St. Charles East (14-12) and No. 3 St. Charles North (13-15) will play each other Feb. 29 for a fourth time this season. Betraying the seeds, the North Stars have won two of the three meetings, including both of the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division outings that helped St. Charles North tie Elgin for first place. “It is what it is,” said St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin of the crosstown matchup. “We're not complaining. It's the way it goes, you have to play whoever they put in front of you. But it's a challenge, always a challenge with them. It'll be great for the community, great for making memories for everyone involved.” Funny thing is, while UEC River co-champ Elgin defeated Huntley 58-44 at the Sears Centre on Jan. 21, Kory Brown and the Maroons have lost to both St. Charles teams. That said, Poulin believes Elgin is the best team in the sectional. Whoever comes out of St. Charles North will be tough to beat. “I think there's a good chance for the team that comes out of there to make it to the sectional final,” Woods said.
Advancement: Winners of the Rockford Auburn and Huntley regionals meet in one sectional semifinal March 6; the Cary-Grove and St. Charles North regional champs meet March 7. The Dundee-Crown sectional title March 9 will advance a team against the Barrington sectional winner at the 4A Northern Illinois University supersectional March 13.
Class 4A East Aurora sectional
Regional hosts: Neuqua Valley, Oswego, Downers Grove South, Metea Valley.
Top seeds (by regional): No. 1 Plainfield East, No. 4 West Aurora, No. 2 Downers South, No. 3 Metea Valley.
Outlook: A wide-open field doesn't end with the top four seeds, although each of the top four has the playmakers capable of taking home the title. “You have to be talented but sometimes it's not always the real great teams (that advance). But you have to be putting things together at the right time of the year,” said West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman, recently selected as a coach for the McDonald's All-American Game. At 25-1, the lone loss coming to Larkin a month ago, Plainfield East definitely has a gaudy record. The Bengals also boast 6-foot-9 Brian Bennett and guard Dee Brown. The only thing lacking is a top-notch schedule, but the Bengals have the advantage of having beaten potential regional opponents Plainfield North and No. 8 Neuqua Valley (17-11). Ninth-seeded Naperville Central (15-11) has shown the ability to play high-caliber basketball, but the Redhawks need 6-foot-8 sophomore Nick Czarnowski to be healthy. If one player in the sectional can carry his team to a sectional crown, it's Downers South senior guard Jerron Wilbut, averaging 19 points per game. The Mustangs (21-5) could face another electrifying player in the regional final in Waubonsie Valley junior Jared Brownridge, or perhaps a balanced lineup from No. 10 Hinsdale Central. Despite Friday's loss to Elgin, No. 3 Metea Valley (22-4) enters the playoffs with an Upstate Eight Valley Conference championship, though its momentum may have been slightly stalled with a loss to Elgin in the UEC crossover series. Metea will get the winner of Monday's play-in game between No. 14 Geneva and No. 19 Batavia (7-18). Geneva (14-12) earned a nice win over Neuqua Valley in the UEC crossovers. A Batavia squad that features 6-6 Cole Gardner and 6-5 Zach Strittmatter, said Geneva coach Phil Ralston, is “not only legendary, but despite their record they're formidable. They have a lot of size, they're healthy, they have good shooters around that size. They're a tough team. It's kind of a tough draw.” With Kenny Obendorf, Ryan Solomon and others, Metea Valley could bring home the program's first regional title while playing at home. The Mustangs, however, must be wary of the Benet-Bolingbrook semifinal winner. The playoff-tested Redwings, with the tandem of Sean O'Mara and Pat McInerney, are eager for another postseason run. Perhaps the most interesting regional is at Oswego, anchored by No. 4 West Aurora (21-5). The Blackhawks and Juwan Starks may face No. 5 Naperville North (19-7) for a third time this season in the regional final. The Huskies claimed the outright DuPage Valley Conference title, but the teams split in league play including a recent 11-point West Aurora win in Naperville. A West Aurora-Naperville North regional final is by no means guaranteed, however. Thirteenth-seeded Hinsdale South (14-11) possibly awaits the Blackhawks in the semifinals while No. 12 Oswego is in Naperville North's side of the regional. However it shakes out, there will be plenty of quality basketball in this complex. “Very much so,” said Batavia coach Jim Roberts. “Any time your road heads through Aurora, which ours predominantly has, there's always good teams waiting for you in Aurora and the outlying areas to play.”
Advancement: Winners of the Neuqua Valley and Oswego regionals play in the March 6 sectional semifinal; the Downers South and Metea Valley regional winners play March 7, with the sectional final on March 9. The East Aurora champion will meet the Schaumburg champion at the 4A Hinsdale Central supersectional on March 13.