Putting brackets around another fine high school season
Before I take one last look at the 2009-10 girls and boys high school basketball season for our local teams, there are a few things I need to get off my chest.
With this being NCAA Tournament week, I must ask: When did the self-proclaimed NCAA Tournament "bracketologists" become such a big thing?
While watching TV Sunday afternoon, ESPN expert bracketologist Joe Lunardi compiled a complete mock bracket with mock matchups - an hour before the actual pairings were announced.
If Illinois fans were paying attention, Lunardi had the Illini penciled in as one of the "last teams in."
An hour later, Illinois was on the outside looking in and Lunardi was nowhere to be seen.
Before I digress any further, here's a recap of the high school hoops season:
GirlsBest game I saw: Geneva 67, Bartlett 61.Two very good teams put on an offensive fireworks show with the Vikings prevailing thanks to a 46-point second half.Best game II: Geneva 47, St. Charles North 45.Lauren Wicinski's putback with 3.8 seconds remaining enabled the Vikings to fight off stubborn St. Charles North in the Class 4A regional championship clash.Top individual performances: Kiara Towles scored 38 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in West Aurora's overtime win over Naperville North; Wicinski's double-double of 19 points and 18 boards lifted Geneva past Rockford Boylan in the 4A sectional finals.Best tandem: Geneva's inside-outside combination of junior point guard Kat Yelle and 6-1 senior forward/center Wicinski.All-Shooter: Sara Fruendt, Batavia; Ashley Santos, Geneva; Kat Yelle, Geneva; Lexi Baltes, St. Charles East; Sydney Russell, St. Charles North; Devin Vaughn, West Aurora.All-Glass Cleaner: Alyssa Henzel, Aurora Christian; Lauren Wicinski, Geneva; Jordan Rettig, Rosary; Kara Schnier, St. Charles East; Jenna Bell, St. Charles North; Kiara Towles, West Aurora.All-Name: Greta Hopp, Aurora Central Catholic; Cori Flowers, Aurora Christian; Emily Heimerdinger, Kaneland; Jaime Rust, St. Charles East; Megan and Kate Booe, St. Charles North; Dionis Moon, West Aurora..All-Underrated: Liz Barnes, Batavia; Sammy Scofield, Geneva; Katie Petrando, Rosary; Kala Sigona, St. Charles East; Tess Fischer, St.. Charles North; Dana Sibley, St. Charles North.All-Returnee: Deana Cardena, Aurora Christian; Alyssa Henzel, Aurora Christian; Jackie Cardona, Kaitlyn Rosa, Ashley Wilk, ACC; Kaytlin St. Clair, Maddie Sychta, Sami Villareal, Batavia; Ashley Santos, Sammy Scofield, Kat Yelle, Geneva; Tess Fischer, Sydney Russell, St. Charles North.Biggest upset: St. Charles North defeating then-15-1 Naperville Central in the fifth-place game of the Dundee-Crown tournament.Best comeback: Down by 15 midway through the second quarter and still trailing 32-21 at halftime, Geneva outscored Bartlett 46-29 in the second half to win 67-61.BoysBest game I saw: St. Charles East 60, Larkin 52, OT.Jess Striedl had 18 points and 11 rebounds as the Saints outscored Larkin 16-8 in the 4-minute extra session to win the Upstate Eight Conference showdown.Best game II: St. Charles North 60, Geneva 48.The North Stars scored the final 8 points in the last 3:22 to pull away from the host Vikings in January.Best game I saw on TV: East Aurora 76, Neuqua Valley 68, OT.Junior guard Ryan Boatright poured in 45 points to lead the Tomcats to a Class 4A regional championship upset of UEC champion Neuqua Valley.Best atmosphere: Oswego at Aurora Central Catholic in the Class 3A regional championship game. The gym was filled 30 minutes before tip-off.Best sign: An Aurora Central Catholic fan held up a sign that read, "We Fix - $6 Haircuts" when the Chargers faced Oswego and long-haired senior Andrew Ziemnik in the regional finals.Top individual performances: Aurora Central Catholic guard Joey Guth nailed 10 3-pointers on his way to a 41-point night in a win over Aurora Christian; Kaneland center Dave Dudzinski had 32 points and 13 rebounds in the Knights' holiday tournament triumph at Plano; Batavia senior Ricky Clopton had 30 points and 11 boards in the Bulldogs' late-season win over Sycamore; Batavia guard Jesse Coffey nailed 6-of-7 3-point attempts to lift the Bulldogs past St. Charles East.Best tandem: Batavia's Ricky Clopton and Jesse Coffey, who combined for 52 points in a road win over Sycamore.All-Shooter: Joey Guth, ACC; Jesse Coffey, Batavia; Dan Trimble, Geneva; Eddy Grahovec, Marmion; Drew Vazquez, St. Charles East; David Johnson, St. Charles North.All-Name: Salomon Kabongo-Kooper, Aurora Christian; Trenton Pouncy, Aurora Christian; Levi Maxey, Batavia; Nolan Block, Geneva; Zach King, St. Charles North.All-Hair: Kent Brauwiler, ACC; Ricky Clopton, Batavia; Connor Quinn, Geneva; Colton Kumerow, St. Charles East; Josh Mikes, St. Charles North.All-Muscle: Kent Brauwiler, ACC; Brandon Beitzel, Michael Santacaterina, Geneva; Ryley Bailey, Kaneland; Jess Striedl, St. Charles East; Ryan Brown, Josh Mikes, St. Charles North.All-Underrated: Steve Hollon, ACC; Nolan Block, Geneva; Tyler Hlavac, Marmion; Zack Burns, St. Charles East; David Johnson, St. Charles North; Juwan Starks, West Aurora.All-Returnee: Jake Hanson, Aurora Christian; Joey McEachern, ACC; Jesse Coffey, Elliot Vaughn, Batavia; Dan Trimble, Dan Hince, Geneva; Eddy Grahovec, Marmion; Kendall Stephens, St. Charles East; Chris Conrad, Josh Mikes, Kyle Nelson, St. Charles North.Biggest upset: St. Charles East 50, St. Joseph 48.The Saints scored their first-ever victory (in 6 tries) over state-ranked St. Joseph in the St. Charles East Thanksgiving tourney.Best comeback: Trailing 16-0 at one point, Marmion recovered to edge Marian Central Catholic 73-70 in early February.Best concessions: From Italian beef to pizza, lasagna to homemade cookies, it would be tough to beat the spread offered at the Dundee-Crown girls basketball tournament.You can reach Craig Brueske at csb4k@hotmail.com