Jacobs still the team to beat in Valley
This Valley runs deep.
Three legitimate contenders are set to challenge two-time champion Jacobs as conference play begins Wednesday in the Valley Division of the Fox Valley Conference.
Crystal Lake South (10-6), Cary-Grove (11-5) and Dundee-Crown (9-4) are all playing well and will try to bring balance to a division Jacobs (14-2) has dominated the last two seasons. The Golden Eagles went 20-0 in winning back-to-back titles, powered by talented guard John Moran.
Now led by 6-foot-5 senior center Conrad Krutwig (22.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg) and 6-3 senior forward Tim Moran (10.4 ppg, 4.9 apg), the 2008-09 edition brings a 12-game winning streak into Wednesday's league opener against visiting Cary-Grove.
Nevertheless, a three-peat won't be easy.
"I think it's more competitive than it has been the last couple of years, a lot more even," Crystal Lake South coach Dan DeBruycker said of the Valley race. "I think Jacobs again is the favorite. They are good basketball team and Krutwig and Moran are a tough front line to deal with. But the whole conference, every game, is going to be tough."
DeBruycker's Gators are a team to watch. They enter Wednesday's Valley opener at McHenry (7-7) riding a 5-game winning streak of their own. The impressive run has demonstrated CL South can win close games in tough environments. Of their last 5 victories, 3 were won in overtime on the road against teams with winning records: Grayslake Central (10-6), Bartlett (9-5) and Prairie Ridge (9-7).
The Gators are playing better since their 5-6 start for two reasons, according to their coach: the continued improvement of shooting guard Adam Olszewski and the gradual meshing of the football players on the roster.
Olszewski has stepped up to become the Gators' third scoring option behind seniors Eric Wilde (15.5 ppg) and Steve Rogers (14.6). Through 14 games he averaged 9.2 points and sank 30-of-69 attempts from 3-point range (47.6 percent).
The four football-playing Gators had only two days of practice before the Boylan Thanksgiving tournament and about three weeks of practices before the Jacobs Holiday tournament. More time to work on details in the new year has led to better on-court chemistry.
"They're getting into the swing of things, they're playing together, and they're believing they can win," DeBruycker said. "And we're doing a better job defensively on the glass."
CL South's depth will only improve with the addition to the rotation of Schaumburg transfer Josh Walker, a junior guard who will back up and sometimes play with point guard Michael McKenna. Walker will play for the first time this week.
Cary-Grove has won 4 games in a row, but the Trojans suffered a key loss on Saturday when senior point guard Pete Pellizzari was injured.
"I broke the fibula in two places, so the doctor said six weeks," Pellizzari said Monday. "I went up for a rebound and landed on someone's foot awkwardly. I most likely won't be able to play again, but we'll see. I definitely want to."
Pellizzari is also an excellent defensive player, often called the best defender on the team by Trojans coach Ralph Schuetzle. Junior Matt Jones will join the starting lineup at shooting guard while senior guard Chris Swenson (10.1 ppg) moves to the point. The starting lineup is rounded out by senior guard Matt Nelsen (6.8) and senior forwards Brandon Coleman (7.9) and Chad McCarron (10.9).
Dundee-Crown senior Jeff Beck might be the area's best all-around guard. Beck leads a senior-heavy roster of athletic, versatile players like Aaron Reams and Marcus Henry and makes the Chargers the wild card in the Valley race.
"I think the division is pretty tough all the way around," Dundee-Crown coach Lance Huber said. "You really can't take a night off against anybody."
The Chargers open the Valley schedule at home against Woodstock (3-10) on Wednesday, then travel to CL South on Saturday. D-C will play District 300 rival Jacobs in Algonquin on Feb. 6 and will host the Golden Eagles in Carpentersville in the regular-season finale on Feb. 27.
Fox Division
Defending champion Grayslake Central looks poised to repeat in the Fox Division of the Fox Valley Conference.
The Rams (10-6) went 5-1 against teams from the big-school Valley Division in FVC crossover games, including a 68-58 triple-overtime victory at Jacobs on Dec. 5. Their only loss in crossover action came against surging Crystal Lake South in overtime on Saturday.
"I think Grayslake Central has shown they're the best team in our conference," Huntley coach Marty Manning said. "Johnsburg (9-7) probably has close to as much talent as anyone, and Prairie Ridge (9-7) probably plays harder than anyone. So we're going to have our hands full if we want to win conference this year."
Huntley (10-6) has won three straight games after Manning switched gears in an effort to jump start the offense. After the Red Raiders lost 51-20 to Cary-Grove on Jan. 6, he switched to the more dependable flex offense and inserted 6-3 junior forward Richard Gonzaga into the starting lineup.
Huntley has since won 3 straight by averaging 51.7 points per game against Woodstock, Marian Central and McHenry.
"We've changed some personnel a little bit and that seemed to helped us on the offensive end," Manning said. "We've been a little more consistent in our scoring. Our defense has been there all year. We just tried to make sure we got good looks and that the guys understood where we wanted to score from."
Huntley will open Fox Division play at Grayslake North (6-8) on Wednesday. The Red Raiders will get a crack at the league favorites on Saturday, when they travel to Grayslake Central.