Cinderella role fits D-C well going into semifinals

If the glass slipper fits, wear it.

That's the attitude Dundee-Crown (24-5) takes into Friday's Class 4A state semifinal against Illinois-bound Jereme Richmond and Waukegan (25-4) at Peoria's Carver Arena at 6:30 p.m.

"I would say of all the teams going down there, if people just look at the numbers, we're probably not favored to be successful down there," Dundee-Crown coach Lance Huber said of a Final Four that also includes Whitney Young (24-9) and Thornton (29-1). "So, I guess you could say we're Cinderella. I would say we're the surprise team down there. Everyone expected either Neuqua Valley or Naperville Central.

"But we just play them one game at a time. There was a chance we could do this if certain things happened, and those things happened. I'd like to think that all of it wasn't by accident."

Dundee-Crown's all-senior, eight-man rotation has succeeded by forcing opponents to play at its tempo, a more deliberate, half-court game heavy on good shot selection and solid defense.

The Chargers have received contributions from every player in the rotation in the postseason, led by senior point guard Jeff Beck (6-foot-1). He scored 29 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in Tuesday's 64-59 victory over Neuqua Valley (31-2) at the NIU supersectional.

"Obviously, Jeff is the centerpiece, and we have a really nice supporting cast," senior guard Greg McNally said. "He doesn't often have an off night but if he doesn't score 17 points in a game, we can make up for it pretty easily with any one of our guys."

The Chargers will go with the same starting lineup they've used much of the season: Beck (17.5 ppg., 5.7 rpg.), guards Marcus Henry (9.3, 4.9) and Justin Strzelczyk (3.4, 1.2), 6-4 guard/forward Aaron Reams (6.3, 4.9), and 6-6 center Charles Kimbrough (7.8, 6.2).

McNally (4.0, 1.1) plays as many minutes at guard as the starters, forward Colin McCarthy plays solid defense and hustles for loose balls when he spells Kimbrough, and 6-3 guard Rob Stupar (61-of-155 3-point attempts) adds quick-strike firepower off the bench.

Waukegan prefers a frenetic pace. The Bulldogs use their overall team speed to blitz teams with multiple trapping defenses, which translate to fast-break points.

"We're not huge, but we're about as fast as anybody in the state of Illinois," second-year Waukegan coach Ron Ashlaw said. "We're not super deep, but our first five are a pretty good five."

Waukegan's starting lineup includes just one senior: Fairfield-bound Colin Nickerson (6-3). The slashing guard/forward averages 19 points and 3.8 rebounds a game and leads the Bulldogs with 43 3-pointers. Ashlaw calls Nickerson "one of the best individual defenders in the state."

Junior point guard Mike Springs (6-0) has 87 assists and averages 8.3 points. North Chicago transfer Quan Conner, a physical 6-1 junior guard, is a do-it-all player who sets screens and averages 9.9 points and 4.7 rebounds. Sophomore guard Aaron Johnson (5-10) has 69 rebounds and 45 assists to go with a scoring average of 8.3 ppg.

However, the 6-foot-7, 195-pound Richmond is undeniably the key to Waukegan's success. The junior averages 20.3 points and 9.6 rebounds a game and has developed into one of the top players in Illinois a year after he transferred from North Shore Country Day.

"He's really matured," Ashlaw said. "He's a much better defensive player than he was a year ago. The biggest thing is his approach to practice. He's our best practice player almost every single day. He's further developed a determination to win, and the Warren game is a classic example. But I could cite examples all season long when he took over a game and willed us to victory."

Against Warren in the Waukegan sectional final, Richmond capped a 31-point night by hitting a 40-footer at the buzzer that lifted the Bulldogs to a stunning 71-69 victory.

Richmond's already legendary game-winner capped a night of wild swings. Warren, a team similar to Dundee-Crown in that it preferred a half-court tempo, took a 17-2 lead. However, Waukegan, sparked by its defense, surged into the lead with a 21-0 run in the second quarter. Warren used a 12-2 run in the fourth quarter to even things.

Glenbrook North couldn't handle the Bulldogs' pressure defense in a 68-46 loss to Waukegan at the supersectional at the Sears Centre on Tuesday.

"If we're going to be successful against Waukegan, we're going to have to take care of the ball and handle their pressure," Huber said. "It's basically the same thing as (against Neuqua Valley) - handle their pressure, take care of the ball and make them make shots outside the paint. If we can do that, we could find a way.

"The whole is bigger than the sum of its parts for our guys. We talk a lot about doing what we do and playing our game. Our game is not to run up and down the floor and fast break. If we try to do that, we're going to get in trouble. Our guys understand what they can do, and they've really stayed focused."

Neither school is experienced at state. The Chargers are making their first appearance downstate since Dundee and Crown High Schools merged in 1983-84, though Dundee High won the 1938 state title and finished third in 1946. The Cardunals of old made the school's final state appearance in 1947, losing in the quarterfinals at Huff Hall in Champaign.

Dundee-Crown is the first Fox Valley Conference team to ever make it downstate and the first Fox Valley area boys team to play in Peoria since Elgin advanced there in 1998.

Waukegan is making its fourth appearance in the state finals (1959, 1969, 1975). The Bulldogs came close in 2004 and 2005 but fell in supersectionals both years. The 2008-09 team has already equaled the school's best showing in a state tournament: a fourth-place finish in 1959.

The deep playoff run has the city of Waukegan excited. A police convoy escorted the team bus to the city limits Wednesday night, when the Bulldogs left for Peoria.

"Our guys were just smiling ear to ear," Ashlaw said of the special attention. "It's just a really, really great feeling and we want to keep it going.

"When we beat Warren in just an epic game - there were 3,300 people in the gym and by July 4 of this year there will be 9,000 people claiming they were there - I looked up and some of our kids had tears in their eyes. It's hard to make high school kids cry unless you take their car keys away for the weekend."

Dundee-Crown has played better basketball as the playoffs have progressed. Have the Chargers saved their best for last?

"We still haven't played our best game," Beck said. "Tuesday was probably the best game we've played all year, but I still think we can play better than that.

"No one expects us to win down there. We'd probably be picked the last team out of those four. But I think we've proved to some people, at least, that if we just come out and play our game, we can play with the best of them.

"We're not going to change anything. We're just going to come out the way we always have - play our hardest and lay it all on the line."

John Radtke contributed to this report.

Probable starters

Dundee-Crown (24-5)

Jeff Beck Sr. 6-1 PG

Justin Strzelczyk Sr. 5-11 G

Marcus Henry Sr. 6-0 G

Aaron Reams Sr. 6-4 F-G

Charles Kimbrough Sr. 6-6 C-F

Waukegan(25-4)

Mike Springs Jr. 6-0 PG

Aaron Johnson So. 5-10 G

Colin Nickerson Sr. 6-3 G

Quan Conner Jr. 6-1 F-G

Jereme Richmond Jr. 6-7 C-F

Tipoff at 6:30 p.m. at Carver Arena, Peoria