After four days of the prep boys basketball season, we are talking favorably about:
1) First-year Grant coach Wayne Bosworth, who has won his first two games, although the Bulldogs will move way up in class when they face Johnsburg tonight. On the other hand, part of good coaching is winning the game you're supposed to win.
2) Stevenson, which is 3-0 and on a roll in the Buffalo Grove tourney. Pat Ambose's teams always play tough defense and on Wednesday night, the Pats held Lakes High star John Androus without a field goal. Amazing
3) North Chicago, which bagged a big one when it beat Fenwick in the St. Patrick tourney. If the Hawks upset mighty St. Patrick tonight, the preseason prediction written on the Locker Room wall of 18-11 for "King's" Hawks won't look so good.
4) Waukegan, which scored 83 points in its opening-night tourney win and, more importantly, played FAST. Tonight, we'd like to see 90 please.
November 2008 Archives
In the Locker Room, we are more excited than ever about Waukegan High's boys hoops program.
Having watched the intrasquad scrimmage, it's obvious that except for the lack of a true banging-type center, the other pieces are all in place for a successful season.
Granted, Zion-Benton has 6-foo7 man-mountain Markus Yarbrough and Waukegan has no one to effectively guard him. But that said, the double-threat guard tandem of Stephen Connor and Colin Nickerson cannot be matched by any team around here.
It remains to be seen if Jereme Richmond is used the way the Bulls used to use Scottie Pippen ... as a point forward, or if Richmonds winds up as the low-post player on offense and is surrouinded by the four fastest players you'll ever see on the court together.
The guess in the Locker Room is that Waukegan will go fast by the end of the Thanksgiving tournament.
Waukegan HIgh's Dog Pound ... 7:30 p.m. Friday ... intrasquad scrimmage.
This is Waukegan hoops first shot to see what we've got for this season.
The next three shots are next Wednesday, Friday & Saturday when Waukegan hosts a Thanksgiving tourney.
Do you have 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 29, circled on your schedule too?
It most definitely is in The Locker Room.
Waukegan vs. Warren.
Richmond vs. Paul ... future Fighting Illini teammates going head-to-head for the first and only time as high-school players, unless they happen to meet in the IHSA playoffs.
Check out the Big Dogs this Friday night.
When this turns out to be a season to remember, you'll be able to say you were there at the beginning.
This is not anybody's fault, mind you.
Based on travel/traffic alone, it makes no sense for Antioch, Carmel and Grant to be playing football games on Friday night when Saturday is just as available.
But in The Locker Room, we love Friday night football. Saturday is for the college game in the same way as Sunday is for the NFL.
That said, the fear in The Locker Room is that it's going to a looooooooong Saturday for prep grid fans. Here's how it looks in the shower:
n Glenbard South 21, Antioch 20. Hope we're wrong, but this GS team is pretty good.
n Lemont 20, Grant 14. Same ol' same ol.' Lemont routed Lake Forest in playoffs a couple of weeks ago, and it seems to me that Grant, while 10 points better than Lake Forest, isn't 25 better.
n Geneva 28, Carmel 27. Too close to call, but that shaky 10-7 win over Woodstock last week set off an alarm. A win by the Corsairs would shut that alarm off.
In any case, as always, we are rooting for the home teams. If Grand and Anticoh both win, they will play each other next week, the game will be at Grant.
If Carmel wins, it will play either Cary-Grove or Crystal Lake South ... most likely Cary-Grove.
Heading into Round 2 of the IHSA football playoffs, there is ONE North Suburban Conference Lake Divison team left, and FOUR (Joliet Catholic, Carmel, Nazareth Academy & Marist) from the East Suburban Catholic Conference.
So, which league is tougher??????
That said, in the Locker Room, we like both our ESCC team (Carmel) and our NSC Lake team (Warren) to win again.
n Carmel 56, Woodstock 7 in the slop.
n Huntley 14, Grant 10 in the slop.
n Warren 35, Schaumburg 18 in the cold
n Antioch 42, Highland Park 28 in the cold
That would be 3 area teams in the quarterfinal round ... pretty darn impressive.
