December 2008 Archives

Zion-Benton debuts today at Proviso West and Warren & Waukegan start on Monday at Pontiac. If you're scoring at home, here's a list of the most likely area boys basketball teams to win a holiday tourney title:

Sure thing -- none.
Good chance -- Waukegan (at Pontiac)
Decent chance -- Zion-Benton (at Proviso West) & Grant (at Grant)
Not much of a chance at all -- Warren (at Pontiac), North Chicago (at Wheeling), Lake Forest (at Bloomington) and Grayslake Central (at Bloomington)

ON an unrelated topic, anybody hear anything about fb coaches for Waukegan & North Chicago high schools. This may sound stupid considering it's December, but it's getting late.

Zion-Benton High's quarterfinal-round game on Saturday night in the Proviso West holiday boys hoops tourney will air live on comcast cable channel 37.
Comcast will also televise next Wednesday's semifinals in the Pontiact holiday tournament. Both Warren and Waukegan could be involved in games, although not against each other.
The ability for fans to follow their teams when they play on the road is outstanding.
Last week, the Comcast people aired the Lake Forest/Mundelein boys hoops game.
While we all pretty agree that Comcast has a ton of faults, it is bringing prep hoops into our living rooms, and that's a good thing.

The IHSA has re-aligned its pairings for the boys basketball tournament, meaning that the Waukegan Sectional winner will not have to go out to NIU in DeKalb for its Round of 8 game.
Instead, the Waukegan winner will advance to the same super-sectional in the big arena in in Hoffman Estates where the area's Class 3A North Chicago Sectional champion is going.
That means the local fans will have two teams to root for in the Round of 8 super-sectional: Grayslake Central or North Chicago in Class 3A and Waukegan, Zion-Benton or Warren in Class 4A.
Having teams to cheer for in both games will make it a lot more fun for the fans.
On the Locker Room wall, in pencil, it's written that Grayslake Central & Z-B will be going to the Round of 8.

Another great week of prep boys basketball is in the books, and these are how the teams are currently ranked on the Locker Room wall:
Big Schools:
1) Zion-Benton ... favored to beat any team on a neutral court. Of course, the sectional this year is at Waukegan's Dog Pound and there's nothing neutral about that.
2) Waukegan ... 7-0 and starting to pretty much dominate opponents, though we think New Trier next Friday night is a tough spot for our Dogs.
3) Warren ... James Poliquin, the tower of power in the middle, is a difference-maker between good and really good for the Blue Devils.
4) Lake Forest ... two losses are in overtime to Glenbrook North and Warren. Then, again, Warren loss was at home.
5) Lake Zurich .. Connor Mooney & Brandon Kunz are an outside-inside force.

Small schools
1) Grayslake Central -- the clear favorite to win the North Chicago Sectional right now.Best team in the Fox Valley Conference.
2) North Chicago -- Inability of players to come to play every night will kill these guys in the sectional against Grayslake Central.
3) Vernon HIlls -- Expect these guys to go 10-2 in the NSC Prairie. There is still debate in the Locker Room about the uniforms, with the tiny "Vernon" and the huge "Hills", but the shade of dark blue is awesome.

Here's how the area boys basketball teams are ranked, according to what's scribbled on the Locker Room wall this morning:
Class 4A (big schools)
1) Zion-Benton ... still the pick to click in terms of getting out of the Waukegan Sectional
2) Waukegan ... so far, so good.
3) Warren ... Shahron Thomas is a key piece of Blue Devil puzzle.
4) Lake Zurich ... a notch below Warren.
5) Lake Forest ...looking for someone besides Vogrich to start scoring
Class 3A (small schools)
1) Grayslake Central (get the top spot off huge win at Jacobs)
2) North Chicago ... not nearly as good as last year's team ... yet
3) Vernon Hills .... Apparently, this isn't just a football school anymore

Boys Big Schools
1) Zion-Benton
2) Lake Zurich
3) Waukegan
4) Lake Forest
5) Stevenson
Boys Small Schools
1) Grayslake Central
2) North Chicago
3) Grayslake North
Girls Big Schools
1) Lake Zurich
2) Stevenson
3) Mundelein
Girls Small Schools
1) Wauconda
2) Round Lake