Naperville Central: April 2009 Archives

--Joe Henricksen has an interesting blog post up on the Illinois Warriors, an elite AAU program that helped Naperville Central's Drew Crawford gain national exposure. Neuqua Valley forward Dwayne Evans currently plays for the Warriors.

--We didn't get a chance to link to this last week: Mike O'Toole, the former head coach at Joliet Catholic, will return to Neuqua as an assistant to Todd Sutton. A spot opened up on Sutton's staff with Bob Vozza's move to Metea Valley.

For some time now, Joe Henricksen has given Drew Crawford the benefit of the doubt. In a final installment for the City/Suburban Hoops Report, Henricksen ranks the state's top college prospects in the class of 2009, slotting the Naperville Central senior third.

Northwestern coach Bill Carmody has said that he thinks Evanston will be a good place for a guard to be over the next few years - the Wildcats have already recruited the interior players. Assistant Tavaras Hardy, who was instrumental in signing Crawford, told us: "We want to recruit kids that have a chance to make an immediate impact."

The departure of senior guard Craig Moore will open up a spot in the starting five next season, and Henricksen wasn't subtle in his prediction:

3. Drew Crawford, 6-5, 2G, Naperville (Central) ... There weren't enough people who were able to see just how good Crawford was during his high school career. Look for Crawford to start from day one at Northwestern and truly blossom in college.

Four area teams had baseball games washed away on Tuesday. Here are the updates:

--Naperville Central and Naperville North will each have home games on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The Redhawks will face Glenbard North, while the Huskies take on Wheaton North, which is ranked second in the latest Chicago Sun-Times poll.

--Waubonsie Valley will host a doubleheader against Streamwood on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.

--Neuqua Valley will travel to St. Charles North on May 13 to make up Tuesday's Upstate Eight Conference game.

Philly.com has done an excellent job covering the life and death of Harry Kalas, the legendary Phillies broadcaster. Jim Salisbury of the Inquirer explains Monday's events here. In 2002 Frank Fitzpatrick traveled to Naperville to better understand the world in which Kalas grew up. The result is a must-read feature.

What are your memories of the 1954 Naperville High School graduate?

Waubonsie Valley hasn't picked up where it left off. The Warriors advanced to the semifinals of the state summer tournament, but they've opened this season 0-4.

After Wednesday's 9-4 loss at Naperville North, Waubonsie coach Dan Fezzuoglio was a little curt, but at the same time emphatic that good things will happen.

"We have hit the ball pretty well," Fezzuoglio said. "We hit the ball well today against one of the better kids in the area (Jake Naumann) and that's encouraging."

Waubonsie can also begin to start over in a sense with Thursday's Upstate Eight Conference opener against St. Charles East. At least it doesn't play in the DuPage Valley Conference. Waubonsie's losses thus far have come against North, Naperville Central, Wheaton North and West Chicago.

"I'd rather be working the kinks out (now) instead (of) the end of the year," Fezzuoglio said. "We could see Central again or North again. We know we're a quality team and we're gonna be there."

--Neuqua Valley continues to care of things on the field, but it still dropped out of the Chicago Sun-Times baseball rankings. The Wildcats (3-1) are on the fringe of the top 10, listed under others to watch.

--St. Rita, which is ranked No. 7 by Sean Duncan, had such a fast start that SouthtownStar columnist Pat Disabato was wondering about an unbeaten season. Only two other Illinois baseball teams have done so, but it won't be the Mustangs this season - the other day Whitney Young upset the top-ranked preseason team. In what should be a good dress rehearsal for the postseason, Benet is scheduled to travel to St. Rita on May 25.

--Duncan previously released his top-100 players list, and it included the following area players: John Boyle, Benet senior pitcher; Pat Kaminska, Naperville Central senior pitcher; Mike McKinley, Neuqua senior pitcher; Jake Naumann, Naperville North senior pitcher; and Alex Staehely, Benet senior shortstop.

Here's one way to stretch your entertainment dollar in the middle of a recession. Even if you're priced out of big-league games, U.S. Cellular Field will open its doors on April 15 for Notre Dame and Northwestern.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at whitesox.com or the stadium's box office. Proceeds from the game will benefit Chicago White Sox Charities. The club hosted a similar event last year when Notre Dame took on Northern Illinois to support a scholarship fund at the DeKalb university.

There will still be several local connections. Scott Lawler, a Naperville Central graduate, is the Fighting Irish associate head coach. Sophomore Mick Doyle, the infielder out of Benet, has started 17 games this season for Notre Dame and is hitting .271.

Geoff Rowan, less than a year removed from his senior season at Neuqua Valley, is trying to find his role at Northwestern. Rowan has made three appearances out of the bullpen and seen time at catcher, his listed position on the team's roster.

Warren senior guard Brandon Paul edged out fellow Illinois recruit Jereme Richmond of Waukegan to win the 2009 Mr. Basketball of Illinois award.

Naperville Central senior swingman Drew Crawford received 20 first-place votes in ballots submitted by the state's coaches and media members. The Northwestern signee finished third in the voting with 137 points, behind Paul (337) and Richmond (321).

How would you have voted?

If you're expecting to learn The Naperville Sun's Athlete of the Month for March here, you'll be disappointed. But if you'd like to submit a name or two for consideration, you're in luck.

The voting's still open...

Stumped on who to suggest? How 'bout Waubonsie Valley's Shakeia Pinnick (track and field) or Neuqua Valley's John Mikuzis (water polo) or Naperville Central's Drew Crawford (basketball)? Somebody else?

Cast your votes here or at napersun.com/sports.