Feb. 24--As we approach the one-year anniversary of the most (only?) glorious night in Sometimes-Weekly Picks Blog history -- 5-for-5 on regional finals upsets (by seed) -- it should be a happy time here at HQ.
Yet the working environment has never been worse. Fingers are being pointed all over the place in our secret lab as we deal with the aftermath of our 0-2 prediction for Simeon last weekend (one person made fun of me on Twitter).
Eager to get that taste out of our mouths and our swagger back, we're here with a first-ever Wednesday edition of the Sometimes-Weekly Picks Blog, featuring tonight's four suburban conference crossover championship games.
Central Suburban, Evanston (21-4) at Deerfield (24-3): Evanston comes into the CSL title game reeling following back-to-back losses to Maine South and Simeon. Both losses are understandable. Playing a Tony Lavorato-coached team in a conference game, after you've already clinched the day before taking on Simeon in what you hope to be a statement game to yourselves and others, is practically begging to be an upset. And that's exactly what happened. Against Simeon, the Wildkits shot very poorly, which seemed to deflate them. Had things gone differently for Evanston last weekend, I would like Deerfield's chances here, because Jordan Baum and Co. have yet to beat a really good team and this game would probably mean more to them than Evanston. But much like the writer of this blog, Evanston is eager to get on back on track and stop dwelling on last weekend.
Stylistically, as well, this one seems to favor the Wildkits. Ever since it got blown out trying to slow the pace down against Niles North on Jan. 8, Deerfield has embraced an up-tempo approach. The Warriors have won 13 straight playing that way, with victorious points totals of 91, 82, 76, 75 twice and 70 twice. Only twice in that stretch did they score less than 60. Will they throw Evanston a curveball and slow the game down? Gotta doubt it. Probably not the message to send your team on the eve of the state tournament. Can they defeat a faster, more talented team playing that way? Yes, they beat Niles North 70-60 in the rematch. Evanston is better than Niles North and angrier than Deerfield, which probably isn't good news for the home fans. Evanston 74, Deerfield 69
West Suburban, Glenbard West (22-3) at Downers Grove South (20-8): On the way to its first league title in 43 years, West Suburban Silver champion Glenbard West doesn't seem to have gained a whole lot of believers. To be sure, the Hilltoppers are not a great team, but outside of a couple in the city and one near St. Louis, I'm not sure any exist this season. Their schedule wasn't the toughest, but Silver rivals Hinsdale Central, Oak Park, Lyons, York and Proviso West are quality programs with gifted athletes, and going 10-2 against those teams is an accomplishment.
The Gold was probably the stronger division this year, with DGS also going 10-2 to finish a game ahead of both Proviso East and Hinsdale South. Yet the Silver will win a majority of the final-game crossovers regardless of what happens Wednesday night, because Silver teams won four of Tuesday's six games. And as long as the trend is to doubt Glenbard West, I'm going to stick with Justin Pierce and the Hilltoppers. Glenbard West 54, Downers Grove South 53
North Suburban, Stevenson (21-6) at North Chicago (15-9): There has been unrest and even exodus in the North Suburban Prairie, because the smaller-school division can't keep up with Stevenson and the rest of the big boys in the North Suburban Lake. The unrest and exodus is about football, but the slanted playing field applies to basketball as well. North Chicago won the Lake with an 11-1 record, which means the Warhawks were 4-8 against everyone else. These teams will meet in this game for the third time in four years. When they both had big names, Stevenson was victorious. I don't see that changing tonight. Stevenson 73, North Chicago 60
Mid-Suburban, Prospect (14-10) at Conant (18-6): The Mid-Suburban is like the North Suburban. The East schools have a hard time competing with the West in football and basketball. The MSL has managed to keep its unhappy schools from changing conferences and has formed a crossover agreement with the CSL starting next year. But that's for football. In basketball, Prospect has been the East's best hope for beating the West for nearly a decade. Not coincidentally, that's how long John Camardella has been running the Knights. One of the best coaches nobody talks about, Camardella led Prospect to its seventh East title in nine years with a group of unknown sophomores and juniors who seemed to have hit their stride in mid-January.
An opening-night loss to Prospect aside, Conant is considered the better team. The Cougars are the top seed in the Class 4A Fremd Sectional, while Prospect is seeded No. 7. They also have a respected coach in Tom McCormack, who's been grinding out MSL-style wins for three decades. All signs point to Conant, but I'm leaning Camardella. Prospect 51, Conant 48
Mike Helfgot is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
