It’s been a very, very long time since I didn’t cover a Public League quarterfinal. But it just wasn’t meant to be this season.
The good news is jury duty is all finished. I wound up getting picked for a short one-day trial. I was worried for a few hours there, but it is back to basketball season with no real interruption.
There was a ton of content posted on the site today though. Some teasers...
Joe Henricksen’s weekly three-pointer is very interesting: “A few years ago Evanston was flooded with a remarkable collection of middle school talent. It was the rare type of young talent that had basketball people talking and raving about what was to come.”
And No Shot Clock returned after a one-week break. This was a really fun episode thanks to a ton of really interesting listener questions.
Topics include:
-Should the Public League ditch the super conferences?
-Sleeper picks for state in all four classes
-Top five candidates for Player of the Year
-Undefeated Indian Creek and the Little Ten
-Should non-boundaried schools play for a different state title?
Sun-Times sports reporter Madeline Kenney filled in for me tonight and covered the Morgan Park vs. Young overtime thriller.
Tuesday’s top games
Curie 67, Orr 66: The Condors survive and continue an amazing two-season run in the city and state. This one was at Curie and Orr almost pulled it off. That’s really bad news for the rest of the Class 2A teams in the state. It appears the Spartans have figured things out. I didn’t see any stats from the Condors but Demarius Splunge led Orr with 22 points and 12 rebounds. He isn’t getting enough attention this season.
Simeon 85, Kenwood 70: Not much trouble for the Wolverines in this one. They will face Curie in the semifinals on Friday. DePaul recruit Ahamad Bynum scored 24, Jeremiah Williams added 21 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore Jaylen Drane had 15 points and five assists. Keep an eye on Fred Poole. He seems like the x-factor for Simeon. When he plays well they are tough to beat. He’s known as a three-pointer shooter but his game has evolved this season and when he’s on his game he can do a lot of different things. He finished with 13 points and seven boards.
Bogan 80, Crane 50: Fire up the Player of the Year talk! Joe and I started it up a bit on No Shot Clock this week. Antione Bloxton wasn’t mentioned as a top contender but he’s been right there around the top all season. This performance will certainly help his candidacy. The senior had 41 points and four steals. Kyndall Davis added 12 points.
DePaul Prep 53, De La Salle 37: Tyler Johnson led the way with 20 points and Lance Mosley added 14. Big man Brian Mathews finished with eight points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
Bolingbrook 98, Lincoln-Way East 93 OT: What a score. This has traditionally been a challenging conference matchup for the Raiders so it is a much bigger win than most may realize. Darius Burford scored 28.
Mundelein 69, Zion-Benton 65: Conor Enright scored 23 and drained five three-pointes. Trey Baker had five threes as well and scored 22. The Z-B’s are clearly playing well lately.
Brother Rice 54, Loyola 49: Looks like Bobby Frasor has molded his team into a real force now. Colin Campbell led the way with 16 and Luke Moustakas added 11.
St. Ignatius 70, Fenwick 58: Another Catholic League upset. Daniel Florey ahd 22 points and Parker Higginbottom added 13. The Wolfpack is 20-6.
Wells 67, Holy Trinity 50: This might not be big to you, but it is my West Town neighborhood battle so it makes the notebook. Freddie Grubbs and Kiwane Scott each scored 16 and Donald Aguirre added 13.
Carmel 57, Deerfield 54: Thought this might be a fun one. Really nice win for the Corsairs who have won nine of their last 11. Joey Halaburt scored 16 and Bryce Moore added 15.
Riverside-Brookfield 64, Oak Lawn 58: The Bulldogs stay hot, winning their sixth in a row. Seven players scored eight or more points.
