Here are some Thanksgiving leftovers from a busy week of high school basketball.
➤ There was no individual player who made a bigger statement or shined brighter during Thanksgiving week than Glenbrook South’s Dom Martinelli.
The 6-4 senior was as productive as anyone a year ago with a stat-sheet-filling season highlighted by his 23 points a game. But last week he was at an entirely different level from a production standpoint.
In four Glenbrook South wins Martinelli averaged a whopping 35.2 points a game. He also chipped in with six rebounds and two assists a game in leading the Titans to a Buffalo Grove Thanksgiving Tournament title and 4-0 start to the season.
In a performance for the ages, Martinelli scored a school record 51 points in beating Buffalo Grove, a record that was set in 1965 by Mike Reeves, who went on to play at Northwestern.
Martinelli made a living at the free-throw line where he converted a ridiculous 60 of 64 from the line. That included a streak of 44 straight free-throws made.
➤ Bogan dominated in Rockford while winning the Rockford 205 Tip-Off Classic. The Bengals, who square off with Morgan Park in a big one Tuesday night, won five games last week by an average victory margin of 20 points a game.
➤ Yes, that was unranked Benet, without its best player, beating Hope and preseason ranked teams Westinghouse and Fenwick to win the Fenwick Thanksgiving Tournament. The Redwings started five players last week who had never started a varsity game before.
Big man and four-year varsity performer Colin Crothers, who averaged 13 points and eight rebounds a game last year, is out with an injury and will hopefully be back by late December.
➤ The favorites in the Southwest Prairie’s newly formed two divisions may have emerged over Thanksgiving Tournament play.
Joliet West impressed in going 4-0 in the opening week of the season. If you’re checking off the win total in Joliet, that’s just one win short of last year’s grand total of five victories.
The Tigers, led by first-year coach Jeremy Kreiger, had both talent and experiencing returning. Whether it all came to fruition this season was another matter.
But the impressive start, which included two lopsided wins over Brother Rice and Lincoln-Way East, clearly shows Joliet West is a legit contender and likely favorite in the Southwest Prairie East, though Plainfield Central is also off to a 4-0 start.
Defending Southwest Prairie Conference champ Oswego East will have something to say about it, especially if top returning player Sam Schultz returns from injury sooner than later, but Oswego made a statement with its 4-0 Thanksgiving tournament title run.
The Panthers have the veteran 1-2 punch of shooter Jack Kahoun and big man Connor McCance, but senior guard Kobe Adams looks as if he could be one of the breakout players in the Southwest Prairie this winter.
➤ Lindblom is new to the Red Division of the Chicago Public League and is off to a 4-0 start after winning the Stagg Thanksgiving Tournament. But ready for the Red-South/Central? We’ll find out quickly as Lindblom and unheralded Na’Shawn Howze, who was the Stagg Tournament MVP, faces Simeon Tuesday.
➤ There has been a lot of turnover at St. Rita. Veteran coach Gary DeCesare, who certainly elevated the program in his 10 years there, is gone. The top player from a year ago, Jeremiah Oden, graduated. Veteran guard Joel Watts transferred to Homewood-Flossmoor. But the Mustangs won the Riverside-Brookfield Thanksgiving Tournament.
First-year head coach Roshawn Russell received outstanding play from the tandem of 6-8 senior Connor Serven and junior Christian Henry. Both were named to the all-tournament team as the Mustangs went 4-0 at R-B.
Serven was a consistent presence offensively and on the glass as he scored 15, 13, 14 and 14 points in the four wins, while tournament MVP Henry, a strong, physical guard, averaged 17.5 points a game.
➤ Riverside-Brookfield graduated all five starters from last year’s 28-5 team. With the help of an impactful transfer, 6-4 senior Paul Zilinskas, the Bulldogs went 3-1 in their own Thanksgiving tournament, including a win over ranked Oak Park. Zilinskas averaged 21 points a game while shooting 50 percent from the three-point line.
➤ Batavia’s Jayden Johnson, an uncommitted senior, put up some whopping scoring totals in four games. The 6-5 senior was named tournament MVP of the Batavia Windmill Classic after averaging 28.7 points and 7.5 rebounds a game, including a 42-point outburst. The Bulldogs fell to Waubonsie Valley in the championship game.
