Michael O’Brien’s high school basketball notebook
Marist’s Marquis V.nce (25) takes the ball to the hoop for two against Eisenhower,
Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times
Welcome to the new notebook. This is the debut of a new format and a new release time. I’ll post notebooks the morning after busy game nights.
As always, please send your team’s scores and highlights to mobrien@suntimes.com or tweet them at me @michaelsobrien. Thanks so much.
Here’s a look at the busy first night of the season.
Super 25 results
No. 1 Kenwood 77, Hansberry 54: One reader I met on Monday at Rich told me I was nuts for putting the Broncos in the top spot after that Downers Grove North playoff loss last season. There are definitely doubters out there. Chris Riddle scored 26 for Kenwood and Al Brooks Jr. led Hansberry with 16.
No. 3 Downers Grove North 67, Von Steuben 29
No. 4 Homewood-Flossmoor 69, St. Francis de Sales 32: Bryce Heard scored 14 in his return to the state. Gianni Cobb led the Vikings with 14 and Jayden Tyler added 13.
No. 5 Mount Carmel 77, Comer 21: Northwestern recruit Angelo Ciaravino had 19 and Cameron Thomas scored 16.
No. 6 Young 78, Springfield Lanphier 44: Junior Antonio Munoz scored 23 points.
No. 8 Marist 77, Eisenhower 37
No. 10 St. Ignatius 77, Hope Academy 61: Ronnie Fields loses his coaching debut as Phoenix Gill scores 28 points. Reggie Ray added 20 and Philip Erickson scored 19.
No. 11 Bloom 60, Hammond Central, Ind. 50: Elijah Allen scored 16 and grabbed 16 rebounds. Payton Edwards added 12 and Elijah Lovemore had 12 assists.
No. 12 Brother Rice 51, Morton 32
No. 14 Benet 62, Plainfield East 42
No. 16 De La Salle 78, Corliss 20: A dominant opening win for the Meteors. Guard Bryant Hedrick scored 17 and Richard Lindsey added 14 points.
No. 18 New Trier 62, Butler 29
No. 19 Naperville North 47, Hinsdale Central 32: Bryce Welch was on fire, scoring 22 points on 10-for-11 shooting.
No. 20 Lane 60, Jones 41: Shaheed Solebo had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
No. 21 Glenbrook South 56, Palatine 50 OT: Maybe the best game of the night. Nick Taylor led the Titans with 26 points. One of my first drafts of the preseason rankings contained Palatine and I talked about them on the podcast Monday. The Pirates will be a team to keep an eye on this season.
No. 22 Joliet West 73, Zion-Benton 45
No. 23 St. Patrick 93, Unity Christian 48
No. 24 Glenbrook North 71, Dunbar 42
Upsets
Lone Peak, Utah 72, No. 9 Simeon 66: If you remember Lone Peak, then you know this may have been a challenge for the Wolverines. I’ll never forget that visit to the Chicago Elite Classic. Tim Flowers loses his first game as Simeon head coach.
Oak Park 70, No. 17 Lake Park 62: The Lancers stumble out of the gate. I’m guessing the Huskies size gave Lake Park some troubles. 6-9 Alex Vincent had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Alex Gossett scored 11. It isn’t always easy living up to that preseason ranking, especially early.
Fenwick 65, Neuqua Valley 60: Fenwick has a new coach this season and is quite an unknown. The Friars lost a few transfers and had fallen off the radar a bit so this is a very nice opening win. Ty Macariola led with 19 points. Luke Kinkade scored 21 for the Wildcats.
Lincoln Park 68, Lindblom 67: This is an upset based on preseason expectations. Simeon alum Joshua Anderson picks up a nice win in his coaching debut. Chase Turner scored 18 for the Lions and Je’Shawn Stevenson had 31 for Lindblom.
Wheaton North 41, Conant 38: The Cougars have received some preseason attention. Maybe it is time to take a look at the Falcons as well.
Other notable games
Barrington 52, Hampshire 18: The Broncos are always solid and they have some interesting young players, including sophomore Oliver Gray, who scored 13 in this lopsided win.
Christ The King 75, Intrinsic-Downtown 14: I’ll be keeping tabs on CTK all season. Junior point guard Darien Geen had a big night with 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Crystal Lake South 66, Waukegan 61: Looks like this was a really fun one. Junior AJ Demirov lived up to his No Shot Clock hype, scoring 32 for the Gators. Simereon Carter had 22 for Waukegan.
Lincoln-Way East 51, Maine South 43: There hasn’t been much buzz around the Griffins this season, despite BJ Powell’s breakout freshman season. He’s right back at it, scoring 21 in his first game this season.
Loyola 60, Lake Zurich 54: This looked like one of the day’s better games on paper and it was a tight one. The Ramblers have a ton of experience back and are another quality team in the loaded Catholic League Blue.
Oswego East 68, West Aurora 56: I am going to regret ranking other Southwest Prairie teams and not the Wolves. Mason Lockett scored 15 and Wyoming recruit Jehvion Starwood added 14.
Romeoville 65, Lockport 40: A very solid opening win for the Spartans, who are just outside the Super 25.
Warren 84, Grant 55: I was tempted to head up to Grant to see the debut of Blue Devils freshman Jaxson Davis. But I can wait until the Chicago Elite Classic .
York 66, Jacobs 46: Senior AJ Levine celebrated his commitment to Pennsylvania with 26 points in the season opener.
Top performances
Austin’s Jeffery Hall: 27 points, 13 rebounds, 7 blocks against North Lawndale
Beecher’s Orlin Nesbitt: 22 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks in a 53-40 win vs. Manteno
Buffalo Grove’s Connor Woodin: 34 points in a 73-47 win against Marian Central.
Glenbard South’s Masoor Sahi: 25 points in a 52-48 win vs. Glenbard West
Lemont’s Ryan Runaas: 25 points, 6 steals, 4 assists in a 61-25 win against Plainfield Central
Payton’s Jakob Blakley: 32 points, 5 assists in a 57-55 loss to Niles West
Sandburg’s David Vargas: 32 points in a 67-64 2 OT win against Crete-Monee
Wheeling’s Brent Collar: 33 points in 71-50 win vs. Schurz
Monday’s takes
- One name that popped out at me from Monday was St. Viator’s 6-6 Mitch Humphrey. The Colby College commit had 21 points and was 7-for-11 from three-point range in the Lions’ 68-52 win against Proviso West.
- Check out this slam from 6-7 junior Brady Sehlhorst. He had 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in Notre Dame’s 73-60 win against Parker
6'7 2025 Notre Dame G Brady Sehlhorst @bradysehlhorst_ just had a big game tonight‼️ He had 24pts 8 Rebs 7 ast and this big time dunk to help his team win the first game of the season. pic.twitter.com/jb502TXRQ4
— Y&R (@YnRbball) November 21, 2023
- Many expect Kankakee sophomore Lincoln Williams to have a breakout season. He started right, with 24 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds and 5 stals in a 94-42 win against Amundsen.
Tuesday’s storylines
- I’ll be taking in my first basketball game at Wheaton Academy. Lake Park, which lost to Oak Park on Monday, has another tough test against talented, young DeKalb.
- Freshman sensation Davion Thompson makes his debut in Bolingbrook’s season opener against Peoria Central in Decatur.
- Other top games include Conant at No. 24 Glenbrook North, Niles West at No. 23 St. Patrick, Lake Zurich at No. 18 New Trier and West Aurora at No. 19 Naperville North.