Michael O’Brien’s high school basketball notebook
Marist’s Stephen Brown (5) lines up an alley-oop against Eisenhower
Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times
The basketball season never lacks controversy, but for some reason I’m always surprised by how quickly it ramps up.
It’s just the second week of the season and we’ve already had Kenwood coach Mike Irvin’s suspension and the Hinsdale South saga. There’s also drama building around the Chicago Elite Classic. Stay tuned for that.
My original plan for Tuesday was to check out New Trier’s new gym and watch Warren freshman Jaxson Davis. That was scuttled due to Hinsdale South. It looks like I missed an excellent game.
There’s a new episode of No Shot Clock available. This is always the most difficult one of the season for me. We are out of season preview mode but haven’t seen much to talk about. We’ll be back on the Tuesday release schedule from here on out.
Joe Henricksen has released his annual list of this season’s top games, so be sure to check that out.
Super 25 results
No. 1 Kenwood 75, Farragut 49: This wasn’t on the schedule I had for Kenwood and I’m not sure where it was played. Solid win for the Broncos, who are scheduled to host Lincoln Park tonight. The Lions are off to a really solid start under new coach Joshua Anderson, with wins against Lindblom and Manley.
No. 5 Mount Carmel 55, Fenwick 25: Angelo Ciaravino scored 26 as the Caravan displayed their quality. Didn’t led a solid Fenwick team even hang around.
No. 8 Marist 57, St. Patrick 32: The RedHawks were favored in this one but that’s a much larger margin of victory than expected. What a start to the season. Adoni Vassilakis had 20 points and Darshan Thomas added 13. Sophomore Stephen Brown had 9 points and 11 rebounds.
No. 9 Brother Rice 68, St. Francis de Sales 39
No. 13 Benet 59, Nazareth 24
No. 19 Simeon vs. Thornwood
No. 20 Joliet West 64, Joliet Central 57
No. 25 Oswego East 47, Minooka 39
No. 24 Warren 56, No. 15 New Trier 42: And I thought I was ranking the Blue Devils too quickly. This win was in Winnetka. It really ups the ante for Saturday’s showdown against Bolingbrook at the Chicago Elite Classic. Javerion Banks scored 19 and freshman Jaxson Davis had 17.
Other notable games
Lake Zurich 49, Prospect 46 OT
Lindblom 75, Crane 60
Romeoville 67, Plainfield South 51: DJ Porter had a career-high 32 points along with 8 rebounds and 3 steals. EJ Mosley Jr. added 11 points, 8 assists and two steals.
West Aurora 55, Yorkville 33: The Blackhawks may have the most interesting results in the area. They beat Naperville North by 25 and now smacked Yorkville. They lost their opener to Oswego East and went down to Fenwick by one point. Definitely worth keeping an eye on.
Top performances
Andrew’s Grantas Sakenis: 20 points in a 60-36 win vs. Argo.
Beecher’s Zack Johnson: 19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists in an 80-49 win vs. Gardner.
Bradley-Bourbonnais’ Nick Allen: 20 points in a 63-59 win vs. Manteno.
Evergreen Park’s Ulises Cardenas: 20 points in a 68-45 win vs. U-High.
Julian’s Theron Johnson: 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks in a 68-62 win vs. Chicago Richards.
Marmion’s Evan Stumm: 25 points, 3 steals in a 70-64 win vs. Marian Central.
Morris’ Jack Wheeler: 36 points, 7 rebounds in a 63-54 loss vs. McNamara.
Niles West’s Davee Flowers: 27 points in a 58-53 win vs. Mundelein.
Schaumburg’s Zion Young: 18 points, 10 rebounds in a 68-47 win vs. Glenbard East.
Tuesday’s takes
- It appears Joliet Central’s revival is for real. The Steelmen more than held their own in the rivalry game at Joliet West. Joliet Central has played at the State Farm Holiday Classic in Bloomington-Normal for quite a few years now. The Steelmen should be a factor in the tournament, which has an interesting field including Metea Valley, Bradley-Bourbonnais, North Lawndale, Normal, Peoria, Romeoville, Sacred Heart-Griffin and Wheaton-Warrenville South.
- Will every notebook this season feature a Fenwick transfer? Extra points for anyone who can pick out the two mentioned today.
Wednesday’s storylines
- Right now I’m deciding between covering Manley at Englewood and Lincoln Park at Kenwood.
- I miss those big North Suburban Lake rivalries. North Chicago is at Zion-Benton tonight. What a game that used to be. Waukegan seems to be solid this year, right now I’m planning to see the Bulldogs take on Lake Zurich on Thursday.
- One sneaky fun game tonight is Christ The King at Wheaton Academy. Both are quality teams. It’s a light night overall.