Riverside-Brookfield Summer Shootout

Best days of the summer.

I have been going to the R-B Summer Shootout for quite a few years. Not exactly sure how many but many. It’s usually right when baseball ends as it was this year. Lane had fallen to eventual 4A champs Libertyville in the Super on Monday. A couple days of summer and fall and basketball season started on Friday with the R-B. Just the way I like it.

This is going to be different basketball season. Our DePaul Prep Rams will have a different team. Gone are Rashaun Porter, Rykan Woo and AJ Chambers three multiyear starters that new nothing but reaching the state finals.

We do have starters Blake Choice and Gus Johnson back. Blake Choice looks like he will score most of the points. Gus scores a lot too and will man the boards. It was the other players that I wanted to check out.

Senior Elie Ghattas impressed on the boards and scoring. Sophomore Kalob Hayes looks like he will play point guard a lot. Ball handling was not an issue and he can shoot the three as well. Senior Henry Levin and AJ Williams are impressive three point shooters but it doesn’t help that they look so much alike. I was constantly got them mixed up.

Coach Kleinschmidt rotated everyone in and out in each of the games. It looked the starting line up is a work in progress with positions to be won and lost. Like I wrote above, a different kind of season for the Rams.

Seeing DePaul Prep was only part of the reason for R-B for me. It is a great opportunity to see teams I don’t get a chance to see.

The big news, that everyone expected, was that Jaxson Davis from Warren is going to some prep school in Missouri. I guess that is just what happens now—the best player in the state moves off to a prep school. Whatever. I can hardly blame the kid and his parents.

Benet just restocked blue chippers. They will be right there but in the Chicago Catholic League this year with the merger of the East Suburban Catholic Conference in all sports now, not just football.

I also saw St. Lawrence and Loyola. The Vikings look very good. They should challenge for the top spot.

I find my self writing the following often—“Loyola is Loyola.” The Ramblers are always good with Tom Livatino coachin’ ‘em up. I guess we will see if how the Ramblers will do with a shot clock. They are still going to be Loyola, even with a shot clock.

I actually didn’t get to see Mt. Carmel which could not be helped. An unnamed coach from another CCL team that I spoke to said Mt. Carmel could be special this year. We will have to keep an eye on them.

A team I did see that impressed me was DeLaSalle. Watch out for them. The might sneak up a few folks.

Interestingly, Lane went 4-0 at R-B with wins over Oswego East, Glenbard West, Lincoln Way East and Lake Forest even after losing so many starters. I wasn’t expecting four wins. Keep an eye on Champions and especially on junior center Cole Christian.

Finally, Whitney Young is good and BIG and talented. I did not get to see Curie and Simeon but they will have their hands full with the Dolphins.

DePaul Prep Wins Playoff 1-0 Over Loyola; Lane Tops St. Patrick 8-5

[Preview of this week’s Inside—Booster article.]

By Jack Lydon

“One for the ages.”

That’s what I wrote in a preview early in the week about Saturday’s 4A regional final between Chicago Catholic League rivals DePaul Prep and Loyola Academy. And well, it actually turned out that way.

The DePaul Prep Rams defeated the Loyola Academy Ramblers 1-0 at Kerry Wood Cubs Park in extra innings. Rams’ senior first baseman Nolan Hecht doubled off the right field fence to score Quinn Roberts with one out in the top of the ninth. The only run all day.

The biggest hit of his life?

“Ya, that was really cool,” Hecht said. “It was a four-seam fastball. I got that pitch in the last  at bat. I knew I was getting it again [for the first pitch]. I just jumped on it.”

It was a great day for Rams pitching. Senior left-hander Liam Daly was spectacular starting the game for the Rams; five innings, one hit, no runs. Rams’ junior right-hander Finn Nash finished the game and got the win after four innings of two hit baseball.

“I didn’t even know we were in extras. It was kind of crazy actually. I didn’t even know I was in that moment,” Nash said about his appearance.

This Rams victory seems unlikely from the start. It was against the odds. They had beaten Loyola twice already this year: a 5-4 company win on May 11and a 12-9 slugfest the following day. It’s really hard to beat a team three times in a row.

Not only that but the Rams had chances early in the game and failed to capitalize. First and second with nobody out in the both the top of the second and the top of the third. Runners again in the top of the fifth and six. The Rams looked snakebit.

DePaul Prep skipper Sam Colon knew he had to dig deep to get his team ready for this one.

“This is why you got up at 5:00 to practice in December. You did it for today,” Colon told his team before the game.

Sam also put in a lot of time arguing with the umpires during early innings after some head scratching calls.

“You gotta show intensity. I had to show my guys I was willing to fight for them. I am willing to go to bat for them too. I am a high energy guy and I want to be able to provide that for my team,” Colon said.

It was that kind of intensity that Quinn Roberts, Nolan Hecht and Finn Nash carried into the ninth. It was that intensity that the Ramblers lacked.

The Rams’ gritty victory actually happened right in front of their next opponent. The extra inning affair meant the Lane Tech players and coaches watched the final three innings and saw firsthand the intensity and focus of the immediate neighbors.

The Champions opened fast against the Shamrocks scoring five runs in the first. The Shamrocks drew even in the top of the fourth, but the Champions proved their metal adding three more runs in the fourth and fifth.

Lane Tech’s Cruz Warren earned the victory after going four innings, with four hits, one run and striking out six. The Champions will DePaul Prep at Kerry Wood in Wednesday’s sectional semi-final game, at Kerry Wood Cubs Field, a fitting battleground between the two schools.

DePaul Prep Defeats Evanston 6-4

The DePaul Prep Rams closed out the regular season on Saturday with a 6-4 win over the Evanston Wildkits at Kerry Wook Cubs Field on Saturday morning.

The Rams had everything in control leading 6-1 going into the top of the seventh. The Wildkits scored three runs but with only one out but Keaton Murphy got the save with one one pitch. The Evanston hitter bounced into a 6-4-3 game ending double play.

The Rams finished the regular season with an 18-16 record on the regular season. The Rams open the IHSA 4A baseball playoffs on Thursday against Northside College Prep at Kerry Wood Cubs Field at 4:30 p.m.

DePaul Prep's Tough Loss to Riverside-Brookfield

Last week was full. I shot the five events in six days:

DePaul Prep baseball v. Riverside Brookfield on Monday;

DePaul Prep soccer v. Taft on Tuesday;

Taft v. Whitney Young baseball championship on Thursday;

DePaul Prep soccer v. Lane on Friday; and

DePaul Prep baseball v. Evanston on Saturday.

I got my money’s worth of the Canon EF-100-300mm f2.8 telephoto lens that I rented for the week. That bad boy is sweet. It is so sharp. The 2.8 f-stop makes such a difference in evening games. I have to get one. They are really expensive so I will have to shop around and save my pennies. But I have to get one.

I digress. It’s time to start posting the photos from the week.

The first game was DePaul Prep v. Riverside-Brookfield on Monday evening at Kerry Wood. It was a heart-breaker for our Rams. 2-0 lost against R-B’s senior pitcher Ronnie Murray who hurled a masterpiece. A complete game shutout only giving up 3 hits, 1 walk with 9 strike-outs. Sometimes you run up against an ace.

These are my photos from the game.

St. Ignatius Came Back to Defeat Simeon 50-49

On Wednesday evening, I went to Mount Carmel to watch the 4A Sectional Semi-final between St. Ignatius and Simeon.

Simeon played well opening a 30-20 half time lead. The Wolfpack changed in the second half. They can charging back out scoring the Wolverines 23-4 in the first four minutes of the Third and tied the score with 3:47 left in the game.

It was back and forth to the end. Simeon scored on a layup with 8.8 seconds left taking a 49-48 lead.

After the game, St. Ignatius coach Matt Monroe explained his thinking on what to do in that moment. Please forgive the lengthy quote but the insight given is worth the effort.

“In the coaching community there's a little bit of a debate. In a situation where maybe the opposing team hits a shot to go up, do you call time out or do you let it play?” explained St. Ignatius coach Matt Monroe.

“And even on our staff there is a debate about it. I'm a big believer that you don't call time out.

“The reason why when is the other team hit a big shot, they're celebrating, they're hyped up, they're not matched up, it's kind of frantic. So you don't want to call time out and stop everyone so they can get their defense set. So it wasn't a play [I called], but it's a strategy in the sense that we try if that happens to get the ball and go.

“Now when we get to have court and we don't have a shot, then we'll call the time out. So that's what happened is just great players made great plays they stepped up big time in the most crucial moments,” Monroe concluded.

That is indeed what happened. I am pretty sure it was Ignatius junior Duke Ross that grabbed ball after Simeon scored. He quickly surveyed the court and launched a 2/3 court pass to Chris Bolte who was streaking toward the basket with no one in front of him. He dunked the ball to give St. Ignatius team the lead and the victory.

And then yesterday, they dispatched No. 3 Curie to take one step closer to Champaign. The Wolfpack will face York at UIC’s Credit Union 1 Arena on Monday in the Super Sectional.

DePaul Prep Defeats Christ the King 57-38 on Senior Night

It was a emotional evening on Senior Night for the DePaul Prep Rams mens’ basketball team on Friday. Well, at least for me it was. After the game, the team did not immediately retreat to the locker room. They stayed on the court. Visited with each other, fellow students and their families, taking photos.

I don’t remember seeing that in the past absent a trophy presentation and cutting down of nets.

Maybe it was just emotional for me. This is a special group of seniors. They have won a state championship every year of high school. This unique accomplishment doesn’t seem lost on them, or me. It’s a special thing.

It’s particularly special for me. I remember the days when Tom Kleinschmidt took over the basketball team. There were times when they had .500 records.

I remember one particular game late in one such season. It was one of the Coach’s first seasons. They were playing Francis Parker at Francis Parker late on a Saturday afternoon. The Rams were struggling against a team that they should beat.

At some point, the Coach just took over, calling times out, yelling instructions. Everyone in the gym quieted down, paying attention to the Coach’s instructions. Frankly, I don’t remember who won. I just remember the players being more afraid of disobeying the Coach than they were of the other team.

Three state championships in we are a long way from that now. A fourth championship is a distinct possibility. I would not want to be Benet having to face these Rams again.

The good thing is, at least it is for me, that the specialness of all this not lost on this special group. I think it motivates them.

Go Rams!

DePaul Prep Defeats Brother Rice 62-38, Wins Chicago Catholic League

[Preview of this week’s Inside—Booster article.]

 By Jack Lydon

Coming into this season, the No. 2 ranked DePaul Prep Rams (21-3, 7-0) had two goals, win the Chicago Catholic League and win the 4A state championship. With Friday evening’s 62-38 convincing win over the Brother Rice Crusaders (15-8, 3-3), the Rams have their first goal.

“We won it outright tonight. We had them tied last week, we wanted it by ourselves. Three in a row. Thirty-eight and one over those three years,” said DePaul Prep head coach Tom Kleinschmidt.

The Rams started a little slow missing shots early in the first quarter. Their defense did not start slow. The Crusaders had to work had for their modest eight points in the first quarter. The game was tied at eight each and the end of the first quarter.

But the Rams blew the game open in the second quarter out scoring Rice 27-8. The unlikely spark came from senior forward Zion Lee. An Avondale resident and transfer from Springfield’s Sacred Heart—Griffin high school, Lee worked his way into the starting line-up of the three-time state champion Rams.  Friday night, he was the offensive spark to the Rams second quarter explosion.

Early in the quarter, Lee stepped up to the free throw line after being fouled under the basket. He confidently dropped two free throws and opened the flood gates to the Rams second quarter explosion which at one point was a 17-2 run.

“We started trapping some ball screens. We played the center field well. We got some live ball turnovers and scored some easy baskets,” said Rams head coach Tom Kleinschmidt.

Lee finished with ten points included being a perfect six-for-six from the line. But it wasn’t his point total that most signified his contribution. He was moving people around like an offensive lineman. At one point in the third quarter, he took a pass, took a dribble and collided with Brother Rice center Kevin Salkauskas the way an offensive lineman would move a defensive tackle. It was the kind of offensive aggressiveness that motivates teams.

“I was thinking to pick up our aggressiveness on the offensive side. I made sure that when I came in I would pick it up. I made sure that I did. I had to do it for the team.”

Kleinschmidt gushed about Lee after the game.

“We see it in practice. We just haven’t really seen it in games. Whether he’s not comfortable. He’s had some injuries but tonight, I think when he saw the ball go in twice [two free throw Zion made early in the second quarter], he just took a breath. It’s not easy. This is not an easy place to come and learn a lot of stuff. He’s been a trooper for us. He practices hard. He’s physical. I am glad for him that he was such a big part of the game tonight.”

“I made sure I was focused. I locked in. I made the free throws. I shoot ten in a row at every practice,” Lee said about the second quarter free throws.

“I was thinking that if I can hit these free throws maybe it could get us going. I can turn around. We can huddle. We can talk. I can get us going and we can turn up this lead.”

Lee was cognoscente of, if not entirely emotionally invested in the significance of winning the Chicago Catholic League.

“Coach tells us about it all the time before the games. I just wanted to make him happy, make my team happy and get this win for Coach,” Lee said.

“We are a little bit focused [on winning the Catholic League], we are just focused on winning every game.

The regular season enters its waning days with six season games left. The Rams face St. Laurence at St. Laurence on Friday.

DePaul Prep Defeats Marist 59-43 at When Sides Collide

People are sitting around waiting for the Rams to lose but they keep winning. The penultimate game at this year’s When Sides Collide shootout at Benet featured the No. 2 ranked DePaul Prep Rams (20-3, 6-0) against the No. 7 ranked Marist Red Hawks (19-3, 2-0). This game and the following game between Benet and Warren might have resulted in a shakeup of the rankings and impact on the upcoming seeding for the 4A state playoffs.  

Had Marist taken down DePaul Prep and Warren overcome Benet No. 1 and No. 2 would have to be replaced. There was actually very little explicit discussion about such a scenario before the games amongst the collected observers, but it was obviously on everyone’s mind.

Maybe it’s just a yearning to see an underdog win or perhaps just a boredom with stagnant rankings and storylines that fuels such thoughts. DePaul Prep and Benet would have none of it. The Rams and Redwings put up convincing wins in the face of tough challenges.

The Marist Red Hawks opened the season at No. 4 and have moved between three and seven ever since. The Red Hawks, a skilled veteran group, have run through their schedule including wins over No. 10 Evanston and Brother Rice. Top ESCC matchups against St. Patrick and Benet have yet to be played.

The Rams however, have fought through a formidable schedule with their only losses coming at the hands of No. 1 Benet in the Pontiac Championship game, national powerhouse La Lumiere in the Chicago Elite Classic and Arlington, Virginia’s Bishop O’Connell, in their own Pappas Shootout in overtime. The Rams opened the season at No. 1 and dropped to No. 2 after the loss to Benet.

There was a little controversy, at least in my head, about the point total for DePaul Prep’s Rykan Woo. I am a little sensitive about this since I initially misreported Woo’s point total after the Mount Carmel game. I had him with 26 points including four three-pointers. Another guy had him with 24 so that is what I reported. Matt Now also had him with 26. I went back and added up my totals again and it shows 26. That’s what I am going with—26.

It was a close game until the Rams broke it open in the fourth quarter with five inside points and free throws by senior forward Rashaun Porter and, of course, 13 of Woo’s 26 points including 3 three-point coffin nails in the final couple minutes. Rams 59, Red Hawks 43.

Seven games left for the Rams. First and foremost are Brother Rice and St. Laurence to salt away the Chicago Catholic League. Then Deerfield, Christ the King, IC, Warren, and finally Ridgewood.

No. 6. Warren will be an obvious challenge with the best player in the state, Jaxson Davis. This could be a preview of a state final game but the seedings will be out by then so it won’t affect that. A final tune-up to a four-peat.

If the past is any guide, the Rams will finish. Champions finish.

DePaul Prep Rallied to Defeat Mount Carmel 58-50

[Preview of this week’s Inside—Booster article.]

By Jack Lydon

Down five at the half at Mount Carmel, the DePaul Prep Rams dialed up the energy in the third quarter, went on a 14-2 run and stayed away to take an important Chicago Catholic League victory Thursday evening. Key to the victory were the 30 points scored by Rams’ senior shooting guard Rykan Woo, a high school career high. 

Mount Carmel’s young group has gained some attention in recent weeks rising in the rankings, currently No. 14, as they gain experience at the highest levels of basketball in the state. The Caravan (15-7, 4-2) starts two freshmen, Da'Kylen Heard and Ronald Johnson. Both are big, tough, can score and are getting better by the minute.

The Rams (19-3, 6-0) are focused first on winning the Chicago Catholic League and then winning a fourth consecutive state championship. The trip to 64th and Dante for the Rams was key to that first goal. They needed this tough win against the rising power that is Mount Carmel.

It did not start in the usual fashion for the Rams. The usual formula for a DePaul Prep victory is to grab a first quarter lead, survive a second quarter rebound by the opponent, build a big lead in the third quarter and coast to victory in the fourth taking time off the clock and putting the bench players in the last couple minutes.

Not Thursday. The Caravan came out rolling, trading buckets with the Rams and draining threes to take a 14-10 first quarter lead. But it was the third quarter that proved the difference.

“We picked up the energy [in the third quarter]. The first half, honestly we were just huffing and puffy out there,” said Rykan Woo.

“We weren’t bringing the energy and the excitement. When Blake [Choice] got that [dunk] we weren’t going crazy. We had to change the tempo, play with more energy.”

And so they did, the Rams dialed up the pressure, forcing multiple turnovers leading to fast break layups. They put together the 14-2 run to close out the third.

“Coach was telling us the whole day that is was a senior leader game. Our senior leaders, me, AJ [Chambers], Rashaun [Porter], Zion [Lee], we stepped up. That’s why we won the game,” Woo added.

“We had to change it up from the first half. We started trapping a little bit. [Woo] is clutch. He’s an all-state player. He’s a division one player. He stepped up for us,” said DePaul Prep head coach Tom Kleinschmidt.

Woo’s 30-point game was not the only record he had that game. He also became a 1000-point scorer for his high school career.

“One of our coaches pointed out that they had a big 14-2 run. I didn’t realize it was that big. They turned up the pressure. . . . Some of our youth showed. We just didn’t take care of the ball,” said Mount Carmel head coach Phil Segroves.

With nine games left in the regular season, the Rams are still a couple games away from their first goal of winning the Catholic League. Tough CCL games remain against Brother Rice and St. Laurence. Not to mention Saturday’s matchup against No. 7 ESCC powerhouse Marist at the When Side Collide shootout at Benet. The Rams will also face No. 6 Warren Township on February 19th.

St. Viator Takes on Alcott

After all these tournaments and shootouts, I feel like I have seen Curie a hundred times, and Benet, and Ignatius, and the rest of the top ten, not to mention the DePaul Prep Rams. So I was looking to see some teams I haven’t seen.

I haven’t seen St. Viator this year and I have heard some good things about the Lions from some commentators that saw them at Wheeling. I looked at Jack Gleason’s website, best website in America today, hsbball.com, and saw that the Lions were playing Alcott High School Tuesday evening.

I have been driving past Alcott High School at Wellington and Hoyne for decades. Frankly, I never really thought about its sports teams. It a little off the radar if not exactly off the map.

Alcott (1-11, 1-5) is in the Chicago Public League’s While North Division with teams such as Schurz, Uplift, Jones and Von Steuben. They don’t play at the school. They play at the Neighborhood Boys and Girls Club at the Lathrop homes. I was actually in that building once years and years ago but it was a polling place; no basketball that day.

Great light in that little gym even with two lights being out. The color of the light was pretty white and there was of it. Better than in many big time gyms.

Michael O’Keefe’s St. Viator Lions came into the game with a respectable 10-6 records and a young team. Only two seniors, juniors and a bunch of sophomores. It wasn’t a good game to judge the strength of the Lions. Frankly, the Wildcats only had eight players and struggled to compete. The difference was the shooting. The Lions were making shots inside and out. The Wildcats hurried shots very few of which fell for points.

I am glad I went. The kids, coaches and even the parents were there for the spirit of the game. Alcott had students and cheerleaders there. It was good because high school basketball can be just that. It doesn’t have to always be about winning state championships.

After the game, I drove up Clybourn a few blocks then up California to DePaul Prep’s Tom Winiecki Gym for the DePaul Prep game Chicago Catholic League crossover game against Providence St. Mel.

Interesting shift to top high school basketball in the state.

St. Ignatius Handles Lane on Friday afternoon 68-44

I had my story in for the week after the Whitney Young v. Lincoln Park game on Thursday. I was free to take in whatever game interested me on Friday. I hadn’t seen Lane in a while and the Lane/St. Ignatius game is alway fun so I went over to Lane.

The Champions are young and have struggled a little this year against top tier teams—DePaul Prep, New Trier, Whitney Young, Lincoln Park, Brother Rice. I saw them early in the season a couple times and I wanted to see how they are coming along.

And also, Lane’s Matt Szafoni and Ignatius’s Chris Bolte are similar players. They even look alike. How would they match up against each other?

The Wolfpack built a lead throughout the first half. The difference seemed to be that both teams were moving the fall effectively and getting open looks. The Ignatius players shots were falling and the Champions shots were not. Szafoni outscored Bolte 9-4 in the first half.

The Champions ball movement improved from early in the season. They matched up well against the No. 5 ranked Wolfpack. They were moving the ball with more purpose and confidence than they did in the early season. It was the shooting that come up short. Not enough shots were not falling.

The Wolfpack broke the game open in the fourth quarter. Ignatius stand out sophomore Amir Tucker piled up the points finishing with 21. Bolte got his points, 12. Ignatius junior Duke Ross had 12.

As for the Szafon/Bolte match up, Szafoni had more points (15) but Bolte (12) got the win.

“The greatest strength of our team, is our team. When we are at our best, we are playing for each. Playing together. We have a lot of guys that can step up and have really big days,” said St. Ignatius head coach Matt Monroe.

“We’ve got fourteen guys on this team that put winning first. The biggest agenda, the most important agenda is they all want to do well as a team.”

The Wolfpack will face some tough Chicago Catholic League games but the other ranked teams are behind them. They will need some help if they want to win the Catholic League. The DePaul Prep Rams will need to drop some games. Don’t hold your breath. The Rams are focused on the CCL at the moment.

After that, Ignatius will land in the toughest sectional the state. The 4A “TBD Sectional” of Southside teams including St. Laurence, Curie, Kenwood, Mount Carmel, Simeon and Whitney Young. Another one of teams is capable of an upset.

Stay tuned. Don’t be surprised if St. Ignatius gets back to the finals in Champaign.

St. Ignatius Stuns Unbeaten St. Patrick 46-32 to Win Jack Tosh Holiday Classic at York

SPORTS SPOTLIGHT BY JOHN MONTGOMERY 

St. Ignatius has been one of the surprising basketball teams to start the season. The Wolfpack are now 14-2 after upsetting unbeaten St. Patrick (13-1) to win championship game of the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic at York High School.

St. Ignatius has impressive resume with wins over reigning 4A state champions Benet Academy (17-1) and Metamora (10-4) while losing to titleholders DePaul Prep (14-2) and Curie (11-1). Benet beat Curie and DePaul Prep on the last day of the year to win prestigious Pontiac tournament for first time in school history. The realigned Chicago Catholic League should be competitive next season with all four teams competing against each other in regular season and postseason play. 

“I haven't seen the schedules of the other teams," St. Ignatius head coach Matt Monroe said after winning title of 32-team event at York.

“I would put our schedule up against anyone in the state. We have competed against some of the best programs in the state.”

In a matchup between two of the best teams and two of the best big men R.J. McPartlin and Chris Bolte, two sophomores stole the show for St. Ignatius. Amir Tucker led the Wolfpack with seventeen points including a championship game record five three-point baskets while sophomore D. J. Caldwell added thirteen points. 

McPartlin finished with fifteen points but was limited to only one basket in the second half by Bolte and his teammates. Bolte was eventually named MVP after collecting 74 points and 35 rebounds in five games while McPartlin had 80 points and 45 rebounds.

“I took it personal that first half,” Bolte said as he scored only three points in the fourth quarter but stood out with his defense against McPartlin in second half.

The Wolfpack had eleven long range hoops while forcing 13 turnovers as the Shamrocks shot only 12 of 41 against St. Ignatius.

Ignatius took over the contest in the final quarter outscoring Shamrocks 17-5 as Tucker had two more treys. 

“He is an amazing player,” Monroe admitted about Tucker. “He is going to be a star because he is a good basketball player and good person off the court."

St. Ignatius is probably considered the Northwestern of the Chicago Catholic League, but the Wolfpack went downstate in basketball in 2022 and 2023. 

The Wolfpack starts three underclassmen and have four sophomores on the squad.

“The future looks bright,” Monroe said.

Meanwhile it is back to drawing board for St. Patrick who will now prepare with Saturday showdown against Curie at Malcolm X College. The Shamrocks have had their share of success recently with back to back appearances in the Elite Eight before taking third place in 3A.

“This team expects to win,” Head St Patrick head basketball coach Mike Bailey said in the preseason. “This team knows how to win. This team has a chance to be a special group.”

St. Patrick will be ready for March Madness in 4A with five matchups at neutral sites. The new year will be challenging with contests against Benet and Marist (12-1), Hyde Park (10-4) and Loyola (15-2). These games will prepare team for postseason play while impacting seeding for upcoming sectional with potential playoff game against the Rams in sectional championship game.

“Our first goal is to as well as we can in the state tournament,” Bailey said recently.

The Shamrocks played a tough schedule last season with seven losses and still advanced to semifinals for first time in school history. 

Glenbard East (13-2) beat Perspectives Leadership 71-49 to take third place while York (12-2) (topped 8A football runnerup), Oswego 55-45 to win the consolation championship.

DePaul Prep Defeats Bradley-Bourbonnais 57-28

These are some photos from the Bradley-Bourbonnais game from last Monday. It was kind of overtaken by events, Christmas and all. The DePaul Prep Rams defeated Bradley-Bourbonnais 57-28 in the Tom Winiecki Gym.

It was an afternoon game on a Monday. I like afternoon games.

The Rams handled Bradley. They just had no answer for Gus Johnson and Zion Lee on the glass.

I post this on Sunday, six days after the game. Pontiac starts tomorrow. It’s serious now. 11-1 through the first part of the season. 3-0 in the Catholic League with two of the big ones, Loyola and St. Ignatius navigated successfully.

But now it’s Pontiac. Just another thing. Just another couple games on the schedule. Even so, it’s a challenge. Serious business. Benet and Curie. The granddaddy of all Christmas tournaments. It’s a chance to make a statement, to make some friends, to show people how good this group is. And hopefully add another sentence in the story of DePaul Prep basketball.

If you haven’t been to Pontiac, you should make the trip. It’s a little over two hours done there. Very nice facility. The light in the gym is okay. It could be better but there are worse places.

DePaul Prep Defeats St. Ignatius 59-40

[Preview of this week’s piece in the Inside—Booster.]

By Jack Lydon

The No. 1 ranked DePaul Prep Rams are rolling and just getting better. Friday night’s 59-40 victory over No. 6 St. Ignatius (9-1) at the Tom Winiecki Gym on the former Gordon Tech campus moved the Rams to 10-1. Earlier in the week, the Rams defeated the No. 3 team, Kankakee Kays, 56-49 at the Team Rose Shootout.

The Rams are 11 games into their 29-game regular season and they look every bit the part of the No. 1 team. This success comes as DePaul Prep seeks its fourth straight state championship. One of those championships was in class 2A and two in class 3A but this year the Rams have graduated into the top class, 4A and will face the top competition in Illinois high school basketball.

First things first. The Rams needed to get past the St. Ignatius Wolfpack which is on a bit of a historic run of its won in recent years having advanced to the state finals multiple times. Coach Matt Monroe has his Wolfpack stalking again this year coming into this key Chicago Catholic League match up with a gaudy 9-0 record which includes a win over Benet Academy. 

“We want to establish the inside with Shaun [DePaul Prep’s senior forward Rashaun Porter],” said Rams head coach Tom Kleinschmidt of his plan for St. Ignatius

“We do want to establish the paint first, then we work inside out. We were trying to put Rykan’s guy in ball screens or down screens with Shaun [Porter] because Shaun’s a big body; it’s hard to get around him,” he said of his plan for the Wolfpack.

That’s largely what happened. Rashaun Porter put up eights inside in the first quarter. After committing his second foul late in the first quarter, junior forward Gus Johnson, younger brother of former Ram and now DePaul University Blue Demon basketball player Jonas Johnson, came in. Then it was Rykan Woo’s turn. The Rams’ senior shooting guard dropped in nine points of his own in the second quarter and the Rams lead 38-17 at the half.

“Gus Johnson came in and give up big minutes. He had four quick points. He had two big rebounds and a block. I am trying to find him more minutes. Sometimes when we play a spread team, it’s hard to have three bigs out there but he played great, great minutes for us,” Kleinschmidt of his junior forward.

It’s tough to erase even a small deficit against DePaul Prep but 21 points would be tough for the Wolfpack to overcome in the second half.

Rashaun Porter was fired up after the victory.

“We all just wanted to come in with a passion. We know its’s a big game. It’s a big rivalry game. We just wanted to go for the kill. The best thing to do is win at home with your guys,” Rashaun said.

DePaul Prep’s first goal every year is the win the Chicago Catholic League. It’s no different this year and the Rams have already taken two big steps in that direction with wins over No. 8 ranked Loyola Academy and No. 6 ranked St. Ignatius. But there is still a long way to go with Mount Carmel, St. Laurence and Brother Rice still to come.

“It’s another big one. We needed Loyola and Ignatius early. To have those two in our rearview mirror helps that we can kind of catch our breath, work on our weaknesses now before we get into the dogdays of January,” Klienschmidt said.

State championships or not, the Rams are still focused on two-thirds of the season yet to play. They will need to be, Pontiac, the mother of all holiday tournaments, is next.

DePaul Prep defeats St. Francis de Sales 72-59

The DePaul Prep Rams (9-1) hosted the St. Francis de Sales Pioneers (0-6) Tuesday evening at the Tom Winiecki Gym.

One can imagine what might happen. The Rams jumped out to an early lead and cruised.

Big Tim Shabazz told me that St. Francis was pretty good and is a contender in 1A. They obviously struggled against the number one team in the state but They can score. They shot the ball well. Pioneers’ senior Kalvin Leonard scored 19 points. He can play.

I decided to do something a little different with the photos. I used a 300mm and shot from the stands behind the scorer’s table during the first half. I just wanted to do something different. But I did keep score. I couldn’t help myself.

Final score was Rams 72, Pioneers 59.

DePaul Prep defeats No. 3 Kankakee 56-49

Lincoln Williams and EJ Hazelett are two of the best high school basketball players I have ever seen, certainly this year.

And the Rams beat them. By seven points. Even though the Rams uncharacteristically got in a little foul trouble, they beat Kankakee in a similar fashion to the way they usually win—ball security, tough switching defense, free throws and taking time off the clock at the end.

Twenty-one points including fourteen free throws for Rams’ senior guard Rykan Woo. Eleven straight free throws in the first half by Woo blunted the physical smackdown Kankakee was trying to put on the Rams. I only remember Rykan missing one free throw.

Woo was ebullient after the game. “I am confident in myself. I know what I am capable of doing. I have played at the highest level. State championship games. Played on the UAA circuit. It prepared me,” Rykan said.

When asked about the No. 1 ranking, “practice is all we focus on. Having good practices and stacking them. That’s all we focus on,” Woo said.

“We are a physical team too. We are not going to back down in a fight.”

Free throw shooting was the difference in the game. “We were 25 of 28 from the line. That’s what won the game for us,” Rams’ coach Tom Kleinschmidt confirmed.

“We wanted to make sure that [Kankakee’s Lincoln] Williams saw two. Meaning we tagged him and when he went to drive we came early and doubled him. Hazelett we didn’t do it as much on. We figured we had to give something up. Williams is averaging 32 a game in his last four games so made him work and I think it showed,” said Kleinschmidt.

Some others have said that the result might have been different with a shot clock. I am not so sure about that. DePaul has played with a shot clock and still won.

It’s early in the season. There is a long way to go. Boy has it been entertaining. One big game after another. And next No. 6 St. Ignatius and then Pontiac after that. (I shouldn’t look past St. Francis de Sales but I am not too worried.)

We will just have to work through the schedule and see what happens at the end of the year. But, honestly, the possibility of four straight state championships never quite goes away. Part of me wants to enjoy this thing in real time, or appreciate it at least. So I will indulge myself, but only a little.

St. Francis de Sales tonight at the Tom Winiecki Gym.

DePaul Prep Pastes St. Francis 67-22; Lane Handles St. Rita 71-32

[Preview of this week’s article in Inside—Booster.]

By Jack Lydon

It was a weekend of blowouts for Northside neighbors DePaul Prep and Lane Tech. The No. 1 ranked Rams (7-1) handled St. Francis (Wheaton) 67-22 Friday evening. The Champions (4-5) handled St. Rita 71-32 at the Team Rose Chicagoland Shootout early Saturday morning.

Despite the loss to national powerhouse La Lumiere at the preceding weekend’s Chicago Elite Classic, the DePaul Prep Rams are rolling. The Rams smothered the Spartans forcing outside shots and getting all the rebounds. Scoring inside and outside DePaul Prep’s size advantage was evident. They jumped out to a 19-0 lead on St. Francis (3-4) holding the Spartans scoreless until seconds left in the first quarter. And it wasn’t that close.

Despite the lopsided score, it was interesting to see the starting lineup for the Rams emerge after shifting starting lineups early in the season. The Rams have three returning starters from last year’s 3A state champions, Lashaun Porter, Rykan Woo and AJ Chambers. Rams’ sophomore forward Blake Choice and senior Sacred Heart—Griffin transfer, Zion Lee have grabbed the starting roles for the Rams. Even so, junior forward/center Magnus “Gus” Johnson and senior guard Pat Lovell are quickly off the bench.

Choice’ performance against St. Francis helped his effort to cement that place in the lineup with a big game that included four three-points field goals in the first half and five total in his three quarters of play. Rams’ head coach Tom Kleinschmidt confirmed he has settled on the starting lineup complimenting Choice on his improved shooting in recent games.

“I have been working on my shooting, it paid off today,” Humboldt Park resident Choice said.

“It’s a learning process,” Choice said of his starting role. “I am willing to do what my coaches tell me to do starting on defense and eventually my offense will come.

The Rams have some big games coming up this week with a late Sunday matchup against No. 3 ranked Kankakee and the Kays top rated players No. 1 ranked Lincoln Williams and No. 8 ranked EJ Hazelett at the Team Rose Chicagoland Shootout.   

The blowouts continued Saturday morning at Team Rose. The Lane Tech Champions rallied from string of tough losses against good teams, New Trier, Whitney Young and Lincoln Park, with a convincing 71-32 win over Chicago Catholic League White’s, St. Rita Mustangs.

“We have a lot of guys that can get to the rim and be effective. We have had a really tough stretch. Eight games and five top 25 teams. We told our guys, it’s gonna pay off. Today we showed that playing that tough schedule is helping us,” said Lane head coach Nick LoGalbo.

The Champions were led by 6’8” senior forward Matt Szafoni with 26 points in three quarters of basketball. Szafoni leads his Champions squad this year which contains seven sophomores. One of those sophomores is starter forward Cole Christian who finished with 18 points against St. Rita.

“Opening the game with a make definitely helps the confidence. That is something that I have struggled with the last couple games. But hitting a three with one of the new sets that we have just implemented is good for the team but also good for my confidence,” Szafoni said.

“[Matt] is evolving as a leader, him evolving as a playmaker and evolving as a rebounder are all things we are excited about,” LoGalbo said of Szafoni.

“We start four sophomores. But what’s really fun is that the sophomores are buying in and being stars in their roles. The seniors are leading and we are playing together.”

St. Ignatius Wins Prep Bowl 40-12

SPORTS SPOTLIGHT BY JOHN MONTGOMERY

There is no doubt that the Prep Bowl has lost prestige and importance with the football teams from Public League and Chicago Catholic League deciding to participate in the state football playoffs that began in 1974. It is unlikely that your current preseason goal in ChIcago is to win the Prep Bowl.

 “It was a great experience to play and coach in the Prep Bowl at Soldier Field,” Jay McDonagh said about the annual matchup which is now 95 years old. McDonagh played quarterback in the 1990 Prep Bowl for Gordon for Gordon and won two Public League pigskins with Curie losing to Loyola and Mt. Carmel in back-to-back seasons 2014 and 2015.

 The Catholic League has dominated the game winning 65 times. Mount Carmel is king of football in our state with 16 state championships and 15 Prep Bowl wins while Simeon has won twelve CPS championships and made 41 appearances in the state football playoffs. Mt Carmel won first matchup in 1927 6-0 over Schurz.

 There is football talent in the Public League, but only one city team Phillips has been able to win state football championship. The Public League football teams went 0-15 in the first round of this year's state series.

St. Ignatius (5-7) stunned Morgan Park (9-5) 40-12 to win this year's event before a small crowd on Black Friday at Hanson Stadium. The Wolfpack were delighted to be playing football after a 2-7 regular season.

“The Prep Bowl is a great tradition in Chicago,” St. Ignatius head coach Matt Miller said after winning his second straight Prep Bowl. Miller in in his tenth season and has now won 67 games.

St. Ignatius, who brought its football program back in 2005, certainly had challenges after sophomore starting quarterback Reid Hites broke his arm in a preseason scrimmage. St Ignatius was recently moved into the Blue Division of the Catholic League which is one of the toughest sections in the state featuring former state football champions St. Rita, Brother Rice, Loyola, and Mt Carmel. St Ignatius got moved up after losing in the 6A semifinals to Prairie Ridge 21-19 during 2022 football season. The Wolfpack who have made nine appearances in state playoffs lost in the quarterfinals the followіng season in 2023.

“I would love to play at Soldier Field,” Miller admitted after the game. “I heard the bill was pretty high. Playing the game at Soldier Field made the game special.”

Until 1974 it was the only football event on Thanksgiving weekend a game that aired on local television and drew large crowds. The biggest thing youngsters from the Public and Catholic League faced each other at Soldier Field home of Bears who had great players like Dick Butkus and Walter Payton. Many people today still talk about the 1985 Super Bowl Chicago Bears.

This season's game at renovated Hanson Stadium was close until the final quarter. Senior Rob Connor who scored three times and rushed for 90 yards helped St Ignatius build a 19-12 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Connor who has been one of the top players in the new Catholic League for the last two years was named Prep Bowl MVP.

The Wolfpack capped their incredible season by forcing three turnovers in the fourth quarter as Charlie Klaas scored twice, and Hites added a touchdown toss in only his second start of the season.

Morgan Park (9-5) was hoping to finish season on a high note after avenging regular season loss to Kenwood by beating the Broncos 30-19 to win CPS football crown for fifth time in school history. The Mustangs won the the Prep Bowl in 2005 over Brother Rice with current head football coach Chris James at quarterback.

“We were there in the game at halftime,” James said after the loss. “We left some plays on the field. Our inexperience showed in the second half.”

One example was beginning of game when all- stater Darrell Mattison for Morgan Park returned opening kickoff 88 yards for touchdown which would have been unprecedented in Prep Bowl history. Play was called back due to holding penalty.

Morgan Park lost this season in the opening round of the 5A playoffs to Wheaton St Francis (10-3) 35-28. The Mustangs will try to rebuild around sophomore quarterback Ronald Smith who completed 16 of 26 passes for 165 yards with two second quarter touchdowns and two interceptions in fourth quarter.

 Even though Morgan Park lost the game for fourth time the Mustangs were looking forward to playing in the Prep Bowl against St. Ignatius after losing in opening round of state playoffs.

 “It's special for me and the program to be playing in the Prep Bowl,” James admitted. “To be able to take the team to the Public League championship and Prep Bowl means something to me being a former player at Morgan Park.”

DePaul Prep Defeats Loyola 55-45

[Preview of this week’s Inside—Booster article.]

By Jack Lydon

It was an electric atmosphere in DePaul Prep’s Tom Winiecki Gym Friday night. The #1 ranked DePaul Prep Rams hosted the #5 ranked Loyola Academy Ramblers in the first Chicago Catholic League Blue game of the year for each squad. The Ramblers brought a big crowd into the City and the usual DePaul Prep students and supporters showed up en masse. The band was playing. It was high school basketball at its best.

DePaul Prep jumped out to a second quarter lead as they often do. Loyola (4-1) could not catch them. The Rams won 55-45 improving to 5-0 on the young season but more importantly grabbing a big advantage in the struggle to win the Chicago Catholic League’s Blue division, always the Rams’ first goal of a season.

The story of the game has to be DePaul Prep’s impressive defensive effort in the second quarter. Trailing 10-9 at the end of the first, the Rams just dialed up the defense holding Loyola to just two buckets and five points. The lead moved up and down a little from there but the Rams would hold that ten-point lead at the buzzer.

That defensive effort denied the Ramblers the outside shots they would need if they wanted to beat the bigger DePaul Prep team. Loyola got its first points of the second quarter on a three-pointer from senior Charles Ellis two minutes in but the only other points came on an inside putback by senior Broderick Munsey-Johnson with under 10 seconds to play in the half.

“We got down to guarding. It's a tough guard with all that movement and excellent switching. We prepped for it. We had a three-day prep. We feel confident with three days prep but we also have anxiety trying to play Loyola. It’s the toughest guard all year,” said DePaul Prep’s legendary coach Tom Kleinschmidt. 

Defense is great but a team needs to score too. The Rams outscored the Ramblers 17-5 in the quarter. Senior star and Brown University commit, Rykan Woo, lead the Rams with 19 points, including 11 in the decisive second quarter.

It was something of a breakout game for senior transfer from Springfield’s Sacred Heart-Griffin high school, Zion Lee.

“What we do is a lot. It took Z [Zion Lee] a couple games, actually we thought it take him until Christmas, but we glad to see [it tonight]. He had some big buckets tonight for us. He rebounded the heck out a ball. He was great for us. I am very happy for him,” Kleinschmidt said.

DePaul Prep turns right around and faces La Lumiere in the Chicago Elite Classic Saturday afternoon. La Lumiere is a Porter, Indiana boarding school and nationally ranked basketball powerhouse with multiple players committed to play at division one colleges, included Devin Cleveland, a transfer from CPS’s Kenwood Academy. Cleveland was widely regarded a top, if not the top, high school player in the Chicago last year.

The Rams look to repeat their upset win over Mater Dei, a Santa Anna, California nationally ranked powerhouse at last year’s Chicago Elite Classic.

“Mater Dei is good. They are really good. They are nationally ranked. But La Lumiere is a different level,” Kleinschmidt said.

A different level. I guess will see exactly what level DePaul Prep is on early in this season where the Rams look to win a fourth straight state championship.

DePaul Prep Handles Hyde Park 60-28; St. Ignatius Clips Benet 69-65

Went to Tom Winiecki to see the DePaul Prep Rams first home game of the year against Hyde Park then decided to hurry down to St. Ignatius to catch the end of the St. Ignatius v. Benet. Glad I did. The Rams handled a good Hyde Park squad and #22 St. Ignatius upset #2 Benet.

I was a little late making it to Gordon for the game. I got there with a minute left in the half and the Rams lead the Thunderbirds 33-11. The Rams defense was locked in.

Rykan Woo lead the Rams with 17. Lashaun Porter had 10. It was good to see Rams’ transfer Zion Lee put some points on the board. He is fitting into his role the line-up and adding some points. He finished with 8.

Despite the lopsided scores in the Battle of the Bridge, the Rams didn’t exactly look like they were hitting on all cylinders. They looked pretty good today. Defense, offense. I bet they could play special teams too if need be. It was good to see this new team back in the Tom Winiecki Gym playing fast when need be and installing the shut down defense too.

The game went quick so I quickly went down to St. Ignatius to catch the end of the St. Ignatius v. Benet game.

I arrived at the Gentile Gym with a minute left in the third quarter with the Wolfpack trailing Benet 48-49. It was back-and-forth and back-and-forth.

Tied at 59 each at 1:29, Benet grabbed a one point lead. St. Ignatius’ senior guard Nico Harris dropped in a three, giving the Wolfpack a two point lead. Rebounds and free throws would seal the upset victory over the very good #2 ranked Benet Redwings.

I know it’s early. Benet is very good; some say a #1B ranking. This game was more about how good St. Ignatius is. Matt Monroe’s Wolpack are at the top of the Chicago Catholic League with Loyola and DePaul Prep. They will obviously move up in the rankings. I expect them to be around the top at the end of the season too.

We start right into the Catholic League schedule at the end of the week. #1 DePaul Prep faces #12 Loyola at Tom Winiecki on Friday. #22 St. Ignatius will see DeLaSalle on Friday.