2022 Riverside Brookfield Summer Shootout Opens

The 19th Annual Riverside Brookfield Summer Shootout opened this afternoon. It felt good to be back. Not very many teams from my coverage area are in the tournament. It’s basically, just Lane, Lincoln Park and DePaul Prep. So I could get to see some other teams.

Lake Forest v. St. Rita. The first game I saw was Lake Forest v. St. Rita. I got a look at Asa Thomas and Nojus Indrusaitis. They are as advertised. The Mustangs did not have their big men but they didn’t seem to need them. St. Rita is going to be something to watch this year. The Chicago Catholic League Blue will be loaded.

Lane v. St. Ignatius. Shaheed Solebo looked bigger, faster and stronger. He is only a junior but the “Champions” are his team. Lane jumped out to a big early lead. Ignatius came around and gained the lead at 12:11 in the second half and would not give it up. Richard Barron and Jackson Kotecki were too much for the Champions. St. Ignatius 57, Lane Tech 54.

Lane did not fair much better against Burlington Central in their second game. It was my first look at Burlington Central. They can play. Burlington Central 56, Lane Tech 46.

Matt Monroe’s Wolfpack, fresh off a 3A Third Place finish last year, brings back some key players from his historic year, Richard Barron, Jackson Kotecki and Emmitt O’Shaughnessy. I got my first look at sophomore Phoenix Gill. Gill looks like he will fill in nicely for A. J. Redd. Oh, and the Wolfpack will be in the CCL Blue this year.

Glenbard West v. Tinley Park. Glenbard West dominated last year. I got my first look at them at R-B last year. They were the talk of the event then and went on to win 4A. How would there team be this year? Last year’s leader and putative point guard Caden Pierce, now graduated, was on the bench for support. But let’s just say they are not last year’s team. Not the same length on defense. Not any length on defense. Athletic, well coached but not the same team.

St. Laurence v. Morton. St. Lawrence looks good. Very athletic. The coach I was sitting next thought there are a year away.

Mount Carmel v. St. Viator. The Caravan’s junior forward Angelo Ciarovino was the player to watch. He had some early points and one sequence of two straight blocks. Deandre Craig impressed as well.

More tomorrow including DePaul Prep and Lincoln Park. Get there early. Parking is tough.

Riverside Brookfield Summer Shootout Preview

By Jack Lydon

Riverside Brookfield Summer Shootout is the start of basketball season, for me at least. And so it begins.  R-B and its driving force Mike Reingruber, will host 72 “top area teams” on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Play opens Friday at noon with games across six courts. The complete Friday and Saturday schedule is available here. Sunday here.

72 area high schools will participate along with several from the St. Louis area—Belleville Althoff, Belleville East, Belleville West, East St. Louis and O’Fallon. As for the top teams, who know who those teams are at the moment?

There are a number powerhouses from last year, such as 4A State Champion Glenbard West, 1A State Champion Yorkville Christian, 4A runner-up Whitney Young, 3A third-place St. Ignatius, 3A fourth place Simeon, 2A third place DePaul Prep.

But that was last year, star seniors have moved on to college programs, the new senior class comes front and center.

I have learned over several years going to R-B that these games are not regular high school games. It like the summer leagues where one gets a glimpse of the new starters playing offense and not a ton of defense. I got to see the highly-touted young players about to make there impact.

To the untrained eye, R-B can look like just another basketball tournament. So I am doing some research to find out who to watch. This year’s top seniors at R-B include Darrin Ames (Kenwood), Asa Thomas (Lake Forest), Cameron Christie (Rolling Meadows), Dalen Davis (Whitney Young) and Miles and Wesley Rubin (Simeon). There are a good number of juniors to see at R-B that will impact there teams and conference play including James Brown (St. Rita), Morez Johnson (St. Rita), Jaden Smith (Kenwood), Payton Kamin (DePaul Prep), Jaylen McElroy (DePaul Prep) and Shaheed Solebo (Lane Tech).

As for what teams to keep and I eye, I am of course interested in the teams in my coverage area, Lane Tech, Lincoln Park and DePaul Prep. The freshly re-named Lane Tech “Campions” will feature junior standout Shabeed Solebo. Lincoln Park looks to overtake Lane as the top northside school in CPS’s tough Red-West/North division under third-year coach Antwon Jennings. Tom Kleinschmidt reloads after another historic state playoff run with emerging stars Payton Kamin, Jaylen McElroy. DePaul Prep’s sophomore Jonas Johnson will be fun to watch too.

Then there are top teams to look at and see what they have coming back. I don’t do rankings. Understand, I typically cover Chicago Catholic League and Chicago Public League games. I get out to some ESCC and Evanston games when I can. These are a mix of top teams from last year and teams that I have seen over the past few years that are on the rise. So in no particular order:

Glenbard West. It should be interesting to see what Glenbard West can do after its historic season. Can Jason Opoka recreate the defensive length of Pierce, Huff, Durkin, Renfro and Warden?

Leo. After winning the Chicago Catholic League last year but losing the 2A Super-Sectional to CCL rival DePaul Prep, the Lions look to take another step. With returning stars Jared Gee, Tyler Smith and Jakeem Cole, Jarrod Gee and Tyler Smith, the Lions should be ready to make another deep run.

St. Rita. Is this the year for the Mustangs to bolt to top of the Catholic League Blue and makes it past Kenwood and Whitney Young in 4A? With two top ranked players, James Brown and Morez Johnson, the Mustangs their best chance in years. But will it be enough?

St. Ignatius. Coming out of the gate last season with a #4 Sun-Times ranking, he Wolfpack were in the spotlight. Some early season struggles with character building last second losses got them ready for a deep run in 3A and a third in State finish. Matt Monroe brings back key players Richard Barron and Jackson Kotecki. Even with the graduation of A. J. Redd, the Wolfpack should be very good and highly ranted.

DePaul Prep. And then there is DePaul Prep. After the 2020 COVID season, he Rams lost all five starters including standout and recent transfer to U. C. Davis, TY Johnson. Nevertheless, Tom Kleinschmidt plugged in recent Cleveland State re-commit Dylan Arnett, Trevon Thomas, sophomore standouts Payton Kamin and Jaylen McElroy, Julian Green and Anthony Gutierrez. That group battled in the CCL Blue and ran through 2A dropping Orr, Michelle Clark and Leo to make it to Champaign finishing third.

That was last year. This year is up to the still very young Rams, including Kamin and McElroy, Will O’Shields, Maurice Thomas and perhaps highly regarded sophomore Jonas Johnson. No easy road for the Rams in the CCL Blue with St. Rita, Mt. Carmel, Brother Rice, Leo and the always tough Loyola Ramblers.   

Kenwood. Then there is the Chicago Public League. Kenwood made believers out of me. I saw them handle Curie at Curie. Highly rated Darrin Ames and Davius Loury return. Expect Kenwood to be at or near the top of the Red-South/Central in February and highly ranked to start the season.  

Whitney Young. Whitney Young is Whitney Young. Dalen Davis and Marcus Pigram return. Tyrone Slaughter will reload and be back.

Simeon. It will be a fun season with Robert Smith’s victory lap. We will get a look at Simeon as the Wolverines take on DePaul Prep at 3:30 on Friday at R-B. Aviyon Morris, Jalen Griffith, Wesley Rubin and Miles Rubin return. This group will want to win for their legendary coach’s final tour.

So there you go, a look at a few teams that will play at R-B. Get out there early. Parking is . . . difficult.

Correction. I previously identified Timothy Christian’s Ben Vanderwall as Yorkville Christian’s Jaden Schutt. Yorkville Christian was not at the 2021 Riverside Brookfield Shootout. My apologies.

Timothy Christian’s Ben Vanderwall at 2021 Riverside Brookfield Summer Shootout

Glenbard West 60, Simeon 32

I keep thinking that Glenbard West has to stumble. Some team has got to get hot, hit a bunch of threes and break the Hilltoppers 1-3-1.

Hasn’t happened and isn’t likely to. They have taken on every good team out there and vanquished them. The Hilltoppers are gone on a break-away. The only thing left is to see if they can finish at the rim.

A nearly full house saw the Glenbard West Hilltoppers (30-1) take on the Simeon Wolverines (23-4) at last night’s Proviso West Classic in Hillside to close out the season. Put a cherry on top.

The Hilltoppers jumped out to a 17-4 lead and never looked back. Glenbard’s lead grew steadily culminating in 60-32 finish.

It’s not like Simeon played poorly. They didn’t. It was a physical game but there were not a lot of turnovers. It was just that Simeon did not get good looks at the basket. Every shot was contested. Every Simeon bucket was well earned. The first half felt like a Catholic League game with all the defense going on.

I wish I had the capability to both take stats and photos for my stories. That would probably reveal just how dominant the Hilltoppers are.

We will just have see if they can finish in Champaign. There is no evidence that any team can stop them, certainly not any high school team in Illinois—probably.

Glenbard West Survives Glenbrook South 57-54 at Ridgewood Shootout

The Ridgewood shootout featured top teams and top players: No. 1 Glenbard West, No. 5 Glenbrook South, No. 19 Yorkville Christian, Branden Huff, Caden Peirce, Nick Martinelli, Bobby Durkin, Paxton Warden, Jade Schutt and Timaris Brown.

This shootout did not disappoint. The marquee matchup between Glenbard West and Glenbrook South was one of the most well played games that I have seen in a long time. The teams moved the ball well, shot well and hit free throws. I was at the Chicago Elite Classic on Friday and Saturday and I was struck how poorly everyone was shooting. I suspect it was because it was in an arena venue as opposed to a gym setting. The first quarters tended to be brutal but the teams settled into more normal play.

I saw Glenbard West at the Riverside-Brookfield summer event. They impressed as one might imagine. The summer events are interesting and informative but not like a real game. This game against Glenbrook South was a real game.

Glenbard West’s full-court trap was something to watch. It was passing the ball through a forest of moving and attacking trees. The sheer size of the Hilltoppers was daunting.

Nevertheless, Glenbrook South managed it and got the ball up court without many turnovers. But I was exhausted just watching. The Titans then had to try to score.

Despite Glenbard West having a comfortable lead most of the game, the Titans pulled within three within three points at the very end on the strength of three-point shooting by Cooper Noard and inside points by Nick Martinelli.

With five seconds left, the Titans got off two three pointers but missed both.

Very entertaining. I will have to get out to see both of these teams a couple times more this season.

Basketball is Back at the Riverside-Brookfield Shootout

I love the R-B Shootout. Gets me back into basketball. I get to see teams and players I don’t ordinarily see during the season.

The games don’t mean much. One always wants to win but it is more about seeing what teams have and what they lost.

Last year I realized the R-B is not a good time and place for photos. It is more of a place to get to know teams and players. Although I do love the main gym. It has excellent light and lots of space to get a good position.

I took some photos more to capture the atmosphere than game action.

R-B has 56 teams. A mix of traditional powerhouses, teams with standout players and just average teams but more of the former than the latter.

I hesitate to comment upon and evaluate players for want of proper bone fides for such an endeavor. My basketball credentials don’t get much past coaching my son’s grade school basketball team. But I am sticking with my decision to report because more coverage is better than less coverage. (Mike Clark encouraged me. So blame him if I get it all wrong.) So, in the venerable words of the late Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, “I know it when I see it.” I can recognize a good player, or maybe just a good play, when I set it. So here goes.

The first game of the day was St. Ignatius vs. Timothy Christian. I wanted to check out Timothy Christian’s 6’8” senior center Ben VanderWal. I also wanted to see how Chicago Catholic League contender and likely top ten team St. Ignatius looks.

VanderWal is the real thing. He has size and length. He can shoot. He plays defense. He will carry Timothy Christian.

St. Ignatius is very good. They move the very well. They make layups. They play defense. It seemed like they are much bigger than last year. Kolby Gilles, Richard Barron and A. J. Redd all looked bigger and faster. I do not remember big junior Jackson Kotecki from last year but I should have. He is the piece that rounds out this group. And they have a player named Emmett O’Shaughnessy. How can one not love that?

Next was Rolling Meadows vs. Ridgewood. I wanted to see Cameron Christie. He didn’t play much so I can’t draw any conclusions. It seemed like Rolling Meadows coach Kevin Katovich wanted to see what the rest of his squad could do. Interestedly, when Christie was in, he brought up the ball like his older brother incoming Michigan State freshman, Max Christie.

Without too much of Christie to be contended with, Coach Chris Mroz’s scrappy Ridgewood squad made a game of it. Tons of effort in this game even without the East Gym packed with college coaches.

Next were the DePaul Prep games. First Oak Forest, then Glenbrook South. Oak Forrest has Robbie Avila. That kid is just big. He he can handle the ball, he can score and he can blot out the sun. But I have to say, DePaul Prep’s Dylan Arnett played him well. I would say Arnett got the better of him.

From the frying pan and into the fire for Arnett. Glenbrook South’s Nick Martinelli followed immediately. It’s no secret to even casual observers that Martinelli is one of the best players in the state but I had never seen him until today. He did not disappoint. Arnett played well but at times, many times, Nick Martinelli could not be denied.

Glenbrook South, last year’s Central Suburban League Champions over Evanston, is a much better team than Oak Forest. Glenbrook South held the young Rams in check. One noticed the absence of DePaul Prep’s scoring machines TY Johnson and Rashid Bello in this game. The Rams stayed close but lost 43-34.

Then Glenbard West vs. St. Rita. I had to see Glenbard West and I wanted to see how the young St. Rita team was coming along.

Glenbard West is the best high school basketball team I have seen in a long time; certainly the biggest. The 1-3-1 zone had St. Rita stymied in the first half. The Mustangs did not score for a long time at the beginning of the game. The Hilltopper’s 6’10” forward Braden Huff has length and nose for the basket. He just took the ball to the hoop. Caden Pierce, Paxton Warden, Bobby Durkin and Ryan Renfro rounding out an all 6’3” or better starting five. Oh, and they are athletic too. Fast. This team has to be a favorite to make it to the 4A finals.  

Then Loyola vs. Bogan. Loyola is always good. Tom Livatino gets a bunch of athletes, coaches them up and turns them into a winning basketball team. Just always expect Loyola to be very good. Nothing different with this group. I don’t think he has any D1 prospects but they will contend for the CCL for sure. As always.

Finally, Joliet West vs. Whitney Young. The last that I saw Whitney Young, TY Johnson put forty points on them and DePaul Prep upset the Dolphins at St. Patrick’s last March in the Chipolte season ending tournament. Coach Slaughter has his team hitting on all cylinders. Just a group of big, fast athletes. They are excellent shooters. Gotta be another favorite to win 4A.

I also learned today that DePaul Prep sophomore coach Sean Connor got the head coaching job at Antioch High School. Sean is a great coach. Seriously, this guy can coach. His teams won the sophomore division of the Chicago Catholic League for, I don’t know how many years in a row, eight, nine? And he won it with the best freshmen and sophomore playing up a lot of the time. Antioch will love Sean. Just a wonderful person. I am happy for him that he will be fifteen minutes away from his home and won’t be so far from his growing family. I am also happy he didn’t land at a Catholic League school.

There you go. I am so happy basketball is on again.

Hope you like the photos.