[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.
