DePaul Prep Defeat No. 5 Warren 58-54

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

By Jack Lydon

DePaul Prep went up to Gurnee to face fifth ranked Warren and took care of business defeating the Blue Devils 58-54. The Rams just keep winning improving their season record to 26-3 and maintaining their No. 2 ranking.

In the regular season penultimate contest, DePaul Prep has lost only one game to an in-state opponent. That was a 52-43 loss to the No. 1 ranked Benet Redwings on New Year’s Eve at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament.

Thursday’s matchup featured the best player in the state, Warren’s junior guard Jaxson Davis, on the fifth ranked team against the second ranked team with two All City players, DePaul Prep’s seniors Rykan Woo and Rashawn Porter on the second ranked team and three-time state champions.

A battle of titans? Well, let’s not lose our heads, but surely the final meeting between top ranked teams in the regular season.

The Rams struggled a little early missing shots on their first four possessions.

“I don't know it's they just weren't going in the basket,” said Rykan Woo, Rams senior guard who was named to the Sun-Times first team All City Team on Friday.

Down 6-0, Woo made a layup and on the Rams’ next possession, Rams senior Zion Lee, a transfer from Springfield’s Sacred Heart-Griffin high school, drained a long three pointer.

“I just knew I had to try, I had to do something,” Lee said. “I knew we were down, so I had to come up with energy. I had to come up with confidence.” The Rams were back in it with the score 6-5.

Lee and the Rams surged ahead in the second quarter outscoring the Blue Devils 21-10. Lee added a field goal and another three-pointer midway through the second.

“It was that energy that we picked up going into the second quarter,” Zion Lee said. “We talked, we huddled to make sure that we kept the same energy.”

With the floodgates opened by Lee, the flood of points followed, Woo with 8, senior forward and the Rams other first team All City player, Rashawn Porter with 4, AJ Chambers with 3 and Blake Choice with 2.

It wasn’t the just the scoring energy of the Rams; it couldn’t be against the top player in the state. Defense would win the day.

“We had to show him two early,” said Rams head coach Tom Kleinschmidt about double-teaming Warren’s star Jaxson Davis.

“And we try to stay home on the shooters, let the bigs beat us,” said Kleinschimdt in coach speak about double-teaming Davis to make him pass the ball out to shooters on the perimeter.

It worked for the most part. Davis also faced some triple teams on his attempts to drive the lane.

“We just gotta show help and leave rebound lanes open lanes. He’s a hell of a player. You got to show two or two and a half of them. He's a great player,” Kleinschmidt said of Davis. The Ram didn’t stop Davis. He had 15 points in the game. But they definitely slowed him down. He is a player capable of scoring 40 or 50 in a game.

After defeating Ridgewood on Friday evening, the Rams have completed the regular season at 27-3. The Rams attempt at a fourth straight IHSA state championship starts Wednesday at Maine East. They enter as the #1 seed in the division 4A Loyola sectional and will face the winner of Tuesday’s game between Taft and Highland Park.

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 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.

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 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.”

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.

Riverside-Brookfield Summer Shootout Day 1

I couldn’t wait to get over the Riverside-Brookfield High School for the annual R-B Shootout. I got there like four hours early. R-B Coach Mike Reingruber and all the folks at R-B do such a great job. It is chance for a high school basketball mid-summer overdose. I love it.

It was five straight games for me from noon to 4:45.

Kankakee v. Evanston (Benet v. Hinsdale Central)

I was very interested to see Kankakee. The Kays have the top prospect in the class of 2026 according to Prep Hoops, Lincoln Williams. I was my first chance to see him in action. Kankakee also got a recent transfer, EJ Hazelett, Jr. They are a very good-looking squad. Big. Talented. Shots fall.  

The Evanston Wildkits strolled into the gym at 11:42, a few minutes before the noon start. The Wildkits were significantly smaller than Kankakee, like everyone of their starters was shorter than the smallest Kays player. That didn’t much matter. The scrappy Kits jumped out a lead. The Kays fought back and tied at the end of regulation but Evanston won in OT.

When Kankakee dials up the intensity, they looked scary.

The great thing about R-B is one can watch two games at the same time. I couldn’t exactly cover and photography two games. But I was able to watch Benet v. Hinsdale at the same time as the Kankakee game. Benet just looked awesome. Jayden Wright is a money player.  

DePaul Prep v. Rich Township (St. Ignatius v. Rock Island)

The Rams come out hungry. Rashaun Porter was going to the hoop. It kind of looked like a fullback powering to the endzone with Shaun charging down the lane for a dunk. AJ Chamber was a comfortable as can be on the point.

Got a look at the transfer in from Sacred Heart Griffin, senior forward Zion Lee. It seemed like a little bit of a slower start for Zion than it was for the other Rams but it sure looks like he will fit right in.

Then there is returning senior Rykan Woo. The Oxford English Dictionary has a photo of Rykan as the definition of “money.” He does it all. At a stretch in the second half of the Rams’ game against Stevenson, the Rams had gone cold. Nothing was falling. The Patriots cut the double-digit lead to two. Rykan poured in two straight three pointers. Money. Rams took control.

Magnus “Gus” Johnson, Jonas’s younger brother, has stepped into his brother’s role as the other big man beside Rashaun Porter. You might not see as much of the four-guard set from the Rams this year as you did last year. But we will get plenty of three guard sets with the six-man rotation including sophomore guard Blake Choice.

Lane v. Thornton

We have a whole new set of Champions this year. Matt Szafoni returns as one of only four seniors. I counted eight sophomores on the squad. They all look talented and athletic but not quite the usual polished group of playmakers we have seen from Nick Logalbo’s teams in recent years.

The first day of R-B did not disappoint. Getting get some sleep now to be ready for Day 2.