Preview of this week’s Inside Publications article—
DePaul Prep Rams (16-9, 6-6) defeated St. Ignatius (16-9, 6-4) 54-39 on Friday. DePaul’s Tom Winiecki Gym hasn’t been so full and so amped up in a long time. The DePaul student section was overflowing. Despite being relegated to the upper deck behind the west basket, the St. Ignatius student was well staffed and traded cheers across the gym.
This has been a challenging season for the DePaul Prep Rams. They have had success in recent years with two appearances in the IHSA state tournament and a number one ranking and the championship of the Chipotle in 2020. But this year, the Rams haven’t had junior forwards Jaylan McElroy and Payton Kamin for much of the year.
“Some guys gotten minutes they probably wouldn’t have gotten. We strengthened our bench. It it was going to happen, I am glad it happened early in the year and not late,” said DePaul Prep’s head coach Tom Kleinschmidt.
The Rams grabbed an early first quarter lead, but Ignatius recovered and trailed by only two at the half. Senior guard Maurice “Reece” Thomas jump started the Rams with four three-pointers in the third quarter lifting the Rams to a nine-point lead. Kleinschmidt teams don’t lose when up by more than eight points.
“We made our free throws. We spread ‘em. They play some bigs so we can get a release; they’re not five guards. We like to spread and shoot free throws in the bonus. If we have a layup, we are going to take it. If not, we are going to run clock and shoot free throws,” Kleinschmidt said.
That’s exactly what happened. DePaul Prep keep the ball away from the Wolfpack limiting them to six points in the fourth quarter and scoring twelve points of their own including five three throws.
“It feels good [to beat Ignatius]. That’s a good team. Well coached. Good players. We executed the game plan. Got Jaylan back. Got Payton back, it feels good,” Kleinschmidt said
The Wolfpack seventh year coach Matt Monroe was disappointed but upbeat about the future after the game.
“We do a lot of scouting. I probably watch five hours of film on each opponent. We knew they were going to be at full strength. We know they are super talented. We didn’t expect to lose by double digits, but we played right with them for a big chunk of the game,” Monroe said.
“We have had to navigate a couple of really big injuries for our team. Two guys out right now that we anticipated being starters at the beginning of the season,” said Monroe. Monroe’s team definitely missed junior point guard Reggie Ray. They are a different team with him in the line-up.
The high school basketball season is drawing to a close. The Rams only have three regular season games left over the next two weeks Brother Rice, North Farmington (MI) and Benet. Those are tough games.
What appears to be rough season for DePaul Prep with an uncharacteristically high number of losses has every chance of ending on a high note. With Kamin and McElroy back in the line-up and getting back into playing shape, the Rams are peaking at the right time.
DePaul Prep finds itself in the IHSA’s 2A division again this year despite increased enrollment in the school that will shortly land it in 3A. But this year, it’s 2A which does not have any many ranked teams such as the ones they have faced all season. Being in the Christ the King Sectional, the Rams could face Clark, Farragut, Orr or North Lawndale. Not pushovers by any stretch, but not powerhouses either. A super-sectional matchup against Perspectives-Leadership is entirely possible. Who knows? A win there, like last year’s win in Joliet over Leo, and the Rams could be back in Champaign.
