Lane Tech Defeats Whitney Young 67-51

Preview of my story this week in Inside-Booster.

The biggest win for Lane Tech in decades. The Lane Tech Champions (14-10, 7-2) defeated the Whitney Young Dolphins (12-10, 5-2) 67-51 in a jam-packed crosstown rivalry and conference showdown. No one could remember the last time Lane defeated Young. One would never have known that from the energy in Lane’s gym. Two overflowing student sections and the rest of the gym packed with spectators were rocking at a deafening pitch from before the game even started.

Lane’s senior shooting guard Shaheed Solebo was the story of the first half. He had 11 of the Champions’ 14 first quarter points and kept it up with 11 more points in the second quarter.

“[Shaheed’s] been on a run the last two weeks. He put on a show Monday [against Lincoln Park,] said Lane Tech head coach Nick LoGalbo. Lincoln Park (17-8, 6-3) was ranked #15 coming out of the holiday tournaments but that Champions dropped Lincoln Park 75-64 in the Lion’s tiny (and poorly lit) gym.

“He knew what this game was. He battled and battled the entire game. He was super aggressive for us. He made the kicks when he needed to. He commanded so much attention, it opened things up for other guys especially in the second half. He was awesome,” LoGalbo said of Solebo.

Solebo knew what this game was and was determined to beat Whitney Young in his last try at them. This game had more intensity a playoff game. It was personal. The two student sections cheered back and forth at each other. The Champions and their fans were sick of losing to Whitney Young and this was the night to end it. The players were focused but a little tight to open the game missing usually makable shots.

“We had high expectations coming in. We had a preseason ranking which did wonders for our team’s ego. We struggled through injuries. We really didn’t have our team the whole month of December with Dalton being out,” LoGalbo said.

The Champions and their big man in the middle, junior center Dalton Scantlebury, did a great job limiting Whitney Young to one shot in the first half.

“That’s been an all-season struggle. I was really impressed with the way we rebounded as a team. We have struggled this season boxing out as a unit. I get a majority of our rebounds so sometimes other people lag a little. Today we all really come together,” Scantlebury said.

Despite the Solebo’s huge first half, Lane went into halftime only up 31-26. Halftime adjustments by Whitney Young’s legendary coach Tyrone Slaughter might spell disaster for the Champions who might struggle to keep up their intensity in the second half.

“Dalton came out a little flat. He missed some [shots] that he has been putting in for us pretty consistently,” LoGalbo said of Scantlebury.

Scantlebury proved his place as a top public league player in the second half. Dalton dropped a three-point play inside early in the third quarter freeing up Solebo to keep up his scoring.

“Best one-two punch in the City when those two guys are playing well together,” LoGalbo said about Solebo and Scantlebury.

The second half was not all Solebo and Scantlebury. Timely open three-pointers from senior guard [name redacted] and senior guard Jackson Labkon took the life out of any third quarter comeback by the Dolphins. Junior guard Kenneth Rosario added a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter.

Even so, the Dolphins were hanging around keeping the Champions’ lead under ten points.

“We had [the lead] to ten or eleven and just didn’t turn the corner until the fourth quarter. That is a sign of what we are still trying to prove. If we are going to be the team we say we want to be we have got to smell the blood in the water and put them away,” LoGalbo said after the game.

This was Lane’s night. The energy in the gym never dissipated. There would be no let down. Good teams finish. And that’s what these Champions did.

“We felt like let’s get into our delay game then they will start fouling. We will get some easy ones at the line. At about thirty seconds, we would run our stuff. If it is not there on the back door, let’s just reset. And that’s what we did. One time we got in the set and we scored. The other times we got a few back doors and it worked out,” said LoGalbo.

The last points were scored by Whitney Young with 1:18 left in the game. They would get no closer with the final score 67-51. It was a convincing win for Lane over Whitney Young. One that was decades in the making.

Even with the contributions of Scantlebury and timely threes by Labkon and Rosario, make no mistake, it was the force of will and the 34 points by senior standout Shaheed Solebo that brought home the historic victory to Lane. His presence, production and leadership on the floor made the difference.

“We knew how good we were since last Spring. We knew it. Now we are just showing everybody else,” said Shaheed Solebo.   

Lane Tech Falls to Chaminade 64-60

Chaminade College Prep, the St. Louis Catholic high school with a nationally renowned powerhouse basketball program, came to Chicago to face Lane Tech at Lane Tech. Lane’s head coach Nick LoGalbo coaches with Chaminade’s coach Nick Bennett in the USA Basketball program. They have been wanting to make this game happen for a while now and it started today. Lane goes to St. Louis next year.

Chaminade is one of the schools that travels and plays a national schedule in big time shootouts. Frankly, our Lane Tech Champions are not on that level, at least not yet. But somehow after being down 40-28 at the half, the Champions battled back and near edged Chaminade in the end.

I continue to be impressed with the fight in the Champions. Not the biggest, the most athletic nor most skilled but I have not seen a team this year with more fight.

Final: Chaminade 64, Champions 60.

Lane Tech Defeats St. Ignatius 57-51

Preview of my article in the Inside Booster:

The Lane Tech Champions (8-4, 3-1) found their way back, back from an early season injury to a key player and back from twelve-point deficit at the end of the first quarter. The Champion defeated the St. Ignatius Wolfpack (6-6, 0-2) 57-51 at St. Ignatius on Tuesday.

If there can be an important game early in season, this one sure felt like one. Both the Wolfpack and the Champions opened the season as ranked teams, #10 and #20 respectively. Both have lost their ranking after losing some games.

A win for the Wolfpack against a quality opponent such as Lane would stop their slide after a brutally difficult opening season schedule resulted in five losses to ranked teams.

A win for the Champions would bring them back from a couple losses, including an unexpected conference loss to Payton College Prep, and the absence for key contributor junior center Dalton Scantlebury. Scantlebury suffered a foot injury prior to the Payton game and has missed a few games.

The Wolfpack opened the game looking like a top ten team. The 13-0 scoring run on the Champions at the end of the first quarter made the game appear that it might not be close and the loss of Scantlebury might mean more than it was hoped. 18-6 Wolfpack at the end of the first quarter.

Lane Tech did not panic. Too well coached for that. They started playing defense. Funny how when a team starts playing defense, their shots start to fall. The Champions put together a run of their own. 25-21 St. Ignatius at the half.

Back and forth through the third and into the fourth. With time ticking down late in the fourth quarter, big players come up big. Lane’s senior Shaheed Solebo, who is considered one of the top players in the class of 2024, poured in two three-pointers from the baseline that landed like bombs erupting in the gym and put the Champions ahead for good. The Wolfpack continued to battle with plenty of time left to get the lead back but only managed three more points. The Champions made their free throws and won 51-51.

“Something just turned on. I knew we needed to win the game. Those threes might be the best [three-pointers] I have’ve had all season. I was ready to shoot. I knew those were going in,” Solebo said of the three-pointers.

Of the defensive gem pitched by the Champion, Solebo said, “Coming out after the half, we knew that stops (pointless possessions by St. Ignatius) would win us the game. We knew they were overloading the weakside. We started talking more. We started calling out screens and switching more. We played more aggressive with hands up. We just locked in on defense.”    

“It’s a big win, a team in our sectional, great program. We talked about just trying to find our identity. Dalton [Scantlebury] was such a big part of our identity early for the first six games. Now we have had six games without him. We’ve had some guys step up and do different things for us. Zack [Mazanowski] who is a wing plays [center]. Dylan [Pepper] who’s a wing plays [center,]” Lane head coach Nick LoGalbo said after the game.

Big win for sure but the season is just beginning. The Champions will face St. Louis, Missouri powerhouse basketball program Chaminade College Prep next.

“Frank Bennett, [Chaminade’s] head coach, and I coached in USA Basketball Nike Hoops Summit this past spring. We have run camps together in USA Basketball for years. We are two very like-minded individuals. We have been talking about doing this for a while. We finally got it in the books. We are going to see them next year,” said LoGalbo.

Then onto the Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic for the Champions. This will be the first appearance at Hinsdale where they could face a rematch with neighbor and newfound rival, DePaul Prep Rams on Friday, December 29.

DePaul Prep Defeats Lane Tech 60-49 at Chicago Elite Classic

A preview of this week’s article in the Inside Booster:

The DePaul Prep Rams (6-0, 1-0) defeated the Lane Tech Champions 60-49 in the Chicago Elite Classic on Friday night at UIC’s Credit Union 1 Arena.

The Rams fell behind big time to a Champions squad that was firing on all cylinders. Lane Tech head coach Nick LoGalbo had his Champions were ready to play. Playing aggressive defense and taking to ball inside to Lane’s standout junior center Dalton Scantlebury, who had nine points in the first quarter alone and finishing with a team high sixteen points, the Champions could do nothing wrong. They held a 22-5 lead until DePaul Prep’s Gus Donahue drained a three-pointer from the baseline to make the score 22-8 at the end of the first quarter.

“Our energy coming into the game was obviously very high. DePaul being about 500 feet from our campus, there is a bit of bad blood there,” said Scantlebury. 

“We did some things with our scouting that was different from what they have seen on film and that was by design. We were locked into what we needed to do to attack them,” said Lane head coach Nick LoGalbo.

The Champions went right at the Rams. They got the ball into Scantlebury who scored three straight buckets. That freed up the Champions’ star player Shaheed Solebo who poured in eight points of his own. The Rams were on the ropes.

Lane and DePaul Prep, the successor to long time Gordon Tech high school which was just across the Chicago River from Lane, have been neighbors for decades but not exactly rivals. Now with Gordon becoming DePaul Prep and moving from the Fr. Gordon Campus into the old Devry College building immediately south for Lane, it may be that the rivalry is growing.

DePaul Prep is in the Chicago Catholic League and Lane is in the Chicago Public League. Their paths don’t cross often in competition. They have met in basketball only twice in recent years with DePaul coming out on top in 2015 and 2018 in the championship games of the Battle of the Bridge Thanksgiving tournament, a tournament jointly hosted by the two schools.

It wasn’t always that way. The schools faced off in the 1980 state playoff semi-final game at Lane which the Rams won 15 to 8 going on to win the Gordon Tech’s only state championship in football. The schools played in basketball a few times in the early 2000’s in tournaments with Lane winning three in a row. Before that it was Gordon Tech had the edge winning eight of ten matchups dating back to 1961.

Given Scantlebury’s comment and the fact that the players know each other pretty well from playing with and against each other during the summer, have a rivalry growing. Plus the fact that the Rams won a state basketball championship that last year doesn’t appear to sit too well with the Lane players. The rivalry looks to be heating up.

The Chicago Elite Classic has spice things up in an early season marquis matchup pitting the two programs which are gaining some attention.

This huge early deficit is not part of the typical game plan for Tom Kleinschmidt formula wins. His teams are supposed to grab an early first quarter lead, survive a second quarter comeback by the opponent, build a lead in the third quarter and finish the fourth quarter with rebounds and free throws.

The plan had to be different on Friday night but not the result.  

“We weren’t ready to play. Defensively, which is our strong point, we were not is sync. When they started making shots, we got shook. We got punched in the face. We had to regroup a little bit in the second quarter,” said DePaul Prep head coach Tom Kleinschmit, himself a Gordon Tech grad well acquainted with the neighboring city size school across the Chicago River then and now across a parking lot.

At the start of the second quarter, Kleinschmidt dialed up a three-quarter court press that took the Champions out of what they were doing. 

“They went without a bucket for about six minutes. [We] cut it in have and we had a enough will in the second half to hang on,” Kleinschmidt say.

The Rams did more than cut the lead in half, they all but erased Lane’s huge lead in the second quarter outscoring the Champions 20 to 9 trailing 31-28 at the half.

“Early they were loading up on Dalton [Scantlebury] and we had really good weakside action. Once we started seeing the pressure, we weren’t as aware and probably a little tired. The weakside action stopped happening. We had some turnovers and just not great shots,” LoGalbo said.

It was more than just dialing up a press. Kleinschmidt new his advantage and played it.

“We thought we were a little deeper at the guard spots and we wanted to wear them down. They came out excellent; fantastic job by Lane coming out. But with our experience at guard and out depth at guard, if we could pressure them for 32 minutes, I thought we could get our hands on some live ball turnovers and that’s what happened,” Kleinschmidt added.

That experience and skill at the guard position showed in the end. Rams senior guard PJ Chambers, a product of Bell School, just a few blocks from both Lane and DePaul Prep, came alive in the second half. He led all scorers with twenty-two points including nine free throws in ten attempts that put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter. Part of that guard advantage was AJ Chambers, PJ’s sophomore brother, who had three points.

The Rams’ senior center Jaylan McElroy, who survived a little foul trouble in the first half but was ably spelled by sophomore forward Rashaun Porter, finished with twelve points.

I would tell you what is next for these two programs but I haven’t thought much past this game. It’s been fast and furious start to season. Time to take a breath.

But stay tuned. The season just started.

Lane Tech Handles Jones 60-40 in the Battle of the Bridge Opener

The Lane Tech Champions opened the season against the Jones College Prep Eagles with an impressive 60-41 victory at the 2023 Annual Battle of the Bridge Tournament.

The Champions come into the season as a ranked team, #20 in the Sun-Times Super 25, for the first time that I can remember. There are high expectations for the Champions who feature two of the top rated players in the area, senior guard Shaheed Solebo and junior foward/center Dalton Scantlebury.

I wasn’t planning a full story on this game. We will have to save that for Friday’s championship game. I also took some photos at the barnburner between the Champions and the Niles North Vikings. I will post those photos shortly.

Lane Tech Broadcaster Alex Burstein set to Graduate and Conquer the World

A preview of my upcoming Inside—Booster article 

By Jack Lydon

Alex Burstein is going to be famous someday. That day may be soon. The eighteen-year-old Lane Tech senior is a young man on a mission and that mission is well underway. Alex broadcasts Lane Tech football, basketball, volleyball and baseball games on Lane Tech’s You Tube channel.

“Tonight (April 24 game against Von Steuben) was my 163rd broadcast,” Alex said. “I do every baseball home game. And for basketball it’s home and away. I also do home games for girls’ volleyball and football. I also did one or two flag football and boys soccer games. I’ve done the boys basketball games since freshman year. I have done the baseball games since sophomore year.”

To prepare for each broadcast, “I keep notes. I email the coach a week in advance. I talk to the opposing coach in advance. I look up the opposing players on Twitter and news articles. Even if it’s one or two notes about a player. Parents really love when they hear me say something about a player,” said Alex.

The Rogers Park eighteen-year-old, whose brother Simon is a junior at Lane, has known what he wants to do from an early age.

“Growing up I was always interested in sports, but I was not great at sports. In fifth grade, I realized that I wanted to do this as a career. I wanted to find a way to work in sports,” Burstein said.

“Before [Alex] even started at Lane, I was in the stadium for a state soccer game. He hunted me down trying to talk about next year’s football team,” said Lane Tech men’s basketball coach and former athletic director Nick LoGalbo.

“Broadcasting is my thing that I do out of school. I put a lot of time into it. Basketball season is usually three games a week. Baseball is three to four a week. I also work with the school newspaper as a co-editor-in-chief,” Alex said.

In addition to broadcasting, Alex is one of three editors-in-chief for the Lane Tech school newspaper, the Champion. Oh, and his grade point average is 5.07 on a four-point scale. His tireless work in and out of school has landed Alex a full ride scholarship to Syracuse University where he will major in broadcast journalism with a minor in political science.

Alex has a gained a certain celebrity in the Lane Community. “The parents, a lot of them watch. But also the coaches. LoGalbo doesn’t love it because a lot of the coaches get film on him. So a couple times this year we “privated” video. There is not a lot of programs like this in Chicago. It’s nice to get recognition,” Alex said.

As for the players, “they all think it’s pretty cool.”

“I have been doing this now for almost 20 years. He is one of the most special people that has come out of our school,” LoGalbo said.

“For what he does, he is driven by such a clear north star and sense of purpose. It’s really crazy to see that. To have a young man like that who has had a such a clear sense of purpose and direction, he’s done wonders for our school and our athletic department.”

“Him getting a full scouting report on us for other teams when they watch his live broadcasts hasn’t been awesome but if you are a good coach you are going to do your scouting anyway,” LoGalbo admitted.

“Alex does his homework on the other teams too. He has called every coach that we have played for the last four years to get their starting lineup, to get their story to get their records. It’s no wonder he’s got a full ride to Syracuse. We’ll see him on ESPN one night.”

Last year after Lane’s varsity basketball game at Whitney Young, legendary Dolphins’ head coach Tyrone Slaughter went over to Alex who was broadcasting from a table on the sideline and said to Alex, “I am a huge fan. I watch you on You Tube. You do a great job. I find it very helpful.”

Lane head baseball coach Sean Freeman praised Burstein as well. “He is a huge piece of Lane. Not only does he do all the sports games; he is head of the paper. He does a lot for the community as far as getting out all the good things that are happening. He has been an invaluable piece of our program, the football program, the basketball program and covering school wide news.”

“I think it’s a great thing [that Alex broadcasts our games]. We have people all over the country that are now able to watch our games. My parents live in Colorado. Up until last year, neither of them had seen any of our games live, now they are able to watch every home game because he puts those on-line. If the other teams get a little scouting edge on us, in my book, it’s worth it overall,” said Freeman.

“I am not surprised that [Alex] has a high GPA. He’s been part of our publication here for his four years. He did not take journalism as a freshman but he contacted me” to get involved, said Lane Tech English and journalism teacher and newspaper advisor David Strom. 

“Alex became the sports editor pretty early in his sophomore year. He has been co-editor-in-chief his junior and senior years. He has a ton of experience with reporting and writing. That’s a huge advantage. He is a leader in our classroom and our staff. He collaborates with first year journalism students. He will go along on an interview with someone who is new. That is hugely valuable for me as a teacher,” Strom said.

“He carries himself like a professional and he has just been there. And he does really good work. I have seen the improvement he has made. People recognize that and think highly of him because of it,” Strom said.

Favorite experience as a Lane broadcaster, “probably Wrigley Field. That’s hard to beat. So the City Championship last year for baseball, that was pretty cool. For basketball, I’ve done the Chicago Elite classic every year. My freshman year, they had me on radio row at DePaul’s Wintrust arena. That was early on but that was hard to beat. This past summer I went to Israel to cover the Maccabiah Games. Just calling games there was really cool. That was probably my favorite,” Alex said.

As for favorite broadcasters, “I would say it’s Pat Hughes, the Cubs’ radio broadcaster. That’s my dream job, Cubs’ radio. For basketball, it’s Adam Amin, Bulls’ TV broadcaster. He also does a lot of national work with Fox Sports. That’s my other dream job because he does so many other sports,” Alex added.

“Broadcasting has been my main extracurricular. That and the school newspaper. I am the editor-in-chief of the school paper. Those two are the heart of my college applications. I think it helps a lot. I have a demo real that I submitted to a couple schools. I wrote my essay about going to Israel and transitioning from being an athlete to be a broadcaster. I am going to Syracuse. I am majoring in broadcast digital journalism. My goal is to do this professionally. I really like sports journalism but I really like political journalism. I am probably going to do minors in sports analytics and political science.”

As for a color commentator on his broadcasts, “it’s hard to find someone to do it. The biggest thing is that the kids who care most about sports that could be a color commentator are the kids playing. It would be ideal to have a color commentator, but I think it’s good practice [for me] to do both rolls,” Alex said.

As for the equipment used, “it’s a mix. I bought a lot of the audio equipment,” Alex said. [The school has] helped with a couple GoPros and stuff so it’s a mix.”

“They are all really supportive. The broadcasts are on the school’s You Tube channel. They kind of have let me do whatever I want to do with it. All the administrators know about it and they watch. There is a lot of support. And obviously, with the coaches too.”

You can find Alex’s broadcasts on the Lane Tech You Tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lanetechathletics743/videos

At Wrigley Field for the CPS Baseball City Championship Game

I had the good fortune to cover the Lane v. Brooks CPS City Championship on Monday at Wrigley Field. I was in the photo well adjacent, really just part of the Cubs dugout. Very cool.

My article about the game which appears in today’s Inside Booster, Skyline and News Star and is also posted on this blog. I posted my photos from the game there. Many of the photos are unremarkable but I want to put them up so players and coaches might see themselves and others can get a better feeling for the action.

I parked for free in the Cubs “Camry Lot” on Grace. By chance, Quinn Harris and Kirsten Stickney pulled in behind me. Quinn and Kirsten are two of the best photographers anywhere. I have been lucky enough to get to know them some from shooting high school sports over the past few years. I have learned a great deal from them. They are wonderful people eager to help me. I greatly appreciate that.

Quinn takes the most beautifully exposed, colored and composed photos one will see anywhere. Kirsten’s gift for the reaction shot is unequaled. I try to get those shots but never come close to here level. Being there with them made it all the more special for me. Quinn took Kristen and I on a little tour of Wrigley and where to get the best shots. He shots at Wrigley quite a bit.

After the game, I was sitting at a table in the dugout working on my story and Pearl Jam’s “Someday We’ll Go All the Way” song come over the sound system. I got a little choked up.

I have known for some time that it is not advisable to both a photograph and report on the same game. When I started this amateur sports coverage stuff for Patrick Boylan and Mike Foucher’s Center Square Journal eleven years ago, I learned that if I try to do both, I do both poorly. I had to choose one or the other. I choose photography because I like it more. I am better at it than writing.

But I was at Wrigley to do a job. And so I did. I felt like a real working reporter. Frankly, it’s not something I are really up to. My wordsmithing could use plenty of help. I write these articles at the expense of my vanity, because there just isn’t enough reporting on high school sports out there. Michael O’Brien and Mike Clark can’t be everywhere.

As excited as I was to be shooting at Wrigley Field, I knew I really did not have the proper equipment to shoot a baseball game at a major league ball park. One really needs a 400mm/f 2.8 lens. My 7D with the 300mm lens is roughly that equivalent but the quality is greatly reduced—basically a poor man’s rig for the job. But that what I have, so I used it to some effect. I also have a 1Dx so its not like I don’t have good enough stuff. My failings as a photographer are not for want of good equipment. It’s just more suited to basketball.

This day, I concentrated on writing the article for Inside Publications. Throughout the game I kept asking myself, “what is the story of the game?” It didn’t take long to see that the story was how Lane Tech’s junior pitcher, Josh Katz, to over the game.

I cannot overstate how impressed I am with the poise of this young man. He is either 16 or 17 years old and yet he took the mound at Wrigley Field like a seasoned major league veteran and retired the first six batters he faced—1, 2, 3—in the first two innings.

When I spoke to him after the game, I could see just how genuinely excited and happy he was just to be playing at Wrigley Field. He did what he could to take it all in. After the game, I got some shots of him walking out into the infield in the direction of the bleachers just to soak it in.

In my questions, I brought it all back to baseball asking about what pitches he was throwing. He seemed even more excited talking about how his two-seamer was riding in on the hands of the Brooks batters.

Baseball is such a beautiful game played on the grass field between one's ears. Josh Katz gets it. His catcher Zach Shashoua gets it. Lane Tech manager Sean Freeman gets it. The whole Lane Tech Baseball Team, all 500 of them, get it.

I’m not Frank Deford or Rick Telander writing eloquently about the majesty of baseball. But I sure experienced the majesty of the game, our national pastime, at Wrigley Field on Monday. Truly a wonderful experience.

Lane Tech Falls to Orr 66-59

I made my way over the Orr High School last Friday for the Lane v. Orr game. I have seen Lane a couple times this year and they are on the verge of some big victories against powerhouse teams. Could this be the day.

As usual, never a dull moment at Orr. For some reason there were only two referees. A questionable call exercised Lane’s energetic coach Nick LoGalbo to the point of a technical foul. Things just unravelled after that. There were excessive foul shots. They took two points off the board because the wrong player took the initial technical foul shots. I have never seen points coming for the board before that game.

The game continued. The Lane Basketball Team played well. Orr’s size just provided that extra boost with some inside dunks late in the fourth to left the Spartans to a 66-59 victory.

Now that Orr has new lights, it is not quite as challenging to take photos there was it once was. But I still love going there. It’s fun place to see a game. It was only about half full but it is a loud of a gym as one will find. I hope you like the photos.

Lane Drops Taft 50-40 in Chicago Elite Classic

The Lane Tech basketball team defeated the Taft Eagles Friday (Dec. 3) 50-40 at the Chicago Elite Classic. The Lane basketball team gained the edge on the Eagles as the CPS Northside leader.

The game started slowly with both teams missing shots they would ordinarily make in their home gyms. Senior point guard Sean Molloy took early control for the Lane Basketball Team (5-1, 0-0 CPS Red West/North) with seven first quarter points. Lane grabbed a 12-9 first quarter lead that it would never relinquish.

It just seemed like the kind of game Lane wanted to play. Tough aggressive defense, control the tempo, score inside and kick out for open jumpers. It all worked, except for the open jumper part. The Basketball Team could barely find a bucket from beyond the arc, going 2 for 18 for the game.

Even so, Taft (3-2, 0-0, CPS White-North) never went away. Tons of effort on the offensive and defensive boards kept the Eagles in the game, out rebounding Lane 49 to 31.

The difference in the game was turnovers. The Eagles gave up the ball 25 times with Lane scoring 27 of its fifty points off Taft turnovers.

Molloy led all scorers with 14 points. Sean also had an impressing block in the first quarter swatting a ball away above the rim.

Interestingly, Lane’s scoring was spreadout throughout its roster. In addition to Molloy’s 14, Sophomore forward Shaheed Solebo had 9, Senior forward Stephen Goonan had 8, Junior guard Jack Tzur had 5 and three other players had 4 points each.

Taft’s 6’3” Junior forward Armin Aliloski lead the Eagles with 13 points and 18 rebounds.

With the Basketball Team lifting its record to 5-1 and Taft falling to 3-2, Lane looks to be the best CPS team on the Northside.

Lane Coach Nick LoGalbo wanted none of that, downplaying the rivalry with Taft.

“It’s another game,” LoGalbo said. “We improved tonight. We got better. Hats off to Taft. They played a great game. The got a new coach. He’s doing a great job. But it’s just another game for us. We prepared the same way we prepare for everybody. We did what we needed to do tonight one possession at a time.”

Modesty aside, Lane’s appearance in the prestigious Chicago Elite Classic is no accident. The Chicago Elite Classic started ten years ago by Whitney Young coach Tyrone Slaughter and Simeon coach Robert Smith. The legendary CPS coaches wanted to showcase top programs in bring in some out-of-state teams to amp up competition. This year’s out-of-state teams include Vashon High School and Chaminade College Prep from St. Louis, Evangel Christian from Louisville, Gonzaga from Washington, DC, and Mater Dei from California.

“It means a lot [to win in the Chicago Elite Classic,] Lane Senior guard Sean Molloy said. “We’ve been trying to get ourselves on the map. We started a few years back and we are getting more and more noticed from the local tournaments. To win in this, just proves that we should be here.”

“It was very clear tonight that it meant a lot to our boys to be here,” LoGalbo continued. “It meant a lot for our school to be here. We had a big crowd. We had alumni come out. I thought we represented well tonight.”

The Lane Basketball Team will get no rest next week with Steinmetz on Monday, North Lawndale on Wednesday, Schurz on Friday and Oak Forest on Saturday.

Likewise for Taft, from one high profile shootout to another. The Eagles will face host Ridgewood at the Ridgewood Shootout on Sunday (Dec. 6).

Inside Article Preview--CPS Basketball Getting Underway—Catholic League Opens with DePaul Prep Win and Loyola Loss

The Chicago Public Schools announced Feb. 8 that high school basketball could begin Feb. 11. Coaches are expecting to work through tryouts, start practices on Feb. 12 and start games on February 19. The IHSA announced is extension of the CPS season to March 20, a week longer than the March 13 limit with applies throughout the rest of the state. This gives CPS teams one month and one day to play as many games as can safely be scheduled.

“We have 10 teams in our league [Red West-North]. So it’s nine games that CPS has given us for a league schedule,” Lane Tech Coach Nick LoGalbo said. Lane will play Clark, Farragut, Lincoln Park, Marshall, North Lawndale, Orr, Schurz, Westinghouse and Young. The dates and time have not been finalized.

“What the non-conference schedule looks like, I don’t know. Are they going to allow us to schedule and extra game per week or are they going to cap it? I don’t know,” LoGalbo said.

“Unfortunately, all the Catholic League and 30-mile radius teams have their schedules pretty locked up already. We were going to play DePaul and Pat’s and Ignatius. I don’t know if we are going to be able to get those teams in.”

“I wish I knew more. When [the IHSA] extended [the season] a week, I really thought they were going to do a regular season schedule and then a conference tournament that last week. But based upon the preliminary schedule I received, the regular season goes all the way to deadline. So I don’t think there is going to be any playoff or tournament.”

The preliminary CPS rules given initially to coaches do not allow spectators at all. Each team is allowed 20 people--15 players, two coaches and three others. There would also be two people at the table, three officials, one administrator and a maintenance person. There is not specific allowance for press. However, that may change after coaches have their meeting scheduled for Feb. 11.

Sixth ranked DePaul Prep played its first game Monday, Feb. 8, defeating St. Joseph 54-37 in St. Joseph’s nearly empty gym.

The Rams came out cold. Suffering jitters from the nearly year-long layoff, both teams missed shots and turned the ball over.

After a St. Joseph 7-0 run to open the game and about half of the first quarter, DePaup Prep coach Tom Kleinschmidt dialed up the pressure having his Rams trap the ball handler.

 “Slow start coming out. You have to hand it to Joe’s. They were way more physical than us. They came and punched us in the face . . .. It’s a Catholic League road game so you have to be ready and we weren’t. For whatever reason. I’m not making any excuses. We picked up pressure and started getting some live ball turnovers. We started getting some baskets,” Kleinschmidt said.

Midway through the second quarter the Rams opened a 12-point lead and it never was close after that.

DePaul senior guard Tyler “TY” Johnson lead all scorers with 26 points. DePaul senior guard Rasheed Bello finished with 9 points but had an end-to-end monster dunk in the first half that fired up the Rams.

Senior center Brian Matthews did not play until the start of the fourth quarter. “Brian hasn’t practiced yet. That’s the only reason [he didn’t play]. We brought him in in the fourth to give Dylan a little plow and that’s it,” Kleinschmidt said.

Postponements and cancellations have crippled the Chicago Catholic League schedule. The Rams were scheduled to play Marmion on Feb. 10. However, St. Joe’s had a player with a positive test within 48 hours after DePaul game, and after contact tracing, DePaul Prep determined that the majority of their varsity team would have to quarantine for 10 days. The Rams will miss the Marmion, Montini and Providence St. Mell games. The Rams next scheduled game is Feb. 17. at DeLaSalle Academy.

Loyola Academy opened its season at home Friday, Feb. 5, against Maine South. The Ramblers lead going into halftime but fell behind in the third quarter and could not recover eventually losing 47-36.

Despite the loss, Ramblers’ coach Tom Livatino was upbeat. “It felt normal in an abnormal time. I always thought we would play. It was all good. It was so phenomenal to be back.

As for the game Livatino said, “[a]n inexperienced team lost to an experienced team. That’s what happened. All credit to Maine South. We have a long way to go. We haven’t had a practices to iron the kinks out. We have chosen to play games. I guarantee that we will get better.”

And he was right. After two postponed games, the Rambler hosted #13 ranked St. Ignatius on Feb. 11. The Ramblers edged the Wolfpack 34-31 winning the Jesuit Cup (both schools are run by the Society of Jesus order of Catholic priests).

The Ramblers replaced their Feb. 12 game postponed game against St. Joseph with a game against Glenbrook North.

It’s a strange season. The schedule is fluid. Teams are just going to play as games work through issues during games. With no playoffs, postponed and cancelled games on a daily basis, we should all just enjoy any game we can see. For most fans, that will have to be through a live stream. Most schools are making such arrangements. Check school websites and social media for live stream information.