DePaul Prep Defeats Oswego East 56-48

The DePaul Prep Rams (10-1, 1-0) played the Oswego East Wolves (6-4, 4-1) in the Coaches United Invitational at Whitney Young last evening. The game started about forty-five minutes late because the Curie v. Waukegan game before went into overtime.

These shootout games make me nervous because they are at such random times on random days. I fear they will catch the Rams distracted or tired or hurt or just not focused. I tell myself, “don’t worry about the win/loss record.” What does it really matter if one drops a game to some south suburban school? This is about winning the Chicago Catholic League and the 3A state championship.

The Rams were waiting.

So was I. The white balance on my R-3 had been off in recent days. So, since I had some time. I had my headphones with me so I fired up You Tube for a quick tutorial on doing a manual white balance on the R-3. I did the white balance and it worked nicely.

Then I waited some more.

I sat in my usual spot at Whitney Young. Except this was not a Whitney Young game. I was at the wrong end of the gym to catch the Rams on offense. Not a big deal; it just felt a little off.

At the start of the game, the Rams were a little off. Not so bad, just committing more turnovers than usual. They lead 13-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter wasn’t better. There was still a lot of turnover and the refs were not helping. Tied at 25 at the half. Nothing that was so bad. Just off.

I thought, Tom Kleinschmidt will work it out.

The Rams were better in the third. Rashaun Porter and Rykan Woo were scoring. The Rams’ defense kicked in at the start of the fourth quarter. Plus, Oswego East just lost some steam. They weren’t finding the good shots in the paint that they had been. An 11-2 run to open the 4th quarter (I wrote 9-2 in a tweet I posted but it was 11-2) gave the Rams the edge they usually put on teams at the start of the third quarter. The Rams kind of coasted to victory after that.

So the start of the season is in the books. Ten wins against one loss, and that to the No. 1 ranked team, and then by only two points. Wins against a couple ranked opponents and an out-of-state powerhouse.

But here is the really fun part—Pontiac. If you have gone, you should go. I love the Pontiac Holiday Tournament. My experience is a little different than that of the average fan. I sit courtside and get to go in the press room and relax in private while working on photos and stories. The fun part are the games. Always good teams and good games. The people in Pontiac are so nice and friendly, even talkative. It’s fun. I love it.

Now I get to see our DePaul Prep Rams in the granddaddy of the holiday tournaments. It’s an honor and a pleasure. But, they will face some serious competition. A win over host Pontiac would likely bring Joliet West, Curie, Simeon or Benet. Fine with me. The Rams will be ready. Let’s go.

Romeoville Live Summer Shootout 2023

The Romeoville Live Event is not at Romeoville High School. It’s at the Romeoville Athletics and Events Center, a large sports facility that normally hosts basketball and indoor soccer leagues. It’s big. The soccer field has six basketball courts assembled on top of the field turf.

The games themselves are abbreviated versions of a high school game. Two halves of fifteen minutes. Few foul shots. Not a whole lot of defense. These “Live” events allow college coaches a chance to see high school players in person. They afford the casual fan a chance to see the skills of individual players. To see how teams play together at this early part of the year. To check out the new players on a team. Plus, its basketball when there is not a whole lot else going on.

I couldn’t catch many games, some late games Friday and some early games Saturday. I managed to see some teams I cover: Lane, DePaul, Evanston and Simeon. Also, Sean Connor’s Antioch Sequoits—can’t miss them.

Lane was handled in the first game I saw by a West Aurora team that was a revelation to me. I have study up on them. Very talented.

The Champions rallied for a solid win over Oak Park/River Forest. In between those games was Antioch v. Evanston. Sean Connor’s mythical swamp creatures were depleted by injuries and players out playing baseball. They struggled a little moving the ball but plenty of fight in the Sequoits. Sean will have them ready to compete up there near the border.

Evanston looked athletic but these are not the Wildkits of recent years. Mike Ellis will coach ‘em good and have them ready to make trouble in the Central Suburban South.

I really wanted to see DePaul Prep v. St. Laurence on Friday afternoon but that was not in cards. This morning the Rams would face Hyde Park and Oswego East. We would get a good look at the Rams against stiff competition. They did not disappoint.

In typical Tom Kleinschmidt fashion, the Rams built to a small lead on Hyde Park midway through the first half and stayed away despite a furious full court press with four minutes left in the game. Rams 57, Thunderbirds 39.

The Oswego East Wolves would be the early test for this year’s Rams. Oswego East upset Joliet West in last season’s 4A Sectional final only to lose a close game to eventual 4A State Champ Moline in the super-sectional. This wasn’t last year’s team but some key pieces are still there.

The Rams got behind early and just looked out of sync. Would this be end of the streak?

No. Midway through the first half, the Rams put together a 12-0 run and managed to carry the up and down eight point lead to a 48-40 victory. Sophomore forward LaShaun Porter is filling in nicely for the departed Payton Kamin and the injured Jonas Johnson.  

I also got a chance to catch up with Dominic Scianna from CPS Athletics and St. Laurance assistant coach Billy Judge. So that was good.

With these two Live events behind me, I guess it is football season now.