DePaul Prep Defeats #1 Whitney Young 55-43

The Rams had lost to Fenwick a week before. Despite beating Brother Rice in an emotional last game in the Tom Winiecki Gym, it felt like DePaul limped into the Chipotle Clash of Champions. They were ranked 11 or 19 or something. I don’t even remember.

Coach Kleinschmidt had them ready. Ready to play their game. As is their game, the Rams opened a lead. The top ranked Dolphins rebounded and actually lead at half time.

No problem. Just keep playing the Rams’ game. Whitney Young was happy to oblige. Well, maybe not happy. They didn’t have much say in the issue. The Rams controlled the tempo, moved the ball around until they found a seem to exploit. And that they did.

TY had 32. Brian Mathews had 11.

Oh, and they made their free throws at the end. Doing that, when one has the lead at the end, makes winning look easy.

I was more of a spectator for this game. It shows in the photos. I don’t even care. I just enjoyed the game.

It was proof to me just how special this group of young men—this team—is. Proof that Tom Kleinschimdt is a special kind of coach. Proof that even in the disappointment and frustration of the season of COVID, we can all take something special from the experience.

This was just the first game of the Chipotle Clash of Champions; still more work to do. But all the proof I needed.

DePaul Prep Defeated Providence Catholic 55-38

The DePaul Prep Rams defeated the Providence Catholic Celtics 55-38 last night (Feb. 24) at the Tom Winiecki Gym.

TY Johnson was honored before the game for scoring his 1,000 point as a varsity player in the first game of the year against St. Joseph.

Today was my day for getting photos of the coaches and of blocked shots.

I hope you like the photos.

DePaul Prep Defeats St. Joseph 54-37 in Opener

DePaul Prep defeated St. Joseph 54-37 in opening game of this COVID-19 season on Monday evening in an empty gym. Maybe you saw it streaming. I understand St. Joes was broadcasting it on Facebook or You Tube. Essentially, the only spectators were the teams themselves, the St. Joseph sophomore team, a couple of St. Joseph staff members and me.

It was an interesting game. The Rams came out cold. They had good shots; they just missed the bucket early and often. Both teams were missing shots and turning the ball over. It must have been jitters from the long layoff.

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 after the game.

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

DePaul Prep 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. By the grace of God, I happened to be ready and snapped a photo which I posed on Twitter at halftime and is included below.

Senior center Brian Mathews 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 [Arnett] a little plow and that’s it,” Kleinschmidt said.

The Rams were scheduled to play Marmion in the Tom Weinicki Gym on Wednesday. However, the game has been postponed because Marmion is quarantined. The next game for the Rams is Friday evening at Montini.

As for the photos, it’s all about the light at St. Joe’s. Those tungsten or sodium vapor lights must be an effort to freak out other teams. Most CCL teams are used to it, maybe even like it. I admit the lights are kind of growing on me. It makes for weird photos. Everything is under exposed orange.

My string of a game every day or so is coming to an end. Just not enough time to shoot, process and write every day.

Hope you like the photos.

Notre Dame Defeats DePaul Prep 65-60 to 2019 Win Battle of the Bridge

In the first big game of the year for Notre Dame and DePaul Prep, the Dons edged the Rams 65-60 to win the Battle of the Bridge Friday evening. A full house at DePaul’s Tom Winiecki Gym hosted this rematch from of last year’s semi-final.

The first half was mostly even. The Dons got out to small lead in the first quarter but gave up points in transition off missed shots. The Rams drew even at the end of the second quarter. It was tie at 24 at the half.

In the third quarter, Notre Dame’s shooting improved and the Dons opened an eight point lead. The Rams came charging back early in the fourth Quarter, but three consecutive three point shots extended the Don’s lead. The Rams could not make up the difference in the time allotted. Perhaps a playoff rematch in March is in our future.

The Dons are every bit as good as expected. Louis Lesmond shined scoring 22 points including a couple monster dunks. Sayles, D’Amico, Murphy and Bergstrom also played well. The Dons will win many games this year. Benet and Marian Catholic will have their hands full in the ESCC.

Four games into the 2019/2020 basketball season, I am not the least bit disappointed. Tom Kleinschmidt has his Rams prepared to play. They are quick and confident. Junior Tyler Johnson has stepped up as the leader and scorer. Lance Mosley is hitting threes and playing fabulous defense. Brian Matthews is manning the boards and scoring inside. Rasheed Bello is as good as advertised. Cam Lewis contributes in all phases. JD Shower is solid and a great contributor off the bench. The Rams move the ball around the floor almost too fast to follow. It’s going to be fun to watch these kid Rams.

DePaul Prep Handles Vocational 62-46 and Look Ahead

The DePaul Prep Rams defeated the Chicago Vocational Career Academy 64-46 in the Battle of the Bridge Thanksgiving Tournament.

The Rams jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The Rams defense simply stifled the CVS’s scoring attempts and and turned around and scored layups in transition. It was 20 to 6 and at the end of the first quarter and 43 to 18 at the half.  Rams’ Jr. guard Tyler Johnson finished with eighteen points. Center Brian Matthews had 13. Brian is playing with confidence and he is scoring. Lance Mosley had seven points.

Last year I wrote a season preview so I thought I should again. I am a little late with the Rams having already played two games but I thought I might offer some thoughts anyway.

Last year I wrote, “The Rams are also seen by many observers as among the top teams in 3A with Morgan Park, Bogan, St. Viator and St. Rita. So the expectations are high for a deep run into the IHSA 3A playoffs.” The Rams did not disappoint. They won the Grayslake Sectional over a very good St. Viator team. The Super-sectional game never happened because of a fight in the sectional championship between Farragut and North Lawndale. After falling to Bogan in the 3A semi-final, the Rams won the 3A Third Place last March over Peoria Manual.

In the words of Joe Henricksen, “Under Tom Kleinschmidt, DePaul Prep has arrived as a full-fledged, legitimate basketball program in Illinois.” Last year’s success made believers of Joe Henricksen and the Sun-Times reporter Michael O’Brien. The Rams look to take the next step from upstart to perennial powerhouse.

A look ahead at this year’s schedule has some opportunities for the Rams to pile up wins. The Chicago Catholic League poses its usual problems, Fenwick, Loyola, St. Joseph. I don’t know what to expect out of Br. Rice and St. Laurence with their two stars graduated or transferred. I would say the Catholic League Blue is wide open and the Rams have as good a chance as anybody.

The second major tournament is the Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic. This will be the Rams third year in Hinsdale for Christmas week. Hinsdale has a number of ranked teams including Marian Catholic, Stevenson, Homewood-Flossmoor, Westinghouse and CCL rival St. Rita. The Rams could make a run at this title. It would be difficult and would require some good fortune but they could win.

The Second Annual Steve Pappas Shootout brings Deerfield to the Tom Winicki Gym. Deerfield is good but they are not Morgan Park. Personally, I think it was genius to bring in Morgan Park last year. It got last year’s team into a big game against a potential state tournament favorite. The narrow defeat gave the 2018/2019 Rams the confidence they needed for their deep playoff run.

This year’s St. Patrick Shootout will bring St. Viator. Even without St. Viator’s graduated stars, Hernandez and Calvin, my beloved Lions are more than just dangerous. Lions forward Connor Kochera is drawing rave reviews for his performances over the summer.

Non-conference games include Ridgewood, Peoria Manual, Benet and Mather (for senior night).

The 3A landscape is a little different this year. This is not your father’s 3A. Changing  enrollment classifications have dropped some traditional 4A schools into 3A. Among those schools moving from 4A to 3A are Notre Dame, Deerfield, Benet, Fenwick, Kenwood and Riverside-Brookfield. All these 4A playoff teams in 2018/2019 are in 3A this year. Throw in powerhouse teams like Morgan Park and Bogan and 3A is a whole new world.

So here we go:

1.         Battle of the Bridge

2.         CCL Part 1

3.         Hinsdale Christmas Tournament

4.         CCL Championship

5.         3A Playoffs

How does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

DePaul Prep Wins Opener Over Urban Prep--Bronzeville 74-32

The DePaul Prep Rams opened the 2019-2020 season this evening at the Tom Winicki Gym with a 74-32 victory over the Urban Prep—Bronzeville Lions.

The Rams struggled early in the first quarter but quickly started running the floor after Bronzeville turnovers ending in some easy layups for Ty Johnson. Lance Mosley added 4 three-pointers in the second quarter. DePaul Prep had a 41-21 lead at the half.

In the second half, DePaul coach Tom Kleinschmidt went deep into his bench. The Rams widened the lead holding the Lions to eleven points in the second half. The game finished with a 74-32 final score.

As I wrote in a tweet this morning, 111 days until the state championships. I never realized how short the season is. It will go by fast. So the first part of the season is the Lane/DePaul Prep Battle of the Bridge. The Rams will face Vocational, Niles North then probably Notre Dame. I hope to get out to St. Viator to see those Lions take on Evanston.

DePaul Wins IHSA Third Place 64-44 over Manuel

The DePaul Prep Rams did what so few get to do—win their last game of the season. Okay, it wasn’t exactly the best way to do it but the Rams got to get a little of the bad taste our of their mouths that they would carry around until November. The DePaul Prep Rams, 26-10, wanted to win and played like it. The same cannot be said about their opponent, Peoria Manuel.

In yesterday’s semi-final Manuel gave eventual 3A champion East St. Louis all they could handle losing a fast-paced physical game, 57-48. Manuel seemed in no mood to play and it showed.

DePaul sophomore guard Tyler Johnson lead all scorers with 15 including two three-pointers. Senior guard Perry Cowen finished with 13 points in his final high school game before going on to play at Brown University next fall. Senior guard Raheem Anthony had 10 points.

The DePaul Prep Rams finished the school’s most successful season in 19 years, The Rams won the Catholic League Blue Division and finished third in the state in 3A.

The future is bright for the Rams. Ty Johnson, Lance Mosley and a host of Catholic League champion sophomores return.