DePaul Prep Drops Lake Forest 51-45 at Steve Pappas Shootout

DePaul Prep hosted its 4th Annual Steve Pappas Shootout on Saturday. Four high level high school basketball games from noon to 6:30. The first game was the host DePaul Prep Rams (10-6, 1-4) against Lake Forest Scouts (7-8, 2-2).

The Rams opened an early lead on strength of seven points by PJ Chambers. The Rams have struggled a little this year losing four straight games to Chicago Catholic League opponents. The Rams are without two junior starters Jaylon McElroy and Payton Kamin who are expected to return to the starting line-up soon.

This matchup against Lake Forest brought Asa Thomas to Tom Winiecki Gym. The Lake Forest senior forward and Clemson commit is one of the top players in Illinois. This was the first time I got to see him play in person. He did not disappoint. Unfortunately for the Scouts, he didn’t have enough support on either end of the floor.

The Rams opened a ten point halftime and lead by as much as 14 in the third quarter. Lake Forest chipped away at the lead cutting it to four points with 17 seconds left. The Scouts turned the ball over with 6 seconds on the clock. The Rams survived 51-45.

Asa Thomas lead all scorers with 24 points. The Rams PJ Chambers had 22. It was a nice win for the Rams against a quality team in the shootout honoring their from coach Steve Pappas.

Simeon Survives Benet to Win Pontiac Championship 52-49

I just love the Pontiac Holiday Tournament. It is so well done. And this year it did not disappoint. Simeon took a sixteen-point lead at the half. I knew it wasn’t over.

Benet Academy (15-1, 5-0) came all the way back, well—not all the way. Simeon (12-0, 3-0), lead by Jalen Griffith, 17 points, survived a furious comeback by the Redwings, 52-49, to win Robert Smith’s 11th championship at Pontiac and Simeon’s 15th.

So more about Pontiac. It’s totally about basketball. People are there to see good basketball. The crowd is large but not too large. The gym is big but not too big. The light is, well, good enough. The food is good and not expensive.

And the people there are so nice. They treat the patrons and the media so well. I cannot overstate how great of an experience it is. It’s so comfortable to work there. They have a wonderful media room. They provide food and drinks.

Except for a break for World War II and the COVID Pandemic, the tournament has been going since 1926. The program contains a ton of facts to know and tell. How many times has Mike Oliver and his Curie Condors won the tournament you ask? On page thirty of the program, one will learn Coach Oliver have won the tournament four times. How many Mr. Basketballs have played in the Pontiac Holiday Tournament you ask? Nine, of course. (Page 80.) How many NBA players have played in the Tournament? 25. See page 78.

Oh, and did I say the tournament used my photo of Miles Rubin on the cover of this year’s program? It did. It’s a great honor for me, even if my loving wife is not impressed.

Only 362 days until on the 2023 Pontiac Holiday Tournament!

Payton Defeats Jones 60-51

I stopped over at Payton to catch as much of the Jones game before heading over to the DePaul Prep v. St. Rita game last Friday. I am glad I did. Payton has a good basketball team and a lively gym atmosphere. Once one can get in the building that is.

I was impressed by senior guard, forward and center Brennan Moore. He can do it all and regularly does. He and his band of large omnivores put a solid beating on a very good Jones team.

I had a nice chat with coach Ross Burt after the game. “We don’t really have positions,” he told me.

I couldn’t work up a proper story in a timely fashion but I will get back there for the full treatment at some point.

Oh, and they have really interesting halftime entertainment too.

DePaul Prep Defeats Lane Tech 51-38

The Lane Tech Champions came over the Chicago River bridge to DePaul Prep’s Tom Winiecki Gym to face the DePaul Prep Rams Saturday afternoon.

The athletic competitions between schools literally right next to each other for the last sixty-two years ought to be more of a big deal that they are. I don’t know the last time the Lane and Gordon Tech/DePaul Prep played each other in football or baseball. The boys basketball teams played a few years ago in basketball but only in the championship of the Battle of the Bridge holiday tournament.

But thankfully, there is girls’ basketball featuring two coaches that came out of the St. Benedict girls’ basketball powerhouse. Megan Molloy and Sarah Zarymbski both played basketball at St. Benedict elementary school a few blocks away at Leavitt and Irving Park Road for the long time girls basketball coach Bernadette Molloy.

As for the game, Sarah’s Rams got the better of Megan’s Champions 51-38. The Rams look pretty good. Coach Zarymbski looks to continue deep playoff runs for her Rams. The Rams have reached 2A Super-sectionals the last 2 IHSA playoffs.

DePaul Prep Falls to Mount Carmel 42-41

Preview of my Inside Publications article this week.

No. 17 Mount Carmel defeats DePaul Prep 42-41

DePaul Prep Rams lost to Mount Carmel Caravan 42-41 at Mount Carmel Friday night. The Rams are struggling through an uncharacteristic three-game losing streak in the Chicago Catholic League’s Blue division.

 The Rams (4-3, 0-3) opened the game outscoring the 17th ranked Caravan (7-1, 2-0) five to zero. The Caravan then went on a 10-0 run to close the quarter. They would hold the lead that eventually dwindled to a single point at the buzzer to survive a young and injured Rams team.

The early run by the Caravan was aided by some sloppy Rams ball handling. “They picked us up a little bit, trapped us a couple times when we were lazy with the ball. We have bad habits in practice right now in passing. They are leading to the game,” said Rams head coach and former DePaul University star Tom Kleinschmidt.

The young Rams start three sophomores, center Jonas Johnson, guard Makai Kvamme and guard Rob Walls, one junior, PJ Chambers and one senior, guard and leading scorer Maurice Thomas. Out with injuries for the moment are junior standouts and returning starters Payton Kamin and Jaylan McElroy.

Despite the Rams having two of their best players on the court, they opened the season 4-0 winning the Battle of the Bridge Tournament hosted by DePaul Prep along with Lane Tech. Catholic League Blue conference play has been a different story. Coming into this game, the Rams were on a two-game losing streak in the conference play dropping games to St. Lawrence and DeLaSalle.

There are encouraging signs for the Rams. Mount Carmel’s transfer Lee Marks emerged as a force for the Caravan at last weekend’s Chicago Elite Classic. The Rams shut him down. “We scouted him pretty well. Our gap defense shut his driving lanes down a little bit. We did a nice job keeping him off the boards. He is a fantastic rebounder. He had seventeen rebounds against Laurence,” said Kleinschmidt.

The Caravan never blow the game wide open. The largest lead they managed was seven points. Then curiously, early in the third quarter, Caravan head coach Phil Segorves slowed down the pace of game. At one point midway through the fourth quarter, Caravan point guard Deandre Craig put the ball on his hip in classic style and waited for the Rams to come out and defend.

 “I think they wanted to pull us out and get us in the bonus. [Deandre] Craig is one of the two or three best point guards in the league. I think [Mount Carmel head coach Phil Segorves] wanted to put the ball senior point guard’s hands and control the game, get fouls and go to the line,” Kleinschmidt added.

The Rams chiseled away at the Caravan lead making it a one possession game for the last couple minutes. Only a questionable turn over call and foul pushed the lead to four. The Rams made it a one-point game with a three before the buzzer.

The fact that the young Rams can play with the seventh ranked CCL powerhouse Caravan has to be encouraging for Rams fans. This adversity early in the season is going to help them when they get their scorers back. “1000%. Everybody is getting minutes. This time that they are getting you normally can’t get it. And they are playing well. We are stretching our bench. When we get everybody back, we will be in good shape,” said Kleinschmidt.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire for the young Rams who host 5th ranked St. Rita Mustangs next Friday the DePaul Prep’s Tom Winiecki Gym on Friday. St. Rita will be riding high after defeating the 6th ranked and previously unbeaten Brother Rice Crusaders 57-51 at Brother Rice.

DePaul Prep Defeats Notre Dame 35-25

The DePaul Prep Rams defeated the Notre Dame Dons 35-25 in the Battle of the Bridge Thanksgiving Tournament semi-final. It was the first test of the new young Rams. It turned out to be a test of the Dons.

The game started slowly . . . really slowly. The Dons moved the ball around well but didn’t shoot the ball. When they did shoot, they weren’t good shots. And they got no second chances.

The Rams weren’t much better. They moved the ball around well enough and got some shots up. Most did not fall. And they got no second chances either.

It was Rams 4, Dons 0 at the end of the first quarter. I don’t remember such a score in a game with two solid teams. At least not since my days coaching the 5th grade St. Benedict Bengals.

The Rams and their senior guard and playmaker Maurice Thomas started scoring in the second quarter. The Don’s finally scored with 2:21 left in the half when sophomore forward Brady Sanhorst drained a long three. 15-3 Rams at the half.

It was a pretty normal second half. Both teams were running the floor and scoring. But the damage to Notre Dame was done. Only on the rarest of occasions does a Tom Kleinschmidt team give up a large lead. Tonight was not such an occasion.

Final—Rams 35, Dons 25.

Kevin Clancy and his Dons will be better than they showed tonight. I wrote on Instagram yesterday that it’s a strange new basketball world that we find ourselves in. Tonight produced more evidence supporting such a conclusion.

DePaul Prep will face Niles North in the Battle of the Bridge championship game against Niles North at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.

As for the photos, I am not publishing as many as I have in the past. I used a new camera setup. A Canon 5D Mark IV with a 50mm, f1.8, prime lens at a lower ISO than normal in addition to my regular camera. I just wanted to see what I could get with that setup. I came up with bigger, richer files but the photos are not particularly good. A 50mm lens at a basketball game is pretty useless.

I got a great shot of Johnny “Mas” Maciaszkiewicz, DePaul Prep’s legendary scorekeeper.

It was great to see Paul Chabura and Shay Boyle. Just two great men. I just think the world of both of them.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I know I have a great deal to be thankful for this year.

DePaul Prep Opens Season with 51-25 Win Over Addison Trail

It’s great the basketball season is here. It was a pretty low key game; not a lot of people in the gym, mostly parents. Glad we could open together with a girls game.

My basketball photography has gotten pretty boring lately. Just a lot of standard low shots from the baseline. Then of course the dibble-drive down the lane. The obligatory shot of the coach yelling. The occasional lay-up shot, sometimes a dunk.

So I thought this would be a good opportunity early in the season to go off script and experiment a little. I took fewer shots and looked for different shots and places to shoot from.

I only took 459 photos, many fewer than the normal 1,200 or so. I only picked out 17 to process and only published 12.

I hope Coach Zarymbski is not to mad about the photo of her with the stern look on her face. But it’s too good not to not to publish. Good evidence though that it’s probably best not to get on her bad side.

I also really like the shot with the shiny gym floor with the girls scrambling for the ball. Hopefully, the photos are better than my usual ones and I can work on new shots for upcoming season.

2022 Riverside Brookfield Summer Shootout Opens

The 19th Annual Riverside Brookfield Summer Shootout opened this afternoon. It felt good to be back. Not very many teams from my coverage area are in the tournament. It’s basically, just Lane, Lincoln Park and DePaul Prep. So I could get to see some other teams.

Lake Forest v. St. Rita. The first game I saw was Lake Forest v. St. Rita. I got a look at Asa Thomas and Nojus Indrusaitis. They are as advertised. The Mustangs did not have their big men but they didn’t seem to need them. St. Rita is going to be something to watch this year. The Chicago Catholic League Blue will be loaded.

Lane v. St. Ignatius. Shaheed Solebo looked bigger, faster and stronger. He is only a junior but the “Champions” are his team. Lane jumped out to a big early lead. Ignatius came around and gained the lead at 12:11 in the second half and would not give it up. Richard Barron and Jackson Kotecki were too much for the Champions. St. Ignatius 57, Lane Tech 54.

Lane did not fair much better against Burlington Central in their second game. It was my first look at Burlington Central. They can play. Burlington Central 56, Lane Tech 46.

Matt Monroe’s Wolfpack, fresh off a 3A Third Place finish last year, brings back some key players from his historic year, Richard Barron, Jackson Kotecki and Emmitt O’Shaughnessy. I got my first look at sophomore Phoenix Gill. Gill looks like he will fill in nicely for A. J. Redd. Oh, and the Wolfpack will be in the CCL Blue this year.

Glenbard West v. Tinley Park. Glenbard West dominated last year. I got my first look at them at R-B last year. They were the talk of the event then and went on to win 4A. How would there team be this year? Last year’s leader and putative point guard Caden Pierce, now graduated, was on the bench for support. But let’s just say they are not last year’s team. Not the same length on defense. Not any length on defense. Athletic, well coached but not the same team.

St. Laurence v. Morton. St. Lawrence looks good. Very athletic. The coach I was sitting next thought there are a year away.

Mount Carmel v. St. Viator. The Caravan’s junior forward Angelo Ciarovino was the player to watch. He had some early points and one sequence of two straight blocks. Deandre Craig impressed as well.

More tomorrow including DePaul Prep and Lincoln Park. Get there early. Parking is tough.

Riverside Brookfield Summer Shootout Preview

By Jack Lydon

Riverside Brookfield Summer Shootout is the start of basketball season, for me at least. And so it begins.  R-B and its driving force Mike Reingruber, will host 72 “top area teams” on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Play opens Friday at noon with games across six courts. The complete Friday and Saturday schedule is available here. Sunday here.

72 area high schools will participate along with several from the St. Louis area—Belleville Althoff, Belleville East, Belleville West, East St. Louis and O’Fallon. As for the top teams, who know who those teams are at the moment?

There are a number powerhouses from last year, such as 4A State Champion Glenbard West, 1A State Champion Yorkville Christian, 4A runner-up Whitney Young, 3A third-place St. Ignatius, 3A fourth place Simeon, 2A third place DePaul Prep.

But that was last year, star seniors have moved on to college programs, the new senior class comes front and center.

I have learned over several years going to R-B that these games are not regular high school games. It like the summer leagues where one gets a glimpse of the new starters playing offense and not a ton of defense. I got to see the highly-touted young players about to make there impact.

To the untrained eye, R-B can look like just another basketball tournament. So I am doing some research to find out who to watch. This year’s top seniors at R-B include Darrin Ames (Kenwood), Asa Thomas (Lake Forest), Cameron Christie (Rolling Meadows), Dalen Davis (Whitney Young) and Miles and Wesley Rubin (Simeon). There are a good number of juniors to see at R-B that will impact there teams and conference play including James Brown (St. Rita), Morez Johnson (St. Rita), Jaden Smith (Kenwood), Payton Kamin (DePaul Prep), Jaylen McElroy (DePaul Prep) and Shaheed Solebo (Lane Tech).

As for what teams to keep and I eye, I am of course interested in the teams in my coverage area, Lane Tech, Lincoln Park and DePaul Prep. The freshly re-named Lane Tech “Campions” will feature junior standout Shabeed Solebo. Lincoln Park looks to overtake Lane as the top northside school in CPS’s tough Red-West/North division under third-year coach Antwon Jennings. Tom Kleinschmidt reloads after another historic state playoff run with emerging stars Payton Kamin, Jaylen McElroy. DePaul Prep’s sophomore Jonas Johnson will be fun to watch too.

Then there are top teams to look at and see what they have coming back. I don’t do rankings. Understand, I typically cover Chicago Catholic League and Chicago Public League games. I get out to some ESCC and Evanston games when I can. These are a mix of top teams from last year and teams that I have seen over the past few years that are on the rise. So in no particular order:

Glenbard West. It should be interesting to see what Glenbard West can do after its historic season. Can Jason Opoka recreate the defensive length of Pierce, Huff, Durkin, Renfro and Warden?

Leo. After winning the Chicago Catholic League last year but losing the 2A Super-Sectional to CCL rival DePaul Prep, the Lions look to take another step. With returning stars Jared Gee, Tyler Smith and Jakeem Cole, Jarrod Gee and Tyler Smith, the Lions should be ready to make another deep run.

St. Rita. Is this the year for the Mustangs to bolt to top of the Catholic League Blue and makes it past Kenwood and Whitney Young in 4A? With two top ranked players, James Brown and Morez Johnson, the Mustangs their best chance in years. But will it be enough?

St. Ignatius. Coming out of the gate last season with a #4 Sun-Times ranking, he Wolfpack were in the spotlight. Some early season struggles with character building last second losses got them ready for a deep run in 3A and a third in State finish. Matt Monroe brings back key players Richard Barron and Jackson Kotecki. Even with the graduation of A. J. Redd, the Wolfpack should be very good and highly ranted.

DePaul Prep. And then there is DePaul Prep. After the 2020 COVID season, he Rams lost all five starters including standout and recent transfer to U. C. Davis, TY Johnson. Nevertheless, Tom Kleinschmidt plugged in recent Cleveland State re-commit Dylan Arnett, Trevon Thomas, sophomore standouts Payton Kamin and Jaylen McElroy, Julian Green and Anthony Gutierrez. That group battled in the CCL Blue and ran through 2A dropping Orr, Michelle Clark and Leo to make it to Champaign finishing third.

That was last year. This year is up to the still very young Rams, including Kamin and McElroy, Will O’Shields, Maurice Thomas and perhaps highly regarded sophomore Jonas Johnson. No easy road for the Rams in the CCL Blue with St. Rita, Mt. Carmel, Brother Rice, Leo and the always tough Loyola Ramblers.   

Kenwood. Then there is the Chicago Public League. Kenwood made believers out of me. I saw them handle Curie at Curie. Highly rated Darrin Ames and Davius Loury return. Expect Kenwood to be at or near the top of the Red-South/Central in February and highly ranked to start the season.  

Whitney Young. Whitney Young is Whitney Young. Dalen Davis and Marcus Pigram return. Tyrone Slaughter will reload and be back.

Simeon. It will be a fun season with Robert Smith’s victory lap. We will get a look at Simeon as the Wolverines take on DePaul Prep at 3:30 on Friday at R-B. Aviyon Morris, Jalen Griffith, Wesley Rubin and Miles Rubin return. This group will want to win for their legendary coach’s final tour.

So there you go, a look at a few teams that will play at R-B. Get out there early. Parking is . . . difficult.

Correction. I previously identified Timothy Christian’s Ben Vanderwall as Yorkville Christian’s Jaden Schutt. Yorkville Christian was not at the 2021 Riverside Brookfield Shootout. My apologies.

Timothy Christian’s Ben Vanderwall at 2021 Riverside Brookfield Summer Shootout

St. Ignatius Falls to Sacred Heart Griffin 50-39 in IHSA 3A Semi

The St. Ignatius Wolfpack fell to Springfield’s Sacred Heart-Griffin 50-39 in the IHSA 3A Semi-final. The Wolfpack hung around all game but SHG proved a little too much in the end. Richard Barron’s injury hurt the Wolfpack. A.J. Redd’s 14 points lead St. Ignatius.

That was tough but then the Wolfpack drew Simeon after Metamora upset of the Wolverines in the following semi.

I wish I could have staying in Champaign for that third place game. The Wolfpack come up with 61-59 victory over Simeon. The IHSA didn’t even post the box score. I will have to look it up on You Tube.

Here are the photos from the Sacred Heart-Griffin game.

DePaul Prep Wins IHSA 2A Third Place

The Nashville Hornets (28-4) defeated the DePaul Prep Rams (26-6) in double overtime in the IHSA 2A Semi-final in Champaign Thursday afternoon. The Rams rallied to defeat Rockridge Rockets 41-22 in the third-place game.

 The Nashville/DePaul Prep game was a defensive battle of historic proportions. Reputed to be the lowest scoring game in IHSA finals history. It was the Rams lowest point total of the season.

 The Nashville Hornets from far southern Illinois, about fifty-five miles east of St. Louis, play defense. Hornets’ coach Patrick Weathers described their style of basketball as “winning ugly.”

 “[DePaul Prep] executes very differently than a lot of teams in the City. I think that help us. We are not built for a track meet. When they want to keep the game in the thirties and forties, and we don’t have to score fifty or sixty points to win the game that is an advantage for us. It gives us a change. Keep the game close at the end and give ourselves a chance to will at the end, that’s all we can ask for,” Coach Weathers said.

 Nashville’s defense was remarkable. The double overtime game was the equivalent of five eight-minute quarters. The Hornets held the Rams to five points in the final two quarters combined.

 Even more remarkable is that the Hornets five starters played the entire game and two overtime periods. There were no substitutions. The same five players Saxton Hoepker, Kilton Gajewski, Carter Schoenherr, Holan Heggemeier and Isaac Turner played the whole game at a historic defensive level. 

 “It’s obvious. We didn’t shoot well. We didn’t score. We took them out of a lot of things. At the end of the game . . . We didn’t get some loose balls. There were two offensive rebounds we did not come up with. There were just a little quicker to the ball late and they made plays. It was a battle. All the credit goes to Nashville. Really well coached team. Kids really play well together,” DePaul Prep Coach Tom Kleinschmidt said after the game.  

 If there is a good part about losing in a semi-final, it’s that one gets to play in a third-place game with a chance to go out a winner. The DePaul Prep Rams did that in the last state 3A finals in 2019. They lost to Bogan in the semi but won third-place against Peoria Manual.

 This year, the Rams drew Rockridge (26-8) from Taylor Ridge, Illinois, a few miles west of Moline, in the third-place game. Rockridge lost in the first game to Monticello.

 The Rams and Rockets traded buckets in the first quarter but in the second, the Rams edged ahead with points off the bench from Maurice Thomas.

 The third quarter proved the difference. An 8-2 run in the third put the Rams ahead for good as they inexorably extended their lead to a 41 to 24 final score to win third place in the state in state for the second time in three tries.

 Does winning third place take the sting out of losing in the semi?

 “Well, ya. The kids went out winners. [They can say] their last game was a win. We set a school record for wins. For this group to be around for two trips downstate and last year’s number one ranking, that’s a hell of a three years,” Kleinschmidt said.

 Dylan Arnett lead the scoring for the Rams with ten points. Every Ram played. Junior Maurice Thomas had 7. Sophomores starters Payton Kamin and Jaylan McElroy each had 6. Senior Will Brown had 5, including a big three early to open the scoring for the Rams. Henry West had 3 points. Seniors Julian Green Trevon Thomas had 2 each.

 Only three months until the Riverside-Brookfield Summer Tournament.

DePaul Prep Going Downstate after 50-43 Victory over Leo

The DePaul Prep Rams (25-5) defeated the Leo Lions (25-5) 50-43 in overtime at Joliet Central High School on Monday evening to punch their ticket to the IHSA 2A State Finals starting Thursday.

The Rams graduated all five seniors after last year’s COVID season that saw the Rams end the season ranking #1. That meant five new starters including two sophomores, Jaylan McElroy and Payton Kamin, that would lead this year’s Rams. It was those sophomores that stepped up when it counted in overtime against 6th ranked Chicago Catholic League champs Leo to send the Rams to Champaign.

Leo came out of the gate in the first quarter hitting on all cylinders. Their full court press stymied the Rams forcing turnover that turned into points. Leo star player Cam Cleveland hit outside shots. The Lions crashed the boards. It was all Leo, in all phases. 22-7 at the end of the first quarter.

That’s actually been a thing lately. Orr had a lead. Clark had a lead. The Rams have just been starting slow.  

But star they did. A quick three to open the second quarter and it continued. The Rams outscored Leo 14-5 in second quarter making it 27-21 Leo at the half. It had turned into a game, anybody’s to win.

 It was the third quarter that turned the game around. The Rams turned up the defense, cut down on the turnovers and hit shots outscoring the Lions 12 to 3 in the third going into the fourth quarter with a 33-30 lead.

 When the Rams get a lead, even a small one, they are tough to overcome. But the sixth ranked Lions are no ordinary team. The Lions rallied, tying the score at 39 with 1:09 to play.

DePaul Prep’s star center Dylan Arnett picks up two questionable charging calls in quick succession and fouled out.

“That’s the first time I have fouled out this year,” Dylan Arnett said.

“You can’t really argue with the refs. If they make the call, they make the call. You just have to dial back the aggressiveness a little bit and play as hard as you can.”

“When Dylan fouled out, I just knew I had to rebound and box out and help my team win,” DePaul Prep sophomore Payton Kamin said.

McElroy too was matter of fact about the end of the game. When Dylan fouled out, “I had no other choice. It was either that or go home. I choose to stay,” said McElroy.

1:09 to play, tied at 39 and Leo had the ball.

DePaul’s senior guard Julian Green came back in for Arnett. This was the time for the sophomores to step up. 6’9” sophomore Payton Kamin moved down low on boards to fill-in for Arnett. The Rams defense held. The Lions failed to get up a shot to win the game.

Overtime.

Five straight points from Jaylan McElroy—including a huge breakaway dunk—to open the four-minute overtime put the Rams ahead for good.

The “hail mary” pass off the inbound was a designed inbound play. “Coach wrote it up perfectly for me to go down there and get it. I just got it,” McElroy said.

The sophomores picked up their team. They did what needed to be done. They lived up to standards set by last year’s five seniors that won it all.

How did they do it?

“Defense. We gave up twenty-eight points in the first half. We give up thirty-three a game. We gave up three in the third quarter and then we got on the glass,” DePaul Prep coach Tom Kleinschmidt said after the game.

“As bad as we played in the first half, we missed six or seven free throws. If we make half of those, it’s a three-point game. We went in the locker room happy down six nothing.”

 “A big part of it was our two sophomores Jaylan and PK. They did a great job on the boards being really physical. They really stepped up today.”

Next will be Nashville at 4:00 p.m., on Thursday in State Finals at the University of Illinois’ State Farm Center in Champaign.

“I haven’t thought about [where we go from here]. We will find out who we are playing. We have tape on everybody. We will go home tonight and cut it up. And then we will have a good game plan tomorrow and practice. Then walk through and then we will go,” Kleinschmidt said after winning the Super-sectional.

“Thirty-two years ago, I was down there playing as a junior so I am looking forward to that.”

DePaul Prep Falls to Winnebago 66-47 in 2A Super-sectional

The DePaul Prep Rams girls’ varsity basketball team fell to the Winnebago Indians 66-47 in the IHSA 2A Super-sectional at Elgin High School on Monday (Feb. 28, 2022). DePaul Prep coach Sarah Zarymbski and her Rams advanced to the Super-sectional, one win shy of the IHSA 2A State Finals for the second time in the last two playoffs. There were no state playoffs in 2021.

Coming into the game with the No. 1 2A ranked Winnebago, the Rams gave away significant size to the Indians. What the Rams lacked in size, they made up for in three-point shooting ability. Twelve of the Rams 26 point at halftime came off of three-pointers.

“We knew [Winnebago] converged a lot when you break into the lane, so we knew the kickout would be there,” said Zarymbski.

“They will randomly go double you. So we emphasized to find the open player with quick movement to find the open shot.” That they did and the three-point opportunities were there.

The Indians held a two-point lead at the half.

As we all know, good teams make adjustments at halftime. And that was what the Indian experienced and successful coach Winnebago coach Tracy Miller did. Coach Miller has been coaching since “the last century” as she put it which includes a “four or five” sectional championships and a couple trips to the State Finals.

“We kicked up defense considerable. We made a few adjustments at half time. We switched off people, changed up our defense a little bit and that helped. We have had rough starts for the last four or five games. We made a few adjustments at halftime but when they come out from halftime, [our players] wanted to prove something,” said Miller.

The adjustments mattered. The Indians opened the third quarter with at 10-0 run putting the Rams down for good.

“The only way we were really scoring a lot in the first half was with the threes. And they took away the threes. So we knew we would struggle scoring inside just because of how big they were, how long,” Zarymbski admitted.

DePaul Prep had eight returning players from the 2019-2020 sectional championship team.

“It meant a lot taking nine seniors to one of these. We had some pretty bad losses along the course of the season. At one point, the girls said, this is it, we need to step it up if we want to get back there. They really did. Taking them there means so much,” DePaul Prep third year coach Sarah Zarymbski said when asked what it want it meant to return to a Super-sectional game.  

The Indians opened a twenty-one point lead with under four minutes to play and that was it for the Rams. Final score: Indians 66, Rams 45.

DePaul Prep Beats Regina 54-33 to Win 2A Sectional

DePaul Prep defeated Regina Dominican 54-33 at the IHSA 2A Christ the King Sectional Championship game on Thursday (Feb. 24, 2022) to advance to the Super-sectional game tonight against Winnebago at Elgin High School.

After the game, I asked DePaul Prep girls varsity coach Sarah Zarymbski how many sectional championships her teams have won.

“Well, it’s our second,” Coach Zarymbski said.

“In four years of coaching?” I responded.

“Three years,” she replied.

Coach Zarymbski left out the fact that there were no playoff last year. Two years of playoff and two sectional championships. DePaul Prep/Gordon Tech girls basketball had not won a sectional championship at least as far back as IHSA on-line records go back to 2008.

The Rams jumped out to an early lead on Regina Dominican. And held that lead. The game was close. Regina hung around during the first half.

The third quarter was the difference. The Rams out scored Regina 21-10 taking control of the game. Regina was done after that. The Rams held the ball and keep scoring eventually opening a twenty-one (21) point lead

With their second sectional championship secured, the Super-sectional looms for Monday. The Rams will face the number one ranked Winnebago Indians (33-2, 9-0) from the Big Northern Conference. The Rams and Indians had no common opponents this year. However, Winnebago did lose to St. Viator (20-13, 3-4) from the East Suburban Catholic Conference. The Lions finished fifth in the ESCC, a good team but an average team in the Chicago area.

The super-sectional experience from two years ago has to help the Rams. The seniors experience the March 2020 trip out to DeKalb for the Super-sectional against Riverdale. The Rams coaching staff expressed a quiet confidence despite what has to be seen as an underdog status.

Winnebago also has recent Super-sectional experience. The Indians advanced to the DeKalb Super-sectional in 2019 but fell to eventual state champ Marshall.

The Rams v. Indians game tips-off at Elgin High School at 7:00 p.m. tonight (Monday, February 28, 2022). Tickets are only available on-line from: https://gofan.co/app/events/534964?schoolId=IL15466.

More Photos from DePaul Prep's Regional Win over Latin

There was just a lot of cool stuff to photograph on Friday at the Tom Winiecki Gym. There was a bulging student section. The Rams welcomed Liam Collins as an honorary team. And, of course, cutting down the net after winning the home regional is always a special moment.

It took me the whole season to figure out the optimum settling on my new camera. I took and processed a ton of photos on and from Friday night’s regional championship game.

It was a great season with ups and downs, big wins and a couple disappointing losses. It was fun to see the new next generation of Ram players make and impact and the especially satisfying to see this group of seniors excel upon getting their chance to take to shine.

I hope you enjoy the photos.

Source: jacklydon.com/blog

DePaul Prep Drops Latin 58-30 for Seventh Straight Regional

Electricity was in air in the Tom Winiecki Gym on Friday night. There was a large crowd, an overflow student second curiously attired in beach wear.

Latin didn’t get the memo. Teams like this always worry me. I remember a couple losses to Francis Parker in years past. I hoped it would not all go horrible wrong after such a successful 23-5 season.

Tom Kleinschmidt wrote the memo so he wouldn’t let anything go wrong.

The Romans came out with a ton of energy. They have some athletes who scored early. The Rams length on defense proved difficult for the undersized Romans to overcome. The Rams opened an early lead that just widened as the clock ticked off.

DePaul Prep has won regional championship for the last seven year: 2015 over North Chicago, 2016 over Northridge Prep, 2017 over Latin, 2018 over Foreman, 2019 over Ridgewood, 2020 over Farragut and this year over Latin again. This is a testament to the successful program the school and its coaches have built.

Now we are talking about sectional wins not just regionals. And talking about the state tournament. Which brings us to the upcoming games. The Rams will have to get through the best 2A teams in the state to get back downstate—Orr, Clark and Leo. If they can do that, they will deserve to be state champs.

One at a time. Orr on Tuesday at Collins (North Lawndale Sectional). 7:00 p.m. The light in that gym is miserable.

I went a little crazy taking pictures on Friday. I processed like a hundred photos. These are the game photos. I will have to do a post for the rest of the photos, which frankly are better than these.