DePaul Prep Comes Up Short 47-43 Against No. 2 Benet

DePaul Prep Rams closed the regular season on Friday Evening falling to #2 ranked Benet Academy 47-44. I have seen Benet play several time this year. I saw them beat Joliet West at Pontiac. Then later that same day Simeon topped them for their only loss. Since then the only Marist and Kenwood gave them games but lost.

So coming into DePaul’s Tom Winiecki Gym to face a DePaul team that hasn’t been the dominant team this year that it has been in recent years, it should have been a easy time for the Redwings.

But it’s hard for any team, any time to come into DePaul’s gym and win. There are close connections between DePaul and Benet. DePaul Prep’s former sophomore coach David Kleinschmidt, brother of DePaul Prep coach Tom Kleinschmidt, is Benet’s sophomore coach now. (By the way, DePaul Prep’s sophomore team beat Benet’s in the first game.) Tom Kleinschmidt and Benet’s Gene Heidkamp are close.

Both teams play a similar style of game, play defense, control the ball, control the clock and run the offense. The score was not going to be in the seventies.

And so it played out, but unfortunately for the Rams, it was Benet that played DePaul’s game. They got an early first quarter lead with smothering defense and, despite a determined fourth quarter comeback by Tom Kleinschmidt’s young Rams squad, the Redwings never game up the lead and prevailed 47-43 in the end.

Honestly, one never felt as though Benet would collapse. The lead in the fourth was moved between 5 and 7 thoughout the final minutes. But is sure did not look like a game between a middle of the pack Chicago Catholic League team and the No. 2 ranked 26-1 powerhouse from the suburbs.

Sometimes the records are out the window, and one is glad just to get out of town with a win. That was Benet’s Friday night.

The DePaul Prep Rams finish the regular season with a good but disappointing 16-12 overall record and a 6-7 record in the Catholic League Blue given the great teams that we have enjoyed in recent years. The Rams suffered no bad losses; but no signature wins. Injuries hampered the Rams but they also gave playing time to young players that would not have seen the floor as much. That will help next year.

The IHSA Playoffs are upon us. DePaul Prep opens the 2A playoffs on Wednesday evening at home against Noble Academy. Noble Academy coach Adrian Rodriguez informed me that Noble defeated Marine Leadership 74-26 yesterday.

Playoffs are like elections. It will all be over on a short schedule. We’ll have a new state champs in three weeks.

DePaul Prep Wins 2A Regional 68-11 over Francis Parker

The DePaul Prep women’s varsity basketball team defeated Francis Parker 66-11 at Francis Parker Thursday evening. It was all Rams from the beginning. Francis Parker suffered a rash of turnovers early and the Rams jumped out to an 13-0. And it continued from there.

The Rams move on to hosting a 2A Sectional tournament next Tuesday, February 21, 2023. The Rams will face either Latin or Christ the King.

Simeon Survives Late Charge by Kenwood; Wins City 71-64

After being completely dominated by Simeon in all phases, down 22 points early in the fourth quarter, the Broncos dialed up a three quarter court zone trap and comes all the way back to force overtime. Simeon survived to win the City Championship 72-64.

No full piece on the game this time, just not enough time.

But I did have an interesting exchange with Simeon’s coach Robert Smith after the game. When asked why he did not take a time out after getting a chance for a game winning shot with 39 seconds left in regulation, legendary Simeon Wolverines head coach Robert Smith said:

“I was thinking about Curie [referring to Thursday’s quadruple overtime victory over Curie in the City Championship semi-final last Thursday.] Every time [Curie] had the ball in overtime they called a time out to let us set up our defense. [Kenwood] could have switched and put a better defensive player on the floor. I didn’t want to them to have that opportunity. Plus I didn’t know if I had any time outs left. I had seniors on the court, someone to make a play. We had the ball. We were to hit the last shot or go to overtime and see what happens.”

That says a lot about Smith and coaching in general. That was an education in the game right there worth the price of admission. He trusted his seniors. The worst that could happen was overtime.

As for the photos, this was the largest crowd of photographers that I have seen at any game. I had to work at getting my favorite spots on the floor.

CPS Athletics did an outstanding job with the event and frankly the whole season. The branding and marketing is first rate, truly professional. From a media view point, the organization was outstanding. It’s easy and reliable. Everyone is friendly and helpful. From the a fan standpoint, UIC is a great venue for this parking is close and not overpriced. The seating and sight lines are great. The food is expensive but this isn’t the Masters or something. Food is expensive everywhere one goes.

The light at UIC Credit One Arena is not as good as it is at Wintrust but its not bad. It’s a pretty cool light, just not quite as much of it as I would like but definitely manageable.

I hope the photos are half as good as was the game and the whole experience.

Simeon to Play Kenwood in City Championship Game Saturday

The Simeon Wolverines went to four overtimes, surviving four last shot chances by Curie to advance 64-60 to the Chicago Public League’s basketball championship on Saturday. Kenwood advanced as well with a deliberate but convincing 56-42 win over a newcomer to the City Championship final four, Perspectives-Leadership.

I have never seen four overtimes in a basketball game, until today. Four times Simeon had chances to put away the Curie Condors and four times Curie battled with a shot to win the game at the buzzer. Simeon’s defense wouldn’t allow it.

Curie’s head coach Mike Oliver called times out at that the ends of the second and third overtimes with under nine seconds giving his team not a lot of time to inbound the ball, crack the 1-3-1 pressure from Simeon’s Rubin twins to get up a game winner. Twice the Condors launched desperation shots that were nowhere close to going in, twice they didn’t even get up shots.

In the fourth overtime, Simeon managed to get a lead on Jalen Griffith and Miles Rubin’s free throws that Jeremy Harrington and the other Condors could not overcome.

Simeon’s Jalen Griffith finished with 21 points. Miles Rubin had 10 including two late free throws to seal the victory. Sam Lewis had 9. For Curie, Carlos Harris had, 17 Jeremy Harrington 16, Kros Barrett 13 and Shawn Brown 10. 64-60 was the final with the winner to meet the winner of the following game, Kenwood v. Perspectives-Leadership.

Mike Irvin and his Kenwood Broncos faced the unlikely upstart Perspectives-Leadership Warriors. On January 17th, the Broncos went into Perspectives’ gym and jumped out to a 31-7 lead after the first quarter on the strength of points in transition. The Warriors had no way to stop the lighting quick Broncos.

Until today that is. “We did a better job slowing down the game, playing a half court zone [defense] in the first half. It helped us out a lot. At home, we put a lot of pressure on the ball in half court. They got a head start on us. Today we were able to play a slower game. It worked in our favor in the first half. In the second half, it went the other way,” said Warriors head coach Mike Smith.

Even so, the Broncos were too much for the Warriors. The Broncos pulled away in the second had outscoring the Warriors 31-18.

Perspectives-Leadership’s impressive first half against Mike Irvin’s powerhouse Broncos squad bodes well for the upcoming IHSA 2A state tournament. The Warriors land the #1 seed in the Julian Sub-sectional B. Other top seeds in the Joliet (Central) Super-sectional include Phillips, DePaul Prep and Christ the King.  

Perspectives has taken a big jump in its first year in CPL’s Red Division becoming the first charter school to make it to the City Championship final four. The addition of transfers Jakeem Cole (for Leo) and brothers Gianni Cobb and Kamarion Cobb from Bloom raised expectations. Gianni Cobb and Jakeem Cole lead the Warriors with 16 and 14 points respectively.

Kenwood’s leading scorer was Jaden Smith with 14 points. Darrin “Dai Dai” Ames and 13 points despite sitting much of the second period with two early fouls. Tyler Smith had 12.

Saturday evening’s City Championship at UIC’s Credit One Arena—the old Pavilion, will be a showdown between the old and the new. Simeon head coach is on his victory lap as he plans to retire after this season. Mike Irvin and his Kenwood Broncos fancy themselves the new rising powerhouse in CPS. Never at a loss for words, Mike Irvin said, “we are excited.”

“This is what we worked for all season. We told everbody, we are a great team. We will be here. We changed his name to Disco Dai Dai [Darrin Ames] because he was dancing tonight. We are excited to be here.”

We got the matchup of the best teams. I guess we see how it works out.

When Sides Collide

These are selected photos from the When Sides Collide Shootout yesterday at Benet Academy. When Sides Collide is always a highlight of the high school basketball season. We were treated to four top level exciting games between top teams. There was a huge crowd and pumped up. Oh, and the light in the Benet Gym is first rate.

I couldn’t stay for the final two games but the first two did not disappoint. Br. Rice and Rolling Meadows traded buckets the first half of the first game. The Crusaders came out from the half and went on a run. That proved too much for Rolling Meadows to overcome.

Before the second game, I asked some of the gathered experts, “Who wins, Whitney Young or Joliet West?”

More than one said, “Just depends which Joliet West team shows up.”

The talented and focused Tiger squad showed up. After taking everything the Fears brothers through at them at them in the first half, the Dolphins hung around. A twelve point deficit became a two point deficit with seconds left. The Dolphins shot to win missed. Tigers hung on.

I couldn’t stay for Simeon v. Moline and Benet v. Kenwood. Too bad for me. Two more great games.

Remember these games when the IHSA playoffs are here in a few weeks.

DePaul Prep 51, Leo 28

In a rematch of last season’s IHSA 2A Super-sectional in Joliet, the DePaul Prep Rams faced the Leo High School Lions but this time at DePaul’s Tom Winiecki Gym. Similar result as last year but not the same game at all.

The Lions are not the same team. The unexpected resignation of last year’s coach, Jamal Thompson, last August at the start of the school year lead to the transfers of several top players. The Lions have went from first in the Chicago Catholic League Blue Division to last at this point this year.

The Rams controlled the game wire-to-wire. After struggling at the start of the season, the Rams have racked up four wins since the Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic. With the anticipated return of two of its top players, Jaylon McElroy and Payton Kamin, the Rams record are likely to continue to pile up wins.

Despite a running clock in the fourth quarter, there was no quit in the Leo Lions. They continued scoring to the end.

Final, DePaul Prep 51, Leo 29.

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.

Thanksgiving 2022

My nephew Quin Reeves paid me a huge compliment. He sent me a message on Instagram asking where he could find my Thanksgiving photos. Here Quin. Right here for all your photo needs!

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.

2022 Chicago Elite Classic Recap

This weekend was the Chicago Elite Classic, the first big shootout event of the season. Ten years ago, Whitney Young head coach Tyrone Slaughter lamented being in West Virginia for early season shoot out.

“Why don’t we just do this in Chicago?”

The Chicago Elite Classic was born and here we are ten years later. This is my third or fourth one. It’s an excellent chance to see the best area teams and some of the best national teams. If you are even a casual fan of high school basketball, it is a great chance to see high level play. Parking is plentiful. The food is good. The atmosphere is exciting. It was so loud during the Oak Park River Forest v. Fenwick rivalry game that I had to cover my ears. It was great to some teams that I will see again and some teams I probably won’t get to see, at least not until the playoffs.

I didn’t get to see all the games but I asked the other observers there, who frankly know a lot more about it all than I do, what they thought. In notebook style, here we go:

St. Ignatius

 The Wolfpack looks even better than last year’s 3A third place finishers. Reggie Ray is an active defender and a scorer in addition to Richard Barron. Phoenix Gill can run the point. It was a big stage for the sophomore. He will grow into the role and become a scorer. Ignatius is one of the Chicago Catholic League Blue contenders.

 Mount Carmel

The Caravan had to be the biggest revelation to me. They are just big, strong and fast. They dismantled a very good and well coached, if a little robotronic, Riverside-Brookfield squad. The Caravan has a weakness, I didn’t see it. Another CCL Blue contender.

Benet

The Redwings were likewise a revelation. This is not your father’s Benet team. They are better than the usual disciplined and well coached Gene Heidkamp teams of recent years. This team is fast, athletic and can score. The ESCC favorite for sure.

Simeon

I didn’t see this game.

“Simeon is Simeon,” I was told. Good enough for me. I saw them in the summer. They are just so talented and well coached. They are the best until they are not.

St. Rita

This is the one that is hard to figure. They are loaded. The Mustangs have the top junior in the state; James Brown, Morez Johnson and Nojus Indrusaitis. I saw them during the summer and they looked outstanding.

After Simeon dismantled them 86-59, I asked how did St. Rita look?

“Not good,” I was told.

“They don’t have anyone to bring up the ball,” said the observer.  

I guess great players do not necessarily make a great team—yet. The No. 5 Mustangs (2-3) have played a tough opening schedule so far. An opening game eight-point loss to Joliet West, then a convincing win out-of-state over Lanier from Oak Hill, Georgia, a loss to Cardinal Ritter in St. Louis and a drubbling of Yorkville Christians. The loss to Simeon was an eye opener for the Mustangs as the head into the Chicago Catholic League schedule. Montini on Tuesday and then an early season showdown against rival and CCL Blue contender Brother Rice.

Speaking of the Catholic League, as of the Super 25 rankings just released, the CCL Blue has three teams in the top ten; St. Rita at 5, Brother Rice at 6, St. Ignatius at 10. Mount Carmel is perhaps a little underrated at 17. The Blue also has DePaul Prep, Leo and there is always Loyola. Where it goes from here is anyone’s guess.

Joliet West

What does one write about the Chicago Elite Classic finale? The atmosphere was electric. The baselines were full of photographers and videographers. Both the Kenwood Broncos and the Joliet West Tigers were fired up.

There was an early incident in the first quarter between Joliet West’s Jeremy Fears, the number one prospect in this year’s senior clase, and Kenwood’s Darrin Ames, the number four propect in the same senior class. It appeared to me, looking on from the other end of the floor, that as Ames was playing defense on Fears, they got tangled up and they both tumbled to the floor away from the ball after the whistle. As Ames was getting up, Fears scramble to his feet sending Ames back to the floor. One of the referees had enough and called technical fouls on both players.

Foul trouble hampered the Tigers. Jeremy Fears got his fourth foul midway through the third and sat the rest of the quarter. They missed him.

Kenwood just played better in all phases and pulled away from Joliet West for a 72-66 victory.

Lane

I wrote about 4-2 Champions’ victory over Taft yesterday. Champion’s coach Nick LoGalbo was very excited about his young team’s comeback victory. This young team might not be ready for a long run this year, but next year? It would be a remarkable event indeed if Lane could rise to the top of one of the two top CPS conferences, the Red-West/North.

Champions head coach Nick LoGalbo seems energetic enough to make a run at it. It appears from enrollment information on the IHSA website, Chicago’s Lane Technical High School is third largest high school in the state of Illinois and by far the largest high school in the City of Chicago. What other school could be better suited to do it.

Still, will the best athletes be attractive the small town sized high school on the northside without a history of championship, at least in basketball? With the emergence of players like Shaheed Solebo and the Dalton Scantlebury, there is a bright future and a prospect of championships for the Champions.

Joy of Limited Jurisdiction

Today, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed a federal district judge’s appointment of a special master to review documents seized by the FBI in a raid on former President Trump’s Florida residence.

I have this nerdy interest in the U. S. Constitution. As every first-year law student and even the occasional eighth grader studying for the constitution test knows, the federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. Basically, that means that one must provide a reason to be in the court based on the Constitution or some federal law.

Fast forward to my unhealthy habitual CNN watching for hours every evening and then again each morning. One will recall, if he or she habitually watches CNN, that our former president made off with documents and artifacts from his time in the White House and keep them in his Florida home.

The FBI and the National Archives asks for them back. The former president gave some back. They asked for the rest. He stalled. Then he gave some more back. Someone provided a false declaration, a fancy name for an affidavit, that there were no more documents.

Oh, but there were. The FBI raided Mar-a-Lago and seized the documents and is now investigating to find out what secrets were contained in the documents and who might have learned those secrets. That and who can be held criminally liable for illegally possessing secret documents.

A big story on CNN. CNN and its viewers like me, love an FBI raid.

A juicy story with an espionage angle took a turn to the truly exciting world of federal court jurisdiction.

President Trump surprisingly filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida asking the court to appoint a “special master,” a lawyer unrelated to either Trump or the Government, to examine the documents and see if the Government really needs them.

Basically, the target of an investigation asked a court to interfere in the FBI’s investigation of the target’s crimes. Hmmm. Okay then. Can one do that? Therein lies the excitement of this jurisdictional query.

District Judge Aileen Cannon said her federal court “had the power” and appointed the special master who has for month know been looking at documents. I confess I kind of lost track of the story assuming that CNN would alert me if need be.

Today, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the appointment of the special master and dismissed President Trump’s case today for want of jurisdiction. “For want of juridiction.” Can the English language be more elegant? One can read the opinion here: https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/202213005.pdf

The jurisdictional lesson, at least in my mind, is that the federal court’s equitable jurisdiction, a court’s inherent right to impose fairness, is limited, very limited and make no exceptions for former presidents. A former president is a citizen like any other, except with lots of security and a nice pension.

I won’t get into the four-part test based on the Richey case so let’s just skip to the end:

“In considering these arguments, we are faced with a choice: apply our usual test; drastically expand the availability of equitable jurisdiction for every subject of a search warrant; or carve out an unprecedented exception in our law for former presidents. We choose the first option. So the case must be dismissed.”

As is the case with most reversals, courts of appeal typically do not openly chastise a district judge, but one phase in part B of the opinion did stand out to me: “The district court was undeterred by this lack of information.”

Ouch. That’s pretty salty language about the Trump appointee.

So there you go. The Eleventh Circuit closes the courthouse door once again. CNN and the jurisdiction of federal courts, my two loves meet again.

I still love photography too. The Chicago Elite Classic starts tomorrow.  

DePaul Prep Defeats Niles North 71-49 to Win Battle of the Bridge

[Preview of my story to appear in Inside Publications]

The DePaul College Prep Rams defeated the Niles North Vikings 71-49 to win the 2022 Battle of the Bridge Thanksgiving high school basketball tournament at DePaul Prep’s Tom Winiecki Gym on Friday evening.

The Rams first three games of the season in the Battle of the Bridge were victories over Englewood STEM (68-29), Francis Parker (65-32) and Notre Dame (35-25).

Niles North similarly came into the game 3-0 taking the Lane branch of the tournament with wins over Legal Prep (73-29), Jones (65-51) and Lane (77-62).

In marked contrast to Wednesday’s 35-25 low scoring affair against Notre Dame, the Rams ran the ball and shoot the ball well despite not having junior standout forwards Payton Kamin and Jaylan McElroy. Senior guard Maurice Thomas led the Rams with 23 points and earned himself the most valuable player award for the tournament. DePaul Prep’s impressive sophomore guard Rob Walls earned a start with the absence of DePaul’s junior standout Payton Kamin.

Trailing 17-16 at the end of the first quarter, the Rams dialed up the running game in the second quarter. After junior center Jonas Johnson had to leave the game, DePaul head coach Tom Klienschmidt went to a five-guard lineup. Not his usual formula for success but it worked. The Rams opened a 34-21 halftime lead and never looked back.

The DePaul Prep basketball program has been quite successful in recent years under the leadership of former Gordon Tech and DePaul University star Tom Kleinschmidt. The Rams had state tournament third place state finishes in 2019 and 2022. 2021 had no state tournament but the Rams finished ranked number one having won the post-season Chipolte tournament.

DePaul Prep looks to continue its success with a group of young players. Starting only one senior, Maurice Thomas, the Rams have two highly rate junior forwards, Payton Kamin and Jaylon McElroy. McElroy is recovering from an injury and is not expected to play until January. Junior P.J. Chambers and sophomores Makai Kvamme and Jonas Johnson will also start round out the starting five.

“Maurice Thomas is our lone senior in the starting lineup. He’s our lone senior that’s gonna get a lot of minutes. We expect him to be a leader. Although me may not have the experience on the floor, he has a lot of practice experience,” Kleinschmidt said of leading scorer Maurice Thomas.

This is a new DePaul team. “I’ve got Rob [Walls] with 15, [Thomas] with 23, Jonas [Johnson] with 9, Maki [Kvamme] with 11 and PJ [Chambers] with 12. That’s one senior, one junior and three sophomores. Jonas Johnson did all the dirty work. He’s a wing and he’s playing a big until Jaylon comes back. He’s going and awesome job,” Kleinschmidt continued.

It’s been sometime since DePaul scored 70 points, actually not since December 17, 2021, with the 80-37 win over Providence-St. Mel. “We’ve just got a different team now. We’ve got guys that can shoot it. We’ve got some athletes that can get to the rim. We shoot it better than we’ve ever shot it. And we guard too,” said Kleinschmidt.   

Neighboring 47th Ward high schools Lane Tech and DePaul Prep have jointly hosted the Battle of the Bridge Thanksgiving tournament since 2014. Notre Dame finished in third place this year with its 63-46 victory over Jones. The DePaul Prep Rams won the tournament last year with 66-51 victory over Notre Dame High School.

The Rams move into conference play in the Chicago Catholic League next week. The Catholic League is stacked this year with No. 2 ranked St. Rita, then there is No. 8 Brother Rice, No. 9 Mount Carmel, No. 10 St. Ignatius and there is always Loyola. The only stronger conference is possibly the Chicago Public School’s Red-South-Central with No. 1 Simeon, No. 3 Kenwood, No. 6 Curie, No. 24 Hyde Park and No. 25 Perspective-Leadership.   

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.