For the rest of the state it was practice as usual.
For Westinghouse it was pickup games at the Austin YMCA.
Because Westinghouse coach Chris Head violated Illinois High School Association policy last summer by coaching the team in an AAU tournament, the Warriors were prohibited from practicing until Monday, two weeks later than everyone else.
Head has been suspended from coaching and is banned from having any contact with his players and coaching staff until Jan. 1.
Still, there is no denying the team’s exceptional talent and team chemistry as Westinghouse enters this season ranked No. 1 in the Chicago area.
If any team can succeed without its coach, it would be the Warriors. The five likely starters–Cedrick Banks, Martell Bailey, Dennis Trammell, Craig Franklin and Tavaris Wiggins–have been indoctrinated into Head’s system since their freshman years.
As frosh-soph coach, Head led Westinghouse to 70 straight victories in two seasons. Last year, his first with the varsity, the Warriors were 31-1, losing to King in the Public League title game.
Now Banks and Bailey & Co. want to make sure that’s the only loss in their four-year careers.
“Some people think we’re going to lose games and the team will fall apart without coach Head,” said Bailey, who averaged 15 points a game last season. “They think we’re just going to go out there and play around. But this is going to make us play that much harder. We’re going to prove those people wrong.”
High intensity is the key to Westinghouse’s game. The Warriors don’t have a starter taller than 6 feet 3 inches, but their whirling-dervish style combines constant defensive pressure with a blink-of-an-eye fast break.
Coaches always preach, sometimes to deaf ears, that a hustling defense creates offense.
These Warriors have no choice but to abide by that refrain. Lacking the size to post up consistently in a half-court offense or to block many shots, they force opponents to play between the free-throw lines. Depth provided by Antoine Norfleet, 6-5 Jamal Washington, 6-4 LaDarien Hayes and guards Johnny Tate and Berron Hill enables the Warriors to wear down opponents.
Westinghouse’s vaunted press attacks in a dozen different ways, each designed to wreak havoc, raise the blood pressure and force tempo.
That’s where a lack of preseason conditioning could hurt the Warriors in the early going.
“We’ll be in pretty good shape, but high school teams are going to play harder than the guys at the Y,” Bailey acknowledged. “Not all of us are going to be in top basketball shape, and playing defense like we do is where you need the conditioning.”
Head believes that any perceived disadvantages will be offset by his players’ maturity.
“Maybe because they’re seniors, they are playing with a different sense of purpose,” Head said. “Martell worked a lot on his attitude in the off-season. Cedrick worked hard to improve his strength and quickness. Dennis is trying to be perfect with his jump shot.
“I have confidence they’ll do fine without me. I know in some ways they’ll want to win every game in my absence for me. All the kids know their roles and what is expected. When I get back it’s going to be personal, and our program will be that much stronger.”
Assistant coaches Quitman Dillard, Ormon O’Quinn and Henry Cotton will operate as a committee, with Dillard the designated spokesman and interim head coach.
“It’s a challenge to keep the program stable,” Dillard said. “There won’t be any differences except that my style of coaching is more laid-back than Chris.”
Westinghouse opens Sunday against Peoria Richwoods in the Inter Sport Shootout at the UIC Pavilion. After that the Warriors encounter Missouri power St. Louis Vashon; the nation’s No. 1-ranked team, Oak Hill Academy of Virginia; and Class A power Providence-St. Mel.
