The two hottest teams in Illinois will confront one another Saturday night in what had originated as a promoter’s dream.
Thornwood (21-1) is ranked No. 1 in the state by the Associated Press and No. 19 in the nation by USA Today. Led by 6-foot-11-inch, 290-pound Eddy Curry, the Thunderbirds have won 17 in a row since a 54-50 loss to Compton (Calif.) Dominguez on Dec. 7.
Young (13-9) is ranked No. 10 in the Chicago area and has won 10 straight in the Public League’s Red West, the state’s toughest conference. The Dolphins had entered the season ranked No. 1 in the state.
Thornwood versus Young is the featured game of the sixth annual City-Suburban Showdown double-header at Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena. In the opener, Warren (17-4) and New Trier (16-6) square off in a rematch of last year’s supersectional won by New Trier.
Young opened the season with losses to Louisville Male–now ranked eighth in the nation–No. 1 Oak Hill Academy of Mouth of Wilson, Va., and Milwaukee Vincent. Operating without its best player, 6-8 junior Marcus White, the Dolphins were 3-8 on Jan. 10.
Sparked by White’s return from a broken hand sustained during a preseason practice, Young has swept through the Red West.
“Now that we’re finally at full strength, we’re looking to finish the rest of the season undefeated,” said White, who has averaged 15 points and 18 rebounds in eight games. “My return has forced teams to double-team me inside and to use an extra man to box me out. That’s freed up our guys on the perimeter [like Ronald Howard, Nate Harrington and Chris Hill].”
Representatives from as many as 18 NBA teams could be in NU’s arena to scrutinize Curry. The Bulls, who have scouted just about every Thornwood game with either General Manager Jerry Krause or scout B.J. Armstrong, are expected to be represented Saturday.
White isn’t concerned about giving away three inches and 80 pounds in his battle with Curry, who is averaging 27 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks.
“It’s a chance to prove myself against the No. 1 high school player in the nation,” White said. “I’ll find out how much better I need to become to outplay a guy like that. If I can’t get around him or move him, it means I’ll have to do 500 more pushups.”
UNDERCARD
New Trier has scored 70 or more points in nine games this season, while Warren–the high school version of Wisconsin’s Badgers–has held opponents to less than 40 points 12 times. The Devils gave up only 25 to Waukegan and 27 to Bloomington.
“We’re getting better as our younger players mature,” New Trier coach Rick Malnati said. “It will be a fun game for us to play Warren. The night before, we have Evanston at our place.”
And that’s never fun. Friday’s game is for the Central Suburban South title. On Saturday night, the Trevians will look to force an up-tempo pace with the rebounding of 6-9 Josh Nygut triggering a transition game headed by James Romey and Staunton Peck. Warren relies on Mark Klemm, Russ Schaibly, Quentin Herring and Aaron Moore.
A STAR IS BORN
Chris Hobson is just beginning to make a name for himself. The 6-3 Eisenhower sophomore is so good that his teammates willingly pass up shots to get him the ball. In Eisenhower’s victory over Rich East on Tuesday, Hobson scored a career-high 47 points. In his last five games, he has averaged 34 a game, including a 39-point outing against No. 14 Hillcrest. On the season, he is averaging 24 points while shooting 43 percent from three-point range and 87 percent from the free throw line.
“If anybody ever had the green light to shoot it, he’s got it,” Eisenhower coach Bob Frasor said. “We want him to take as many shots as possible. The rest of our players respect his offensive prowess so much, they have no problem with that.
“He’s an exceptional kid to coach. Chris comes into the gym early for extra practice and stays late. He has a great work ethic that also carries over into the classroom. He plays everywhere for us, although I can see him being either a point guard or [shooting] guard in college, unless he keeps growing.” And that’s entirely possible: His older brother Glenn is a 6-8 forward at Kennedy-King.
RECRUITING BUZZ
According to Oak Forest recruiting analyst Larry Butler, the top unsigned recruits in the state are 6-9 David Easterling of King, 6-6 Quinnel Brown of Morgan Park, 6-8 Anton Palmer of Julian, 6-4 Jamaal Thompson of West Aurora and 6-4 Teran Lee of Carver.
Butler touts the current juniors as one of the richest recruiting classes in recent years. He rates Julian guard Sean Dockery as the state’s top prospect, followed by 6-7 Elliott Poole of Farragut, White of Young, 6-10 Mike Thompson of Providence (committed to Duke) and 6-8 Ricky Cornett of Homewood Christian. Right behind them are 6-6 Mike Hall of Shepard, 6-4 Joe Chapman of Bloom, point guard Dee Brown of Proviso East, 6-4 shooting guard Alando Tucker of Lockport and 6-6 Melvin Buckley of Thornwood. Realizing that point guard Frank Williams could be leaving for the NBA after next season, Illinois is pushing hard to replace him with either Dockery or Brown.
OLD SCHOOL
After 36 years and more than 500 victories, it still hasn’t gotten old for Leo coach Jerry Tokars. Longtime observers of the high school game will remember Tokars leading De La Salle to Elite Eight appearances in 1977, ’79 and ’80, with the Meteors finishing third in ’77. He has coached such standouts as 6-11 LaRue Martin, whom Portland selected with the first pick of the ’72 NBA draft; Darryl Allen, who played in a Final Four with Oklahoma; Tony Brown, who teamed with Isiah Thomas at Indiana; and Mike Williams, who was drafted by Sacramento.
Known as a fiery competitor as a youth, Tokars might shout at a player in practice and afterward give him clothes from his own closet. If a player needed change for bus fare or a few bucks for a meal, Tokars had an open-wallet policy.
“That hasn’t changed one bit,” said his wife, Kay. “He will still give a kid the shirt off his back. If he ever won the lottery, he would give it all away.”
His inaugural season at Leo marks Tokars’ return to the Catholic League after being a head or assistant coach at Richards, Thornton, Chicago Christian and Moraine Valley College. The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Famer headed De La Salle’s program for 27 years.
“It’s the same old challenge,” said Tokars, who has led Leo to a 17-5 record and second place in the South Division behind Brother Rice. “The Catholic League is like a miniature Big Ten. It’s my roots. I was a player, also, at De La Salle.”
ON HIS WAY
With a young nucleus and a rebuilding team, Prosser didn’t figure to make any noise this season. But Maurice Vaughn has. The 6-4 senior has averaged approximately 34 points and 17 rebounds over the last three weeks for the 14-14 Falcons. He scored 30 points, including five dunks, and corralled 27 rebounds Tuesday in a victory over Sullivan.
Vaughn will be a swingman in college, but currently plays center on an undersized squad. “For a guy [of his size], he handles the ball really well,” Prosser coach Brian McManus said of his four-year varsity starter. “He plays out on the wing and can shoot over guys.”
McManus says Vaughn is getting looks from Northern Illinois, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Drexel, Colorado State and Hofstra. Besides his gaudy statistics, Vaughn is already an academic qualifier. He scored an 18 on his ACT and has a 2.75 grade-point average.
“I was talking to my principal about Maurice leaving,” McManus said. “I told him, `I sleep like a baby at night: I wake up every two hours crying.'”
