It will be easy to overlook Hoffman Estates in the state basketball tournament Friday.
This is, after all, the most glamorous assemblage of teams and talent the Class AA Elite Eight has offered in several years.
Simeon with Calvin Brock; Farragut with Ollie Bailey; defending champion Peoria Central with Shaun Livingston and Brandon Lee; Homewood-Flossmoor with Julian Wright; and West Aurora with Shaun Pruitt and Justin Cerasoli, possess both big-time college recruits and serious chances of winning the state title Saturday in Peoria.
Hoffman Estates is not glamorous. The Hawks, who meet West Aurora in the quarterfinals, have a glittering 30-2 record but built it on a schedule that lacked big-name opponents, except for three victories over Schaumburg.
Nor are its two stars, Bryan Mead and Jonny Reibel, likely to wow you with the stuff of “SportsCenter” highlights or with scholarship offers from collegiate powers. Mead isn’t certain he will play college ball; Reibel has signed with Rollins, an NCAA Division II school.
But don’t start believing that Hoffman Estates vs. West Aurora is some Florida A&M vs. Kentucky mismatch. In 1996, for example, the Hawks shocked West Aurora in the supersectionals to claim their first Elite Eight berth, then lost to eventual third-place finisher Westinghouse by only a point in the quarterfinals.
Last summer Hoffman Estates even defeated mighty Peoria Central, the pick here to retain its title this weekend.
But the biggest reasons Hoffman Estates may have an upset in its system are Mead and Reibel. The former is a 6-foot-4-inch inside player with the shooting ability of a guard. The latter is a fearless and versatile 6-foot point guard who could help many midmajor Division I programs.
Reibel has been here before. In 1996 he soaked in the excitement at Carver Arena while watching his brother, Tony, play for Hoffman Estates.
“I was thinking, `That’s where I want to be when I’m a senior,'” Reibel said. “He told me about all the fun he had and that it was an experience you remember for the rest of your life.”
Along with offering up a worthy goal for a 4th grade player, Tony made another contribution to the future of Hoffman Estates basketball. That would be toughening up little brother in one-sided, no-holds-barred confrontations with a toy hoop in Jonny’s bedroom.
“I’d play against Tony and his buddies,” said Reibel, who was about 4 feet tall at the time. “They’d pound on me, push me, block my shots off the wall.
“They didn’t want me to score, but I’d find a way to crawl between their legs or something. They said they knew when I was older I could face any opponent because I never backed down.”
Mead proved his own mettle when he refused to back down from a mysterious back injury that flared up last summer. He doesn’t know what causes it or even exactly what it is, other than that it is a muscle condition that produces painful spasms.
The condition limited Mead’s mobility, one reason he shifted from guard to forward–the other is his team’s lack of height. But he worked hard on his rehabilitation program and missed only one game.
Mead estimates he is 90 percent recovered, although he still wears a brace.
“He showed a lot of courage and he has almost made it back,” Hoffman Estates coach Bill Wandro said. “The last couple of weeks he has moved better than he has all year because he worked his tail off.”
Mead, Reibel and 6-4 center Branden Jung are three-year starters and part of a large group of seniors who have been preparing for March Madness for years. Last season the Hawks were 22-8 but lost in the sectional finals to Glenbrook North, a loss that grew more frustrating as they watched North finish third in the state,
“Last year has just been an inspiration this year not to let that happen again,” Mead said. “We felt if we had won that game we could have done some damage like they did.
“We didn’t feel we played our best game against them. This year we have been doing everything we can to keep going.”
They have done it with improved defense and unselfishness. Hoffman Estates gives up only 44.5 points a game. Mead averages 16.7 points a game and Reibel, 14.9, but each scored a few points a game more last year.
The result has been addition by subtraction and Reibel’s return to Peoria.
“I’ll probably get some chills because I have always dreamed of playing on this court before all those people,” he said. “It has been my goal for many years.
“This year everyone has been willing to put out hard work and dedication for this team. It has paid off, but we’re not done yet.”
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btemkin@tribune.com
