High School Lites: Weekly Hoops Preview

Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011
9:08 PM

By Joe Collins
CSNChicago.com

Comcast SportsNet is the place to be for high school sports! Fridays edition of High School Lites will feature 11 ranked teams in action, including battles between Proviso East and Downers Grove South, along with St. Ignatius and De La Salle. Also, David Kaplan has the story of Reilly OToole: the state champion quarterback from Wheaton Warrenville Southwho also knows a thing or two about basketball. Well preview the High School Hoops Showdown in Hoffman Estates and well take a stroll down memory lane in our flashback segment, featuring Simeon. Here is a snapshot of each game that we will cover Friday night:

Hyde Park @ (19) Curie, 4:00pm

No, its not exactly Bears-Packers, but the highly anticipated matchup between Hyde Park and Curie has the makings of a classic. Its a fight for Red Central conference supremacy. Although Hyde Park (15-3, 7-0) isnt ranked, they will be coming in with a lot of momentum after Wednesdays 63-46 win at King. Aqui Shareef leads a very well-balanced attack for the Thunderbirds. Curie is coming off an 88-42 thrashing of Chicago Richards, which netted them their 20th win on the year. Devin Foster had 23 in the win.

Schurz @ Steinmetz, 4:00pm

Like Hyde Park-Curie, the Schurz-Steinmetz game will also be one that could decide a conference championship. This time, the Blue-North bragging rights could be up for grabs. Schurz is 18-2 after a 58-28 pasting of Northside. Francisco Uriostegui is the go-to guy for the Bulldogs. Their 7-0 record in conference will be tested Friday by a Steinmetz team who beat Lake View 53-46 on Wednesday. The Silver Streaks (15-3, 6-0) are one of the deepest teams in conference. Their guard Pierre Baptiste will get a lot of looks.

(18) Downers Grove South @ (4) Proviso East, 6:00pm

Look out for the 4th ranked Pirates. They are on fire after two wins over marquee programs (Glenbard East and North Lawndale). Sterling Brown, the younger brother of the Lakers Shannon, has emerged as a leader. Center Trashaun Carroll is tough to contain as well. But Downers South will provide a serious challenge. Guards Jerron Wilbut and Jamall Millison have nice touches on the ball, and center Ziggy Riauka can dominate the low post. The Mustangs have won three straight since winning the Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament.

Stagg @ Thornwood, 6:00pm

Lets face it, Thorntons going to be very tough to catch in the SW Suburban Red conference, but the race for second is intriguing in its own way, as four teams come into this weekends action with 3-2 recordstwo of them being Chargers and Thunderbirds. Stagg has won four of their last five, including Tuesdays 66-37 victory over Oak Lawn. Thornwood lost a heartbreaking 62-61 decision Friday to Bradley-Bourbonnais. Theyre led by Darrel Combs, one of the best guards in the conference.

(2) Benet @ Marist, 7:30pm

Benets David Sobolewski will try to play with a sore back Friday night on the south side. The Northwestern-bound guard cannot afford to have his team look ahead to Saturdays showdown against 17 Glenbard East. Benet defeated St. Viator 48-32 on Tuesday. Fellow East Suburban Catholic foe Marist comes in with a 13-8 record after Tuesdays 73-64 loss to Brother Rice. Guards L.J. McIntosh and Paul Simmons, along with center Nick Weishar will hope to contain an elite Benet team thats loaded with talent.

St. Patrick @ Nazareth, 7:30pm

Another intriguing game in the ESCCthis time in La Grange Park. Both teams are chasing Benetand they both feature standout forwards: Ryan Powers for Nazareth, and Jacob Williams for St. Patrick. Nazareth is hoping for a win here to give them some momentum for next weeks showdown against Benet. As for the Shamrocks, theyre coming in off an impressive 63-46 win over Niles West in Skokie.

(7) De La Salle @ (24) St. Ignatius, 7:30pm

The uniforms on the floor tomorrow night will probably feature a lot of blue, white, gold and red--- but the game really features a lot of orange. Illinois recruits Mike Shaw (De La Salle) and 6-10 Nnanna Egwu (St. Ignatius) tangle in a prime showdown in the Catholic North conference. Both players are the go-to guys on their respective rosters. The 7th ranked Meteors are coming off a 3rd place finish in a Missouri tournament last weekend. St. Ignatius has won five in a row, including Sundays impressive win over Orr in the MLK Shootout.

Glenbrook North @ Niles North, 7:30pm

Niles North may not seem like a basketball powerhouse, but they could end up turning some heads come playoff time. The Vikings dribble-drive motion offense, installed by former Maine East coach Glenn Olson, has given New Mexico recruit Abdel Nader (a Maine East transfer himself) a lot of gaudy scoring numbers. Niles North will be challenged by a Glenbrook North team with a lot of size up frontand a lot of momentum from their last two wins. They beat Maine East 82-31, and then Glenbrook South 66-39.

Maine South @ (16) Evanston, 7:30pm

Like the Glenbrook North-Niles North game, Central Suburban South tenants Maine South and Evanston are also fighting for first in their conference as well. The 16th ranked Wildkits will come in with something to prove after Tuesday nights 44-39 loss to Loyola. The focal point of the Kits offense is guard Garrett Jones, one of the top guards in the area. Maine South has quite a guard of their own in Matt Palucki. The Hawks have won six straight and already have a win over Evanston this year: a 51-45 decision on December 7.

THURSDAY GAME:

(9) Whitney Young 49, (25) Orr 39

Ohio State-bound Sam Thompson scored 16 points and Thomas Hamilton added 10 more as the 9th ranked Dolphins pull out a key Red West victory. Curtis Jones led the Spartans with 14 points and Illinois-bound Mycheal Henry had 11 more in the losing effort. Whitney Young will have only one day to celebrate their win, as they prepare to take on another ranked opponent Hales Franciscanon Saturday night. We will have postgame reaction to Thursdays game with Thompson and W-Y head coach Tyrone Slaughter.

Check us out Friday night at 10:30. High School Lites streams live at CSNChicago.com.