Fremd Girls Focusing on Little Details Amidst Big 1,000-Victory Milestone
Barrington Girls Look to Continue Improvement; No Gray Area to Junior's Shooting; Northern Lake County Race Looks Like Another Wild One
The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) plans to recognize Fremd at its January 27 home game against Elk Grove for becoming the 14th girls basketball program in Illinois high school history to reach 1,000 victories.
But first-year head coach James Han, who is continuing the program’s tradition of success that started with Carol Plodzien and the late David Yates, is also looking at the details that matter as the Vikings start adding to their grand total. They rebounded from losses to two of the state’s top teams in Benet (67-64) and Alton (80-72 in triple overtime) with wins over Hoffman Estates and Barrington to improve to 16-4 overall and 5-0 in the Mid-Suburban West.
“We’ve been working on things that are non-negotiables for us,” Han said after Friday’s 68-35 win at Barrington. “Things we need to do on offense and defense that require no skill. Effort and execution and it’s translated to practice and the last couple of games. Hopefully it continues to help us go up.
“We’re really locking in so we’re playing our best when playoff-time comes and we’re looking forward to the conference games we have coming up here.”
Along with other challenging non-conference tests against defending Class 4A champion Loyola on Jan. 20 and Lyons Township in the regular-season finale on Feb. 8. And Han knows depth matters from his experiences as an assistant for Yates and a key guard for Schaumburg’s 2001 Class AA state champions.
While Utah-bound Ella Todd and Coco Urlacher get most of the attention, Han credited junior Sophia McMillan and sophomore Anna Montella for doing the “non-negotiables” like defending and playing hard all the time. And they fit in with a group of talented multi-sport athletes since the best seasons are in the spring for McMillan (soccer) and Montella (softball).
“They’ve really pushed our starters,” Han said. “We see it every day in practice where they’re pushing for more minutes and defending really well and making it hard for the starters. It’s like coach Yates would say about his teams - you’ve got to have competitive practices.”
Libertyville is also celebrating its 1,000th program victory at 6:30 p.m. tonight (January 14) before its game with Lake Forest. Maine West, Marshall, Benet, Galesburg and Peoria Richwoods are among the other programs that have reached the 1,000 victory mark.
Barrington Girls Look to Continue Improving
Barrington had won 4 of 5 games before falling to 8-11 overall and 3-2 in the MSL West with its 68-35 loss to Fremd.
“We have a young group in spots and we talk about composure,” said Barrington coach Babbi Barreiro. “That’s what makes Fremd so good right now. They have great speed and defensive intensity that’s so difficult to match. You have to control the controllables and I don’t think we did a good job of that tonight.”
One of those Barreiro mentioned was giving Utah-bound Ella Todd three chances on the offensive glass.
“Odds are she’s going to make one of them,” Barreiro said. “But I love that we didn’t give up and came out in the second half and put a couple of baskets up and nice possessions together.
“There are probably 3 to 5 games we could have won if not for turnovers, not finishing, little things that are controllable.”
Barrington is starting three sophomores in Lily Richmond, Mel Bongiorno and Isla Koertner. Junior Simra Alam was expected to be a starter but her return from an ACL injury was hampered by an ankle injury and she is playing but not at full strength. But Barreiro believes her team can make some noise going into the second half of MSL West play.
“I have a lot of confidence in the ability of these kids,” Barreiro said. “I think they can put it together and they will put it together.”
No Gray Area for Broncos
Barrington junior Oliver Gray had missed 8 of his first 10 shots when he hit a running hook across the lane in Friday’s 72-63 win over Fremd. Less than a minute later, Fremd had a miscommunication on a defensive switch that left Gray all alone to nail a 3-pointer.
Gray kept rolling from there as he didn’t miss in 7 second-half shots from the field on the way to 23 points.
“You’ve got to keep shooting,” Gray said. “Keep shooting the ball. I put in enough work for it to go in eventually.”
Gray had a similar situation in a 66-59 Hinkle Holiday Classic semifinal loss to unbeaten Waubonsie Valley where he didn’t make a 3 the first three quarters and then hit five in the fourth quarter to rally the Broncos within 4 points.
But Gray was hardly the only one on target as Barrington snapped Fremd’s 12-game winning streak. Ian Tepas hit 4 of his 5 shots in the first quarter and finished 6-for-8 overall and 3-for-3 on 3s for 17 points.
“We know he can shoot and it’s a matter of him getting it and knocking it down,” Gray said.
“I felt comfortable out there and I thank my teammates and coaches,” Tepas said. “We have great players out there and that made it easier for me to score. My teammates were getting me in the right spot and setting great screens for me. I give all the credit to my teammates.”
And sophomore Jackson Roberts was 7-for-11 shooting for 16 points off the bench.
“He’s a little more comfortable at the varsity level now and a little more confident,” said Barrington coach Bryan Tucker.
Which is another good sign as Barrington pulled within a game of Fremd heading into the halfway point of MSL West play Friday.
“We really emphasized this game,” Gray said. “We need to beat Fremd both times and go undefeated. We really want to be in the MSL ‘chip’ (title game).”
Another Fun Run Ahead to NLCC Hoops Race
The Northern Lake County Conference boys basketball race looks like it will be crazy and fun once again.
Last year saw four teams come into the final game in a tie for first with Grayslake Central defeating Wauconda in dramatic fashion to share the crown with Antioch and Lakes.
And a little more than a third into this year’s 14-game schedule, Grayslake Central, Grant and Antioch are on top at 4-1 with Grayslake North and Lakes right behind at 3-2.
“I think that’s why you felt a sense of urgency tonight,” Central coach Brian Centella said after his team’s 49-39 home win over Antioch last Wednesday. “It’s fun. It’s fun when two teams take the floor and have something to play for.”
Grayslake Central’s time alone at the top didn’t last long as it lost 52-37 to Grant on Saturday and Antioch beat Lakes 50-41 on Friday night. And it could have been a four-way tie for first but Grayslake North was upset 54-41 by North Chicago, which has struggled in recent years.
“There’s a lot of parity and it’s still anybody’s race,” Antioch coach Sean Connor said after the Grayslake Central loss. “That’s what makes it a lot of fun.”
One of the big reasons for Grayslake Central’s success has been the expanded game of 6-foot-6 senior Chris Jaimes, who is averaging 15 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks a game. This year Jaimes has emerged as an outside shooting threat who can hit from 3-point range.
“The entire offseason I was going to the gym every day,” Jaimes said. “I wanted to work on my shot and coach told me I could be a great shooter if I worked on it so it hit me to listen to him.”
Jaimes was named to Jacobs’ Hinkle Holiday Classic all-tournament team as the Rams finished in fourth place.
“We’re relying on Chris a lot this year,” said Central senior point guard Eric Brum. “I call him the monster and this year the monster is out every single game. He’s definitely having a breakout year.”
One that has been big for the Rams after it lost its two biggest scoring threats from last year in Jayden Hall to graduation and Xavi Granville to a transfer to Waukegan.
“Chris had a good year last year,” Centella said. “Some of it is working on his game and having the mentality I can score and dominate. He did it all summer for us and he was fantastic for us. It was a matter of time until people would see it in games. He’s having a special season.”
The good news for Antioch was a breakout second half by senior standout Teddi Wetu at Grayslake Central. He scored 20 of his 22 after the break - with 16 in the fourth quarter - and followed it up with 17 points against Lakes.
“After our 5-game winning streak we took our foot off the gas and got comfortable. Being comfortable is the worst thing in basketball,” Wetu said after the Grayslake Central game. “Laziness creeps in, and I’m not saying we’re being a lazy team, but we have to get back to that gritty mode and underdog role we had at the beginning of the season.
“It’s not just one guy who can go off in any game. We have multiple guys who can give us 20. That’s the best thing about this team.”
There’s no time for the NLCC tri-leaders to get comfortable with road tests Wednesday for Antioch at Grayslake North, Grant at Lakes and Grayslake Central at Wauconda.
Reunion Puts Kam Craft Back in the MAC-tion
Former Buffalo Grove star Kam Craft makes a homecoming of sorts Tuesday night when Miami (Ohio) visits Northern Illinois in a Mid-American Conference matchup.
The 6-foot-6 Craft’s transfer from Xavier has worked out well as he is No. 2 in the MAC in scoring at 17 points a game and No.1 in 3-point percentage at 45.7. The Redhawks are 11-4 overall and 3-0 in the MAC under third-year head coach Travis Steele, who was Xavier’s head coach for four years and recruited Craft.
Craft averaged 2.6 points in 15 games as a freshman at Xavier and didn’t play last year because of injury. He has scored 20, 28 and 23 in his first three MAC games and had a season high 34 against Division III Bethany College (West Virginia).
"Coach Steele instills that confidence in me," Craft said in a story on the Miami website after scoring 16 points in his debut with the team. "My teammates do a good job of getting me open … and whenever I'm open, I'm going to find a way to make shots. We have a very flowing offense that's fun to watch, and a great group of guys … it's a fun brand of basketball."
Craft scored 1,694 points in three seasons at Buffalo Grove before transferring to play for The Skill Factory in Atlanta for his senior year.
Local Ties to Passing of Former MLB Player Felix Mantilla
Felix Mantilla, who won a world championship and was an all-star during an 11-year major-league baseball career, passed away last week at 90. Two of Mantilla’s grandchildren, Julie and Raffi, were area high school basketball stars who went on to play at Yale.
Julie Mantilla was a four-year starter at Hersey and a Daily Herald All-Area pick as a junior and senior in 2002-03. Raffi Mantilla played at Hersey his first two years and transferred to Mundelein where he was a two-time All-Area pick in 2006-07.
Felix Mantilla played for the 1957 Milwaukee Braves World Series champions with Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Warren Spahn. He also started for the memorable expansion 1962 New York Mets and was a teammate of pitcher Jay Hook, a three-sport standout from Grayslake (now Central).
His best seasons were with the Boston Red Sox when he hit 30 homers in 1964 and was an American League All-Star with 18 homers and 92 RBI in 1965. Mantilla played with the Houston Astros in 1966. He signed with the Cubs in 1967 but he suffered a career-ending torn Achilles tendon, according to his Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) biography.
Add Paul Gillette to MSL Boys Basketball Coaching/Playing List
We missed former Barrington coach Paul Gillette on the list of MSL boys basketball coaches who also played in the MSL. Gillette was a senior on Mo Tharp’s first Fremd team in 1975-76 and at center had to battle against two of the league’s greatest in Buffalo Grove’s Brian Allsmiller and Palatine’s Kevin McKenna.
Gillette was the head coach at Barrington from 1989-95. His second team shared the MSL North title with Hersey, reached the sectional final and finished 20-9.