Fremd Rebounds From Hiccup to Latest Strong Start
Jordan Williams Displays Unselfishness; Lake Zurich Looking Dangerous; Warren Searching for Consistency; Hollywood Moment for Christie Brothers
Fremd has put together the most successful regular seasons in Mid-Suburban League boys basketball history.
The Vikings were unbeaten under Bob Widlowski in 2016-17 and 2013-14 and had 1 loss in 2009-10. Mo Tharp’s 1987-88 team also had only 1 regular-season loss.
First-year head coach Mike Brown’s team was also off to a spectacular 14-1 start when it went to Barrington and suffered its first Mid-Suburban West loss 72-63 on January 10. The Vikings allowed 71 points in their other loss to Evanston in the third game of the season.
But Fremd has rebounded with four consecutive wins - including 78-51 over Hoffman Estates on Friday night - and improved to 18-2 by beating Deerfield 55-54 in overtime Monday to repeat as Martin Luther King Tournament champions at Lakes.
“It was a tough pill to swallow because we were rolling with 12 in a row,” said Fremd senior Samuel Hirsch after scoring 20 points and hitting four 3-pointers against Hoffman. “We thought we were better than we were and got beat pretty bad.
“It was a wakeup call. We had to pick our intensity and stop being lazy on defense. We’re not gonna just get handed W’s.”
Fremd was allowing an average of 45.7 points in its 17 victories through Saturday’s 61-42 win over Burlington Central.
“Coach Brown definitely raised the intensity in practice,” Fremd junior Jordan Williams said after he had 25 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists against Hoffman. “That gave us a lot more energy in our games and to go harder.”
Hoffman’s early success with Daiquan Daniels and Torey Baskin, as it hit 10 of its first 16 shots, had Brown imploring “can we get a stop” during a wild first 8½ minutes that were tied at 23-23.
The Vikings ultimately started getting them as Brown said they adjusted their man-to-man a little bit. Hirsch said they wanted to stop letting the Hawks’ split them defensively and make sure they got out on their shooters.
“They’re hard to guard with their quickness and style,” Brown said. “Once we adjusted to the pace we did a better job. They were really hitting in the first quarter and we had to buckle down.
“Every team in our league is so good. Barrington put 72 on us and we know we’re not going to win conference games against good opponents giving up so many points. Hoffman can hang 80 on you in a hurry because they’re so talented.”
Williams Can Dish it Out
Jordan Williams was on pace for a monster scoring game at halftime Friday with 18 points in Fremd’s 78-51 victory over Hoffman Estates.
“Jordan was hooping,” said teammate Samuel Hirsch. “Any coach has gotta key on him.”
That was expected as Williams finished with 25 points. But he also found Hirsch, Ryan Brown and Rafael Pinto for 3-pointers in the third quarter en route to finishing with 5 assists.
“Coach (Mike) Brown talked to me about the second half and said to draw the defense and kick it out,” Williams said. “That’s what really helped us.
“It feels good, not just scoring points, but to be creating for my teammates. It’s a team sport.”
And that’s what makes Williams and Fremd dangerous when he gets the ball in the middle of the floor and in the lane.
“He’s got good vision, good ballhandling and he’s a willing passer, which is good for us,” Brown said.
“He did a good job of drawing the attention of the defense and kicking it out and we were knocking them down,” Hirsch said. “He’s really good and it always starts with playmaking. He’s very unselfish and that’s good for our team.”
Lake Zurich Looking Very Dangerous
Lake Zurich is clearly in the category of the team no one wants to see in the postseason.
The Bears opened some eyes with their fourth-place finish at York’s Jack Tosh Holiday Classic where they beat Lemont, Lyons and St. Ignatius, played Fenwick tough in the semifinals and lost by 3 in the third-place game to Class 3A title contender Metamora.
Then came the big eye-opener last Wednesday when they went to Warren and came out with a 49-48 victory on junior Kain Kretschmar’s 2 free throws with 10 seconds to play.
“It’s huge and against a ranked team it’s 100 percent a confidence booster,” Kretschmar said after he scored 23 points.
“We know we belong with these top teams,” said LZ junior point guard Evan Peterson. “We’re a young team but we’ve matured a lot. Now we’re starting to gain that confidence and it’s starting to show.”
The Bears were projected to be in the mix with the top teams in the North Suburban Conference after going 22-9 last year. But then late in the summer 6-8 Anton Strelnikov, who is committed to Dartmouth, transferred to La Lumiere prep school in Indiana.
They started 2-6 but are now 11-9 after beating Palatine 54-40 on Saturday. Seniors Tyler Olson and Connor Strauss and Kretschmar, Peterson and junior classmates Adrian Riep, Tyler Reed and Cash Kaczmarek provide a solid top seven.
“A lot of times we have four juniors on the floor,” said LZ coach Terry Coughlin. “Kain was allowed to float around last year being a young sophomore and now we’re calling plays for him at the end.
“It takes time and they’re young kids. But our kids have responded and they’re tough kids. They’re playing roles they weren’t expecting to play.”
But no matter the roles the Bears are playing some defense and allowing only 49.7 points a game.
“We just love playing defense and all five guys rely on each other,” Peterson said. “We came out with intensity and that’s how we won the game. We communicate really well and we’re all on the same page. We can run every defense.”
Peterson was instrumental in Warren finishing 19 points below its average of 67 per game and sophomore standout Jaxson Davis scoring just 9 on 4-for-10 shooting.
“Evan is such a dog on defense,” Coughlin said. “You saw it at the Tosh and and saw what he did defensively and how he handled the ball there. We’re tough and resilient. It takes five guys to limit a guy like Jaxson Davis and they did a good job.”
The next big test for the Bears is Friday when it hosts talented NSC leader Waukegan. They will be with Stevenson in the MSL-heavy Schaumburg sectional.
Warren Trying to Recapture the Magic
Warren has faced a lot of challenges after a 31-5 finish last year with injuries, a rugged schedule and being the target of every opponent.
The Blue Devils matched last year’s total for losses when they fell 49-48 to Lake Zurich last Wednesday. They’re still trying to get their lineup intact around star sophomore guard Jaxson Davis. And the schedule isn’t getting any easier when they start a stretch of four games in seven days with a visit from Maine South on Wednesday.
“We’ve talked about our practice habits and at the same time taking personal accountability for what you’re doing,” said Warren coach Zack Ryan after the loss to LZ. “When you play good teams, if you’re not ready to go and you’re playing against a good team that’s hungry, that’s what happens.
“We’ve gotta practice better. There’s something missing right now that we’ve gotta find. Guys being in and out of the lineup, that’s part of it, but we’ve got to figure out what’s been the secret sauce for the last year and a half. We haven’t defended the way we’re capable of. Guys are playing hard and the effort is great but we’re not playing as well as we can be.”
Warren did rebound from the LZ loss with a 73-47 win over Libertyville. The upcoming stretch includes a Friday trip to Lake Forest, a highly anticipated matchup between Davis and Bolingbrook’s Davion Thompon at Saturday’s “When Sides Collide” at Benet and a January 28 trip to the “Dog Pound” against NSC leader Waukegan.
Hoffman Estates Hopes for Lesson Learned
Hoffman Estates is approaching 20 wins for the second time in four years under head coach Peter McBride and is one win away from matching last season’s total after it improved to 16-6 with a 59-40 win over Vernon Hills. Chris Mobley had 22 points and Joey Hernandez added 16 points.
That was also one point fewer than the Hawks allowed in the first half Friday in a 78-51 loss to Fremd. The most points they had previously allowed this season came in MSL West losses of 60-50 to Barrington and 60-41 to Palatine.
“They pose so many problems defensively and it’s a great learning opportunity for us,” McBride said after the Fremd game. “The league is so good. There are no off nights in our league and it’s a credit to how good the conference is.
“I’m really pleased how we’re playing overall but we didn’t show it defensively tonight.”
Christie History in Los Angeles
The first NBA battle of Los Angeles of the 2024-25 season Sunday night was also big for the Christie family. It was the first time former Rolling Meadows stars Max of the Lakers and Cam of the Clippers faced off against each other in an organized game.
Both players saw action as Max started and scored 10 points and Cam got in during the final minute and hit a free throw in the Clippers’ 116-102 victory. The Christie brothers exchanged jerseys after the game.
Max, the third-year pro out of Michigan State, is averaging career highs of 8.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Cam, the rookie out of Minnesota, was making just his second appearance in an NBA game and had 5 points and 3 rebounds in his debut on December 4.
Cam Christie also had a rebound in 1:24 of action in Monday’s 112-99 loss to the Bulls.
MSL East Schools Recognize Great Teams, Athletes
Three MSL East schools are celebrating historic moments the next three weeks.
Buffalo Grove will recognize its 2000 girls Class AA state championship team before Friday’s 7:30 p.m. varsity game with Rolling Meadows. The Bison, coached by Tom Dineen and led by senior all-area standouts Piper Mead, Lindsey Hamma, Alison Guth and Kendra Ryl, finished 34-4 and beat Chicago Washington in overtime in the championship game.
The Wheeling Athletic Hall of Fame will induct its Class of 2025 of Ashley Wilson (basketball and track, class of 2009), Bren Spillane (baseball, class of 2015), Mike Rucinski (baseball and hockey, class of 1982) and Tim Falconer (track and cross country coach) at halftime of its home basketball game against Maine West at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Hall of Fame activities will begin at 4:30 p.m. in the faculty lounge.
Hersey will recognize its 1995 Class AA Elite Eight boys basketball team on February 14 when it hosts Wheeling. Coach Don Rowley’s team led by Paul Wolf, Brad Bowsher and Michael White finished 26-5 and was the third team in school history to reach the state tournament in Champaign.
Softball Not Only Season of Success for Barrington’s Peterson
Barrington’s Perry Peterson is one of the most successful softball coaches in state history as he is just 29 wins shy of 1,000 for his career with 10 top-four state finishes.
But Peterson also just hit a big milestone as a basketball coach with his 400th career victory at Station Middle School in Barrington, where he is a physical education teacher. Peterson currently coaches the 8th grade “A” team at Station.
MSL-NFL Updates
The NFL season is over for all five players from the MSL this year - Denver offensive lineman Alex Palczewski (Prospect), LA Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (Rolling Meadows), San Francisco tight end Eric Saubert (Hoffman Estates), Green Bay defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness (Barrington) and Pittsburgh wide receiver Scotty Miller (Barrington).
Check out the updated MSL to NFL page by clicking below.
Millstone Milestone
Palatine head coach Eric Millstone picked up his 250th career victory at the school with a 64-46 win over Wheaton North on Monday afternoon. Millstone is the 13th boys basketball coach to hit the 250 win mark at a MSL school or schools.