Tipped Off: Michael O’Brien’s hoops notebook

Thunderbirds deliver

So I had my first look at Hyde Park this afternoon and I was very impressed. The Thunderbirds are underrated by everyone right now. I know most people thought they would be good if all the transfers were eligible, but kept them ranked lower because that was so unlikely. Well, they are all playing. It may take awhile to get everyone on the same page, but there are few teams in the state that will be able to match their quickness and size.

I would say Hyde Park has six likely Division I players: Kyle Davis, Phillip Lee, Marcus Smith, Moshawn Thomas, Frank Williams and Juwan Savage.

Right now I’d say they might be the third best team in the Public League, behind Simeon and Young. But I haven’t seen Young or Bogan yet…

Another good big man

Naperville Central soph center Nick Czarnowski scored a team-high 22 points in the Redhawks’ victory over Waubonsie Valley. Through six games, the 6-foot-8, 220-pound Czarnowski has eclipsed the 20-point mark three times, including scoring 22 points against Marmion and Waubonsie Valley, respectively.

Larkin is ready

All the talk in the Elgin area during the preseason centered around Elgin and the St. Charles teams. But look out for Larkin. The Royals are 6-0 and knocked off St. Charles North last night.

Who is this guy?

Schaumburg senior Christian Spandiary was the Daily Herald’s boys basketball player of the week after scoring 31 against Fremd and 27 against Prospect. He made 84 percent of his shots (21 for 25) and was 5 for 7 from three. I guess I’ll get a look at him at Pontiac.

Friday’s games

I’ll be at North Park for Simeon vs. Farragut. Looking forward to getting my first look this season at the Admirals’ Rashaun Stimage. He grew into a force late last season.

There is a good slate of games tonight though, which makes up for a rather week Saturday lineup. Any of these would be a good bet:

Waukegan at Evanston, 7:30

Notre Dame at Marist, 7:30

Warren at Mundelein, 7:30

Rich East at Crete-Monee, 6:30

Oswego East at Oswego, 7