Michael O’Brien’s notebook: Nov. 25, 2019

Welcome back to the notebook. I’ll be recapping the best games of the day every night of the season.

The event lived up to the hype tonight. Fans turned out in force (lower bowl of CSU full, a lot of fans up top) and the players delivered with an excellent game, especially considering how bad high school basketball can be the first week of the season.

DJ Steward was excellent throughout but was in a collision early in the third quarter that resulted in a deep cut on his lip. A lot of star players would use that as a great excuse to avoid the media after losing a high-profile game. Steward did not.

Adam Miller had an off night. He was 4-for-18 shooting. So it should scare everyone that Morgan Park still managed to win the game.

That’s primarily because Brandon Weston was excellent in his Public League debut.

So it is time to get into Weston’s status. You’ve probably seen all the national media refer to him as a Class of 2021 player over the summer. That isn’t true.

Weston started high school in Wisconsin in the 2016-17 school year. He played one season there as a freshman. Then he played his sophomore season at Lake Forest Academy. He also played at least one game at Lake Forest Academy his junior year (last season). He transferred to Morgan Park at some point last school year.

According to Illinois High School Association rules a player’s four-year clock starts when he first plays the sport as a high school student. That means this is Weston’s last season. The IHSA has confirmed that he can’t play high school basketball here next season.

Morgan Park is aware of this, but it appears the school will continue to list Weston as a junior. Apparently he may go to a prep school next year.

Expect everyone to become very interested in what Weston will do next year if he keeps playing the way he did tonight. That was one of the better Public League debuts in recent memory.

Monday’s top games

Benet 49, No. 19 Westinghouse 41: The Redwings are already pulling off upsets, if you really want to call it that on the first day of the season. Jack Prock led Benet with 19.

No. 1 Bloom 78, TF South 37: Hot out of the gate. Dante Maddox Jr. scored 25 for the Blazing Trojans. Martice Mitchell had 16 and Keshawn Williams 15.

Deerfield 61, Warren 60: Walt Mattingly scored 18 and went coast-to-coast to score the game-winner. Brandon Lieb had 17 points and Joe Shapiro added 12.

No. 17 Fenwick 69, Hope Academy 57: Bryce Hopkins puts a big number up in the first game of the year scoring 23. Trey Pettigrew added 13.

No. 10 Hillcrest 72, Thornwood 55: Hawks survive the opener without Mar’Keise Irving. Jakobi Heady led the way with 17 points and Julius Rollins added 14.

No. 14 Homewood-Flossmoor 69, Rich East 63 2 OT: The event of the night was at Chicago State but it appears the game of the night was in Chicago Heights. RJ Ogom led the Vikings with 22 points, Josiah Palmer had 17 and St. Rita transfer Joel Watts added 15 in his debut. Is H-F overrated or is Rich East darn good? I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rockets are good. Brandon Brogdan led them with 17 points.

Lyons 59, Plainfield North 43: The Lions received absolutely zero preseason attention. Grant Niego led the way with 22 points and Stefan Vasic scored 21.

No. 6 Marian Catholic 85, Rich Central 57: Ahron Ulis dropped 22 and Elijah Jones added 14. It’s going to be very interesting when all the Rich Township schools combine next season.

Neuqua Valley 64, Oswego 60: Nice opening win for Neuqua, which is an intriguing team this season. Junior John Poulakidas finished with 23 points, he scored 21 in the second half. Will Wolfe, a transfer from Aurora Christian, scored 19 for Oswego East, which was without injured senior Sam Shultz.

Niles North 64, Vocational 41: Dominant start to the season for a team just outside the preseason Super 25. Senior guard Aquan Smart, possibly the area’s least-discussed D-I player, led the Vikings with 26 points.

Payton 64, Niles West 61: We will be keeping close tabs on Payton all season. Senior Jabari Chiphe is a serious All-City and All-Area contender. He opened the season with a big total, 35 points. Sean Perrin led the Wolves with 18.

Rolling Meadows 76, Montini 66: Max Christie opens the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds. His younger brother Cameron Christie, just a freshman, scored 15 in his first varsity game and Jonah Ogunsanya added 11.

Schurz 58, Carmel 55: Another White Division team picks up a nice win. Kyel Shelton led the Bulldogs with 13 points and Kaevon Anderson added 12.

Solorio 64, Tinley Park 54: The Titans lose the first game of the AJ Casey era. This is probably where I would have been if not for the Morgan Park-Young showdown. Sophomore Donovan Jones led the Sun Warriors with 16 points and eight assists. Brian Whitsey had 10 points and 11 rebounds and Sincere Key scored 13. Nice win for a White Division team.

York 41, Hersey 40: A close opener for the Dukes. Nate Shockey scored 19.

Here’s a recap of all the action at the St. Viator Thanksgiving Classic, provided by St. Viator.

St. Viator 64, Conant 42: If Monday’s season-opener is any indication, Saint Viator’s Connor Kochera is ready for his role as team leader.

A 6-5 senior guard and three-year varsity veteran, Kochera scored a game-high 22 points to go with seven rebounds in the Lions’ 64-42 win over Conant at the Saint Viator Thanksgiving Classic.

“I’m excited to be the best example I can be for these guys,” the William & Mary-bound Kochera said. “I was really happy with our defense, which is what leads to our offense. We played well and with a lot of energy. It was good to see.”

The Lions led 32-23 at the half, but they broke open the game in the third quarter.

Kochera started with a 3-pointer — one of four he made — and senior guard Michael Campagna and senior center Michael Huene each added baskets to stake Saint Viator to a 44-28 lead at the 5:28 mark of the quarter. The Lions went into the fourth up 56-34.

Campagna finished with 10 points, four assists and four steals. Junior guard Aidan Harrington contributed 13 points and six rebounds. Senior guard Owen Hickey had six steals.

“We have tons of firepower, and we all play really well together,” Kochera said. “I’m excited for our future.”

Conant junior guard Devon Ellis had 13 points and four rebounds.

Libertyville 49, Prospect 45 OT: Libertyville overcame its first bout of adversity to earn a 49-45 win over Prospect in overtime.

The Wildcats led 22-14 at the half and 34-30 early in the fourth quarter before the Knights tied game 36-all on senior forward Brian Dini’s basket with 1:19 remaining in regulation.

Junior guard Chase Larsen gave Prospect the first lead in overtime and his free throw put the Knights ahead 39-38 with 2:33 to go.

But Libertyville senior guard Jackson Watson scored his first and only points of the game on a 3-pointer to make it 41-39. Junior guard Marc Michelotti then went 8-for-10 on free throws in the final 1:10 to secure the win.

“At the beginning of the year, you’re not expecting to finish games like that,” Libertyville coach Brian Zyrkowski said. “That was a bonus. Our guys fight, and they fought until the end.”

Michelotti led all scorers with 19 points. Senior forward Patrick Graham had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Part of Prospect’s brand-new starting five, senior guard Matt Woloch finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Larsen added eight points, six rebounds and three assists.