Michael O’Brien’s high school basketball notebook

Well that was refreshing. Tonight I watched Hyde Park and Homewood-Flossmoor in a really well-played game. Both teams looked like they were in mid-season form, there wasn’t any of the usual Thanksgiving sloppiness. That has to be a good sign for both teams this season.

It was the usual sparse opening night crowd. I probably could have identified more than half the people in attendance at Marian Catholic. I like how the high school basketball season starts slowly, with just the true aficionados in the gym.

Although I guess that Young vs. Morgan Park game that started the last real season was pretty great too.

Hyde Park and Homewood-Flossmoor both showed plenty of promise. Expect the Vikings to be dangerous soon.

It’s impressive what Jamere Dismukes and his experienced coaching staff have done in a short time at Hyde Park. I’d imagine there are some south suburban schools wishing they hadn’t let him get away.

Lets dive into tonight’s games. I’m sure you can’t wait for all my crazy bold overreactions to one high school basketball game in November.

Monday’s top games

Beecher 71, Manteno 39: Yup, we are gonna follow Beecher this season. If you don’t know why then you haven’t been listening to No Shot Clock. The Bobcats are going for the first outright conference title in 20 years and the school record of 22 wins. And we are going to follow them every step of the way. Duane Doss scored 21 in the season-opening win. Adyn McGinley stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, eight rebounds and five assists and Mitch Landis added 10 points, five steals and four assists.

No. 15 Bloom 61, Lincoln-Way Central 56: Bloom holds on to win but this has to be an encouraging start to the season for the Knights.

Collins 58, Chicago Academy 57: Antoine Glasper is really high on my list of players to see this season. Here scored 31 for Collins, which won it at the buzzer. Anthony Zepeda led Chicago Academy with 26 points.

No. 1 Glenbard West 80, Glenbard South 27: All the Glenbards play each other in a (for the rest of the area) kinda confusing Thanksgiving tournament. The Hilltoppers debuted with some very balanced scoring. Cade Pierce had 13, Braden Huff and Bobby Durkin scored 12, Paxton Warden added 11 and Ryan Renfro had 10.

No. 6 Glenbrook South 91, Elk Grove 49: Nick Martinelli and Cooper Noard did their usual thing. Each scored 24 points. Gaven Marr (10 points) and Nate Kasher (nine points) made successful varsity debuts.

Hillcrest 65, TF South 56: Hillcrest fans did a lot whining about the preseason rankings (that’s nothing new). I expected the Hawks to drop 200 points on TF South in the opener based on all that bravado. They turned in a nice win and Marcus Glover had a big night, I saw a couple of different point totals for him floating around.

No. 20 Rolling Meadows 77, Montini 63: The Mustangs win the first game of the post-Max Christie era. It was a huge night for his brother. Junior Cam Christie scored 33 points. He was 20 of 20 from the free-throw line and had six rebounds. Mark Nikolich-Wilson added 12 points and 15 rebounds and Foster Ogbonna had 13 points and 11 boards.

Oak Forest 82, Dixon 50: I actually thought about attending this game. I’m dying to get a look at the Ottawa gym and this seemed like a good excuse. Robbie Avila exploded for 40 points and 11 rebounds. Let the under the radar Player of the Year campaign begin! I’ve been a huge fan of Avila’s game his entire high school career. It isn’t just the scoring, he does it all. Fred Robinson added 23 points for the Bengals.

Lincoln Park 66, Providence-St. Mel 47: Senior Chris Hammonds scored 15 and we have a new freshman name, Justin Bowen Jr. added 14.

No. 11 Brother Rice 83, Morton 67: I don’t want to oversell it but this was one of the more surprising scores of the night. I expect Morton to be pretty good this season, they have some talented guards. Ahmad Henderson dropped 30 for the Crusaders. Khalil Ross scored 17 in his Brother Rice debut and Nick Niego added 15.

No. 7 Curie 85, Zion-Benton 44: Phoenix Bullock had 17 points and five assists and Jeremy Harrington added 16 points and four steals. The sophomores, Carlos Harris and Taevion Collier, each had 10 and Chikasi Ofamo scored 12 in his high school debut.

Bartlett 75, Metea Valley 58: Expect the Hawks to be a notebook regular this season. Conrad Luczynski, the 7-2 senior, is going to post some fun numbers. He got started right away with 18 points, 20 rebounds, nine blocks and eight assists. That’s kind of insane.

Romeoville 57, Plainfield Central 43: Joliet Central transfer Troy Cicero can play. The junior had 18 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Meyoh Swansey added 11 points and six rebounds.

North Lawndale 73, Schurz 27: A dominant opening win for the Phoenix, who just missed the rankings and could be very good this season. Vincent Mayes, a 6-5 senior, had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

No. 23 DeKalb 64, Oswego 57 OT: A tight one for the Barbs. Oswego is always pretty good, so I don’t think this is a major warning sign yet.

Neuqua Valley 53, West Aurora 46: Minor surprise here. The Blackhawks were expected to bounce back solidly this season. Erikas Gurskas scored 15 and Cole Vonnahme added 12 for the Wildcats. West Aurora shot 19 for 64, missing 21 three pointers.

Bradley-Bourbonnais 56, Lemont 55: Both teams have D1 prospects, but Lemont was expected to be a top 40ish team this season. They are still very young though.

St. Viator 75, Streamwood 54: Freshman Josiah Calvin led the way with 17 points. That’s a very familiar last name.

Hinsdale Central 55, Naperville North 32: The Red Devils appear to be able to shoot it this season. They were 10 for 21 from three in the opener.