There are always players that fit the mold of a small college prospect.
Then there are a select few who are absolutely coveted at the Division II and Division III level because they are bound to be absolute difference-makers if they land there.
Coaches at that level go all in while keeping their fingers crossed the player doesn’t go higher.
Glenbrook North’s Josh Fridman is one of those select few.
Illinois Wesleyan and coach Ron Rose did go all in on the senior point guard and landed an elite small college prospect. Fridman, who committed to the Division III program Tuesday night, is among the City/Suburban Hoops Report’s top 50 prospects in the Class of 2024.
Fridman has battled injuries throughout his career, yet with the ball in his hands he’s been the catalyst for a Glenbrook North team that has done nothing but win.
Last season Glenbrook North went 28-5 as Fridman averaged 15 points a game. But his junior year ended prematurely with a torn ACL. This came after he dislocated his shoulder and tore his labrum following his sophomore season. As a result, Fridman missed virtually the entire offseason –– and the club basketball scene –– in back-to-back years.
This season has has guided the Spartans to a 15-4 record and to the top of the Central Suburban League South. He’s averaging 13 points a game with a three-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio while shooting 40 percent from the three-point line.
Fridman plays the point guard position with pizzazz, controlling the tempo of every game. He reaches the spots he needs to on the floor, converting as an offensive threat while still maintaining a pass-first philosophy.
Undefeated Waubonsie Valley
With the second half of the season upon us the unblemished record of Waubonsie Valley is a storyline to follow. It’s just not very often teams head towards the 20-win mark with a perfect record.
Glenbard West is the most recent team with a long, unbeaten start to a season. The 2022 Class 4A state champs didn’t lose until February, falling to Sierra Canyon (Calif.) after starting the year with 26 straight wins.
Last year Benet started 16-0 before falling to Simeon in the Pontiac Holiday Tournament title game. The Redwings didn’t lose again until the Class 4A state championship.
The 2019-20 season featured two teams who went deep into January unscathed: Thornton and Evanston. Thornton raced out to a 21-0 record before a Jan. 28 loss to Bloom, while Evanston was 18-0 when it lost to Zion-Benton on Jan. 21.
Geneva and Curie didn’t lose their first games during the 2018-19 season until early January.
The last Chicago area team to go through the entire regular season without a loss? Indian Creek.
The Class 1A school 30 miles west of Aurora finished the 2019-20 season 35-1, losing to Aurora Christian in the super-sectional.
Fremd, incredibly, did it twice in the last 10 years. The 2016-17 unbeaten run ended in the Class 4A state semifinals, while the 2013-14 team lost in the sectional championship.
But with a recent win over rival Neuqua Valley and the most impressive victory of the season this past weekend over Normal, Waubonsie Valley is 17-0.
There remain several potential stumbling blocks for coach Andrew Schweitzer’s team in coming weeks.
The next big test is this Saturday when the Warriors face No. 16 West Aurora at Marmion. Then over the next two weeks Waubonsie will have conference games with Metea Valley and DeKalb before No. 13 Bolingbrook on Feb. 3. The rematch with Neuqua Valley follows on Feb. 9.
Underrated showdown
The Leyden-Fenton matchup this past weekend may not have generated big headlines, either in leading up to it or at the conclusion of this non-conference game.
However, it was certainly a key game between two teams without much recent basketball history but an impressive combined win total thus far this season.
Leyden came away with a 50-45 win and is on the cusp of winning 20-plus games for the first time in 29 years.
The Eagles are now 15-4 on the season, thanks in large part to the play of 6-3 guard Drelyn Jones. The 6-3 senior guard has been one of the best-kept secrets of the season as he’s averaged 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and over four steals a game for coach Bill Heisler.
Leyden’s West Suburban Gold showdown with Downers Grove South was postponed last Friday due to weather.
Fenton, meanwhile, is 17-3 overall and all alone in first place in the Upstate Eight Conference. Coach Chaz Taft’s team is fresh off a school record 24 wins a year ago.
But neither Fenton nor Leyden has enjoyed any recent postseason success.
Leyden hasn’t won a regional title since that 24-win season in 1994-95. It’s been 13 years since Fenton’s last regional championship –– the only regional title in over 40 years for the Bison.
Leyden’s regional road could be a rigorous one with the likes of New Trier, Loyola, Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South and Evanston in the Maine South Sectional.
Fenton’s season ended prematurely a year ago with an upset loss in the regional semifinals. But that was without Xavior Gonzalez, who missed his junior year due to tearing his ACL. The 5-8 point guard has come back and shined as a senior, averaging 19.3 points, 3.6 assists and three steals a game.
Behind Gonzalez and 6-2 senior guard Alejandro Diaz (16.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg), the Bison are in position to potentially claim a top four seed in the Class 3A St. Viator Sectional.
