The high school basketball season is in the home stretch of the regular season, so it’s exam time.
The following is a high school basketball answer key to the semester exam.
While many of the questions truly do have several possible answers, selecting the very best option for each question is the key.
What player means the most to their team?
Jaxson Davis, Warren
Luke Kinkade, Neuqua Valley
Cam Cerese, Lake Park
Davion Thompson, Bolingbrook
ANSWER: Jaxson Davis, Warren
Each of these four players means so much to their respective team’s success.
Neuqua Valley isn’t sniffing the top 25 without Kinkade’s shooting and scoring. Lake Park is probably a .500 team at best without Cerese. The fact there are two freshmen deservedly on this list is pretty astonishing. However, there is always talent at Bolingbrook; Thompson has just raised the ceiling for the Raiders.
But considering everything as it pertains to Warren — where it was a year ago, how far they’ve climbed in the rankings, what they’ve accomplished and the overall talent level on the roster — Davis is the clear-cut answer. The numbers he puts up, along with his overall presence, make the freshman point guard critically important to the Blue Devils’ high rate of success.
What team has had the most success with the least amount of fanfare and recognition?
Glenbrook South
Lake Park
Riverside-Brookfield
Prospect
ANSWER:Prospect
Despite the other three multiple-choice options having all surpassed 20 wins already this season, they’ve all been ranked at one point or another this season.
We went with a team with zero fanfare or recognition in Prospect.
Prospect hasn’t even received as much attention as conference rival Rolling Meadows, who the Knights are currently tied with atop the Mid-Suburban League East.
Coach Brad Rathe’s team has 19 wins and will zoom past the 20-win mark. They beat a ranked Glenbrook North team and recently knocked off Rolling Meadows in overtime, snapping the Mustangs’ 35-game MSL East win streak, and throttled Niles West by 30 points.
They are doing this after losing top player Ben Schneider to a knee injury in November, a junior who averaged 11 points a game and was an all-conference player as a sophomore last season. Senior Drew Terpins has carried a big load for the Knights, averaging 13 points, four rebounds and 3.5 assists a game while guarding the opposing team’s best perimeter player.
Prospect will host a regional and behind Terpins could very well win its second straight regional title.
Of all the surprise teams thus far this season, which team is the best of the bunch?
Lincoln Park
Waubonsie Valley
Neuqua Valley
Warren
ANSWER: B and D
Trick question. Sorry.
This was a two-team, back-and-forth debate between a highly-ranked unbeaten team in Waubonsie Valley and Warren. Neither received a whisper when it came to preseason rankings. So if you chose B or D, mark it down as correct.
You simply can’t ignore the résumé the Blue Devils have put together in their surprising run. Coach Zack Ryan’s team owns wins over Joliet West, Bolingbrook, New Trier, Kenwood, Palatine and Lincoln Park — teams that have all been ranked at some point this season.
Waubonsie Valley? They haven’t lost. No losses. Zero. None. It’s been a remarkable run for the Warriors as they’ve climbed to No. 4 in the current Super 25 with a 22-0 record. While the schedule hasn’t exactly been a daunting one, they’re legit. With its defense and personnel, the Warriors look the part.
What is the best, deepest conference in the Chicago area?
Southland
Central Suburban League South
Public League Red South Central
Catholic League Blue
ANSWER: Catholic League Blue
This was the best conference coming into the season and it remains the best. There are four teams ranked among the top 20: No. 5 Mount Carmel, No. 8 DePaul Prep, No. 9 Brother Rice and No. 19 Loyola. Those four have battled one another but own a combined record of 85-13.
The depth, however, includes three more teams — De La Salle, St. Ignatius and Fenwick — who can all pose problems and will be tough outs come state tournament time in Class 3A.
What junior has blossomed the most this season?
Anton Strelnikov, Lake Zurich
Ian Miletic, Rolling Meadows
Nick Allen, Bradley-Bourbonnais
JT Pettigrew, Bolingbrook
ANSWER:Ian Miletic, Rolling Meadows
This one really feels like a trick question due to the fact all four have made considerable strides, both in their individual development and production. But when you combine the numbers he’s put up — Miletic is averaging 20 points, 11 rebounds and shooting an eye-opening 49% from beyond the arc — along with how much he’s improved as a player and prospect, the 6-7 junior gets the nod. As a result, Miletic’s recruiting has exploded.
What sophomore has blossomed the most this season?
Lincoln Williams, Kankakee
Gabe Sularski, Benet
Karson Thomas, Lincoln-Way East
Cameron Mercer, Riverside-Brookfield
ANSWER:Karson Thomas, Lincoln-Way East
This one is going to be debatable and even argumentative. You really can’t go wrong. But …
Williams is the only one of the four listed who dipped his toes in the deep end of varsity basketball as a freshman last season, and Sularski was already ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the class before he even began his sophomore year.
So it came down to Thomas and Mercer.
But no one was talking about Thomas before the season began. And certainly, no one forecasted the type of season he would put together. The strong sophomore guard’s competitiveness and mid-range game for his age are so projectable as a prospect, while his overall impact has been felt right from the start of the season. He is averaging 16 points, 6.3 rebounds and nearly two assists a game while shooting 60% from the field.
Who remains the most unheralded senior?
Darshan Thomas, Marist
Laranz Walters, Kankakee
Drelyn Jones, Leyden
Jakob Blakley, Payton
ANSWER:Larenz Walters, Kankakee
For all the production this 6-1 guard has manufactured over the last two years, it’s remarkable how little Walters has been talked about after averaging 18.3 points a game as a junior and doing it once again this year as a senior.
Sure, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle playing in the Southland Conference this year. But Walters is putting up 18.1 points and 3.7 assists a game. He’s connected on 52 three-pointers on the year and is a 91% free-throw shooter. All this for a team that is 19-3 and ranked.
The most underrated underclassman this season has been?
Tyreek Coleman, Waubonsie Valley
Arden Eaves, Thornwood
Christopher Kirkpatrick, New Trier
Marcos Gonzales, Brother Rice
ANSWER:Tyreek Coleman, Waubonsie Valley
There is a lot that has gone into Waubonsie’s remarkable unbeaten start to the season.
The team’s defense with its ball press is borderline difference-making. The length and versatility of coach Andrew Schweitzer’s parts, including do-it-all Treshawn Blissett, are unique. But the emergence of Coleman, who did provide flashes last year as a sophomore, can’t be understated.
The 6-1 point guard makes this team go. While he constantly puts pressure on opposing teams, Coleman gives the Warriors a lethal weapon most basketball observers aren’t even aware of right now.
Who plays the role of Robin (Scottie Pippen) to his star teammate Batman (Michael Jordan) the best?
Isaiah Green, Thornton
Will Gonzalez, Curie
JT Pettigrew, Bolingbrook
Grant Best, Mount Carmel
ANSWER: Will Gonzalez
The go-to player for the No. 1 ranked team is Carlos Harris, the veteran, hard-nosed senior guard headed to UIC. But Gonzalez actually leads the Condors in scoring. The 6-4 Gonzalez has been a huge addition after transferring in for his senior year from Riverside-Brookfield. Gonzalez is averaging 13 points and six rebounds a game while becoming Curie’s biggest perimeter shooting threat.
What team currently unranked could enjoy their time the most in March?
Fenwick
St. Patrick
Lake Park
Riverside-Brookfield
ANSWER:Fenwick and St. Patrick
Yes, it’s another chance to get one right with multiple correct answers. But the strong belief here is one of these under-the-radar, unranked teams with a combined record of 30-16 are going to win a sectional championship. They both play in the same Class 3A sectional.
First, take a look at the schedule Fenwick has faced and then start breaking down the scores on that schedule.
The Friars beat Neuqua Valley, West Aurora and Batavia. They played state-ranked Metamora tough before falling 54-48. They lost to Rockford Guilford (19-4), a team that is 14-0 in the NIC-10, 72-70. They fell to Rolling Meadows by just three points and lost to Riverside-Brookfield in overtime.
Coach David Fergerson’s team has compiled a 14-8 record and competed against top-notch foes.
Second, take a look at their Class 3A sectional, one which Fenwick will be hosting. There are a whole bunch of Nobles — seven to be exact — a couple of Intrinsics, a Little Village, 1-22 Schurz, North Grand … you get the point.
Fenwick should be able to roll to a regional championship and then play the sectional on its home floor, where they will certainly be able to compete against the other sectional favorites, St. Patrick and Westinghouse.
Then there is St. Pat’s. The season has been a bit volatile with some highs and some lows. But from a talent perspective, led by junior guard EJ Breland, the Shamrocks will be the team to beat.
What team outside the Chicago area is the best?
Normal
Quincy
Centralia
Metamora
ANSWER:Metamora
This is one of the toughest questions on the exam because there are so many terrific options this season.
The winning DNA that’s currently embedded in this Metamora program can’t be undervalued. There is some high-level talent in Iowa recruit Cooper Koch, tough and talented veteran Tyler Mason, who has signed with Winona State, and 6-5 junior Matthew Zobrist, one of the better junior prospects in the state.
Plus, the defending state champs have really put themselves out there with their scheduling.
They’ve faced three loaded out-of-state teams. They came to the Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament and won it, beating highly-ranked Downers Grove North and Bolingbrook. They played Thornton and handed Mt. Zion its only loss of the season. They face Normal this weekend.
Since dropping a heartbreaking one-point loss to Thornton in early January, the Redbirds have ripped off eight straight wins. This group really seems to be coming together.
Which program with the longest sectional title drought has the best chance of winning a sectional this season?
Lake Forest
Waubonsie Valley
York
Crystal Lake South
ANSWER: Crystal Lake South
These are all programs itching to get over the hump and end long sectional championship droughts.
In the case of Lake Forest, the Scouts have never won a sectional title. But DePaul (23-2), the defending Class 2A state champs, have moved up and into Lake Forest’s Class 3A sectional. That’s a significant roadblock for a team that came so close a year ago.
York’s last sectional title came in 1982, and they are in a winnable sectional. For unbeaten Waubonsie Valley, it’s been 33 years. However, the Warriors will have to win three tough games to get out of the East Aurora Sectional.
So why Crystal Lake South? The Gators, who last won a sectional championship in 1983, have the best road to get it done. The biggest challenges in their sub-sectional appear to be Kaneland (17-4), Wheaton Academy (12-9) and Burlington Central (17-8), a team the Gators have already beaten twice.
Then it’s likely either Belvidere North (18-7) or Freeport (13-11) from the other sub-sectional.
Bottom line: Crystal Lake South’s 21-2 team, which is led by junior guard AJ Demirov, has a fantastic opportunity to end a four-decade-long sectional drought.
TRUE/FALSE: Waubonsie Valley will finish the regular season unbeaten?
ANSWER:False
By all accounts, Waubonsie Valley is a bonafide top 10 team. But it’s also not a world-beater. The Warriors have played with fire, winning four games this season by a total of 10 points.
And do you know how nearly impossible it is to run the table in the regular season?
A double-whammy awaits — talented Bolingbrook this Saturday and then a road date with rival and ranked Neuqua Valley next Friday night. With that type of slate left, along with playing with a bulls-eye on your back as an unbeaten, the odds are against the Warriors.
TRUE/FALSE: In the second year of the shot clock being approved for holiday tournaments and shootout events, it’s only gaining more popularity.
ANSWER:True
The more everyone sees and gets used to playing with the shot clock, the more everyone seems to ask, “What are we waiting for? Add the thing already.”
The pluses are endless, starting with the fact it reduces stalling tactics — and endless fouling in many instances — at the end of games.
Those who originally thought the shot clock would take away from coaching strategy haven’t paid attention; the shot clock adds to the coaching blueprint and creates more in-game scenarios.
TRUE/FALSE: Since the arrival of the four-class system in the 2007-08 season, there have never been four teams playing in the big schools (4A and 3A) State Finals from outside the Chicago area.
ANSWER:False
There have been 14 IHSA State Finals played and completed since the IHSA made the move to four classes in 2008, and there has been just one season, 2018-19, where half the teams playing were from outside the Chicago area.
That year Rockford East and Belleville West reached the state semifinals in Class 4A, while Peoria Manual and East St. Louis made it in Class 3A. That’s the only time in the four-class system where four teams from outside the Chicago area were among the final eight on the final weekend of the season.
Could it happen this year? Very unlikely. But several potential high-powered teams from around the state could make their way to Champaign.
There is a built-in team from outside the Chicago area in Class 3A with the Lincoln Sectional winner squaring off with the Troy (Triad) Sectional winner. Centralia appears to be the current favorite.
Many expect defending state champ Metamora to return to Champaign in Class 3A.
No one would be too surprised if Quincy, Collinsville or Normal made it out of the ISU Super in Class 4A.
But getting a fourth team into the semifinals will be tricky. That fourth team would have to come out of the Kaneland Class 3A sectional from a small, underdog group that includes Belvidere North and Freeport.
