About this column:
The Patch Hardwood Tour examines boys high school basketball on a weekly rotational basis, focusing on teams in a 12-town region. Its intent is to celebrate and inform about prep hoops. The tour will will be stopping in your town soon. The author, Dave Masterson, has been a fan of high school basketball for more than four decades and is a veteran reporter and commentator of the prep sports scene. Towns on the Patch Hardwood Tour are Algonquin, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Cary, Crystal Lake, Grayslake, Huntley, Lake Forest, Lake in the Hills, Lake Zurich, Libertyville and Palatine. The Huntley Red Raiders won two more Fox Valley games last week to overwhelmingly secure the Fox Valley Division title for the first time since joining the division three seasons ago. No team can come within two games of the powerful Raiders. The Crystal Lake Central Tigers also clinched a championship in the Fox Valley Fox Division. It’s a shame there’s no Fox Valley championship game between division winners Huntley Red Raiders and Crystal Lake Central Tigers. Both teams have been atop the Patch Hardwood Tour rankings all season, alternating between first and second. Next season, when …
The only thing that Huntley lacks is size. That’s what I wrote in my notes as I watched the Red Raiders topple Jacobs from the ranks of the undefeated in the Fox Valley Valley conference on Tuesday. With the win, which took place on their opponent’s home court, the young Huntley club seized sole possession of first place in the division. It was a contest worthy of the stakes, with the Red Raiders finally emerging victorious in overtime on the right side of a 52-49 score. Meanwhile, the season winds down to its final two weeks prior to state tournament play. After the game Huntley coach Marty…
Way back when I was a reporter for my college newspaper I interviewed the head basketball coach for a preseason article. The team had a pair of excellent returning guards on the verge of setting scoring and assist records at the school, and I asked him if either had even a scintilla-of-a-chance of having a professional basketball career. His response was totally unexpected. “Actually,” he said, “the guy who has the best chance is Steve Smith.” Now, Steve Smith (not his real name . . . it has long faded from my memory) was entering his sophomore season on the team. He was, to put it kindly…
The upscale demographics of the village they represent aren’t usually accompanied by blue-collar references. But when one watches the Lake Forest High Scouts play basketball, the inclination is to envision hard hats and lunch pails rather than silk ties and white shirts. The Patch Hardwood Tour completed its 17-team cycle this past week with a Friday night trip to Libertyville High, where the Scouts, the last unseen team on this column’s circuit, posted an impressive down-and-dirty 71-58 North Suburban Lake conference road win over the Libertyville Wildcats. It was Lake Forest’s first …
What is it that the person in charge of report cards usually says to all but the straight A students? "With a little more work you could turn that B into an A." Or "You are so close to getting a higher grade if you would only (fill in the blank)." You get the idea. That's how I felt when assessing the holiday tournament performances of the six Patch Hardwood Tour teams that competed last week. As a group they compiled a combined record of 10-14, but five of those losses were by three measly points or less, meaning that just a slight reversal of fortune would have made a major difference when …
The initial volley in the season of jolly is in the books, with more holiday action coming this week. Here's a team-by-team report card of how Patch.com teams performed in their respective tournaments, grouped from top to bottom, good-as-gold to ho-ho-horrible.Huntley Red Raiders: (3-1 at Jacobs Tournament, 10-2 overall)Grade: A- Holiday Tournaments in December are the second measuring stick for basketball teams, the first being the initial spate of Thanksgiving tournament contests. The young, hustling Red Raiders of Huntley have fared tremendously in both arenas, gobbling up Turkey Day …
'Twas the week before Christmas and basketball teams everywhere were looking for a little winning momentum to slingshot them into holiday tournaments across the state. Doing so has been an uphill battle for many teams on The Patch Hardwood Tour, due in part to a common injury theme that has been prevalent nearly everywhere the ball is being bounced. Here's the latest look at how the clubs have been handling setbacks, both physical and mental, as the boys hoops campaign completes its first month of competition. Big gun's knee still cause for concernYou've got to feel for Jacobs High's Nick …
