Willowbrook already moving on to next goal for season

When Willowbrook's boys basketball team beat Stagg on Nov. 28, the Warriors celebrated a little bit.

After three games - and three wins - they'd already eclipsed their entire victory total from last season.

"It was funny because when we won our third we were like, 'Oh, we already beat last year,' said Warriors coach Chris Perkins. "But our goal wasn't just to beat last year."

With last Friday's West Suburban Gold win over Addison Trail, Willowbrook doubled its win total from a year ago. Despite a loss to Morton the next night, dropping the Warriors to 4-2, there's still a renewed energy around the program this season.

Much of the buzz surrounds 6-foot-2 sophomore guard Alonzo Verge Jr., who didn't play high school ball as a freshman but has averaged 21 points in his first six prep games. Considered to be among the state's top sophomores, Verge is turning out to be the most interesting piece in what was already an interesting puzzle at Willowbrook.

Verge and junior wing Kevin Miller, a 3-point shooter also averaging double-digit scoring, complement the Warriors' experienced frontcourt featuring 6-5 Kyle Rushing and 6-7 Chris Roycroft.

Willowbrook aims to vault further past last season's win total on Friday against Hinsdale South and Tuesday against Downers Grove South before heading into play at the Glenbard West Holiday Tournament.

"This is one of our best starts in recent memory," Perkins said. "We just want to continue to build off it and not get satisfied."

Onward and upward:

Glenbard East's youth movement is trending upward.

The Rams, 5-22 last season surrounding graduated senior JaRon Hall with a bunch of underclassmen, enter Thursday's game against West Aurora nearly matching last year's win total, at 4-2.

"We were definitely too young last year, but it was out of necessity," coach Scott Miller said. "Hopefully the next two, three years will pay dividends to what we encountered last year."

What Glenbard East encountered last season was Terrance Lakes, Patrick Peterkin, Jack Grigat and Michael Finley - at the time three sophomores and a freshman - learning on the fly.

Coming off last weekend's wins over South Elgin and Bartlett in Glenbard East's first Upstate Eight Conference games since 1965, it appears they've started to apply what they learned last season and over the summer.

A lot of it is on defense, one of last season's main stumbling blocks. The Rams have successfully extended their defense to make opponents play a little faster than they'd like. In the half-court Glenbard East has executed well both in man-to-man and zone defenses.

Plus there's been enough scoring to go around.

"We've got about seven kids who can put the ball in the basket at different times, and that helps," said Miller, who has won 240 games at Glenbard East, 282 overall.

The coach was particularly pleased with the win over Bartlett in Lombard. Glenbard East trailed by 11, cut the deficit to 2 by halftime, then kicked up the defense to take a lead and hold off the Hawks to win 57-47.

"I just think it was important for us to get some confidence," Miller said. "I thought Friday night's game was a good win, I thought Saturday night's game was a great win, for a lot of different reasons - the way we hung in there, the way we kept our composure, controlled our home court. That's all real important stuff."

Filling in:

Because the DuPage Valley Conference shrank from eight to six schools this year due to the departure to the Upstate Eight Conference by Glenbard East and West Aurora, the remaining boys basketball teams had to work to fill out their schedules this season.

Losing four conference games meant adding four nonconference games, a third tournament or a combination of the two.

It'll make for a unique season, something that became clear in Tuesday's 45-34 Lake Park victory over Naperville Central. Yeah, they're DVC teams, but this wasn't a DVC game. As part of the Addison Trail Invite - something the Lancers competed in last season - Naperville Central added needed games.

Unfortunately, it also meant the Redhawks had to play four games in five days. They'll have two days of practice to prepare for Friday's cross-town game against Naperville North.

"It's been tough," said Naperville Central coach Pete Kramer. "It's not what we're used to, but we'll use it as a learning experience."

The Redhawks also added Glenbard West, Metea Valley and a shootout in Dubuque, Iowa. Glenbard North, which played Glenbard East at the District 87 tournament a couple weeks ago, will play the Rams again in February nonconference action. Wheaton Warrenville South is playing in three shootouts and hosting a two-day Martin Luther King Day shootout.

It's a one-year blip until the DVC adds Metea Valley, Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley next school year. With 16 conference games at that point, teams will need to shed nonconference opponents from the schedule.

Culture change:

After West Chicago handed Elgin its first loss on Dec. 5, a reporter approached Wildcats swingman Mikey Bibbs.

"Teams see our history and we don't have a very good history," said the 6-foot-2 junior. "We're not that team anymore."

A season removed from the fabulous John Konchar and 17 victories, the most since the 2004 Wildcats won 22, and West Chicago (2-2) is trying to prove it's not one-and-done in the success department.

"They believe in themselves," said Wildcats coach Bill Recchia. "They're going into ballgames now believing they can win ballgames and not just looking to compete."

The coach said opponents have complimented West Chicago as a "scrappy" team. They've got to be that way, since they're not a tall team with Devonte Pascal and Quinn Ricci - son of assistant coach Brian Ricci - heading the cast at 6-3.

Neither are they very experienced except for Bibbs, who averaged 14 points last season as a sophomore. Forward Alex Mitchell is the lone senior.

What West Chicago is effective doing thus far, aside from not being satisfied even in victories, is spreading the ball around. Mikey Bibbs and his sophomore brother, Tai, Ricci and guard Peter Dolan all were averaging in double-figures after four games.

This weekend's games at Geneva and against Larkin will show more where West Chicago stands. As Recchia continues to create a culture change, he doesn't think the Wildcats will enter those games intimidated.

"They believe that we're going to win the ballgame, and that right there is a magnificent hurdle to get over as far as the program goes," Recchia said.