Vernon Hills encouraged by Rattner's return

The 74-64 win over host Lakes was only part of the good news for Vernon Hills' boys basketball team Wednesday night.

The best part was that Sam Rattner made his return to the court after missing, surprisingly, only two games. The 6-foot-1 senior forward went 2 of 2 from the foul line in the fourth quarter for his only points.

It was Nov. 28 when Rattner was undercut and took a bad spill during the Cougars' 40-39 loss to host school in the Northridge Prep Thanksgiving tournament. A returning varsity player, Rattner was fortunate that he suffered only what coach Matt McCarty called a deep contusion bruise on his tailbone.

“It was a scary moment where they didn't know if it was the lower spinal cord,” McCarty said.

The game was delayed for 40-45 minutes, McCarty said, and Rattner was eventually carted off the court and taken to a hospital in an ambulance.

“He didn't hit his head when he fell, but his nose was bleeding really bad,” McCarty said. “He was just out of it, and he could not get up.”

Rattner was in a wheelchair at school early last week but was walking on his own the last part of the week. He returned to practice this week.

Last season, Rattner sank more than 40 3-pointers. The Cougars missed him while he was out the last two weeks.

“We struggled from the arc after he got hurt against Northridge Prep,” McCarty said. “We were up 10, and then we struggled from the arc and we struggled making our free throws. Sam's a good free-throw shooter and a good leader — he's one of our captains — and a good 3-point shooter.”

The Cougars take a 5-1 record, including a 2-0 mark in the North Suburban Prairie Division, into Saturday's 6 p.m. home game against Antioch.

Schultz sidelined:

Warren's Zach Schultz, a rugged 6-3 junior forward, missed his third game in a row when the Blue Devils defeated Libertyville last Saturday night.

Schultz had 11 rebounds when he suffered what coach Ryan Webber described as an “calf/Achilles strain” late in the Blue Devils' win over Lakes at Mundelein on Nov. 28.

“We need him back,” Webber said. “He'll help us.”

The Blue Devils will not rush Schultz, however.

“He's making good progress,” Webber said. “It's a long season. As much as we need him, we still got to take care of him as a kid. I don't have any idea when he's going to get back. We'll take it slow. He's a three-sport athlete and great kid, and we want to make sure we don't do anything to hurt the cause.”