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Looking for clues in league races

We might be clueless now, but we're about to learn an awful lot.

A lot about boys and girls basketball, specifically how some of these tight conference races in DuPage County are going to turn out.

Eyes on Five is just as confused as you about the most heated races, but it'll take little more than a wink of a wait to get to the bottom of it all.

Anyone can win the DVC:

The best girls basketball conference race going is in the DuPage Valley. With all six teams looking about even, handicapping the race is a fool's errand.

No team is unbeaten in league play, and no team is winless.

"It's a very weird year," said Lake Park coach Brian Rupp. "I love the conference because it's so competitive like that. And last year was so crazy because of all the talent that graduated."

Even though it just earned its first league win Thursday, Lake Park (1-3) feels like it still has a good shot at winning the league title. So does Naperville North (2-3). Naperville Central and Wheaton North lead the conference at 4-1. Wheaton Warrenville South (3-3) and Glenbard North (2-4) are in the thick of it too.

"I think the conference champ could be at 7-3," Huskies coach Jason Dycus said. "It's a pretty balanced league. I think Lake Park's as good of a team as we've played in our conference. ... I think it's wide open. I do."

"Everyone's beating each other up, so why not?" Rupp added. "Next up is Naperville Central, so we need to get that one."

Next year will be different. Neuqua Valley, Waubonsie Valley and Metea Valley join the DVC for the 2015-16 season.

A new No. 1:

In her first varsity game as a freshman, Gabrielle Rush scored 29 points for Hinsdale Central against Naperville Central. She hasn't stopped scoring since.

The Princeton recruit hit a pair of milestones over the weekend at DeKalb's MLK tournament. On Saturday she reached the 2,000-point mark. On Monday she passed Toni Kokenis, who played at Stanford, as the school's all-time leading scorer. No. 3 on the Hinsdale Central scoring list is Glenbard South assistant coach Morgan Kasperek, who played at Iowa.

"This year has been great," said the 5-foot-10 senior, who has 2,063 points and counting. "I'm so blessed to be playing for a hall of fame coach (Tom McKenna)."

Rush can do it all on the court. She's averaging 25.7 points a game. She's a natural 3-point shooter, but she's adjusted her game to score closer to the basket, and she makes 86 percent of her free throws. She also rebounds, dishes assists to teammates and plays tough defense.

"She's constantly adding elements to her game," McKenna said.

"Now a lot of my shots have been off postups and layups, which is kind of crazy because I'm not really that big," Rush added.

She might not be big, but she plays big, with a competitive streak few can match.

"She's the best player I ever coached," McKenna said. She's a once-in-a-lifetime player."

Big game hunters:

With a 15-2 record and an eight-game winning streak, Hinsdale Central's boys basketball team has become the bull's eye for every opponent it faces.

The Red Devils get everyone's best game, something extremely evident in recent weeks. It's challenging, energizing and an endless source of entertainment.

"That's the fun of it," said Red Devils coach Nick Latorre. "I'd rather have it that way than the other way around."

There will be dueling bull's eyes at Saturday's 18th annual High School Hoops Showdown at Hinsdale Central. In the second half of a doubleheader at 8 p.m. (following a matchup between Lyons Twp. and St. Viator) the Red Devils take on St. Joseph (14-3), the top-ranked team in the Associated Press Class 3A poll.

The Red Devils boast a premier front court with 6-foot-7 Matt Rafferty, averaging 21 points and 9.5 rebounds, and 6-6 Navy-bound George Kiernan. St. Joseph counters with Northwestern recruit Jordan Ash, Nebraska-bound Glynn Watson and 6-10 Nick Rakocevic, who's regarded as one of the state's premier juniors.

General admission tickets for the doubleheader are $8 and are available at the competing schools.

Switching sides:

IC Catholic Prep boys coach T.J. Tyrrell confirmed on Wednesday that leading scorer Rhashaun Epting withdrew from the Elmhurst school on Friday and is now enrolled at Proviso West.

Without going into specifics, Tyrrell said it was the "family's decision" for the 6-foot-5 junior to make the switch. Epting didn't play in last Thursday's loss to St. Edward because, as noted in our story last week, he was serving the first of a two-game suspension.

Epting was a Daily Herald All-Area Team honoree as a sophomore when he led the Knights to the Class 2A Bureau Valley sectional title game. This season he was averaging 17 points a game and scored his 1,000th varsity point in late December.

According to IHSA assistant executive director Matt Troha, athletes are not allowed to play the same sport at two schools in the same year. That means Epting will not be eligible to play at Proviso West this season.

Stat time:

Willowbrook sophomore Alonzo Verge Jr. became instant impact the moment he made his high school debut at the start of this season. Averaging 20 points a game, he's among DuPage County's leading scorers.

He topped himself again on Monday.

Verge broke Willowbrook's program record by scoring 45 points in a 71-62 victory over Montini in the Sterling Martin Luther King Classic. He also broke Willowbrook's single-game record by knocking down eight 3-pointers.

Most important, the Montini victory was the Warriors' sixth straight. They'll look to make it seven straight wins in Friday's West Suburban Gold game at Leyden.

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