Bartlett's Luczynski, Geneva's Valentine off to fast starts

Listed on the roster sheet as 7-foot-2, Bartlett junior center Conrad Luczynski is undoubtedly one of the tallest high school players in the area, if not the state of Illinois, this season.

"He's a legit 7-footer," said Hawks coach Jim Wolfsmith. "His shoe size is 18."

Standing 6-foot-10, Wolfsmith is a tall guy himself - perhaps the tallest high school coach in the state.

"There's not too many guys I've had to look up to during my career," said Wolfsmith.

During last week's 42-39 homecourt loss to Geneva, Luczynski, who grew another 3 inches from a year ago, pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds with 4 points, 3 assists and a blocked shot while being defended by 6-foot-9 Vikings senior pivot Dylan Fuzak.

"He's a great passer," said Wolfsmith. "We're trying to get the other parts of his game to work and improve. He'll get there. He'll be fine."

Luczynski stands almost a foot taller than his next tallest teammate, 6-foot-2 junior forward Ian Smith.

"The big kid (Luczynski) has gotten better," said Geneva coach Scott Hennig after last week's meeting with Bartlett. "On film, he looked good against Lake Park (Hawks' 63-37 victory)."

Despite Luczynski's verticality, the Hawks (4-1) wasted a golden opportunity against Geneva but have won their last 3 games.

"We've got to grow," said Wolfsmith. "We should have won the game. A 5-point lead with 2:30 left - that's got to be our game."

Happy to be back:

One of six seniors on Geneva's roster, sharpshooting guard Nathan Valentine echoed a sentiment shared by high school athletes throughout the state.

He's glad to be back on the court.

"Honestly, there was a point where it seemed we weren't going to play," said Valentine, whose buzzer-beating 3-pointer was the difference in the Vikings' road win over Bartlett, and then his last-second 3 on Wednesday beat St. Charles North. "I've known this is the safe way to do it (playing with masks, separating the benches) and I'm glad we were able to figure it out.

"I'm just grateful for everything - just to play. My mentality has been that every time we step out here could be your last time ever so make the best of it."

Larkin junior guard Damari Wheeler-Thomas, who scored a game-high 21 points in the Royals' 64-47 victory over Glenbard East last weekend, also enjoyed basketball's return.

"I'm just grateful because at first, we didn't have it, and now we do," said Wheeler-Thomas. "Just being out there - it's good for everybody."

Pie-eating contest:

Larkin basketball coach Deryn Carter wants nothing more than for his team to enjoy a big helping of pie during this abbreviated season (without a postseason tournament).

"All we have to play for is a conference championship," said Carter, whose team opened its Upstate Eight Conference campaign with the double-digit win over Glenbard East. "We told our guys, 'it's a 9-piece pie and we got one of the pieces right here.'

"Maybe it wasn't the prettiest (win) but when you're trying to win championships, we'll take it."