Frasor has Brother Rice rolling again
No. 1
The Brother Rice- Marist rivalry is as good as any in high school basketball.
The stakes are higher this season, and the showdown has lived up to the hype. Brother Rice handed Marist its first loss in a thrilling overtime victory Tuesday.
The win was just what coach Bobby Frasor and the program needed. Not only was it their first win against Marist in three years, but it was also against an unbeaten and ranked team.
“We are still looking for that signature win to kind of show Brother Rice basketball is back,” Frasor said a day before the Marist game. “That’s what we are working towards.”
Now Frasor and the Crusaders have it and are pushing toward a 20- plus- win season.
Brother Rice was a 20- plus- win team with 10 regional titles and four sectional championships under Pat Richardson from 1994 to 2005. The 2005 team, led by Frasor, reached the state quarterfinals in Peoria after stunning Simeon in double overtime in the sectional title game.
But the program stumbled recently, going a combined 26- 32 during the 2013- 2014 and 2014- 2015 seasons. Frasor, however, led the Crusaders to a 19- 11 record last year, and they’re off to a 16- 3 start this season.
With the 1- 2 punch of Josh Niego ( 18 points per game) and Mike Shepski ( 15 ppg), Brother Rice is the biggest threat to Fenwick in the Chicago Catholic League Tournament next month.
No. 2
Alonzo Verge might have revived Willowbrook a couple of years ago, but even that team didn’t start the season 16- 1. That’s where coach Chris Perkins has his Warriors this season.
During Verge’s breakout 2014- 2015 season, Willowbrook won 21 games and its first conference championship in more than 40 years.
Verge transferred after his sophomore year — he’s now a senior at Thornton — and the Warriors took a dip, finishing 11- 19 last season.
But there has been yet another transformation at the Villa Park school. Perkins built last year’s team around four sophomores and a freshman. Now Willowbrook is 4- 1 in the West Suburban Gold and has a shot at the school record of 21 wins.
The young team is led by 6- 6 Ethan Schuemer, who is averaging 17.5 points and 10 rebounds, junior Marshawn Phillips ( 10.5 ppg) and sophomore Matas Masys ( 10.2 ppg).
No. 3
West Chicago star Tai Bibbs is putting up big numbers, averaging 28.8 points while leading the Wildcats to a 13- 4 record. But he’s also now one of the top uncommitted prospects in the state and coveted by Division I schools.
That’s what happens when you’re a talented 6- 2 guard with terrific upside who becomes available in the middle of his senior year. But Bibbs, who received a release from Drake after coach Ray Giacoletti’s resignation, is available again.
He already has received offers from Elon, Columbia, Lafayette, IPFW, Ball State, Toledo, Marist, UC Davis, New Mexico State and Columbia in the past week.
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