Three wins and a TY for Rams
DePaul Prep turned heads with stunning run to earn Clash title
In a season without many opportunities for signature moments, coach Tom Kleinschmidt’s DePaul Prep team took full advantage of the one it had.
They did something they weren’t supposed to do, especially not after a COVID-19 pause early in the season, a disruptive restart, issues with nagging injuries and an uninspired effort in a loss to Fenwick last week.
But they won the Chipotle Clash of Champions anyway. And along the way, the Chicago Catholic League made a statement.
First, seventh-seeded DePaul beat No. 2 seed and unbeaten Young in the quarterfinals. That alone is a significant win in many aspects as TY Johnson stole the show with 32 points.
Then it beat Catholic League foe Fenwick and star Bryce Hopkins. The Friars had knocked off No. 3 seed Mundelein in the quarterfinals.
That set the stage for a titlegame showdown with Evanston, a group of players who have done so much and won so many games and titles over the last four years.
But DePaul’s stingy defense, which has been the foundation of Kleinschmidt’s teams and widely undervalued by too many people, along with a patient but opportunistic offensive approach, was impressive in slowing down and controlling the Wildkits.
While DePaul’s defense is the anchor — it held Evanston to 36 points, made Hopkins work extremely hard for each of his 21 points and didn’t allow any Young players to reach double figures — Johnson was the catalyst.
He’s a special scoring guard who had 32 points in the victory against Young and led the way with 17 in the victory against Fenwick. While he was held to just nine points in the title game, Johnson, a recruiting steal for Loyola and coach Porter Moser, constantly made winning plays and was efficient with his scoring.
Has there been a player over the last four years who has provided more signature moments in big games?
Blake Peters appreciation
What a moment it was for Peters on Friday night. In a highly intense game with some real fervor in the gym, the Princeton-bound senior guard buried a step-back three-pointer at the buzzer to beat Notre Dame.
Peters is a winner who has made winning plays repeatedly during his four-year varsity career.
It’s a shame these last two seasons have been cut short by the pandemic because the three-point numbers and, more importantly, the wins and championships would have been even more impressive during the Peters era at Evanston.
All Evanston did with Peters in the lineup for four years was go a combined 88-18, win four Central Suburban League titles and two sectional championships and finish third in the state in 2018 and second in 2019.
What might have been if two IHSA postseasons were played out during Peters’ last two seasons?