The latest news from the Chicagoland prep scene....

September 9, 2002

* Many things have happened since PrepWire left for the summer.

A new boys basketball coach has entered the ranks at Proviso West High School in west suburban Hillside. His name: Chris Head. Yes, that Chris Head that took Public League champion Westinghouse to the AA state championship this past March. According to Head, one of the deciding factors may have been the fact that he can now host a major tournament - in this case, the annual Proviso West Holiday tournament that his former Westinghouse assistant, Quitman Dillard, won while he was on suspension in 2000.

Also, many new coaches have sprouted up around the high school football landscape. One of note is Marty Murray, the former Kenwood assistant who now heads the Harlan program. He takes over after longtime coach Sid Moffat retires. However, Murray's big task is to get past Hyde Park in the new Great Lakes Conference in the Public League.

2002 marks the 20th anniversary of the Chicago Public League's finest hour in football. It was in 1982 that coach Roy Curry and the Robeson Raiders pulled off the improbable by reaching the 6A State Championship. Since then, only two teams have reached the semifinals: Tilden in 1983 and Hubbard in 2000.


June 14, 2002

* As the Illinois high school sports season comes to a close, congratulations are in order to Morgan Park High School, who became the first Chicago Public school to 'four-peat' as state champions in a single sport with a dominating effort at the recent IHSA Girls State Track Meet in Charleston at Eastern Illinois University. Also, conrgratulations to Orland Park-Sandburg for securing its first-ever baseball championship and to Frankfort/Lincoln-Way East for securing the softball championship. The softball title is the first in school history and marks the first time an IHSA 'expansion' school has secured a title in its first year of existence.

* The big story comes from the IHSA offices in Bloomington, where it has been announced that 20 Chicago Public high schools will compete as Class A schools for the first time ever, effective next school year. This comes on the heels of the late April approving of the CPS' eliminating of its automatic bid to the State Finals - which it held for the last 30 years - and being placed in Sectional Complexes. Among the high profile schools dropping to 'A' include former state basketball champions Hirsch, King, Manley and Phillips, along with city baseball powerhouse Harlan and projected 2003 'A' girls basketball contender Hope. Other schools include Agricultuiral Science, Brooks College Prep, Chicago International, Bronzeville Military, Dyett, Flower Vocational, Hancock, Jones, Lindblom, Noble Street, Perspectives, Richards and Spalding.


May 17, 2002

* The stage is set for the homestretch in the 2001-02 Illinois high school sports season. This weekend, Eastern Illinois University in downstate Charleston is the center of the Illini State track universe as the annual IHSA State Track & Field finals commence. The big story is whether reigning three-time team champion Morgan Park can become the first Chicago Public League program to earn four consecutive state championships in a single sport.
- Meanwhile, defending state champ Wheaton-Warrenville South is set to defend last year's crown as the 4th Annual IHSA Boys Volleyball Playoffs get underway. The Tigers are the top seed in the West Chicago Sectional and could meet crosstown rival Wheaton North - the 2-seed - for the section crown and a chance at the Elite 8 in Hoffman Estates. Another team to watch is top-ranked Brother Rice. The Chicago Catholic champion Crusaders look to earn their first bid to the Elite 8 in one of the toughest sectionals in the state, battling the likes of 2-seed and fellow CCL program (New Lenox) Providence, East Suburban Catholic power Marist - the 3-seed, and SICA surprise (Tinley Park) Andrew - the 4-seed.

* Also, 'diamond-heads' around the Illini state will have an opportunity to experience what the other major team sports do as far as a "Sweet 16" is concerned. The 2002 IHSA State Baseball Playoffs will feature the Super-Sectional round for the first time ever. In addition to the Chicago Public League's annual trip to Comiskey Park - which would be the final city championship under the automatic bid format - other Class AA super-sectionals feature Northern Illinois and Souther Illinois Universities, the University of Illinois, North Central College, Illinois-Chicago, and Alexian Stadium - home of the Schamburg Flyers pro team. Class A (the small schools) also enters the super-sectional era as St. Anthony High School in Effingham joins fellow programs Mendota and Harrisburg, plus Illinois State and Western Illinois Universities, and Danville Stadium. At press time, there has yet to be a site named for the Northeast Illinois corridor, which serves the small schools in and around Chicago.


May 3, 2002

* In one of the most sweeping moves in Illinois high school sports history, the IHSA has unanimously voted to seed the Chicago Public Schools into sectional complexes, effective next school year. The vote effectively ends 30 years of the Public League's automatic bid into the State Finals. Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan had campaigned since early December to have the format for the Public Schools changed from just one city champion going to the Elite 8 to now having possibly a plethora of teams representing the largest city-based athletic league in the world.
-- The biggest impact will be felt in basketball, of whom the automatic bid was based around when the CPS received it before the 1971-72 school year. John Hope Academy, a three-year old Public high school who recently was city runner-up in girls basketball, could receive the CPS' first preseason #1 ranking in any Class A sport once the sectional assignment process is complete.

* In other news, Sean Dockery, the All-American guard from Julian High, has met the academic requirements to play basketball at the NCAA Division I level next season. Thanks to his recent ACT score, the four-time All-Stater will be eligible to play for Duke next season. Dockery recently led his school to their second ever city Final Four appearance this past year.


April 11, 2002

* Regina Dominican Girls High School announced the resignation of basketball coach Bob Goldberg, effective imediately. Goldberg led the Wilmette-based school to the IHSA Class AA sectional this past season, the best finish for the school since a 3rd place state trophy in 1984.



April 10, 2002

* Farragut guard Marceattus McGee has orally committed to play at Wisconsin next season. The senior all-Public League selection was instrumental in the backcourt this past year, helping to lead the Admirals to their first appearance in the Public League championship since Ronnie Fields led the crew in 1996. McGee ended the season with 11.2 point and 3.8 assist per game averages.


* Another coaching vacancy has opened up in Chicago high school football. Paul Swiatly resigned after one year as skipper at Gordon Tech. Swiatly will remain in the athletic director's capacity.


* Star sophomore Candace Parker, who was the first girl in America to dunk in a high school basketball game, was one of three metro Chicago girls selected to this year's Parade All-American team. The all-state forward from Naperville Central joins Lake Zurich's Johanna Solverson, a second-team pick, and third-teamer Lindsay Richards of Barrington.