By Bobby Narang
With the college basketball transfer portal in full swing, the high school basketball scene experienced a small seismic shift last weekend.
The Benet Academy boys basketball team suffered a major blow in the offseason following the transfer of highly-ranked sophomore guard Gabe Sularski to Lemont.
Sularski is considered one of the top sophomores in the State and holds college offers from Illinois, Purdue, Tennessee, Michigan State, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, and Northwestern. The 6-foot-6 Sularski is a multi-dimensional threat, capable of bringing the ball up the court, draining three-pointers, or attacking the basket. As a sophomore on the varsity, he averaged 14 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists to earn East Suburban Catholic all-Conference honors.
Lemont head coach Rick Runaas said he was happy to have Sularski, who lives in Lemont, join his program, especially following the graduation of two starters from last season’s 19-win team.
“Obviously, we’re excited to get anybody with that kind of ability,” Runaas said. “We’re excited to get him into our school and get him comfortable between now and June (basketball). He’s very versatile and can do a number of things on the court.”
Runaas said he had a meeting with Sularski and his father last week, while Gabe was scheduled to attend classes at Lemont this past Monday. The addition of Sularski immediately puts Lemont among the frontrunners in the South Suburban Blue Conference next season.
Lemont, which won the Conference last season, is a team to watch next season. The Benet Redwings finished with a 26-6 record last season. Sularski had several big games last season, notably a 14-point game in a 63-54 defeat against Thornton in the fifth game of the “When Sides Collide” one-day event at Benet in Lisle.