March Madness did not greatly affect The Voice four-county coverage area in boys high schools. Only two of our schools were among the 16 schools in four classes, Aurora Christian and Homewood-Flossmoor in the boys 2024 State tournament. Any and all are welcome. Our area over the years has grown accustomed to cheering on teams in State tournament play. See Bobby Narang’s piece on page 8. Aurora Christian has become a force in State high school basketball. Wait until next year for other teams. The countdown remains exciting. It is always interesting to see teams from other areas around the State, this year such DePaul Prep, and Mt. Carmel.
DePaul Prep head basketball coach Tom Kleinschmidt guided his team to the second consecutive State championship, last year in Class 2A and this year one class higher in enrollment, Class 3A.
Basketball fans will remember him as a player more than 25 years ago, first at Gordon Tech High School in Chicago, then at DePaul University. It was only natural he became a basketball coach. He is director of admissions at DePaul Prep, formerly
DePaul Academy. Basketball fans in the West Suburban and Fox Valley area will recall Tom Kleinschmidt’s father, a longtime outstanding basketball floor official, Thomas Joseph Kleinschmidt. The father used his full name when son Tom was an outstanding player at Gordon Tech in the Chicago Catholic League to avoid confusion.
It is obvious Tom Kleinschmidt is more than a solid coach and has the respect of his peers. High School basketball is a focus on winning, yes, however, it is much more than wins and losses, it includes teaching the game, teaching values, hard work, and respect for the game, opponents, and the fans.
It is possible Tom Kleinschmidt will bring another team to the high school State tournament, unless he has thoughts of coaching in college. Aurora area basketball fans will remember when he played in East Aurora High School State tournament Super-sectional State tournament..
Girls high school advancement from our area in tournament play this year touched Nazareth Academy in LaGrange Park which finished in second place to Loyola Academy in 4A championship play, after a 44-40 final in the championship game recently.
March Madness is ready to start in college men’s basketball which will include hopes for success by the University of Illinois, Northwestern University, and, Loyola University. Illinois is in second place in the Big Ten Conference behind Purdue, 23-8 overall in won-loss record, ranked No. 13 in the Associated Press poll and No. 14 in the USA Today top 25. Illinois is ranked No. 2 in the Big Ten Conference Tournament which began Wednesday of this week. Northwestern University is in third place, and both the Wildcats and Illinois have double byes and will begin playing in the conference tournament Friday of this week. Loyola is tied for first place in the Atlantic 10 Conference and seeded No. 2 in the conference tournament. Loyola is only in its second season in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Illinois has a good combination of young players and veterans and have played with greater efficiency, poise, and skill than just one month ago. Both college and high school basketball offer a one-and-done philosophy of one bad game, or a hot-shooting opponent can mean the end of the season. There are 68 teams set for the NCAA tournament field which will be announced Sunday, March 17 and both Illinois and Northwestern have high expectations of being in the tournament field.
Stay tuned.
Major League Baseball Spring training is well under way until the end of the month and games are for training and conditioning, not to seek victories.