By Bobby Narang –
The Waubonsie Valley High School boys basketball team continued its strong season by winning two games each in one day at the Burlington Central MLK Classic Saturday and Monday.
The Warriors defeated Hampshire, 72-53, Saturday behind Marcus Skeete’s season-high 29 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Later Saturday, he scored 14 points in a 43-41 victory over Lyons. The Warriors defeated Elgin, 58-29, and defeated Johnsburg, 53-46, to improve to 18-2 overall on the season. The Warriors entered this week with a 3-1 record in the DuPage Valley Conference and in a first place tie with Naperville North, 11-8 overall.
Waubonsie Valley head coach Jason Mead has been pleased with the players’ “energy and their fight. “We play Naperville North on Friday which is a big game for the Conference race. We then have two non-conference games before we get back into conference at Neuqua Valley.
“They have learned how to battle through adversity and fight until the end of games.”
• Thomas Hammock is returning to his roots.
The former Northern Illinois University 1,000-yard running back was hired as the newest leader of the Huskie program.
Hammock, 37, hopes to usher in another new era for the Huskies, but this time while being the leader of the program. He ran for 2,432 yards in his career at Northern Illinois.
“I can’t describe it,” Hammock said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling to have the opportunity to come home to a place that I love, to the school that has meant so much to me. I can’t wait to get started with the players and have a chance to put a product on the field that the alumni and fans will be proud of.”
“I feel that pressure of guys looking at me to say, ‘This is our program. How can we make sure to continue to move it forward?’ That’s the pressure I feel, not race or anything like that, Hammock said. “All I asked [NIU athletic director] Sean [Frazier] was, ‘Just give me opportunity in this process to interview. And if I win, I win. And if I don’t, I’m good.”