It's playoff time in Harper league
Last week's action at Harper finished the regular part of the schedule for the boys basketball summer league.
One game of note pitted two of the stronger teams against each other: Hoffman Estates and Huntley.
What made this game especially unique was the fact that Hoffman Estates, normally led by coach Bill Wandro, was coached on this night by Jason Mead, who will be a freshman coach for them in the winter.
Meanwhile, Huntley, normally coached by Marty Manning (who played at Hoffman and graduated in 1996) was coached by Jason's twin brother, Bryan Mead, who will be Huntley's sophomore coach next season.
The Mead twins played for Hoffman Estates teams for many years, most notably on the Hawks' Elite Eight team in their senior season, 2003. In addition, their junior brother, Luke Mead, is one of the leading players on the current Hoffman team.
For now, Hoffman Estates has the bragging rights, but it could be a different story in the semifinals of the playoffs.
The Harper League starts its playoffs tonight with all 32 teams competing. The tournament is a one-and-done format and was seeded based on the standings after eight games.
On Thursday the 16 remaining teams will continue, at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m., and the eight winners of those games will also play on Thursday at 8:30 and 9:30 p.m..
Semifinals and the championship game will be next Tuesday.
Who is favored? Based on the standings, Hoffman Estates, Maine East, Huntley, Cary-Grove, Stevenson, Maine West, South Elgin and Elgin have to receive strong consideration.
Last week's results:
Hersey 48, Fremd 47
Cary Grove 66, Schaumburg 44
Wauconda 47, St. Patrick 43
Conant 60, Crystal Lake Central 29
Cary Grove 47, Fremd 26
Conant 54, Schaumburg 47
Hersey 58, St. Patrick 37
Crystal Lake Central 41, Wauconda 24
Buffalo Grove 58, Stevenson 43
South Elgin 55, Lake Zurich 54
Elgin 58, Jacobs 20
Dundee Crown 72, Lake Park 62
South Elgin 47, Stevenson 39
Lake Zurich 58, Buffalo Grove 45
Jacobs 98, Lake Park 47
Elgin 60, Dundee Crown 32
Crystal Lake South 57, Larkin 48
Maine East 59, Addison Trail 38
Hoffman Estates 52, Prairie Ridge 26
Huntley 44, Bartlett 43
Larkin 66, Addison Trail 56
Maine East 56, Bartlett 50
Crystal Lake South, 59 Prairie Ridge 51
Hoffman Estates 57, Huntley 51
Wheeling 55, Rolling Meadows 54
Elk Grove 56, St. Viator 45
St. Edward 57, Marian Central 38
Maine West 62, Streamwood 55
Wheeling 52, St. Viator 43
Elk Grove 52, Rolling Meadows 47
Maine West 72, Marian Central 36
Streamwood 58, St. Edward 57(OT)
Final regular-schedule standings
Hoffman Estates 10-0
Maine East 9-1
Huntley 8-2
Cary Grove 8-2
Maine West 7-3
Elgin 7-3
South Elgin 7-3
Stevenson 7-3
Crystal Lake South 6-4
Crystal lake Central 6-4
Bartlett 6-4
Schaumburg 6-4
Conant 6-4
Lake Zurich 6-4
Wheeling 5-5
Elk Grove 5-5
Rolling Meadows 5-5
Jacobs 5-5
Elgin Larkin 4-6
Streamwood 4-6
Elgin St. Edward 4-6
Hersey 4-6
Addison Trail 3-7
Fremd 3-7
St. Patrick 3-7
Wauconda 3-7
Dundee Crown 3-7
Lake Park 3-7
Buffalo Grove 3-7
Prairie Ridge 2-8
St. Viator 2-8
Marian Central 0-10
Playoff games tonight
(in bracket order)
6:15 -- Hoffman Estates vs. Marian Central; Streamwood vs. Crystal Lake Central; Lake Zurich vs. Lake Park; Elgin vs. Addison Trail
7:15 -- South Elgin vs. Elk Grove; Schaumburg vs. Buffalo Grove; St. Edward vs. Maine West; Huntley vs. St. Viator
8:15 -- Maine East vs. Prairie Ridge; Wheeling vs. Conant; Rolling Meadows vs. Fremd; Cary-Grove vs. Dundee-Crown
9:15 -- Crystal Lake Central vs. Larkin; Bartlett vs. Hersey; St. Patrick vs. Jacobs; Stevenson vs. Wauconda