Tomorrow night two top 5 teams. Class 4A State Title contenders. Game will likely be for Central Suburban South Division Title. The right to play in the Central Suburban Title Game. The winner will likely be the odds on favorite to be #1 seed in the Glenbrook South Sectional. Much on the line in a regular season game. This one will be in the Titan Dome as would a Round 3 in the State Playoffs. Tall order for New Trier? Last season a Glenbrook South win on New Trier's home court would have gotten them in the Chipotle Champions Classic. A heartbreaking missed free throw by Nick Martinelli kept them out of it. Will he look for redemption in this game? He played very well in the first matchup. Here's my breakdown:
GUARDS:
New Trier(Winnetka)(20-2): STARTERS: Peter Kanellos 5'10" senior point guard
Jack Fiegen 6'3" junior guard
RESERVES: Cole Handelman 5'11" senior point guard
Evan Kanellos 5'10" senior point guard
Guards as always are key the Kanello brothers handle the point guard duties. They run the offense, do not shoot much, but play good man to man defense, get the ball to the shooters. They put pressure on the opposing ball handlers. That is their job in the Trevians offense. Fiegen is the three point sniper in the backcourt. He will have to slow down Cooper Noard, or they might try P Kanellos on him. Handelman can run the offense and shoots it from outside. To win this game and get to the State Finals in the playoffs, Kanellos will have to look for his offense a little more. Has to take a few shots to loosen up the defense.
FRONT LINE:
STARTERS: Dartmouth commit Jackson Munro 6'8" senior forward
Karlo Colak 6'5" senior wing
Noah Shannon 6'5" junior wing
RESERVES: Ethan Cummings 6'3" senior forward
Finn Cohan 6'6" senior forward
Tyler Van Gorp 6'10" junior center
Munro is the guy here. He can score on the block with jump hook over right shoulder. Can step out and hit threes, has a nice up and under, and can hit the 15 foot jump shot. He will have to be an offensive threat to make Nick Martinelli play defense. Colak has been a revelation this season, He can hit threes and is good at attacking the basket. Makes nice passes in the offense and moves well without the ball. Shannon is always a threat to hit threes in bunches, you CANNOT LEAVE HIM OPEN!!!!! Cummings is a jack of all trades player, Cohan spells Munro and does the dirty work on the glass, defends bigs, and sets picks in the offense. Might see Van Gorp in this game as he has improved his offense big time over the past year. Could be used to try and tire Martinelli.
GUARDS:
Glenbrook South(Glenview)(20-1):
STARTERS: Cornell commit Cooper Noard 6'2" senior point guard
Rodell "RJ"Davis 6'1" junior guard**
RESERVES: Nate Kasher 5'10" sophomore guard
Noard is a big time long range shooter, hits threes from 25 feet. He has added a drive and finish at the rim game. will use his size to get into the mid range and shoot over a smaller guard. Might do that if New Trier uses P Kanellos to guard him. His defense has gotten better throughout the year. Davis may not play as he has a possible concussion from going into bleachers and saving a ball in the Simeon game. Davis is a three point sniper and has a drive game to the basket this year. He would be greatly missed. Will they go to Kasher to start in that case? Or will they go to another guard and bring Kasher off the bench? He hit two huge three pointers late in the Simeon game.
FRONT LINE:
STARTERS: Elon commit Nick Martinelli 6'7" senior forward
Spencer Brown 6'4" senior forward
Gavin Marr 6'3" junior forward
RESERVES: Griffin Dahiye 6'3" junior wing
Martinelli is the guy here. Has had a huge senior year and is a legit Area Player Of The Year candidate. Averages a double/double. Plays decent defense on the interior. Is a cerebral scorer in the paint with spins, great footwork, and finishes usually with the left hand. He did finish with the right hand once in the Simeon game. Is good at getting rebounds off his own misses. Plays just about every minute of the game. He will make Jackson Munro play defense. Spencer Brown can step out and hit threes, is a good screener, and moves well without the ball. Gavin Marr is very good on the glass and converts finishes off Martinelli passes. Dahiye hits the glass, is a screener, and rebounds.
Coaches:
Scott Fricke, New Trier did not coach the last game(COVID). He was missed in that game. Has a talented team and is getting the most out of them this year. Team is playing more man to man defense this year. Offense is a lot of drive and kick to the three point shooters, but gets the ball inside to Munro who is allowed to work one on one. They run the typical New Trier back door where they dribble towards the side of the defender, runs back door when defender is ball watching.
Phil Ralston, Glenbrook South is strictly a man to man coach. I've not seen this team play any zone. Is smart enough to have the offense get the ball to Martinelli and Noard. Free flowing motion offense with a lot of cuts, picks off the ball that gets them a lot of layups. This team gets out and runs the fast break. Runs back door plays in the half court especially when off ball defender is ball watching.
CONCLUSION: Glenbrook South is tough to beat in the Titan Dome. It's funny though I would not be surprised if New Trier takes this one. Possibly no Davis for Glenbrook South could swing the pendulum to Trevians. Glenbrook South has won 14 in a row, New Trier has won 6 in a row. Something has to give, I'll say Martinelli and Noard cover for Davis if he does not play. Glenbrook South by 7 in the Titan Dome. This could work against them come playoff time because New Trier would be tough to beat 3 times in one season. May help for the Titans to drop this one, but they are such competitors they do not care, and will try for the win. MUST SEE TV, GET YOUR POPCORN READY!!!!!!
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