By Brian Weitz
Following a sluggish season opening loss, ninth ranked Evanston came out feeling they had something to prove. Facing fifteenth ranked Mt. Carmel, the Wildkits knew they had to win to show that all the buzz surrounding their number 9 preseason ranking was more than just hype. Sophomore guard Ryan Chambers-Frazier seemed to personally take on responsibility to win. Chambers-Frazier dropped 13 points, contributed 3 rebounds, two assists and a steal. Additionally, Chambers-Frazier took the team lead in blocked shots by sending away two, bringing his season total to 5. Evanston jumped out to an early multi basket lead, and never let a very good Mt. Carmel team draw closer. Evanston head coach Bobby Locke was very happy to clinch at least one win against a ranked team in the season opening Lane Tech Tournament. “It’s still early in the year. They are a good team, I’m happy we could beat them. Today my team showed great poise. Everyone from the seniors to Freshman Garrett Jones,” said Coach Locke. “Yesterday we just had opening day jitters,” he added.
Evanston seemed to get into flow, offensively and defensively, limiting only Mt. Carmel’s Desmond Young and Russell Robinson above six points. The two Caravan teammates scored 12 and 8 points respectively.
One key to Evanston’s success was Steven Rudnicki. The Evanston guard had a very rough opener, but rebounded and scored 11 points on 3/6 shooting from the field. “It feels good to get that first win,” said Rudnicki. “We were working so hard all summer to get this win.” Rudnicki went on to talk about the difference from one night to the next. “Yesterday I wanted to be spectacular and do too much. Today I just let the game come to me and it really helped.”
Mt. Carmel just could not solve Evanston’s zone, which is anchored by 6-4 senior Travis Clark. After collecting 10 rebounds, Clark leads the team averaging 10 per game. Clark’s long arms and big body put a halt to any inside attack that the Caravan may have tried. Clark was fantastic all around on defense adding four steals, in addition to six points. “Today we came out and we had to prove we were as good as they say we are, and I think we did that,” said Clark
Mt Carmel suffered the same type of game Evanston had the night before. They settled for low percentage jump shots, and never could get any momentum. They were badly hurt when top scorer Desmond Young fouled out midway through the fourth quarter. After Young’s departure, Evanston just toyed with Mt. Carmel, running the clock en route to their first victory. The contest brought each team’s record to an even (1-1).
Evanston seems to be overlooking their next two opponents, Lane Tech Wednesday and Taft on Friday. On Saturday they get a chance to go out and prove they are for real, taking on Oak Park-River Forest, which features the state’s top prospect, 5-star Georgia Tech commit Iman Shumpert. “On Saturday we will have to play hard and pick up the pace- and we will have to play great defense,” said Clark. Evanston remains confident that they can still take home first place in the tournament, despite their early defeat. Coach Locke confidently stated “Saturday will be a day for the guys to make a name for themselves. Oak Park will be good, but we will beat them.”