Return trip?: Q&A with Evanston Township High coach Mike Ellis on his love of basketball and getting back to the state finals
By Dan Moberger Medill Reports Tucked away down the hall from Evanston Township High School’s orange and blue gymnasium, Mike Ellis’ office looks like an equipment closet. Ellis, 49, doesn’t have any windows to the outside world — or even a window to the hallway. But that allows the coach more wall space to tack […]
The pressure for success in Chicago sports
By: Nick Mantas and Aaron Rose Medill Reports The Chicago Bears and Bulls haven’t won a championship in this century. ESPN and Sun Times reporters weigh in on the reasons for what has led to their unsuccessful seasons and what next season could bring for both organizations. During the second segment, we talk about the challenges of […]
Technology Training and Operations Manager by Day Head Basketball Coach by Night
By Nick Mantas Medill Reports Northwestern’s very own Rafie Fields works in the Medill Chicago Newsroom as the Technology Training and Operations Manager. Little do the students there know, his mind for basketball is one of a kind. The graduate of George Westinghouse College Prep High School is the Head Basketball Coach of his alma […]
New principal leads renewed dedication toward Senn athletics
By Mark Singer In the final practice before the end of his team’s season, Terrell Walsh pleaded with the players to leave everything on the court the following day. On March 1, the Senn Bulldogs boys basketball team was set to play in the school’s first regional semifinals in nine years. Senn isn’t known for […]
The path least taken
By Karl Bullock As a scrawny 15-year-old freshman in 2013, Rafael Cruz Jr. sauntered up to Von Steuben basketball coach Marvin Williams with confidence. “I told him I was going to play varsity, and he just laughed at me,” Cruz said as he stretched his arms out on his living room couch with a slight […]
Athletic trainers play vital role in high school sports
By Karl Bullock Walking along the campus of New Trier High School in 2000, Dale Grooms looked in awe at the scenery. Standing a foot from the sideline of the football field were four trees, a potential hazard for student-athletes during competition. A cause for concern, at least for an athletic trainer. When an injury […]
Steep learning curve but high ceiling for young New Trier star
By Eric Burgher Word had gotten around about a 12-year-old hockey player from Glencoe, who at 6-foot-5, was growing out of his pads. Ciaran Brayboy, who had been skating since he was four and playing hockey since kindergarten, grew up on the ice. But as he approached his teenage years, Brayboy started to see signs […]
Chasing Nojel
By Julia Cardi When the final afternoon bell rang in Evanston Township High School at 3:35, a rush of teenagers and their cacophony of end-of-day chatter flooded the hallways. The open space adjacent to the school’s various athletic facilities clogged with kids heading to practices; in the locker rooms, they traded Timberland boots and jeans […]
Reflections: Pioneers in women’s basketball look back at progress in the sport
By Hannah Gebresilassie “We’re girls and we just want to have fun,” said 90-year-old Mary Wersells, the first girls’ basketball coach at Simeon High School as she reflected on the history of the sport. Nearly four decades ago, Title IX was enforced which prohibited discrimination against female athletes. This opened the doors for pioneers in […]
Notre Dame ends Evanston’s bid for state basketball title
By Julia Cardi Trying not to cry, Nojel Eastern contorted his face after he missed his second-to-last free throw. With the top-seeded Evanston Wildkits trailing the fourth-seeded Notre Dame Dons by nine points late in the final quarter, the junior point guard knew his team wouldn’t go to the state championship. The Wildkits fell in […]
