They Don’t Make Them Like Blake Peters Anymore

A state championship would have been nice, but it still wouldn’t have been enough for Evanston’s sharp-shooting sophomore.  By Casey Bannon Medill Reports Before he stepped onto the Carver Arena floor in Peoria to play for a state championship; before Friday’s semifinal matchup, when he set an IHSA Class 4A shooting record; before any game this […]

Notre Dame ends Evanston’s bid for state basketball title

National anthem

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 […]

Evanston shortens road to championship with win over Glenbrook South

Micquel Roseman jump shot

By Julia Cardi Three-nineteen-sixteen. The Evanston boys basketball team used the three numbers as its battle cry through strenuous conditioning sessions this past offseason, and the Wildkits put 3-19-16 in group text messages and chanted the sequence after practices and games. March 19, 2016 is the date of this year’s state championship. “We have that […]

Evanston coach keeps his eyes on the real prize

Coach Ellis

Q&A: Wildkits basketball coach Mike Ellis By Julia Cardi Twice in the past decade, Mike Ellis coached teams at Richwoods High School in Peoria to within three points of winning state championships. Now he’s four games away from the title with the Evanston Wildkits. But he’s not asking his players to bring home the trophy for his sake. […]