{"id":56057,"date":"2017-03-15T14:21:42","date_gmt":"2017-03-15T19:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=56057"},"modified":"2017-03-15T14:21:42","modified_gmt":"2017-03-15T19:21:42","slug":"niles-north-basketball-elevates-expectations-after-surprising-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/niles-north-basketball-elevates-expectations-after-surprising-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Niles North basketball elevates expectations after surprising season"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brent Schwartz<\/strong><\/p>\n

All that stood between the Niles North Vikings and a regional championship were three minutes.<\/p>\n

After a back-and-forth three quarters against Notre Dame College Prep, the Vikings used a 10-0 run to take a 48-35 lead to start the fourth. But a flurry of missed 3-pointers followed, and they squandered the advantage, eventually succumbing 55-52.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my 30 years coaching basketball, it was the craziest loss I\u2019ve ever been a part of,\u201d Niles North assistant coach George Drase said. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen anything like that in my life. \u2026 We shot threes when we should have been holding the ball.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shot threes, we didn\u2019t play defense, and we lost the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is no shot clock in Illinois high school basketball, meaning the Vikings could have held the ball for the remainder of the game while leading by double digits in the final minutes. But Notre Dame inserted a full-court press, and Niles North took it\u2019s chances with their 3-point shooting, which had helped them build the big lead.<\/p>\n

It was an odd end to an overachieving season for Niles North.<\/p>\n

Although this season was initially perceived as a rebuilding year, the Vikings finished with a 21-10 record. Niles North won eight of its last nine games, and 13 of the last 16, before the regional championship game, despite starting four juniors and a sophomore.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we figured some things out after Christmas,\u201d Drase said.<\/p>\n

The late-season run gives hope towards next season, when most of the team will return. All five starters from the regional championship are slated to return, including star player Damaria Franklin, and their next two leading scorers, Jamal Stephenson and Dravon Clayborn.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe won\u2019t surprise anybody next year,\u201d Drase said. \u201cEveryone will know we\u2019re good.\u201d<\/p>\n

One reason for that is Franklin, who developed into one of the area\u2019s best players this season. In a 62-60 regional semifinal win over Warren, Franklin scored a career-high 33 points, including a buzzer-beating tip-in to win the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll definitely get some consideration for an all-area player next year,\u201d Drase said.<\/p>\n

Franklin notched 16 points in the loss to Notre Dame, including three straight 3-pointers during the Vikings fourth quarter run.<\/p>\n

An experienced coaching staff led by Drase and the father-son duo of Don and Glenn Olson also returns. Under the Olsons — Glenn is the team\u2019s head coach and Don is an assistant — Niles North won three straight regional titles from 2010 to 2012, but since have come up empty. The Vikings\u2019 last two seasons have ended in a regional championship loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody who plays will be back,\u201d Drase said. \u201cWe\u2019ll just hope that carries over to next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Niles North players gather during\u00a0introductions before facing Notre Dame College Prep in\u00a0the Libertyville regional championship. (Brent Schwartz\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Brent Schwartz All that stood between the Niles North Vikings and a regional championship were three minutes. After a back-and-forth three quarters against Notre Dame College Prep, the Vikings used a 10-0 run to take a 48-35 lead to start the fourth. But a flurry of missed 3-pointers followed, and they squandered the advantage, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":380,"featured_media":56059,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,3516],"tags":[3585],"class_list":["post-56057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-winter-2017","tag-niles-north-basketball"],"yoast_head":"\nNiles North basketball elevates expectations after surprising season - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/niles-north-basketball-elevates-expectations-after-surprising-season\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Niles North basketball elevates expectations after surprising season - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Brent Schwartz All that stood between the Niles North Vikings and a regional championship were three minutes. 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