Leo’s young varsity players cleared their first hurdle in IHSA 2-A division competition Wednesday night at Julian High School beating Longwood 35-34 in a tense game decided as the final shot clanged off the backboard and rim. Leo never trailed in its first regional game and ran its record … [Read more...]
Leo Youth To Be Tested Again As IHSA, March Madness Get Underway – Basketball Commentary By Bill Figel
The ups and downs of any regular season define the character of a team heading into playoff competition. Leo finished its regular season 11-19 and 1-6 in Catholic League play. During the toughest stretch run in Catholic League play, the Lions’ flirtation with a .500 record proved a slippery … [Read more...]
Leo V. St. Ignatius – Basketball Commentary by Bill Fingl.
Leo and St. Ignatius – both in the highly competitive Catholic League Blue – faced off Friday night with the home team beating the Lions 72-43 on Senior Night, which served as another reminder of how young Leo is with only one senior. Leo finished its regular season 11-18 and 1-6 in Catholic … [Read more...]
Leo V. Mount Carmel – Basketball Commentary by Dan McGrath.
If the Leo Lions didn’t get a good enough sense of what a championship team looks like in earlier beatdowns by Catholic League Blue powers Brother Rice (70-34) and DePaul Prep (62-23) this season, Mt. Carmel offered them a refresher course at Leo Tuesday night. The Caravan (26-3, 5-0 … [Read more...]
Leo V. Oak Lawn – Basketball Commentary by Dan McGrath.
The South Suburban Red Conference which Oak Lawn (9-1, 18-6) is dominating this season is not as highly regarded as the Chicago Catholic League Blue in which Leo competes, so Coach Jamille Ridley expected the Spartans’ best shot in their meeting at the Evergreen Park Sunday Shootout. “Beating a … [Read more...]
Leo V. Loyola Academy – Basketball Commentary by Dan McGrath.
Coming off two semi-disheartening, coulda/woulda/shoulda losses to St. Francis de Sales and Riverside-Brookfield, Leo Coach Jamille Ridley wanted nothing more than to “pop” Loyola Academy with an upset in a Catholic League Blue Division matchup in Wilmette Friday night. Didn’t happen, … [Read more...]
Leo V. Riverside Brookfield – Basketball Commentary by Dan McGrath.
Football sage Bill Parcells is credited with suggesting, “You are what your record says you are,” as a measure of a team’s relative merits. In that context, Leo (11-13) vs. Riverside-Brookfield (20-3) on Wednesday night looked like a mismatch. At Riverside-Brookfield, no less, with the … [Read more...]
Leo V. St Francis De Sales – Basketball Commentary by Dan McGrath
Some things just aren’t meant to be in life, and a .500 record for the Leo Lions in this season of basketball rebuilding apparently is one of them. Mired in the muck of a 3-10 record five weeks ago, the Lions brought an 11-12 mark into Tuesday night’s Catholic League crossover with St. Francis de … [Read more...]
Leo V. DePaul Prep – Basketball Commentary by Dan McGrath
The Leo Lions saw what a championship team looks like on a visit to DePaul Prep on Friday. The Rams are not only the defending Class 2-A state champions, they are 20-2 this season and undefeated in Catholic League play. “That is a good basketball team, a serious basketball team,” … [Read more...]
Leo V. Providence – Basketball Commentary by Dan Mcgrath.
For as many grind-it-out games as the Leo Lions have played this basketball season, they were entitled to one like Tuesday’s 60-27 thumping of Providence-St. Mel in a Catholic League crossover on the West Side. A breather, yes. But to call it a laugher is to diminish the effort that the … [Read more...]