SPORTS | 27
12/6– 12/7/14 | GLENVIEW, NORTHBROOK, DEERFIELD | THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND
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ECLECTIC AND ELECTRIC
AbigAil rosenberg •
glenbrook north swimmer •
Game of keep away: Zach Hoffman of the Spartans (right) protects the basketball during his team’s tournament game.
photography by george pfoertner
Diverse Spartans show plenty of spark in taking third at Niles West Tourney ■ by t.j. brown
sports@northshoreweekend.com There’s not a lot of recognizable names on the Glenbrook North boys basketball team. Not yet, anyway. Still, the Spartans look like a team to be reckoned with, after they finished third in the Niles West KurlandSchnurr Thanksgiving Invite. They emitted more energy than your average ComEd plant in the four-game set. And junior Zach Hoffman might have been the most active of them all. “He’s all over the court defensively,” coach Dave Weber said after GBN’s 53-43 win over Hyde Park Academy in the third-pace game on Nov. 28. “You love coaching him, because you know he’s going to give you that effort on the defensive side of the court. He had a couple of big deflections, a couple steals. He’s one of our most valuable players right now.” Hoffman scored just four points in the third-place game, but also had six rebounds, five assists and two steals as he helped frustrate a Hyde Park offense that shot 15-of-36 from the field and turned the ball over 16 times. “I just trusted the (defensive) help,” Hoffman said. “We play really well as a team, and we just trust each other.” “He’s always deflecting passes and taking charges,” said GBN senior Pat Hamilton, who led all scorers Friday with 23 points. In the team’s 59-49 win over Niles West on Nov. 26, Hoffman was a bit more of a scorer, chipping in 13 points. It was a game in which the Spartans (3-1) were without senior Pat Hamilton who was ill. “We executed our offense as well as we have in years,” Weber said. “It was great ball movement, a great team effort.” “That was a great test for the team,” Hoffman said. “A
lot of guys who don’t normally get to play came out and stepped up.” The win over Niles West followed a 61-38 drubbing of Robeson and sent the Spartans into the third-place game. After two crossover games this week (including a game with cross-district rival Glenbrook South on Dec. 5), GBN will enter the Central Suburban League North schedule Tuesday with a meeting at Maine West. Maybe GBN isn’t the early favorite to win the conference, but it should be a factor in the race this season. “These kids play well together, and they’re a fun team to watch right now,” Weber said. “We have a better team attitude. They want to win, and they want to put it all together. We’re quicker and stronger.” With the only loss on the young season coming against Hersey 63-60 in the tournament opener, Weber has reason to be upbeat. Juniors like Hoffman, Brian Markus, Nick Karis, Jonathan Simon, Jordan Kaplan and Michael Stachnik are playing with the confidence of seniors. While they may be new to some GBN fans, they’re not new to each other. “We’ve been playing together since sixth grade, so we’re real comfortable playing with each other,” Hoffman said. That comfort has spread throughout the team. “We all trust each other on the court,” Hamilton said. “We’re always talking, hanging out, whatever. The chemistry is a lot better this year.” So is the confidence, especially offensively. In addition to Hamilton’s 23 points, Stachnik scored 12 points, and Kaplan added six, including a big three-pointer late in the first half that extended GBN’s lead to four. “We have a lot of guys who can score … a lot of guys who can shoot, a lot of guys who can play at the rim, who can penetrate the defense,” Hamilton said. “That’s the main difference this year. Our scoring is just more spread out.” ■
She was a ’Gail force — in water. Glenbrook North senior and Bucknell recruit Abigail Rosenberg sped to three medals at last month’s state swimming and diving meet at Evanston Township High School, finishing third in the 100-yard freestyle (51.28) and serving as the lead-off leg on a pair of sixth-place relays (200 free, 400 free). The performances increased the Spartan’s career state medal collection to seven. Rosenberg swam on two top-12 relay teams as a freshman and two more as a sophomore.
For her sensational efforts, Abigail Rosenberg will receive a special gift from