DeKalb Regional title up for grabs

South Elgin's Tommy Childs (left) and St. Charles North's Jon DeMoss could meet again at the DeKalb Class 4A Regional.
michael smart | staff photographer

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Tom Poulin, the coach of top seed St. Charles North, contends that No. 2 South Elgin is the team to beat at this week's DeKalb Class 4A Regional.

Meanwhile, Storm coach Chaz Taft says his team will be lucky to win its regional semifinal Wednesday against the host Barbs, the regional's No. 3 seed.

So is this just a case of two coaches trying to temper expectations prior to the postseason? Try again.

Poulin's and Taft's comments reflect the fact that the DeKalb Regional -- which includes four Upstate Eight Conference teams in the five-team field -- is wide open in the truest sense of the phrase.

"It's a tough regional where all the teams are really familiar with each other," Poulin said. "Everybody is going to be prepared and you aren't going to sneak up on anybody. It's shaping up to be an ultra-competitive regional."

The North Stars (19-8) and Storm (18-8) were deserving of the top two seeds given their body of work during the regular season. Both teams set a school record for wins and finished in a three-way tie for third place in the UEC.

The similarities between the squads extend to their personnel, as both have deep and experienced lineups capable of pulling off a lengthy postseason run. Senior guard Nick Neari tallies 13.7 points per game to lead a North roster that includes six players averaging more than five points per contest. Senior Jordan Dobler is South Elgin's top scorer with 11 points per game, leading an even more balanced roster that includes eight players averaging more than five points per game.

The regional seeds were assigned before South Elgin and North met in their only regular-season meeting. The Storm came away with a 70-64 road triumph in that contest. Factor in that South Elgin also beat the Barbs (16-11), No. 4 St. Charles East (9-17) and No. 5 Larkin (7-19) during the regular season, and that's how Poulin rationalizes pegging the Storm as the favorite.

"South Elgin, having beaten everybody out there, I would say they are the No. 1 seed at this point," Poulin said. "We have some things to prove to ourselves and other people."

The victory against the North Stars was part of a strong finish to the regular season for the Storm, which enters the playoffs on a streak of eight wins in 10 games. Taft is pleased with the way his team built momentum at the end of the year, but he knows his team faces a difficult test against DeKalb.

South Elgin beat the Barbs 66-61 on Feb. 10 despite yielding 27 points to Jordan Threloff, DeKalb's 6-foot-10 junior center. However, that game was played on the Storm's home court and with South Elgin's 6-foot-9 senior Dani Lopez healthy and in action.

Lopez missed the Storm's final four regular-season games with a strained ligament in his left foot, but Taft said he expects to have the Sacramento State-bound center back in action as South Elgin tries to capture its first-ever regional title.

"Going and playing DeKalb at DeKalb is a little bit different than playing them at our place," Taft said. "They'll have the home-court advantage, their fans will be there and our fans will have to travel a little bit on a week night."

The regional's underlying X-factors are St. Charles East and Larkin, who meet in Monday's play-in game for the right to take on the North Stars in Tuesday's semifinal. The Saints and Royals don't have impressive records, but both are dangerous in their own right.

East started the year with 11 straight losses but went 9-6 in the second half of the campaign. Senior center Kevin Senechalle averages 20.6 points and over 10 rebounds per game and can hold his own with any of the other talented post players in the regional.

Meanwhile, the Royals come into the postseason with only one win in their past 13 games. Senior forward Terell John averages 12.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest to pace a balanced Larkin attack.

Larkin lost to East 63-50 during the regular season. North beat both the Royals and Saints during the regular season.

The North Stars are in search of their second regional title in program history and first since 2005. Larkin last won a regional title in 2006 while East claimed a regional crown in 2007.