Chicago Demons Basketball Program

Though it’s hard to tell how a barely-twelve year old basketball player is going to pan out, all signs point to 7^th grader Erick Locke becoming one of the next great basketball players in the state of Illinois.  This “future phenom” led the 7^th grade team at Oak Park- Brooks Middle school to a conference championship last year as a 6^th grader, averaging 15 points per game. Locke is set to be the star for Brook’s 8^th grade team this year, as he is hot off of a stellar fall playing in the Freshman/Sophomore division of the Full Package/ Illinoishsbasketball.com Fall league.  Locke had a very good spring and summer on the AAU circuit with the Chicago Demons. The 5-8 scoring guard led the undersized Demons team to a 2^nd place finish at the AAU state tournament this year, as well as a number of other top finishes at various other tournaments throughout the mid-west. Locke is not as hyped as fellow class of 2013 stars such as Jabari Parker and Alex Foster, but Locke has quietly built an impressive resume: especially for a kid that just turned 12 years old. Locke has already earned top honors at various camps and showcases, as he was named the co-MVP of the 2005 NY2LA Generation Next camp, he won the MVP of the 2006 “Main Event” Championship game, he was the All-Star MVP and the Playoff MVP of the 2007 Five Star camp, as well as being named an all star and ranked as the #2 7^th grader at the 2007 Illinois Jr. Superstars showcase, being ranked only behind 6-6 Alex Foster, the #1 forward in the nation for the class 2013. Locke is 5-8, 135 pounds, and wears a size 12.5 shoe. He can play either guard slot and is a natural scorer with great basketball instincts. He handles the ball well with both hands, and can finish with both hands as well. Locke is also a terrific student, as he boasts a 3.5 GPA. Locke is definitely a prospect to watch in the loaded class of 2013!

 

The Illinois Playmakers won the PEP Fall Classic this weekend at Whitney Young high school in a strong team effort. The Playmakers were playing in their first tournament together, and they defeated a mix of high school teams and seasoned AAU teams to win the PEP title. The team featured four Division I commits, and a number of other Division I prospects. The team was coach by Bobby Stineman, Bob Stineman, and Michael Ciepierski.

The star-studded team was put together by coaches Stineman and Ciepierski, with major help from players Jim Hayes of Mount Carmel and Kevin Stineman of Stevenson. Both players were on last year's Playmakers squad, which after was not continued until this past weekend. The PEP Fall Classic was the perfect time to bring back the Playmakers, and this time come up with a make-up that had a group of talented players that were both unselfish and complimented eachother. The first three players that were fits were Dylan Richter, Nate Bateman, and Jason Music. "We are all friends off the court", stated Kevin Stineman. "I really wanted to have fun this weekend, and get guys that played team basketball." Also friends are Brian DeSimone and three-star prospect Luke Fabrizius. "Brian, Luke, and I work out alot together", stated Stineman. "I told them what the coaches were doing, and they would love to have them, and they were in!" The final three players were key to the foundation of the team. Carl Richard, and Indiana State commit, played with the Playmakers last year, and was excited to join it again. Two new additions were Northwestern commit John Shurna, and All-American center Michael Dunigan. "Anyone can get a group of great players, but to win you need the right players, and we did that", stated Michael Ciepierski. "We made sure we had unselfish players with a high basketball IQ, and most of all wanted to win."

The Playmakers breezed through to the semi-finals, beating the Berwyn Mustangs, Fast Break, East Troy, and TPS, which was virtually the Whitney Young varsity squad. In the semi-finals, the Playmakers played the Illinois Stars, who were without D.J. Richardson, James Kinney, and Xavier Humphrey. The game was over before it started, as Luke Fabrizius lit it up from the outside by shooting 8-10 from three point range, Carl Richard and Michael Dunigan not allowing any offensive rebounds, and Kevin Stineman pushing the ball up the court, which all led to a win of about 50 points. "I told our guys in the middle of the first half that I wanted them to lock down the Stars", said Bobby Stineman. "I was amazed to see that over a 9 minute span, we only allowed two points, and they were on free throws."

In the finals, the Playmakers had a rematch with TPS, which had Chris Colvin, A.J. Rompza, and Anthony Johnson. TPS was up for the challenge with extremely great games from both Colvin and Rompza, but the Playmakers took the game by a total of two points with a score of 49-47. This was accomplished due to a great second-half play from John Shurna, as well as from an injured Michael Dunigan, who put his pain aside to help his team win. "Michael was hurting", said Michael Ciepierski. "But he said he wanted to stay out there and win the tournament. He defines a gamer."

Some great individual performances are also to be noted. Michael Dunigan, as usual, was a man among boys, and did not allow anything easy in the lane, and was able to show his offensive game. "Our goal was to get Michael the ball down low each time in the halfcourt", stated Bobby Stineman. "When it goes down there, great things happen." Dylan Richter, Nate Bateman, Jim Hayes, and Jason Music all played extremely well on the perimeter, treasured the basketball, and made plays for their teammates. Kevin Stineman played an excellent cerebral game, and was excellent in pushing the ball on the break. Brian DeSimone was excellent at hitting his open shots and playing a great deal of point guard. Luke Fabrizius shot the ball well, and in Day 2 played a great defensive game. "I told Luke that there is a game inside the arc, and that his hands need to be up on defense", says Michael Ciepierski. "After that, Luke was hitting everything on the high post and baseline, and his defense was great." Carl Richard was all over the place, slicing to the lane, playing outstanding defense, shot over 60% from the arc, and led the tournament in dunks. John Shurna was equally impressive, as he led the team in points, rebounds, blocks, and assists. Both Richard and Shurna won co-MVP's of the tournament.

The team members also realized they were part of something special. "Today in AAU Basketball, it's so hard to find a group that could all play together, and not just go one-on-one", stated Kevin Stineman. "When we played, we all had a great feel for everyone's individual talents, and we made sure we used it. All in all, we had more chemistry and ball movement than any other team in the tourney." Carl Richard also added: "I've played with Meanstreets and Ferrari, and this was the best team I've ever played with. This was the first time where I can play almost a point guard, dish the rock, and all my passes turned into buckets."

Chris Eversley #33 Illinois High School Basketball ©Daniel Poneman 

For the schedule please go to www.projecteducationplus.org!

 See ya at Whitney Young.

 

 

August 8, 2007 By ROB VALENTIN | Sports Editor The Chicago Demons finished off a strong run at the National Invitation Las Vegas Summer Classic by making it to the final four. While the Demons lost to the eventual champion Red Knights, head coach Vince Carter learned a lot about his team, which has many of the same players as the Von Steuben Panthers. "You watch how the kids bond and you get to see your weaknesses too," Carter said. "It was a good study on how to adapt. This year I took their cell phones away and when they were without them they adapted. They realized they don't really need them." In Carter's opinion, Homer Denson really stepped up his play during the six games the Demons played. "Homer Denson played really well and he could be a force in the middle for us," Carter added. "He's 6-foot 7-inches and he realizes he's an inside guy." Cordarrel Eldridge played well down low as well while guards Michael Di Nunno and Deonte Lundeen did what Carter expected of them. Carter also liked what he saw out of Seton Academy's Donald Duncan. But of course the most important part is working out the kinks so everything goes smoothly when the high school season rolls around. "We kind of run some of our sets so we get a chance to see what works," Carter said. "What maybe worked for Jeremie Simmons might not work for Mike DiNunno. "We've been very guard-oriented over the years so our play reflects that. People are stepping into new positions. You might have been coming off the bench as a junior and now you may be getting major minutes." Von Steuben has had plenty of success over the last six years and the goal will be to keep that momentum and go one step further. "Obviously every year we say 'When are we going to win a city championship.' " Carter said. "We've been to the final four three of the last four years." The one exception was last season when the Panthers lost in a shocking first-round upset. "You never want to go backwards," Carter added. "This year the first round loss in the playoffs was devastating. But we did only lose five games." The key to this season's success will be overcoming the losses of Michael Horton Jr., Michael Fakuade, Warren Poetzing and Darius Fields. "We only lost four people but those were four people who made a difference on the team, Carter said.