Inside Boys Basketball

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Athlete of the week

John Moran

Jacobs, senior, guard

Moran scored 57 points in three games to become the Golden Eagles’ career scoring leader with 1,570 points.

The 6-foot-1 point guard dropped in 17 in Tuesday’s 84-46 win against Grayslake North. He followed that with 21 in Friday’s 77-49 victory against Johnsburg.

On Saturday, Moran scored 19 points as the Eagles beat Fremd,

57-37, for the first time in a series started eight years ago. On Moran’s first basket of the second half, he passed Eric Vierneisel (1,559) as the school’s career scoring leader.

Both Moran and Vierneisel played on Jacobs’ varsity since their freshman seasons.

Noteworthy

What we have learned:

• It’s early in the season, but Jacobs stands a couple notches ahead of the rest of the Fox Valley Conference teams. With four returning starters, led by Northern Iowa-bound John Moran (the 2007 Northwest Herald Player of the Year), the Eagles are going to be tough for any team to challenge at this point.

• Grayslake Central (5-2) appears to be the next-best team in the FVC. The Rams have balanced scoring from Michael Brumm (12.9), Andrew Sipes (12.0) and Alex Anderson (11.0) and coach Tim Bowen’s teams always are tough defenders.

• Johnsburg is young, but can be pretty good. The Skyhawks are 4-3, led by 6-foot-7 C.J. Fiedorowicz and point guard Mike Dixon, both sophomores who started last year. Thinking about how good Johnsburg will be the next two seasons is scary.

• Huntley’s Zac Boster might be the best shooter in the area. A sample from Friday’s 56-52 victory against Woodstock was Boster’s

6-of-10 shooting, all from behind the three-point arc. He loads quickly and is not shy. Red Raiders coach Marty Manning wants Boster, a junior who finished third in the IHSA Class AA Three-Point Shootout last year, firing away when it comes through the offense. On one possession Friday, Boster got the ball on a fast break, dribbled, saw a teammate in position and pulled up to nail a three.

Can’t-miss games

Hampshire at Burlington Central

7 p.m. Friday

The Whip-Purs take their shot at what looks like the team to beat in the Big Northern Conference East Division, as divisional play starts.

Jacobs at Grayslake Central

7 p.m. Saturday

Jacobs is the best team in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division and Grayslake Central looks, so far, like the top team in the FVC Fox.

McHenry at Johnsburg

7 p.m. Saturday

Neighborhood rivalries always provide a spirited, filled gymnasium. The Warriors (3-4) already have equaled their win total of last season, and Johnsburg (4-3) has a bright immediate future and an even brighter one in the long-term with all its young players.

– Joe Stevenson, jstevenson@nwherald.com