llinois' annual Thanksgiving week tournaments provide many teams with an opportunity to see themselves in real game action, finally breaking away from intra-squad scrimmages and providing coaches with immediate feedback on team strengths and weaknesses.
Driscoll boys basketball coach Nick Latorre, though, finds himself in a unique position as his Highlanders hit the hardcourt for the 2007-2008 season.
Missing several players due to Driscoll's deep run to the football state playoffs, the Highlanders nonetheless managed to ward off Lisle 57-44 on the opening night of Lisle's 31st edition of its Thanksgiving tournament.
Senior center Jake Lindfors picked up the absent points offensively, pouring in 30 while posing a threat from nearly everywhere on the court.
"He's very versatile," Latorre said of his 6-foot-10 center. "He's a different player from last year. He's just so much more athletic, he can handle the ball so much better. His game's just really improved markedly since last year."
While Driscoll (1-0) ran much of its offense through Lindfors in the first half, the Lions used a balanced attack to stay with the Highlanders, trailing just 27-24 at the half.
Lisle's (0-1) collective hot hand cooled down in the third quarter, though, as Driscoll outscored the Lions 13-4.
"The points in the third quarter was a real killer," Lisle coach Mark LaScala said. "Give Driscoll some credit for that. They weren't just going to let us do what we wanted to do."
The Lions return just two players from last year's varsity squad who saw significant playing time, leaving Lisle with some room for improvement offensively.
"It's a younger team than we had last year … so in terms of recognizing certain things on the floor, certain opportunities offensively, I think we need to get better at that," LaScala said. "I think we will really fast, and if we do, along with our defense, we'll be where we want to be."
While LaScala gets to figuring out his team before Thanksgiving, Latorre will be forced to wait until his full nucleus has returned.
"Our team's going to be a lot different in two weeks," he said. "You hope nobody gets hurt, and get all them guys back, and it'll make us a little bit more athletic."
Until then, Lindfors feels ready to carry the load.
"The whole season, I think I've got to be a leader," Lindfors said.
"It's definitely a little harder without … a couple of the other guys."
By Matthew McClarey
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