Kenosha, Wis., has become a hot spot for area athletes to flock to play basketball.
Carthage College’s men’s and women’s basketball teams have 36 players on their rosters including 27 from Illinois and 20 from the TribLocal area.
Women’s coach Tim Bernero, a former assistant with the men’s squad, has deep area ties as he grew up in Buffalo Grove and attended Mundelein Carmel High School and Lake Forest College. He’s also the nephew of Chicago Blackhawks president John McDonough. He knows his way around Chicago and its suburbs.
He also knows where to find local talent. (Photos: Carthage draws area talent)
“It’s kind of a perfect storm,” he said. “Carthage is far enough away where kids are away from home but it’s close enough where families can watch them play. We have an easier time recruiting players from Illinois than we do from Kenosha.”
Mundelein Carmel graduate Erin Quinn, right, is a freshman on the Reds roster. (Jeff Vorva/Tribune)
The women’s team is flirting with a top-25 ranking in Division III this year after reaching No. 5 last season and reaching the Sweet 16 in the national tournament two years ago. The Reds are off to a 10-2 mark through their first 12 games and are eying their first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin title since sharing it with Millikin in 1996.
Deerfield’s Dani Ripkeu averages 7.7 points per game for the team while Maine South’s Allison Groessl chips in with 6.5 points per contest.
Other area members include Schaumburg High School’s Drewann Pancratz, Lake Zurich’s Gabby Chapa (a Barrington native), Elgin’s Caris Alan, Mundelein Carmel’s Erin Quinn, Burlington Central’s Cory Bazany (an Elgin native), Stagg’s Bridget Adams and Wheeling’s Stephanie Kuzmanic (a Mount Prospect native).
On the men’s side, Carthage posted 24-6 and 16-9 marks the last two seasons but opened 2011-12 with a 6-6 mark.
Wheaton Academy graduate Luke Johnson, a Naperville resident who plays for Carthage, spins the ball before a recent game against North Central College in his hometown. (Jeff Vorva/Tribune)
Former Sandburg star Mitch Thompson, a 6-foot-6 junior, averages 11.6 points per game while Geneva’s Max Cary adds 11.4. Naperville native and former Wheaton Academy standout Luke Johnson averages 9.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest.
Other area athletes on the roster include Romeoville’s Antwan Hill, Stevenson’s Ryan Chapman (a Buffalo Grove native), Lincoln-Way North’s Kevin Sykes Jr. (a Tinley Park native), Niles West’s Donte Logan (an Evanston native), Niles North’s Marlon Senior, Lisle’s Chris Wray, Westmont’s Tyler Pierce and Kaneland’s Matt Cowans (an Aurora native).
