Waukegan basketball team advances to Final Four

ELGIN – The Waukegan boys basketball team is once again knocking on history's door.
 
This time, the Bulldogs hope to crash right through that door and into the record books.
 
Hanging there like a dangling carrot in front of Waukegan is an undeniable fact: No boys team from Lake County has ever won an IHSA varsity basketball championship, at any level. After a convincing 75-61 win over Bartlett in the Class 4A super-sectional March 16, the Bulldogs are just two wins away from claiming a prize no one from this area has ever been able to capture.
 
"We are [aware we'd be the first]," Waukegan senior forward Jereme Richmond said. "We just recently learned that, and to have that opportunity again [to win Lake County's first title] is one of the biggest motivating factors we have going for us right now."
 
Waukegan will play Whitney Young – the same school it lost to by three in the Class 4A finals last season – in downstate Peoria on Friday, March 19. The winner will advance to the championship game the following day.
 
"I think we're playing our best basketball of the season," Waukegan sophomore Akeem Springs (17 points, six rebounds) said. "After regionals, [head] coach [Ron Ashlaw] told us we needed to step it up, and we did."
 
Waukegan's coaching staff may be as big a reason as any for the Bulldogs' success the past two years. Ashlaw and assistant Tim Bowen have done everything in their power to mesh their talented bunch of kids together, preparing their players for the rigors of the IHSA state tournament,  while building a program the community can be proud of and rally around.  
 
Earlier this season, Ashlaw took his team to play a nationally-televised game on ESPN against powerhouse Ames, Iowa. The Bulldogs lost, but the experience they gained was invaluable. In fact, Waukegan (26-4) played less than 10 home games all season by design, in an effort to prepare themselves for winning the ultimate prize – a state championship.
 
"When we went to the game in Iowa earlier this year, they had 9,000 fans there and we had about 25," Ashlaw said. "I definitely think that [playing on the road in hostile environments] paid off."
 
Before Waukegan's last home game against Schaumburg, in the sectional championship, the Bulldogs' coaching staff wrote a message on the board outside the team's locker room. It was a quote from Chicago Bulls NBA legend and Lake County resident, Michael Jordan.
 
"Teamwork," the sign read. "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships."
 
Teamwork is the key reason Waukegan could, in fact, make history this time. While their star player is clearly Richmond, who has signed to play at the University of Illinois next season, the 2009-10 Bulldogs can beat you in a myriad of different ways – something they showed during their win over Bartlett.
 
After scoring just four points during the first half, Richmond (game-high 26 points, 12 rebounds, six blocked shots) exploded for 14 points during a memorable third quarter. Remarkably, he scored 13 of those points in a span of just 2:42. In the fourth, he thundered home a pair of two-handed dunks, earning him a roaring standing ovation from the Waukegan fans in attendance.  
 
However, when Bartlett double-teamed, and even triple-teamed Richmond, his teammates answered the call. Waukegan senior Quan Connor (13 points, nine rebounds, five assists, four steals) and junior Aaron Johnson (10 points) also scored in double-figures, using a lightning-quick transition game that – to their credit – at times looked as much like as sprinting track squad as a basketball team. The Bulldogs racked up 20 assists during the unselfish win.
 
"We were all here last year for the defeat in the state title game," Johnson said. "We want to win a championship this time. Nothing motivates us more."
 
Lost among the team's strong play on offense has been Waukegan's defensive play, which has been stellar at times. The Bulldogs forced 24 Bartlett turnovers in their state quarterfinal matchup, blocked seven shots, and held the Hawks to a 33.8 percent mark from the field.  
 
"We think we're the best defensive team in the state," Johnson added.
 
While Ashlaw has repeatedly given his players much of the credit for the team's success, the Waukegan players who faced Bartlett said they cautiously feel they are a more dangerous team headed to Peoria this time, compared to last year's state finals runner-up team.
 
"We want to make a statement," Richmond said. "I think we are more dangerous this year for two reasons: we're more focused, and we have more experience ... we've been through this before."
 
Friday night, Richmond and his teammates will get their chance to make that statement and potentially punch their ticket to the Class 4A championship in an effort to make history.
 
"All the things we do, we do better as a team than we did last year," Ashlaw said after the team's last home game. "We're one year further in the process of building our program here, and I couldn't be prouder of the way our guys have performed.
 
"This is tremendous, well-deserved and well-earned."

Want to see them play?

Waukegan and Whitney Young will face off at 8:15 p.m. Friday, March 19, at the Peoria Civic Center. The winner of the Waukegan/Young game will advance to the state championship game the evening of Saturday, March 20, to face the winner of the other semi-final game, which features Simeon High School versus O'Fallon High School.

Special, Waukegan-reserved tickets for Friday and Saturday are on sale at the WHS Washington Campus. There is a limit of two per person. General tickets also are available online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Friday and Saturday games will be broadcast live on WPWR-TV (Channel 8 on most cable systems), as well as on www.ihsa.tv.