Boys Basketball: Glenbard West looks to complete ‘dream’ season with state title in Champaign

Caden Pierce believes he started playing basketball with Glenbard West teammates Ryan Renfro and Paxton Warden in fourth or fifth grade. Braden Huff joined them in sixth grade.

Unknown to some, they played in a fall league together with Bobby Durkin in fifth and sixth grade.

Side-by-side photos that circulated this week on Twitter showed the future Glenbard West stars after winning a youth tournament with the Glen Ellyn Titans, and after Monday’s supersectional win.

It’s indeed been a journey.

A group of boys who grew up together have captured the imagination of the Illinois basketball world, and Glen Ellyn community this season. They’ve turned a football school into a basketball-crazed hotbed. Kids line up for autographs and pose for photos after games at Biester Gym.

And, this weekend, in their program’s first state appearance, the Hilltoppers can complete one of the most dominant seasons in recent Illinois basketball history.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Pierce, a Princeton commit. “How far we have come, from the sandbox to the biggest stage, it’s a dream come true.”

Glenbard West (35-1), which plays Bolingbrook in a Class 4A semifinal at 4 p.m. Friday, will be one of the biggest stories of the weekend as the IHSA state finals returns to Champaign. It was previously held there from 1919 until 1995, and is back after over two decades in Peoria. Whitney Young plays Barrington, who upset second-ranked Glenbrook South in the supersectional, in Friday’s first semifinal. The championship game is at 7 p.m. Saturday.

If past is prologue, the orange and blue State Farm Center seats should be filled with Hilltopper green. Glenbard West’s game with Sierra Canyon at Wintrust Arena was sold out within minutes, as was a sectional final with Wheaton Warrenville South.

“That’s been one of the best parts of the season, is to see how much joy we have brought to the community,” Pierce said. “The father/son bonding, the elementary and middle school kids that go to our games, the very least we can do is sign autographs and take pictures. We’re thankful for the support. Hopefully most of the town of Glen Ellyn will come out and support us.”

Glenbard West, preseason No. 1, has more than lived up the preseason ranking.

The Hilltoppers are ranked No. 18 in the latest ESPN.com national top 25, with 28 of their 35 wins and all five playoff victories by 20 points or more. They are undefeated against Illinois teams, including double-digit wins over fellow 4A contender Whitney Young and 3A favorite Simeon.

Huff, a 6-foot-11 Gonzaga recruit, leads four starters 6-foot-6 and taller, and four starters scoring in double figures at 16.2 points per game.

Bolingbrook coach Rob Brost, with a touch of hyperbole, spoke this week of just how good his team’s semifinal opponent is.

“I’d rather be playing the Lakers than Glenbard West,” Brost said. “We could back off [Lakers guard] Russell Westbrook, let him shoot it and get some rebounds. There is not a guy on the Glenbard West roster we can do that to. We know what we’re up against and we know how good they are.”

Brost’s Raiders (30-6), for their part, have rattled off 16 straight wins since a stretch of five losses in six games in early January.

Bolingbrook, third in Class 4A in 2015 and 2017, is led by 6-foot-4 senior Michael Osei-Bonsu. The the thickly-built second team All-Stater is averaging 11.8 points and just under 10 rebounds per game. Junior guard Mekhi Cooper averages 12.1 points per game.

“They’re a really good team, will compete on both ends, have really good size,” Huff said. “They have good guards who take care of the ball. It will be a good matchup.”

Heavy favorites, the Hilltoppers to a man say they don’t feel the weight of expectations.

“I honestly don’t think we feel pressure,” Glenbard West coach Jason Opoka said. “We’ve prepared our mindset all year, to concentrate on what we can do and execute our game plan. We have proven to everybody that we can play at a high level and sustain through the season, guys have played on a national stage on AAU. I seriously think some of them have forgot how to lose.”