Downers Grove South senior Sean Day is back at a familiar spot on the court.
After playing shooting guard last season, Day returned to his roots to play point guard for the Mustangs.
Due to injuries, the 6-foot-4 Day was forced to move from shooting guard to the point.
The Elmhurst University recruit played point on the lower levels in his first two seasons, so he acknowledged it’s a comfortable position for him.
“I love playing point guard and being a facilitator and getting the other guys involved when the ball is in my hands,” Day said. “I know I can impact the game and help my teammates score. I’ve been a point guard my whole life. I knew I had to step up, so it’s been second nature for me. I feel point guard can showcase me a lot with the ball in my hands and getting my guys looks and in position to score.”
Downers Grove South coach Zach Miller said Day’s strong play helped keep the Mustangs (15-5, 2-0) on track toward a 20-win season. The Mustangs have won six games in a row.
“We had a couple of point guards right after Christmas go out with a concussion and a knee injury, so we slid Dean to point guard,” Miller said. “It’s been a flawless transition and a natural fit. [Teams] used to see him just as a shooter, but he had a high IQ.”
Day scored 16 points against Proviso East on Jan. 16 and torched Willowbrook for 24 points on Jan. 13. Day credited his work in the offseason for adding different elements to his game.
“I worked a lot in the offseason and shooting and I’ve been hitting a lot of threes in big games,” Day said. “I learned how to use my body more and be in control and my defensive and passing has been good.”
Day, a second-year varsity player, said he welcomed being a leader for the Mustangs this season, helping the team win several close games.
“I felt I had to take a big role in leadership, on and off the court, and being a positive influence for others,” Day said. “I feel we’re really playing well together and have a lot of chemistry on and off the court.”
Miller said the Mustangs loaded up their schedule to make a long run in the Class 4A playoffs.
“I feel like when you have high expectations and are thinking of making a deep run, you never are satisfied or happy, but I’m excited about how we’re playing and the direction we’re headed,” Miller said. “We’ve had couple of nice wins and the guys are willing themselves to win. Adam Flowers and Sean Day have the right mindset and that trickles down to the other the guys. I don’t think we’ve come close to playing our best basketball.”
R-B on a roll
Riverside-Brookfield is another team on a positive upswing late in the regular season. The Bulldogs (17-5, 7-1 Upstate Eight East) are in second place in the conference, a game back of Glenbard East. Riverside-Brookfield earned a quality home win over Morton on Tuesday to move closer to the 20-win mark and extend its winning streak to nine in a row. R-B hosts Glenbard East Feb. 3.
“I think we’re guarding really well and playing strong defensively,” R-B coach Mike Reingruber said. “We’ve definitely improved since Christmas in a vast majority of the game. We’ve shot it well and we are clicking together and really figuring each other out. Twenty wins is always a good benchmark. We’re playing really well right now, which is a good thing now with sectional seeding coming up.”
The Bulldogs have rebounded from two straight losses – Batavia and Rolling Meadows – at the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic.
“We told them to just trust the process,” Reingruber said. “We always have that conversation at the end of Christmas tournaments. We’ve been getting better and better every day and think the guys are really dialed in at practices. We’ve had some great practices and that’s definitely led us to continued improvement.”
Senior guard Cameron Mercer is leading the offensive attack, averaging roughly 21 points and five rebounds per game and shooting 38 percent on 3-pointers. Mercer scored 25 points in Tuesday’s win over Morton.
“Cameron has had a tremendous senior year,” Reingruber said. “He’s stepped up and is, without question our leader. We’ve had a bunch of other guys following his lead.”
The Bulldogs have several signature wins, including overcoming a double-digit deficit against Crete-Monee and a 1-for-21 shooting start against Glenbard South to pull out a 53-46 win on Jan. 22.
“We fell down against Crete-Monee and Glenbard South, but the guys stuck together and were able to weather the storm against both of those teams,” Reingruber said. “We figured out ways to get it done. Those two wins were a testament to our team and how well we stuck together.”
Schroeder sets Wheaton Academy scoring record
Needing 20 points to break the Wheaton Academy career scoring record that stood for 51 years, junior Hayden Schroeder scored 22 points on Saturday night against Niles Notre Dame.
Schroeder passed Mark Frost, Class of 1975, with 1,462 points to take over as the all time scoring leader in the school’s 172-year history.
Wheaton Academy planned to honor Schroeder before its home game Tuesday night at the Warrior Dome, and hoped to have Frost there to pass the torch over to Schroeder.