Boys basketball: Quality of play adds spice to Joliet West-Joliet Central rivalry

JOLIET – There’s nothing like a heated rivalry. Think Michigan-Ohio State or Alabama-Auburn.

In local high school boys basketball, the one that rises to the top of the heap is Joliet West vs. Joliet Central. The two District 204 rivals have plenty of history between them, and Tuesday night’s 64-57 win by West over Central added another chapter to the history books.

Over the past few years, West has held a decided edge over Central on the hardwood. But the Steelmen returned all five of their starters from last season and were coming off of a 4-0 championship showing in the WJOL Thanksgiving Classic, their first time winning that event since 2015.

The Tigers, on the other hand, were missing both Jeremy Fears Jr. and Jeremiah Fears, as well as Jayden Martin and Michael Moore, from last year’s team that finished 29-6. West did, however, have Valparaiso commit Justus McNair and a team that went 3-1 at the Riverside-Brookfield Thanksgiving Tournament.

In a quirk of scheduling, the Southwest Prairie Conference matched up West and Central in the first game of the conference season. If Tuesday’s game was any indication, the SPC race is shaping up to be a good one.

Before a nearly packed house at Joliet West, the Tigers and Steelmen were like heavyweight boxers, trading body blows and landing a few haymakers each along the way. As expected in a game featuring two archrivals who are evenly matched, the game went back and forth, with plenty of ups and downs on both sides. Both teams displayed a high level of athleticism, as well as basketball IQ, making for an entertaining game.

Although the game was hotly contested, there were no angry outbursts or taunting by either side. Both composed themselves as they should. They played hard, but they played clean. It was a physical game, given that both teams pride themselves on playing tough defense, and there were fouls, but none of the flagrant variety.

A healthy rivalry carries with it a healthy respect on both sides.

“We knew this would be a good game. It seemed kind of strange that the conference put us against each other in the first game of the season, but that’s how it is.”

—  Jeremy Kreiger, Joliet West boys basketball coach

“This was really fun,” West coach Jeremy Kreiger said after Tuesday’s game. “We have a lot of respect for Joliet Central. First, they are in our district. Second, their coaching staff, especially [head] Coach [Lawrence] Thompson and [assistant] Coach [Duane] Edmon, have been around the Joliet area for a long time. We respect how they run their program, and there is always motivation to beat them.

“Add to that the fact that they were 4-0 coming in and had won the WJOL Tournament for the first time since 2015 and had all of their starters coming back from last year, we knew this would be a good game. It seemed kind of strange that the conference put us against each other in the first game of the season, but that’s how it is.”

McNair, who led all scorers with 25 points, including 11 in the decisive fourth quarter, also knew this game – and the one between the two teams at Joliet Central on Jan. 27 – would take on a little added significance this season.

“It’s always fun to play against Joliet Central,” he said. “We knew they were 4-0 and they had won the WJOL Tournament, so we knew they were going to come in here and give us their best shot.

“We know that they have a lot of players back from last year and that they would be a good team this year. We were the better team today, though.”

Central coach Lawrence Thompson also knows that the stakes are a little higher when the two Joliet teams get together.

“We have to take care of the ball and play better,” he said after the game. “We did that at the WJOL Tournament, but playing Joliet West is a different animal. It was outstanding to win the WJOL Tournament. The kids did a great job executing, but they have to know that they still have to work at it.

“But we plan on being in the hunt for the conference title all season. We plan on getting it done.”