The H-F Vikings are off to a fast 5-0 start after Friday’s 80-48 victory over Thornridge in a SouthWest Suburban crossover game in Flossmoor. Earlier, H-F swept four straight games in the Chicago Heights Classic, defeating Thornton Fractional South, Englewood, Bloom Township and Marian Catholic in a memorable 74-73 win in six overtimes.
High School basketball team during a recent practice.
(Photo by R.L. Anderson)
Fast.
That describes what has been seen so far from the Homewood-Flossmoor High School boys basketball team.
The Vikings are off to a fast 5-0 start after Friday’s 80-48 victory over Thornridge in a SouthWest Suburban crossover game in Flossmoor. Earlier, H-F swept four straight games in the Chicago Heights Classic, defeating Thornton Fractional South, Englewood, Bloom Township and Marian Catholic in a memorable 74-73 win in six overtimes.
Fast can also be applied to H-F’s style of basketball.
“We like to run, we want to play fast, anytime we get the chance,” said Marc Condotti, the third-year varsity coach at H-F. “We have a stable of guards, five or six legitimate guards, that all rotate through. We’re a little thin at the big spots, but we’re able to make some adjustments and fill that with some of our bigger guards.”
However, the Vikings can shift gears if necessary.
“We can go into a zone defense, we can slow the game down if we need to,” Condotti said.
The Vikings needed a fast start because expectations are high. H-F is No. 15 in this week’s Chicago Tribune ranking of Chicago area teams.
H-F figures to be in the thick of a highly competitive SouthWest Suburban Blue conference race with tough opponents like Stagg, Sandburg, Lincoln-Way East and another highly-rated team, Bolingbrook.
“The Bolingbrook game always gets a lot of attention. They’re always a tough opponent,” Condotti said. “Our conference had an overall 19-4 record over Thanksgiving.”
Not only is H-F fast, they’re experienced.
“Jeffrey Boyd played the most last year among our returning seniors. He has stepped up as a leader,” said Condotti. “Starting guard Nick Holmes controls the floor for us. He’s been part of the program for four years now. He can do a bit of everything, score, handling the basketball, playing defense.”
Regarding senior swingman Jarrett Tribble, Condotti stated, “He’s kind of a firework. He’s a real strong kid, super athletic. He’s done a real nice job for us this year after not getting as much playing time as he would have wanted last year.”
Condotti will also rely on senior forward Elijah McCreary.
“He started last year for us as well. He’s a tough inside presence,” noted Condotti.
And there’s senior Cortez King-Parks.
“He’s sort of a bouncy, super athletic kid,” said Condotti. “He can go up and get a rebound over players a little taller or a little wider than him.”
Condotti’s philosophical approach to basketball is consistent with the school’s strong hoops history.
“We focus on team basketball on both sides of the floor and in transition. If you look at the stats the three years I’ve been on the job, and under previous head coaches, we didn’t rely on one guy to score 25 or 30 points a night, not even when we had top college-bound kids in the program.”
Condotti added, “We believe in sharing the basketball, doing it as a team, doing it together.”
That approach may remind some veteran H-F fans of a long-ago team that made Vikings history. Fifty years ago, in the 1966-67 campaign, H-F qualified for its first trip to the state finals before losing in the quarter-final round.
That edition of H-F basketball was not known for size, but for teamwork — and for being fast.