Playing Through Covid: "I'll Take It Over Nothing"
Mundelein prevails in a showdown between two Chicagoland basketball powers, but Notre Dame wins big as host
Notre Dame and Mundelein played a boys basketball game Sunday.
Yes on a Sunday…a gloriously freezing cold Sunday (fortunately the bone-chilling cold temperatures were outside the gymnasium).
Notre Dame College Prep, as is its full name, hosted the game at its fabulously classic-style 2,000-seat gymnasium (with renovated floor) inside the school’s Niles campus (located off Dempster Ave. a few miles north of Chicago).
I’m going to write about the game. A game that was as good as advertised, between two teams that if there was a state tournament this March in Illinois, could easily be sharing a hotel in Peoria.
But first, I want to write about Notre Dame College Prep. About how a sporting event can be, should be held, in the Season of Covid.
And about how will and want triumphs over fear and statutes.
A few days before the game, I emailed Notre Dame Athletic Director Mike Hennessey.
He got back to me right away about the school’s game day procedures.
Here is what he wrote:
We are asking for advance notice of attending
and credentials at the door. We have an area set up in the balcony for media. You would be temp checked on arrival at door #3 across from the stadium.
No photography on the floor during the game.
Let me know. Take Care, Mike Hennessey
Pretty simple and straight forward.
When I confirmed my attendance the next day, Hennessey replied, “OK, see you Sunday.”
Upon arrival, fans and media were asked to scan a barcode (similar to what restaurants are doing now with menus) which led to a Google form popping up on my phone. The form asked the usual screening questions (‘do you show any symptoms…’) and took 20 seconds to complete.
When I walked inside, the school had reserved a section of the stands above the court for parents to watch the game. The parental allotment for spectators is 40, as I was told by one of the friendly Dons officials working the game. The opposite grandstands were reserved for media and for a small group of under level players for each team.
Individual tables were sectioned off for the press, with plastic partitions for optimal social distancing.
Not every high school gym has the advantages of Notre Dame. It is massive, with an upper balcony above the court. There is a ton of air space and the school could have allowed a few more dozen fans inside and done so without violating public health guidelines (too bad for Mundelein parents who missed out on a memorable live experience).
But taking out the mechanics of the operation, the logistical planning and execution, it’s the spirit with which all involved at Notre Dame went about hosting the event that stood out.
It started with Hennessey. His response to my inquiry—here’s where you go, here’s what you do—with instructions so simple even a reporter could follow them.
It continued with Mick Swanson, the school’s Dean of Students and Director of Security, who greeted everyone at the door with a smile and good natured chuckle about the times we live in (“Just fill out this form…it’ll take a few seconds…enjoy the game”).
Or the game announcer, Mike Marrese, who’s official title with the school is Director of Parent Relations.
I sat next to Marrese (six feet apart, of course) and we chatted during time outs. He shared how Notre Dame has worked through the school year (very well, with minimal interruptions) and felt hopeful about the remaining months.
Every exposure Sunday, every interaction, was done with willful intent to make all guests feel welcome. There was a collective effort to try as hard they could and to embrace problems, rather than succumb to them.
Contrast this with some of the notes I’ve gotten from other school officials when inquiring about spectators.
“We might be able to accommodate but no promises”
“No fans at this time”
“These are difficult times we are in”
“Our situation is unique here”
“Hard cap”
Really? Is it that hard or is it more about your lack of desire to make it work?
(Some of these answers from administrators remind me of Gov. Pritzker last fall when he would be asked at press conferences why Illinois was locking down restaurants, not allowing sports to be played despite the fact surrounding states were doing so and doing so capably. He’d defiantly say, “well, I guess those states don’t care about the safety of well being of their citizens as much as we do.” No, I don’t that’s it, Gov. I think you and your hidden agendas are the problem. That’s proven to be true)
I wrote last week about how Chicagoland schools are handling spectators at sporting events this winter. For the most part, there is a collective want to allow for parents to see their kids play. After attending two events in four days, I still believe that.
But parents have reason to be upset over some of these limitations. Mundelein parents should have been allowed to attend the game Sunday. There was plenty of room. I’m not criticizing Notre Dame, it was following guidelines. But those guidelines should be re-examined as Covid cases continue to trend downward and vaccine distribution and dosing becomes more streamlined and available. A one-size-fits-all approach to ensure the ‘health and safety’ of all involved is unimaginative and should be rejected in February 2021.
Following mitigations is one thing. But the attitude with which school officials take on the task of hosting events is another, and that is controllable. And I have questions about the chain of command within school districts tasked to enforce public health guidelines. Are superintendents leaving it up to the athletic director? Is it a collaborative decision? Because if left to one individual, that creates an environment where the whims and idiosycratic quirks of that person directly effects the rightful experience of others. That’s fine when running a private business, but not with a public-funded entity like a school. If an athletic director or superintendent is fearful of hosting a sporting event (or prefers the school isn’t playing sports at all this winter, which is the case with many) then that is their problem. They should stay home under a blanket with the blinds drawn. Let someone else run the show. It’s shameful that the personal discomfort or anxiety of a school official should impair the experience of a parent or fan from watching a game live, when public health guidelines permit them being allowed to do so. I’ve seen enough now to believe that this is the case (personal discretion over public responsibility) at some schools. Not so much in denying parents attendance (that is the case with District 207 and 219, embarrassingly so) but more of an attitude, where rather than approach it with the mentality of ‘let’s do this the right way and give our fans a special experience tonight,’ instead it’s ‘let’s just get through this so I won’t get a call from the lawyers on Monday.’ That’s bullshit. Stay home if you’re afraid. Otherwise, do your job and do it like I’ve seen at Woodland Middle School and Notre Dame College Prep, with a smile, a polite hello and with community and fellowship.
That’s not too much to ask, is it?
Now on to the game.
What a game it was. Felt like a sectional final, minus the thousands of screaming fans of course.
In a year with a state tournament, Mundelein would likely be locking up a No. 1 sectional seed on Feb. 14. But there is no state tournament and only so many days on the calendar before the March 13 ‘hard cap’ date to end 2020-21 season.
That’s why Mustangs head coach Matt Badgley, once given an all clear to play games and do so within a 30 mile campus radius, gave his player’s license to pick teams they wanted to play.
“We told the kids when we could go 30 miles out, within five minutes we had our players on the horn with other players saying ‘who do you want to play?’ Badgley said.
One of those ‘who do you want to play games’ from Mundelein players was Notre Dame. The Dons reciprocated and the DIY matchup was scheduled.
Mundelein is a senior-dominated team with two stars—guard Conor Enright and big Scottie Ebube—who were on the court for Badgley when he coached his first varsity game for the Mustangs in November of 2017.
The inside-out chemistry of Enright and Ebube was too much for Notre Dame to control Sunday and Mundelein ran away from the Dons late to win 51-42.
At 6-foot-9, Ebube is a true center and at times Sunday, handled the ball in the open court like a mid-90’s version of former NBA-great Shaquille O’Neal. Ebube did most of his damage around the rim, grabbing 14 rebounds and scoring 12 points.
Enright is a wiry yet powerful guard with a competitive streak to match a firebolt first bounce when driving the basket. Enright scored 15 points but his defense on Notre Dame’s Louis Lesmond, a Harvard recruit, was arguably just as vital to the team’s victory. Lesmond may have finished with 22 points, but Enright and the Mustangs collapsing defense late in the fourth quarter contributed to the Dons being held scoreless for the final five minutes.
“They (Mundelein) pack the paint and they are well-coached,” Lesmond said, a teammate of Enright’s with the AAU Illinois Wolves. “These types of games, every possession counts.”
Teams that make it to Peoria (the site of the state championships) have stars and complementary pieces. The heart of Mundelein is Enright/Ebube but seniors Trey Baker, Jack Bikus, Syam Atade and Chris Rooney make up its other vital organs. With an impact sophomore in Chris Martin, this 2021 Mustangs team is the best North Suburban Conference team I’ve seen since the Jalen Brunson-led Stevenson Patriots won the Class 4A state title in 2014-15.
That Patriots team got the once-in-a-lifetime experience finishing its season in Peoria (in the Patriots case, they made it three years in a row from 2012-2015). This Mustangs team won’t have the chance to create those memories.
Badgley and his players are not thinking about that absence of finality right now.
“It almost feels like farewell tours when you have a senior-laden team,” Badgley said. “We’re not worried about wins and losses. You’re really not.”
Said Enright: “It’s just awesome playing with Scottie and (other teammates). I’ll take it over nothing. I’m loving it.”
Said Ebube: “We are a family and I love playing with these guys and will take them over anyone.”
The chemistry of this group of Mustangs showed on the game’s final play, when Enright had possession and heard a collective chorus from nearby teammates.
“Everyone was saying ‘lob’ and we were up enough (leading by nine) and time was running out and I just decided to do it,” Enright said.
The ‘it’ was a lob from Enright, the ball intentionally banked off the backboard, scooped up by Ebube and sent down for a thunderous dunk as time expired.
The relative silence that concluded the final buzzer (other than a few whoops and cheers from Mustang players) was another reminder of the weirdness and duality of emotions that comes with sports in 2020-21.
(Notre Dame’s head coach Kevin Clancy said the lack of fans had some impact on the Sunday’s game, “our student body is one of the best around and this place is really loud when it’s packed. I don’t know if it’s an advantage for them but it takes away our advantage at least.”)
Saturday night, Mundelein beat conference rival Stevenson 63-34 before a public health-mandated sparse crowd of around 100, that number including players, coaches and game officials.
“The fans bring that electricity to the building and we miss them,” Baker said, who committed to Maryville University (St. Louis) Monday. “This is just a big step for our team to build momentum towards conference play and chase our goal for a conference championship.”
That’s all Mundelein and Notre Dame (East Suburban Catholic Conference) can earn this shortened season, a conference championship.
But they deserve a heckuva a lot more.