Category: News
Ronald Johnson makes coast-to-coast layup at 4.6 second left as Mount Carmel tops Brother Rice. ‘Unselfishly.’
Mount Carmel’s Ronald Johnson created his own runway in landing a spectacular finish.
The freshman point guard looked up and saw the time remaining on the clock Friday night. He knew that the Caravan trailed Brother Rice by one point. And he knew exactly what he had to do.
He initiated a one-man fast break.
“I got the rebound off the missed free throw,” Johnson said. “We just had to score as fast as possible. I think of my game as flashy but also simple. I like to get downhill with the ball.”
Indeed, Johnson drove coast to coast for the game-winning layup with 4.6 seconds left as Mount Carmel pulled off a 42-41 Catholic League Blue win over the host Crusaders in Chicago.
Johnson finished with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots for Mount Carmel (17-10, 5-3). Sophomore guard Marshaun Thornton scored a game-high 13 points.
Mount Carmel’s Ronald Johnson (10) goes coast to coast for the winning basket against Brother Rice during a Catholic League Blue game in Chicago on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown)
Senior forward Joe Niego picked up 12 points and eight rebounds for Brother Rice (20-10, 3-5). Junior forward Adam McBrearty, a transfer from Mount Carmel, added 11 points and six rebounds.
Up 41-40 with 10 seconds remaining, Brother Rice missed two free throws, setting the backdrop for Johnson’s highlight-reel basket.
“That’s just Ron,” Thornton said. “You can expect anything out of him because he’s just a great player. Big-time players make big-time plays. You already see the playmaking.
“(Friday night) he passed up open shots just to get better shots.”
Mount Carmel coach Phil Segroves, left, gives a high-five to Ronald Johnson (10) after beating Brother Rice in a Catholic League Blue game in Chicago on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown)
Mount Carmel coach Phil Segroves pointed out that Johnson has learned to connect his natural talent to the moment.
“He’s an elite player, but now he’s learning how to play high school basketball,” Segroves said of Johnson. “He’s only 15 years old, but he wants the ball in his hands.
“Unselfishly, he feels that he can make the plays for us.”
The 6-foot-3 Johnson, explosive and athletic, has the positional versatility and flexibility to play either on or off the ball. With his size, range and reach, his game is built for mismatches.
Mount Carmel’s Ronald Johnson (10) drives to the basket as Brother Rice’s Charlie Wizgird (13) defends during a Catholic League Blue game in Chicago on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown)
“That’s always the ultimate goal,” Johnson said. “To create a disadvantage for the opposite team so I can use my size and my wingspan.”
Johnson stepped into the void after Mount Carmel was hit by multiple transfers and graduation losses from last season’s supersectional qualifier.
The early opportunities accelerated his growth curve.
“I think if I didn’t have all the playing time I got at the start, I wouldn’t have developed how I am now,” he said. “Coming from grammar school or AAU basketball, I learned you have to be patient.
“In high school, you have to slow it down and get the best shot. Every possession is crucial.”
Johnson has also demonstrated an impressive range of interests that paints a fuller portrait.
Mount Carmel’s Ronald Johnson (10) takes a shot as Brother Rice’s Charlie Wizgird (13) during a Catholic League Blue game in Chicago on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown)
“I played drums and percussion in a drumline and I was really good at it,” he said. “I also play piano. I really love plants, nature and outdoor stuff.
“I think my outside hobbies help bring more interest and show I’m not one-dimensional.”
Johnson comes from a family of basketball players, ranging from his siblings to his father and uncle and nieces and nephews.
“When I was younger, I used to play against my sister and my whole family used to beat me,” he said. “I’ve always played against older guys. I think that has helped with my competitiveness.”
On top of that, Johnson has the perfect mentor in Tracy Abrams, the former Mount Carmel and Illinois standout who’s in his first year with the program as an assistant coach.
“I’ve known him since the fifth grade when I started going to his camps,” Johnson said of Abrams. “I really became who I am by starting so young, and I’ve grown as I grew up with the game.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/13/ronald-johnson-mount-carmel-brother-rice/
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis and Team Vince win Rising Stars event at NBA All-Star weekend
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — V.J. Edgecombe seems quietly confident he’ll be at an NBA All-Star weekend quite soon to play in the main event.
Until that day arrives, the Philadelphia 76ers rookie celebrated his first trip to this midseason showcase with two game-ending scores and an MVP trophy in the Rising Stars event.
Edgecombe led Team Vince to victory in the kickoff event for the NBA All-Star weekend Friday night, scoring 17 points in the semifinal before hitting two free throws to ice the final.
“We all wanted to compete, and I wanted to win,” Edgecombe said. “I really hate losing, and we had a chance to win it all, so why not go out there and win?”
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis, making his third straight appearance in the Rising Stars event, scored six points in the semifinal and four in the final for Team Vince. Buzelis previously was selected with G League Ignite in 2024 and as a Bulls rookie last year.
The NBA’s rookies, sophomores and G League prospects opened the All-Star weekend at the Los Angeles Clippers’ Intuit Dome with this four-team tournament of three games played to a set point total.
While Edgecombe was the most impactful player, he didn’t have the most memorable bucket: San Antonio guard Dylan Harper ended the first semifinal by scoring the game-winner over Ron Harper Jr., his older brother.
Dylan Harper then scored eight more points in the final for Team Melo while teaming up with his Spurs teammate, Stephon Castle, last season’s Rookie of the Year and Rising Stars MVP.
Castle made a putback dunk off Jeremiah Fears’ miss to pull Team Melo within one point of victory, but Edgecombe drew a foul from Donovan Clingan and coolly hit both free throws to end it at 25-24.
Edgecombe was motivated by the presence of his 76ers backcourt mate, All-Star Tyrese Maxey, who watched from courtside.
“He (said) he ain’t coming to watch if I ain’t going to play hard,” Edgecombe said. “I was like, ‘Man, I’m going to play hard so at least it’s not a waste of his time.’”
Indeed, the lackadaisical efforts that have plagued the All-Star Game in recent years wasn’t nearly as prevalent in this Rising Stars showcase, and Edgecombe said that’s largely because of the motivational efforts of the four NBA veterans who led the teams: Vince Carter, Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady and Austin Rivers.
When the vets were picking their teams two weeks ago, Edgecombe told Carter to choose him if he wanted to win.
“(Carter) was telling us, ‘Just go! Just go! Keep playing hard!’” Edgecombe said. “And we feed off of that. We just started rolling.”
Edgecombe scored nearly half of his team’s 41 points — including the last 10 in a row — while winning the second semifinal. Edgecombe didn’t have to carry his team in the final, but the No. 3 pick in last year’s draft still scored its final four points.
Family feud
Dylan Harper called game in the first semifinal with a succession of moves that could have been learned on the driveway at home, bullying Ron Jr. into the paint before hitting a step-back jumper.
Dylan stuck out his tongue in gleeful celebration of only his second basket in the semifinal, and their famous father laughed heartily at courtside.
Ron Jr., a Celtics prospect with 21 games of NBA experience, is six years older than Dylan, the No. 2 pick in last summer’s draft — but the kid brother knew he could do it.
“You think I’ve never beat him one-on-one (before)?” Dylan asked with mock exasperation.
Flagg down
The Rising Stars game wasn’t a full showcase of the NBA’s top young talent because No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg dropped out of the game due to injury, as did Washington’s Alex Sarr and Memphis’ Cedric Coward.
Edgecombe hit three 3-pointers during his scoring barrage in the first semifinal to win his duel with Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel, who scored just four points. The two rookies are the only serious contenders with Flagg for the Rookie of the Year award.
Hometown hero
The event got off to a rousing start when Clippers prospect Yanic Konan Niederhäuser dunked a lob from Ron Harper Jr. for the first basket of the night. The Swiss big man drafted last summer by the All-Star weekend hosts got raucous cheers from the fans in The Wall, an extra-steep supporters section installed at Intuit Dome by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer.
Niederhäuser led his losing team with 11 points in the first semifinal.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/13/matas-buzelis-chicago-bulls-nba-rising-stars/
Basketball and local scores for the Southland, Aurora, Elgin, Naperville and Lake County
High school and local college results and highlights from the Southland, Aurora, Elgin, Naperville and Lake County coverage areas.
Email Daily Southtown results to southtownsports@gmail.com, Beacon-News, Courier-News and Naperville Sun results to tribwestsports@gmail.com and News-Sun results to newssunsports@gmail.com.
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
HIGH SCHOOLS
BOYS BASKETBALL
Batavia 60, St. Charles East 36
Benet 64, Nazareth 31
Bloom 60, Thornton 58
Bloom (14-12, 6-6 Southland): Kaden McClellan 16 points, 7 assists. Meechie Boswell 13 points, 6 rebounds.
Thornton (11-13, 7-5): Dakari Nesbitt 28 points. DeAndre Higgs 14 points.
Burlington Central 61, Hampshire 51
Crystal Lake South 74, Jacobs 42
De La Salle 61, Riverside-Brookfield 47
De La Salle (13-15): Steph Dixon 14 points. Carlos Cueva 12 points. Lucas Johnson 11 points.
Eisenhower 70, Reavis 63
Eisenhower (7-19, 4-8 SSC Red): Larnell Moore 27 points.
Geneva 62, Wheaton North 47
Geneva (22-6, 8-4 DuKane): Ben Peterson 17 points.
Glenbard North 75, St. Charles North 51
Grayslake North 53, Antioch 37
Grayslake North (10-18, 3-10 Northern Lake County): Rees Jorden 13 points. Jared Von Donselaar 12 points.
Antioch (5-23, 1-12): Chance Parsons 12 points. Miles Marabella 10 points.
Hillcrest 60, Lemont 49
Hinckley-Big Rock 65, Newark 48
Hinckley-Big Rock (19-7, 8-0 Little Ten): Luke Badal 18 points. Marshall Ledbetter 17 points.
Newark (15-14, 8-1): Reggie Chapman 15 points, 4 assists. Jimmy Kath 10 points. Cody Kulbartz 9 points, 9 rebounds.
Homewood-Flossmoor 63, Lincoln-Way East 54
H-F (24-3, 14-1 SWSC): Marvin Douglas 17 points, 10 rebounds. Darrius Hawkins Jr. 10 points, 5 assists. Danny Ruffin 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists.
Indian Creek 56, Leland 52
Indian Creek (21-5, 7-2 Little Ten): Logan Schrader 18 points. Payton Hueber 13 points. Parker Murry 11 points.
Kaneland 53, Morris 22
Lake Forest 57, Mundelein 37
Lake Forest (11-16, 5-8 North Suburban): Dominic Mordini 15 points, 9 rebounds. John White 14 points.
Lake Zurich 50, Stevenson 27
Lake Zurich (13-14, 6-7 North Suburban): Kain Kretschmar 21 points. Adrian Riep 14 points.
Stevenson (19-9, 8-5): Cohen Ottaviano 9 points.
Lakes 69, Grant 62
Lakes (16-9, 9-4 Northern Lake County): Ben Newcomb 27 points. Carter Martin 17 points. Dorian Pullen 12 points.
Grant (13-11, 9-4): D.J. Stitts 16 points. Damarrion Smith 16 points. Charles Schlict 14 points.
Larkin 64, Bartlett 56
Lincoln-Way Central 38, Stagg 37
Lincoln-Way Central (19-9, 10-5 SWSC): Nick Brzezniak 10 points; tying and GW FTs with 8.3 seconds remaining. Alex Panos 11 points.
Stagg (13-14, 5-10): Dovydas Zuperka 12 points, 5 rebounds. Petar Zoko 11 points, 8 rebounds.
Lincoln-Way West 51, Bradley-Bourbonnais 44
Lincoln-Way West (14-16, 5-11 SWSC): Eiden Kubilius 18 points. Aiden Bach 12 points. Drake Been 10 points.
Lockport 62, Andrew 36
Lockport (23-5, 12-3 SWSC): Nedas Venckus 19 points, 5 steals. Nojus Venckus 12 points, 5 rebounds. Trace Schaaf 10 points.
McHenry 55, Dundee-Crown 35
Dundee-Crown (5-19, 2-14 Fox Valley): Rasheed Trice 17 points.
Marist 64, Joliet Catholic 49
Marmion 62, Leo 51
Marmion (17-11, 6-2 CCL White): Joey Kramer 20 points, 9 rebounds. Ali Tharwani 13 points, 6 assists.
Leo (21-6, 7-1): Brian Kizer 15 points. Jeremiah Echols 11 points.
Metea Valley 59, Naperville Central 45
Mount Carmel 42, Brother Rice 41
Naperville North 61, Waubonsie Valley 49
Naperville North (23-6, 8-1 DuPage Valley): Miles Okyne 15 points.
Neuqua Valley 84, DeKalb 61
Niles North 78, Highland Park 56
Highland Park (6-22, 1-9 Central Suburban North): David Isaacson 11 points. Gray Kanter 11 points.
Niles Notre Dame 77, Marian Catholic 67
North Chicago 67, Round Lake 47
Oak Forest 80, T.F. North 48
Oak Forest (20-9, 11-1 SSC Blue): Hayden Noha 15 points. Xavier Haynes 14 points.
Oswego 65, Oswego East 58 (OT)
Plano 73, Harvard 37
Plano (17-12, 9-4 Kishwaukee River): Kevin Martinez 17 points, 9 rebounds. Jayden Zepeda 12 points, 3 steals.
Providence-St. Mel 44, Providence 42
Richards 56, Argo 48
Richards (16-12, 8-4 SSC Red): Messiah Horton 29 points, 3 steals. Travon Gourdine 16 points, 4 assists.
Argo (7-21, 4-9): Adrian Lee-Horton 19 points. Darron Greer Jr. 15 points.
St. Laurence 77, Southland Prep 54
St. Laurence (23-6): Reggie Stevens 17 points. Markese Peoples 13 points. Jacob Johnson 13 points. Noah Corro 11 points.
St. Rita 83, Montini 75
St. Rita (12-17, 4-4 CCL White): Eze Nwagwu 20 points. Blake Lisula 16 points. Mike Flynn 14 points.
Sandwich 56, Woodstock North 46
Sandwich (10-19, 5-8 Kishwaukee River): Nick Michalek 17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists. Brady Behringer 14 points, 7 rebounds. Griffin Somlock 11 points.
Shepard 75, Evergreen Park 60
Shepard (15-14, 7-5 SSC Red): Billy Massey 20 points, 5 rebounds. Peter Primbas 17 points, 4 assists. Amari Williams 11 points, 7 rebounds.
Evergreen (8-16, 3-9): Lenear Bolden 18 points.
Somonauk 63, LaMoille 41
Somonauk (8-21, 4-5 Little Ten): Owen Hopkins 18 points. Landin Stilwell 17 points.
Thornwood 68, Thornridge 53
Vernon Hills 71, Maine East 68 (OT)
Vernon Hills (19-9, 8-2 Central Suburban North): Brady Larsen 23 points. Jeremy Zamost 16 points. Graham Lis 10 points.
Warren 82, Libertyville 49
Warren (26-2, 13-0 North Suburban): Joel Paasch 17 points. Braylon Walker 17 points. Jaxson Davis 16 points.
Wauconda 57, Grayslake Central 50
Wauconda (22-7, 12-1 Northern Lake County): Austin Carlsen 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 blocks. Tony Salemi 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists. Won conference title.
Grayslake Central (20-9, 10-3): Alex Granville 16 points. Carson Woods 15 points. Cole Halverson 10 points.
Waukegan 81, Zion-Benton 52
Waukegan (21-7, 10-3 North Suburban): Carter Newsome 20 points. Rico Love 15 points. Adrian Serrano 12 points.
West Aurora 55, South Elgin 50
Yorkville Christian 76, U-High 30
Yorkville Christian (17-10): Jayden Alford 16 points. Tray Alford 15 points.
RIVER VALLEY TOURNAMENT
Beecher 57, Tri-Point 55, fifth
Beecher (6-21): Wences Baumgartner 12 points, 12 rebounds. Dominic DeFrank 12 points.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Crystal Lake South 61, Jacobs 43
Jacobs (13-16, 8-10 Fox Valley): Sarina Acheatel 14 points.
Dundee-Crown 40, McHenry 27
Dundee-Crown (6-25, 5-13 Fox Valley): Kate Graham 15 points.
Marist 48, St. Ignatius 46
LOCAL COLLEGES
BASEBALL
Cumberland (Tenn.) 10, St. Francis 7
Lewis 4, Cedarville (Ohio) 2
St. Xavier 7-8, Health Sciences (Mo.) 2-0
Trinity Christian 6, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 2
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
St. Xavier 69, Calumet (Ind.) 37
THURSDAY’S RESULTS
HIGH SCHOOLS
BOYS BASKETBALL
Alden-Hebron 54, Harvest-Westminster 51
Bremen 61, T.F. South 59 (OT)
Bremen (14-17, 7-6 SSC Blue): Kishawn Gantt 25 points. Jalen Clardy 24 points.
Timothy Christian 50, Aurora Christian 49
Aurora Christian (18-6, 5-4 Chicagoland Christian): Jacob Bauman 27 points.
CHICAGO PUBLIC LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Kenwood 56, Morgan Park 51
Morgan Park (16-7): Jacque Lewis 13 points. Geonnye Bennett 11 points.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Andrew 52, Lincoln-Way East 50
Andrew (18-11, 9-7 SWSC): Ana Cisek 21 points.
Argo 59, Richards 52
Argo (19-12, 5-8 SSC Red): Morgan Murphy 20 points. Zanarhia Lawrence 19 points.
Bolingbrook 60, Yorkville 38
Yorkville (12-15, 6-9 Southwest Prairie West): Macie Jones 10 points. Hayden Hodges 10 points.
Byron 56, St. Edward 41
Evergreen Park 55, Shepard 43
Evergreen (25-6, 11-2 SSC Red): Ella Throndson 22 points.
Geneva 47, Sycamore 37
Hillcrest 54, Lemont 42
Kaneland 42, Oswego 36
Kankakee 66, Crete-Monee 64
Lockport 50, York 42
Lockport (22-9): Addie Way 19 points, 4 rebounds. Evelyn Ingram 15 points, 4 rebounds. Katie Peetz 10 rebounds, 6 blocks.
Nazareth 83, Lincoln-Way West 32
North Shore 62, Morgan Park Academy 42
Parkview Christian 65, Rosary 27
St. Charles North 59, Wheaton St. Francis 42
St. Laurence 55, Lincoln-Way Central 42
T.F. North 60, Oak Forest 32
T.F. North (20-9, 11-2 SSC Blue): Lauryn Jackson 27 points, 10 rebounds. Kamariyah McClinton 12 points. Natalie McGhee 9 points, 11 rebounds.
Trinity 55, Neuqua Valley 52
Washington (Ill.) 71, Waubonsie Valley 58
RIVER VALLEY TOURNAMENT
Beecher 39, Grace Christian 13, third
Compiled by Josh Krockey.
Edgecombe guía al Equipo Vince a victoria en Duelo de Estrellas Ascendentes de la NBA
Por GREG BEACHAM
INGLEWOOD, California, EE.UU. (AP) — El novato de Filadelfia V.J. Edgecombe condujo el viernes al Equipo Vince a la victoria en el Duelo de Estrellas Ascendentes, de la NBA.
Edgecombe anotó 17 puntos en la semifinal, antes de encestar dos tiros libres para sentenciar la final. El duelo se enmarca en el fin de semana del Juego de Estrellas
Dylan Harper, escolta de San Antonio, cerró la primera semifinal de manera memorable al anotar la canasta ganadora sobre Ron Harper Jr., su hermano mayor.
Luego, Dylan Harper anotó ocho puntos en la final para el Equipo Melo, en la que se asoció con su compañero de los Spurs, Stephon Castle, el Novato del Año pasado.
Castle efectuó una volcada tras un rebote ofensivo luego de un tiro fallado por Jeremiah Fears para dejar al Equipo Melo a un punto de la victoria en la final. Sin embargo, Edgecombe provocó una falta de Donovan Clingan y, con sangre fría, convirtió ambos tiros libres para terminarlo con un marcador de 25-24.
Edgecombe fue elegido el Jugador Más Valioso del Duelo de Estrellas en Ascenso.
Los novatos, jugadores de segundo año y prospectos de la G League de la NBA abrieron el fin de semana del Juego de Estrellas en el Intuit Dome, casa de los Clippers de Los Ángeles, con este microtorneo de cuatro equipos y tres partidos disputados hasta un total de puntos predeterminado.
Dylan Harper sentenció el partido en la primera semifinal con una sucesión de movimientos que bien podrían haberse aprendido en calle, imponiéndose físicamente ante Ron Jr. en la pintura antes de encestar un tiro en suspensión con un paso atrás. Dylan sacó la lengua en una celebración jubilosa por apenas su segunda canasta en la semifinal, y su famoso padre se rio a carcajadas a pie de cancha.
Edgecombe anotó casi la mitad de los 41 puntos de su equipo —incluidos los últimos 10 de manera consecutiva— al ganar la segunda semifinal para preparar un duelo entre los equipos liderados por las grandes figuras retiradas de la NBA Vince Carter y Carmelo Anthony.
El duelo no fue una exhibición completa del mejor talento joven de la NBA porque la primera selección del draft, Cooper Flagg, se ausentó por lesión, al igual que Alex Sarr, de Washington, y Cedric Coward, de Memphis.
Edgecombe encestó tres triples durante su ráfaga anotadora en la primera semifinal para ganar su duelo con Kon Knueppel, de Charlotte, quien anotó apenas cuatro puntos. Los dos novatos son los únicos aspirantes serios, junto con Flagg, al premio de Novato del Año.
El evento arrancó de forma espectacular, cuando el prospecto de los Clippers Yanic Konan Niederhäuser logró una clavada tras un pase bombeado de Ron Harper Jr. para la primera canasta de la noche. El pívot suizo, seleccionado en el draft el verano pasado por los anfitriones del fin de semana del Juego de Estrellas, recibió una ovación estruendosa de los aficionados en The Wall, una zona de seguidores instalada por el dueño de los Clippers, Steve Ballmer.
Niederhäuser lideró a su equipo, que terminó perdiendo, con 11 puntos en la primera semifinal.
_____
Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Admittedly green at start of season, sophomore Ja’Sean Greene gets going for Hillcrest. ‘Some ups and downs.’
Hillcrest’s Ja’Sean Greene has made a believer out of at least one of his teammates.
The 6-foot-2 sophomore guard was promoted to play on the varsity this season for the Hawks, but but senior point guard Jamir Ratliff wasn’t sure what to expect in the beginning.
“The first time I saw him?” Ratliff said of Greene. “Hmm, he had a lot of energy. He was bouncing and stuff like that. I didn’t think he was going to be good like this. He surprised me.”
But lately, Greene’s success is no surprise.
He scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half and then added five rebounds and a steal Friday night, helping to power Hillcrest to a 60-49 South Suburban Blue victory over host Lemont.
Ratliff, who passed the 1,000-point mark for his career, picked up the scoring slack for Hillcrest (19-7, 12-0) with 10 of his 17 points in the second half. Terrence Richardson tallied 10 rebounds.
Hillcrest’s Ja’Sean Greene (3) drives around the tight defense of Lemont’s Zane Schneider during a South Suburban Blue game in Lemont on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Jon Cunningham / Daily Southtown)
Zane Schneider led Lemont (15-12, 9-3) with 22 points. Ryan Crane made three 3-pointers for nine points.
Greene, meanwhile, confirmed that he might have been a little green when the season started. He was coming off playing football and looking to get into basketball shape.
“I had some ups and downs,” Greene said. “It was definitely hard getting used to the speed.”
Now, he’s found his comfort zone for the Hawks. And Hillcrest coach Don Houston pointed out that Greene has been starting to play with a lot of confidence.
Hillcrest’s Ja’Sean Greene (3) splits Lemont’s defense on a drive to the basket during a South Suburban Blue game in Lemont on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Jon Cunningham / Daily Southtown)
Greene came to the Hawks from Prairie-Hills Junior High, which capped off a 26-1 record for its eighth-grade team by winning the Illinois Elementary School Association’s Class 4A state title.
“In junior high, he was always the third guy,” Houston said of Greene. “He was the third wheel.”
The first two wheels?
Homewood-Flossmoor star Darrius Hawkins Jr. and Rich Township’s Jeremiah Weatherford.
Hillcrest’s Ja’Sean Greene (3) pushes the ball up the court as Lemont’s Julian Overton (5) defends during a South Suburban Blue game in Lemont on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Jon Cunningham / Daily Southtown)
“We had to get him out of that third-wheel mentality,” Houston said of Greene. “I want him to have that mentality of, ‘I’m as good as anyone on the floor.’
“Ja’Sean played the third wheel with those guys, so now he is becoming his own man.”
Friday night’s game did not start out the way Greene and his teammates wanted, however.
Lemont came out strong and posted a 19-9 lead after the first quarter. Greene’s eight points in the second quarter helped the Hawks close things up, but they still trailed 29-28 at halftime.
The Hawks tightened up defensively in the second half as Lemont went 12 minutes with only a field goal and seven free throws.
“Defense is important and we work hard on it every day,” Greene said.
“When it’s all said and done, you can score points, but our focus is to try to way to stop them,” Houston said. “We can to a good job on that when we want to.”
The win gives the Hawks at least a share of the conference championship. They could win the title outright Tuesday night on the road against Oak Forest (20-9, 11-1).
Hillcrest’s Ja’Sean Greene (3) powers past Lemont’s Sean Murray on a drive during a South Suburban Blue game in Lemont on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Jon Cunningham / Daily Southtown)
After that, Hillcrest will dive into the playoffs. The host Hawks are seeded second in Class 3A Hillcrest Sectional behind Leo and open action on Feb. 23 at the Crete-Monee Regional.
Greene, who is looking forward to his first postseason since eighth grade, enjoys his teammates at Hillcrest. And the feeling appears to be mutual.
“I like everything about this team,” he said. “I like how hard we play.”
Greene started out in basketball in sixth grade. He noted that his grandfather got him involved.
It’s been a love affair with the sport ever since for Greene.
“I like playing basketball because it gets me out of the house and makes me feel good,” he said.
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/13/jasean-greene-hillcrest-lemont-boys-basketball/
Rome Flynn repite como el Más Valioso del Juego de Celebridades; Equipo Giannis triunfa por 65-58
Por BETH HARRIS
INGLEWOOD, California, EE.UU. (AP) — El actor Rome Flynn obtuvo los honores de Jugador Más Valioso por segundo año consecutivo en el Juego de Celebridades de la NBA, al anotar 17 puntos para guiar el viernes a un equipo dirigido por Giannis Antetokounmpo hacia una victoria por 65-58.
El comediante Anthony Anderson fungió como entrenador del equipo perdedor, liderado por el exjugador de la NBA Tacko Fall, de 2,29 metros, con 20 puntos.
El partido marcó el regreso del baloncesto al Forum, sede de la era “Showtime” de los Lakers de Los Ángeles hasta 1999, cuando se mudaron 16 kilómetros al centro de la ciudad. Ahora tiene un nombre de patrocinador distinto bajo Steve Ballmer, dueño de los Clippers de Los Ángeles, y se utiliza principalmente como recinto de conciertos y entretenimiento.
El K-pop debutó en el partido con la actuación del grupo masculino CORTIS en el descanso.
Victor Wembanyama lanzó el balón para el salto inicial entre Jenna Bandy, del Equipo Giannis, y Adrien Nunez, del Equipo Anthony, quien tomó el control, recibió una falta y falló su primer tiro.
Bandy, deportista famosa en las redes sociales, fue la única mujer en el quinteto inicial de cualquiera de los dos equipos.
El Equipo Giannis tuvo una enorme ventaja en la pintura. Fall capturó la mayoría de los rebotes. Su clavada dejó el partido con una diferencia de un punto en el tercer cuarto.
El actor y cantante chino Dylan Wang provocó los gritos más fuertes de la noche, especialmente después de encestar disparos consecutivos en el primer cuarto para el Equipo Giannis.
Dos de los jugadores de mayor edad en la cancha fueron el dueño de los Suns de Phoenix, Mat Ishbia (46 años), y Rick Schnall (cincuenta y tantos), quien forma parte del grupo propietario de los Hornets de Charlotte.
Schnall le cometió una falta a Ishbia en el primer cuarto. Ishbia convirtió los tiros libres, en una remembranza de sus días como jugador en Michigan State.
Keenan Allen, estrella de los Chargers de Los Ángeles, encestó un tiro lejano desde la línea roja, blanca y azul que valía 4 puntos para el Equipo Anthony. Eso desató una ráfaga de puntos del receptor abierto en el segundo cuarto.
Terminó con 18 unidades.
Las mascotas de los Hornets y los Mavericks se alternaron como suplentes, limitados a jugar un rato en la zona de la línea de fondo en el tercer cuarto.
Fuera de acción desde el 23 de enero por una distensión en la pantorrilla, Antetokounmpo no participará en el Juego de las Estrellas previsto para el domingo.
Pero el dos veces Jugador Más Valioso de la NBA contó con la ayuda de sus hermanos Thanasis y Alex el viernes. Otro asistente fue el campocorto de los Dodgers de Los Ángeles, Mookie Betts.
El exjugador de la NBA Jeremy Lin atribuyó a Betts un inspirador discurso en el descanso. Lin comentó: “Definitivamente sabe mucho de baloncesto”.
El partido marcó el inicio de las actividades previstas para el fin de semana de la NBA.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Jaden Matthews-Thomas rebounds, literally, as West Aurora takes Upstate Eight West title. ‘Just love winning.’
By the middle of the season, junior guard Jaden Matthews-Thomas had already established himself as a consistent cog for West Aurora.
Flash forward to the end of the season. Matthews-Thomas is firmly entrenched as the Blackhawks’ second option behind junior guard Travis Brown and he’s consistently making big plays.
“Just making winning plays so my team can win,” Matthews-Thomas said. “I just love winning. Whatever plays I can make for my team to win, I’m going to make them.”
Matthews-Thomas made a bunch of them Friday night.
He scored 11 points, none bigger than a rebound putback with 2:15 left in the fourth quarter that gave West Aurora the lead for good in a 55-50 Upstate Eight West victory at South Elgin.
While Matthews-Thomas had his fingerprints all over the win for West Aurora (18-12, 11-1), Brown led the way, of course, with a game-high 23 points to go along with six steals.
West Aurora’s Jaden Matthews-Thomas (22) slips past South Elgin’s Ilija Babic (25) and Sam Mirante (5) in the third quarter of an Upstate Eight West game in South Elgin on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (H. Rick Bamman / The Beacon-News)
South Elgin (10-20, 9-3) was paced by 18 points from Massimo Nalbono, who also had five assists. Larry Smith added 10 points. Ilija Babic had nine points and four blocked shots.
Matthews-Thomas, meanwhile, made key plays down the stretch as the Blackhawks clinched the Upstate Eight West title.
“He’s an all-conference player for us,” West Aurora coach Mike Fowler said. “He comes with energy, attacks the basket. He’s just trying to stay consistent doing that. Hopefully he can keep doing that the rest of the season.”
South Elgin led 44-40 early in the fourth before Matthews-Thomas found Brown for a 3-pointer. After Jordan Weeks forced a 47-47 tie with a layup, Matthews-Thomas scored off a rebound.
West Aurora’s Jaden Matthews-Thomas (22) drives into South Elgin’s Larry Smith (11) in the third quarter of an Upstate Eight West game in South Elgin on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (H. Rick Bamman / The Beacon-News)
That’s a signature part of Matthew-Thomas’ game and it gave the lead for good to the Blackhawks, who finished off the win at the free-throw line.
Fowler, meanwhile, is happy Matthews-Thomas isn’t letting the recognition go to his head. Instead, he has continued to work hard and build upon those blocks to become an emerging star.
“We need his defensive effort,” Fowler said of Matthews-Thomas. “He’s a pretty good offensive rebounder, too. He puts pressure on teams just by being active. He’s got more game in him.
“What he normally does out there helps us out. Hopefully, he can keep doing what he’s doing and keep flourishing and being aggressive.”
West Aurora’s Richard Bell Jr. (15) makes a layup against South Elgin during the first quarter of an Upstate Eight West game in South Elgin on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (H. Rick Bamman / The Beacon-News)
Brown also made some dynamic plays on offense to fuel West Aurora’s rally. In the fourth quarter alone, he hit a 3-pointer and converted two baskets off steals — one a dunk and one a layup.
“Brown is so good,” South Elgin coach Ryan Storm said. “We lost him a couple times. We had some different rules in terms of transition, and he’s too fast sometimes to even take a foul.”
Still, the Storm were competitive Friday night after losing 74-42 to West Aurora on Dec. 9. South Elgin actually held the lead for most of the game before having it slip away late.
“They were here to fight for something,” Fowler said of the Storm. “They really wanted to share that conference title with us. We talked about it coming out. I don’t know where our energy level or where our focus was at, but we stuck with it.”
West Aurora’s Jaden Matthews-Thomas (22) looks up as South Elgin’s Ilija Babic (25) defends the lane in the first quarter of an Upstate Eight West game in South Elgin on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (H. Rick Bamman / The Beacon-News)
Storm couldn’t have been more complimentary toward the Blackhawks.
“They’re a deserving champion,” he said. “It’s going to take a really good effort from somebody to knock them off on our side as the top dog.”
For Matthews-Thomas, it’s just the first accolade the Blackhawks hope to pick up as the postseason approaches.
“It was very important,” Matthews-Thomas said. “I didn’t think we were going to play like that. I know we wanted to come back as champs and we did come back as champs.
“Sometimes, you just have to get an ugly win. We’re just trying to get ready for the playoffs now, just take this win and go and hopefully we’ll be better from now on.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/13/jaden-matthews-thomas-west-aurora-basketball/
The Unsettling Truths The Epstein Files Reveal About Power And Privilege
The Unsettling Truths The Epstein Files Reveal About Power And Privilege
Authored by Patrick Keeney via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
The public fixation on the Epstein files has settled, predictably, on the most lurid elements of the story.
This is understandable.
Sexual exploitation, particularly of the young, is among the most corrosive of crimes, and the scale of Epstein’s abuse, as well as the apparent indifference of powerful institutions to it, demands moral outrage.
But to focus exclusively on the sexual scandal is to miss the deeper and more unsettling lesson the affair reveals.
What the Epstein files expose, above all, is the social and moral estrangement of American elites from the people they claim to govern.
Epstein was not merely a predator who gained access to power. He was a node within a closed world of wealth, influence, and immunity. The scandal is not that powerful people behaved badly in private—history shows many such examples—but that they did so with a confidence rooted in the belief they were insulated from the consequences of their behavior.
They moved through a transnational elite culture that had largely severed itself from ordinary moral constraints, legal accountability, and civic obligation. That culture did not merely tolerate Epstein but normalized him.
This echoes the point Christopher Lasch made decades ago, long before private islands and hedge-fund philanthropy became familiar symbols of elite excess. In his 1994 book “The Revolt of the Elites,” Lasch argued that the modern American ruling classes had stopped seeing themselves as stewards of a shared national project. Instead, they increasingly saw themselves as a mobile, globalized caste, educated in the same institutions, moving through the same cities, governed by the same tastes, and primarily accountable only to each other. Citizenship was seen as a minor inconvenience. Nationhood and patriotism were just sentimental relics from less enlightened times.
The Epstein affair reads like a case study in Lasch’s thesis.
Here was an individual whose wealth was opaque, whose sources of income were rarely scrutinized, and whose social standing seemed immune to ordinary reputational risk. He functioned as a social broker among financiers, politicians, academics, royalty, and celebrities, many of whom publicly advocated policies of moral uplift, social justice, and global responsibility. Yet in private, they inhabited a world defined by indulgence, entitlement, and a contempt for limits.
Elite detachment today is not only economic but also existential, and it is hardly confined to Americans. The governing classes of advanced democracies increasingly inhabit a world defined by mobility, abstraction, and insulation from consequence. Their loyalties are professional rather than civic, global rather than national, and managerial rather than moral. They experience society less as a shared inheritance than as a set of problems to be administered at a distance. In such a world, attachment to place, memory, and common fate appears parochial, even suspect, while belonging itself is quietly redefined as an obstacle to progress.
Those who create policies affecting immigration, policing, education, public health, and national security rarely face the consequences themselves. They do not send their children to failing schools, live in high-crime neighborhoods, compete for scarce housing, or navigate broken public institutions. Their lives are shielded by wealth, location, private services, and increasingly by law itself.
The Epstein files sharpen this reality because they reveal not just hypocrisy, but impunity. Despite extensive documentation, repeated warnings, and credible testimony, accountability arrived slowly and incompletely. This is not because the crimes were ambiguous, but because the accused moved within a protected sphere where consequences were negotiable and enforcement discretionary. Justice, like morality, was something applied elsewhere for other people.
What enrages the public is not prurience, but recognition. The scandal resonates because it confirms a growing suspicion among ordinary people that there is one moral universe for the governing class and another for everyone else. Elites preach restraint, sustainability, and responsibility while living lives of extraordinary consumption and indulgence. They urge social sacrifice while exempting themselves from its costs. They speak the language of progress while practicing a refined form of decadence.
Lasch warned that such a ruling class would eventually forfeit legitimacy, not because of ideology, but because of character. A society cannot be governed indefinitely by people who do not believe they belong to it. When elites become tourists in their own countries, financially global, culturally unrooted, and morally untethered, their authority rests on little more than coercion and spectacle.
The Epstein files should therefore be read less as an aberration than as a symptom. They reveal a governing class that has lost the habits of self-restraint that once justified its power, and the sense of common fate that once bound leaders to citizens.
For many, the salient point of the Epstein files is the scandal. I think it is more accurately seen as a disclosure.
The danger is not merely that such elites are corrupt, but that they are bored. Bored with limits, bored with norms, bored with accountability, and ultimately bored with democracy itself. That boredom, Lasch understood, is the precondition of revolt, not by the masses, but by those who no longer feel answerable to them.
If the Epstein affair provokes lasting anger, it is because it crystallizes a truth many citizens already sense, that the people shaping the future live in a world apart, governed by different rules, and increasingly incapable of moral seriousness. No society can long endure that division without consequence.
The question is not whether further revelations will emerge. It is whether the public will finally insist that elites once again live under the same moral and civic conditions as those they presume to lead.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/13/2026 – 23:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/unsettling-truths-epstein-files-reveal-about-power-and-privilege
Germany, France Hold Secret Talks On Continental Nuclear Shield In Pivot From US
Germany, France Hold Secret Talks On Continental Nuclear Shield In Pivot From US
Has Europe really embarked on a nuclear reset, rethinking its US-led deterrent architecture? For the first time since the Cold War, major European capitals are openly debating the need for an independent nuclear deterrent – an emerging theme on clear display this week at the Munich Security Conference.
We’ve reported before that the turning point came in March, when Washington temporarily halted battlefield intelligence sharing with Ukraine – a move that forced allies to confront the prospect that Washington may no longer serve as a dependable security guarantor, also as ratcheting Trump rhetoric increasingly highlights Europe needing to shoulder its own defense burden.
France’s Macron and Germany’s Merz held “confidential talks” on European nuclear deterrence, the German chancellor has confirmed. Still, he tried to downplay the full implications in his Friday remarks: “We Germans are adhering to our legal obligations. We consider this strictly within the context of our nuclear sharing within NATO and we will not allow zones of differing security to emerge in Europe,” Merz said.
However, President Macron on the same day was a little more forthright, describing amid the backdrop of ongoing direct talks between Moscow and the United States: “We will live with Russia in the same place, and the Europeans at the same place, and I don’t want this negotiation to be organized by someone else,” he said. And more bluntness on the nuclear issue:
Macron told the gathering in Munich, which focuses on security and brings together world leaders, future parameters of security may include a new, more holistic nuclear deterrence among European allies. Until now, deterrence has been a strictly national domain and a highly delicate issue because of its implications on sovereignty.
The French leader teased a “new strategic dialogue” on nuclear arms.
“We have engaged a strategic dialogue with Chancelor Merz and (other) European leaders in order to see how we can articulate our national doctrine” with special cooperation and common security interests in some key countries, he said.
“This dialogue is important because it’s a way to articulate nuclear deterrence in a holistic approach of defense and security, Macron continued. “This is a way to create convergence in our strategic approach between Germany and France.”
Macron’s remarks before the Munich audience were tinged with implicit (negative) references to the US administration: “We need a much more positive mindset. There has been a tendency in this place and beyond to overlook Europe and sometimes to criticise it outright,” he stated.
“Caricatures have been made, Europe has been vilified as an aging, slow, fragmented construct sidelined by history. As an overregulated economy that shuts innovation, as a society preyed by migration that would corruption its precious traditions.”
“And most curiously yet, in some quarters, as a repressive continent,” he added. “Everyone should take a cue from us, instead of trying to divide us.”
Merz had some similarly dramatic things to say on ‘lost American leadership’…
“The leadership claim of the U.S. is being challenged, perhaps already lost,” Merz said during the opening of the Munich Security Conference, laying out the starkest assessment yet from Berlin of a world increasingly defined by great-power rivalry. “In the era of great powers, our freedom is no longer simply guaranteed. It is under threat.”
He argued the global system itself may already have collapsed. “The international order based on rights and rules… no longer exists in the way it once did,” he said.
You will find more infographics at Statista
The Europeans are fundamentally worried that any new regional architecture related to potential settlement to the Russia-Ukraine war could leave the continent weakened and exposed, and that the Trump admin might be willing to cede too much in the way of compromise to Russia.
We underscored previously that ff the US and Russia craft the final settlement, Europe must either accept it or refuse and confront the consequences alone. And yet, neither Paris nor Berlin is prepared for the latter scenario.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/13/2026 – 23:00
Bhatia y Hisatsune comparten la cima en Pebble Beach. Travis Kelce y amateurs se van a casa
Por DOUG FERGUSON
PEBBLE BEACH, California, EE.UU. (AP) — Lejos de las falsas esperanzas de que Taylor Swift haría una aparición en Pebble Beach, Akshay Bhatia y Ryo Hisatsune se ocuparon de lo suyo en silencio en Spyglass Hill y terminaron compartiendo la cima el viernes en el Pro-am AT&T Pebble Beach.
Bhatia no cometió bogeys durante dos días en Pebble Beach y Spyglass Hill. Ambos días resultaron secos con una brisa suave y greens blandos que permitieron buenos resultados en ambos campos.
El californiano hizo seis birdies y embocó un chip desde 50 pies para eagle en el hoyo 14, camino a una tarjeta de 64.
Hisatsune, que abrió con 62 en Pebble Beach, tropezó a mitad de su ronda con bogeys consecutivos. El japonés lo compensó con suficientes birdies (y un eagle) antes y después para un 67.
Ambos estaban con un acumulado de 129 golpes, 15 bajo par, el número más bajo tras 36 hoyos desde que el torneo pasó a una rotación de dos campos en 2024.
Rickie Fowler (64) y Sam Burns (67), ambos en Spyglass Hill, estaban a un golpe. Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth y el campeón defensor Rory McIlroy acechaban.
Scottie Scheffler por fin se encendió al jugar sus últimos siete hoyos con 5 bajo par para un 66, aunque el número uno del mundo seguía a nueve golpes de distancia de cara al fin de semana.
“Diría que ‘avanzar a pasitos’ sería la expresión clave ahí”, comentó Scheffler sobre su progreso. “Veremos cómo se resuelve al final del día. Quiero decir, van a hacer falta dos rondas bastante especiales, en realidad tres rondas especiales, pero nunca estás fuera. Veremos qué pasa con el clima”.
La gran especulación el viernes no era tanto el clima, sino si Swift iba a aparecer para ver a su prometido, el ala cerrada de los Chiefs de Kansas City, Travis Kelce, quien jugaba en Pebble Beach.
Había una gran multitud, mucho revuelo. No apareció Swift, de quien se dice que está en la ciudad, pero no en el campo de golf. Aun así, impulsó un aumento en la venta de entradas: por 60.000 dólares cuando se anunció a Kelce como parte del grupo de amateurs participantes, 21.000 dólares en la ventana de 12 horas antes de que jugara en el Pebble.
“Estuvo movido sin ella”, señaló Mackenzie Hughes, que jugó en el grupo. “Con ella, creo que literalmente habría sido un pandemónium”.
No hay corte tras 36 hoyos en este evento, salvo para Kelce, el exbasquetbolista español Pau Gasol, el gobernador de Florida Ron DeSantis y el resto de los participantes amateur.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
