A sectional title is within reach for Hinsdale Central, but the Red Devils will need to beat a coaching legend to do it.
The Red Devils head west for a 7 p.m. Friday showdown with West Aurora in the Class 4A East Aurora Sectional championship.
Hinsdale Central hasn’t won a sectional title since 1997, but don’t expect the Red Devils to wilt under the bright lights.
“This is the farthest we’ve gone in a while, but it’s more about focusing on the game and not what it’s worth,” Hinsdale Central enter Matt Rafferty said. “It would be huge to win but we need to focus and stay within ourselves.”
While the No. 4-seeded Red Devils (25-6) try to approach it as any other game, they know they’re going to have their hands full with the No. 6-seeded Blackhawks (21-8), coached by Gordie Kerkman.
Kerkman, 78, is in his 39th season coaching the Blackhawks and last month registered his 800th career victory.
“It’s a Gordie-coached team, so they’re going to be extremely fundamental,” Hinsdale Central coach Nick Latorre said. “They’re going to move the basketball. They’re going to share the basketball.”
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One player Hinsdale Central will need to stop is Roland Griffin, who proved again Wednesday that he is West Aurora’s best player. During the Blackhawks’ 66-48 sectional semifinal win over York, the 6-foot-6 senior Illinois State recruit had 24 points and seven rebounds. He also had a momentum-shifting dunk late in the game after the Dukes had cut the deficit to eight points.
“He’s a great player,” Rafferty said. “I played against him in AAU and he’s phenomenal. He can shoot and go inside, so we’re going to have to focus on him and do a great job on him.”
Another dangerous scorer is senior guard Marquis Howard, who in Kerkman’s milestone victory, came off the bench to score 46 points and hit 14 3-pointers.
When the Red Devils are on offense they’ll be facing a smothering defense against some impressive athletes.
“Their man-to-man defense is tough,” Latorre said. “They don’t give up anything easy. We really have to be patient and work to get it inside. They contest all of your cuts. They contest with high hands on your shooters. They box out every possession so it will be a matter of us staying fundamentally sound and trying to execute. We have to share the ball.”
Hinsdale Central senior Thomas Ives said the Red Devils are capable of running multiple offense throughout the game.
“We can get it and run with the best of them, or we can slow it down and run the half-court,” Ives said. “Of course it’s fun getting out in transition, getting some dunks, some really nice plays to (Rafferty), but we can slow it down, set screens, hit shots and get it down into the post in the half-court.”
West Aurora could be without senior guard Matt Dunn, a starter who was suspended for the sectional semis. Kerkman would not comment on his status after Wednesday’s game.
Hinsdale Central made it to the sectional finals by beating Metea Valley 88-67 on Tuesday night. The 6-foot-8 Rafferty had the best game of his career, pouring in 40 points on 14-for-19 shooting. He also had 14 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks, all in just his fifth game back after surgery on his right shooting hand.
Rafferty’s recovery from a broken hand has been nothing short of amazing. He had surgery six days after the injury, which occurred on Jan. 23 against York. Two weeks after surgery he was practicing and said he’s not feeling any ill effects, even with a plate and seven screws in his hand.
“I tried to stay positive throughout the whole process and worked hard on rehab,” said Rafferty, who is averaging a double-double with 20.1 points and 10.3 rebounds. “My teammates did a great job of keeping me up. We battled hard and it was good adversity. We overcame it and we’re confident as ever now.”
Hinsdale Central, which has won six straight games, went 2-4 while the Furman recruit was on the mend.
“What was odd about that whole situation was that we were heartbroken when we found out about the broken bone, but we played as well as we’re capable of playing the next night against St. Joe’s (a 72-69 win).” Latorre said. “Then, as I expected, the reality of him not being there happened.
“But I didn’t see anyone dismayed. They continued to battle and he was at every practice hoping he’d be able to play. The guys weren’t distraught. They just knew they needed to get better.”
Hinsdale Central did just that and now its one win away from returning to its home court for a supersectional showdown against Bolingbrook Sectional winner, either Bolingbrook or Neuqua Valley at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Rob Valentin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.