Athletics
Basketball
Please also note that the Young Dons baskeball teams' information can be accessed by visiting http://ndhsyoungdons.org/home.
Welcome to the Home of Notre Dame Basketball! Here are some highlights from the 2007-2008 Basketball Season
February 21, 2008
With three straight conference wins to end the regular season under their belt (beating St. Pats, 60 - 59, beating St. Viator, 71 - 45, and beating Carmel on Senior Night, 68 - 61), the Varsity Basketball Dons enter the IHSA State Basketball Tourney on a great roll. ND opens regional basketball play against Prospect High School on Wednesday, February 27. The game will be played at Niles North H.S. - game time at 7:30 PM. All tickets will be sold at Niles North, so get their early for the 6:45 PM
3-point shoot out and the beginning of high school basketball tourney action.
January 12, 2008
Coming off three straight wins over Propspect , St. Viator, and Northridge Prep, the Dons invaded St. Patrick for an ESCC showdown. In a tremendously exciting and hard fought game, ND stayed on pace the entire game only to fall short 69 - 65. ND tied the game with less than 3 minutes left to go, but couldn't connect on key shots at the end. The sophomores lost to St. Pats 49 - 44 in another well played conference game. The Varsity and Sophomore have another big conference contest on Friday as they travel to Nazareth Academy. Over trhe Martin Luther King Holiday Weekend, both team will travel to Peoria for a shootout tourney.
Holiday Tournaments
The Varsity Basketball Team finished 7th in the Wheeling Christmas Tournament, playing tough, fast-paced basketball in all four games. The Dons opened with a big win over Deerfield, lost a controversail one-point game to Loyola, lost to Naperville Central on a buzzer-beating shot, and played strong throughout their victory over Prospect. The ND Varsity heads into the new year with a 6 - 6 record and a big home basketball weekend in early January against St. Viator (Jan. 4) and Northridge Prep (Jan 5.). Thanks to all of our fans who came out and supported the Dons in the Wheeling Holiday Tourney.
The ND Sophomores held court and won their Christmas Tourney defeating Hales Franciscan 71 - 66 in the championhsip overtime thriller. The Sophomores defeated Northside Prep and Gordon Tech to reach the finals.
The ND Freshman had plenty of opportunity to play over the holidays as the "A" and "B" Teams participated and won honors. The Frosh "A" Team beat Carmel to win the Freshman Championship, and the Frosh "B" Team won the Consolation Championship.
All in all, a good week for ND Hoops. Have a Great New Year.
1971 Grad Tom Les Named Head Basketball Coach
Notre Dame High School alumnus Tom Les ’71 has been selected as NDHS’ new head basketball coach. Les, who has successfully lead the varsity team at Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock for the past five years, was a standout basketball player at NDHS as well as at Bradley University in Peoria.
“Tom Les has a strong history of basketball, great instincts and is very professional,” NDHS President Rev. John P. Smyth said. “I’m sure he’s going to do an excellent job. He brings dedication, knowledge and spirit to the area of basketball at Notre Dame and will bring the Dons to new heights.”
“We’re very pleased to have Tom Les here. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge of the game,” added Athletic Director Mike Hennessey.
“Over three dozen individuals applied for the job from colleges, junior colleges, high schools and parks which shows the high level of interest in the position,” said Peter Newell ‘67, who heads the Athletic Committee of Notre Dame’s Executive Board.
Niles natives, Les and his brothers Gary ’72 and Jim ’81 were outstanding athletes at Notre Dame. Each is a member of the school’s athletic Wall of Fame. Gary was a stellar cross country and track athlete. Jim, who also played for Bradley, enjoyed eight years in the NBA before becoming head basketball coach at Bradley. After having tremendous success playing basketball at NDHS, Tom Les played for the Bradley Braves where he scored 232 points in 64 games (3.6 ppg). He ended his career there as the all-time assists leader after averaging 8.4 assists per game as a senior.
Les, who became head coach on April 10, interviewed for the Notre Dame job at the urging of former teammates and classmates after 19-year veteran coach Dennis Zelasko announced his retirement earlier this year. Les’ record at Marian Central for the past five years was 79-61. In the five years prior to his tenure, the Hurricanes were 35-91. He is excited to return to his high school alma mater and looks forward to taking the team to the next level.
“I noticed coming back to Notre Dame that the camaraderie and spirit of the school is the same as when I went there. Basketball has been a huge part of my life and I’ll try and share my knowledge in coaching,” said Les, who will also continue his job as Chief Financial Officer at Althoff Industries in Crystal Lake.
Notre Dame Basketball Alumni Players and Coaches
Notre Dame would also like to wish the best of luck to all of our alumni hoop Dons playing in college this year, or professionally: Ibrahim Badmus '03 (Bucknell University), Ryan Finneke ' 05 (St. Norbert), John Johann '06 (Loras College), Matt Weel '07 (Carthage College) and professional John Bowler '02 who is playing abroad in Bonn, Germany, for the Telekom Baskets.
Notre Dame Alums who are head basketball coaches include Jim Les (Class of 1981), Head Coach at Bradley University and Jim Haack (Class of 1990), Head Coach at Downers Grove North High School. Good luck to all the Dons in the coaching ranks and their respective teams.
Some Highlights from the 2006-2007 Season
Congratulations to senior Matt Weel for earning East Suburban Catholic Conference All-Conference First Team honors this year. Matt finished eighth in the conference in scoring. Congratulations to senior Bob Flood who also earned ESCC All-Conference Special Mention. The Dons applaud these young men, and their teammates, for their effort and dedication for a great year!
Congratulations to the sophomore squad, who although they lost to St. Joe's on Feb. 23, finished the year with a 17-7 record.
Congratulations to the Notre Dame Freshmen squad, 2006-2007 East Suburban Catholic Conference Co-Champions! The freshmen defeated their second undefeated team of the year when they dished out the only loss to previously undefeated St. Viator 50-47 on 2/17/07. They followed that up on the 19th beating St. Joseph to earn a share of the conference title. The frosh A team finished with an overall record of 22-1, 12-1 in the ESCC. The B team finished with an overall record of 11-8. Congrats. to both teams for highly successful years!