Chicago Sports

MOBILE, Ala. — The Senior Bowl is the most prestigious college all-star game, but this isn’t where the Bears will look for someone to draft in the first round. None of the players in the mix to go No. 1 overall — or even in the top 10, assuming the Bears trade back — are here.

But for a team that needs almost everything, they must nail their mid-round picks. The Bears have a second-rounder (No. 56), a third (No. 65) and two fourths (Nos. 103 and 134), and the Senior Bowl is the perfect place to pursue those prospects and ideally identify some gems who will slip to the late rounds or even go undrafted.

They have a full delegation in Mobile, including coach Matt Eberflus watching from the sideline at practice Tuesday, and it’s advantageous that offensive coordinator Luke Getsy is head coach of the American team.

It’s a chance for Getsy to showcase his ability to run a team in front of every personnel department in the league, but more vitally to the Bears, it’s like having a spy embedded among the players they’re considering.

“That’s the most important reason I’m here,” Getsy said after practice at South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Stadium. “This gives you a great opportunity to dive into the type of men they are … and we get to find that out when you get to be so hands-on.”

Bears linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi and assistant tight ends coach Tim Zetts also are on the American staff, and assistant special teams coach Carlos Polk is with the National team.

Bears general manager Ryan Poles and assistant Ian Cunningham are working through their own evaluations of college tape and will glean a lot from the combine in February, pro days in March and visits to Halas Hall, but their coaches’ reports this week are equally valuable.

“Is this guy a baller or not?” Getsy said. “You get to see the subtle movements, how they handle change, how fast they can learn something and then go out and perform it. That’s the world we live in [in the NFL]. We can’t do the same thing every week; you’ve got to be able to adapt.”

Teams can hit snags after they’ve drafted a player because he struggles to pick up the playbook or misses things in meetings, and it’ll be easy for Getsy to tell if that’s happening this week. The Raiders are getting a similar view, by the way, with defensive coordinator Patrick Graham coaching the National team.

It’s a loaded week for Getsy between planning practices and relaying insight to Poles’ staff.

“I even catch myself in the middle of practice taking a second to step back and actually evaluate a little bit rather than trying to coach,” Getsy said. “Just trying to collect all the information that we can.”

Many players on Getsy’s team are of interest to the Bears, including Auburn pass rusher Derick Hall and Houston wide receiver Tank Dell. Hall is one of several players here that Getsy recruited when he was Mississippi State’s offensive coordinator in 2018.

“It was cool to see him again,” Hall said. “He really walked around and got together with everybody during practice. His intensity level in the meetings and the practice speaks volumes.”

The Bears’ biggest needs are pass rushers and offensive linemen, and their staff saw strong candidates throughout the afternoon. Players also went through a whirlwind of interviews Monday, which Army pass rusher Andre Carter — a possible second-round target — called “a lot to process.”

Ohio State tackle Dawand Jones, a former teammate of Justin Fields, dominated some of the top pass rushers. Many analysts projected him as a second-round pick, but at 6-foot-8, 360 pounds, he could climb into the first round.

The Bears still have nearly three months to arrange their draft board, but this week is a valuable early step in the process.

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Tuesday, January 31, 2023

BIG NORTHERN

Byron at Dixon, 7:00

Genoa-Kingston at Winnebago, 7:00

North Boone at Stillman Valley, 7:00

Oregon at Rockford Lutheran, 7:00

Rock Falls at Rockford Christian, 7:00

CATHOLIC LEAGUE – CROSSOVER

Brother Rice at De La Salle, 6:30

DePaul at Providence-St. Mel, 7:00

Fenwick at St. Laurence, 7:00

Leo at Montini, 7:00

Mount Carmel at Marmion, 7:00

St. Rita at Providence, 7:00

CENTRAL SUBURBAN – NORTH

Deerfield at Maine West, 7:00

Highland Park at Maine East, 7:00

Vernon Hills at Niles North, 7:00

CENTRAL SUBURBAN – SOUTH

Evanston at Maine South, 7:30

Glenbrook South at Glenbrook North, 7:00

New Trier at Niles West, 6:30

DU KANE

Geneva at St. Charles North, 7:00

Glenbard North at Batavia, 7:00

Lake Park at Wheaton North, 7:15

Wheaton-Warr. South at St. Charles East, 7:00

EAST SUBURBAN CATHOLIC

Marian Catholic at St. Patrick, 7:00

Marist at Carmel, 7:00

Nazareth at St. Viator, 7:00

Notre Dame at Benet, 7:00

FOX VALLEY

Burlington Central at Prairie Ridge, 7:00

Crystal Lake South at Jacobs, 7:00

Dundee-Crown at Crystal Lake Central, 7:00

Hampshire at Huntley, 7:00

McHenry at Cary-Grove, 7:00

ILLINOIS CENTRAL EIGHT

Coal City at Streator, 6:45

Herscher at Wilmington, 7:00

Lisle at Manteno, 7:00

INDEPENDENT SCHOOL

Morgan Park Academy at University High, 4:30

North Shore at Elgin Academy, 6:00

INTERSTATE EIGHT

Sycamore at LaSalle-Peru, 7:00

KISHWAUKEE RIVER

Woodstock at Johnsburg, 7:00

METRO PREP

CPSA at Universal, 5:30

METRO SUBURBAN – BLUE

Chicago Christian at Wheaton Academy, 7:30

Riverside-Brookfield at St. Francis, 7:00

Timothy Christian at IC Catholic, 7:30

MID-SUBURBAN – EAST

Buffalo Grove at Rolling Meadows, 7:30

Prospect at Elk Grove, 7:30

Wheeling at Hersey, 7:30

MID-SUBURBAN – WEST

Barrington at Schaumburg, 7:30

Fremd at Hoffman Estates, 7:30

Palatine at Conant, 7:30

NOBLE LEAGUE – BLUE

Golder at Pritzker, 5:30

NOBLE LEAGUE – GOLD

Bulls Prep at Butler, 5:30

ITW-Speer at Rowe-Clark, 5:30

Johnson at Noble Academy, 7:00

NORTH SUBURBAN

Libertyville at Lake Zurich, 7:00

Mundelein at Warren, 7:00

Stevenson at Lake Forest, 7:00

Waukegan at Zion-Benton, 7:00

NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY

Grayslake Central at Antioch, 7:00

Grayslake North at Grant, 7:00

Round Lake at North Chicago, 7:00

Wauconda at Lakes, 7:00

RIVER VALLEY

Momence at Donovan, 7:00

SOUTHLAND

Kankakee at Bloom, 6:30

Rich at Thornwood, 6:30

Thornton at Thornridge, 6:30

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE – EAST

Joliet West at Romeoville, 6:30

Plainfield East at Plainfield Central, 6:30

Plainfield South at Joliet Central, 6:30

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE – WEST

Minooka at Oswego East, 6:30

Plainfield North at Oswego, 6:30

Yorkville at West Aurora, 6:30

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN – BLUE

Homewood-Flossmoor at Bolingbrook, 6:30

Sandburg at Lincoln-Way East, 6:30

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN – RED

Andrew at Lincoln-Way Central, 6:00

Lincoln-Way West at Stagg, 6:15

UPSTATE EIGHT

East Aurora at Larkin, 7:00

Elgin at Glenbard South, 7:00

Fenton at Glenbard East, 7:00

Streamwood at Bartlett, 7:00

West Chicago at South Elgin, 7:00

WEST SUBURBAN – GOLD

Addison Trail at Hinsdale South, 7:30

Leyden at Willowbrook, 6:00

Proviso East at Morton, 7:00

WEST SUBURBAN – SILVER

Glenbard West at York, 7:30

Lyons at Downers Grove North, 7:30

Proviso West at Oak Park-River Forest, 6:30

NON CONFERENCE

ACERO-Garcia at Catalyst-Maria, 5:00

Agricultural Science at Oak Forest, 6:00

ASPIRA-Bus&Fin at ACERO-Soto, 5:00

Aurora Christian at St. Edward, 7:30

Beecher at Seneca, 7:00

Bowen at Lake View, 5:00

Brimfield at Putnam County, 7:00

Christian Liberty at Islamic Foundation, 5:30

Excel-Englewood at Hansberry, 5:30

Foreman at Wells, 5:00

Grant Park at McNamara, 7:00

Heritage Christian (IN) at Illinois Lutheran, 7:30

Hinsdale Adventist at Lycee Francais, 6:30

King at Fenger, 5:00

Latin at Lake Forest Academy, 6:30

Lexington at Woodland, 7:00

Marian Central at Westlake Christian, 7:00

Raby at Muchin, 7:00

Rauner at Wolcott, 5:30

Richards at Harlan, 6:30

Roanoke-Benson at Ridgeview, 7:00

Rochelle at Sterling, 7:00

Schaumburg Christian at Rochelle Zell, 7:00

St. Francis de Sales at St. Ignatius, 7:00

St. Thomas More at Clifton Central, 7:00

Westmont at Westminster Christian, 7:00

LITTLE TEN TOURNAMENT

at Somonauk

Hinckley-Big Rock vs. Indian Creek, 5:30

Earlville vs. Somonauk, 7:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE PLAYOFFS – CONSOLATION

Senn at Ogden, 5:00

Austin at Von Steuben, 5:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE TOURNAMENT – BLUE 8

Quarter-Finals

Air Force at Washington, 5:00

Chicago Tech at Chicago Military, 5:00

Goode at Back of the Yards, 5:30

Chicago Math & Science at Douglass, 5:00

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Diamonds are the key to the heart — and also the key to killing off power plays, the Blackhawks have learned.

Since changing their penalty-killing structure within the defensive zone from an amorphous square formation to a diamond formation over Christmas, the Hawks have completely reversed their PK fortunes.

“We looked at other teams’ setups and wanted to give this a go,” coach Luke Richardson said. “The guys really have taken to it.”

The alteration was made during the Dec. 24-26 break, which the Hawks entered having allowed a power-play goal in eight consecutive games — tied for their longest such streak since 2007-08. They had killed only 25 of 40 opponent PPs since Nov. 19, a 62.5% kill rate that ranked second-worst in the NHL during that span.

Per 60 minutes shorthanded during that span, they had allowed 134.4 shot attempts (the most in the NHL), 85.3 scoring chances (second-most) and 10.2 expected goals (seventh-most).

Their amorphous square was technically a “piston” formation, Jason Dickinson said, where one player at a time would come out to challenge the puck-carrier and try to cut off his passing angles. But the piston was not exactly running smoothly.

After the break, however, the Hawks’ reshaped PK went six-for-six combined against the Hurricanes and Blues. Their video work with assistant coach Kevin Dean, who oversees the unit, immediately yielded fruit.

They then experienced some growing pains but really found their stride when they killed all five Avalanche PPs during an upset win Jan. 12. That started a stretch in which they went 22-for-23 — before finally succumbing twice Saturday against the Oilers’ overwhelming PP.

Overall since Christmas, the Hawks’ PK boasts a 84.8% kill rate (which ranks 10th in the NHL) and has allowed 88.5 shot attempts (sixth-fewest), 52.2 scoring chances (ninth-fewest) and 7.5 expected goals (11th-fewest) per 60 minutes.

The diamond formation works by positioning one forward up top, one forward and one defenseman on the sides and one defenseman in front of the net.

If a puck comes loose alongside the boards, they can break shape to try to pin the puck, gain possession and clear it. But if they fail with that, they reassemble the diamond.

“It gives us a little bit more predictability,” forward Jason Dickinson said. “It gives us an ability to dictate where we want the puck more, and where we don’t want it to be.

“We can lock off a certain side. It doesn’t really matter to us necessarily what side we lock off, but we just know that this is the look we’re giving. It’s easy for me to read off of [fellow forward Sam Lafferty] and for the ‘D’ to read off the forwards in this set-up. We can be like, ‘OK, we’ve dictated a side. This is where our pressure is going to come from.'”

Considering many teams place their most dangerous shooters on the flanks — think Alex Ovechkin at the top of the faceoff circle for the Capitals, for example — having one side locked down can make a big difference.

And it’s much tougher to find horizontal lanes through a diamond than a square, which has reduced the number of often-deadly seam passes that opposing PPs have been able to connect.

This improved in-zone structure — combined with their league-best 52.3% shorthanded faceoff percentage, which leads to many clears right off the bat — has also created a snowball effect. Up the ice, the Hawks’ penalty killers have rejuvenated their aggressive two-man forechecking that was such a bright spot early in the season.

“Why not take a chance and give a little bit of pressure up-ice, to try to discourage them from the drop [pass] and to have a chance to kill plays at the blue line?” Richardson said. “That has worked really well for us, which gives us a lot less time in the ‘D’-zone.”

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Michael O’Brien and Joe Henricksen’s weekly discussion of high school basketball.

This episode starts off with Two Takes, hitting on a variety of topics, from Hinsdale Central to the Public League.

Then Mike and Joe take part in a multiple choice test, picking their favorite answers to a variety of questions on the season so far.

Which team is the biggest surprise this season? Who are the breakout underclassmen? Which unranked team should be getting more attention? All those questions and many more.

The podcast is on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please subscribe.

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Drew Scharnowski is the perfect example of a player and prospect you should’ve seen coming.

The Burlington Central senior was on a steady climb from the start of his junior season through the end of this past summer.

For a player the City/Suburban Hoops Report ranked among the top prospects in the class at an early stage, Scharnowski put up very modest numbers as a junior for a team that went 31-4.

But from an evaluator’s perspective, Scharnowski was a burgeoning talent with a tremendous upside. This was a still-developing player with prototype college prospect size and length while being blessed with an uncommon skill set for his size and position.

The 6-8 Scharnowski finally did break out with a big summer. By that time college coaches were on board. He had close to 20 Division I offers when he found an ideal fit with Belmont and committed in the middle of July.

Now, as a senior, the prospect with the high ceiling has become a dominant player. The numbers speak for themselves: 23.4 points, eight rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.3 blocks a game. He’s leading a team that is 21-4 and once again atop the Fox Valley Conference after graduating four starters from a year ago.

Scharnowski dunks, drops in threes, is one of the primary ballhandlers and flirts with triple-doubles. Over one three-game stretch in early January in wins over Huntley, Woodstock North and Neuqua Valley, he averaged 30.6 points, 13.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and six blocks a game. This past week he surpassed 1,000 career points.

How far can Scharnowski lead the Rockets? Burlington Central, which receives ample support from 6-4 senior Nick Gouriotis (11.4 ppg) and 6-4 sophomore Jake Johnson (9.7 ppg), will host its own and winnable sectional.

Seeding time

Seeding across the state will take place next week, and there won’t be a sectional with more 20-win teams at seeding time than the one at New Trier. As a result, seeding the sectional won’t be easy.

The Central Suburban League South stalwarts, New Trier, Evanston, Glenbrook South and Glenbrook North, should all have 20 wins by seeding time. But they’ve all taken turns beating one another.

Rolling Meadows already has 21 wins and both Loyola and Niles North have 20.

But when dissecting the seven 20-win teams closely, there is a clear No. 1 and No. 2.

New Trier should be in a position to nab the No. 1 seed. The Trevians have lost just once in the CSL South (to Glenbrook North) and own wins over Loyola and Rolling Meadows. New Trier, which plays rival Evanston this Friday, is a combined 5-1 against those top sectional teams.

Rolling Meadows lost to New Trier by just one point, crushed Evanston by 26 points and knocked off Glenbrook South twice. The Mustangs comfortably slide into the No. 2 seed.

Watch out for the Maroons

When it comes to legit state title contenders, geographical representation is a good thing for Illinois high school basketball. We have it this season.

Class 3A was already built for it with last year’s state finalists, state champ Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin and runner-up Metamora, returning virtually intact this season. They’re both even better and are favorites to return to Champaign in March.

And with how Moline has played since a Pekin Holiday Tournament loss to Mount Carmel in January bodes well for Class 4A.

Moline (22-3) beat perennial power St. Louis Vashon by double digits and hammered talented East St. Louis 77-53 in early January. The Maroons nearly beat Simeon, falling 67-66 when a game-winning shot was blocked at the buzzer, and then dominated Rolling Meadows this past weekend in a 72-53 win.

Some talented teams stand in the way. Both Quincy and Belleville East are state-ranked and potential sectional foes, though Moline will have the advantage of hosting its own sectional. Joliet West and Jeremy Fears, Jr. could be waiting in the Illinois State Super.

But coach Sean Taylor has the luxury of having the ultimate game-changing quarterback at crunch time in point guard Brock Harding. The future Iowa Hawkeye plays an enthusiastic game and a relentless style. He has the type of basketball speed and shiftiness to get where he wants on the floor while making teammates better.

Harding has a running mate in 6-10 Owen Freeman, another Iowa recruit, who together form one of the best 1-2 punches and mismatch problems in the state.

How good were Harding and Freeman in the win over Rolling Meadows? Harding went for 26 points and eight assists while Freeman finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds.

Moline is in a basketball-rich area in the Quad Cities, and it’s a program with a proud history. But the Maroons are in search of their first sectional championship in 19 years. With Harding and Freeman, along with playing the sectional on its home floor, they’re in a position to end that drought.

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Justin Jirschele (Triple-A Charlotte), Lorenzo Bundy (Double-A Birmingham), Guillermo Quiroz (Advanced-A Winston-Salem), Patrick Leyland (Low-A Kannapolis) and Danny Gonz?lez (Arizona Complex League Sox) will manage the White Sox’ minor league teams in 2023, the team said Tuesday in announcing its player development staff.

All managers moved up one level from 2022.

“The group we have assembled to help lead and develop our minor league players, from coordinators to managers and coaches, is as strong of a group as we have had here with diverse backgrounds and high level experience,” said Chris Getz, Sox assistant general manager/player development. “We have had a productive off-season with multiple in-person camps and a successful rollout and execution of our new strength and conditioning program.”

Former Sox outfielder Nicky Delmonico (hitting coach) and right-hander Danny Farquhar (pitching coach) are on staff at Birmingham, and former left-hander Donnie Veal was promoted to assistant pitching coordinator.

Blake Hickman was named pitching coach at Kannapolis. A graduate of the White Sox Amateur City Elite (ACE) program and Simeon who pitched in 50 minor league games for the Sox from 2017-18, Hickman makes his coaching debut.

“We are well positioned to hit the ground running next month and will continue our goal of getting the most out of our players in preparation for playing in Chicago,” Getz said.

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I know that no Bears fans want to talk about it, but the Chicago Bears made one of the most confusing moves in the 2017 NFL draft. The Bears traded up from the 3rd pick to the 2nd to take Mitch Trubisky. This would prove to be an overall failure as Trubisky did not live up to the hype while other very successful quarterbacks such as Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson were still on the board.

Now, you could make the argument that Trubisky was the better selection. Here’s why: In 2020, the Bears’ playoff game vs. the Saints was televised on Nickelodeon. Nickelodeon announced they would have online voting to determine the NVP (Nickelodeon Valuable Player) at the end of the game. Despite the abysmal performance by Trubisky in the loss, he was able to walk away with an NVP trophy, something Mahomes does not have.

In all seriousness, the Bears fumbled this pick. Don’t get me wrong, I was 100% on the Mitch train when we drafted him, but looking back on it, it made no sense to trade up to draft the 3rd best quarterback in the draft. Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson were miles better than Trubisky in every category and had way more experience coming into the draft. Not to mention, the next quarterback taken after Trubisky at #3 was Mahomes at #10. So we traded away three picks to pick someone we could’ve taken all along at #3 and picked the wrong guy. A mess. To make matters worse, Patrick Mahomes’ dad revealed that the Bears told Patrick that they were going to take him with the #3 pick.

It would’ve been one thing if the Bears traded up to get their guy. Fine. But the fact that they had the right guy and then traded up to draft the wrong guy is just painful. Obviously, it is very easy for me to sit here and say that an MVP is better than Mitch Trubisky, but strictly looking at college stats, it would’ve made too much sense to take Mahomes in that draft. He was the leading passer in the FBS and threw for 9,705 yards in his two years as a starter. That’s insane.

Well, I guess it’s time to get over the fact that the Bears missed out on a special talent like Patrick Mahomes and focus on the potential superstar they currently have in Justin Fields. Who knows if Mahomes would’ve even panned out with the Bears? Hopefully, Fields can take this team to the next level and make everyone forget about this mistake.

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The Bears have money to snag a Pro Bowl lineman

The Chicago Bears are flush with cash heading into the free agency period. They need it. The Bears will need to add some playmakers to their mediocre roster before they run to the 2023 NFL Draft with the number one pick. A Bears insider thinks the Bears’ best option is a Pro Bowl-caliber offensive tackle.

The NFL increased the overall salary cap to $224.8 million for each team next season. The Bears should have approximately $98 million for next season. That leaves them with ample leverage to outbid other NFL teams for star players. But the unknown factor is what upcoming free agents will not re-sign with their current team.

The Bears’ most realistic option

The Bears’ most prominent, but not exclusive, needs are at wide receiver, the offensive line, and the defensive line. Adam Jahns of The Athletic wrote in his mailbag about potential free agents the Bears could sign. One fan asked Jahns who the Bears’ “most realistic option” in free agency is. Jahns thinks offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. is who the Bears can sign:

“Any list of potential free-agent pursuits for the Bears should start with Chiefs left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. Poles is connected to Brown through the Chiefs. Signing Brown would then allow Braxton Jones to shift to right tackle. The Bears’ line would instantly look better.”

Brown would be an excellent pickup for the Bears. The Chiefs starting left tackle had a phenomenal season in which he reached the Pro Bowl for the fourth consecutive time. Brown earned a 75.8 overall grade by Pro Football Focus this season.

Brown gave up four sacks of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and 47 pressures this season during his whopping 769 pass-blocking snaps. For a Bears unit that needs discipline, Brown could help there. He was flagged just six times during his 1,133 snaps in the regular season. Browns’ downside for the Bears, he only blocked for rushing plays 364 times this season. General manager Ryan Poles seems more interested in players who can run block, even at skilled positions, versus building up the passing attack.

Another pricey option for a Pro Bowl player

Another option for the Bears that Jahns mentioned that I like better is Daron Payne. The defensive lineman made the Pro Bowl in 2022. Although, as Jahns notes, his services will not come cheap:

“Or do the Bears pursue Washington’s Daron Payne for their defensive line instead? The NFL informed teams of this year’s franchise-tag amounts on Monday, too. It’s $18,937,000 for defensive tackles.”

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Former Cubs All-Star outfielder Dexter Fowler, one of the mainstays of the 2016 World Series championship team, announced his retirement Tuesday on social media.

“It’s here. I’m hanging up my cleats,” Fowler said on Twitter. “I’m mostly proud to look back on my career knowing that I played the game the right way and did my best to make a positive impact beyond the win.”

Fowler spent only two of his 14 major-league seasons with the Cubs, but created one of the North Side’s most memorable moments by becoming the first, and so far only, player to hit a lead-off homer in a World Series Game 7 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. He slashed .233/.258/.467 in the 2016 Series. He also appeared in that season’s All-Star Game.

The Cubs acquired Fowler from the Astros in 2015 in exchange for Luis Valbuena and Dan Straily. After the 2016 season, Fowler declined a mutual option, becoming a free agent. He eventually signed with the Cardinals.

Fowler last played in the majors in 2021 with Anaheim.

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