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Chicago Tribune
13-03-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Warren QB Jack Wolf will go to any length on the court to win. ‘Every great team needs a Dennis Rodman type.'
If the Warren boys basketball team tracked floor burns, there's no doubt that senior guard Jack Wolf would rank first in the category. A three-sport athlete, the 6-foot-4 Wolf was the starting quarterback for the Warren football team for two seasons, and his no-holds-barred style of play is one of the keys to the Blue Devils' success on the court. 'Football gave me that gift, being hit and driven into the ground,' he said. 'I have the mindset that no one's going to take the ball from me. Every great team needs a Dennis Rodman type, a dude who's gritty and says, 'I'm going to make this team win with my effort.'' Wolf is unarguably that player for Warren (26-10), which will take on Rich Township (26-8) in the Class 4A state semifinals at the State Farm Center in Champaign at 7:45 p.m. Friday in its first state appearance since 2011. He will carry the responsibility of setting the tone early, showing both his teammates and the Raptors from the opening tip that no one will outwork him. Wolf's initial burst during the Blue Devils' 60-48 win against Rolling Meadows in the NIU Supersectional on Monday included the game's first basket on an aggressive drive. 'He's a warrior,' Warren coach Zack Ryan said. 'He does everything you want as a coach to help the team win. A lot of it isn't scoring. It's defense. It's leadership. We wouldn't be here without Jack. But as hard as he plays and how tough he is, we can play with anyone.' Wolf, who does get credit for leading the team in charges taken, has a skill set that complements the free-flowing guard trio of senior Javerion Banks, junior Braylon Walker and sophomore Jaxson Davis and the interior force that is senior Zach Ausburn. Wolf's all-out effort and his uncommon athleticism make him a plus defender with the ability to go toe-to-toe with both guards and forwards. A case in point, Wolf initially drew the assignment to check Rolling Meadows' 6-8 senior forward Ian Miletic, a Marquette recruit, during the supersectional. After Wolf got two early fouls, Walker took turns on Miletic, who finished with 21 points after he had scored a combined 70 points in two sectional games. 'We knew that we had to play him physically, so that's what I was doing,' Wolf said. 'I consider myself a defense-first player, and I want to be a guy to lock down anybody.' Intangibles are a strong suit for Wolf, but he also produces statistically. He'll enter the state semifinals averaging 8.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Although he typically plies his trade inside the arc, Wolf has made 24 3-pointers, the third-highest total on the team. 'When I need to score, I'm going to score too,' he said. 'There's no problem with that. Winning is my top priority, though, and if we win, I'm the happiest guy on this planet.' There have been a lot of smiles for Wolf, who has been part of 57 wins in basketball and two state quarterfinal appearances in football during his junior and senior years. After basketball ends, he'll pitch for the Warren baseball team too. Staying busy with sports is all Wolf has ever known. 'Playing those three sports is what I want to be doing, and I find interest in all three,' he said. 'Obviously, I get a little sore, but my body is adjusted to it. The experience of all three actually makes me more agile, and I can rest when I get older.' Down the road, Wolf hopes he'll also be able to look back at the upcoming weekend and consider it among his most memorable athletic experiences. As this week progressed, he finally came to grips with the fact that the Blue Devils are two wins away from a state title. 'It's been since I was like 6 or 7 years old that I was wishing that one day I'll be out there playing in huge games like these,' Wolf said. 'I realized it earlier today when we were getting some details about the trip that we'll be playing on the sport's biggest stage. 'To have a chance to really go and do this is pretty special.'
Chicago Tribune
11-03-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Braylon Walker makes sure Warren can ‘finish the job' in supersectional. The Blue Devils are going to state.
Warren junior guard Braylon Walker wasn't going to forget how last season ended. Even if Walker and his teammates weren't back in the same game on the same court on Monday night, he would have remembered. 'After we lost, we talked about that moment every day last summer,' Walker said. 'We put in the work, the effort, and we were determined to get back here and finish the job. We played with a chip on our shoulders. That was a long bus ride home.' With the same prize on the line — a berth in the Class 4A state semifinals — Walker answered the bell on both ends of the court as the Blue Devils beat Marquette recruit Ian Miletic and Rolling Meadows 60-48 in the NIU Supersectional at the Convocation Center in DeKalb. The 6-foot-3 Walker scored 11 points and was one of four players in double figures for Warren (26-10), which had lost 55-53 to Palatine in the supersectional last year but advances to play Rich Township (25-8) in the state semifinals at the State Farm Center in Champaign at 7:45 p.m. Friday. Senior center Zach Ausburn, who was coming off a huge game against Waukegan in the sectional final, and sophomore guard Jaxson Davis each scored 14 points the the Blue Devils, and senior guard Javerion Banks added 13. But Walker's most consequential role was the yeoman's work he did defensively against the 6-7 Miletic. After scoring 70 points in Rolling Meadows' previous two games, Miletic was held to a more manageable 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Walker switched to Miletic after senior forward Jack Wolf was called for his second foul late in the first quarter. 'I watched a lot of film on him, and I know Ian pretty well,' Walker said. 'We work out together at the same gym four times a week, and I played with him growing up. He's very skilled. 'I knew I couldn't overreach or overplay him, and he tried to take advantage of me in the post. I had to be very physical with a guy like him, pressure him, make him uncomfortable.' Walker did exactly that, and while Rolling Meadows (30-5) had to work for everything on its offensive end, Walker exhibited a particularly strong offensive game as well. His controlled assertiveness contributed to the Blue Devils' game-long efficiency and helped keep the Mustangs on their heels. 'Braylon was aggressive on offense, got to the basket and didn't force it,' Warren coach Zack Ryan said. 'He made good passes, and he and Jaxson both played really good floor games. 'When you have guards like we have when you have a lead, you can pull teams out and take some air out of it.' The Blue Devils were in position to do that because they were essentially in control the entire game. They never trailed and led by as many as 18 points midway through the second quarter. The Mustangs put together a run that trimmed the lead to 34-30 in the third quarter. But Warren hit back with a 12-0 burst, which Walker started with a 3-point play and two free throws on back-to-back possessions. 'They overplayed Jaxson, face-guarding him, so I knew there would be an opportunity to score,' Walker said. 'Especially in the third quarter when they went on a run, I played with the mindset there that I'm not going home this time without a win.' That mindset was apparent in Walker's level of activity, which is nothing new. He also had four rebounds, two assists and two steals. 'I do whatever I need to do to help us win,' he said. 'Today, I needed to do more scoring. In other games, like last game, I had to play my best defensively. Each game, my role is different.' Warren knew all along that he would have a big role for Warren, but he was sidelined for much of December with mononucleosis and flu. Combined with the even longer absence of Banks, who was out after surgery, there was a long stretch of the season when the Blue Devils struggled. 'That really knocked me down for a while, and it took me a few weeks to get myself back to feeling like myself,' Walker said. 'We had a really hard schedule, too, so that led to us having to definitely fight through some adversity.' A team is better equipped to handle adversity when someone like Walker is at his best. No one knows that better than Davis, who has played with Walker since the two were growing up. 'For Braylon to guard (Miletic) like he did and produce on the offensive end, that was big-time,' Davis said. 'I've been playing with him all my life, and that's my brother, no matter what happens. 'It doesn't surprise me at all that he showed his best when it mattered.'
Chicago Tribune
08-03-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Warren big man Zach Ausburn's double-double is double-OT trouble for Waukegan in Class 4A sectional final
Warren basketball player Zach Ausburn seems to be made for this. Once March arrives and the intensity increases — like in the double-overtime Class 4A Waukegan Sectional championship game against the host Bulldogs — the 6-foot-7 senior center is in his element, and anyone in his way is unceremoniously cast aside more often that not. 'This is my favorite type of basketball to play, just being able to be physical, hitting bodies all game,' Ausburn said. 'You couldn't ask for anything better — double overtime, fighting back through it all.' The second-seeded Blue Devils couldn't have asked for anything more from Ausburn, who scored 23 points and grabbed 17 rebounds during their 70-60 win over top-seeded Waukegan on Friday. 'He's an animal on the boards, and he was a stud for us tonight,' Warren coach Zack Ryan said. Sophomore guard Jaxson Davis added 22 points and six assists for Warren (25-10), which won a sectional title for the second straight season while denying the rival Bulldogs (24-8) their first since 2010 and will play Rolling Meadows (30-4) in the NIU Supersectional in DeKalb at 7:30 p.m. Monday 'It was just a great, physical game,' Ausburn said. Ausburn is as physical as they come, but not in a brawny way. He's more like a pinball, careening in and out of tiny gaps, past and around opponents with a unique knack for getting the ball in his hands. When he reels in an offensive rebound, the ball often goes back up and through the net within a split second. True to form, half of Ausburn's 10 baskets resulted from his work on the offensive glass, and several other offensive rebounds bought the Blue Devils additional chances in a game where every possession counted. Ausburn's final entry in the scoring column came on a three-point play that gave Warren a 66-58 lead with 52 seconds left in the second overtime period. 'It's really impressive how he does that,' Davis said. 'The way I'd describe him is tough and gritty. He just wants it.' Ausburn has been on a mission since last season ended with a supersectional loss to Palatine. After watching that postseason run from the bench, Ausburn dedicated himself to becoming the player who is averaging a double-double on a team that weathered injuries and a merciless schedule with a target on its back. 'I prepared for this,' Ausburn said. 'I don't think I have to pinch myself, but it does feel surreal. This is something we've been working toward for a whole year, and once we won the other night, and knowing that we had lost to them (Waukegan) twice, this game was on my mind nonstop.' The environment was electric in Waukegan's jam-packed gym, and that, too, was something Ausburn prepared to face. 'You have to be able to clear your mind and be loose and free,' he said. 'You can't be worried about the noise. You just focus on yourself and how you have to play. All of the adrenaline gets you ready, and I wasn't really fazed by it.' Ausburn established himself early with 12 points in the first half, and the Blue Devils took a 31-24 lead into halftime after Davis hit a 35-footer from the left side at the buzzer. Waukegan stormed back, however, outscoring Warren 19-10 in the third quarter. The Bulldogs led by four points twice in the fourth quarter, but Warren senior forward Jack Wolf's layup with 46 seconds left in regulation forced overtime. No one scored in the first overtime period, but the Blue Devils led wire to wire over the final four minutes. Ausburn's basket and free throw in the last minute practically iced Warren's win. 'He didn't force anything and played under control,' Ryan said. 'That's really important for us, and it's a testament to his maturity.' To Ryan's point, it's almost inconceivable how someone can stuff the stat sheet like Ausburn does without a single set being run for him. 'I know I'm not going to really have any plays set up for me,' he said. 'That's just my role on the team. I know that if I'm going to have opportunities to score, I'm going to have to get offensive rebounds and put myself in position to get the ball into my hands.' Ausburn will likely have to keep doing that for Warren to break through to the state semifinals in Champaign. 'As a team, we realized that loss last year was a feeling we never wanted to experience again,' he said. 'From that point on, this summer, fall, up to this point, we've been working nonstop in the gym, doing everything we can to get further this year. A game like this will be a great springboard.' Originally Published:
