Five high school basketball teams that have surpassed expectations this season

As we push past the halfway point of the season, there are teams that have exceeded expectations.

Some may not qualify as surprises — St. Ignatius, after all, was a ranked team in the preseason — but they are better than expected.

Whether it’s a team that was simply underestimated a bit or a young team that has jelled and come together more quickly than anticipated, these teams aren’t surprises; these are teams that have made a statement of some kind over the first two months.

Mount Carmel fits the description of youth taking shape at a fast rate. Coach Phil Segroves’ team has gone from unranked in the preseason to ranked, continually inching its way up the rankings, now sitting at No. 15.

The Caravan’s run to the championship game at Pekin over the holidays was a surprise as an unseeded team. But a title game loss to Peoria Richwoods left the Caravan’s accomplishment under the radar.

More importantly, coach Phil Segroves feels it could prove to be the turning point for his team and, specifically, his young players. The Caravan’s top four scorers include a junior, sophomore and two freshmen.

This past weekend’s road win over ranked and experienced Loyola was proof of the growth this team has shown since the start of the season.

“These young guys are great practice players and that translates to games,” Segroves said of his 14-5 team. “They are great teammates who want to practice, want to be coached and want to prepare.”

Junior Logan Wessel leads the Caravan with 11.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists a game. But a pair of heavily-hyped freshmen, 6-5 uber-athlete DK Heard and polished 6-3 Ronald Johnson, are coming on quickly. Johnson is averaging 9.8 points and 3.1 assists while Heard is putting up 9.2 points and 6.4 rebounds a game.

Loyola coach Tom Livatino said the biggest difference between scouting Mount Carmel and playing them was Johnson and Heard. Livatino said the Caravan are “a completely different team,” due to the freshmen, than the one they scouted in November.

“The biggest surprise are the two freshmen,” Livatino said. “They are not playing like freshmen. They are way more physical than typical freshmen and even more physical in person.”

Plus, the late arrival of sophomore Marshaun Thornton (9.2 ppg) from the state title football team has provided another offensive weapon.

Here are four other teams with a lot more to them than originally thought or anticipated.

Evanston

There was only one player returning with starting experience — junior Vitto Rocca. But this is Evanston. And it’s still led by one of the most accomplished coaches in the state, Mike Ellis. So surprise should be limited when it comes to the Wildkits, who do tend to revamp and reload with a high amount of success and regularity.

Nonetheless, the belief in Evanston, now 14-3 on the season, ranked No. 10 and all alone atop the Central Suburban League South, has far surpassed what most people thought when the season began. As a result, the ceiling has been raised.

The Wildkits seem to have grown together quickly and play with some grit and hunger. And they can score. You take out the slowdown tactics of the Wheaton South matchup — a 35-28 win back in November — and Evanston is averaging 71 points in the other 16 games and has scored 80-plus in three of its last four games.

While Rocca provides so much versatility and sophomore Ben Ojala has turned into a legit offensive weapon, it’s a team that boasts balance across the board. Rocca (13.6 ppg), Dion Lane (13.1 ppg), Ben Ojala (10.8 ppg) Timi Ogunsanya (10.8 ppg) and Tate Schroeder (9 ppg).

St. Laurence

The wealth of weapons and overall talent at St. Laurence is undeniable. But the surge we’ve seen from the Vikings, which includes a Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic championship and 18-3 record, is coming a year earlier than expected.

Coach Roshawn Russell’s main core includes a couple of juniors and three sophomores.

One of those juniors, Markese Peoples, has taken his game and production to another level. The MVP of the Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic is a physical presence on the perimeter, while another junior, Reggie Stevens, is another consistent double-figure scorer.

The three sophomores, Noah Corro, Logan Brown and Jeremiah Toney, get better by the week.

The only question now is whether this young team is prepared to make a significant dent in the postseason? They will soon find out.

There are big Catholic League battles with highly-ranked teams on the horizon, two of which — St. Ignatius and Mount Carmel — will be sectional foes.

St. Ignatius

Again, this is a team that was ranked in the preseason and boasted a Division I player, Chris Bolte. They were expected to compete at a pretty high level. But they’re included on this short list because the Wolfpack are clearly better than anticipated.

St. Ignatius won the Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament at York over the holidays and is the only team to have beaten top-ranked Benet, back in November. They are playing entertaining basketball and sport a glitzy 18-2 record.

Bolte sets the tone. He remains the unquestioned leader, both statistically and inspirationally. Fellow senior Nico Harris has upped his production and value.

The youthful supporting cast, however, has grown up quickly. Sophomore Amir Tucker has proven to be a bonafide scorer, DJ Caldwell has been a sophomore surprise and junior Duke Ross thrives in his role.

So there is something old, something new with this team. But it’s all gelled together nicely.

York

Without trying to take anything away from this team’s successful start, the Dukes are taking advantage of what is a down year in the West Suburban Silver and making the most of playing in the consolation bracket of its own Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament.

Regardless, when the season began no one would have forecasted York to be sitting at 15-3 and ranked in mid-January. Coach Mike Dunn has taken an inexperienced team with limited external expectations and turned it into one that’s surprised many on the outside.

The emergence of Joseph Lubbe has really helped. The 6-3 wing, who was an all-tournament selection over the holidays, has become a legitimate scoring threat on the perimeter. He’s leading the Dukes with 14.1 points a game and just recently went for 27 and 30 points in a pair of wins.

Multi-sport athlete Hunter Stepanich, a 6-9, 265-pound big man who is headed to Princeton for football and volleyball, is putting up 11.1 points and 6.7 rebounds a game, while sophomore Will O’Leary (6.8 ppg, 3.4 apg) has blossomed at point guard.

The added positive is a large portion of the individual production is coming from younger players.