By Scott Taylor
Sports Editor
Plainfield East finished off a difficult St. Charles East Tournament by going 1-3, winning the final game 48-40 over Schaumburg.
“We’re not very deep and we have a lot of guys learning to play varsity basketball,” East coach Branden Adkins said. “But, we battled. We just have to execute better.”
Senior guard Jordan Reed was named to the all-tournament team. He had 15 points in a loss to Downers South and hit a game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer in the opener against St. Charles North.
“Jordan is doing a good job as a captain,” Adkins said. “He is attacking the rim. We need our big guys scoring. We’re a much different team this year. We’re asking new guys to step up.”
East’s Jordan Reed was an all-tournament selection at St. Charles East.
Adkins hopes the team can improve as they get ready for their Southwest Prairie Conference slate.
“We want to keep improving,” Adkins said. “We have to improve our execution and shoot the ball better. We’re attacking the rim, but we have to make good decisions when we get there. We have to go up and finish.”
Playing in the tough tournament to open the season should help the Bengals get ready for a solid group of conference opponents.
“That’s why we come here every year,” Adkins said of the difficult tournament. “We don’t see these teams anywhere else at any point,” Adkins said. “There are good teams here every year and there are always ranked teams. It is a great test for us every year, all four games. We have walked away here 4-0 and 0-4. I think we are battle-tested after four games here more so than some other teams are. It is a tough challenge and brings some adversity, but hopefully it makes us stronger.”
The Bengals have been in the upper half of the SPC for the past five years as they once again hope to contend for the conference title in what many think will be a balanced and very competitive conference this year as several teams lost mainstays in their starting lineups.
“It is a wide open conference this year, that’s for sure,” Adkins said. “There are a lot of big names that are gone that have been around for a long time. I think there are a couple teams that do have some depth coming back. But in the SPC, it is always a grind. You have to play every game or you can drop one. I think we will be in the mix. We have pieces, we’re just trying to figure out how to play varsity basketball.”