Michael O’Brien’s notebook: Nov. 30, 2017

Well that was intense. Curie knocked off Orr tonight. It was an ugly game. Neither team played well, typical November basketball.

The Condors’ tenacity was impressive though. Curie basically has a brand new team this year and it was missing its top piece, Marist transfer Maurice Commander. Read about that drama here.

Orr led the entire second half but Curie just wouldn’t go away. Pulling off a win like that in the first game of the year definitely bodes well for the Condors this season.

The Spartans didn’t seem to take to the No. 1 ranking all that well. The transition from underdog to hunted can be difficult for kids to make. We saw some flashes of last season’s unselfish, dynamic Orr squad but aside from a brief burst near the end of the first half the Spartans weren’t firing on all cylinders.

This means the No. 1 spot is up for grabs. If I had to pick one right now (thankfully I don’t) I’d go with Young. The Dolphins have the best resume and have played enough games now that I think they are a little bit ahead of the curve.

Plenty of basketball between now and Sunday night that could change that however.

Brief uniform notes: Curie’s new uniforms are great. Probably the best high school basketball uniforms I’ve seen in a long time. Orr on the other hand….where is the yellow? And what is going on with that number on the front? I hope that trend doesn’t catch on, keeping stats is hard enough already.

Tuesday’s top games

No. 25 New Trier 63, Maine South 56: Great win for the Trevians. This is a good sign that they are for real this season. Andrew Kirkpatrick led the way with 17 points.

Lake Forest 71, St. Viator 54: Surprising result and margin. The Lions were a perfect 4-0 heading into this one. Guess it is time to pay attention to the Scouts. Mead Payne led Lake Forest with 19 points and eight rebounds, Ben Gibson added 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Libertyville 55, Lake Forest Academy 48: Drew Peterson probably isn’t getting enough attention. The unsigned senior scored 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in this one. He scored 11 of the Wildcats’ 17 points in the fourth quarter. Peterson is averaging 27 points and nine rebounds in his first five games of the season. Those are Player of the Year numbers.

No. 6 Niles North 64, Niles West 47: Vikings cruise in a rivalry game.

No. 19 Kenwood 67, Farragut 41: Heard raves about senior Nas Turner and junior point guard Artese Stapleton. The Admirals need a player not named Strong to step up.