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28 | March 7, 2019 | The highland park landmark sports
hplandmark.com
Girls Basketball Coach of the Year
Weissenstein rides into
sunset in final season
Michal Dwojak
Contributing Sports Editor
Steve Weissenstein
didn’t expect to be where
he is in 2019 when he entered
the Glenbrook South
gym in 1983.
The Titans head coach
was an accountant who
was just visiting a friend,
but he’ll leave as a giant
for the GBS basketball
program after 30 years
with the school, 21 as the
leader of the girls program.
“I didn’t have the foggiest
idea that this would be
the place where I would be
a head coach for 30 years,”
he said. “For that to come
true is beyond words.”
Weissenstein capped a
historic career with a season
he’ll never forget. Despite
different challenges
throughout the year, the
Titans fought those off
to win numerous tournaments
and surprise a rival
in its IHSA regional
finale.
His team’s success, despite
adversity, is why
22nd Century Media
named Weissenstein it’s
2019 Girls Basketball
Coach of the Year.
“I had the 19 best kids
you could possibly have,
and that made it just so
rewarding,” Weissenstein
said. “Every day of practice,
every game we had, it
was fun to be in that gym
with those kids.”
Many fans and coaches
around the state expected
the Titans to have a good
season. With a strong senior
trio of Kristin Ralston,
Makayla Stadler and Libbie
Vanderveen, South had
the talent to compete with
Glenbrook South girls basketball head coach Steve
Weissenstein was named 22nd Century Media’ 2019
Girls Basketball Coach of the Year. 22nd Century Media
File Photo
any team and be considered
one of the best in the
state.
The Titans started the
season strong by winning
the Mundelein Thanksgiving
Tournament, but
then the injuries started.
Julia DiSano dislocated
her shoulder in the championship
game of the tournament,
and doctors said
she’d miss the rest of the
season. Both Stadler and
Vanderveen played with
sprained ankles for most
of the season, and Ralston
missed four games with a
concussion.
But South continued to
fight. With its depth, the
Titans won games, including
the Falcon Holiday
Classic. There were a
few games Weissenstein
knows his team could’ve
won had he had his full
roster, but the Titans made
a surge toward the end of
the season.
DiSano returned for the
big win over Maine South
to finish the season, and
South battled back to defeat
New Trier for a IHSA
regional championship after
losing to the Trevians
twice during the season.
“I give credit to the girls
who stepped up and made
big plays,” Weissenstein
said. “We were mixing and
matching.
“It’s really cool when
you see kids who were hurt
and then battled back.”
Weissenstein said he
wouldn’t think much about
his last season before it
started. But with every
gym visit, the hosts celebrated
him and what he
meant to the North Shore
basketball community.
“It meant a lot to me,
knowing they had that kind
of respect for me,” Weissenstein
said. “I’ve built
relationships with those
coaches over the years,
and for them to do that, it
did mean a lot to me.”
Girls Basketball Player of the Year
Douglass’ complete game
earns her the 2019 honor
Joe Coughlin, Publisher
Four days after her team
lost in the supersectional
round, Lake Forest’s Halle
Douglass was in Normal,
Illinois, watching the
IHSA Class 4A state finals.
It wasn’t easy, but it was
worth it, as Douglass came
away with a clear goal.
“It makes me want to
play there more,” she said.
“Next year, we want to be
there. We have to get better
and work hard to get in
that position.”
That drive for excellence
is one reason the Scouts
had their most successful
season in program history,
and Douglass earned accolade
after accolade along
the way, including being
selected as the North Suburban
Conference Player
of the Year, First Team
All-State and 22nd Century
Media (parent of The Leader
that covers nine area
high schools) girls basketball
player of the year.
During the regular season,
Douglass averaged
16.4 points per game, 8
rebounds per game and 5.7
assists per game. She also
tacked on 3.4 steals a game
and 2.4 blocks a game.
The junior point guard
led the NSC in all of those
categories except rebounds.
Also this year, Douglass
broke the school record for
career assists and scored
her 1,000th career point.
While her name is next
to those stats, Douglass
credited her teammates.
“I think it’s mainly just
because of the girls on
my team,” she said about
her success. “[The stats]
wouldn’t have been as
good if they didn’t work
Halle Douglass led the North Suburban Conference in
points, assists, steals and blocks on her way to All-
State honors as the Scouts earned a sectional title. 22nd
Century Media File Photo
as hard as they do. We are
all so committed to getting
better every day. And this
year we really learned how
to push each other.”
The Scouts did that by
ratcheting up the intensity
in practice, “making things
more game-like,”she said.
The results were undeniable,
and not just for Douglass.
Lake Forest amassed
27 wins, a program record,
and advanced to the final
eight in Class 4A by earning
the first sectional title in
program history.
While Douglass deflects
praise, her all-around game
had plenty to do with the
Scouts’ highlight-filled
season. LFHS coach Kyle
Wilhelm said he thinks she
is the best high school point
guard in Illinois.
But as you can see by her
stat line, it’s not all about
the points for Douglass.
“I’ve never really been
like, ‘I have to score a ton
of points,’” she said. “If I
have an off night, where I
can’t put it in basket, I do
what it takes. I love playing
defense; it’s one of favorite
parts of the game.”
Rarely do you see a point
guard switch to a post defender,
but Wilhelm likes
Douglass’ height (6 feet 2
inches) and length around
the rim.
Her diverse game also
has colleges swooning.
The teenager has picked
up 15-plus scholarship offers
so far, many from bigname
programs.
But she still has one
more year of high school
left, and there’s plenty to
look forward to. For instance,
the team that bested
the streaking Scouts was
undefeated Maine West,
which ran roughshod
through the state (only two
of the Warriors 35 wins
were decided by less than
12 points) on its way to a
state championship.
Douglass saw the big
stage and wants to lead
the Scouts there, and she
won’t be resting on her
laurels to do so.
“I think I need get a lot
stronger; I’ll be working
on that this offseason,” she
said. “Also, I want to work
on my shot. I developed it
a lot this past year, but I
think I can become a better
shooter for sure.”