LF_031419

28 | March 14, 2019 | The lake forest leader SPORTS
LakeForestLeader.com
Boys Basketball Coach of the Year
Ralston’s chance works in Titans’ favor
Michal Dwojak, Contributing
Sports Editor
Phil Ralston took a
chance when he came to
Glenbrook South last season.
The former Geneva High
School boys basketball
coach came to Glenview
before the start of last season
with a proven track record
facing a program that
hadn’t had life in it for a
while. He had the methods
for building a successful
program, he just needed
the willing participants in
order to build something
special in Glenview.
Ralston saw that buy
in from his players right
away and the players saw
the fruits of their labor in
a turnaround season for the
Titans. South flipped its record
from last season and
won its first IHSA regional
title in 10 years. The players
bought into Ralston,
who’s transformation of
the South program earned
him 22nd Century Media’s
2019 Boys Basketball
Coach of the Year honor.
“I’m eternally grateful to
the kids, especially our seniors,
our returning players
from last season,” Ralston
said. “When I came in, they
didn’t know me from Adam
and we suffered together
last year. We had moments
of just falling short. When
we talked at the end of last
year about goal setting, I
knew a lot of them seemed
as going to the moon.”
Ralston demanded effort
from the Titans and a commitment
to his style. He got
that commitment and South
played hard during his
first season, but the Titans
couldn’t get over the hump
in a lot of games, finishing
with a 9-19 record.
Ralston demanded more
Glenbrook South boys basketball coach Phil Ralston
earned 22nd Century Media’s 2019 Boys Basketball
Coach of the Year honor. 22nd Century Media File Photo
from his players, wanted
them to increase their work
in the gym over the offseason
and play together over
the summer to continue to
learn the offensive sets.
South players did just
that and started the season
strong, winning their first
nine games, including a
win over Evanston, one of
the state’s top teams. The
Titans and their fans celebrated
the win against their
Central Suburban League
South rival, knowing they
have taken down a giant.
For Ralston, though, the
win was good and bad.
“I think it was good for us
in the sense that there was a
wall that I think was put up
for these kids their whole
high school career and
they’re told you can’t get
past this points,” Ralston
said. “They broke through
that barrier this year.
“The negative, I think
we got more inflated ego
for ourselves. Not that they
let it get to them, but forgot
what was the hard work
that led them to that win.”
South went on to finish
4-6 in the division and
earned a No. 5 seed in the
IHSA Evanston Sectional
— the top-five teams in the
sectional were all from the
CSL South. After defeating
Conant in their opening
postseason game, the Titans
had some fortune with
Niles West defeating Niles
North and advancing to the
regional final. There South
accomplished history, winning
its first regional in a
decade and creating a rematch
between the Titans
and Wildkits in the sectional
semifinal.
Evanston went on to
win the game, but the loss
marked another level of
improvement Ralston’s
program took. GBS finished
with a 24-9 overall
record, one win shy of tying
the program’s record in
wins. Titans fans filled their
side of the Niles North gym
during the sectional game,
something Ralston has
never seen as the coach at
GBS or coaching against
the school.
While the seniors will
move on from the program,
Ralston is proud of not only
they accomplished this
season, but for the overall
growth of Titans boys basketball.
“When you can see what
you’re looking toward, you
work a little bit harder to
make sure you get there.”
The young men are innovators
and set a new standard
for kids to want to
achieve.”
The chance worked out.
Boys Basketball Player of the Year
Martinelli stays true
to himself in big year
Michal Dwojak, Contributing
Sports Editor
Dom Martinell never
shied away from scoring.
Ask any of his teammates
from the teams he
played on growing up and
they’ll most likely say the
Glenbrook South junior
carried the load when it
came to scoring the basketball.
Time hasn’t really
changed Martinelli, and
that worked out to the
Titans’ favor. The South
player averaged 24.6 ppg
this season and scored 812
points during the year. He
scored when head coach
Phil Ralston needed him
to, leading the Titans to
a historic season where
they won 24 games — one
game shy of their all-time
record — and earned their
first IHSA regional title in
a decade.
Martinelli’s leadership
on and off the court is why
he earned 22nd Century
Media’s 2019 Boys Basketball
Player of the Year
award.
While scoring has always
come second nature
to him, the junior knew he
wasn’t the sole reason for
the team’s historic season.
“I love it,” Martinelli
said of scoring. “It’s not
just me; there are so many
other people on the team
that make as big of an impact
as I do. I love to score
and put my team in a position
to win.”
The Titan credited his
breakout junior year to a
Ralston challenge over
the offseason. Martinelli
wasn’t happy with his
Glenbrook South boys basketball player Dom Martinelli
earned 22nd Century Media 2019 Boys Basketball
Player of the Year award. 22nd Century Media
sophomore year, so he
wanted to improve different
elements of his game.
Ralston challenged him to
change his shooting style,
which would improve
with some modification.
He would spend two hours
practicing before or after
summer games and practice
with senior Will King,
making sure this season
would be special for the departing
seniors.
While there were times
Ralston would want to
leave the gym so he could
go spend time with his family,
he would never complain
about a player who
had the worker’s mentality
Martinelli does.
“I have not seen a kid
that has dedicated himself
as much as he can to making
that improvement occur,”
Ralston said. “He’s
one of those kids first on
the floor and last one out.
“He is a real special and
unique kid. He’s a fierce
competitor.”
The hard work paid
off. Martinelli took not
only the Central Suburban
League by storm but
the state by storm with big
performances against the
best in the state, including
Evanston. While the Titans
impressed, Martinelli
was there scoring, making
Ralston’s offense work
with his teammates making
sure to get him involved.
“I wanted to become one
of the hardest players to
guard in the conference,”
Martinelli said. “The only
way I could do that was
working hard every day.”
Glenbrook South went
on win its first IHSA regional
in a decade, setting
up a rematch with top-seeded
Evanston. The Titans
fell to the Wildkits, with
Martinelli scoring 32 points
in the loss. Like most of the
Titans, the junior looked on
realizing the season they
worked hard for was over.
But that only motivates
him to become a better
player for his final year
with Glenbrook South, remembering
a special team.
“It just shows all the
hard work our team put in,”
Martinelli said. “To have
such a great season is just
a blessing.”