Back in 2022, the Oak Lawn Community High School boys basketball team won its first conference title since 1983. It stood as a major accomplishment for the program and capped a grueling crawl from mediocrity to glory. Little did fans know then, that it was only the beginning for a new era of hoops in Spartan country.
Now it’s four years later, and the Spartans have been winning ever since. They are 46-6 in conference over the last four years. And after beating Eisenhower, 87-37, on Tuesday night in Oak Lawn, they clinched their fourth-straight South Suburban Conference Red championship in convincing fashion.
That’s four in a row.
Head coach Jason Rhodes has seemingly found the winning recipe no matter what ingredients he worked with each year. This team was a young one, but the Spartans have done it in different ways over the years. Strong defense, relentless effort, a willingness to learn, and overall pride in the program set this bunch apart from the competition.
“We had a strong foundation heading into this season with returning starters in senior Donte Montgomery and junior Jack Dempsey as well as two returning seniors in Ali Farhan and Mustafa Abunajim, who got a lot of experience last year,” Rhodes said. “Those four players allowed us to better break in the three juniors Omar Saleh, Marc Harvey, and John Olejniczak, who got a good taste of varsity basketball as sophomores, but they weren’t truly battle-tested. That inexperience did rear its ugly head at times this season, but it is a very coachable group of kids who respond well to hard coaching. I think they know we love them, and that helps.
“When we get off-course in any way, they allow assistant coach Colin Altenburg and me to steer them back in the right direction. While we would like them to improve at course-correcting on their own, it’s a work in progress, though we’ve seen signs of growth in that area that we hope will continue.”
The Spartans simply found a way to grow and remain on top. This season they rolled to a 23-8 overall record and an impressive 12-1 mark in conference. Oak Lawn dominated the action with only one SSC blemish coming at the hands of a strong Lemont squad. The Spartans have become the team SSC Red division opponents are trying to knock off the top of the mountain.
However, the Spartans remain kings of the hill in the SSC Red.
Montgomery (21 points per game) and Dempsey (13 points a game) commanded attention with scoring and stifling defense. Farhan, Abunajim, and Olejniczak all moved the ball well and shot it from three-point land. Saleh (7 points, 7 rebounds per game) and Harvey (13 points per game) patrolled the paint and filled it up on any given night.
Montgomery was named as the SSC Red Player of the Year with 24.4 points a game in conference. He added six rebounds, three assists, and four steals per game. To help show the depth of this starting lineup, Dempsey, Harvey, and Saleh were also each chosen as All-SSC Red selections.
“We also need to shout out some unsung heroes: Dylan Walsh, Jayden Cardenas, Gjorden Herron, Bashar Nassar, Luke Mahoney, and Lillard Gonzales, who often run our scout team and help prepare our team for battle,” Rhodes said. “Manager Shane Mulcahy has done an incredible job taking things off our plate as coaches and is respected and well liked amongst the players. Everyone’s role is important and has been a factor in the success of our team. We’re only as strong as our weakest link.”