For most of the fall, Friday night belongs to the football team. But as October rolls into November, Friday night is the basketball team’s time to shine. With boys basketball tryouts starting Monday, something special is brewing in the legendary OPRF field house, and it has been since the very beginning of the fall semester.

The OPRF basketball team has been holding open gyms to get in shape for the season. While on the surface these open gyms may seem like regular preseason preparations, they have been far more exciting.

Division I college coaches from all over the country have been coming to the OPRF field house to get a glimpse of the talent on the OPRF basketball roster. Colleges including Butler, Iowa State, DePaul, Loyola of Chicago, Colorado State, Denver, Temple, Wright State, and Akron, among many others, have been in attendance.

The Huskies are loaded with talent. Senior Justin Mullins recently announced his commitment to play Division I basketball at the University of Denver, sophomore Max Johnson holds offers from Portland State and Bryant University, and junior Sam Lewis holds offers from UW-Milwaukee, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, and Akron. Head coach Coach Phil Gary says Lewis’ list of college offers and interests increase with each passing week.

“Having the star power we possess is really a confidence booster. In the tough games when it’s tight, back and forth basketball, we can really count on our stars to get us the tough bucket that pushes us over the top and gets the win,” says Gary.

“We have a super talented group, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how much we’ve progressed since last season,” says senior John Vincent.

The Huskies feel that they are one of the most athletic teams in their conference and plan on using that as a centerpiece in their game tactics. “We have a very energetic group of guys. We have a lot of athletes, which allows us to play an up-tempo game,” says Gary. “We win and lose in transition.”

There are high expectations this year for OPRF, and with three Division I recruits, there is a lot of buzz throughout the high school basketball world.

“(Our) number-one goal is a state championship this year. We are a really underrated team, and we’re starting to get a lot of buzz, so I’m really excited (to see) how far we can go,” says Mullins.

The Huskies will begin the season competing in the annual Riverside-Brookfield Invitational before a highly anticipated Friday night showdown with their rival, the Fenwick Friars. “We’re all really excited to play Fenwick in the Chicago Elite Classic. We’re really looking forward to turning the tables on the cross-town rivalry,” says Vincent.

Another team Gary is looking forward to playing is the Glenbard West Hilltoppers. “They will be one of the top teams in the state, so (both Glenbard West and Fenwick) will be great matchups,” he said.

OPRF will face Fenwick Dec. 3, at either Wintrust Arena or Credit Union 1 Arena. They will face Glenbard West at home Jan. 14, and on the road Feb. 11. The Huskies will have to find a way to control the 88th ranked player in the nation and recent Gonzaga commit Braden Huff. Those two games against the Hilltoppers could be the decider in who wins the West Suburban Conference.