Trip to Chicago seasons Gulf

By JOEY KNIGHT

For the most part, they were overmatched on the court, and overindulged off it.

Gulf's boys basketball team lost its first three games at the Elgin Holiday Tournament in suburban Chicago, but was lavished with consolation prizes, courtesy of Coach Steve Feldman.

The Bucs visited the city's must-see monuments (i.e. the John Hancock Tower, United Center, Wrigley Field), slept in an upscale Holiday Inn, traveled mostly by charter bus and dined mainly in restaurants devoid of drive-throughs.

"We weren't eating McDonald's, let's put it that way," Feldman said.

Indeed, the only super-sized part of the trip was the final bill - $17,639. Feldman, who organized a plethora of local fundraisers including the raffle of a Harley-Davidson, initially projected the costs at around $12-14,000.

"We treated them first-class and I don't think anybody comes away from the experience feeling bad," said Feldman, whose team finished 1-3 in the prestigious 16-team event. "Now how bad my wallet's going to feel, we'll find out."

Winning, it seems, would be an adequate balm for that billfold. As his 5-6 team returns to Sunshine Athletic Conference play tonight at home against Mitchell, Feldman remains hopeful his holiday extravagance will turn out to be a wise investment.

The Bucs won't see any regular- season competition like the elite kind they experienced at the tournament, won by storied Glenview (Ill.) power Glenbrook South.

At the least, they should return to local competition humbled by their indoctrination into Midwest hoops, and eager to parlay the lessons they learned into area success.

At the most, they should be more seasoned than Emeril's holiday roast.

"Honestly, I don't know [how Gulf will respond]," said Mitchell coach Andy Schmitz, who put his team through nine holiday practices in lieu of tournament action.

"Some kids could look at that [1-3 tournament showing] and be down, and other kids could take that experience and grow from it. I'm sure they'll be pretty crisp as far as game condition, but as far as their mental condition, I really don't know."

Schmitz - and Feldman, for that matter - should get an answer right away. After tonight's visit from Mitchell (5-2), undefeated against county competition, the Bucs travel to Wesley Chapel on Friday. A home date with Ridgewood follows a week from tonight.

"I'm just hopeful that with what we experienced up there and what we saw will help us in the new year," said Feldman, whose team sustained three double-digit losses before a 62-34 rout of Addison (Ill.) Trail High.

"It's like I told our guys, `It doesn't matter now who comes out of the opposing locker room - and that's certainly no disrespect to Mitchell - it should not even make you bat an eye.' The level of competition up there is extremely tough and that is an eye-opener."

Jackson totaled 58 points in the Bucs' four games, including 16 in their only win - a 62-34 rout of Addison Trail.

The win coincided with a slight variation in the team's pregame menu. During their breakfast buffet at the team hotel, the Bucs were treated to spinach omelets, an apparent result of Feldman bemoaning his club's lack of tournament success to hotel staffers.

"I said, `Somebody wants you to win around here, guys. Let's open up a can of Popeye here right now and get with the program,'" Feldman said. "And we came out a little livelier [against Addison Trail]."