It was a historic season for both of DePaul Prep’s basketball teams.

The girls’ basketball team made it to super-sectionals, falling to Byron 52-45, which ended their season. The boys’ team had a 65-41 win over Bloomington Central Catholic, nabbing their first ever state championship in the IHSA Class 2A State Tournament. 

The school basketball season may be over, but the playoffs have impacted the players and coaches in many ways. 

Varsity girls basketball coach, Sarah Zarymbski, noticed that during the playoffs, the girls learned a new level of focus and what it takes to win tough games. “I think that will help us all season long knowing that when we do the things that lead to winning games, they see how important that is for every single game, not just the big state games,” said Zarymbski. 

“Coach always talked about how we need to play as a unit and how we need to do the small things,” said senior varsity player Jadyn Kosanic. “If we played together and did the small things, then we could win and that’s how we got our amazing record that we did this year.”

Coach Zarymbski enjoyed watching the group of girls knock down many milestones and program firsts. “They knocked down a lot of them and it was fun seeing everything that they did together,” said Zarymbski. 

Kosanic mentioned that the team was really funny this year. “Although we may have been goofy at times, I feel that our humor got us through the tough moments.” The team may have gotten caught messing around at practice sometimes, but they were able to pull it together when needed. 

Varsity boys basketball coach, Tom Kleinschmidt, mentions how the players learned valuable life skills such as work ethic, dedication, and perseverance. 

They also learned “to work harder when things are not going your way, not to work less, working as a unit to attain a common goal, how to work with people you like and quite honestly, may not like all the time. They also learned about toughness and to compete all the time, with everything you do,” said Kleinschmidt.

“I learned that we all have to work together. It’s not always about yourself,” said senior and varsity player Maurice Thomas. 

Thomas states that the team “didn’t settle and we didn’t let our guard down.” The team was able to beat really good teams to get to state. 

This year, when the team reached the state tournament in Champaign, “it was even more intense. We were really locked in and we knew what we had to do,” Thomas added. 

In the beginning of the season, each team set goals that they hoped to achieve. For Coach Zarymbski and the girls’ team, the goal was always winning conference and going downstate. 

“That was a huge thing for the girls and it gave them a lot of confidence when going into the state tournament. We fell a game short before we made it to state, but that’s the closest we’ve been,” Zarymbski added. 

From the four years of playing at DePaul Prep, Kosanic has learned that nothing comes easy and you have to work hard for what you want in life. 

“From my freshman to senior year, I definitely worked a lot and we got to go to super sectionals three times and that is something not many people can say. Not many people can say that they were conference champs in school history for the girls’ program,” Kosanic added. 

Coach Zarymbski’s proudest moment during the season would be after the team lost the super sectionals. “It was hard, but seeing all of the girls’ emotions after the game shows how much they wanted it and how much they put into it. While we didn’t get it, you can tell that they tried to win that game. They truly wanted it and it showed in their emotions.”

Kosanic’s favorite part of the season was how far they were able to come. “Although it didn’t end the way we wanted to, I’m glad that our team was so successful,” said Kosanic. 

For Coach Kleinschmidt and the Boys’ Basketball team, they set two goals every year: winning the CCL and a state championship.

Kleinschmidt explains how the team wants to win the league as well as a state championship. “Very lofty goals that most of the time are very difficult to attain, to be honest. But if you strive for perfection, although unrealistic, you will be amazed by what you can accomplish.”

“Our mentality was a big thing,” stated Thomas. “We wanted it and we knew that we were going to have to keep winning in order to achieve that and we didn’t settle down.”

When they won the title of State Champions, there was a sense of happiness, pride, relief, and closure that the team was able to play their last game of the year and win. 

“I didn’t really know what to say,” said Thomas. “I was smiling, I was laughing and jumping around with my friends. When it all settled down, I realized that we were state champs.”

Coach Kleinschmidt believes that winning the title of state champions gave the team, program, and the entire DePaul Prep community a huge sense of pride. He says that “this team’s legacy is locked in at DePaul Prep for the rest of time” and could not be more proud of them. 

The connection both teams had this year were very strong and that made the seasons very successful.

“I was able to play with my friends and be with the people that I love and care about the most. We had so much fun and energy and it was a great community,” said Kosanic. 

Playing at DePaul Prep has made Kosanic realize how to work through things. If you have more people working with you, your goals can be met. 

“It’s made me a better person, teammate, and sister, and it’s made me realize that there’s a lot more to life.”

Coach Kleinschmidt said that “winning a state championship with your best friends is priceless.” 

This gave him a sense of pride as well as relief. “No matter how good your team is, only one team gets to call themselves state champions every year. We can call ourselves that forever. Very proud of the young men.”

Thomas agreed when he said that “Everyone on this team likes each other and likes playing with each other. We never really argued about anything. We are like brothers and we actually had fun playing and practicing and being around each other and that’s why we were able to get the result that we did.”