On the Hardwood: Loyola Academy Boys

SEASON REVIEW

Kevin Cunningham was the star of Loyola Academy’s Happy Days.

The 6-foot senior guard had himself a “hit” season.

Shoot, the whole team did.

You know things are good, when you win a regional title and put 24 wins in the book.

Cunningham, who will play college hoops at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, was greatly rewarded for his play this winter. He was one of six players named to the All-Chicago Catholic League team. Then, he followed that up by earning third-team honors on the IBCA Class 3A-4A all-state team.

The sharpshooter went 92-for-220 (42 percent) from beyond the three-point line and wound up with 402 points in 31 games. Cunningham ended up with 684 career points, ranking him 24th all-time at the school.

He never stopped doing “good” things on the court: 104 rebounds, 97 deflections, 97 assists and 32 steals.

Later this summer, Cunningham will represent LA in the prestigious IBCA all-star game at Pontiac High School on June 8-9.

But he was hardly a one-man show. Senior Pete Mangan and junior Connor Barrett also were headliners for this 24-7 squad.

Mangan, who only saw limited minutes last season, seldom came off the floor. He simply was too valuable, leading the team in rebounds (157) and sharing the team lead in steals (32) with Cunningham.

Mangan joined Barrett on the All-Chicago Catholic League Blue Division team. Barrett knocked down 91 three-pointers and averaged 12.6 points per game.

The 6-3 junior is the LA player to watch in 2018-19.

• Other observations: Talk about bright futures. The upside on sophomore twins Bennett and Jordan Kwiecinski is huge. Six-foot-seven huge. Bennett shot 50 percent from the field and 63 percent from the foul line. Jordan blocked a team-high 24 shots and was third on the team in deflections (75). … Defense. It’s been a staple with all Tom Livatino-coached teams. At times this season, it was suffocating. Two defensive efforts stick out. LA allowed only 11 points in a road win over St. Patrick in late January. Then, in the regional title win at Maine South, the Ramblers gave up just 29 points. … Freshman Patrick Baldwin Jr., who played summer hoops with Loyola, earned Division I (big schools) honorable mention all-state from the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. Son of Pat Baldwin, a former star at Northwestern University who took over the basketball program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the 6-7 freshman helped Sussex Hamilton High School advance to the state tournament for the first time in 31 years. Baldwin already has received an offer from UNLV. He visited Duke.

Honor Roll

Third Team All-State:

Kevin Cunningham (Sr., G)

All-Chicago Catholic League

Kevin Cunningham

All-Chicago Catholic League Blue Division

Connor Barrett (Jr., G)

Pete Mangan (Sr., F)

All-North Shore Weekend:

First Team

Kevin Cunningham

Second Team

Connor Barrett

Pete Mangan

Breakout Players

Pete Mangan

Quinn Pemberton (Jr., G)

Defensive Aces

Kevin Cunningham

Pete Mangan

Patrick Russell (Sr., F)

Unsung Heroes

John Lynch (Sr., G)

Bennett Kwiecinski (So., F)

Jordan Kwiecinski (So., F)

Stat Leaders

Points:

Cunningham (402)

Barrett (390)

Mangan (229)

Bennett Kwiecinski (153)

Jordan Kwiecinski (111)

Rebounds:

Mangan (157)

Cunningham (104)

Bennett Kwiecinski (90)

Barrett (86)

Jordan Kwiecinski (72)

Lynch (54)

Assists:

Cunningham (97)

Mangan (91)

Bennett Kwiecinski (31)

Jordan Kwiecinski (29)

Barrett (28)

Steals:

Mangan (32)

Cunningham (32)

Barrett (16)

Pemberton (15)

Deflections:

Cunningham (97)

Mangan (88)

Jordan Kwiecinski (75)

Bennett Kwiecinski (66)

Barrett (51)

Lynch (35)

Blocks:

Jordan Kwiecinski (24)

Bennett Kwiecinski (16)

Mangan (11)

Charges Taken:

Russell (21)

Cunningham (18)

Mangan (16)

Barrett (13)

Field-Goal Percentage:

Mangan (54 percent)

Bennett Kwiecinski (50 percent)

Cunningham (44 percent)

Barrett (42 percent)

Pemberton (41 percent)

Three-Point Percentage:

Cunningham (42 percent)

Barrett (38 percent)

Free-Throw Percentage:

Pemberton (88 percent)

Barrett (78 percent)

Cunningham (77 percent)

Bennett Kwiecinski (63 percent)

The Future

Five to Watch Next Year:

Connor Barrett

Bennett Kwiecinski

Jordan Kwiecinski

Quinn Pemberton

Vaugh Pemberton

Takin’ it to the Next Level

— Kevin Cunningham (University of St. Thomas)