By Marlen Garcia
Tribune Staff Writer
March 18, 2001
PEORIA - Mark Pancratz is hard to
please.
The Schaumburg senior won admiration
from his coach, teammates and
opponents all season long, but his
expectations soared with every
outstanding performance.
"He expects himself to be perfect and
he works to do that every single time,"
Schaumburg coach Bob Williams said.
"I was trying to tell him all year long,
'You've got a job and that is to try your
best. I'll criticize you. You don't have to
do it.'"
Pancratz finally found some
satisfaction Saturday in the Class AA state tournament at Carver
Arena. He led Schaumburg to its first state final appearance and then
its first championship, a 66-54 win over Thornwood in which the
6-foot-3-inch Pancratz scored a team-high 21 points.
"No one from our area has believed in us that we could be in the
state championship game," Pancratz said. "They didn't have any faith
in us. But our 15 guys and our coaching staff stayed together and
believed in ourselves."
Pancratz found several ways to make sure that his team advanced.
In a quarterfinal upset of defending state champion West Aurora on
Friday, he led his team with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists.
In a 58-57 semifinal victory over Lyons Township, he scored just
seven points behind leading scorer Scott Zoellick's 14, but his 10
assists was just one fewer than Lyons' 11 assists as a team.
Pancratz hit a free throw to give the team its final winning margin with
27 seconds left and then guarded Lyons' Jim Maley, who had scored
26, to help disrupt Lyons' attempt to win the game.
"It was easy to have faith in him down the stretch," Williams said.
"He's the guy that's gotten us here and held our team together. He's
the guy that can win the game for us."
Pancratz, with averages of 18 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists,
led Schaumburg to its third straight Mid-Suburban League title and
was the league's player of the year.
The team's fourth-place finish in the 1999 state tournament, in which
Pancratz had significant playing time as a sophomore, motivated him
for a return trip.
"It was pretty cool to have the seniors carry me down here my
sophomore year," Pancratz said. "Now I'm able to carry down my
little brother and people who haven't had the chance."
His brother, Zach, is a freshman reserve. Their mother, Jeanette, is
Schaumburg's girls volleyball coach and their father, Andy, played
basketball at Hersey and DePaul. About three decades ago, their
father helped Hersey reach a supersectional game, where it lost to
Evanston.
"We never got this far," Andy Pancratz said. "That's why this is so
exciting."
Mark Pancratz, known to lead by example, became more vocal with
his teammates in the postseason.
"I was telling them we could be good," he said. "Coach was telling
them we could be good. I started being more vocal at playoff time
because a lot of people got nervous.
"A lot of people were worried about making mistakes. That's what
almost cost us today [against Lyons]. We got worried about losing a
game rather than going out and playing. I just kept telling them,
'Confidence, confidence, confidence.'"
His self-assurance was contagious, his work ethic was exemplary,
and the result?
He found it pleasing.
Copyright 2001 The Chicago Tribune