Seniors Share Spotlight In Evanston Romp

For decades Evanston’s basketball program has honored the senior players and managers on Senior Night, usually scheduling that recognition for the last home game of the season on the schedule.

It’s a tradition that most other schools have adopted, too. It’s an opportunity to reflect on the past four years of involvement with the program and the coaching staff and it can be a sad occasion in that regard.

This year, ETHS head coach Mike Ellis decided to switch things up. And the decision to hold Senior Night the second week of December may have changed the dynamic for the current seniors before they graduate in the spring of 2026.

Instead of reflecting on the past, seniors Timi Ogunsanya, Tristen Wilcox, Elliot Pratt, Miles Ross and Desi Israelite had a chance Tuesday night at Beardsley Gymnasium to take advantage of extended playing time for a squad where most of the roles --- starting and bench --- haven’t been determined yet just one-fourth of the way through the season.

So Evanston’s home opener Tuesday night might have been a new beginning --- not the end. The Wildkits whipped Chicago Bulls Prep 82-39 and bounced back from a weekend loss to Waukegan to improve to 5-2 on the year.

Evanston hosts Glenbrook North on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in a Central Suburban League South division contest.

Ellis did follow through on one tradition that past Wildkit coaches have also embraced, starting as many seniors as possible on that special night. Ogunsanya has started every game to date this year, but the others in the Class of 2026 are still hoping to prove themselves to the ETHS coaching staff.

Four Kits scored in double figures in the running clock victory over a 1-7 Bulls Prep team, including seniors Ogunsanya (11 points) and Wilcox (11 points, 5 steals). Junior Aiden Payne scored 12 points off the bench and Dion Lane Jr. also notched 11 points as the hosts shot 52 percent (32-of-61) from the field and forced 23 turnovers.

Another senior, Elliot Pratt, contributed 9 points and a team-high 8 rebounds in just 14 minutes of court time.

“In my opinion, it’s really not that exciting when you have Senior Night at the end of the season. I prefer celebrating the seniors and their parents at the start of the season,” said Ellis. “This is something I’ve always wanted to do.

“I’d compare it to baseball, when Opening Day is always sold out and it’s a celebratory occasion. I want them to celebrate their senior seasons right from the beginning. Let’s play it forward instead of backward. Every year the seniors are a special group --- I almost wish I’d done this for last year’s (Final Four) group --- and they should be able to celebrate while the season’s still alive, not that it’s ending.”

Evanston’s seniors played the entire first quarter and four of them scored while building a 20-11 lead after a slow start. The hosts stretched the lead to 20 points (44-24) by halftime as freshman Turner Schroeder banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the only drama remaining was when --- or if --- Ross would join his classmates in the scoring column.

He got there midway through the third period, on a fast break lay-up with 4:16 left on the clock.

The senior who made the biggest impression might have been the 6-foot-4 Pratt. Rebounding and strong defense are the most likely paths to playing time under Ellis, and Pratt showed against lesser competition Tuesday that he could be a factor going forward.

“We’ve had a ton of effort so far, but the seniors are mostly inexperienced for us,” Ellis explained. “We’re all far from where we want to be as a team. We still have a lot to learn. I want the seniors to feel that now is the moment for them. The season is still young and there’s time for them all to grow, and to make a move.

“Elliot almost had a double-double (points and rebounds) tonight and I’m so happy for him. It was an opportunity for him to make some contributions and he was really good. Hopefully he can take tonight and build on it. He has some guard skills, some forward skills, and he just needs the want-to to be a consistent rebounder like he was tonight.

“I thought Aiden Payne played with a lot of energy tonight. He’s got talent and ability and he was productive at both ends of the court, on offense and on defense. Now we’re looking for him to play situational basketball, to understand the moment in a game.”