Three years later, they want another - Zach Pancratz and Craig Reichel of Schaumburg H.S.

Three years later, they want another
Zach Pancratz (center) and Craig Reichel (50) both are using the lessons they
learned from their older brothers to try and help Schaumburg to another state title.

Duo tries to win another state title

--2-20-04--
By Frank Rusnak
Zach Pancratz and Craig Reichel each won state championships as freshmen at Schaumburg High School. As they try to do the same this year, they both are missing key ingredients: their brothers.

"All those things we had a few years ago is there again, but we've still got some things we've got to accomplish, but we could make a run like that."

Bob Williams
Schaumburg coach

Mark Pancratz and Brandon Reichel were seniors on the Saxons 2001 Class-AA state championship team that upset top-ranked Thornwood with current Chicago Bulls player Eddy Curry. Both served as mentors to their younger siblings.

"You really learn from what they do and the way they play, and it only makes you better by living with them because you see them every day," said Zach Pancratz, a 6'6" shooting guard.

"It was fun for me because my brother and I were real good friends, and it was just fun with us seeing each other all the time," said Craig Reichel, a 6'9" post player.

Mark Pancratz is now at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, while Brandon Reichel is at Carthage College. Both are continuing their basketball careers at the college level.

As freshmen at Schaumburg, Zach and Craig were in coach Bob Williams' nine-man rotation.

With a 19-4 record, Schaumburg will attempt to duplicate its 2001 feat beginning with a game against Maine West on March 2 in the first round of the state tournament. The Saxons are seeded third at the Buffalo Grove Sectional behind Hoffman Estates and Glenbrook North.

"[Zach and Craig] are probably better because of having the older brothers," Williams said. "They have a little more savvy, and they do a few more things because they followed in their brother's footsteps, but they learned."

Zach and Craig both signed with Northern Illinois, but before the duo heads to DeKalb, they hope to make a stop in Peoria for the state tournament.

"All those things we had a few years ago is there again," Williams said. "But we've still got some things we've got to accomplish, but we could make a run like that. You just don't know."