As the sun sets on an exciting fall sports season, a lot of eyes are shifting towards the defending back-to-back CSL North Champions, Niles North Boys Basketball. Their season is just around the corner as they will be taking on the Amundsen Vikings at the Loud House on Lawler (Main Gym) on Dec. 3.

The Vikings racked up a resume of accomplishments last season. Some of these accomplishments include finishing the season 24-8, being undefeated in CSL play, leading the state in points per game, winning their eighth straight Crosstown Classic, finishing the regular season ranked in the IHSA Top 25, and having four CSL All-Conference players, including the CSL North Co-Players of the Year, Reid Olson and Yaris Irby.

But in terms of this year, the first challenge that stands in front of the Vikings is another team of Vikings. Amundsen last year had its struggles, finishing the season 8-15, but are hungry for a rebound, with no better place to do it than on the road against tenth ranked Niles North. But in terms of avoiding the upset, the Niles North Viking approach is simple, having fun.

“We got a pretty good team this year so to get out and play in front of our home crowd [again] will be pretty fun, and [we’re going] to give our school some excitement for the upcoming season,” senior guard Reid Olson said.

One notable part of this season and this game is the senior influence that it will bring. The class of 2025 has been an impactful part of the Vikings’ recent success, bringing a notable young flair to the team for the past couple of years. Niles North’s big three, Reid Olson, Yaris Irby, and Hunter Gawron have been varsity starters since their sophomore year. And with time they have only gotten stronger to the point where Michael O’Brien of the Chicago Sun Times claims that this team could be one of the best in school history.

However, with the class of 2025 now being seniors, the end of the 2024-2025 winter season will see Niles North losing a majority of its senior lead team, and this first game is likely to show that. However, varsity head coach Glenn Olson does not appear too worried.

“Although we have a large amount of seniors, we really like our junior and sophomore class… we are going to be counting on at least four juniors to contribute a ton this year [and this game]…and the sophomore class is [also] pretty loaded right behind them,” Glenn said.

With the team’s first game coming up on Dec. 3, it is surely bound to give a great preview of another season of Niles North basketball.