Los Angeles Lakers could learn a lesson from a high school team.

That prep squad is the Schaumburg High School Saxons, who just won the Illinois state title two weeks ago. While multi-millionaire athletes Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant feud over who should be “the man,” the Saxons focused on being a group of good men who make up a great team.

After defeating last year’s state champ West Aurora in a surprisingly decisive finish, Schaumburg faced its biggest challenge of the season & literally & against Thornwood and its 6-foot-11-inch, 290-pound All-American senior Eddy Curry. But the Saxons stunned everyone at the state tourney, defeating the nationally-ranked Thunderbirds 66-54.

How did David slay Goliath? The Saxons simply did what they did all year long & they stuck to fundamentals and team basketball. Schaumburg did have one star player in 6-foot-3 senior Mark Pancratz, but each game a different player would step up for the team. In the IHSA state finals, that player turned out to be Scott Zoellick, who canned five three-pointers and scored 19 points to spark the Saxons’ upset of No. 1-ranked Thornwood.

The Saxons became the first unranked team to win the tournament since Maine South won the title in 1979, because each player had a role and filled it to its potential. Whether it was 6-foot-8 Ryan Walter setting a screen to free up a shooter or grabbing a rebound, or guard James Han hustling on defense, each Saxon became very skilled and knowledgeable in their team duties.

“These kids just had such a strong bond,” Schaumburg coach Bob Williams said. “When a play needed to be made, they made it. It was always different people.”

“Everyone was pretty comfortable with their role,” said Walter, who will attend NIU next fall. “No one wanted to change their role because they knew it was for a better cause.”

Sounds a little bit like that Chicago team that won six world championships, doesn’t it?

Tom McCormack, coach of Schaumburg’s archrival Conant, believes a team’s success can be severely damaged if the team concept doesn’t fall into place.

“It’s a team game,” he said. “It’s not individual. You’ve got examples all over of players who are talented individually, but if they can’t blend into a system, it can be devastating for a team. In [Schaumburg’s] case, their roles were well-defined and guys were willing to accept that.”

When individuals concern themselves with their own output, as Shaq and Kobe do now, it will translate to missed opportunities and fewer possessions. True, the NBA and the high school game contrast greatly in skill level, but the team concept plays an important role at any level.

“Basketball is always a team game,” said NIU coach and former Illinois assistant Rob Judson. “It’s not always the five best players that make the best team. It’s the five players that play the best together. … The team in 1998 we had at Illinois didn’t have the five most talented team in the Big Ten, but we won the Big Ten Championship because they were a tremendous team. Even Michael Jordan when he was playing with the Bulls &he played real well within the team concept and the triangle offense that the Bulls were running.”

Against Schaumburg, Thornwood’s Curry pumped in a game-high 32 points in 32 minutes of play, hitting 12-of-14 shots. But the rest of the Thunderbirds didn’t show up to play, succumbing to Schaumburg’s pressure defense. Thornwood (32-2) learned the importance of the team concept as well. After an early exit from the state tournament last season, Thornwood knew it would have to do more than just dump the ball into Curry. Melvin Buckley and Pierre Thomas developed into offensive threats, but no one clicked other than Curry against Schaumburg.

“They were centering on one individual & Curry,” Walter said. “We were more of team than anyone else there. We didn’t have the greatest players or most athletic ability, but we played together as a team better than anyone.”

Schaumburg’s star Pancratz, a senior who has yet to make a college commitment, focused on elevating his teammates’ level of his play rather than his own. Walter said that attitude rubbed off on the rest of the team.

Judson understood how the team concept would determine Illinois’ success during the Illini’s Elite Eight run in the NCAA Tournament, which ended Sunday. Without role players like Lucas Johnson, Sergio McClain and Sean Harrington backing up point guard Frank Williams and post player Marcus Griffin, the Illini probably would not have advanced as far in the tournament as they did.

“We really grew with that team concept,” Judson said. “Yet there were times during games when we made individualistic plays that set us back. So the further we went as a team & in terms of unselfishness and trusting teammates & the better we worked.”

Shaq and Kobe, neither one of you will win another NBA championship by yourselves. The Los Angeles Lakers will.