WAUKEGAN, Ill. — When your high school season involves the daunting task of taking down Chicago powerhouses like Whitney Young, you better spend your summertime wisely.
That’s why Sunday’s top-pools title at U.S. Junior Nationals’ ninth annual Great America Showcase afforded the Kenwood Broncos an opportunity to gain momentum before seeing the best the Windy City has to offer during the winter.
The Broncos, comprised of the Kenwood High team that is gaining acclaim in the Chicago hoops scene, beat the Illinois Predators 15 Lewis squad 56-48 to claim the title.
“We’re a young team, with only one 2016 (player) on the team,” coach Andre Lewis said. “We’re talented, we’re athletic, but we’re still learning to grow as a group. Our defense is getting better. Offensively they’re starting to understand that if we pass and move and play our style — which is up tempo — that it’s hard for teams to guard us. Overall I’m glad we were able to grind out and persevere through the entire weekend.”
The Broncos are an upstart, but they’re not an unknown. In 2014, they captured the school’s first Class 4A regional championship and the bulk of last season’s squad will be back again this winter with big goals.
Alyssa Moore (2017), a pass-first point guard, runs the show. Taylor Brown, (5-9, 2018) is a finisher. Freshman Tamara Nard (6-2) adds size.
High hopes?
“We do, but unfortunately we live in Chicago, and that means we’ve got to try to contend with Whitney Young,” Lewis said. “So we look forward to the challenge. They’re a great program. We’re just trying to be good like they are.”
To reach that level, June events are a helpful ingredient.
“For this group to be playing against 17U (club) teams, it’s great experience,” Lewis said. “… To play against other teams that have talented rosters all the way through. When you get into high school season, rosters may be only four or five strong. But when you play club teams, they’re built to be strong all the way through, so this is a great experience for them. It gives them the opportunity to handle game-type situations, and also to understand their roles.”
The players will now splinter into their club teams for the July period, with some moving on to play with the Chicago Hoops Express (where Lewis coaches), the Mac Irvin Fire and Mean Streets, among others.
ILLINOIS GUNNERS UNDERSTAND WINNING
It certainly wasn’t a new experience for their players, but the Illinois Gunners 15 team captured the title among Pools C-D with a 62-38 victory against the Wisconsin Xtreme 15 Green squad.
Two of the Gunners (Faith Anderson and Kendra Mattingly) — all of whom are from the Class of 2017 — started for Sherrard High School in Illinois last winter, capturing a regional championship. Two others (Bailee Case and Chloe Palmer) started as sophomores on a Knoxville High School team that won its regional championship.
“We’re a team that’s only been together for two years now but they’ve really started to jell in this tournament,” coach Chad Case said of the team that’s based just north of Peoria.
Another Gunner — Abingdon High School’s Madison Jones — might turn out to be the best of the bunch.
“Madison Jones is an outstanding player, a lefty but you’d never be able to tell,” Case said. “She’ll be a good recruit for somebody.”
KNOCKOUTS LAND FINAL PUNCH
The Illinois Knockouts 14 squad won the battle of the top pools in the 14/13/12U division, defeating the Minnesota Thunder 13 Walker squad 58-47 in the title game.
The Knockouts are based in Normal, Ill., with six players on the 12-member roster hailing from Normal West High School. They stick to a schedule of exclusively U.S. Junior Nationals events, and Sunday’s title was a nice way to rebound from a difficult experience at the prestigious Windy City event in Chicagoland two months ago, losing three of their four games. Led by heady guards Amber Tomlin and Caelyn Steffens (both 2018) and a talented 2019 product in Ayanna Gibbs, the Knockouts rolled to first place.
“Our first couple of events we were kind of sluggish,” coach Matt Freeman said. “This is not even our full roster; we have 12 girls and only eight here today. Yesterday we played outstanding, and today we kind of lost our composure a little bit, but they played through it.”
The Knockouts will stay on the USJN circuit for a pair of July events in Indianapolis before returning to Chicagoland for the Summer Final Midwest.
STRONG SHOWING FOR XTREME ELITE
Two of the Wisconsin Xtreme teams reached their title games, with the Elite 12 East squad emerging victorious with a 42-36 victory against the Illinois Defenders 12 Black.
The third-year club, under the direction of Wayne Featherston, has 12 teams.
“We teach the same things all the way up and down,” Featherston said. “Most of our kids come from towns of 2,500. Very small towns. We don’t look at the score a whole lot, we just play.”
The Elite 12 East team fit that description, playing without flash and flair but hitting all the right notes when it comes to fundamentals.
“I thought they played awesome,” said Featherston, who coaches that squad. “So much talent, and they finally put it all together. They’re 10 great kids, on and off the floor. They’re a special group of kids.”
For complete results, pool All-Stars, college coaches in attendance and more, follow the link below to the USJN Post Event Page for the 9th Annual Great America Showcase.
http://www.usjn.com/xtm_post_event_new.php?which=318
