Jan. 21--There were six-tenths of a second left to work with in the first quarter, and Justin Pierce knew the lob was coming on an out-of-bounds play against Oak Park simply by the eye contact he made with Alex Passi.
The more difficult, more dramatic lob from underneath the basket with 0.5 seconds left in the following game was a called play Glenbard West had worked on in practice.
Pure improvisation, detailed planning and everything in between -- including a half-court winner at the buzzer by Passi in early December -- have been executed to perfection by the Hilltoppers this season.
They readily acknowledge their physical limitations, but Glenbard West enters an important West Suburban Silver weekend a perfect 15-0 after Pierce's buzzer-beater from just inside the free-throw line on a lob from Passi gave the Hilltoppers a 44-43 victory over Downers Grove North last Friday.
"We are not going to pass the eye test," Pierce said. "I'm aware of that. It's not like we have height or athleticism or quickness. Just a bunch of guys playing together for a long time, and we knock down shots, we play good defense and we don't give up second-chance points."
The two Passi-to-Pierce buzzer-beaters illustrate what has made the team such a success.
The chemistry throughout the roster, particularly between Pierce and Passi, is so strong. The two know each other so well that they didn't have to talk to communicate on the first one.
Both scored better than 30 on the ACT; head coach Tim Hoder said virtually every kid on the team excels in the classroom. His team's intelligence allows Hoder to tailor his plan to each opponent and shows up in its execution.
The other key component, as the game-winner against Downers Grove North -- and his 24.7 points per game -- suggest, Pierce has become a truly great high school basketball player.
A William Mary recruit, the 6-foot-6 Pierce made significant advancements in each of his three varsity seasons.
He said he probably didn't belong on varsity as a 6-foot-3, 160-pound sophomore who shied away from contact, but he said without that experience he probably would not have averaged 16 points a game and earned All-Conference honors as a junior.
Then Pierce became more dynamic in the off-season, adding wing and post skills to his trusty jump shot, and made himself stronger in the weight room.
A lot stronger.
"Come summer he was dramatically stronger," Hoder said. "Then when he came back in the fall for open gym, I thought, 'Wow, he is constantly getting stronger and improving.' When kids gain physical strength, they gain confidence.
"I knew he was going to have a really good year, but he is having a fantastic year. Probably the biggest measurement is he went from averaging five rebounds to 11."
The goal, for now anyway, is simply to win conference. For everything the Hilltoppers have accomplished, they're not yet close.
Pierce and Co. are 3-0 in league play heading into back-to-back road games at Proviso West and Lyons on Friday and Saturday.
There are 12 games on the conference slate, all seven teams in the league are competitive at worst, and Glenbard West still has two games remaining with Hinsdale Central (9-7, 3-1) and another one with York (13-6, 2-2).
"We never talk about going undefeated," Pierce said. "It's still not a goal. We know there's going to be games we don't play well, or shots don't go it or maybe the other team plays really well. Friday was an example. We did not play well and were fortunate to win.
"At this point a good goal was to be unbeaten in league play. That was our goal in the beginning of the year, to win conference."
Mike Helfgot is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
