Bloom has five Division I starters, all seniors. The expectations for this season are massive. It’s state title or bust for the Blazing Trojans. But things aren’t going exactly as planned.
“It’s good to have talent, but it can be hard to get all the talent together on the same page,” Bloom coach Dante Maddox said. “That’s a difficult thing to deal with.”
Evanston starts five juniors. The tallest is 6-4, and none has committed to a college yet, and most don’t have a lengthy list of offers. The Wildkits’ game plan is quite a bit different.
“The five united is hopefully better than any singular Division I player,” Evanston coach Mike Ellis said.
That was the case in No. 2 Evanston’s 81-79 victory against No. 6 Bloom in the When Sides Collide Shootout at Glenbard East on Saturday.
Bloom, taller and more athletic at every position, put on a dunking show throughout. Meanwhile, the Wildkits made 13 of 27 three-pointers.
“We didn’t let [the dunks] get to us,” Evanston junior Isaiah Holden said. “Every time they dunked, we just kept pushing the ball and made sure we ran the floor. A dunk is just two points.”
Holden, the smallest player on the floor at 5-10, was spectacular. He darted around the Blazing Trojans, creating havoc.
“I was a little nervous, but I knew they jumped at everything, so I used my body to finish inside and made sure I pump-faked and got them in the air,” Holden said. “I had a chip on my shoulder from the loss we took on Tuesday [to Zion-Benton]. There was a lot of anger inside me. Today was one of the days we had to redeem ourselves.”
Holden scored 24 points and grabbed four rebounds.
“He led us,” Ellis said. “That was what we talked about: just play fearless. You can’t go out and play a team like Bloom with fear. You’re going to end up losing before the ball is even tipped.”
Junior Blake Peters scored 24 for Evanston (20-1), and Jaylin Gibson added 21 points and eight rebounds. Peters was 7-for-14 from three-point range and grabbed four rebounds. He’s one of the state’s best shooters, but his unselfishness helps set the tone for the Wildkits.
“We can’t back down from anybody,” Gibson said. “We had to come out strong at the tip even though they are bigger than us.”
Bloom (19-5) had only a 32-29 rebounding edge despite its severe size advantage.
“Rebounding was the No. 1 key we focused on before the game,” Ellis said. “To hold that team, with the size they have and the athleticism, to eight offensive rebounds is outstanding. Our guys did a great job of not leaking out. Their focus was really solid.”
Donovan Newby led the Blazing Trojans with 24 points, and Dante Maddox Jr. added 22 points and six rebounds. Christian Shumate put on a dunk show and had 17 points, eight rebounds and five blocks.
By the measure of most teams, Bloom has had a good season. But the team and Chicago Heights expected more. The Blazing Trojans lost to Thornton in December and to Curie in the title game at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament.
Maddox said he’ll find out where his team stands Tuesday in the rematch against Thornton.
“This is a tough week,” Maddox said. “We will find out if we can do the stuff it takes to win and if we can do it together.”
The final minute of Evanston vs. Bloom https://t.co/e5OMLhZxhB
— Michael O'Brien (@michaelsobrien) January 25, 2020
