Solorio went on the road and took down Lindblom tonight. It was a fun game in a strange gym. Don’t miss the Lindblom gym pictures in that link. But I’d like to talk about AJ Casey in the notebook intro.
Longtime high school basketball fans have seen highly-regarded freshmen prospects rise and then flame out. Especially bigs. A dominant 6-8 eighth grader doesn’t always turn out to be a dominant 6-8 high school senior. Sometimes the fade is slow, sometimes they never live up to the hype.
I know it is only mid-December, but after seeing the numbers Casey is posting this season and actually watching him in person on Saturday, I think it is safe to say that Casey is the real deal.
Tonight he did it against some major competition. The Titans lost to Marian Catholic 72-49 but Casey had 21 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks. He has nearly three full high school seasons left. Imagine what Casey might be doing by senior year.
A new episode of No Shot Clock was released tonight. Joe Henricksen and I talk about our biggest early season surprises, along with all this and even more...
-Notre Dame’s statement week
-Why Christian Shumate is the area’s most-feared player
-Is Bogan’s Antione Bloxton the top scorer in the city?
-Did anyone see Kendrick Nunn becoming an NBA star?
-Watch out for Collinsville
-Breaking down Thornton’s big win over Bloom.
Tuesday’s top games
No. 8 Marian Catholic 72, Tinley Park 54: Ahron Ulis scored 24 and grabbed 10 rebounds. Elijah Jones added 14 and Jordan Green scored 12.
Morris 71, Coal City 62: Jack Walker made 8 of 10 three-pointers and scored 30. Junior Colin Cummings hit 4 of 8 threes and finished with 19. Morris has won three consecutive games and is now 5-4.
Hyde Park 79, U-High 66: Junior Jalen Houston had 30 points, five rebounds and five assists. Sophomore Lamont Williams added 25. They’ve proven to be quite the duo this season.
Dunbar 74, Excel 34: Sophomore Jerrell Edwards scored 17 and grabbed nine boards.
Oak Lawn 56, Leyden 41: Nice win for the Spartans. Leyden knocked off Proviso East over the weekend. Trey Ward scored 26 and Sami Osmani added 11 points.
Andrew 47, Sandburg 43 OT: The T-Bolts win a barn burner in a big rivalry game.
Yorkville Christian 75, Crystal Lake South 65: Micah Schnyders scored 24 and sophomore Jaden Schutt led the way with 25 and earned some rave reviews.
Been doing Hoops Report for 23 years and Yorkville Christian’s 6-5 Jaden Schutt is as pure and natural of a shooter as I’ve watched in that time. Elevation on jumper, ideal form/release, quick trigger. Just a sophomore. That’s a special talent, some JJ Redick-like stuff.
— Joe Henricksen (@joehoopsreport) December 18, 2019
Wells 84, North Grand 43: Dominant win for the Raiders. Lavell Lundy dropped a triple-double with 15 points, 13 blocks and 11 rebounds. Donald Aguirre added 18 points and Jacorie Franklin scored 17.
Oak Forest 58, Reavis 21: Jayson Kent scored 17 and Robbie Avila added 11 as the Bengals cruise and improve to 8-1.
Eisenhower 103, Legal Prep 71: Jemel Jones led the Cardinals with 22 points. Cameron Braggs scored 18 and Deontae Sutton added 14.
