Parham Perspective: Friday State Final Four

<p>The IHSA boys tournament has made it back to Champaign after years of being played in Peoria. And after a 2 year hiatus I made sure I was in the building to watch the original March Madness. Here is my coach point of view from Friday’s games.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>St. Ignatius vs Sacred Heart Griffin </strong></p> <p>The Wolfpack began playing lights out basketball playing to their strengths going inside to Kolby Giles and [player_tooltip player_id="989270" first="Richard" last="Barron"] who both had physical mismatches over their opponent.  By the second quarter Sacred Heart - Griffin figured things out and decided to run their offense which got [player_tooltip player_id="1113521" first="Zack" last="Hawkinson"] going. The physical forward played well out of the sets SHG ran. He seemed more comfortable knowing how to attack when his team settled down and played more in the halfcourt. Hawkins finished with 22 points.  St. Ignatius made a late game push from senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="863613" first="AJ" last="Redd"] who was able to get out in transition off turnovers and missed shots from SHG. The biggest factor that hurt Ignatius to me was bad spacing as they tried to run sets. On most attempts teammates were in the way at times causing players to shoot bad shots. SHG took advantage of these mistakes and with additional help from guard [player_tooltip player_id="989267" first="Jake" last="Hamilton"] they would pull out with the victory and a spot in Saturday’s State Championship Game.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Simeon vs Metamora </strong></p> <p>Metamora was not intimidated by the city power. They came out playing great team basketball moving it from side to side causing Simeon to play longer possessions on defense.  They would lead going into the second quarter.  Simeon got a really good performance from junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="939059" first="Jalen" last="Griffith"]. His on ball defense and passing in the open court gave Simeon a big boost. Griffith made some great attacking plays in the halfcourt keeping his defender on skates at times with slick hesitation and crossover moves. In the second half of the game Metamora came back out playing with confidence again and they also decide to force the Wolverines to play more on the perimeter as they doubled the big men inside and keeping extra bodies near the paint for help side defense.  This zone like defense stopped the Rubin twins Miles and Wesley from scoring off many high/low actions that they run pretty well. Early in the fourth quarter Metamora ran some double ball screen action where they were able to catch back to back slips to the rim for layups. These baskets would start a run by [player_tooltip player_id="939065" first="Ethan" last="Kizer"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1371068" first="Tyson" last="Swanson"]. Metamora never looked like a team who was down seven going into the last four minutes of the 4th quarter. They continued to play great defense and managed to score as Simeon didn’t try to run clock. Swanson had a couple drives to the rim while Kizer hit maybe the biggest three in his high school career which gave his team a lead and ultimately a spot in the State Championship game on Saturday. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Whitney Young vs Barrington </strong></p> <p>Barrington was very physical early on in the game. I think initially Whitney Young was stunned. Barrington’s scoring threat [player_tooltip player_id="1106946" first="Will" last="Grudzinski"] hit some big shots early which gave the team confidence and they went on a 16-0 run. Young was able to keep close with some tough mid-range shots from [player_tooltip player_id="939072" first="Marcus" last="Pigram"]. With a seven point lead at half Barrington was looking at another upset. When the second half started Young got after it on defense adding tons of pressure on ball defense.  A major upgrade from the first half. The length of defenders [player_tooltip player_id="771516" first="AJ" last="Casey"], [player_tooltip player_id="863585" first="Xavier" last="Amos"], and [player_tooltip player_id="1048324" first="Daniel" last="Johnson"] made things very difficult for Grudzinski. By the fourth quarter Young point guard [player_tooltip player_id="939057" first="Dalen" last="Davis"] was aware enough to feed the Dolphins most reliable scoring threat Amos. Xavier several key buckets in the lane to give Young the lead and ultimately the victory. Young moves on to Championship game.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Bolingbrook vs Glenbard West </strong></p> <p>This game started pretty slow if you are a Glenbard West fan. Bolingbrook started out in a 1-2-2 zone looking to keep GBW off the three point line.  This game plan worked a little as Glenbard got some good looks but just couldn’t make a shot. By the second quarter forward [player_tooltip player_id="863598" first="Bobby" last="Durkin"] was able to get it going and Glenbard West never really looked back. Durkin made SEVEN threes in the game and was one three short of breaking a state record for threes in a game. It wasn’t all doom for Bollingbrook as [player_tooltip player_id="1210405" first="Michael" last="Osei-Bonsu"] had a double double. Michael scored using force to score over the major size threat GBW had over him. Glenbard West would win by 30 and will have a rematch with Whitney Young from an earlier season battle where they handled Young easily.  </p>