Parham Perspective: Wednesday Observations

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>** Written by Steve Parham</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Day 3 of holiday tournament week. I made a stop at two gyms and I watched a game online at home. Here is what I watched on Wednesday from Proviso West, Big Dipper, and Kankakee.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>Proviso West Tournament</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. Rita - Whitney Young&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>By far the top game of the night, maybe the week.&nbsp; Featured both highly ranked teams meeting in a game that was very close until the end. [player_tooltip player_id='1048324' first='Daniel' last='Johnson'] was huge in this one, hitting 3 of 5 from three in the first half of the game, giving Young an early lead in the second quarter. By the third quarter, it was more of Johnson hitting shots from mid-range and the corner. [player_tooltip player_id='1157228' first='James' last='Brown'] got it going in the 3rd quarter with his spin move into lefty finish. As he had 12 points and 11 boards in the third. Rita fought back with some buckets from [player_tooltip player_id='1157223' first='Nojus' last='Indrusaitis']. He made tough shots from three and mid-range.&nbsp; As Rita chipped away at Young's lead guard senior [player_tooltip player_id='939057' first='Dalen' last='Davis'] was instrumental at keeping the flow of the game for the Dolphins but made a crucial turnover down the stretch. Rita would get one more shot to tie the game, but Nojus missed the shot and Whitney Young would advance to the Championship game .&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1048324' first='Daniel' last='Johnson'] 26 pts 6 reb&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1157230' first='Morez' last='Johnson'] 20 pts 11 reb</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1157228' first='James' last='Brown'] 15 pts 13 rebs</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1157223' first='Nojus' last='Indrusaitis'] 18 pts&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Proviso East - Kenwood&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This one was pretty much over two minutes into the game. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1385283' first='Aleks' last='Alston'] came out blazing, knocking down 3 triples in the first two minutes, jumping to an early double-digit lead. [player_tooltip player_id='1401824' first='Tyler' last='Smith'] also made some big-time plays at the rim. He also scored double digits point in the first quarter.&nbsp; Proviso East never really got their footing in this game as [player_tooltip player_id='939056' first='Bryce' last='Coleman'] was the only Pirate that looked to assert himself. Before you knew it, Proviso East was down 30 by half and seemed to be playing catch up the rest of the game. Kenwood would win and set up a rematch of last year's Proviso West tournament final.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1385283' first='Aleks' last='Alston'] 17 pts</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1401824' first='Tyler' last='Smith'] 15 pts&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='939050' first='Darrin' last='Ames'] 13 pts</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='939056' first='Bryce' last='Coleman'] 16 pts 6 reb</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1279770' first='Emory' last='Marshall'] 13 pts</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>Big Dipper&nbsp;</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Perspectives - Francis Parker&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At Rich Township's south campus I watched the backcourt of Francis Parker go back and forth with the more experienced Perspectives guards. From the tip [player_tooltip player_id='1352590' first='Gianni' last='Cobb'] was in range to score as he made the first three baskets for the Warriors. Francis Parker senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1476131' first='Payton' last='Pitts'] answers back with his own mini run. As the game stayed close early on [player_tooltip player_id='1048318' first='KJ' last='Cobb'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1371072' first='Jakeem' last='Cole'] of Perspectives started inserting themselves as scoring threats. Both got to the rim on strong drives and each hit a couple shots in the rhythm of the game. Parker would fall behind until senior Caleb David stepped up and became the second scorer in the third quarter.&nbsp; But the onslaught of the Cobb brothers became too much as [player_tooltip player_id='1352590' first='Gianni' last='Cobb'] answered with another 10-0 run himself to keep Perspectives lead at double digits and ultimately scored the win.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1352590' first='Gianni' last='Cobb'] 29 pts 6 assist&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1048318' first='KJ' last='Cobb'] 12 pts 3 assist&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1371072' first='Jakeem' last='Cole'] 10 pts 6 assist.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1476131' first='Payton' last='Pitts'] 21 pts</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Caleb David 16 pts&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>Kankakee&nbsp;</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dunbar - Hansberry&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the morning, I watched a game online before getting over to the Big Dipper. Many people who saw me post on Twitter about an unknown player in the city. Well, it was 6'6” sophomore Al Brooks Jr. of Hansberry. In a matchup against Dunbar where his team was down most of the first half, he and his brother (Ikee) took over in the third quarter and never looked back.&nbsp; Al did almost everything from blocking shots, rebounding, assisting, and even getting multiple steals while Ikee did a lot of the scoring to lead the Bengals back after being down 11. The tandem willed their team through a bad start and ultimately won the game. What I was most impressed was how impactful and active Al was and his final stats said it all.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Al Brooks Jr. 18pts 16 reb 7 blk 8 steals 3 assist.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ikee Brooks 23 pts 10 reb 5 assist&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There seems to be another set of brothers that's playing some good basketball in December.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->