Parham Perspective: MLK Day Top Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>MLK day in Illinois means a bevy of basketball games through the city. I was blessed to coach and watch several games. Here are the top players I witnessed on the day.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Carter Webb - Antioch 6'2 2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Webb is an exceptional shooting guard that gets his feet set and knocks shots down. In an early morning game he made 6 threes to give his team the win over Julian. Carter moves well off the ball and is a complete weapon in catch and shoot opportunities. He finished with 22 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Larry Carthans - Julian 6'7 2023</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Long and agile wing player had a terrific showing early in the morning despite the loss. Larry scored from all three levels but mostly making his mark at the rim. Carthans had a few nice straight-line drives from the wing and even hit a three from near top of the key. Larry finished with 21 points and 9 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2321459' first='Tristian' last='Saunders'] - Plainfield Central 6'2 2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Saunders is a quick guard with really good basketball instincts. He was a major contributor in his team's come from behind victory.&nbsp; Tristian made some very timely shots from 3 in transition. He's a player o track going forward with his size and skillset. Tristian had 13 points in the win.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Al Brooks - Hansberry 6'7&nbsp;2025</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A player who's starting to get some buzz around the state Brooks looked really good while on the court. Some foul trouble got him a quick seat to start the 3rd quarter.&nbsp;While on the court he shined. Al made many tough mid-range jump shots in the heart of the zone defense. Another strong point was his soft hands around the rim and how quick his second jump for rebounds is off missed shots. Brooks Jr &nbsp;finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1279765' first='Quentin' last='Heady'] - Hilcrest 6'5 2023</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Heady is continuing to have a stellar season and as an unsigned senior there is no better way to showcase to colleges how good you are then to play well on TV. Quentin is tough forward that scored around the rim well and is often fouled in the process. He has shown the ability to make shots from three and is a rebound hound. In a win over a quality Curie team went big with 33 points and 8 boards.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1285519' first='Stefan' last='Cicic'] -Riverside Brookfield 6'10 2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cicic performance against Fenwick was solid to say the least. The big man does a great job to fight for positions in the post area which leads to good looks and often has him in the right area for offensive rebound opportunities.&nbsp; Stefan is very active post that can alter shots on most smaller defenders.&nbsp; He led the Bulldogs with 17 points and a handful of rebounds in the win.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->