Lockport struggles at Morris

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Lockport's boys basketball team has reached the supersectional level three straight years and has played at the state tournament the last two seasons.

That does not happen by accident.

It did not happen because the Porters necessarily were more talented than teams they beat along the tournament trail, either.

Rather, it occurred because the players bought into the concept of team, the concept coach Lawrence Thompson Jr. hopes builds a full head of steam during summer basketball, at events such as the Morris Shootout, which opened Tuesday and concludes today.

Lockport lost its three pool games Tuesday and thus is relegated to the Maroon Tournament today. The first- and second-place finishers in each of the eight four-team pools will compete in the Gold Tournament.

To a degree, results reflect whether players are understanding the team concept. But there is more to it than that.

"There is a big difference when guys have gotten a little bit of playing time (on the varsity) in the past, and now they have to do it over the course of an entire game," Thompson said. "I normally would have called a timeout at the end of a game today, but I didn't. I wanted to see what kind of decisions that brought, see what the maturity factors were."

Lockport lost its starting five from last year's Class 4A state semifinalist. That group included Brian Bradley, Justin Jarosz, Derrell Williams, Mike Frigo and Rob Carroll.

Senior guard Ryan Callozzo and junior forward Landon Gamble are potential leaders, based on their contributions off the bench last aseason.

"They can be leaders as long as they remember it's a team game," Thompson said.

Gamble suffered an apparent ankle sprain in Lockport's first game Tuesday and sat out the rest of the day. At full strength, he projects as a force around the basket.

The same can be said for senior post player Scott Stevens. But the 6-foot-5 Stevens, although playing in the shootout, is trying to regain full strength. He tore the ACL and meniscus in his right knee in open gym last October and missed the season.

"It's getting better, but it's not 100 percent," Stevens said. "I'm still 4 inches short on my vertical jump. It feels fine, but I do notice I'm slower right now than I was."

Stevens is a prime example of Thompson's point about building team.

"He was out all season, so the process starts over for him," Thompson said. "In his case, the speed of the game is where most of the problems are. He still is strong around the basket, but I think his defense is what is affected most by the injury."

Stevens, who lives in Homer Township, tore a ligament in the same knee in eighth grade, while playing baseball for the Homer Heat. With that, he effectively ended his baseball career.

He enrolled at Providence Catholic as a freshman and played basketball, averaging 18 points per game for the Celtics' freshman team. "I scored pretty well that year, but there really wasn't anybody else to score," he said.

He decided to transfer to Lockport for his sophomore year, and he teamed with Callozzo to lead a very good sophomore team.

Everything was in place for him to contribute heavily to the Porters' varsity last season. Then, the injury.

"I had a good sophomore year and they were hoping to play me a lot on the varsity, but the injury happened," he said. "At first I thought it maybe was a hammy (hamstring), but then I went to the doctor said it was torn ligaments.

"It was tough not being out there last season."

But he is back on the court now, and feeling this is a big season for him individually. In the process of getting all the way back, he is hopeful he can make a major contribution toward building the team concept Thompson wants.

"I'm playing AAU this summer, and I can play more than one game a day," he said. "So my stamina is fine, and it will be during the regular season."

If all goes well, Stevens feels his senior season can lead to playing in college on some level. Of course, he also is a good student and always has that on his resume.

"The players in events like this shootout are trying to gain exposure with colleges," Thompson said. "High school coaches are trying to figure out who is going to be on their team, who is going to step up, do what needs to be done on their own, show that they can be leaders. So you have a little bit of a battle going on.

"If we have enough kids who are able to figure out what needs to be done, it makes the job easier for me. Colleges see guys play and evaluate whether they would fit on their teams. I'm evaluating how everyone fits on our team."

For a kid like Stevens, that means he has a dual purpose. Not only does he need to regain his assets and skills from a personal standpoint, but at the same time, he needs to show he will fit into the team concept.

The Porters' camp would love to see him succeed on all fronts. When you go to Pontiac at Christmas, play in the SouthWest Suburban Blue and then hit the 4A postseason tournament trail, you better have everyone pulling in the same direction.

"Our conference is tough," Stevens said of the SWS Blue. "Joliet, well, I play on an AAU team with Wesley (Powell), Diesel (Donnell White), Gary (Reese) and J.T. (Jamel Tyson). So there's a big rivalry right there.

"And Bolingbrook, they're stacked. You have to slow them down or you won't have a chance against them."

Lockport's chances to succeed against opponents of that caliber will be greater with a healthy Stevens in the mix.