Proviso West's Covington headed to Tennessee State

Proviso West coach Tommy Miller harped on senior Robert Covington all season long to be more aggressive.

While Miller did begin to see Covington snap some of his unselfish habits during the season, it wasn’t until afterward that he really witnessed it.

At the Chicago High School Classic at Niles West on April 3, Miller saw Covington perform as he always thought he could. He was 10-for-10 from the field, scored a team-high 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

“He’s going to be pro material when he gets more aggressive,” Miller said. “He began to do that now.”

Tennessee State sure hopes so. Covington, a 6-foot-7 versatile forward, committed to the Tigers of the Ohio Valley Conference on Thursday. He chose them over Ball State and Central Florida.

“The team, I fit in perfectly,” Covington said. “They’re an up-tempo team. That’s the style of play I’m looking for.”

Covington was one of the season’s biggest surprises. He was a known commodity before the year, but put himself into that elite category by the end of it. He earned all-area and all-state honors after averaging 17 points, nine rebounds and five blocks.

At the prestigious Proviso West Holiday Tournament, he especially put himself on the map. He had 22 points and 14 rebounds in the first round and followed with 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks against Fenwick. In the semifinals, he went for 16 points, seven rebounds and five blocks. In the championship against Morton, he had 11 points, 11 rebounds, seven blocks, four steals and three assists.

It was a year that Covington couldn’t even dream of.

“I exceeded my expectations beyond what I thought,” he said. “I got to play in a couple all-star games. I made conference player of the year, all-area, all-star.

"Last year I was kind of quiet. I was playing with a couple of seniors where the spotlight was on them. Coming into this season, my coaches sat down with me and told me this is my team. I need to step up for us to go. I was way more aggressive.”

Just still not aggressive enough for his coach.

“My biggest beef with Rob during the season (was) he wasn’t selfish enough,” Miller said. “I had to break him away from trying to be too much of a team player. ‘Go out and get your 25 points.’ The upside for him is great.

“It was real fun to have Rob. I knew Rob’s potential. This year he really understood his potential himself.”