Boys Basketball: Old friends meet in rematch

Updated: January 24, 2012 6:38PM

Former classmates meet one more time when Hinsdale South hosts Downers South Friday night.

Long before Johnnie Jasper and Jerron Wilbut became rivals on the basketball court, they were classmates in elementary school.

Jasper is a starting forward for Hinsdale South. Wilbut has become one of the Chicago area’s top guards for No. 16 Downers Grove South.

The irony is that the seniors started out far away from the respective schools. The former classmates were together at Oak View Elementary School in Bolingbrook until Wilbut moved to Downers Grove when in fifth grade. Jasper remained in Bolingbrook until his family moved to Poplar Grove, near Rockford, when Jasper was in seventh grade.

Jasper finished middle school in Poplar Grove and attended North Boone High School for two years until he transferred to Hinsdale South.

“I’ve known Jerron a while,” Jasper said. “He’s competitive and I’m competitive.”

The Mustangs and the Hornets will meet for the second time this season at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Darien. Hinsdale South (9-8, 3-3 West Suburban Gold) is coming off a 48-41 loss at Quincy Saturday. The Hornets’ game at Morton Friday night was postponed due to the snowstorm and has been rescheduled for Feb. 7.

Downers South (13-4, 4-1) lost back-to-back games for the first time this season, suffering a 64-63 defeat in overtime to Warren Saturday at Sears Centre and another defeat to conference-leading Proviso East, 78-70, on Jan. 19 in Downers Grove.

In the previous meeting, Wilbut scored 13 of his game-high 26 points in the third quarter to beat the Hornets 58-46 on Dec. 2 at DGS. The Hornets were led by Brock Benson’s 21 points.

The Hornets schedule gets even tougher the following week. Hinsdale South plays at first place Proviso East (16-0, 6-0) Feb. 3 and then travels Feb. 4 to Lyons (8-9, 4-2), which has won six consecutive games.

Jasper has made the transition from small-town Poplar Grove to Chicago’s west suburbs. He lives in Willowbrook and sat on the bench last season until getting his starting role this season.

“The transition has been pretty smooth,” Jasper said. “At my old school, I had a bigger role. At Hinsdale South, there is more of a winning tradition. The coaches have been great.”

One of Jasper’s highlights each week is the team’s pasta parties at a different teammate’s house each week.

The Hornets are looking to repeat their season-best three-game winning streak in December during the team’s own holiday tournament. Hinsdale beat Eisenhower, Providence and Lake Forest to finish ninth.

“Coach [Vince Doran] tells us we have to cut down on turnovers,” Jasper said. “We know that in the future, we can’t dwell on losses. We have to move on to the next game.”

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