Stay Connected with YourSeason
Boys Basketball: Henry Hicks picks up Bloom vs Joliet Central
Updated: January 10, 2012 9:36PM
It isn’t every day a team gets off to a 19-0 lead.
It isn’t every day that practice makes perfect, either.
After a 13-0 start, No. 11 Bloom entered Tuesday night’s game at Joliet Central having lost its last two to Rich South and Bogan. Coach Jasper Williams delivered a message at practice Monday, and senior forward Henry Hicks and his teammates heard it loud and clear.
Hicks became the finisher supreme as Blazing Trojans forced 26 Joliet turnovers en route to a 55-35 victory, and that was after the Steelmen finished the game on a 10-0 run.
“It all started at practice yesterday,” said Hicks, who scored a season-high 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting and was the only Trojan in double figures. “It was very intense, hard. That’s what made us get off to that start.”
“We were 13-0 and maybe we had a little bit of the big head, got a little complacent,” Williams said. “That was the hardest practice we had since before the season. We felt we had to get the guys ready, and they responded.”
Bloom shot 23-of-42 for 54.8 percent, with 19 of the baskets on layups and rebounds.
For his part, Hicks said, “I just got in the lanes where I was supposed to go and called for the ball, and the guys got it to me.
“Mostly, I’m out there to play hard defensively, but when I’m given the opportunity to score, I like to take it.”
“Our guards got Henry the ball,” Williams said. “He’s been pressing the last two or three games, maybe trying to expand his game. He’s one of our best guys running and filling the lanes, and I hope he keeps this mindset.”
Joliet Central coach Jeff Corcoran called Bloom “the best we’ve seen. People in our sectional are going to have to go through them.”
He cited senior guards Donald Moore and Lejavius Johnson. “They’re ridiculously good and talented,” he said.
© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.
Cell Phone Alerts
Comments Click here to view or make a comment