5 Takeaways: North Chicago vs Brooks
The Abe’s Roundball Classic opened up its final day with an overtime contest between North Chicago and Brooks. The 7th place game featured two Chicago squads looking to get their first wins of the season. In the end North Chicago got the W 70-65. Here are our 5 Takeaways: North Chicago vs Brooks.
Line Changes for Both Teams
Both teams in this game used their benches a ton. For Brooks some of their bench guys played more than the starters. It seemed like every dead ball there were 2 or 3 guys at the table read to check in for each team. Could be three games in three days or they were just trying to find what lineups work best.
Achan Clinton Intrigues
With the lack of bigs still on the board in the state of Illinois one at the small college or JUCO level that is super intriguing is 6’7” Achan Clinton of North Chicago. Broad shouldered four man that rebounds very well in his area. Runs the floor hard. Plus athlete. Flashes skill, but still needs refinement. Defensively he uses his length to get in passing lanes and change shots. He had 14 points 14 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
Brooks Balanced Attack
There wasn’t really one guy for Brooks that dominated the scoring column. Sophomore Chaz Harvey came off the bench to score 15 points. The 5’10” point guard made his living at the line going 7-8 from the stripe. Lengthy guard that was active on defense. Devon Griffith was another bench player that stepped up with 8 points. Long and lanky two guard that is a solid athlete. 2020 point guard Isaiah Tolbert struggled shooting it, but should be this teams leading scorer during the season. He had 11 points (4-11 FG). Senior 6’5” power forward Pierre Poindexter has a nice build and broad shoulders. Not the greatest athlete, but plays physical around the hoop. Went for 8 points and 6 boards. Nehemiah Clark and Mbagnik Thiam bring athleticism on the frontline. Clark had 9 points. Thiam scored 3 points and grabbed 6 boards.
North Chicago Senior Dominated
After the experience of making it to the 3A final four a 1-2 start isn’t what North Chicago envisioned, but in a weak 3A field anything can happen in March. They have three seniors that lead the way. We mentioned Clinton above. Raeshaun Samoa is a bouncy four man that is quick off the floor. At times he can be a little wild. Best using his quickness in the paint. Also hit a mid-range jumper and a turnaround J. Wasn’t overly productive early, but really picked it up in the second half especially on the glass. He had 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Good small college kid. Quency Gilmore put himself on our radar with his play. The 6’3” two guard is a sound perimeter jumper shooter that connected on 2-3 from deep along with some mid-range shots. Plus athlete that can get to the hoop off the drive and draws fouls. Went for 16 points.
Motivation in a 7th Place Game
Sometimes a big question in a game like this is what are each team’s motivations playing for 7th place. I thought both played hard and fought it out to try to get their first wins of the season.