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Chicago Tribune
11-03-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Al Brooks Jr.'s double-double takes Rich Township past Kenwood in OT. All the way to state. ‘Couldn't just let it go.'
Everything around him got loud and proud, and at that pinnacle moment for Rich Township, senior forward Al Brooks Jr. felt a sudden surge that powered all the way through his body. It also helped that the 6-foot-6 Brooks figured things out early as far as using his height. 'My pops had us playing against bigger guys when I was about 14, and I was pretty small back then,' he said. 'I had to learn how to create shots against contact and score against bigger guys.' Brooks played like a bigger guy Monday night, totaling 27 points, 15 rebounds and four assists for the Raptors in 70-65 overtime victory over Kenwood in a Class 4A Illinois-Chicago Supersectional at Credit Union 1 Arena. Rich Township (25-8), the only team to beat Public League power Kenwood this season, will play Warren (26-10) at 7:45 p.m. Friday in a state semifinal at the State Farm Center in Champaign. The Raptors defeated Kenwood (31-2) in the semifinals of the Big Dipper en route to earning the tournament championship before beating reigning 4A state champ Homewood-Flossmoor. Junior guard Jamson Coulter scored 17 points Monday for Rich and senior forward Jayden Williams added 16. Brooks made the biggest play, converting a putback as time expired. That brought on OT, and the rest is now history. 'Being on this big stage, after coming from a Class 2A school and moving up to 4A, I've been waiting for this time,' said Brooks, who transferred with his brother from Hansberry. 'They gave me the opportunity, and I just took over. I took advantage of it. My coach always tells me even if I miss a shot, he's going to uplift me.' Brooks shot 12 of 18 from the floor, and added two steals and a blocked shot. He also was a force of nature for the rest of the team, according to senior guard Kavon Ammons. 'Al was not going to let us lose — not the way he played,' Ammons said. 'He's the driver of everything we do with our offense and how we play out there. He brings it like that every game.' Brooks provided the path forward after Kenwood led by as many as seven points in the first half. His offensive rebounds created second-chance opportunities. His ability to get to the basket opened up the rest of the offense. 'Al played amazing,' Williams said. 'I looked at his stats on the board just before overtime. He had 25 and 13, and I just said we can't let him do this by himself. 'The rest of the team had to come together, box out and get rebounds. They started collapsing on Al, and it left me and others wide open. We just started taking advantage.' Williams scored 13 of his points during the second half. Brooks and his brother Ikee, a senior guard, came from the network of Noble Street charter schools in the Public League's secondary division. The chance to play for Rich Township coach Lou Adams, who won three state championships at Public League power Orr, marked a step up in competition Brooks could not refuse. 'We've been saying since the beginning of the year, when my brother Ikee I got here, that we were going to get it done,' Al said. Adams' driving, animated and dramatic coaching style has brought out the best in Al's game. 'He's a special player, a special talent,' Adams said of Brooks. 'You only get a player like him once a generation. 'For a long time, it didn't look like we'd even get to overtime. Once we did, we felt pretty good. He had some foul problems. We took him out a couple of times, and I just told him to calm down.' Then, Brooks' final steal set up a dunk by junior forward Troy Garner Jr. to seal the deal. 'I have a passion for basketball and the game,' Brooks said. 'I couldn't just let it go.'
Chicago Tribune
11-03-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Listen up, mister. Junior guard point Noah Mister and Mount Carmel will be back next season. ‘How can you go wrong?'
As far as junior point guard Noah Mister is concerned, Mount Carmel's quest for a trip to the state finals in 2025-26 starts now. And redemption will be a big part of the focus. Last season as a sophomore, Mister enjoyed the ride of making it to the Class 3A state championship game, with the Caravan finishing in second place. But mere minutes after Monday night's supersectional, Mister was already laying down the law. 'It's not going to happen again,' he said. 'We have work to do, but it's not going to happen again.' Despite Mister's best effort, the Caravan dropped a 49-48 decision to St. Patrick in the Class 3A Illinois-Chicago Supersectional at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago. The 6-foot-2 Mister led Mount Carmel (29-6) with 22 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in the final eight seconds that closed the gap to the final score. He also had a game-high four assists. Cameron Thomas came through with 12 points and seven rebounds for the Caravan, while Keith Jenkins added seven points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. Afterward, Mister stayed around to watch the following Class 4A supersectional game between Kenwood and Rich Township. Even though he transferred from Kenwood to Mount Carmel after his freshman year, Mister was happy for the Broncos. 'They are my guys,' Mister said. 'I don't have any bad feelings toward them. I'm not a hater.' St. Patrick (28-7), which will be making its first trip to state under longtime coach Mike Bailey, was led Monday by RJ McPartlin with 12 points and eight rebounds. Anthony Favia added 10 points. The Shamrocks will play at 6:30 p.m. Thursday against Brother Rice (30-6) at the State Farm Center in Champaign. The Crusaders rolled past Peoria 60-41 at the Pontiac Supersectional. Mister, however, had earned the respect of St. Patrick's players. EJ Breland said his family and Mister's family are close and they grew up playing together. 'I know him pretty well, and he's always been a great player,' Breland said of Mister. 'He can make a lot of tough shots.' Nevaeh Hawkins agreed with Breland in his assessment of Mister. 'From my perspective, he's a great basketball player,' Hawkins said. 'For him to take those shots and make them — he has nothing to hang his head about. He was definitely a problem for us.' Mister said the difference between winning and losing Monday was the 'small mistakes' that Mount Carmel made. He took some blame for that, pointing to five turnovers, several for traveling. 'Man, I didn't think some of them were, but those were the calls and you have to keep playing,' Mister said. A year ago, Mount Carmel needed overtime in the supersectional to beat St. Patrick 56-46. Mister finished eight points and seven assists in that game. Even though Thomas, Air Force recruit Grant Best, Jenkins and other talented seniors will be graduating, Mister can't wait to see the development of the Caravan's younger players, including Claude Mpouma and Marshaun Thornton. Mount Carmel coach Phil Segroves acknowledged that he will need time to digest this loss and see what areas can be improved. Still, he has an optimistic view of the future and appreciates this season's team, even though the Caravan came up one game short of reaching to state. 'If you were in our locker room, you would have seen emotion,' Segroves said. 'There were a lot of 'I love yous' and 'I'm going to miss yous.' It shows we're doing things the right way. 'As proud as I was of last year's team, I'm just as proud of this year's team. And how can you go wrong next year with Noah Mister leading the team?'
Chicago Tribune
08-03-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Jayden Williams stars as Rich Township rolls past Homewood-Flossmoor for sectional title. ‘It was just personal.'
Jayden Williams is no secret anymore. The junior guard is a star. Williams, who was coming off the bench at times earlier in the season for Rich Township, has defenses game-planning around him now. And his teammates, like Al Brooks Jr., know exactly what Williams is going to bring every night. 'Jayden, I love that boy,' Brooks said. 'That's our silent killer. He's like our jump-starter. He gets us starting. When Jayden starts killing, the whole team's killing.' That's exactly how things went Friday as Williams' hot start sparked the host Raptors on their way to a 77-64 win over defending state champion Homewood-Flossmoor in the Class 4A Rich Township Sectional championship game. Williams, who scored 11 points in the first quarter, finished with 22 points and six rebounds to lead third-seeded Rich Township (24-8). Brooks dominated inside with 20 points and 20 rebounds, while Jamson Coulter scored 14 points. Nyshawn Turner had seven points and seven rebounds. It's the first boys basketball sectional championship for the Raptors since the district consolidated into one athletic program and the first for any district school since Rich Central in 1997-98. Wofford recruit Jayden Tyler scored 15 points for top-seeded H-F (30-4). Ethan Howard added 14 points, while Brent Taylor and Arden Eaves each tallied 11 points. Eaves also had 10 rebounds. Rich Township will take on Kenwood (31-1) at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Illinois-Chicago Supersectional at Credit Union 1 Arena. The Raptors are the only team to beat the Broncos this season with an 87-83 decision in a Big Dipper semifinal on Dec. 28. Speaking of the Big Dipper, Williams came off the bench to score 18 points for the Raptors in an 81-67 victory over H-F in the championship game. So, he has certainly had the Vikings' number. Unlike in the past. 'It really started last season when we played them in the Big Dipper,' Williams said. 'I didn't score a point. I was shooting the ball and I just couldn't make a shot. 'So, when I played against them this year, it was just personal. I had to show them how I could score against them now.' Williams led the Raptors to a 20-13 lead after the first quarter and they never looked back. 'It was amazing,' Williams said. 'We had to start off fast. In the past couple games, we've started off slow and we've had to come from behind. 'If we start out fast, nobody can really get in front of us after that.' The Raptors turned a 39-29 halftime lead into a commanding 65-45 advantage through three quarters, but the Vikings did not go down without a fight. H-F pulled within 70-62 with just under three minutes to go, but Rich Township countered with six straight points, including four from Brooks. Brooks, meanwhile, pulled down seemingly every rebound that was up for grabs all night. 'I'm a dog, man,' Brooks said. 'They were small, so I felt like I could eat inside. I felt like if I go get every rebound, my team is going to win. I just fought and scratched to get every rebound, every loose ball, everything. 'I just had to play hard. There ain't no tomorrow.' Rich Township's season now has a tomorrow, though, and Raptors coach Lou Adams knows Williams is a big reason why. 'He's one of the best players in the state,' Adams said. 'People don't know that, but I tell people it all the time. Jayden Williams is pretty good.' Williams appreciates the kudos, but he's not too concerned with the personal glory. 'I don't really pay attention to it,' he said. 'I'm just trying to win state. It feels amazing to get this far. We've got one more game to make it to state.'
Chicago Tribune
08-03-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Cameron Thomas fights off foul trouble to get Mount Carmel past St. Laurence for sectional title. ‘Had to be smart.'
What's done is done or so the saying goes, so as he walked away from the situation, Mount Carmel's Cameron Thomas realized that he had no margin for error the rest of the game. The 6-foot-3 senior guard/forward picked up his fourth foul at the end of the third quarter. 'I just knew I couldn't be timid, and I had to fight back and play as aggressively as I normally do,' he said. 'I didn't agree with the fourth foul, and I told the referees my hands were straight up. 'I wasn't going to change how I played, but I knew I had to be smart.' Thomas played it smart Friday night, making two crucial baskets in the fourth quarter to lift the Caravan to a 54-51 win over St. Laurence in the Class 3A Glenbard South Sectional championship game in Glen Ellyn. The 6-foot-3 Thomas finished with 15 points for Mount Carmel (29-5), which will play at 6 p.m. Monday against St. Patrick (27-7) in the Illinois-Chicago Supersectional at Credit Union 1 Arena. Senior guard Grant Best added 16 points and six rebounds and junior point guard Noah Mister scored 15 points for the Caravan, who get a rematch of last winter's supersectional. Senior guard EJ Mosley tallied 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists for St. Laurence (29-6). Jacob Rice added 12 points and seven rebounds. Zerrick Johnson contributed 11 points. Thomas, who plays on the wing, also recorded six rebounds, three assists and a steal. He scored the Caravan's final two baskets in his prototypical manner of taking the ball hard to the hoop. 'He's been through a lot this whole year,' Mount Carmel coach Phil Segroves said of Thomas. 'He's dealt with some injuries that we haven't really talked about. 'He told me (Friday) when we got out of the chapel that we were going to win. I felt better because of that. I was really proud of the way he came in the fourth quarter and played the way he did.' Mister created the assist on Thomas' final basket for the 52-48 lead with 1:09 remaining. 'He's a senior and a great player with our season on the line like that,' Mister said. 'Even in pressure situations, he's not going to fold. We believe in him. He came in and made big plays.' Two years ago as a sophomore, Thomas played on a team for Mount Carmel that lost in the sectional final against Simeon at Glenbard South. But on this night, Thomas scored five big points during a 15-0 run from the end of the second quarter to the start of the third that helped erase the Vikings' 10-point lead. 'We just knew we had to slow down,' Thomas said. 'In an environment like this, you can't be flustered. You can't be nervous. We understood our role and what we're good at. 'Sometimes, we do get sped up, but we always know how to adjust.' A four-year starter, Thomas averaged 14 points last season for the Caravan, who ended up losing 49-41 to DePaul Prep in the 3A state championship game. That memory still burns, creating just the right balance of fortitude and redemption. On the 40th anniversary of the Mount Carmel's only basketball state title, Thomas understands the stakes. 'This is a special moment,' he said. 'I've always wanted to win a state championship in high school. We came up short last year, but we don't plan on doing that again.' 'What happened definitely put a chip on our shoulder. We're ready and we want to win.' The moment also carries deep personal ramifications about his future. Thomas is uncommitted for college, with every game bringing a heightened spotlight to showcase his potential. 'Getting recruited for college is definitely on my mind,' Thomas said. 'I'm just not letting it impact me. I know it'll come. Right now, I know everybody has my back. They know to keep my trust.'
