Individual boys basketball players around the area have had few signature games so far this season. But Curie guard Justin Oliver enjoyed one over the weekend, turning in one of his best performances as the Condors beat ranked Bolingbrook 71-67 in the Steve Pappas Shootout at DePaul Prep.
Oliver had a huge moment Dec. 22 when he hit the game-winner with two seconds left to take down ranked St. Ignatius. Against Bolingbrook, it was a complete, dominating performance. Oliver had 23 points by halftime, helped Curie overcome a double-digit deficit and finished with a career-high 39 points.
It was more than just the total that stood out, however. It was how and when he scored.
Creative, confident and decisive in finding his spots and making shots, Oliver dazzled with deep threes and drives to the basket. He made step-back and pull-up jumpers, including many with a hand in his face. When Bolingbrook closed a deficit late, it was Oliver who came through with back-breaking baskets to keep Curie ahead.
“Give him credit,” Bolingbrook coach Rob Brost said. “We knew he was a scorer, but he made several difficult and contested shots on us, and his teammates did a great job of getting him the ball.”
There’s an absurd lack of recruiting attention for Oliver, whose history of strong performances goes back to last season.
Glenbrook South pair pouring it on
A pair of former Glenbrook South players are making their presence felt on the college scene. Entering Monday, former all-stater Nick Martinelli was the second-leading scorer in the country, averaging 23.4 points after scoring 34 for Northwestern in a loss to Rutgers on Sunday. Former Titans teammate Cooper Noard also is among the top scorers, averaging 19.9 points for Cornell.
Now college seniors, Martinelli and Noard helped lead Glenbrook South to a 33-3 record and a sectional title in the 2021-22 season.
After scoring just 52 points as a freshman, Martinelli now has nearly 1,400 career points and could finish among the top five scorers in NU history. Noard is set to eclipse 1,000 points in a few games and is on pace to be among Cornell’s top 10 career scorers.
Marist even more dangerous
Sitting courtside for the Marist-Kankakee game at the Steve Pappas Shootout, DePaul Prep coach Tom Kleinschmidt had glowing praise for the RedHawks, whom his Rams will face in two weeks.
“They are a real problem for teams,” Kleinschmidt said.
Marist won a school-record 31 games last season, and this year’s team is even better, defending more consistently, playing more physically and bringing the size to batter opponents on the glass with 6-7 Stephen Brown, 6-5 Kendall Meyers, 6-5 Charles Barnes and 6-3 Karson Thomas, who’s cur-rently out with an injury.
The addition of Barnes, a high-profile transfer from De La Salle, has made a world of difference — he leads Marist with 17 points and eight rebounds per game. But the deep and balanced RedHawks (16-1) also are getting strong guard play from Adoni Vassilakis, TJ Tate and Thomas and additional scoring from Ryan Lawlor.
They’ll be the favorite in the Joliet West Sectional in March as they chase their first sectional championship in 45 years.