Bolingbrook’s Brady Pettigrew had almost the entire half court to himself and some time to mull over how he was going to finish his fastbreak basket against visiting Oswego on Friday.
“I was kinda wide open, so I figured, why do something simple when I’ve got the bounce that I’ve got,” Pettigrew said. “Give the cameras a little something.”
Pettigrew, a 6-4 sophomore, threw down an explosive windmill dunk.
“It was kind of instinct,” Pettigrew said. “I knew I could pull something out of my bag.”
Pettigrew is one of the most promising athletes in the state, regardless of sport or class. He had a breakout summer and is now ranked 19th in the country in the sophomore class by 247Sports. He has scholarship offers from Florida, Missouri, Florida State, Nevada and several others.
“It was a really good summer for me,” Pettigrew said. “I got my name out there and the ranking up. Mostly, it is about the confidence. I also learned to be a leader and I matured.”
Pettigrew scored 12 points in the No. 6 Raiders’ 82-54 win against Oswego. Senior TJ Williams, a transfer from Glenbard West, led Bolingbrook with 19 points.
“[Pettigrew] plays the right way,” Bolingbrook coach Rob Brost said. “He doesn’t try to do things that are not in the plan. He’s a great teammate. That’s what the people at USA basketball love. He’s so well-rounded. He can defend. He can shoot it. He’s obviously uber-athletic. He can do everything.”
The Raiders (4-0, 2-0 Southwest Prairie West) had 12 dunks while showcasing their depth. Senior Trey Brost scored nine points. Jeremy McCullum, a 6-6 senior, added 10 points, and 6-7 Elijah Anderson also scored 10. Sophomore brothers Mason and Marlon Williams were eye-openers. They are strong guards with impressive all-around games.
“We are pretty complete when we play well,” Brost said. “When we play together and we share we can be pretty good. But we can also have lapses as well.”
Davion Thompson, the Sun-Times Player of the Year last season, transferred to prep school for his junior year. Pettigrew has immediately stepped into Thompson’s star role and is one of the major attractions for high school basketball fans all around the state this season.
“[Pettigrew] is better at everything [this season],” Bolingbrook senior point guard Trey Brost said. “No one really stops him. He’s that good now. His defense, and rebounding, and talking have really stepped up. Those are the things he needed to improve on, and he did a really good job of doing that.”
Oswego (3-2, 1-1) has a star sophomore of its own in Ethan Vahl. The 6-2 guard has grown and filled out since last season. He plays with exciting, aggressive flair. Vahl led the Panthers with 25 points and nine rebounds.
“He’s an elite passer and a high-level rebounder,” Oswego coach Nick Orham said. “He does a lot of things well for us.”
Oswego had three key basketball players join the team in the past few days after the football team’s run to the Class 8A state title game ended on Wednesday.
“It’s been hard,” Orham said. “We’ve been practicing with seven or eight guys. We were fortunate to come out of Thanksgiving 2-1 and then we ran into a buzz saw tonight. They are on a different level. We can’t simulate that in practice.”